Expo volunteers gather the goodwill stars they made yesterday to mourn the Zhouqu mudslide victims in Gansu Province. Various pavilions at the World Expo paid respects to the victims and flags ran at half-mast.

PEOPLE crowded the Gansu Pavilion at the World Expo yesterday to pay their respects to the victims of the August 8 mudslide in the province.

At 10am, people in the pavilion, wearing small plastic white flowers, observed three minutes of silence. They then removed the flowers and put them on a glass table under a map of Gansu, on which Zhouqu, where the disaster struck, was highlighted.

Du Jingli, 50, from Gansu, placed her flower on the table and gazed at the map. "I don't know what to say, I just feel sad," she said.

Du had planned to visit the China Pavilion first, but changed her mind when she learned about the tribute.

The pavilion was dark as most of its lights were turned off. Only a few were used to illuminate a bannersaying "Deep Condolences to People Killed in the Zhouqu Mudslide." It was written in large black Chinese characters and hung in the pavilion's main exhibition room.

"Let's remember the lost lives, put aside the pain and join hands in rebuilding Zhouqu," Li Shumin, deputy head of the pavilion, said after the ceremony.

Mourning events were also held outside the Gansu Pavilion. In the Pavilion of Public Participation, people gathered to fold paper cranes, a traditionalsymbol of good wishes, to pay tribute to the lives lost in the disaster.

"I hope that the victims can rest in peace and the survivors can be stronger," said visitor Zhao Xing.

The Expo Bureau halted all entertainment activities on the grounds yesterday.

The Gansu Pavilion will not hold any entertainment activities until September, spokesman Wang Shigang said.

The pavilions for Italy, United Kingdom, France, Romania and Croatia, among others, lowered flags to commemorate the victims.

Workers at the Pavilion of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies gave visitors red bracelets.

Visitors could also write messages for people in Zhouqu in a book near a donation box. Both their words and donations would be sent to the Red Cross Society of Shanghai, Wang said.

"Although my family is not in Zhouqu, I'm still worried about them," said a visitor surnamed Wang, a native of Gansu who works in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province.

A student volunteer at the China Pavilion, Yang Yaoci, 20, lost seven relatives back in his hometown in Zhouqu County.

An ethnic Tibetan and a junior student, Yang started working at the Expo with 1,160 other volunteers from the Shanghai Institute of Electric Power on August 9.

Yang declined to talk yesterday.

Last week he said he had wanted to return home after learning of the tragedy, but his father convinced him there was nothing he could do.

• yesterday [´jestədi] n.&ad.昨天；前不久 (初中英语单词)
• province [´prɔvins] n.省；领域；范围 (初中英语单词)
• disaster [di´zɑ:stə] n.灾难，不幸 (初中英语单词)
• tribute [´tribju:t] n.贡物；献礼；颂词 (初中英语单词)
• banner [´bænə] n.旗(帜)；头号标题 (初中英语单词)
• ceremony [´seriməni] n.典礼；礼仪；客气 (初中英语单词)
• mourning [´mɔ:niŋ] n.悲伤；治丧；戴孝 (初中英语单词)
• visitor [´vizitə] n.访问者；来宾；参观者 (初中英语单词)
• bureau [´bjuərəu] n.局；编辑部；事务所 (初中英语单词)
• entertainment [,entə´teinmənt] n.招(款)待；联欢会 (初中英语单词)
• international [,intə´næʃənəl] a.国际的，世界的 (初中英语单词)
• junior [´dʒu:niə] a.年少的 n.年少者 (初中英语单词)
• working [´wə:kiŋ] a.工人的；劳动的 (初中英语单词)
• institute [´institju:t] n.学院 vt.建立；设置 (初中英语单词)
• learning [´lə:niŋ] n.学习；学问；知识 (初中英语单词)
• tragedy [´trædʒidi] n.悲剧；惨案；灾难 (初中英语单词)
• goodwill [,gud´wil] n.友好，亲善；信誉 (高中英语单词)
• crowded [´kraudid] a.充(拥)满了的 (高中英语单词)
• pavilion [pə´viljən] n.大帐篷；亭子 (高中英语单词)
• learned [´lə:nid] a.有学问的，博学的 (高中英语单词)
• illuminate [i´lju:mineit] vt.照明；阐明 (高中英语单词)
• saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)
• exhibition [eksi´biʃ(ə)n] n.展览；显示；表演 (高中英语单词)
• deputy [´depjuti] n.代理人；代表 (高中英语单词)
• symbol [´simbəl] n.符号；象征 (高中英语单词)
• federation [,fedə´reiʃən] n.联邦，联盟，同盟 (高中英语单词)
• volunteer [,vɔlən´tiə] n.志愿者 v.自愿做 (高中英语单词)
• traditional [trə´diʃənəl] a.传统的，习惯的 (英语四级单词)
• crescent [´kresənt] n.月牙 a.新月形的 (英语四级单词)
• august [ɔ:´gʌst] a.尊严的；威严的 (英语六级单词)
• participation [pɑ:,tisi´peiʃən] n.参加，参与 (英语六级单词)
• spokesman [´spəuksmən] n.发言人 (英语六级单词)
• commemorate [kə´meməreit] vt.纪念 (英语六级单词)