参考答案 - 必修第一册第四单元
UNIT 4 NATURAL DISASTERS
Reading and Writing
① Read the text quickly. Who is the eyewitness? What event is the eyewitness describing?
THE STORY OF AN EYE WITNESS (Adapted)
Jack London
San Francisco, May 5, 1906. The earthquake that hit San Francisco on April 18 shook down hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of walls and chimneys(烟囱). But the fire that followed burned up hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of buildings and homes. Never before in history has a city been so completely destroyed. San Francisco is gone. The factories, the great stores and newspaper buildings, the hotels, and the great houses of the rich are all gone.
On Wednesday morning at a quarter past five came the earthquake. A moment later, the disaster was a fact. South of Market Street, in the working-class neighbourhoods and in the factories, fires started. Within an hour of the first quake, the smoke could be seen 100 miles away. The sun was red in the dark sky. There was no stopping the fires. The firefighters to whom the task was given did their best but there was no way to organise or communicate. The railway tracks were now useless and there was no water in water pipes. All of the ways man had made to keep the city safe were gone in the 30 seconds the earth moved.
By Wednesday afternoon, half the heart of the city was gone. At that time, I watched the disaster from a ship on the bay (海湾). Out at sea it was calm. No wind came up. Yet from every direction——east, west, north, and south——strong winds blew upon the unlucky city and those whose homes had once stood in its green hills.
Wednesday night saw the destruction of the very heart of the city. Man himself had to make ruins of some of the city's best buildings so that they would not be a danger to those in the streets. Tens of thousands who had lost their homes left the city to look for shelter from the fires. Some were dressed only in blankets and carried the things that they had been able to rescue from the fires. But there were no fights and no pushing or shoving. Somehow this worst of disasters brought out the best in the survivors. Never in all of San Francisco's history were her people so kind as on this night of terror.
② Read the text again and answer the questions.
1 Which was more destructive, the earthquake or the fire? Why?
2 Why couldn't the firefighters put out the fires when they first started?
3 Where was the writer? Did he suffer from the fire?
4 How long did it take for half of the city centre to burn? Why did the fire spread so fast?
5 How did the people of San Francisco behave during the disaster?
③ What do the underlined sentences mean? Rewrite each sentence in your own words.
1 __________________
2 __________________
④ Find answers to the questions from the text.
What was the first disaster?
When and where did it happen?
What was the second disaster?
What damage did it cause?
How did people behave?
Who described the event?
⑤ Use your answers to the above questions to write a summary of the text.
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第四单元 自然灾害
Suggested Answers
Activity 1
The eyewitness is Jack London. He is describing what happened when the 1906 earthquake hit San Francisco.
Activity 2
1 The fire was more destructive because the fire burned up hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of buildings and homes, and strong winds blew upon the city.
2 Because the damage the fire caused, there was no water and no way to move things or people (like firefighters) around easily. The firefighters couldn't organise or communicate well.
3 He was in a ship on the bay and he didn't suffer.
4 It took a day for half the city centre to be nearly destroyed by fire. The fire spread so fast in part because of the winds.
5 They behaved very well and there were no fights and no pushing or shoving.
Activity 3
1 Firefighters had to destroy some buildings that weren't completely damaged because they worried they would fall down and hurt or injure more people.
2 The disaster made people act more kindly and be willing to work together and help one another.
Activity 4
What was the first disaster?
The first disaster was the earthquake that struck in the morning.
When and where did it happen?
It happened on Wednesday, April 18, 1906 at 5:15 in the morning.
What was the second disaster?
The second disaster was the fires caused by the earthquake.
What damage did it cause?
It destroyed half of the city centre.
How did people behave
They behaved well and there were no fights and no pushing or shoving.
Who described the event?
Jack London.
Activity 5
The first disaster was the earthquake that struck San Francisco on Wednesday, April 18, 1906 at 5:15 in the morning. The second disaster was the fires caused by the earthquake. These fires destroyed half of the city entre in a day. But people behaved well and there was no fighting or pushing. Jack London described the event from a ship in the harbour.
