2 . Earthquakes are something that people fear. There are some places that have few or earthquakes. Most places in the world, however, have them regularly. Countries that have a of earthquakes are usually quite mountainous.

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 Tokyo, Yokohama area of Japan. 140,000 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 830, 000 people were killed. This earthquake happened in 1556.

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

3 . My wife Laura and I were on the beach, with three of our children, taking pictures of shore birds near our home in Alaska when we spotted a bear. The bear was thin and small, moving aimlessly.

Just a few minutes later, I heard my daughter shouting, “Dad! The bear is right behind us!” An aggressive bear will usually rush forward to frighten away its enemy but would suddenly stop at the last minute. This one was silent and its ears pinned back—the sign of an animal that is going in for the kill. And it was a cold April day. The bear behaved abnormally, probably because of hunger.

I held my camera tripod (三脚架) in both hands to form a barrier as the bear rushed into me. Its huge head was level with my chest and shoulders, and the tripod stuck across its mouth. It bit down and I found myself supporting its weight. I knew I would not be able to hold it for long.

Even so, this was a fight I had to win: I was all that stood between the bear and my family, who would stand little chance of running faster than a brown bear.

The bear hit at the camera, cutting it off the tripod. I raised my left arm to protect my face; the beast held tightly on the tripod and pressed it into my side. My arm could not move, and I sensed that my bones were going to break.

Drawing back my free hand, I struck the bear as hard as I could for five to six times. The bear opened its mouth and I grasped its fur, trying to push it away. I was actually wrestling (扭打) with the bear at this point. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the fight ended. The bear moved back toward the forest, before returning for another attack. The first time I felt panic. Apparently satisfied that we caused no further threat, the bear moved off, destroying a fence as it went. My arm was injured, but the outcome for us could hardly have been better. I’m proud that my family remained clear-headed when panic could have led to a very different outcome.

5 . The National Gallery

Description:

The National Gallery is the British national art museum built on the north side of Trafalgar Square in London. It houses a different collection of more than 2,300 examples of European art ranging from 13th-century religious paintings to more modern ones by Renoir and Van Gogh. The older collections of the gallery are reached through the main entrance while the more modern works in the East Wing are most easily reached from Trafalgar Square by a ground floor entrance.

Layout:

The modern Sainsbury Wing on the western side of the building houses 13th to 15th-century paintings, and artists include Duccio, Uccello, Van Eyck, Lippi, Mantegna, Botticelli and Memling.

The main West Wing houses 16th-century paintings, and artists include Leonardo da Vinci, Cranach, Michelangelo, Raphael, Bruegel, Bronzino, Titian and Veronese.

The North Wing houses 17th-century paintings, and artists include Caravaggio, Rubens, Poussin, Van Dyck, Velázquez, Claude and Vermeer.

The East Wing houses 18th to early 20th-century paintings, and artists include Canaletto, Goya, Turner, Constable, Renoir and Van Gogh.

Opening Hours:

The Gallery is open every day from 10 am to 6 pm (Fridays 10 am to 9 pm) and is free,but charges apply to some special exhibitions.

Getting There:

Nearest underground stations: Charing Cross (2-minute walk), Leicester Square (3-minute walk), Embankment (7-minute walk), and Piccadilly Circus (8-minute walk).

7 . Welcome to Reading Museum’s Hands-on Learning Service

During the past 100 years, Reading Museum has always been offering learning opportunities to schools, and we hope to continue this tradition for the next 100 years with your support.

Victorian Schoolroom

The session takes place in a grand reconstruction of a schoolroom in a late nineteenth century board school. The children will experience a wide range of Victorian style lessons and use slate boards and dip pens. The session leader will play the role of a Victorian teacher but will come out of the role during the session to comfort the children. We provide costume for all children.

Victorian Toys

Our Victorian nanny delivers this interesting session. The nanny will help children to explore the differences between rich and poor children’s toys from the past. During the session the children have the opportunity to make a toy to take home.

Victorian Christmas

In a specially decorated room the children will find out how the Victorians introduced many of our Christmas customs. They will make a simple card or present to take home.

For up-to-date prices and session details, please visit our website www.Readingmuseum.org. For all session bookings, please phone us on 01189373400. Reservation at least 4 weeks in advance is advised. Please be ready to tell us when you wish to come, the session(s) you wish to book and the year group of pupils. Our sessions take place between 10:00 and 12: 00 or 12: 30 and 14:30. The maximum group size is 35 pupils. We recommend that you bring 5 adults for each group.

8 . By day, Robert Titterton is a lawyer. In his spare time though he goes on __________ beside pianist Maria Raspopova — not as a musician but as her ____________. “I’m not a trained musician, but I’ve learnt to ____________ music so I can help Maria in her performance.”

Mr. Titterton is chairman of the Omega Ensemble but has been the group’s official page turner for the past four years. His job is to ____________ beside the pianist and turn the pages of the score so the musician doesn’t have to ____________ the flow of sound by doing it themselves. He said he became just as nervous as those playing instruments on stage.

“A lot of skills are needed for the job. You have to make sure you don’t turn ____________pages at once and make sure you find the repeats in the music when you have to go back to the right spot.” Mr. Titterton explained.

Being a page turner _________ plenty of practice. Some pieces of music can ____________ for 40minutes and require up to 50 page turns, including back turns for repeat passages. Silent onstage communication is ____________, and each pianist has their own style of “nodding” to____________ a page turn which they need to practice with their page turner.

But ___________ all performances, there are moments when things go wrong. “I was turning the page to get ready for the next page, but the draft wind from the turn caused the spare pages to fall off the ____________,” Mr. Titterton said, “Luckily I was able to catch them and put them back.”

Most page turners are piano students or up-and-coming concert pianists, although Ms. Raspopova has once asked her husband to help her out on stage. “My husband is the ____________page turner,” she laughed. “He’s ____________ in the music, feeling every ____________, and I have to say: ‘Turn, turn!’ Robert is the best page turner I’ve had in my entire life.”

9 . Welcome to Adventureland!

Everyone loves Adventureland! The Parks and Exhibitions were built for you to explore (探索), enjoy, and admire their wonders. Every visit will be an unforgettable experience. You will go away enriched, longing to come back. What are you going to do this time?

The Travel Pavilion

Explore places you have never been to before, and experience different ways of life. Visit the Amazon jungle (丛林) village, the Turkish market, the Tai floating market, the Berber mountain house and others. Talk to the people there who will tell you about their lives, and things they make. You can try making a carpet, making nets, fishing...

The Future Tower

This exhibition shows how progress will touch our lives. It allows us to look into the future and explore the cities of the next century and the way we’ll be living then. Spend some time in our space station and climb into our simulator (模拟装置) for the Journey to Mars.

The Nature Park

This is not really one park but several. In the Safari Park you can drive among African animals in one of our Range Cruisers: see lions, giraffes, elephants in the wild. Move on to the Ocean Park to watch the dolphins and whales. And then there is still the Aviary to see ...

The Pyramid

This is the center of Adventureland. Run out of film, need some postcards and souvenirs? For all these things and many more, visit our underground shopping center. Come here for information and ideas too.