Spring is the season for new life. In China, the peak time for spring plowing and sowing is around the Qingming Festival, which falls     1     Wednesday this year, when people from all walks of life go out and plant trees    2     (make) the land greener.

From top leaders to ordinary citizens,     3     (plant) trees has been a widespread practice for the Chinese,     4     voluntarily take part in the country’s massive greening efforts     5     (year) to show just how much the world’s second-largest economy values greenness and ecological conservation.

Since     6     start of afforestation (植树造林) decades ago, China     7     (create) the world’s largest, planted forests. Thick forests have also become a substantial source of income for     8     (local). Last year, the output value of China’s forestry and grassland industry reached about 1. 22 trillion dollars, while the foreign trade volume of forest products     9     (be) 191 billion dollars. Green development with both ecological and economic benefits is a highlight and distinctive feature of Chinese modernization.

Under a long-term plan, China expects to increase its forest     10     (cover) rate to 26 percent by 2035. By then, China’s forest stock volume will rise to 21 billion cubic meters.

The habitats of the gray nurse shark have been lost and extensive fishing has led to a huge decline in its numbers. The species     1     (list) as the critically endangered animals by the IUCN now.

Shalise Leesfield, a 16-year-old Australian, devotes     2     (she) to the protection of the gray nurse shark. She took     3     series of actions to protect those sharks, such as establishing the conservation area     4     promoting the legalization of shark protection. Her efforts have already seen the area nominated (提名) as a Hope Spot, a program to identify and protect places that are     5     (essence) to the ocean’s health. Leesfield has also started a petition (请愿书) to have the area declared a marine park,     6     (aim) to offer much greater protection for the sharks and their habitats.

Aged 11, having noticed that the marine environment was     7     (serious) damaged because of plastic pollution, Leesfield started a campaign that called for fishing line collection bins to be installed in her local area. She also     8     (found) “Shalise’s Ocean Support” later which aims to inspire people to take care of the environment.

“I know     9     most people feel about them — scary and fierce, but in fact far from their appearance, they are clever and really friendly to people, ”Leesfield says. She tells what she has done can help change people’s previous beliefs in these sharks, saying that the youth need to get out of the mindset that saving the environment     10     (be) something that should be “left up to the adults”.

Effective measures such as building a botanic garden and a fish breeding (繁殖) station     1    (take) to protect the biodiversity in China's southwestern Baihetan Dam area so far. As the world's second-largest hydropower project, the Baihetan Dam began generating power on June 28, 2021. Among the top concerns about the dam     2    (be) the biodiversity (生物多样性) in the local region. But many local residents believe that worry is unnecessary.

Ever since experts and engineers got down to     3    (construct) the Baihetan Dam, local villagers like Lu Jieheng have been signing up to help take care of a wide range of     4     (plant). "The local birds and fish have also been well protected throughout the entire process of dam building." said Lu.

Chen Yang, a local official, said a lot of work had been done     5    (preserve) the environment, especially the biodiversity in the area. "We built a botanic garden     6     aim is to provide a home for trees more than 100 years old transplanted from the area which will be flooded," said Chen. "We have also built a fish breeding station and established a fish collection system that moves fish     7     the lower side of the dam to the upper side."

The works will continue down the road. Chen said he and his colleagues would carry on scientific research work on ecological restoration, including soil     8     (improve) on high and steep slopes, which would be     9     (high) significant for the dry-hot valley regions and the entire Jinsha River Basin in     10     long run.

The water is sitting in around 1000 tanks at the former nuclear power station, but the amount is growing    1    (day) as rainfall and groundwater    2    (enter) the site continue to be polluted. With an average of 160 tonnes a day being added last year, the International Atomic Energy Agency expects existing capacity will be full by mid-2022.

That is     3     the Japanese government is reportedly going to approve a strategy    4    discharging the water to the ocean, as    5     (recommend) by scientific advisers. The release would start in around 2022 and continue for decades.

The news sparked immediate     6     (complain) from Japanese fishing groups and covering warnings that China    7    (ban) Japanese seafood imports. But are people right to be worried about the    8     (environment) and health effects of releasing such a large amount of contaminated water?

Much of the existing water     9     (filter) already by a process designed to remove more than 62 radioactive contaminants. The Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the firm    10    runs the site, have emphasized that the main radionuclide(放射性核) remaining is tritium(氚). Francis Livens at the University of Manchester, UK, says this is very hard to separate because it is a radioactive isotope(同位素) of hydrogen, and so part of the water molecules themselves.

The world’s largest green initiative turned 40 years this year. The national voluntary tree-planting campaign,     1     (launch) in China in 1981, has seen volunteers plant 76 billion trees across the country since then.

March 12 has been a green-letter day,     2     trees are planted and other activities are held nationwide, boosting the campaign. According to satellite monitoring results, the increase of vegetation in China accounted     3     25 percent of the world’ s total new greenery.

The national campaign has made outstanding     4     (contribute) to the global response to climate change, low carbon development and emission (排放) reduction. It has strengthened desert control and ecological governance. The campaign has become an important way for the Chinese     5     (promote) the concept of ecological progress, boosting common understanding and joint efforts.

However, despite the progress, China is still a country with a low forest cover. Though the green initiative     6     (increase) the forest cover from 12 percent to 23. 04 percent so far, it is still far from     7     (create) the beautiful ecological environment that people are demanding today.

This year marks the beginning of a new journey toward the second centenary goal of     8     ( full) building a modern socialist country in all aspects. Green development and ecological progress     9     (be) the focus of the modernization drive. Therefore, in the 14th Five－Year Plan (2021－2025) period, the campaign will continue to build     10     beautiful China and benefit all humanity.

There is no more urgent time to solve climate change. The last three years have been the warmest on record,    1     poses exceptional challenges globally. Natural disasters will strike     2     (frequent), including floods and storms, with resulting declines in food     3     (secure). Competition over resources could lead to more     4     (conflict). More worrying, climate change is running faster than     5     (we) actions.

Against this background, I want to say that the world is looking to China for leadership and for action. Within the last five years, China has employed more solar and wind capacity     6     any other country in the world. China is also the     7     (large) clean energy investor in the world — spending some $130 billion in renewable energy in recent years. The development of electric vehicles is particularly inspiring in China. More than 50 percent of electric vehicles in the world are sold in China. Since 2007, China     8     (lay) emphasis on harmonious environmental, economic and social interactions, breaking new ground in collectively and systematically advancing global sustainability.

China’s experiences and continued efforts demonstrate     9     concrete example of pursuing low-carbon development. This is an inspiration for all countries    10     (follow). Let us join hands and work for a healthy and sustainable future for all.