1 . Japan is particularly vulnerable to natural disasters because of its climate and topography(地形), and it has experienced countless earthquakes, typhoons, and other types of disasters.
A number of factors contribute to the high incidence of natural disasters in Japan. Firstly, the country faces extreme climate changes, such as seasonal rain fronts and typhoons, as well as heavy snowfall on the Sea of Japan. Secondly, Japan's topography is rugged(崎岖不平的). Thirdly, Japan is located in the Pacific earthquake belt and is often struck by earthquakes, while its complex coastline is vulnerable to tsunamis. And fourthly, Japan is located in the circum-Pacific zone, in which almost all the volcanoes of the world are concentrated, and has 83 active volcanoes—one-tenth of the world total.
Between the end of World War Il and the late 1950s, when Japan's defenses against disasters were weakened by the war, the country was hit by a series of major typhoons, violent earthquakes, and other disasters, and over 1, 000 lives were lost almost every year. The Ise Bay Typhoon of September 1959 killed more than 5,000 people, the biggest number in the postwar period. It urged the establishment of a planned and complete disaster prevention administration system, and in 1961 the Disaster Countermeasures Basic Act was made. After that measures for prevention, emergency relief, and recovery were linked interactively under a system that ensured effective ways to disaster countermeasures. In June 1960 a decision was reached to observe a "Disaster Prevention Day" each year on September 1 as a means of spreading disaster prevention knowledge and raising public awareness.
Japan in the 1960s thus began actively carrying out measures to shore up both the physical and institutional safeguards against disasters, with particular measures being placed on disaster prevention. These efforts have greatly reduced the number of people who die or become missing as a result of natural disasters. The declining trend is still continuing, and the number has fallen to between 100 and 200 per year in recent years.
1. Why do many natural disasters happen in Japan?| A．Because of Japan's ignorance. | B．Because of Japan's location. |
| C．Because of Japan's poor ability. | D．Because of Japan's wrong measures. |
| A．Heavy snowfall. | B．Earthquakes. | C．Typhoons. | D．Volcanoes. |
| A．It showed Japan's defenses against disasters were weak. |
| B．It promoted the disaster prevention administration system. |
| C．It was the worst disaster in Japan's history. |
| D．It made about 1, 000 people lose their lives. |
| A．There are still many natural disasters in Japan now. |
| B．Japan did a lot to fight against natural disasters in the 1960s. |
| C．The natural disasters in Japan are dropping. |
| D．Japan's measures against natural disasters have worked much. |
2 . New Zealand is no stranger to stranded whales (搁浅的鲸). Every year, rescuers help refloat many whales that get stuck in the coastal waters or sand during low tide (潮汐). However, last week’s stranding of two groups almost never happens.
On February 9, over 400 pilot whales were stranded at the base of Farewell Spit at the northern end of Golden Bay. Unfortunately, by the time rescuers arrived, almost 300 whales had died. More than 500 volunteers worked tirelessly to keep the remaining whales cool until high tide. At 3:30 PM local time, the whales had been successfully pushed back into the ocean.
But before the exhausted volunteers could recover, came another piece of news. Late on Friday, February 10, a new group of almost 200 pilot whales was discovered stranded along the same place. Andrew Lamason, the Operations Manager at the DOC, says they are confident it was a new group because they had tagged (贴标签) all the refloated whales from the first group and none of the whales in the new group had tags.
Unfortunately, nothing could be done to help the stranded whales at night. Early Saturday, hundreds of locals returned to the beach. To their surprise and delight, all but 17 of the stranded whales were gone! DOC spokesman Herb Christophers says they were probably able to “self-rescue” when the tide came in during the night. The rescuers took care of the remaining 17 whales until the tide returned．
Thanks to its unique shape and shallow waters that affect the echolocation (回声定位) of whales making their way around, whale strandings are not unusual near Farewell Spit. However, experts are shocked at the unusually large number. Christophers guesses that a lost whale’s distress (求救) call may have caused the entire group to rush to the rescue. However, another expert, Mike Ogle, has a different theory. After noticing some shark bites on one of the whales, he believes they may have been trying to escape from danger.
1. Which of the following is correct according to the passage?| A．Only about 100 stranded whales in the first group survived. |
| B．Rescuers arrived to save the first group of stranded whales in time. |
| C．Rescuers couldn’t do anything to save the whale before high tide came. |
| D．Whales seldom get stranded on the beach of New Zealand. |
| A．at the sight of sharks | B．by means of the high tide |
| C．under the guidance of the tags | D．with the help of human beings |
| A．Many of the second group of stranded whales died. |
| B．The stranded whales were taken away. |
| C．Someone saved the stranded whales. |
| D．High tide came. |
| A．Because all the whales in the first group had shark bites. |
| B．Because the whales in the second group looked strange. |
| C．Because the whales in the second group did not have tags. |
| D．Because the whales in the first group had left the coastline. |
