Over the last decade, China     1     (witness) tremendous changes, which could not have been achieved     2     the hard work of its people. There are many ways     3     (record) the past time, but the story that, at times, leaves a mark on each person is surely the most vivid.

Recently, a man named Zou Yi,     4     has recorded Beiing’s blue sky, shared his observations on the improvement of air quality in China’s capital, as well as his understanding of the efforts behind the brilliant blue skies. His first photo     5     (take) on January 27, 2013. He did the same the next day, and the day after that. He continued for nine more years and,     6     (natural), has the most direct amateur observations ever captured of the changes above the heart of Beijing.     7     took more than 50 years for London and Los Angeles to deal with air pollution,     8     (compare) with just a decade for Beijing. The battle against air pollution has claimed some major stepwise victories over the years, which perfectly shows the Chinese administration’s     9     (determine) and action in building     10     prosperous and beautiful country.

2 . There is a growing hope in the field of earthquake prediction (预测) due to artificial intelligence (AI), which is challenging the widely accepted belief that earthquake prediction is impossible. Through a test carried out in China, a team of researchers from the University of Texas, Austin have developed an AI algorithm (算法) that can predict 70% of earthquakes up to seven days in advance.

The research team believes that their method worked well because they used a simple machine learning method. Based on the team’s understanding of earthquake physics, the AI was provided with a set of data on earthquake, and then taught itself by using a five-year earthquake record database. After the learning process, the AI was able to predict earthquakes by listening and analyzing signs of incoming earthquakes within the background rumblings (隆隆声) in the Earth.

This achievement undoubtedly marks a milestone (里程碑) in the field of AI-powered earthquake prediction research. “Earthquakes arrive without warning,” explains Alexandros Savvaidis, a lead researcher at the Texas Seismological Network Program (TexNet). “It’s a matter of milliseconds, and the only thing you can control is how well you are prepared. Even with the 70% accuracy, this is a huge achievement which could help reduce economic and human losses and contribute to earthquake preparation worldwide.”

Although it remains to be seen whether this method will be as effective in other areas, the researchers believe that if used in areas with more earthquake tracking networks, their Al algorithms deliver even more accurate predictions. The next step is to test AI in Texas, since UT’s Bureau TexNethas 300 earthquake stations and a continuous recording history of over 6 years, making it an excellent testing ground for these purposes.

In the long run, the authors hope to combine the AI system with physics-based models. This combined strategy could be particularly important in situations where data is poor or lacking. “There’s still a long way to go, but many advances like this, taken together, are what drive science forward,” said Scott Tinker, the bureau’s director.

4 . As the world struggles to deal with the climate crisis, some companies are working to remove polluting carbon dioxide from the air.     1     But two US companies have recently made important progress.

Scientists say large amounts of CO₂ must be removed from the CO₂ atmosphere and stored.     2     But there’s so much CO2 in the atmosphere that just planting trees and protecting forests won’t solve the problem. And, when plants and trees die, the carbon they’ve stored gets released again.

That means humans need to come up with ways of removing carbon from the air and storing it. This is called Direct Air Capture(DAC). The science of removing carbon from the air is challenging, and it’s still pretty new.     3     So one puzzle for these companies is how to remove carbon without creating more pollution.

A company called Heirloom has just opened the first DAC plant in the United States. The company heats up the limestone to separate out the CO₂, which is concrete. The process is extremely expensive.     4     That’s a tiny amount compared to how much carbon needs to be removed from the atmosphere, but the company says it hopes to remove a billion tons per year by 2035.

    5     Some people worry that it will take too long for DAC technology to become powerful enough to make a difference. Others worry that focusing on removing carbon could take attention away from more important climate actions, like switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy. But experts say the decision isn’t to do one or the other. The world needs to end fossil fuel use and pull carbon out of the air.

6 . The suburb I live in backs on to a large nature reserve. One morning I saw a koala (考拉) sitting in a palm tree in my front yard. I phoned around to ask what I could _________ this koala, but no one wanted to know. I ended up _________ the koala out of my tree and we crossed the road _________ for him to return to the nature reserve.

I’ve always been befriending animals. As a young kid I used to pick up lizard eggs and _________ them. It stimulated my interest as to why there wasn’t anyone wanting to come and _________this koala in my tree. After that, I signed up for all the _________I could find.

Once I had accreditation (合格证 ), I volunteered with the RSPCA in 2019, rehabilitating (使康复) wildlife. I was an ambulance driver, _________ overnight rescues. We rescued hundreds of animals and _________ more.

I cut the leaves of the eucalyptus trees for the koalas to eat and look after the __________ wildlife at our centre. If they recover, they are __________ back to where they come from.

As a kid I would never have imagined doing this. I feel like I’m the __________ girl on the planet that I get to do what I love. I believe it’s my __________.

After Japan discharged nuclear wastewater, people are terribly worried about more animals, especially marine animals. Any animal has the right to survive and the Earth is our common home. Please care for our animal friends.

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.