背景阅读：

　　据日本气象厅表示，地震于当地时间周二凌晨6点(中央时区周一21点)发生。

　　震源深度估计约为11公里(约合7英里)。

　　2011年，地震引发的大型海啸摧毁了福岛核电站。

　　东京电力公司一直在检查该核电站在上一次地震中的受损情况。

　　日本内阁官房长官菅义伟在一场电视直播新闻发布会上表示说，福岛核电站第三号反应堆的水冷却系统已经停止工作了，但是并没有出现温度升高的迹象、其他核电设施也没有出现异常情况。

　　据他表示，日本政府已经成立了一个特别小组来监察情况。

　　此次地震造成的破坏目前尚不清楚，但是有一些轻微受伤的报告。此次地震在东京有震感，一些居民也被要求从沿海地区撤离。

　　船只也从福岛地区港口撤离。

　　据日本NHK电视台报道，目前为止一道波高60厘米(约合2英尺)的海浪已经抵达了福岛小名滨港，另一道90厘米高的海浪袭击了索玛。但是更大海啸的警告仍然有效。

　　美国地质调查局最开始讲地质级别定位7.3级，但是后来将其下调为6.9级。

　　日本位于地震异常活跃地区，全球6级及以上的地震有20%都是发生在日本。

　　在今年四月南部熊本县发生的2起地震中，至少50人死亡。

　　2011年福岛大地震之后，日本超过18000人死亡或失踪。

　　An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 hit northern Japan on Tuesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, issuing tsunami advisories for much of the nation's northern Pacific coast.

　　preliminary

　　adj. 初步的，初级的; 预备的; 开端的; 序言的;

　　n.预赛; 准备工作; 初步措施; (对学生等的) 预考;

　　例句：

　　Preliminary results show the Republican party with 11 percent of the vote.

　　初步结果显示共和党获得了11%的选票。

　　其他：

　　复数：preliminaries

　　magnitude

　　n.量级; 巨大，广大; 重大，重要; (地震) 级数;

　　例句：

　　An operation of this magnitude is going to be difficultAn operation of this magnitude is going to be difficult.

　　这么大的手术实施起来十分困难。

　　其他：

　　复数：magnitudes

　　The epicenter of the earthquake, which was felt in Tokyo, was off the coast of Fukushima prefecture at a depth of about 10 km (6 miles), the agency said.

　　There were no immediate reports of damage or injury, which struck at 5:59 a.m. (3.59 p.m. ET).

　　Tokyo Electric Power Co was checking its nuclear plants in Fukushima for damage, public broadcaster NHK said. The utility could not immediately be reached by Reuters.

　　Tohoku Electric Power Co said there was no damage to its Onagawa nuclear plant.

　　Television footage showed ships moving out to sea from Fukushima harbors, as the meteorological agency warned of a tsunami of 3 meters (10 feet) for Fukushima, where Tepco's Daiichi nuclear plant was devastated in a March 2011 quake and tsunami.

　　tsunami

　　n.海啸;

　　例句：

　　The government encourages the growth of enterprises through tax cut in this financial tsunami.　　面对金融海啸，国家减税以扶持企业发展。

　　其他：

　　复数：tsunamis

　　Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. Japan accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

　　The March 11, 2011, quake was magnitude 9, the strongest quake in Japan on record. The massive tsunami it triggered caused world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl a quarter of a century earlier.

　　The U.S. Geological Survey initially put Tuesday's quake at a magnitude of 7.3 but down graded it to 6.9.

　　All nuclear plants on the coast threatened by the tsunami are shutdown in the wake of the Fukushima disaster. Only two reactors are operating in Japan, both in the southwest of the country. Even when in shutdown nuclear plants need cooling systems operating to keep spent fuel cool.