Six relatives crowded in a small air pocket, day after day. A hopeless teenager grew so thirsty that he drank his own urine (尿液). Two frightened sisters were comforted by a pop song as they waited for rescuers to free them.
These earthquake survivors were among more than a dozen people pulled out of the rubble (瓦砾) alive Friday after spending over four days trapped in extremely cold darkness following the disaster that struck Turkey(土耳其) and Syria(叙利亚). The disaster has already killed more people than Japan’s Fukushima earthquake and tsunami, with many more bodies yet to be recovered and counted.
Relatives wept and chanted as rescuers pulled 17-year-old Adnan Muhammed from a basement (地下室) in the Turkish city of Gaziantep, near the quake’s epicenter (震中). He had been trapped for 94 hours. For one of the rescuers, Adnan ‘s survival hit home hard: “I have a son just like you,” she told him after giving him a warm hug. “l swear to you, I have not slept for four days... I was trying to get you out.”
The building was only 600 feet from the Mediterranean Sea (地中海) and narrowly avoided being flooded when the serious earthquake sent water pouring into the city center. A trapped woman told her would-be rescuers that she had given up hope of being found and prayed to be put to sleep because she was so cold.
Even though experts say trapped people can live for a week or more, the chances of finding more survivors were quickly waning. Death is closing everywhere: deadhouse and graveyard were unbearable, and bodies wrapped in blankets and tarps (防水油布) in the streets of some cities.
Temperatures remained below freezing and many people have no shelter. The Turkish government has distributed millions of hot meals, as well as tents and blankets, but was still struggling to reach many people in need.
The U.N. refugee agency estimated that as many as 5.3 million people have been left homeless in Syria. Reporters said Friday that the agency is focusing on providing reliefs.
Syrian President Bashar Assad and his wife visited survivors in the Aleppo University Hospital. It was the leader’s first public appearance in an affected area of the country since the disaster.
Turkey’s disaster-management agency said more than 20,200 people had been confirmed killed and more than 80,000 injured.
More than 3,500 have been confirmed killed in Syria, bringing the total number of dead to nearly 24000. Some12,000 buildings in Turkey have either collapsed or stood serious damage. Turkey’s vice president (副总统), Fuat Oktay said more than 1 million people were being housed in temporary shelters.
32. According to the article, recently there were disastrous earthquakes happened in ________.
A.America | B.Japan | C.Turkey and Syria | D.the Mediterranean Sea |
33. According to the article, which of the following statements is TRUE ?
A.The earthquakes have already caused lots of buildings to collapse and people homeless. |
B.All survivors have been rescued already. |
C.The earthquakes did not bring much impact on the disaster area. |
D.Reliefs were supplied in time. |
34. According to the article, the underlined word “waning” is closest in meaning to________.
A.rising | B.balancing | C.decreasing | D.approaching |
35. What did the government do after the big disaster ?
A.Syrian government organized rescuers to help. |
B.Syrian government is focusing on providing reliefs. |
C.The Turkish government has distributed meals and provided temporary shelters. |
D.Turkey’s top politicians visited survivors and rescuers. |