1 . David Willard has been checking the grounds of Chicago’s lakefront exhibition center for dead birds for 40 years. One morning this year he found something horrible; Hundreds of dead songbirds, so thick they looked like a carpet. Nearly 1,000 songbirds died during the night after crashing into the center’s windows. According to bird experts, the result was caused by a combination of migration conditions, rain, and the exhibition hall's low lights and walls with windows.

Birds don’t see clear glass and don’t understand it’s a deadly barrier. When they see plants or bushes through windows, they head for them, killing themselves in the process. Birds that migrate at night, like sparrows, rely on the stars to navigate. Bright lights from buildings both attract and confuse them, leading to window strikes or birds flying around the lights until they die from tiredness—a phenomenon known as deadly light attraction.

But even in the best of circumstances, spring and fall are dangerous times for migrating birds. When they migrate over major cities, the risks increase. Hundreds or thousands of dead birds may appear on city streets after a wave of migrants has passed through. In all, about 100 million to 1 billion birds die each year in North America from crashing buildings.

The good news is that people can greatly reduce the danger with some simple methods. Window strikes are easily preventable, said Anna Pidgeon, an expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Architects can design windows with markings in the glass that birds can easily recognize, she said. People can paint their windows as well.

4 . Have you ever wondered what happens to your mobile phones and laptops after you throw them out to make way for a newer model? According to its latest Global E-Waste Monitor, India is the third top producer of e-waste in the world. E-waste in Indian landfill goes on to pollute soil and groundwater, affecting food supply systems and water sources.

Thankfully, the country has a new group of artists who are changing these thrown mechanical items-from mobile phones to old televisions- into large murals (壁画) and artworks to creatively show their concern for the waste problem.

Over the past quarter of a century, Mumbai’s Haribaabu Naatesan has transformed hundreds of tonnes of e-waste into art, integrating elements from nature and industry. “I get my waste material from friends, relatives and neighbours who know my interest in e-art and send me bags of thrown electronic appliances,” says Naatesan. Over his career, he has created huge murals for several companies. He has also showed his work at the India Art Fair, as well as several other national displays.

Another artist Vishwanath Davangere has also long worked with e-waste. He likes to take apart old laptops and reassemble (重新组装) them into birds, animals and plants. After retirement, he started pursuing this hobby more seriously and started selling his creations across the world. His most outstanding works include a robotic Egyptian statue with glowing red eyes and a Milky Way made from keyboard keys. He hopes to enable others to reconsider their own consumption habits and make more environmentally conscious choices.

“By giving e-waste a second chance, I aim to raise awareness about the environmental impact of electronic waste.” says Davangare, who today has a collection of more than 600 eco-art objects.

For those looking to escape the concrete jungle, maybe it’s time to dive into the bamboo forests of southern Sichuan.

A natural forest that people in Sichuan province tend     1    (visit) is the Southern Sichuan Bamboo Sea in Yibin. The 120-square-kilometer Bamboo Sea is the     2     (large) bamboo park in China and its average temperature seldom drops below zero degrees Celsius in winter     3     many parts of the country are covered with snow and ice.

Known as one of the country’s 10 most beautiful forests, it     4    (be) a popular tourist attraction since the Oscar-winning Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon     5    (shoot), there in 2001.

Two years later, the bamboo forest received world-wide     6    (recognize) as a bamboo reserve in December 2003,     7    (become) the fourth tourism destination in China to be granted Green Globe 21 certification.

The Bamboo Sea covers Changning and Jiang’an, two counties     8     the authority of Yibin. Amazed at its vast expanse, Huang Tingjian,     9     poet from the Song Dynasty, described it as “bamboo waves”. As Huang was an     10    (influence) man of letters, his description gave rise to the forest’s popular nickname—the Bamboo Sea.

8 . My name is Ben. I am 13, and I live in Chantilly, VA. Just yesterday, June 24, I was at home watching my sister, who is mentally handicapped (弱智的). My father was at work while my mother and younger sister were at my mother’s office.

I had noticed the clouds growing darker and the ones to the east were turning green. At first I thought nothing of it, but then on TV, the weather reporter was announcing a big thunderstorm warning, one that usually brings hail (冰雹) and heavy rain.

After seeing that, I called my mother and told her about it. She told me I should not be worried because it was just a thunderstorm so we hung up. Then I looked outside and noticed it was almost pitch black at 4：30. I took a flashlight (手电筒) because I was sure the power was going to go out any second.   Then no sooner had I gotten back from getting the flashlight than the weather reporter announced a Tornado Warning! I had never been in an actual tornado before, but I had seen some funnel clouds before in Montana.

Suddenly I realised I had no time to lose and I had to try to get my sister down the stairs to the basement in a matter of minutes. I surprisingly got her down there with no trouble at all and I raced back up the stairs to get the cordless phone. When I got back downstairs my dad called and told me to get downstairs immediately. I told him I was already down there! He said OK and we talked for a few seconds and then we hung up. Then_through the basement windows, the only thing_I_could_see_was_lightning.

I do not recall hearing of any deaths, or too many injuries so I guess everyone got a good head start to run to their basements. Either that or we are all lucky.