阅读理解

　　(Times London, May 20th)China stood still．Soldiers stood in a queue on the rubble of a town destroyed by the terrible earthquake with their heads bowed and hats in their hands．A mother whose child had died wept quietly．Thousands of citizens gathered in front of the portrait of Chairman Mao in Tian’anmen Square．

　　China’s 1.3 billion people stopped yesterday at 2∶28 pm－the exact time of the 8.0 magnitude earthquake a week ago－for three minutes of silence to mourn for as many as 10,000 people who were thought dead．In Hongbai, one of the worse-affected towns, a single siren(汽笛)cried and the few dozen people who were still in the town pressed their car horns．A military helicopter hovered overhead, its siren crying too．

　　It was the first time that China had mourned its ordinary people．The last period of national mourning was for Mao Zedong in 1976．

　　Flags across China were lowed to half-mast．President Hu Jintao flew back to Beijing after three days in the earthquake zone for the start of the period of national mourning．Bars, clubs and cinemas have been closed．The Olympic torch relay through Chinese provinces was also suspended．Entertainment websites were changed to lead its users to remembering sites．

　　The damage caused by the earthquake that China has described as its worst in more than half a century has brought together people from across the country to offer help．It was a rare display of patriotic(爱国的)emotion that the government had allowed－even in Tian’anmen Square．

　　As loudspeakers announced the end of the silence, people rushed to the flagpole in the square holding up posters reading “Go, China”．Then came roars of “Long live China!” and “Stay strong, China!”