China’s First National Park

China’s first national park in Northwest of China’s Sanjiangyuan area,     1     (cover)a total area of 123,100 square kilometers, was officially established in 2020     2     schedule. The national park is the country’s calling card, and unlike nature reserves,     3     protect unique species, national parks stress the protection of the entire ecosystem.

Under the national park management, herders and     4     (farmer) will be turned into the forces of     5     (environment) protection in the Sanjiangyuan area. The work     6     (expect) to provide jobs, boost incomes and give people an     7     (encourage) to protect the environment. The ecological environment of the Sanjiangyuan area has greatly improved in recent years. The grassland coverage of the area has risen sharply     8     (compare) with the last decade. The last decade also saw a significant increase in the number of wild animals, because the number of Tibetan antelopes     9     (be) over 70,000 from less than 20,000 in     10     1980s.

2 . There are 156 known species of glass frogs living throughout the neotropics. Recent advancements in genetics are giving researchers a revealing look into the lives of these one-inch-long tree dwellers, some of which are the size of a paper clip.

Scientists have discovered, for example, that male glass frogs in some species are stellar parents — a rare trait among vertebrates (脊椎动物). Males of at least 24 species not only protect their eggs from predators but also actively care for them. While the embryos (胚胎) develop, males of some species, such as the sun glass frog sit atop their egg clutch "like a chicken," keeping the eggs hydrated until they hatch into tadpoles (蝌蚪).

New research is also discovering how the glass frog's transparent belly forms. It's suspected that young glass frogs physically rearrange the insides of their cells and tissues to become transparent adults. Fluid between the tissue cells may also contain a substance that allows light to travel through.

Another mechanism that may allow glass frogs to blend into the green leaves on which they doze during the day is called "a biological mirror", a kind of shield or covering of crystals in many of their tissues, which reflects up to 30 percent of the light that normally reaches them. Those crystals amplify the light signal, and the frog's green looks brighter.

Many scientists studying glass frogs arc motivated by the fact that some of their subjects are disappearing—and fast. Agriculture, cattle grazing, and mining projects in the Andes are taking over the frogs' already fractured forest homes.

"As soon as they are discovered, many species are declared endangered," Guayasamin, a biologist in Ecuador, says "yet there could be an advantage in conserving such isolated ponulanons." All could be inspired to work together to set aside frog-rich patches of land as reserves, ensuring that these delicate creatures have a solid chance at survival.

5 . Super Typhoon Mangkhut to Hit Philippines, Southeast Asia

As the United States prepares for Hurricane Florence, an even bigger ocean storm, Super Typhoon Mangkhut, is set to hit Southeast Asia. The storm also threatens the Philippines and Hong Kong.The super typhoon, known as Ompong in the Philippines, has winds of up to 250 kilometers per hour. That is considered a category 5 hurricane in North America, the most severe level.

More than 4 million Filipinos live in areas the storm could affect. Emergency officials say nearly 48,000 houses in high-risk areas are made of light materials and could be damaged by the powerful winds.

Experts say Super Typhoon Mangkhut could cause landslides and flooding across the northern Philippine island of Luzon.

The super typhoon is expected to reach the Philippines Saturday at the start of the harvest season in Luzon. The island is a major agricultural producer and farmers are trying to save their crops.

Forecaster Meno Mendoza shows the path of Super Typhoon Mangkhut, locally named “Typhoon Ompong,” as it approaches the Philippines at the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration in Manila, Sept, 12, 2018.

Mangkhut already has hit the U.S. — island territory of Guam. The Pacific Daily News reported the storm flooded streets, brought down trees and cut electrical service. About 80 percent of the island was without power but service restarted by Thursday morning.Mangkhut is the 15th storm to hit the Philippines and the most powerful to hit Asia this year. Last week, Typhoon Jebi (飞燕) struck Japan killing more than 10 people.

This is adapted for Learning English based on AP and other reports. Mario Ritter was the editor.Write to us in the Comments Section.

6 . A volcano burst in New Zealand December 9, 2019, killing at least five people and leaving many more missing.

News reports said at least 18 people were injured in the eruption of White Island volcano, about 50 kilometers off New Zealand’s main North Island. Some of the injured suffered severe burns. About 50 people, including New Zealanders and foreign visitors, were feared to have been near the volcano at the time of the eruption, Reuters news agency reported. Travel groups often make day visits to White Island.

Police said in a statement there were no signs of life on the island after helicopters and other aircraft carried out search and rescue operations. “Police believe that anyone who could have been taken from the island alive was rescued at the time of the evacuation(撤离),” the statement said. Large clouds of ash and steam could be seen shooting thousands of meters into the air after the explosion.

The disaster immediately raised questions about why people were permitted to visit White Island. Scientists had noted a rise in volcanic activity in recent weeks.

The GeoNet agency follows volcano and earthquake activity in New Zealand. On November 18, it raised the alert level on White Island from 1 to 2. A level of 5 represents a major eruption. The agency also said at the time that volcanic tremors(微震) had increased from weak to moderate in past weeks.

By Tan Bowen/ People's Daily app

11:37, December 09,2019

Adorable baby giant pandas are always curious about the world and love to play around. Recently, in southwest China’s Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, a baby panda was caught on camera getting his head stuck behind a log.

The panda tried to pull his head through the gap at first but couldn't manage to pass through it. Later, the breeder came to rescue him by pushing his bottom instead and nagged this little cutie constantly like a mother, but the baby panda continued to act cute, melting all panda lovers’ heart!

Click on this video to see the warm and sweet interaction between the breeder and the naughty baby panda!

Video source: panda

8 . Scientists have created a new app designed to identify dangerous mosquitoes based on sounds the insects make. The app, called Abuzz, is aimed at helping fight major diseases spread by mosquitoes.

Haripriya Vaidehi Narayanan is one of the researchers who helped develop the app. Narayanan told VOA that anyone with a mobile phone could use the app to identify mosquitoes. “If they see a mosquito around, they just take out their phone, open up the app, point their phone towards the mosquito and hit the record button,”she said. “Then, when the mosquito flaps its wings and starts flying around, it makes that noise, that annoying buzzing noise. That noise is what gets recorded by the Abuzz app.” she added.

Many diseases that mosquitoes carry do not have cures or vaccines. So, targeting the flying insects is the best way to control them. “The most important step is to know where the mosquitoes are,” Narayanan said.

Traditional methods for hunting mosquitoes are costly and can take a very long time. The process also requires labor-intensive trapping as well as trained scientists to identify the insects.

Manu Prakash is a professor of bioengineering at Stanford University and a lead investigator on the project. He says that out of about 3,500 different mosquito species, only about 40 are dangerous to humans. Prakash says the goal of the project was to find out whether the mosquitoes around a person's house are just an annoyance, or whether they are possibly dangerous.

When mosquitoes move their wings up and down, they produce buzzing sounds. But each kind of mosquito makes a slightly different buzzing noise. The app records these sounds. Users of the app can get an answer by recording as little as one or two seconds of the buzzing sound. The app compares this recording to a collection of other recordings. It then predicts which species of mosquito it is most likely to be.

By making use of mosquito information worldwide, the app can help build maps of where dangerous mosquitoes are. This can help scientists and health officials identify areas where disease is likely to break out and where to target mosquito control.