A farewell party for 22-year-old Ya Ya at Memphis Zoo took place last Saturday. Ya Ya, a giant panda, was surrounded by bamboo and given a special ice cake made of grapes, sugar cane (甘蔗), and cookies,     1     (take) on a harmonious scene, according to pictures and videos shared online.

In 2006, Ya Ya began to lightly shed fur,     2     skin issue leading to fur loss, which worsened in 2014. Ya Ya’s health     3     (weigh) on a majority of Chinese people. And online, people started pressing for Ya Ya’s return to China.

Since the Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens received reports of Ya Ya’s poor health condition, Chinese experts have swung     4     action to assist in the care of Ya Ya to ensure her health and well-being. “Contrary to     5     most netizens might assume, Ya Ya is in a relatively stable (稳定的) health condition other than the fur loss, having a good appetite and stable weight. China will get Ya Ya home     6     (safe) at the fastest speed,” spokesperson of China’s ministry of foreign affairs, Wang Wenbin, said on Tuesday.

On April 27t, Ya Ya returned to Shanghai, safe and sound. One of the local     7     (resident) said, “The number of people waving at Ya Ya’s aircraft before it lands in Shanghai     8     (be) beyond our imagination. Having anticipated Ya Ya’s return for a longtime, we, at this moment, are so     9     (excite)! It is crucial that Ya Ya be exposed to a familiar circumstance     10     is of great benefit to her health recovery.” To our shock, Chinese people’s affection for Ya Ya hasn’t reduced despite the elapse (流逝) of 20 years.

6 . On a cold morning in December, Schewel enters a community garden in Bushwick followed by his two small dogs, Sundrop and Moonbeam. The dogs feel excited with _________ but not for a game of fetch. They are here to hunt. Schewel bends down to _________ them, and they rush out, using their small size to their _________ in the search for their target: the New York City rat.

Armed with his two _________ and a smoke machine to chase rats from their holes, Schewel is a rat hunter, a trade _________ more with the 19th century than the 21st. His company provides a(n) _________ service at a time when a “war on rats” has become a top _________ for Mayor Adams. _________ competitors that use poisons, Schewel offers a different approach by reintroducing predators (捕食者) to the urban _________.

At the garden, the dogs __________ a toolshed (工具房) with an empty space beneath — a likely place for rats to __________. The space is too small, so Schewel __________ his smoke machine, which has been filled with vegetable oil to create a nonpoisonous vapor (蒸汽). __________, a rat rushes out, and Sundrop is quickly upon it. With a bite and a few shakes, the rat dies. At Schewel’s __________, the rat is dropped.

The good news is that there aren’t many rats at all here. Schewel’s strategy proves __________. But if only the same could happen in the rest of the city!

7 . Digging out potato tubers (茎块) is one of the greatest rewards gardens have to offer. Children in particular are surprised at seeing these tubers that almost magically become chips, mash (泥) or baked potatoes.

Happily, potatoes are very easy to grow. Seed tubers are placed in good garden soil, ideally with some compost (堆肥) for every square meter, in a sunny spot, about 10cm deep at 30cm intervals in rows 60-70cm apart.

Seed tubers are offered as earliest and second earliest and maincrop. The second earliest and maincrops can be stored for winter use but earliest are usually consumed in summer.

Seasoned potato growers buy early seed potatoes in February and place them in a cool, reasonably light place and let them sprout (发芽). It takes six weeks for small sprouts to form.

Early potatoes are typically planted from middle March in the South, but are likely to emerge before the first season finishes in May. The shoots are frost-sensitive requiring protection on cod nights with either earth or newspapers.

Second early and maincrop potatoes are planted in middle April—the frost risk will be low, but not absent, by the time they emerge. As the stems (茎) grow, soil should be drawn around them until the leaves meet in the row in early summer. At this stage, the potato field is a series of ridges (脊，垄). The tubers form in the ridge, protected from light that turns them green. Covering with black plastic or a thick layer of compost is also accessible instead of ridging, but plastic is not sustainable and slugs (鼻涕虫) can multiply in compost.

Once the flowers are fully open, it is time to dig plants when the tubers are the size of a hen’s egg. They grow rapidly but gradually lose their juicy new potato flavour, so harvest freely.

8 . Most popular wildlife parks in India often have long queues and are expensive. Namrata Dadwal lists four lesser-known sanctuaries (保护区) that you can explore at a more reasonable price.

Kumbalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary

Spread over 578 acres in the Aravallirange, the sanctuary is near the Famous Kumbalgarh Fort. The sanctuary makes home to many endangered species of wildlife like wolf, leopard, and jungle cat.

Best way to explore: By boat

Best time to explore: March to December

National Chambal Sanctuary

The 5400 sq km sanctuary extends into Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh and is the only one in India with three keystone species — Ganges river dolphin, ghariyal and red-crowned roof turtle along with eight rare turtle species and about 300 species of birds.

Best way to explore: By boat

Best time to explore: November to March

Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary

While the Sunderbans in West Bengal is India’s most popular mangrove (红树林) forest, an equally wonderful one is Coringa, which is the second largest one in the country. It is a birder’s heaven and is also home to otters, jackals, fishing cats and estuarine crocodiles. Endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles nest here from January to March.

Best way to explore: By boat or on foot

Best time to explore: November to February

Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park

The park has 21 islands and three distinct coastal ecosystems — coral reef, seagrass bed and mangroves — with over 4,200 species of plants and animals. It is home to the largest endangered marine mammal Dugong and is also the last shelter of Balanoglossus.

Best way to explore: By boat or on foot

Best time to explore: October to March

9 . A fisherman in northern Cambodia hooked what researchers say is the world’s largest freshwater fish — a giant stingray (黄貂鱼) that scientists know relatively little about.

The fisherman, 42, caught the 300-kilogram fish, which measured about four meters in length, near a remote island on the Mekong River in the Stung Treng area. A team of scientists from the Wonders of Mekong research project helped tag (给…装标签), measure and weigh the fish before it was released back into the river. The research group believes it was healthy when released and expects it to survive.

The tag—which emits an acoustic (声音的) signal — will allow researchers to track the fish’s movements and they hope, learn more about its species’ behavior in the Mekong.

The catch “highlights how little we know about a lot of these giant freshwater fish,” said Zeb Hogan, a fish biologist at the University of Nevada. “You have a fish that’s now the record holder for the world’s largest freshwater fish, and we know little about it.”

The fisherman, Moul Thun, caught the giant stingray with a hook and line on the evening of June 13, and then contacted researchers the next morning.

Researchers with the Wonders of Mekong were already in northern Cambodia to install underwater receivers as part of a project to track migratory fish in the river.

“It’s a particularly healthy stretch of the river with a lot of deep pools — pools up to 90 meters deep,” said Hogan, who is also the host of National Geographic’s “Monster Fish” television series. “We started focusing on this area as a stretch of river that’s particularly important for biodiversity and fisheries, and as a last refuge (避难所) for these big species.”

For several months, the research group has been in contact with local fishermen, asking them to get in touch if they landed a significant catch. The group has helped with two other large giant freshwater stingray releases in recent months. The fisherman who caught the record fish was paid market price for his catch. “It works because the fish is not a highly prized food fish,” Hogan said.

Hogan said little is known about the giant freshwater stingray. The creature has a mouth about “the size of a banana” with no teeth, but with “gripping pads” used to crush (压碎) prey. “They’re on the bottom finding shrimps, mollusks and small fish. They can suck them up with this banana-shaped mouth and crush them,” he said.