At last firemen have put out a big forest fire in California. Since then, they     1     (try) to find out how the fire     2     (begin). Forest fires     3     (be) often caused by broken glass or by cigarette ends which people carelessly     4     (throw) away. Yesterday the firemen     5     (examine) the ground carefully, but     6     (be) not able to find any broken glass. They were also quite sure that a cigarette end did not start the fire. This morning, however, a firemen accidentally     7     (discover) the cause. He     8     (notice) the remains of a snake which was wound round the electric wires of a 16,000 - volt power line. In this way, he was able to solve the mystery. The explanation was simple but very unusual. A bird     9     (catch) the snake from the ground and then     10     (drop) it on to the wires. The snake then wound itself round the wires. When it did so, it sent sparks down to the ground and these immediately started a fire.

Over the past few day, a number of forest fires     1     (break) out in Chongqing and its surrounding areas due to the extremely dry and hot weather. Many rescue personnel and volunteers participated in the rescue overnight,     2     moved a lot of people across the country. The mountain fires in several regions in Chongqing have been     3     (eventual) put out on Friday morning. No casualties have been reported.

Chongqing motorcyclists are being praised     4     heroes for volunteering to transport much-needed supplies to the fire and rescue workers     5     (fight) the wildfires caused by prolonged heat and drought across multiple districts in the municipality (自治市).

Facing the tough situation, the city government called for volunteers with related skills and experience     6     (join) the firefighting,     7     a large number of motorcyclists have played an important role and won widespread praise. The team members, with     8     average age of 29, took turns to use five dirt bikes and four scooters to carry materials and equipment to     9     (firefighter) and to transport people and necessities.

The example of a foreign teacher who volunteered to help fight the raging wildfires in Chongqing’s Beibei district with other local residents has touched many people.

When all the people     10     (unite), peace will reign across the country.

On April 16, a fire     1     (destroy) the spire (尖塔) and roof of the 580-year-old cathedral Notre Dame (巴黎圣母院). Citizens of Paris gathered around the giant church,     2     (sing) hymns (圣诗) and praying. The church,     3     was built in 1163, is a historical and     4     (art) treasure. It combined Gothic art with Christian architecture     5     it led to taller and     6     (awesome) churches throughout Europe. Notre Dame is also home     7     many religious artifacts (手工艺品), paintings and sculptures.     8     (fortune), its world-famous stained glass rose windows survived the fire. Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel, the Hunchback of Notre-Dame, brought the church to the world’s attention. French President Emmanuel Macron promised     9     (reconstruct) the building. “ Notre Dame is our history, it’s our literature, it’s our imagery,” he said in     10     public speech.

Strange things happened before Tangshan Earthquake happened. The well walls had deep cracks. A     1     (smell) gas came out of them. At 3：42     2     the morning of July 28, 1976, everything began to shake.     3     seemed as if the world were coming to an end. One of the     4     (deadly) earthquakes of the 20th century had begun. Soon the whole city lay in     5     (ruin). Many people died or were injured. Everything in the city was destroyed. People were     6     (shock) at this and wondered how long the disaster would last.

The army organized teams to dig out those who     7     (trap)and to bury the dead. Workers built shelters for survivors. Food and water were taken to the city. Slowly the city began to     8     (breath) again. Tangshan began to revive     9     (it) and get up on its feet again. With strong support from the government and the tireless efforts of the city's people, a new Tangshan was built. Tangshan city has proved that in times of disaster, people must unify and show the wisdom to stay positive and rebuild for     10     brighter future.

In September 1939, Britain declared war    1       Germany. The war, which lasted until 1945, known as the Second World War. The most important battle of the war in Europe was Operation Overlord in 1944     2    (invade) France. Operation Overlord started when boats full of soldiers     3    (land) on the beaches of Normandy in France. The operation was so dangerous that many soldiers were killed    4    they got off the boats. The soldiers of Able Company crossed    5    English Channel in seven boats early on the morning of 6 June 1944. Boat 5 was hit, so six men drowned and twenty men fell into the water and    6    (pick) up. The soldiers on Boat 1, 3 and 4 jumped out but the water was so deep that some disappeared under the water. Two thirds of the company were    7    (die). This was Able Company’s contribution to D-Day. On 6 June 2004,    8    (survive) of the D-Day landings returned to France to remember their    9    (lose) comrades. Many of them went to the cemetery and memorial,    10    are situated on a cliff overlooking the beach and the English Channel.

A clay pig     1     (find) in Lianhe Ruins in Sichuan province in 2019. It is estimated to be about 3,000 years old.     2     makes this finding unusual is its adorable appearance. The clay pig looks exactly like the green pig from The Angry Birds movie.     3     (it) cute image has left the Chinese netizens surprised and delighted, with many people joking that The Angry Birds character has traveled back in time to prehistoric days. The topic     4     (attract) 400 million views and 290,000 discussions since the pig was discovered.