3 . Animal and plant species are disappearing at frightening rates. The problem has led to efforts to “rewild” places where such life existed before human development, pollution and climate change forced it out. The American city of Detroit is an example of how human actions can increase rewilding, which generally means helping natural systems in damaged locations, removing dams or building tunnels to reconnect animal pathways cut by roads.

Detroit’s population reached a high of 1.8 million in the 1950s. Then the population began dropping. By 2000, there were fewer than one million people living in the city. Thousands of houses and other buildings were left empty over the years. Some structures were destroyed, leaving empty areas that plants and animals regained as habitats. Nonprofit groups have also planted trees and community gardens in these areas. Anti-pollution laws and government-supported cleanups made nearby rivers better for fish and native plants.

Now, Detroit is home to 300 bird species and is a busy visiting place for ducks and others during migration. Unlike most big cities, its population is decreasing but its streets and buildings remain in place. And there are many kinds of habitats, including large lakes, rivers and human neighborhoods. Detroit’s parklands are so quiet that people don’t even know they’re in the city.

“It used to be that you had to go to some remote location to get exposure to nature,” said JohnHartig, a professor of University of Windsor. “Now that’s not the case. Like it or not, rewilding will occur. The question is how we can prepare communities and environments to embrace the presence of more and more wildlife. After all, many city people have lost their tolerance to live with wildlife. To really make a difference in dealing with the biodiversity crisis, you’re going to have to have people on board.”

4 . I had a great dream when I was in my twenties. I wanted to travel around Africa with my _________. So I left my hometown with great confidence and _________ Cape Town, not really _________ what to do next. Luckily, before my trip actually started, I met a kind, old Nigerian man. He gave me the best travel _________ I had ever received. “Be like a(n) _________ on your way around the world.”

It sounded _________, but it really changed my idea about travelling. He helped me realize that travel is about learning and _________ local cultures. “It’s far too easy to go into a(n) _________ country and believe your ways are better. But if you study, ask questions and try to learn from the locals, you’ll have far richer _________ ,” he promised me.

On other vacations, when I was on my tour way to Cancun. I was just a __________. I only stayed there for a week to see the __________ and places of interest and then left. The culture didn’t __________ me. I left the cities and towns without really knowing anyone or anything that existed in those places to which I had paid a visit.

This time, I promised to myself that I would be a __________ traveler. After seven months of __________ backpacking in Africa from Cape Town to Cairo, I realized that having a student-like mindset (观念模式) helped extend my trip and helped me learn a lot, which __________ me more than any other trips ever did to me.

5 . That artificial food dyes (染料) are unhealthy is not news. Some are known to cause hyperactivity (多动症) in some children, affecting their ability to learn. But regulatory agencies (监管机构) around the world don’t necessarily agree on which food dyes are a problem, or why. That may soon change. A 2021 peer-reviewed report by California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment concluded that artificial food dyes “cause or worsen neurobehavioral (神经行为的) problems in some children” and that the current levels that are regarded safe for consumption by the federal government are too high.

California is now considering requiring warning labels on food products and dietary supplements containing the seven most commonly used artificial dyes. The warning label requirement would put California on par with the European Union, which since 2010 has required food products containing certain artificial food dyes to carry warning labels about their negative effect on activity and attention in children.

Artificial dyes are used in foods for one reason: to make products look prettier. Bright colors make candies appealing, especially to kids. But dyes are also in chocolate cake mixes, salad dressings and other products that don’t seem to cry out for a color boost.

In Europe, it was the 2010 label lawmaking that triggered (引发) companies’ decisions to reformulate. “If you’re a company, you do not want to put a warning label on your product.” says Lefferts, an environmental health consultant. Warning labels are why European Starburst Fruit Chews are now colored with natural products, not the artificial dyes that brighten their North American counterparts (同类商品).

Given that artificial food dyes are used far more than needed, we need to be more cautious. After all, we don’t dye fresh fruits and vegetables, but we do dye candy and sprinkles, points out Joe Schwarcz, a chemistry professor at McGill University in Montreal. “The foods in which you find food dyes are foods that are poor in nutrition,” he says. “If you limit foods that contain food dyes, you automatically make your diet better.”

7 . Francis Kere is the first African to win the Pritzker Prize, known as the Nobel Prize of architecture. However, his ________ to the peak of his field was far from smooth. Growing up in a village where there was no kindergarten, he was ________ into an extremely hot classroom with over 100 students. At the age of 7, Francis Kere had to leave his family home to attend school because his village didn’t have one of its own. This ________ of poor building facilities contributed to his vision of better educational lives of local children, using architecture. Thirteen years later, he boarded a plane for Germany on a scholarship to study architecture.

His early reputation came in helping ________ a school in his village after graduating from college. He ________ the whole village to provide ideas and drew the ________ on sand for all to see. ________, he involved them in constructing the school, using local wood and local clay (黏土).

The result of their hard work was a welcoming structure with a “floating” roof that ________ ventilation (通风) in a hot climate and wall openings that bring ________ for students to learn even without electricity. He showed the villagers that ideas to ________ climate or other challenges are always at hand.

In this process, local people learned ________ skills that they could later use to find work. By cooperating with them, Kere ________ the idea that climate solutions started with big institutions. He ________ that everyone could contribute to addressing the major issues related to education and climate and ________ a global impact by acting locally.

Adopted by architects in dozens of countries, his ________ is rooted in the “unique” aspects of each community now.

8 . For the last 8 years, about 200 residents of Strunino, a small town in Russia’s Vladimir Oblast region have not had to worry about buying bread, thanks to the generosity of a local grocery store owner who has been giving it away for free.

Eric came to Russia, from Armenia, 25 years ago. He worked as an engineer, before setting up his own business. But everything changed one day, 8 years ago when sitting behind the counter, Eric saw an old lady counting dozens of coins to pay for a couple of loaves of bread. He found it embarrassing for the old lady and ended up giving her the bread for free. That day, he made the decision to print coupons (优惠券) that the elderly in Strunino could exchange for white or black bread at his store. To make sure that people knew about his offer, he advertised it in a local paper.

But that was only the beginning. Soon, Eric continued his generous offer to people with disabilities, large families with low income, and the generally poor. News spread like wildfire, and soon poor people from neighbouring villages started coming by his shop to receive coupons. Today, the “Eric” grocery store in Strunino gives away around 2,000 loaves of white bread and 1,000 loaves of black bread every month. They also regularly donate gingerbread to local kindergartens, and to coupon holders during holidays.

The kindhearted Armenian says that he just wants those less fortunate than him to have a better life. “Local authorities don’t care about my initiative (计划，措施),” Eric says. “They have never acknowledged my work, never offered thanks, but I didn’t do it for that. I just want the people around me to have an untroubled life.”

9 . It was 1:20 a. m. I had just gone to bed, a bit _________ after celebrating my 31st birthday. Before dinner, I’d placed _________ outside my garden door and prepared the cell phone just _________. After all, it had been _________ that week, resulting in flood warnings.

I was awakened by the _________ of rushing water. When I swung my legs off the bed, I was shocked to feel cold water already up to my knees and _________ fast.

Shaking in darkness, I _________ my phone and turned on its flashlight. Then by the light I could _________ water was from the garden door. It must have breached (在……上) the sandbags. The river, usually such a quiet, slow moving river in my region, had _________ burst its banks. And now I had to __________!

I took __________ action. Any effects of the alcohol before sleep were gone;__________ sobers (使清醒) one up. After I went outside, I learned the river had flooded the neighbourhood. Therefore, if I had woken up just a few minutes later, I would have drowned.

In the end, I think the experience made me __________ and determined to live each day to its fullest. I came very close to drowning that day. But rather than dwell on (沉湎于)what happened, I prefer to __________ what my mother told me afterwards, “Don’t remember the day when you lost everything. Remember the day you __________. That day marked the beginning of a new chapter in your life.”

10 . Lufinha has crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a small boat powered only by the sun and wind. He used kites to move the boat and solar power to use lights and equipment on the boat. He expects his trip will earn him a Guinness World Record for Fastest Sol o Atlantic Crossing by Kite Boat. He also hopes to help people understand the need to protect the oceans.

The kite-powered boat reached top speeds of over 30 kilometers per hour. Lufinha traveled 6,400 kilometers in 25 days. The 38-year-old set out from Cascais, near Lisbon, Portugal on November 3, 2022, and arrived in Martinique on December 20, Lufinha was not at sea for all that time, however. He made a planned stop at the Canary Islands on November 8. But he had to stay longer than planned because of the powerful storm and he remained there until November 30.

Lufinha made the crossing completely alone in a 7.2-meter-long and 5.6-meter-wide trimaran, a boat which has three long, thin parts, with a small room for sleeping and shelter. Lufinha used a hand pump to produce water for drinking and cooking. He said, “I have two such water makers, which I can pump and every hour I can make around four liters of water.” The water pump has a special filter (过滤器) to remove salt from the sea water. Lufinha used the water to add to dried food he carried with him on the boat.

He called his trip “a big learning experience”. It was a big test of his adaptability. He learned most of all to look at his problems relatively. He had so many problems all of the time, such as kites getting torn and kites exploding. And the only way not to suffer was to think, “It could be worse.” He said his way of thinking during the difficult crossing helped him get through it hour by hour, day by day, week by week until he finished this Atlantic crossing.