1 . At first there was only darkness and silence underground, as a group of 13 coal miners found themselves ____from the outside world because of an accidental _____ .They managed to move together to a spot of relative safety _____ the waterline. Then they waited and waited, which lasted for more than 80 ________ .

Fears alternately (交替)____and fell. The miners followed their training and ____ to survive, hoping that someone would discover ____ whereabouts (下落)in the tunnel and get them out.

The 13 men gathered closely in the flooded Shanmushu mine, which belongs to Sichuan Coal Industry Group, and _____ the possibility that the tunnel might become their __

Then came the faint sounds, which __ a ray of hope. A metallic noise reverberated (回响) faintly from a pipe in the blackness. It's a sound bound to bring instant _____ to men trapped underground. _____ pipes is an old technique in mine rescues to connect rescuers and those _____ rescue.

For the miners waiting ____ in the Shanmushu mine, the sound meant help was __

The searchers had ____ failed to find the miners, but sound of hammering on pipes with metal bars _____ their presence. After a rescue operation of more than 80 hours, the 13 miners returned to the outside world on Wednesday.

People in charge of the rescue _____ several reasons for the 13 miners' survival. First, they were experienced and took turns turning on their head lamps. ____ helped to ease panic. Also, they stayed together in a relatively _____ place that was unlikely to flood and that had plenty of air.