It was about two o’clock in the early morning. I was sleeping when the earthquake started. At first, I felt a shake. Then I ________ a loud noise like thunder (雷).

Soon the real noise came. The buildings started to shake. People cried ________. Some ran out of the ________. I tried my best to run out too, but I could not. Outside, people were running while pieces of glass and bricks (砖) were ________ down.

Finally, the noise and shaking ended. It was dark and ________ around me. I couldn’t see anything at all, and I didn’t ________ if anyone else was near me. I felt nervous (紧张的) and my heart was beating fast. I felt very afraid, but I told ________ to calm down since I couldn’t lose my life.

I shouted for ________, but no one came. I started to move myself through the dark in a ________ way. Hours later, as I was trying to find my way out, I ________ heard some noise above me. I cried for help. Then I heard shouts from some people. They quickly moved away the bricks. At last, I was safe.

I am Jonas from China. Last year I met a terrible flood (洪水). It _______ raining in July and kept raining almost a month. The water on the streets got _______ every day. We used boats instead of cars. We lost lots of things. Schools closed and farms were destroyed. We _______ food and clean water. In some places the water was higher than the buildings. I felt like we lived in a(n) _______ world.

Because of the flood, lots of hardness broke out. Some people died. The soil and other things made the water become very _______. It was in summer, so hot weather and dirty water made the air very bad. People got ill and hospitals didn’t have enough rooms for _______ .

When the flood was over, _______ my city. Everything was destroyed and lots of people were sick, but we were still very _______, I think. We had to rebuild our city, take care of the _______ people, and help them out of the hospitals. I just hope that one day, people can ________ the natural disasters (灾难) effectively whenever they happen. In fact, people are very clever and disasters bring people closer together.

A very strong rainstorm happened in Morocco. It ________ the country at night on Sept 8, 2023. At that time, Said was away in the small town of Tamaloukte, near the center of the storm. He hurried back home through the ________ buildings that covered the roads.

When he ________, he found that his house was completely ________. Said’s father, Mohamed, was trying very hard to save his three ________ who were still inside. Sadly, two of Said’s children—his daughter, Asma and son, Ibrahim—died.

“I was ________ at home when the rainstorm came. Later a neighbor woke me up and told me that my second house where my son’s family were had fallen down, so I hurried to ________ them but found them under the ruins (废墟). The house came down ________ they were inside,” Mohamed explained. Asma and Ibrahim are among the people who lost their lives in Tamaloukte.

Volunteers provided Said’s family with a tent, warm clothes, and food to help them live through the first part of the disaster (灾难). The Moroccan Red Cross helped Said’s family to deal with their huge loss _________.

In the face of disasters, it’s impossible to bring back what people have lost. But offering a hand ________ will help families like Said’s rebuild their lives. This help is just the first step in what will likely be a long and hard journey for a family to get better.