[1] [2]
第二部分 閱讀判斷（共兩篇）
第十二篇
Study Helps Predict Big Mediterranean Quake
Scientists have found evidence that an overlooked fault in the eastern Mediterranean1 is likely to produce an earthquake and tsunami every 800 years as powerful as the one that destroyed Alexandria2 in AD3 365.
Using radiocarbon dating techniques, simulations and computer models, the researchers recreated the ancient disaster in order to identify the responsible fault. ‘We are saying there is probably a repeat time of 800 years for this kind of earthquake,' said Ms Beth Shaw, an earthquake scientist at the University of Cambridge, who led the study. Scientists study past earthquakes in order to determine the future possibility of similar large shocks.
Identifying the fault for the AD 365 earthquake and tsunami is important for the tens of millions of people in the region, Ms. Shaw said. The fault close to the southwest coast of Crete4 last produced a big enough quake to generate a tsunami about 1300, which means the next powerful one could come in the next 100 years, she added in a telephone interview.
Ms. Shaw and her colleagues calculate the likely intervals by measuring the motion of either side of the fault to find how often such large earthquakes would have to occur to account for that level of motion, she said. Their computer model suggested an 8 magnitude quake on the fault would produce a tsunami that floods the coastal regions of Alexandria and North Africa, the southern coast of Greece5 and Sicily6 all the way up the Adriati7 to Dubrovnik8. This would be similar to the ancient quake in AD 365 that caused widespread destruction in much of Greece and unleashed a tsunami that flooded Alexandria and the Nile Delta9, likely killing tens of thousands of people, she said.
詞匯：
fault n. 斷層 interval n. 間隔
tsunami n. 海嘯 magnitude n. 等級
radiocarbon n. 放射性碳 destruction n. 破壞，毀滅
simulation n. 模擬 unleash v. 放出，釋放
注釋:
1. the eastern Mediterranean: 地中海東部
2. Alexandria: 阿里山大[埃及北部港市]
3. AD: 公元后(AD是拉丁文Anno Domini首字母的所寫)
4. Crete: [希臘]克里特島
5. Greece: 希臘
6. Sicily: [意大利]西西里島
7. Adriati: 亞得利亞海
8. Dubrovnik: 杜布羅夫尼克[克羅地亞港市]
9. Nile Delta: 尼魯河三角洲[埃及]
練習(xí):
1. The fault, which was overlooked before, has been closely studied by scientists.
A Right. B Wrong C Not mentioned
2. It is fun to identify the fault for the AD 365 earthquake and tsunami.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
3. Radiocarbon dating techniques can be used to identify the age of the earth.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
4. Scientists predict that the next powerful earthquake in the eastern Mediterranean may take place some time before 2100.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
5. Ms. Shaw has her colleagues help her in the study of earthquake prediction.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
6, Ms. Shaw measured the movement of either side of the fault to identify the magnitude of the
earthquake taking place in AD 365.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
7. The earthquake prediction devices developed by Ms. Shaw are being widely used in the world.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
答案與題解：
1．A文章的主題是，以往科學(xué)家忽視了地中海斷層的存在�，F(xiàn)在地震學(xué)家對地中海斷層進行研究，并認定斷層的運動造成公元365年的地震和海嘯，以及推算出地震和海嘯發(fā)生的周期。所以，本句表達的意思是對的。
2．B文章第三段說到，“認定斷層造成了公元365年的地震和海嘯，這一認定對該地區(qū)的幾千萬人來說是重要的”。把這項研究說成是有趣的與原文“重要”的意思有很大的不同，所以是錯誤的。
3．C 全文沒有一處提到radiocarbon dating techniques可用來確定地球的年齡。
4．A Shaw女士和她的研究組認定，地中海東部的斷層的移動每800年左右會引發(fā)一次超強
地震和海嘯。前兩次發(fā)生的時間分別是365年和l300年左右。根據(jù)這一推斷，在未來l00年中，會發(fā)生一次超強地震和海嘯。第三段對此有說明。
5．A 這句表達的意思與原文相符。原句見第四段第一句：“Ms．Shaw and her colleagues
calculate the likely intervals by measuring the motion of either side of the fault to gauge how often such large earthquakes would have to occur to account for that level of motion”。
6．B Shaw女士和她的研究組測量過the motion of either side of the fault，但目的不是為了identify the magnitude of the earthquake taking place in AD 365，而是為了find how often such large earthquakes would have to occur to account for that level of motion。
7．C 縱觀全文，文章中沒有一句提到Shaw女士發(fā)明過地震預(yù)測裝置，更沒有談及這種裝置在全世界得到廣泛應(yīng)用這一點。
