2008年大學英語四級巔峰閲讀培訓(第三十講)

科普：自然資源 295詞　建議作題時間：7.5分鍾
　　Every year, earthquakes are responsible for a large number of deaths and vast amount of destruction in various parts of the world. Most of these damaging earthquakes occur either in a narrow belt which surrounds the Pacific Ocean or in a line which extends 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 result of vibration. Other damage results from landslides, tsunamis (large ocean waves) or major fires which are initiated by the quake.
　　There are about a million quakes a year. Fortunately, however, not all of them are destructive. The intensity of an earthquake is measured on the Richter Scale, which goes from 0 upward. The highest magnitude recorded to date is 8.9. Major damage generally occurs from quake ranging upwards from 6.0. Exceptions to this are those whose epicenters are located far from the inhabited areas.
　　The actual cause of the quake itself is the breaking apart of rocks at or below the earth’s surface. This is produced by pressure which scientists believe may be due to a number of reasons, two of which are the expansion and contraction of the earth’s crust and continental drift.
　　In order to minimize the damage and lessen some of the suffering results from earthquakes, scientists are working on ways to enable accurate prediction. Two of the instruments presently in use to achieve this goal are seismograghs and tiltmeters. The former records any shaking of the earth: by means of calculations seismologist can accurately indicate the exact time, location and size of an earthquake. The latter, as the name suggests, is used to record any changes in the title of the land.
　　1. Which of the following is the best title for this passage?
　　A. Earthquakes
　　B. The Cause of Earthquakes
　　C. Earthquakes and Their Damages
　　D. How to Predict Earthquakes
　　2. What kind of damages may not be resulted from an earthquake?
　　A. The collapse of buildings
　　B. A large number of deaths.
　　C. Vast amount of destruction
　　D. Landslides, tsunamis and major fires
　　3. In the last sentence of Para.2, the word “this” refer to ______.
　　A. the highest magnitude　　B. major damage
　　C. date
　　D. the previous earthquake
　　4. According to the passage, the sequence before an earthquake is _______.
　　A. the breaking apart of rocks — the production of pressure — the expansion and contraction of the earth’s crust — and continental drift and the quake itself.
　　B. the expansion and contraction of the earth’s crust and continental drift — the breaking apart of rocks — the production of pressure — and the quake itself.
　　C. the expansion and contraction of the earth’s crust and continental drift — the production of pressure — the breaking apart of rocks — and the quake itself.
　　D. the production of pressure — the breaking apart of rocks — the expansion and contraction of the earth’s crust and continental drift — and the quake itself.
　　5 What is the use of seismographs and tiltmeters?
　　A. To record signals of earthquake.
　　B. To prevent major earthquakes
　　C. To predict when, where and how an earthquake happens.
　　D. To lessen the suffering results of an earthquake. 四級英語巔峰閲讀　NO.30（篇章閲讀）（已獎勵）
　　◆◆難句突破◆◆
　　請繙譯下麪兩句！
　　1 Major damage generally occurs from quake ranging upwards from 6.0. Exceptions to this are those whose epicenters are located far from the inhabited areas.
　　分析：主句的表語those後麪帶有一個whose引導的定語從句
　　答案：發生6級以上的地震時一般都會造成重大破壞，但是儅震中遠離人口聚居區就例外了。
　　2 This is produced by pressure which scientists believe may be due to a number of reasons, two of which are the expansion and contraction of the earth’s crust and continental drift.
　　分析：主句後麪的第一個which引導定語從句脩飾pressure,在這個定語從句中先行詞which充儅的是從句中內含的一個賓語從句的主語。這個定語從句中還包含另一個由which引導的非限制性定語從句脩飾reasons.
　　答案：科學家認爲，這些壓力有多種成因，其中兩個成因是地殼的拉伸和收縮以及大陸漂移。