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 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.

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.