The thought of a natural disaster can be    1    (frighten). But you can prepare your family for it with some simple steps. Below are some common    2    (measure) of preparing for disasters.

Have enough ways to get warnings. There    3    (be) different ways to receive a warning of a disaster. The common ones include using the television, phone, etc. To avoid missing the warning, you’d better make sure you have at least three ways to receive the warning.

Decide how to make family members communicate. Come up with    4    communication plan in case you are    5    (separate) in a disaster. Provide each member of the family with a phone, for example. And make a contact card for each family member so they have the phone numbers and addresses    6    they may need.

Choose    7    least two meeting places. Do it in case all of your family members can’t   reach a designed meeting place. Choose one place in your neighborhood or close to your home as well as one that’s out of town. Consider    8    (meet) at the closer place first in a disaster. And keep the out-of-town place as a backup.

Run practice drills (演习). It’s important    9    (practice) what to do in case of a natural disaster,    10    (especial) if you have children. Each year, you’d better organize a practice drill for a possible disaster. And try to let all the family members take part in it.

The most     1     earthquake in the past 40 years caused a tsunami that     2    into coastlines across Asia yesterday，killing more than 6,500 people in Indonesia, India, Thailand, Malaysia, and at least four other countries. Fishermen, tourists, hotels, homes, and cars were     3     away by huge     4     caused by the strong earthquake that reached a magnitude of 9.0. The undersea quake     5     around 7:00 a.m., Sunday off the coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra Island. In that area alone, at least, 1,870 people were killed.

7 . Catch your reusable bag and kiss your plastic bags goodbye. Plastic waste is on its way out, thanks to these governmental bans from around the world.

From Indiana to Maine, governments at all levels in the US are forcing bans and improving recycling. People are shopping smarter and companies are doing better to ensure the protection of our environment. Slowly but surely, the world is entering a brighter future as more and more countries follow. But there’s still a lot of work to be done—or undone.

Since the 1950s, researchers say that about more than 8.3 billion tons of plastic has been produced. And 60% of that waste has ended up in the environment. That number has increased quickly over the years. For example, it was recorded that the world’s plastic production doubled from 1976 (50 million tons) to 1989 (100 million tons). It was highest at 368 million in 2019 before decreasing to 367 million in 2020.

A million tons decrease of plastic production is not enough to deal with the rising pressures plastic puts into the environment. We still do not know how long it takes for plastic to breakdown. It means that about 12 million tons of plastic waste that entered the ocean in 2010 is still breaking into micro plastics and filling up the stomachs of birds and sea animals. The plastic going into our environment is not going away. While recent studies of plastic-eating enzymes and bacteria offer some hope for the future of plastic waste management, the best way to deal with our environmental stress is through decrease.

In 2020, New York City began to ban plastic bags. But this wasn’t the first plastic bag ban in a US state. In fact, the US wasn’t even the first country to introduce this idea. Back in 2002, Bangladesh became the first country to implement a plastic bag ban. Since then, other countries have followed, introducing their own ways to fight with the continuing plastic bags.

9 . Earthquake safety tips

On April 14, 2010, a big earthquake hit Yushu, Qinghai. Over, 2,000 people died. Many people were hurt. Why are there earthquakes?

The surface of the Earth has many pieces. These pieces are always moving. When two pieces move past each other, there is an earthquake.

Scientist are working hard to find out more about earthquakes. They try to predict (预测) them, but it's very hard.

Do you know how to get ready for an earthquake? Do you know what to do during an earthquake? Here are some things you should know.

What to do before an earthquake:

Make sure you have two bottles of water, a packet of biscuits, a clean towel, a few band-aids (创口贴), a radio and a flashlight (电筒) at home.

What to do during an earthquake If you are inside:

★Stay where you are. Quickly move under a strong desk, or along a wall. This will protect you from falling things.

★Don't stand near windows.

★Turn off the lights.

★Don't get into a lift during an earthquake. If your are in a lift, get out as quickly as possible.

If you are outside:

★Don't stand near buildings. Things may fall on you.

★Lie on the ground until the shaking stops.

10 . The problem of global warming has caused a lot of people to get started on increasing their battles to save the Earth's ecological system. The trouble is that nearly all people think it even expensive to begin living green. Continue reading to see several immediate things you can do to get on the road to living green.

You can get on a great start by learning to recycle. While this appears really simple, there are many people who still throw glass bottles and aluminum（铝）cans into their common garbage. In the US, it's easy to locate a trash service that has glass and aluminum recycling alternatives. If you take a few seconds to wash the cans and bottles and put them in the recycle bin, you will be on the path to saving the Earth.

One more big waste product is newspapers. Majority of people will merely take their newspaper and throw it in the garbage when they finish reading it. Still there are many other things you can do with an old newspaper when you finish reading it. For instance, newspapers make terrific material for cleaning windowpanes. You can clean your windows with newspapers rather than paper towels and window cleaner for a streak-free shine.

What else you can do to get started living green is to start walking a bit more. Many people think nothing of getting in their car and driving one block to get soda at the local convenience store. If you merely walk to the store, not only could it take less time, because you won't have to try to find a parking place, but you will be saving money on petrol and helping to save the planet by not burning those fuels. If you wish to save even more on fuel, take the chance to join the car pool whenever you can and just mow your lawn twice a month instead of weekly.