A magnitude-7.4 earthquake happened in Taiwan on 3 April 2024. It killed several people and took down many buildings. The terrible event makes us realize that Chengdu is also near the earthquake area. What can we do to keep us safe during the earthquake?

The key to being safe during an earthquake is preparation. So an earthquake emergency kit should be something we need to have. According to research, there is a 30% higher chance that you will live through an earthquake if you have the kit. Because your earthquake emergency kit will make sure you have all you need and deal with any injuries until help arrives.

How to build your own earthquake emergency kit? Firstly, choose some ready-to-eat canned (罐头的) meat and enough fresh bottled water. Secondly, choose medicine that will help deal with cuts, burns and injuries. Lastly, bring some useful tools like flashlights, matches, knives and dust masks (防尘面具).

While an earthquake safety kit will be helpful after an earthquake, it is also important to remember the useful life-saving skills below.

First, keep shoes near your bed. The most common injuries from earthquakes come from standing on broken glass. Second, don’t depend on doorways for protection. During an earthquake, get under a table or a desk. Hold on until the shaking stops. Practice “Drop, Cover and Hold On” as the picture shows. Third, discuss with your family what to do, where to meet if you are lost and how you will communicate when an earthquake comes. Last but not least, make sure there is an out-of the-area friend that family members can contact with. Text messages often go through when phone calls won’t work, so don’t give up if you can’t make a call.

Humans have been using cotton to make fabric(纤维) for clothing for more than 7,000 years. The ancient Egyptians produced it. So did the Incas of Peru and the ancient Persians.

Today, it remains the most commonly used natural material in the entire world. You might not be aware of it, but in your everyday life, you come in contact with cotton everywhere. When you wake up in the morning you slept on bed sheets made of cotton. You take a shower and when you dry yourself, you probably use a towel made of cotton. You put on your clothes, which probably have at least some cotton in them.

Cotton has many advantages that make it an excellent clothing material. On hot days, cotton clothing feels cool. It absorbs (吸收) body sweat and draws it away from the skin, keeping you cool and comfortable.

Cotton fabric is made from the cotton plant, a small plant that’s easy to grow. The seeds of the cotton plant are surrounded by fluffy (绒毛般的) white fibers for protection. These fibers are collected and made into cloth, which can then be made into many products.

The cotton seeds are not wasted, either. They are put in a machine that presses the oil out of them. This oil is a valuable product for cooking and is used in many kinds of food. The mush (碎屑) that’s left is used to feed animals, such as pigs and cows.

Nothing is wasted. That’s why cotton is such an amazing plant. Even more importantly, cotton is a natural product. It doesn’t require a lot of energy to produce, and it can be renewed every year simply by planting a new crop.

We all know the sun is important. It makes life on our planet possible. But how does the sun do that? It’s the sun’s energy.

Energy from the sun is called solar energy (太阳能). It comes in the form of light or heat. People have used solar energy for thousands of years. The sun’s energy can be used to heat water and even food. If you own a magnifying glass, your parents have probably warned you not to leave it in the sun. Solar energy can actually make the magnifying glass burn objects underneath it causing a fire. This type of energy from the sun is called solar thermal (热的) energy.

We can also turn the sun’s light into electricity. This is done with solar panels (板). Solar panels are made up of a material called silicon (硅). The silicon is heated and formed into very thin wafers (晶片). When the sunlight hits the solar panel, the electrons in the silicon move and flow through wires (电线). Using this technology, we can run a calculator and even power cars in an easy way.

But what happens on cloudy days? The electrons in the silicon will stop moving, which means the electricity can’t flow. But this doesn’t mean that solar energy can only be used on sunny days. People can use the batteries (电池) which are attached to (附着于) solar panels to store the electricity. So the stored electricity can be used to power cars at night or on cloudy days.

Did you know that solar energy is not as expensive as it used to be? In fact, in the last few years.solar panels have become much more affordable for people to use. Since the sun gives off more energy in one second than people have used, imagine what we could do if we used the sun’s energy to power our planet.