Near the ancient water town of Wuzhen, the scenic villages of Maming and Haihua provide the perfect destinations for travelers seeking a taste of real rural life.

    1     (locate) at a 30-minute drive from the ancient water town of Wuzhen, Maming village is the exact opposite of Wuzhen. There are hardly any crowds here. The old houses are not as well maintained. There     2     (be) no bright colorful lights along the walkways. Time seems to stand still in the village,     3     (make) it a perfect day-trip destination for travelers     4     want a real experience of rural life.

Most people in Tongxiang city in East China’s Zhejiang province are still sleeping on the bed at 3 am,     5     Tu Yuanqing and his father Tu Bingfa are already up, arranging cups, boiling water and preparing tea     6     (leaf). The doors to their tea house in Maming village open just half an hour later. By 4 am, the space is filled     7     activities as elderly local people, most of them aged 60 and above, chat     8     (active) with one another while sipping cups of tea and smoking cigarettes.

This tea party for the elderly ends at 8 am, the time the villagers begin     9     (they) day in the fields. But there is no official closing time for the tea house-—the Tu family lives in     10     same building.

Located in Sichuan Province, the greater Chengdu area is home     1     millions of residents. It’s surrounded by rich farmlands that     2     (lead) to the city’s impressive agricultural wealth over the centuries. Often     3     (call) the “Land of Milk and Honey”, the city is one of the most liveable cities in China.

As well as being known for     4     (it) panda tourism and spicy food, Chengdu has a great atmosphere. The city is famously relaxed despite its size and busyness. This more relaxed way of life may be one of the most attractive things about Chengdu.

Chengdu has several panda breeding and research facilities, which     5    (probable) explains its close     6     (connect) with this lovable animal. So, while you’re in the city, make sure you head out to one of them     7     (see) the panda places and maybe even sign up to be     8     zookeeper for the day.

The teahouse culture is a big part of Chengdu. Teahouses are     9     the natives get together, play mah-jong, and drink tea. If you want to be part of the local culture, then escape the busy city the same way the     10     (local) do. Head to one of the local teahouses and try a cup of tea.

Gardeners usually spend much time thinking about insects. They find     1     necessary not only to keep the wrong insects away but also to attract the right ones, such as pollinators (授粉昆虫). But in the last two hundred years, over 40 species of pollinators     2    (go) extinct, partly because of the     3    (disappear) of the plants they relied on.

Now, a new database, DoPI, may help change the situation. It covers publications and data sets     4    (explain) over 300,000 pollination interactions. Users can look up     5    (practice) information about thousands of pollinators and plants. “We hope people can use the database to select pollinator-friendly species to plant in their gardens and     6    (equal) importantly, to know which plants shouldn’t be weeded,” said Dr. Nicholas. “    7     stands out from the data is that many common garden weeds are connected with various pollinator species.”

The database isn’t just     8     researchers. It can also help people like beekeepers and gardeners. Meanwhile, government departments and conservationists can use the information     9    (contain) in DoPI to drive policy decisions. Currently, DoPI focuses on native British plants and pollinators. Researchers from other countries have contacted the creators of DoPI for cooperation so that they can be well equipped     10    (establish) similar databases in their regions.

KV Priyesh, a fisherman,    1    (live) in Kerala’s Kozhikode district, was increasingly disturbed by the amount of plastic waste that would get    2    (trap) in his fishing nets, every time he went out to the sea.

While out on his boat in Chombala Harbor in Kerala, India, KV Priyesh noticed that his nets would pull in just as much plastic waste as they would fish. This was not only counterproductive, but it was also    3    (deep) disturbing.

“The sea is my home,”    4    30-year-old fisherman told The Better India. “How would you feel if everyone is trashing your home and there is so much garbage    5    you can’t breathe? That is perhaps how the    6    (creature) in the ocean feel. While most people think that the waste can    7    (find) largely along the shores, the reality is that one can find it in the deep parts of the ocean as well,” he said. “It’s not just tourists cruising on ferries; even fishermen are    8    (guilt) of throwing plastic bottles that they carry with them to the sea.”

Over time, Priyesh began collecting plastic waste each night    9    teamed up with a local businessman who owns a plastic shredder（破碎机）. They estimate that they    10    （collect） 13.5 metric tons of plastic over the years, and their efforts have been recognized by community members.

Known as a ”living fossil“,the Chinese sturgeon(鲟)is a very precious species. It     1     (believe)to have lived alongside the dinosaurs more than 140 million years ago.

Although dinosaurs are long since gone, the Chinese sturgeon still exists to this day.     2    ,the species has been listed as ”Critically Endangered“ on the Red List of Threatened Species. According to CGTN, dams and overfishing affect     3     (it)reproduction.

On May 14,Shanghai legislators(立法委员)passed a new law protecting the Chinese sturgeon,    4    (stress)”regional cooperation“,according to China Daily.

”This is the first local legislation in the country     5    (protect)one endangered fish,“ said Ding Wei, director of the legislative affairs committee.

The protection of the Chinese sturgeon is     6     (urgently). China began the artificial propagation(繁殖)and release of the fish in 1984. However, very few of     7     farmed fish have survived in the wild.

    8     this species can be preserved depends on the natural population. If the natural population is not well protected, the Chinese sturgeon is in     9    (dangerous)of extinction.

Since January 1 of this year, a 10-year fishing ban on key     10    (area)of the Yangtze River basin has been issued, covering 332 nature reserves, which include Shanghai’s Chinese sturgeon nature reserve.

World Soil Day     1     (hold) every year on 5 December as a means to focus attention on the importance of soil health and to advocate for the sustainable management of soil resources. The UN General Assembly declared     2     first World Soil Day in 2014.

As we all know, the     3     (result) of climate change are increasingly unpredictable. Knowing the land, therefore, becomes essential in order to prevent damage     4     can do harm to soil health.

World Soil Day 2022 and its campaign, “Soils: Where food begins”, aims     5     (raise) awareness of the importance of maintaining ecosystems and human well-being by     6     (address) the growing challenges in soil management, increasing soil awareness and encouraging societies to improve soil health.

Soil nutrient loss is a major soil degradation (退化) process threatening nutrition.     7     is recognized as being among the most critical problems at a global level for food security and sustainability all around the globe. Agricultural production will have to increase by 60% to meet the global food demand in 2050     8     up to 58% more food could be produced through sustainable soil management.

Our lives depend     9     soils-the mix of mineral and organic matter combined with air, water, and microbes. Without     10     (health) soils, every living creature on Earth is at risk.

Taklimkan Desert,    1    (locate) in the middle of Tarim Basin in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, is China’s largest desert. It is also known as the world’s second largest shifting-sand desert    2     (cover) an area of over 337,000 square kilometers.

Sand dunes (沙丘) in    3    large desert are usually over 100 meters in height and some are even    4    (high). Because of the wind, the sand dunes are always moving forward, enveloping farms and villages, which    5    (serious) threatens the existence of oases (绿洲)    6    the survival of the local people. Over the past few decades, efforts    7    (make) to fight against desertification. Windbreaks and sand fixation forest belts have been built to improve the ecological environment. Local people have planted poplars and rose willows with the help of experts. There are some places    8    people can even grow corn now. A cross-desert highway has also been constructed to link Luntai and Minfeng counties. Thanks to these efforts, the place has witnessed a(n)    9    (improve) in the living conditions of the local people. Now it’s home to many species of birds, and    10    (it) rainfall is increasing as well.

In addition to the obvious dangers they face, military working dogs are at risk of temporary and permanent hearing loss. Whether in training, during transport such as helicopter flights,     1     in actual operations, the dogs can     2     (expose) to really loud noise.

In an attempt     3     (solve) this problem, the Canine Auditory Protection System (CAPS) has been developed,     4     uses lightweight, high-quality sound absorption materials to block unwanted sounds. Unlike     5     (convention) hearing protection, this solution is constructed of flexible materials that fit     6     (neat) over the unique shape of a dog’s head. This flexibility     7     (guarantee) proper scaling around the ear and maximum sound reduction.

The system uses a snood-style (发网式的) device to uniformly distribute the pressure needed to keep the hearing protection     8     place. At a little more than an inch thick, the device will not be a burden to dogs     9     (carry) out tasks in tight spaces. It is also compatible (兼容的) with other devices used by working dogs.

Even a short helicopter flight can affect a dog’s hearing, resulting in limited     10     (perform) and inability to hear the handler’s commands. This new technology protects the dog while on missions and can extend the dog’ s working life.

Featuring sparkling lakes, spectacular waterfalls, and colorful leaves, Jiuzhaigou National Park in Sichuan Province is a picturesque fairyland. The park’s name,     1     means “Nine Village Valley,” originated from the nine Tibetan     2    (village) there. It is located in Jiuzhaigou County of the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province. It     3    (list) as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1992. The park is also home     4     3,634 species of plants and animals, including giant pandas and golden snub-nosed monkeys,     5    (win) the good reputation of an “earthly paradise”. The national park covers     6     area of 720 square kilometers and ranges from 1,996 to 4,764 meters above sea level.

In 2017, a massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake     7    (strike) Jiuzhaigou, and the scenic area was closed due to damage. After continuous reconstruction and natural     8    (recover), the park reopened to visitors in 2021. After the pandemic, the tourist destination has     9    (full) regained its former charm. Tourism facilities have also been improved     10    (provide) better services to tourists.

Chinese expedition (探险) team, on May 23, 2023, reached the summit (山顶) of Mount Qomolangma, the world’s highest peak,     1     they carried out scientific research.

The aim is to maintain and upgrade (升级) the eight weather     2     (station) at altitudes between 5,200 meters and 8,830 meters. The team members     3     (leave) the Assault Camp at an altitude of 8,300 meters at 3:00 a.m. And they arrived     4     the weather station at an altitude of 8,830 meters after climbing several hours.

Kang Shichang, a researcher at the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), has taken a team to     5     (physical) examine the glaciers (冰川).     6     (use) drones (无人机), 3D laser scanning and other advanced equipment, they monitored pollutants and changes in glaciers. Su Tao, a researcher at the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden under CAS,     7     (lead) a team of four to carry out a field investigation in the Mt. Qomolangma region over the past two weeks. “Paleontological fossils (古生物化石) have     8     unique advantage because the shape and distribution of organisms are closely related to the environment,” said Su.

Over the past 60 years,     9     (count) Chinese climbers and researchers have come to Mt. Qomolangma     10     (measure) its height with their footsteps.