November 5 is World Tsunami(海啸) Awareness Day. Tsunami is a Japanese word for a long, destructive(摧毁性的) ocean wave caused by an undersea earthquake. The goal of the anniversary is to learn from disasters(灾害) of the past and to prepare for the future. Two tsunamis in the last 15 years have changed the way people around the world think about these destructive events.

On December26, 2004, a magnitude (震级) 9 earthquake near the coast of Indonesia caused tsunami waves that struck the coasts of four countries. An estimated(估计的) 230,000 people died and costs were in the billions of dollars. Then, on March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan. It was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in that country. More than18,000 people died. The tsunami also caused serious damage to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power center on the island of Honshu. Several nuclear reactors(核 反应堆) were severely(严重地) damaged and leaked(泄漏) radiation(辐射).

The two events caused people in the Pacific and Indian Ocean areas to study and improve preparedness for disasters. This led to the SendaiFrameworkfor DisasterRiskReductionin 2015 in Sendai, Japan. The agreement was a UN effort to raise awareness(提高意识) about disaster risks and to urge(催促) countries to assess(评估)how well they were prepared for them.

Willem Rampangilei is head of the Disaster Management Agency in Indonesia. He said Indonesia passed a law on disaster management after the 2004 tsunami. It led in 2008 to the creation of his agency. “Our responsibilities include reduction and preparedness, emergency response, as well as post-disaster recovery and reconstruction(重新建设),” he said. He added that 150 million Indonesians were at risk from earthquakes, 60 million from floods and four million from tsunamis.

Preparedness has spread beyond Asia. There are now early warning systems in place for the Caribbean Sea, the Northeast Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and surrounding(周围的) areas.

1.What does the underlined word mean in the passage?

A.Knowledge. B.Preparation.

C.Day of remembrance. D.Change.

2.What do we learn from the second paragraph?

A.Natural disasters are too powerful for people to survive.

B.Earthquakes and tsunamis often take place on islands.

C.Nuclear reactors can be safe even if damaged in an earthquake.

D.Natural disasters can cause great losses to humans.

3.One of the aims of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction is .

A.to reduce the damage caused by disasters.

B.to make people know more about disaster risks.

C.to help people get away from disasters.

D.to help with the reconstruction after the disaster.

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