4 . Once again, China has conquered the world’s highest peak, Mount Qomolangma, on May 4th, 2022. Thirteen members of the Chinese Earth Summit Mission 2022 scientific expedition (探险) team successfully established an automatic weather station at an altitude of over 8800 meters, the world’s highest of its kind, on Mount Qomolangma on the China-Nepal border, achieving the milestone task of the country’s second comprehensive survey to the roof of the world.

To finish this mission, Yao Tandong, a leader of the expedition, said they have organized a massive party consisting of 16 teams and over 270 researchers, some of whom trained for over two years for the project. Now they have set up eight stations from 5200 meters to 8800 meters on Mount Qomolangma, with four stations higher than 7000 meters respectively at 7028 meters, 7790 meters, 8300 meters and 8800 meters. These weather stations at different altitudes mainly monitor the temperature, relative humidity, wind direction, wind speed, pressure and radiation changes in the region, and can realize real-time remote transmission (传输) of data.

Conventional weather observations are generally below 5000 meters and rarely above 5000 meters, and such high-altitude weather observations are scarce at the moment, Zhao Huabiao, a researcher at the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, said. “The reason for building a weather station at 8800 meters instead of 8848 meters is that the snow and ice on the summit are not suitable for fixing equipment, and in this regard, the weather station was built on bedrock around 8800 meters which is easier,” said Zhao.

The team reached the summit of Mount Qomolangma and used high-accuracy radar to measure the thickness of ice and snow, and collected samples for further research. Kang Shichang, a researcher of the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said studying the changes to the glacier aims to clarify the impact of global warming, which is beneficial to mounting a global response to climate change. “Through the study of glacier changes and glacier air pollutants, we can see the impact of global and regional human activities in the Qomolangma area,” Kang said.

5 . A flood hit Yellowstone National Park on June 13, 2022. The disaster was caused by a combination of unusually heavy rains and rapid snow melt. The high and fast water flows destroyed bridges and swept away entire roadways, leaving communities and homes isolated. Fortunately, the approximately 10,000 park visitors were safely evacuated.

The town of Gardiner, along the Montana-Wyoming border, was particularly hard hit. The floodwaters left almost 900 people with no power or water for many days. Gardiner’s economy, which depends on the almost three-quarters of a million visitors who pass through the park’s north gate annually, is likely to take a hit. The floodwaters severely damaged the main north entrance road to Yellowstone, and could take years to rebuild.

Park officials have begun work on improving an alternative road to Gardiner. This will ensure that locals can access food, supplies, and other essential emergency services. A limited number of tourists may also be allowed into Gardiner once the road is stable.

Yellowstone’s north gate is closed indefinitely. But the park’s south gate opened to visitors on June 22, 2022. Park officials have started a new entry system to prevent overcrowding. It is based on the last number of the visitor’s vehicle license plate and the calendar date of the month. Cars with odd (奇数的) numbers can visit the park on odd days of the month, while those with even (偶数的) numbers can go on even days.

Established in 1872, Yellowstone is America’s oldest national park. The 3,472-square-mile reserve spans three states and is home to many unique wildlife. It is known for its natural beauty that includes mountains, rivers and lakes. The forces of fire and ice shaped the park over thousands of years.

Scientists exploring the ocean floor in Antarctica have found a larger group of fish nests than ever before. The discovery came     1     a surprise, and it will help scientists develop a more complete idea of the ocean food web in the area.

In the south Weddell Sea, not far from Antarctica’s Filchner Ice Shelf, scientists were    2     (amaze) to discover a group of about 60 million icefish nests on the ocean floor. Before this, the     3     (large) group of icefish nests that had ever been found includes less than 60 nests. Lilian Boehringer, a research student, was the first     4     (discover) the nests. “They were everywhere,” she told The New York Times.

The researchers used a special device called OFOBS to make two more four-hour “dives” ,    5     (try) to discover the limits of the nesting area. The nests scientists found were in the shape of     6     circle. Each nest held about 1,700 eggs. Usually, Weddell seals (海豹)    7     (spot) in the waters above the nesting site. Trackers     8     (fix) on some Weddell seals show that they dive all the way to the sea floor.

The team placed a camera on the sea floor before leaving,     9     will take a picture of the nests in the area     10     (two) a day for the next two years. They hope the pictures from this camera will help them learn more about the lives of the icefish.

7 . The essence (本质) of fast fashion is to make clothes inexpensively and quickly, to get new trends and styles into stores and online as soon as possible, and it comes at a high social and environmental cost. Keeping production costs low means they can make their clothes cheap, using cheap labour in unsafe working conditions, and in countries with bad environmental regulations.

Throw-away culture is deeply rooted in our society; three in five of our clothing pieces are thrown out within a year. Fast fashion brands keep the consumers hungry and feeling like they need more by attracting them with newness and convincing the consumers that they need what they’re selling. This only results in increasing textile waste as people no longer want but throw it away.

Criticisms of the fast fashion industry include its negative environmental impact: water pollution, the use of toxic (有毒的) chemicals and increasing levels of textile waste. Textile dyeing is the second largest polluter of clean water globally, after agriculture. Fast fashion companies rely on their products being made cheaply and quickly, so they avoid talking when it comes to being aware of their impact on the environment. Greenpeace’s recent Detox Campaign showed that many brands use toxic and dangerous chemicals in their supply chains, and many of the chemicals are either banned or strictly controlled in lots of countries.

In conclusion, the fast fashion industry has a bad effect on our environment through fast fashion brands’ ecological practices and only continues to make the problem last for a long time in the future through extreme consumerist culture. In order for change to happen, the common people need to open their eyes and take measures to prevent the fast fashion from growing.

10 . Thousands of people around the world are helping to save the world’s biggest fish. By taking photos of whale sharks, those helpful citizens are providing researchers with critical information about whale sharks’ locations and migration routes.

Whale sharks are endangered, with their populations worldwide having decreased by more than 50% over the past 75 years. Although protected in many countries, they are still killed by the fishing industry—caught intentionally and accidentally, especially in tuna(金枪鱼) fishing areas where whale sharks and tuna swim close together. Whale sharks are also threatened by oil and gas drilling, ship strikes and climate change.

To help protect the species, Australian biologist Brad Norman co-founded The Wildbook for Whale Sharks, a photo identification database that went online in 2003. Photography lovers, scientists and whale shark tour operators around the world contribute photos of whale sharks to the system, which uses NASA technology to map their locations and track their movements. Today, the database holds over 70,000 photos from more than 50 countries.

Pictures submitted to The Wildbook are analyzed by scanning the spots on the animal’s skin, which are as unique as human fingerprint, says Norman. Then it identifies the shark by searching the database for a matching pattern. This way, they can figure out which whale shark is where.

The data on whale shark locations and migration routes help scientists make strategies to protect whale habitat. “It’s so important to have the public assist with our project.” says Norman . He hopes to see more people join to help find out where the whale sharks go to mate. Protecting their breeding(繁殖) grounds is the “one big thing” needed to save the species in the long run. The help from thousands of citizens gives him a better chance of making that possible.