Unit 6 Section A.doc

Unit 6: Section A How to Prepare for Earthquakes I. Background Information The Great Hanshin Earthquake Disaster At 5:46 AM, on January 17, 1995, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake occurred around Kobe City in Japan. The earthquake magnitude was defined by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). The earthquake was named “the 1995 South Hyogo Prefecture Earthquake” (or the 1995 Hyogoken Nanbu Earthquake) by JMA. It was also referred to as “the Great Hanshin Earthquake Disaster” by the Japanese government. II. Text Analysis: Main Idea and Devices for Developing It Main idea of the text The essay is centered around the main theme — How to predict, prevent, and prepare for earthquakes. Devices for developing it 1.Questioning(设问法) From the title “How to Prepare for Earthquakes” on, the author guides the reader toward a better understanding of his article through a list of direct or indirect questions, thus reminding the reader of what is to follow or what he is to give his ink to next. 2. Deduction (演绎法) Another characteristic writing technique that runs throughout the writing is a general statement supported by details. Main idea of Part I (Para. 1) This part is about how to predict an earthquake. Devices for developing it Exemplification (举例法) Topic sentence：Ideally, people would like to know when an earthquake is going to happen and how bad it will be. (Para. 1) Main idea of Part II (Para. 2) This part deals with how to prevent the great destruction of property caused by earthquakes. Devices for developing it Reasoning（推理法） Addition（递进法） Main idea of Part III (Paras. 3 - 6) This part is about how people need to prepare themselves for the possibility of a great earthquake. Devices for developing it Addition (递进法） Main idea of Part IV (Para. 7) This part serves as a conclusion: even if prediction becomes possible in the future, people still have to do their best to prevent disasters by improving building structures and by being personally prepared. Devices for developin