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Moderate Earthquake Strikes England

A moderate earthquake struck parts of southeast England on 28 April 2007, shaking chimneys from houses and rousing residents from their beds. Several thousand people were left without powerin Kent County. One woman suffered minor head and neck injuries.

"It felt as if the whole house was being slid across like a fun-fair ride," said the woman.

The British Geological Survey said the 4.3-magnitude quake struck at 8:19 a.m. and was centered under the English Channel, about 8.5 miles south of Dover and near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel.

Witnesses said cracks appeared in walls and chimneys collapsed across the county. Residents said the shake had lasted for about 10 to 15 seconds.

"I was lying in bed and it felt as if someone had just got up from bed next to me," said Hendrick van Eck, 27, of Canterbury about 60 miles southeast of London." I then heard the sound of cracking, and it was getting heavier and heavier. It felt as if someone was at the end of my bed hopping up and down."

There are thousands of moderate quakes on this scale around the world each year, but they are rare in Britain. The April 28 quake was the strongest in Britain since 2002 when a 4.8-magnitude quake struck the central England city of Birmingham.

The country's strongest earthquake took place in the North Sea in 1931, measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale. British Geological Survey scientist Roger Masson said the quake took place on 28 April in an area that had seen several of the biggest earthquakes ever to strike Britain, including one in 1580 that caused damage in London and was felt in France. Masson predicted that it was only a matter of timebefore another earthquake struck this part of England. However, people should not be scared too much by this prediction, Masson said, as the modem earthquake warning system of Britain should be able to detect a forthcoming quake and announce it several hours before it takes place. This would allow time for people to evacuate (疏散) and reduce damage to the minimum.

1.During the April 28 earthquake, the whole England was left without power.

A. Right

B. Wrong

C. Not mentioned

2.The Channel Tunnel was closed for 10 hours after the earthquake occurred.

A. Right

B. Wrong

C. Not mentioned

3.It was reported that one lady had got her head and neck injured, but not seriously.

A. Right

B. Wrong

C. Not mentioned

4.France and several other European countries sent their medical teams to work side by side with the British doctors.

A. Right

B. Wrong

C. Not mentioned

5.The country's strongest earthquake took place in London in 1580.

A. Right

B. Wrong

C. Not mentioned

6.Masson predicted that another earthquake would occur in southeast England sooner or later.

A. Right

B. Wrong

C. Not mentioned

7. It can be inferred from the passage that England is rarely hit by high magnitude earthquakes.

A. Right

B. Wrong

C. Not mentioned

1.B。题干：2007年4月28日的地震致使全英格兰都停电了。利用题干中的时间和关键词power可以定位到第一段，由该段可知是英格兰东南部的肯特郡电力中断了，几千名居民无电可用，而非整个英格兰。题干将原文的范围扩大了，所以答案为B。

2.C。题干：地震发生后，海峡隧道关闭了10个小时。利用题干关键词Channel Tunnel和数字10进行定位，发现题干表达的内容在短文中找不到，故答案为C。

3.A。题干：地震中一个妇女的头部和颈部受了点轻伤。利用题干关键词head and neck可以定位到第一段最后一句，由该句可知选项A是答案。

4.C。题干：法国和其他几个欧洲国家派遣他们的医疗队去英国与当地的医生并肩工作。利用题干关键词France and European进行定位，发现题干内容在短文中找不到，故答案为C。

5.B。题干：英国最强烈的地震于1580年发生在伦敦。利用题干关键词1580进行定位，发现题干与短文表述的事实不符，而短文第七段第一句明确地说，英国最强烈的地震于1931年发生在北海。题干表达的信息是错误的，故答案为B。

6.A。题干：Masson预言在英格兰东南部迟早将发生另一次地震。利用题干关键词Masson和predict进行定位，可以定位到短文最后一段第三句，即southeast England发生另外一场地震只是时问问题。题干所表达的意思与原文相符，所以答案是A。

7.A。题干：从短文可以推断英格兰很少发生大强度的地震。本题比较难，需要依据相关细节进行推断。短文第六段第一句说，全球每年发生强度为里氏4级左右的地震有几千次，但是这种中等强度的地震在英格兰很少发生。据此，读者可以推断出，高震级的地震在英格兰就更少见了。

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