The Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region,     1     (surround) by advancing deserts on three sides, is one of the major sources of sandstorms which threaten northern China. The region lacks water resources     2     faces extreme weather events. If no actions     3     (take), the region will face the threat of being buried by sand as no     4     (defend) can stop the advancing deserts and repetitive strong sandstorms.

More than four decades of efforts against desertification in Ningxia have helped develop crucial experience. Growing different trees based on different habitats is     5     (critic) to maintaining the forests’ quality and sustainability. In Shapotou District, Zhongwei City, wild shrubs (灌木) are planted because of the     6     (extreme) low groundwater. Shrubs help lower the wind speed, preventing the transportation     7     sands to neighboring areas. At the same time, the organisms     8     (live) on the shrubs gradually form biological soil coats to hold the sand firmly.

By the end of 2020, Ningxia     9     (grow) 510,000 hectares of forest, increasing forest coverage from 8.4 percent in 2000 to 15.8 percent. During     10     “14th Five-Year Plan” period, Ningxia plans to create 96,000 hectares of forest and restore over 66,000 hectares of grassland.

With the days    1    ( grow) colder, Pasang has made preparations for the winter by purchasing    2    generous amount of natural gas to warm his home.

“In the past, we burned cattle dung (牛粪) for heating. The rooms would be covered with dust, and the sky would sometimes get gray,” said Pasang, a resident of Lhasa, capital of southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region.

His home was connected by natural gas pipelines seven years ago. “With the gas, my home is warmer, and we are also contributing    3    bluer skies,” he said.

Now, the signature blue skies dotted with white clouds not only give local people a breath of fresh air but are also a vital part of the region’s charm for visitors from home and abroad. The wide use of natural gas is one of the keys behind the clean air in Tibet. “In Lhasa’s case, so far natural gas    4    (adopt) for heating in more than 90 percent of its urban area,” said a local company in charge of natural gas supplies.

Amid the country’s boom of new energy vehicles (NEVs),Tibet is also popularizing NEVs while phasing out (淘汰) older cars with high pollution and high energy    5    (consume).

Electric cars are also gaining    6    (popular) for their eco-friendly features and lower costs. Penpa, another resident in Lhasa, said he and many of his friends have replaced their traditional vehicles with electric ones. “Everyone should make an effort    7    (keep) the air clear in Lhasa,” Penpa said.

Atop a mountain over 5,000 meters above sea level, the Ali observatory — more than 1,400 km from Lhasa — is still frequented by astronomy lovers    8    brave (勇敢面对) a zigzagging road to get a much    9    (close) look at the stars.

Zhou Yunhe, director of the observatory, said more than 3,100 tourists have visited the observatory since the turn of the year.

Despite the impact of COVID-19, Tibet received 36.89 million tourists in the first three    10    (quarter) this year, up 15.2 percent year on year, and tourism revenue surged 26.6 percent, official data showed.

More than 500 pieces of relics    1    (discover) in recent months at the legendary Sanxingdui Ruins site in Southwest China’s Sichuan province, dazzling archaeologists with their historical value as well as the display of creativity.

The relics, discovered at the six new sacrificial pits of the ruins, include golden masks, jade and ivory artifacts and bronze wares    2    were delicately built and    3    (unique) shaped, said the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Heritage Administration.

The new finds bring the total number of items discovered at Sanxingdui to nearly 2,000    4    the excavation (挖掘) of No.3 to No.8 sacrificial pits began in October last year.

“The new discoveries demonstrate once again that    5    (imagine) and creativity of the ancient Chinese far surpassed    6    people today have expected,” said Tang Fei, chief of the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute.

Tang added that the excavation of the new pits has entered a critical stage,    7    more items yet to be unearthed and expected to challenge the    8    (convention) wisdom of archaeologists.

Originally discovered in the late 1920s, the Sanxingdui Ruins have been referred to as one of the world’s greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century.

Located in the city of Guanghan, around 60 km from the provincial capital Chengdu, the ruins covering    9    area of 12 square km are believed to be the remains of the Shu Kingdom,    10    (date) back some 4,500 to 3,000 years.

Huangguoshu Waterfall, also called Huangguoshu or Huangguoshu Falls, is the largest waterfall in Asia and the third largest waterfall in the world.     1     (undoubted), it is Guizhou's NO.1 natural attraction. Compared     2     the amazing natural wonders — Jiuzhaigou National Forest Park in Sichuan and Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in Hunan, though Huangguoshu Waterfall is less visited by international travelers, it has     3     (it) own unique features.

Located on the Baishui River in Anshun, Guizhou (about 128 kilometers away from Guiyang,     4     capital of Guizhou), Huangguoshu National Park is centered at Huangguoshu Waterfall which is at 83 meters in width and 67 meters in     5     (high). There are altogether 18 waterfalls with various sizes. The total width of the combined waterfalls     6     (be) 101 meters. All the waterfalls form a great “family”,     7     is ranked as the largest waterfall cluster (群) in the world in the Guinness Book of World Records. Huangguoshu Waterfall is so impressive and it can     8     (view) from all angles — above, below, front, back, left and right.     9     (get) the best views and hear the deafening roar (轰鸣), travelers should visit Wang Shui Ting and the viewing platform by Rhinoceros Pool. It is a great idea to spend one day     10     (explore)Huangguoshu Waterfall from Guiyang City.

Today’s skiers are used to relying on ski lifts at resorts to take them to the top of a mountain before     1     (experience)the addictive thrill of skiing down the mountain.     2    , in some snow-covered villages in Altay prefecture (辖区) of Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, it’s common in winter to see local herdsmen, with boards     3     (attach) to their feet, climb the snowy slopes without any other forms of assistance.

The pair of boards are wrapped with horsehide(马革),     4     serves a double purpose. Remarkably, the horsehide not only can provide friction (摩擦) to prevent skiers from slipping while going up, but also helps them slide more     5     (smooth)down the slopes.

According to rock carvings uncovered in the area by archaeologists, such     6     (ski) have served for around 12,000 years     7     a means of transportation for the snowfield inhabitants of Altay. The fur skiing boards gradually lost     8     (they) popularity in recent decades after paved roads linked houses to the outside world.

However, Altay plans to protect and promote its skiing culture. The local government department     9     (want) to pass its skiing tradition to future generations. The prefecture is working     10     (develop)the area as a popular destination for skiers and snowboarders. As a result, the ancient fur skiing boards and the craft of making them have found a new lease of life in modern times.

A new United Nations climate report predicts Africa’s rare glaciers (冰川) will disappear in the next 20 years. The report, called State of the Climate in Africa,     1     (release) last Tuesday by the UN’s World Meteorologicale (气象的) Organization (WMO) and other agencies. It warns that climate change will be the cause of the     2     (disappear) glaciers in eastern Africa.

The report warns that     3     shrinking glaciers at Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Kenya’s Mount Kenya and the Rwenzori Mountains in Uganda are signs of widespread climate change to come. “    4     the current shrinking rate continues, it will lead to total disappearance by the 2040s,” the report says.

The report notes that last year was Africa’s third     5     (warm)on record. Data shows temperatures on the continent were 0.86 degrees Celsius higher than the average in the 30 years leading up to 2010. The WMO warns that Africa’s 1.3 billion people remain “    6     (extreme) vulnerable (脆弱的)” as the continent keeps getting warmer     7     a faster rate.

Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of the WMO, said massive displacement, hunger and increasing climate events such as droughts and flooding are likely     8     (continue). He added there is a great need for investments in Africa to develop systems and technology     9     can help the continent deal with the effects of climate change. The money could be used to improve early warning systems and build     10     (equip) to better observe weather and water movements.

Global warming is causing many physical risks such as droughts, wildfires, and floods.     1    (luck) , some countries have started planning ahead. The South Korean City of Busan, and other cities     2    (join) forces to build the world's first prototype(原型) floating city in order to get ahead     3     physical risks in recent years.

As the population rises, more and more people are being pushed to coastal cities.     4     , these regions are easily affected by floods and hurricanes. Part of climate change     5    (adapt) is building the kinds of cities that can withstand these risks. The technology and science     6    (use) in this first prototype city could be repeated in other cities.

The city of Busan,     7     is also bidding for World Expo 2030, is one of the most important maritime     8    (city) of the 21st century and an ideal location for the first prototype floating city.

The new floating city will consist of a series of hexagonal(六边形的) platforms and will benefit from a limestone coating that when     9    (expose) to an electric current, it can be used to repair itself. The city will be completely self-sufficient,     10    (develop) its own food and water, and will be immune to all kinds of climate change-related threats including category 5 hurricanes. All in all, the city will be a notable example of the cities of the future.

Over the last 100 years, many dinosaur egg fossils(化石)     1    (find), but finding one with a well-preserved embryo(胚胎) inside is extremely rare. A dinosaur embryo     2    (date) back to 66 million years ago was recently discovered in Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province. The    3    (perfect) preserved fossil is helping researchers understand the link between modern birds and their dinosaur ancestors.

The egg,     4    was named “Baby Yingliang”, is placed in the Yingliang Stone Nature History Museum in Fujian Province. The creature     5    (measure) 27 centimeters from head to tail, and it lies inside a 17-centimeter-long egg. Its position within the egg indicates that these dinosaurs developed     6    birdlike position close to hatching, according to the study published in the journal iScience in 2021. 

Paleontologists believe it belongs to a toothless dinosaur     7    (call) Oviraptor. They had varied beaks(喙) and body sizes,     8    they can adopt a wide range of diets. Team member Steve Brusatte from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, told China Daily that this little dinosaur looks just like a baby bird in its egg, providing more evidence that many features of today’s birds first evolved in their ancestors.

Dinosaur embryos are some of the rarest fossils and most of them are incomplete with the bones dislocated. The embryo is preserved     9    great condition and helps us answer many questions about dinosaurs’     10    (grow).

Poor environment is connected with poor health. Now a new public-health     1     (tend)is becoming apparent: Making indoor air cleaner.

Let’s take schools for example. Across Denmark, France, and Sweden, researchers found that indoor-air quality in 66% of classrooms fell short     2     healthy standards. Outdoor-air pollution can get inside buildings — childhood     3     (expose)can affect their physical development and academic performance, and cause cancer.

The problem extends well beyond classrooms. Many people spend more than 90% of their time     4     (stay)indoors. Spaces in buildings with poor air may cause a range of diseases — headaches, shortness of breath, coughs and discomfort of eye, nose, throat and skin. Poor air     5     (blame)for decreased productivity in the past few years.

Covid-19 has brought a new urgency to the matter     6     (great). More investment would be well spent. Better indoor air improves academic development — math     7     reading scores go up. Meanwhile pupils are     8     (attentive)in class. Poor air indoors is the     9     (forget)part when people improved public health. Covid-19 should lead policymakers to focus on the problem,     10     is of great importance for people’s well-being.