Have you ever been near an animal you were afraid of？ How close have you been to a dangerous snake？ Well， Tony Kepler raises killer snakes for a living and he loves his（1）　　． He has been working with them since he was a little boy and he's not（2）　　 at all．

    Tony's father has been a snake handler （驯蛇师） for twenty years and he has taught his son a lot about them． Now Tony is（3）　　 to make money from snakes． In order to（4）　　 the venom（毒液），he has to find rattlesnakes in the western part of the United States． He sends the venom to a（5）　　 where they make it into something called "anti﹣venin．"Anti﹣venin is what they give people（6）　　 they have been bitten （咬） by a poisonous （有毒的） snake． This anti﹣venin is really helpful in （7）　　the person who has been bitten． He has been making his living this way for five years and feels（8）　　．

    Tony's dad has handled nearly 1，000 snakes in his lifetime．And hundreds of people go to him to（9）　　 how to deal with snakes． Tony's dad has been willing to （10）　　 everything about how to hold， how to feed and how to get venom from snakes． But not everyone（11）　　 get used to the idea of picking up a snake． Many people heard（12）　　 stories about snakes when they were children and have been afraid of them ever since． Tony has been trying to educate people about the positive things snakes do． For one thing， they help（13）　　 the rat and mouse population．Snakes are also very clean and （14）　　 and they seldom trouble humans．

    Tony' s job is very different from any other job I've heard of， but it is a really（15）　　 one．Without venom collectors， many people would be in real danger and some would die．

（1）A． family	B． job	C． hobby	D． pay
（2）A． afraid	B． lonely	C． brave	D． patient
（3）A． honest	B． lucky	C． able	D．careful
（4）A． discover	B． collect	C． produce	D． taste
（5）A． library	B． museum	C． hospital	D． laboratory
（6）A． before	B． though	C． after	D． unless
（7）A． calming	B． testing	C． saving	D． protecting
（8）A． free	B． tired	C． safe	D． great
（9）A． learn	B． show	C． discuss	D． explain
（10）A． exchange	B． overcome	C． retell	D． share
（11）A． may	B． can	C． has to	D． need
（12）A． folk	B． humorous	C． moving	D． scary
（13）A． count	B． control	C． double	D． stop
（14）A． noisy	B． slow	C． quiet	D． active
（15）A． important	B． dangerous	C． popular	D． cruel