An earthquake happens when two plates rub (碰撞) together. The earth plates travel in different directions and at different speeds. If one plate is slowly forced underneath the other,  pressure builds up until the plates break apart. This process causes the ground to move. It is an earthquake. In other words, earth-quakes are the shaking of the earth’s surface caused by the earth’s rocky outer layer as a result of the energy stored within the earth. The strain within the rocks is suddenly released (释放).
The damage an earthquake causes depends on where it is and the time it is happening. If an unpopulated region is struck, there will be low loss of life or property. If it hits a large city, there may be many in-juries and much destruction. Many of the areas at risk are largely populated now. Major earthquakes hitting those areas today could produce terrible damage.
Actually, there are several million small earth-quakes every year.  Large earthquakes such as the 1964 Alaskan quake that measured 9.2 on the Richter scale, cause millions of dollars in damage. In the last 500 years, millions of people have been killed by earth-quakes around the world — including 240,000 in the 1976 Tangshan earthquake in China.
A 60-second or less earthquake can cause devastation that continues for years after the first tremor (小震). In 1972, a series of severe earthquakes struck Managua, Nicaragua. Fifteen years later, the city still looked the way it had a week after the earthquake hit, because the country did not have the necessary money to rebuild it.
The shaking of the earth is sometimes not the greatest disaster. It is in the ensuing fires and floods that often the greatest damage occurs. In the 1906 earthquake, it was the fires caused after it that did the majority of the damage. An earthquake can also destroy dams high above a city or valleys, causing floods to sweep down and sweep away everything in their path.
【小题1】Which of the following is the main idea of the first paragraph?

China Earthquake Leaves 5,000 Homeless

Beijing- An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale left 50,000 people homeless, killed at least one person and injured 39 others in southwest China on Thurday, with more accidents expected.

By late Thurday, 4,900 people were declared homeless after the quake destroyed their homes in a mountainous area lying on the border between Yunnan and Sichuan provinces. The dawn quake left one dead and 39 injured, destroyed 268 houses and damaging 1,132 other  buildings so seriously that they were considered uninhabitable.

Another 2,400 houses suffered less serious damage. The epicenter( 震中 ) was near scenic Lugu Lake, a tourist site, where the local school was severely damaged. Preliminary (最初的) estimates put economic losses at 180 million yuan ( 22 million dollars ).

Governments in Yanyuan and the neighbouring Yunnan county of Ninglang has joined forces in the rescue effects and tents, clothes and medicine are badly in need of for the earthquake victims.

The mountainous terrain, heavy rain and several aftershocks all prevented rescue effects on Thursday. The rain could cause more badly damaged homes to fall down.

More dead and injured are expected “as rescuers have yet to reach many faraway areas”.It is very hard for rescue workers because most houses are scattered around the mountains, which are inhabited by Yi and other ethnic minority groups (少数民族)

The quake hit the area at 5:10 a.m. Beijing time (2,110 Wednesday GMT ). Earthquake regularly affect the two counties, with two quakes measuring 5.0 and 6.2 on the Richter scale killing at least three people and injuring more than 1,500 in Ninglang in November 1998.

The area is about 100 kilometers from the historic Yunnan town of Lijiang, which was struck in 1996 by an earthquake that killed more than 250 people anf injured 14,000.

( Reports from China Daily, May 25, 2001 )

6. The earthquake took place _______ .

A. in the early morning                   B. at noon

C.in the afternoon                      D. at night

7. All of the following things belong to the things that are most needed after the earthquake except _______ .

A. clothes       B. food            C. medicine               D. tents

8. The author’s purpose in writing the passage is to _______ .

A.tell us the earthquake taking place in Yunnan has caused 5,000 homeless                           

B. warn the people in mountainous areas in Yunnan to take care of earthquake

C.call on more help from the people all over the country                        

D. analyze why the earthquake took place in this area

9. After reading the passage we know __________ .

A. the biggest earthquake happened in China in Ninglang in 1998                  

B. there will be no more than 2 persons dead in the earthquake

C. the earthquake took place in the places where minorities live                                   

D. the total losses will add up to no more than 180 million yuan

10. “The two counties” here refers to ________ .

A. Yunnan and Sichuan                      B. Yanyuan and Ninglang

C. Yanyuan and Yunnan                      D. Yunnan and Ninglang

A massive earthquake and tsunamis killed 350 people in one Chilean coastal town, doubling the total death number on Sunday as the government tried to get aid to hungry survivors and stop looting(抢劫).

President Michelle Bachelet said at least 708 people had been killed and called for calm as people desperate for food and water looted stores in some areas worst hit by Saturday’s 8.8-magnitude quake, one of the world’s biggest in a century. The earthquake that shook Chile on Saturday morning was “50 times bigger than the one of Haiti.” The earthquake in Chile was far stronger than the one that struck Haiti last month - yet the death number in Haiti, a Caribbean nation, was much higher.

The reasons are simple. Chile is wealthier and infinitely better prepared, with strict building codes, robust emergency response and a long history of handling seismic catastrophes. No living Haitian had experienced a quake at home when the Jan. 12 disaster crumbled their poorly constructed buildings.

Television images showed houses washed away by swirling waters, cars tossed into shattered buildings and boats lifted into the streets in coastal towns including Pelluhue and Constitucion, where 350 deaths alone were reported.

“It’s an enormous disaster ... there’s a growing number of missing people,” Bachelet said, adding that food and medical aid was being sent to help the roughly 2 million people affected by the quake. Chile is making great efforts to deal with a formidable task caused by the earthquake how to provide temporary shelter for so many people.

A lack of water, food and fuel sharpened the hardship for the hundreds of thousands of people left homeless, and widespread disruption to the power supply threatened to hamper (妨碍) Chilean industry’s recovery. In the hard-hit city of Concepcion, about 310 miles south of Santiago, the government imposed a night-time curfew (宵禁令) in Concepcion and the Maule region on Sunday in a bid to stop looting.

Police used tear gas and water blast guns to disperse a crowd of looters carrying off food and electrical appliances from one supermarket in Concepcion. Television images showed people stuffing groceries and other goods into shopping trolleys. “People have gone days without eating,” said Orlando Salazar, one of the looters at the supermarket. “The only option is to come here and get stuff for ourselves.” On the second day of the most serious natural disaster to hit Chile in decades, rescuing survivors from the ruins had been quickly replaced by the hard challenge of helping them. People overseas have been deeply impressed by earthquake relief efforts by the Chilean government.

1. There are several reasons why the loss of lives in the Chile earthquake was comparatively low EXCEPT __________.

A. improvements had been made in the constructed buildings.

B. Chile is always well prepared for the coming earthquake.

C. large number of Chile residents had gone oat for a holiday.

D Chile has rich experience in dealing with this disaster.

2. The underlined word “formidable” in the fifth paragraph probably means ________.

A. difficult          B. glorious                       C. light                     D. original

3. According to the passage, what is the most pressing task in the earthquake-hit areas?

A. rescuing survivors

B. providing temporary shelter and food for the victims

C. burying dead bodies

D. clearing away the ruins

4. The author’s main purpose in writing the passage is to ____________.

A. call on international aid agencies to go to Chile to help.

B. tell us how to deal with the coming disaster.

C. show how the people of Chile rebuild their country after the big disaster.

D. tell us something about the enormous earthquake in Chile.

C

JeawGilles was a millionaire．But Tuesday night，he was sleeping in his car．

Jean-Gilles was the owner of the Peace of Mind Hotel in Jacrnel，Haiti, a three-story，30-room building in a quiet tropical valley on Haiti’s southern coast，25 miles from the noises of the capital，Port-au-Prince. Jean-Gilles and his wife，Marie，lived in an apartment on the property，close enough to watch carefully over the guest rooms，conference rooms and restaurant，close enough that they know the first name of every guest．

After the 7．0-earthquake hit at 4：57 pm on Jan．12，2010，they slept in their aging Isuzu，parked in the hotel driveway．

Jean-Gilles figured a second was the difference between life and death when the earthquake struck．He was working in a ground-floor conference room and first heard，then felt the quake．He asked his electrician．Rob-elTle St．Louis, who was working nearby，what was happening．

“Get out．Now．Get out．Now．”St．Louis said．

Jean-Gilles cleared the falling structure by a mere second，he estimated．His wife，who was working in the couple’s apartment on the second floor，wasn’t able to get clear．People nearby heard her screams after the shaking stopped and removed the building blocks around her by hand．She was shaken and scratched, but walked away from the ruins．

“I am alive．God is good．”she repeated over and over on Saturday．

The Peacc of Mind Hotel was a dream which had come true for Jean-Gilles,57,and Marie,59. Born in Port–au-Prince, they moved to the United States shortly after meeting 34 years ago. Together, they owned a beauty supply store in Jersey City, New Jersey, and invested in real estate. In 2003, they cashed out their US investments, returned to Haiti and began building the peace of Mind Hotel, looking to make a future for themselves and the people of their homeland.

59. Which of the following statements about Jean-Gilles is TRUE?

A. He lived far from the Peace of Mind Hotel.    B. He helped St. Louis to manage a hotel.

C. He was born in Haiti in 1976.                        D. He once owned a store in the US.

60. According to the passage, the peace of Mind Hotel_________.

A. offered guests different services                            B. was located in the capital city of Haiti

C. was a building with 30 guest rooms                D. was owned by Marie and St. Louis

61. When the earthquake hit, Marie was_________.

A. sleeping in the car                                        B. working in the conference room

C. working on the second floor                         D. cooking in the restaurant

62. It can be inferred from the passage that      .

A. Haiti is the 51st state of the US

B. the earthquake happened quickly and unexpectedly

C. nobody in the hotel died in the earthquake

D. Marie was not sad about losing her property in the earthquake

After the earthquake hit northeast Japan on March 11, 2011, many touching stories that I saw with my own eyes happened around me.

I had to walk home since all the  31 had stopped after the quake. On my way home I  32 an old Japanese lady at the bakery shop who was giving out free bread, which made my heart  33 . A middle-aged Japanese man was holding a sign that said, “Please use my  34 .” He was  35 his house for people to go to the restroom.

My friend wanted to  36 others. He stood in the cold with a sign “If you are okay with a motorcycle, I will  37 you to your home.” And then I saw him take one gentleman home, all the way to a faraway place!

Then the next day I drove to  38 my car with gas. There was a  39 of gas now and many gasoline stations were either closed or had very  40 lines. I got  41 since I was behind 15 cars. Finally, when it was my  42 , the man smiled and said, “  43 the situation, we are only giving $30 worth gas per person. Is that alright?” “Of course, I’m glad that we are all able to  44 ,” I said. His smile gave me so much 45 .

I saw a man at the evacuation (疏散) centre 46 when people brought food to him. It was the first time in three days that food had been brought to their center. However, after he wiped the tears, his next  47 surprised me, “ I am very  48 that we are provided with food. But people in the city next to us haven’t  49 any food at all. Please go to that center as well.” And when hearing that, I realized there is a bright future on the other side of the 50 .

1.                A．traffic          B．rescue          C．communication     D．business

2.                A．missed         B．noticed         C．caught   D．heard

3.                A．hungry         B．soft            C．broken   D．warm

4.                A．house          B．hotel           C．hospital   D．toilet

5.                A．advertising      B．opening         C．repairing D．decorating

6.                A．save           B．assist           C．charge   D．encourage

7.                A．drive          B．follow          C．lead D．send

8.                A．start           B．fill             C．check    D．wash

9.                A．short          B．variety         C．lack  D．diversity

10.               A．direct          B．straight         C．short D．long

11.               A．worried        B．lucky           C．excited    D．annoyed

12.               A．time           B．turn           C．duty D．decision

13.               A．Apart from      B．Together with    C．Because of     D．Instead of

14.               A．share          B．offer           C．stand D．change

15.               A．pleasure        B．comfort        C．trouble    D．entertainment

16.               A．waiting         B．grabbing        C．sleeping   D．crying

17.               A．promises       B．roles           C．remarks   D．actions

18.               A．upset          B．grateful         C．surprised D．proud

19.               A．given          B．supplied        C．prepared D．received

20.               A．city            B．centre         C．lesson     D．disaster