1 . In a heartwarming rescue operation off the coast of Houston-Galveston, a U.S. CoastGuard team discovered an unexpected passenger during a routine inspection of shipping containers. The team, led by Petty Officer 2nd Class McMahon, were astonished when they heard barking and scratching coming from one of the containers.

As they cautiously opened the container, they were greeted by the sight of a small, furry face — a dog trapped inside the dark space. The dog seemed remarkably calm and happy to be liberated from her limited quarters.

“As soon as we opened it, we could see the little dog’s face poking out,” McMahon said. “She just seemed happy more than anything, to be out of that dark space and in the arms of people that were going to take care of her.”

Further investigation by Coast Guard officials revealed that Connie had been trapped in the container for at least eight days, deprived of food and water. The container, filled with deserted vehicles intended for overseas sales, had likely originated from a junkyard.

“So based on that, they think that the dog most likely was in a junkyard, in a car. And that how she accidentally got put in the container,” Chief Petty Officer Corinne Zilnicki said.

Grateful for being in the right place at the right time, McMahon expressed the urgency of the situation. “It would take at least another week to get to where she was going and two weeks without food or water. I don’t think she would have made it,” he said.

Forever Changed Animal Rescue has taken her in, diligently working to nurse her back to health and prepare her for adoption.

2 . Composting At Home

Any gardener can benefit from adding nutrients and organic matter to the soil to help plants grow strongly and vigorously.     1    . Check out these simple steps to starting your own compost pile.

●Combine green and brown materials

    2    . This forms the “green layer” that provides plenty of carbon for the microorganisms to breakdown. Anytime you do yard chores, collect dried plant materials like fallen leaves wood shavings, grass and plant clippings and dump them into the compost bin. This forms the “brown layer”, which provides lots of the nitrogen necessary for the composting process.

●Water your compost pile

Usually rainfall is enough to keep it damp, but in a dry summer you might have to spray it with water. Don’t add too much water or the microorganisms in your compost pile will become waterlogged and be drowned.     3    

●    4    

Air is vital to the composting process, so it’s important to mix the ingredients in together, and never press them flat. You should turn the pile periodically with a garden fork and keep it damp. This step provides oxygen, and the dampness assures the survival of the microorganisms, which need moisture to live.

●Feed your garden with compost

When the compost pile no longer gives off heat and becomes dry, brown, and crumbly, it’s fully cooked and ready to feed to the garden. Add about 4 to 6 inches of compost to your flower beds and a thick layer to the top of pots at the beginning of each planting season.

Composting at home is easy and environmentally friendly.     5    . With some kitchen scraps, yard debris, and some patience, you’ll have the most beautiful garden in the neighbourhood.

3 . Do you know how to cycle? It is a skill that, once learned, is never forgotten. For the majority of us, the art of balancing on two wheels was mastered during our childhood. Many still wear helmets, put feet on the pedals, and take a ride around the streets. And in recent years, cycling has become more and more popular. What attracts people to ride their bikes once again?

Cycling offers a lot of advantages that affect both our physical and mental health. For example, regular cycling can improve the function of our cardiovascular (心血管的)system, assist in the burning of extra body fat and strengthen our leg muscles. A long ride in the countryside helps us to clear our mind easily.

Riding a bike is a smart choice for getting to work, shopping, or sightseeing. You can save money that you would otherwise spend on fuels and fares. Unlike cars that struggle with parking, bikes can be easily locked up. Then, on the train, there are chances at stations and other people speaking loudly on their phones. Cyclists face neither of these problems. And if we’re worried about safety, there are cycle lanes in many cities, or we can wear light-colored clothes to improve our safety when cycling on the roads.

Cycling can also be good for the environment. It cuts our carbon footprint, which means we make less pollution. It’s great for our planet and keeps the air clean around us. When we ride bikes, we don’t use fuel like cars do, and that’s really good for our environment.

Therefore, more and more people choose to ride for many benefits such as improving their health, easily going to work, saving money, protecting the environment, or a combination of these factors.

4 . Have you ever been hungry and sleepy and wished you could solve both problems at once? If you were a reindeer (驯鹿) , it would be easy. According to a new research, these talented deer can have a snooze while they eat their food.

Reindeer live in the Arctic and other northern regions where the winters are extremely dark and cold. Food can be rare in winter, so during the warmer months the deer must eat as much as they possibly can.

Like cows, reindeer use a process called rumination (反刍) to break down the tough plant they eat. This process involves passing the food back and forth between their mouth and the four “stomachs”, chewing it repeatedly until all the nutrients (营养) have been absorbed. In summer, all that chewing seems to leave very little time for sleep.

To find out their secret to getting enough rest, scientists fitted four reindeer with devices that monitored their brain waves. While the reindeer were ruminating, their brain waves were similar to the patterns shown during sleep. The animals sat or stood quietly with their eyes closed, and they were less likely than usual to react to. the movements of a neighbouring deer. “They were in a very relaxed state, ” researcher Melanie Furrer said.

The chewing movement made it hard for the researchers to tell whether, the animals’ brain waves were truly in sleep mode. But when they tested the deer again after rumination, the animals' brain activity showed that they felt rested.

If reindeer are kept awake for too long, they need extra “recovery sleep” to catch up. After ruminating, however, the deer did not need as much recovery sleep. Study co-author Gabriela Wagner said that ruminating serves two different purposes at the same time —eating and sleeping.

5 . Known for its beautiful natural environment, Guizhou contains a total of four World Heritage Sites, which is more than any other province in China.

The Fanjing Mountain, known as the “City of the Sky”, is famous for its Buddhist culture and the complex of temples. Compared with the world’s other mountains in the same latitude (纬度) zone, the Fanjing Mountain features the best-preserved animals and plants. It was listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2018.

Libo Karst, listed in the UNESCO World Heritage in 2007, is located in the southern borderland of Guizhou. Walking into Libo is a feast for the eyes. You would be amazed by one breathtaking sight after another, such as the Wolong Pond and the Laya Waterfall.

The Yuntai Mountain stands out like a piece of green agate (玛瑙) in its latitude zone. It is the oldest and best-preserved dolomite (白云石) karst landform in the world, which is extremely rare and highly valuable for scientific research. In 2014, the Yuntai Mountain was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for its “uniqueness and typicality”.

Chishui Danxia is home to the largest Danxia landform area. The highlight of the tourist area, named Foguang Rock, is regarded as the greatest example of a Danxia landform in the world. When the afternoon sunlight hits it, it seems to glow like fire. There is a waterfall that is 42 meters wide and 269 meters high, which looks like a graceful white dragon. It was added to the UNESCO Wodd Heritage List in 2010.

9 . When nine-year-olds Ella Grace Rossen and Cash Daniels met in July 2019, they immediately connected. When their moms introduced them, they had no idea that the kids were about to become an environmental-activism powerhouse pair.

“We knew we could make a difference together, ” says Cash from his home in Ella agrees. “It was pretty much instant best friends.”

Within a short time, their meeting transformed into action, birthing the Cleanup Kids — a youth-led non-profit determined to make waves in environmental conservation.

Ella’s passion for the environment started with an early love of sharks and many first-hand encounters of cleaning up trash along the shores of Vero Beach. For Cash, the spark was ignited (点燃) at just seven years old, when a single plastic straw on the beach caught his eye, symbolizing a much larger issue. That’s when he became aware of the crisis facing thousands of turtles, seabirds and other wildlife, which risk death from consuming discarded plastic.

“My hope for the Cleanup Kids is that it’s not hundreds of kids, it’s thousands of kids who have joined us, and for that to have a chain effect,” says Ella. Member responsibilities include conducting at least one cleanup per month, documenting and photographing the collected trash, and sorting and recycling items. It’s a lot of work, and it hasn’t gone unrecognized. In 2022, out of more than 700 applicants from across North America, Cash and Ella were chosen as one of 25 projects to receive the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes.

How do you even begin to make that impact? Cash’s best advice is to start small. “I started with just a couple cleanups with my family. Don’t overdo it,” he says. “And just remember that kids may be only a small part of the population, but we’re 100 percent of the future.”