AftertheviolentearthquakethatshookLosAngelesin1994,earthquakescientistshadgoodnewstoreport;Thedamageanddeathtoll(死亡人数)couldhavebeenmuchworse.

　　Morethan60peoplediedinthisearthquake.Bycomparison,anearthquakeofsimilarintensitythatshookAmericain1988claimed25,000victims:

　　InjuriesanddeathswererelativelylessinLosAngelesbecausethequakeoccurredat4:31a.m.onaholiday,whentrafficwaslightonthecity'shighways.Inaddition,changesmadetotheconstructioncodesinLosAngelesduringthelast20yearshavestrengthenedthecity'sbuildingsandhighways,makingthemmoreresistanttoquakes.

　　Despitethegoodnews,civilengineersaren'trestingontheirsuccesses.Pinnedtotheirdrawingboardsareblueprints(蓝图的)forimprovedquake-resistantbuildings.Thenewdesignsshouldofferevengreatersecuritytocitieswhereearthquakesoftentakeplace.

　　Inthepast,makingstructuresquakeresistantmeantfirmyetflexiblematerials,suchassteelandwood,thatbendwithoutbreaking.Later,peopletriedtoliftabuildingoffitsfoundation,andinsertrubberandsteelbetweenthebuildinganditsfoundationtoreducetheimpactofgroundvibrations.Themostrecentdesignsgivebuildingsbrainsaswellasconcreteandsteelsupports,calledsmartbuildings,thestructuresrespondlikelivingorganismstoanearthquake'svibrations.Whenthegroundshakesandthebuildingtipsforward,thecomputerwouldforcethebuildingtoshiftintheoppositedirection.

　　Thenewsmartstructurescouldbeveryexpensivetobuild.However,theywouldsavemanylivesandwouldbelesslikelytobedamagedduringearthquakes.

　　1.OnereasonwhythelossoflivesintheLosAngelesearthquakewascomparativelylowisthat_______?

　　A)newcomputershadbeeninstalledinthebuildings

　　B)itoccurredintheresidentialareasratherthanonthehighways

　　C)largenumbersofLosAngelesresidentshadgoneforaholiday

　　D)improvementshadbeenmadeintheconstructionofbuildingsandhighways

　　2.Thefunctionofthecomputermentionedinthepassageisto_______.

　　A)counterbalanceanearthquake'sactiononthebuilding

　　B)predictthecomingofanearthquakewithaccuracy

　　C)helpstrengthenthefoundationofthebuilding

　　D)measuretheimpactofanearthquake'svibrations

　　3.Thesmartbuildingsdiscussedinthepassage_______.

　　A)wouldcauseseriousfinancialproblems

　　B)wouldbeworthwhilethoughcostly

　　C)wouldincreasethecomplexityofarchitecturaldesign

　　D)canreducethegroundvibrationscausedbyearthquakes

　　4.Itcanbeinferredfromthepassagethatinminimizingthedamagecausedbyearthquakesattentionshouldbefocusedon_______.

　　A)theincreasinguseofrubberandsteelincapitalconstruction

　　B)thedevelopmentofflexiblebuildingmaterials

　　C)thereductionoftheimpactofgroundvibrations

　　D)earlyforecastsofearthquakes

　　5.Theauthor'smainpurposeinwritingthepassageisto_______.

　　A)comparetheconsequencesoftheearthquakesthatoccurredintheU.S.

　　B)encouragecivilengineerstomakemoreextensiveuseofcomputers.

　　C)outlinethehistoryofthedevelopmentofquake-resistantbuildingmaterials.