PassageEveryone has heard of the San Andreas fault , which constantly threatens California and the West Coast with earthquakes. But how many people know about the equally serious New Madrid fault in Missouri?
Between December of 1811 and February of 1812, three major earthquakes occurred, all centered around the town of New Madrid, Missouri, on the Mississippi River. Property damage was severe. Buildings in the area were almost destroyed. Whole forests fell at once, and huge cracks opened in the ground, allowing smell of sulfurto filter upward.
The Mississippi River itself completely changed character, developing sudden rapids and whirlpools. Several times it changed its course, and once, according to some observers, it actually appeared to run backwards.Few people were killed in the New Marid earthquakes, probably simply because few people lived in the area in 1811; but the severity of the earthquakes are shown by the fact that the shock waves rang bells in church towers in Charleston, South Carolina, on the coast. Buildings shook in New York City, and clocks wer stopped in Washington, D.C. Scientists now know that America s two major faults are essentially different. The San Andreas is a horizontal boundary between two major land masses that are slowly moving in opposite directions. California earthquakes result when the movement of these two masses suddenly lurches forward.
The New Madrid fault, on the other hand, is a vertical fault; at some points, possibly hundreds of millions of years ago, rock was pushed up toward the surface, probably by volcanoes under the surface. Suddenly, the volcanoes cooled and the rock collapsed, leaving huge cracks. Even now, the rock continues to settle downwards, and sudden sinking motions trigger earthquakes in the region. The fault itself, a large crack in this layer of rock, with dozens of other cracks that split off from it, extends from northeastArkansas through Missouri and into southern lllinois.
Scientists who have studied the New Madrid fault say there have been numerous smaller quakes in the area since 1811; these smaller quakes indicate that larger ones are probably coming, but the scientists say have no method of predictingwhen a large earthquake will occur.
1. This passage is mainly about.
A)the New Madrid fault in Missouri
B)the San Andreas and the New Madrid faults
C)the causes of faults
D)current scientific knowledge about faults
2. The New Madrid fault is.
A)a horizontal fault
B)a vertical fault
C)a more serious fault than the San Andreas fault
D)responsible for forming the Mississippi River
3. We may conclude from the passage that.
A)it is probably as dangerous to live in Missouri as in California
B)the New Madrid fault will eventually develop a mountain range in Missouri
C)California will become an island in future
D)A big earthquake will occur to California soon
4. This passage implies that.
A)horizontal faults are more dangerous than vertical faults.
B)Vertical faults are more dangerous than horizontal faults
C)Earthquakes occur only around fault areas
D)California will break into pieces by an eventual earthquake
5. As used in the first sentence of the fourth paragraph, the word essentially means.
A) greatly
C) basically
B) extremely
D) necessarily
Answer
1.B2.B3.A4.C5.C
俚语:注意新动向!
“端盘子”怎么说
口语:“喜欢吃甜食!”
Tattoo: “纹身”的来历
Swag lamp: 吊灯
Cootie: 时尚的益智游戏
什么是“嘻哈”?
Purse-lipped:愠怒的
俚语:这纯属迷信!
“Breakfast”一词的由来
俚语:坚持住!不放弃!
Gorp:高能量食品
口语:“嗨,别摆架子了!”
习语:“他懂得其中的门道!”
俚语:东掖西藏的丑事
口语:“鬼才知道呢!”
Squelch: 泥地里的嘎吱声
kettle of fish: 糟糕;两码事
俚语:副手,配搭,二把手
俚语:赶快脱手,尽快甩掉
Grass widow: 离了婚的女人
Canutelike:自以为是的
俚语:眼不见、心不想
口语:付诸东流,浪费掉
俚语:“爱听八卦,爱打听!”
俚语:美差,肥差
俚语:等不及(“马”短语系列6)
俚语:形势严峻
“家丑”怎么说
口语:“你这个马后炮!”
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