44. A. soon            B. quickly             C. immediately      D. now

43. A. people               B. disaster             C. death              D. areas

42. A. arrive         B. arrived                     C. arrives              D. to arrive

41. A. food           B. water                      C. help                D. tents

40. A. killed          B. kill                  C. was killed        D. were killed

39. A. at                B. in                    C. on                   D. with

38. A. such           B. much                      C. so                  D. even

37. A. happened     B. hit                 C. happen            D. took place

36. A. deadly      B. deadlier             C. deadliest         D. dead

   On July 28, 1976, a terrible earthquake of 7.8 magnitude (级)  37   Tangshan City, Hebei Province. In just one second, the city with one million people was destroyed. The earthquake was   38   strong that even Beijing and Tianjin were seriously affected (受到影响). The shock was felt in 14 provinces and cities―one-third of the country.

   The earthquake took place   39   midnight. Most people could not take any actions. Over 240,000 people  40  and about 170,000 were seriously injured. Water supplies, communications and traffic were completely cut off.

   The people there needed   41   immediately. But they could not wait for help   42  . They formed groups to dig for others. They set up medical areas and tents. They searched for food and clean water. Recovery (恢复) was not easy with so much   43  . Yet, after a lot of care  was given in time, the rebuilding of Tangshan began almost   44  . Though it took time, the whole city was rebuilt and is   45   home for over a million people, earning (赢得) Tangshan the name “Brave City of China”.