Level 3 · Reading series
Lesson 28 · A Tiny Model of an Earthquake
Audio track 28
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We put two towers made of blocks on a board. One was short and wide; the other was tall and narrow. When we moved the board slowly, both towers stayed up. When we shook it harder, the tall tower fell first.
“Does this prove that tall buildings are always less safe?” someone asked. Our teacher said no. Real buildings have different materials, foundations, and designs. Our small model showed only what happened to these blocks under this kind of shaking.
We rebuilt the tall tower with a wider base and tested it again. It stayed up longer. We wrote down the change and our result, but we did not call our model a real earthquake. It was a way to ask a better question about building design.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
我们在一块板上搭了两座积木塔：一座矮而宽，另一座高而窄。慢慢移动木板时，两座塔都站着；晃得更厉害时，高塔先倒了。
‘这能证明高楼一定比较不安全吗？’有人问。老师说不能。真正的建筑有不同的材料、地基和设计。我们的小模型只展示了：这些积木在这种晃动下会发生什么。
我们把高塔重新搭起来，底座改宽，再测了一次。这次它站得久一些。我们记下改动和结果，却没有把模型称作真正的地震。模型的作用，是帮我们提出关于建筑设计的更好问题。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- tower
- 塔；两座积木塔形状不同。
- narrow
- 窄的；高塔的宽度较小。
- shake
- 摇晃；小组移动木板模拟振动。
- fall first
- 先倒下；强烈晃动时高塔先倒。
- prove
- 证明；模型不足以证明所有高楼都不安全。
- material
- 材料；真实建筑会使用各种材料。
- foundation
- 地基；建筑物底部的支撑结构。
- model
- 模型；用积木模拟特定情况。
- base
- 底座；改宽后高塔站得更久。
- result
- 结果；小组记录了再次测试的结果。
Background notes (Chinese)
积木塔有助于观察形状与稳定性的关系，却不能代表所有真实建筑。真实建筑还受材料、地基和结构设计影响；模型实验的结论要注明适用范围。