阅读理解

Thousands of people have been killed in a huge earthquake in Japan．The quake－the strongest to hit Japan in more than 100 years -- caused great damage and many people are missing and dead．

The 8.9 magnitude﹡ quake hit Friday(March 11)off Japan's eastern coast﹡, and caused tsunami﹡ warnings﹡ across the Pacific as far away as South America and the U．S．West Coast．Several days after a 8.9-magnitude earthquake and resulting 10-meter-high tsunami destroyed the coastline．It’s reported that it was the fifth largest earthquake since 1900．The largest, with a 9.5 magnitude, shook Chile in 1960．

　　In Japan, the tsunami swept away boats, cars and hundreds of houses in coastal areas north of Tokyo．The quake shook buildings in the Japanese capital and caused several fires．All train and subway traffic in Tokyo has been stopped, and thousands of people there were unable to get back home．People are just trying to find clean water．Food is running out．In the stores, there are no rice balls left．There is no bottled water left．People are facing a really serious situation in the days ahead．The number of the final death could go up from the thousands to tens of thousands．

　　Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the government would do everything it can to make the influence of the earthquake as small as possible．And in Washington, President Obama said the United States is ready to help the people of Japan．