Facebook has changed its corporate name to Meta

The company said it would better "encompass" what it does, as it broadens its reach beyond social media into areas like virtual reality (VR). The move follows a series of negative stories about Facebook, based on documents     1    (leak) by an ex-employee. Frances Haugen has accused the company     2     putting "profits over safety".

Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg announced the new name as he unveiled plans to build a "metaverse" - an online world     3     people can game, work and communicate in a virtual environment, often using VR headsets. He said the existing brand could not     4    (possible) represent everything that we're doing today, let alone in the future, and needed to change. The company also unveiled a new sign at its headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Thursday,     5     (replace）its thumbs-up "Like" logo with a blue infinity shape. A sign of Meta,     6     new name for the company formerly known as Facebook,     7    (see) at its headquarters now.

Mr Zuckerberg said the new name reflects that over time,     8    (use) will not need to use Facebook to use the company's other services. Instead of being on a computer, people in a metaverse might use a headset     9    (enter) a virtual world connecting all sorts of digital environments. It is hoped the virtual world could be used for practically anything, from work, play and concerts to     10     (socialize) with friends and family.

NASA has got some good news for us. The world is a     1    (green) place today than it was 20 years ago. How does this happen? Well, it appears China and India are leading the change.

NASA researchers compared satellite data (卫星数据) from the mid-1990s to today. They found that global green leaf area     2    (increase) by five percent since the early 2000s. That’s about the same area as the entire Amazon rainforest. At first, the researchers were unsure     3     caused the large increase in greening around the planet.

After further     4     (investigate), they found that greening was mostly located in China and India. China and India have the world’s biggest populations. In the past, they     5     (consider) to have overexploited land, water and other resources for economic growth. But now, the two countries are responsible     6    the largest greening of the planet in the past two decades.

China has carried out programs     7     (protect) and expand forests. These programs were developed to reduce the     8    (effect) of soil erosion(水土流失), air pollution and climate change. India continues to break world records in tree planting.     9     was reported that 800,000 Indians planted 50 million trees in one day in 2016. However, the researchers warned that we should not be content with     10     situation. The gain in global greenness does not offset (抵消) the losses.

If you’re looking to take part in voluntourism in the area, consider the Lizard Island. It’s a private national park that works     1     (close) with local scientists     2     (protect) coral reefs (珊瑚礁). Guests can tour its huge research centre.

The Great Barrier Reef’s Ocean Park Rangers (巡游者), government workers responsible     3     the day-to-day management of ocean parks,     4     (train) as guides who can educate curious travellers on the wildlife and ecosystems. In June of 2022, citizens of the Great Barrier Reef Programme started The Reef Cooperative,     5     will allow travellers,     6     (begin) in 2024, to go to vulnerable areas to see the conservation (保护) work and efforts take place.

Hope that this     7     (nature) wonder can be saved is growing. Over the past few years, a lot of conservationists, government agencies, NGOs, and tourism operators     8     (focus) on the reef’s health.

One hope of the programme is to inspire     9     (tourist) to help protect the Great Barrier Reef, especially within the younger generation. Imagine the good you can do when you learn so early in life that you hold the power to make the planet     10     better place.