Following pressure from animal activist groups , Apsara, the management authority for the Angkor Archaeological Park in Siem Reap, Cambodia announced in June 2019 it would ban elephant rides in early 2020. Now the process has already begun.

An Apsara press    1     (represent) said, “The elephant is a big animal,     2     it is gentle and we don’t want to see the animals     3     (use) for tourism activities anymore. We want them to live in their    4     (nature) surroundings.”

In 2016, an elephant named Sambo died at Angkor Archaeological Park,     5     (draw) worldwide attention. Her death was blamed     6     a combination of heat stroke arid exhaustion from ferrying so many human beings around. Two years later, the World Wildlife Fund     7     (publish) an in-depth look at the dwindling populations of the Asian elephant, noting that the     8     (species) population had declined by 50% in just three generations.

The ban comes at a time when more and more travelers and tourism organizations around the world have moved to eliminate animal-related attractions. Most recently, Trip Advisor-one of the world’s biggest travel listings and booking sites--announced that     9     would not sell tickets to any sites     10     breed whales or dolphins in captivity, such as the theme park Sea World in the US.

3 . The nation watched with horror as wildfire in California damaged the town of Paradise and surrounding communities. It was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history, killing 85 civilians and destroying nearly 14,000 residences. More than 50,000 people were left homeless.

Watching the news coverage from his home in Denver, Colorado, Woody Faircloth was saddened by the destruction. Many people found themselves homeless with nowhere to live. He just couldn’t imagine being in that position. He knew he wanted to do something to help. He set up a GoFundMe page and invited people to donate so they could purchase and restore a used RV (休闲车) for a family.

Through social media, Faircloth eventually got connected with a family of six that was greatly in need. Faircloth filled the RV with supplies and started the nearly 1,200-mile drive to California to deliver the vehicle. That first donated RV led to another and Faircloth had more than 100 requests for RVs from homeless families. Witnessing how great the need was, Faircloth turned his idea into a nonprofit organization, “we have a platform to help, we have to keep helping,” said Faircloth, whose group has so far given more than 65 RVs to wildfire survivors.

Today, only a minimal amount of rebuilding has begun in Paradise and a majority of the area’s displaced population is still homeless. Faircloth connects with RV owners interested in donating or selling their used RVs at a low cost. He refits the RVs himself and negotiates costs when he needs to hire professional mechanics for heavy-duty repairs. Once the RV is ready to go, Faircloth organizes a way to transport it to the survivors. The work is constant for Faircloth, who also has to do his fulltime job as an account manager. But seeing the impact of his efforts inspires him to keep going. “We have made connections with people at their most vulnerable (脆弱的) moment. It’s such a powerful thing for them,” Faircloth said.

Microplastics, referring to plastic fragments and particles (碎片和微粒) less than 5 millimeters in diameter (直径), have been found on Mount Qomolangma as high as 8,440 meters above sea level, just 408.86 meters below the peak of the mountain, according to a recent study published in the journal One Earth. Scientists collected snow and water samples from 19 different     1     (spot). They found microplastics in all the water samples and part of the snow samples. The most     2     (pollute) sample was from the Base Camp in Nepal,     3    most human activity on the mountain is concentrated. It had 79 particles of microplastics per liter (升) of snow.

8 . Keeping curious kids from disrupting wildlife

Interacting with the wild, naturally curious kids tend to collect seashells at the beach or keep small wildlife as pets.     1     So how to help kids protect the wild while enjoying spending time outsides? Here are alternatives for some of the most common outdoor behavior no-nos.

Take an interest, not things. Kids show interest in picking flowers, rocks, or shells outdoors. They’re part of wildlife's habitat and play an important role.     2     Let kids explore with a magnifying glass (放大镜)instead of their curious fingers. Let whatever they find outside stay outside.

    3     It seems a fun idea to throw pieces of bread to ducks. Animals have unique dietary needs that are different from humans. Eating human food can make them sick or become dependent on human food. Bears are an example of animals that often have to be killed after developing a taste for human food.

Admire animal afar, not disrupt nearby. The urge to take a photo with a squirrel, bird, or slow-moving turtle can be strong for kids.     4     Instead, remind kids to stay away and show them how to use a camera's zoom button, or just admire with their eyes.

Take well-worn paths, not off-road romps (嬉戏). Kicking piles of leaves, stepping on bushes, and walking through forested areas can unintentionally scare wildlife. If surprised animals defend their homes, everyone could get hurt. Nobody likes having a guest come in and destroy their home and act rudely.    5    

9 . If you wear contact lenses (隐形眼镜), you might not know the best way to deal with old ones. Washing them down the sink or flushing them down the toilet is not the way to go. Yet one in five people who wear contact lenses do just that. However, the plastic in their lenses can linger (存留), polluting both water and land.

Rolf Halden, an engineer at Arizona State University in Tempe, and his team created an online survey. More than 400 contact lens wearers took part. The questions asked how many got rid of their lenses inappropriately. About 20 percent — one in five — sent their used contact lenses down sink drain or toilet. Assuming all contact lens wearers in the U. S. do that at the same rate, the researchers then calculated how much plastic would be flushed away each year. Their estimate: 6 to 10 metric tons! That's about the weight of two to three adult African forest elephants. Contact lenses are a tiny part of the world's plastic pollution. But the unique plastic used in contact lenses could make them a big concern.

To figure it out, researchers exposed contact lenses to the microbes (微生物) used to clean wastewater in water-treatment plants. These microbes made the plastics begin to fall apart, but they weren't fully broken down. Instead, they created a lot of tiny pieces called microplastics.

Halden worries that these small plastic bits will cause trouble in the food chain. In water, the plastics from contact lenses sink. Animals could view these tiny bits as food. But because the plastic won't provide them with nutrition, this could threaten the health of animals who dined on it.

And that's already happening. Many studies have shown that corals, larval fish and shellfish are mistaking microplastics for food. Over time, they risk accumulating even higher levels of plastic in their bodies. Also the pollution has already shown up in bottled water, sea salt and fish sold for human consumption.