It is sad but true that people die in earthquakes{#blank#}1{#/blank#}falling furniture and bricks. Earthquake{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(safe) is very important and there is more to it{#blank#}3{#/blank#}just keeping buildings from falling down. So if your home is in an earthquake area, you should prepare carefully before the earthquake{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(come).

    First, make sure you buy a house which is earthquake safe. All pipes should be fixed to the walls and all walls should be{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(especial) thick and strong. Make sure the building has no{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(break) windows and is well repaired.

    Second, look at the objects in your house. Objects{#blank#}7{#/blank#}computers, televisions and lamps can be tied to tables or{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(stick) to them so they won't easily move around. The cupboards,{#blank#}9{#/blank#}many small things are stored, should have strong doors. Always remember,{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(good) safe than sorry.

    The Silk Road was a route that connected people from the East to West for hundreds of years and allowed {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (they) to trade valuable goods with each other. But there's more to the story. The Silk Road should {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (real) be called the Silk Roads. The Silk Road, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} started in China, went west and branched out into many routes.

    The Silk Road has been around for nearly 3,000 years. Most people know that valuable goods traveled along the route: silk and spices from China; jewels and wood from India; gold and animals from East Africa. These goods {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (trade) in cities along the route or ended up as far west {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Europe.

    But the people {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (travel) along the Silk Road were carrying something far {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (valuable) than their goods. They were carrying ideas and technology. European travelers returned home with stories of huge Chinese ships they had seen. The compass is an example of a(n) {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (invent) that came west from China. Europeans learned from Korean maps, which were advanced for the 1400s.

    {#blank#}9{#/blank#} was the 11, 000 km Silk Road that shaped the world we know today. The many routes were a way for different people {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (meet) each other and talk about the developing world.