Earthquake in northwestern China kills at least 118 people

An overnight earthquake killed at least 118 people in a cold and mountainous region in northwestern China,     1     the country’s state media reported on Tuesday. Search and rescue     2     (operate) were underway in Gansu and neighboring Qinghai provinces. The earthquake left more than 500 people injured,     3    (severe) damaged houses and roads, and knocked out power and communication lines.

The magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck in Gansu at a relatively shallow     4    (deep) of 10kilometers just before midnight on Monday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.

By mid-morning, 105 people had been confirmed dead in Gansu and another 397 injured, including sixteen people     5     critical condition. Thirteen others were killed and 182 injured in Qinghai in an area north of the epicenter (震中), according to state media. Another 20 were missing in Qinghai after     6     (bury) in a landslide, according to the China News Service.

The earthquake     7     (feel) in much of the surrounding area, including Lanzhou, the Gansu provincial capital, about 100 kilometers northeast of the epicenter.

The rescue work was proceeding in     8     orderly manner. Tents, folding beds     9    quilts were being sent to the disaster area. At least 4,000 firefighters, soldiers and police officers were dispatched (派遣) in the rescue effort, and the People’s Liberation Army Western Theatre set up a command post     10     (direct) its work.

In a faraway place, lived a brave boy named Jack. Jack was only seven years old, but he was very aware     1     the world around him. He was particularly interested in animals, especially endangered ones. He loved reading     2     (information) books and watching documentaries about animals. He thought it was a significant problem that many animals were becoming extinct because of unbalanced ecosystems. Jack was very worried and felt a strong     3     (tense) about the issue.

One day, Jack decided to do something about it. He began to recycle as much as he could. He didn’t want to contribute     4     the destruction of the animal’s habitats. He also started to talk to his friends and classmates about the     5     (urgency) need to protect these wonderful creatures. He pretended to be a tour guide, introducing various animals in a     6     (humour) way to make it more interesting.

However, Jack knew that he needed to do more. He was stuck on     7     to do next. Then, he had an idea. He started writing letters to important people. He blamed     8     (legal) hunting and the extreme use of natural resources for the current situation, and he wanted them to take action.

His letters were very     9     (reality), and he was faithful to the facts. He wanted to     10     (energy) others and involve them in his mission. He hoped his words could make a difference.

Venice is an attractive city between the sea and the sky. The city     1    (consist) of over 100 islands and there aren’t any cars or buses. All the islands     2    (link) by canals and bridges, making it     3    (convenience) for people to travel around the city. The best­known of the canals, the Grand Canal, serves     4     the main street in the part of the city.

Venice has a lot of world­famous tourist     5    (attraction), including Saint Mark’s Square, the Doge’s Palace and Saint Mark’s Basilica,     6     is the city’s most famous church. Every year thousands     7     tourists visit this beautiful city. They always find themselves     8    (impress) by the city’s cultural treasures.

Sadly, the Italian city has been regularly flooded by rising sea water over the years. From November to February, sea level rises up to one and a half meters,     9    (cover) many of Venice’s famous areas. But people in Venice still love their city. They are unwilling     10    (leave). Instead, they want to stay there to save Venice from the sea.

Located in Sichuan Province, the greater Chengdu area is home     1     millions of residents. It’s surrounded by rich farmlands that     2     (lead) to the city’s impressive agricultural wealth over the centuries. Often     3     (call) the “Land of Milk and Honey”, the city is one of the most liveable cities in China.

As well as being known for     4     (it) panda tourism and spicy food, Chengdu has a great atmosphere. The city is famously relaxed despite its size and busyness. This more relaxed way of life may be one of the most attractive things about Chengdu.

Chengdu has several panda breeding and research facilities, which     5    (probable) explains its close     6     (connect) with this lovable animal. So, while you’re in the city, make sure you head out to one of them     7     (see) the panda places and maybe even sign up to be     8     zookeeper for the day.

The teahouse culture is a big part of Chengdu. Teahouses are     9     the natives get together, play mah-jong, and drink tea. If you want to be part of the local culture, then escape the busy city the same way the     10     (local) do. Head to one of the local teahouses and try a cup of tea.

Fan Jinshi, the honorary president of the Dunhuang Academy, is more widely known as the ” Daughter of Dunhuang“. She has spent more than four decades     1    (study) the preservation of the Mogao Caves. The Mogao Caves    2    (build) from the 4th century to the 14th century, and they consist of at least 490 caves    3    are carved into the cliffs (悬崖) above the Dunhuang River. For many reasons,the caves     4     (become) increasingly vulnerable (脆弱的) in the past years.

Fan, together with other scholars, has made several breakthroughs in cave preservation technologies such as     5     reduction of sandstorms’ impact on the Mogao Caves. Fan also works hard     6     (promote) cooperation between the Dunhuang Academy and overseas archaeological institutions. Thanks to her efforts, the surrounding environment has improved    7    (significant).

    8    Fan’s leadership, the Dunhuang Academy has grown into the world’s largest institution for Dunhuang studies, making many    9     (achieve) in digitisation, 3D scanning and virtual reality representation of the Dunhuang relics (遗迹).”The longer I’ve stayed here, the     10    (deep)my love has grown for Dunhuang,“ Fan said.

Indoor plants are a beautiful way to    1    (bright) up your home, especially in the gray    2    (month) of winter. But there can be a dark side to houseplants if you have children or if children visit your home. It is important that you know which plants are poisonous to children.

Gardening expert Jessica Damiano    3    (recent) wrote about the issue for The Associated Press. She said she often pointed out houseplants in homes that should     4    (keep) out of children’s mouths. Last week, Damiano    5    (visit) her cousin’s home and saw a Dieffenbachia plant in the kitchen. Her cousin told her that her young son,    6    had just begun crawling, had shown interest in     7    leaves. Damiano had to explain to her cousin that eating a small amount of the plant’s stem could cause temporary     8    severe pain. The plant parts can cause throat and mouth swelling. The plant’s sap can cause nose, skin and eye pain. Damiano wrote that parents should teach their young children not to put non-food plant parts into their mouths. “Parents should also educate     9    (they),” she said. She urged parent store search whether the plants in their homes are safe to grow around children. She also suggested     10    (learn) the official botanical names of any houseplants so that they can be able to provide that information quickly to a poison control expert, if needed.

Looking back over the last decade, China     1    (witness) tremendous changes, which could not have been achieved     2     the hard work of its people. There are many ways to record the past decade, but the story that, at times, leaves a mark on each person is     3    (sure) the most vivid.

Recently, a man named Zou Yi who has recorded Beijing’s blue sky in the past decade shared     4    (he) observations on the improvement of air quality in China’s capital, as well as his understanding of the efforts behind the brilliant blue skies. His first photo     5    (take) on January 27,2013. He did the same     6     next day, and the day after that. Every day, Zou Yi takes a picture of Beijing TV Station, a landmark building     7    (locate) in downtown Beijing. A picture is better than a thousand words.

It took London and Los Angeles more than 50 years     8    (deal) with air pollution compared to only a decade for Beijing. The battle against air pollution perfectly shows the Chinese administration’s     9    (determine) and action in building a prosperous and beautiful country,     10    , over the years, has claimed some major stepwise victories thanks to the tough and comprehensive policies.

Three pandas at Japan’s Wakayama park return to China

SHIRAHAMA, Japan - Eimei, a giant panda    1    has lived in Japan for 28 years, left western Japan’s Wakayama park along with his twin    2    (daughter) to fly back to China on Wednesday morning.

    3    30-year-old male panda, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin    4    Touhin, has left their current home at the Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama in Wakayama prefecture.

Later in the day, the three giant pandas were scheduled    5    (take) a flight from the Kansai International Airport to a facility in southwest China’s Sichuan province.

Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony    6    (hold) at the park on Tuesday, where about 2,000 visitors    7    (say) goodbye to the three pandas.

Eimei, or Yong Ming in Chinese, is a 30-year-old male panda and the    8    (old) giant panda living in Japan.    9    (come) from China in 1994, it is the father of 16 giant panda cubs born at the Adventure World, setting the world record for being the oldest giant panda to have    10    (successful) fed in captivity.

What species of dolphin is the smallest? Hector’s dolphin, Risso’s dolphin, Spinner dolphin    1    Dusky dolphin? The smallest dolphins    2    (be) Hector’s dolphins. They’re usually around four to five feet in length and 100 pounds in    3    (weigh).

And they are    4    (extreme) rare. You will only find Hector’s dolphins off the coast of New Zealand. And there’s a subspecies (亚种) of them called Maui dolphins    5    population has decreased to just a few dozen    6    (leave) in the wild. The biggest threat to Maui dolphins is when they’re caught    7    accident in the fishing industry. Disease, danger to their habitat and tourism    8    (suspect) in reducing their numbers, too.

But there’s a new eye in the sky and by that we mean a drone that aims to help Maui dolphins by locating, identifying and following them. The aircraft runs on electric and gas power. It’s estimated to cost $ 150. 000 and its aim is    9    (use) artificial intelligence technology to keep    10    eye on the 63 adult Maui dolphins that are still alive.