Read and Complete

Choose the word that best completes each blank.

When a volcano erupts, it can send ash high into the —atmosphereafternoonattendance. Tiny particles may travel for thousands of kilometers before slowly settling back to the ground. In some cases, this ash blocks part of the sunlight, causing temperatures across a wide region to —dropdriftdrown for months. Although eruptions can be destructive, the minerals in cooled volcanic soil often make nearby land remarkably —fertilefragilefeeble for farming.