1 . The State of California is depending on its forests to help cut down planet-warming CO₂. But that climate-change strategy may be risky, as new research from the University of California, Irvine(UCI)reports that trees in California’s mountains and open spaces are dying from wildfires and other pressures — and fewer new trees are filling the blank.

“The forests are not keeping up with these large fires,” said study co-author James Randerson, the Ralph J. and Carol M. Cicerone Professor of Earth system science at UCI. Acrossthe whole state, tree cover area has dropped 6.7% since 1985. “These are big changes in lessthan forty years,” he said. It’s the first time that researchers have been able to measure tree population fall in California, and find out the reasons(wildfires and woodcutting).

For the study, the UCI-led team used satellite data from the USGS and NASA’s Landsat mission to study plant changes between 1985 and 2021. They found that one of the most obvious falls in tree cover was in southern California, where 14% of the tree population in local mountain had disappeared, maybe everlastingly.

“The ability. of forests to recover(恢复)from fire appears to be dwindling in the south,” said Jonathan Wang, a researcher in Randerson’s research group, who led the study coming out in AGU Advances. “At the same time, the state’s coverage of bushes and grasses is rising, which could mean more everlasting ecosystem shifts(生态系统转化).”

“The speed and scale of fall in tree cover is different across the state. Tree cover in the Sierra Nevada, for example, stayed relatively unchanged until around 2010, then began dropping suddenly. Fortunately, in the north, there’s plenty of recovery after fire,” said Wang, perhaps because of the area’s higher rainfall and cooler temperatures. “This threat(威胁) to California’s climate solutions isn’t going away anytime soon,” Wang said. “We might be entering a new age of bigger fire and vulnerable(易受损的) forests.”

2 . Arriving in Yunhe, a small county in Lishi city, Zhejiang province, you can’t help but wonder if you’ve just stepped into a dream-like painting, with the Oujiang River winding through its misty mountains, hills and valleys.

But there is more than natural beauty in Yunhe. It is also a treasure trove of wooden toys. Wooden toy-themed cultural and amusement parks line the main roads, shops and stores selling wooden toys are everywhere, children play with locally made toys and board games in kindergarten as part of preschool education, hotels and home stays are often featured with wooden toys, and even street lamps, bus stops and the country’s highway tollgates are built in the shape of wooden toys and castles.

“My grandfather, who was then 44 years old, went to Shanghai in 1972 in search of a market for wooden toys, and when he returned, he brought back several samples,” said He Bin, head of Zhejiang Hexin Toys and who is also 44 years old, stating the time his grandfather He Shouzhen earned Yunhe’s first export order. After a year and a half of repeated trials in his simple workshop, He Shouzhen successfully produced a batch of spinning tops, castanets and yo-yos, which were then sold through a trading company in Shanghai to Japan for a total of 4, 000 yuan ($570).

Last year, Yunhe’s wooden toys created the income of 9. 19 billion yuan, and over 31, 000 people—roughly a quarter of its population—were employed in the country’s manufacturing companies.

Known as the “Hometown of China’s Wooden Toys”, Yunhe boasts 1, 093 manufacturers, producing thousands of wooden playthings every year. In fact, 56 percent of China’s wooden toys and 40 percent of the world’s are made in Yunhe. These toys are exported to 76 countries and regions including the United States and Europe.

3 . When it comes to planning a student trip, there are few better choices than our nation’s capital. There are many places of interest in Washington, DC, with sites that will attract students who are interested in everything from history, art, to STEM. Don’t miss these must-see sites on your trip to Washington, DC.

Managed by the Smithsonian Institution, admission (入场券) is free, and all locations are open every day except December 25. Students will love the exhibitions of the National Air and Space Museum, and everyone can enjoy the National Zoo, which is home to giant pandas, Sumatran tigers, and much more.

This is an amazing place for students interested in art. It includes the East Building and the West Building and houses the gallery’s more modern works and a collection of older works. The museum welcomes visitors from 10 am to 5 pm from Monday to Saturday and 11 am to 6 pm on Sundays. There is a variety of free self-guided and audio (音频) tours available.

The Newseum aims to increase public awareness of the importance of a free press. Visitors can experience the story of news, the role of a free press in major events in history and how freedom of speech is applied to their lives.

Only 16 miles south of Washington, DC lies Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home. This historic place features beautiful gardens and wonderfully kept grounds. The outbuildings surrounding the main house still run today. Visitors can tour these structures in addition to the inside of the main house and go there by subway.

The Jiaohe Ancient City Ruins,     1     (locate)10 kilometers west of Turpan, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region is the largest, oldest and best-preserved earthen architectural site in the world,     2     holds great political, cultural, historical and artistic value.

Guri Bakri, a 39-year-old conservator of the Jiaohe Ruins, starts her daily inspection at the site as usual, ensuring the safety of tourists and     3     (make) photographic records along the way. She is the third generation of Guri’s family who have been working as local cultural conservators,     4     (constant) guarding this historic site since her grandfather     5     (become) the only conservator in Jiaohe in 1961.

After graduating in 2013, Guri returned to her hometown and became one of her father’s     6     (colleague). Talking about Jiaohe, Guri said that she would always remember June 22, 2014, when the Jiaohe Ancient City Ruins     7     (name) the World Heritage Site. She was proud of her participation in the application     8     the title.

In recent years, the state cultural protection department has invested more than 100 million yuan ($ 14.8m) in the     9     (protect) of Jiaohe Ancient City Ruins. This year, Jiaohe Ancient City Ruins will take the fifth round of structural reinforcement (加固).     10     team of conservators has also expanded to 12. This old city of more than 2,000 years is gaining new energy.

6 . Romania is the twelfth largest country in Europe and has a growing economy. It borders the Black Sea to the southeast and shares a sea border with Turkey, which places the country as an important player in international maritime (海上的) trade. Let’s look at some of the major ports of Romania.

Port of Constanta

Constanta is Romania's most important port and is located on the western coast of the Black Sea. The port's capacity is 90 million tons each year, with a 19-metre natural depth and modern equipment. Constanta deals with many types of cargo (货物) both dry and liquid, project and general cargo, as well as passengers.

Port of Medgidia

The Medgidia port is one of the largest riverine ports in Romania. Situated on the Danube-Black Sea Canal, it is quite a busy port, and is well connected through roads and railways. It deals with passenger ships, tankers, cranes, and general as well as bulk cargo. It records 1.2 million tons of annual commercial traffic and 10.3 million tons of annual industrial traffic. It also offers medical, water, fuel, and banking services.

Port of Midia

The port of Midia is on the Black Sea coastline and around 25 kilometers from Constanta. It functions as a satellite port of Constanta and was constructed to meet the requirements of industries located nearby. It deals with the transport of chemicals, oil products and fisheries. At this port, ship repairs are also provided.

Port of Moldova Veche

The port of Moldova Veche is a riverine port near the town of Moldova Nouǎ. It also has two terminals, one for cargo and the other for passengers. This port handles the trade of wood products, sand, bricks, and fertilizers. The port is accessible only by road. The offices of port authorities like the port administration are located nearby.

Have you ever heard of the largest and most beautiful salt lake in China? If the answer is no, you can take     1     trip to Qinghai Lake and this is your answer.

Qinghai Lake is     2     (sure) the largest lake in China which stretches 105 km at length and 63 km at width and     3     (occupy) a surface area of over 4, 500 square kilometers. At 3, 200 meter above the sea level and owning an average     4     (deep) of 21 meter, its waters are profoundly cold and     5     (salt).

The lake     6     (become)a tourist destination popular for biking and bird watching in recent years. Major attractions around it are Bird Island     7     many species of birds come to nest or rest during their transcontinental migrations. The government has set up special department     8     (study) and protect these birds.

These lakes,     9     (combine) with characteristic islands, vast grasslands, snowy mountains and spectacular dessert in and around Qinghai Lake make up an attractive Qinghai Lake Scenic Area.     10     so much to admire, Qinghai Lake was evaluated as the Most Beautiful Lake in China by China’s National Geographic.

8 . Avebury is near the far more famous Stonehenge. What is interesting about it is that a village has grown up around the stones, unlike Stonehenge, which stands alone. Avebury and Stonehenge are just two of about 1,300 stone circles all over the UK. Many of them are in fantastic locations, like Castlering in Cumbria, from which you can see England’s highest mountain; and the Ring of Brodgar in the beautiful Orkney Island, off Scotland’s northern coast.

Some of them are UNESCO World Heritage sites, and several have local stories connected to them. For example, the Merry Maidens in West Cornwall is a group of nineteen stones. According to the story, they were young women — maidens — who were turned into stone for dancing on a Sunday.

Early historians thought that the stone circles were temples for the people who arrived in the UK in about 500 BC. Later research has shown that they are far older than that, at least 4,000 years old. Stonehenge could have been built 5,000 years ago, but it’s still nowhere near as old as the nearby wooden circle built about 10,000 years ago. Some experts believe they acted like calendars and have shown that some stones line up with sunrise or sunset on the longest and shortest days of the year. Others believe they were places for the dead bodies of the local rich and powerful.

We may never know why they were built, but each one leaves the visitor with a strong sense of the shortness of our existence in the sea of history. There are groups of stone circles and other prehistoric (史前的) monuments throughout the British Isles, so wherever you are staying you should include at least one in your tour.