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More than 17,000 flights to and from European airspace were cancelled, including all flights from Britain's
major airports.
The Met Office reported that volcanic ash had begun to fall across Britain, coating surfaces with a fine
layer of dust and raising fears for people with breathing difficulties.
Meanwhile experts warned of shortages of some foods with produce destined for British shops rotting in
airport warehouses in other parts of the world.
Geologists reported that activity at the volcano increased yesterday, spewing a plume of ash 5.3 miles high
into the atmosphere.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office said the winds blowing the volcanic ash southeast to Europe and up
into Scandinavia and Russia will continue in the same direction for at least two days and could go on until
Wednesday. But scientists fear there could be more eruptions from the 5,466-foot volcano, Mount
Eyjafjallajkull.
A university geophysicist said, "From what we've seen, it could erupt, pause for a few weeks, and then
possibly erupt again. It could go on for months." As the no fly zone expanded yesterday, so did the chaos.
The Icelandic volcano causing travel chaos across Europe could go on erupting for months, geologists have
warned.
The National Air Traffic Control Service (Nats) extended restrictions on flights from British airports to
7 p.m. on Sunday, with the expectation of further extensions.
Ferry operators have reported record bookings. P&O took 6,000 foot passengers across the Channel on
Friday compared to the 100 to 200 it would expect on a normal Friday in April.
Eurostar trains were fully booked until tomorrow, with 50,000 more passengers than normal since the
airline disruption (中斷) began on Thursday, including comedian John Cleese who arrived back in London last
night after a most difficult overland journey from Switzerland.
The operator is charging passengers a minimum ＄223 for a single ticket from Paris to London over the
next two days prompting criticisms of profiteering. A return ticket can normally be bought for as little as 69.
Eurostar denied it was cashing in.
Some 4,000 British tourists have been stranded in South Africa.
The British Embassy in Athens said there were currently "many thousand" British holidaymakers trying to
leave Greece after the holidays, in many cases anxious to get back in time for the start of the school term this
week, with some of those desperate to return resorting to renting cars or embarking on long train journeys.
1. Where is the volcano, Mount Eyjafjallajkull located?
A. England
B. Ireland
C. Iceland
D. Switzerland
2. Which of the following is NOT the influence of the volcano eruption?
A. Breathing difficulties
B. Shortages of food
C. The airline disruption
D. A fine layer of sand
3. What does the underlined word "chaos" mean in Para. 6?
A. Danger.
B. Anxiety.
C. Desperation.
D. Disorder.
4. From the passage, we know that the volcano eruption _____.
A. forced all the people to go back home
B. brought the train company a large profit
C. made 6,000 passengers take ships to cross the Channel
D. prevented British students from going to school on time
