Unit 4
Earthquake

Reading
1. Imagine your home begins to shake and you must leave it right away. You have time to take only one thing. What will you take?
Pre-reading
personal washing things
a bottle of water
money
torch
mobile phone
food and sweets
blanket
medicine
You will
take:
2. What strange things would
happen before an earthquake?
Bright lights flash in the sky
Animals are too nervous to sleep, such as cats, dogs, chickens, horses, ducks and rabbits, etc.
What do you think may happen
before an earthquake?
The water in the wells
____and____. And some
deep ______could be seen
in the well walls. A ______
gas came out the cracks.
A
rose
fell
cracks
smelly
What do you think may happen
before an earthquake?
B
Mice ran out of the
fields___________
places to hide.
Fish _________out
of bows and ponds.
looking for
jumped
What do you think may happen
before an earthquake?
C
The chickens and
even pigs were______
nervous _____eat.
The dog was ________
loudly again and again.
too
to
barking
D
What do you think may happen
before an earthquake?
People could see _______ lights in the sky.
bright
A NIGHT
THE EARTH DIDN’T SLEEP
Reading
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 3
Look at the each part and write
down its main idea.
Part 1
Part 2
Before the earthquake strange things began to happen but no one took any notice of them.
The earthquake destroyed the city of Tang Shan and shocked the people very much.
Fast-reading
Paragraph 4
Part 3
The army came to help the survivors, bringing hope for a new life.
Join the correct parts of the sentences.
2 The people didn’t
worry because
1 The chickens didn’t eat because
C they were
nervous.
E they didn’t
know what the
strange events
meant.
3 Such a great
number of people died because

4 Water was needed
because
5 The people did not lose hope because
D dams and wells
were useless.
B the quake
happened while
they were
sleeping.
A the army
came to help
them.
Make a timeline
Careful Reading
For three days
smelly gas
came out of
fish: jump
Para.1
well water rose and fall
cracks
chickens, pigs:
too nervous
to eat
mice:
run out
to hide
In the well
In the farmyard
At about 3:00 am on July 28, 1976
the sound of planes could
be heard
water pipes:
cracked and burst
bright light
were in the sky
In the sky
In the city
House, roads
and canals
Steam
Hills of rock
The large city
had a huge crack
burst from hole in the ground.
became rivers of dirt
lay in ruins
Para.2-3
At 3:42 am
Later that afternoon
Explain the title “ A night the earth didn’t sleep”. Then suggest another title for the text.
The title means at that night, the earth didn’t fall asleep as usual, but became active. It is a poetic way of saying that an earthquake happened.
Sample:
“The waking earth and the sleeping city”
“Tangshan’s great challenge”
Group work
At 3:42 am, everything began to s_____. It
seemed that the world was a__ ___ ____.
O________(1/3) of the nation f____ it. A
h_____ crack cut across the city. The city lay
i__ _____. Two-thirds of the people d____ or
were i_______. Then later that afternoon,
another big quake s______ Tang Shan, which
t_______ many r______workers and doctors.
People began to wonder how long the d______
would l_____.
hake
ne-third
elt
uge
n ruins
ied
njured
hook
rapped
escue
isaster
ast
t an end
Fill in the blanks.
Soon after the quakes
The army:
Workers:
---sent soldiers to Tangshan. organized teams to dig out those who were trapped and to bury the dead.
---built shelters for survivors whose homes had been destroyed.
Para.4
Result:
The city began to breathe again.
True ( T ) or false ( F )?
Two-thirds of the nation felt the earthquake.
( )

2. All the people in Tangshan were dead or
injured during the earthquake. ( )

3. All of the city’s hospitals, factories, buildings
and homes were damaged in the earthquake.
( )
F
F
F
One-third
Two-thirds
75%
90%
75%
4. Later that afternoon, a terrible
earthquake shook Tangshan again. ( )
5. People slept outdoors after the
earthquake. ( )
T
T
6. Not only the people but also the animals were shocked greatly.
7. Many rescue workers and doctors were trapped under the ruins during the aftershock.
T
T
1. What is the passage mainly about?
An earthquake happened in Tangshan in 1976.
Read the text carefully and answer these questions.
3. What did people hear?
2. What did people in Tangshan see
in the sky before the earthquake?
They saw bright lights in the sky.
They heard the sound of planes outside Tangshan even when no planes were in the sky.
4. What did people notice in the wells?
5. Did people pay any attention to
these abnormal phenomena?
People noticed the well walls had
deep cracks, and a smelly gas came
out of the cracks.
No. They went to the bed as
usual that night.
6. When did the earthquake begin?

7. How many people were killed or
injured in the earthquake?

8. Could the injured people go to
hospital?
More than 400, 000 people.
At 3:42 in the morning of July 28.
No, they couldn’t because all of
the city’s hospitals were gone in
the quake.
How do you understand the real meaning
of the idiom “It is always calm before a
storm”?
A. It is unusually quiet before a thunderstorm
or hurricane hit.
B. One should not trust situations that seem
peaceful since bad things may happen.
C. The weather is fine before a storm comes.
D. You should stay calm before a storm.
Choose the best answer.
A
2. What can be inferred from the passage?
If the pigs were too nervous to eat, there
must be an earthquake.
B. If some natural signs had not been ignored,
all the people in Tangshan city might have
had a chance to survive.
C. There wouldn’t have been such a great
quake if people had paid enough attention
to some natural signs.
D. If some natural signs had not been ignored,
people might have had a chance to survive.
D
3. Which of the following is the main reason
for the heavy loss of life in the quake?
A. The earthquake happened in the deep night
when people were sleeping deeply.
B. There weren’t enough rescue workers.
C. The building were poorly constructed and
most of them were destroyed in the quake.
D. People were not careful enough to notice
some natural signs before the earthquake.
A
1. ___ of the nation felt the earthquake.
2. A huge crack that was __ kilometres long and ____ meters wide cut across houses, roads and canals.
3. In ____ terrible seconds a large city
lay in ruins.
1/3
8
30
15
Read the text again and fill in the blanks with words or numbers.
4. ____ of the people died or were injured
during the earthquake.
5. The number of people who were killed
or injured reached more than _______.
6. All of the city’s hospitals, _____ of its
factories and buildings and _____ of its
homes were gone.
2/3
400,000
75%
90%
Tang Shan's new look
How can we protect ourselves
(自我保护) in an earthquake?
Discussion
Hide under the hard furniture
( 家具 ).
Put out the fire
and turn off the gas.
Never try to use the lift.
Use something
hard (硬的) to protect your head.
Life is so beautiful.
We must love our lives.
In an earthquake
SPEED IS LIFE.
1. Imagine your home begins to shake
and you must leave it right away.
1) shake : vi /vt (shook, shaken)
cause to move to and fro
shake hands with sb
shake one’s head over /at sth
e.g. The whole house shook during
the explosion.
The explosion shook the house.
Language Points
2) right away : at once ; in no time ;
immediately
e.g. He is ill; you should send him to
the doctor right away.
right now : at this very moment
Make up your mind ___________.
I’ll return the book ___________.
right now
right away
2. For three days the water in the village
wells rose and fell, rose and fell.
rise (rose, risen) vi
go up; get higher; (of the sun, moon,
stars, etc.) come above the horizon;
stand up , get out of bed
The flood has risen two feet.
She usually rises early in the morning.
rise: 升起; 上升; 上涨
(不能用于被动语态)
raise: 举起; 使升起; 提高
(可用于被动语态)
He _____from his chair when the door
bell rang.
Her job is _______ chickens.
Her temperature is still ______.
He ________ in rank recently.
rose
raising
rising
has risen
3. A smelly gas came out of the cracks.
smelly adj. 发臭的 smell + y = adj.
wind----windy dream----dreamy
ice----icy health ---- healthy
wealth ---- wealthy wind ---- windy
smell n./v (smelt/smelled)
They were all hungry and the food
______ good.
I can ______something burning in the
kitchen.
Please throw the _______ fish away.
smelt
smell
smelly
4. … the water pipes in some buildings
cracked and _____.
burst
burst : to come open or fly apart suddenly
The balloon suddenly burst.
burst into + n.
Some robbers burst into that house.
burst out
burst out + doing
They burst out laughing.
He burst into laughter.
= He burst out laughing.
He burst into tears.
= He burst out crying.
burst into+ n.
burst out + doing…
5. event 名词, 意为“(重要的、不同寻常
的)事件”。如：
Leaving home was a major event in his life.
This is one of the most important events
in the history of mankind.
event 意思还有“(事先安排好的)演出, 赛事,
聚会”, “(体育比赛的)运动项目”等。如：
The meeting was an important social event.
The 800 metres is not his best event.
event构成的常用短语有：
in any/either event = at all events
不管怎样, 无论如何；
in the event 结果, 到头来；
in the event of sth/in the event that …
万一, 假如发生……的情况；
field event 田赛项目
track event 径赛项目
three-day event 三日马术赛。如：
In any event, the worst that she can
do is to say “NO”.
In the event