The Greatest Earthquake

19. Almost all earthquakes happen at faults, and there are certain earthquakes zones, or places where quakes occur repeatedly and where people can expect __________ (THEY) to happen.

20. Japan experiences 20 percent of the world’s __________ (LARGE) earthquakes. Almost 100 years ago, a huge quake hit Kanto, a region on the main island of Honshu. Since then, almost four dozen major quakes have rocked the nation.

21. Many of the quakes were damaging, killing thousands of people and destroying countless buildings. But none of these natural disasters can compare to the underwater quake that __________ (STRIKE) on March 11, 2011, about 129 km east of Sendai, on Japan’s east coast. The quake ranked as one of the world’s most powerful earthquakes in the last century. The quake’s force was so strong that experts believe it actually moved the island of Japan 2.4 meters.

22. The quake in the ocean was almost as intense as an exploding atomic bomb. The ocean floor __________ (PUSH) down several feet, hurling billions of cubic yards of water out of place for hundreds of miles. Boaters out on the ocean probably never noticed the slightest bump of the tsunami wave as it rolled beneath them.

23. But those who lived along Japan’s coast already knew what __________ (BE) about to happen.

24. They had already seen the beaches suddenly empty of water as it was drawn back from the shoreline, __________ (LEAVE) fish flapping on the wet sand.

Грамматика и Лексика

The Greatest Earthquake (19-24)