The Sixth Extinction (灭绝)

Extinctions, where entire species are wiped out, are not unusual in our Earth’s history. In fact, over 90 percent of all species that ever lived are now extinct. In the last 500 million years, there have been five times when life on Earth has almost ended. These include the third mass extinction, known as the “Great Dying”, which killed 90% to 96% of all species. And the fifth event, which occurred 66 million years ago, caused the death of the dinosaurs. The reasons for extinctions are varied. According to scientists, they include volcanic eruptions, asteroids (小行星) hitting the Earth from space, changes in sea levels, the decrease of the oxygen content of the sea and global warming. Many scientists say we are now entering the Earth’s sixth mass extinction. This time, human activity will be to blame.

Although it is not unusual for species to die out naturally, the rate at which this is now happening is cause for concern. A 2015 study by scientists who were based at Brown University and Duke University in the US, looked at how quickly species die out due to natural causes, that is, the “background extinction rate”. They found that human activity is causing species to die out 1, 000 times faster than normal. There is a long list of reasons why so many species are dying out: air and water pollution, forests being destroyed, factory farming and overfishing. It is clear that human activity has negatively affected all other species on Earth, including animals and plants.

If a sixth mass extinction occurs, scientists who have studied the issue believe that up to three quarters of all species on Earth could die out. Of course, as we humans depend on so many species for our survival, we would also be at risk of dying out. Our world and our lives depend on the balance in nature between animals and plants. Without forests, we would have no air to breathe and without clean water we would be unable to survive.

Can a sixth extinction be avoided? Experts say that it is not yet too late, if we take action now. If we want to survive, we need to stop destroying the planet that we live on and start to protect it.

4 . Stefani Shamrowicz lives in Colorado. The 24-year-old woman has spent 23 days picking up126 bags of rubbish across the country

Having over a month off from her job at a campus recreation center, Stefani Shamrowicz decided to take a trip to help clean up the environment.

She's now driven over 70 hours through Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana Florida,Georgia,Tennessee,Kentucky，Ohio，Pennsylvania，and New York-cleaning up everything from pee-filled bottles to lawn ornaments. About 80 percent of the rubbish was drinking bottles. Stefani said she had found a few fast-food toys and a tire with a pair of cowboy boots in it and her aim wasn't to shame, but rather encourage people to do what they can

Collecting anywhere from one to 16 bags at a time, Stefani's been discouraged. She felt she wasn't doing enough. She said there was a place that had an ocean of rubbish and she pushed out four bags, but then she broke down because she realized how much rubbish there was and it felt like four bags didn't do anything. But she remembered to just do what she could, especially since she had gone beyond her goal. She said she dedicated that to her parents because they raised her to be an independent person and had been very supportive on the trip

People donated $10 a bag for Stefani to clean up in their name, which she uses for lodging and gas. The person's name is written on how many bags they've donated towards and Stefani posted a picture on her Instagram when they were filed, thanking them for helping clean up the cit she was in.

People online and in person have responded positively to the project. Stefani recalled people sent her pictures of bags of trash they picked up. Once, when she started doing a bag on the beach in Florida,two ladies saw her and started helping her fill the bag.

With her job resuming June 1, Stefani is now back home but she has so many good things to say about her unique U.S.road trip.There's litter everywhere, so I'm just happy to be able to make a little bit of an impact everywhere I go. Cleaning up this litter is a huge thank you for all the joy and good times national parks and nature in general has brought to my life,”she said.

Kun Qu Opera developed under the Ming dynasty (fourteenth to seventeenth centuries) in the city of Kunshan, situated in the region of Suzhou in southeast China. With its roots in popular theatre, the repertory of songs developed into a major theatrical form. Kun Qu is one of the oldest forms of Chinese opera still performed today.

Kunqu has gone through several stages of change over the past hundreds of years. It was composed of long and short lines at the beginning, with a singer singing solo and the orchestra coming in at the end of each line. During the Ming Dynasty (1368—1644), it became more mild, and graceful, with performers attaching great importance to how clearly they recited and sang lines. The songs were written in seven-character or ten-character lines. This contrasts greatly from the opera’s emphasis during the Yuan Dynasty(1271—1368), when only percussions(打击乐器) were used in the chorus. In the style that developed during the Ming Dynasty, more musical instruments were used.

It is characterized by its dynamic structure and melody (kunqiang). It combines songs and recitals as well as acrobatics and symbolic gestures. The opera features a young male lead, a female lead, an old man and various comic roles, all dressed in traditional costumes. Kun Qu songs are accompanied by bamboo flute(长笛), small drum, wooden clappers gongs, all used to punctuate actions and emotions on stage. Renowned for the rhythmic patterns, Kun Qu opera has had a considerable influence on more recent forms of Chinese opera, such as the Sichuan or Beijing opera.

The opera has suffered a gradual decrease since the eighteenth century because of the high-level technical knowledge that it requires from both its performers and audience. Of the 400 arias regularly sung in opera performances in the mid-twentieth century, only a few dozen continue to be performed. The Kun Qu opera survived through the efforts of dedicated connoisseurs(行家) and various supporters who seek to attract the interest of a new generation of performers.