In some ways, the United¹ States has made some progress. Fires no longer destroy 18,000 buildings as they did in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, or kill half a town of 2,400 people, as they did the same night in Peshtigo, Wisconsin. Other than the Beverly Hill Supper Club fire in Kentucky in 1977, it has been four decades² since more than 100 Americans died in a fire.

But even with such successes, the United States still has one of the worst fire death rates in the world. Safety experts say the problem is neither money nor technology, but the indifference³(无所谓) of a country that just will not take fires seriously enough.

American fire departments are some of the world's fastest and best-equipped⁴. They have to be. The United States has twice Japan's population, and 40 times as many fires. It spends far less on preventing fires than on fighting them. And American fire -safety lessons are aimed almost entirely⁵ at children, who die in large numbers in fires but who, against popular beliefs, start very few of them.

Experts say the error is an opinion that fires are not really anyone's fault. That is not so in other countries, where both public education and the law treat fires as either a personal failing or a crime(罪行). Japan has many wood houses; of the 48 fires in world history that burned more than 10,000 buildings, Japan has had 27. Punishment for causing a big fire can be as severe⁶ as life imprisonment⁷.

In the United States, most education dollars are spent in elementary schools. But, the lessons are aimed at too limited a number of people; just 9 percent of all fire deaths are caused by children playing with matches.

The United States continues to depend more on technology than laws or social pressure. There are smoke detectors⁸ in 85 percent of all homes. Some local building laws now require home sprinklers (喷水装置). New heaters⁹ and irons¹⁰ shut themselves off if they are tipped.

1. The reason why so many Americans die in fires is that _____.

A. they took no interest in new technology

B. they did not pay great attention to preventing fires

C. they showed indifference to fighting fires

D. they did not spend enough money on fire equipment

2. It can be inferred¹¹ from the passage that______.

A. fire safety lessons should not be aimed only at American children

B. American children have not received enough education of fire safety lessons

C. Japan is better equipped with fire equipment than the United States

D. America's large population leads to more fires

3. Which of the following statements¹² is true according¹³ to the passage?

A. There has been no great fire in the USA in recent 40 years that leads to high death rate.

B. There have been several great fires in the USA in recent 40 years that lead to high death rate.

C. There has been only one great fire in the USA in recent 40 years that led to high death rate.

D. The fire in Kentucky in 1977 made only a few people killed.

KEY: BAC