Active Skills for Reading 1 (Unit 11: Look into the Future)


CHAPTER 2 - Predicting Earthquakes

Reading Comprehension - Check Your Understanding

A. Choose the correct answers for the following questions.

Janet wrote to Scientist Sam to find out ______.


According to the passage, which of these statements is correct?


Which of these is NOT a reason that Scientist Sam cannot really answer Janet's question?


Seismologists all agree that ______


B. Read the sentences below. Choose true (T), false (F), or not given (NG).

T/F/NG
1. Earthquakes are easy tp predict.


2. The ancient Greeks had cats and dogs for pets.


3. People say animals can act strangely for other reasons.


4. There is a new study to prove animals can predict earthquakes.


C. Discuss the following questions with a partner

  1. Do you think it's possible to predict when and where an earthquake will happen? Why, or why not?

    Answer

    Some students may be aware of the techniques that seismologists use to measure plate movement and to monitor fault lines, but the fact is that predicting earthquakes is not yet an exact science.

  2. Do you believe that animals can detect things that humans can't ? Why, or why not?

    Answer

    Some studies show that animals can pick up on a chemical change in groundwater before an earthquake, other people believe that animals can feel vibrations in the earth before humans can, or hear frequencies of sound that we can’t hear, but there is still no solid, conclusive evidence for either.

Can Animals Predict Earthquakes?

Dear Scientist Sam,

I noticed my dog acting very nervous only a few minutes before a recent earthquake shook the house. Is it possible that my dog knew the earthquake was going to happen?
Janet

Sam's reply:

Well, Janet, people have believed for many centuries that animals can predict earthquakes. In fact, we can look back to records from the ancient Greeks. They noticed that animals acted oddly in the hours before earthquakes. Even now, people talk about dogs that won't stop barking and cats that won't come out of hiding before an earthquake. Furthermore, strange behavior like this before earthquakes isn't limited to pets. People have also reported seeing chickens stop laying eggs, bees leaving their homes, and big groups of fish dying mysteriously in the;hours before a natural disaster hits.

It's hard to answer your question, since not all seismologists1 or animal experts agree that animals can predict earthquakes. Those that disagree claim that we should take into account other things that affect animal behavior, such as hunger. On the other hand, many people who believe that animals can predict earthquakes often have records of very strange animal behavior right before_the ground shakes. To them, this is evidence that animals can indeed predict earthquakes.

In short, the truth is that we aren't sure. Animals might be able to sense earthquakes before they happen, but there is no solid evidence that they can. However, one thing that most seismologists can agree on is that more research is needed. Animals may be the key to predicting earthquakes before they happen, and could help save many lives.

1 A seismologist is a scientist who studies earthquakes and movements of the earth

Chapter - 2: Reading Skill - Identifying Transition Words Chapter - 2: Vocabulary Comprehension A - Words in Context

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