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Unit6HowtoprepareforearthquakesIdeally,peoplewouldliketoknowwhenanearthquakeisgoingtohappenandhowbaditwillbe.InbothJapanandChina,peoplehavelongbelievedthatearthquakescanbeforecast.InJapan,scientistshavewiredtheEarthandseatodetectmovements.TheChinesehavetraditionallywatchedanimalsandplantsforwarningsignsofearthquakes.Forexample,theChinesehavenotedthatbeforeanearthquake,hens'behaviorchanges—theyrefusetoentertheircagesatnight.Theyhavealsonoticedthatsnakescomeoutofthegroundtofreezetodeathandthatdogsbarkalot,evenParagraph1normallyquietdogs.BeforetheHanshinearthquakeinJapan,therewerereportsoflargeschoolsoffishswimmingnearthesurfaceofthewater.Certainbirds,likepigeons,alsoseemedtobeespeciallynoisyandwerereportedtobeflyinginunusualpatternsbeforetheearthquake.Perhapsmostinteresting,andmosteasilymeasured,isachemicalchangeingroundwaterbeforeaquake.Experimentaldataseemtoindicatethattheamountofradon(Rn)inthewaterunderthesurfaceoftheEarthwaxesbeforeanearthquake.译文句型Paragraph2Peoplewouldalsoliketobeabletopreventthegreatdestructionofpropertycausedbyearthquakes.Afterall,mostofthepeoplewhodieinearthquakesarekilledbyfallingbuildings.Therefore,buildingstructuresthatcanwithstandthepowerofearthquakesisamajorconcern.Steelseemstobethebestmaterial,butnotifitisweldedtoformarigidstructure.Manynewstructuresarebuiltwithanewtypeofsteeljoint,anI-joint,whichappearstobethemostdurabletypeofjoint.译文句型Thesejointsofsteelcanmovewithoutbreaking.Also,topreventpropertydamage,architectsnowdesignbuildingssothatthebuilding'scolumnsandhorizontalbeamsareofequalstrength,andverticalsupportcolumnsareinserteddeepintosolidsoil.Inaddition,manynewhouseshaverelativelylightroofsandstrongwalls.Concretepillarsforhighwaybridgesthatpreviouslyonlyhadsteelrodsinsidearenowenclosedinsteel.译文Paragraph3Besidesworkingtoimprovebuildingstructures,peopleinareaswhereearthquakesarecommonneedtoprepareforthepossibilityofagreatearthquake.Theyshouldregularlycheckandreinforcetheirhomes,placeheavyobjectsinlowpositions,attachcupboardsandcabinetstowalls,andfastendoorssothattheywillnotopenaccidentallyduringanearthquake.译文句型Inadditiontopreparingtheirhouses,peopleintheseregionsneedtopreparethemselves.Theyshouldhavesuppliesofwaterandfoodathomeandatwork.Itisbesttostoreseveralgallonsofwaterperperson.Itisalsoimportanttohavesomethingthatcancleanwaterandkillbacteria,sowaterfromothersourcescanbemadesafetodrink.Storeoneweek'sfoodforeachperson.Earth-quakesurvivalsuppliesincludearadioreceiver,atorch,extrabatteries,firstaidsupplies,aspade,atent,somerope,andwarmclothing.Expertsalsosuggestthefollowing:译文Paragraph4Keepafireextinguisherhandy.Youshouldhaveoneathome,atwork,andinyourcar(ifyouhaveone).Thefireextinguishershouldbeabletoputoutanytypeoffire.Havethepropertoolstoturnoffgasandwaterlinesifnecessary.Arrangeanauxiliarycookingandheatingsourcethatcanbeusedoutside.Onealternativeisaportablecampstovewithsmallcansofgas.Keepapairofheavy,comfortableshoesorbootsinyourhome,atwork,andinyourvehicle.Ifthereisanearthquake,therewillbelotsoffragmentsofbrokenglass.Lightshoeswillnotprotectyourfeetaswellasheavyshoeswill.译文Paragraph5Everyfamilyneedstohaveearthquakeemergencyplans.Howwillfamilymembersleavetheareaduringthechaosfollowinganearthquake?Everyoneshouldagreeonameetingpointoutsideofthearea—perhapsinatownseveralmilesaway.Alsoimportantisanarrangementforfamilymemberstocommunicateifthereisanearthquake.Ifanearthquakehappensinalargecity,manyofthetelephonelineswithinthecityarelikelytobedown.译文Paragraph6Thefewremainingworkinglineswillbebusywiththecallsthatnaturallyoccurafteradisasteranditwillbedifficulttocallfromonepartofthecitytoanother.Itmight,however,bepossibletocalloutsidethecity.Asensiblearrangementistohaveallofthemembersofthefamilycalltocheckinwithafriendorrelativewholivesmorethanahundredmilesaway.译文Althoughscientistsstillcannotpredictearthquakes,theyarelearningagreatdealabouthowthelargeplatesintheEarth'scrustmove,thestressesbetweenplates,howearthquakeswork,andthegeneralprobabilitythatagivenplacewillhaveanearthquake.Somedaysoonitmayactuallybecomepossibletopredictearthquakeswithaccuracy.However,evenifpredictionbecomespossible,peoplewholiveinareaswhereearthquakesareacommonoccurrencewillstillhavetodotheirbesttopreventdisastersbybuildingstructuresthatareresistanttogroundmovementandbybeingpersonallyprepared.译文Paragraph7难句解析Theseprecautionscanmakeagreatdifferenceinsavinglivesandpreventingthelossofhomes.Educationconcerninghowtosurviveanearthquakeshouldbeamajoremphasisforallgovernmentprogramsandearthquake-relatedresearchprojects.译文第一段从理想上说，人们希望知道地震什么时候发生，破坏程度会如何。在日本和中国，人们长期以来一直相信地震是可以预测的。在日本，科学家在陆地上和海洋中铺设电线，以监测它们的运动。而中国人的传统做法是观察动植物以获取地震的警示信号。例如，中国人注意到，地震之前母鸡的行为会有所异常：它们夜晚不肯进笼。他们还注意到，蛇会爬出地穴而冻死，狗会狂吠不已，甚至那些平常很安静的狗也会叫个不停。日本的阪神地震发生之前，有报告说大批鱼群游到了水面。有些鸟，如鸽子，也显得特别聒噪，据说地震前它们飞行的方式也与往常不同。也许最有趣、也最容易测量的，是地震前地下水发生的化学变化。实验数据似乎表明，地震前地下水中氡的含量会增高。返回第二段人们还希望能够预防地震会造成的重大财产损失。要知道，多数在地震中丧生的人都是被倒塌的建筑物砸死的。所以，具有抗震能力的房屋结构是关注的重点。钢似乎是最佳的建材，但一旦被焊接成僵硬的结构就不行了。许多新式结构都采用了一种新型的钢接合方法，即I形接合，它看来是最耐用的一种接合。这种钢接合在移动时不会断裂。同样，为了预防财产损失，建筑师如今设计楼房时会使房屋的支柱和横梁力度相等，而垂直支柱则