Environmental conditions make the Galapagos a unique island ecosystem.     1     the Galapagos Islands are located near the equator, they receive cool ocean currents, which makes for a strange type of tropical and temperate climate. For most of their history, the islands have been extremely isolated. This     2    (combine) of factors created a laboratory for the evolution (演变) of an unusual mix of plant and animal species. Scientists     3     (study) this complex ecosystem for more than 180 years. British naturalist Charles Darwin may be the most influential scientist to have visited the Galapagos Islands.

Japanese adventurer Kenichi Horie at 83 just became the oldest person in the world to complete a solo, nonstop voyage across the Pacific Ocean. Horie     1    （return）home early last Saturday, completing his trans-Pacific solo voyage in 69 days. As he approached the harbor, Horie, standing in his boat, took off his white cap, and bowed     2    （deep）. “Thank you for waiting! ” said Horie,     3     appeared tanned（晒黑的）and with his white hair longer than usual. But he said he was ready for more and would keep up his work to be a late bloomer.

Born in New Zealand, Helen    1     (live) in Guatemala for four years and then in the United States. When she was fifty, she had a dream: walking to the North Pole alone. On her journey, she was    2     (complete) alone except for her dog, Charlie, a Canadian husky. She walked 345 miles in temperature of -50℃. When she    3     (attack) by seven polar bears, it was lucky for her to have Charlie by her side.

Arctic foxes live on the land and sea ice within the Arctic Circle,     1     the sun never rises to give warmth and light from October to February. Luckily, their long, fluffy tails act like a blanket to keep warm when they    2     (wrap) the tail around their body to sleep. Their feet also have a layer of thick fur,     3     helps cover footsteps. And their white coats make it difficult for predators such as    4     (wolf), polar bears, and golden eagles to spot them among the ice and snow.

For those consuming Asian food, using chopsticks     1    (be) almost second nature. About 20 to 33 percent of people in the world use chopsticks     2     a daily basis. Not all of those are disposable (一次性的),     3     no doubt many are.

Felix Böck, a student at the University of British Columbia, was eager to find a way to recycle wood from construction projects, and he had a particular interest in bamboo. One day he found a drawer in his friend’s house     4    (fill) with disposable bamboo chopsticks, and an idea hit him.

He decided to give     5     second life to disposable chopsticks by making them into home     6    (decoration) or other accessories (配件). He told the idea to restaurant owners,     7    (convince) them to install recycling bins in their restaurants. He cleaned the chopsticks, pressed them into square pieces and coated them with glue. The square pieces were then     8    (creative) arranged into household and office products. Böck’s company, called Chop Value, has repurposed chopsticks into desktops, cutting boards and even table games.

Since 2016 when the company     9    (found), Chop Value has rescued billions of chopsticks from landfills. Instead of an economy of the typical take-make-dispose model, Chop Value seeks to create one     10     transforms waste into a usable resource.

Xiechi Lake, also known as Yuncheng Salt Lake in China’s Shanxi Province,     1     (become) popular on social media websites in the past few years.

Now, China wants to transform that online     2     (popular) into real-life tourism. “As the Chinese ‘Dead Sea’, floating here is     3     unforgettable experience, and one you can’t find anywhere else,” reads a tourism advertisement     4     (sponsor) by the Yuncheng Salt Lake Tourism Development Company. Yuncheng Salt Lake is a sulfate (硫酸盐) lake. “If the sulfate in your water is greater than the calcium (钙), all the calcium is used up,     5     leaves you with large amounts of sulfate and you have a sulfate lake,” explains geography professor Bernie Owen. Xiechi is also a “closed basin” lake,     6     (mean) it doesn’t flow out to a river or ocean, which explains how its salt content stays so high. It is possible for salt lakes to freeze over, although not as     7     (quick) as other lakes — after all, think about what happens when we spread salt over icy roads. Saltwater freezes at     8    (low) temperatures than fresh water.

In an effort     9     (boost) Xiechi Lake’s international profile, China is reportedly taking steps to get it recognized     10     a UNESCO World Heritage site.

In every photo from our family vacation to Washington, D.C., I was showing off the souvenir I picked out at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo — a white, oversize, cotton sweatshirt with pandas     1     (dance) on the front.

Nearly 30 years later I found myself among     2     pool of photojournalists and video crews packed into the panda enclosure(围场), covering a small cub(幼兽) named Bei Bei for National Geographic.

After the photographs of Bei Bei     3     (publish), my editor suggested I ask zoo administrators if I could return periodically     4     (document) the first year of the cub’s life. They said yes.

On that first day with Bei Bei, I felt a little thrill as a zoo staffer took me down a quiet path to the back of the panda enclosure     5     the panda’s keepers were waiting. They introduced     6     (they), handed me shoe coverings and a mask, and led me through a series of gates and     7     (eventual) to Bei Bei.

Soon I was making regular     8     (stop) at the zoo to record the baby panda’s transformation. My kids had never been     9     (interested) in my job than when I was on the Bei Bei beat. When I mentioned the project     10     friends and neighbors, they would light up in ways I’d never seen. It turned out that everyone loved pandas.