1 . Researchers are using an underwater drone (无人机) to measure CO₂ levels in the ocean. It is believed to be the first time such a vehicle has been used specifically to test CO₂ levels. The vehicle, which the team also calls a glider (滑翔机), is designed to dive down to 1,000 meters in deep ocean areas and can operate for weeks at a time.

The goal of the research is to provide scientists with data about how climate change is affecting the ocean’s chemistry. The self-swimming drone was deployed in the Gulf of Alaska this spring.

The team says the project could be a major step forward in measuring the environmental health of oceans. Scientists are most interested in levels of ocean acidification (酸化). This happens when CO₂ emissions in the atmosphere make their way into the ocean. Ocean acidification can harm or kill some kinds of sea life.

In a way, oceans have done humans a big favor by taking in (吸收) some of CO₂. If this were not the case, there would be much more CO₂ in the atmosphere. This would trap more of the sun’s heat and further warm the Earth.

“But the problem is now that the ocean is changing its chemistry because of this uptake,” said team member Claudine Hauri.

One of the best ways to measure ocean acidification is to collect CO₂ measurements. Until now, these collections were mostly done from ships or with floating devices at the ocean surface or equipment on the ocean floor.

McDonnell said his goal is to have a large number of similar robotic gliders operating in oceans across the world one day. “Such efforts will be important in helping scientists understand much more about what’s going on in the ocean than we have before,” he said.

2 . According to the Solar Energy Industry Association, the number of solar panels installed(安装)has grown rapidly in the past decade, and it has to grow even faster to meet climate goals. But all of that growth will take up a lot of space, and though more and more people accept the concept of solar energy, few like large solar panels to be installed near them.

Solar developers want to put up panels as quickly and cheaply as possible, so they haven’t given much thought to what they put under them. Often, they’ll end up filling the area with small stones and using chemicals to control weeds. The result is that many communities, especially in farming regions, see solar farms as destroyers of the soil.

“Solar projects need to be good neighbors,” says Jordan Macknick, the head of the Innovative Site Preparation and Impact Reductions on the Environment(InSPIRE)project. “They need to be protectors of the land and contribute to the agricultural economy.” InSPIRE is investigating practical approaches to “low-impact” solar development, which focuses on establishing and operating solar farms in a way that is kinder to the land. One of the easiest low-impact solar strategies is providing habitat for pollinators(传粉昆虫).

Habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change have caused dramatic declines in pollinator populations over the past couple of decades, which has damaged the U.S. agricultural economy. Over 28 states have passed laws related to pollinator habitat protection and pesticide use. Conservation organizations put out pollinator-friendliness guidelines for home gardens, businesses, schools, cities—and now there are guidelines for solar farms.

Over the past few years, many solar farm developers have transformed the space under their solar panels into a shelter for various kinds of pollinators, resulting in soil improvement and carbon reduction. “These pollinator-friendly solar farms can have a valuable impact on everything that’s going on in the landscape,” says Macknick.

4 . “I grew garlic for the first time as I didn’t want to throw it away. It grew roots in just seven days. It opened up a new world to me,” said Zhong Liu, a young illustrator living in Shenzhen. On the 5-square-meter balcony (阳台) of Zhong’s apartment, there is a mini-farm with lemons, tomatoes and eggplants.

Zhong’s lifestyle started when residents were required to work from home. Zhong is not alone. An increasing number of urban youth have picked up the hobby of growing vegetables on their balconies as working from home has changed their lives. Zhong has started sharing her journey on social media platforms this year, which has brought her more than 100, 000 followers.

In a chat group consisting of over 100 balcony green thumbs across the country, they share the growth of their vegetables, discussing which plants are more suitable for balcony planting and how to fertilize (施肥) crops. “Balcony gardening really heals the urban youth. We plant and look forward to the harvest, and experience the happiness.” Zhong said.

Chinese city managers are also seeking new methods to rebuild the relationship between urban residents and nature through vegetable gardens. The government of Guangzhou launched a vegetable garden project, providing seeds and farm tools at the minimum price as well as organizing agricultural experts to provide online Q&A for local residents, in an effort to encourage urban youth to get in touch with nature through balcony planting.

In cities, people need to get along with nature. They will be healed during the process of getting close to plants. Parent-child relationships can be strengthened by taking part in the activities together. Community gardening also promotes interpersonal communication, and makes neighborhoods harmonious.

Young Chinese are increasingly making their voices    1     (hear) and influencing world opinion as they take on more important roles in international organizations and     2    (globe) projects.

At a ceremony in Beijing in April, 2018, singer and actor Wang Junkai     3    (make) the national goodwill ambassador (大使) for the United Nations Environment Programme.

“We young people have a responsibility to protect the environment and secure our future, and I am looking forward to learning from     4     working with the UN family on key environmental issues,” Wang said in    5    (he) speech after the appointment.

“The youth are no longer merely onlookers     6     it comes to environmental action, nor should they be. I will spare no effort in doing everything I can     7    (take) care of our Earth, and I invite everyone to join me in generating a wave of positive action,” he said.

Wang Junkai, or Karry Wang, best known     8    one of the TF Boys group, is one of the leaders on environmental protection and other public welfare topics among the Chinese youth. In 2016, Wang widely shared the online Wild for Life campaign,    9     gained 400 million views. A year later, he publicly spoke out on the urgent need to protect endangered wildlife, calling the animals the “superstars of the planet.” He stresses that young generation’s     10    (participate) will help achieve the sustainable development goals.

Xi’an is the most beautiful and historical city in west China,     1    (locate) in the Central Shaanxi province, with an area of 10108 ㎡ and a population of 6.8 million. In history it was the traditional capital city of 13     2    (dynasty). Xi’an was well known       3    Chang’an before the Ming Dynasty. Now Xi’an is       4    center of politics, economy and culture of Shaanxi province. It is a city famous for its     5       (amaze) natural scene and traditional history, and if you pay a visit here, you       6    (find) that it is not only a historical     7     also a modern fashion city. Also, Xi’an now is a hot travel city,     8     has millions of historical places, like the City Wall, the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower, etc. As for food, you’ll be crazy to taste all delicious local food just here, such as Chinese Hamburger, Cool Noodles, Hot Pot and other snacks. There are many big shopping centers, department stores and supermarkets in and around Xi’an city, the    9     (big) and most comprehensive being Kai Yuan Shopping Mall and Century Ginwa Shopping Mall. If you come here, you will    10       (certain) fall in love with this charming Xi’an City, for it is always so charming.

9 . Researchers based in the greater Yellowstone National Park area have found a new way to identify mountain lions-also referred as pumas- by using facial recognition. And it is proving to be effective to monitor these creatures that are highly elusive. “Mountain lions are really hard to directly observe.” said Peter Alexander, a research biologist leading the research project.

One tool they once used is a camera trap, which is attached to something along the animal’s regular path. When motion is detected, the trap gets a shot of the mountain lion as it passes by. The cameras even have an infra-red (红外线的)flash for nighttime photos without disturbing the animal.

Researchers around the world use this type of tool to estimate population numbers of species. But according to Alexander, there’s a problem with this method when it comes to ID’ing mountain lions.

All mountain lion around the world have light, sandy colored fur down their sides. The scientific name for a mountain lion, Puma concolor, literally translates to “one color”. This lack of unique coloration (自然花纹)on the their body sides means researchers like Alexander can’t usually tell if one puma crosses a camera trap five times, or if five individual animals pass by.

However, it’s a different story with their distinctive facial markings. Alexander and his team added some devices to their camera traps so that when motion was detected, a puma kitten call was played. This noise reliably attracted passerby pumas so that they looked up long enough for the camera trap to grab a shot for facial recognition.

Compared to the traditional side angle camera trap, the new attention-getting device was about 92% more accurate. This work was recently published in the journal Ecology and Evolution.

This study is an important step to being able to more confidently identify and track animals. Getting head images of mountain lions also opens up new opportunities to involve AI techniques. Alexander says that this new camera trap method could be used for tracking other wild animals that lack distinguishing side colors but have unique features elsewhere.

10 . Australia is unique in many ways. It’s home to a wide range of landscapes and some of the most unusual animals on Earth. The Land Down Under is also the only place on Earth that qualifies as both a country and a continent. The definition of a continent isn’t as concrete as you might expect, but a few qualities help earn Australia that distinction.

The land mass’s status (地位) as a country is for sure. A country is defined as “a nation with its own government, occupying a particular territory,” and since 1901, the Commonwealth of Australia—as it’s officially known—has fit that description.

Australia’s claim to be a continent is less strong. There’s no scientific definition used to categorize continents. They tend to be large land masses with their own tectonic plates (地壳板块), and isolated enough to produce unique cultures and plant and animal populations. These aren’t hard and fast rules, however. Europe and Asia share a tectonic plate, but their cultural differences justify separating them into two continents (though the boundary separating one from the other is constantly changing). When it comes to what makes Australia a continent, size is the most minor factor. It’s the smallest continent at 2. 9 million square miles, and it’s actually closer in size to Greenland than it is to South America. So what makes Australia a continent and Greenland an island?

Australia’s distinctiveness carries a lot of weight here. Its isolated location allowed it to support native groups of people with distinct cultures as well as wildlife that can’t be found elsewhere on the planet. The native cultures and animals of Greenland, however, can also be found throughout the Arctic.