Vocabulary
This adjective describes something happening without a clear pattern, making it unpredictable.
Answer: random
This country’s government scientists believe earthquake prediction is possible.
Answer: Japan
In the sentence “Never before have so many people packed into cities - places such as Los Angeles, Istanbul, Tokyo, and Lima - that are regularly affected by earthquakes ”, what is the main idea?
Answer: More people than ever live in earthquake-prone cities.
In “If we can detect these early slips taking place deep in the Earth's crust, we may be able to predict the next big quake,” what condition must be met to make prediction possible?
Answer: Detecting preslips deep in the Earth.
In “demonstrating that perhaps the ‘pre-slip’ theory is correct,” what evidence supports the theory?
Answer: Identical signs were detected before two different small quakes.
This word refers to huge sea waves caused by underwater earthquakes.
Answer: tsunamis
These two things are often caused by major earthquakes, in addition to destruction and fires.
Answer: tsunamis and economic disaster (or destruction)
In “Scientists would like to be able to predict them, but is this possible?”, what does the word "them" refer to?
Answer: earthquakes
In “They drilled deep into the fault and set up equipment to register activity,” what was the purpose of drilling?
Answer: To monitor and gather data on fault movements.
Paraphrase the following sentences: "Scientists registered the first changes 10 hours before an earthquake of 3.0 on the Richter scale hit; they identified identical signs two hours before a 1.0 quake - demonstrating that perhaps the "pre-slip" theory is correct."
Answer: Researchers noticed the earliest shifts 10 hours before a 3.0-magnitude earthquake occurred, and they observed the same indicators two hours before a 1.0 quake—showing that the “pre-slip” theory might indeed be accurate.
This noun means a scientific guess about future events, often less certain than a prediction.
Answer: forecast
This theory suggests that tiny slips occur in a fault before a major earthquake happens.
Answer: preslip theory
In “Perhaps the most important question scientists need to answer is this: Are there clear patterns in earthquakes, or are they basically random and impossible to predict?”, what question is being highlighted?
Answer: Whether earthquakes follow patterns or are random
In “Year after year, nothing happened,” what idea is the author emphasizing?
Answer: The expected quake was delayed far beyond predictions.
“Although there is still a long way to go, it appears from the research being done all over the world that earthquakes are not entirely random.” What does this introductory clause imply?
Answer: Earthquake prediction is improving but still incomplete.
This verb means to find or discover something, usually with special equipment.
Answer: detect
According to the passage, future success in earthquake prediction could help prevent this major consequence.
Answer: loss of life
In “Perhaps the most important question scientists need to answer is this: Are there clear patterns…?”, what question is being highlighted?
Answer: Whether earthquakes follow patterns or are random
In “It led many to believe that perhaps earthquakes really are random events,” what event caused this doubt?
Answer: The lack of warning signs before the Parkfield quake.
Paraphrase the following sentence: "If this is so, in the future we may be able to track the Barth's movements and design early-warning systems that allow us to predict when a quake will happen and, in doing so, prevent the loss of life."
Answer: If this is the case, we may eventually be able to monitor the Barth’s movements and create early-warning systems that help us forecast earthquakes and, as a result, save lives.
This noun refers to the breaking point in the Earth's crust where earthquakes occur.
Answer: fault
This was the scientists’ biggest disappointment when the long-awaited Parkfield quake occurred in 2004.
Answer: There were no warning signs before the quake.
In “Unfortunately, this is more a forecast than a prediction,” what distinction is being made?
Answer: Forecasts give general likelihood; predictions specify exact time and place.
“Scientists registered the first changes 10 hours before an earthquake of 3.0 on the Richter scale hit; they identified identical signs two hours before a 1.0 quake - demonstrating that perhaps the "pre-slip" theory is correct.” What changes are being described?
Answer: Slight widening of cracks in the fault.
In “Located near the edge of Earth’s huge, shifting plates…”, what does this phrase explain about the cities mentioned?
Answer: Their location near plate boundaries puts them at high earthquake risk.