Read the following passage and then answer the questions correctly.

Volcano
One day there was a rumbling noise deep down in the Earth. The Earth shook and the
mountain trembled. The noise became a deafening roar and a fountain of red-hot molten
rock suddenly exploded into the air. There was a smell of burning, mixed with sulphur, as
the boiling lava flowed slowly down the hillside, setting fire to grass and trees in its path.

The sleeping volcano had awoken. This happened because the rock at the center of the
Earth became so hot that it melted. The gases inside the Earth forced the liquid rock up
through cracks in the surface and the volcano erupted.

Sometimes the cracks in the Earth become sealed and the volcano never erupts again.
It is called an extinct volcano. Volcanoes make the land around them very fertile.

Choose the best endings for each sentence. (6 marks)

1. The first sign that a volcano is about to erupt is _______________.

a. smoke b. the earth moving c. a rumbling noise

2. The noise gets ______________.

a. softer b. louder c. stops

3. Another name for molten rock is __________.

a. lava b. ash c. Sulphur

4. Molten rock moves ___________.

a. fast b. noisily c. slowly

5. Molten rock comes from __________________.

a. The centre of the Earth b. under the sea c. bushfires

6. An extinct volcano is one which _____________________.

a. Does not erupt very often b. erupts once a year c. never erup
Answer the following in complete sentences. (8 marks)

1. What were two things burnt by the molten rock?

_________________________________________________
2. Why did the sleeping volcano awake?
_________________________________________________
3. Why can’t some volcanoes erupt again?
__________________________________________________
4. What type of land is found around volcanoes?
___________________________________________________

Circle the word that is the synonym (means the same) as the word in capital letters. (5
marks)

1. EXPLODE burst repair

2. MELT gets hard soften

3. CENTER end middle

4. PATH way corner

5. SEAL open close