1 . The Coral Sea is home to an amazing variety of turtles, sharks, whales, dolphins, large fish, birds, corals, plants, and many other species. Many of these species are endangered elsewhere in the world, but still survive in the healthy environment of the Coral Sea.

The Coral Sea is a large series of coral reefs located off the northeast coast of Australia. This area is three times larger than Australia’s famous Great Barrier Reef, which the Coral Sea borders.

The Coral Sea is one of the few coral reef environments that have remained largely undamaged by overfishing, oil and gas exploration and pollution. However, statistics show that coral reefs around the world are disappearing five times faster than rainforests. It is very likely that in the near future the Coral Sea will face the same threats to its existence.

The Australian government is currently looking at options for protecting the Coral Sea but has made no decisions. Environmentalists are pushing for laws to declare the Coral Sea area a marine protected area. This would mean a large “no-take zone” for fishermen, a no-exploration zone for gas and oil companies and a no-dump zone for pollution. This would make the Coral Sea a marine park larger than any in the world.

We can write letters to Australian leaders, Australian environmental protection agencies, and Australian friends, to let them know that people worldwide support this protection of the Coral Sea. To lose this last great marine wildness would be a loss for the whole world.

For more information, CLICK here please.

2 . I had a lot on my mind as I recalled my teddy bear (泰迪熊) on the snowiest day last year. Only twenty-four hours before, I had been _______ with it happily in our farmhouse. How quickly things _______ ! The house I had lived in disappeared. The fire had _______ all those things with my memories.

I have never known my mother to be so _______ . When picking up my ashen (灰白色的) clothing, she moved with emptiness (空虚). The _______ was heavy to us.

After moving to the temporary (临时的) house, my father told me dealing with this would cost _______ money. It brought about a wave of _______ and life became a struggle.

“Hey, Jason,” a classmate came up to me at lunchtime with a box in her hands. “Jason, we know what _______ a few days ago. This is not something you have to go through _______. We started up the Shoebox Fund for you. Almost every student in our school ________. We love you and we want you to have this.

My eyes were filled with ________, and I had never been so moved. I had felt so lonely for the days after the fire that I became ________, unwilling to communicate with others. But these people looked past the impolite behavior I had shown to them. They were my true friends and by sharing this ________, they were my family.

Yes, things are getting back to ________. But what I learned from this journey of discovery will ________ with me forever.

Some countries have a large number of earthquakes. Japan is one of them, while others do not have so many. For example, there are few earthquakes in Britain. But they are     1     (frighten) when they break out.

There is often a great noise during    2     earthquake. The ground shakes; houses fall down; railways are destroyed,     3     causes trains to stop off. Sometimes thousands of people     4     (injure) in different ways. Some people say that earthquakes often happen near volcanoes (火山),     5    this is not true. The centers of some earthquakes are under the sea. The bottom of the sea suddenly moves. The    6     (power) forces inside the earth break the rocks. The coast is shaken and great waves appear. These waves travel a long     7     (distant) and rush over the land,     8     (break) down houses and other buildings. Sometimes they damage more buildings than the earthquake     9     (it). What kind of building stays up best in an earthquake? The Americans studied carefully the results of the earthquake at San Francisco and believed it is best for buildings to be made with concrete (水泥) walls held together by steel frames (钢筋框架). Such buildings won’t burn or fall     10     (easy).

A Campaign for Garbage Classification

10 . Imagine being able to pop to your local park and pick some tomatoes, potatoes or even bananas to take home for dinner. Sounds too good to be true, right? For residents (居民) of Andernach, German, it’s not just a dream — it’s their reality.

In 2010, Andernach began its edible (可食用的) city project that hadn’t been carried out before, planting 101 varieties of tomatoes in public green spaces around the city center. Its 30,000 residents are free to help themselves to whatever grows, as are any other visitors.  The town’s motto of sorts is “Picking is encouraged — help yourself!” Every year a new type of plant is highlighted. In 2011, 100 types of beans were planted, while 2012 saw the introduction of 20 onion varieties. And it has become the phenomenon of the city.

It’s a community effort, as local citizens are encouraged to help plant and maintain the gardens. This offers an opportunity to socialize as well as to learn about planting, cultivating and harvesting food.

An Andernach resident spoke to DW,“I often drop by to pick some herbs that I’m missing at home. Everything is easily accessible. There aren’t any fences. You just take what you need. The only thing is that you have to be quick once the fruits are ripe or they’ll all be gone!”

Andernach may have been the first in German, but it isn’t the only edible city. It’s part of the Edible Cities Network, a project funded by European Union to connect green urban foot initiatives (方案) around the world. Other cities include Carthage in Tunisia, Havana in Cuba and Sempeter-Vrtojba in Slovenia. In February 2022, the first Edible Cities Network Conference took place. Dr Ina Saumel, principal investigator of the Edible Cities Network, called it “a unique opportunity to invite researchers of edible city solutions and practitioners all together.”

Ultimately, the Edible Cities Network aims to give people “greener, more edible and, above all, more livable cities.” It is a response to the pressures of global climate change, and a significant cause full of hope.