Despite the good news， civil engineers arent resting on their successes. Pinned to their drawing boards are blueprints （蓝图的） for improved quakeresistant buildings. The new designs should offer even greater security to cities where earthquakes often take place.
In the past， making structures quakeresistant meant firm yet flexible （柔韧的） materials， such as steel and wood， which bend without breaking②. Later， people tried to lift a building off its foundation， and insert rubber and steel between the building and its foundation to reduce the impact （影响） of ground vibrations （颤动）. The most recent designs give buildings brains as well as concrete and steel supports， called smart buildings， the structures respond like living organisms to an earthquakes vibrations. When the ground shakes and the buildings tip forward， the computer would force the building to shift in the opposite direction.
The new smart structures could be very expensive to build. However， they would save many lives and would be less likely to be damaged during earthquakes.
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① In addition， changes made to the construction codes in Los Angeles during the last 20 years have strengthened the citys buildings and highways， making them more resistant to quakes.
此外，在近20年来，洛杉矶建筑程序上的改变加固了城市的建筑物和公路，使得它们更加抗震。
② In the past， making structures quakeresistant meant firm yet flexible materials， such as steel and wood， which bend without breaking.
过去，使建筑物抗震就意味着坚固而柔韧的材料，如钢和木材，这种材料弯曲而不折断。
根据文章内容，选择正确答案：
1. One reason why the loss of lives in the Los Angeles earthquake was comparatively low is that .
A. new computers had been installed in the buildings
B. occurred in the residential areas （居民区） rather than on the highways
C. large numbers of Los Angeles residents had rushed into Los Angeles for holiday
D. improvements had been made in the construction of buildings and highways
2. The function of the computer mentioned in the passage is to .
A. counterbalance an earthquakes action on the building
B. predict the coming of an earthquake with accuracy
C. help strengthen the foundation of the building
D. measure the impact of an earthquakes vibrations
3. The smart buildings discussed in the passage .
A. would cause serious financial problems
B. would be worthwhile though costly
C. would increase the complexity of architectural design
D. can reduce the ground vibrations caused by earthquakes
4. It can be inferred from the passage that in minimizing （最小化） the damage caused by earthquakes attention should be focused on .
A. the increasing use of rubber and steel in capital construction
B. the development of flexible building materials
C. the reduction of the impact of ground vibrations
D. early forecasts of earthquakes
5. The authors main purpose in writing the passage is to .
A. compare the results of the earthquakes that occurred in the US
B. encourage civil engineers to make more extensive use of computers
C. outline the history of the development of quakeresistant building materials
D. report new developments in constructing quakeresistant building
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Passage D
One way of preventing floods may be by making rain！ This may sound rather1. As we know， heavy rain is the2 of floods， and in Malaysia most of the3 are caused by the annual monsoon （季风）， which brings heavy rain to the east coast. If，4， the rain cloud be made5 in the South China Sea， there would be6 floods since the rain clouds would not reach the east coast.
Is it possible to make7 give up their rain？ Yes， it is.
As you8 know， clouds are caused9 air containing watervapour. The air rises and， since water vapour becomes water when it cools， very tiny drops of water are formed①. Since these drops are very10， they float in the air and11 a cloud. When the cloud rises， however， the drops become12. Because of this， they13 together and become big drops. The big drops are no longer able to float because of their14， and they fall. As they15， they pick up more drops and become bigger. This is the cause of rain.
Rain making16 making these bigger drops from and fall17 they would normally do so. This can be done by “seeding” the clouds with chemicals，18 planting seeds in the ground. Rain can be produced19 by three chemicals. The seeding is done by20 which fly through the clouds.
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