B． on the largest plate
C． at the places where the plates are about 70 kilometres thick
D． at places where plates meet B
Earthquakes are something that people fear．There are some places that have few or no earthquakes．Most places in the world，however，have them regularly（有规律的）．Countries that have a lot of earthquakes are usually quite mountainous（多山的）．
The most talked about earthquake in the United States was in San Francisco in 1906．Over 700 people died in it．The strongest one in North America was in 1964．It happened in Alaska．
Strong earthquakes are not always the ones that kill the most people．In 1755，one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded was felt in Portugal．Around 2,000 people died．
In 1923，a very strong earthquake hit the Tokyo，Yokohama area of Japan．A hundred and forty thousand people died．Most of them died in fires which followed the earthquake．
One of the worst earthquakes ever was in China in 1976．It killed a large number of people．The worst earthquake ever reported was also in China，in which 400,000 people were killed or injured．This earthquake happened in 1556． Earthquakes worry people a lot．The reason is that we often do not know when they are coming．People can not prepare for it． 51． Earthquakes happen ＿＿＿＿＿＿ ． A． in all the places in the world
B． only in the countries that have a lot of mountains C． regularly in most places in the world D． only in a few places along the coast
52． How many people died in the earthquake which happened in Portugal in 1755？
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A． 500． B． 140,000． C． 400,000． D． 2,000．
53． When and where was the worst earthquake ever reported？
A． 1964；Alaska． B． 1556；China．
C． 1923；Japan． D． 1976；China．
54． According to the passage， which of the following is NOT true？ A． The stronger the earthquake is，the more people are killed． B． Earthquakes often come unexpectedly （出乎意料地）． C． Earthquakes can cause fires．
D． People still don’t know how to tell when an earthquake will come．
55． What may be talked about in the seventh paragraph？ A． How do earthquakes worry people？
B． What will people do to prepare for earthquakes？ C． How can we save people when earthquakes happen？ D． How do earthquakes happen？ Keys: 46－50 DACBD 51－55 CDBAB 8
阅读理解（共10小题；每小题2分，满分20分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出最佳选项。 A
Edelweiss（雪绒花） is the Swiss national flower． The blooms are small and white． They are shaped like stars．
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In the Alps edelweiss grows wild． But it is hard to pick． It grows high up in the mountains，near the area where the snow stays all year long． Most of the plants are found in steep（险峻的） rock crevices（缝隙）．
Young men sometimes bring edelweiss back for their girl friends． The girls think of the flowers as a proof（证明） of true love too． Mountain climber guides and hunters pick edelweiss． They wear it on their hats． To them it is a sign of courage and daring（勇敢）．
46． Edelweiss is the national flower of ＿＿＿＿＿＿ ． A． Austria B
Alps C． Switzerland D． Sweden 47． The flowers are ＿＿＿＿＿＿．
A． white B．shaped C． yellow D． Both A and B． 48． The plants are found in ＿＿＿＿＿＿．
A． snow drifts crevices
C． warm places B．
49． Edelweiss is hard to pick because ＿＿＿＿＿＿． A． it has tough stems
B． it grows in high，steep places C． it is protected by Swiss law D． people don’t like it
50． Edelweiss given to a girl stands for ＿＿＿＿＿＿．
A． love B． beauty C． D． dislike B
the
star
－
B． rock D． Both A and 23
truth
．
It is surprising that eating three meals a day—breakfast，lunch and dinner—has been a custom（习俗） only since 1890． Before this time，people only had two meals a day—breakfast and dinner．
In the 16th century，breakfast was only to break one’s fast（随便吃一点）． But 200 years later it had become a large meal，not just for family，but for numbers of guests as well． It was a social（社会的）event． It began at 10 a.m． and lasted until 1 p.m． Then breakfast began to be less popular． It became，instead，a lighter meal and was taken at a much earlier hour． By 1850 it had been pushed back to 8 a.m． and became a family meal．
Dinner，however，went to the other way． In the 16th century it was eaten at 11 a．m． Years later，it had moved to the early afternoon，then to 5 p.m． By 1850 dinner time had reached 7 p.m． Lunch is a recent idea． It first appeared as a snack to fill the gap（间隙） between breakfast and dinner． 51． People did not have lunch ＿＿＿＿＿＿ ．
A． until 1890 B． after 1890
C． since 1890 D． by 1890 52． “ Dinner，however，went to the other way ” means “＿＿＿＿＿＿ ”． A． Dinner didn't go there with breakfast B． Dinner took the same way with breakfast C． Dinner is different from breakfast D． Dinner is the same with breakfast
53． Breakfast became a family meal since the ＿＿＿＿＿ century． A． 17th B． 18th C． 16th D． 19th
54． The passage is mostly concerned with（涉及）＿＿＿＿＿＿． A． what people eat for breakfast B． what people eat for dinner C． the history of supper
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D． the history of the three meals
55． The passage leads us to believe that ＿＿＿＿＿＿． A． our custom of meals is based on English custom B． before 1890 people didn’t eat three meals a day C． breakfast is the most important meal for us
D． the body can adjust to（适应） two or three meals a day Keys:46－50 CDBBA 51－55 ACDDB 9
阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出个最佳选项。 A
In the United States，there are different kinds of farmland． The land is planted with crops in many places． Only in the western part of the country do we have rangeland（牧场） where cattle are raised．
But most of Australia’s farmland has a dry climate similar to our rangeland． Less than 20 inches of rain fall each year， the land does not get enough rain for farmers to grow crops． So most farmland in Australia is used to raise sheep and cattle． Australia raises more sheep than any other country in the world． In Australia，all large cities are on the coast． The people of Australia call the empty island regions（区域） of their country the “outback”． In the outback are huge sheep and cattle ranches（牧场） called“stations”． One station may cover thousands of miles．
The men and women in the outback are like the Pioneers who first settled in the American West． Some families live 400 miles from the nearest town． Herds（牛群）going to markets are driven hundreds of miles to the nearest railroad．
Sometimes it does not rain for years． The temperatures can go as high as 130．These outback families often lead hard and lonely lives．
56． The underlined word “outback” most probably means ＿＿＿＿＿＿．
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