For most Americans, plastic bags are a necessary part of any     1     (shop) trip. Many of us give little     2     (think) to the bags’ impact on the environment. But plastic bags which end up in oceans and on beaches are     3     (harm) to fish, birds, and other wildlife. Since last year, several     4     (city) around the U. S.     5     (ban) single-use plastic bags. By the end     6     this year, New York City will decide whether to ban plastic bags, tax them, or find another way to limit their use. Those     7     support a bag tax say it encourages people     8     (bring) reusable bags and cut down on waste.     9    , experts argue that taxing the use of plastic bags puts     10     (fair) stress on low-income families.

Forests of longleaf pine trees once covered two-thirds of the southeastern US. About 95% of those forests     1    （cut）since the beginning of the last century. But now these forests are returning.

The wood of the tree is very strong. Most buildings in the southern US used to contain longleaf pine wood. Today, after longleaf pine is no     2    （long） wanted to build houses, people are reusing the wood because it’s still good and resists water and insect damage. The tree is also     3    （value）to the environment since it stores CO₂ in its wood.

The US government has several programs to protect and expand longleaf pine forests, one of     4     is the Safe Harbor Program.     5     uses voluntary agreements with private landowners     6    （help）endangered animals. Now, farmers and landowners     7    （live）in the southeastern US are growing new longleaf pine trees. Instead of cutting the trees     8     wood, they are finding ways to make money from the forest of trees. One way is by selling the     9    （leaf）or needles of the trees as a ground cover. Another way is to sell hunting rights. Hunting wild pigs     10    （be） a popular sport in the southern US and the fight to hunt on land can cost from $200 to $1,000 a day.

As an ancient story goes, there was a family in China’s Shanxi Province that could hear someone crying in their courtyard every night. They followed the sound,     1     found nothing. One day, a member of the family discovered     2     unusual plant 500 meters away from their house. He     3     (dig) five feet into the ground to find the root of the plant that looked like a human body. This plant is called ginseng.

Ginseng has a     4     (benefit) effect on our health according to the account in the book, Materia Medica,     5     (write) by Li Shizhen. And according to Chinese Pharmacy Dictionary, ginseng is used for     6     (treat) many kinds of diseases. Chinese people believe the roots of ginseng can function     7     a wonderful medicine.

Ginseng likes a cool and moist environment and prefers loose sandy soil. In China, it grows mainly in     8     (province) of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. But many varieties of wild ginseng having been suffering habitat     9     (lose) in recent years, leaving them endangered.     10     (lucky), China has taken effective measures to protect Changbai Mountain and other ginseng nature reserves to help with the recovery of the herb. Chinese herbal medicine is an important part of Chinese culture.