With about half of the vast country covered in wilderness, China is the world’s third most species-rich country. Therefore, China’s     1    (achieve) in biodiversity conservation and wilderness protection are important to the future of global biodiversity conservation.

The vital biodiversity,     2    (combine) with a large population, has led the government to reconsider its protected area system and transform some wilderness areas such as the rainforest in Hainan     3    formal national parks. The new national park system will make it more practical     4    (preserve) habitats and species. The aim is to preserve biodiversity and ensure a     5    (harmony) relation between humans and nature.

The national parks cross China’s vast ecosystems, from the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park in the south     6    the Hainan gibbon—a critically endangered species lives, the Giant Panda National Park, the Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park, the Wuyi Mountain National Park to the Sanjiangyuan National Park on the Qinghai-Tibet Platau—    7    source of the Yellow River, the Yangtze River and the Lancang River. The diversity of species and habitats under protection     8    (reflect) in these parks’ names.

The national parks are open to all. Visitors can make reservations online in advance     9    book on the spot. They should acquire a little local knowledge to get     10     (they) ready for the amazing trip and maximize their enjoyment.

Zhu Dejun’s first job after graduating from college was as a road design engineer in his hometown. Part of his regular work was patrolling (巡逻) Alshaa Left Banner, which covers 80,000 square kilometers     1     has a population of around 170,000.

In 2011, Zhu was conducting a survey along with     2     (he) colleagues when he saw a plant that he didn’t recognize.

“I asked my colleagues and no one had the answer.” recalls Zhu. Lately, he learned     3    plant was a saxaul tree.

Saxaul trees are an excellent tree species for sand fixation. It’s commonly seen, though easily ignored. It is widely distributed in Chinese desert regions.     4     (know) as a desert guardian (守护者), a fully grown saxaul tree can hold land.

“I didn’t expect the small plant would change my life,” says Zhu, 35, who quit his job in 2014 and     5     (join) an organization, the Society of Entrepreneurs and Ecology Conservation, or SEE, in the same year, concentrating     6     dealing with desertification (沙漠化).

In 2014, the SEE launched a project titled “one million saxaul trees”. By the end of 2018, the organization     7     (achieve) half of its goal.

Through the participation of a greater number of online     8     (user), who grow virtual trees, the SEE Foundation has been providing subsidies (补贴) while offering     9     (power) support in technology for desert areas.

Now, Zhu is the head of the project to battle against desertification. He also gives lectures about the fight against desertification at schools of Alshaa League, hoping     10     (raise) awareness among young people.

Preserving more habitats for China’s giant pandas is providing a giant payoff.    1    (save) the giant panda from dying out isn’t just good for the panda, but it’s also good for economy, a new analysis by an international team of scientists shows.

The results,    2    (publish) in the magazine Current Biology, stress the economic bene-fits that go hand in hand with environmental protection. Giant pandas are one of the    3    (rare) species around the world. But pandas fell on hard times in recent decades, thanks largely    4    human encroachment (侵入). In 1980 alone,many habitats    5    (destroy) artificially, and in 1990, their habitats covered only 12,340 square kilometers,     6    is a major threat to the pandas in large part because bamboo, their main food source, is so low in nutrients that they must wander a lot of land in order to find and eat enough of it.

Because of this, Chinese officials began making significant efforts to save the panda from     7    (extinct), establishing more reserves and increasing the reserve area three times. Panda numbers    8    (gradual) began to recover, hitting 1,596 in 2000 and 1,864 in 2010.

“    9    is clear that society’s investment (投资)    10    (start) to pay off so far in terms of panda population recovery,” the study authors wrote.

The Amazon Rainforest is known     1     “the lungs of the planet”. However, it now releases more carbon dioxide than it absorbs. This is the conclusion of a study recently     2     (publish) in the journal Nature. For the study, scientists took 590     3     (flight) over the Amazon.

So what has gone wrong? There are     4     (clear) fewer trees taking in carbon dioxide. More than 17 percent of the trees in the Amazon have disappeared since the 1970s. Meanwhile, farmers get rid of the trees by     5     (burn) them. Huge amounts of carbon monoxide(一氧化碳) are released into the air in the process.

The really worrying thing, however, is the southeastern part of the Amazon. This is because the logging(伐木作业) has disturbed the balance of nature. Fewer trees means     6     (little) moisture (水分) in the air,     7     makes the air drier. The heat causes forest fires to spread more easily. As a result, more trees are killed.

For the Amazon to become “the lungs of the planet” again, we first need to end     8     forest fires. It sounds possible but it won’t be easy. Since 2018, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro     9     (encourage) people to develop land in the Amazon. If he doesn’t change     10     (he) mind, scientists say, large parts of the rainforest could be turned into savannahs (稀树草原) by 2026.

The beautiful Li River is one of the     1     (famous) tourist destinations, but the     2     (grow) in tourism has had negative effects on the river’s water quality. This report looks at the problem of water pollution and some actions that have been taken to deal with it.

Water quality in the Li River had suffered     3     (great) from an increasing volume of tourists, many of     4    frequently threw garbage into the river. Many tour boats contributed     5     the problem too. The local population rose rapidly, as well as     6     number of commercial and industrial enterprises. Water pollution levels increased, with more household and commercial waste ending up in the river. To feed more people, more chemicals     7     (use) to increase crop production. These chemicals led to severe water quality issues,     8     (cause) a decrease in the number of fish species.

Finally, a series of urgent steps were taken     9     (restore) the river’s original beauty. It     10     (believe) that the beauty of the Li River will be preserved for generations to come.