Citizens Forest is a young organization from northern Germany. Its small team helps people in     1     (vary) places to plant forests in the city. The principle is very simple: citizens look locally to see if there are any small, unused areas     2    are possible to be reforested (重新造林). The areas do not have to be large. A “Tiny Forest” can be created from as little as 60m². The organization     3     (provide) support with planning, talks with the authorities involved and shows everyone involved what is possible.

The model is a sure-fire success. There are motivated people and companies everywhere     4     (long) to get involved. Until now, around 30 projects     5     (carry) out and 500 more are planned to be launched over the next three years. The aim of Citizens Forests is     6     (establish) a Germany-wide network of local reforestation projects. They also hope to make reforestation     7    normal part of social life in the future.

Tiny Forests are more than just woodlands     8     nature and people, they also helps create natural biotopes (生物栖息地) with a variety of plant and animal     9     (species) . In addition, Citizens Forests also makes efforts to promote environmental education, which as a result raises people’s     10     (aware) of environmental protection.

When Zhou Longshan started filming birds 10 years ago at Baiyangdian Lake,     1     major wetland in northern China, he just wanted to record his favorite species—egrets (白鹭).

Then things snowballed. In the following years, the teacher became a bird watcher, a volunteer ranger at the lake, a photographer     2    (document) over 110 bird species, and an     3     (education) popularizing bird-related knowledge among students.

“Sharing bird-protection knowledge with children can make them feel the     4    (beautiful) of their hometown and the importance of birds, and help them cultivate the habit of protecting birds from an early age,” he said.

Growing up in a local village, Zhou,60, has fond childhood memories     5    (associate) with the wetland.

“When I was a child, the water in Baiyangdian was limpid. The fish and aquatic plants in the water could be seen clearly,” he said. “I often caught fish with my friends, rowed boats and drank the lake water     6     I was thirsty.”

Between the 1960s and 1980s,     7    , Baiyangdian suffered severely from industrial pollution. Chemicals poisoned the water and lake beds, decimating the aquatic life. In the 1990s, the lake     8    (near) dried up due to climate change.

When Zhou became a teacher in the 1990s, the stink from the lake could sometimes be smelled from his village. “The lake became stinking, the population and species of fish and birds decreased, and the locals were unwilling to go near the lake,” he recalled.

Since the Xiong’an New Area was established in 2017, Baiyangdian’s rehabilitation and protection activities     9    (improve) greatly. The water quality has improved from Level Ⅴ-the     10    (low) in China’s five-tier water assessment system-to Level Ⅲ.

Zhou will retire in June. “I will continue patrolling the lake and photographing the birds, to contribute to the protection of birds in my hometown,” he said.

Duolun county,     1     (locate) in Inner Mongolia, only 180 kilometers away from Beijing，once suffered severe erosion and desertification (沙漠化).

Ma Yunping, a retired soldier,     2     (sell) six cows to collect 7,000 yuan and decided to contract 3,700 mu of deserted sandy land. Due to Duolun’s unique geological (地质) environment, which consists mainly of shifting sand dunes (沙丘), the inexperienced Ma tried planting grass under the     3     (guide) of the forestry department. However, the sandstorms came frequently. He failed many times     4     continued trying, learning from his mistakes.

During the first three years, planting grass became his primary job. Slowly, the yellow sand was stabilized, and     5     touch of green appeared. In 2016, Ma established a     6     (profession) organization, which now has over 40 members. “I want everyone in my village to     7     (active) participate in preventing and treating desertification and to share in the green achievements,” he said.

So far, in this area, Ma has planted about 400,000 trees in total. All of them have grown into flourishing vegetation, and not a bit of yellow sand can     8     (find). Reflecting     9     the 20-year journey of fighting against desertification, Ma has long engraved the patches of green on the dunes into his heart. “I am so fond of the greenery, and I want to keep     10     (follow) it,” Ma said.

With the tourism    1    (develop), people are becoming increasingly concerned    2    the environment. Here in our city, there is a heated discussion about whether a hotel should    3    (build) at White Beach. The owner of the company thinks the hotel would attract more tourists,     4    will help the local economy.    5    , the local people worry that constructing the hotel is not eco-friendly,     6    (particular) the turtles. Admitting the various    7    (benefit) from the hotel, they still have many concerns about the surroundings     8     they have been living for many years. It is    9    unavoidable problem that increased tourist numbers will consume more natural resources, at the same time, more waste and pollution    10    ( release).

What you need to know about the sandstorm in Beijing

A: sandstorm swept across Beijing and several northern areas in China on Monday.Where did the sandstorm come from? How long will it last? Lets take     1     look.

Q: Where did the sandstorm come from?

A: The sandstorm originated in the Gobi Desert areas of Mongolia. Strong winds picked up the sand and dust,     2     were then transported southward and eastward at high altitudes and eventually settled in downstream (顺流的) are as such as Beijing,    3     (result) in the sandstorm.

Q: When will the dusty weather     4     (weak)? Should we expect more sandstorms this week?

A: According to the National Meteorological Center, the sandstorm     5     (moderate) starting from next Tuesday.

Q: Why are sandstorms in North China so frequent this year?

A: There are multiple     6     (reason).The cold air activity has remained active in March     7     April. Mongolian cyclones (旋风) and cold fronts (冷锋) have transported sand and dust from the sand source areas downstream to even more southern and farther areas.

Q: Is a yellowish sky always an indicator of a sandstorm?

A: Not exactly. Only when the sandy and dusty weather reaches a certain     8     (intense) can it be called a sandstorm.

Q: What precautions to take in dusty weather?

A: Stay indoors as much as possible, and keep windows and doors closed. Use air purifiers, sprinkle water, use humidifiers, and mop the floor with a wet cloth     9     (remove) dust.Wear masks when going outdoors, and clean your face and nose when returning home; When driving, reduce speed, turn on headlights, and drive     10     caution.

Light pollution is a serious problem. This became completely obvious when the World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness, a computer-created map based on thousands of satellite (卫星) photos,     1     (publish) in 2016. The map shows how and where     2    (we) world is lit up at night. Large areas of North America, Europe, and Asia are glowing (发光) with light, while only the most remote (偏远的) places on Earth are in total darkness. Some of the most light-polluted    3     (country) in the world are Singapore, Qatar, and Kuwait.

Sky glow is the brightening of the night sky, mostly over cities, because    4    the electric lights of cars, streetlamps, offices, factories and buildings, turning night into day.

People     5     live in cities with high levels of sky glow have a hard time     6     (see) stars at night. Scientists are     7     (particular) worried about sky glow pollution as it influences their ability     8     (view) space.

According to research, more    9     80% of the world’s population, and 99% of Americans and Europeans, live under sky glow. It sounds pretty, but sky glow    10    (cause) by human activities is one of the most common forms of light pollution.

China is affected by natural disasters easily. When a disaster     1     (strike), how a country responds to disasters makes the difference between life and death. Since the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, from which China suffered     2     (serious), disaster prevention and control have become top priorities for the Chinese government. One important aspect is the establishment of an     3     (effect) earthquake monitoring and early warning system. The China Earthquake Networks Center will confirm the location and magnitude (里氏级)     4    sending out alarm messages to the public.

China’s ability to respond to disasters stands out, as it can quickly deploy (部署) rescue forces and resources. It     5     (establish) 27 professional teams for various types of rescue work so far,     6    ensures a 24 hour on duty emergency response.

China also has an outstanding ability in post disaster     7     (recover) and reconstruction. The reason is that it is able to organize and combine resources from various departments     8     (repair) basic facilities and restore essential services such as power, water supply and communication. This reduces     9     impact of secondary disasters and helps those affected by disasters rebuild their lives.

Disaster relief is a comprehensive effort that requires a whole society working together. China sets an example of how to prevent loss and save lives by     10    (put) people first.