The Chilean earthquake, measuring
8.8 – magnitude, which struck early Saturday morning, released 500 times the
energy of the 7.0 – magnitude quake that hit Haiti last month, a geophysicist
told CBS’ “The Early Show. ” Tsunami warnings were issued for much of the
Pacific, including Hawaii, following the quake that struck near the Chilean
coast.
“When the earthquake occurred, it
moved the land and then it moved the water causing the tsunami,” said U.S.
Geological Survey geophysicist Jessica Sigala. “And the coastal areas of Chile have already noticed the wave heights up to about 7 feet.”
Sigala said Hawaiians can expect
to see the waves from this tsunami around 11:20 a.m. local time (about 4:20 p.m. ET). “So we have to wait and see how big the waves will be.”
“It's not so much the height [of
the wave] but it's the width, it's how long the duration, and then it's also
the speed at which it's traveling,” said co-anchor Kelly Cobiella “Correct me
if I'm wrong, but these waves are traveling at the speed of a jetliner, about
500 miles per hour?”
“That's correct. It's a big block
of water coming onto the land,” Sigala said.
Chile has already experienced several aftershocks
following the quake.
“Aftershocks are definitely a
concern,” said Sigala. "We always see aftershocks with a large quake and a
shallow quake, which this one was. And as of right now, we've located about
maybe 15 aftershocks and those are of the larger kind. I'm sure they felt much
more than that.”
“A shallow earthquake just means
that it happened pretty close to the surface,” said Sigala. “And because of
that the energy is really close to the surface, where all the buildings and
people are.”
50 deaths caused by
aftershocks have been reported, according to the national emergency agency,
adding the estimate casualties to 960.
Title: Concerns after 1.
I. Tsunami:
● 2.: much of the Pacific, including Hawaii
●Cause: the earthquake moved
3.
●Wave Heights: about 4.
● 5.___ : about 500 mph
II. 6.:
●Reason: the Chilean Earthquake was a 7.__
and a 8.earthquake, which always have them after
the major one
●Number: at least 9.
●Loss: 10.
SECTION B
Directions: Read the following passage. Answer the questions according
to the information given in the passage and required words limit. Write your
answers on your answer sheet
From bankers to
factory staff, employees in the west face the bleak prospect of losing their
jobs as a global recession starts to bite. For colleagues in the East the pain
is more likely to come through a pay cut.
Human resource
experts say cultural differences explain why Asian firms try harder to keep
jobs in difficult times, which will stop unemployment and may help keep Asian
economies afloat at a time of slowing exports.
The East Asian
attitude may also make it easier for firms to recover quickly from the economic
downturn since they will not need to rehire or train new staff, leaving some
experts predicting Western shift to Eastern flexibility.
“In the Confucian
attitude, the right thing to do is to share the burden. There is the
sense of collective responsibility whereas in the west, it’s more about the
individual survival,” said Michael Benotlel, associate professor of
organizational behavior at Singapore Management University.
Steven Pang, Asian
Regional director for Aquent, a headhunting firm, said in many East Asian
companies there was an responsibility “ to take care of the members of the
family and go through the pain together” even if that meant causing losses.
Us firms from
General Motors to Goldman Sachs plan to lay off workers by the thousands. But
at the Asian units of Western multinationals, jobs cuts will probably less
severe.
Japan’s jobless rate was 4 percent in
September, up from 3.8 percent in January, while Hong Kong’s was flat at 3.4
percent. But US unemployment is expected to have jumped to 6.3 percent last
month from below 5 percent in January.
Experts say that
while there are noticeable differences in labor practices in East and West, the
gap will narrow as more firms become more multinational and competition forces
firms to adopt the best practices of rivals from abroad.
11.According to the
passage, what does “to share the burden” mean?
(no more than 6
words)
____________________________________________________________________
12.Why would firms
in the west lay off workers when facing a bleak prospect?
( no more than 5 words)
____________________________________________________________________
13.Why is it easier
for the East Asian firms to recover quickly from the economic downturn? (no
more than 12 words)
____________________________________________________________________
14.What’s the
passage talking about? (no more than 15 words)
____________________________________________________________________