1 . Scientists exploring a marine trench(海沟) near Japan were surprised to find a type of snailfish in one of the deepest parts of the ocean, at 8, 336 meters below the surface. The creature is probably the deepest fish anyone will ever find.

“They can’t really go any deeper,” says deep-sea scientist Alan Jamieson of the University of West Australia, who led the team that made the discovery, considering the theoretical limit of fish physiology(生理机能) is around 8, 400 meters to ensure that fish cells don’t become too small at such enormous pressures. “If anyone does find fish deeper than this, it will not be by much,” Jamieson says. The previous record holder, a junior snail fish seen in the Mariana Trench, was filmed at a depth of 8, 178 meters in 2017.

Prosanta Chakrabarty, director of fishes at Louisiana State University’s Museum of Natural Science, is impressed that the fish could survive so far down, where the water pressure is 800tes that of the surface. “At that depth, everything from gas exchange for breathing to nearly every physiological function seems impossible,” he says. “I can barely swim to the bottom of a swimming pool without my ears exploding.”

Jamieson’s team discovered the snail fish in August 2022 at the bottom of the Izu-Ogasawara Trench, near the main islands of Japan. To explore deep ocean trenches, the team was using manned and unmanned underwater vehicles equipped with cameras, lights and batteries, along with a weight to carry the equipment to the seafloor, unexpectedly photographing the fish.

The warmer water seems to be why the snail fish survive. These snail fish are living near the edge of what’s possible. “The difference is less than a degree, so we wouldn’t care,” Jamieson says. “But it makes a difference to sea animals.”

In an e-mail to Scientific American, Dahiana Arcila, a scientist who studies fishes noted the part played by technology in the discovery. “Detectors and landers will gain a deeper understanding of the unexplored regions of our planet’s oceans,” she wrote.

2 . Every day as the sun rises, Ma Hongyi, a 66-year-old farmer, can be seen patrolling (巡逻) Yuncheng Salt Lake with his dog in Yuncheng city, North China’s Shanxi province.

Ma still remembers the day when he first saw two big pink birds wandering through the water. “I had never seen such pretty birds. They were even taller than me, with long wings,” Ma recalls. He was later informed that birds were flamingos, a rare sight in China, which were listed on the International Union for Protection of Nature’s red list of endangered species in 2013. From that day on, Ma started his second career as a volunteer to prevent human beings from interfering with the wildlife. “The birds are attracted by the good environment,” Ma says. “I will do my best to protect the lake so that birds can come here every year.”

Yuncheng Salt Lake covers an area of 132 square kilometers and used to serve as a salt production base. As the country began attaching greater importance to environmental protection, an ecological (生态的) protection and development center was set up in 2012 to carry out regular ecological protection and restoration (修复) of the lake. “The greatest value of the Salt Lake lies in its ecology, which should be properly restored and protected,” says Chu Xianghao, mayor of the city. The lake area hosts 292 types of wild animals, along with 782 plant varieties, some of which are newly recorded species in the country.

After patrolling the lake as volunteer for over four years, Ma was employed by the local government to help with wildlife protection in 2019. “The lake’s ecology is getting better,” Ma says, adding that he looks forward to the arrival of the flamingos every year. “Some of them are my old friends,” he says.

Qiyuan Garden is a classical type private garden     1     (locate) in Wuyuan Township of Haiyan County in Zhejiang Province. It is one of the top ten gardens in China. The old name of it is Feng’s Garden. During the Qing Dynasty,     2     owner of the Garden, Feng Zuanzhai, settled here.

The layout of the whole garden expresses the     3     (harmony) manner between water and mountains. The garden has a large area of water     4     it is dotted with a few constructions. The entrance of the garden is on the west side. In the middle of the garden is the flower hall with bridges in front. The     5     (flow) water goes around the hall to the north, and by the other side of the pool in front of the hall     6     (be) artificial hills. The layout of the garden is similar     7     the structure of the Humble Administrator Garden in Suzhou. The garden has various     8     (attract) with fancy names such as Butterfly Drops into Greens and the Setting Sun on the Lotus Pool. Pathways here consist of waterways, mountain holes, underground tunnels and fly-over beams (飞梁),     9     will bring you to a dreamland. Beautiful gloriettes (亭子) are evenly distributed in the garden     10     (provide) a place for relaxation.

5 . 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.

7 . California, Arizona and Nevada announced an agreement on Monday to cut their use of the Colorado River by another 14% in exchange for $1.2 billion grants (拨款) from the US government. The landmark agreement, which lasts through 2026, would avoid compulsory cuts set by the US government to keep the crucial Colorado River basin from collapsing in the face of constant over-consumption and a long drought worsened by climate change.

The 1,450-mile-long Colorado River provides drinking water for 40 million people in seven US states, part of Mexico, and several Native American tribes. It also supplies water for 5.5 million acres of productive farmland.

The Interior Department needs to sign off on the agreement before it takes effect. Camille Touton, leading member of the Interior Department’s Bureau of Reclamation, called the agreement “an important step forward toward our shared goal of creating a sustainable path for the basin that millions of people call home.”

The voluntary cuts are about half of what the US government said were needed last year, but an exceptionally wet winter and unusually plentiful snow pack gave the seven states that use the Colorado River a temporary relief. The two dammed reservoirs (水库) on the river, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, have risen 7 feet and 26 feet, respectively, since April, after falling to crisis levels in 2022. Lake Mead is now 30% full and Lake Powell 27%.

Arizona, California and Nevada draw their Colorado River water from Lake Mead while four Upper Basin states—Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming—use water directly from the river and its branches. All seven basin states still have to reach a longer-term arrangement for use of the declining Colorado River after 2026. Monday’s agreement is “a great start”, Jack Schmidt, director of the Utah State University’s Center for Colorado River Studies, tells the Los Angeles Times. “It’s about 25% of where we ultimately need to get.”

9 . Indoor plants might look as if they just sit around not doing much, but in many ways they are the unsung heroes of the home.     1    , but studies have shown that they can promote people’s wellbeing by improving their mood (心情), reducing stress and helping their memory. What’s more, indoor plants are easy to look after and are not very expensive.

What are indoor plants?

Indoor plants, also known as houseplants or pot plants, are plants that like to grow indoors. Many of these species (物种) are not ideally suited to growing outside in the UK, especially in the winter.     2    .

Why are indoor plants good for you?

Will Spoelstra, who works at the Royal Botanic Gardens, says, “    3    . I find during the winter months, plants around the house can really lift your mood.” Several studies have backed this up and found that indoor plants can improve creativity, focus and memory. There is also research showing that pot plants can clean the air around them by removing harmful gases, such as carbon dioxide. They also remove some harmful chemicals from paints or cooking.     4    .

Which plants can you grow?

Aloe vera, peace lilies and spider plants are some of the species that are easy to grow indoors. You can buy plants from supermarkets, garden centres or online. Younger plants are often cheaper than fully grown ones, and you get to care for them as they mature — which is part of the joy of owning plants. “    5    ,” Spoelstra says. “It can bring a new interest and focus into people’s lives and help to make the link between home and nature.”