《職稱英語考試 理工類A級 閱讀理解與完形填空 最后的押題【根據(jù)王、李、孫等王牌老師押題班整理】》由會員分享，可在線閱讀，更多相關(guān)《職稱英語考試 理工類A級 閱讀理解與完形填空 最后的押題【根據(jù)王、李、孫等王牌老師押題班整理】（16頁珍藏版）》請在裝配圖網(wǎng)上搜索。

1、2014年職稱英語考試 理工類A級 閱讀理解與完形填空 最后的押題 此份押題，是在總結(jié)王霞、孫偉、李玉枝等王牌押題老師的基礎(chǔ)上整理而來，若這個再不準，就沒有準的啦。。 其中題目前的AB等字母表示重要程度，A、B的必須掌握原文，我已附在后面。 您若需要其他文章，請Q我。 閱讀理解 A 第四十八篇 Researchers Discover Why Humans Began Walking Upright Most of us walk and carry items in our hands every day. These are seemingly simpl

2、e activities that the majority of us don’t question. But an international team of researchers, including Dr. Richmond from GWs Columbian College of Arts and Sciences，have discovered that human walking upright, may have originated millions of years ago as an adaptation to carrying scarce, high- q

3、uality resources. The team of researchers from the U. S., England, Japan and Portugal investigated the behavior of modern-day chimpanzees as they competed for food resources， an effort to understand what ecological settings wouldin lead a large ape — one that resembles the 6 million-year old ance

4、stor we shared in common with living chimpanzees — to walk on two legs. “These chimpanzees provide a model of the ecological conditions under which our earliest ancestors might have begun walking on two legs, "，said Dr. Richmond. The research findings suggest that chimpanzees switch to moving on

5、 two limbs instead of four in situations where they need to monopolize a resource. Standing on two legs allows them to carry much more at one time because it frees up their hands. Over time，intense bursts of bipedal activity may have led to anatomical changes that in turn became the subject of n

6、atural selection where competition for food or other resources was strong. Two studies were conducted by the team in Guinea. The first study was conducted by the team in Kyoto University’s “ outdoor laboratory ” in a natural clearing in Bossou Forest. Researchers allowed the wild chimpanzees acce

7、ss to different combinations of two different types of nut — the oil palm nut，which is naturally widely available, and the coula nut, which is not. The chimpanzees’ behavior was monitored in three situations:(a) when only oil palm nuts were available,(b)when a small number of coula nuts were avai

8、lable， and(c) when coula nuts were the majority available resource. When the rare coula nuts were available only in small numbers, the chimpanzees transported more at one time. Similarly, when coula nuts were the majority resource, the chimpanzees ignored the oil palm nuts altogether. The chimpa

9、nzees regarded the coula nuts as a more highly-prized resource and competed for them more intensely. In such high-competition settings，the frequency of cases in which the chimpanzees started moving on two legs increased by a factor of four. Not only was it obvious that bipedal movement allowed t

10、hem to carry more of this precious resource, but also that they were actively trying to move as much as they could in one go by using everything available 一 even their mouths. The second study, by Kimberley Hockings of Oxford Brookes University, was a 14-month study of Bossou chimpanzees crop-ra

11、iding, a situation in which they have to compete for rare and unpredictable Resources. Here, 35 percent of the chimpanzees activity involved some sort of bipedal movement, and once again, this behavior appeared to be linked to a clear attempt to carry as much as possible at one time. 詞匯： scarce

12、 adj.缺乏的，不足的；稀有的 chimpanzee n.黑猩猩 ape n.無尾猿; 類人猿 bipedal adj. 二足的 anatomical adj.解剖的 coula nuts( coula 也可寫作 cola 或 kola)可樂果 注釋： 1. GW’s Columbian College of Arts and Sciences:喬治?華盛頓大學哥倫比亞藝術(shù)與科 學學 院。喬治華盛頓大學（George Washington University)的英文簡稱為 GW，是美 國頂尖的私立大學之一，于 1821 年建校，位于美國首都華盛頓。 2. ecologi

13、cal settings: 生態(tài)環(huán)境 3. bipedal activity：雙足活動 4. anatomical chaiige: 解剖學上的變化 5. Kyoto University:京都大學，是繼東京大學之后成立的日本第二所國立大學，于 I897 年建校。京都大學主要校區(qū)位于日本歷史名城京都市。 6. Bossou: 博蘇,幾內(nèi)亞的一個地名。博蘇森林生活著黑猩猩群落。 7. oil palm nut: 油棕櫚堅果 8. increased by a factor of four:增加了四倍 9. in one go: —口氣 10. Oxford Brookes Un

14、iversity: 牛津布魯克斯大學，創(chuàng)立于 1865 年，是英國最具特色 的綜合性大學之一。牛津布魯克斯大學位于世界學術(shù)名城——牛津。這里學風濃郁、 精英薈萃，歷來為求學圣地。 練習： 1. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the first two paragraphs? A Many people question the simple human activities of walking and carrying items. B Chimpanzee’s behaviors may s

15、uggest why humans walk on two legs. C Human walking upright is viewed as an adaptation to carrying precious resources. D Our ancestors ecological conditions resembled those of modern-day chimpanzees. 2. Dr. Richmond conducted the experiment with the purpose of finding A when humans began walking

16、 on two legs. B what made our ancestors walk upright. C what benefits walking upright brought to our ancestors. D how walking upright helped chimpanzees monopolize resources. 3. Kyoto, Universitys study discovered that chimpanzees. A regarded both types of nut as priced resources. B preferred

17、oil palm nuts to coula nuts. C liked coula nuts better than oil palm nuts. D ignored both types of nut altogether. 4. Why did the chimpanzees walk on two limbs during Kyoto Universitys experiment? A Because they imitated the human way of walking just for fun. B Because they wanted to please the

18、 researchers to get more coula nuts from them. C Because they wanted to get to die nut-rich forest faster by walking that way. D Because they wanted to carry more nuts with two free limbs. 5. What can we infer from the reading passage? A Chimpanzees are in the same process of evolution as our an

19、cestors were. B Chimpanzees are similar to humans in many behaviors. C Walking on two limbs and walking on four limbs each have their advantages. D Human walking on two legs developed as a means of survival. 答案與題解： 1. A 第一段第一句和第二句說明，大多數(shù)人對人類直立行走習以為常,并不質(zhì)疑這種 習慣。而 A 的內(nèi)容正好與此相反，所以是答案。其他選項所述內(nèi)容均可從第一段和

20、第 二段推斷出 2. B 文章報道，科學家通過實驗證實黑猩猩直立行走是為了解放前肢，讓前肢搬運 對其生命至關(guān)重要的資源，從而推斷出人類祖先也經(jīng)歷了從四足到二足的進化過程。 科學家想通過對黑猩猩的實驗解釋人類直立行走的成因。所以 B 是答案，A、C、D 選項不是科學家進行研究的目的。 3. C 第五段明白無誤地描述了黑猩猩全然不顧油棕櫚堅果（ignored the oil palm nuts altogether),集中精力搶運可樂果。所以 C 是答案，B、C、D 的內(nèi)容不符合文章原意。 4. D 黑猩猩用后肢直立行走，搬運資源的效率提高了四倍。選項 D 符合原意，是答 案。選

21、項 A、B、C 的內(nèi)容文章中沒有提到，所以不是答案。 5. D 了解了通篇文章的意思，就會選擇選項 D。人類直立行走是受生態(tài)環(huán)境所迫， 是人類生存的一種手段，直立行走是自然選擇的結(jié)果。選項 A 和 C 的內(nèi)容文章中沒 有涉及。文章中有選項 B 的內(nèi)容，但它不是文章的主旨。 參考譯文： 第四十八篇 研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)人類開始直立行走的原因 我們大多數(shù)人每天都走路而且手里搬著東西。這樣的活動看似太簡單，大多數(shù)人沒有 疑問。但是一個國際研究者（包括喬治?華盛頓大學哥倫比亞藝術(shù)與科學學院的 Richmond 博士）團隊已經(jīng)發(fā)現(xiàn)了人類直立行走可能源于數(shù)百萬年以前適應(yīng)搬運稀有 的、高質(zhì)量的資源

22、。這些來自美國、英國、日本和葡萄牙的研究者研究了當代黑猩猩 爭搶食物時的行為特征，試圖對什么樣的生態(tài)環(huán)境竟然導致大猿（一種我們與現(xiàn)存的 黑猩猩一樣的 600 萬年前的祖先）直立行走作出解釋。 “這些黑猩猩居住的生態(tài)環(huán)境和我們最早的祖先開始直立行走時是相同的，” Richmond 博士說。研究結(jié)果顯示，當黑猩猩需要獨占一種資源時，它們就從四肢行 走轉(zhuǎn)換為直立行走。由于直立行走可以解放它們的雙手，這使得它們能搬更多的東西。 久而久之，雙足活動的強烈爆發(fā)可能導致了解剖學上的變化，因此這種變化也就成為 自然選擇的主題，在那種情況下，對食物或其他 資源的爭奪是十分激烈的。 有兩項研究是在

23、幾內(nèi)亞完成的。第一項研究是在京都大學博蘇森林的一塊天然空地 ——“室外實驗室”進行的。研究者們允許森林里的黑猩猩能得到兩種不同的堅果，一 種叫油棕櫚堅果，自然界隨處可見，一種叫可樂果，自然環(huán)境中不常見。人們監(jiān)控黑 猩猩在下列三種情形下的行為：(a)只有油棕櫚堅果；（b)只有少量的可樂果，大多數(shù) 是油棕櫚堅果;(c)大多數(shù)是可樂果，少數(shù)是油棕櫚堅果。 當稀有的可樂果數(shù)量很少時，黑猩猩一次就會拿得多。同樣，當大部分是可樂果時， 黑猩猩對油棕櫚堅果根本視而不見。黑猩猩認為可樂果才是珍貴的資源，并為得到可 樂果激烈競爭。 處于這種激烈競爭的環(huán)境中，黑猩猩直立行走的頻率增加了四倍。很顯然

24、，雙足行走 可以使它們拿走更多的稀有資源，而且，為了盡可能地一口氣多拿，它們積極利用可 用到的任何方法，甚至嘴巴。 第二項研究是在牛津布魯克斯大學的 Kimberley Hockings 進行的。該研究歷時 14 個 月，主題是博蘇的黑猩猩搶劫糧食，場景是它們不得不為稀有和不可預知的資源競爭。 在這項研究中，黑猩猩 35%的活動是直立行走。而這一次研究再一次證實了黑猩猩的 直立行走與它們試圖一次搬走盡可能多的東西有關(guān)。 B 第五十篇 Cell Phones Increase Traffic, Pedestrian Fatalities （A級） Cell phones a

25、re a danger on the road in more ways than one. Two new studies show that talking on the phone while traveling, whether youre driving or on foot, is increasing both pedestrian deaths and those of drivers and passengers, and recommend crackdowns on cell1 use by both pedestrians and drivers. The new

26、studies, lead-authored by Rutgers University, Newark, Economics Professor Peter D. Loeb2, relate the impact of cell phones on accident fatalities to the number of cell phones in use, showing that the current increase in deaths resulting from cell phone use follows a period when cell phones actually

27、helped to reduce pedestrian and traffic fatalities. However, this reduction in fatalities disappeared once the numbers of phones in use reached a “critical mass”3 of 100 million, the study found. These studies looked at cell phone use and motor vehicle accidents from 1975 through 2002, and factore

28、d in4 a number of variables, including vehicle speed, alcohol consumption, seat belt use, and miles driven. The studies found the cell phone-fatality correlation to be true even when including factors such as speed, alcohol consumption, and seat belt use. Loeb and his co-author determined that, at

29、 the current time, cell phone use has a “significant adverse effect on pedestrian safety” and that “cell phones and their usage above a critical threshold5 adds to motor vehicle fatalities.” In the late 1980s and part of the 1990s, before the numbers of phones exploded, cell phone use actually had a

30、 “l(fā)ife-saving effect” in pedestrian and traffic accidents, Loeb notes. “Cell-phone users’ were able to quickly call for medical assistance when involved in an accident. This quick medical response actually reduced the number of traffic deaths for a time,” Loeb hypothesizes. However, this was not t

31、he case when cells were first used in the mid-1980s, when they caused a “l(fā)ife-taking effect” among pedestrians, drivers and passengers in vehicles. In those early days, when there were fewer than a million phones, fatalities increased, says Loeb, because drivers and pedestrians probably were still a

32、djusting to the novelty of using them, and there werent enough cell phones in use to make a difference in summoning help following an accident, he explains. The “l(fā)ife-saving effect” occurred as the volume of phones grew into the early 1990s, and increasing numbers of cells were used to call 911 fo

33、llowing accidents, leading to a drop in fatalities, explains Loeb. But this life-saving effect was canceled out6 once the numbers of phones reached a “critical mass” of about 100 million and the “l(fā)ife-taking effect” - increased accidents and fatalities outweighed the benefits of quick access to 911

34、services, according to Loeb. Loeb and his co-authors used econometric models to analyze data from a number of government and private studies. He and his co-authors recommend that governments consider more aggressive policies to reduce cell phone use by both drivers and pedestrians, to reduce the n

35、umber of fatalities. 詞匯： crackdown n.制裁，嚴懲 econometric adj.計量經(jīng)濟的 outweigh v.超過 hypothesize v.假設(shè)，假定 fatality n.死亡者 注釋： 1. cell：cell phone 的縮寫。 2. The new studies, lead-authored by Rutgers University, Newark, Economics Professor Peter D. Loeb第一作者為羅格斯大學紐瓦克分校的經(jīng)濟學教授 Peter D. Loeb 的新研究成果

36、…… lead-author：第一作者； lead-authored 為動詞的過去分詞形式，具有被動意義。羅格斯大學紐瓦克分校是美國新澤西州昀負盛名的文理學院。 3. critical mass：臨界數(shù)量。 4. factored in：包括，把……計算在內(nèi)。 5. a critical threshold：指的是前文所說的 critical mass。見注釋 3。 6. was canceled out：被抵消。練習： 1. The two new studies, lead-authored by Professor Peter D. Loeb A show that t

37、alking on the phone while driving or walking in the street increases deaths of drivers and pedestrians. B show that talking on the phone while driving increases pedestrian deaths. C recommend that strict measures be taken to restrain cell phone use. D both A and C. 2. According to the second parag

38、raph, when did cell phones actually help to reduce pedestrian and traffic fatalities? A Right after cell phones were invented. B Before the number of cell phone users reached a critical mass C When cell phone users totaled to a certain number. D When the number of cell phones decreased to a certain

39、number. 3. What is said about cell phone use in paragraph 4? A The number of cell phones in use exploded in the late 1980s and part of the 1990s. B The number of traffic deaths was reduced in the late 1980s and part of the 1990s due to cell phone use. C Cell phone users are likely to be involved i

40、n traffic accidents. D The use of cell phones has a life-saving effect for pedestrians and drivers. 4. What is said about cell phone use in the mid-1980s in paragraph 5? A It had a life-taking effect because there werent enough cell phones in use then. B The increased use of cell phones then cause

41、d a “l(fā)ife-taking effect.” C Traffic fatalities increased then because the number of cell phones in use decreased. D Traffic fatalities decreased then because the number of cell phones in use increased. 5. Which of the following statements DOES NOT answer the question(What caused the “l(fā)ife-saving e

42、ffect” to occur in the early 1990s？)? A There were more cell phone users during that period. B The number of cell phone users reached about 100 million. C More cell phones were used to call 911 when accidents occurred. D Cell phones enabled people to have quick access to 911 services. 答案與題解：

43、 1. D 根據(jù)短文第一段的內(nèi)容， Loeb教授的昀新研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，開車或行路時打手機使司機和行路人的死亡率上升，并建議采取嚴厲措施限制司機和行路人使用手機。 B是錯誤理解，因為只有行路人被提到。 2. B 短文第二段昀后兩個句子提供了答案：在手機使用者達到 1億的臨界點之前，手機的使用的確減少了交通事故的死亡率。 A、C和 D的表述內(nèi)容都沒有在文章中提到。 3. B A是錯誤選擇，因為該段的第四個句子 In the late 1980s and part of the 1990s, before the numbers of phones exploded, …表明,手機數(shù)量在 80年代

44、末期和 90年代早期還未激增。 C的表述內(nèi)容沒有在文章中提到。句子… cell phone use actually had a “l(fā)ife-saving effect”用的是過去式，說的是發(fā)生在 80年代末期和 90年代早期的事情，而 D句用的是一般現(xiàn)在時，表示通常的狀況，所以是錯誤的選擇。 4. A第五段的大概意思是， 80年代中期，交通事故的死亡率增加，因為人們還在適應(yīng)這一新事物，沒有足夠的手機讓人們在發(fā)生交通事故時及時求救。該段沒有討論 80年代中期手機數(shù)量的增減問題，所以 B、C和 D都是錯誤選擇。 5. B第六段昀后一個句子說，當手機使用者數(shù)量達到 100萬時，life-sa

45、ving effect就被抵消了， life-saving effect超過了手機使用者能迅速呼叫 911服務(wù)的優(yōu)點。所以， B不是問題的答案。其他選項都表述了該段的內(nèi)容。 完成填空 A *第十二篇Free Statins With Fast Food Could Neutralize Heart Risk Fast food outlets could provide statin drugs free of 1 so that customers can reduce the heart disease dangers of fatty food, researche

46、rs at Imperial College London 2 ina new study． Statins reduce the 3 of unhealthy ”LDL” cholesterol in the blood. A wealth of trialdata has proven them to be highly effective at lowering a person’s heart attack 4 . In a paper published in theAmerican Journal of Cardiology，Dr Darrel Francis an

47、d colleagues calculate that the reduction in heart attack risk offered by a statin is 5 to offset the increase in heart attack risk from 6 acheeseburger and drinking a milkshake． Dr Francis，from the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London，who is the senior author of the

48、 study, said:”Statins don’t cut out a11 of the 7 effects of cheeseburgers and French fries．It’s better to avoid fatty food altogether．But we’ve worked out that in terms of your 8 of having a heart attack. Taking a statin can reduce your risk to more or less the same9as a fast food meal increas

49、es it.”“It’s ironic that people are free to take as many unhealthv condiments in fast food outlets asthey 10 , but statins, which are beneficial to heart health, have to be prescribed. It makessense to make risk-reducing statins available just as easily as the unhealthy condiments that arel 1fre

50、e of charge．It would cost less than 5 pence per1 2 一not much different to a sachet of sugar.” Dr Francis said． When people engage in risky behaviours like driving or smoking, they’re encouraged to take 13 that lower their risk, 1ike14 a seatbelt or choosing cigarettes with filters. Taking a

51、statin is a rational way of 1 5 some of the risks of eating a fatty meal． 詞匯： statin/st tIn! n．降膽固醇藥物 outlet/autlit/ n．銷售點 cholesterol/ k?lest?r?l / n．膽固醇 offset /,?fset/ V. 抵消，補償 cheeseburger/ t?i:z,b?:ɡ? / n．芝士漢堡包 milkshake! milk?eik / n．奶昔 condiment /k?ndim?nt]! n ．調(diào)味品 sachet /st?ei / i

52、i ．小袋，小包 rational / r??n?l / adj．合理的 注釋： 1. Fast food outlets could provide statin drugs: 句中的could 是一種委婉表達建議的用詞，意為“可以”。 2. Imperial College London: 帝國理工學院。該學院于1907 年由城市和行會學校、皇家礦業(yè)學校以及皇家科學學院合并組成。學院于2007 年7月正式脫離倫敦大學成為一所獨立大學。提供本科和研究生教育，共有四個學院，工程學院、醫(yī)學院、自然科學院和生命科學院 3. LDL cholesterol: 低密度脂蛋白膽固醇。LDL是l

53、ow density lipoprotein（低密度脂蛋白）的縮寫形式。 4. a wealth of trial data: 大量的試驗數(shù)據(jù)。a wealth of意為“大量的，許多”。 5. American Journal of Cardiology: 美國心臟病學雜志 6. French fries:炸薯條 7.It makes sense...: make sense 意為“說得通，合情合理”。 8. a sachet of sugar: 一小袋糖?？觳偷暌话銈溆写牵╋嬁Х然驘崮痰念櫩兔赓M取用。 練習： 1．A changeB chargeC chain D cha

54、nce 2．A trustB decideCsuggest Dcalculate 3．AnumberBamountCvolume D product 4．AfrequencyB treatmentC diagnosis Drisk 5．A severeBenoughC weak D active 6．A buyingB preparingC eatingD cooking 7．AunhealthyBstrongC different D doubtful 8．AexaminationBsufferingC determination D possibility 9．A degr

55、eeB dimensionC angle D range 10．A useB hateC reject D like 11．A transportedB providedC preserved Dconvened 12．AcookB patientCcustomer Dvisitor 1 3．AmeasuresBcareCadvantages D turns 14．A buyingB wearingC cleaning D changing 1 5．A increasingBfindingC lowering D taking 答案與題解： 1. B本文介紹說，吃漢堡包等快餐食

56、品容易引發(fā)心臟病，而服用statin能降低心臟病發(fā)作的 風險，一正一負正好抵消。statin 價格便宜，文章建議快餐店像免費供應(yīng)調(diào)味品那樣免費供 應(yīng)statin0 free of charge 是固定搭配，意為“免費”。選擇charge 是對的。 2. C 本題要選suggest ，因為其他三個選項在意思上都不合適。此外，本句主句的謂語動詞用了could (provide) ，委婉地含有“建議”的意思。所以suggest 是個不二的選擇。 3.B 與降低unhealthy "LDL" cholesterol 搭配的一定是amount（量），而不可能是number （數(shù)字）、volum

57、e（體積）或product （乘積）。 4.D從上下文判斷，要降低（lower）的當然是risk。lower frequency（降低頻率）、lower treatment（降低治療）或lower diagnosis （降低診斷）與上下文的意思都不匹配。 5. B 本句表達的意思是：Dr Darrel Francis 在他的論文中說，經(jīng)過計算，一粒statin 降低心臟病發(fā)作的風險足以抵消吃一個奶酪漢堡包和喝一杯奶昔所增加的患心臟病的風險。所以本題的答案是enough。 6. C 顧客不可能在快餐店里preparing cheeseburger 或cooking cheeseburge

58、r，而buying cheeseburger不會增加心臟病風險。所以，只有eating cheeseburger 才合乎上下文的意思。 7.A從上下文判斷，被cut out（去除）的effects一定是unhealthy effects，所以，unhealthy是本題的答案。 8.D本句中的in terms of 意為“就……而言”，要與后半句“一正一負相互抵消”的意思相匹配，所以只能是“就患心臟病的可能性而言”。possibility 是答案。 9. A本句的意思與第五題的意思相同，即statin降低心臟病發(fā)作的風險與快餐增加的心臟病 的風險在程度（degree）上大致相當。如果選

59、擇其他三個選項，意思變成了，“尺寸 (dimension）上、角度（angle）上或范圍（range）上大致相當”，就說不通了。 1O.D 填詞所在的句子的意思告訴我們，具有諷刺意味的一點是：顧客可以隨心所欲地免費享用不健康的調(diào)味品。as one likes 是固定用法，意為“隨某人所愿，隨某人所喜歡”。所以， like 是答案。其余三個選項用在本句中都不合適。 11.B transported （運輸）、preserved （保存）或converted （轉(zhuǎn)換）填人句子中，意思都不順。只有填入provided （提供）符合句意。provided 是答案。 12.C 到快餐店去就餐的

60、人當然是customer。 13.A 為了降低開車和吸煙的風險，人們被鼓勵要采取一些安全措施。作者借此說明為了降低食用快餐的風險，我們也要采取措施。根據(jù)這層意思，選擇measures是正確的。take measure的意思是“采取措施”。其他三個選項都不合適：take care是“注意，小心”，take advantage 是“利用”，take turns 是“輪流，依次”。 14.B 本題很明顯要選wearing，因為上下文的意思是“系上安全帶”。buying a seatbelt, cleaning a seatbelt和changing a seatbelt都與上下文的意思相去

61、太遠。 15. C通篇文章都在闡述statin能降低患心臟病的風險。所以，lowering（降低）是答案。 B +第十五篇 “Liquefaction” Key to Much of Japanese Earthquake Damage The massive subduction zone1 earthquake in Japan caused a significant level of soil "liquefaction"2 that has surprised researchers with its 1 severity, a new analysis

62、 shows. "Weve seen localized3 examples of soil liquefaction as extreme as this before, but the distance and 2 of damage in Japan were unusually severe," said Scott Ashford, a professor of geotechnical engineering4 at Oregon State University5. "Entire structures were tilted and sinking into th

63、e sediments," Ashford said. "The shifts in soil destroyed water, drain and gas pipelines6, crippling the utilities and infrastructure these communities need to 3 . We saw some places that sank as much as four feet." Some degree of soil liquefaction7 is common in almost any major earthquake. It

64、s a phenomenon in which soils soaked with water, particularly recent sediments or sand, can lose much of their 4 and flow during an earthquake. This can allow structures to shift or sink or 5 . But most earthquakes are much 6 than the recent event in Japan, Ashford said. The le

65、ngth of the Japanese earthquake, as much as five minutes, may force researchers to reconsider the extent of liquefaction damage possibly occurring in situations such as this8. "With such a long-lasting earthquake, we saw 7 structures that might have been okay after 30 seconds just continued to sink and tilt as the shaking continued for several more minutes," he said. "And it was clear that younger sediments, and especially areas built