-
.*
Unit 6 Section A How to
Prepare for Earthquake
I.
Background information
1. The 1906 San
Francisco Earthquake
At 5:13 on the morning of
April 18th, 1906, the city of San Francisco was
shaken by a terrible earthquake. A
large part of the city was destroyed and a
large number of buildings were burnt.
The number of people who lost homes
reached as many as 250, 000. About 700
people died in the earthquake and
the
fires.
Another
earthquake shocked San Francisco on October 17th,
1989. It was
the second strongest
earthquake and about one hundred people were
killed. It
happened
in
the
evening
as
people
were
traveling
home.
A
wide
and
busy
road fell onto the below. A lot of
people were killed in their cars, but a few
lucky ones were not hurt.
Luckily
the
1989
earthquake
did
not
happen
in
the
center
of
town
but
about
50
kilometers
away.
In
one
part
of
the
town
many
buildings
were
destroyed. These
buildings were over 50 years old, so they were not
strong
enough. There were a lot of
fires all over the city. The electricity was cut
off
for several days too.
Scientists explain that the
outside of the earth is made of different plates.
At
San
Francisco
the
Pacific
plate
meets
the
North
American
plate.
When
suddenly
these
two
plates
jump,
an
earthquake
is
felt.
When
the
1906
earthquake happened,
the Pacific plate jumped 5-6 meters to the north.
We cannot stop
earthquake, but we can do things to make sure they
do not
destroy a whole city. First, it
is not a good idea to build houses along the lines
where two of the
earth
’
s plates join
together. Second, if you think there may
be an earthquake, it is better to build
houses on rock not on sand. Third, you
must make the houses as strong as
possible. Weak buildings will fall down in
an earthquake, but strong ones may stay
up.
Scientists
are
afraid
that
one
day
an
even
bigger
earthquake
will
hit
the
area
around San Francisco. They call it
“
The Big
One
”
. However, people
today
are
still
building
more
houses.
The
population
in
and
around
San
Francisco is now ten times more than it
was in 1906. This means that if there
is
another
big
earthquake,
a
great
many
houses
and
buildings
will
be
destroyed.
2. The 1976
Tangshan Earthquake
1) Which city earns the name
“
Brave City of
China
”
?
Tangshan
.*
2) The deadliest
earthquake of the 20th century, a magnitude 7.8
earthquake
hit the sleeping city of
Tangshan at 3:42 a.m. on July 28, 1976.
3)
Which
of
the
following
gave
some
advance
warnings
of
an
impending
earthquake?
A. Well water
rose and fell with cracking or gas.
B. Chickens
refused to eat and ran around chirping.
C.
Mice and yellow weasels ran around to hide.
D.
A goldfish jumped wildly in its bowl.
E.
Strange
lights
(fireballs)
as
well
as
loud
sounds
were
seen
the
night
preceding the earthquake.
4)
The
Tangshan
earthquake
lasted
approximately
14-16
seconds.
After
the
earthquake hit, 242419
people were dead or dying; 164581 people severely
injured.
In
7218
households,
all
members
of
the
family
were
killed
by
the
earthquake.
5)
Over two million people died in the earthquake in
the 20th century. About
0.6 billion
people live in the strong earthquake zone
throughout the world.
6)
93
percent
of
the
residential
buildings
and
78
percent
of
the
industrial
buildings were completely destroyed.
3. What
’
s your
insight into earthquakes?
Because they
have no warning and allow people no time to react
to them in
an effective way. As
described in the video, one second you live in
this big
beautiful
city
and
ten
seconds
later
it
is
flat.
So
on
any
scale
of
instant
destructivity, few
natural disasters can come close to earthquakes.
At 11:43
A.M. on June 7, 1692, for
example, an earthquake struck Port Royal, Jamaica.
In
the
space
of
less
than
fifty
seconds,
that
thriving
port
sank
into
the
Caribbean. An eyewitness
described the scene.
“
In many places the earth
cracked,
opened
and
shut,
with
a
motion
quick
and
fast.
People
were
swallowed
up;
in
others
they
were
caught
by
the
middle,
and
pressed
to
death.
”
In the 17th and
18th
centuries, it was believed in the
Western world that
because earthquakes
normally occurred in non-Christian countries, they
were
signs of
God
’
s anger with the
inhabitants of these areas. In fact, every day
the earth is shaken by hundreds of
small earthquakes, most going unnoticed.
They
usually
occur
along
the
boundaries
of
thin
plates
that
cover
the
earth
like egg shells. Driven by the heat
deep within the earth
’
s
core, plates grind
against each other
along lines
called faults. When plates
find their motions
blocked,
stress builds up. Finally the fault gives way.
Released energy races
.*
through the earth in a form of seismic
waves (
震波
) and a quake
occurs.
4. How much do you know about
other natural disasters?
In addition to
the earthquake, the human society as a whole is
also cursed
with a long list of other
natural disasters, among which are flood, mud-rock
flow (
泥石流
),
landslide (
山体滑坡
), typhoon,
hurricane (
飓风
), tornado
(
龙
卷风
), snowstorm
(
暴风雪
), hailstorm
(
冰雹
), sand storm
(
沙尘暴
), drought
(
干旱
), plague of
locusts (
蝗灾
), the spread of
desert, the spread of infectious
diseases such as SARS
(
非典
), and volcanic eruptions
(
火山喷发
), the most
famous
example
of
which
is
the
Great
Pompeii,
quickly
covered
with
volcanic ashes.
The
contributors to these natural disasters are
complex and varied. Some
disasters
such
as
earthquakes
and
volcanic
eruptions
result
from
the
movement of plates along the weaknesses
in the Earth
’
s crust. Many
others,
like flood, sand storm, and the
spread of desert, stem from human activities.
Man
’
s
mindless
enthusiasm
for
unrestrained
economic
growth
has
led
to
a
sharp
decline
of
forestry,
a
rapid
desertification
of
farming
land,
an
irreparable depletion of
ozone layer, a global worsening of greenhouse
effect,
and
a
swift
extinction
of
species,
all
of
which
in
turn
bring
about
more
disasters.
II. Structure
Analysis
1. How can we know about
warning signs of earthquakes?
1)
Wire the earth and sea …
2) Watch animals and plants
…
3)
The amount of radon waxes …
2. What animals show what signs of
earthquakes?
1)
hens
—
cages
2)
snakes
—
freeze
3)
dogs
—
bark
a
lot
4)
fish
—
surface
5) birds
—
noisy
—
fly unusually
Some advance
warnings of an impending earthquake.
A.
Well water rose and fell with cracking or gas.
B. Chickens refused to eat
and ran around chirping
(
吱喳而鸣
).
C. Mice and yellow weasels
(
黄鼠狼
) ran around to hide.
D. A goldfish jumped wildly
in its bowl.
E.
Strange
lights
(fireballs)
as
well
as
loud
sounds
were
seen
the
night
preceding the earthquake.
3. How are most of the people killed in
an earthquake?
.*
By falling
buildings.
4.
What
building
structures
might
prevent
the
great
destruction
of
property?
1) Steel
joint/an I-joint
2) Equally strong columns & horizontal
beams
3) Deep
vertical support columns
4) Light roofs & strong walls
5. What should people do to prepare
their houses?
1) Check/reinforce homes
…
2)
Place heavy objects …
3) Attach cupboards &
cabinets …
4) Fasten doors …
6. What should people need for their
earthquake survival supplies, and
why?
water
&
food
radio
receiver
torch
extra
batteries
first-aid
supplies
spade
tent
rope
clothing
fire
extinguisher
auxiliary
cooking & heating source
heavy shoes or
boots
7. How can family members keep in
touch during an earthquake?
Check in with a far-away
friend or relative…
8. What should be a major emphasis for
all government programs and
earthquake-
related research projects?
Education concerning how to survive an
earthquake.
1.
What is the text mainly about?
The essay is
centered around the main theme
—
How to predict, prevent,
and prepare for earthquakes.
2.
How is the
text organized?
The
writer
centers
his
writing
on
three
aspects
of
the
topic
—
earthquake
prediction, earthquake prevention, and
earthquake preparation. In the end, he
concludes his writing with more
emphasis placed on peopl
e’s preparation
for
earthquakes. So the text can fall
structurally into four parts.
Part
I
Prediction
:
People predicted
a quake by
wiring the earth
and sea to
detect
movements,
watch-ing
animals
and
plants
for
warning
signs;
and
seeing if the amount of
radon (Rn) in the water under the surface of the
Earth
waxes before an earthquake.
Devices for developing it:
Exemplification: (Para. 1) In Japan,
scientists
have
wired
the
Earth
and
sea
…
The
Chinese
have
traditionally
watched