3 . A new study has found that all dogs have different personalities—even dogs of the same breed(品种).

Elinor Karlsson studies genetics at the University of Massachusetts. She co-wrote a report about the study, which appeared recently in the publication Science.

Karlsson said, “Every dog really is an individual,” noting that there is “a huge amount of difference” even between dogs that look the same.

At a New York dog park, dog owners talked about the different characteristics of their pets. Elizabeth Kelly owns an English springer spaniel. She called her dog friendly, but also “kind of the queen bee.” In other words, her dog likes to act like it is in charge of other dogs. Suly described her yellow Labrador as “calm, lazy and shy.”

The idea of dog breeds is quite recent. Around 160 years ago, humans began to breed dogs to have certain physical qualities, such as fur, color and ear shape.

Karlsson said her aim was to learn how much a dog’s breed affects their behavior. The answer? Breed does not decide an individual dog’s personality.

Karlsson’s team gathered information from 18,000 dog owners and studied the genetic code of over 2,000 dogs. The researchers found that some qualities are based on genetics. However, it is not sure that two dogs of the same breed will behave in the same way.

For example, huskies and beagles, may be more likely to howl—or make a long, loud barking sound. But many of these dogs do not howl, as owner observations showed.

Usually,we are encouraged to be nice to our people. However, we always forget to be nice to    1     (we)environment.

Global warming is quite     2     big problem today in the 21st century. Pollution leads    3     greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere,which gradually causes the temperature of the Earth to increase. And the rising temperature causes the melting of glaciers(冰川融化)and abnormal weather.     4     (prevent)global warming is key to the protection for the Earth.

Simple things that can be done every day can help slow down global warming and make the Earth better place for us,our     5     ( child),and more future generations to live. We need to take actions     6     (active) to help reduce global warming.

There    7     (be)many ways to help,such as taking public transportation,riding bikes or walking. The question is    8     we are willing to put them into practice. If the answer is positive, act now! We should walk or bike whenever we can. It’s also an     9     ( easy) and more beneficial exercise than exercising in the gym. If we have to go to a place and we can’t walk,we should take the public transportation. We also try to encourage our friends and family to do the same to make a contribution to global warming. If everyone does something to help,we can make a     10     (different).

5 . Rubbish of all kinds is piling up in landfill and polluting our rivers and oceans. A more recent addition to the list of things we discard is e-waste — electronic items that are broken and not recycled. A UN report claims the 50 million tonnes of e-waste produced every year will more than double to 110 million tonnes by 2050, making it the fastest growing waste stream in the world. Now ways are being found to give it a new life.

There’s a growing trend for repair events and clubs which could be part of a solution to the growing amount of electrical and electronic garbage. The BBC visited a Restart Project in London, which is one of the many found around the world. One of its volunteers, Francesco Calo said, “This project allows you to reduce waste, lengthen the life of objects, and it helps people who cannot afford to get rid of items that have developed a fault. ”

Electronics consist of materials like plastic, metals, chemicals and glass. As many electrical items contain valuable metals, another idea is e-waste mining. An experiment at the University of New South Wales includes extracting (提取) these materials from electronic items. It’s thought that doing this could be more profitable than traditional mining. With phones typically containing as many as 60 components, this could be part of the solution to our appetite for new technology.

These projects make total sense — collections of e-waste for recycling are not progressing or even decreasing according to Ruediger Kuehr of the United Nations University. And in countries where there are no recycling laws, much of it is got rid of. However, the European Union, for example, is trying to settle the problem by insisting business firms have to make appliances longer-lasting and have to supply spare parts for machines for up to 10 years.

6 . Located in the Indian Ocean,the Maldives(马尔代夫) are among the most beautiful islands in the world,with white sandy beaches,clear water,and amazing coral reefs(珊瑚礁).The country depends on tourism,fishing,and shipping.But the rising sea level and the carbon pollution causing warming oceans are threatening(威胁) their existence.

The Maldives have asked for international help.They are a tiny country.The World Bank,the United States,the European Union,and many other groups have offered money to develop safeguards against climate change.

To protect the islands,the Maldives have built sea walls and increased the elevation(海拔) of important buildings and services such as the two international airports,which lie just 165 feet from the coastline.

They’re also building up islands such as the Hulhumale.The new island is surrounded by 9-foot sea walls.More than 40,000 people live there.The plan is to house 240,000,providing new opportunities for jobs.The goal is an excellent planned community with sustainable housing and buildings sensitive to the environment and needs of the people.

The government will move people living on smaller,lower-lying islands to the new built-up islands.The new islands offer free houses,new schools,health hospitals,fresh water,and waste treatment.Depending on tourism,the country hopes to build 50 more tourist islands.

“Climate change is happening,but we are not leaving the Maldives to the sea,” said Environment Minister Thoriq Ibrahim.The Maldives will protect their islands,people and tourism with new islands and ongoing island development against the rising sea level.

7 . Swimming in the water of Hawaii’s Big Island is a fun experience. But it can be more exciting if there are dolphins swimming around and jumping out of the sea too. For many people, it would be a wonderful dream to swim with these lovely animals! However, this may not be good for dolphins. They may get hurt because of human interaction (互动).

Dolphins are active and usually look for food at night. In the day, they like to rest in shallow bays (浅湾). Many people think the dolphins are awake during the day as they swim. But when they sleep they rest half of their brain and keep the other half awake to breathe, so they may be sleeping even when they’re swimming in the water.

From 2010 to 2013, spinner dolphins (飞旋海豚) of Hawaii’s Big Island were exposed to human activities more than 82 percent of the time, according to Julian Tyne, a researcher at Australia’s Murdoch University.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says disturbing the animals in their near-shore habitat could force them to swim to less favourable places, putting them at risk of being attacked by sharks and other animals.

Besides, when people are around, dolphins become more active. Thus, they can’t get enough sleep. “Disturbing their resting behaviours can actually affect their long-term health and the health of the dolphin population,” Ann Garrett of NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service told the Associated Press.

As a result, the NOAA wants to make rules to help protect the dolphins. For example, the agency (机构) may ban swimming with the Hawaii spinner dolphins. Or they may stop people from swimming in shallow bays when the dolphins are resting. Tour operators must also be taught to watch for signs to know when the dolphins are in their resting state.

Paddington (帕丁熊) is one of the most famous    1    (bear) in the world. He first came onto the British scene in 1958 in a children’s book A Bear Called Paddington    2     was written by British writer Michael Bond. In the story, Paddington is kind and humorous. He is also polite and always calls people “Mr”, “Mrs” and “Miss”, rarely using    3    (they)first names.

Such a cute bear caught people’s hearts    4    (immediate). He first came out on TV in 1975. He’s also been made into toys with different costumes. Many children would have a Paddington bear toy    5    their first gift.

Paddington is so loved that it’s common    6    (find) plates and tea towels with Paddington patterns in British homes. He has a special facial expression. He is    7    (know) for giving a hard stare whenever he meets somebody he doesn’t like. Therefore, when someone    8    (give) a hard stare, you could say that they are making a “Paddington Bear face”.

Today, this classic children’s character has grown into an    9    (importance) part of British culture.     10    you want a taste of British culture, Paddington’s stories are a great way.

9 . A storm hit Houston, Texas, on Tuesday. It brought heavy rains and rising flood-waters. By Tuesday night, some parts of the city had received 10 inches of rain. Police and firefighters helped people move to safe places. They also saved people from cars and buses that were stuck on roads.

Certain areas around Houston were hit really hard. In just four hours, more than seven inches of rain fell in Sugar Land in the southwest of Houston. Cars could not pass through any of the areas main roadways. On Twitter, Sugar Land city officials asked people to get to high ground.

Tuesday’s rain hit parts of Texas that Hurricane Harvey had already damaged almost two years ago. Hurricane Harvey in August, 2017 was the second most costly hurricane in US history. It caused $125 billion worth of damage in Texas. In the Houston area, 36 people died and about 150,000 homes were flooded.

A spokesman for the Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management spoke with the Houston Chronicle. The spokesman said that this week’s rain is “not in any way a Harvey-level event.”

But the worst may not be over yet. People will have a break from the heavy rain on Wednesday. According to the National Weather Service, the Texas Gulf Coast will continue to experience heavy rain later in the week. “Today should be our quietest over the next few days for rainfall,” said Don Oettinger, a National Weather Service meteorologist (气象学家).

Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peia warned, “As there is too much water on the ground, these are perfect conditions for flash floods, so we hope people are careful of what they’re doing and encourage them to stay home. There’s no sense in putting yourself, firefighters or anybody in danger needlessly. ”

10 . A team of conservationists (环境保护主义者) captured 14 Loa water frogs earlier this month in northern Chile, a wildlife group reported.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the Loa water frog as “critically endangered”. The not-for-profit Global Wildlife Conservation group said the 14 frogs were in poor condition when they were discovered in late June. The animals were small and struggling because of a lack of food and water.

The Loa water frogs are known to live only in a single body of water near Calama, in Chile. The city sits in the middle of the Atacama Desert, where water is in great demand.

There was little water in the area where the frogs were found, the conservation group reported. The frogs’ environment had mostly dried up because water is being taken away and used for human activities, the group said. The activities include mining (矿业), agriculture and land development. “All of the frogs had been pushed into a tiny pool of muddy water,” the organization said. “The team collected the last 14 individuals and brought them to the National Zoo of Chile to start a conservation breeding (繁殖) program.”

Zoo specialists are closely watching the small creatures and trying to give them everything they need to survive and be healthy. Conservation groups have called on Chile’s government to take steps to halt any illegal water usage that threatens the frogs’ natural environment. They would also like to see creation of a government-supported shelter to protect the animals.

Jon Paul Rodriguez heads the IUCN’s Species Survival Commission. He suggested that an emergency plan be developed to prepare the Calama area for the frogs’ return.

“We need to work very hard to restore their environment because it’s pointless to breed them if they don’t have a home to go back to in the wild,” Rodriguez said.