3 . Loch Ness, the largest freshwater lake in the British Isles, is twenty- four miles long and at one point, one mile wide. It has an average depth of four hundred and fifty feet and at times drops close to a thousand.It is cold and murky (混沌的), with dangerous currents. In short, it is the perfect place to hide a monster from even the sharpest eyes of science.

The Loch Ness Monster, also called Nessie, is supposedly living in this area. The earliest recorded sighting of the Loch Ness Monster was in the biography of Life of St.Columba by Adamnan in the year A.D.565. The monster apparently attacked a man who was swimming in the River Ness.

The monster didn’t make headlines again until August 27, 1930, when 3 fishermen reported seeing a creature with 20 feet long approaching their boat, throwing water in the air. In 1933, after a new road was built along the edge of the Loch, the number of reports rose suddenly. Early in 1934, Author Grant, a young student, was out on his motorcycle one evening when he almost ran into the monster as it crossed the road. Grant’s description of the thing — small head, long thin neck and tail with a big body, seemed to match the appearance of the plesiosaur (蛇颈龙), an aquatic (水生的) type of dinosaur that has been extinct for 65 million years.

The Loch Ness Investigation Bureau was formed in 1962 to act as a research organization for information about the creature. Even now, efforts have continued to find the monster. A great deal of information was discovered about the Loch, but there isn’t any yet to produce any specific evidence of a monster.

Skeptics (怀疑论者) argue that the water in the Loch is too cold for a plesiosaur to live in. They also argue that an air-breathing animal, like a whale or seal, would spend much more time on the surface than the creature seems to, and would be spotted more often.

Some scientists have wondered if the sightings might be caused by an underwater wave which is known to sometimes occur in deep, long, and cold lakes, like Loch Ness. Such a wave might push debris (废弃物) to the surface that might look like a strange animal. However, none of these is identified.

4 . Every animal on Earth helps contribute to the ecosystem in some way. We humans must protect animals to keep the ecosystem in balance. We depend on healthy ecosystems for food, shelters and clean water.     1     If you want to protect them, the following ideas may inspire you.

Use social media to spread awareness for animal organizations. If you follow animal organizations on social media, you can repost their content, Your followers and social media circle will see it and possibly share it themselves.     2    

Find a local organization or shelter that offers volunteering.     3     But you can also search the web to find a local organization that may help walk dogs, bathe animals or clean cages. Popular organizations can be overloaded with volunteers. Smaller local rescues and shelters may have more openings for volunteers.

Adopt(收养)an animal from a local shelter. If you’re ready for a pet, consider adopting one from a shelter.     4     Giving an animal a loving home will not only benefit its life but improve yours. Pick an animal that will match your budget, schedule and living space. Your pet will be happier if it matches your needs and lifestyle.

    5     Reusable water bottles, food containers and shopping bags help reduce amount of plastic used that eventually ends up in the ocean which is home to some animals. When you do use disposable(一次性的)plastic, recycle it when you can.

5 . People have been wondering why elephants do not develop cancer even though they have lifespans(寿命)that are similar to humans, living for around 50 to 70 years.

Now scientists believe they know why. A team at the University of Chicago, US has found that elephants carry a large number of genes that stop tumors(肿瘤)developing. To be precise, they found 20 copies of an anti-tumor gene called TP53 in elephants. Most other species, including humans, only carry one copy.

According to the research, the extra copies of the gene improved the animal’s sensitivity to DNA damage, which lets the cells quickly kill themselves when damaged before they can go on to form deadly tumors.

“An increased risk of developing cancer has stood in the way of the evolution of large body sizes in many animals,” the study author Dr Vincent Lynch told The Guardian. If every living cell has the same chance of becoming cancerous(癌变的),large creatures with a long lifespan like whales and elephants should have a greater risk of developing cancer than humans and mice. But across species, the risk of cancer does not show a connection with body mass.

This phenomenon was found by Oxford University scientist Richard Peto in the 1970s and later named “Peto’s paradox(悖论)”. Biologists believe it results from larger animals using protection that many smaller animals do not. In the elephant’s case, the making of TP53 is nature’s way of keeping this species alive.

The study also found that when the same genes were brought to life in mice, they had the same cancer resistance as elephants. This means researchers could use the discovery to develop new treatments that can help stop cancers spreading or even developing in the first place.

“Nature has already figured out how to prevent cancer,” said Joshua Schiffman, a biologist at the School of Medicine, University of Utah, US. “It’s up to us to learn how different animals deal with the problem so that we can use those strategies to prevent cancer in people.”

6 . Famous Modern Chinese Buildings

Beijing International Airport

The first place most visitors see when they arrive in China is Beijing International Airport. The airport was constructed in the 1950s. It has an indoor garden, a children’s playground, and over 70 food businesses in Terminal 3 alone.

Shanghai World Financial Center

Completed in 2008, SWFC took over 10 years to complete due to financial shortages and construction delays. Since its completion, it has won countless architectural awards.

Tourists are welcome at SWFC's viewing platform, which at 474 meters above ground is the worlds highest closed viewing platform.

The Water Cube

It was constructed for use during the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics. Now visitors can express surprise at the architecture of the building. They can enjoy the indoor atmosphere as well.

Among the offerings of the Water Cube are a restaurant and bar, a shopping area, and Water World, a family water park

The Bird's Nest, Beijing

It was designed mainly for the 2008 Summer Olympics. It can hold up to 80,000 people and has been used for a winter theme park. Nowadays, its main income is as a tourist attraction. It draws more than 20,000 tourists every day.

National Center for the Performing Arts

It was completed in 2007. The building is surrounded by a man-made lake, requiring guests to enter via an underground hallway. It is home to an Opera Hall, Music Hall, and Theater.

8 . Building a five-star hotel in the middle of a valuable wilderness(荒野) without damaging(破坏) the environment might not be easy, but it is far from impossible. The King Pacific Lodge in British Columbia's Great Bear Rainforest shows that if enough care and attention is taken, the task is possible.

Unlike many other hotel building plans, no trees were cut down and no land was wasted to build it. The Lodge does not have the same location（位置） but sits on a floating boat pulled into the sea bay in May, till September. Those wishing to stay in one of its seventeen rooms must access it by boat or seaplane. Each guest staying at the Lodge is charged 3% tax（税） on the protection of the natural resources, but is given the chance to see whales and bears. And since these are the main attractions of the area and of the Lodge, the management knows well that in order to stay in business they must make the area untouched.

In 2000, the Lodge management signed an agreement with the native(本土的) Gitga'at people. Together they work for the benefit of the area. The Lodge knows that the native tribe （部落）is the owners of the land, so it pays the tribe for the use of their land and even supports the native youth and employs the tribe's people. They, in turn, teach the newcomers about the local culture.

The King Pacific Lodge is one of a growing number of tourism companies that manage to minimize their environmental damage to win the approval（批准）of the local government where they set up their business. These companies pay more attention to environmental protection and are careful to use natural resources and protect endangered animals. Realizing how destructive tourism can be, they want to avoid the love-it-to-death effect of tourism.

9 . It happens countless times a day. A flower’s bright color and the smell of sweet nectar (花蜜) attract a bee. The bee stops by for a quick taste and small grains of pollen (the powder produced by a flower) stick to its body. The bee then travels to another flower of the same type and leaves the pollen as it has another meal. This is an example of animal pollination (授粉) — a process extremely important to plant reproduction.

It’s not only plants that depend on animal pollination — humans do, too. Worldwide, nearly a thousand plants that we grow for food, spices, clothing fibers, and medicine depend on it. If pollination suddenly stopped, we would have no apples, tomatoes, coffee, and many other goods.

This important process is carried out by more than 200,000 different animal species known as pollinators. Flies and beetles - the original pollinators - date back 130 million years to the first flowering plants. Birds, butterflies, and ants also do their part. Even nonflying mammals help out: monkeys tear open flowers with their hands, accidentally spreading pollen into the air and onto their fur.

Pollinators are therefore important, but they are also at risk. Climate change, habitat loss, and invasive predators (入侵捕食者) all threaten them. The United States, for example, has lost over 50 percent of its honeybees over the past ten years. A serious threat facing bees is colony collapse disorder, when worker bees mysteriously disappear from their colony. Scientists are still trying to identify its cause.

There is a quote attributed to Einstein that if bees ever disappeared, man would only have four years left to live. Whether that’s true or not does not really matter, says wildlife photographer Louie Schwartzberg: the key point is that there is a real danger. “The healthiest food we need to eat,” he says, “would disappear without pollinating plants. It’s pretty serious.”