More than 30 people are feared to have died after a volcano erupted in Japan, shooting out ash and rocks and trapping scores of hikers on the hillside.

The victims were trapped overnight after Mount Ontake erupted without warning on Saturday. “We have confirmed that more than 30 individuals have been found dead near the summit,” a Nagano prefecture police spokesman said.

The 3,067m-high mountain, a popular location for walkers and climbers, erupted shortly before noon Saturday. About 250 people were trapped on the slopes at the beginning, but most made their way down by Saturday night.

More than 500 Japanese military and police used helicopters to search for survivors on Sunday. Video showed huge grey clouds boiling towards climbers at the peak and people struggling to rush down as blackness enveloped them.

“All of a sudden ash piled up so quickly that we couldn’t even open the door,” Shuichi Mukai, who worked in a mountain hut just below the peak. The hut quickly filled with hikers seeking shelter. “We were really packed in here, maybe 150 people. There were some children crying, but most people were calm. We waited there in hard hats until they told us it was safe to come down.”

The mountain, some 200km west of Tokyo, is a popular site to view autumn foliage, currently at its best.

Flights at Tokyo’s Haneda airport suffered delays as planes changed routes to avoid the peak, which stands across Nagano and Gifu prefectures, but were mostly back to normal by Sunday, an airport spokeswoman said.

An official at the volcano division of the Japan Meteorological Agency said that, while there had been a rising number of small earthquakes detected at Ontake since 10 September, the eruption could not have been predicted easily.

“There were no other signs of an impending eruption, such as earth movements or changes on the mountain’s surface,” the official told Reuters. “With only the earthquakes, we couldn’t really say this would lead to an eruption.”

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1.What do we know about Mount Ontake from the passage?

A It lies in Nagano Prefecture.

B It is a popular location for hikers.

C It has an active volcano on the top.

D The volcano will erupt again very soon.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据文章第三段…a popular location for walkers and climbers可知御岳山是一个深受徒步旅行者喜欢的地方。

2.What can we infer from the passage?

A The hikers were brave enough to witness the eruption of the volcano.

B People had been prepared for the sudden eruption of the volcano.

C The small earthquakes were the signs of the eruption of the volcano.

D There were airlines over Mount Ontake previously.

解析：选D。D 推理判断题。根据文章第七段…as planes changed routes to avoid the peak判断，过去曾有航线经过御岳山上空。

3.Why did people come into the mountain hut?

A They jammed in to keep away from danger.

B They wanted to pay a visit to Shuichi Mukai.

C They hoped to see the volcano below the peak.

D They wanted to have a close view of the foliage.

解析：选A。A 细节理解题。根据文章第五段The hut quickly filled with hikers seeking shelter可知，爬山的人们纷纷涌进这个小屋，以躲避危险。

4.What does the underlined word most probably mean in the last paragraph?

A Destructive.

B Unusual.

C Upcoming.

D Ongoing.

解析：选C。C 猜测词义题。文章最后一句With only the earthquakes, we couldn’t really say this would lead to an eruption说明了地震并不能用来预测火山喷发。根据语境判断impending意为“即将来临的；即将发生的”。

5.What was the effect of the sudden eruption of Mount Ontake?

A The eruption caused movements of the earth.

B There would be a serial of eruptions.

C There were changes on the surface of Mount Ontake.

D Flights had been delayed as a result of changing routes.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。文章第七段Flights at Tokyo’s Haneda airport suffered delays as planes changed routes to avoid the peak可知，火山喷发造成了羽田机场的航班晚点，这些航班不得不改变航线，以避开御岳山。