A
If the crust (外壳) of the earth were not pretty solid (坚固的), it would be shaking about and moving up and down frequently. However, there are places in the rocks of the earth's crust where it isn't strongly held together — where faults exist. Along the faults, one rock might push against another with great force. The energy is changed to vibration in the rocks, so they begin to shake and we have an earthquake!
The most famous one in North America was the San Francisco earthquake of 1906.Seven hundred people died and property (财产) damage amounted to about D|S425,000,000.The greatest destruction came from the fires that followed the quake.
One of the most famous earthquakes in Europe took place in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1755.The city was destroyed and at least thirty thousand people were killed. In 1908, in Calabria and Sicily, a quake killed about seventyfive thousand people. In 1915, in central Italy, hundreds of towns and villages were damaged and thirty thousand people were killed.
Two great earthquakes that caused great damage in Asia took place in Tokyo, Japan, and in Gansu Province in China. The Tokyo quake of 1923 killed more than one hundred thousand people and destroyed the city and the city of Yokohama, too. The Chinese quake in 1920 covered more than three hundred square miles and killed about two hundred thousand people.
1．The first paragraph mainly tells us________.
A．where earthquakes happen
B．how earthquakes happen
C．the damage caused by earthquakes
D．famous earthquakes in the world
解析：选B 段落大意题。通读第一段可知，本段介绍了地震的起因。
2．The underlined word “vibration” in the first paragraph probably means “________”．
A．shaking B．force
C．energy D．losing
解析：选A 词义猜测题。一块岩石有可能用力挤压另一块岩石，地壳的能量发生了改变导致岩石晃动，于是地震发生了。vibration意为“晃动”，故A项正确。
3．We can infer from the passage that________.
A．the earth's crust in Europe is weaker than that in other places
B．the fires following the San Francisco earthquake caused more damage than the earthquake did
C．there were 75,000 people killed in the San Francisco
earthquake
D．the city of Yokohama was not greatly influenced by the Tokyo quake
解析：选B 推理判断题。由第二段“The greatest destruction came from the fires that followed the quake.”可推知B项正确。
