【正文】 i t al so had wi de strets wi th trees in rows and ol d French houses. Unli ke Vi enti ane, shi ps coul d travel the Mekong Ri ver here. In the center of the city we visi ted the pal ace and a beauti ful whi te elephant. It can onl y be seen outsi de the pal ace on special days. We ate an earl y supper and went to see a great tem pl e wi th fl oors m ade of sl iver. The next m orni ng our group sl ept l ate. We were very tired from the l ong bi ke ri de the day before. Cycli ng i n the hi l s had been di ffcui ow our coui ns had the chance to m ake jokes about Wangwei and m e. Perhaps, they sai d, they were the strong ones!We had lunch at a ni ce outdoor cafe, then rode out of the ci ty. Two days l ater we crossed the border into Vietnam. We began to see many more peopl e,but I wasn’t surprised .I read in an atl as before our tri p that Vi etnam has alm ost seven tim es the popul ation of Cam bodi a. We m et a farm er who gave us di recti ons and tol d us that he grows a new ri ce crop four ti m es every year so he can feed m ore peopl e al so tol d us that the northern part of hi s country has m any m ountai ns and i t is m uch cool er than here i n the south, where i t i s fl at. Al though the fl at del ta m ade i t easi er for us to cycl e. we got warm very qui ckl y. So we drank lots of water and ate l ots of bananas. Soon the del ta separated into ni ne sm al er ri vers. Two days l ater, after we had passed thousands of ri ce fiel ds, we cam e to the sea. We were ti red but al so in high spi ri ts: our dream to cycl e along the Mekong Ri ver had fi nal l y e true. Unit 4 A NIGHT THE EARTH DID’T SLEEP Strange thi ngs were happeni ng in the countrisi de of northest H eBei . For there days the water i n the vil l age wel l s rose and fel l, rose and fel l. Farm ers noti ced that the wel wal s had deep cracks i n them . A sm el y gas cam e out of the cracks. In the farm eryards,the chi ckens and even the pi gs were to nervous to eat. mi ce ran out of the fi el ds l ooki ng for pl aces to hi sh jum ped out of their bowl s and ponds. At about 3: 00am on Jul y 28, 1976, som e peopl e saw bri ght li ghts i n the sky. The sound of the planes coul d be heard outsi de the ci ty, who thought li ttl e of these events, were asl eep as usual that ni ght. At3: 42 am everything began to shake. It seem ed as i f the worl d was at an end!El even kil om etres di rectl y bel ow the ci ty the greast earthquake of 20th century had begun. It was fel t i n Beiji ng, whi ch i s m ore thantwo hundred kil om etres away. O nethi rd of the nati on fel t i t . A huge crack that was ei ght kil om etres l ong and thi rty m etres wi de cut across houses, roads and canal s. Steam burst from hol es in the ground. H ard hil l s of rock becam e ri vers of di rt. In fi fteen teri bl e seconds a l arge lay i n rui ns. The sufferi ng of the peopl e was extrem e. Towthirds of them di ed or were i njured duri ng the earthquake. Thounds of fam il i es were kil ed and m any chi dren were l eft wi thout parents. The num ber of peopl e who were kil l ed or i njured reached m ore than 400, 000. But how coul d the survivors believe it was natural ?Everywhere they l ooked nearl y everything was destroyed. Al of the city’s hospitals, 75% of i ts factori es and bui l di ngs and 90% of its hom es were gone. Bri cks covered the ground l ike red autum n l eaves. N o wi nd, however,coul d below they away. Two dam s and m ost of the bri dges al so fel or were not safe for travel li ng. The rail way tracks were now usel ess pi eces of steel. Tens of thousands of cows woul d never gi ve mil k agai n. H al f a m il li on pi gs and m il li ons of chi ckens were dead. Sand now fi l ed the wel l s i nstead of water. Peopl e were shocked. Then later that afternoon, another bi g quake whi ch was al most as strong as the fi rst one shook Tangshan. Som e of the rescue workers and doctors were traped under the rui ns. More bui l di ngs fel down. Water, fod, and el etri ci ty were hard to get. Peopl e began to wongder how l ong the di sater woul d l ast. Al hope was not l ost. Soon after the quakes, the arm y sent 150, 000 soli ders to Tangshan to hel p the rescue workers. H undreds of thousands of peopl e were helped. The army ani zed team s to di g out those were trapped and to bury the dead. To the north of the city, m ost of the 10, 000 mi ners were rescued from the coal m ines there. Workers buil t shel ters for survi vors whose hom es had been destroyed. Fresh water was taken to the ci ty by trai n,truck and pl ane. Sl owl y, the city began to breathe again. A SAFE HOME It i s sad but that people di e i n earthquakes from fal i ng furni ture and bri cks. Earthquake safety i s very im portant and there is m ore to i t than just keepi ng bui l di ngs from fal ing down. So i f your hom e is i n an earthquake area, you shoul d prepare careful y before the earthquake es. Fi rst, m ake sure you buy a house whi ch is earthquake safe. Al l pi pes shoul d be fi xed to the wal and al l wal l s shoul d be especi al ly thi ck and strong. You al so have to m ake 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 ok at the objects i n your house. Those i n the l ivi ng room, whi ch are the m ost l ikel y to hurt us, are puters, tel evisions and l amps. They can be tied to tabl es or them so they won’t easil y move around. The kitchen, whi ch i s al so very dangerous, must have strong doors on al l the cupboards. Thi s is 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 ass can cause m any acci dents, . It i s better to use safety gl ass if you can, especi al y for pi ctures. Al ways remember:”