1 . Plastic is everywhere in our environment, especially in the ocean. Actually, a large amount of plastic waste is floating around the world’s oceans today, waiting to be eaten by some fish or oyster, and finally perhaps by one of us.

Because plastic wasn’t invented until the late 19th century, and its production only really took off around 1950, we have a mere 9.2 billion tons of the stuff to deal with. Of that, more than 6.9 billion tons have become waste. And of that waste, a surprising 6.3 billion tons never made it to a recycling bin. No one knows how much unrecycled plastic waste ends up in the ocean. In 2015, Jenna Jambeck, an engineering professor, caught everyone’s attention with a rough estimate: between 5.3 million and 14 million tons of plastic waste each year just come from coastal regions.

Meanwhile, ocean plastic is estimated to kill millions of marine (海洋的) animals every year. Nearly 700 species, including endangered ones, are known to have been affected by it. Some are stuck by abandoned things made of plastic. Many more are probably harmed invisibly. Marine species of all sizes, from zooplankton to whales, now eat microplastics. We are closely related to oceans so the consequences of throwing plastic away may return to affect us some day.

“This isn’t a problem where we don’t know what the solution is,” says Ted Siegler, a Vermont resource economist, “We know how to pick up garbage. Anyone can do it. We know how to deal with it. We know how to recycle.” It’s a matter of building the necessary systems, he says, ideally before the ocean turns into a thin soup of plastic.

3 . On November 7, Lewis Pugh completed a one-kilometer swim in the freezing waters of King Edward Cove, off South Georgia in Antarctica. He was wearing only his swimming glasses, cap and Speedos (速度计).

Pugh is an advocate (提倡者) for our oceans and seas, working to protect these ecosystems (生态系统) with their large diversity of sea life. When asked why he doesn’t wear a wetsuit, Lewis says, “I ask world leaders to do everything they can to protect our oceans. Sometimes the steps they need to take are difficult and unpopular. If I’m asking them to be courageous, I must also be. Swimming in a wetsuit would not send the right message.”

It took Pugh about 19 minutes to complete the one-kilometer swim in Antarctica where the water averaged about 1.6 degrees Celsius. He says that his body can only tolerate about 20 minutes in the freezing waters before it starts shutting down. As he swims, his body temperature steadily drops, which in turn causes his muscle control to drop, slowing him down. When he is done with his swim, his support team rushes him to a hot shower and it takes almost an hour for his body temperature to return to normal.

Doctors and Pugh warn that one must receive months of training to swim in such cold waters. Even expert swimmers who are unused to freezing water can drown within minutes because of the physical shock experienced by the body. Pugh says he trained for six months before this swim.

This is not the first time that Lewis has swum in dangerous conditions. In 2007, he swam one kilometer in the North Pole to draw attention to the melting Arctic ice due to the climate change. In 2015, he swam in the Bay of Whales in Antarctica’s Ross Sea as part of his successful campaign to help set up a sea life reserve (保护中心) there.

4 . It used to be that a “green classroom” referred to the colour of paint on the wall. But today’s green classrooms are greener than that! New “green” classrooms help schools save money and provide clean environments where students learn better.

Many classrooms are going green by adding solar panels to their roofs. The solar panels collect energy from the sun and use it to power lights and computers. The panels help make green classrooms grid-neutral, which means the panels create at least as much electricity as the classrooms use. In addition, new lighting and air systems can be programmed to lower energy costs and water use.

Many new “green” classrooms are built by using recycled materials. Some even use pieces of material from blue jeans to insulate walls and roofs. The old-jean insulation cuts heat and air conditioning bills.

Green schools feature many other new ideas. Some classrooms are painted using special odor-free paints that help improve indoor air. Some use no glues that add chemical smells to the air. Others use triple-pane windows and skylights to help keep classrooms warm in cold weather and let in lots of natural daylight.

Experts say the benefits of building greener classrooms go beyond cost savings. Studies show that a healthful environment with good air quality can cut colds and flu by more than 50 percent. That means fewer sick days for students and teachers. Studies have shown that natural light and other green features improve student learning and test scores too.

5 . Many people have realized that air pollution can cause damage to people’s health.    1    Air pollution can affect an animal’s health. Make yourself know of the types of air pollution and discover ways how you can help your pets.

How does pollution affect animals？

All animals, whatever their size, can be affected by pollution. Experts agree that pollution affects animals in the same way as it does humans.    2    Not only do animals breathe in harmful gases from pollution, but pollutants (污染物) are also absorbed through the skin and come from food and water.

Types of air pollution.

    3    And it’s important to get familiar with air pollution that affects the health of both animals and humans.

Acid Rain (酸雨)—When water drops in clouds combine with acidic air pollutants, the water turns acidic.    4    

Global Warming—The planet is warming due to greenhouses gases, which include carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor. These gases are released into the atmosphere from air pollution.

    5    

You can keep the pets in your home safe from air pollutants by keeping fresh air entering your room and purifying (净化) air with equipment. Unfortunately, this doesn’t protect wildlife, but it’s a step in the right direction to protect your beloved pet’s health. Besides, you should also use less energy, reuse and recycle as much as possible.

A small town in England is teaching the world that it is important     1    (grow) your own food. Any open space     2    (use) to grow fruit and vegetables. There are apples, pears, peaches, strawberries, cabbages and carrots, here and there. Everyone can pick them     3     free. Eight years ago, a woman named Pam in Todmorden dug up her rose garden. She planted vegetables, knocked down the garden wall and put up a sign     4    (say), “Help yourself?” Today, Pam has     5    (complete) changed the town. A new town has been born,     6     is called “Incredible Edible Todmorden”. Pam explained why she thought the idea was popular. “It’s possible and positive. Many people know we have to change,     7     how we do that is a question. So one day, she gathered all the     8    (villager) together. They decided to do something different at once. They didn’t write reports. They didn’t ask for permission. They just did it. Only a short time     9    (late), Todmorden became a big garden of fruit vegetables. In Todmorden, there is a motto: If you eat, you are in. But that’s not all. There are     10    (many) than 700 edible towns popping up around the world, from Canada to Mali. People there think about food and protect environment at the same time.

7 . As Shanghai prepared to introduce mandatory(强制的) garbage sorting on July 1, games and toys that examined fun ways to spread information about the garbage sorting were to encourage younger people to take action.

A 15-second video of a game went on Chinese social media. In the video, players wearing VR(虚拟) headsets saw four different types of trash can in front of them, and had to throw different types of garbage into the right buckets(桶) to get points. Although it was not the only VR game in the place, visitors lined up around the booth to explore it because of the garbage-sorting theme.

“As a Shanghai, I am in great need of this game. Maybe I won’t need to check how to categorize(分类) each piece of garbage on my phone while going through all my garbage every day if I play this game more often, ” said ZhouZhou, a young Shanghai. But some social media users in Shanghai have complained about the difficulty of sorting different types of garbage.

Wu Xia, founder and CEO of VitrellaCore, the company that created the game, said the idea was to provide an interesting way of learning about garbage sorting. “It’s simple and easy to understand. People can practice sorting garbage without actually going through their trash, and it is a more effective method than using paper materials when training volunteers,” Wu said.

8 . Earthquakes often happen suddenly without warning, and they can often cause damage, injuries and even deaths.     1    .

If you are outdoors:

Move away from buildings, streetlights, something dangerous and stay in the open.     2    . If you are driving when an earthquake hits, pull over to the side of the road and stop quickly as safety allows and stay in the car. Avoid stopping near or under buildings, trees. Even if the earthquake has stopped, avoid roads, bridges that might have been damaged by the earthquake

If indoors:

    3    . Then hold on until the shaking stops. If there isn’t a table or desk near you, cover your face and head with your arms and bend in an inside corner of the building. Stay away from glass windows, and anything that could fall.

Get communication and necessities ready:

    4    . There is a real possibility during the day when adults are at work and children are at school. Ask a relative not in this area or friend to serve as the “family contact(联系).” Make sure everyone in the family knows the name, address, and phone number of the contact person.

It is also important to have necessary things on hand, such as water, food, medicine, a flashlight and so on.     5    .