教材文本：
There was an earthquake in Taiwan in 1999. Timmy survived. Read Timmy's story and find out what happened to him.
The Taiwan Earthquake
It was about two o'clock in the early morning. I was sleeping when the earthquake started. At first, I felt a slight shake. Then I heard a loud noise like thunder.
Soon the real noise came, like bombs under the ground. The earth started to shake. People screamed in fear. Some ran out of the building. I tried my best to run out too, but I could not. Outside, people were running in all directions while pieces of glass and bricks were falling down. Then the walls began to come down too!
Finally, the noise and shaking ended. It was dark and silent around me. I could not see anything at all, and I did not know if anyone else was near me. I felt nervous and my heart was beating fast. “I'm trapped,” I said to myself. A moment of fear went through my mind, but I told myself to calm down since I was still alive.
I shouted for help, but no one came. I started to pull myself slowly through the dark. Luckily, there was just enough space for me to move.
Hours later, as I was trying to find my way out, I suddenly heard some noise above me. I screamed, “Help! Please help! I'm here!”Then I heard shouts from excited people. They quickly moved away the bricks. At last, I saw the bright daylight. I was safe.
Daniel wants to find out more about life in space in the future. He has found the following article by a famous scientist who thinks humans could live on Mars by the next century.
Moving to Mars
Some people believe that humans could live on the planet Mars by the year 2100. Our own planet, the Earth, is becoming more and more crowded and polluted because of the rapid increase in population. It is hoped that people could start all over again and build a better world on Mars. Here is what life there could be like.
At present, our spacecraft are too slow to carry large numbers of passengers to Mars-it would take months. With the development of technology, by the year 2100, the journey might only take about 20 minutes in spacecraft that travel at the speed of light! However, the spacecraft would travel so fast that the journey to Mars might be quite uncomfortable. Many people would feel ill.
Humans cannot survive without water, oxygen or food. So far, nobody knows whether there would be enough water or oxygen on Mars for people there. Moreover, scientists are not sure whether plants could grow on Mars. Food would most probably be in the form of pills and would not be so tasty.
Gravity could be another problem. The gravity on Mars is only about three-eighths of that on the Earth. People would have to wear boots that are specially designed to prevent themselves from floating off into space.
Compared with life on the Earth, life on Mars would be better in some ways. People would have more space. They might live in houses with huge comfortable rooms. Also, robots would do most of their work so that they could have more time to relax.
There would probably be no schools on Mars. Every student would have a computer at home connected to an interplanetary network. They would study at online schools with “e-teachers”.
Life on Mars would be interesting as well as challenging.