【推荐3】During an earthquake, you should know what to do. If the earthquake strikes while you’re inside a house, you should lie on the floor under a strong table or other furniture. If there is no furniture, you can cover your head with your arms and keep still in the corner of the room. You should keep away from windows, glass walls, or anything that can fall.

If you are in bed, hold firmly onto your bed and make use of a pillow to safeguard your head. You may use a doorway but only when it is close to you. It should also be considered whether it is strong enough to deal with the load.

If you are running out, do not use lifts, even if they work. Electricity may go out at any time. Many injuries happen when people try to rush out. This means you ought to stay in your house or perhaps wherever you are.

When you stay outdoors, you should stay far from buildings, power wires or lights. You should be in the open until the quake stops. Remember that many earthquake deaths outside the house come from falling-apart walls, flying glass and other falling things.

If an earthquake strikes and you are driving, you should pull up to the side of the highway and stop as quickly as possible. You ought not to stop under trees, buildings or energy wires. Don’t stop in the middle of the street as it could trouble others.

When trapped, you shouldn’t move. Your mouth should be covered with a piece of clothing or a handkerchief. This is because it is possible for you to breathe in some dust. Do not shout whenever possible. You should only shout in the end to get help from rescuers.

a. use a lift to escape       b. stay outdoors

c. cut off electricity       d. keep driving to escape

【推荐1】A snowboarder was feeling lucky to be alive yesterday after a helicopter rescue(直升机营救).

Ben Akintola, 30, was snowboarding in the French Alps under a clear blue sky in the afternoon when a large amount of snow fell down the side of the mountain. He didn’t have time to escape(逃脱) and it hit him with full force and knocked him senseless.

He woke in the night in total darkness. He was lying on an icy rock. Amazingly, he still had a mobile phone signal(信号), so he called a friend a thousand kilometers away in Britain. His friend called the French rescue services.

“I was waiting for what seemed like hours on that rock. I was beginning to give up hope when I heard the sound of a helicopter. It was circling around in the darkness, looking for me. I was trying my best to wave my mobile around. Fortunately the helicopter pilot saw the light.”

“I was overjoyed when the helicopter headed my way. It stayed above me and began lowering a rope.”

Ben was in hospital last night but he was not being treated for any serious injuries. He’s looking forward to going home today.

The French rescue services said: “We were very pleased that we were able to save Ben. The risk of snow slide off-piste(非滑雪场地的) is much higher at this time of year. All snowboarders and skiers should stay on the ski runs and not go off-piste. Ben was very lucky.”

【推荐2】“I wish we hadn’t come on this trip!” Jeff’s voice echoed across the narrow canyon （峡谷）. His father stopped, breathing heavily. “This is hard on you, but you’ve got to come through with courage!” He gently placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Now, I don’t know if I can make it without stopping every so often. You’re young, but you’re strong and fast. Do you remember the way back from here to the road, if you had to go alone?”

Jeff flashed back to the painful scene of Mark, his seventeen-year-old brother at their campsite. He was bitten by a snake yesterday. This morning he couldn’t move, and the pain got worse. He needed medical attention right away. They had left their phone in the car, and it must have been out of power by then. Leaving Mark at the campsite and seeking help was their only choice.

“Jeff, could you do it?”

Jeff looked to the end of the canyon, several miles away. He nodded and a plan began to take hold in his mind. “What is the name of that little town we stopped, Dad??” There must be a hospital there.

“Flint. We parked at the side of the road a few miles out of Flint.”

Jeff nodded. Then they continued climbing. Stone by stone, they made their way up the canyon. Gradually, Jeff’s father grew smaller and smaller in the distance. Jeff waved to him and then climbed toward the road. Two hours later, he finally reached the road and struggled toward the town, almost exhausted.

“Can’t stop.” He thought. “Mark’s in big trouble. Keep going.” Suddenly, he saw a truck heading toward him. “Hey, mister!” He shouted, waving both arms. He began to jog toward the truck, and then broke into a full-speed run.

His chest was burning with every breath when the truck driver stopped by him. Jeff explained breathlessly. The driver reached for his cellphone as soon as he heard about Mark. “Better get the helicopter in there,” he said immediately. But Jeff wasn’t sure about that because everything got unclear and then went black and quiet.

Hours later, Jeff opened his eyes to find his father on a chair nearby. “You’re a hero, son,” his father said with a smile. “You had the helicopter sent into the canyon after Mark. I can’t tell you how happy I was when I saw it overhead. They got him to the hospital. He’s going to be fine soon. I’m so proud of you!”

【推荐3】Many jewelry designers are each donating a piece of jewelry for an online raffle (网上抽奖) to aid relief efforts in Beirut following the explosion in its port on Aug. 4, 2020, which has caused at least 200 deaths, 7, 000 injuries, and severe damage to much of the city facilities in Lebanon’s capital city. They are all part of the online jewelry website called the Auverture, founded by Dutch jewelry designer, Bibi van der Velden. Some of the jewels being donated and their descriptions are as follows:

“I Have a Dream”

It is a ring by Gaelle Khouri in 18k yellow gold, bronze and white diamonds. It is an artistic representation of Lebanon’s endless crises through the last four decades, from the 1975 civil war to the latest tragic explosion on Aug. 4. Thanks to their strong desire for the beauty of life, Lebanon is today on its way to a revolution.

“Beirut Earrings”

These earrings are one of the masterpieces of Selim Mouzannar in 18k rose gold, diamonds and sapphires (蓝宝石). It’s part of Selim Mouzannar’s Beirut collection that is very dear to him. “These earrings are a strong reminder that Beirut has been destroyed physically but it will never die.”

“Spider Ring”

As a most outstanding artwork of Daniela Villegas, “Spider Ring” is in 18k gold, sapphires and Saturn chalcedony (玉髓). “The spider is a figure of feminine energy and creativity in the animal kingdom. The spider symbolizes the spirit of creation. In several cultures, she’s the symbol of the mother. The power of this animal encourages us to count on our ability to view things from multiple angles and weave mental and intuitive (直觉的）flexibility into your daily thinking.”

Within the Auverture family there are several incredible jewelry designers from Beirut, and the surrounding Middle East countries. Therefore, it felt right to launch the Auverture Raffle to raise funds to help Lebanese friends.

【推荐1】An aquarium(水族馆) that has closed because of the COVID-19 outbreak is asking people to make video calls to the aquarium’s eels(鳗鱼).

The reason? Aquarium workers fear the sensitive creatures may not remember humans’ existence, nor remember that humans do not present a threat. The aquarium has been closed since the start of March. Its sea animals have become used to a largely human free environment during the two-month period of calm. But the aquarium said the situation was having some unexpected effects.

“Creatures in the aquarium don’t see humans except keepers and they have started forgetting about humans,” the aquarium said on its Titter this week, “Garden eels in particular disappear into the sand and hide every time the keepers pass by.” That is causing difficulties for keepers trying to check on the health of the animals. So the aquarium decided to offer an invitation to the public. “Could you show your face to our garden eels from your home?” It is describing the new effort as a “face-showing festival”.

Garden eels are very sensitive by nature. But the 300 garden eels that live in a tank at the aquarium had become used to humans. They rarely hid in the sand from visitors. To try to reintroduce the eels to humans, the aquarium is putting five computers in front of their tank. The public can connect through the Face Time app.

Once the video calls start, people are supposed to show their faces, wave their hands and talk to the eels. But considering the quiet nature of the animals, callers are asked not to shout.

The “face-showing festival” is set to take place Sunday through Tuesday, during Golden Week holiday. It has gotten plenty of support. One Twitter user wrote, “Interesting! When you gaze at the garden eels, they gaze at you. I’m happy to take part.”