From a young age， I've had a really deep connection with being outside． I've been skiing since I was eight or nine years old． I've been on expeditions（探险）in many places like China， Pakistan and so on． But it was in my home country， the USA， that I came closest to death．

It was April 1，2011． I was skiing in the Tetons with my friends Jeremy and Xavier， both experienced snowboarders． That day， I was the last person to ski． They were watching me from a safe area． Suddenly， I heard someone cry loudly． I turned around and saw the whole mountain start to move behind me． It was a massive avalanche（大雪崩）． The kind of avalanche that destroys trees， cars， buses， even houses! Tens of thousands of tons of snow were coming straight down the mountain behind me． I felt the snow push me forward， hundreds of meters， and then cover me． It was so heavy that I couldn't breathe． And then it pushed me forward again and up， out of the snowpack． I looked around， and for a few seconds I actually stopped being terrified． I had a moment to pause and to look at the power of the avalanche．

I looked down into the bottom of the valley（峡谷）． I could see trees that were 30m tall， because I was so far away， they looked tiny to me． "OK， I'm going all the way to the bottom!" I thought． Then the snow pushed me again down the mountain another 450m． I thought the force of the snow would destroy me， it was powerful． But in the end， I felt the avalanche slow down and I just popped （迸出） right out of the snow at the bottom of the valley．

It took Jeremy and Xavier about 20 minutes to reach me． There was a pile of debris （碎片） across the bottom of the mountain 300m wide． They couldn't believe it when they saw me． I was so lucky．

Has the experience changed me？ Do I think about life differently？ I don't know， maybe． But I do know that it's important to live your life with meaning． Life is a gift， so use it wisely．

（1）What impressed the writer most in his skiing experience is　　．

A． the power of snow

B． the sight of the valley

C． the danger of popping

D． the luck of his expedition

（2）The underlined word 'they' refers to　　．

A． the mountains

B． the trees

C． Jeremy and Xavier

D． Piles of debris

（3）From the passage， it's true that　　．

A． the writer came closest to death when he skied in Pakistan

B． the avalanche pushed the writer down about 300m away

C． the writer's friends watched him at the bottom of the valley

D． the writer couldn't breathe because of the weight of the snow

（4）The writer was thrown out of the snow when　　．

A． his friends reached for him

B． he was pushed to the bottom

C． the avalanche started to slow down

D． the snow drove him forward again

（5）According to the writer，　　．

A． his experience and his friends have changed him

B． it's impossible to know the force of snow

C． one should not live a meaningless life

D． he doesn't mind the matter of life or death