More than 12 300 people were killed and tens of thousands left homeless after a powerful undersea earthquake unleashed giant tsunami waves that crashed into the coasts of south and southeast Asia.

The 8.9 magnitude earthquake that struck off the Indonesian island of Sumatra early on Sunday was the biggest in 40 years.It triggered waves that reared up into walls of water as high as 10 meters(30 feet) as they hit coastlines in Indonesia,Sri Lanka,India and Thailand.

Aid agencies rushed staff,equipment and money to the region,warning that bodies rotting in the water were already beginning to threaten the water supply for survivors.

Rescue workers also spoke of bodies still caught up on trees after being flung inland by the waves.

“I just couldn’t believe what was happening before my eyes,”Boree Carlson said from a hotel in the Thai resort of Phuket.

“As I was standing there,a car actually floated into the lobby and overturned because the current was so strong,”said the 45-year-old Swede.

“I heard an eerie sound that I have never heard before.It was a high pitched sound followed by a deafening roar,”said a 55-year-old Indian fisherman who gave his name as Chellappa.

“I told everyone to run for their life.”

In Indonesia,an archipelago of 17 000 islands,one official said nearly 4500 people had died.The worst affected area was Bands Aceh,the capital of Aceh Province,where 3000 were killed.More than 200 prisoners escaped from a jail when the tsunami knocked down its walls.In Sri Lanka（斯里兰卡）,the death toll also reached 4500 and 1 million people,or 5 percent of its population,were affected.It was the worst natural disaster to hit Sri Lanka.Hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans sheltered in schools and temples overnight,and officials expected the death toll to rise further once rescuers resumed searches after daybreak.In southern India,where at least 3000 were estimated to have died,beaches were littered with submerged cars and wrecked boats.Shanties on the coast were under water.

Thai government officials said at least 392 bodies had been retrieved and they expected the final toll to approach 1000.

The earthquake,of magnitude 8.9 as measured by the U.S. Geological Survery (news-web sites),struck at 7:59 a.m.(1959EST).It was the world’s biggest since 1964,said Julie Martinez at the USGS(news-web sites).

The tsunami was so powerful it smashed boast and flooded areas along the east African coast,3728 miles away.

What does the underlined word “tsunami” probably mean?

A.Tidal wave.                                                  B.Wave.

C.Earthquake.                                                  D.A man who kills many persons.

What does the passage mainly talk about？

A.Asian tsunami kills many people,and many more become homeless.

B.An earthquake happens.

C.The tsunami was so powerful that it smashed boats and people.

D.It was the biggest earthquake in 40 years.

The sea waves hit coastlines in _________.

A.Indonesia                         B.Sri Lanka           C.India and Thailand     D.All of above

More consumers are waiting for the further drop of housing prices with money in their hands  _      buying houses, according to a report.

More than 200 scientists have completed a two­year study to identify the most natural and undeveloped areas on Earth. Their findings are reported in a new book called Wilderness：Earth’s Last Wild Places. The book describes 37 wilderness areas around the world. Each has an area greater than 10,000 square kilometers. The study considered only areas where at least 70% of all plants are native.
North and South America are home to the largest number of wilderness areas. There are 16 such areas, from southern Argentina to Alaska and northern Canada. Africa has 8 wilderness areas, including the thick forests and the grasslands. Australia and New Guinea (几内亚) share 6 areas. Europe has 3 areas and Asia has 2.The Arabian Desert and Antarctica also are considered wilderness areas.
The largest wilderness area is the Boreal Forest (北方森林)．It extends for 16­million square kilometers south of the Arctic Circle. The Boreal Forest extends across Alaska, Canada, northern Europe and Russia. The smallest of the 37 wilderness areas is the Sundarbans. It is the world’s largest tidal mangrove forest (红树林)．It covers 10,000 square kilometers of land at the mouth of the Ganges River in India and Bangladesh (孟加拉国)．
The study found that wilderness areas cover about 46% of the Earth’s land surface. However, they are home to less than 2.5% of the world’s population. Nineteen of the wilderness areas have only about one person for each square kilometer. Native people usually live in these areas.
Wilderness areas help to influence the world’s weather systems and rainfall. They are also home to many plants and animals. Population growth and the spread of agriculture and mining operations threaten wilderness areas. But just 7% of all such areas have some form of official protection.
【小题1】What does the author think of the wilderness areas around the world in the book?

More than a dozen students in that school ________ abroad for further study every year.

A．sent? B．are sent

C．have been sent? D．have sent

More than 100 students in that school_________ abroad for further study so far.

A. are sent                  B. were sent                        C. had been sent                 D. have been sent