精品学习网收集整理了，2013年考研英语阅读理解试题（第三章），希望对大家有所帮助！

Passage3

EveryonehasheardoftheSanAndreasfault（断层）,whichconstantlythreatensCaliforniaandtheWestCoastwithearthquakes.ButhowmanypeopleknowabouttheequallyseriousNewMadridfaultinMissouri?

BetweenDecemberof1811andFebruaryof1812,threemajorearthquakesoccurred,allcenteredaroundthetownofNewMadrid,Missouri,ontheMississippiRiver.Propertydamagewassevere.Buildingsintheareawerealmostdestroyed.Wholeforestsfellatonce,andhugecracksopenedintheground,allowingsmellofsulfur（硫磺）tofilterupward.

TheMississippiRiveritselfcompletelychangedcharacter,developingsuddenrapidsandwhirlpools.Severaltimesitchangeditscourse,andonce,accordingtosomeobservers,itactuallyappearedtorunbackwards.FewpeoplewerekilledintheNewMaridearthquakes,probablysimplybecausefewpeoplelivedintheareain1811;buttheseverityoftheearthquakesareshownbythefactthattheshockwavesrangbellsinchurchtowersinCharleston,SouthCarolina,onthecoast.BuildingsshookinNewYorkCity,andclockswerstoppedinWashington,D.C.ScientistsnowknowthatAmerica'stwomajorfaultsareessentiallydifferent.TheSanAndreasisahorizontalboundarybetweentwomajorlandmassesthatareslowlymovinginoppositedirections.Californiaearthquakesresultwhenthemovementofthesetwomassessuddenlylurches（倾斜）forward.

TheNewMadridfault,ontheotherhand,isaverticalfault;atsomepoints,possiblyhundredsofmillionsofyearsago,rockwaspusheduptowardthesurface,probablybyvolcanoesunderthesurface.Suddenly,thevolcanoescooledandtherockcollapsed,leavinghugecracks.Evennow,therockcontinuestosettledownwards,andsuddensinkingmotionstrigger（触发）earthquakesintheregion.Thefaultitself,alargecrackinthislayerofrock,withdozensofothercracksthatsplitofffromit,extendsfromnortheastArkansasthroughMissouriandintosouthernlllinois.

ScientistswhohavestudiedtheNewMadridfaultsaytherehavebeennumeroussmallerquakesintheareasince1811;thesesmallerquakesindicatethatlargeronesareprobablycoming,butthescientistssayhavenomethodofpredictingwhenalargeearthquakewilloccur.

11.Thispassageismainlyabout.

A）theNewMadridfaultinMissouri

B）theSanAndreasandtheNewMadridfaults

C）thecausesoffaults

D）currentscientificknowledgeaboutfaults

12.TheNewMadridfaultis.

A）ahorizontalfault

B）averticalfault

C）amoreseriousfaultthantheSanAndreasfault

D）responsibleforformingtheMississippiRiver

13.Wemayconcludefromthepassagethat.

A）itisprobablyasdangeroustoliveinMissouriasinCalifornia

B）theNewMadridfaultwilleventuallydevelopamountainrangeinMissouri

C）Californiawillbecomeanislandinfuture

D）AbigearthquakewilloccurtoCaliforniasoon

14.Thispassageimpliesthat.

A）horizontalfaultsaremoredangerousthanverticalfaults.

B）Verticalfaultsaremoredangerousthanhorizontalfaults

C）Earthquakesoccuronlyaroundfaultareas

D）Californiawillbreakintopiecesbyaneventualearthquake

15.Asusedinthefirstsentenceofthefourthparagraph,thewordessentiallymeans.

A）greatly

C）basically

B）extremely

D）necessarily