Two years ago Japan was struck by a strong earthquake that triggered a disastrous tsunami. Now comes a sobering account of the human and environmental toll. Gretel Ehrlich, an American writer, flew to the north-east coast of the island of Honshu three months after the quake. A student of Japanese poetry and Buddhist philosophy, she was drawn to " meet those who faced the wave and survived" . Readers of her book can witness the devastation through keen eyes.
This stretch of coastline was described by a 17th-century poet, Basho, as the most beautiful spot in Japan. In June 2011 it was "a plain of chaos, a monstrous picture that no eye, no painting could truly capture". Roving the 1,300 kilometres(800 miles)of shattered coast, Ms Ehrlich seeks out survivors and relays their stories. Pervasive are reports on the radiation spewing from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, reflections on human suffering and resilience, and a series of dreadful facts.
More than 28,700 people died in Japan; thousands more went missing. The tsunami wave rose 38 metres(124 feet), washing away entire towns. The reactor meltdown caused "the worst maritime contamination disaster in recorded history". The energy released was 600m times that of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
"Three sorrows; quake, tsunami, meltdown", encapsulates the disaster. Ms Ehrlich does not provide a comprehensive reckoning, but a set of stories. The tsunami is retold as it happens through a blog updated as a fisherman races out to sea, uploading observations from his mobile phone. Months later, corpses still surface. One mother has rented an industrial digger and ceaselessly explores the river channel searching for her child. "The sea floor is covered in debris," an old fisherman says. "
If you go trolling for flatfish, you might pull out a dead friend
. "
单选题
It can be inferred from the first paragraph that______.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】解析：选项[A]对应原文:．．．an American writer，flew to the north-east coast of the island ofHonshu．原文说一位美国作家飞往本州岛(位于13本中部)东北海岸，而没有说本州位于日本东北，故该项错误。选项[B]对应原文首句:．．．a strong earthquake that triggered a disastrous tsu—nami．可见是地震引发了海啸，而非地震被海啸引起，该项将主被动关系颠倒，错误。选项[C]对应文章最后一句：Readers of her book can witness the devastation through keen eyes．可见她写了本关于这场灾难的书，而“她”指代上文she was drawn to…中的she，也就是上文的GretelEhrlich，an American writer。故该项是正确的。选项[D]对应原文最后一句：Readers of herbook can witness the devastation through keen eyes．读者可以通过她的书目击这场灾难。而非许多人亲眼目击了这场灾难，故该项错误。
单选题
We know from the second paragraph that______.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】解析：选项[A]对应第二段首句：This stretch of coastline was described by a 17th—centurypoet，Basho，as the most beautiful spot in Japan．由此可知该项是正确的。选项[B]对应原文：“a plain of chaos，a monstrous picture that no eye，no painting could truly capture”．可见如今这是人眼或者绘画无法捕捉的画面，形容灾后场面的混乱，而非该项说的“这个海岸如今已经看不见了”。选项[C]对应原文：Roving the 1，300 kilometres(800 miles)of shattered coast，MsEhrlich seeks out survivors…原文提到“roving徘徊”一词，并没有说Ms Ehrlich是“walked步行”，故该项错误。选项[D]对应原文第三、四行：Ms Ehrlich seeks out survivors and relays theirstories．可见是Ms Ehrlich在转述幸存者的故事而非Basho。文章首句提到Basho是一位十七世纪的诗人，故该项错误。
单选题
Which of the following is NOT the dreadful fact caused by the tsunami?
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】解析：文章第三段在描述灾难导致的后果。首句提到：thousands more went missing．可见选项[A]是正确的。第二句提到：The tsunami wave rose 38 metres(124 feet)，washing away en—tire towns．可见选项[C]是正确的。第三句提到：The reactor meltdown caused“the worst maritime contamination disaster in recorded history”．其中maritime contamination相当于[D]项中的ocean pollution，故选项[D]正确。只有选项[B]不是答案。原文提到：The energy released was600m times that of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima．意为：核反应堆崩溃释放的能量是投到广岛原子弹释放能量的600倍。而选项[B]本身不是海啸带来的后果。故选项[B]是答案。
单选题
The triple calamities include all EXCEPT______.
【答案解析】解析：语义题要注意文章上下文背景，文章前两句提到：Months later，corpses still sur-face．该句又提到：If you go trolling for flatfish，you might pull out a dead friend．可见作者说这话的目的是为了表示许多尸体仍然漂浮在海面上。语义题本身的意思往往都比较值得推敲，因此答案不会显得过于表面。选项[A]中的fishing，选项[C]中的flatfish，选项[D]中的fish都停留在表面意思的理解，故错误。本题答案为选项[B]。