Imagine that you are the first person ever to see Hawaii. What would be the first thing you would set foot on? The beach, naturally. There are hundreds of miles of beaches on the twenty islands of Hawaii. These islands cover 1,600 miles and are about 2,300 miles west of California. Most of them are covered with fine white sand. They are thought to be among the finest beaches in the world. Another wonderful thing about the beaches of Hawaii is the water temperature. The year-round average temperature of the water at the famous Waikiki Beach is 230C! The same is true of air temperature. In fact, there are no real seasons in Hawaii. There is a difference of only two or three degrees between the hottest day of summer and the coldest day of winter. That's why the Hawaiians don't have a word for weather in their language. Perhaps the nicest thing about Hawaiian beaches are the waves. The earliest settlers in Hawaii, the Polynesians, quickly learned how much fun it was to ride the waves. They developed a sport which is now very popular on the islands called body surfing. You go out into the ocean, wait for a big wave to come towards you, jump on it, and ride it all the way to the beach. Now imagine once again that you are the first person ever to set foot in Hawaii. What do you think would be the second beautiful thing you would notice? Would it be those strange triangles rising out of the water hundreds and hundreds of meters high? What are those beautiful things? They are volcanoes , of course. These volcanoes are not just a part of the islands. They made the islands at first. Because of them the islands are still growing. The most famous volcano on Hawaii is Mauna Loa. It is the world's most active volcano. It has been erupting for thousands of years. Even when it isn't erupting, smoke comes out of the earth from a thousand little holes. In 1950 Mauna Loa erupted for twenty-three days. That erupting produced the greatest amount of lava in modern history. In 1960 it erupted again. That time it added a kilometer of beach to the island. Because Mauna Loa has erupted so often, it has become the biggest (but not the tallest) mountain in the world. These volcanoes could be dangerous to the population of Hawaii. In fact, Hilo, the second largest city in Hawaii, is built just under Mauna Loa. The volcano could erupt at any time. Most people believe that it will erupt sometime in the next twenty-five years. But the people of Hilo do not seem worried. They live with the danger as part of their lives.

1. How many islands does Hawaii have?
2. How many miles of beaches?
3. how many miles west of California?
4. Do Hawaiian's have a word for weather?
5. who were the earliest settlers there?
6. are there strange circles coming out of the water?
7. What are the beautiful triangles?
8. How often does Mauna Loa erupt?
9. Is it the biggest mountain in the world?
10. Is it the tallest?
11. Are these volcanoes dangerous?
12. are the people of Hilo worried?
13. what do they live with as a part of their lives?

Provide a numbered list of answers.
1. 20
2. hundreds
3. 2300
4. no
5. Polynesians
6. no
7. volcanoes
8. 23 days
9. yes
10. no
11. yes
12. no
13. the danger