Everyone has heard of the San Andreas fault （断层）, which constantly threatens California an

Everyone has heard of the San Andreas fault （断层）, which constantly threatens California and the West Coast with earthquakes. But how many people know about the equally serious New Madrid fault in Missouri?
　　 Between December of 1811 and February of 1812, three major earthquakes occurred, all centered around the town of New Madrid, Missouri, on the Mississippi River. Property damage was severe. Buildings in the area were almost destroyed. Whole forests fell at once, and huge cracks opened in the ground, releasing some strong smell chemicals.
　　 The Mississippi River itself completely changed character, developing sudden rapids and whirlpools (激流和漩涡). Several times it changed its course, and once, according to some observers, it actually appeared to run backwards. Few people were killed in the New Marid earthquakes, probably simply because few people lived in the area in 1811; but the severity of the earthquakes are shown by the fact that the shock waves rang bells in church towers in Charleston, South Carolina, on the coast. Buildings shook in New York City, and clocks were stopped in Washington, D.C.
Scientists now know that America's two major faults are essentially different. The San Andreas is a horizontal boundary between two major land masses that are slowly moving in opposite directions. California earthquakes result when the two masses make a sudden move.
The New Madrid fault, on the other hand, is a vertical fault; at some points, possibly hundreds of millions of years ago, rock was pushed up toward the surface, probably by volcanoes under the surface. Suddenly, the volcanoes cooled and the rock collapsed, leaving huge cracks. Even now, the rock continues to settle downwards, and sudden sinking motions cause earthquakes in the region. The fault itself, a large crack in this layer of rock, with dozens of other cracks that split off from it, extends from northeast Arkansas through Missouri and into southern Illinois.
　　 Scientists who have studied the New Madrid fault say there have been numerous smaller quakes in the area since 1811; these smaller quakes indicate that larger ones are probably coming, but the scientists say they have no method of predicting when a large earthquake will occur.
【小题1】This passage is mainly about .A．current scientific knowledge about faultsB．the San Andreas and the New Madrid faultsC．the causes of faults 　　　　　　　 D．the New Madrid fault in Missouri【小题2】The New Madrid fault is .A．a vertical faultB．a horizontal faultC．a more serious fault than the San Andreas faultD．responsible for forming the Mississippi River【小题3】This passage implies that .　　　　　　.A．horizontal faults are more dangerous than vertical faultsB．Vertical faults are more dangerous than horizontal faultsC．The volcanoes that caused the New Madrid fault are still aliveD．A lot of people would die if the 1811 New Madrid earthquakes happened todayD

(答案→)D 解析：本文通过历史回顾和科学分析，提醒人们多关注New Madrid地区频繁的地震。【小题1】主旨大意题。由本文第一段的最后一句话“But how many people know about the equally serious New Madrid fault in Missouri? ”可知这篇文章讲的是New Madrid地区的断层。选D【小题2】细节理解题。本文第四段和第五段内容可以判断The San Andreas fault是水平地震，而The New Madrid fault是垂直地震，所以A项正确。【小题3】推理判断题。根据第五段中第二句“Suddenly, the volcanoes cooled and the rock collapsed, leaving huge cracks. Even now, the rock continues to settle downwards”可以排除D项；根据第三段第三句“Few people were killed in the New Madrid earthquakes, probably simply because few people lived in the area in 1811”可以如果1811年的地震在今天发生很多人就会死了，推测答案为D

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