Strange things appeared before the Tangshan earthquake happened. For three days the water in the village wells     1    (rise) and fell. The well walls had deep cracks in them. A smelly gas came out of the cracks. Some animals including fish,     2    (mouse) behaved strangely. Other strange things also happened in the city,     3     people thought little of these events and they slept as usual.

    4     (final) a terrible earthquake hit the city of Tangshan on July 28, 1976, in which more than 240,000 people died and many     5    (injure). Many houses fell down and sand filled the wells instead of water. People were greatly shocked. All the electricity in the city was cut off and people began     6     (wonder) how long the disaster would last. The whole city was completely destroyed and the world seemed to be     7    an end. It was one of the most destructive earthquakes ever,     8     shocked the whole nation.

However, the people of Tangshan didn’t lose hope because 150,000 soldiers were sent to help the rescue workers. The soldiers tried their best to dig out those     9     were trapped. They also built shelters for the     10     (survive). Fresh water was taken to the city by every means. Slowly, the city began to come back to life.