Bhutan’s snow leopard (雪豹) population     1     (increase) by 39.5% since 2016, according to a new survey. Findings from over 10,000 camera trap images confirmed the presence of 134 snow leopards in the country, an     2     (impress) jump from the baseline of 96 snow leopards in 2016.

    3     survey showed promising evidence that Bhutan’s conservation efforts impact snow leopard populations     4     (positive). It involved 310 camera traps across 2.2 million acres of the big cat’s habitat.

“With less than 3% of the habitat surveyed, there are serious knowledge gaps in the population status of snow leopards,” said Dechen Dorji, Senior Director for Asia, Wildlife Conservation. “A 39.5% increase in Bhutan’s snow leopard population is remarkable and calls for the urgent need to     5     (strength) the population assessment efforts. These amazing     6     (creature) deserve our continued care and protection from illegal hunting, habitat destruction, and conflicts with people. Finding effective co-existence measures between local communities     7     snow leopards must continue to be at the top of the list.”

Although the news is uplifting, the species is still listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It     8     (threaten) globally by habitat losses, food shortage, conflicts with humans, and the climate crisis,     9     (request) continued protection to address these threats,     10     also affect the other wildlife in their habitat.

The ancient city of Kashgar (喀什), which has a population of around 200,000,     1     (greet) over 7 million tourists so far this year. Since the Belt and Road Initiative (“一带一路”倡议)     2     (propose), the ancient city has once again drawn attention as a gateway to opening up to the outside world.

As the night closes in. street     3     (light) come on. Kashgar becomes even     4     (much)alive with tourists joyfully exploring a city with     5     history of more than 2,000 years. Already famous for many years because of its colourful culture and architecture,     6     (tour) has continued to grow rapidly in the ancient city of Kashgar in recent times, with travellers from all around the world going there.

Neil Munro, from Britain, walks into a restaurant with friends     7     (taste) the famous local barbecue and beer. After a two-day stay in Kashgar, the group will motorcycle through several other Chinese provinces including Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan, before finally     8     (arrive) in Laos. This is Munro’s third visit     9     Kashgar. When he first travelled there in 1999, he was shocked by the unique culture and he soon began learning Chinese.

“The people here are welcoming. Kashgar is full of energy,” said Sirpa Jarvenpa, from Finland,    10     took part in the long motorcycle ride along with her husband.

Given the fact that chemical pesticides and artificial fertilisers can fight crop disease and increase production, they     1    (be) in widespread use since the 1950s. However, with time going by, they have been proved     2    (harm) to the environment and human health if     3    (use) for a long time.

In ancient times, all roads     1     (lead) from the outside to Sichuan were referred to as the Shu Path, including those from Shaanxi and Gansu.

Surrounded by mountains, Sichuan, called Shu in ancient times, was known for its inaccessibility. That became widely known partly due to a line from Chinese poet Li Bai,     2     reads “Traveling on the Shu Path is as difficult as climbing to heaven”. The most famous section of the Shu Path is about 600 kilometers long. It starts at Chengdu, and then passes Deyang and Guangyuan in Sichuan before ending in Hanzhong in Shaanxi. The     3     (construct) of the section started around 316 BC. It was on such     4     (danger) mountains that Li Bai was inspired     5     (mention) it.

When builders approached the Mingyue Gorge in Guangyuan, they found     6     impossible to continue because of high cliffs (悬崖). So they dug three levels of holes in the rock, and put in wooden beams. The upper beams were     7     (complete) covered by planks (木板) to form a road for people to walk on. The plank road     8     (rebuild) many times during wars. Now part of it has been restored to allow visitors to admire the man-made wonder.

The Sword Gate Pass, a towering V-shaped mountain pass—the one that gave rise     9     a household idiom, “One man at the pass keeps 10,000 men at bay”—witnessed countless battles during the Three Kingdoms and     10     (be) a tourist attraction now in the Guangyuan section of the Shu Path.

Ar Horqin Grassland Nomadic System in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, listed on the list of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems by the United Nations,     1     (demonstrate) the wisdom of herdsmen to work in harmony with nature.

The     2     (season) movement of herds among different pastures (牧场) plays an important role in maintaining the self-renewal and recovery     3     (capable) of the grasslands. While keeping soil fertility from degrading, the nomadic lifestyle can protect vegetation and make good use of water resources,     4     the growing population of people and livestock, still puts much pressure     5     the grassland resources. Locals have, therefore, come up with ways to avoid overgrazing. With ancestral wisdom     6     (root) in a time of relatively small societies, it may be unable to solve issues today. This is     7     modern planning can help with.

For example, since 2015, under the guidance of the local government of Ar Horqin Banner, the number of sheep and goats in the nomadic system     8     (reduce) from 390,000 to 190,000, while the number of cattle has been increased from 40,000 to 81,000 head. No more than 100,000 sheep are allowed to migrate to the summer camps every year. With     9     (scientific) designed grazing patterns ensuring sustainable development of the grasslands, herdsmen can maintain     10     more balanced relationship with nature.

In early autumn, pandas in the forests of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in the Wolong National Nature Reserve, in Wenchuan, Sichuan Province, attract many     1     (tour).

In March 1999, two pandas, Jia Jia and An An,     2     (send) to Hong Kong from Si chuan, settled in the Ocean Park. It was the first time     3     Hong Kong had pandas living in     4     (it) zoo. In 2007, another pair of giant pandas, Ying Ying and Le Le, also came to Hong Kong from Sichuan     5     (join) Jia Jia and An An.

On May 12, 2008, the Wenchuan earthquake     6     (cause) huge damage to the center and the buildings were     7     (complete) destroyed. During the post-disaster reconstruction (重建), Hong Kong helped by     8     (donate) 1.42 billion yuan for more than 23 assistance projects. After more than five years of reconstruction efforts, the new center — the Chinese Giant Panda Park — was successfully opened on May 11, 2016. In the five years since then, more than 120 giant panda cubs have been born at the park.

“Thanks     9     the giant pandas, we are establishing more cooperative exchanges with Hong Kong, especially in breeding,” said Li Guo,     10     expert at the Center’s management office.

In June 1992, four farmers near the village of Shiyanbei in Zhejiang Province, China, made a(n)     1     (amaze) discovery. When they drained several ponds (排干几个池塘) on their land, they uncovered a secret     2     (hide) under the water’s surface. Five large man-made caves appeared, leading to the discovery of 19 more caves nearby. These caves     3     (know) as the Longyou Caves.

    4     (strange), the caves were not documented in any writings of the period. Following many studies since the caves were first found, caves scientists have tried to put forward explanations of the true purpose behind their     5     (create). But so far none have agreed. Artifacts (人工制品) within were discovered to be from the period 91 to 48 BCE,     6     makes the caves over 2,000 years old. The caves are     7     shockingly good shape after centuries of floods. Interestingly, the caves are of different     8     (size). Some are over 100 feet wide with vaulted ceilings (拱形天花板), supported by stone columns (柱). Others are much     9     (small).

Today, five of the caves are open to tourists, inviting them to experience the great wonders of     10     past.

The Torres del Paine region of Southern Chile is one of the best     1    (place) on earth to see wild pumas (美洲狮) right now. As a result     2     a growing puma population and their strong level of familiarity with humans, visitors have     3     good chance of spotting the mysterious animals inside the Torres del Paine National Park or on privately owned farmland surrounding the park.

And now it’s about to get even     4     (easy) than before. Awasi Patagonia, a hotel     5    (lie) at the edge of Torres del Paine National Park, has     6     (recent) restarted its puma conservation (保护) program by renting a neighboring farm, with an aim     7     (create) a protected area for the endangered puma population and other native species. Besides, it has also forbidden puma hunting. Killing pumas is illegal in Chile, but still, it     8     (practise) on private land outside the national park from time to time, so this program will further protect the big cats that routinely wander outside park boundaries.

Starting in 2023, Awasi has offered tourists unique puma sighting trips     9     (lead) by experienced local trackers. Guests     10     come here can check camera traps, learn about conservation, and, of course, look for pumas.

Stepping outside the railway station early     1     an autumn morning, visitors are met with the view of the cold air along with the water, forming a thick, soft blanket of fog(雾) over the Grand Canal, the “main street” of Venice. It’s a sight that     2    (welcome) millions of visitors from all over the world since the city became one of Europe’s economic superpowers.

Yet, the breath taking beauty     3     inspired countless painters, writers and artists over the centuries easily     4    (damage) is at risk of being lost forever. The city’s     5    (survive) is threatened(威胁) by rising water levels. The unstoppable increase in sea level has caused flooding     6    (become) the order of the day.

After 1966, the year of the worst flooding in Venice’s history, the Italian Government started a project to save the city.     7     project needing a lot of effort was carried out to protect the lowest areas from flooding. Thirty     8    (year) later, there was an agreement supported by everyone on the     9    (success) results both of the technical achievements and international cooperation(合作).

But Venice still needs attentive care. The city remains threatened on several fronts—mass tourism, the possible damage of city development     10     a large number of boats.

The 6. 2-magnitude earthquake     1    (strike) an ethnic county lying in Northwest China’s Gansu province midnight Monday, causing death,     2    (destroy) and panic. As of 10 am Tuesday, a total of 105     3    (confirm) dead in Gansu and 11 in the neighbouring Qinghai province, with hundreds injured.

Due to high altitude, cold weather and complex geological conditions, Jishishan county is prone (易于) to natural disasters, such as earthquakes. Since 1900, the area within a radius of 100 km from the epicenter     4     (record) seven earthquakes above 5 magnitude.

Fortunately, joint effort has been made     5    ( provide) assistance to them and to restore normality to the region as quickly as possible. The provincial fire and rescue department has sent 580 rescuers     6    (aid) with 88 fire engines, 12 search and rescue dogs, more than 10,000 sets of equipment to the disaster area. Relief efforts have been underway,     7    the provincial authorities sending emergency rations (口粮) and tents to the affected areas. The railway authority has suspended passenger and cargo trains     8     (pass) through the quake zone and ordered a safety check of railway tracks. In Dahejia township,     9     the temperature plummeted to 16 degrees Celsius below zero, over 140 medical staff at a local hospital were busy treating the injured people. According to first-person     10    (account), the loved ones of many of these patients are untraceable in the aftermath of the earthquake.