1、英美文化欣赏【导读】 地震就像地狱使者，他来的悄无声息；等你意识到了，一切似乎又显得那么脆弱，但有备无患总是好的。EarthquakesOver one million earthquakes occur every year but most of these are too small to notice.An earthquake can happen on land or under water.A major quake may last for only a minute but in that time it can kill thousands of people and co
2、mpletely destroy towns and villages.In the early hours of the morning of April 18，1906，people in San Francisco were suddenly thrown to the ground as one of the historys most famous natural disasters struck and the buildings around them collapsed(倒塌)The streets were described as moving like“waves of
3、water”Building after building was leveled .The whole of Chinatown was destroyed and only one building was left standing on the top of Nob Hill1 The damage caused by the earthquake was estimated at around 7 million pounds，with the fire damage at 140 million pounds.The quake measured 7.8 on the Richte
4、r scale.On September 1，1923，three massive(巨大的)7.9 magnitude (震级) shocks hit the cities of Tokyo and Yokohama.Only about one percent of Tokyos buildings were severely damaged by the quake but massive fires broke out and swept across the wood and paper houses in the city.Of the 140，000 people who died
5、 in the disaster，the vast majority were victims of the fire.Over 200，000 buildings were burned down，leaving more than half a million people homeless2September 1st is now designated(指定)as Disaster Prevention Day in Japan and earthquake drills(演习)are held in preparation for the next inevitable big qua
6、ke，during which volunteers are shown how to put out fires and use emergency equipment.地震每年要发生 100 多万次地震，但其中的大多数都因为太小而未引起注意。地震可能发生在地上或者发生在水下。一次大地震可能只持续一分钟，但是在这个时间里它可以使成千上万的人丧生，彻底摧毁许多城镇和乡村。1906 年 4 月 18 日凌晨，一次历史上最著名的自然灾害之一突然发生了，旧金山市的居民一下子都被摔倒在地，周围的建筑物也都倒塌了。人们描述说，街道就像“波浪”一样晃动。一栋接一栋的建筑物被夷为平地。整个唐人街都被摧毁了，
7、仅剩下诺布山顶上的一栋建筑。据估计，当时地震造成的损失约为700 万英镑，伴随而来的火灾造成的损失是 1.4 亿英镑。经测量，这次地震为里氏 7.8 级。1923 年 9 月 1 日，东京和横滨两个城市遭受了 3 次震级为 7.9 级的强烈地震。东京只有约 l%的建筑遭到严重破坏，但是发生了特大火灾，摧毁了这个城市里的木头房子和纸房子。在这次地震中遇难的 14 万人中，大部分死于火灾。20 多万栋建筑被烧毁，造成 50 多万人无家可归。现在 9 月 1 日被定为日本的防灾日。这一天要进行地震演习，教志愿者如何灭火，如何使用紧急救援器材，为下次不可避免的大地震做准备。知识积累1be descri
8、bed as. 被描述为2level vt. 夷平；摧毁3estimate v. 估计；估算4vast adj. 巨大的；大量的5victim n. 受害者6inevitable adj. 不可避免的7volunteer n志愿者 v.自愿做1本句属于“ leave宾语宾补”结构，意为“使 处于某状态中” ，此处为该结构的被动语态。2“leaving.”是现在分词短语作结果状语。文化链接Disaster Prevention Day日本防灾日由于日本多地震，日本政府于 1960 年将每年的 9 月 1 日定为“防灾日” 。从 70 年代后期以来，日本政府采取了一系列国家规模的全面防震措施。1978年 6 月，日本国会通过了大规模地震对策特别措施法 ，正式将“防灾日”写入法律。每年此日，日本动用大量的人力物力在东京和静冈等地举行大规模的防震抗灾综合演习。
