Ⅰ. 阅读理解
As we know, earthquakes can bring people much fear. There are some places that have few or no earthquakes. Most places in the world, however, have them regularly. Countries that have a lot of earthquakes are usually quite mountainous.
The most talked about earthquake in the United States was in San Francisco in 1906. Over 700 people died in it. The strongest one in North America was in 1964. It happened in Alaska.
Strong earthquakes are not always the ones that kill the most people. In 1755, one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded was in Portugal. Around 2, 000 people died.
In 1923, a very strong earthquake hit Tokyo, Yokohama area of Japan. A hundred and forty thousand people died. Most of them died in fires which followed the earthquake.
One of the worst earthquakes ever was in China in 2008. It killed a large number of people. The worst earthquake ever recorded was also in China, in which 400, 000 people were killed or injured. This earthquake happened in 1556.
Earthquakes worry people a lot. The reason is that we often do not know when they are coming. People cannot prepare for earthquakes.
【语篇概述】这是一篇说明文。文章介绍了历史上发生在世界范围内破坏程度严重的几次地震。
1. Earthquakes happen ______.
A. regularly in most places in the world
B. in all the places in the world
C. only in a few places along the coast
D. only in the countries that have a lot of mountains
【解析】选A。细节理解题。由第一段“Most places in the world, however, have them regularly. ”可知, 然而, 世界上大多数地方都经常发生地震。所以地震经常发生在世界上大多数的地方。
2. When and where was the worst earthquake ever reported?
A. In 1964 in Alaska. B. In 1556 in China.
C. In 1923 in Japan. D. In 2008 in China.
【解析】选B。细节理解题。由倒数第二段“The worst earthquake ever recorded. . . happened in 1556. ”可知, 有史以来被记载的最严重的地震发生在中国, 有40万人死亡或受伤。这次地震发生在1556年。
3. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
A. Earthquakes can cause fires.
B. Earthquakes often come unexpectedly.
C. The stronger the earthquake is, the more people are killed.
D. People still don’t know how to tell when an earthquake will come.
【解析】选C。细节理解题。由第三段“Strong earthquakes are not always the ones that kill the most people. ”可知, 强烈地震并非总是造成最多人死亡。所以地震越强烈, 死亡的人就越多的说法错误。
4. What may be talked about in the seventh paragraph?
A. How do earthquakes happen?
B. How do earthquakes worry people?
C. How can we save people when earthquakes happen?
D. What will people do to prepare for earthquakes?
【解析】选D。推理判断题。由最后一段中“Earthquakes worry people a lot. The reason is that. . . cannot prepare for earthquakes. ”可知, 地震让人们非常担心。原因是我们经常不知道地震什么时候发生。人们无法为地震做准备。那么在第七段就要向人们科普一下人们将为地震做什么准备。
