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 his1. He has been working with them since he was a little boy and he's not2at 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 3to make money from snakes. In order to4the venom (毒液), he has to find rattlesnakes in the western part of the United States. He sends the venom to a5where they make it into something called “anti-venin”. Anti-venin is what they give people6they have been bitten (咬) by a poisonous (有毒的) snake. This anti-venin is really helpful in7the person who has been bitten. He has been making his living this way for five years and feels8.
Tony's dad has handled nearly 1,000 snakes in his lifetime. And hundreds of people go to him to9how to deal with snakes. Tony's dad has been willing to10everything about how to hold, how to feed and how to get venom from snakes. But not everyone11get used to the idea of picking up a snake. Many people heard12stories 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 help13the 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 really15one. Without venom collectors, many people would be in real danger and some would die.
