1 . Standing on the shore of a lake, I can’t help but feel surprised at the thousands of small rocks that surround my boots. They were all created from _________ surfaces, their edges softening over time. I wonder, “Can we learn from a pile of rocks?”

Even the tallest mountains have _________; none are as tall as they were 1,000 years ago. And much like a rock, I’ve found my _________ has softened and my desire to better understand others has expanded with each trip around the sun.

_________, I was also a sharp rock covered in pointy edges. Today, after decades of the waters of life coursing over me, my edges are softer and I’m more _________. I’m less likely to judge and more interested in learning how we can _________ together.

But I’m not a _________. I’m a human filled with all the drama built into my DNA.

Two years ago, while traveling in the Pacific Northwest, I watched a restaurant owner ask several young men to _________ for not wearing masks. Not _________ and not rude. On the door read a sign, “Please wear a mask before entering our restaurant. We don’t like it either, but let’s all do what we can to __________ this together.”

The group of young men wanted to __________ about the note. I sat at the restaurant watching, understanding both sides. I’ve been one of them before, using my youthful edges to chip away at (削弱) the world. What I lost, __________, was the ability to grow from __________ by looking through the eyes of others. In learning to be more __________, I’ve also found more happiness and success.

You can fit more rounded rocks in a jar than those with sharp edges. The former look for ways to __________ and make room for others, while the latter never give an __________ to accommodate others.

__________, like the waters rolling against once sharp stones, changes us by washing away our resistance to __________ the world from someone else’s point of view.

I placed a __________ stone into my jacket pocket. Mother Nature is holding a __________ again.

3 . The beauty, majesty, and timelessness of a primary rainforest are indescribable. It is impossible to ________ on film, to describe in words, or to explain to those who have never had the awe-inspiring experience of standing in the heart of a primary rainforest.

Rainforests have ________ over millions of years to turn into the incredibly complex environments they are today. Rainforests represent a store of living and ________ renewable natural resources that for ages, by virtue of their richness in both animal and plant species, have ________ a wealth of resources for the survival and well-being of humankind. These resources have included basic food supplies, clothing, shelter, fuel, spices, industrial raw materials, and medicine for all those who have lived in the majesty of the forest. ________, the inner dynamics of a tropical rainforest is an intricate (错综复杂的) and fragile system. Everything is so ________ that upsetting one part can lead to unknown damage or even destruction of the whole. Sadly, it has taken only a century of human intervention to destroy what nature designed to________ forever.

The scale of human ________ on ecosystems everywhere has increased enormously in the last few decades. Since 1980 the global economy has tripled in size and the world population has increased by 30 percent. Consumption of everything on the planet has risen — at a cost of our ________. In 2001, The World Resources Institute estimated that the demand for rice, wheat, and corn is expected to grow by 40% by 2020, increasing irrigation water demands by 50% or more. They further reported that the demand for wood could double by the year 2050; ________, it is still the tropical forests of the world that supply the bulk of the world’s demand for wood.

In 1950, about 15 percent of the Earth’s land surface was covered by rainforest. Today, more than half has already gone up in ________. In fewer than fifty years, more than half of the world’s tropical rainforests have fallen ________ to fire and the chain saw, and the rate of destruction is still accelerating. Unbelievably, more than 200,000 acres of rainforest are burned every day. That is more than 150 acres lost every minute of every day, and 78 million acres lost every year! More than 20 percent of the Amazon rainforest is already gone, and much more is severely threatened as the destruction continues. It is estimated that the Amazon alone is vanishing at a rate of 20,000 square miles a year. If nothing is done to curb (抑制) this________, the entire Amazon could well be gone within fifty years.

Massive________ brings with it many ugly consequences—air and water pollution, soil erosion, malaria epidemics, the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and the________ of biodiversity through extinction of plants and animals. Fewer rainforests mean less rain, less oxygen for us to breathe, and an increased threat from global warming.

5 . Earthquakes are common; thousands of them happen each day. But most are too _________ to feel. During a _________ earthquake, there is often a great noise first. Then the earth _________ terribly and many houses _________ down. Railway tracks break and trains go _________ lines; a great many factories are _________; thousands of deaths are caused, and many more lose homes… _________ the great damage and deaths caused by the earthquake _________, other disasters such as fires often _________. More buildings are destroyed and more __________ caused.

Man knows the __________ of a possible earthquake, and for centuries man has been making researches on earthquakes. More than 2, 000 years ago, __________, a Chinese scientist named Zhang Heng __________ a machine which could find out from which __________ the seismic waves had come, and this machine is still __________ by scientists today. Now we know much more about earthquakes and __________ they happen, but we still cannot __________ exactly when and where an earthquake will happen, and cannot __________ it from happening. So earthquakes are among the __________ disasters in the world.

No one can stop natural earthquakes. __________, scientists can help stop earthquakes destroying whole cities and causing too many deaths.

6 . Every year about 40,000 people attempt to climb Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. They ________ with them lots of waste. The ________ might damage the beauty of the place. The glaciers (冰川) are disappearing, changing the face of Kilimanjaro.

Hearing these stories, I'm ________ about the place-other destinations are described as “purer” natural experiences.

However, I soon ________ that much has changed since the days of disturbing reports of ________ among tons of rubbish. I find a ________ mountain, with toilets at camps and along the paths. The environmental challenges are ________ but the efforts made by the Tanzania National Park Authority seem to be ________.

The best of a Kilimanjaro experience, in my opinion, isn't reaching the top. Mountains are ________ as spiritual places by many cultures. This view is especially evident on Kilimanjaro as ________ go through five ecosystems(生态系统)in the space of a few kilometers. At the base is a rainforest. It ends abruptly at 3, 000 meters, ________ lands of low growing plants. Further up, the weather changes—low clouds envelope the mountainsides, which are covered with thick grass. I ________ twelve shades of green from where I stand. Above 4 , 000 meters is the highland desert : gravel(砾石), stones and rocks. ________ you climb into an arctic-like zone with ________ snow and the glaciers that may soon disappear.

Does Kilimanjaro ________ its reputation as a crowded mountain with lines of tourists ruining the atmosphere of peace? I found the opposite to be true.