1 . Sounds from human activity flood across the oceans, causing trouble to ocean creatures. And climate (气候) change may make some places even louder.

Researchers have expected the oceans to get noisier because of increasing human activity. “The more goods you buy, the more shipping you have, so the more noise you have.” says Luca Possenti, a scientist studying sound in the ocean at the Royal Netherlands Institute. But Possenti and his co-worker realized that climate change might also influence how sound travels through the water.

Human-caused climate change is changing ocean temperatures, salt levels and acidity (酸度). So Possenti’s team used computers to model how those factors (因素) influence noise levels across the world’s oceans.

When waters become more acidic, they can’t take in sound at some wavelengths as well, so those sounds can travel further, adding to the noise in some areas. This effect is relatively small. Other changes impact the sound level more, the researchers found. Changes to temperature and salt levels can change how well different layers (层) of the ocean mix, which, in turn, impacts how sound travels.

The team predicted (预测) models of the world in about 70 years if climate change continues. And then they compared them with models of the world now. In the North Atlantic, they saw an increase in sound levels in the upper 125 meters of the ocean. This was caused mostly by ice melting (融化) off of Greenland, forming a cold layer of water near the ocean’s surface. Sound traveling through water tends to go toward the coldest area. As a result, sound waves tended to get stuck in the cold top layer-spreading further out across the water, instead of traveling deeper. That increased the noisiness at this depth in the North Atlantic. The models suggested that a single ship could sound about five times as loud underwater because of this. Considering all the ship traffic between Europe and North America, that may stress animals, many of which communicate, and catch food with sound.

3 . When some plates of the earth move suddenly, an earthquake happens. Many earthquakes begin under the sea. Earthquakes may happen anywhere on the earth. They often happen near the mountains.

During an earthquake, the shakings make rocks rise suddenly and even crack (断裂) open. Houses fall, people are killed or hurt, and sometimes the whole villages or cities are destroyed.

Can we do something to keep ourselves safe from earthquakes? Scientists have studied earthquakes and make maps that show the “earthquake belts”. In areas (地区) in these belts, it’s possible for earthquakes to happen. In these areas we should build strong houses to fight against earthquakes.

In the future, scientists will be able to tell when and where an earthquake will be before they happen. They can also tell people what to do and how to do it. Then we will no longer be afraid of earthquakes.

Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii is a nonprofit organization devoted to     1     (keep) the state’s coastlines clean. It has been working to reduce the effects of     2     (pollute) and climate change since 2010. The program     3     (begin) when eight young people came together to discuss a problem that troubled them: trash littering Hawaii’s beaches.

“We grew from eight to twelve, and now we have over 35,000 volunteers,” Caitlyn McCall,     4     servesas a volunteer at the organization, told me in an interview.

The nonprofit’s office     5       (locate) in Kaimuki, a neighborhood in Honolulu. More than 30 coordinators are based there. They focus on three major     6     (program): sustainable events, cleanups and education. The group has organized 240 cleanups, prevented an estimated 600,000 pounds of trash from ending up in the ocean, and educated 45,000 children.

The next step for the program is     7     (carry) out their sustainability courses with Hawaii’s Department of Education. As of now, a team from the nonprofit will visit a local school to talk with students about     8     (environment) sustainability.     9     team educates kids about the lifecycle of household products, their effects on marine life, and how the items we buy can end up on our shores.

Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii also hosts free cleanups for schools. “Climate change is a concerning subject for young people,” McCall said. “We want to equip students     10     the knowledge and tools they need to feel empowered to make a change.”

Eleven-year-old Jin Yufeng said he had the most unforgettable birthday this year,     1    (spend) the day with 28 other children     2    all over China at a forestry education camp in Heilongjiang Province.

Yufeng, a student at Zhongshan Road Primary School in Harbin, was surprised by the camp’ s organizers with a birthday cake at suppertime on the big day.

“    3    a wonderful experience!” said Yufeng. “I have so many happy     4     (memory). I learned about nature, made new friends and ate the     5     ( sweet) birthday cake I’ve ever had. ”

The camp     6    (include ) in a national program that is aimed at making 300 million children and teenagers nationwide take part in forest education.

A research and education system will be built by 2025 with the construction (建设)of natural education infrastructure (基础设施)       7     a number of natural education camp bases for teenagers,     8     will gradually put forest research and education activities into primary and middle school education across the country.

The camp attracted around 100 teenagers from Beijing and the provinces of Heilongjiang, Liaoning and Shandong, aiming    9    (put) forest education together with the    10     ( protect) of wild Siberian tigers. It is also expected to lead teenagers to love and protect nature.

9 . Somalia, Kenya, and now Ethiopia are warning of a serious drought (干旱)that affects millions of people in Eastern Africa. In Ethiopia’s Somali area, people have seen the failures of what should have been three straight rainy seasons. Droughts do come and go over the years. However, the lack of rainfall has led to the driest conditions in 40 years in parts of Somalia and Ethiopia.

UNICEF is the United Nation’s children’s agency. Local Zaynab Wali told a visiting team with UNICEF that she and her seven children had never seen a drought like this. She said the government gave out food for animals during the last drought five years ago. “This time, we even don’t have enough food for our family.”

Children walk among the bodies of dead animals, which died from lack of food and energy. Somalia Consortium works to improve international aid for Somalia. It said in a separate statement that in Somalia, more than 7 million people need emergency help. It is asking international organizations to give much more to the country.

“We are just one month into the long dry season, and I have already lost 25 goats and sheep,” Hafsa Bedel in Ethiopia’s Somali area told UNICEF. She also lost four camels, a large desert animal, as well. She said there was nowhere for her animals to eat. She added that there was not enough food for her own family, including her six children.

UNICEF thinks that more than 150,000 children in such areas of Ethiopia have dropped out of school. They are needed to help find the limited amount of water and help their families with other work.

One young boy was seen supporting an animal, a donkey. The donkey was once important for carrying goods. But now, it had become too weak to walk on its own.