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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 were almost all destroyed. Whole forests fell at once, and huge cracks(裂缝) opened in the ground.

The Mississippi River completely changed character, developing sudden fast-moving currents. Several times it changed its course, and once it appeared to run backwards. Few people were killed in the New Madrid earthquake, simply because few people lived in this area in 1811; but the severity of the quake is 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 different. The San Andreas fault is a horizontal (水平的) boundary between two major land masses that are slowly moving in opposite directions. California earthquakes result when the movement of these two masses suddenly leans (倾斜) forward.

The New Madrid fault, on the other hand, is a vertical(垂直的)fault; at some point, 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 start 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 large ones are probably coming, but the scientists say they have no method of predicting when it will occur.

1. The New Madrid fault is _______.

A. responsible for forming the Mississippi River

B. a fault in the flat position

C. a fault caused by rocks moving directly upward

D. a worse fault than the San Andreas fault

2.Which of the following is NOT true about the New Madrid fault?

A. Not many people were killed in the quakes in 1811.

B. Bells were rung in church towers in Charleston to inform the coming quakes.

C. The quakes stopped the clocks in Washington, D.C.

D. The quakes were caused by sudden sinking motion.

3. It can be concluded from the passage that _______.

A. it is probably as dangerous to live in Missouri as in California.

B. the New Madrid fault will eventually develop a mountain range in Missouri

C. in the future California will become an island

D. California will be broken into small pieces by an eventual earthquake

4.The author suggests that________.

A. earthquakes occur only around fault areas

B. horizontal faults are more dangerous than vertical ones

C. vertical faults are more dangerous than horizontal ones

D. faults are cracks on the earth’s surface caused by past movements of the earth’s land masses

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