Ten years ago, Sir Richard Branson launched an exciting challenge. A reward of $25 million would be offered to anyone if he/she     1    (come) up with an achievable and sustainable way to remove greenhouse gases from the air. He thought such an innovation would soon come true, and that    2    (power) people like him would carry out a top-down solution in one fell swoop (一下子).

No such situation appeared, not even with the massive reward. But all is not lost. Branson believed everyone could participate in    3     (save) humanity; it wouldn't be a task for just a few superheroes. It was the spirit    4     inspired Paul Hawken and a network of researchers to come up with the book, Drawdowns.

Drawdown focuses on small, practical steps, not    5    (possible) solutions. Hawken's researchers collected data, information and practical knowledge, creating what is something of an encyclopedia (百科全书) of solutions    6    the climate risk. One section of the book, “Coming Attractions”,     7    (look) at solutions that we are close to getting a handle on, and they are likely to be useful ones for the near future. Not a daydream, in other words,

Just as it says in this book, we can't just build a piece of big equipment    8    (make) the air cleaner. We can make small    9    (contribute) like reducing food waste, changing the lightbulbs to LED, installing solar panels and so on.

We are living in     10    interconnected world, so we need to think about the community, about the common interests of many individuals inhabiting a single planet.

The powerful Hurricane Barry weakened but remained a weather nightmare on Tuesday. It     1     (strike) parts of Arkansas with at least six    2     (inch) of rain and caused flash flooding that drowned     3    animal shelter and killed a puppy.

Heavy rains were falling. The Humane Society of Clark County issued an SOS after flooding drowned its recently rebuilt shelter.“SOS!We are flooded.It's on the building! ”the official said in a Facebook post.“We need help! Can any of you keep a dog    4    two at your houses? Help!Help!Help!" Video from the scene showed wet dogs wandering loose in the shelter, the floor covered in water. Many offered their homes and yards    5    the animals. A short time     6    (late), the official posted an update on Facebook         7    (say) foster homes have been found for all 72 dogs.“We are so blessed! People from all over have come to     8     (we) rescue. Donations. Cleaning.Fostering.It's really    9     (impress)." the post said. After the rainfall, a ray of sunshine shone brightly in the states    10    the storm burst last week.

On Thursday, April 14, 2019, an earthquake shocked the people of Japan’s Kyushu Island. The quake,     1     hit the town of Ueki, in the Kumamoto Prefecture, happened just before 9:30 pm local time. It resulted in 9     2     (die) and over 850 injuries. About 4,000 people were made homeless. Many smaller aftershock (余震) followed and most experts believed that the worst was over.     3    , they were wrong. On April 16 at 1:25 am local time,     4     even bigger earthquake rocked the Kumamoto Prefecture. To make matters worse, the area was hit by a heavy rain, which even caused     5     (extreme) serious mudslides (泥石流).

While people worldwide were still shocked by the events, the news of another even     6     powerful earthquake came in Ecuador, South America. The 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Muisne, a coastal town at about 7:00 pm local time on Saturday, April 16. It killed at least 350 people and over 2,000 got     7     (injury). In a short period, the town     8     (lie) in ruins.

With rescue teams in both Japan and Ecuador looking for survivors who were trapped in the buildings, experts were trying to determine whether or not there were any connection     9     the two earthquakes. Meanwhile, people of both nations were now trying their best     10     (recover) from natural disasters, hoping that the earth beneath them didn’t shake.

5 . Are you facing a situation that looks impossible to fix?

In 1969,the pollution was terrible along the Cuyahoga River Cleveland, Ohio. It    1    (be) unimaginable that it could ever be cleaned up. The river was so polluted that it    2    (actual) caught fire and burned. Now, years later, this river is one of    3    most outstanding（杰出的）examples of environmental cleanup.

But the river wasn’t changed in a few days    4    even a few months. It took years of work     5    (reduce) the industrial pollution and clean the water. Finally, that hard work paid off and now the water in the river is    6    (clean) than ever.

Maybe you are facing an impossible situation. Maybe you have a habit    7    is driving your family crazy. Possibly you drink too much or don’t know how to control your credit card use. When you face such an impossible situation, don’t you want a quick fix and something to change immediately?

While there are    8    (amaze) stories of instant transformation, for most of us the    9    (change) are gradual and require a lot of effort and work, like cleaning up a polluted river. Just be     10    (patience).