A new way to restore Earth’s biodiversity—from the air

Every year, humans change 10 million hectares of land, and not for the better. Right now, there is     1     much damaged land around the world that we need to fix this fast. Fortunately, technology can help. Restoration is     2     enormous, complex challenge. It cannot be done by     3     ( simple ) planting trees. We need to bring native ecosystems back     4     life, which requires deep     5     ( ecology ) expertise. Until now, we have been limited to poor copies, like vast plantations of a single kind of tree.

But drones (无人机) change that by allowing us     6     ( gather ) data and plant the right mix of vegetation (植被) quickly. And the machine-learning     7     ( analyze ) enables us to monitor our restoration work. For example, in Australia, we’re using drone - based planting and ecology - trained AI to restore thousands of hectares of land mined for coal. Many native forests here in Australia     8     ( destroy ) by catastrophic bushfires over the last few years. This means reduced food sources and safe habitats for koalas. A new project will accelerate the restoration of thousands of hectares of koala forests.

With these technologies     9     ( combine ), we’re able to expand restoration from a small island to an entire continent. We can return forests to land     10     a mine used to be, or recreate ecosystems like the one we’re hoping to restore on Lord Howe Island.

Huang He or The Yellow River, flowing through nine provinces, is the second longest river in China. It is also the sixth longest in the world at the estimated     1    (long) of 5, 464 kilometers. The distinctive yellow color is from the silt (泥沙) and dust it collects     2     the environment.

The Yellow River is called "the cradle (摇篮) of Chinese civilization" as     3     (it) basin — the Wei valley —was the birthplace of ancient Chinese civilizations and the most prosperous (繁荣的) region in early Chinese history. Both the river and the people along its shores have shaped each other     4     (deep).

    5     you're a history fan or not, the river is appealing.

    6    (Originate) in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and runs into the Bohai Sea. The Yellow River basin has     7     east-west extent of 1,900 km and a north-south extent of 1,100 km. Its total basin area is 742,443 km². Two of     8    (popular) spots to visit are the Hukou Falls and the Silk Road Crossing at Lanzhou.

The Yellow River used to be called "China's Sorrow" because of the frequent floods hitting. In 1955, Chinese government developed a plan     9    (control) flooding. Since 1960, tens of thousands of trees     10    (plant) along the banks.

Against a backdrop of misty green forests and with its buildings on stilts (桩) above the River Tuo, Fenghuang is a picturesque place to spend a day or two. Its winding allays, lined with traditional shops and temples, lead     1     narrow wooden bridges and stepping-stones that cross the river.

Although the town can get     2     (extreme) busy with continual tour groups, it has managed     3    (preserve) much of its traditional architecture. Wandering off the main streels     4     (allow) you to get a sense of     5     it would have been like before the tourists began to visit and taste the local delicacies including bamboo rat, frog and snake.

Fenghuang itself does have a section of rebuilt Ming city walls     6     (run) along its riverbank, but it’s the Miaojiang Great Wall that is the main draw here. Built in 1554, during the Ming dynasty     7     (defend) against the Miao, the wall     8     (destroy) partly by Miao ethnic group and then rebuilt under the Qing rulers, who also sought to strengthen their power through     9     control of China’s southern minorities. Nowadays only a section is     10     (access), but it’s still an impressive sight, offering great views of the surrounding countryside.

When visiting China, many travellers expect to have close contact with the giant panda, one of the msot adorable creatures in the world. Actually, no other country can provide such a     1     (wonder) chance like China, as the giant panda is native     2    China and thus serves as China's national symbol.

The giant panda's diet is mainly herbivorous,     3     (consist) over 99% bamboo. However, it gets little energy and protein from bamboo. To compensate for the limited energy included in its diet, it eats as much as 9-14 kg bamboo shoots a day     4     (average).

As a result, the giant panda has its behavior     5     (affect) by the limited energy input and tends to limit energy consuming by limiting social interactions and avoiding steeply sloping area. It is a kind of animal with high and unique adaptability.     6     (it) large size and round face are also adaptations to its bamboo diet.

The giant panda typically lives around 15-20 years in the wild and above 30 years in captivity. The oldest one ever in captivity is a female named Jia Jia, who     7    (die) at an age of 38. Considering one year for a giant panda is equal to three     8    four years for a human being in terms of ageing, she was over 100 in the human standard.

The giant panda is one of the world's most adored and protected rare     9     (animal), and is one of the few in the world     10    natural inhabitant status was able to gain a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation.

President Xi Jinping underlined the importance of afforestation on April 2. and reaffirmed the need to stick to the green development path to meet peopled ever-growing demand     1     a better life and make a greater contribution to upholding global ecological     2    （secure）.

He stressed that the annual tree-planting activity aims to get the whole of society     3    （voluntary） involved in tree-planting and raise people's awareness of building a beautiful home     4     human beings and nature coexist harmoniously.

2021 marks the 40th anniversary of the country's voluntary tree-planting activity. Over the past four decades, people throughout the country have made efforts in afforestation and the people's living environment has become     5    （pleasant）- China     6    （top）the global ranking of countries in terms of the growth of forest resources.

Consistent and long-term efforts     7    （need）, while calling on the whole of society to take part in afforestation     8    （activity）. Party members and officials should take     9     lead in taking the responsibility for tree planting, practicing a green and low-carbon life and     10    （strengthen） environmental protection in order to enable the people to live a high-quality life.

Bees are major pollinators (传粉者) of fruits, vegetables and nuts. Without these helpful buzzing insects, our food supply would be     1    trouble. But bees can help humans in another way.     2    (research) say the act of beekeeping may help people with mental health problems such as stress, anxiety and depression. Many call     3     “beekeeping therapy.”One group of people is especially getting help from such therapy: military veterans (老兵).

Many soldiers returning from military service have trouble    4     (deal) with the experiences of war. They may also find it difficult to create a     5       (produce) life after the military service. Homelessness, depression and drug abuse can affect some military veterans. Vince Ylitalo is one such veteran. He served in the military for nearly 40 years, two tours in Iraq     6     (include). He suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.

To treat his PTSD, Ylitalo is part of a beekeeping program at the Manchester Veteran Affairs (VA) Medical Center in the state of New Hampshire. The VA     7     (set) up several such programs in the United States.

In a recent report, Ylitalo explained     8    beekeeping calms his mind.“I’m in this program     9     (help)me get out of the thought process of all those problems that I have.It helps me think about something     10    (complete) different . I’m just thinking about the bees.”

Besides oceans, glacier ice is the largest source of water on earth. A glacier is a sheet of ice that moves     1    (it) under the influence of gravity. Some glaciers travel down mountains or valleys,     2     others spread across a large expanse of land.     3    (heavy) glaciated regions such as Greenland and Antarctica are called continental glaciers. These two ice sheets account     4     more than 95 percent of the earth's glacial ice. The Greenland ice is so heavy that much of the region     5    (press) below sea level so far. Smaller glaciers that occur at higher altitudes are called valley or alpine glaciers (山岳冰川). Another way of     6    (classify) glaciers is in terms of their internal temperature. In temperate glaciers, the ice within the glacier is near its melting point.

The     7    (major) of the earth's glaciers are located near the poles, though glaciers exist on all continents, including Africa and Oceania. Glaciers     8    (form) in high alpine regions generally result from cold temperatures throughout the year. The weight and pressure of ice accumulation causes glacier movement. As a glacier moves, it carves out     9     U-shaped valley similar to a riverbed, but with much steeper walls and a     10    (flat)bottom.

Over the last two months, several great apes at the San Diego Zoo     1    (receive) an experimental animal COVID-19 vaccine (疫苗), because they are most     2     risk and can be easily vaccinated. They mark the first     3     (know) non-human primates (灵长类动物) to get the shot.

All species of apes are listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List, for they     4    (affect) easily by diseases. In January, eight gorillas at the zoo became the first great apes in the world to test positive.

They live in close groups,     5     caused rapid infections among them. COVID-19 has the potential     6    (wipe) out different kinds of apes     7     humans don't take steps to prevent its spread.

Zoetis started development on a COVID-19 vaccine for dogs and cats after the first dog tested positive over a year ago. It was considered safe and     8    (use) eight months later. "It's not like we     9    (random) take a vaccine and give it to a hovel species. A lot of thought and research goes into it. Our motto is, above all, to do no harm," a spokesperson for the zoo said. "The gorilla troop are doing well and appear to be on their way to a full     10    (recover).”