A moderate earthquake struck parts of southeast England on 28 April 2007，toppling chimneys from houses and rousing residents from their beds. Several thousand people were left without power1 in Kent County. One woman suffered minor head and neck injuries.

　　2007年4月28日英格兰东南部地区发生中度地震一些房屋烟囱倒塌，许多居民半夜从睡梦中惊醒。肯特郡几千人遭遇断电。二名女子头部和颈部受了轻伤。

　　"lt felt as if the whole house was being slid across like a fun-fair ride,3" said the woman.The British Geological Survey said the 4.3-magnitude quake4 struck at 8:19 a.m. and was centered under the English Channel5，about 8.5 miles south of Dover6 and near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel7.

　　“它(地震)给人的感觉是整幢房子就：像游东场的濞行机一祥在滑动。”;该女子说。 英国地质调査局说，本次里氏4. 3级的地M发生于上午8点19分，震中在英吉利海峡底部， 位于多佛尔以南约8. 5英里处的海峡隧道入口附近。

　　Witnesses said cracks appeared in walls and chimneys collapsed across the county. Residents said the tremor had lasted for about 10 to 15 seconds.

　　一些目击者看到郡中墙壁出现裂缝,并有烟囱倒塌。当地居民说震动大约持续了 10~15秒。

　　"I was lying in bed and it felt as if someone had just got up from bed next to me." said Hendrick van Eck，27，of Canterbury8 about 60 miles southeast of London."I then heard the sound of cracking，and it was getting heavier and heavier9.It felt as if someone was at the end of my bed hopping up and down."

　　“我当时躺在床上，觉得好像旁边有人从床上站起来。”住在伦敦东南部60英里处坎特伯雷的 27岁的HendrickvanEck说，“然后我听到有东西裂开的声音，而且越来越响。就好像有人在我床 尾不停地并着脚跳。”

　　There are thousands of moderate quakes on this scale around the world each year，but they are rare in Britain. The April 28 quake was the strongest in Britain since 2002 when a 4.8-magnitude quake struck the central England city of Birmingham10.

　　这种规模的中度地震世界上每年都会发生几千次，但在英国仍非常少见。4月28日的地震是 英国自2002年中部城市伯明翰里氏4. 8级地震以来最强的一次。

　　The country's strongest earthquake took place in the North Sea in 1931，measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale11. British Geological Survey scientist Roger Musson said the quake took place on 28 April in an area that had seen several of the biggest erthquakes ever to strike Britain，including one in 1580 that caused damage in London and was felt in France.12 Musson predicted that it was only a matter of time13 before another earthquake struck this part of England. However，people should not be scared too much by this prediction，Musson said，as the modern earthquake warning system of Britain should be able to detect a forthcoming quake and announce it several hours before it takes place. This would allow time for people to evacuate and reduce damage to the minimum.

　　英国的地震最高曾达到里氏6.1级，1931年发生在北海。英国地质勘测所的科学家罗杰马森说，4月28日发生地震的地区曾经遭受过几起英国最大的地震，其中的一次发生在1580年，那次地震蹂躏了伦敦，并波及法国6马森预言英格兰的这个地区早晚还会发生地震，但他说人们不 必对此产生太大恐惧，因为英茵的现代地震预警系统应该能够侦测即将发生的地震，并在震前数小时内通知大家。这将使人们有时间撤离震区，并把损失降到最低。