My father _____ Japan in a few days. Do you know when the earliest plane _____?

—Will you attend the meeting this afternoon?　　—But I ________ told anything about it.

China's icebreaker Xuelong  ______  by heavy floes since Friday after rescuing passengers on a Russian vessel stranded in Antarctica.

Internet, as well as telephones, ____ an important part in daily communication. 

 Various efforts over the centuries _________ to predict earthquakes to reduce the damage.