E)Earthquakeshavecausedagreatdealofpropertydamageovertheyears,andtheyhaveclaimedmanylives.Inthelasthundredyearsalone,therehavebeenmorethan1.5millionearthquake-relatedfatalities.Usually,it’snottheshakinggrounditselfthatclaimslives;it’stheassociateddestructionofman-madestructuresandothernaturaldisastersitcauses,suchastsunamis,avalanches(雪崩)andlandslides.
F)Thebiggestscientificbreakthroughinthehistoryofseismology—thestudyofearthquakes—cameinthemiddleofthe20thcentury,withthedevelopmentofthetheoryofplatetectonics(筑造学).Scientistsproposedtheideaofplatetectonicstoexplainanumberofpeculiarphenomenaonearth,suchastheapparentmovementofcontinentsovertime,theclusteringofvolcanicactivityincertainareasandthepresenceofhugeridgesatthebottomoftheocean.
G)Thebasictheoryisthatthesurfacelayeroftheearth—thelithosphere—iscomprisedofmanyplatesthatslideoverthelubricating(润滑的)asthenospherelayer.Attheboundariesbetweenthesehugeplatesofsoilandrock,threedifferentthingscanhappen.
H)Platescanmoveapart.Iftwoplatesaremovingapartfromeachother,hot,moltenrockflowsupfromthelayersofmantlebelowthelithosphere.Thismagma(岩浆)comesoutonthesurface(mostlyatthebottomoftheocean),whereitiscalledlava(熔岩).Asthelavacools,ithardenstoformnewlithospherematerial,fillinginthegap.Thisiscalledadivergentplateboundary.
I)Platescanpushtogether.Ifthetwoplatesaremovingtowardeachother,oneplatetypicallypushesundertheotherone.Thisplatebelowsinksintothelowermantlelayers,whereitmelts.Atsomeboundarieswheretwoplatesmeet,neitherplateisinapositiontopushundertheother,sotheybothpushagainsteachothertoformmountains.Thelineswhereplatespushtowardeachotherarecalledconvergentplateboundaries.
J)Platesslideagainsteachother.Atotherboundaries,platessimplyslidebyeachother—onemovesnorthandonemovessouth,forexample.Whiletheplatesdon’tdriftdirectlyintoeachotheratthesetransformboundaries,theyarepushedtightlytogether.Agreatdealoftensionbuildsattheboundary.
K)Weunderstandearthquakesalotbetterthanwedideven50yearsago,butwestillcan’tdomuchaboutthem.Theyarecausedbyfundamental,powerfulgeologicalprocessesthatarefarbeyondourcontrol.Theseprocessesarealsofairlyunpredictable,soit’snotpossibleatthistimetotellpeopleexactlywhenanearthquakeisgoingtooccur.Thefirstdetectedearthquakewaveswilltellusthatmorepowerfulvibrationsareontheirway,butthisonlygivesusafewminutes’warning,atmost.
L)Sowhatcanwedoaboutearthquakes?Themajoradvancesoverthepast50yearshavebeeninpreparedness,particularlyinthefieldofconstructionengineering.In1973,theUniformBuildingCode,aninternationalsetofstandardsforbuildingconstruction,7added7specifications7to7strengthen7buildings7against7the7force7of7earthquake7waves.7This7includes7strengthening7support7material7as7well7as7designingbuildingssotheyareflexibleenoughtoabsorbvibrationswithoutfallingordeteriorating.It’sveryimportanttodesignstructuresthatcanundergothissortofattack,particularlyinearthquake-proneareas.
M)Anothercomponentofpreparednessiseducatingthepublic.TheUnitedStatesGeologicalSurvey(USGS)andothergovernmentagencieshaveproducedseveralbrochuresexplainingtheprocessesinvolvedinanearthquakeandgivinginstructionsonhowtoprepareyourhouseforapossibleearthquake,aswellaswhattodowhenaquakehits.
N)Inthefuture,improvementsinpredictionandpreparednessshouldfurtherminimizethelossoflifeandpropertyassociatedwithearthquakes.Butitwillbealongtime,ifever,beforewe’llbereadyforeverysubstantialearthquakethatmightoccur.Justlikesevereweatheranddisease,earthquakesareanunavoidableforcegeneratedbythepowerfulnaturalprocessesthatshapeourplanet.Allwecandoisincreaseourunderstandingofthephenomenonanddevelopbetterwaystodealwithit.
1.Earthquake-relatedfatalitiesareusuallycausedbybuildings,collapseandotherensuingnaturaldisasters,notbytheshakinggrounditself.
2.Besidesmovementsoftheearth’splates,otherforcessuchasvolcaniceruptions,meteorimpactsandsoon,canalsocauseearthquakes.
3.Earthquakesactuallyoccureveryday;mostofthemarenotbigenoughtogetourattention.
4.Peoplegenerallythinkthegroundbeneaththeirfeetiscompletelystable,butearthquakesshatterthatideainnotime.
5.Wecannotpreventearthquakesbutwecanactivelyfindbetterwaystofacethem.
6.Earthquakesarehardlypredictable,andpeoplecannotbetoldwhenanearthquakeisgoingtooccur.
7.Scientistshavefoundoutforcesthatcauseearthquakesthroughyearsofefforts.
8.Architectsnowhavedesignedflexiblebuildingstominimizethedamagesofearthquakes.
9.Scientistsusethetheoryofplatetectonicstoexplaintheapparentmovementofcontinentsovertime.
10.Theconvergentplateboundariesrefertothelineswhereplatespushtowardeachother.
地震危害巨大,了解地震对减少其带来的损失有着重要意义。本文讲解了引发地震的因素、与地震有关的地壳板块运动和地震的危害,并指出尽管人类还无法准确预测地震,但一些必要的防御措施能够减少地震带来的损失。
1.E本题是对E段最后一句话的同义转述。定位关键词是Earthquake-relatedfatalities.原文用it‘snot……thatclaimslives;it’s……结构指出“通常不是地壳晃动引起的死亡,而是伴随而来的房屋倒塌或其他自然灾害导致的死亡”,题目用……becausedby……notby……结构表达了同样的意思。
2.C本题是对C段最后两句的归纳,题目将两句话的含义概括为一句话。定位关键词是movementsoftheearth$splates,volcaniceruptions,meteorimpacts.
3.D本题是对D段的总结。定位关键词是getourattention.D段首句就提到每天都会发生地震,最后一句提到只有大地震才能引起人们的注意,本题就是对这两句话的概括。
4.A本题是对A段最后两句的同义转述。定位关键词是shatter.题目中的thegroundbeneaththeirfeet同义转述了原文中的thegroundwestandon.
5.N本题是对N段最后两句的概括。定位关键词是betterways.文章最后一句提到,我们能做的就是增加我们对地震的认识,寻找更好的方法来应对它,与题干表达一致。
6.K本题是对K段第三句的同义转述。定位关键词是hardlypredictable.原文提到:虽然我们对地震有了更深的了解,但地震仍然不受我们的控制,地震是无法预测的,人们不可能得知地震什么时候会发生,表达与题干一致。
7.B本题是对B段第三、四句的同义转述。定位关键词是causeearthquakes.题目中的foundout同义转述了原文中的identified.
8.L本题是对L段最后两句的概括。定位关键词是designed.原文提到:过去50年我们在应对地震方面取得了进步,尤其是在建筑工程领域。我们用特殊材料加固房屋以应对地震的破坏,我们设计足够灵活的房屋,确保地震不会导致房屋倒塌,这与题干表达的完全一致。
9.F本题是F段中举例的一部分。定位关键词是thetheoryofplatetectonics.原文提到科学家用theideaofplatetectonics解释很多现象,其中之一就是theapparentmovementofcontinentsovertime.
10.I本题是对I段最后一句的同义转述。定位关键词是convergentplateboundaries.题干中的referto与原文中的arecalled属于同义转述。