THE GREATEST HANSHIN EARTHQUAKE

The Great Hashin earthquake, or the Kobe earthquake as it is more commonly known overseas, was an earthquake in Japan that measured 7.3 on the Japan Meteorological Agency magnitude scale. It occurred on January 17th, 1995 at 5:46 a.m in the southern part of Hyogo Perfecture, and lasted for approximately 20 seconds. The epicentre of the earthquake was on the northern end of Awaji Island near Kobe, a cosmopolitan city of over 1.5 million people. A total of 6434 people, mainly in the city of Kobe, lost their lives. Additionally, it causes approximately ten trillion yen in damage. It was the worst earthquake in Japan since the Great Kanto earthquake in 1923, which claimed 140000 lives.

1. The word “oversea” in the text is closest in meaning to ____________

A. Aboard      B. at sea          C. by sea

2. The word “occurred” in the text is closest in meaning to _______________

A. Ended        B. happened    C. started

3. It is stated in the passage that the number of deaths in the city of Kobe _______________

A. Was greater than that of the Great Kanto earthquake.

B. Was not as high as in the Great Kanto earthquake.

C. Exceeded that of any known earthquake

4. The norther end of Awaji island was the place where _______________

A. The effects of the earthquake were felt most strongly.

B. There was no damage to people and property.

C. 1.5 million people lost their lives.

5. We understand from the passage that the Kobe earthquake __________________

A. Is internationally known as the Great Hanshin earthquake

B. Didn’t cause any damage in the neighbourhood of Kobe.

C. Is not the deadliest earthquake in the history of Kobe.