China rushed to respond after a strong earthquake killed at least 113 people and injured hundreds more on Saturday, striking an area roughly 50 miles from the epicenter of the devastating 2008 quake that killed some 80,000.
epicenter：中心，震源 devastating：毁灭性的，摧毁
Saturday's quake struck China's southwestern Sichuan province--in Lushan county near the city of Ya'an--just after 8 a.m. with a magnitude of 7.0, according to the China Earthquakes Network Center. The U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude of the quake at 6.6, downgraded from an initial reading of 6.9.
downgraded：信用等级下降，降级的
'My first response was 'I am going to die,'' said Li Zhizhu, one of a group of university students from the provincial capital of Chengdu who were traveling in the countryside outside Ya'an. He said he was asleep in a lodge when the quake struck and woke to see tiles falling from the ceiling. 'It was very scary. There were aftershocks every few minutes. We had no phone reception and people were crying.'
aftershocks：余震，冲击
At least 600 people were injured in the quake, according to state media reports. The death toll rose steadily throughout the day, suggesting it would only grow.
Criticized for being slow and opaque in their handling of previous disasters, Chinese authorities were quick to announce the mobilization of rescue teams. The People's Liberation Army had dispatched 2,000 soldiers and two helicopters to the region from the nearby Chengdu Military Area Command, according to state media. The paramilitary People's Armed Police had dispatched nearly 4,000 officers and soldiers to the area with heavy machinery, including loaders and excavators, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.
opaque：不透明的，不传热的 mobilization：动员，调动 excavators：挖掘机
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang was also en route, according to a Xinhua report. 'The current most urgent issue is grasping the first 24 hours since the quake's occurrence, the golden time for saving lives, to take scientific rescue measures and save peoples' lives,' the report quoted Mr. Li as saying.
en route：在途中
The quake caused houses to collapse along a street in Ya'an and sent rocks tumbling into vehicles, Xinhua said, adding that patients were being treated on the ground in front of the Lushan County Hospital. People reported feeling tremors in the provincial capital of Chengdu, 70 miles to the northeast.
tumbling：跌倒，毁灭 tremors：震动，颤动
Ya'an has a population of 1.5 million and is home to a giant panda breeding center. The pandas housed in Ya'an include 40 that were evacuated there after the 2008 quake damaged the main panda research base in Wolong.
Saturday's quake inevitably rekindled memories of the 2008 earthquake, which measured 7.9 and ranks among the most destructive natural disasters in recent Chinese history, with farmers alone suffering an estimated $6 billion in damages. China's response at the time was widely criticized as soldiers and rescue workers struggled to reach the worst-hit areas. Accusations of fraud in the handling of donations by the Red Cross Society of China and allegations of attempts to suppress information about the widespread collapse of school buildings also marred the government's reputation in the wake of the disaster.
rekindle：重新点燃 fraud：欺骗，骗子，轨迹 marred：损毁，损伤
Photos posted online by semiofficial China News Service showed hundreds of residents gathered in the streets after the quake, some clothed in pajamas or wrapped in bedding. Other images showed collapsed buildings, streets littered with debris and groups of people--many of them elderly--being treated in mobile medical tents.
pajamas：睡衣 debris：碎片，残骸
The greatest damage occurred in the countryside outside Ya'an, with older houses in one village completely collapsing, Xinhua quoted Jin Zelin, an official with the provincial armed police, as saying. 'More than 95% of the houses in the village are not fit for living in,' he said according to Xinhua.
The student, Mr. Li, said he and the other students were initially trapped in the mountains after the quake caused a bridge to collapse but were on their way back to Chengdu after their university sent shuttles to pick them up. The 20-year-old said he experienced the 2008 quake while a middle school student in Chengdu, but that Monday was different because of his proximity to the epicenter.
'We were surrounded by mountains,' he said. 'We were very worried that if it started raining, there could be landslides.'
Monday's quake occurred along the Longmenshan fault line, which was also the source the 2008 quake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The China Earthquake Networks Center said it had recorded 264 aftershocks, two of which topped 5.0 in magnitude, since the original quake struck.
China's central Air Force Command sent two reconnaissance planes from Beijing to take aerial photographs of the area, state media said, adding that 2,600 soldiers from the People's Armed Police had already arrived in six towns in the quake zone.
reconnaissance：侦查，勘察 upside down：颠倒，混乱
One soldier was killed and seven others injured in a traffic accident on their way to Ya'an, Xinhua reported. Photos showed the soldiers' vehicle upside down in a river.