Question

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

ENGLISH SEVENTH MEETING “SAN ANDREAS FAULT”

The San Andreas Fault line is a fracture at the congruence of two major plates of the Earth’s crust, one of which support most of the North American continent, and the other of which underlies the coast of California and part of the ocean floor of the Pacific Ocean. The fault originates about six hundred miles south of the Gulf of California, runs north in an irregular line along the western coast to San Francisco, and continues north for about two hundred more miles before angling off into the ocean. In places, the trace of the fault is marked by a trench, or, in geological terms, a rift, and a small ponds dot the landscape. Its western side always move north in relation to its eastern side. The total net slip along the San Andreas Fault and the length of time it has been active are matters of conjecture, but it has been estimated that, during the past fifteen million years, coastal California along the San Andreas Fault has moved about 190 miles in a northwesterly direction with respect to the North American plate. Although the movement along the fault averages only a few inches a year, it is intermittent and variable. Some segments of the fault do not have move at all for long periods of time, building up tremendous pressure that must be released. For this reason, tremors are not unusual along the San Andreas Fault, some of which are classified as major earthquakes. Also for this reason, small tremors are interpreted as safe, since they are understood to be pressure that releases without causing much damage.

It is worth noting that the San Andreas Fault passes uncomfortably close to several major metropolitan areas, including Los Angeles and San Francisco. In addition, the San Andreas Fault has created smaller fault systems, many of which underlie the smaller towns and cities along the California coast. For this reason, Californians have long anticipated the recurrence of what they refer to as “the Big One”, a chain reaction of destructive earthquakes that would measure near 8 on the Richter scale, similar in intensity to those that occurred in 1857 and 1906. Such a quake would wreak devastating effects on the life and property in the region. Unfortunately, as pressure continues to build along the fault, the likelihood of such an earthquake increases substantially.

The word its in the paragraph 1 refers to _______ .

A. San Francisco

B. ocean

C. coast

D. fault

Answer 1

Đáp án D.

Key word: its, paragraph 1, refers.

Clue: “In places, the trace of the fault is marked by a trench, or, in geological terms, a rift, and small ponds dot the landscape. Its western side always move north in relation to its eastern side”: Ở một vài nơi, dấu vết của khe nứt được đánh dấu bới một cái rãnh, hoặc nói theo thuật ngữ địa lý, một kẽ nứt, và những ao nước nhỏ chấm điểm trên vùng đất. Khu phía tây của nó luôn di chuyển theo hướng bắc so với khu phía đông.

Dựa vào clue ta thấy từ Its liên kết với từ “fault” ở câu trên và đáp án chính xác là D. fault.