C

Buildings crashing to the ground in seconds. Thousands of people losing their lives in a flash. Since they were told an earthquake would hit Tokyo around September 16, Japanese people haven’t been able to get these thoughts out of their minds.

They heard the news from Yoshio Kushida, a researcher who used radio waves to predict that an earthquake would strike with a magnitude(量级) of at least seven. “It would be terrible not to warn people of a possible disaster in case a quake actually occurs,” he said.

His warning had a big effect. Frightened Tokyo people have been stocking up on(贮存)　water, food and candles in preparation for the terrible day.

But Kushida hasn’t had much support from the experts. At present, predicting earthquakes is thought to be impossible. No one can tell exactly where or when the next major earthquake will occur. An earthquake begins tens of miles below the earth’s surface: it’s too far-away to see.

Ancient Chinese and Italian scientists forecast earthquakes by special “earthquake clouds”. They found that a week before an earthquake, there were often strange clouds — shaped like snakes, waves or feathers — in the sky. They thought the clouds might come from a gas produced underground by an earthquake.

People also used to watch animals to see if earthquakes were coming. When they saw birds fly away suddenly, dogs barking violently or fish jumping out of the water, they told people to leave the area. Some scientists believed animals had a sharper sense of changes taking place underground.

But the ancient methods were not reliable enough. Nowadays, scientists use special instruments to predict earthquakes more precisely(精确地).

Satellite systems are very useful: they record small changes in the earth’s magnetic fields(磁场)　which help show where and when an earthquake may strike.

64. Since they were told an earthquake would hit Tokyo, Japanese people ______.

A. have had no mind to do their work B. have always thought great damage it may cause

C. have almost forgot about it D. have bought all the foods in the markets

65. Which of the following is TRUE?

A. Tokyo people were surprised at the warning.

B. Greater disasters would happen if people are not warned of before an earthquake.

C. Predicting earthquakes is completely impossible at present science level.

D. According to ancient people, before an earthquake we can see strange clouds anywhere.

66. We can infer from the passage that ______.

A. an earthquake is about to attack Tokyo

B. there are some signs of an earthquake anyone can know about before it happens

C. some animals can precisely predict any earthquake

D. people predict earthquakes according to small changes of magnetic fields of the earth more precisely

67. Which can be the best title for the passage?

A. Earthquake Prediction B. Magnetic Fields C. Earthquakes D. Earthquake in Japan