1 . Lucy was rescued from a rural farm in New South Wales, Australia, two years ago. She was suffering from chlamydia (衣原体病), a disease widespread among koalas. Today, she is one of “the lucky” living creatures in tree corridors (走廊) that have been created by volunteers to protect koalas and other animals by saving their quickly shrinking habitats, or natural environment.

The corridors, planted by the local conservation group Bangalow Koalas, are made up of large systems of plants. They are intended for koalas and other animals like the glossy black cockatoos, possums, and wallabies. All of them are endangered, or at risk of becoming extinct. The corridors provide a safe path across the koala’s increasingly broken habitat. “Our corridors are actually trying to get them away from humans, from cars and from dogs,” said Linda Sparrow, president of Bangalow Koalas. “They can safely move across the landscapes and don’t have to put up with us humans.”

The koala is predicted to be extinct in the wild in New South Wales by 2050. Some of the biggest dangers include wildfires and habitat loss through land clearing for development. Koalas have already been declared endangered in several Australian states. A recent report by the Australian Koala Foundation said the animal was worth an estimated $3.2 billion per year to the tourism industry.

Founded in 2016, Bangalow Koalas has planted over 936,000 trees on 119 properties, helping koala conservation and improving the local ecosystem. The group, which depends on com munity volunteers, aims to plant 500,000 trees by 2025. Volunteer Lindy Stacker, who has been planting trees for over five years, still remains devoted to the cause. She said the activity is good for mental health and has brought the community together. “I can’t imagine a world where there’s no koalas in the wild. We’re going to do everything we can possibly to. make sure that won’t happen,” Lindy said.

2 . Being cut from a school team can be a difficult experience for a kid. But when 13-year-old Emmie Tallent who has Down syndrome (唐氏综合征) didn’t make her school’s cheer squad (啦啦队), she responded in the most impressive way — she cheered anyway. Emmie Tallent, agirl with firm determination, took to the sidelines while her school’s cheer squad performed. She matched the entire routine, moving for moving, in a black dress and tie-dyed shoes.

Her sister, Sydnee, recorded this moment on video, and it’s now capturing hearts worldwide. The video, with over 3 million views and 87,000 likes, shows Emmie facing the official squad and performing the routine alongside them. Her performance is nothing short of inspiring. “Girl didn’t make the cheer team, but she didn’t care,” Sydnee wrote, admiring Emmie’s confidence.

“Emmie may not be on the cheer team this time, but I’m sure her talent and spirit will shine through somewhere in the future,” Sydnee said with a smile. “Right now, she’s satisfied and happy doing what she loves. Thank you all for supporting her. I want to show the world Emmie’s joy from pursuing what she likes and the beauty of diversity.”

The team did not have a lot of spots and even neurotypical (神经正常的) girls who were much better than Emmie didn’t make it to join it. Emmie’s school was giving Emmie help and kept encouraging her, but there are hard decisions that have to be made sometimes. Though Emmie didn’t make the squad, she wasn’t feeling upset at home, and continued to follow cheer squad’s routines and moves to please herself and spread joy to others, even if from the sidelines.

In the face of rejection, this tough 13-year-old chose to dance rather than sit by and let it define her, inspiring us all to embrace our uniqueness and find joy in every moment.

3 . Donna Urquhart is an experienced runner. She ran 1,402 kilometers over the course of 28 days in Antarctica (南极洲), _______ the record for the longest-ever run in a polar region.

Urquhart spent 10 months training for the _______, turning to some unusual training methods. A company allowed her to run in a _______ storage unit where she ran in temperatures below zero. Besides, she ran along the beaches with uneven (凹凸不平的) surfaces that are like the _______ grounds in Antarctica. All those proved useful _______.

The difficulties that Urquhart faced in Antarctica were _______: taking in about 5,000 calories each day, _______ in a tent. Combined with the sound of _______ winds and the continent’s 24 hours of sunlight in the summer months, these were _______ favorable to a good night’s sleep. Urquhart would usually wear four layers of coats and keep ________ her own body temperature while running.

Urquhart launched the Run Antarctica aiming to encourage more women to ________ sport. Though still unsure about what her next running challenge will have, she has set a ________ of raising $1.5 million for charity.

“Confidence is a real issue for females,” says Urquhart. “And a sporting environment provides them with a great opportunity to ________ themselves.” This served as a huge ________ for her to take on a challenge that no other woman had attempted before. “It was actually showing that we can push our ________, and explore what seems impossible,” says Urquhart.

4 . Deep sleep doesn’t just rest your body. Scientists believe it’s also when the brain washes away toxins (毒素), with a new project looking at whether the brain’s self-clean can be boosted.

South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) neuroscientist Dr Tim Sargeant has teamed with Dr Edward Robins from SAHMRI’s Molecular Imaging and Therapy Research Unit to develop a brain scan that shows how well a brain is cleaning itself. Studies have shown that a clean brain would help with memory while fighting dementia (痴呆).

Scientists believe our brains clean themselves out each night when we enter deep sleep. Cerebrospinal fluid (脑脊液) is thought to wash through the brain, cleaning out toxins. Studies have shown a clear link between poor memory and toxins like the buildup of sticky plaques (粘性斑块) in the brains. Scientists believe brains that have a buildup of this plaque over time may not be cleaning themselves properly, putting people at risk of dementia.

Fortunately, the hope is that a clean brain would help with memory while fighting dementia. The brain scan will use special material to track how well the brain can keep itself clean and healthy through the process of removing and recycling its waste. “We’re aiming to catch the signs of the brain struggling to keep itself clean in individuals around the age of 50 or 60, well before the onset of Alzheimer’s disease (老年痴呆症) in most people,” Dr Sargeant said.

This new scan, an exciting imaging technology, will allow scientists to form a picture of a living brain and watch how it’s recycling wasting material in real time. “The scan takes out a lot of the guess work, by allowing scientists to see with their own eyes if they’ve hit the target or not,” Dr Robins said. “Without imaging, a researcher can get all the way up to the trial stage before realising they’re at a dead end.”

10 . For generations, Nafisa Bayniyazova and her family have made a living growing melons, pumpkins and tomatoes on farms around the Aral Sea. Bayniyazova, 50, has spent most of her life near Muynak, in northwestern Uzbekistan, tending the land. Farm life was sometimes difficult but generally reliable and productive.

Now, Bayniyazova and other residents say they’re facing a disaster they can’t beat: climate change, which is speeding up the decades-long disappearance of the Aral, once the lifeblood for the thousands living around it.

Decades ago, deep blue and filled with fish, the Aral was one of the world’s largest inland bodies of water. Thousands of migrants from across Asia and Europe moved to the Aral’s shores for jobs popping up everywhere from canning factories to luxury vacation resorts. Today, the few remaining towns sit quiet along the former seabed of the Aral—technically classified as a lake, due to its lack of a direct outlet to the ocean, though residents and officials call it a sea.

Much of its early disappearance is due to human engineering and agricultural projects gone wrong, now paired with climate change. Summers are hotter and longer; winters, shorter and bitterly cold.

Without the moderating influence of a large body of water to regulate the climate, dust storms began to blow through towns. Strong winds caused dunes (沙丘) to swallow entire towns, and abandoned buildings were filled with sand. A dozen fish species went extinct, and businesses closed down. “The fish factories closed, the ships were stuck in the harbor, and the workers all left,” said Madi Zhasekenov, former director of the Aral Sea Fisherman Museum in Aralsk, Kazakhstan. “It became only us locals.”

On her Uzbekistan farm, Bayniyazova’s family has dug an earthen well, hoping to hold on to the precious little water that’s left. “If there is no water, it will be very difficult for people to live,” Bayniyazova said. “Now people are barely surviving.” She doesn’t plan to leave her farm but yet knows more hardships are likely ahead.