1 . The Battista family of New York City was on vacation in Ocean City, Maryland when their 2-year-old Fisher went lost on July 4, 2020.

The Battistas immediately blanketed the area with missing posters, barraged (炮击) social media, and even got Fisher face-time on a local floating billboard (广告牌).

With no leads, the family decided to remain in the area for an extended stay. They hired a tracker and even consulted with an “animal communicator” in hopes of tapping into Fisher’s whereabouts (行踪) — all to no avail.

The family also set up a find-fisher Facebook page, which quickly gathered 8,000 followers, and launched an online fundraiser to raise awareness and help them in their efforts to bring their beloved fur baby home.

“Signs have been posted, and we’ve extended our stay in Ocean City and arranged to bring in a professional dog tracker, in addition to making continuous searching trips in a car, on foot, and on a bike,” Matthew Battista wrote.

On April 20, 2021, 290 days after Fisher made his unauthorized Independence Day exit, Baltimore City resident Wayne Horn was repairing his motorcycle when he noticed a stray (走失的) dog in the road. When a friend of Horn’s posted picture of the found dog to Facebook, the responses of “That’s Fisher!” came back faster than a boomerang (回旋镖).

Informed of the news, Elissa Battista recognized Fisher immediately. “From the moment I saw the photos I knew it was him from the markings and his little tongue sticking out,” she posted to Facebook.

The reunion was quickly arranged. The Battistas had some local friends pick him up from the Horns, and then Elissa made the five-hour trip to retrieve Fisher and bring him home. Apart from minor signs of possible frostbite (冻伤), Fisher was in excellent shape.

2 . A blue hole is a special kind of underwater cave found inland or in the sea, which forms when the earth above a cave falls in and water fills the space.

An inland blue hole’s water is very still and has different layers. A layer of fresh rainwater floats on top of salt water; the fresh water keeps oxygen from the atmosphere from reaching the salt water; brightly colored bacteria live where the two layers meet.

Diving into blue holes is very dangerous. Near the top of the blue hole, there is a layer of toxic gas, which causes itching, headache, and—in large amounts—death. Divers must also be fast. They have to get in and out of a cave before their oxygen runs out. Additionally, divers have to follow a guideline as they swim through a blue hole because it is very dark inside. Without the guideline, they may get lost.

If blue holes are so dangerous, why do explorers and scientists risk their lives to explore them? The reason is that these underwater caves can provide valuable scientific information. They provide clues about geology, archaeology, and biology. For example, some blue hole creatures probably haven’t changed for millions of years.

The blue holes could even provide clues about astrobiology. For example, divers have found bacteria there that can live without oxygen. Astrobiologist Kevin Hand says the bacteria may be similar to forms of life that might exist on Jupiter’s fourth largest moon, Europa. “Our study of life’s extremes on Earth,” he says, can help increase “our understanding of habitable environments off Earth.”

In addition, the oxygen-free environment of the blue holes preserves bones of humans and animals that fell into the caves long ago. By studying blue holes, we can understand what life was like in prehistoric times. As cave diver Kenny Broad says, “I can think of no other environment on Earth that is so challenging to explore and gives us back so much scientifically.”

When a leafy plant is under attack, it doesn’t sit quietly. It is reported     1     maple trees being bitten by insects send out a particular smell that neighboring plants can get. These chemicals     2     (call) VOCs come from the injured parts of the plant and seem to be an alarm.

Scientists have found that all kinds of plants give out VOCs when they     3     (attack). It’s a plant’s way of crying out. But does anyone listen? They     4     (obvious) do. Some pump out smelly chemicals to keep insects away. But others pump out perfumes     5     (attract) different insects.     6     their arriving, the attackers get attacked. Those     7     were lunching become lunch now.

In study after study, it appears that these chemical conversations helped the     8     (neighbor) because they heard the alarm and knew what to do.

Does this mean that plants talk to each other? Scientists don’t know. Charles Darwin, over 150 years ago, imagined a world far     9     (busy), noisier and more intimate(亲密的)than the world we can see and hear. However, our senses are     10     weak to know that there’s a whole lot going on.

4 . If you think about World Heritage Sites, you probably think of places connected with ancient art and culture, historical buildings and monuments. And of course, many of these are on the World Heritage List (WHL) (世界遗产名录). But the WHL contains a lot of sites that are not so obvious. Let’s look at a few of them.

Robben Island in South Africa

This island was used through the centuries a s a prison, a hospital and a military base. But it’s probably most famous as a maximum-security prison for political prisoners in the twentieth century. Nelson Mandela was one of its most famous residents. The WHL says it represents “the victory of democracy (民主) and freedom over oppression (压迫) and racism (种族主义).”

Borders of France and Spain

This is an area of great natural beauty and the mountains have many interesting geological formations. But it is also an area of small farm. People there still use a type of agriculture that used to be common in mountainous areas of Europe but that has almost complete disappeared in modern times.

The city of Brasilia, Brazil

Brasilia is a capital city that was created from nothing in 1956. The WHL calls it “a landmark in the history of town planning”. The different areas of the city and the buildings themselves were all designed at the same time carefully. Every part of the city shows the ideas of the planner and architect.

Simien National Park, Ethiopia

Simien National Park was one of the first sites to be listed in 1978. It is one of the highest mountainous areas in Africa, and the WHL calls it “one of the most spectacular landscapes in the world”. It is also important for its wildlife. The population of some rare animals is getting smaller and smaller.

7 . After years of heated debate, gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. Fourteen wolves were caught in Canada and transported to the park. By last year, the Yellowstone wolf population had grown to more than 170 wolves.

Gray wolves once were seen here and there in the Yellowstone area and much of the continental United States, but they were gradually displaced by human development. By the 1920s, wolves had practically disappeared from the Yellowstone area. They went farther north into the deep forests of Canada, where there were fewer humans around.

The disappearance of the wolves had many unexpected results. Deer and elk populations — major food sources (来源) for the wolf — grew rapidly. These animals consumed large amounts of vegetation (植被), which reduced plant diversity in the park. In the absence of wolves, coyote populations also grew quickly. The coyotes killed a large percentage of the park’s red foxes, and completely drove away the park’s beavers.

As early as 1966, biologists asked the government to consider reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone Park. They hoped that wolves would be able to control the elk and coyote problems. Many farmers opposed the plan because they feared that wolves would kill their farm animals or pets.

The government spent nearly 30 years coming up with a plan to reintroduce the wolvers. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service carefully monitors and manages the wolf packs in Yellowstone. Today, the debate continues over how well the gray wolf is fitting in at Yellowstone. Elk, deer, and coyote populations are down, while beavers and red foxes have made a comeback. The Yellowstone wolf project has been a valuable experiment to help biologists decide whether to reintroduce wolves to other parts of the country as well.

8 . An environmental group in Colombia is leading a project to save wild areas in the San Lucas Mountains with the help of coffee growers.

Since 2016, San Lucas areas have been threatened by mining and coca (古柯) planting Gold miners and coca growers make more money than coffee farms. Now the group WebConserva helps link coffee farmers with coffee processors from around the country in order that they can earn more. At the same time coffee farms can serve as boarders around the forests to protect the biodiversity within.

To date, the project includes 10 families who farm 400 hectares of coffee plants. WebConserva said it hopes, in time, 200 families will be included. At that level. 20,000 hectares of untouched forest could be protected. The families promise not to cut down trees to expand their crops or to hunt wild animals. In return, they receive $300 for 125 kilograms of coffee.

Arcadio Barajas is among those taking part. His coffee farm sets up a barrier between cattle farms and forests where wild animals live, thus reducing the possibility of conflict between cattle farmers and wild animals.   “Cutting down the forest to plant coca and killing wildlife were against my faith, and now I feel that growing coffee lets me be a good guard of the land,” he said.

Amnobis Romero is a former coca grower and miner. “Many families depended on illegal activities to support their children years ago. Now, we feel it a duty to look after this biodiversity and leave it for future generations,” he said. Activists want San Lucas to be protected as a national park, but the process has been slow. Carlos Valderrama, director of Webconserva, hopes the project can build production system that will last far into the future. “It protects forests, biodiversity and ecosystems at the same time as improving coffee growers’ quality of life,” he said.

10 . Tips for Green Travel with Kids

Traveling doesn’t mean letting go of all the eco-friendly choices we work so hard to achieve in our daily life. Here are a few tips for green travel with kids:

Booking nonstop flights whenever possible will reduce carbon emissions (碳排放).     1    , check in with other local airports to see if nonstop flights are available. You might have to drive a bit further, but saving on carbon emissions makes it worthwhile.

Whether you’re flying or driving, it’s easy when traveling to pull into fast food restaurants for snacks.     2    . My kids love to help plan snacks. I let them create their own snacks for the trip at home.

Reusable water bottles are easy to bring along whenever you travel. At the airport, keep your reusable bottles empty until you have passed through the security (安检).     3    . Single-use plastic water bottles create unnecessary waste and the plastic can be harmful to your health.

    4    . Open a few windows and turn off the air conditioner. You should also help your children keep their good, green habits from home to place while traveling. Sometimes vacation can mean more than one shower each day — once in the morning and again after getting out of the pool. Pay attention to the number of showers and the length of showers.     5    .