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  3. After the violent earthquake that shook Los Angeles in 1994, earthquake scientists had good news to report: The damage and death

After the violent earthquake that shook Los Angeles in 1994, earthquake scientists had good news to report: The damage and death

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问题     After the violent earthquake that shook Los Angeles in 1994, earthquake scientists had good news to report: The damage and death toll(死亡人数)could have been much worse.
    More than 60 people died in this earthquake. By comparison, an earthquake of similar intensity that shook America in 1988 claimed 25,000 victims.
    Injuries and deaths were relatively less in Los Angeles because the quake occurred at 4:31 a.m. on a holiday, when traffic was light on the city’s highways. In addition, changes made to the construction codes in Los Angeles during the last 20 years have strengthened the city’s buildings and highways, making them more resistant to quakes.
    Despite the good news, civil engineers aren’t resting on their successes. Pinned to their drawing boards are blueprints(蓝图)for improved quake-resistant buildings. The new designs should offer even greater security to cities where earthquakes often take place.
    In the past, making structures quake-resistant meant firm yet flexible materials, such as steel and wood, that bend without breaking. Later, people tried to lift a building off its foundation, and insert rubber and steel between the building and its foundation to reduce the impact of ground vibrations. The most recent designs give buildings brains as well as concrete and steel supports. Called smart buildings, the structures respond like living organisms to an earthquake’s vibrations. When the ground shakes and the building tips forward, the computer would force the building to shift in the opposite direction.
    The new smart structures could be very expensive to build. However, they would save many lives and would be less likely to be damaged during earthquakes.
The author’s main purpose in writing the passage is to ______.
选项 A、compare the consequences of the earthquakes that occurred in the U.S.
B、encourage civil engineers to make more extensive use of computers
C、outline the history of the development of quake-resistant building materials
D、report new developments in constructing quake-resistant buildings
答案D
解析 本题为主旨大意题。通读全文可知，作者回顾历史，从过去地震伤亡人数较多和财产损失很大，到后来的新型建筑材料可用于防震，一直到今天，工程设计进入最先进阶段，即将计算机用于建筑中来减少地震对建筑物的摇摆程度。由此可看出，选项D)为正确答案。
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