Ⅰ. 阅读理解
Researchers have discovered that January’s huge quake in Haiti caused a tsunami. Along with four Haitian colleagues, Dr Hermann Fritz, a professor, travelled around the coast of Haiti. He wanted to find out what had happened before the evidence disappeared forever. He had heard reports and saw evidence that a wave up to 3-meter high had hit some areas of the coast south of the capital following the quake near Port au Prince. It had killed at least three people and engulfed (吞没) buildings.
Dr Fritz presented some of his findings at the Ocean Sciences meeting in Portland, the US. “This was a relatively small event, ” he told BBC News. “Most of the deaths were due to the earthquake, but at least three victims we know survived the earthquake and were hit by the wave. ”
These three victims were a father and his two young sons. They were standing close to the shore in Petit Paradis, watching the wave instead of heading for higher ground. Draw-back in the water level is a sign that a big wave is coming. “It clearly showed a lack of tsunami education, ” Dr Fritz said. “It was pure luck that the wrong information did not kill more people in this case. ”
Despite the great damage it caused, the Haiti earthquake was not of the type or magnitude (级) usually associated with tsunamis. It had a magnitude of 7. 0.
“Generally anything over 7. 5 is cause for concern, ” explained Eddie Bernard, a tsunami researcher. “But anything between 7 and 7. 5 can cause smaller, local tsunamis. ”To cause a tsunami, it must happen under the sea.
“Anything that moves water generates a wave, ” said Dr Bernard. “And the deeper the event, the bigger the wave. ” Dr Fritz explained that the main causes of the Haitian tsunami were “local landslides”. “But there are fault lines in this region that are in areas which are more likely to cause a tsunami and, if you have a much bigger landslide, you could have a much bigger wave, ” he said.
【语篇概述】本文是议论文。文章讨论了海地海啸引发的原因。研究人员发现这次海啸的主要原因是海底滑坡, 而不是地震。
1. What was Dr Fritz’ purpose by travelling around the coast of Haiti?
A. To study the power of the wave.
B. To find out the magnitude of the quake.
C. To check the damage to the coasts.
D. To gather evidence about the wave.
【解析】选D。细节理解题。根据第一段第三句可知Dr Fritz和他的同事们到海地海岸考察的目的是寻找地震引发海啸的证据。
2. The three people who died stood close to the shore in Petit Paradis because ______.
A. they didn’t see the signs of big waves
B. their attention was fixed on the beautiful scenery
C. they didn’t know it was time to run for higher ground
D. they cared little about the direction of the big wave
【解析】选C。细节理解题。根据第三段可知三名死难者缺乏海啸的常识, 他们不知道那时是该跑到高处去的时间。
3. What can be inferred from the fourth and fifth paragraphs?
A. The Haiti earthquake was too small to cause the tsunami.
B. Tsunami is usually caused by an earthquake over 7. 0 magnitude.
C. The earthquake between 7. 0 and 7. 5 magnitude cannot cause tsunami.
D. The Haiti earthquake was not related to the tsunami at all.
【解析】选B。推理判断题。根据第四段一般认为7级以上的地震可能会引发海啸。这次海地地震的震级是7级, 它通常被认为不是引发了海啸的地震等级。但不能说这次地震太小。A项说法不正确。C、D两项表述也不对。
4. If the passage is taken from a newspaper, which section should it be in?
A. Sports. B. Science.
C. Business. D. Entertainment.
【解析】选B。文章出处题。本文是议论文。几位研究者通过对海地海啸原因的研究发现海地海啸主要是由海底滑坡而不是单纯由地震造成的。故本文属于科普类文章。
