83. Tsunamis are ______________.

A. indicators of bad weather　　　　　　　　　　 　　　 B. caused by earthquakes

C. scientists who study earthquakes　　　　　 D. measured on the Richter Scale

PART FOUR　 WRITING (17 points)

SECTION A.

.Directions: Fill in the blanks by using the information given in the blank, ONE word in each blank (7 points).

82. Earthquakes __________.

A. have crusts　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. are caused by tsunamis

C. are not particularly dangerous　　　　　　　 　　　 D. are measured on the Richter Scale

81. The earthquake in Shanxi province ___________.

A. killed almost a million people　　　　　　　 　　　 B. occurred in 1566

C. destroyed Tokyo as well　　　　　　　　　　　 D. was the only big earthquake in China

80. Earthquakes ______.

A. don’t do much damage　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. take place all over the world

C. are most likely to happen in Tokyo　　　 　　　 D. are not serious

79. The story is about ______.

A. scientists who study earthquakes　　　　 B. the Richter Scale

C. a common natural disaster　　　　　　　　　 　　　 D. what to do in an earthquake

78. The topic mainly talked about in the text is 　　　.

　 A. why the students should not use mobile phones in some Australian schools

　 B. when the students of some Australian schools can use their mobile phones

　 C. whether the Australian students can have mobile phones at school

　 D. how some parents feel when their children should not carry mobile phones

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D

Every year there are hundreds of earthquakes in different parts of the world. In Sept. 1923, Tokyo and Yokohama were both destroyed by an earthquake and the fires that followed it. They had to be completely rebuilt. One of the most serious earthquakes was in China's Shanxi province in 1556. It killed almost one million people.

　　 We measure an earthquake's strength on the Richter Scale(里氏震级). The Richter Scale was introduced in 1935 in Southern California in the USA. It measures earthquakes on a scale of one to ten. Any earthquake measuring five or more is usually serious.

The Earth's crust(地壳)is made up of layers of rock called plates. As these plates move, they sometimes crash against each other, causing the crust to quake. In cities such as Tokyo, where small quakes occur quite often, many modern buildings are designed to be flexible so when the Earth moves, they move with it.

Earthquakes can also break up gas and oil pipes. This can cause fires to break out, which can do as much damage as the earthquake itself.

　　 Another effect of earthquakes is tsunamis(海啸). These are huge waves created by earthquakes beneath the sea. They can be many meters high and cause great damage to coastal towns and cities.

China, Japan, Russia and the United States have the highest occurrence of earthquakes in the world.

77. The underlined word “they” in the fifth paragraph refers to 　　　.

　 A. many teachers　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　 B. some messages

　 C. mobile phones　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　 D. some students

76. Some parents felt unhappy because they couldn’t 　　　　during school hours.

　 A. use their mobile phones　　　　　　　　 　　　　

　 B. leave their mobile phones

　 C. help the teachers with their work　　　　 　　　

　 D. get in touch with their children

75. We know from the passage that some children get mobile phones from 　　　　　.

　 A. the makers and sellers　　　　　　　 　　　　　 B. some other strangers

　 C. their parents and friends　　　　　　　　 　　　 D. some mobile phone users

74. Some middle schools in Australia have banned students from carrying mobile phones　　　 .

　 A. because they are students　　　　　　　 　　　 B. when they are free

　 C. because they are young{007}　　　　　 　　　　　　　　 D. when they are at school