Earthquakes Around the Pacific

About 400 earthquakes occur worldwide every day, more than a hundred thousand in a year.

China    1    (situate) in one of the most active earthquake regions in the world and there have been many terrible earthquakes. The most serious    2    these occurred in Hua County in Shaanxi Province in 1556. The earthquake affected eight provinces in Central China. It covered an area of 800 square kilometres. In some communities 60 percent of the population were killed.    3    (total), 830,000 people lost their lives.

The California Earthquake of the 18th of April 1906 is the worst earthquake that has ever happened in the United States. It took place at 5:15 am,    4    lasted for only a minute. However, it caused the worst    5    (nature) disaster in the nation’s history.

Fires caused by the California Earthquake    6    (do) the most damage. The fires burned for three days    7    (destroy) a total of 25,000 buildings. About 500 people were killed in the city of San Francisco and 250,000 were made homeless. In the whole of California the earthquake and fires caused about 3,000    8    (death).

    9    1906 earthquake was caused by a movement on the San Andreas Fault. One hundred years later, movements on the San Andreas Fault continue    10    (cause) problems for the whole of California.

Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, the second-largest island of the British Isles. Its beautiful countryside has always had a great influence     1     its people and traditions. The country has a long history of     2     (produce) great writers and poets.Its beautiful countryside     3     (excite) and inspires all, offering something for each of the    4    (sense). The peaceful landscape of the “Emerald Isle” and its many green counties is    5     true feast for the eyes, with its rolling green hills     6    (dot) with sheep and cattle.And down by the sea, the roar of the ocean waves and cries of the seabirds make up the music of the coast. On a quiet morning in the mountains, feel the sun on your skin,     7     breathe in the sweet scent of fresh flowers while birds greet the new day with their morning song. With all this beauty, it is not surprising that Ireland has developed strong traditions that include music, dancing, and dining.     8     (have) a chance of experiencing this, stop by a village pub and relax with a glass of wine or a local beer. Better yet, enjoy a delicious traditional Irish Beef Stew.     9     you’re lucky, you might be able to enjoy some traditional music and dancing, too. And if you introduce yourself to a     10    (friend) face, you are more than likely to experience local culture and customs first-hand.

Jiuzhaigou Valley, literally “Nine Village Valley” in Chinese, gets its name from the 9 Tibetan villages along the 50km-plus valley. Situated in southwest China’s Sichuan Province, it is well-known     1     its greenish-blue lakes, beautiful waterfalls, colorful forests, snow-capped peaks     2     the local Tibetan ethnic culture.

Jiuzhaigou got     3     (it) name because there are nine Tibetan villages in the valley. For centuries Tibetan people have lived in the region, but it was not officially discovered by the government until 1972. It     4     (declare) a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992.

The valley is a     5     (nature) habitat for two of China’s most endangered species—the giant panda and the Sichuan takin (羚牛). You are likely to see other     6     (creature) including birds, insects and fish.

Over 80 percent of the scenic area is covered by forests. In the lower regions, there are plenty of grasses and reeds. These are quickly replaced by bamboo forests,     7     in turn give way to conifers (针叶树) at the upper regions. Beyond them, snow-capped peaks of the Minshan Mountains are also very     8     (attract).

The most comfortable climate     9     (visit) Jiuzhaigou is in July. Umbrellas and wet weather clothing, as well as sun protection cream and hats are     10     (high) recommended as the weather is often changing.

In a small village，there lived a potter (陶工) who had a donkey．Every day his donkey would carry soil     1     the field to his house．As the field was quite far off，the potter forgot     2     (take) the rope with which he tied the donkey every day，so he decided to lie down holding the donkey′s ears while sleeping．But this way，neither the donkey     3     the potter was able to take a good rest．A saint (圣人)，    4     happened to be passing by，saw them．When the potter told the saint       5       the problem was，the saint said，"Take the donkey to the place where you tie him every day．Pretend to tie him using an imaginary rope．I promise you he won′t run away．"The potter did so．

He       6     （leave） the donkey and went to take a rest．When he woke up，he was       7    (surprise) to find the donkey       8     (stand) at the same place．Soon the potter prepared to leave for home．But the donkey did not move．    9     (lucky), the potter saw the wise saint again and told him about the problem．The saint said，"You tied up the donkey，but did you untie （松开） him？Go and pretend to untie the rope." The potter followed the saint′s advice with     10     （please）．

Now the donkey was ready to leave for home．The potter went home happily with his donkey．

Save the Earth

Without the Earth we have nowhere to live, along with many other organisms. If we don’t save the Earth     1    (active) now, our children or grandchildren might not be able to see it for long. Our atmosphere       2     (weaken) and we have to do something about it quickly.

We could plant more     3     (tree) to create more oxygen to keep the bad air away from the atmosphere,    4     we could just stop cutting down the rainforest. We are living and we need the space but we aren’t the only species on this earth.    5     (save) the rainforest is not only good for the atmosphere but also good for the many different species that the earth provides for     6     (we).

We could try to get as many people as possible to switch to other energy using     7     (little) mineral fuels for energy and relying more on solar and wind energy     8     fossil fuels are destroying our earth and we need     9     (limit) the use of it.

Recycling is one of the simplest ways     10     helps our precious planet. Everyone can help. All they have to do is follow three simple rules: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

The world is precious and we need to keep it that way.

The Silk Road was a route that connected people from the East to West for hundreds of years and allowed     1    (they) to trade valuable goods with each other. But there’ s more to the story. The Silk Road should     2    (real) be called the Silk Roads. The Silk Road,    3    started in China, went west and branched out into many routes.

The Silk Road has been around for nearly 3,000 years. Most people know that valuable goods traveled along the route: silk and spices from China; jewels and wood from India; gold and animals from East Africa. These goods     4    (trade) in cities along the route or ended up as far west     5     Europe.

But the people     6    (travel) along the Silk Road were carrying something far     7    (valuable) than their goods. They were carrying ideas and technology. European travelers returned home with stories of huge Chinese ships they had seen. The compass is an example of a(n)     8    (invent) that came west from China. Europeans learned from Korean maps, which were advanced for the 1400s.

    9     was the 11,000 km Silk Road that shaped the world we know today. The many routes were a way for different people     10     (meet) each other and talk about the developing world.

8 . A sand storm often takes place in the northern China,     1    is a kind of natural disasters. China usually experiences this kind of weather between February and May, while March and April see the most frequent and the     2     (strong) sand storms. It becomes a very important environmental problem. It does lots of harm     3    the society as well as the environment.Firstly, the strong wind destroys soil and plant cover by     4     (bury)fields with sand and dust. Secondly, by leaving too much dust in the air it will     5     (serious) pollute the air. Thirdly, a sand storm will have     6    bad effect on transportation. The dust in the air makes traffic and aircraft movements more difficult. And when the sand buries the roads, the traffic will     7     (block). When plants in the farmland are buried, food supply will lose.

Sand storms are another     8     (punish) nature gives to mankind. We should not only take effective measures     9     (stop) them, but also draw some     10     (lesson) from them. We should not develop the economy (经济) at the cost of the natural environment.