On March 28, 2020, millions of people around the world turned their lights off for “Earth Hour”,     1     event meant to remind people of the importance of climate action. Because of the coronavirus(冠状病毒), this year’s event     2     (mark) online.

Initially launched as a way of making people aware of climate change in Sydney in 2007, Earth Hour     3     (grow) to engage more than 7000 cities and towns worldwide ever since. It is held once a year. People switch their non-essential lights off for an hour     4     8:30 and 9:30 at night. There have been many public activities in     5     (celebrate) of Earth Hour around the world. This year, public gatherings aren’t allowed in most places. So instead, organizers encouraged people to take part digitally.

In Singapore that meant special on-line performances. Australia held a similar live-stream of performances by bands, comics, and others. In other places, people were encouraged to upload videos or photos     6     can highlight how important it is to protect the environment.

With the climate     7     (get) worse, focusing attention on climate action is seen by many as more important than ever. Scientists     8     (strong) suggest taking effective action before 2030     9     (avoid) the worst effects of the climate emergency. Though most countries usually use a bit     10     (little) energy during Earth Hour, the main idea is to remind people to take action on climate change outside of Earth Hour.

The earth is becoming warmer and warmer. It is believed that people have caused global warming     1     burning fossil fuels like coal, natural gas and oil to produce energy. Some by- products of this process     2     (call) “greenhouse” gases. These “greenhouse” gases can keep     3     earth warm enough for us to live on. However, when     4    (quantity) of extra carbon dioxide are put into the atmosphere, the global temperature tends     5    (go) up. Although scientists have different opinions about the future effects of global     6    (warm), most believe that the temperature of the earth would increase by about 5 degrees over the next 100 years,     7     may cause the sea level to rise, bring about floods, storms, droughts, the spread of diseases and the disappearance of species.     8     a famous scientist named Hambley says more carbon dioxide will make plants grow     9    (quick); crops will produce more and that it will encourage a greater range of animals.

Greenhouse gases continue to build up the atmosphere. The climate     10    (keep) on warming for decades or centuries even if we start reducing the amount of greenhouse gases. What will be the future results of global warming? We will wait and see.

President Xi Jinping announced the country’s goal to make carbon dioxide emissions (排放) reach the highest point before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality (碳中和) before 2060. Thus, active     1       (measure) will be taken by China, such as expanding grasslands and forests. In the next five years, forest coverage and grassland in China will be     2     a higher level.

“We will further promote a much     3     (green) project in the country and encourage people nationwide to plant more trees,” an official said.     4     (survey) by the National Forestry Administration (国家林业局), there are     5     (possible) 220 million hectares of forest in China. “China will build a conservation system on its nature reserves, protecting     6     (variety) natural resources and keep     7     strong attitude toward illegal activities that will harm nature,” the official said.

In March, the administration released a report     8     (show) that forest carbon storage in China was about 9.18 billion metric tons last year,       9     achieved the country’s commitment (承诺) to the international community.

China     10     (promote) its own approach to climate governance that highlights green recovery so far. The forestry department will play to our advantage and strengthen our commitment to climate change.