A terrible earthquake hit the city of Tangshan on July 28, 1976, in which thousands of people died and many 【小题1】(injure). Many houses fell down and sand filled the wells instead of water. People were greatly shocked. All the electricity in the city was cut 【小题2】and people started to wonder how long the disaster would last. The whole city was 【小题3】(complete) destroyed and the world seemed at 【小题4】(it) end.

The people of Tangshan didn’t lose hope, because 150,000 soldiers were sent 【小题5】(help) the rescue workers. The soldiers tried their best to dig out those 【小题6】were trapped. Workers built shelters for the 【小题7】(survive). Fresh water was taken to the city by every means. Slowly, the city started to come back to life.

It was said that before the quake, strange things were happening in 【小题8】countryside. The water in the village wells 【小题9】(rise) and fell. Fish jumped out of the ponds. Strange noises were heard in the sky,【小题10】people thought little of them.

Sandstorms are common 【小题1】 （nature） disasters. They are often so thick that you cannot see the sun，and the wind is sometimes strong enough to move sand dunes. Sandstorms 【小题2】（main）occur in four places in the world，including Central Asia. Northwest China is part of the sandstorm center in Central Asia. Sandstorms in China appear 【小题3】（increase） in recent years as a result of “desertification” . Sometimes Beijing is affected by sandstorms. They affect the traffic because the thick dust makes 【小题4】 difficult to see.

【小题5】 some other disasters，sandstorms come with a warning. They can 【小题6】（forecast） some weeks before，but the 【小题7】（strong）of the storm sometimes surprises people. 【小题8】 a sandstorm occurs，weather experts advise people not to go out. If you want to go out，you' d better wear 【小题9】 mask because it' s difficult to breathe and the dust makes people ill. To prevent sandstorms 【小题10】（come） nearer to Beijing，the government has made great efforts.

In 1976, one of the most deadly earthquakes of 【小题1】 20th century hit Tangshan. In less than one minute, the large city 【小题2】 （lie）in ruins. Two thirds of the people 【小题3】 lived there were dead or injured. It seemed as if the world were coming to an end. But hope was not lost. Rescuers from all over the country came to help. 【小题4】 （slow）, the city began to breathe again