A terrifying example of the sea’s power saw 125,000 people die in 12 different countries last week. The destruction was caused when a very big 16 sent tsunamis (海啸) smashing into Indian Ocean coastlines.
Communities in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India, Malaysia and East Africa have been 17 by the huge waves. Whole towns were simply swept aside by the power of the water. Cars, trains and buildings could not 18, let alone the people who stood 19.
The earthquake 20 9.0 on he Richter scale and occurred 21 the coast of Indonesia. It was 22 as the fifth strongest since 1990.
Scientists said the quake was as 23 an a million of the atom bombs that were 24 on Japan during World War Ⅱ. “This may be the worst natural disaster in recent history 25 it is a affecting so many heavily populated coastal areas,” said Jan England, a UN official.
Because such waves 26 happen in he Indian Ocean, there is no system in place to 27 coastal communities they are about to be hit.
Tsunami is Japanese for “harbor wave”. They are usually caused by a sudden 28 or fall of he part of the Earth crust (地壳) under the ocean. Tsunamis often happen in oceans and they are most 29 in the Pacific. Normally a tsunami includes a series of waves.
Tsunamis can be very long- as much as 100 kilometers-and be as far as one hour apart. They are able to 30 entire oceans without losing much energy. One of the most striking 31 about tsunamis is that an earthquake on one side of the Pacific Ocean can cause giant waves and destruction on the other side.
When the ocean is deep, tsunamis can travel unnoticed 32 speeds of up to 800 kilometers per hour. They can cross the entire ocean in a day or less. The wave may only be a few meters high in the ocean 33 when it is near the shore and reaches shallow water, the wave builds up very quickly in 34. Witnesses in some areas of Indonesia reported seeing up to 10-mieter high waves crash into the shore.
“Tsunamis travel 35 in all directions from the center of an earthquake and attack coastlines,” said Wong Qing-Tak, senior scientific officer at the Hong Kong Observatory. “They can easily suck people out to sea, cause flooding and destroy property.”
16. A. storm | B. hurricane | C. earthquake | D. wave |
17. A. cut | B. shook | C. included | D. destroyed |
18. A. survive | B. remain | C. exist | D. achieve |
19. A. in a way | B. in the way | C. on the way | D. by the way |
20. A. equaled | B. measured | C. matched | D. valued |
21. A. on | B. in | C. at | D. off |
22. A. referred | B. used | C. recorded | D. marked |
23. A. huge | B. much | C. powerful | D. many |
24. A. fallen | B. dropped | C. fired | D. burst |
25. A. if | B. though | C. as | D. unless |
26. A. never | B. rarely | C. often | D. always |
27. A. warm | B. prevent | C. protect | D. remind |
28. A. raise | B. increase | C. rise | D. grow |
29. A common | B. usual | C. extraordinary | D. natural |
30. A. spread | B. extend | C. cross | D. reach |
31. A. news | B. facts | C. stories | D. accidents |
32. A. in | B. on | C. at | D. for |
33. A. but | B. and | C. however | D. or |
34. A. width | B. size | C. height | D. length |
35. A. toward | B. forward | C. outward | D. inward |
