Plastic pollution at sea is reaching     1     (worry) levels. According to a review of hundreds of academic studies, it will continue to grow even if significant action is taken now     2     (stop) such waste from reaching the world’s oceans. The review by Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute examined almost 2, 600 research     3     (paper) on the topic to provide an overview ahead of a United Nations meeting later this month.

As plastic breaks down into smaller pieces, it also enters the marine food chain,    4     (take) in by sea creatures from whales to turtles. What’s worse, some regions already contain dangerous levels of plastic, and others risk becoming     5     (increasing) polluted in the future. Getting that plastic out of the water again is nearly impossible,    6     policymakers should focus on preventing any more of it entering the oceans in     7     first place. Matthew MacLeod, a professor of environmental science at Stockholm University,    8     (involve) in a separate study not long ago,    9     also concluded effective measures are required immediately because of the possible global impacts.

While consumers can help reduce plastic pollution by changing their behavior, governments have to step up and accept     10     (responsible) for solving the problem. It’s a global problem and it needs global solutions.

The Great Barrier Reef is one of Earth’s greatest     1     (nature) wonders. It’s the largest system of coral reefs in the world. The colorful underwater habitat provides food and shelter for many sea animals. But in 2018, scientists flying over the reef     2     (shock) by what they saw.

“Where you expected     3     (see) colorful healthy corals, what you saw was just white,” says scientist Mark Eakin. What the scientists saw is a condition called coral bleaching. It’s a warning sign that the reef is     4     serious trouble. Experts say     5     is rising ocean temperatures that are mostly to blame. Coral reefs look like plants, but they’re actually tiny animals that live together in huge groups. Corals get their nutrients from tiny plant-like living things called algae. The algae live inside corals and give them their color. But when the ocean gets too warm, corals release the algae. As     6     result, the corals get bleached white. Scientists say that bleaching is becoming more widespread as oceans get     7     (warm). Some corals can recover from bleaching as the water     8     (cool) in winter, but that is getting less likely as winter ocean temperatures rise too.

Reefs worldwide suffer from    9     (pollute), overfishing, and other dangers,     10     scientists say climate change is the biggest threat. They predict that nearly 90 percent of all reefs will disappear by 2050.

Last Tuesday, a Roots & Shoots project was set up in my community. As I walked down No. 1 Street, I saw volunteers    1    (encourage) people to join in.     2    (inspire)by the message of the project, many people felt that we should act now, as we have seen an     3    (increase)number of highly     4    (pollute)days this year.

While recently, many have become more concerned about environmental protection, there are still some who haven’t,     5    (think)that someone else will deal with the problem. However, if everybody had that attitude, we would never see any environmental problems     6    (solve)in our society. We should remember—it’s not just “me”!