Study Helps Predict Big Mediterranean Quake
Scientists have found evidence that an overlooked fault in the eastern Mediterranean1 is likely to produce an earthquake and tsunami every 800 years as powerful as the one that destroyed Alexandria2 in AD3 365.
Using radiocarbon dating techniques, simulations and computer models, the researchers recreated the ancient disaster in order to identify the responsible fault. ‘We are saying there is probably a repeat time of 800 years for this kind of earthquake,' said Ms Beth Shaw, an earthquake scientist at the University of Cambridge, who led the study. Scientists study past earthquakes in order to determine the future possibility of similar large shocks.
Identifying the fault for the AD 365 earthquake and tsunami is important for the tens of millions of people in the region, Ms. Shaw said. The fault close to the southwest coast of Crete4 last produced a big enough quake to generate a tsunami about 1300, which means the next powerful one could come in the next 100 years, she added in a telephone interview.
Ms. Shaw and her colleagues calculate the likely intervals by measuring the motion of either side of the fault to find how often such large earthquakes would have to occur to account for that level of motion, she said. Their computer model suggested an 8 magnitude quake on the fault would produce a tsunami that floods the coastal regions of Alexandria and North Africa, the southern coast of Greece5 and Sicily6 all the way up the Adriati7 to Dubrovnik8. This would be similar to the ancient quake in AD 365 that caused widespread destruction in much of Greece and unleashed a tsunami that flooded Alexandria and the Nile Delta9, likely killing tens of thousands of people, she said.
詞匯：
fault n. 斷層 interval n. 間隔
tsunami n. 海嘯 magnitude n. 等級(jí)
radiocarbon n. 放射性碳 destruction n. 破壞，毀滅
simulation n. 模擬 unleash v. 放出，釋放
注釋:
1. the eastern Mediterranean: 地中海東部
2. Alexandria: 阿里山大[埃及北部港市]
3. AD: 公元后(AD是拉丁文Anno Domini首字母的所寫)
4. Crete: [希臘]克里特島
5. Greece: 希臘
6. Sicily: [意大利]西西里島
7. Adriati: 亞得利亞海
8. Dubrovnik: 杜布羅夫尼克[克羅地亞港市]
9. Nile Delta: 尼魯河三角洲[埃及]
練習(xí):
1. The fault, which was overlooked before, has been closely studied by scientists.
A Right. B Wrong C Not mentioned
2. It is fun to identify the fault for the AD 365 earthquake and tsunami.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
3. Radiocarbon dating techniques can be used to identify the age of the earth.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
4. Scientists predict that the next powerful earthquake in the eastern Mediterranean may take place some time before 2100.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
5. Ms. Shaw has her colleagues help her in the study of earthquake prediction.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
6, Ms. Shaw measured the movement of either side of the fault to identify the magnitude of the
earthquake taking place in AD 365.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
7. The earthquake prediction devices developed by Ms. Shaw are being widely used in the world.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
答案與題解：
1.A文章的主題是，以往科學(xué)家忽視了地中海斷層的存在?，F(xiàn)在地震學(xué)家對(duì)地中海斷層進(jìn)行研究，并認(rèn)定斷層的運(yùn)動(dòng)造成公元365年的地震和海嘯，以及推算出地震和海嘯發(fā)生的周期。所以，本句表達(dá)的意思是對(duì)的。
2.B文章第三段說(shuō)到，“認(rèn)定斷層造成了公元365年的地震和海嘯，這一認(rèn)定對(duì)該地區(qū)的幾千萬(wàn)人來(lái)說(shuō)是重要的”。把這項(xiàng)研究說(shuō)成是有趣的與原文“重要”的意思有很大的不同，所以是錯(cuò)誤的。
3.C 全文沒(méi)有一處提到radiocarbon dating techniques可用來(lái)確定地球的年齡。
4.A Shaw女士和她的研究組認(rèn)定，地中海東部的斷層的移動(dòng)每800年左右會(huì)引發(fā)一次超強(qiáng)
地震和海嘯。前兩次發(fā)生的時(shí)間分別是365年和l300年左右。根據(jù)這一推斷，在未來(lái)l00年中，會(huì)發(fā)生一次超強(qiáng)地震和海嘯。第三段對(duì)此有說(shuō)明。
5.A 這句表達(dá)的意思與原文相符。原句見(jiàn)第四段第一句：“Ms.Shaw and her colleagues
calculate the likely intervals by measuring the motion of either side of the fault to gauge how often such large earthquakes would have to occur to account for that level of motion”。
6.B Shaw女士和她的研究組測(cè)量過(guò)the motion of either side of the fault，但目的不是為了identify the magnitude of the earthquake taking place in AD 365，而是為了find how often such large earthquakes would have to occur to account for that level of motion。
7.C 縱觀全文，文章中沒(méi)有一句提到Shaw女士發(fā)明過(guò)地震預(yù)測(cè)裝置，更沒(méi)有談及這種裝置在全世界得到廣泛應(yīng)用這一點(diǎn)。
Image Martian Dust Particles
NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander1 has taken its first-ever picture of a single particle of rusty Martian dust with one of its microscopes. The dust particles of dust were shown at a higher magnification than anything outside of Earth that has been imaged before. The rounded particle measured only about one micrometer, or one millionth of a meter, across.
Taking this image required the highest resolution microscope operated off Earth2 and a specially designed device to hold the Martian dust," said Tom Pike, a Phoenix science team member from Imperial College London3. "We always knew it was going to be technically very challenging to image particles this small4.''
The device that imaged the dust speck is called an atomic force microscope, which maps the shape of particles in three dimensions by scanning them with a sharp tip at the end of a spring. The atomic force microscope can detail the shapes of particles as small as about 100 nanometers. And this won't be the last dust particle that Phoenix will image5. "After this first success, we're now working on building up a portrait gallery6 of the dust on Mars," Pike said.
Dust exists everywhere on Mars, coating the surface and giving it its rusty red color. Dust particles also color the Martian sky pink and feed storms that regularly envelope the planet. The ultra-fine7 dust is the medium that actively links gases in the Martian atmosphere to processes in Martian soil, so it is critically important to understanding Mars' environment8, the researchers said.
The $420-million Phoenix mission is analyzing the dust and subsurface ice layers of Mars' arctic regions to look for signs of potential past habitability. The particle seen in the atomic force microscope image was part of a sample scooped by the robotic arm from the "Snow White" trench and delivered to Phoenix's microscope station in early July.
詞匯:
image v. 繪……的圖像 scan v. 掃描
magnification n. 放大 subsurface adj. 地面下的
micrometer n. 微米 habitability n. 居住性
resolution n. 分辨率，清晰度 scoop v. 挖
map v. 繪制……的地圖 trench n. 溝
注釋:
1. NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander: 美國(guó)國(guó)家航空航天局的鳳凰號(hào)火星登陸器
2. off earth : 地球之外
3. Imperial College London : 倫敦帝國(guó)學(xué)院
4. image particles this small: 描繪如此之小的微粒。image particles this small是口語(yǔ)的說(shuō)法，其意思是image such small particles/image particles which are so small。
5. And this won't be the last dust particle that Phoenix will image: 這不會(huì)是鳳凰號(hào)掃描圖像的最后的塵粒。本句的言外之意是：科學(xué)家將會(huì)收集更多的火星微粒進(jìn)行掃描。
6. portrait gallery: (火星塵粒)圖像陳列館
7. ultra-fine : 超小的
8. it is critically important to understanding Mars' environment: 火星塵粒對(duì)于了解火星環(huán)境是極端重要的。it指代上一句的dust，而to是介詞，所以后接動(dòng)名詞 understanding。
練習(xí):
1. The dust particle on Mars is the smallest particle that has been imaged outside of Earth.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
2. Using the same technology, we have also measured the size of particles on the moon and Jupiter.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
3. Scientists use the highest resolution microscope to watch and record the image of Martian particles on earth.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
4. Tom Pike said that they used to think it was no easy job to image such small particles.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
5. An electronic device has been developed to measure the weight of certain Martian rocks.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
6. After collecting the last Martian dust particle, the scientists have started to build up a portrait gallery of it.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
7. The Phoenix's robotic arm collected the Martian dust particles for analysis on Mars.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
答案與解析:
1.A 第一段說(shuō)，NASA的鳳凰號(hào)火星登陸器用它的顯微鏡觀測(cè)地球外長(zhǎng)度只有百萬(wàn)分之一米的微粒。本題的表述與第一段的意思吻合。
2.C 通篇文章都沒(méi)有提到科學(xué)家用同樣的技術(shù)測(cè)量月球和水星上的微粒。
3.B 第一段只是說(shuō)，NASA的鳳凰號(hào)火星登陸器用它的顯微鏡觀察地球外，而不是地球上長(zhǎng)度只有百萬(wàn)分之一的火星微粒，所以本題的表述是錯(cuò)的。
4. A Tom Pike說(shuō)，“We always knew it was going to be technically very challenging to image particles this small.”(我們過(guò)去一直知道，觀察體積如此小的微粒具有很高的挑戰(zhàn)性。)(見(jiàn)第二段)這句話是選擇A的依據(jù)。
5.C 通篇文章都沒(méi)有提到有人發(fā)明了一種能測(cè)量火星上某些微粒的重量的電子裝置。
6.B 第三段中提到，“...this won't be the last dust particle that Phoenix will image”。接著又說(shuō)，“After this first success，we’re now working on building up a portrait gallery of the dust on Mars”。而本題卻說(shuō)：“After collecting the last Martian dust particle，we’re now working on building up…”，這與文章所表達(dá)內(nèi)容明顯不同，所以本題的答案是B。 .
7.A 選擇A的依據(jù)是文章最后一句：“The particle seen in the atomic force microscope image was part of a sample scooped by the robotic arm…”。
Scientists have found evidence that an overlooked fault in the eastern Mediterranean1 is likely to produce an earthquake and tsunami every 800 years as powerful as the one that destroyed Alexandria2 in AD3 365.
Using radiocarbon dating techniques, simulations and computer models, the researchers recreated the ancient disaster in order to identify the responsible fault. ‘We are saying there is probably a repeat time of 800 years for this kind of earthquake,' said Ms Beth Shaw, an earthquake scientist at the University of Cambridge, who led the study. Scientists study past earthquakes in order to determine the future possibility of similar large shocks.
Identifying the fault for the AD 365 earthquake and tsunami is important for the tens of millions of people in the region, Ms. Shaw said. The fault close to the southwest coast of Crete4 last produced a big enough quake to generate a tsunami about 1300, which means the next powerful one could come in the next 100 years, she added in a telephone interview.
Ms. Shaw and her colleagues calculate the likely intervals by measuring the motion of either side of the fault to find how often such large earthquakes would have to occur to account for that level of motion, she said. Their computer model suggested an 8 magnitude quake on the fault would produce a tsunami that floods the coastal regions of Alexandria and North Africa, the southern coast of Greece5 and Sicily6 all the way up the Adriati7 to Dubrovnik8. This would be similar to the ancient quake in AD 365 that caused widespread destruction in much of Greece and unleashed a tsunami that flooded Alexandria and the Nile Delta9, likely killing tens of thousands of people, she said.
詞匯：
fault n. 斷層 interval n. 間隔
tsunami n. 海嘯 magnitude n. 等級(jí)
radiocarbon n. 放射性碳 destruction n. 破壞，毀滅
simulation n. 模擬 unleash v. 放出，釋放
注釋:
1. the eastern Mediterranean: 地中海東部
2. Alexandria: 阿里山大[埃及北部港市]
3. AD: 公元后(AD是拉丁文Anno Domini首字母的所寫)
4. Crete: [希臘]克里特島
5. Greece: 希臘
6. Sicily: [意大利]西西里島
7. Adriati: 亞得利亞海
8. Dubrovnik: 杜布羅夫尼克[克羅地亞港市]
9. Nile Delta: 尼魯河三角洲[埃及]
練習(xí):
1. The fault, which was overlooked before, has been closely studied by scientists.
A Right. B Wrong C Not mentioned
2. It is fun to identify the fault for the AD 365 earthquake and tsunami.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
3. Radiocarbon dating techniques can be used to identify the age of the earth.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
4. Scientists predict that the next powerful earthquake in the eastern Mediterranean may take place some time before 2100.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
5. Ms. Shaw has her colleagues help her in the study of earthquake prediction.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
6, Ms. Shaw measured the movement of either side of the fault to identify the magnitude of the
earthquake taking place in AD 365.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
7. The earthquake prediction devices developed by Ms. Shaw are being widely used in the world.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
答案與題解：
1.A文章的主題是，以往科學(xué)家忽視了地中海斷層的存在?，F(xiàn)在地震學(xué)家對(duì)地中海斷層進(jìn)行研究，并認(rèn)定斷層的運(yùn)動(dòng)造成公元365年的地震和海嘯，以及推算出地震和海嘯發(fā)生的周期。所以，本句表達(dá)的意思是對(duì)的。
2.B文章第三段說(shuō)到，“認(rèn)定斷層造成了公元365年的地震和海嘯，這一認(rèn)定對(duì)該地區(qū)的幾千萬(wàn)人來(lái)說(shuō)是重要的”。把這項(xiàng)研究說(shuō)成是有趣的與原文“重要”的意思有很大的不同，所以是錯(cuò)誤的。
3.C 全文沒(méi)有一處提到radiocarbon dating techniques可用來(lái)確定地球的年齡。
4.A Shaw女士和她的研究組認(rèn)定，地中海東部的斷層的移動(dòng)每800年左右會(huì)引發(fā)一次超強(qiáng)
地震和海嘯。前兩次發(fā)生的時(shí)間分別是365年和l300年左右。根據(jù)這一推斷，在未來(lái)l00年中，會(huì)發(fā)生一次超強(qiáng)地震和海嘯。第三段對(duì)此有說(shuō)明。
5.A 這句表達(dá)的意思與原文相符。原句見(jiàn)第四段第一句：“Ms.Shaw and her colleagues
calculate the likely intervals by measuring the motion of either side of the fault to gauge how often such large earthquakes would have to occur to account for that level of motion”。
6.B Shaw女士和她的研究組測(cè)量過(guò)the motion of either side of the fault，但目的不是為了identify the magnitude of the earthquake taking place in AD 365，而是為了find how often such large earthquakes would have to occur to account for that level of motion。
7.C 縱觀全文，文章中沒(méi)有一句提到Shaw女士發(fā)明過(guò)地震預(yù)測(cè)裝置，更沒(méi)有談及這種裝置在全世界得到廣泛應(yīng)用這一點(diǎn)。
Image Martian Dust Particles
NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander1 has taken its first-ever picture of a single particle of rusty Martian dust with one of its microscopes. The dust particles of dust were shown at a higher magnification than anything outside of Earth that has been imaged before. The rounded particle measured only about one micrometer, or one millionth of a meter, across.
Taking this image required the highest resolution microscope operated off Earth2 and a specially designed device to hold the Martian dust," said Tom Pike, a Phoenix science team member from Imperial College London3. "We always knew it was going to be technically very challenging to image particles this small4.''
The device that imaged the dust speck is called an atomic force microscope, which maps the shape of particles in three dimensions by scanning them with a sharp tip at the end of a spring. The atomic force microscope can detail the shapes of particles as small as about 100 nanometers. And this won't be the last dust particle that Phoenix will image5. "After this first success, we're now working on building up a portrait gallery6 of the dust on Mars," Pike said.
Dust exists everywhere on Mars, coating the surface and giving it its rusty red color. Dust particles also color the Martian sky pink and feed storms that regularly envelope the planet. The ultra-fine7 dust is the medium that actively links gases in the Martian atmosphere to processes in Martian soil, so it is critically important to understanding Mars' environment8, the researchers said.
The $420-million Phoenix mission is analyzing the dust and subsurface ice layers of Mars' arctic regions to look for signs of potential past habitability. The particle seen in the atomic force microscope image was part of a sample scooped by the robotic arm from the "Snow White" trench and delivered to Phoenix's microscope station in early July.
詞匯:
image v. 繪……的圖像 scan v. 掃描
magnification n. 放大 subsurface adj. 地面下的
micrometer n. 微米 habitability n. 居住性
resolution n. 分辨率，清晰度 scoop v. 挖
map v. 繪制……的地圖 trench n. 溝
注釋:
1. NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander: 美國(guó)國(guó)家航空航天局的鳳凰號(hào)火星登陸器
2. off earth : 地球之外
3. Imperial College London : 倫敦帝國(guó)學(xué)院
4. image particles this small: 描繪如此之小的微粒。image particles this small是口語(yǔ)的說(shuō)法，其意思是image such small particles/image particles which are so small。
5. And this won't be the last dust particle that Phoenix will image: 這不會(huì)是鳳凰號(hào)掃描圖像的最后的塵粒。本句的言外之意是：科學(xué)家將會(huì)收集更多的火星微粒進(jìn)行掃描。
6. portrait gallery: (火星塵粒)圖像陳列館
7. ultra-fine : 超小的
8. it is critically important to understanding Mars' environment: 火星塵粒對(duì)于了解火星環(huán)境是極端重要的。it指代上一句的dust，而to是介詞，所以后接動(dòng)名詞 understanding。
練習(xí):
1. The dust particle on Mars is the smallest particle that has been imaged outside of Earth.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
2. Using the same technology, we have also measured the size of particles on the moon and Jupiter.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
3. Scientists use the highest resolution microscope to watch and record the image of Martian particles on earth.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
4. Tom Pike said that they used to think it was no easy job to image such small particles.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
5. An electronic device has been developed to measure the weight of certain Martian rocks.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
6. After collecting the last Martian dust particle, the scientists have started to build up a portrait gallery of it.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
7. The Phoenix's robotic arm collected the Martian dust particles for analysis on Mars.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
答案與解析:
1.A 第一段說(shuō)，NASA的鳳凰號(hào)火星登陸器用它的顯微鏡觀測(cè)地球外長(zhǎng)度只有百萬(wàn)分之一米的微粒。本題的表述與第一段的意思吻合。
2.C 通篇文章都沒(méi)有提到科學(xué)家用同樣的技術(shù)測(cè)量月球和水星上的微粒。
3.B 第一段只是說(shuō)，NASA的鳳凰號(hào)火星登陸器用它的顯微鏡觀察地球外，而不是地球上長(zhǎng)度只有百萬(wàn)分之一的火星微粒，所以本題的表述是錯(cuò)的。
4. A Tom Pike說(shuō)，“We always knew it was going to be technically very challenging to image particles this small.”(我們過(guò)去一直知道，觀察體積如此小的微粒具有很高的挑戰(zhàn)性。)(見(jiàn)第二段)這句話是選擇A的依據(jù)。
5.C 通篇文章都沒(méi)有提到有人發(fā)明了一種能測(cè)量火星上某些微粒的重量的電子裝置。
6.B 第三段中提到，“...this won't be the last dust particle that Phoenix will image”。接著又說(shuō)，“After this first success，we’re now working on building up a portrait gallery of the dust on Mars”。而本題卻說(shuō)：“After collecting the last Martian dust particle，we’re now working on building up…”，這與文章所表達(dá)內(nèi)容明顯不同，所以本題的答案是B。 .
7.A 選擇A的依據(jù)是文章最后一句：“The particle seen in the atomic force microscope image was part of a sample scooped by the robotic arm…”。