Saving nature is at the very heart of what we do as WWF, short for the World Wildlife Fund. For nearly 60 years, we     1     (make) it our duty to find solutions that save the     2     (variety) of life living on our planet by     3     (apply) the best science available and working closely with local communities.     4     our work is far from done. Humans are behind the current rate of species extinction,     5     is at least 100-1,000 times higher than nature intended. We’ve seen a shocking 60 percent drop in the size of populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians (两栖动物) within just over 40 years. And the effects     6     (reach) far beyond the possible cultural loss of significant species like tigers, rhinos and whales in the future.

The good news is that some achievements have been witnessed so far. WWF has been part of     7     (success) wildlife recovery stories ranging from southern Africa’s black rhino to black bucks in the Himalayas. And this, in turn, is helping to protect rich and varied ecosystems while ensuring people continue to benefit from nature.

It is clear: we cannot afford to fail     8     our task to save a living planet.

The changing colour of autumn leaves is a spectacular event in forests worldwide. The colours form a     1    (colour) canvas(画布)that ends summer. In the USA, the leaves    2    (affect) by drought up to now. This has dulled(使变暗)the colours of the leaves. Over 80 percent of America’s northwest is experiencing extreme conditions that are not good to perfect leaves. The traditional autumnal beauty    3    (spot) of Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island and New Hampshire are experiencing severe drought, and duller colours.

A forest and ecology professor explained    4    this year has been so bad. He said there were several factors,    5    (include) mild drought, warm days and cool nights. He said the colours came to weeks    6    (early)than normal, “and will    7     (probable) go by fast and furiously (猛烈地)”.Largely, this is because the drought creates physiological stress for the trees. He warned: “The stress is not    8    good thing and may be a harbinger(预告者)of things to come with climate change. In terms    9    fall leaves, drought can cause the leaves    10    (die) and fall off earlier.”

A zoo in Beijing has been treating     1     ageing orangutan (红毛猩猩) with traditional Chinese massage in the hope of helping him stand again. The orangutan,     2     (name) Pang Pang, has been suffering from diseases related to old age such as weak hind legs (后腿), resulting in great     3     (difficult) in walking. Before the treatment, the orangutan at Beijing Zoo could only crawl on all fours to reach for food. The zoo hopes     4     can promote the use of Chinese medicine to treat other animals in other parts of the world.

“In the past we have always brought in advanced technology     5     foreign countries,” said zookeeper Wang Zheng, who     6     (care) for the animal for 15 years. “Chinese medicine     7     (be) unique to China.     8     (hopeful) we can promote the use of these treatments to other zoos overseas,” he added. Pang Pang can now move     9     (fast) with all four of his limbs than before, instead of crawling and dragging his body across the ground. Zookeepers would also sometimes place food between 60 cm to 90 cm above ground     10     (encourage) Pang Pang to stand up and exercise his legs.

Stage schools often act as agencies to supply children for stage and television work. More worthy of the name “stage school” are those few places     1    children attend full time, with training for the theatre and a general education.

A visit to such schools will leave you in no doubt that the children enjoy     2    (them). After all, what lively children wouldn't settle for spending only half the day doing ordinary school work, and acting, singing or dancing their way through the other half of the day?

Then of course there is time for the children     3     (make) a name and make a little money in some big shows. Some stage schools give their children too much     4     (profession) work at such a young age.     5     the law is very tight on the amount they can do. Those under 13     6       (limited) to 40 days in the year and those over 13 to 80 days.

The schools themselves admit that not all children will be successful in the profession for which they are being trained. So what happens     7     those who don't make it? While all the     8     (lead) schools say they place great importance on children     9     (get) good study results, the facts seem to suggest this     10    (be) not always the case.

Economic development is necessary if we want     1     (improve) society but finding and keeping the right balance between progress and the protection of cultural sites can be a big challenge, which can sometimes lead to great solutions. Perhaps the     2     (good) example is shown by UNESCO,     3     runs a programme that prevents world cultural heritage sites around the world from     4     (disappear).

In the 1950s, the Egyptian government     5     (want) to build a new dam across the Nile, but the proposal led to protests because water from the dam would likely damage some temples and destroy cultural relics. Finally, the government turned     6     the United Nations for help.

A committee     7     (establish) to limit damage to the Egyptian buildings and prevent the     8     (lose) of cultural relics. The group asked for contributions from different departments and raised funds within the international community. Fifty countries donated nearly $80 million to the project.

When the project ended in 1980, it was considered     9     great success. As is shown, if a problem seems too difficult for a single nation, the     10     (globe) community can sometimes provide a solution.