Question 1

Based on the introduction, what are the effects of natural disasters

Accepted Answer

B and C

Answer

C. Billions of dollars in damage.

Answer

A. People are shocked

Answer

B. People are killed

Question 2

What does the phrase "paled in comparison" mean?

Accepted Answer

Was not as great as.

Answer

Was like a bucket.

Answer

Was greater than.

Answer

Turned a lighter shade of color.

Question 3

How do the subheadings in this selection signal how the authors have structured this text?

Accepted Answer

They show that the authors have put the disasters in chronological order so that the readers will experience the events in time order.

Answer

The natural disaster is identified, and then the location of the disaster is provided. This is the same order given in the introduction and introduces the disasters by how the severe the disaster was.

Question 4

Which of the following contributed to the flooding of New Orleans

Accepted Answer

All of the above.

Answer

Rising waters produced by the storm.

Answer

Levees broke or were washed away.

Answer

The storm surge from Hurricane Katrina.

Question 5

What is the effect pf comparing the location of New Orleans to a bowl?

Accepted Answer

It helps the reader visualize the area and how it will be affected by the storm.

Answer

It makes the reader hungry while reading.

Answer

It helps the reader visualize trees and homes of New Orleans

Question 6

Which statements do authors use to support the claim that the flooding of New Orleans “was pretty much inevitable”?

Accepted Answer

All of the above

Answer

“scientists were not surprised”

Answer

“researchers had warned of exactly this type of disaster”

Question 7

Why does much of New Orleans sit below sea level?

Accepted Answer

Settlers built levees to drain water and reclaim wetlands to build

Answer

There are large natural hills between New Orleans and the Ocean.

Answer

The spongy ground is slowly spreading and sinking.

Question 8

Why is the Mississippi Delta described as “basically a pile of mud in the Gulf of Mexico”?

Accepted Answer

It gives a comparison that allows the reader to picture the city spreading and sinking

Answer

It wants readers to understand how so many victims were trapped by this mud during the disaster

Answer

It provides a mental picture of just how dirty the area is

Question 9

What other factor led to New Orleans becoming more vulnerable during Hurricane Katrina?

Accepted Answer

Marshes and barrier islands surrounding New Orleans have eroded.  This made them less able to absorb the storm surge and protect the city.

Answer

The Mississippi River was also flooding as Hurricane Katrina hit.  This allowed water to flood New Orleans from two separate directions.

Answer

New Orleans homes were not built to safety codes and were easily swept away by the storm

Question 10

What effects have the levees had on the city of New Orleans?

Accepted Answer

All of the above.

Answer

Prevented sediment from being deposited in the marshes and on the barrier islands, causing them to wear away.

Answer

The overall effect was terrible flooding.

Answer

Caused sediment to build up in the lake and river.

Question 11

Why do some people suggest “quitting the fight against nature and moving the city to a different spot”?

Accepted Answer

Since it’s very difficult to protect New Orleans from hurricanes, some people think it would be easier to move the city to another location

Answer

There is too much damage from Hurricane Katrina to clean up.  It’s easier to just start over somewhere else.

Answer

There’s no way to get all of the flood water out of New Orleans’ “bowl”

Question 12

How did an “ordinary school day” become horrific?

Accepted Answer

The earthquake buried thousands of people under rubble

Answer

Students were trapped at school by the quakes and had to spend many days at school.

Answer

The earthquake frightened many students while they were separated from loved ones

Question 13

Which detail(s) and fact(s) show how disastrous the earthquake was?

Accepted Answer

All of the above

Answer

"burying thousands of people under rubble"

Answer

"landslides that blocked roads and railways"

Answer

“69,000 people were confirmed dead and 17,500 were missing."

Question 14

Which summarizes the geological sequence of events that led to the monster earthquake in China in 2008?

Accepted Answer

Plates push together; they create energy; energy transfers to a fault; the fault ruptures, triggering a monster earthquake

Answer

Faults push together; they create energy; energy transfers to a plate; the plate ruptures, triggering a monster earthquake

Answer

The Fault ruptures; they create energy; plates push together energy transfers to a fault, triggering a monster earthquake

Question 15

What evidence supports the claim that the aftershocks were “powerful”?

Accepted Answer

All of the above.

Answer

Aftershock landslides blocked rivers

Answer

Aftershocks triggered landslides

Answer

Aftershocks interfered with rescue efforts

Question 16

How does Rafael Abreu explain the effect of the quake vibrations moving from solid rock to softer sediment?

Accepted Answer

He uses a comparison of water in a bucket.

Answer

He compares it to fresh plowed soil in a field

Answer

He compares it to the sediment settling and sinking in New Orleans' "bowl"

Question 17

What details support the claim that “the calamity was complete”?

Accepted Answer

both answers are correct

Answer

"entire villages collapsed"

Answer

"rubble included over 7,000 classrooms"

Question 18

Why were all 2,323 students and teachers safe at Sangzao Middle School?

Accepted Answer

The principal hired workers to reinforce the older school building

Answer

The school was built on bedrock

Answer

The building was new and stronger

Question 19

How do authors adequately support the claim that the damage from the 2004 tsunami was “unparalleled”?

Accepted Answer

This disaster had far greater loss of life and damage.

Answer

This disaster is the most current.

Answer

None of the other disasters in this selection involved seafloor earthquakes.

Question 20

Why does Emile Okal, a seismologist at Northwestern University state, “The bottom line is we can’t predict tsunamis”?

Accepted Answer

Tsunamis “usually form after a very strong underwater earthquake” and these quakes happen “out of sight, deep within the earth.”

Answer

Tsunamis are very quiet as they approach, and no one hears them.

Answer

Tsunamis are invisible because they formed by water.

Question 21

Why does Ward compare Earth to a hard-boiled egg with a cracked shell?

Accepted Answer

Earth’s surface is broken up into pieces, called plates.

Answer

There are lots of canyons and rivers on earth causing it to appear cracked when viewed from space.

Answer

Earthquakes and other natural disasters like hurricanes and tsunamis “crack” or damage Earth’s crust.

Question 22

What is the effect of words such as quickly and raced that the authors used to describe the movement of the 2004 tsunami?

Accepted Answer

It helps emphasize the movement and force of the tsunami as it traveled toward land.

Answer

It helps describe how scientist rushed to warn people in Indonesia.

Answer

It helps illustrate how people struggled to outrun the tsunami.

Question 23

What was different about the earthquake with a magnitude of 8.1 that didn’t trigger a tsunami when the 9.3 earthquake did?

Accepted Answer

The 9.3 earthquake had upward thrust.  The 8.1 earthquake didn’t.

Answer

The 8.1 earthquake had vertical thrust.  The 9.3 earthquake didn’t.

Answer

Earthquakes must reach a magnitude of at least 9.0 to form tsunamis.  The 8.1 earthquake wasn’t strong enough.

Question 24

Why didn’t anyone order an evacuation before the Indonesian tsunami in 2008?

Accepted Answer

There are no detection devices in the area and "no one saw the tsunami coming"

Answer

Tsunamis are common events in that area and residents are used to them.

Answer

Residents were excited to have waves large enough to surf.

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