2012年度职称英语专业技术人员理工类A级模拟试题(三)
阅读判断(第16-22题,每题1分,共7分)
下面的短文后列出了7个句子,请根据短文的内容对每个句子做出判断:如果该句提供的是正确信息,请选择A;如果该句提供的是错误信息,请选择B;如果该句的信息文中没有提及,请选择C.
A Great Quake Coming?
Everyone who lives in San Francisco knows that earthquakes are common in the bav area.Theyhad keen devastating in 1906,for example,a major quake destroyed about 28.000 buildings andkilled hundreds,perhaps thousands of people. Residents now wonder when the next"big one"willstrike.It's bound to happen someday.At least seven active fault(断层)lines run through the SanFrancisco area.Faults are places where pieces of earth's crust(地壳)slide past each other.Whenthese pieces slip,the ground shakes. 医学全在,线www.lindalemus.com
To prepare for that day.scientists are using new techniques to reanalyze the 1906 earthquake and predict how bad the damage might be when the next one happens. One new finding about the 1906 quake is that the San Andreas Fault split apart faster than scientists had assumed at the time.During small earthquakes,faults rupture at about 2.7 kilometersper second.During bigger quakes,however,ruptures can happen at rates faster than 3.5 kilometersper second. 医学全在线,搜集整,理www.lindalemus.com
At such high speeds,massive amounts of pressure build up,generating underground waves that can cause more damage than the quake itself.Lucky for San Fancisco,these pressure pulses(脉冲) traveled alway from the city duffng the 1906 event.As bad as the damage was,it could have been farWorse.
Looking ahead,scientists are trying to predict when the next major quake will occur.Records show that earthquakes were common before 1906 event. Since then,the area has been relatively quiet.Pattems in the data,however,suggest that the probability of a major earthquake striking the bay area before 2032 is at least 62 percent.
New buildings in san Francisco are quite safe in case of future quakes.Still,more than 84 percent of the city's buildings are old and weak.Analyses suggest that another massive earthquake would cause extensive damage.
People who live there today tend to feel safe because San Francisco has remained pretty qmet for a while.Accoeding to the new research,however,it's not a matter of whether the big one will hit. It's just a matter of when.