首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Earthquake Can Scientists Predict Killer Earthquakes? The date was November 23, 1980. People near Naples, in Southern Italy
Earthquake Can Scientists Predict Killer Earthquakes? The date was November 23, 1980. People near Naples, in Southern Italy
admin
2012-05-17
31
问题
Earthquake
Can Scientists Predict Killer Earthquakes?
The date was November 23, 1980. People near Naples, in Southern Italy, felt the earth roll and shake. Earthquake! Suddenly buildings came tumbling down. Cracks appeared in the earth. Within minutes, entire towns were destroyed. Thousands of people were dead. Thousands more were injured.
As rescuers searched through the rubble, many people must have wondered, if only the victims had known ahead of time, many, lives could have been saved.
Actually, an Italian scientist did predict that such a quake would happen. In 1977 Dr. M. Caputo of the Universite Degiles Studi in Rome warned that a large quake would soon strike the east of Naples. Unfortunately, he couldn’t predict the exact time and date of the quake.
Dr. Caputo made his general prediction after talking with scientists at 54 earthquake-monitoring stations throughout Italy. He learned that many earthquakes had recently rocked different areas around Naples. But none had occurred in one particular spot east of Naples for many years. Dr. Caputo felt that the area was long overdue for a large quake. And it was.
Earthquake Strikes in Gap
The quake occurred in a region that Dr. Caputo called a seismic gap. A seismic gap is an area in an active earthquake region where no earthquake or seismic activity has been recorded in a long time. Seismic gaps are located where two large plates in the earth have become stuck.
When the plates slide past each other, they sometimes became locked in place. A similar thing happens when you make a running leap on a sidewalk while wearing sneakers. When you land on both feet, the sneakers grab onto rough surface. Friction tends to hold your feet back while the rest of your body goes forward. You may end up falling flat on your face.
In the case of plates, however, the uneven surfaces between the plates cause the plates to remain locked in place for years. Huge pressure builds up behind each plate. Periodically, a shudder, or tremor, is recorded as some of this energy is released.
Finally, after about 50 years, rock in the seismic gap either suddenly breaks or moves under the great stress. This sudden release of energy sends shock waves through the rock layers above. The ground shakes, sidewalks crack, and buildings tumble. A mighty quake has struck.
Gaps Used to Predict Quakes
Many geologists have used what is called the seismic gap technique to accurately predict earthquakes. The technique was first developed by Soviet earthquake expert Dr. V. Fodotov during his studies of ancient and recent Japanese earthquakes. Dr. Fodotov was marking the location, size, and date of all known quakes in Japan when he noticed a striking pattern.
All major earthquakes were found to occur in only a few isolated spots in Japan. Each of these spots, he noted, experienced a major quake only once every 50 to 60 years. Dr. Fodotov concluded that spots that hadn’t had a quake in more than 50 years were "ripe" for a quake. The Russian scientist named these locations seismic gaps.
In the past several years, geologists from other countries have found seismic gaps in other parts of the world. After making detailed studies of past quakes in these regions, the geologists were able to make an accurate prediction of when a quake would occur.
How Do Animals Know When an Earthquake Is Coming?
Scientists who try to predict earthquakes have gotten some new helpers recently—animals.
That’s right, animals. Scientists have begun to catch on to what farmers have known for thousands of years. Animals often seem to know in advance that an earthquake is coming, and they show their fear by acting in strange ways. Before a Chinese quake in 1975, snakes awoke from their winter sleep early only to freeze to death in the cold air. Cows broke their halters and tried to escape. Chickens refused to enter their coop. All of this unusual behavior, as well as physical changes in the earth, alerted Chinese scientists to the coming quake. They moved people away from the danger zone and saved thousands of lives.
One task for scientists today is to learn exactly which types of animal behavior predict quakes. It’s not an easy job. First of all not every animal reacts to the danger of an earthquake. Just before a California quake in 1977, for example, an Arabian stallion became very nervous and tried to break out of his stall. The horse next to him, however, remained perfectly calm. It’s also difficult at times to tell the difference between normal animal restlessness and "earthquake nerves". A zookeeper once called earthquake researchers to say that his cougar had been acting strangely. It turned out that the cat had an upset stomach.
A second task for scientists is to find out exactly what kind of warnings the animals receive. They know that animals’ sense far more of the world than humans do. Many animals can see, hear, and smell things that people do not even notice. Some can detect tiny changes in air pressure, gravity, or the magnetism of earth. This extra sense probably helps animals predict quakes.
A good example of this occurred with a group of dogs. They were penned up in an area that was being shaken by a series of tiny earthquakes. Several small quakes often come before or after a large one. Before each quake a low booming sound was heard. Each boom caused the dogs to bark wildly. Then the dogs began to bark during a silent period. A scientist who was recording tile quakes looked at his machine. It was acting as though there was a loud noise too. The scientist realized that the dogs had reacted to a booming noise. They also sensed the tiny quake that followed it. The machine recorded both, though humans felt and heard nothing.
In this case there was a machine to monitor what the dogs were sensing. Many times, however, our machines record nothing out of the ordinary, even though animals know a quake is coming. The animals might be sensing something we do measure but do not recognize as a warning. Discovering what animals sense, and learning how they know it is a danger signal, is a job for future scientists.
As it is used in paragraph 1the word "cat" refers to a typical______.
选项
A、domestic cat
B、cougar
C、tiger
D、lion
答案
B
解析
细节题。根据十四段最后两句A zookeeper once called earthquake researchers to say that his cougar had been acting strangely.It turned out that the cat had an upset stomach.(一次一个动物园饲养员打电话给地震研究员,说他的美洲狮表现很奇怪.结果是那只“猫”胃口不好),所以这里的cat指的是cougar。这道题的答案是B。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/9Rf7777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
A、Thewomanwilldrinkonlyabitofcoffee.B、Thewomanisthirsty.C、Thewomanisstarvingforonlyhavingabitofcoffeetod
Ourape-menforefathershadnoobviousnaturalweaponsinthestruggleforsurvivalintheopen.Theyhadneitherthepowerful
Liketime,spaceisperceiveddifferentlyindifferentcultures.SpatialconsciousnessinmanyWesternculturesisbasedonape
A、HediscoveredoilinandaroundHollywood.B、HeturnedHollywoodintoabigdistrictoffilmindustry.C、Hesetupoilwellsi
A、Sheneededthenoteslastweek.B、Themancanreturnhernotesaftertheexam.C、She’llhaveenoughtimetopreparefortheex
ThereisprogresstowardapossibletreatmentforlungdiseasessuchasSARS(severeacuterespiratorysyndrome).Researchersha
Theautomobilehasmanyadvantages.Aboveall,it【B1】______peoplefreedomtogowheretheywanttogowhentheywanttogothere
A、Richenoughandoldenough.B、Strongandundertheageof70.C、Healthyandovertheageof17.D、Havingbeentrainedandpass
Thereis____________(无可否认)thathehasdirectedthemostpopularfilmsintenyears.
"Tear’emapart!....Killthefool!....Murderthereferee(裁判)!"Thesearecommonremarksonemayhearatvariouss
随机试题
尿液呈烂苹果气味见于
属于芳基烷酸类的非甾体抗炎药是
具有攻毒杀虫,祛风止痛功效的药物是()
根据九部委《标准施工招标文件》中通用合同条款的规定,关于计日工的说法,正确的有()。
所谓(),就是利用同一时刻不同外汇市场上的汇率差异,在汇率低的外汇市场买进外汇,在汇率高的外汇市场卖出外汇,从而赚取汇差收益的交易
星之城大酒店是某县唯一一家三星级酒店,位于县城商业中心区,系中外合资经营企业,县公安消防部门检查发现,该酒店全面履行扩建后未经过消防安全检查验收,且存在重大火灾隐患,县公安消防部门根据《消防法》规定作出处罚决定,对星之城大酒店处以20万元罚款,并责令其在限
下列依次填入横线处的词语,恰当的一组是()。(1)进入这个单位后,他勤奋工作,每次都保质保量地完成任务,很快就得到领导及同事的_______。(2)由于父亲是美国人,母亲是韩国人,比起其他同年龄的中学生来说,她很难自我_______。
以下关于编译程序的说法正确的是()。
Youwillhearanotherfiverecordings.Foreachrecording,decidewhatthespeaker’sjobis.Writeoneletter(A-H)nextt
A、Thespeakerisunpreparedforthenewpost.B、Thespeakerisunclearabouttheconditionsthere.C、Thespeakerisreadyforal
最新回复
(
0
)