Ancient Chinese thinkers regarded nature, with human beings included in it,     1     the world of life. All living things in the world have     2     (they) own lives and state of being. “Life and its state of being is most     3     (worth) of appreciation,” said Cheng Hao, a Confucian scholar in the Song Dynasty, “From such appreciation, people could draw     4     greatest spiritual delight.”

Confucian scholars in the Song and Ming Dynasties all enjoyed observing the state of being of living things. Zhou Dunyi, for example, allowed the grass     5     (grow) in front of his window without cutting it. When he     6     (ask) why, Zhou explained that the natural growth of grass was in line with his idea of living things. He observed the     7     (create) of life and the state of being of living things in the world through the grass. The state of being of the grass was similar to the state of being of people,     8     the experience of this resemblance gave him great pleasure. He felt great joy from     9     (observe) living things. He would often appreciate the fish he kept, and enjoyed watching newly hatched chicks. To him, the lively and lovely chicks     10     (well) represented the state of being.

The day starts early for Zheng Baogang and his tree-planting team. At about 5 a.m., they are on their way to the site of     1     abandoned mine in Huzhou, Zhejiang province.

Since June, they have been working to restore the land to     2     (it)past natural glory. It is the most difficult reforestation project related to the former coal mines and stone quarries in the area in     3     Zheng has participated. The Huzhou mine was put into operation in the late 1980s     4     it is about 200 metres deep now. Today, the entire site for reclamation(开垦)is more than 200. 000 square metres.

    5     (wear)ropes and straps like mountaineers, Zheng and his team took     6     (step)down the cliff to loosen the compacted(压实的)soil and plant trees or grass seeds every day. In summer, the ground temperature can reach over 40°C, while in winter, it is     7     (extreme)cold.

Although the work is     8     (danger)and laborious, Zheng says it is rewarding to see the brown fields turning green. Estimated to be completed by the end of this month, the project will enter a two-year maintenance period     9     (restore)the area’s greenery.

In the past decade, Zheng     10     (help)with such work at over 60 former sites. Some sites are even reviving parklands.

Recently, residents in a youth apartment building in downtown Shenzhen have planted the seed, cultivating (形成)     1     unique city lifestyle. They can farm their own land, which can     2     (access) just an elevator ride away to the top of their building. There they can grow vegetables, while     3     (communicate) with other renters and taking in the skyline of the city.

Huang Suyun, the founder of the youth apartment building,     4     (see) positive changes in her own life since “farming” and other social activities were introduced to the rooftop of it.     5     (additional), the experience of tending the gardens allows her     6     (make) friends and get to know others who cither live in the building or visit from outside.

The rooftop heaven covers a total area of 450 square meters and consists     7     a sightseeing zone, a shaded leisure area as well as the urban farming section. “There’s space to exercise, like doing yoga at the leisure zone, and then to walk over to check the vegetables,” says Xie Jing, an architect     8     undertook the project.

An increasing number of urban     9     (resident) at home and abroad have started to seek a social life that promotes environmental     10     (protect) and personal health, which is good news for sustainability and community activity development, experts say.

Nature hands us a whole series of rich and varied colors,     1    (literal) on our plates! Not only do we eat pigments (色素),     2     we use some of them as colouring agents. Red, yellow, pink and green are just some of the rainbow of colors in our food.

The color of food has quite     3     impact on our choice of what we eat. We instinctively prefer the colors red, orange and yellow over green and blue, which tend     4    (represent) bitterness. Man is naturally attracted towards sweet food and dislikes all things bitter, a tendency which is evident right from birth. However, such preferences     5    (influence) by our individual experiences and education, cultural criteria and tendencies. The color of a particular foodstuff can also influence our perception of tastes,     6    (flavor) or smells and we often associate certain colors with particular tastes: pink with sweet things, green with     7    (salt) food and the color orange with spicy food.

    8     do carrots, peppers and tomatoes all have in common? They all contain natural coloring agents. Discovery of various coloring techniques spread the centuries. New and creative methods to abstract pigments, mix them and then dye (染色), all add a little color     9     life, simply to please our senses. Nonetheless, colored food also brings micronutrients which are essential for good health. So don’t wait any     10    (long)! Brighten up your plate today!

With fossil records dating back to 400 million years ago, sharks have lived even     1     (long) than the dinosaurs and many other forms of life. There are more than 500 species of sharks     2     (discover) on earth.

These sharks,     3     are so important to the natural order of marine ecosystems, are faced with     4     (extinct). While they have been an important resource for coastal communities in the developing world for     5     (century), this unique balance is in danger of being lost forever.

As our oceans are     6     (serious) influenced by the greenhouse effect, to restore these water bodies is the key     7    protecting sharks. What’s more, sharks’ wide range of species adds difficulty to the conservation efforts of protecting these     8     (amaze) creatures. And the great demand for their fins     9     (increase) the urgency of the task over the past few years. Through the effective strategies, we are trying to restore the balance between humans     10     sharks.

A five-month-old bird has set a new record for long-distance migration(迁徙)after    1    (fly)13,560 kilometers without stopping over a period of 11 days. The previous one was set two years ago by another bird that     2    (cover) about 12,000 kilometers in 11 days.

    3    (million)of birds set for the sky for a long and quite hard journey to get away from the coming cold, feed, and have babies for    4    next few months. A lot of them travel through distances of over 10,000 kilometers. This year, an    5    (astonish) 13,560 kilometers was covered by a bird,    6    set a new Guinness record in the process. This happened last month when the young bird had its     7    (depart) from Alaska to New Zealand for the winter. The bird took off    8    October 13 from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in Alaska, followed the usual route across the Pacific Ocean down to New Caledonia and through the Tas-man Sea, before making an unexpected 90-degree turn towards Tasmania rather than New Zealand.

Scientists had the ability     9    (know) the bird’s record flight with the help of a tiny tracker that only weighed 5 grams. An expert said the bird lost “half or more of its body weight” during the 11-day flight, but it made it arrive at the dry land    10    (safe).

China has planted millions of trees in its northwest over the past two decades as part of its     1     (amaze) fight against the expanding deserts.

The effort has paid off. Around 2000, deserts across the country were still increasing by 10,400m² a year. But in 2017, they were decreasing by more than 2,400m² a year. The     2     (achieve) was confirmed by a study from the Laboratory of Climate and Environmental Sciences in Paris.

“In 1999, the Chinese government began planting millions of trees in its Grain for Green Program. It     3     (carry) out to repair damaged farmland in northwestern China,     4     is roughly the size of France,” says Philippe Ciais, a researcher at the laboratory. “I was there a few months ago, and it is indeed surprising that once bare landscapes are now almost fully covered by plants.”

“The growth of forests is significant     5     necessary progress in the fight against desertification,” says Jianping Huang, a researcher at Lanzhou University. “But it’s still too early to determine whether it has solved the problem. Researchers have found that many of the plant species     6     (introduce) to the region use more water     7     native vegetation. It could lead to water shortages for humans.”

The national forestry department has recognized the error. In recent years, it has worked more closely with researchers and communities to find ways to plant less     8     (thirst) plants that have economic value.

“All     9     (program) need to take into account local conditions,” the forestry department said in March “    10     (we) efforts should go towards keeping vegetation sustainable, rather than simply planting more trees.”

Queensland is an Australian state     1     (cover) the continent’s northeast, with a coastline stretching nearly 7,000km. Its offshore Great Barrier Reef,the world’s largest coral reef system, hosts thousands of marine     2     (species).

Queensland is also home     3     some of the most magical islands and the largest expanse of coral in the world. It may well be the closest you ever get to paradise.You can    4     (free) while away the hours on a deserted beach full of palm trees, go for a sail around the coral reef, on throw     5     (your) into the various water sports. Spread like jewels in the Pacific Ocean, these Australian islands stretch from Lady Elliott in the south to Lizard in the north,    6     all are a delight to visit.

Hayman Island    7     (position) within the heart of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef     8     (be) probably one of the most luxurious resorts in the world with dreamy beaches, unique wildlife and mouth-watering cuisine. For something a little more particular, try Bedarra, privately owned and with only sixteen villas(别墅). For a touch of history,go to Lizard Island,     9     Captain Cook landed in 1770. This is also where divers go. To get away from it all, go to Heron Island, a port of peace and quiet. Fraser Island has the     10     (large) sandy beach in the world, Hook has a wonderful National Park... the list is endless