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Listening Device Provides Landslide Early Warning

A device that provides early warning of a landslide by monitoring vibrations in soil is being tested by UK researchers． Tile device could save thousands of lives each year by warning when an area should be evacuated，the scientists say． Such natural disasters are common in countries that experience sudden，heavy rainfall，and can also be triggered by earthquakes and even water erosion．

Landslides start when a few particles of soil or rock within a slope start to move，but the early stages can be hard to spot． Following this initial movement，“slopes can become． unstable in a matter of hours or minutes,” says Nell Dixon at Loughborough University1,UK．He says a warning system that monitors this movement “might be enough to evacuate a block of fiats or clear a road，and save lives．”

The most common way to monitor a slope for signs of an imminent landslide is to watch for changes in its shape．Surveyors can do this by measuring a site directly，or sensors sunk into boreholes or fixed above ground can be used to monitor the shape of a slope．Slopes can，however，change shape without triggering a landslide，so either method is prone to causing false alarms．Now Dixon’s team has developed a device that listens for the vibrations caused when particles begin moving within a slope．

The device takes the form of a steel pipe dropped into a boreh01e in a slope．The borehole is filled in with gravel around the pipe to help transmit high-frequency vibrations generated by particles within the slope．These vibrations pass up the tube and are picked up by a sensor on the surface．Software analyses the vibration signal to determine whether a landslide may be imminent．

The device is currently being tested in a 6-metre-tall artificial clay embankment in Newcastle2，UK．Early results suggest it should provide fewer false positives than existing systems．Once it has been carefully and thoroughly tested，the device could be used to create a complete early-warning system for dangerous slopes．

“Locations with a significant risk of landslides could definitely benefit from a machine like this,” says Adam Poulter，an expert at the British Red Cross．“As long as it doesn’t cost too much．” But，Poulter adds that an early-warning system may not be enough on its own．“You need to have the human communication,” he says．“Making systems that get warnings to those who need them can be difficult．”

詞匯：

landslide/5lAndslaId/n．山崩；地滑；塌方 imminent/5iminEnt/adj．即將發(fā)生的

vibration/vai5breiFEn/n．振動 sensor/5sensE(r)/ n．傳感器

evacuate/i5vAkjueit/v．疏散，撒走 borehole/5bC:hEul/n．鉆孔，井眼

rainfall/5reinfC:l /n．降雨，降雨量 gravel/5^rAvEl/n．礫，沙礫，礫石

erosion/i5rEuVEn/n．腐蝕，侵蝕 embankment/Im5bANkmEnt/n．堤岸

注釋：

1． Loughborough University：拉夫堡大學(xué)。該大學(xué)地處英格蘭東部的拉夫堡市，始建于1909年的拉夫堡學(xué)院，1966年獲得皇家特許正式成為綜合大學(xué)。

2． Newcastle：紐卡斯?fàn)�。英格蘭東北部的一個自治區(qū)，位于利茲(Leeds)以北泰納(the Tync River)河畔。

練習(xí):

1． What does “Such natural disasters” in the first paragraph refer to?

A Sudden，heavy rainfall．

B Earthquakes．

C Water erosion．

D Landslides．

2． Which of the following statements is true of landslides?

A The initial movement is hard to spot．

B They start with a movement of a few particles of soil or rock．

C They can be destructive in a matter of hours or minutes．

D All of the above．

3． Why do researchers develop a new device to monitor signs of landsides?

A Because the new device can measure the site directly．

B Because the new device can be sunk into boreholes or fixed above ground．

C Because the common methods can cause false alarms．

D Because the common methods are useless．

4． Which of the following statements is NOT true of the device，according 1o Paragraph4?

A It is filled in with gravel．

B It consists of a steel pipe．

C It is dropped into a horehole filled in with gravel．

D It is connected to a sensor on the surface．

5． According to the context，what does the word “positives” in the fifth paragraph mean?

A Positive electric charges．

B Evidences．

C Warnings．

D Predictions．

答案與題解：

1． D 短文第一段的第一句告訴我們，英國研究人員正在測試一種儀器，這種儀器可以通過監(jiān)測土壤的振動來預(yù)警山崩。該段最后一句說，這種災(zāi)難經(jīng)常在一些遭受自然災(zāi)害的國家發(fā)生，這些自然災(zāi)害包括sudden，heavy rainfall和earthquakes以及water erosion。所以D是正確選擇。

2． D A、B、C的內(nèi)容都可在第二段中找到。所以D是正確答案。

3． C 第三段的第一和第二句告訴我們，最為普通的監(jiān)測山崩方法是對山坡形狀變化的觀察，有兩種觀察方式；第三句說，因?yàn)樯狡滦螤畹淖兓�不一定�?dǎo)致山崩，所以兩種方法都會有虛假的預(yù)警。因此，C是正確答案。

4． A B、C、D所述內(nèi)容都可在第四段中找到。The borehole is filled in with gravel around the pipe．在被鑿出的洞里填充沙礫，圍在鋼管四周。不是在鋼管里填充沙礫。所以A是錯誤的說法，是正確的選擇。

5． B positives在此用作名詞，意思是：被證實(shí)的因素或特點(diǎn)，可以理解為證據(jù)。