2 . My 5-year-old daughter Kai walked around a bus stop, picking up candy wrappers and plastic bottles and throwing them in the waste bin. We were a visiting family here, but she was cleaning the sidewalk, which didn’t shock me, nor was I _________ when strangers looked at us.

Our cleanup project began when we drove past an empty field one day and Kai _________ the field was covered by _________ balloons. We had read about how animals could _________ balloons for food. “Stop,” Kai said, and I _________. Surprisingly, we found the field was full of much trash _________ the balloons. “Can we come back and clean it?” Kai asked. Then each Friday, we returned to have a(n) _________ cleaning.

However, it seems we can never _________ the trash completely. I feel something close to _________! Why are we making kids clean up our __________? It has everything to do with the planet we adults are leaving for kids. Plastic pollution is globally distributed and microplastics have even been discovered in human blood. It is not a __________ story that we have created trash but our next generation cleans up them.

Now Kai hopes to become a marine biologist to protect sharks one day. She still has many years to __________, if adults get serious about solving plastic pollution. We shouldn’t leave our next generation a __________ planet and expect them to save it.

The last time our family was at the beach, we still picked up plastic bottles. Most __________, though, we saw an octopus (章鱼) playing around our feet, a __________ of a harmonious habitat worth protecting.

3 . For thousands of years, Chinese writers have travelled all over the country to take down notes about the geographical conditions of each city. Among them, well-known Chinese geographer and writer Li Daoyuan, in the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534), composed his book, Commentary on the Water Classics, after studying the original literary version, Water Classics. He later expanded the river records to 1, 252 from the original 137.

The book is now being studied again by Professor Li Xiaojie and his team from Fudan University. They have been using drawing software and 3D modelling to recreate the waterway situations on a map based on the book description. So far, they have completed research on four rivers.

“Ancient people knew really well how to apply the power of nature to technical considerations,”Li said, giving the example of Qianjin’e, one of the most famous ancient water conservation projects in Luoyang, Henan. In order to lead the river into the city for irrigation (灌溉) in ancient Luoyang, the officials built a canal branch by separating a northwest-southeast river. However, the canal water wasn't enough to support the citizens in dry seasons. To solve that, on the northern side of the canal branch, the officials built a reservoir (水库) and a channel to lead the water to the canal branch, where the waterways would converge and flow together to the city.

In Commentary on the Water Classics, a total of 2, 800 cities are recorded with details. Still, the process of recreation takes much effort. After doing a lot of text analysis and fieldwork, the team has gradually created the model with 3D modelling software based on repeated deductions (推论).

For Professor Li, the book is not only a record of the natural landscape over 1, 000 years ago, but also a detailed description of humanity and culture and a treasure for today’s reference.

6 . Wonderful views from the mountains, breath-taking places waiting to explore, fresh air, as well as all the special health benefits, are the main rewards of mountain hiking.     1    

You need to train your lower body muscles, anytime and anywhere. Strong legs and core muscles will improve your balance and help you hike longer. Focus on your lower body strength and on your cardiovascular (心血管的) workout.     2     You really can train anywhere: use your backyard, living room, or bedroom to keep your body ready for the true conditions in the mountains.

You will need a stronger back. Who’s going to carry your backpack?     3     So we are quite sure what the true answer is. Develop back-muscles with exercises like V-ups, deadlifts, diver push-ups, and exercise named “mountain climbers”: Start in a traditional plank (平板支撑) position and then bring your knee forward under your chest. You will start to feel your abs (腹肌) for sure, too.

    4     Even Rome wasn’t built in a day so give yourself the pleasure to enjoy discovering what your body is capable of! All the perfect benefits will improve your blood pressure and blood sugar levels, helping you strengthen your core, and even help you control your weight as an additional benefit.     5     Just don’t forget to stretch after each training.

Please remember that your training for mountain hiking should be combined with real hiking. And don’t miss the other clues on what to do for mountaineering training!

7 . Traditionally, profiting from forests often meant capitalizing on timber (木材)——choosing commercial timber. Yet increasingly, there is an understanding that it’s of greater significance to keep trees standing than cut them down for financial profit. Money is not everything. We have to recognize real and lasting value is from natural resources. But money is a fact of life.

Good news is that we can expect entire natural woodland is left undamaged and still provides a revenue (收益) stream. Leaving woodland complete does not necessarily mean that we do not touch it at all. Conservation work may involve building back biodiversity or the removal of foreign plant species.

A healthy woodland system can provide a range of yields (产物). Besides eatable yields——top fruit, berries, and food crops, it produces substances for chemical use. The non-timber forest products provided by natural ecosystems will vary significantly depending on where they are. But there’re almost always ways to explore to acquire revenue.

A project in the U.K. shows woodland is also a draw for visitors. It engages a community who creates a sustainable area of woodland. The sale of handmade wooden items and non-timber forest products is involved. But the community largely obtains revenue by opening up parts of the natural woodland to the public with an adventure playground and outdoor recreational activities on the site. It also offers courses on nest building, special wildlife events and more. The project is thought to have great uniqueness. In terms of revenue, it centers round the existing natural land; the yields woodland can provide become side products.

Recreational activities, tours, and classes are just the commencement. A rich and biodiverse woodland can be an ecosystem that draws in people looking for a beautiful place to stay. Woodland has great value in ecological and social terms. And when you nurse it, it could also add to the income from your land.

10 . As a speaker of 10 languages I know the benefits of speaking more than one language. To start with, we need to dispel (消除) four common misconceptions about language learning.

You have to have a gift for learning languages.

No, you don’t.     1     In Sweden and Holland most people speak more than one language. They can’t just all be gifted at languages. In language learning it is attitude, not aptitude (天赋) that determines success.

    2    

Some immigrants to North America never learn to speak more than broken English. Yet we meet people in other countries who speak flawless English. With the Internet, language content is available to anyone with a computer.     3    

To learn a language you need formal classroom instruction.

Classrooms may be economical to run and a great place to meet others. They have the weight of history and tradition behind them. Unfortunately, a classroom is an inefficient place to learn a language.     4     A majority of school kids graduate unable to communicate in languages that they study for 10 or more years.

I would love to learn but I don't have the time.

How about the time you spend waiting in line or going for a walk? Why not use that time to listen to a language on your iPad? Once you get started, even 10 or 15 minutes a day will soon grow to 30 minutes a day, or one hour.     5     As I do, you will find the time.