1 . 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 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, planting 101 varieties of tomatoes in public green spaces around the city centre. 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 2012saw the introduction of 20 onion varieties.
It’s a community effort, as local citizens are encouraged to help plant and maintain the gardens. This offers an opportunity to socialise 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 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 to the same table.”
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.
1. What can residents do in public green spaces according to the edible city project?| A．Sell the produce they grow there. |
| B．Learn knowledge about planting. |
| C．Grow whatever plant as they like. |
| D．Pay to pick some vegetables there. |
| A．Novel and popular. | B．Creative and costly. |
| C．Common and fundamental. | D．Rare and unacceptable. |
| A．Andernach is the only city to carry it out. |
| B．European Union originally established it. |
| C．It helps combine theories with practices. |
| D．It invites people to share meals together. |
| A．To help residents relieve their pressure. |
| B．To involve residents in urban planting. |
| C．To increase the produce supply in cities. |
| D．To create environmentally friendly cities. |
1. Where does the conversation take place?
| A．In the street. | B．In an office. | C．On a bus. |
| A．There is something wrong with her car. | B．She is determined to protect environment. | C．She wants to save money. |
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Yesterday I visit the Hong'en Temple Park with my friends. The park was full of beauty flowers. When I were enjoying the wonderful scenery, something unpleasant caught my eye. A young couple on the grass were eating, talking and laughing loud as if they were the only people in the world. What's worse, they even threw rubbish onto the grass, without see the sign "No littering” nearby. What a shame!
Such behavior left me in thought. If all visitors do as the young couples did, the park will be severely polluting and soon turned into a huge dustbin. I think both of us should mind our behavior in the public places. Only in this way can we live more comfortable and beautiful surroundings.
4 . Running after fireflies （萤火虫）on a warm summer night might become a rare childhood memory if humans don't take action. There are over 2,000 different firefly species around the world, but their populations are decreasing due to artificial light pollution, pesticides （杀虫剂）and smaller habitat size.
A team of Tufts University-led researchers surveyed scientists and conservationists about the threats to firefly populations around the world. According to the study, one of the main threats to fireflies in East Asia and South America is artificial light. Fireflies light up to attract mates, but they can easily mistake human-made lights as potential partners. Adult fireflies typically live only a few days, which doesn't give them long to find a mate.
Humans' destroying the insects' natural habitats creates another threat. During their larval phase （幼虫期），Malaysian fireflies live in riverside bushes that are often pulled out for human-made fish farms. In Europe, Lampyris fireflies are finding less food to eat due to the growing urbanization of what were once woods and farmlands. In Malaysia, adult pteroptyx fireflies that usually prefer to mate in specific trees next to rivers have to find new mating areas because the trees are being knocked down for farmhouses.
The study also looked at the effects of climate change, tourism, invasive （侵入的）species and water pollution. On a positive note, while fireflies around the world seem to be suffering from the previously mentioned issues, Big Dipper fireflies living in the US happen to be booming. "Those guys can survive pretty much anywhere,said Sara Lewis, a biologist from Tufts University.
The study urges countries where firefly populations are dwindling to take measures to preserve suitable habitats, lessen light pollution, reduce use of pesticides and develop better guidelines for tourism around known firefly areas.
1. What mainly causes the drop of the firefly population in East Asia?| A．Light pollution. | B．Habitat loss. |
| C．Climate change. | D．Food shortage. |
| A．The Malaysian firefly. | B．The Lampyris firefly. |
| C．The Pteroptyx firefly. | D．The Big Dipper firefly. |
| A．on the rise | B．on the decrease |
| C．under control | D．out of control |
| A．Watching fireflies is a rare childhood memory. |
| B．Cooperation is the key to firefly protection. |
| C．Urbanization becomes a main threat to fireflies. |
| D．Human activities lead to less firefly population. |
Last Friday a storm swept through two villages in the New Territories,
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Mrs.Woo Mei Fong said that her husband had just left for work when she
Soldiers helped to take people out of the flooded area and the welfare department brought
