Strange things were happening in 【小题1】 countryside of northeast Hebei. Farmers noticed that the well walls had deep cracks 【小题2】 them. In the farmyards, the chickens and even the pigs were too nervous 【小题3】(eat). Mice ran out of the fields 【小题4】(look) for places to hide. The sound of planes could be heard outside the city of Tangshan even 【小题5】 no planes were in the sky. But the one million people of the city, 【小题6】thought little of these events, were asleep as usual that night. Eleven kilometres directly below the city one of the 【小题7】(great) earthquakes of the 20th century had begun. One-third of the nation【小题8】(feel) it. The【小题9】(suffer) of the people was extreme. Two-thirds of them died or were 【小题10】 (injure) during the earthquake.

Mario Loutef had little sleep over the four days leading up to Saturday, when he piled his 【小题1】(ruin) belongings in the street outside his home in Princeton, B.C. A large part of his community 【小题2】(destroy) when the Tulameen River overflowed (漫过) its banks, 【小题3】(flood) homes and forcing people to evacuate. The community still remains on an evacuation alert (戒备状态) but for many, like Loutef, the damage couldn’t get any 【小题4】(bad).

A thick coat of black earth has covered everything on the 【小题5】(one) floor of Loutef's home. He has been working around 【小题6】 clock since he was allowed access. Boards have been torn off walls, on 【小题7】 a dirty line about 2 meters up shows how high the water rose.

Loutef's 【小题8】(lose) was great. “I almost lost everything. I don't know where to start. I don't know where it's going to end,” said Loutef, who has lived in the home for the past four years.

Loutef is working alone but Lisa Brosseau has got some help. Many 【小题9】(resident) of Princeton are going from house to house offering a hand to those 【小题10】 are in need.

The most powerful earthquake in the past 40 years caused a tsunami crashed into coastlines across Asia yesterday, 【小题1】 (kill) more than 6, 500 people. Fishermen, tourists hotels, homes and cars 【小题2】 (sweep) away by huge waves. The undersea quake 【小题3】 (strike) around 7:00 am, Sunday off the west coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra Island. In that area alone, at least 1870 people were killed.

Indian officials said as many as 1, 900 had been killed 【小题4】 the southern coast. Another 254 were found 【小题5】 (death) in Thailand and 54 in three other countries. In southern Thailand, 1,900 people were hurt and many more were missing. “I was having breakfast with my three children 【小题6】water started filling my home. We had to leave everything and run to 【小题7】 (safe),” said a local Thai woman.

Thousands of people are still missing, and the number of deaths is expected 【小题8】 (grow) even higher over the next few days. Foreign aid 【小题9】 (organize) for the tsunami-hit countries. 【小题10】, dangerous conditions and damaged roads will make it difficult to deliver food and supplies,