1. 高一英语Book 1 Unit 4
Earthquakes

2. Yushu Earthquake

3. The Great East Japan Earthquake

4. Earthquakes are usually caused when rock underground suddenly breaks along a fault. This sudden release of energy causes the seismic waves that make the ground shake.

6. Did you hear about Tangshan Earthquake? When did it happen?
The Tangshan Earthquake was a
natural disaster that occurred on
July 28, It is believed to be
the largest earthquake of the 20th
century by death toll.

7. The number of deaths was around
240,000 to 255,000. A further
164,000 people were recorded as
being severely injured.

8. Aftershock

9. Can you tell anything about San Francisco?
the fourth most
populous city in
California and the 13th
most populous city in
the U.S.A

10. Can you imagine what the city of San
Francisco was like after the earthquake?
It happened on April 18, The earthquake
and resulting fire are remembered as one of
the worst natural disasters in the history of the
United States.

11. What does the sentence “It’s always
quiet before a storm” mean?
What do you think will happen
before an earthquake?

12. Signs before an earthquake
1) Bright light flashes in the sky.
2) The well has deep cracks in it, and the water in it rises and falls.
3) Chickens are flying and dogs are barking, and pigs and cows are too nervous to eat.
4) Fish jump out of the pond, and mice run wildly out of the fields.

13. Imagine you have time to take only
one thing before an earthquake,
what will you take? Why?

14. Fast reading
Read the text and find answers to the following questions.

15. 1. When and where were the strange things happening? What were they?
2. Why did the text say the world
seemed to be at an end?
3. How was the city destroyed after the quake?
4. When did the second quake hit the city? What was the result of that?
5. Who came to help Tangshan first?
And how?

16. Read the passage and find out the topic sentence of each paragraph. 1 2 3 4
Strange things were happening in the
countryside of northeast Hebei.
Everything began to shake. It seemed
as if the world was at an end.
Everywhere they looked nearly
everything was destroyed.
All hope was not lost.

17. Join the correct parts of the sentences.
1. The chickens didn’t eat because
2. The people didn’t worry because
3. Such a great number of people died because
4. Water was needed because
5. The people did not lose hope because
A. the army came to help them.
B. the quake happened while they were sleeping.
C. they were nervous.
D. dams and wells were useless.
E. they didn’t know what the strange events meant.

18. Detailed reading
How many parts can this passage be divided into?

19. Do you know the main idea of each part?
Three parts
Part 1
Paragragh1
Part 2
Paragraph 2、3
Part 3
Paragraph 4
Do you know the main idea of each part?

20. The main idea of each part
(Para.1)
Something strange happened in Tangshan
Before the earthquake
Part 2.
(Para.2,3)
the destroy of the earthquake in Tangshan
During the earthquake
Part 3.
(Para.4)
the rescue of Tangshan
After the earthquake

21. True or false
1. People in Tangshan were warned of the earthquake and didn’t go to bed that night.
2. People in Beijing also felt the earthquake.
3. More than 400,000 people were killed in the quake.
4. Many rescue workers and doctors were trapped under the ruins during the aftershock.
5. People tried to get fresh water from under the ground. F T F T F

22. Read the text carefully again and choose the best answer.
1. What does “them” in the sentence “No wind, however, could blow them away.” (in Paragraph 3) refer to?
A. Red autumn leaves.
B. Bricks on the ground.
C. Bodies of dead animals.
D. Sand in the wells. B

23. C 2. The title “A night the earth didn’t sleep” means _______.
A. the earth was awake all night long
B. people on the earth couldn’t fall asleep
that night
C. the earth shook like crazy that night
D. animals on the earth would not sleep C

24. 3. All the following unusual things happened before the quake except that ____.
  A. the water in the village wells rose and
fell
  B. the chickens and even the pigs were too
nervous to eat
  C. tens of thousands of cows would never
give milk again
  D. fish jumped out of bowls and ponds C

25. D 4. People in the city went to bed as usual that night because ____.
  A. they didn’t think it was strange for
water pipes to crack and burst
  B. they thought it was easy to experience
an earthquake
  C. they thought sleeping was the most
important thing whatever would happen
  D. they could never imagine there would
be an earthquake D

26. Summary
of the nation felt the earthquake .
A huge crack that was kilometres long and metres wide cut across houses.
In terrible seconds a large city lay in ruins of the people died or were injured during the earthquake.
The number of people who were killed or injured reached more than
All of the city’s hospitals, of its factories and buildings and of its homes were gone.
1/3 8 30 15
2/3
400,000
75%
90%

27. Number each of these things during the Tangshan earthquake.
  _____ Brick buildings were destroyed.
  _____ The walls of the village wells had cracks
in them.
 _____ Shelters were put up for those with no
homes.
______ Roads got huge cracks.
 _____ The army helped the survivors. 3 1 5 2 4

28. Some other big earthquakes in recent years
The big earthquake in Pakistan and India in 2005.
The big earthquake in Wenchuan, Sichuan
Province in 2008.
The Haiti Earthquake happened in January
2010.
The Yushu Earthquake in Qinhai Province in
April 2010.
The Great East Japan Earthquake occurred on
11 March 2011.

29. seismic belts in the world

30. What shall we do if an earthquake happens?
Discussion
What shall we do if an earthquake
happens?
1. Get under a heavy table or desk and hold on, or sit or stand against an inside wall.
2. Keep away from windows.
3. If indoors, stay indoors.
4. If outdoors, stay away from falling debris, trees and power lines.
5. If in a car, stay in the car.
6. Many injuries occur when people act on their impulse to run.

31. Can we stop earthquakes?
We can’t stop earthquakes, but we can try to reduce the losses caused by earthquakes.
To build houses as strong as possible;
To build houses on rock rather than on sand.
What can we do after earthquakes?
Try to rescue people;
Try to rebuild families;
Try to forget sad experiences and live with
strong belief.

32. 中国英语教师网
Tangshan’s new look
中国英语教师网

33. A song
We’re the world 25 for Haiti

34. Homework
Look for some earthquake information about Japan. Find out why Japan often has many earthquakes. What measures are taken by the Japanese government to prevent them?
Review the text and find words or expressions that are difficult for you.