Injuries and deaths were relatively less in Los Angeles because the quake occurred at 4:31 amona holiday,when traffic was lightn highways Inaddition,changes made to code i Los Angeles during the last 20 years have strengthened the city's buildings and highways,making them more resistant to quakes. Despite the good news,civil engineers aren't resting on their successes.Pinned to their drawing boards are blueprints (for improved quake-resistant buildings.The new designs should offer even greater city tocities where earthquakes ofen take place In the past,making structures quake?resistant meant firm yet flexible materials such as steel and wood,that bend without breaking.Later,people tried to lift a building off its foundation and insert rubber and steel between the building and its foundation to reduce the impact of ground vibrations. The most recent designs give buildings brains as well as concrete and steel supports.called smart buildings the structures respond like n earthquakes the ground shakes and the uilding tips forward,the force the opposite direction The new smart structures could be very expensive to build.However,they would save many lives and would be less likely to be damaged during earthquakes 56.One reason why the loss of lives in the Los Angeles earthquake was comparatively low is that 0 A)newcomputers had been installed in the building B)it occurred in the residential areas rather than on the highways. C)large numbers of Los Angeles residents had gone for a holiday D)improvements had been made in the construction of buildings and highways 57.The function of the computer mentioned in the passage is to B)predict the coming of an earthquake with accuracy C)help strengthen the foundation of the building D)measure the impact of an earthquake's vibrations 58.The smart buildings discussed in the passage A)would cause serious financial problems B)w while though costly C)would increase the complexity of architectural design D)can reduce the ground vibrations caused by earthquakes 59.It can be inferred from the passage that in minimizing the damage caused by earthauakes attention should be focused on A)the B)the development of building materials C)the reduction of the impact of ground vibrations D)early forecasts of earthquakes 60.The author's main purpose in writing the pa eis to A)compare the con nces of the earthquakes that cured in the U.S. B)encourage more of C)outline the history of the development of quake-resistant building materials D)report new developments in constructing quake?resistant building PassageTwo Questions61 to65 are based on the following passage. 66 Injuries and deaths were relatively less in Los Angeles because the quake occurred at 4:31 a.m. on a holiday, when traffic was light on the city's highways. In addition, changes made to the construction codes in Los Angeles during the last 20 years have strengthened the city's buildings and highways, making them more resistant to quakes. Despite the good news, civil engineers aren't resting on their successes. Pinned to their drawing boards are blueprints (蓝图的) for improved quake-resistant buildings. The new designs should offer even greater security to cities where earthquakes often take place. In the past, making structures quake? resistant meant firm yet flexible materials , such as steel and wood, that bend without breaking. Later, people tried to lift a building off its foundation, and insert rubber and steel between the building and its foundation to reduce the impact of ground vibrations. The most recent designs give buildings brains as well as concrete and steel supports, called smart buildings, the structures respond like living organisms to an earthquake's vibrations. When the ground shakes and the building tips forward, the computer would force the building to shift in the opposite direction. The new smart structures could be very expensive to build. However, they would save many lives and would be less likely to be damaged during earthquakes. 56.One reason why the loss of lives in the Los Angeles earthquake was comparatively low is that _______? A) new computers had been installed in the buildings. B) it occurred in the residential areas rather than on the highways. C) large numbers of Los Angeles residents had gone for a holiday D) improvements had been made in the construction of buildings and highways 57. The function of the computer mentioned in the passage is to _______. A) counterbalance an earthquake's action on the building B) predict the coming of an earthquake with accuracy C) help strengthen the foundation of the building D) measure the impact of an earthquake's vibrations 58. The smart buildings discussed in the passage _______. A) would cause serious financial problems B) would be worthwhile though costly C) would increase the complexity of architectural design D) can reduce the ground vibrations caused by earthquakes 59. It can be inferred from the passage that in minimizing the damage caused by earthquakes attention should be focused on _______. A) the increasing use of rubber and steel in capital construction B) the development of flexible building materials C) the reduction of the impact of ground vibrations D) early forecasts of earthquakes 60. The author's main purpose in writing the passage is to _______. A) compare the consequences of the earthquakes that occurred in the U. S. B) encourage civil engineers to make more extensive use of computers. C) outline the history of the development of quake-resistant building materials D) report new developments in constructing quake? resistant building Passage Two Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage