1 . 根据短文内容，从短文后的七个选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。 A 7．0 magnitude（级）earthquake killed more than 230,000 people in Haiti．Then an 8．8 magnitude quake killed more than 900 people in Chile．And few weeks later, a 6．0 magnitude quake struck rural eastern Turkey, killing at least 57 people． The earthquakes kept coming hard and fast．     1     It’s not．The problem is what’s happening above ground, not underground, experts say．     2     They’re rapidly putting up buildings that can’t stand up to earth quakes, scientists believe． And news reports and better earthquake monitoring make it seem as if earth quakes are increasing all the time． On average, there are 134 earthquakes a year that have a magnitude between 6．0 and 6．9．So far this year there have been 40 earthquakes—more than in most years for that time period．But that’s because the 8．8 quake in Chile caused a large number of strong aftershocks． Also, it’s not the number of quakes, but their destructive effects that gain attention．The death is largely due to building standards,     3     Paul Earle, a US seismologist, called for better building standards in the world’s big cities． Of the 130 cities worldwide with populations of more than 1 million, more than half are likely to be hit by earthquakes．     4     “If you have a problem feeding yourself, you’re not really going to worry about earthquakes,” said Paul． The earthquakes made everyone start to think     5     “People are paying attention to the violent planet we’re always living on．Come back an another six months if there has been no earthquakes, most people will have forgotten it again,” said US disaster researcher Dennis Mileti．

A. But it won’t last．

B. More people are moving into big cities．

C. Earthquakes don’t kill people, buildings do．

D. There have been more deaths overt the past decade from earthquakes．

E. Many people began to wonder if something terrible is happening underground．

F. While it seems as if the are more earthquakes occurring, there really aren’t．

G. But developing nations with growing populations don’t pay attention to earthquake preparedness．

2 . With alarming regularity, we read about oil tankers having accidents near land and the terrible consequences of the oil spills(泄露) on people, nature, and the environment.
Millions of dollars have been used in developing special chemicals to help dismiss the spills and to clean up the animals, beaches, and land spoiled by the oil. Unfortunately, when many of these chemicals are used, more damage is caused to the environment, especially to lives in the sea.
Of all of today’s environmental disasters, an oil spill may actually be one of the least serious. Although oil is poisonous, it is a natural material. In the end, it breaks down naturally. There are, of course, long-term effects, but it is usually more serious in the short term.
Nature by itself works better than chemical materials, but when there is a spill we demand that governments act immediately with as much hi-tech knowledge as possible. In 1967 the tanker Torrey Canyon sank off the Scilly Isles near the coast of England and spilled 120,000 tones of oil into the ocean. If you go there today, you will find it hard to see any sign that it ever happened.
Governments seem to accept the risk of transporting millions of tons of oil by ship every day so that we can fill up our cars and drive around and cause even more environmental damage. Interestingly, the biggest companies in the world produce cars, and the next biggest supply the gasoline to make them run!
We should be thinking more about reducing our dependency on oil. Governments should be encouraging research into new technologies, such as cars run by solar power(太阳能), electricity, hydrogen, and so on. Much of this research has, in the past, been held back by the oil, gas, and coal.
If the world’s millions of cars were 10% more efficient(高效的) — and the industry could easily produce cars at least twice as efficient — we would need many fewer tankers crossing the oceans each year. If this happened, the risks of oil spills would be reduced, and the air we breathe would be cleaner and fresher, too.
1. What is the passage mainly talking about?

A．Oil spills pollution.	B．What oil pollution is.
C．Oil tanker accidents.	D．How to reduce oil pollution.

2. How does the author support the idea that oil spills are not as serious as people believe?

A．By giving a description.	B．By making an argument.
C．By giving an example.	D．By drawing a diagram.

3. What does the underlined word “risk” in Paragraph 5 refer to?

A．Transportation depending more on oil.	B．Poisonous oil breaking down naturally.
C．Millions of tons of oil spilling into the sea.	D．More environmental damage being caused.

4. Which suggestion is made for reducing oil tank accidents according to the passage?

A．We should build safer oil tankers in the near future.

B．We should develop new technologies to cut oil use.

C．Tankers should not be allowed to sail near the coastlines.

D．Countries should build more oil pipelines under the sea.