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  3. The volcanic eruptions in Iceland, seismic (地震的) devastation in Samoa, Sumatra, Haiti and Chile. All within six months. The publ

The volcanic eruptions in Iceland, seismic (地震的) devastation in Samoa, Sumatra, Haiti and Chile. All within six months. The publ

admin2012-04-09  72
问题     The volcanic eruptions in Iceland, seismic (地震的) devastation in Samoa, Sumatra, Haiti and Chile. All within six months. The public perception could easily be that we are undergoing a peak in global seismic activity, but the science suggests otherwise. During some periods, purely by chance, clusters of seismic events occur close together, in the same way that grains of sand bunch together if scattered on a smooth surface. But the number of events during the past year is not even above average. According to records dating back to 1900, we expect about 17 major earthquakes (between 7. 0 and 7. 9 magnitude) and one great earthquake (8. 0 or above) in any given year. Last year one surpassed 8.0 and 16 between 7.0 and 7.9—an almost perfectly average year. Volcano activity is also well within the normal range.
    What has changed dramatically is the numbers of people being killed. As the world’s population continues to grow exponentially (增长迅猛地) ， people in the world’s poorest regions are being forced to live in more and more marginal places. Whereas once a major tremor (震动) or eruption would kill the unlucky few living in the vicinity, now whole cities are built along fault lines. Between 1980 and 1989 almost 59 000 people died in earthquakes. By the next decade, this had grown to 115 000 people and between 2000 and 2010 further increased to 689 000. Just this year 223 142 have died.
    "I expect that in my lifetime I’ll see an earthquake kill a million people. Many seismologists believe this will happen," said Professor John McCloskey, a geophysicist at the University of Ulster. Dr. Christopher Kilburn, a geophysical hazards specialist at University College London sees a comparable situation for volcanoes. "Cities in these areas have grown. The chances are that in the future something will happen that will affect tens of thousands of people," he said.
    With advances in computer simulations, and a wealth of data from more than 8 000 seismological stations, scientists are better placed than ever to predict where seismic events will strike next. Many are working with aid agencies to identify the places most at risk and attempt to make changes to their infrastructure.
    Several locations are believed to be particularly at risk. Earth scientists expect a great earthquake to strike in Sumatra. And the one that hit Padang, in September last year killing more than 1 000 people was not it—on the contrary it may have only served to make the next massive earthquake more likely. The last major shock happened more than 200 years ago and the stresses are probably larger now than they were then. Istanbul is another worry. Scientists have estimated a 60 per cent chance of a massive earthquake within 30 years. Tehran and a large stretch of North India falling on the Himalayan front have also been identified as red-alert zones by seismologists.
What might contribute to the death in the world’s poorest regions in earthquakes?
选项 A、The steady increase of world population.
B、The disparity between the rich and the poor.
C、The marginal life they are forced to lead.
D、The construction of cities along fault lines.
答案D
解析 细节辨认题。根据定位句可知，随着世界人口的增长，贫困地区的人们被挤到了板块边缘的地方，而且很多城市完全是沿着断层线建立的，因此如果发生地震或者火山爆发，这些人很有可能丧生，因此答案为D)“城市沿断层线而建”，其中construction是原文中built的同义转述。
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