课后练习：Natural Disasters

1. In 2008, a terrible ? hit Wenchuan, Sichuan, killing nearly 70,000 people.

2. The heavy snowstorm ? the northern city last night, and all flights were cancelled.

3. The 2011 disaster in Japan caused a massive ? that destroyed many coastal towns.

4. The severe ? in East Africa ? the lives of thousands of people who starved to death.

5. A sudden ? buried the ski resort, and rescue teams were sent immediately.

6. The forest fire in Australia in 2019 was one of the worst ? in history, ? billions of dollars in damage.

7. The ? in the Philippines brought strong winds and heavy rain, leaving many homeless.

8. The freezing ? lasted for three days, and the temperature dropped to -20°C.

In the summer of 2023, a powerful wildfire 1? (strike) the island of Maui, Hawaii. The fire, 2? (cause) by dry weather and strong winds, spread rapidly across the island. It 3? (burn) thousands of homes and 4? (claim) the lives of over 100 people. Many residents 5? (force) to evacuate, losing everything they owned. The disaster also 6? (severe) affected the local tourism industry, 7? is the main source of income for the island. Even today, the community 8? still 9? (suffer) from the effects of the fire. Experts say that climate change has made such wildfires 10? (frequent) and more destructive than ever before.