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Everyone heard of the San Andreas fault（斷層），which constantly threatens California and the West Coast with earthquakes．But how many people know about the equally serious New Madrid fault in Missouri?

Between December of 1811 and February of 1812，three major earthquakes occurred，and all centered around the town of New Madrid， Missouri， on the Mississippi River．Property damage was severe．Buildings in the area were almost destroyed．Whole forests fell at once，and huge cracks opened in the ground，releasing some strong smell of chemicals．

The Mississippi River itself completely changed character，developing sudden rapids and whirlpools（急流和旋渦）．Several times it changed its course，once according some observers， it actually appeared to run backwards．Few people were killed in the New Madrid earthquakes， probably simply because few people lived in the area in 1811:but the severity of the earthquakes were shown by the fact the shock waves rang bells in church towers in Charleston，South Carolina，on the coast．Buildings shook in New York City，and clocks were stopped in Washington D．C．

Scientists now know that America’s two major faults are essentially different．The San Andreas is a horizontal（水平的） boundary between two major land masses that are slowly moving in opposite directions．California earthquakes result when the two masses make a sudden move．

The New Madrid fault，on the other hand，is a vertical（垂直的）fault; at some point， possibly hundreds of millions of years ago，rock was pushed up toward the surface．Suddenly，the volcanoes cooled and the rock collapsed，leaving huge cracks．Even now， the rock continues to settle downwards，and sudden sinking motion causes earthquakes in the region．The fault itself， a large crack in this layer of rock， with dozens of other cracks that split off from it， extends from northeast Arkansas through Missouri and into southern Illinois．

Scientists who have studied the New Madrid fault say there have been numerous smaller quakes in the area since 1811;these smaller quakes indicate that larger ones are probably coming， but the scientists say they have no method of predicting when a large earthquake will occur．

1．This passage is mainly about_____．

A．the New Madrid fault                      B．the San Andreas

C．the causes of fault                        D．current scientific knowledge about faults

2．Which of the following pictures best describes the type of the New Madrid fault?

A．                          B．                       C．                  D．

3．This passage implies that _____．

       A．horizontal faults are more dangerous than vertical faults

       B．vertical faults are more dangerous than horizontal faults

       C．a(chǎn) lot of people would die if the 1811 New Madrid earthquakes happened today

       D．the volcanoes that caused the New Madrid fault are still alive．