【推荐1】With time going on, dogs have developed a special relationship with people. Recently, however, some dogs have taken a different role in people’s lives — therapy dogs.

    1     Some therapy dogs visit patients in hospitals or nursing homes, while others visit children in schools and libraries. They are there to help children become better readers.

Reading programs that use therapy dogs have been in existence for more than ten years. All therapy dogs of this program are registered with an organization that tests the dogs to make sure they have the right personality for the job.

    2     Both the dogs and the handlers are volunteers with the reading program.

At the start of a reading therapy session, a child and a dog are introduced. The pair is allowed to settle down in a quiet corner together.     3     An adult handler stays nearby but generally lets the dog perform its job without being interrupted. Sometimes, a handler may ask a question that encourages the child to work with the dog to help the child feel more comfortable.

Not every child will be able to be part of a reading therapy program that uses dogs. A few children might be allergic to dogs or afraid of them; some children might have cultural traditions that prevent them from touching a dog.     4    

Reading therapy programs inspire learning and change for human beings. The readers benefit a lot, gaining confidence and learning that reading aloud can be a relaxing experience.

    5     They spend time with human friends. For dogs that love human companionship and a quiet place to rest, being part of a reading therapy program can be a great way to spend a few hours being with humans each day.

【推荐2】Koalas live in the eucalyptus (枝树) forests of southeastern and eastern Australia. They rely on the eucalyptus tree for both habitat and food. In fact, they seldom leave these trees. When not sleeping, they’re usually eating. They can eat more than a pound of eucalyptus leaves a day. Eucalyptus is poisonous, so the koala’s digestive (消化的) system has to work hard to digest it, breaking down the poisons and taking in the limited nutrients (营养). That’s why koalas sleep for 18 to 22 hours a day—they get very little energy from their diet.

Koala numbers decreased in the late 19th and early 20th century from hunting for their fur. Now they face serious threats from habitat loss. Land clearing and bush fires-especially the 2019-2020 Australia Bushfire Season-have destroyed much of the forest they live in. Koalas are easy to be affected by climate change. Increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is decreasing the nutritional quality of eucalyptus leaves and causing longer, more serious droughts and wildfires. In response to drought, koalas are forced to stop sleeping and come down from the trees to find water, putting them at a higher risk of being killed.

Koalas have been identified by the Australian government as one of the 113 animals requiring urgent (紧急的) help. Ensuring there’s the right kind of forest for them to return to is extremely urgent. State governments should create new koala reserves and persuade landowners not to cut down eucalyptus trees. Meanwhile, getting the public to understand koalas’ living habits and their health will throw light on koala biology, which helps to develop plans to better protect the species.

【推荐2】Scientists are urging that deep sea metal mining should be stopped temporarily. They warn in a report that it can cause severe damaging effects on Pacific Ocean areas.

The recently-released report examined more than 250 published studies on deep-sea mining. The research was examined by the Deep Sea Mining Campaign — a collection of not-for profit organizations. The report centers on mining activities related to small metallic particles(金属颗粒)，called nodules, found on the seabed. The material can contain different metals. Increasing demand for these metals has led to a rise in deep-sea mining operations. The metals are commonly used in battery manufacturing and other technology products.

However, the scientists warn that mining for these nodules will cause irreversible(不可逆的) damage to an ocean already under pressure. The operations will affect areas across the South Pacific, including the nations of Kiribati, the Cook Islands, Nauru, Tonga and Papua New Guinea.

The report notes that a moratorium is the only responsible way to move forward until certain conditions surrounding deep-sea mining can be met. The scientists are calling for additional study to fully understand the environmental, social and economic risks.

Andrew Chin is the report's lead researcher. He says in a statement that nodule mining will likely result in the loss of sea life and cause damage to deep seabeds for thousands of years. He adds that the operations can put people at risk who depend on the ocean and its continued health.

A company planning to be one of the first to carry out mining operations in the area is Canada's DeepGreen, which aims to begin by 2024. It seeks to mine metallic nodules to be used in power systems for electric vehicles. DeepGreen Chief Executive Officer Gerard Barron defended the company's plans in reaction to the report. He said deep-sea mining offered the best alternative to surface mining, which has long history of pollution and destroying forests and wildlife.

【推荐3】Hundreds of thousands of lives were saved in 2017 alone because of the improvement of the environment, according to a new research. Fine particle pollution declined rapidly following the new rules on industrial emissions and the promotion of clean fuels, according to the study, published on Monday in the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. The study, which focused on the period from 2013-2017, was conducted by a group of Chinese researchers and scientist.

PM2.5, as this kind of pollution is known, is so small that it can enter the bloodstream, potentially leading to cancer, stroke and heart attack in the long term. After rapid industrialization and weak regulations left the country with a reputation for smog and bad air quality, Chinese authorities started to take air pollution seriously in 2008.

In 2013, Beijing had PM2.5 concentrations 40 times higher than levels recommended by the World Health Organization(WHO), and the government introduced its toughest-ever clean air policies that year. The study found “significant declines” in PM2.5 levels across China from 2013-2017, with new emissions rules for vehicles. The authors say this “confirms the effectiveness of China’s recent clean air actions.”

These recent actions have seen Beijing fall out of the top 100 most-polluted cities in Asia in recent years, with the pollution levels 10% lower across Chinese cities between 2017 and 2018, according to a report by Greenpeace and Air Visual. Shanghai, the country’s largest city and financial capital, has also made environmental advances, such as adopting strict recycling regulations. Public pressure has been the driving force of pollution policy in China.

Air pollution is a global issue, and India is now home to 22 of the 30 most polluted world cities, according to the Greenpeace and Air Visual report. In the US, a recent study said air pollution was linked to more than 107,000 deaths in 2011 and cost the country $866 billion.