In the wake of a 6. 2-magnitude (震级) earthquake,     1     is vital that lines of communication remain open, and the temporary post stations in Jishishan county, the epicenter (震中) of the earthquake that struck on Dec 18, have played     2     crucial role in ensuring packages get in and out.

Ma Hailong, 32-year-old resident from Dahejia town in Jishishan county,     3     (lose) his home in the quake, but despite this, he was excited that he was able to send and receive packages just three days     4     the tragedy struck. He initially thought that postal services, especially     5     (delivery), would be suspended after the earthquake, which occurred just seconds before midnight on Dec 18.

Temporary post offices were set up in nine quake-hit towns and are now open for all postal services. In addition, six postal routes in the county remain open, and 24 delivery routes have resurned     6     (operate). The Dahejia post office reopened in a tent on Dec 20,     7     (receive) more than 2, 300 pieces of mail in two days,     8     were all delivered to residents in the quake-affected area. The temporary post office has also opened a green channel     9     financial services, handling the delivery of mail from courier (货运) companies such as SF Express in the disaster area.

To facilitate donations from various sectors of society, Gansu branches of China Post and the Postal Savings Bank of China     10     (open) special pathways for the earthquake-stricken area in Jishishan.

The first underwater tunnel—Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel in South Asia, undertaken by China Communications Construction Company, opened in Bangladesh on Saturday.

    1     (locate) at the mouth of the Karnaphuli River, the tunnel connects the east and west banks of the river. It is 9. 3 kilometers long, has four lanes and is designed for speeds of 80 kilometers per hour. Major technical     2     (difficult) in construction had to be overcome, such as geological structures. To solve the problems, the project team applied the world’s     3     (large) steel casing (框架) , which allowed specialized machinery     4     (enter) and exit the tunnel.

The project, which was designed     5     Chinese standards, built using Chinese equipment and managed by Chinese enterprises,     6     (accomplish) as a successful exploration of China’s complete industrial chain for the construction of tunnels overseas, and will become     7     shining business card abroad.

As part of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor, the tunnel is an important link in the Belt and Road Initiative. Not only will it     8     (great) improve transportation conditions in Chattogram     9     will drive economic development in Bangladesh. Moreover, it improves the Asian highway network, promotes connectivity between Bangladesh and     10     (neighbor) countries and will encourage the internationalization of Bangladesh’s development.

The sheepskin raft (羊皮筏), the oldest means of transportation along the Yellow River, has a history of nearly 2,000 years. The airbag of the raft is made of     1     whole sheepskin and goes through many processes including heating to remove hair, soaking in salty oil, sewing, drying     2     blowing. Then the airbags     3     (fasten) to a wooden stand, enabling its use for transporting people and goods across the water.

It is said that the largest sheepskin raft in old times     4     (consist) of more than 600 sheepskin airbags, with an impressive length of 22 meters and a     5     (wide) of 7 meters. It was capable of carrying around 30 tons of goods and drifting over 200 kilometers in one day.

In the early 20th century, before the 1950s,     6     railways were not yet in operation and road traffic was     7    (convenient), the sheepskin raft served as the most important means of transportation for residents     8     (live) along the Yellow River.

However, with the rapid development of society, the sheepskin raft has largely played its historical role     9     transporting people and goods. Nowadays, it can only be found along the banks of the Yellow River in some cities in Gansu province. It has become a tool for people     10     (do) some sightseeing on the Yellow River.

The Park Hyalt Ningbo drew us to visit this city in China that we may otherwise have not yet discovered. We planned to book a First Class ticket to Ningbo but when     1     tickets for that cabin were sold out, we chose Business Class. We had no knowledge about     2     the train cabins and seats would look like, so we were more than     3     (pleasant) surprised to see that as we boarded the train. Inside, the spacious leather seats     4     (surround) by a hard shell which gives a small feeling of     5     (private).

We enjoyed traveling the CRH in Business so much     6     we decided to book the same class ticket     7     our trip back to Shanghai on our return. This time however when we boarded the train there was a small automatic door to our left and the cabin had only 9 Business Class seats. This     8     (small) cabin felt much more private. The ride was smooth and peaceful. There was also a train attendant     9     came around with water, juice and a light snack. It was great to have so much space for our luggage as well.

This is one of those cases where it really made sense for us to spend a little bit more for a far better experience.

If we find ourselves     10     (board) a CRH train again in the future, I would choose the Business Class ticket again.

About 226 million passenger trips     1     (make) during this year’s week-long Spring Festival holiday, a significant increase from last year     2     still fewer than 2019. This Monday     3     (mark) the peak of the yearly travel rush.     4     the epidemic (疫情) has caused major decreases     5     public traffic, more private cars traveled on expressway networks during the rush.

From Jan 7 to Sunday, small passenger     6     (car) made 744 million trips on expressways, 14.6 percent more than the same period in 2019 and 21.5 percent more     7     that in 2022, according to the     8     (office) statistics.

A “return peak” was seen across the country on Friday as     9     public holiday ended. On that day some 50.92 million trips were made, a year-on-year increase of 83.1 percent from last year,     10     (show) people are getting life back from the year-long epidemic.

A travel insider has warned Brits planning holidays that flight ticket prices are due     1     (soar) over the coming months. With inflation (通货膨胀) soaring     2     more than 10% and many households struggling to keep up with rocketing gas bills, the latest news will be a     3     (particular) unwelcome one for British people desperate to get away this year.

Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association, has said that rising oil prices in part     4     (cause) by the war in Ukraine would lead ticket costs to jump up. “Oil is the single     5     (big) element of an airlines’ cost base and ultimately the high oil prices     6     (pass) through to consumers.”

Mr. Walsh also warned that flight cancellations would push up demand for     7     (seat) on other planes, inflating prices British Airways has grounded tens of thousands of services until the end of October, meaning     8     (it) typical summer schedule has been reduced by 18% in total. At the same time difficulty filling vacancies in hotels, bars and restaurants in the UK, along with sharply rising prices,     9     (mean) staycations are more expensive than ever.

The warning of rising plane ticket prices will make the prospect of going away     10     difficult one for families weighing up whether to stay in the UK or go abroad this summer.

If you play on a mobile phone while you     1     (wait) for a bus in Shenzhen, it’s likely that you will miss it,     2     all the buses in the city are now quiet electric ones. Shenzhen replaced over 16, 000 buses     3    electric ones in 2017 and made all of its taxis electric ones the next year.

The change from noisy diesel (柴油) buses to quiet electric buses     4    (call) a silent revolution. “With diesel buses, I can remember     5     (stand) at the bus stop and the heat, noise and emissions (排放物) made me extremely     6    (comfortable) in the summer, ”said Joseph Ma, general    7     (manage) at Shenzhen Bus Group. “The electric buses have made     8     huge difference.” With the change, it is report d that Shenzhen Bus Group could save 160, 000 tons     9     coal per year and reduce CO2 emissions by 440, 00 tons every year.

In fact, some foreign     10     (city) are also trying to move to electric buses. For example, New York has planned to make all its buses electric by 2040.

Not satisfied with pushing the boundaries of speed, endurance and civil engineering, Chinese companies are among the first in the world     1     (introduce) new technology such as driverless train operation and advanced signaling and control technology.

The driverless bullet trains     2     (connect) Beijing and Zhangjiakou in northern Hebei Province are capable of hitting speeds up to 350 kph, which makes them the world’s     3     (fast) driverless trains. The new route, opened in December 2019 as part of preparations     4     the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games,     5     (reduce) travel time for the 174-kilometer journey from three hours to less than 60 minutes so far.

    6     (build) in just four years, the line has 10 stations serving two of the major Winter Games venues (举办地), plus another at Badaling Changcheng, making the Great Wall of China faster     7     (access) for tourists.     8     latter is the world’s deepest high-speed railway   station, situated 102 meters underground. These stations are like airport     9     (terminal), with acres of spotless polished marble and glass, enormous information screens and lounges     10     passengers are held until their train is called.

At the end of the 19th century, nearly 40 percent of American cars were electric. In cities with early electric systems, battery-powered cars were     1     popular and reliable choice, compared with their gas-powered competitors.     2     early car batteries were expensive and inefficient. At the same time, new     3     (discover) of oil fields lowered the price of gas, and new advances made gas-powered cars more appealing. That's why gas-powered cars     4     (rule) the roads for the next 55 years. Aside from some special-purpose vehicles, electric cars were nowhere to be found.

However, in the 1980s, the tide began to turn. Studies associating car emissions     5     smog(霾) encouraged governments to reconsider electric vehicles. Many companies were developing increasingly efficient batteries at that time. In 2008, Tesla Motors went further,    6     (attract) the attention of the world with its lithium-ion-powered (锂电的) sport cars,     7     could travel more than 320kms on a single charge. Since then, electric vehicles     8     (improve) in cost, performance, efficiency and availability. They can accelerate     9     (fast) than gas powered sports cars. And though some models still have a high upfront cost, they save their drivers money in the long run.

As governments around the world focus on slowing climate change, electric vehicles are now expected     10     (replace) gas-powered ones altogether. Soon, electric cars will reclaim their place on the road.