In the past hundred years a million people have died in earthquakes，another million have been killed by hurricanes and tornadoes and 9 million have lost their lives in floods.In addition to this，many millions more have died as a result of hunger and disease.We should also not forget in many of the world's countries drought and serious water shortage are facts of life，especially in the African Sahel area bordering the Sahara Desert.

　　Scientists and engineers around the world have made great advances in earthquake engineering.It is，of course，physically impossible to move cities such as Tokyo and San Francisco that have been built on earthquake belts.But most often it is not the earthquake that kills people.It is the falling buildings，bridges and so on that cause deaths，and such a happening can be greatly reduced by better building programs.

　　Finally，perhaps we need to consider the natural disaster that we are causing ourselves.Through our mismanagement of the planet's resources we have sped up the dying out of hundreds of sorts of plants and animals，at the same time possibly destroying our own long­term surroundings for life.Maybe this is one disaster that could be prevented if we are willing to act with a sense of responsibility.

1.tornado n.(美国中部等的)龙卷风，飓风

2.drought n.干旱，旱灾

3.mismanagement n.管理不善，处理失当

Answer the following questions

1.How many people have been killed in natural disasters in the past 100 years?

More than 11 million.

2.What can we do to reduce the number of people killed by earthquakes?

We can make great efforts to improve the quality of building programs.

3.What do the underlined words "one disaster" in the last paragraph refer to?

Man's mismanagement of natural resources.