Section D Compound dictation Listen to a short passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, listen for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, fill in the blanks with the exact words you hear. When the passage is read for the third time, check what you have written. Some parts of the earth are more likely to have earthquakes than other parts. This is usually true of 1)______ areas because there the thickness of rocks is not even. It is 2) ______ to understand why people are so frightened by earthquakes. People used to believe that when 3) ______________________, the ground opened, swallowed great numbers of people, and then it closed. It was also thought that those people would 4) ______ forever. But now we know this is not what really happens. What we need to fear most is the effects of a serious earthquake, including fires, floods, and 5)______ . A powerful earthquake occurred in Yellowstone National Park on August 17, 1959. The earth quake was 6)______ and very strong. It also caused the worst landslides in US history since 1927. After the earthquake, some people said that they would never visit Yellowstone, because they were afraid they would be 7)______ in such a disaster caused by the earthquake. This is actually a foolish idea. Such a fear would 8)_________________ beautiful mountains for the rest of our lives. Even though earthquakes happen everyday, such a powerful earthquake like the Yellowstone one does not happen frequently at all. We should feel grateful that 9)_______________________ such a bad natural disaster. Besides, if we know in advance and make careful 10) ______, the loss of lives could be avoided.