A fire broke out immediately after the quake.The fire started in a chemist's shop and spread quickly.Then the Fire Department in Napier came to help,but they were at a loss to control the fire as a result of losing their water supply.However,the water supply in Hastings,was still usable,allowing them to fight back against the fire.

    The force of the earthquake destroyed many of the city's famous landmarks（地标）.Chunks of the coastline were thrown into the sea.Napier's Bluff Hill,a popular tourist spot,was completely destroyed and thrown into the waters below.

    Most of the major buildings in the city were completely destroyed.Roads and communications across the whole area were cut.People were afraid to enter their homes for days and found shelters at the local Motor Camp or on the beach.There were about 150 aftershocks（余震）in the 24 hours after the main shock.Over the next 2 weeks,there would be 525 such aftershocks.

    Most teens can't wait to learn to drive. Not so with me. Driving made me nervous. I didn't get a license until I turned 24 years old. As a result, when I first married, we only had one car and car pooled to work. My husband's hours were different from mine by one hour. I worked earlier. So he dropped me off and went to the diner to drink coffee until work time.

    Then, in the afternoons, I leisurely walked the three miles to his work place where I waited in his car, reading a book.

    One day while waiting for him, I noticed the most beautiful Cadillac pull in the lot. It was powder blue and sleek looking. The kind of car you dream about. I was busily admiring the car, when I noticed the driver. Honestly, she was probably the prettiest woman I had ever seen off the movie screen.

    She pulled into the spot beside our car and it was all I could do not to stare. There was a striking resemblance to Liz Taylor. Jet black hair and alabaster skin. Our eyes made contact and she smiled at me. Her eyes were as blue as the sea, and teeth like an even row of pearls. She was wearing a light blue shirt that just matched her car. Peeking through her long, softly curled hair I could see gold hoop earrings. They had to be gold to shine like that. A couple of minutes later, a nice looking man came out of the building, entered her car, leaned over and kissed her and she drove away.

    Sitting there in my jeans, shirt and hair in a pony tail, I wanted to cry. How could some people have it all?

    Maybe I would have forgotten about her, but the following week, I saw her again. Then it became almost routine to see her about once a week. She seemed friendly and always waved, flashing a big smile. My envy lingered long after she drove away.

    Many nights when sleep evaded me, I would think about the beautiful lady. I wondered if she and her husband ate out, and where they dined, and what she was wearing. I wanted her to get out of the car and let me see her full length. Did she wear really high heeled shoes and pants, or a skirt.

    I would get my answers in a couple of weeks.

    Sitting in our usual parking lot, I was holding my book, watching her over the top of it. She was waiting and when her husband came to the car, she called to him. They spoke a few words and he opened the car door for her to step out. He took her arm and helped her out of the car. I could see very well as she moved to get out. She was wearing a skirt.

    She haltingly walked around to the passenger side very slowly, leaning on a walking cane. Sitting sideways in the car, she lifted one leg with her hands and then the other one. The beautiful lady had a prosthesis on the left leg and a brace on the right leg. I couldn't watch them drive away as the tears were blinding me. For weeks I had envied this woman and her way of life, while I had been able to walk three miles to our car!

    When my husband arrived and found me crying, he immediately asked what was wrong. Through my tears, I told him about the beautiful lady. He said he knew her husband and also knew the story. The beautiful lady and her parents were in a car that either stalled or got caught on the railroad tracks and was hit by a train. Both parents were killed and she was severely injured. She was only 12 years old. The railroad made a large settlement with her because the crossing had no signals. He explained her car was specially built for her needs as well as the home.

    I prayed for forgiveness all the way home. The lady I thought had everything I didn't. I realized how lucky I was to have my parents, the ability to walk, run or dance through life and many wonderful things money can't buy. I would not have traded places with the beautiful lady for anything.

    When you meet a person who seems to be much better off than you, don't be fooled.

    Travelling can be a way to gain life experiences, especially during Spring Break — a week long school vacation in the United States. But what if you're a student and don't have enough money for a trip? Don't worry. Here are some useful suggestions.

    Save: This probably is the most important preparation for travelling. Cut expenses to fatten your wallet so you'll have more choices about where to go and how to get there.

    Plan ahead: Don't wait until the last minute to plan your trip. Tickets may cost more when bought on short notice. Giving yourself several months to get ready can mean security(安全) and savings.

    Do your homework: No matter where you go, research the places you will visit. Decide what to see. Travel books will provide information on the cheapest hotels and restaurants.

    Plan sensibly: Write down what you expect to spend for food and hotels. Stick to your plan or you may not have enough money to cover everything.

    Travel in groups: Find someone who is interested in visiting the same places. By travelling with others you can share costs and experiences.

    Work as you go: Need more money to support your trip? Look for work in the places you visit.

    Go off the beaten path: Tourist cities may be expensive. You may want to rethink your trip and go to a lesser－known area. Smaller towns can have many interesting activities and sights.

    Pack necessary things: The most important things to take are not always clothes: Remember medicine in case you get sick and snacks in case you cannot find a cheap restaurant.

    Use the Internet: The Net can help to save money. Some useful websites include www. Travelocity.com, www. bargains－lowest－fare.com and www. Economic－travel.com.

    By planning sensibly, even students can enjoy the travel.  Your travel experiences will be remembered for a lifetime.

    Something very strange and mysterious was going on in Sesemann's house. Every morning, when the servants went downstairs, they found the front door wide open. During the first few days that this happened, every room and corner was searched in great alarm to see if anything had been stolen, but not a thing in the house had been touched. The door was doubly locked at night, and for further security the wooden bar was fastened across it; but it was no good – next morning the door again stood open. One servant even claimed he had seen a white figure standing at the top of the steps and then all in a minute it disappeared.

    Mr. Sesemann told his old friend, a doctor, what had happened in his house. That evening they decided to wait for the ghost. One o'clock struck. There was not a sound. Suddenly the doctor lifted his finger. "Hush! Don't you hear something?" They both listened, and they distinctly heard the bar softly pushed aside and then the key turned in the lock and the door opened. They stepped into the hall.

    "Who is there?" thundered the doctor in a voice that echoed through the hall, as the two men advanced with lights and weapons towards the figure. It turned and gave a low cry. There stood Heidi, with bare feet, staring with wild eyes and trembling from head to foot. The two men looked at one another in surprise. "Child, why did you come down here?" said Sesemann. White with terror, and hardly able to make her voice heard, Heidi answered, "I don't know." The doctor gently took the child by the hand upstairs.

    Then the doctor sat down besides her and asked her some questions in a kind voice. Later he went downstairs. "Sesemann," he said, "let me first tell you that the child is a sleep-walker; secondly, the child is consumed with homesickness. Something must be done at once."

    While every dog owner knows their dogs can read their moods perfectly, scientists have always been a little doubtful. Now thanks to some researchers at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria, we finally have some convincing evidence.

    For their study, biologist Corson Miller and his team exposes eleven selected dogs to digital images of women that were either angry or happy. Half the dogs were rewarded for touching the screen when shown a happy face, while the other half got their treat for selecting those that appeared angry.

    Interestingly, the dogs were not provided with the entire face. Some dogs were shown only upper halves while the others observed lower halves. That's because the scientists believe humans show their emotions on their entire face.

    After some training like how to recognize small differences like the wrinkles between the eyes or the changes in their shape that accompany the happy or angry expressions, the dogs were mostly able to identify the correct expression not only on a familiar face but on a strange face. The researchers concluded the dogs were smart enough to read human emotions.

    They also found those being trained to read angry expressions took a longer time to learn. They guess it may be because dogs find angry faces disgusting, causing them to withdraw quickly. However, once the smart dogs realized they were getting rewarded, the trepidation seemed to disappear. In fact, the dogs had such a good time playing the computer "game" That scientists had a hard time keeping them away from the touch screens after the study was completed.

    The researchers also noticed only dogs with a male owner had a harder time understanding the expressions correctly. Since the touch-screen models were all females, this confirmed what has been observed in previous studies dogs are more efficient at reading facial expressions of people that are the same gender as their owner.

Candy comes in many flavors. Some taste like fruit. Some taste like flowers. Some are chewy, like taffy (太妃糖) and gum. Hard candies are, well. hard! So, they last a long time.

But, in spoken English, there are some types of candy that you cannot eat. For example, you can't eat eye candy. Eye candy is a person-man or woman-who is very good-looking. So, looking at this person is a treat for the eye, just like candy is a treat for the taste buds.

Do you hear of candy coat? Of course it is not a coat made of candy. But you can say I don't candy coat the truth. What does candy-coating something mean? Well, some pills are covered with a coat of thin, sweet candy. The coating makes swallowing the pill easier, and it may hide a bad taste. So, candy coating a difficult truth or situation means you don't directly discuss its bad parts.

After talking about candy you may want to eat some candies. However, some people dislike things that are very sweet, especially adults. But even if you do not like candy, you can still be called a kid in a candy store. This expression means a person is very happy to do something or to simply be somewhere. Imagine a child going from one candy display to the next, not knowing which candy to choose!

Talking about children brings us to another expression: as easy as taking candy from a baby. Think about a small, helpless baby holding a piece of candy. Taking it would be very easy—mean, but easy. So, use this expression when you are talking about something that may be simple to do, but probably not right.