单选题 14. Buying insurance(保险) is a way in which people can protect themselves against large losses. Protection against fire is one kind of insurance. Large number of people pay small sums of money to an insurance company. Although thousands of people have paid entire insurance, only a few will lose their homes by fire. The insurance company will pay for these homes out of the small sums of money it had collected.

【正确答案】购买保险是人们保护自己免于重大损失的一种方式。火险是保险的一种。许多人支付保险公司一小笔费用。虽然有成千上万的人购买了火险，但只有少部分人的房子会遭受火灾。保险公司就从它们收取的大笔保费中取出一小部分来赔偿损失。

【答案解析】 本段第一句是定语从句。protect...against意为“保护……免于……”；although引导并列句，表示转折。out of在本句中的意思是“从……中”。