20.A. happier B.
easier C.
cheaper D.
safer
F
Every year earthquakes are
responsible for a large number of death and vast amount of destruction in
various parts of the world. Most of these damaging earthquakes occur ____1___
in a narrow belt which surrounds the Pacific Ocean or in a line which __2___
from Burma to the Alps in Europe. Some of the destruction is directly caused by
the quake itself. An example of this is the collapse of buildings as a ___3___
of vibration. ___4___ damage results from landslides, tsunamis (large ocean
waves) or major fires which are ___5____ by the quake.
There are about a
million quakes a year. Fortunately, ___6____, not all of them are destructive.
The intensity of an earthquake is __7____ on the Richter Scale, which goes from
0 upward. The highest magnitude ____8___ to date is 8.9. Major damage results
generally from quakes ranging from 6.0. ___9___ to this are those ___10___
epicenters are far from inhabited areas.
