There was a job vacancy for taking care of the Great Barrier Reef!

    1     (locate) off the coast of North-east Australia, it is the     2     (large) living thing on the planet. About     3     size of Japan, it even can be seen from outer space. More than 25 million years old, the Great Barrier Reef is made up of living coral     4     (grow) on dead coral. Now this unique and delicate place is under threat from pollution and climate change.

    5     (get) this job, the candidates needed to prove why they were the best person to do the job. Out of the thousands of applicants, eleven     6     (elect), including a young woman from China. Eventually, Ben Southall from the UK received the job offer.

Ben did a lot during his time     7     an island caretaker. Besides blogging, he made an umber of appearances on television to argue in favor of its     8     (defend). Whether it was a genuine job offer     9     an eye-catching marketing event isn’t really important. The most important thing was that people all over the world became aware of the beauty of the ocean in the area. What’s more, they came to understand the delicate balance     10     the environment exists in and what can, and must, be done to protect the reef. That way, it will remain a safe habitat for wildlife and a dream destination for tourists.

A       1     (library) in Indonesia’s Java island is lending books to children in exchange for trash they collect in a novel way to clean up the environment and get the kids to read more. Each weekday Raden rides her three wheeler with books       2     (pack) up at the back for children in Muntang village in exchange   for   plastic cups, bags and other waste.

She told Reuters she is helping cultivate reading in the kids as well make them aware     3    the environment. As soon as she shows up, little children, many of whom     4     (accompany) by their mothers, surround her “Trash Library” and clamour for the books.

They are all carrying trash bags and Raden’s three-wheeler quickly fills up with them as the books fly out. She’s happy the kids are going to spend     5     (little) time on online games as a result. “Let us build a culture of literacy from young age to mitigate the harm of the online world,” Raden said. “We should also take care of our waste in order to fight climate change and     6    (save) the earth from trash,” Raden said.

She collects about 100 kg of waste     7     week, which is then sorted out by her       8     (colleague) and sent for recycling or sold. She has a stock of 6,000 books to lend and wants to take the mobile service to     9    (neighbour) areas as well.

The literacy rate (识字率) for above-15-year-olds in Indonesia is around 96 percent,     10    a September report by the World Bank warned that the pandemic will leave more than 80% of 15-year-olds below the minimum reading proficiency level(熟练程度).

China on October 12 officially announced the first group of national parks. Home to nearly 30 percent of the key wildlife species found in China, they cover    1    protected land area of 230,000 square kilometers.

The    2     (establish) of the first group of national parks is a practical move by China to strengthen its effort     3    (promote) natural ecological protection.

The Three-River-Source National Park    4     (locate) on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau—known as the world’s “third pole”. The Giant Panda National Park protects the major habitats of 70 percent of the country’s wild giant pandas.    5    (obvious), the Hainan Rainforest National Park is home to China’s largest rainforest and the Hainan gibbon. Mountain National Park experimental area is the only park in China     6    is listed as a UNESCO cultural and     7    (nature) heritage site. It emphasizes sustainable development between     8    (human) and nature,    9    (reflect) China’s environmental protection principle.

Commercial activities are banned in the national parks and are all put     10    the control of the national rules for ecological protection.

Located in the north-east of Italy, Venice is     1     (know) as “The Floating City”. Water has always been a big part of life in Venice, and even today, they remain the most common way to travel around. Unfortunately, water is also putting Venice     2     great danger. Saltwater is slowly damaging the bases of Venice’s buildings. More problems are caused by floods,    3     usually hit the city each winter.     4     these floods could now be a thing of the past thanks to a new flood prevention project.

Venice     5     (lie) in the middle of a lagoon (泻湖), with three     6     (nature) gaps open to the sea. Rain and strong winds cause seawater to travel through the gaps to Venice. Dozens of gates     7     (build) to hold back the sea in the past few years. Each of these gates is 20 metres wide, with the longest about 30 metres long. In the event of a big rise in the water level, the gates will be raised     8     (separate) the city from the sea.

But only time will tell if this project is the right     9     (solve). The important thing is that action is being taken to protect this unique city for future generations. And if it works, it means a longer and     10     (dry) future for Venice.

Strange things happened before Tangshan earthquake happened.The well walls had deep cracks. Some     1     (smell) gas came out of them. Chickens and even pigs were too nervous to eat. At 3：42     2     the morning of July 28, 1976, everything began to shake.     3     seemed as if the world were coming to an end！A huge crack cut across houses, roads, and waterways. Hard hills of rock became rivers of     4     (dirty). Soon the whole city lay in     5     (ruin). Many people died or were     6     (injure). Everything in the city was destroyed. People were    7     (shock) at this and wondered how long the disaster would last. The army sent soldiers to dig out those     8     were trapped and to bury the dead. Workers built shelters for     9     (survive). Water and food were taken to the city. Slowly the city began to     10     (breath) again. Tangshan city has proved that in times of disaster, people must unify and show the wisdom to stay positive and rebuild for a brighter future.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. A half-century ago, activists       1    (walk) to the street to speak out for the protection of the planet in       2    (respond) to one of the worst oil spills (原油泄漏) in history. These activists inspired important changes in how our society views the environment,     3    (lead) to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. But protecting the earth is also a social justice issue. People of color and poor people are often the first       4     (suffer) from the climate change, because they live near highways, factories, or garbage dumps,       5     there are more pollutants, for example, and they may not be able to afford fresh green foods.

But you don’t have to be an activist to make       6    difference—in fact there are many tiny everyday       7    (effort) you can make to help the planet. The environmental movement didn’t start with Earth Day and indigenous people (原住民) protecting the earth as     8    (they) way of life were the pioneers. I wish that everyone would see the   climate crisis this way and take it       9     (serious) as well. It isn’t just polar bears and plastic bags     10    an issue that will determine the future of life. So, actually, every day is Earth Day.