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1、Passage 1 Everyone has heard of the San Andreas fault （断层）, which constantly threatens California and the West Coast with earthquakes. But how many people know about the equally serious New Madrid fault in Missouri? Between December of 1811 and February of 1812, three major earthquakes occurred, all
2、 centered around the town of New Madrid, Missouri, on the Mississippi River. Property damage was severe. Buildings in the area were almost destroyed. Whole forests fell at once, and huge cracks opened in the ground, allowing smell of sulfur（硫磺）to filter upward. The Mississippi River itself completel
3、y changed character, developing sudden rapids and whirlpools. Several times it changed its course, and once, according to some observers, it actually appeared to run backwards.Few people were killed in the New Marid earthquakes, probably simply because few people lived in the area in 1811; but the s
4、everity of the earthquakes are shown by the fact that the shock waves rang bells in church towers in Charleston, South Carolina, on the coast. Buildings shook in New York City, and clocks wer stopped in Washington, D.C. Scientists now know that Americas two major faults are essentially different. Th
5、e San Andreas is a horizontal boundary between two major land masses that are slowly moving in opposite directions. California earthquakes result when the movement of these two masses suddenly lurches （倾斜） forward. The New Madrid fault, on the other hand, is a vertical fault; at some points, possibl
6、y hundreds of millions of years ago, rock was pushed up toward the surface, probably by volcanoes under the surface. Suddenly, the volcanoes cooled and the rock collapsed, leaving huge cracks. Even now, the rock continues to settle downwards, and sudden sinking motions trigger （触发） earthquakes in th
7、e region. The fault itself, a large crack in this layer of rock, with dozens of other cracks that split off from it, extends from northeastArkansas through Missouri and into southern lllinois. Scientists who have studied the New Madrid fault say there have been numerous smaller quakes in the area si
8、nce 1811; these smaller quakes indicate that larger ones are probably coming, but the scientists say have no method of predictingwhen a large earthquake will occur.1. This passage is mainly about. A.the New Madrid fault in MissouriB.the causes of faults C.the San Andreas and the New Madrid faultsD.c
9、urrent scientific knowledge about fault2. The New Madrid fault is.A.a vertical faultB.a horizontal faultC.a more serious fault than the San Andreas faultD.responsible for forming the Mississippi River3. We may conclude from the passage that.A.California will become an island in futureB.the New Madri
10、d fault will eventually develop a mountain range in Missouri C.it is probably as dangerous to live in Missouri as in California D.A big earthquake will occur to California soon4. This passage implies that.A.horizontal faults are more dangerous than vertical faults.B.Vertical faults are more dangerou
11、s than horizontal faultsC.California will break into pieces by an eventual earthquakeD.Earthquakes occur only around fault areas 5. As used in the first sentence of the fourth paragraph, the word essentially means.A. greatlyB.basically C.extremely D.necessarilyPassage 2 In 1960-1961, Chad （乍得） harve
12、sted 9800 tons of cotton seed for the first time in its history, and put out the flag a little too soon. The efforts of the authorities to get the peasants back to work, as they had slacked off （松懈） a great deal the previous year during independence celebrations, largely contributed to it. Also, rai
13、ns were well spaced, and continued through the whole month of October. If the 1961-1962 total is back to the region of 45000 tons, it is mostly because efforts slackened again and sowing was started too late. The average date of sowing is about July 1st. If this date is simply moved up fifteen or tw
14、enty days, 30000 to 60000 tons of cotton are gained, depending on the year. The peasant in Chad sows his millet （小米） first, and it is hard to criticize this instinctive priority given to his daily bread. An essential reason for his lateness with sowing cotton is that at the time when he should leave
15、 to prepare the fields he has just barely sold the cotton of the previous season. The work required to sow, in great heat, is psychologically far more difficult if ones pockets are full of money. The date of cotton sales should therefore be moved forward as much as possible, and purchases of equipment and draught animals encouraged. Peasants should also be encouraged to save money, to help them through the difficult period between harvests. If necessary they should be forced to do so, by having the payments for cotton given to them in installments （分期付款）. The last payment would be made a
