【推荐2】Just off the Florida Keys lies the world’s third-largest coral reef (珊瑚礁), which was once an energetic habitat for millions of plants and animals. But an outbreak of stony coral tissue loss disease threatens to destroy 20 of the 45 species found there, including larger reef-building corals.

“This disease that is burning through the Florida Keys is an unbelievable event that is happening,” said Andrew Stamper, conservation science manager at Disney’s Animals, Science and Environment. “It’s like a wildfire.” Stamper said that would endanger Florida’s fishing industry and food supply. “Unfortunately, we do not know exactly what is causing this,” he said.

In order to save the reef, scientists have moved some species hundreds of miles away to a lab in Orlando. Scientists work to simulate breeding (繁殖) conditions in the lab. The conditions are exactly the same as the living conditions of the coral. The work needs a lot of care, effort and attention to detail. LED lights exactly copy the sun and moon cycles. Volunteers feed the coral in water treated to mimic its real habitat.

“This essentially is a gene bank,” said Jim Kinsler, leader of SeaWorld Orlando. “We’re trying to protect the genetics of these corals so that their offspring(后代)can eventually be returned back to the Florida reef area.”

The task of relocating the lab-grown coral to the sea is also a detailed task. Kinsler, who is part of a team of private and public partners operating the Florida Coral Rescue Center, said, “It’s the first time that many of them have been involved in rescuing an entire ecosystem,”

“We think the real challenge is just growing them out to a size, so we can test them in those waters, test their disease resistance (抵抗力), and then breed the successful corals by the hundreds of thousands literally,” said Andrew Walker, president of the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida.

【推荐3】Known as a “living fossil”, the Chinese sturgeon(中华鲟)is a very precious species. It is believed to have lived alongside the dinosaurs more than 140 million years ago. Although dinosaurs are long since gone, the Chinese sturgeon still exists. However, the species has been listed as ‘‘Critically Endangered’’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species．

On May 14,Shanghai legislators(立法机构)passed a new law protecting the Chinese sturgeon, emphasizing “regional cooperation”, according to China Daily. “This is the first local legislation in the country to protect one endangered fish,” said Ding Wei, director of the legislative affairs committee of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress.

Taken effect on June 6, the regulation urges cooperation in law enforcement(实施), scientific research and rescue of the species between Shanghai and other provinces and regions in the Yangtze River basin, according to People’s Daily．

The need for collaborative efforts is due to the living habitat of the Chinese sturgeon. As an anadromous(溯河产卵的)species, it mainly lives in the Yangtze River and depends on the Vangtze estuary(河口)for migration.

The protection of the Chinese sturgeon is urgent. China began the artificial breeding and release of the fish in 1984. However, very few of the fanned fish have survived in the wild, the number of which is less than 1000, according to a report by the Shanghai Observer.

Whether this species can be preserved depends on the natural population. “If the natural population is not well protected, the Chinese sturgeon is in danger of extinction.” Li Furong, vice chairperson of the Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee of Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress, said in the report.

Since Jan 1 of this year, a 10-year fishing ban on key areas of the Yangtze River basin has been issued, covering 332 nature reserves, which includes Shanghai’s Chinese sturgeon nature reserve．

【推荐1】Liang Yuying, 26, became a bar performer after graduation from her singing major, but never once did she pluck up the courage to sing in front of her loved ones.

That situation changed in the most dramatic fashion. The final stage of this year’s edition of Sing! China saw Liang’s mother and younger brother not only hear her beautiful singing for the first time but also witness Liang winning the event, which made Liang feel very proud and moved. In the final, Liang touched the judges with her heart-stopping performance, showing her superb singing skills with each word powerful and each breath precise. Her coach, Hong Kong singer Hacken Lee, was thrilled at Liang’s victory. Lee gave her a thumbs-up before jumping onto the stage to give the new champion a warm, congratulatory hug.

Born in Guiping, Guangxi, Liang won the “campus top 10 singers” competition when she was studying at Jiujiang Senior Middle School in Foshan, Guangdong province. In 2019, she started singing in a bar in Chongqing after graduation from Guangxi Arts University, where she majored in pop music performance.

This year is not the first time that Liang has taken part in the show. In 2019, Liang signed up but didn’t make it to the final selection round. Even though her last two demo tapes, submitted in 2020 and last year, were not selected by the directing team, she never gave up. This summer, she finally made it to the ultimate stage.

During the competition, Liang dealt with setbacks, including the catastrophic loss of her voice before one round due to a cold. However, she never thought of withdrawing. Liang says participating in the show has brought great changes to her life, including the development of a more disciplined lifestyle and a better mindset.

【推荐2】My entry into teaching wasn’t really typical. It was a meandering (曲折的) journey, I guess.     1     It was a small, Welsh primary and I just remember how fantastic the teachers were. In fact, Mr. Davies, who I had in year 5 was a particular inspiration to me.

Even when I went to secondary school I still came back to my primary school. My grandma, who had been a reception teacher, could see the potential in me to teach.     2     But the idea of teaching was rarely considered at secondary. I got into PE and science and then did my MA in sports and exercise science. It was only when I volunteered to be a teaching assistant at an international school that the idea of teaching reappeared on the horizon for me.

I know it’s a cliché (陈词滥调), but I really wanted to make a rally significant difference and I just love watching the change in the pupils over the year.     3    

We’ve got a gardening club at school which I started — all the classes have raised beds and we grow lettuces, onions, sprouts and broccoli.     4     The educationalist Ken Robinson talks about modern teaching being a standardized thing like producing fast food, but the most successful method he says is the agriculture method where you plant the seeds, give them the right care and conditions so they grow. That’s what I am trying to do.

    5     I know it’s exhausting but every day I know that I am not lining someone else’s pocket, I am making a difference.

【推荐3】In many practical ways, I chose a nursing career because I wanted to improve lives.

My mom was a nurse, so I knew something about the profession. Her nursing magazines lay around our house, and I’d pick them up and read them when ran out on the back of the breakfast box. Some of the stories were pretty interesting. So between my freshman and sophomore years of college, I enrolled in a nurses’ aide course. I figured the class was a chance to explore the world of nursing while earning money for college.

If I liked the class, I told myself, I’d major in nursing. After all, it was a stable, respectable profession.

To be honest, the class wasn’t always exciting. I learned how to make beds! And I also learned about diseases, dementia (痴呆) and documentation. I leanred how to assess vital signs, how-to help .patients with activities of daily living, and-how to communicate to our supervising nurses. Before long, I was released onto the floor to practice our new skills — and that’s when things got interesting.

Nursing is not about the role (机械的) application of procedures; nursing is about people. Out on the floor, I worked with a 90-year-old woman who’d come over on a boat from the Old Country, alone, at the age of 13. I cared for a man who’d reverted to his native language, and quickly learned that I could ease his confusion by telling him “Gut en Natch” ( “good night” ) before tucking him into bed.

What I learned that summer is that nursing is about people, and that nurses help those who are struggling with both ordinary and extraordinary circumstances. When things got tough — and they did, nursing can be an incredibly demanding job — it was my patients who pulled me through. They needed me, and their stories inspired me to help them anyway. That summer, I decided to become a nurse.