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Passage Three
文章三
Living at the foot of one of the world's most active volcanoes might not appeal to you at all.
在世界最活跃的火山脚下生活对你来说可能没有多大的吸引力。
But believe it or not, the area surrounding Mount Etna in Italy is packed with people.
但是，不管你信不信，在意大利的埃特纳火山周围却挤满了人。
In fact, it is the most densely-populated region on the whole island of Sicily.
其实，这里是整个西西里岛人口最密集的区域。
The reason is that rich volcanic soil makes the land fantastic for farming.
原因不是别的，正是因为火山灰让土壤变得肥沃，利于种植。
By growing and selling a variety of crops, local people earn a good living.
通过贩售在这里种植的粮食，当地人的生活很是富足。
For them, the economic benefit they reap surpasses the risk of dying or losing property in one of the volcano's frequent eruptions.
对他们来说，在这个火山频发的地带，经济上的丰收远远大于失去生命与财产的风险。
People everywhere make decisions about risky situations this way, that is, by comparing the risks and the benefits.
几乎所有人都是如此权衡两者的利弊之后才做出此决定的。
According to the experts, the size of the risk depends on both its probability and seriousness.
据专家所说，风险的大小是由火山爆发的可能性及破坏性决定的。
Let's take Mount Etna for example.
咱们就以埃特纳火山为例吧。
It does erupt frequently.
时不时会喷发一次。
But those eruptions are usually minor.
而且大多数的喷发程度较为弱小。
So the overall risk for people living nearby is relatively small.
因此，对周围的居民来说影响不大。
But suppose Mount Etna erupted every day or imagine that each eruption there killed thousands of people.
但是假设埃特纳火山每天喷发一次或者每次喷发都会造成上千万人死亡。
If that were the case, the risk would be much larger.
如果是这种情况的话，那么风险也会成倍增长。
Indeed, the risk would be too large for many people to live with.
确实，如此高的风险也就意味着人们无法再继续生存。
And they would have to move away.
他们必须搬离此地。
Questions 23 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.
问题23到25是根据上面文章所提出的问题
Question 23. How do people make decisions about risky situations?
问题23 在这种有风险的情况下，人们是如何选择的？
Question 24. What do we know about Mount Etna from the passage?
问题24 通过文章我们可以了解到埃特纳火山的什么信息？
Question 25. What will people living near Mount Etna do in the face of its eruptions?
问题25 在火山爆发时，人们通常会怎么做？
