專業四級考試閱讀練習：關于地震

大部分地震都發生在地球表面的15英里的深度范圍內。但是地震也會也確實能夠發生在460英里的深度。隨著深度的增加，發生地震的可能性越小。

Most earthquakes occur within the upper 15 miles of the earth’s surface. But earthquakes can and do occur at all depths to about 460 miles. Their number decreases as the depth increases. At about 460 miles one earthquake occurs only every few years. Near the surface earthquakes may run as high as 100 in a month, but the yearly average does not vary much. In comparison with the total number of earthquakes each year, the number of disastrous earthquakes is very small.

The extent of the disaster in an earthquake depends on many factors. If you carefully build a toy house with an erect set, it will still stand no matter how much you shake the table. But if you build a toy house with a pack of cards, a slight shake of the table will make it fall. An earthquake in Agadir, Morocco, was not strong enough to be recorded on distant instruments, but it completely destroyed the city. Many stronger earthquakes have done comparatively little damage. If a building is well constructed and built on solid ground, it will resist an earthquake. Most deaths in earthquakes have been due to faulty building construction or poor building sites. A third and very serious factor is panic. When people rush out into narrow streets, more deaths will result.

The United Nations has played an important part in reducing the damage done by earthquakes. It has sent a team of experts to all countries known to be affected by earthquakes. Working with local geologists and engineers, the experts have studied the nature of the ground and the type of most practical building code for the local area. If followed, these suggestions will make disastrous earthquakes almost a thing of the past.

There is one type of earthquake disaster that little can be done about. This is the disaster caused by seismic sea waves, or tsunamis. (These are often called tidal waves, but the name is incorrect. They have nothing to do with tides.) In certain areas, earthquakes take place beneath the sea. These submarine earthquakes sometimes give rise to seismic sea waves. The waves are not noticeable out at sea because of their long wave length. But when they roll into harbors, they pile up into walls of water 6 to 60 feet high. The Japanese call them "tsunamis", meaning "harbor waves", because they reach a sizable height only in harbors.

Tsunamis travel fairly slowly, at speeds up to 500 miles an hour. An adequate warning system is in use to warn all shores likely to be reached by the waves. But this only enables people to leave the threatened shores for higher ground. There is no way to stop the oncoming wave.

18. Which of the following CANNOT be concluded from the passage?

A. The number of earthquakes is closely related to depth.

B. Roughly the same number of earthquakes occur each year.

C. Earthquakes are impossible at depths over 460 miles.

D. Earthquakes are most likely to occur near the surfaces. 

19. The destruction of Agadir is an example of ______. ? 

A. faulty building construction

B. an earthquake’s strength

C. widespread panic in earthquakes

D. ineffective instruments

20. The United Nations’ experts are supposed to______.? 

A. construct strong buildings

B. put forward proposals

C. detect disastrous earthquakes

D. monitor earthquakes

21. The significance of the slow speed of tsunamis is that people may______.? 

A. notice them out at sea

B. find ways to stop them

C. be warned early enough

D. develop warning systems

答案解析：

18. C) 可用排除法來找出此題的答案。題干要求找出無法從文章中得出結論的一項。根據文章第一段第一句到第三句可知“隨著深度的增加，地震的數量隨之減少”，可得出結論選項A“地震的數量和深度密切相關”，故排除。根據文章第一段中“... in a month, but the yearly average does not vary much.”（接近地表處地震的發生頻率可高達每月一百多次，但是年平均地震數量卻變化不大。）可排除選項B. Roughly the same number of earthquakes occur each year.（每年發生的地震數量大致相同）；根據文章第一段可得出以下結論：地震主要發生在離地表十五公里的范圍之內，盡管深達460公里的深處也有地震發生，但是每隔幾年才發生一次。故可排除選項D Earthquakes are most likely to occur near the surfaces.（地震主要發生在地表處）。綜上可知，選項 C 為正確答案。

19. A) 文章第二段首先舉例說明運用不同的建筑方法和材料所修建的房屋的抗震能力是不同的，進而就提到了發生在摩洛哥Agadir的地震雖然震級不大，卻摧毀了整個城市，而許多更強烈的地震所造成的損失卻很小，由此作者得出結論：如果建筑物修建得好并且建在堅固的地面上，那么它就能抵御地震；地震中大多數的死亡是由于不良的建筑結構或不當的建筑地點造成的。由此可知作者引用摩洛哥的Agadir的毀滅主要是要說明不良的建筑結構（faulty building construction），故選項A為正確答案。

20. B) 根據文章第三段可知，聯合國在地震減災方面起到了非常重要的作用，它派出了許多地震專家到飽受地震襲擾的國家，與當地的地質學家和工程師一起研究當地的地質構造及適合當地的實用的建筑法規，并且如果這些專家提出的建議得到采納，災難性的地震就會成為歷史。因此這四個選項中，最合適的是B put forward proposals “提出建議”，故其為正確答案。

21. C) 根據文章最后一段，海嘯的移動速度緩慢，使人們得以及早發現，以提前向沿岸的居民發出警告，離開海邊到高地去，但是人們卻無法阻止到來的巨浪。故選項C be warned early enough為正確答案。

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