2015考研英语阅读习题演练 (31)

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    2015考研英语阅读习题演练 (31)
    Everyone has heard of the San Andreas fault (断层), 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 sulfur(硫磺)to 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 (倾斜)
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 (触发) 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.
    　　11. 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
    12. 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
    13. 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
    14. 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
    　　15. As used in the first sentence of the fourth paragraph, the word
essentially means .
    A) greatly
    C) basically
    B) extremely
    D) necessarily
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