In the winter of 1985, my hometown, Buffalo, experienced a blizzard — not an uncommon occurrence for the region. But this was a big one, and the city’s mayor, Jimmy Griffin, was at pains to persuade people to stop trying to go about their business as conditions worsened. He urged Buffalonians to “relax, stay inside, and grab a six-pack,” which must be the best advice in an emergency situation.

There’s something cartoonish about the threat of a blizzard, in which nature’s anger assumes a fluffy form and tries to kill you. It’s the meteorological equivalent of getting attacked by the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. And yet, kill it does, through car accidents and heart attacks and other misadventures, usually involving people trying, unwisely, to do something.

Mr. Griffin, therefore known as Jimmy Six-Pack, understood this. The Snow Gods reserve special hatred for those who don’t respect their ability to bring human activity to a standstill. The snow cares not for your deadlines or your happy hour plans. It wants only to fall on the ground and lie there. And it wants you to too.

Needless to say, you should. A snowstorm rewards indolence and punishes busy bees, which is only one of the many reasons it’s the best natural disaster there is.

Time has partly buried my childhood memories of Buffalo’s mighty blizzard of 1977, but I still recall the great drifts that climbed over houses, the spectacle of a world made surprisingly new. It’s a vision that often comes back to my mind every now and then, as we face the terrible prospect of a climate changed by human appetites — the future winters, damp and snow less, that may well await us. So let us all now pause, perhaps over a six-pack, and bear witness as the climate changes us.

【小题1】The writer mentions the mayor of Jimmy Griffin in order to__________.

A．introduce a proper way to deal with blizzards

B．appreciate his contribution to the city’s development

C．highlight how the climate worsened in his term

D．explain why blizzards were not uncommon in Buffalo

【小题2】The underlined word “indolence” is closest in meaning to __________.

A．anger

B．diligence

C．intelligence

D．laziness

【小题3】It can be inferred from the last paragraph that the writer feels___________ the possible snowless winters.

A．annoyed by

B．amazed at

C．pleased with

D．sorry for

【小题4】Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?

A．Blizzard: a Thing of the Past.	B．In Case of a Snowstorm, Do Nothing.
C．What Will the Future Winters Be Like?	D．Witness to Climate Change.