Earthquake Intensity & Observed Effects（强度与现象）
I.Felt by only a few people under very special conditions.
II. Felt by only a few people at rest, especially on the upper floors of buildings.
III. Felt noticeably indoors, especially on upper floors of buildings.
IV. Felt indoors by many people, outdoors by a few; some awaked.
V. Felt by nearly everyone; many awaked; dishes and windows break; plaster (灰泥) cracks (开裂).
VI. Felt by everyone; many frightened and run outdoors; heavy furniture such as tables and shelves moves.
VII. Everyone runs outdoors; small to moderate (中等的) damage(损毁) in usual buildings.
VIII. Considerable (相当大的) damage in usual buildings; monuments(碑) fall.
IX.Considerable damage in all buildings; ground cracks; underground pipes (管道) break.
X.Most buildings damaged; rails bend(弯曲); landslides (山崩) take place; water splashes(溅落) over banks.
XI.Few buildings left standing; bridges damaged; wide cracks in the ground; underground pipes break.
XII.Damage total; waves seen on ground; objects thrown into air.

    Do you know fish come out of eggs when they are born? After the little fish comes out of the egg, it eats the food in the egg. When it is big, it leaves the egg. It swims in the water. You can see the eyes and nose. Its ears are hidden in the head.

    Spree fish eat other fish. Some fish have small mouths and teeth and they often eat plants.

    In the universe, as we all know, there is the sun, the moon, the earth and a good many stars. Through our geography lessons, we know the earth goes around the sun, and the moon goes around the earth. We have day and night because the earth keeps turning all the time. When our part of the earth turns to the sun, it is day. When our part of the earth turns away from the sun, it is night.

    Just because the moon is closer to the earth than the sun, it looks much bigger than the sun. Big things will look smaller when they are further, and small things also look bigger when they are nearer.

    The sun is big enough to give out very strong light. The moon can't give any light at all, but it looks quite bright, too. Why? In fact, the light from the moon comes from the sun. The moon looks much bigger and brighter than the stars. But actually (事实上) the stars are much bigger and brighter than the moon. They look smaller than the moon also because they are further away from the earth.

    There are many other planets in the universe. But of all the planets, only on the earth there are living things and people can only live on the earth, too. But at 9:00 a.m. on October 15th，2003, Chinese pilot Yang Liwei was sent up to space. He stayed there for 21 hours. It was the first time for Chinese to get into space.

    Australia's Great Barrier Reef(礁) is the world's largest reef system. It is over 2,600 kilometers long. The reef is home to many animals: fish, birds, turtles, sharks and even whales. Unfortunately, the reef that all these animals call home is in danger.

    Climate(气候)change, over fishing and water pollution are damaging(毁坏)the reef every year. Coral(珊瑚)reef experts at Australian universities say that if we do nothing to stop it, the coral reef could be destroyed before the year 2030.

    Everyday things like driving cars, using electricity and running a factory give out greenhouse gases into the air. These gases make Earth warmer and warmer. This is a problem for the Great Barrier Reef and other reefs around the world.

    Coral is very fragile, and even a 2-degree increase in water temperature is enough to kill it, according to Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, reef researcher at the University of Queensland, Australia. If the water temperature doesn't go down, the coral dies.

    But it's not only the coral that's in danger. One quarter of all sea life lives on coral reefs.

    If air pollution is not slowed down or stopped, then the water will warm by at least 3 degrees in the next 20 years, according to reef experts in a report from University of Queensland. This would spell the end for the Great Barrier Reef and all its sea life.

    Clothes are traditionally made of natural materials, such as cotton, leather and wool. They are all from plants or animals, but that doesn't mean they're friendly to the earth. For example, farmers have to use a lot of chemicals to grow cotton plants.

    Scientists are now looking for new ways to make clothing materials. They hope the new materials are both comfortable and good for the earth. Scientists have worked out how to make materials out of corn husks(棉籽), chicken feathers and rice straws.

    "They used to be useless things. We always have a problem of how to deal with them," Yang, a scientist says, "Now, we can turn them into beautiful materials. Chicken feathers are better than other things. They have small air pockets like honeycombs. That means it will be very warm if you use them to make a jacket or sweater, and I think more and more people will like to buy these kinds of clothes."