高中(學測,指考)◆英文題庫下載題庫

45-48為題組

        On December 26, 2003, the worst earthquake in more than a decade devastated Bam, a historic city in Iran. At least 25,000 people died in the quake—nearly a third of the city's population. And thousands more were left homeless, hungry, and grieving. 

        Bam was a city of mud-brick houses, old monuments and an ancient castle. But nearly everything crumbled in the disaster. One reason the earthquake caused such damage was that Bam's buildings were made mostly from baked mud. These buildings collapsed in heaps of dust and sand. 

        Bam was best known for its 2,000-year-old castle built out of mud, straw, and the trunks of palm trees. The castle was so big that it was once the city of Bam itself. Public dwellings lined its ground level; a marketplace and two mosques also fit comfortably inside. 

        Bam once blossomed as a trading post on the Silk Road. In the 16th and 17th centuries, treasures from the Far East were carried along the road into the capital cities of Europe. Fifty years ago, teams of architects began restoring the historic treasures of the city. Ever since, thousands of visitors have come to admire them. 

In the face of this tragedy, food and other supplies from around the world landed in the provincial capital of Kerman on Sunday. With such support, spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed, “We will rebuild Bam stronger than before.”