Question
The Background
Shaking is a fact of life. Earth experiences several hundred observable earthquakes daily. A major one — magnitude 7 or greater on the scale measuring earthquake power — happens about once per month on average. There even are so-called induced tremors, or small quakes caused by oil and natural gas drilling and other human activities.
Coastal cities in the "Ring of Fire," including Tokyo, San Francisco and Jakarta, Indonesia, are close to both fault lines and volcanoes. They also have soft soil that can worsen the destruction of a quake's shakes.
In 1985, an earthquake caused more than 5,000 deaths in and around Mexico City. This startled seismologists, who study earthquakes, as the quake's epicenter was more than 200 miles away.
Scientists say major earthquakes are not increasing in frequency. Still, the potential for damage is bound to rise when cities grow taller, denser and richer. There are 283 million people in metropolitan areas at some risk of being killed, hurt or evacuated due to an earthquake, according to global insurance company Swiss Re. Homeowners and cities buy insurance from companies like Swiss Re. Then the company pays them if an earthquake causes damage. What is the author's MAIN purpose for including the section "The Background"?
A
to reassure the reader that earthquakes are not getting more common
B
to illustrate reasons why cities are at greater risk of damage from earthquakes
C
to describe the types of earthquakes now being caused by human activities
D
to encourage readers living in cities to buy earthquake insurance from Swiss Re
Shaking is a fact of life. Earth experiences several hundred observable earthquakes daily. A major one — magnitude 7 or greater on the scale measuring earthquake power — happens about once per month on average. There even are so-called induced tremors, or small quakes caused by oil and natural gas drilling and other human activities.
Coastal cities in the "Ring of Fire," including Tokyo, San Francisco and Jakarta, Indonesia, are close to both fault lines and volcanoes. They also have soft soil that can worsen the destruction of a quake's shakes.
In 1985, an earthquake caused more than 5,000 deaths in and around Mexico City. This startled seismologists, who study earthquakes, as the quake's epicenter was more than 200 miles away.
Scientists say major earthquakes are not increasing in frequency. Still, the potential for damage is bound to rise when cities grow taller, denser and richer. There are 283 million people in metropolitan areas at some risk of being killed, hurt or evacuated due to an earthquake, according to global insurance company Swiss Re. Homeowners and cities buy insurance from companies like Swiss Re. Then the company pays them if an earthquake causes damage. What is the author's MAIN purpose for including the section "The Background"?
A
to reassure the reader that earthquakes are not getting more common
B
to illustrate reasons why cities are at greater risk of damage from earthquakes
C
to describe the types of earthquakes now being caused by human activities
D
to encourage readers living in cities to buy earthquake insurance from Swiss Re
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The author's MAIN purpose for including the section "The Background" is
**B: to illustrate reasons why cities are at greater risk of damage from earthquakes.**
This option best captures the overall theme of the background information, which discusses the frequency and impact of earthquakes, the vulnerability of coastal cities, and the potential for increased damage due to urban growth.
**B: to illustrate reasons why cities are at greater risk of damage from earthquakes.**
This option best captures the overall theme of the background information, which discusses the frequency and impact of earthquakes, the vulnerability of coastal cities, and the potential for increased damage due to urban growth.