单选题 Earthquakes may rightly be ranked as one of the most destructive forces known to man: since records began to be written down, it has been estimated that earthquakerelated fatalities have numbered in the millions, and that earthquake-related destruction has been beyond calculation. The greater part of such damage and loss of life has been due to falling down of buildings and the effects of rock slides, floods, fire, disease, gigantic sea waves, and other phenomena resulting from earthquakes, rather than from the quakes themselves.
The great majority of all earthquakes occur on two specific areas, along the coasts of the Pacific Ocean from the East Indies to the Atlas Mountains. But they may, however, happen anywhere at any time.
This element of the unknown has for centuries added greatly to the dread and horror surrounding earthquakes, but in recent times there have been indications the earthquake prediction may be possible. By analyzing changes in animal behavior, patterns of movements in the earth"s surface, and other unusual phenomena, scientists have shown increasing success in predicting when and where earthquakes will strike. As a result, a worldwide earthquake warning network is already in operation and has helped to prepare for the vast destruction that might otherwise have been totally unexpected.
It is doubtful that man will ever be able to control earthquakes and do away with the destructiveness altogether, but as how and why earthquakes happen become better understood, man will become more and more able to deal with their possible destruction before it occurs.