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On a Saturday afternoon, Tasi Lama had just finished lunch and was going to wash his hands when the ground under his feet started shaking violently. Objects began to fall down from overhead and rising above the crashes, he could hear terrified screams all around him. Several months later, the painter from Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley remembers that day more vividly than his wedding day or the birth of his son.
It was on April 25, 2015 that an earthquake hit Nepal, the former Himalayan kingdom out of sight between its giant neighbors China and India, 81 years after a similar disaster. This killer quake and after-shocks that continued for more than a month afterward killed over 8, 000 people, destroyed thousands of houses, and ruined an economy already damaged by many other reasons.
It was also of consequence for the ancient art style Nepali painters such as Lama have been practicing for generations.“We left our homes and lived in the open fields outside the city, under tarpaulins（防水油布 ） for a month, ” Lama said. “ Many of the houses, built of mud and bricks, were in ruins and the aftershocks continued, though less frequently. One day, I went to my showroom to get some of the paintings out and the Earth started shaking again. I dropped everything and ran out for my life. ”
Dinesh Lama, a 32-year-old artist from Nepal ’s capital city, Kathmandu, said his Boudha Stupa
Thangka Center, which functions as his showroom as well as his studio, has remained shut since the earthquake, as his artisans are too traumatized（心理受到创伤的）to take up the brush again. “We lived in temporary tents for more than a month,” he said. “When they try to sit inside the studio and paint, fear makes their hands shake. Luckily, we have got a lot of aid from China. I believe we will come back to our home soon.”
1. What can we conclude from the secondparagraph?
A. The April 25 earthquake made Nepal disappear forlong.
B. Nepal also suffered a serious disaster due to the 1934quake.
C. This quake caused more deaths than the one 81 yearsago.
D. The earthquake is the only reason for Nepal being backward.
2. What made Dinesh Lama worriedmost?
A. That his showroom had been totallydestroyed.
B. That his artisans were incapable ofworking.
C. That he couldn’t sell his works asusual.
D. That he would never pick up his brush todraw.
3. What is the passage mainlyabout?
A. An earthquake that brought damage to ancientart.
B. An artist who is highlyoptimistic.
C. A great country that offers timelyhelp.
D. A lesson that urges us to bebrave.
