1 . Earthquakes can strike without warning. But many injuries and deaths from this kind of natural disaster can be prevented if people follow these safety tips.

If you’re inside a building, stay there! One of the most dangerous things to do in an earthquake is to try to leave a building.     1     Drop to the ground. Get under an object that is not easily damaged. Hold on to it until the shaking stops. You can also get to a corner formed by two walls with your arms over your head. If you’re in bed when the quake hits, stay there and protect your head with a pillow.

    2     Don’t take shelter under a tree, streetlights, electric poles or tall buildings. If you are driving, stop as quickly as possible and stay away from overpasses (立交桥), buildings, bridges or anything else that might fall or collapse beneath you.     3    

If you are trapped in ruins, cover your mouth with a handkerchief or a piece of clothing. Use your cell phone to call for help if possible. Don’t shout. Shouting can cause you to breathe in dust.     4    

Be prepared for aftershocks.     5     However, sometimes they even happen months later. Therefore, if you are not in a safe position (位置) after the first shock, you should move quickly but carefully to a safer place.

2 . Though you may not know it, about half a billion people worldwide depend on the ecosystems created and supported by corals. And with climate change threatening their survival, marine scientist Enric Sala had an idea that might have seemed impossible.

“We wanted to get into a time machine, go back hundreds of years and actually see a coral reef like they used to be everywhere, before we started exploiting (开发) them, polluting them and killing them all over the world,” Sala said.

The idea was, in essence, made possible during an expedition that Sala led in 2009. The team traveled to a corner of the South Pacific Ocean, and found some untouched reefs.

His team presented their findings to officials in the island country of Kiribati. Then the Kiribati government took steps to protect the waters from fishing and other human activities, but between 2015 and 2016, record levels of ocean warming killed half the coral reefs the team had found.

After hearing that news, they lost hope for the health of coral reefs. But the study continued, and last year, they went in for another dive. Despite the reported conditions, Sala and his team found that the reefs had somehow restored themselves, filled with life and color once more. This resurrection (复兴) is something that Sala says can be traced to two key factors.

The first is, thankfully, half of the corals had not died, as was previously thought. Despite the rise in temperatures, there were enough surviving corals left behind to help reproduce the reefs.

The second factor is the Kiribati government’s decision to fully protect those waters. “There are abundant fish species. They eat all the algae that would smother (窒息) the corals, making it possible for the corals to come back,” Sala explained.

“So if some countries want a future for the fisheries, they need to manage their fisheries in a more responsible way around areas that are set aside to help regenerate the rest of the ocean,” Sala said.

For him and his team, the rebirth of the coral reefs in Kiribati is a beacon of hope among so much pessimism (悲观主义) surrounding the future of reefs.

3 . The good news is that more people bought electric vehicles (EVs) in 2020. The bad news is that sport utility (多用途的) vehicles (SUVs) continued to grow in popularity, too. “The fall in oil consumption due to the first trend was completely canceled out by the second,” said Laura Cozzi, an officer at the International Energy Agency (JEA).

Between 2010 and 2020, global carbon dioxide emissions (排放) from conventional cars fell by nearly 35 billion tons, due to reasons such as fuel efficiency improvements as well as the   switch to electric cars. Emissions from SUVs rose by more than 50 billion tons. “While the growth in EVs is encouraging, the boom in SUVs is heart-breaking,” says Peters at the Cicero Climate Research Centre in Norway.

There are many reasons for the growing popularity of SUVs. For example, rising economic boom in many countries means more people are able to afford them. Some people see them as status symbols. Also, SUVs are heavily advertised by car-makers, whose profit is higher on these vehicles. Some countries, including France, have introduced plans under which more taxes are paid on heavier cars. But Peters thinks that people who are rich enough to afford SUVs won’t be deterred by slightly higher taxes. “There are now some electric SUVs available, but I hope one day you will see more electric vehicles brought to the SUV market,” says Peters.

Even if it happens, switching to electric SUVs isn’t a good solution. Due to their size and bigger batteries, it takes more resources to build electric SUVs, and they consume around 15 percent more electricity. That means higher emissions unless the electricity comes entirely from renewable sources, and higher electricity demand makes it harder to green the electricity supply.

4 . In many ways, life has become far more comfortable and convenient in the past few decades.     1     Here, we look at three of the most serious environmental problems we are currently facing.

Air Pollution

The main cause of air pollution is the burning of fossil fuels by vehicles and power plants. Other human activities, such as construction and the burning of waste, also contribute to air pollution. The effects on our health can be very serious.

You can easily contribute to reducing air pollution by only using a car to make journeys when it’s absolutely necessary.     2    

Global Warming

Global warming is the increase in the temperature of the Earth’s near-surface air and oceans. It’s caused by the build-up of carbon dioxide and other pollutants in the atmosphere. These trap the Sun’s heat and warm up the planet.

Global warming has already caused a wide range of problems.     3     Countries around the world have faced extreme weather conditions, such as hurricanes, floods and heat waves.

Overflowing Landfills

Landfills are used for waste disposal (处理) in many countries around the world. However, these landfills are now nearing their limit. When this happens, the chances of dangerous chemicals in the waste entering our water supply increase.

The amount of waste in landfills in China has risen sharply over the last ten years.     4     Some cities, such as Beijing, Shenzhen and Shanghai, among others, are leading the way and have promised to send “zero waste to landfill!”.

    5     They believe that, although recycling waste is effective, the most effective way of solving the problem of overflowing landfills is to encourage people to take responsibility for reducing the waste they produce themselves.

Earth Day was founded in 1970 as a day of education about environmental problems, and Earth Day 2020     1     (fall) on Wednesday, April 22 — the holiday’s 50th anniversary. The holiday is now a global celebration that’s sometimes extended into Earth Week, a full seven days of events focused on green living.

    2    (elect) to the U. S. Senate (参议院) in 1962, Senator Gaylord Nelson was determined to convince the federal government that the planet was     3     risk. In 1969, Nelson developed the idea for Earth Day after     4     (inspire) by some teaching activities     5     were taking place on college campuses around the United States.

Denis Hayes, a young activist who had served as student president at Stanford University,     6    (select) as Earth Day’s national coordinator (协调者), and he worked with     7     army of student volunteers and several staff members from Nelson’s Senate office     8    (organize) the project.

The first Earth Day was effective at raising     9     (aware) about environmental problems and transforming public attitudes. Earth Day kicked off the “Environmental decade with a bang,” as Senator Nelson later put it. The theme of Earth Day 2020 is “climate action.” EarthDay.org hopes it will be the     10     (large) volunteer event in history.

7 . Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World—Katherine Hayhoe’s new book, proposes to fight climate change through better communication. It is a follow-up to her awesome TED talk in 2018, when she declared the most important thing any individual can do to fight climate change is to talk about it.

Of many refreshing aspects of this book, one is that Hayhoe recounts both her successes and her failures to communicate, through which she has gathered evidence about what works and what does not. Much of the book’s advice is common sense, all backed up not just by Hayhoe’s experience but also with convincing research by psychologists and social scientists.

Hayhoe advises against trying to engage with a small minority, the “Dismissives”, who angrily reject the idea that human-caused climate change is a threat. Hayhoe pays special attention to Dismissives early on, noting that their aggressive posture online may create the impression that they’re everywhere. However, she argues, Dismissives account for only 7% of all American adults. The other 93% are more receptive by degree.

The book includes amusing examples of her encounters with the “Dismissives”, including an engineer who was unconvinced about the evidence but with whom she was able to establish mutual (相互的) respect through a shared passion for knitting (打毛线衣). It is also packed with inspiring accounts of how she has won over even the crowds who are the most suspicious. Her motto is “bond, connect and inspire”, which represents her approach of always looking for point s of common ground.

She also tells of a man who approached her after an event in London in 2019. Inspired by her TED talk, he had started to speak to everybody he could in his neighborhood of Wandsworth. He showed her details of 12,000 conversations that had taken place, claiming that they had helped to convince the council to declare a climate emergency and to switch investments from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

And so, while it may feel difficult to influence the outcome of the COP26, Hayhoe’s uplifting book makes a persuasive case that we can all do our bit to bring about success just by talking about the issue.

9 . On December 16,2023, the first section of Maya Train officially opened, which runs between Campeche and Cancun, carrying up to 231 passengers across 290 miles and stopping at 14 train stations.

Built as an ambitious effort to promote tourism and boost Mexico’s economy, the rail system connects the major cities and tourist regions of the Yucatan Peninsula -from Cancun’s beaches to Tulum’s archaeological wonders. Once the project is completed, the entire rail system will link tourist destinations across five states. However, environmentalists and archaeologists argue that the train route will cause great damage to the environment and ancient Mayan sites.

The Maya Train passes through six UNESCO World Heritage sites and thousands of archaeological sites. One particular area of concern is the Calakmul reserve, which is home to many endangered species, such as jaguars and over 500 other animal species. The train lines, more than 60 meters wide, could act as artificial barriers that may make it difficult for these animals to move around and access food and water sources.

Opponents also express safety concerns. Certain sections of the rail system will be built right on top of the aquifer’s (地下水层的) weakest points of contact with the surface. “It’s like wanting to build over eggshells.” says Guillermo Christy, a water treatment consultant. “Putting trains weighing thousands of tons on top could cause the underground caves to crash down.” To construct the train infrastructure (基础设施) also requires driving long piles deep into the ground, which poses a big threat to this weak ecosystem and leads to water shortages.

In the ongoing debate of Maya Train, it is crucial to consider the delicate balance between economic development and environmental preservation. While Maya Train may provide economic benefits, we must not ignore the potential environmental and cultural losses, as well as the safety risks it may bring. Achieving harmony between progress and conservation may be a significant challenge for the project, but we must take into account the long-term consequences of our actions.

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