Peru     1     (lie) on the Pacific coast of South America with three main     2     (area): the land running along the coast, the Andes Mountains, and the Amazon rainforest. In the 1400s and 1500s, Peru was the centre of the     3     (power) ancient Inca Empire, whose emperor lived in the site Machu Picchu. In the 16th century, Spain took control     4     Peru. In Amazon Rainforest, you take     5     boat to reach your accommodation. Three days will witness the unique plants and animals there.     6     (walk) on the path through the Andes Mountains leads to Machu Picchu. You’ll     7     (amaze) by this destination.     8     (especial) amazing is the Incas’ dry stone method of building. Stones are cut in exact sizes     9     (hold) walls together other than the perfect fit. In Cusco, you must admire architecture. In Lake Titicaca, both the island     10     the local homes are made of water plants from the lake.

The Palace Museum is becoming waste-free as the 720,000-square-meter structure has managed     1     (reduce) the number of rubbish bins to 110 sets in areas open to the public. This is a decrease from 310 sets     2     (record) in January 2020, when a zero-waste campaign     3     (launch), said the museum.

While protecting features of the six-century-old historical relic, the action also helps visitors and tourists get into     4     habit of creating less waste. Up to now, four types of rubbish bins have been equipped following Beijing’s regulations on the management of household waste. Cleaning staff also check them to make sure all rubbish is     5     (correct) sorted, which is later transported to different destinations for disposal (处理). The museum also recycled more than 32,000 plastic     6     (bottle) to make cultural and creative products between June 2021 and October 2023,     7     (mean) a reduction in carbon emission by 931 kilograms.

By launching the campaign, the Palace Museum is taking a careful, science-based way to waste management. The target is to minimize the production of waste     8     needs to be buried or burned and bring the amount of such waste as close     9     zero as possible.

So far, about 3,000 museum staff members, 40,000 tourist guides, and 21 million visitors     10     (participate) in the campaign.

I’m a student from Chongqing, China. I am writing to ask you to pay attention to the severe situation of finless porpoises (江豚). Seriously     1     (affect) by human activities, finless porpoises in the Yangtze River are     2     danger of becoming extinct. To our     3    (disappoint), only about 1,000 are estimated to be still living at present.

We     4     (sincere) hope that WWF can play a role in protecting this endangered species. Firstly, a sponsorship will be of great help. Secondly, we need information from experts in WWF,     5     can help us better understand the animal. As     6     result, we can take better care of them. In addition, we should employ more workers to help us. Challenging     7     the task is, we are confident that we     8     (succeed) sooner or later. I would appreciate     9     greatly if you could consider my application.

    10     (Look) forward to your early reply.

Yours truly,

Li Hua

Commercial airlines alone contribute around three percent of total global carbon emissions. But the industry is    1    (active) looking for green solutions in the form of sustainable airline fuel which    2    (believe) to have had a previous life as your household food waste. In a study    3    (release) this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers detail a method of transforming food waste into sustainable airline fuel.

Biomass, such as animal and food waste, can be transformed into biofuels,    4    are renewable liquid fuels made from organic matter. Derek Vardon, a senior research engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), says that their fuel worked as a mixture of 90 percent conventional petrol airline fuel and 10 percent alternative airline fuel required by the industry currently. They also show they could push it to a 70/30 mixture    5     more time and testing available.

Major companies are eager to participate in sustainable airline fuel    6    some sustainable solutions, such as battery-operated commercial planes, just aren’t possible yet with current battery technology.     7    battery-powered plane would be too heavy to fly long distances, so fuel that works in the same way as the fuel we have is a simpler way to trade out emission-heavy fossil fuels.

Vardon says that because the wet waste used in the process would normally go to a landfill (垃圾填埋场) and break down to release greenhouse     8    (gas), the process of making and using sustainable airline fuel could actually have a negative carbon footprint when scaled up.

Commercial airlines are also on board to find an    9    (afford) and sustainable solution to the carbon-intensive process of air travel. Airlines are looking to hit aggressive sustainability goals by 2050, including    10    (decrease) net carbon dioxide emissions by 50 percent.