New Yorkers were shocked in early December when a creature as big as a school bus     1     (surface) from the Hudson River. Over the next three days,    2     humpback whale (座头鲸) swam by several popular tourist destinations, where a journalist took    3    (photo) of the animal seemingly waving its tail at Lady Liberty.

Scientists say NYC0089, which hasn't been spotted in several weeks, has likely returned to deeper waters south of the Hudson. Still, the     4    (frequent) of whale sightings in the broader area has gone up rapidly in recent years.

“With these numbers increasing     5     (sharp), it's not surprising that you're seeing them in some unusual places,” says Brown — a biologist. Including the Hudson River and Staten Island.

Scientists say the     6    (rise) whale sightings are likely related to purer water and a brimming buffet of Atlantic menhaden, a fish favored by humpbacks, resulting     7     landmark environmental regulations     8    (pass) in the 1970s as well as New York city cleanup efforts.

“Seeing more whales in this area is a sign    9     the waters are cleaner and there's more food here for these whales,” Brown says. “It shows     10     we've been doing is working, so we need to keep doing that — and more — to protect these species.”

3 . Lego is considering a brick rental plan in an attempt to cut down on plastic waste. The Danish toymaker has promised to make all its bricks from sustainable sources by 2030 and is investing significant resources into finding alternatives.

Tim Brooks, vice-president responsible for sustainability, said the company was “totally open” to the idea of a product rental plan but admitted that lost pieces could produce a significant problem. He said the rental scheme was "possible" but admitted there were some "technical barriers", one of which is the complexity of some Lego sets, many of which contain thousands of pieces. "What are the chances of giving them to an eight-year-old child and getting them all back again?" Mr Brooks added.

Lego has come under increasing pressure to reduce its carbon footprint among growing international alarm about the impact of plastic waste on the environment. Lego reportedly gives off around a million tons of carbon dioxide each year, with about three-quarters coming from raw materials that go into factories. It produces 19 billion pieces per year—36,000 a minute—that are made of plastic and much of the inner packaging is also plastic.

So far, the only breakthrough has been the development of a line of bricks made from plant-based plastic sourced from sugarcane. The green trees, plants and flowers were first included in Lego sets late last year but account for only one-two percent of the total amount of plastic elements produced.

Henrik Ostergaard Nielson, a production administrator in Lego's factory, told the New York Times last year, “We need to learn again how to do this. The company has invested more than €100, 000,000 and hired 100 people to research non-plastic alternatives. It is aiming to keep all of its packaging reusable by 2025.”

5 . Stages of Hurricane: Simple Storms Grow Into Giants

A storm progresses through four different stages before it is actually considered a hurricane. First is a tropical disturbance (热带扰动), which has thunderstorms and rotating winds. Next is a tropical depression (热带低压), which is similar to a tropical disturbance, but has winds between 23 and 39 miles per hour. A tropical storm is the next level, which has stronger wind speeds between 40 and 73 miles per hour. Once winds reach 74 miles per hour the storm is officially called a hurricane. The wind picks up energy from the warm surface of ocean water.

As a hurricane crosses over land, it begins to become weaker or break apart and reduce in strength. This is because it is no longer over the warm ocean water that it needs for energy. At this point, a hurricane can still cause a lot of damage because of high winds, rain, and flooding. But unless it makes its way back over the open ocean, it is downgraded from a hurricane back to a tropical storm.

What's Your Name, Hurricane? Hurricanes and tropical storms are given names to help people recognize them. Scientists refer to hurricanes and storms by name as they track them across the ocean.

Before 1953, hurricanes were not given official names. From 1953 through 1978, hurricanes were only given female names, like Isabel, Camille, Claudette, and Wilma. Beginning in 1979, hurricanes were given the names of both women and men. Today, the names alternate male and female, and they are named in order of letters.

For example, in 2010, storms were named as follows: Alex (male), Bonnie (female), Colin(male), Danielle (female), Earl (male) and so on....

There are six different lists of names that change, so the same names are used every six years. The only way that a new name is added is when a hurricane has been particularly deadly or costly and the name is retired, then replaced with a new one.

7 . Ryan Hickman is a boy from the USA. When he was three years old, Ryan Hickman visited a _______ center in California and found what he wanted to do most. _______ , the next day as he greeted his dad, Damion, he made a(n)_______ , "I'm going to _______ all the bottles and cans from everyone in the neighborhood. I'll start a new _______ myself!

It's never too _______ to start a business, though there were no other staff but himself when the company was started. Today, Ryan, aged seven, the world's _______ garbage man, is the CEO, manager and _______ of Ryan's Recycling Company. Though Ryan says he doesn't remember what made it all start, he remains _______ about what he is doing. When ________ why he did so, he said, "It's because bottles get to the ocean, and then animals get sick and die. "Ryan's neighbors have been ________ to the little boy's knocking for their recycled goods. More and more ________ ones call to ask for a pickup or even ________ bags of bottles and cans at Hickman's door. At school, Ryan's favorite activity is helping the dustmen ________ the trash and taking away the recyclable. "My wife and I support him and we told him that whenever he wants to ________ , he can, "Damion said." I want to see him with friends, but the recycling just makes him ________ . He has actually ________ five of his friends to join him."

According to Damion, Ryan has ________ over $11,000 through recycling bottles and cans. Ryan says he wants to buy a large trash truck to be ________ with enough garbage and become a ________ garbage man.

8 . Animals are natural resources that people have wasted all through our history.

Animals have been killed for their fur and feathers, for food, for sport, and simply because they were in the way. Thousands of kinds of animals have disappeared from the earth forever. Hundreds more are on the danger list today. About 170 kinds in the United States alone are considered in danger. Why should people care? Because we need animals. And because once they are gone, there will never be any more.

Animals are more than beautiful or interesting or a source of food. Every animal has its place in the balance of nature. Destroying one kind of animal can create many problems.

For example, when farmers killed large numbers of hawks, the farmers' stores of corn and grain were destroyed by mice. Why? Because hawks eat mice. With no hawks to keep down their numbers, the mice multiplied quickly.

Luckily, some people are working to help save the animals. Some groups raise money to let people know about the problem. And they try to get the governments to pass laws protecting animals in danger.

Quite a few countries have passed laws. These laws forbid the killing of any animal or plant on the danger list. However, only if everyone takes action, animals can be removed from the endangered list.

9 . Oceans hold a lot of mystery, even for people who study them. But it’s no mystery why they’re in trouble. We’ve been using them to hide our waste, such as pouring oil, plastic, and poisonous chemicals into them for decades. We’ve over exploited (剥削) many fish stocks to levels so low that they can no longer be harvested.

Oceans are also a primary source of protein for millions of people worldwide. If we want to continue to enjoy what oceans provide, we need to do everything we can to protect them and the life they support. We should ensure the seafood we eat is sustainable.

Of course, not everyone is lucky enough to be able to catch their own fish, which means having sustainable options at the store is critical. As public and companies awareness about the risks caused by overfishing and uncontrolled sea farming expansion has grown, food tradesmen in Canada have developed sustainable seafood policies and commitments.

Seafood Progress, an online resource, is designed to help provide rewards to tradesmen and information to seafood lovers. It makes it easier for consumers in Canada to find out tradesmen’s policies on sourcing sustainable seafood, whether they’re sticking to those policies and how they’re performing compared to their peers.

But tradesmen must do more to ensure their seafood products are environmentally sustainable and socially responsible. This means expanding the scope of their commitments to cover all seafood products they sell, in all their stores. It also requires continuing to work with suppliers and producers to improve practices and make sure the sustainable seafood supply meets consumer demand.

It’s no mystery that if we want to continue to eat fish, we must do it responsibly. Seafood Progress has invited seafood tradesmen, suppliers and consumers to join in pushing to this goal.