Thousands of people have been killed in a massive(大规模的) earthquake in Japan. The quake -- the most powerful to hit Japan in more than 100 years -- caused massive damage and many people are missing and feared dead.
The 8.9 magnitude quake struck Friday(March 11) off Japan's eastern coast, and prompted(引发) tsunami warnings（海啸警报）across the Pacific as far away as South America and the U.S. West Coast. Several days after a 8.9-magnitude earthquake and resulting 10-meter-high tsunami devastated the coastline. The United States Geological Survey says it was the fifth largest earthquake since 1900. The largest, with a 9.5 magnitude, shook Chile(智利) in 1960.
　　In Japan, the tsunami swept away boats, cars and hundreds of houses in coastal areas north of Tokyo. The quake shook buildings in the Japanese capital and caused several fires. All train and subway traffic in Tokyo has been stopped, and thousands of people there were unable to get back home. People are just trying to find clean water. Food supplies are running out. In the convenience stores, there are no rice balls left. There is no bottled water left. People are facing a really serious situation in the days ahead for these people that are living in areas that were only moderately（普通的） damaged. The final death toll could range from the thousands to tens of thousands, depending on how many of these communities are gone.
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the government would do everything it can to minimize（使降到最低） the effects of the disaster. And in Washington, President Obama said the United States is ready to help the people of Japan.
【小题1】The underline word damage means_____________ in the article.

Thousands of people have been killed in a massive(大规模的) earthquake in Japan. The quake -- the most powerful to hit Japan in more than 100 years -- caused massive damage and many people are missing and feared dead.

The 8.9 magnitude quake struck Friday(March 11) off Japan's eastern coast, and prompted(引发) tsunami warnings（海啸警报）across the Pacific as far away as South America and the U.S. West Coast. Several days after a 8.9-magnitude earthquake and resulting 10-meter-high tsunami devastated the coastline. The United States Geological Survey says it was the fifth largest earthquake since 1900. The largest, with a 9.5 magnitude, shook Chile(智利) in 1960.

　　In Japan, the tsunami swept away boats, cars and hundreds of houses in coastal areas north of Tokyo. The quake shook buildings in the Japanese capital and caused several fires. All train and subway traffic in Tokyo has been stopped, and thousands of people there were unable to get back home. People are just trying to find clean water. Food supplies are running out. In the convenience stores, there are no rice balls left. There is no bottled water left. People are facing a really serious situation in the days ahead for these people that are living in areas that were only moderately（普通的） damaged. The final death toll could range from the thousands to tens of thousands, depending on how many of these communities are gone.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the government would do everything it can to minimize（使降到最低） the effects of the disaster. And in Washington, President Obama said the United States is ready to help the people of Japan.

1.The underline word damage means_____________ in the article.

2.Which is true according to the passage?

3.According to the passage, which earthquake is the largest one since 1990 ?

4.If you're in Tokyo these days, what you can't get from the convenience store?

5.The passage can't be in/on __________.

First the ground shook in Haiti, then Chile and Turkey. The earthquakes keep coming hard and fast this year, causing people to wonder if something evil (邪恶的) is happening underfoot.
It’s not.
While it may seem as if there are more earthquakes occurring, there really aren’t. the problem is what’s happening above ground, not underground, experts say.
More people are moving into big cities that happen to be built in quake zones, and they’re rapidly putting up buildings that can’t withstand (经受) earthquakes, scientists believe.
And around-the-clock news coverage (报道) and better earthquake monitoring make it seem as if earthquakes are ever-present.
“I can definitely tell you that the world is not coming to an end,” said Bob Holdsworth, an expert in tectonics (筑造学) at Durharn University in the UK.
A 7.0 magnitude quake in January killed more than 230,000 people in Haiti. Last month, an 8.8 magnitude quake--- the fifth-strongest since 1900—killed more than 900 people in Chile. And two weeks ago, a 6.0 magnitude quake struck rural eastern Turkey, killing at least 57 people.
On average, there are 134 earthquakes a year that have a magnitude between 6.0 and 6.9, according to the US Geological Survey. This year is off to a fast start with 40 so far—more than in most years for that time period.
But that’s because the 8.8 quake in Chile generated a large number of strong aftershocks, and so many quakes this early in the year skews (扭曲) the picture, said Paul Earle, a US seismologist (地震学家).
Also, it’s not the number of quakes, but their devastating (破坏性的) impacts that gain attention, with the death tolls (死亡人数) largely due to construction standards and crowding, Earle added. “The standard mantra (咒语) is earthquakes don’t kill people, buildings do, ” he said.
There have been more deaths over the past decades from earthquakes, said University of Colorado geologist Roger Bilham. In an opinion column last month in the journal Nature, Bilham called for better construction standards in the world’s big cities.
Of the 130 cities worldwide with populations of more than 1 million, more than half are prone (倾向于) to earthquakes, Bilham said.
Developing nations, where populations are booming, don’t pay attention to earthquake preparedness, Bilham said.” If you have a problem feeding yourself, you’re not really going to worry about earthquakes.”
Another reason quakes seem worse is that we’re paying attention more. The Haiti earthquake quickly followed by the 8.8 in Chile made everyone start to think.
But it won’t last, said US disaster researcher Deniis Mileti. “People are paying attention to the violent planet we’ve always lived on,” Mileti said.” Come back in another six months if there has been no earthquakes, most people will have forgotten it again. ”
73. What is the main idea of the article?
A. The number of earthquakes is increasing this year.     
B. The reasons why earthquakes are so devastating.
C. The reasons why recent earthquakes have struck large cities.
D. Why earthquakes seem to be more serious this year.
74. Which of the following is NOT a reason for the seeming increase in earthquakes this year，
according to the article?
A. Greater underground activity.      
B. A larger number of buildings prone to damage during earthquakes.
C. Around-the-clock news coverage.   
D. Better earthquake monitoring.
75. According to the article, it is safe to say that ______.
A. there is an evil force beneath the world’s surface
B. large cities are always built in quake zones
C. enough attention has been paid to reducing the impact of earthquakes
D. the earthquake in Chili caused many aftershocks.
76. According to the article, the greater damage of earthquakes this year can be mainly caused by ______.
A. the occurrence of larger earthquakes
B. insufficient warnings about earthquakes
C. poor construction standards and overcrowding
D. an increase in large cities

First the ground shook in Haiti, then Chile and Turkey. The earthquakes keep coming hard and fast this year, causing people to wonder if something evil (邪恶的) is happening underfoot.

It’s not.

While it may seem as if there are more earthquakes occurring, there really aren’t. the problem is what’s happening above ground, not underground, experts say.

More people are moving into big cities that happen to be built in quake zones, and they’re rapidly putting up buildings that can’t withstand (经受) earthquakes, scientists believe.

And around-the-clock news coverage (报道) and better earthquake monitoring make it seem as if earthquakes are ever-present.

“I can definitely tell you that the world is not coming to an end,” said Bob Holdsworth, an expert in tectonics (筑造学) at Durharn University in the UK.

A 7.0 magnitude quake in January killed more than 230,000 people in Haiti. Last month, an 8.8 magnitude quake--- the fifth-strongest since 1900—killed more than 900 people in Chile. And two weeks ago, a 6.0 magnitude quake struck rural eastern Turkey, killing at least 57 people.

On average, there are 134 earthquakes a year that have a magnitude between 6.0 and 6.9, according to the US Geological Survey. This year is off to a fast start with 40 so far—more than in most years for that time period.

But that’s because the 8.8 quake in Chile generated a large number of strong aftershocks, and so many quakes this early in the year skews (扭曲) the picture, said Paul Earle, a US seismologist (地震学家).

Also, it’s not the number of quakes, but their devastating (破坏性的) impacts that gain attention, with the death tolls (死亡人数) largely due to construction standards and crowding, Earle added. “The standard mantra (咒语) is earthquakes don’t kill people, buildings do, ” he said.

There have been more deaths over the past decades from earthquakes, said University of Colorado geologist Roger Bilham. In an opinion column last month in the journal Nature, Bilham called for better construction standards in the world’s big cities.

Of the 130 cities worldwide with populations of more than 1 million, more than half are prone (倾向于) to earthquakes, Bilham said.

Developing nations, where populations are booming, don’t pay attention to earthquake preparedness, Bilham said.” If you have a problem feeding yourself, you’re not really going to worry about earthquakes.”

Another reason quakes seem worse is that we’re paying attention more. The Haiti earthquake quickly followed by the 8.8 in Chile made everyone start to think.

But it won’t last, said US disaster researcher Deniis Mileti. “People are paying attention to the violent planet we’ve always lived on,” Mileti said.” Come back in another six months if there has been no earthquakes, most people will have forgotten it again. ”

73. What is the main idea of the article?

A. The number of earthquakes is increasing this year.     

B. The reasons why earthquakes are so devastating.

C. The reasons why recent earthquakes have struck large cities.

D. Why earthquakes seem to be more serious this year.

74. Which of the following is NOT a reason for the seeming increase in earthquakes this year，

according to the article?

A. Greater underground activity.      

B. A larger number of buildings prone to damage during earthquakes.

C. Around-the-clock news coverage.   

D. Better earthquake monitoring.

75. According to the article, it is safe to say that ______.

A. there is an evil force beneath the world’s surface

B. large cities are always built in quake zones

C. enough attention has been paid to reducing the impact of earthquakes

D. the earthquake in Chili caused many aftershocks.

76. According to the article, the greater damage of earthquakes this year can be mainly caused by ______.

A. the occurrence of larger earthquakes

B. insufficient warnings about earthquakes

C. poor construction standards and overcrowding

D. an increase in large cities