Question

    The COVID-19 pandemic has spread far and wide. Because of this, countries around the world have implemented containment measures(实施遏制措施)to help stop the virus in its tracks. As more and more people stay inside to stay safe, the outside world seems to have become much quieter. In fact, scientists have seen this change in their research, too.

Seismologists–scientists who study earthquakes–have heard less seismic(地震的)noise recently. Seismic noise is made from vibrations(震动)in the ground that are caused by things like ocean waves and human activity, such as construction work and traffic. This noise makes it difficult for scientists to pick up seismic activity that is made at the same frequency.

Thomas Lecocq,a scientist at the Royal Observatory of Belgium, located in Brussels, was the first to notice this phenomenon.

According to Lecocq, the amount of seismic noise in Brussels has been reduced by about 30 to 50 percent since mid-March. Interestingly enough, this is around the same time Belgium started its containment measures.

Because of this reduction in background noise, scientists like Lecocq have been able to pick up on smaller earthquakes that some seismic stations–like the one in Brussels–wouldn’t have been able to before.

This phenomenon isn’t unique to Brussels, though. Once Lecocq shared his findings online, seismologists from all over the world echoed similar findings.

Celeste Labedz, a graduate student at the California Institute of Technology, mentioned in a tweet that Los Angeles also experienced less background noise.

Researchers from the UK, France and New Zealand also noted a decrease in background noise since containment measures were put in place.

These global efforts to contain the COVID-19 virus have helped to shed light on seismic activity that may have gone unnoticed. It also shows that people are listening to health officials and following lockdown guidelines.

“From the seismological point of view, we can motivate people to say,‘ You feel like you’re alone at home, but we can tell you that everyone is home.…Everyone is respecting the rules.’Lecocq told CNN.

1.What did seismologists find out recently?

A.More smaller earthquakes are likely to happen.

B.Less seismic activity has been detected recently.

C.Seismic noise is caused by vibrations underground.

D.Reduced seismic vibration makes Earth quieter.

2.What can we learn from Paragraphs 4-8?

A.More data on smaller earthquakes is being collected.

B.More seismic noise is being picked up.

C.Scientists will shift their focus to smaller earthquakes.

D.Future big earthquakes can be more accurately predicted.

3.The underlined word “echoed” in Paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to“______”.

A.questioned B.demanded C.explored D.repeated

4.What can we conclude from the text?

A.human activities cause more seismic noise than ocean waves.

B.The drop in seismic noise is unique to Europe.

C.The phenomenon proved that people are following the lockdown rules.

D.Many seismologists wanted tighter restrictions for their research.

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.D

4.C

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文。文章说明了地震学家在新冠疫情期间的一项新发现。即新冠疫情期间人们的居家措施使得地下背景噪音减少，进而使地震学家监测到了平时难以监测到的微小地震活动。

1.

细节理解题。由第二段“Seismologists–scientists who study earthquakes–have heard less seismic(地震的)noise recently. Seismic noise is made from vibrations(震动)in the ground that are caused by things like ocean waves and human activity, such as construction work and traffic.”可知，最近地震研究人员听到的地震噪音减少了。地震噪音来自于海浪或人类活动引起的地下震动。由此可知，地震学家最近发现了地震噪声是由地下振动引起的。故选C项。

2.

推理判断题。由“Because of this reduction in background noise, scientists like Lecocq have been able to pick up on smaller earthquakes that some seismic stations–like the one in Brussels–wouldn’t have been able to before.”可知，由于背景噪音的减少，像Lecocq一样的科学家可以监测到一些小型地震活动。而地震监测站之前是监测不到这些小型地震活动的。除了Brussels之外，其他的城市比如Los Angeles、UK、France和 New Zealand的科学家也有同样的发现。由此推知，从第4-8段我们可以了解到更多关于小地震的数据正在被收集。故选A项。

3.

词义猜测题。由第六段“This phenomenon isn’t unique to Brussels, though. Once Lecocq shared his findings online, seismologists from all over the world echoed similar findings.”可知，这种现象不只是发生在布鲁塞尔。Lecocq把他的发现发布到网上之后，世界各地的地震学家也提出了类似的发现。通过isn’t unique to、similar可以推断echo这里指附和，重复提出的意思。故选D项。

4.

推理判断题。由倒数第二段“These global efforts to contain the COVID-19 virus have helped to shed light on seismic activity that may have gone unnoticed. It also shows that people are listening to health officials and following lockdown guidelines.”可知，全球抗疫的努力使得我们关注到一些之前忽视掉的地质活动。这也表明人们在听从官方的安排指挥，在严格遵守居家令。最后一段也提到“Everyone is respecting the rules.”每个人都在遵照法令行事。由此可知，这种现象证明，人们是在遵守禁闭规则。故选C项。