Earthquakes may happen anywhere on the earth. When some plates of the earth move suddenly, an earthquake happens. Many earthquakes begin under the sea. They often happen near the mountains, too.
    During an earthquake, the shakings make rocks rise suddenly and even crack (断裂) open. Houses fall, people are killed or hurt, and sometimes the whole villages or cities are destroyed.
   Can we do something to keep ourselves safe from earthquakes? Scientists have studied earthquakes and make maps that show the “earthquake belts”. In areas in these belts, it’s possible for earthquakes to happen. In these areas we should build strong houses to fight against earthquakes.
   In the future, scientists will be able to tell when and where an earthquake will be before they happen. They can also tell people what to do and how to do it.

1. The reason for an earthquake is           .

   A. that there are so many plates on the earth

   B. that the sea is too deep

   C. rocks’ cracking open  

2. A lot of earthquakes often happens           .

    A. in the area                B. next to mountains            C. at night         

3. A map showing the earthquake belts will tell people           .

   A. what kind of houses to build

   B. what kind of houses can stay up in an earthquake
   C. where earthquake may happen

4. Which is Not True according to the passage?  

   A. During an earthquake people are killed or hurt.

   B. The scientists can tell when and where an earthquake is now.

   C. we should build strong houses to fight against earthquakes. 

5. In the future, we’ll be no longer so afraid of earthquakes           .

   A. with the help of scientists’ exact prediction

   B. because of a map showing the “earthquake belts”

   C. because we can guess the date and place of earthquakes

    “Is she still alive? Where is she? I want to see her at once!”

    Jiang Dejia，a Junior 2 student in Shifang Yinghua Middle School in Deyang，said this when she was rescued from the rubble(瓦砾) of a school building hit by the May 12 earthquake．

    “She” is a Jmlior 3 girl from the same school，called Liao Li，who was also buried in the rubble．

    Jiang and Liao didn’t know each other before the earthquake．But they encouraged each other to keep going during the two scary days．

    Later Liao was rescued too．

    “We were on the edge of death but friendship got us through．I’ll never forget it as long as I live．”said Jiang．

    Hundreds of thousands of students like Jiang and Liao were in the same situation on May l2．On that day，the biggest earthquake in China for more than 30 years hit Wenehuan，Sichuan．Several thousand middle school students and teachers ended up buried．Buildings went down and cities were leveled(夷平)．

    As from Friday the earthquake has killed about 23，000 people across the country．The number is very likely to grow．

    While people in those areas are facing death and disease，they know the whole nation is standing firmly behind them．

    Only two hours after the quake．Premier Wen Jiabao got on a plane to Chengdu，the capital of Sichuan Province．Premier Wen has been in the worst—hit areas to lead rescue work．

    Soldiers and policemen were not able to get into Wenchuan at first because of rainy weather and blocked roads．About one day after the quake．the first army group reached the epicenter(震中)on foot．Since then，soldiers have been digging with their fingers to try to find people alive．Helicopters(直升机)have been called in to airdrop food，water and medicine for people in the quake-hit areas．Medical teams have been sent in．People are racing against time to save lives．

    People outside of Sichuan．including overseas Chinese and people in other countries，are offering money，blood and materials(物资) to help．

1．The underlined word “rescued” here means “_________”．

    A．cared    B．found                  C．saved              D．called

2．What made Jiang and Liao live through the two scary days?

    A．Food．         B．Friendship．        C．Water．          D．Medicine．

3．Which of the following is true according to the passage?

    A．Jiang and Liao were rescued at the same time．

    B．Several hundred students were buried in the quake．

    C．It took Premier Wen Jiabao two hours to get to Chengdu．

    D．About one day after the quake，the soldiers got to the epicentre．

4．Soldiers and policemen were not able to get into Wenchuan at first because _________．

    A．they didn’t know the way to Wenchuan

    B．they walked there with lots of materials

    C．the weather was bad and the roads were badly damaged

    D．it was too far and they didn’t have enough vehicles

5．Where does this passage probably come from?

    A．A newspaper．                         B．A handbook．

    C．An advertisement                  D．A notice．