Rescue and disaster relief forces, medical teams and urgent supplies are pouring into Northwest China’s Gansu Province and the neighboring Qinghai Province after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake jolted a Gansu county at a     1     (deep) of 10 kilometers at 11:59 pm Monday,     2     has caused 127 deaths as of press time.

More than 700 people were injured in the two provinces and dozens more were reported missing; more than 155,000 houses     3     (damage) or collapsed, according to media reports. President Xi Jinping has urged rescue efforts and proper arrangements for    4    (affect) people to ensure the safety of people’s lives and property.

Soon     5     the quake, a large transport aircraft arrived in Lanzhou, capital city of Gansu     6     (deliver) the emergency command group and supplies.

Dahejia Middle School is located in the severely affected county. The school principal told the media that all 2,100 students and 190 teachers have safely returned home     7     injuries. “We     8     (conduct) frequent drills at our school for fire and earthquake safety over the years,” Ma said,     9     (add) that “    10     only took about 5 minutes to evacuate the entire school”.

5 . In China, tea has become an important part of everyday life for thousands of years. As the tea-processing methods and tea culture have evolved over the years, tea sets have also changed to meet the practical and cultural needs.

During the Tang Dynasty(618~907AD), tea leaves were traded across the country and Asia. For the convenience of transportation and storage, tea leaves were pressed into bricks. To prepare tea, drinkers had to cut them into small pieces and boil them in heat-resistant teapots.

By the Song Dynasty(960-1279), drinkers started to turn the hard bricks into powders (粉末) that could be whipped (搅打) in a cup with boiled water. This whipped tea is most commonly associated with Japanese tea ceremonies today.

By the 1500s, tea bricks gave way to the form of rolled leaves. This innovation led to the invention and use of teapots as we know them today. These teapots originally came from the Yi Xing region of China and were soon copied throughout the world. Then Japanese teapot-makers moved the handle from the side to the top of the teapots.

Tea finally reached Europe in the 1600s, along with the necessary tea sets made in Japan and China. As English teapot-makers began to adapt the tea sets to their country men’s tastes, they eventually added a handle to the tea bowl because of the English habit of drinking hot black tea, which was consumed at higher temperatures. The size of teacups also grew to accommodate milk and sugar in their tea.

By the early 1900s, innovations in tea drinking became an American affair. The most revolutionary one was the tea bag, which was accidentally commercialized by Thomas Sullivan. He had been sending customers tea wrapped in silk bags. Rather than take the leaves out of the bags, as Sullivan intended, the customers put the bags into their teapots instead. Not only did the tea bags push the teapot back to the sidelines of tea service, they were also too large for teacups and led to the modern practice of drinking tea from mugs.

7 . Few sights fill you with nostalgia (怀旧) like the fireflies dancing at night.     1    Their populations are declining around the world as the threats against them are increasing. Sara Lewis, an expert who studies the insects, offers tips on what you can do to ensure that fireflies will continue to light up your backyard.

Create a firefly habitat

    2     With about 2, 000 different species of fireflies, there’s a wide variety of environments in which they thrive (繁衍) —including wetlands, forests, and even city parks—which is why some species are more threatened than others. “You can recreate those conditions in your own backyard simply by leaving some leaf litter around the edges of your property, “ Lewis says. ”That’s a good microhabitat for fireflies.”

    3    

Flashing lights are an important part in fireflies life. As the sun sets, male fireflies move around while flashing their lights to signal their interest. If a nearby female is interested, she flashes back from her position to the ground, and the males fly down to find her. “All of that has to happen for the next generation to survive,” says Lewis. “However, light pollution makes those scenes much harder to see. It’s like cutting a phone line. It really stops the romance.     4    You can draw your curtains shut at night and turn off the lights completely when possible.”

Stop using pesticides (杀虫剂)

Using pesticides in your yard also poses an existential threat to fireflies, which are insects after all.     5    . Scientists are researching alternatives to chemical pesticides that could target specific species, like mosquitoes, while leaving other insects unharmed.

8 . David and Case are 12 and 11 years old. Like most _________, they don’t have much money. They get a little pocket money from their _________ for doing chores. And of course, they wish they had more _________ to spend on comics and candy.

One day, the two friends were walking through a parking lot when they saw something on the ground. It was a wallet. They _________ the wallet up and looked inside. The wallet was _________ loaded with cash. _________, there were $500 in bills.

The boys _______   to find the rightful owner. They didn’t even think about touching the money. _________, they found a driver’s license and _________ a plan. Case stayed at the __________ where they had found the wallet, while David took the wallet to a nearby __________ station. Pretty soon, the police officers were able to __________ the owner of the wallet.

Scott Ames was so __________ to get the wallet back. It wasn’t __________ the money. The wallet also had some __________ in it, such as a photo of his late mother. And of course, Ames was amazed to __________ that not one of the bills had been removed.

__________, a person with strong morals had found his wallet, he __________. When the police told him that two pre-teen boys had found the wallet, he was __________. Sure, there was no reason for him to be surprised that two boys were pillars (栋梁) of the community. But it didn’t exactly __________ the stereotype (刻板印象) of young people.

9 . How to organize your free time with your family

The following tips can help you schedule for fun family activities.

    1     Most cities and towns have well-maintained websites listing free and cheap activities for families. You can also find coupons (优惠券) for local museums and restaurants. If you can’t think of anything to do with your children, look on that website for inspiration.

Do something outside. Between school and working, the chances are good that you and your child spend a lot of time inside. Improve your health and your mood by spending time outside together.     2    

Take your kids to a competitive event. Competitive events are exciting to attend and might promote a lifelong liking in your child.     3     For example, if you both enjoy Bruce Lee’s movies, attend a martial arts competition.

Take advantage of Saturdays. If you don’t work on Saturdays, set that day aside for family activities.     4     Alternatively, go on a day trip to a nearby tourist location. This will get your kids out of the house and teach them about their community.

Create a comfortable relaxing space for teenagers.     5     However, you probably still want to spend quality time with your child. To do so, create a welcoming, comfortable space that’s perfect for hanging out and talking. In this spot, you and your teenager can have a snack, do homework, or just chat.