1 . Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, beginning in the 1970s, pioneered a method of planting young native species close together to quickly create tiny forests on urban wasteland. He found that protected areas around temples in Japan contained a huge variety of native plants that co-existed to produce adaptable and diverse ecosystems. The forests were layered together from four categories of native plantings: main tree species, sub-species, bushes, and ground-covering herbs. Using this four-category system, along with his explorations of the vegetation in Japan, Miyawaki designed his own system for planting forests.

Miyawaki forests can grow into mature ecosystems in just 20 years-about 10 times the growth speed of a traditional forest, explained Kazue Fujiwara who worked with Miyawaki. According to Fujiwara, the planting should center on the primary trees of the location. Native species require no maintenance (养护) after the first two years and are more likely to survive and grow well in the local environmental conditions. What's more, they provide an ideal home for endangered species.

When Shubhendu Sharma learned about Miyawaki's forest creation technique in 2009, the botanist created a forest at the Toyota factory in India where Sharma worked as an engineer. Shortly, he started a company to create similar forests, researching the method and trying it in his own backyard. He described his work in a 2014 TED Talk, and released his version of the instructions so anyone could learn how to create their own small native forest. Since then, Sharma's company, Afforestt, has helped plant forests in 44 cities.

Now, Miyawaki-style urban forests have been springing up across Europe. Cities in Asia are embracing the idea, with Pakistani minister announcing plans for 50 Miyawaki forests in Lahore, and Indian officials setting a target to plant 1,000 in Chennai.

3 . Happy news arrived from Colorado this week as Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) announced that two wolves, John M2101 and Jane F1084, had been spotted with multiple pups (幼崽). The gray wolves and their pups were first sighted by a wildlife biologist and CPW district wildlife manager. The good news follows the decision to reintroduce gray wolves to the state just last year.

To gain further confirmation, CPW staff conducted three separate observations to see what was happening at the den (窝) from a safe distance. This confirmed the presence of the collared wolves John and Jane, who were joined by three pups. The true group size remains to be seen, however, as it’s possible there may be more that have not yet been spotted. Gray wolf dens usually contain around four to six pups.

“Colorado is now home to our first wolf den since the 1940s,” said Governor Jared Polis in a statement. “We welcome this historic den and the new wolf family to Colorado. With voter passage last year of the project to require reintroduction of the wolf by the end of 2023, these pups will have plenty of potential mates when they grow up to start their own families.”

“It’s incredible that these two adult animals have traveled the distance and overcome the challenges they have to get here, and to now have pups in Colorado,” said Kris Middledorf, area wildlife manager for CPW. “Our first duty is to ensure that they have the chance to boom, so even as we have exciting news, we want to remind everyone that these animals remain endangered in Colorado.”

The status of gray wolves is backed up by law in the western state, where killing an endangered species can result in the removal of hunting privileges, a fine of $100, 000, and even jail time. It’s also prohibited to hunt wildlife in the state— but with acute hearing and excellent eyesight, leaving these smart animals should be easy enough if you don’t go looking for them.

4 . The Bridegroom's Oak, a 500­-year-old tree just outside of Eutin, in Germany, has its own postal address and receives around 40 letters every day. They're sent by love seekers from around the world, in the hope that someone will read them and write back.

With so many dating apps and services available nowadays, sending letters to a tree hardly sounds like the best way to find love. However, there's something charming about sending a letter and allowing fate (命运) to work its magic, so the Bridegroom's Oak remains popular even now.

In 1890, a local girl named Minna fell in love with a young chocolate maker named Wilhelm, but her father didn't allow her to see the boy. Instead of giving up on each other, the two started exchanging love letters secretly, by leaving them in a knothole (节孔) of an oak tree. After about one year, Minna's father found out about their continued relationship, but instead of punishing them, he gave them permission to marry. The two lovers got married on June 2, 1891, under the oak tree that helped keep their romance (罗曼史) alive.

The couple's story spread around Eutin, and soon, people unable to find love started writing romantic letters and leaving them in the tree's knothole. By 1927, it was already known as Bridegroom's Oak and was so popular that it had its own address and postal code, allowing people from all over Germany and even abroad to send in their letters.

Love seekers visiting the Bridegroom's Oak need respect only one simple rule. They can check all the letters in its knothole, and take with them the one they wish to reply to, but they have to put the others back for other people to find.

So far the Bridegroom's Oak has been responsible for at least 100 marriages and many other romantic relationships.

6 . Evidence of a worm-like creature about the size of a grain of rice has been uncovered in South Australia, and researchers believe it is the oldest ancestor on the family tree that includes humans and most animals. The creature lived about 535 million years ago. It is considered to be an evolutionary step forward for early life on Earth.

Researchers have been trying to find evidence of the common ancestor of most animals. Developing its body structure and organization successfully allowed life to move in specific, purposeful directions. This includes everything from worms and dinosaurs to amphibians(两栖动物) and humans. But for our common ancestor, they knew that fossils(化石) of the tiny , simple creatures they imagined would be nearly impossible to find because of its size and soft body. Then, they turned to fossilized burrows, dated to the Ediacaran Period, found in South Australia.

For 15 years, scientists knew the burrows were created by the creature. There was no evidence of what made the burrows and lived in them until researchers decided to take a closer look at the burrows. Geology professor Mary Droser spotted impressions shaped like ovals near the burrows.

A 3-D laser scan revealed the impressions containing evidence of a body shaped and sized like a rice grain, with a noticeable head and tail which suggested it had muscles. The muscles would have enabled the creature to move and create the burrows, like the way a worm moves. And the size of the creature matched with the size of the burrows they found.

The researchers involved in the study named the creature Ikaria wariootia. The first name translates as “meeting place” in the Adnyamathanha language. Adnyamathanha is the name of Australian people that live in the area where the fossil was found.

It is reported that at present a city in Japan has a problem with graffiti(涂鸦). However, it is not the usual type of graffiti with paint from spray cans     1    (use) to write on walls. It is graffiti in sand.

Officials in the city of Tottori are asking tourists to give up     2     (write) messages and drawing pictures in the sand of its giant sand dunes (沙丘). The officials say the graffiti causes damage to the dunes,     3     destroys the pleasure others get in looking at the sand.

More than 3,300 cases of "sand graffiti"     4     (occur) at the tourist spot in the past decade. In January, two overseas tourists were ordered     5     (erase) a 25-meter-long message that read "Happy Birthday Natalie".

The Tottori Sand Dunes are famous throughout Japan     6     their natural beauty. They are the largest and longest sand dunes in the country and form part of     7     scenic coastal park on the sea of Japan coast. The biggest dune is 50 meters high.

The local government wants to improve tourists' understanding of the     8     (important) of the dunes. It will set up much     9     (many) signs in English, Chinese and Korean asking people to respect the dunes. A spokesman said, "We are concerned about whether the rules are     10     (complete) understood, and we want to continue to protect views of the beautiful sand dunes."

9 . During the recent elections，the Inuit Ataqatigiit, a left-wing Greenland party，has won against the incumbent (现任的) center-left Siumut party. The Inuit Atagatigiit heavily campaigned against the construction of a rare earth metal mine，a project whose development has been contested for years.

The project would give the mine the “potential to become the most significant Western world producer of rare earths” according to the Australian company behind the project, Greenland Minerals. However, it comes at the expense of poisonous waste products that could damage the area’s fragile ecosystem.

Rare earth metals are found everywhere. From cellphones to magnets and even DVDs, rare earth metals are used for making many electronic products. For years, international mining companies have had their sights on Greenland. The country is known for its abundant deposits of untapped rare earth minerals.

The main mining project that became the center of the recent election is in an area south of Greenland known as Kvanefjeld. It has deposits of rare earths and uranium, and has been in development for years. But it has never been officially approved by the government due to heavy opposition for the radioactive waste it would produce.

On the other side of the coin, supporters of the project argue for the economic benefits it would provide such as creating thousands of jobs. Greenland’s economy, is mainly dependent on fishing and financial support from Denmark, the country that owns it. Many rare earth metals are also important for developing renewable sources of energy that can address climate change.

Immediately after the victory of the Inuit Ataqatigiit party was announced, the leader of it announced that the Kvanefjeld mining project, would not proceed.

The party state that although they are not directly opposed to mining, they are “opposed to dirty mining”. They aim to implement (实施) strict standards for mining companies to reduce environmental influence to the lowest possible level.

However, the new government plans to go on with caution as foreign interest in Greenland’s resources continues to grow.

    1    (lie) under waters across the globe are an estimated three million shipwrecks, all of     2     indicate human attempts over the centuries to explore Earth's furthest corners. While there is little land on our planet left unexplored, the vast sea bed almost     3    (remain) unknown.

Considering our limited knowledge, it's not surprising that exploration of the oceans constantly brings about discoveries in various     4    (science) fields.

First, many archaeological finds are made in shallow waters, including whole cities     5    (bury) underwater. The ruins offer precious information about the past. However, the challenges of pressure, darkness and intense cold at vast depths make     6     difficult to discover more of the past.

Amazing biological discoveries are also being made, like the barreleye living 6,000 meters below the ocean's surface. Such discoveries enable us     7    (have) a better knowledge of the capacity for life even in extreme circumstances.

Additionally, so far more new natural resources such as fire ice     8    (find) in oceans. Besides, the research conducted by China's underwater vessels helps scientists identify areas for deep-sea drilling and better understand how the sea bed was formed.

Humankind is entering a new age of oceanic discovery. Oceans will be as familiar     9     us as the land where we live through all-round international     10    (cooperate).