视听说1(第三版)Unit3_P53Earthquakes

新视野大学英语

视听说教程1（第三版）

本学期期末考试将考到的材料

Further practice in listening:  Passage 2 

Some parts of the earth are more likely to have earthquakes than otherparts. This is usually true of 1) mountainous areas because there the thicknessof rocks is not even. 

It is easy to understand why people are so 2) frightened byearthquakes. People used to believe that when an earthquake 3) took place, theground opened, swallowed great numbers of people, and then it closed. It wasalso thought that those people would 4) vanish forever. But now we know this isnot what really happens.

What we need to fear most is the effects of a serious earthquake,including fires, floods, and landslides. A powerful earthquake 5) occurred inYellowstone National Park on August 17, 1959. The earthquake was 6) massive andvery strong. It also caused the worst landslides in US history since 1927.

After the earthquake, some people said that they would never visitYellowstone, because they were afraid they would be 7) caught in such adisaster caused by the earthquake. This is actually a foolish idea. Such a fearwould 8) keep us away from beautiful mountains for the rest of our lives. Eventhough earthquakes happen every day, such a powerful earthquake like theYellowstone one does not happen frequently at all. We should feel 9) gratefulthat very few of us will suffer such a bad natural disaster. Besides, if weknow10) in advance and make careful preparations, the loss of lives could beavoided.

Key

1) mountainous  2) frightened 3) took place  4) vanish  5) occurred 

6) massive  7) caught 8) keep us away from  9)grateful  10) in advance