THIS was the year the Earth struck back.

Earthquakes, heat waves, floods, volcanoes, super typhoons, snow storms, landslides and droughts killed at least a quarter of a million people in 2010 – the deadliest year in more than a generation. More people were killed worldwide by natural disasters this year than have been killed in terrorism attacks in the past 40 years combined.

"It just seemed like it was back-to-back and it came in waves," said Craig Fugate, who heads the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency. It handled a record number of disasters in 2010.

And we have ourselves to blame most of the time, scientists and disaster experts say.

Even though many catastrophes have the ring of random chance, the hand of man made this a particularly deadly, costly, extreme and weird（古怪的） year for everything from wild weather to earthquakes.

Poor construction and development practices conspire to make earthquakes more deadly than they need be. More people live in poverty in vulnerable（脆弱的） buildings in crowded cities. That means that when the ground shakes, the river breaches, or the tropical cyclone hits, more people die.

Disasters from the Earth, such as earthquakes and volcanoes "are pretty much constant," said Andreas Schraft, vice president of catastrophic perils for the Geneva-based insurance giant Swiss Re. "All the change that's made is man-made."

The January earthquake that killed well more than 220,000 people in Haiti is a perfect example. Port-au-Prince has nearly three times as many people - many of them living in poverty - and more poorly built shanties than it did 25 years ago. So had the same quake hit in 1985 instead of 2010, total deaths would have probably been in the 80,000 range, said Richard Olson, director of disaster risk reduction at Florida International University.

In February, an earthquake that was more than 500 times stronger than the one that struck Haiti hit an area of Chile that was less populated, better constructed, and not as poor. Chile's bigger quake caused fewer than 1,000 deaths.

Climate scientists say Earth's climate also is changing, bringing extreme weather, such as heat waves and flooding.

In the summer, one weather system caused oppressive heat in Russia, while farther south it caused flooding in Pakistan that inundated 161,200 square kilometers, about the size of Wisconsin. That single heat-and-storm system killed almost 17,000 people, more people than all the worldwide airplane crashes in the past 15 years.

Scientists have calculated that the killer Russian heat wave—setting a national record of 43.9℃—would happen once every 100,000 years without global warming.

1.What is responsible for the most human deaths in 2010?

A．Natrual disasters.                        B．Terrorist attacks.

    C．Poor buildings.                      D．Too rapid developrnent.

2.According to Andreas Schraft,             .

A．earthquakes are happening more often because of human beings

B．earthquakes are causing more damage because of human beings

C．stronger houses should be built to limit storm damage

D．Port—au—Prince is now overpopulated

3.The main point of the article is to            .

A．list the natural disasters that occurred in 2010

B．give the details of some natural disasters of 2010

C．warn that more natural disasters are to strike

D．blame humanity for not helping those affected by the disasters

THIS was the year the Earth struck back.
Earthquakes, heat waves, floods, volcanoes, super typhoons, snow storms, landslides and droughts killed at least a quarter of a million people in 2010 – the deadliest year in more than a generation. More people were killed worldwide by natural disasters this year than have been killed in terrorism attacks in the past 40 years combined.
"It just seemed like it was back-to-back and it came in waves," said Craig Fugate, who heads the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency. It handled a record number of disasters in 2010.
And we have ourselves to blame most of the time, scientists and disaster experts say.
Even though many catastrophes have the ring of random chance, the hand of man made this a particularly deadly, costly, extreme and weird（古怪的） year for everything from wild weather to earthquakes.
Poor construction and development practices conspire to make earthquakes more deadly than they need be. More people live in poverty in vulnerable（脆弱的） buildings in crowded cities. That means that when the ground shakes, the river breaches, or the tropical cyclone hits, more people die.
Disasters from the Earth, such as earthquakes and volcanoes "are pretty much constant," said Andreas Schraft, vice president of catastrophic perils for the Geneva-based insurance giant Swiss Re. "All the change that's made is man-made."
The January earthquake that killed well more than 220,000 people in Haiti is a perfect example. Port-au-Prince has nearly three times as many people - many of them living in poverty - and more poorly built shanties than it did 25 years ago. So had the same quake hit in 1985 instead of 2010, total deaths would have probably been in the 80,000 range, said Richard Olson, director of disaster risk reduction at Florida International University.
In February, an earthquake that was more than 500 times stronger than the one that struck Haiti hit an area of Chile that was less populated, better constructed, and not as poor. Chile's bigger quake caused fewer than 1,000 deaths.
Climate scientists say Earth's climate also is changing, bringing extreme weather, such as heat waves and flooding.
In the summer, one weather system caused oppressive heat in Russia, while farther south it caused flooding in Pakistan that inundated 161,200 square kilometers, about the size of Wisconsin. That single heat-and-storm system killed almost 17,000 people, more people than all the worldwide airplane crashes in the past 15 years.
Scientists have calculated that the killer Russian heat wave—setting a national record of 43.9℃—would happen once every 100,000 years without global warming.
【小题1】What is responsible for the most human deaths in 2010?

C
JeawGilles was a millionaire．But Tuesday night，he was sleeping in his car．
Jean-Gilles was the owner of the Peace of Mind Hotel in Jacrnel，Haiti, a three-story，30-room building in a quiet tropical valley on Haiti’s southern coast，25 miles from the noises of the capital，Port-au-Prince. Jean-Gilles and his wife，Marie，lived in an apartment on the property，close enough to watch carefully over the guest rooms，conference rooms and restaurant，close enough that they know the first name of every guest．
After the 7．0-earthquake hit at 4：57 pm on Jan．12，2010，they slept in their aging Isuzu，parked in the hotel driveway．
Jean-Gilles figured a second was the difference between life and death when the earthquake struck．He was working in a ground-floor conference room and first heard，then felt the quake．He asked his electrician．Rob-elTle St．Louis, who was working nearby，what was happening．
“Get out．Now．Get out．Now．”St．Louis said．
Jean-Gilles cleared the falling structure by a mere second，he estimated．His wife，who was working in the couple’s apartment on the second floor，wasn’t able to get clear．People nearby heard her screams after the shaking stopped and removed the building blocks around her by hand．She was shaken and scratched, but walked away from the ruins．
“I am alive．God is good．”she repeated over and over on Saturday．
The Peacc of Mind Hotel was a dream which had come true for Jean-Gilles,57,and Marie,59. Born in Port–au-Prince, they moved to the United States shortly after meeting 34 years ago. Together, they owned a beauty supply store in Jersey City, New Jersey, and invested in real estate. In 2003, they cashed out their US investments, returned to Haiti and began building the peace of Mind Hotel, looking to make a future for themselves and the people of their homeland.
59. Which of the following statements about Jean-Gilles is TRUE?
A. He lived far from the Peace of Mind Hotel.    B. He helped St. Louis to manage a hotel.
C. He was born in Haiti in 1976.                        D. He once owned a store in the US.
60. According to the passage, the peace of Mind Hotel_________.
A. offered guests different services                            B. was located in the capital city of Haiti
C. was a building with 30 guest rooms                D. was owned by Marie and St. Louis
61. When the earthquake hit, Marie was_________.
A. sleeping in the car                                        B. working in the conference room
C. working on the second floor                         D. cooking in the restaurant
62. It can be inferred from the passage that      .
A. Haiti is the 51st state of the US
B. the earthquake happened quickly and unexpectedly
C. nobody in the hotel died in the earthquake
D. Marie was not sad about losing her property in the earthquake

C

JeawGilles was a millionaire．But Tuesday night，he was sleeping in his car．

Jean-Gilles was the owner of the Peace of Mind Hotel in Jacrnel，Haiti, a three-story，30-room building in a quiet tropical valley on Haiti’s southern coast，25 miles from the noises of the capital，Port-au-Prince. Jean-Gilles and his wife，Marie，lived in an apartment on the property，close enough to watch carefully over the guest rooms，conference rooms and restaurant，close enough that they know the first name of every guest．

After the 7．0-earthquake hit at 4：57 pm on Jan．12，2010，they slept in their aging Isuzu，parked in the hotel driveway．

Jean-Gilles figured a second was the difference between life and death when the earthquake struck．He was working in a ground-floor conference room and first heard，then felt the quake．He asked his electrician．Rob-elTle St．Louis, who was working nearby，what was happening．

“Get out．Now．Get out．Now．”St．Louis said．

Jean-Gilles cleared the falling structure by a mere second，he estimated．His wife，who was working in the couple’s apartment on the second floor，wasn’t able to get clear．People nearby heard her screams after the shaking stopped and removed the building blocks around her by hand．She was shaken and scratched, but walked away from the ruins．

“I am alive．God is good．”she repeated over and over on Saturday．

The Peacc of Mind Hotel was a dream which had come true for Jean-Gilles,57,and Marie,59. Born in Port–au-Prince, they moved to the United States shortly after meeting 34 years ago. Together, they owned a beauty supply store in Jersey City, New Jersey, and invested in real estate. In 2003, they cashed out their US investments, returned to Haiti and began building the peace of Mind Hotel, looking to make a future for themselves and the people of their homeland.

59. Which of the following statements about Jean-Gilles is TRUE?

A. He lived far from the Peace of Mind Hotel.    B. He helped St. Louis to manage a hotel.

C. He was born in Haiti in 1976.                        D. He once owned a store in the US.

60. According to the passage, the peace of Mind Hotel_________.

A. offered guests different services                            B. was located in the capital city of Haiti

C. was a building with 30 guest rooms                D. was owned by Marie and St. Louis

61. When the earthquake hit, Marie was_________.

A. sleeping in the car                                        B. working in the conference room

C. working on the second floor                         D. cooking in the restaurant

62. It can be inferred from the passage that      .

A. Haiti is the 51st state of the US

B. the earthquake happened quickly and unexpectedly

C. nobody in the hotel died in the earthquake

D. Marie was not sad about losing her property in the earthquake

2010 was the year the Earth struck back.
Earthquakes, heat waves, floods, volcanoes, super typhoons, blizzards (暴风雪), landslides and droughts killed at least a quarter million people in 2010 – the deadliest year in more than a generation. More people were killed worldwide by natural disasters this year than have been killed in terrorism attacks in the past 40 years combined.
“It just seemed like it was back-to-back(接二连三) and it came in waves,” said Craig Fugate, who heads the US Federal Emergency Management Agency. It handled a record number of disasters in 2010.
“The term “100-year event’ really lost its meaning this year.”
And we have ourselves to blame most of the time, scientists and disaster experts say.
Even though many disasters have the ring of random chance, the hand of man made this a particularly deadly, costly, extreme and strange year for everything from wild weather to earthquakes.
Poor construction and development practices make earthquakes more deadly than they need be. More people live in poverty in vulnerable buildings（危房） in crowded cities. That means that when the ground shakes, the river floods, or the tropical cyclone hits, more people die.
Disasters from the Earth, such as earthquakes and volcanoes “are pretty much constant,” said Andreas Schraft, vice president of catastrophic perils for the Geneva-based insurance giant Swiss Re. “All the change that’s made is man-made.”
The January earthquake that killed well more than 220,000 people in Haiti is a perfect example. Port-au-Prince has nearly three times as many people – many of them living in poverty- and more poorly built shanties(棚户区) ,than it did 25 years ago. So had the same quake hit in 1985 instead of 2010; total deaths would have probably been in the 80,000 range, said Richard Olson, director of disaster risk reduction at Florida International University.
Climate scientists say Earth’s climate also is changing thanks to man-made global warming, bringing extreme weather, such as heat waves and flooding.
The excessive(过多的) amount of extreme weather that dominated 2010 is a classic sign of man-made global warming that climate scientists have long warned about. They calculate that the killer Russian heat wave – setting a national record of 111 degrees – would happen once every 100,000 years without global warming.
Data show that 18 countries broke their records for the hottest day ever.
“The Earth strikes back in response to bad human decision-making,” said Debarati Guha Sapir.” “It’s almost as if the policies, the government policies and development policies, are helping the Earth strike back instead of protecting from it. We’ve created conditions where the slightest thing the Earth does is really going to have a surprising impact.” White House science adviser John Holdren said we should get used to climate disasters or do something about global warming. “The science is clear that we can expect more and more of these kinds of damaging events unless and until society has sharply reduced the amount of heat-trapping gases and particles(颗粒).”
【小题1】From paragraph 1 to paragraph 3, we learn   ___________________________.