With a relatively small population, pandas are not out of the woods or the bamboo forest just yet. The biggest threat to the wild panda population is habitat loss. And while around 34%0f its wild habitat is protected, these areas are still vulnerable to natural disasters, such as wildfires. To protect panda habitat, the Digital Panda System, developed by the Sichuan Forest and Grassland Administration and Chinese technology giant Huawei, was used effectively across forest and grasslands in Sichuan Province

The instant reporting system helps to detect wildfires in hard-to-reach areas, alerting fire departments so they can react quickly, as well as monitoring wildlife. Meanwhile, another smart technology-facial recognition could help identify individual pandas more accurately. Each panda has a unique facial structure and hair pattern. To the human eye, their fur-covered faces all look the same, but computer programs are able to distinguish the differences.

The system collects data from over 600 cameras, drones (无人机) and satellites, which it stores in the cloud. Researchers use this data to monitor, track and study wildlife as well as detect wildfire hotspots. Because the cameras are used in remote areas where there is little or no electricity, the system is solar-powered and uses microwave transmission (传送), which doesn’t require cables (电缆).

The system assists 140,000 forest rangers, grassland managers, conservationists and researchers in Sichuan. In its first five months of operations, it detected 651 wildfire hotspots, reducing forest fires by 71.6% compared to the same period the previous year.

Despite its name, the Digital Panda System offers protection to more than just pandas. The system covers the Sichuan section of the newly established Giant Panda National Park. The park is home to most of China’s 1800 wild pandas along with a further 8,000 animal and plant species. In the future, the digital panda system could be extended across the sections of the national park that lie in Shanxi and Gansu provinces, creating more success stories for other endangered species.

“The failure to play is now a serious issue and it calls for action for change, ” says Sir Ken Robinson, a leading expert in education, creativity and human development. This is the driving force behind Outdoor Classroom Day - a global teacher-led campaign, supported by Dirt is Good, a company producing daily chemical products.

Outdoor Classroom Day, taking place on 17th May and 1st November this year, will see schools around the world swap the inside for the playground and beyond to make playtime a key part of the school day. This might involve using natural objects like stones to do sums, or going on an insect hunt to encourage curiosity. By now, Outdoor Classroom Day has grown from a grassroots movement to a global campaign that is expected to benefit five million children and over 40, 000 schools from all around the world.

This is helping to change the trend that sees many schools selling up or building up on their playgrounds and cutting back on playtime to make more room for academic studies, while at home children’s lives are increasingly filled with organized activities intended to help them learn. Today globally 61% of parents surveyed in the Dirt is Good Qualitative Study said that children don’t know how to play without using technology.

Outdoor Classroom Day is making playing time happen, with 22% of participating schools having increased their playtime since joining the campaign. 93% of teachers surveyed saw improvements in children’s creativity after playing outside and 97% believe that time outdoors is necessary for children to reach their full potential.

Scientific studies show that real play - the active, physical, self-directed play - is essential for children to develop key life skills that are not taught elsewhere. Few would question the value of developing creativity, leadership, resourcefulness, and curiosity.

Why learn English through the news?

Learning English through the news is a great way to improve your vocabulary, listening and discussion skills. You can choose-from written, audio(音频的), video and live TV news with options both online and offline.     16    

Clear English

    17    Their job is to give facts and summarize events for the public. English news can be easier for ESL (English as a second language) learners to understand because it has a clear context and presentation.

Latest information

Modern news media is a constant stream of real-life English conversations and fresh information!    18    When you learn English through the news, you have the chance to find out what is happening in the world right How and to interact with stories through comments. social media and discussion.

Read, watch, and listen

English news comes in many different forms and this gives you greater choice when learning the language. If you prefer reading, there are online newspapers and simpler news websites for. ESL students. If you want to improve your listening and vocabulary skills, there are also TV news channels,YouTube videos, radio stations and podcasts(播客).    19    .

Relevant(相关的) to you

Fresh news is produced daily on every imaginable topic!    20     All you have to do is look online!If you are not interested in politics and“serious”news, why not focus on sports news or the latest from the music scene?

Knitting (编织) is well known for its healing benefits. For Clare Young, the hobby has helped _________ her broken heart after her husband Ken died of cancer.

Mrs. Young was diagnosed (诊断) with a mental disorder and _________ after her husband’s death in 2015. They met online 15 years ago. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2013. Then they got married in 2014 and she _________ work to care for her husband. She was advised to take up knitting as a way to _________ the stress.

She created Work of Heart Garden in _________ of her husband to help manage her sorrow and the ___________ health problems. Her piece of knitting is mainly about a bed in a hospice (临终安养院) garden, with knitted grass, flower pots and walls. Her knitted creation and her _________ sum of the money fundraising for the hospice, which helped care for Ken, _________ Clare enter the Creative Fundraiser of the Year. In the ceremony, Clare was awarded Creative Fundraiser of the Year.

Following her win, Clare said, “I started knitting at home to deal with my health problems. Never in my wildest _________ did I think creating a knitted garden would lead to my receiving 50,000 knitted hearts from ____________ the world and picking up this award. I would like to ____________ it with them. It is for every person who has knitted, donated and ____________. It was a great honor to those who are making a ____________ to the world. Creating Work of Heart Garden has been a(n) ____________ experience. Not only have I achieved my aim of raising awareness of the work of the hospice, but I have ____________ more people to talk more openly about hospice care, loss and sorrow.”

After starting a piggy bank (存钱罐) to save up for a snowmobile (摩托雪橇), one five-year- old girl didn’t hesitate (犹豫) to give     36     all away when she realized someone else needed the money more than she did.

This past October, Jackie noticed her 5-year-old granddaughter, Sunshine,     37     (empty) her piggy bank and was     38     (great) surprised when she found out     39     she planned to do with the money. She was taking it to school for milk. Jackie explained that she     40     (pay) for her milk for the month already. “I am taking milk money to school for my friend, because my friend’s mother doesn’t have money to buy milk,     41     I want my friend to get it, too,” Sunshine offered the     42     (explain). Since Sunshine’s act, Hausher, the teacher, started a GoFundMe account     43     (raise) money to pay for milk for her entire class for the     44     (two) term. In just a month, she’s raised over $ 13,500.

“The money will help Sunshine to make sure her friend get milk,” Jackie explained. “Thanks to Sunshine’s act of kindness for one student, it has grown so much that it now includes everyone, which     45     (make) me happy,” Hausher added.