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
76
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.
Since______of the earthquake striking east of Naples, people there suffered heavy loss in the destruction.
选项
A、no prediction had been made
B、no correct prediction had been made
C、no one had predicted the precise date
D、no one had cared about Dr. Caputo’s prediction
答案
C
解析
细节题。根据题目中的east of Naples找到小标题Can Scientists Predict Killer Earthquakes下第三段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.(事实上,一位意大利的科学家的确预测在那不勒斯会发生一场大地震。1977年Caputo博士预测在那不勒斯东面会有地震发生,但遗憾的是他无法预测具体的时间和日期)。这道题的答案是C。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/hRf7777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
A、Edwardshadbeenblindfornineyears.B、Edwardswasunconsciousfortwentyminutesafterthelightninghadstruckhim.C、Doct
Liketime,spaceisperceiveddifferentlyindifferentcultures.SpatialconsciousnessinmanyWesternculturesisbasedonape
A、workthesamenumberofhours;sameeducation,ageandunionstatus;liveindifferentregionsofthecountry.B、liveinthes
A、decapitatedB、espressoC、mochaD、regularC此题考查听细节的能力。文中只提到了mocha,同时此题也设置了A,B两个干扰选项,decaf为‘无咖啡因的咖啡’,与decapitated‘斩首’截然不同。而文中提到
A、Themanshouldn’thaveremindedherofthemsoearly.B、Shehadfilledthemoutbeforeshestarted.C、Shehasn’tfilledthemo
Computershavebeentaughttoactandspeak,buttheproblemishowto【C1】______themtolisten--tounderstandspokenwords.【C2】
TheBritisharethemost【B1】______newspaperreadersintheworld.Therearemanymorningpapers,bothnationaland【B2】______.T
Ifyouwanttoincreaseyouroddsofhavingalongandlivelylifetime,scientistssay,workongettinganaverageofsevenore
A、Thewomanthinkshehasanoverduebook.B、Thebooksheneedshavebeencheckedoutbysomeoneelse.C、Thewomanisunableto
A、Tomakethewomanangry.B、Topleasetheman’smother.C、Davidistheman’sgoodfriend.D、Davidisgoodatcarryingonconver
随机试题
小直径管对接水平固定或垂直固定TIG焊,焊接质量的检查项目不是()。
急性化脓性额窦炎引起头痛的时间特点是
下列是软膏水性凝胶基质的是
A.发生严重不良反应的药品B.中成药C.生物制品D.非临床治疗首选的药品根据《国家基本药物目录管理办法(暂行)》不纳入国家基本药物目录遴选范围的药品是
在一起案件中,主审法官认为,生产假化肥案件中的“假化肥”不属于《刑法》第一百四十条规定的“生产者、销售者在产品中掺杂、掺假,以假充真,以次充好或者以不合格产品冒充合格产品”中的“产品”范畴,因为《刑法》第一百四十七条对“生产假农药、假兽药、假化肥”有专门规
债券的利率主要受()因素的影响。
某消防部门对建设单位设计图纸依法进行审查,下列建筑疏散楼梯的宽度不符合规范要求的是()。
不属于售前准备工作的是________。
某企业编制“直接材料预算”,预计第四季度期初材料存量600千克,该季度生产需用量2500千克,预计期末存量650千克,材料单价为8元,若材料采购货款有60%在本季度内付清,另外40%在下季度付清,则该企业预计资产负债表年末“应付账款”项目为()元。
What’syourearliestchildhoodmemory?Canyourememberlearningtowalk?Ortalk?Thefirsttimeyou【C1】______thunderorwatche
最新回复
(
0
)