2015考研英语阅读西海岸担心地震影响_大学英语阅读

2015考研英语阅读西海岸担心地震影响

　　同时，日本地震令美国西北部，太平洋沿岸的西雅图居民，准备迎接一场大灾难的到来，他们的准备活动可并不比日本差。距离海岸50英里的卡斯卡地亚俯冲带，从加州北部延伸至英属哥伦比亚南部，预计可以缓冲9级地震及其造成的海啸。俄勒冈州和华盛顿州海岸，最近的一次大地震发生在1700年。近期的研究表明，未来50年里，新地震发生的概率只有1/3。

　　The pre-eminent symbol of poor earthquake preparedness in the region is Seattle s AlaskanWay Viaduct. It is a grubby-looking, double-decked elevated highway that was built in the1950s and carries about 110,000 vehicles a day along the city s waterfront. A magnitude-6.8quake damaged and temporarily closed it in 2001. State experts have since estimated that theodds of an earthquake bringing it down are one in ten over the next decade.

　　该地区对抗震最弱的环节是西雅图至阿拉斯加的高架桥。这条高速路肮脏污浊，双层高架，建于20世纪50年代，建在海岸边，每天通行量约为11万车次，。2001年一场6.8 级地震令其受损并短时停运，美国专家已研究证明，未来十年，这条高速路若地震毁坏的可能性为1/10。

　　Concern about thousands of commuters being crushed between slabs of falling concrete haspushed the city, state and federal governments to approve a plan that would replace theviaduct with a tunnel. But fear of downtown gridlock is pushing back the closure anddemolition of the viaduct until at least 2016, when the tunnel is supposed to be ready.