At the midnight, thunder（雷）was crashing and the rain was pouring. Suddenly my father rushed into my room. “Adam! Adam! Get up! We're flooding! ”He shouted and ________ me by the shoulders.

That woke me up! I ran downstairs to the basement（地下室）. It was like a swimming pool. My mother and I immediately started to ________ things and take them upstairs. I had no shoes on,so my feet felt quite cold.

Things got ________ every minute. Within the next hour,we had moved everything that we could to the first floor. The computer,TV and heavy boxes filled with our most valuable things were taken to safety. ________, our piano,sofa,washing machine and water heater were all still down there—being destroyed. There was nothing we could do.

Knowing that your home is being destroyed is bad enough,but realizing that you can't do anything to ________ it feels even worse. Water had come in our front door. Rescue（营救）boats were floating in our streets. Mother told ________ to pack an overnight bag of clothes and valuables and get ready to leave.

When it was ________ safe to walk outside,all the people in the neighborhood gathered at the street corner. People became friends, ________ friends became like family. People comforted（安慰）each other. We learned later that the storm became a flash flood on the report.

I really have learned ________ from this flood. I've learned what destruction（毁灭）is and what safety means. I know in the future,when I watch ________ people in natural disasters,I can understand them. I will show my great pity on them and try my best to help them.

People think earthquakes are terrible. That’s ________ to understand. No one knows when an earthquake will happen. But we can do something to ________ for it. So when it happens, we can ________ ourselves.

What governments should do

Governments ________ to teach people about what earthquakes are and where earthquakes easily happen in the country, ________ people will know about earthquakes and what to do when they happen.

Governments should also make sure that some places ________ fire stations, police stations, hospitals and schools are working well when emergencies (突发情况) happen.

What people should do

During an earthquake, try to ________ away from things like buildings, trees, windows and so on. ________ yourself under a piece of strong furniture.

Move into the open places when an earthquake happens. Go out of the building if ________ because the building may fall down.

There are usually aftershock (余震) hours, days and even months after a main ________. Try to protect yourself and pay attention to them.

In a word, don’t be afraid of earthquakes.