Passage Two
Here's how the Pacific Northwest is preparing for “The Big One”. It's the mother of all disaster drills for what could be the worst disaster in American history. California has spent years preparing for “The Big One”- the inevitable earthquake that will undoubtedly unleash all kinds of havoc along the famous San Andreas fault(断层). But what if the fault that runs along the Pacific Northwest delivers a gigantic earthquake of its own? If the people of the Cascadia region have anything to do with it, they won't be caught unawares.
The region is engaged in a multi-day earthquake-and-tsunami (海啸) drill involving around 20,000 people. The Cascadia Rising drill gives area residents and emergency responders a chance to practice what to do in case of a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami along one of the nation's dangerous-and underestimated-faults.
The Cascadia Earthquake Zone is big enough to compete with San Andreas (it's been called the most dangerous fault in America), but it's much lesser known than its California cousin. Nearly 700 miles long, the earthquake zone is located by the North American Plate off the coast of Pacific British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and Northern California.
Cascadia is what's known as a “megathrust” fault. Megathrust are created in earthquake zones-land plate boundaries where two plates converge. In the areas where one plate is beneath another, stress builds up over time. During a megathrust event, all of that stress releases and some of the world's most powerful earthquakes occur. Remember the 9.1 earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean off Sumatra in 2004? It was caused by a megathrust event as the India plate moved beneath the Burma micro-plate.
The last time a major earthquake occurred along the Cascadia fault was in 1700, so officials worry that another event could occur any time. To prevent that event from becoming a catastrophe, first responders will join members of the public in rehearsals that involve communication, evacuation, search and rescue, and other scenarios.
Thousands of casualties are expected if a 9.0 earthquake were to occur. First, the earthquake would shake metropolitan areas including Seattle and Portland. This could trigger a tsunami that would create havoc along the coast. Not all casualties can necessarily be prevented-but by coordinating across local, state, and even national borders, officials hope that the worst-case scenario can be averted. On the exercise's website, officials explain that the report they prepare during this rehearsal will inform disaster management for years to come.
For hundreds of thousands of Cascadia residents, “The Big One” isn't a question of if, only when. And it's never too early to get ready for the inevitable.
What does “The Big One” refer to?
文章第一段首句就提到“The Big One”，然后在第三句解释了什么是“The Big One”，即破折号后的内容：“这场不可避免的地震无疑将在著名的圣安德烈亚斯断层上造成各种破坏。”通过这句话我们可以得出，“The Big One” 就是一场巨大的自然灾害，故选项C 为正确答案。选项A是“大地震”发生的原因，而非地震本身，故排除。选项B 、D显然错误。
What is the purpose of the Cascadia Rising drill?
文章第二段第二句提到：“卡斯卡迪亚断层崛起，演习使当地居民和应急人员有机会演练在美 国最危险且被低估的断层发生9.0级地震和海啸时的应对方法。” 由此可知，“ 卡斯卡迪亚断层崛起”演 习的目的就是帮助人们应对可能会发生的地震和海啸。因此选项A 为正确答案。选项B提到 “ 迫在眉睫的灾害” ，我们从文章最后一段知道，人们并不知道“ 大地震”何时会发生，不能用迫在眉睫来形容。选项C提到的“ 灾后生活” 文中并没有相关信息支持，也排除。选项D提到的“ 应对……后果” ，在文中也没有相关信息支持，也排除。
What happens in case of a megathrust earthquake according to the passage?
文章第四段第四句提到：“ 如果发生巨型逆冲断层滑动，所有的压力会释放出来，世界上最强烈的地震会发生。” 由此可知，选项D为正确答案。其他三个选项都是出题人根据第四段中出现的land plate boundaries where two plates converge设置的干扰项，故均排除。
What do the officials hope to achieve through the drills?
文章第五段提到官员们担心发生另一次地震，因此让第一批应急反应者与公众一起进行演习。 紧接着第六段提到：“并不是所有的伤亡都可以避免，但是通过跨地区、跨州 ，甚至跨国家边界的协调，官员们希望能够避免最坏的情况。” 而最坏的情况即第六段开头提到的“ 如果发生9.0级地震，预计将有数千人伤亡” 。 由此可知，避免最坏的情况即“ 在发生灾难时减少伤亡” ，故选项B为正确答案。
What does the author say about “The Big One”?
文章最后一段提到：“对成千上万的卡斯卡迪亚居民来说，‘大地震’不是一个是否会发生的问题，而是一个何时会发生的问题。”由此可知选项C 是对该句话的同义转述，故为正确答案。选项A 明显和原文信息“The Big One” isn't a question of if相反，故排除。文中没有提到“大地震”如何发生的信息，故排除选项B。文中也没有提到“大地震”是否一直困扰卡斯卡迪亚的居民的问题，因此选项D也排除。