The first-ever online marketplace for allotments(菜地), AllotMe, has unveiled plans for rapid     1     (expand) after securing more than 250, 000$ from investors. Proposed in May last year by Conor Gallapher, the plan seeks     2     ( address) the shortage of available garden space in response to rising demand in towns and cities, particularly in London,    3     there are waiting lists of up to 40 years for allotment sites.

Known as the “Airbnb for Gardens”, AllotMe has grown in popularity, with more than 100 hosts     4     (list) underused space to grow fruit and vegetables across the UK. Some users have already successfully rented space from hosts for more than a year. Now Conor     5     ( prepare) a summer campaign, AllotMents 2.0,to increase the number of plots (小块土地) listed by more than 2000percent.

“AllotMe     6     (found) as interest in garden space in cities increased during the pandemic, but     7     highly limited supply ,” says Conor. “People are telling us that this is a service they want and we’ll continue our mission to revive underused space in cities by providing a     8     ( true) sustainable solution that encourages people to grow their own and eat more healthily ,too.”

Conor adds that AllotMents 2.0 will focus on encouraging hosts to think about how the platform can enable     9     ( they) space to work for them, whether that’s earning money to spend on other things, managing outdoor space they can’t     10     helping the environment through passive sustainability.

2 . Spring is just around the corner and there’s nothing like seeing the first robin of the season, which is a sign that warmer days are ahead. Now a new study conducted in Germany has found that the more often we see and hear birds chirping and singing, the happier we are. A team at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research discovered that being surrounded by a wide variety of birds can offer increasing life satisfaction equal to $150 per week of added income.

The German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research took data from the 2012 European quality of Life Survey to measure how species diversity in birds affected 26,000 people in 26 European countries.

“According to our findings, the happiest Europeans are those who can experience numerous different bird species in their daily life, or who live in near-natural surroundings that arc home to many species,” explains the study’s lead author, Joel Methorst a professor at Goethe University in Frankfurt. “We also examined the socio-economic data of the people that were surveyed, and, much to our surprise, we found that birds diversity is as important for their life satisfaction as is their income,” he added.

Another study from the California Polytechnic University found that placing speakers with a variety of bird sounds on hiking trails improved the outdoor experience. The study was conducted in Colorado but the findings may improve hikers’ happiness everywhere. There was no difference in hikers' happiness whether the bird sounds were artificial, pre-recorded, or natural.

During a year of loss, stress, and uncertainty, the comforting sounds of nature have been crucial. A recent report from the Audubon Society found that sales of bird feeders, bird food, and birding apps have all increased during the pandemic, and participation in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s annual Global Big Day 2020 broke records.

The Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region,     1     (surround) by advancing deserts on three sides, is one of the major sources of sandstorms which threaten northern China. The region lacks water resources     2     faces extreme weather events. If no actions     3     (take), the region will face the threat of being buried by sand as no     4     (defend) can stop the advancing deserts and repetitive strong sandstorms.

More than four decades of efforts against desertification in Ningxia have helped develop crucial experience. Growing different trees based on different habitats is     5     (critic) to maintaining the forests’ quality and sustainability. In Shapotou District, Zhongwei City, wild shrubs (灌木) are planted because of the     6     (extreme) low groundwater. Shrubs help lower the wind speed, preventing the transportation     7     sands to neighboring areas. At the same time, the organisms     8     (live) on the shrubs gradually form biological soil coats to hold the sand firmly.

By the end of 2020, Ningxia     9     (grow) 510,000 hectares of forest, increasing forest coverage from 8.4 percent in 2000 to 15.8 percent. During     10     “14th Five-Year Plan” period, Ningxia plans to create 96,000 hectares of forest and restore over 66,000 hectares of grassland.

4 . Laura encourages her two kids to make crafts and drawings from old bits of packaging. She began _________ her family’s waste when she moved house and decided that she would leave all single-use _________ behind.

“It’s cheaper and you know that the item will _________ being used instead of being set aside — so it’s just perfect! Each of us play a big _________ in taking care of the environment. It’s _________ to try to help rather than just keep complaining about the current situation.”

Any glass container is _________ and repurposed for something else. This means that the family only send a piece of _________ to landfill every two weeks on average. She tries not to buy any plastic at all, but when she does, she will get it _________ washed and recycled.

The family also grow their own tomatoes, lettuce, and some other vegetables in the garden, and have orange trees outdoors. Laura has also _________ herself in a community of friends who __________ items with each other that they need, like furniture or plates.

She said, “We tried to use the minimum __________ and take over some toys and baby equipment from friends and relatives. If we really had to __________ anything, first we tried at the __________ market.”

To help educate her kids, Laura takes them out on nature walks to the forest where they __________ rubbish as they go. “They enjoy this __________, because they know it’s better for the environment,” she said.

7 . Joriden’s love with migrating (迁徙的) raptors (肉食鸟) started when he saw a group of strangers scanning the sky with telescope on top of a hill in his village. His________drove him to find out what they were doing. To his joy, the strangers________him to take a look. With just one quick look, Joriden was________. “The sight is very________,” says Joriden. “They take away my stress. I________watching these mighty birds.”

Joriden used to hunt birds for fun or food. But the________with the birdwatchers shifted his mind. Now, not only did he________his fellow youths or even older folk to________birds they’ve caught, but he also________the community members to stop cutting trees in the mountains to________the roosts (栖息地) of the migratory birds.

Raptors are________indicators of the health of the environment. They sit on top of the food chain, thus their health depends on the health of the whole ecosystem they live in. Declines in their population can indicate a________in the specific ecosystem that raptor species depend upon or visit. Raptors, which are natural predators (食肉动物), are also________to human food security and livelihoods. If their population________, the population of harmful insects and animals along their migrating path will increase,________agricultural productivity.

8 . Nowadays mail delivery is a little different. I still get my mail from my mailbox. Nothing, but my neighbors’ mail. I thought that was curious.

I proceeded to take my neighbors’ mail to them. I was about to put the mail in their mailbox when a tall man came running out shouting about messing with his friend's mail. He snatched (夺过) the mail from my hand, opened the mailbox and pointed to the mail inside.“You were after this.

I shook my head, “No, believe me. I got this mail by mistake in my box today. I was just bringing it to them.” He gave me a funny look and went back into his house.

I got the knock on the door the next morning by two very polite officers. The annoyed tall man had phoned the police and told them I was a crazy old woman going around mixing up everyone's mail. Before I could finish telling them about what was going on, the officers had watched a dog approach my mailbox with mail in his mouth. He took out the mail that was in my box and put letters in. He pushed the door closed with his nose, picked up the new pile of mail he had gotten from my box, and repeated this all the way down the next street. We all started laughing.

The dog had belonged to a mail carrier who had died. No one thought to check (the carrier lived alone) on the man’s dog. The dog had been trained to put mail in and take mail out of the boxes. When he got loose, he assumed his duties.

I went by to talk to the annoyed tall man to fill him in on what had happened. He was very pleased when he realized I was not a mail thief. He did, however, adopt the little guy.