If the crust(外壳)of the earth were not pretty solid(坚固的)，it would be shaking about and moving up and down frequently. However，there are places in the rocks of the earth's crust where it isn't strongly held together-where faults exist.Along the faults，one rock might push against another with great force.The energy is changed to vibration in the rocks, so they begin to shake and we have an earthquake!

The most famous one in North America was the San Francisco earthquake of 1906.Seven hundred people died and property(财产)damage amounted to about $425,000,000.The greatest destruction came from the fires that followed the quake.

One of the most famous earthquakes in Europe took place in Lisbon，Portugal，in 1755.The city was destroyed and at least thirty thousand people were killed.In 1908, in Calabria and Sicily，a quake killed about seventy­five thou­sand people. In 1915，in central Italy，hundreds of towns and villages were damaged and thirty thousand people were killed.

Two great earthquakes that caused great damage in Asia took place in Tokyo，Japan，and in Gansu Province in China.The Tokyo quake of 1923 killed more than one hundred thousand people and destroyed the city and the city of Yokohama，too.The Chinese quake in 1920 covered more than three hundred square miles and killed about two hundred thousand people.

25．The underlined word "vibration"in the first paragraph probably means "______"．

A．shaking　　　　 B．force

C．energy D．losing

26．Which of the following is the correct order of the years when the earthquakes happened?

①the San Francisco earthquake

②the earthquake in Lisbon，Portugal

③the earthquake in Calabria and Sicily

④the earthquake in central Italy

⑤the earthquake in Gansu Province

⑥the Tokyo quake

A．③④⑤⑥②① B．⑤⑥②①③④

C．②①③④⑤⑥ D．①③④②⑤⑥

27．According to the passage，the earthquake that killed the most people happened in______.

A．Portugal B．Italy

C．Japan D．China

28．We can infer from the passage that______.

A．the earth's crust in Europe is weaker than that in other places

B．the fires following the San Francisco earthquake caused more damage than the earthquake did

C．there were 75,000 people killed in the San Francisco earthquake

D．the city of Yokohama was not greatly influenced by the Tokyo quake

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　C

Having lived in California until 1970，my family has felt a number of earthquakes. We