Climate change has caused a rise in sea levels. This has increased the amount of salt in fresh water     1    (use )on coastal farms. As a result, farmers are     2     (gradual) unable to use fields close to the sea.

However, Mare Van Rijsselberghe, a farmer in the Netherlands is now using a     3    (mix)of sea and fresh water     4    (grow)healthy and tasty vegetables.

He teamed up with scientists from the Free University of Amsterdam and divided a farm     5     eight irrigated areas. Separate pipes pumped fresh and sea water, and     6     computer program created water with eight levels of salinity(含盐度).

The water levels and the levels of salinity were controlled by computerised measuring devices called “sensors”. Mr. Van Rijsselberghe said he was able to harvest vegetables from most of the eight test areas. He said the vegetables were smaller than     7     grown in fresh water. But he said they also had more sugar and salt, so they tasted much     8    (good).

He found that potatoes grew better than the other vegetables in the combination of sea and fresh water. Mr. Van Rijsselberghe said four kinds of these potatoes would be sent to Pakistan     9     thousands of hectares of land     10    (damage) by salinization(盐化作用)last year.

The     1    (measure) threat to the environment     2    (worse) by the spread of COVID-19 that increases the need for plastic protective equipment. Most plastic is made from fossil fuels. Millions of tons of greenhouse gas are released from the development of these resources and plastic production and burning.

The end life of plastic is just worrisome. Less than 10% of the plastic produced has been recycled. Even more of it has been burned. But the vast     3    (major) of plastic has been buried in land, and it is increasingly polluting the environment. We hear     4    (most) about ocean plastic and the harm done to sea creatures that mistake plastic bags and bits for food. But micro-plastic is even more worrisome. Plastic doesn’t break down     5    (biology) but instead breaks down into tiny particles (a very small piece of something),    6    have been found in every corner of the planet, on land and in the air, in drinking water and food sources.

Yet the public has not given this global environmental disaster the attention it requires. Instead, they have viewed single-use plastic—which makes up about 40% of plastic used each year—as a litter issue that can be solved through better recycling and waste management. That attitude must change because the recent global breakdown of the market     7     recycling has made     8     clear that it has never been, nor ever will be, able to keep up with plastic trash use.

California has been the forerunner of plastic waste reduction—it was the first state     9    (ban) single-use plastic bags and may be the first state to transform the way goods are packaged. The state also came close to     10    (pass)an act which would have required that products sold in plastic packaging in the state have a proven recycling rate of 75% by 2032. California, though influential, can’t solve this crisis alone. The US has long been producing a great amount of plastic trash and it should engage in reducing the use of plastic as well.

One aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic that     1    (keep) us guessing since the early days is why some people who get the virus don’t suffer much and others become     2    (desperate) ill. All the more, while the elderly, some—even centenarians— survive, whereas countless younger people,     3    immune systems are supposed to be stronger, have been seriously affected. So what factors give some people a stronger immune system     4     others, regardless of age?

Our immune systems slowly decline     5     we age. Think of a photo of yourself from ten years ago versus one     6    (take) this afternoon. “You see changes in your face, skin, and hair color,” says Insoo Kang, MD, director of allergy and immunology at the Yale School of Medicine. “It takes time. It is the same process with your immune system.”

The difference in the rate of decline between individuals is one of science’s big     7    (mystery). The immune system is complex, but most of us understand the basics.     8    (fortune), we won’t always be in a pandemic. But we can use this one to gain an     9     (understand) of how the immune system changes with age and how we might slow the decline and     10     (strong) our immune system in the future.

Last week, 100 restaurants across Shanghai supported the use of serving utensils (器具), as it is a key point for the control and     1    (prevent) of the COVID-19.

Chinese people often eat together and share their dishes     2    others. The new system suggests     3    (add) separate chopsticks and spoons for serving when people dine together. Such a change of etiquette (礼仪) allows diners     4    (avoid) using their own chopsticks to pick food from the plates and therefore     5    (great) reduces the chances of spread of many diseases.

Many restaurants     6    (adopt) the policy after the Municipal Office for Civilized Society published the suggestion,     7    also encourages the public to use separate utensils for shared food at home.

According to Qu Qi, a person in charge of a restaurant in Xuhui district, a sign     8    (put) up on the tables to inform people of the importance of using serving utensils since the start of business on February 21. The waiters and waitresses are also trained to supply a separate spoon or pair of chopsticks for the liners. So far,     9     service has been well accepted by the majority of the public.

This will be a long term measure. In the future, each diner on the table will have     10    (they) own serving chopsticks and spoons so as to prevent sharing of any manner of viruses and bacteria.