MIANYANG—At a corner of the city’s Jiuzhou Stadium, one of the biggest camps set up for those left homeless in the earthquake, 62-year-old Liu Yaorong was leaning against a window on Thursday.
Pointing to a quilt and clothes he received from the local government, he said: “These are all I have. My home collapsed in the quake, and everything in the town was flooded.”
He used to live in Xuanping town of Beichuan county which was destroyed by the quake. Adding to his misery, rivers blocked by landslides(山崩) led to flooding in the town.
But Liu said he was lucky because he was healthy, otherwise he would not have the energy to walk 10 hours on damaged and erous mountainous roads to escape the flood on Monday. He said the trip used to take him about 90 minutes when the roads were in good condition.
The journey was difficult and “rocks kept falling,” he said, showing injured legs and black, split toenails.
Liu said his three sons were working in eastern cities as migrant workers.
“I’ve been living alone in the mountains for more than 20 years. My wife died 30 years ago,” he said in a low voice.
During his journey to Mianyang, Liu said he saw many elderly people who chose to stay.
“Soldiers were persuading them to leave for fear of floods,” he said.
Talking about his home before the quake struck, Liu’s mood lifted. “I raised pigs and chickens, and grew vegetables. I could have rice, meat and greens almost every day,” he said.
“But now, I have only biscuits and instant noodles.”
Liu said one of his sons returned home from Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, after the quake, but left because the father refused to go with him.
“I don’t want to leave home. And I know it is difficult for them out there. How could I add to their burden?” he asked, his eyes red.
“I still want to go back to my home. Given a small piece of land, I could live by myself.”
It is learnt that resettlement plans for displaced people have not been finalized.
However, not every elderly person is as strong-willed as Liu.
Psychologists said the elderly need as much comfort as children. Lu Jianguo, a psychologist from Chengdu Medical College, said “We will first let them cry and tell their stories, and then help them regain confidence.”
小题1:Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?A．Liu Yaorong spent 8.5 hours more than usual covering the roads in escaping the flood.B．The flood was followed by an earthquake in Xuanping in the same day.C．Liu Yaorong was in time to escape the quake without being hurt.D．Being healthy, Liu Yaorong was the only old man to escape the flood.小题2:The underlined word “ misery”in the third paragraph most probably means “”.A．happinessB．fortuneC．puzzleD．suffering小题3:What’s Liu Yaorong’s attitude towards self-relief after the earthquake?A．Positive.B．Negative.C．Aggressive.D．Dependent.小题4: What would be the best title for the news report?A．Elderly react more quickly to flood disasterB．Elderly try hard to deal with quake disasterC．Elderly prefer to stay at their own homeD．Elderly are well cared for by government