3 . Growing up in Mauritius, I love nature. Behind my house, there is a mountain named Le Pouce, where I spent much time _________the forest as a kid. However, my instinct (天性) for exploration _________at the water’s edge. Even though Mauritius is an island country _________ by the Indian Ocean, the thought of entering the ocean made me scared.

When I was about 10, this started to _________. I began learning about the _________ climate change presented to island countries, and I started_________ an interest in protecting the environment. I watched nature documentaries,_________ the steps I could take to change the world,_________ I still didn’t know how to effectively achieve it. Later, I took the National Geographic Society’s Exploring Conservation courses, which set me on a path to helping start and_________, The Oceanic Project, an organization dedicated to helping people understand the ocean and enhancing people’s__________ of protecting the ocean.

Gradually, I realized how much humans __________ the ocean for its natural resources and that it was not as __________ as I had imagined. My fear was rooted in a(n) __________ of falling into a river in my childhood. Determined to__________ it, I became a certified diver last year.

Diving plays a big part in my life now, and I work to__________ the protection of the underwater environment. I helped run a summer camp for young divers. During that time, I led a beach cleanup to help the participants understand how human litter could end up in the ocean. I got encouraged by the__________ of the activity when a parent told me her son insisted on __________ plastic items in their home with bamboo alternatives after returning home.

Protecting the ocean is very__________ and I’ll keep dedicating myself to it. And I__________ hope more people will join me. Only with everyone’s effort can we make the world a(n)__________ place for human beings.

4 . In Southeast Ohio, countless orange-stained streams are colored by the iron oxide(氧化铁)pollution from abandoned coal mines. Although rivers can be cleaned up by neutralizing the acidity of acid mine drainage(AMD)(矿山酸性废水), it’s an expensive process. However, two professors at Ohio University have come up with a way to help with the clean-up by collecting the iron oxide from polluted rivers to make pigments(颜料)for artists.

Coal was once an important part of Ohio’s economy, and the state produced approximately 2.35 billion tons from its underground mines between 1800 and 2010. But before 1977, when the US introduced the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, mines that were no longer needed were often simply abandoned. As a result, many of the mines have become polluters, with AMD affecting 1300 miles of Ohio streams.

Guy Riefler and John Sabraw from Ohio University partnered to take their idea from an interesting little science project to something bigger. In 2018, alongside local non-profit Rural Action, they partnered with a paint company Gamblin to create a limited run of 500 oil paints. Named the “Reclaimed Earth Colors” set, the paints were popular among artists, allowing them to present an environmentally conscious aspect in their work. Through their social enterprise, True Pigments, they are now putting their clean-up model to the test by building their first full-scale treatment facility.

Once the treatment facility is operational, True Pigments aims to collect approximately 2 million pounds of iron oxide annually and clean up seven miles of stream. A previous project that neutralized the acidity of stream water on the west branch of Sunday Creek saw 17 species of native fish return after two years. True Pigments is confident that its facility will lead to a similar outcome.

True Pigments has received funding from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). By funding True Pigments, the ODNR hopes that the facility can help address an environmental issue and recover and improve water quality and provide jobs for the local community and create a supply of iron oxide for other uses.

5 . “It’s OK if you have to go, puppy,” I said, looking into those eyes that showed love, devotion and friendship.

But he wasn’t coming home.

Scout was taking his last ride from a specialist in Dallas back to our vet. He started out on the floor in the back. He crawled(缓慢地爬), obviously hurting, into the passenger seat where he always rode. Now and then he looked out of the window and then sadly back at me.

My first memory of Scout was as a 6-week-old puppy, sat on the edge of the seat, front paws on the window, looking back at Twin Pines Farm as he left. You might have expected him to act nervous, but he just smiled and watched. He smiled all the time – we called him the world’s happiest dog. He kindly put up with new dogs and puppies. He wasn’t what you’d call a devoted father, but he would play with the puppies if nobody was looking.He was busy when there was work to do. Most of his duties were riding in the truck, playing with balls or wandering. But when needed, he was always there to make me feel OK, knowing he would protect his family with every last breath.

How do these four-legged fur balls get so deep in our hearts? It hurts when they go. But when you ask yourself: Would I give up having known him to make the pain go away? The answer is, of course, no.

I think Scout was probably a once-in-a-lifetime dog. But his son Gus is playing around in our backyard right now, and he had his first ride in the truck yesterday. He has the same way of looking out of the window and then back at me with a smile on his face. Scout, however your son turns out, we’ll always remember you. In time, it won’t hurt so much, and we’ll get by. It’s OK, buddy. You had to go.

7 . A recent study suggests that logging (cutting down trees to use the wood) does not necessarily mean that things can’t live in the left-over forest any more. In fact, chopping down trees sometimes attracts more plants and wildlife than in forests where the trees have been left untouched.

Experts believe that about 70% of the world’s forests have had at least some logging. Until recently it wasn’t clear exactly what impact this had on other wildlife in forests. However, new research carried out on the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia, shows that logging can encourage healthy animal and plant life.

Scientists from Oxford University used tens of thousands of camera traps (cameras connected to sensors that only photograph when movement is detected) to find out how many animals were in forests that had been logged and how many were in forests where the trees just died naturally. The scientists worked out that the total weight of birds in logged forests was more than double, and for mammals it was more than three times as much. They also found that animals in logged forests get two and a half times as much energy from food than in untouched forests. The scientists think there is more food available in logged forests because more light reaches the forest floor when some of the canopy (dense tree tops) has been cleared away. This extra light helps smaller plants grow bigger, giving more food to wildlife like insects, deer and wild pigs. Yadvinder Malhi, an ecologist, said, “The whole forest gets more edible and more tasty.”

The study makes it clear that although more animals and plants might be able to live there, logging even part of a forest is still bad. That’s because untouched forests, with more and bigger trees, absorb lots of carbon dioxide, a gas that causes climate change. However, the study is important because conservationists didn’t think logged forests were important to protect. The new research shows that even damaged forests can have lots of wildlife that needs protecting.

10 . On a journey to the little-known Northeast region of India, we discover “a rare creature”: the “Forest Man of India”. Nearly every day for almost 40 years now, Jadav Payeng, a local farmer, has risen before dawn to cross the river on his boat, and begins the daily two-mile journey to his vegetable farm and his life’s mission: reviving the ecosystem here.

When Payeng was a boy, the river island of Majuli was attached to the mainland. Over the past several decades, erosion (侵蚀) from the powerful river waters of the Brahmaputra has gradually cut it off from the mainland. “Earlier, this was all sand. No trees, no grass—nothing was here.” Today fields of tall grasses stretch into the distance. Along with bright green plains dotted with cows, cotton trees stand straight in rows as far as the eye can see.

Payeng set about planting here in 1979, after unexpectedly seeing some dead snakes piled on the sand in the Indian sun. “When I saw it, I thought even we humans will have to die this way in the heat. It struck me,” he said. Payeng sought no permission to plant the forest. He just grew it, carrying on his tribe’s tradition of honoring nature.

The dense forest now covers an area of more than 1,300 acres. He is delighted that wild elephants cross the shallow river waters to walk around in his forest. Besides elephants, the home is filled with deer, monkeys, tigers and a wide variety of birds. “It’s not as if I did it alone,” says the self-styled naturalist. “You plant one or two trees, and they have to seed. And once they seed, the wind knows how to plant them, the birds here know how to sow them, cows know, elephants know, even the Brahmaputra River knows. The entire ecosystem knows.”

Payeng has single-handedly changed the landscape. When asked how he has sustained his passion, Payeng strikes a respectful tone. “Nature gives me inspiration. It gives me power. As long as it survives, I survive.”