On the morning of November 18, 1755, an earthquake shook Boston, Massachusetts.John Winthrop, a professor at Harvard College, felt the quake and awoke. “I rose,” Winthrop wrote,“and lighting a candle, looked on my watch, and found it was 15 minutes after four.”John Winthrop went downstairs to the grandfather clock.It had stopped four minutes before, at 4∶11.Except for stopping the clock, the quake had only thrown a key from the mantel (壁炉台) to the floor.
The clock had stopped because Winthrop had put some long glass tubes he was using for an experiment into the case for care.The quake had knocked the tubes over and blocked the pendulum (钟摆).Winthrop, therefore, had the exact time that the earthquake had hit Boston.He looked at the key on the floor.The quake had thrown it forward in the direction of the quakes motion (运动) by a shock coming from the northwest, perhaps in Canada.
1The text proves that .
Athe power of nature is terrible
Bearthquakes happen most often during nighttime hours
Cthe direction of an earthquake can be discovered
Duniversities study the cause of earthquakes
2The text suggests that .
ABoston was badly destroyed
Bearthquakes are common in Boston
CJohn Winthrop had difficulty sleeping
DJohn Winthrop was a scientist
3Which of the following is true?
ASome tubes were broken into pieces and stopped the old clock.
BThe professor lit a candle because of power failure.
CBoston is in the southeast of Canada.
DThe shocks were slight in one way.
4The earthquake happened .
Aseveral minutes before the professor awoke
Band the professor awoke at 4∶15
Cin the centre of Boston
Dwhen John Winthrop felt it
答案：1.C 2.D 3.D 4.A
