填空题

Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the blanks numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have just heard. For blanks numbered from 44 to 46 you are required to fill in the missing information. For these blanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or write down the main points in your own words. Finally, when the passage is read for the third time, you should check what you have written.
Every year earthquakes are responsible for a large number of deaths and a (36) amount of destruction in various parts of the world. Most of these damaging earthquakes occur either in a narrow belt which (37) the Pacific Ocean or in a line which (38) from Burma to the Alps in Europe. Some of the destruction is directly caused by the quake itself. An example of this is the (39) of buildings as a result of the quake itself. Other damage results from landslides or major fires which are (40) by the quake.
There are about a million quakes a year. (41) , however, not all of them are destructive. The (42) of an earthquake is measured on the Richter Scale, which goes from 0 upward. The highest scale recorded to date is 8.9. Major damage generally occurs from quakes (43) upwards from 6.0.
The actual cause of the quake itself is the breaking of rocks at or below the earth’s surface. This is produced by pressure (44) of the earth’s crust (地壳) and continental drift.
In order to limit the damage and (45) . Special instruments are used to help people record, for example, shaking of the earth. Scientists are trying (46) .