The fires that have left more than 160 people dead in southern Australia burned with such speed that they seemed less a wildfire than a violent bombing．Many victims caught in the fires had no time to escape; their houses were destroyed around them，and they burned to death．As firefighters battle the flames and police begin to look into possible cases of arson（纵火）around some of the fires，there will surely be debates over the wisdom of Australia's standard policy of advising people to either flee a fire early or stay in their homes and wait it out．John Brumby，the premier of the fire-hit Australian state of Victoria，said “There is no question that there were people who did everything right and put in place their fire plan，however，their house was just burnt into pieces．”

Although the wildfires caught so many victims by surprise last weekend，there has been no shortage of distant early-warning signs．The 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change，for example，warned that fires in Australia were certain to increase in intensity and frequency because of steadily warming temperatures over the next several decades．A research reported that by 2020，there could be up to 65% more “extreme” fire-danger days compared with 1990．

Destructive wildfires are already common in Australia，and it's not hard to see why climate change would increase their frequency．Australia has warmed 0.9℃ since 1950，and it is predicted the country could warm further by 2070，up to 5℃ over 1990 temperatures，if global greenhouse -gas emissions（排放）go unchecked．Besides a simple rise in average temperatures，climate change will also lead to an increase in Australia's extreme heat waves and droughts．

It's important to acknowledge that no single weather event can be only caused by climate change-and it's possible that the fire would have been as intense and deadly even without the warming of the past several decades．Police beginning to suspect that many of the fifes may have been set，and the increase in the number of homes built in fire-danger zones in southern Australia today puts more people in harm's way．Still，heat waves and drought set the table for wildfires．The wildfires in southern Australia are already the worst in the nation's history-but they surely won't be the last．

1．What are people's attitudes to the Australia's policy about fire accidents?

A．It turns out to mislead the public and create confusion．

B．Some are starting to doubt whether it is useful enough，

C．People believe it fails to prevent global climate change．

D．The fire was spreading quickly just because of the policy．

2．The underlined word in the second paragraph is most probably used to describe the fire's _________．

A．damage                B．temperature             C．cause                    D．chances

3．Which is NOT a possible effect of global greenhouse-gas emissions according to the passage?

A．High temperature．                         B．Severe droughts．

C．Violent crime．                           D．Frequent wildfires．

4．Why do the police suspect the fires may have been set on purpose?

A．Because more and more people are living in fire-danger zones．

B．Because there was no such a terrible fire in this area before．

C．Because firefighters failed to put out the fire before it spread．

D．Because the terrible climate is likely to make people act stupidly．

5．What's the main idea of the passage?

A．Humans have to adapt to the influence of warming．

B．The global climate change will continue for centuries．

C．We have a lot to do to reduce global carbon emissions，

D．Global warming may be fueling Australia's fires．