【正文】 e learni ng. We read books under our blankets and used anythi ng we coul d fi nd to m ake candl es to see the words. I becam e a good student. I wanted to study for degree but I was not al owed to do that. Later, Mr Mandel a al owed the pri son guards to joi n us. H e sai d they shoul d not be stopped from studying for thei r degrees. They were not cl everer than m e, but they di d pass thei r exams. So I knew I coul d get a degree too. That m ade m e fel good about m ysel f. When I fi ni shed the four years i n pri son, I went to fi nd a job. Si nce I was better educated, I got a job worki ng i n an offi ce. H owever, the poli ce found out and tol d m y boss that I had been i n pri son for bl owi ng up governm ent buil di ngs. So I lost m y job. I di d not work agai n for twenty years unti l Mr Mandel a and the AN C cam e to power i n 1994. Al l that ti me m y wi fe and chil dren had to beg for food and hel p from rel ati ves or fri ends. Luckil y Mr Mandel a rem embered me and gave me a job taking tourists around my ol d prison on Robben Island. I felt bad the first ti me I tal ked to a group. Al l the terror and fear of that ti me came back to me. I remem bered the beati ngs away. O nethird of the nati on fel t i t . A huge crack that was ei ght kil om etres long and thi rty m etres wi de cut across houses, roads and canal s. Steam burst from hol es i n the ground. H ard hi l s of rock becam e ri vers of di rt. In fi ften terri bl e seconds a l arge l ay i n rui ns. The sufering of the peopl e was extreme. Towthi rds of them di ed or were i njured duri ng the earthquake. Thounds of fam il i es were kil led and m any chi dren were left wi thout parents. The num ber of peopl e who were ki l ed or i njured reached m ore than 400, 000. But how coul d the survi vors beli eve it was natural ?Everywhere they l oked nearl y everything was destroyed. Al of the city’s hospitals, 75%of its factories and buil dings and 90%of its hom es were gone. Bri cks covered the ground l ike red autum n leaves. N o wi nd, however, coul d below they away. Two dams and m ost of the bri dges al so fel or were not safe for travel ing. The rail way tracks were now usel es pi eces of steel . Tens of thousands of cows woul d never gi ve mi lk agai n. H al f a m il li on pi gs and m il li ons of chi ckens were dead. Sand now fil ed the wel s i nstead of water. Peopl e were shocked. Then l ater that afternoon,another big quake whi ch was al m ost as strong as the fi rst one shok Tangshan. Som e of the rescue workers and doctors were trapped under the rui ns. More buil dings fel down. Water, food, and el etri ci ty were hard to get. People began to wongder how l ong the di sater woul d last. Al l hope was not l ost. Soon after the quakes, the arm y sent 150, 000 sol i ders to Tangshan to hel p the rescue workers. H undreds of thousands of peopl e were hel ped. The arm y ani zed team s to di g out those were trapped and to bury the dead. To the north of the city, most of the 10, 000 mi ners were rescued from the coal m i nes there. Workers buil t shel ters for survi vors whose homes had been destroyed. Fresh water was taken to the city by trai n, truck and pl ane. Sl owl y, the ci ty began to breathe agai n. A SAFE HOME It i s sad but that people di e i n earthquakes from fal li ng furni ture and bri cks. Earthquake safety i s very im portant and there i s m ore to i t than just keepi ng buil di ngs from fal li ng down. So i f your hom e i s i n an earthquake area, you shoul d prepare careful y before the earthquake es. First, m ake sure you buy a house whi ch i s earthquake safe. Al pi pes shoul d be fi xed to the wal l and al wal ls shoul d be especial y thi ck and strong. You al so have to make sure that there are bol ts underneath your house. They are one of the most im portant ways of protecti ng a house. Make sure the bui l di ng has no breaken wi ndows and i s wel repai red. Second ,l ook at the objects i n your house. Those in the li vi ng room , whi ch are the m ost li kel y to hurt us, are puters, tel evi si ons and l am ps. They can be ti ed to tabl es or them so they won’t easil y m ove around. The kitchen, which is al so very dangerous, m ust have strong doors on al l the cupboards. This i s the pl ace where m any sm al l things are stored that m i ght fal l down. The water heater shoul d have a case round i t too. Wi ndows are speci al probl em . When they break, gl as can cause m any acci dents,. It is beter to use safety gl ass i f you can, especi al l y for pictures. Al ways rem em ber:” It is better to be safe than sorry. ” TH E STORY OF AN EYEWITNESS By Jack London N ever before in hi story has a ci ty been so pl etel y destroyed. San Franci sco is gone. N othi ng is l eft of i t but m em ori es and som e houses far from the centre of the ci ty. Its buni ness are gone. The factories, hotel sand pal ace are al l gone too. Wi thi n an hour after the earthquake, the smoke of SanFrancio’s fires coul d been seen 160 kil ometres away. The sun is red in the dark sky. There was no stoppi ng the fi res. There was no way to ani ze or m uni cate. The steel rail way tracks were now usel ess. And the great pi pes for carrying water under the streets had burst. Al l of the ways m an had m ade to keep the city safe were gone i n the thi rty second the earth m oved. Out at sea i t was calm . No wind cam e up. Yet from every di rectioneast, weast, north,andsouth, strong winds bl ew upon the unlucky city. Man him sel f had to m ake ruins of the city’s best buil dings so that they woul d not be a danger to those i n the streets. A li st of buil di ngs undesteryed was now onl y a few addresses. A li st of the brave m en and the wom en woul d fi l a l i brary. A l ist of al l those ki l ed wi l never be m ade. Am azi ng as i t may sem, Wednesday ni ght was a qui et ni ght. There were no crowds. The pol i cem en sai