【推荐1】Tsunami is a natural disaster,which is a Japanese word that means “sea wave”.A tsunami is a huge sea wave that forms mainly in the Pacific Ocean area.People will die and property will be destroyed when a tsunami hits the land.What causes these dangerous sea waves?Sometimes,tsunamis are caused when earthquakes take place underwater.Then,water begins to move up and down from the top of the ocean right down to the bottom.Waves begin to form,and each wave is called a tsunami.

A tsunami is less than one metre high and can move at a speed of almost 800 kilometres per hour while it is far out in the ocean.But the tsunami rises much higher and moves more slowly as it comes closer to the land.

The weather bureau(气象局)warns people over the radio and television when a tsunami is heading for the land.These warnings have helped save many lives.

【推荐3】Earthquakes are something that people fear. There are some places that have few or no earthquakes. Most places in the world, however, have them regularly (有规律的). Countries that have a lot of earthquakes are usually quite mountainous (多山的).   

The most talked about earthquake in the United States was in San Francisco in 1906. Over 700 people died in it. The strongest one in North America was in 1964. It happened in Alaska.   

Strong earthquakes are not always the ones that kill the most people. In 1755, one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded was felt in Portugal. Around 2,000 people died.   

In 1923, a very strong earthquake hit the Tokyo, Yokohama area of Japan. A hundred and forty thousand people died. Most of them died in fires which followed the earthquake.   

One of the worst earthquakes ever was in China in 1976. It killed a large number of people. The worst earthquake ever reported was also in China, in which 400,000 people were killed or injured. This earthquake happened in 1556.   

Earthquakes worry people a lot. The reason is that we often do not know when they are coming. People can not prepare for it.

【推荐1】How far would you go to make a good impression in a new job? A college student in Alabama walked 32 kilometers in the dark to get where he would work on time.

Walter Carr’s car broke down the night before he started his new job in Bellhops, a furniture moving company. Unable to find a ride, Carr figured out how long it would take to walk from his house to the customer’s house in Pelham. And then he left at midnight so that he could reach there by 8 a.m. the next morning.

Pelham police saw him walking along a highway at 4 a.m., so they stopped to see if he needed help. After hearing his story, they took him to a restaurant for breakfast and then to a church where he could safely wait until 8 a.m.

The police then took Carr to the home of the customer Jenny Lamey. Lamey suggested that Carr rest for a while because he had just walked for a long time, but Carr insisted on starting working at once.

While working, Carr told Lamey that he and his mother moved from New Orleans, Louisiana to Birmingham, Alabama after losing their home in Hurricane Katrina, a devastating hurricane that hit the US in 2005. He worked part-time to cover living costs and pay college fees. Greatly touched by Carr, Lamey started a GoFundMe page to help Carr raise money to get his car fixed.

Walter Carr’s story touched many others around the US. Within a few days, people gave over $ 73,000 to his GoFundMe page. Besides, Carr received more job offers and won a scholarship. Grateful for others’ help, Carr has decided to give a part of the donations to the Birmingham Education Foundation, and he is determined to give back more.

【推荐2】A Frenchman had arrived at a small Italian town and was staying with his wife at the best hotel there. One night he went out for a walk alone. He was late and the small street was dark and lonely. Suddenly he heard footsteps behind him. He turned his head and saw an Italian young man who quickly walked past him. The man was nearly out of sight when the Frenchman suddenly found that his watch was gone. He thought that it was the Italian who had taken his watch. He decided to follow him and force him to return the watch.

Soon the Frenchman caught up with the Italian. Neither of them understood the other’s   language. The Frenchman showed his fist to the Italian and pointed to his watch-pocket. The Italian thought that the Frenchman was demanding his own watch. In the end the Italian gave up his watch to the Frenchman.

When he returned to the hotel the Frenchman told his wife what had happened. He was greatly surprised when his wife pointed to the watch on the table. Now he realized that by mistake he had robbed the Italian of his watch.

【推荐3】Now，jazz music is an important part of Indianapolis’ culture. Jazz clubs around the city still host concerts with local jazz musicians like Rob Dixon and Joel Tucker. One of these clubs, the Chatterbox Jazz Club, still has live jazz seven nights a week.

But the real history of jazz in Indy is much less simple. Along with the Avenue's culture, jazz music was gone from the streets for many years.

Indiana Avenue was the heart of a neighborhood along the White River. It was a center for black music and live street music. The wealthy avoided this area. So it became a place that poorer families, including many African-American and immigrant ( 移民) families, moved to.

Jazz prospered in the mix of American cultures around the Avenue in the 1930s and 1940s. But in the 1950s, things changed. After the war, there were projects to make the city beautiful and build a university nearby. Both of these seemed like good changes. However, the new university and buildings caused poorer families to have to leave the area. This destroyed the Indiana Avenue community and with it, its jazz culture.

After many years, Indianapolis remembered the value of its arts and music culture. It began to bring back lost cultures such as live music on the Avenue. To do so, it began to make new changes. The changes included repairing historic areas like the Avenue. Once again, the high living costs in these historic arts areas pushed low-income families out.

Today there are several old-style jazz clubs where friends can meet up to remember the past or just enjoy a summer evening. It might seem at first that jazz is alive again, but there is a sad reality behind these jazz clubs: Modern Indy jazz is only a shadow (影子) of the lively culture that was once on Indiana Avenue.

【推荐1】It was a warm winter’s day in South Africa and I planned to go surfing. The area of beach I went to is famous among surfers for its powerful waves and popularity with sharks.

After a while my brother and some of my friends got out of the water because they felt uneasy. There was the smell of fish in the air, which can attract sharks. A few of us stayed. Finally, I saw my first big wave, but as I was about to hit it, two great white sharks attacked me.

It happened so quickly. One shark hit me, throwing me into the air; a second later, it dragged me under the water. The shock stopped me from feeling pain. Under the water, another shark went for my head and shoulders but missed.

Perhaps surprised by the competition, the first shark lost its grip (控制) on me and the next thing I knew was that I was staring a shark straight in the face. It stared back at me for a few moments. Its mouth was wide open; I could see huge teeth and dark black eyes. After it passed, I swam to the surface as fast as I could.

When surfing, there is always the fear in the back of your mind of sharks. Now it was real. I was shaking, crying and panicking, realizing that I could die. I tried all my hardest to swim back to the shore. Eventually, I made it to dry land. I felt relief. Someone tied my arm to slow the bleeding and my brother rushed me to the hospital. The surgeon managed to save my fingers.

That day changed my life, but it hasn’t stopped me from surfing. I started a surfing school to teach the sport to others. I was more afraid of sharks before my attack. Now I know what it means to be alive.

【推荐2】When I was a senior high school student in 1980, God gave me a gift, it was happiness.

 One weekend, I went to visit my grandparents in the countryside.     1    . Several days later when I woke up at the hospital, I realized I had to spend the rest of my life without arms.     2    . Even I was frightened. But slowly I knew I had to face the fact and got over it. I couldn’t get my arms back even though I cried every day.

However, it’s easier said than done.     3    . I got so much from my past story. From then on, I could treat my life with a normal mind. But in our daily life, I often see my classmate get worried about little things:     4    ; their bus comes late; they don’t have a mobile phone but others have. But I only enjoy life, I was lucky to realize from an accident: It’s a waste of our life to focus on what you have lost. We should always think of what we have. So why are so many people unhappy? Someone may say, “My whole life would improve if I have a new car.” But when you get the car and what happens? For a whole week you are walking on air. Then you go right back to being unhappy.

    5    . It’s in our heart. It’s a state of mind, even though you own the whole world, you may still feel unhappy. Happiness comes from mastering the art of appreciating (感激) and taking pleasure in what you really have.

【推荐3】My name is Sara, When I was little, I played the drums. I also had a guitar. In fourth grade, I started playing the trombone(长号). I practiced about four hours a week. All of this might not seem like a big deal for a lot of kids, but there’s something about me that makes me a bit different from others. I was born without hands. Since I was about one year old, I’ve worn prosthetics(假手).

This year, I got an invitation to join the high school marching band(行进管乐队). I told my mom I wanted to do it. But I had an instructor who thought I would not be able to march in the band—not because it is a high school band and I’m only in seventh grade, but probably because my body is different. All I wanted was to show that I, could do it, so I joined the band. And it paid off!

Music gives me energy. That happens sometimes. One time I was so down and I didn’t even want to get out of bed. Then I hit my MP3 player by accident. A song came on, and I got up and started dancing. It helped me say to myself, “OK, I can get through today.”

Around my musician friends, we all share the same problems, like working out how many beats(拍) there are to a measure(节). I have a hard time counting the beats, but so do a lot of the other kids. It’s a normal problem that we musicians share. When I’m with the band, I don’t feel as different as I do in other situations. It’s just another way that music makes me want to go on, and not to just sit down by myself and not care about life.