大学英语六级长篇阅读模拟习题.docx

大学英语六级长篇阅读模拟习题

PassageOneWords:1,036EarthquakesA)Anearthquakeisoneofthemostterrifyingphenomenathatnaturecandishup.Wegenerallythinkofthegroundwestandonas“rock-solid”andcompletelystable.Anearthquakecanshatter(粉碎)thatperceptioninstantly,andoftenwithextremeviolence.B)Upuntilrelativelyrecently,scientistsonlyhadunprovenguessesastowhatactuallycausedearthquakes.Eventodaythereisstillacertainamountofmysterysurroundingthem,butscientistshaveamuchclearerunderstanding.Therehasbeenenormousprogressinthepastcentury.Scientistshaveidentifiedtheforcesthatcauseearthquakes,anddevelopedtechnologythatcantellusanearthquake"smagnitudeandorigin.Thenexthurdleistofindawayofpredictingearthquakes,sotheydon’tcatchpeoplebysurprise.Inthisarticle,we’llfindoutwhatcausesearthquakes,andwe’llalsofindoutwhytheycanhavesuchadevastatingeffectonus.C)Anearthquakeisavibration(震动)thattravelsthroughtheearth’scrust.Technically,alargetruckthatrumblesdownthestreetiscausingamini-earthquake,ifyoufeelyourhouseshakingasitgoesby;butwetendtothinkofearthquakesaseventsthataffectafairlylargearea,suchasanentirecity.Allkindsofthingscancauseearthquakes:volcaniceruptions,meteor(流星)impacts,undergroundexplosions(anundergroundnucleartest,forexample),collapsingstructures(suchasacollapsingmine).Butthemajorityofnaturally-occurringearthquakesarecausedbymovementsoftheearth’splates.D)Weonlyhearaboutearthquakesinthenewseveryonceinawhile,buttheyareactuallyaneverydayoccurrenceonourplanet.AccordingtotheUnitedStatesGeologicalSurvey,morethan3millionearthquakesoccureveryyear.That’sabout8,000aday,oroneevery11seconds!Thevastmajorityofthese3millionquakesareextremelyweak.Thelawofprobabilityalsocausesagoodnumberofstrongerquakestohappeninuninhabitedplaceswherenoonefeelsthem.Itisthebigquakesthatoccurinhighlypopulatedareasthatgetourattention.E)Earthquakeshavecausedagreatdealofpropertydamageovertheyears,andtheyhaveclaimedmanylives.Inthelasthundredyearsalone,therehavebeenmorethan1.5millionearthquake-relatedfatalities.Usually,it’snottheshakinggrounditsel