3. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a sign of an approaching earthquake?

A. An urge to eat popcorn.　　　　　　　　 B. A tendency to drop things.

C. A painful headache.　　　　　　　　　 D. A very loud noise.

2. What word best describes the type of sensitivity referred to in the passage?

A. Medical.　　　　 B. Technological.　　 C. Geological.　　　　 D. Musical.

1. It is stated in the first paragraph that there may be _______.

A. people who are better than machines at sensing earthquake activity

B. people who are developing new methods of preventing earthquakes

C. new machines that will soon be able to accurately predict earthquakes

D. new machines to help earthquake sensitive people make predictions

55. A. before　　　　 　　B. unless　　　　　 　C. because　　　　 D. if

Key: 36-40 DBBDA 41-45 CABDC 46-50 CACAC 51-55 BDADD

(A)

Predicting when an earthquake or volcanic eruption will take place is extremely difficult, even with the advanced technological equipment available to modern scientists. There are some people, however, who believe they can sense when a major geological (地质学上的) event is coming. They claim to be “earthquake sensitive.”

　 Sensitivity to the earth’s movements, according to those who say they have it, is revealed in different ways. Some say they are unusually clumsy and keep dropping things and having small accidents just before a big event. Others suddenly have a strong desire to eat popcorn, and don’t know why. Though it may sound crazy, they say it tells them that a big earthquake is less than 24 hours away.

　 The most common sign of an approaching disaster among earthquake sensitive people is said to be a bad headache. Arguably the first person to connect her own headaches to coming geological events was an American woman called Charlotte King. She became famous for her prediction of the eruption of Washington’s Mt. St. Helens on May 18, 1980, when she was accurate to within 12 minutes of the actual event.

　 King was tested by doctors and scientists and found to possess unusual hearing abilities. She could hear sounds in frequencies that most human beings cannot, and claimed to have been hearing such sounds since 1976. Three years later, she noticed that when the sounds changed in pitch or rhythm, giving her unpleasant headaches, a large earthquake would be reported within 72 hours.

54. A. friend’s　　　 　 　　B. parents’　　　　 　C. wife’s　　　　 D. husband’s

53. A. but　　　　　 　 　　B. and　　　　　　 C. or　　　　　　 D. nor

52. A. strange　　 　　 　　B. equal　　 　　　C. popular　　　 　D. close

51. A. regardless of　 　　　B. because of　　　 　C. in need of　　 　D. in defense of

50. A. delighted 　　　　　B. patient　　 　　　C. shocked　 　　 　　D. satisfied

49. A. should　 　 　　　　　B. need 　　　　　C. must　　 　　 　　D. dare