2 . When most people think of Amish communities, they picture old-fashioned environments free of modern technology. For the most part, that’s true, but there are a few surprising exceptions. Many Amish families use solar panels to meet their modest electricity needs.

According to Electric Rate, some Amish communities adopted solar as far back as the 90’s. In addition to wind turbines on churches and barns, Amish homes may also have solar panels on the roofs. These are connected to batteries that power electric lights, water pumps, and even the occasional washing machine, refrigerator, cash register, or e-bike. Amish communities don’t reject all technology for its own sake. Instead, they consider the impact each type of technology will have on their lifestyle and traditions.

Television doesn’t have a place in the simple Amish lifestyle, and connecting to the power grid to run multiple appliances (家用电器) would threaten the community’s independence and self-reliance. However, electric lights are another matter, according to Electric Rate. Amish families previously used kerosene (煤油) lamps to light their homes. These created major safety issues, like heightened fire risk and harmful smoke.

Solar panels and LED lights were the perfect solutions, Electric Rate says. They’re self-contained, so Amish communities don’t have to pay a monthly bill. They don’t even have to add wiring to the whole house. Just one or two panels are enough for a whole home since they don’t have many electric appliances. The lights themselves are reliable, efficient, long-lasting, affordable, and safe.

Even better, solar technology is getting cheaper all the time. Ongoing breakthroughs in solar panel design have made them easier to manufacture and more efficient to use, opening up this possibility for even more families. Solar panels are also gentle on the planet. Unlike burning kerosene, solar doesn’t produce air pollution that traps heat in our atmosphere. The more households, businesses, and governments adopt solar, the more we cool down the planet.

5 . Coral reefs (珊瑚礁) are a unique ocean ecosystem consisting of rocky structures mainly formed by coral animals and some other ocean life. Despite only covering 0. 2 percent of the ocean floor, coral reefs support at least 25 percent of marine species, as well as providing food and economic security for hundreds of millions of people.

However, coral reefs across the world are under threat. Warmer oceans can cause the coral bleaching (漂白). It happens when the corals lose colored algae (海藻) living in their bodies and turn completely white. Without the algae, the corals lose their main food source and can die. In addition, as oceans become more acidic (酸性的) from absorbing CO2, corals in acidic conditions become weak in forming reefs.

In 2021, the United Nations reported a 14 percent loss of corals across the world largely from rising sea temperatures in the previous 13 years. Australia declared mass bleaching events in 2022 across large parts of the Great Barrier Reef, four times since 2016. Data from the Philippines showed higher than usual ocean temperatures between 2015 and 2017 had caused a serious three-year bleaching events in reefs across the planet.

Scientists have been cooperating to see how coral reefs can be protected. Thankfully, they find those coral reefs in the hot parts of the globe are the worst affected. They contain corals with better heat resistance. So their research focus on finding genes (基因) for heat tolerance so that they can be passed on to future generations. Biologists also mix corals that are more resilient to higher temperatures with those that are not and the resulting generation has a better chance of survival.

Ultimately, scientists add that without a serious reduction in greenhouse gas, 99 percent of the world’s coral reefs will be gone by the end of the century. There is a limit to how quickly corals can adapt warm climate, but if temperatures rise rapidly, then extinction is certain.

6 . Though fireworks (烟花) on bonfire night bring joy to many people, it is likely to be a night of fright and pain for the UK’s geese (鹅).

Research by Anglia Ruskin University has found that fireworks displays (表演) cause wild birds to suffer significant pain, and researchers have recommended that displays should not take place in areas with large wildlife populations. A study, published in the journal Conservation Physiology, is one of the first carried out into the effects of fireworks on wildlife. It found that the heart rate (率) of geese increases by 96% when they are influenced by fireworks displays.

The study involved 20 wild grey lag geese fitted with recorders to record their heart rate and body temperature, which are measures of physiological stress. Claudia Wascher, who led the research, found that the average heart rate increased from 63 to 124 beats per minute, and their average body temperature increased from 38℃ to 39℃, in the first hour of fireworks displays. It took the geese about five hours before the birds displayed normal body temperatures, with average readings returning by 5 am.

“Ours is one of the first scientific studies to examine whether fireworks disturb wildlife. There have been previous studies showing that fireworks can cause anxiety in pets, for example in dogs, but little research has been done into how animals in the wild react. We need to carry out further research to conclusively tell whether the geese are reacting to the noise or the light pollution from the fireworks, or a combination of both. Many people get a lot of enjoyment from fireworks but it’s important that we consider animals both pets and wildlife — whenever planning a display,” Wascher said.

In July 2019, Shanghai became the first city in China     1     (make) household waste sorting (分类) compulsory (强制的). A number of other cities have followed in Shanghai’s footsteps by     2     (introduce) compulsory household and workplace rubbish sorting in the following years.     3     (actual), about 300 cities in China have carried out rubbish sorting programs at present, with a community coverage rate of 82.5%.

According to Hua Lei, a volunteer involved in rubbish sorting, the practice     4     (become) part of the daily lives of local residents (居民) over the past five years. Young people have played     5     important role in raising knowledge and educating the community, using creative     6     (way) such as short plays to teach older residents about rubbish sorting. Additionally, students     7     have learned about waste management at school have shared their knowledge     8     their families, further spreading the message.

Through these joint efforts, China is making progress in rubbish sorting and recycling. More residents     9     (encourage) to use rubbish sorting habits to contribute to a cleaner and     10     (good) living environment for its citizens.

8 . My husband, Dave, who teaches Botany (植物学), always plants things. He has planted trees anywhere we have lived and is proud to see they are flourishing and providing shade and beauty for whoever lives there.

I also love planting, especially the harvest. But I hate weeding (除草). I remember one of our first gardens in Kansas when I was attacked by the hugest grasshoppers (蚱蜢) I had ever seen while weeding our little garden.

Now, our growing efforts at our new home are vegetables. We are enjoying the garden we have created. It’s large but manageable with daily care. We use methods to minimize weeds. We have the time to keep up with the watering and weeding. I find I don’t hate that anymore.

There is something satisfying about pulling grass, and violets that are growing where we don’t want them, and unnamed weeds that are affecting the growth of what we want. I find that my relationship with gardening is turning into a true romance that has a rosy future.

It’s all about time, environment and attitude. Being in my eighties, I have the time to be patient for results, to enjoy the hope for future harvest, and I have the knowledge that comes from experience. I find a lot to love about growing things and about growing older.

9 . Corcoran, a farming town of California, is slowly sinking(下沉) when drought has forced farmers to pump(用泵抽) amounts of water from the ground. Corcoran is struggling to make sense of the strangest thing: His already suffering town is sinking, ever so gradually, into the ground.

To water its large fields and help feed America, farm operators began in the last century to pump water from underground sources, so much so that the ground has begun to sink. Strangely, signs of this subsidence are nearly out of sight. There are no cracks(裂缝) in the walls of the typical American shops in the town’s center, nor in the streets or fields.

This year’s drought has changed this food-basket of America into a large field of brown dust, forcing the government to limit(限制) the use of water by farmers. So Corcoran now finds itself in the middle of a bad circle: With their water supplies limited, farm operators are forced to pump more underground water, which in turn speeds the sinking of the town.

Few locals have spoken out against the problem -- not surprising, since most of them work for the same big agribusinesses pumping up groundwater. “They are afraid that if they speak against them, they might not work there any more,” said Atilano, who has spent years working for one of the country’s biggest cotton producers, J. G. Boswell.

On this summer afternoon, under a heat wave, some people stop to chat under a large wall painting. It describes a clear blue lake surrounded by snow-covered mountain peaks -- for now, a far dream.