阅读理解

　　Some countries have a large number of earthquake(地震). Other do not have many. For example, there are few earthquakes in Britain, There is often a great sound during an earthquake, The ground moves and the houses fall down. Sometimes thousands of people are killed in different ways. Earthquakes usually happen under the sea, or near volcanoes(火山), but this is not always ture. The powerful forces inside the earth destroy rocks and great waves appear. They travel a long way and are strong enough to break down houses and other buildings. Sometimes they break more buildings than the earthquake itself.

　　A terrible earthquake happened in Assam, India in 1986. The land near Shillong moved 1.5 feet to one side, and then back again. It continued to act like this 20 times a minute. Few buildings could stay up and great stones flew four feet up into the air.

1．Usually an earthquake happens ________.

[　　]

A．without any noise

B．with sweet sounds

C．with a big noise

D．without killing people

2．The writer wrote the passage to ________.

[　　]

A．tell people about the use of the earthquake

B．tell people not to know about the earthquake

C．tell people about the earthquake

D．show his knowledge(知识)of the earthquake

3．The earthquake in Assam in 1986 ________.

[　　]

A．was a small earthquake

B．probably killed no people

C．was the greatest earthquake in the world

D．probably killed a large number of people

4．The best title for this passage is”________”.

[　　]

A．The Earthquake in Britain

B．The Earthquake

C．Earthquakes under the Sea

D．Earthquakes with Danger

　　A flag is more than a piece of cloth． It stands for a nation's people --- their land, history, and ideals． Iceland's flag, for instance, stands for features of the land． Red is for the fire of Iceland's volcanoes． White is for ice． Blue is for the mountains． On India's flag, the blue wheel stands for peace and progress． The white stripe behind it is for truth． The black stripe on the flag of Malawi stands for the Negro people of that African land． The red stripe represents the blood they shed to free themselves from foreign rule．

　　When the people of any nation see their flag flying, they feel proud． They love and honor the flag as the symbol of their country．

1．The flag of Iceland is_______．

A．red and white B．blue and green

C．black, white, and red　　 D．red, white, and blue

2．The white stripe on India's flag stands for_______．

A．ice and mountains B． peace and progress C．waterfalls　　D． truth

3．India's flag stands mostly for the________．

A．features of the land B．riches of the soil

C．ideals of the people D．history of the country

4． Of the flags the writer mentions, Malawi's flag is the only one that has a______．

A． green bar B． black stripe C． blue wheel D． red cross

5． The red on Malawi's flag reminds the people of_______．

A．the many volcanoes in their land B．the beauty of their countryside

C．their fight for freedom D．their need to make progress

6． The writer says that when people see their flag they feel________．

A．peace B．pride C．love　　D．Both B and C

7． The most important thing about a flag is_________．

A．what it stands for　　 B． when it is used

C． what it is made of　　D． how big it is

Everyone has heard of the San Andreas fault （断层）, which constantly threatens California and the West Coast with earthquakes. But how many people know about the equally serious New Madrid fault in Missouri?

　　 Between December of 1811 and February of 1812, three major earthquakes occurred, all centered around the town of New Madrid, Missouri, on the Mississippi River. Property damage was severe. Buildings in the area were almost destroyed. Whole forests fell at once, and huge cracks opened in the ground,  releasing some strong smell chemicals.

　　 The Mississippi River itself completely changed character, developing sudden rapids and whirlpools (激流和漩涡). Several times it changed its course, and once, according to some observers, it actually appeared to run backwards. Few people were killed in the New Marid earthquakes, probably simply because few people lived in the area in 1811; but the severity of the earthquakes are shown by the fact that the shock waves rang bells in church towers in Charleston, South Carolina, on the coast. Buildings shook in New York City, and clocks were stopped in Washington, D.C.

Scientists now know that America's two major faults are essentially different. The San Andreas is a horizontal boundary between two major land masses that are slowly moving in opposite directions. California earthquakes result when the two masses make a sudden move.

     The New Madrid fault, on the other hand, is a vertical fault; at some points, possibly hundreds of millions of years ago, rock was pushed up toward the surface, probably by volcanoes under the surface. Suddenly, the volcanoes cooled and the rock collapsed, leaving huge cracks. Even now, the rock continues to settle downwards, and sudden sinking motions cause earthquakes in the region. The fault itself, a large crack in this layer of rock, with dozens of other cracks that split off from it, extends from northeast Arkansas through Missouri and into southern Illinois.

　　 Scientists who have studied the New Madrid fault say there have been numerous smaller quakes in the area since 1811; these smaller quakes indicate that larger ones are probably coming, but the scientists say they have no method of predicting when a large earthquake will occur.

1.This passage is mainly about ___________.

A. current scientific knowledge about faults

B. the San Andreas and the New Madrid faults

C. the causes of faults 　　　　　　　

D. the New Madrid fault in Missouri

2.The New Madrid fault is __________.

A. a vertical fault

B. a horizontal fault

C. a more serious fault than the San Andreas fault

D. responsible for forming the Mississippi River

3.This passage implies that _________.　　　　　　.

A. horizontal faults are more dangerous than vertical faults

B. Vertical faults are more dangerous than horizontal faults

C. The volcanoes that caused the New Madrid fault are still alive

D. A lot of people would die if the 1811 New Madrid earthquakes happened today

The year is 2094.It has been announced that a comet(彗星) is heading towards the Earth. Most of it will miss our planet, but two pieces will probably__1__the southern half of the Earth.

__2__17 July, a piece four kilometers wide enters the Earth's __3__ with a massive explosion. About half of the piece is destroyed, but the __4__  part hits the South Atlantic at 200 times the speed of __5__. The sea __6__ and a huge hole is made in the sea bed.Huge waves are created and spread out from the hole. The wall of water, a kilometer high, rushes towards southern Africa at 800 kilometers an hour. Cities on the African are totally destroyed and millions of people are__7__.

Before the waves reach South America, the second piece of the comet __8___ in Argentina.Earthquakes and volcanoes are__9__ off in the Andes Mountains. The shock __10__move north into California and all around the Pacific Ocean. The cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco and Tokyo are completely __11__by earthquakes. Millions of people in the __12__ half of the earth are already dead, __13__  the north won't be safe for long. Because of the explosions, the sun is __14__  by clouds of dust, temperatures around the world falls to almost zero. Crops are ruined.The sun won't be seen again for many years. Wars __15__ as countries fight for __16__.A year later, no more than 10 million people remain __17__.

Could it really __18__？ In fact, it has already more than once in the history of the Earth. Science shows that the dinosaurs(恐龙)__19__on the Earth for over 160 million years. Then 65 million years ago they suddenly disappeared.Many scientists believe that the Earth was hit by a piece of heavenly object. The dinosaurs couldn't live __20__ the cold climate that followed and they died out. Will we meet the same end?

1．A.attack  　　　B．hit　　　　C．beat　　　　 D．damage

2．A.On          B．In         C．At          D．During

3．A.air          B．environment  C．situation    D．atmosphere

4．A.rest         B．other       C．remaining    D．half

5．A.sound          B．light          C．earth               D．air

6．A.burns           B．destroys        C．harms            D．boils

7．A.dead             B．lost              C．killed               D．damaged

8．A.enters          B．comes          C．flies               D．lands

9．A.sent              B．set              C．caused                 D．made

10．A.rocks          B．waves         C．earth             D．shakes

11．A.damaged     B．changed      C．ruined      D．injured

12．A.southern    B．northern     C．western      D．eastern

13．A.and        B．besides      C．but         D．so

14．A.colored     B．hidden     C．polluted       D．shut

15．A.come out    B．erupt     C．take place     D．break out

16．A.water     B．money      C．food        D．the earth

17．A.dead     B．injured      C．active       D．on the earth

18．A.be true           B．happen

C．hit the earth      D．destroy the world

19．A.have been  B．had been  C．were      D．would be

20．A.for        B．through   C．with      D．on