2 . To look inside an ant nest is to meet with an alien civilization. The boiling mass of worker ants beneath an upturned stone is both strangely reminiscent of (联想到) human society and strikingly different. There is an organization that fascinates us and a long line of myrmecophiles (or ant lovers) leads back all the way to King Solomon, who in fact advised people to “go to the ant, consider her ways and be wise”. This was exactly the inspiration behind Planet Ant, a TV program showcasing what we know about the kingdom of ants, and what ants can teach us about the human world.

Like us, ants build structures, find food, defend their societies and manage waste, and-also like us-they must be well organized. For example, the leaf-cutting ants of Planet Ant have special waste disposal areas for storing harmful waste and a team of “waste-disposal ants” dedicated to keeping the nest clean. But ants achieve this familiar final result in a very different way to humans. Human societies have centralized control. In other words, someone tells us what to do. Ants, on the other hand, have decentralized control and neither the queen nor any other ant directs work. Ant workers are the final self-starters, following specific, but potentially flexible, rules in certain situations.

Chemical trails underpin much of this self-organization. Foragers (觅食者) lay a mix of chemicals known as trail pheromone (信息素) behind them as they walk. Other ants follow the trail and if they find food they reinforce it, laying more pheromone as they return to the nest. Stronger trails are more likely to be followed, so trails leading to food become progressively reinforced, while trails with no food at the end fade away.

This combination of positive feedback and evaporation (蒸发) produces an effective foraging system that is very good at finding the quickest routes to food. This simple guiding principle, and others like it, have provided some useful solutions to the complex problems faced by engineers, computer scientists and businesses.

3 . The artificial lighting which lines the world’s coastlines could be having a significant effect on species that rely on the moon and stars to find food, new research suggests.

Creatures such as the sand hopper orientate（确定方位）their nightly migrations based on the moon’s position and brightness of the natural night sky. However, a study by Bangor University and the University of Plymouth shows the presence of artificial light coming from cities several kilometres away (also known as artificial sky glow) disrupts the lunar compass they use when covering long distances.

In some cases, this can lead to animals travelling towards the sea and away from food, while in others it reduces the chance of them risking out for food at all. Writing in Current Biology, researchers say this could throw a clear threat not just to the health of sand hopper populations (沙蚤种群)but also the wider ecosystem, since they play an important role in breaking down and recycling algae (海藻)washed up on coastlines.

Dr. Thomas Davies, Lecturer in Marine Conservation at the University of Plymouth (UK), said, “Artificial sky glow is the most geographically widespread form of light pollution. Surveys have shown it can currently be detected above 23% of the world’s coasts nightly, and with coastal human populations set to at least double by 2060, its effects are only going to increase. Our results show it is already having obvious effects on biological processes that are guided by celestial（天上的）light signals.”

Through the study, researchers find increasing proofs that light pollution from coastal cities can influence marine species inhabiting nearby beaches, rocky shores and even the seafloor. These results highlight how massive city lighting could be in shaping the ecology of coastlines kilometres distant from their nearest urban centres. They also highlight the potential for artificial sky glow to affect other species that undergo migrations using the moon as a compass.

“While our understanding of the effect of street lights on nature has improved greatly, artificial sky glow has been largely overlooked. More work is urgently needed to fully understand the degree to which it is shaping the natural environment.” Dr. Thomas.

4 . When I first came to Rochester from Austin, Texas — a place where fall is practically non-existent — I was excited for a real northern fall. But, I wasn’t _________ it to feel like Christmas in October.

Regardless of this _________, and the adjustment period that I’m not entirely sure I’m _________, I am thankful to be somewhere that has a _________ fall. By “real” I _________ a distinctive season, a(n) _________ in the weather and a visual changing of the world around me. The leaves _________ colors, it rains more often, the air is almost always _________ and dry, and a light breeze _________ me to walk a bit faster to get inside. Yes, it is more difficult to be __________ outside in a Rochester fall — where it isn’t just “less hot” but __________, fairly cold. But, I would argue that time spent outside in this season could be more __________ than in the summer.

Everyone __________ that fall is about change — I won’t argue against that. Things do __________ in the fall — the weather is __________ becoming worse and worse, the dying leaves become warmly colored, and __________ you know it, we’ll be back to having only eight hours of sunlight a day.

This oncoming change is why I think it is so important to __________ fall. Fall is not just about the __________ of change, but also appreciating what will soon be __________. Go __________ this fall. Enjoy the leaves not because they are turning beautiful deep shades of orange and red, but because there will soon be no leaves in those branches at all.

5 . A study shows that the more eco-conscious way to shop is going to a physical store rather than by making purchases online from companies that don't have physical stores. Researchers estimated that shopping at physical stores for frequently bought items such as toilet paper, shampoo and toothpaste, often results in less greenhouse gas emissions than ordering the products from a company that only sells through the Internet.

The main reason is because of how people shop online： Many buy items online frequently — but they only buy a few items per purchase. Frequent online purchases produce more packaging waste, and online items tend to come from different distribution centers. Both factors result in higher greenhouse gas emissions per item.

The team modeled their research on the movement of goods from the factory all the way through to the end consumer. They analyzed the carbon footprint of the "last mile delivery" for the three most popular types of shopping channels in the United Kingdom — physical stores, "brick & clicks" (when people order online and a physical store delivers the items to them) , and "pure players” (strictly online sellers). Included in the three models were greenhouse gas emissions estimates from the number of products bought, transportation, warehouse storage , delivery and packaging activities.

The analysis showed that total greenhouse gas footprints per item purchased were higher from physical stores than those from bricks & clicks purchases in 63% of the shopping events but lower than those of pure players in 81 % of shopping events in the United Kingdom. In the United States, greenhouse gas emissions from shopping at physical stores were also estimated to be higher than from the brick & click channel, and lower than the pure play channel, on average.

This pattern holds true in countries where people mostly drive. It really depends on the country and consumer behavior there.

Fires swept across the Amazon this month have been grabbing global headlines. Scientists and environmentally groups are worried about that they will result in climate change and threaten biodiversity. As a largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon is often called “the lung of the world”. It is also home 3 million species of plants and animals and million of local people. Quantities of rainforests play an important role in the world’s ecosystem because it absorb heat what will be reflected back into the atmosphere. They also store carbon dioxide and producing oxygen, insuring that fewer carbon is released, reducing the effects of climate change.

7 . Waste sorting is a complex phenomenon that can be an important step toward a global circular economy. Maybe it even will be something we will look back on as one of the first steps toward an ecological society.

But sorting of waste could also mean participating in an activity that gradually weakens sustainable development by allowing unsustainable companies to use recycling as a way to pretend they are sustainable.

When Royal Dutch Shell, British-Dutch oil and gas company, wanted to dump an oil rig in the ocean in 1995 many people in Europe had just started to separate glass bottles and newspapers. The company’s plan was viewed as a sign of arrogance. The incident led to an important meeting, after which many companies started including environmental factors in their risk assessment.

The situation is different today. It is no longer clear if the kind of waste sorting done in Western nations is part of the problem or the solution. There are areas where the sorting of waste is working reasonably well, for example the glass and metal industries. But at a time when we are looking at a transformative system change and global sustainability, there is a need to fundamentally rethink waste sorting.

In the coming decades, the world needs to eliminate (消除) the use of fossil fuels, become more resource efficient lift billions out of poverty and ensure greater equity. In order to ensure this, we need a resource-efficient circular economy, and waste sorting can play a key role. But that should be a very different kind of waste sorting.

China could initiate the next generation of waste sorting systems. Such a waste sorting system would be a driver for innovation and extreme resource efficiency and a true step toward ecological civilization.

Every minute, people around the world purchase 1 million plastic bottles,    1    adds up to roughly 526 billion bottles every year. Much of the plastic    2    (end) up in landfills (填埋场), rivers or oceans, often with destructive effects on wildlife. Many people are now trying to cut down on plastic use, while also turning the single-use plastic into something    3    (use) — like auto parts.

Recycles plastic is ideal for automotive parts due to its light    4    (weigh) that offers additional benefits such as    5    (improve) a vehicle’s aerodynamics (空气动力) and reducing cabin noise.

The use of plastic in vehicle parts has grown a lot since the last decade, especially in underbody shields (车底护板).    6    is assumed that around 1.2 billion recycled plastic bottles are used every year — that’s about 250 bottles per vehicle    7    average.

How exactly does your plastic water bottle turn into an aerodynamic auto part? After you put the bottle into the recycling bin, it’s    8    (eventual) combined with thousands of others and cut into tiny pieces. Then, these pieces    9    (sell) to a supplier, who turns them into a fiber by melting them. This fibers mixed with other elements (元素) in a special process, and then were used     10    (create) a sheet of material that can be formed into vehicle parts.