Waterland, California, June 26,2001—two cars dropped from sight, falling into the bottom (底部) of a 400-feet deep sinkhole (陷洞) which appeared suddenly. At a town 12 miles from Waterland, two bedrooms of one house dropped into a hole 60 feet across and 35 feet deep part of the next house hung dangerously over the hole.
Sinkholes have been happening without warning in this part of California for years. So far there is no way to predict (预告) when or where one will appear. But when one does, others usually follow in the same area, usually along a straight line.
The worst sinkhole in recent appeared in 1996. It was 70 feet across and 150 feet deep. It destroyed in one house, damaged several others and broke the walls of a city block. One hole, 15-feet deep, opened up this year in the middle of a highway, 19 seconds after a car had driven by. Others in the same area took place at night damaging houses, swallowing up trees and parts of streets and making 23 frightened people run away from their homes in night clothes.
Sinkholes happen when the weather is dry. The earth at the surface begins to drop into empty space under the ground, like sand falling in huge hourglass (沙漏). This is how a sinkhole is formed.
71. From the text we know sinkhole do not happen ______.
A. during the period of wet weather B. in a straight line
C. in the dry season D. at night
72. When one sinkhole appears, others usually follow ________.
A. everywhere B. on straight highway only
C. nearby D. in the places far away
73. Sinkholes take place because ________.
A. there are large holes under houses
B. Waterland has an underground lake
C. there are too many heavy things on the surface of the earth
D. dry earth moves and fills underground holes
74. Which of the following is not talked about in the text?
A. Sinkholes cause car accidents B. Sinkholes destroy houses
C. Sinkholes kill people D. Sinkholes damage streets
75. This text mainly tells us that ________.
A. sinkholes always happen without any warning
B. sinkholes have been happening in the Waterland area, causing some damage
C. even drivers cannot keep away from sinkholes
D. why a sinkhole happens and how its name has been formed
