Humans are forever forgetting that they can’t control nature. Exactly 20 years ago, a Time magazine cover story announced that “scientists are on the verge of being able to predict the time, place and even the size of earthquakes”. The people of quake ruined Kobe(神户) learned last week how wrong that assertion was.
None of the methods raised two decades ago have succeeded. Even now, scientists have yet to discover a uniform warning signal that precedes all quakes, let alone any sign that would till whether the coming quake is mild or a killer. Earthquake formation can be trigged by many factors, says Hiroo Kanamori, a seismologist at the California Institute of Technology. So, finding one all-purpose warning sign is impossible. One reason: Quakes start deep in the earth, so scientists can’t study them directly.
If a quake precursor were found, it would still be impossible to warn humans in advance of all dangerous quakes. Places like Japan and California are filled with hundreds, if not thousands, of minor faults (断层). It is impossible to place monitoring instruments on all of them. And these inconspicuous sites can be just as deadly as their better-known cousins like the San Andreas Fault (圣安得列斯断层). Both the Kobe and the 1994 Northridge quakes occurred on small faults.
Prediction would be less important if scientists could easily build structures to withstand tremors. While seismic engineering has improved dramatically in the past 10 to 15 year, every new quake reveals unexpected weaknesses in “quake resistant” structures, says Terry Tullis, a geophysicist at Brown University. In Kobe, for example, a highway that opened only last year was damaged.
In the Northridge earthquake, on the other hand, well-built structures generally did not collapse. But engineers have since found hidden problems in 120 steel-frame buildings that survived. Such structures are supposed to sway with the earth rather than crumple. They may have swayed, but the quake also unexpectedly weakened the joints in their steel skeletons. If the shaking had been longer or stronger, the buildings might have collapsed.
A recent report in Science adds yet more anxiety about life on the fault lines. Researchers ran computer simulations to see how quake-resistant buildings would fare in a moderate size tremor, taking into account that much of a quake’s energy travels in a large “pulse” of focused shaking. The results: both steel-frame buildings and buildings that sit on insulating rubber pads suffered severe damage.
More research will help experts design stronger structures and possibly find quake precursors. But it is still a certainty that the next earthquake will prove once again that every fault cannot be monitored and every highway cannot be completely quakeproofed.
1. Which of the following statements is true about Kobe?
2. The author’s focus in Para. 3 is on ______.
3. It’s impossible to avoid damages in earthquakes because ______.
4. It is implied in the passage that ______.
5. The best title for this passage could be ______.
问题1选项
A.Last week’s quake occurred on small faults.
B.People there believe in scientists’ ability to predict earthquakes.
C.Buildings there swayed with the quake rather than crumpled.
D.It can be expected that every fault can be monitored as a result of more research.
问题2选项
A.the need for more research
B.the impossibility to predict earthquakes
C.the designing of stronger structures and the finding of quake precursors
D.the impossibility of building completely quake-proofed structures3. It’s impossible to avoid damages in earthquakes because ______.
问题3选项
A.scientists can’t study quakes that occur deep in the earth directly
B.it’s hard to build perfect “quake- resistant” structures
C.instruments cannot be placed on all of the minor faults
D.all of the above4. It is implied in the passage that ______.
问题4选项
A.well-erected structures do not collapse
B.steel-frame building survive any earthquake
C.buildings in Northridge will probably collapse in a stronger earthquake
D.seismic engineering has improved enough for structures to resist quakes5. The best title for this passage could be ______.
问题5选项
A.Nature Is beyond Human Control
B.Earthquakes: Can We Bring Them under Control?
C.New Methods and Stronger Structures to Predict and Withhold Quakes
D.Can’t We Predict Earthquakes?
第1题:A
第2题:B
第3题:D
第4题:C
第5题:B
1.【试题答案】A
【试题解析】细节事实题。题干意思是“关于神户,下面哪个陈述是正确的?”。第一段最后一句提到The people of quake ruined Kobe(神户) learned last week how wrong that assertion was.(上周遭受地震灾害的神户人了解到这个宣称错的多么离谱)可知,神户上周发生了地震;结合文章第三段最后一句Both the Kobe and the 1994 Northridge quakes occurred on small faults.(神户地震和1994年的北岭地震都发生在小断层上)可知,A项“上周的地震发生在小断层上”正确;B项“那里的人们相信科学家预测地震的能力”与原文相反;根据倒数第三段最后两句They may have swayed, but the quake also unexpectedly weakened the joints in their steel skeletons. If the shaking had been longer or stronger, the buildings might have collapsed.(它们可能会摇晃,但地震也意外地削弱了它们钢骨架的关节。如果摇晃的时间更长或更强烈,建筑物可能会倒塌。)可知,C项“地震导致建筑物摇晃,而不是倒塌”错误;由文章最后一句话But it is still a certainty that the next earthquake will prove once again that every fault cannot be monitored(但可以肯定的是,下一次地震将再次证明,不可能每一个断层都被监测到)可知,D项“可以预测到的是由于更多的研究,每一个断层都可以监测到”表述错误。因此,该题选择A项正确。
2.【试题答案】B
【试题解析】推理判断题。题干意思是“第三段中作者的重点是……”。根据第三段第一句If a quake precursor were found, it would still be impossible to warn humans in advance of all dangerous quakes.(即使发现了地震前兆,也不可能在所有危险的地震之前警告人类)和第三句It is impossible to place monitoring instruments on all of them.(不可能把监测仪器都放在小断层上面)可以推知,想要预测地震是不可能的,因此B项“预测地震的不可能性”正确;A项“需要更多的研究”、C项“更强结构的设计和地震前兆的发现”和D项“建造完全抗震的结构的不可能性”在该段都没有提到。因此,该题选择B项正确。
3.【试题答案】D
【试题解析】细节事实题。题干意思是“在地震中避免损害是不可能的,因为……”。由文章第二段最后一句Quakes start deep in the earth, so scientists can’t study them directly.(地震发生在地球深处,所以科学家不能直接研究它们)可知,A项“科学家不能直接研究发生在地球深处的地震”正确;由第四段第二句While seismic engineering has improved dramatically in the past 10 to 15 year, every new quake reveals unexpected weaknesses in “quake resistant” structures(尽管在过去的10到15年里,地震工程有了显著的进步,但每一次新的地震都揭示出“抗震”结构意想不到的弱点)可知,B项“很难建造完美的抗震结构”正确;由第三段第三句It is impossible to place monitoring instruments on all of them.(不可能把监测仪器都放在小断层上面)可知,C项“仪器不能放置在所有的小断层上”也符合原文。因此,该题选择D项“以上所有”正确。
4.【试题答案】C
【试题解析】推理判断题。题干意思是“这篇文章暗示……”。根据第四段第二句While seismic engineering has improved dramatically in the past 10 to 15 year, every new quake reveals unexpected weaknesses in “quake resistant” structures(尽管在过去的10到15年里,地震工程有了显著的进步,但每一次新的地震都揭示出“抗震”结构意想不到的弱点)可知,D项“地震工程已经改进到足以使结构抵御地震”错误;由第五段中的But engineers have since found hidden problems in 120 steel-frame buildings that survived. Such structures are supposed to sway with the earth rather than crumple.(但此后工程师们在幸存的120座钢框架建筑中发现了隐藏的问题。这些结构应该随地球摇摆而不是坍塌。)可知,B项“钢框架建筑可以在任何地震中存活下来”也错误;第五段第一句提到well-built structures generally did not collapse(建造良好的建筑物通常不会倒塌),但是A项“直立很好的结构不会倒塌”没有提及;由In the Northridge earthquake, on the other hand, well-built structures generally did not collapse…They may have swayed, but the quake also unexpectedly weakened the joints in their steel skeletons. If the shaking had been longer or stronger, the buildings might have collapsed.(另一方面,在北岭地震中,建造良好的建筑物通常不会倒塌……它们可能会摇晃,但地震也意外地削弱了它们钢骨架的关节。如果摇晃的时间更长或更强烈,建筑物可能会倒塌。)可推断,C项“北岭的建筑物可能会在更强的地震中倒塌”符合题意。因此,该题选择C项正确。
5.【试题答案】B
【试题解析】主旨大意题。题干意思是“这篇文章最好的标题是……”。这篇文章主要讲的是人类就目前的情况而言无法准确预测地震以及无法非常有效的控制地震的问题;A项“自然是人类无法控制的”范围太大,故不选;C项“预测和抑制地震的新方法和更强的结构”太片面;D项“难道我们不能预测地震吗?”不符合文意,故排除;只有B项“地震:我们能控制它们吗?”符合文章的主旨大意。因此,该题选择B项正确。