A “plogging group” –     1     (compose) of young people - recently showed up in Changchun in Jilin province, to practice the novel new concept of environmental protection while running to keep fit.

Plogging is a new sport sweeping the globe, which is a     2     (combine) of jogging and picking up rubbish. It began as     3     organized activity in Sweden about three years ago and spread abroad in the wake of     4     (grow) concern about plastic pollution.

According to Liu Siwei, promoter of the sport in Changchun, every group member usually     5     (carry) a garbage bag and a trash clip while running. They collect garbage on the way and complete the rubbish sorting afterwards. Liu established the CC Plogging group on June 3rd with thirteen     6     (origin) members. Within one month, the number of group members expanded     7     180.

Now, every Saturday at 7 pm, more than twenty     8     (participate) gather at the Freedom Road Subway Station for a 5 km run lasting one hour. According to Liu, they include parents taking their children with them and students     9     have just finished their college entrance examinations. One of the members     10     (take) part in plogging for three times with her kid so far.

3 . Christmas was around the corner. Sitting at my desk surrounded by the gifts accumulated from the neighbors, I was about to _________ everything when Melissa called. She is the director of Kids Need More, a charitable organization which my family _________ for. The organization offers many _________ to critically ill and socially _________ children.

“Hi, can you add one more family to your _________? It’s near the other stops.” Melissa asked.

The organization always fills sacks with _________ gifts for the families on the Cheer Bus routes, visiting children in need. Each bus is _________ by a team of volunteers dressed as Santa and his elves. _________, it was our turn to do that this year.

“Of course. Can I have some _________?”

“There’s a young mother and her two children. The only thing she requested was a call to   __________ the Cheer Bus is coming to visit her family.”

So I __________ the young mom. When I told her I was calling from Kids Need More to assure her that a holiday Cheer Bus would be __________ her family, she began to cry on the phone. “Are you sure? Are you really, really going to come?”

I guaranteed that again and was __________ about the reason why she expected our arrival so much.

“Because my kids look forward to the bus and I don’t want to __________ them of the hope.” She replied, “It’s Christmas and Christmas should be __________, whatever happens.”

4 . Everyone likes getting compliments or praises but giving them can feel like walking a tightrope, blindfolded. Knowing how to give a great compliment is one of the secrets of naturally charming people but for many of us, it doesn’t always come naturally!     1    . Here are some tips to help craft your compliments.

Find something you genuinely like about the person. Your compliment will be appreciated if it’s clear you really mean what you say.     2    . If you make a habit of giving compliments you don’t really mean, you won’t come off as sincere, and eventually your words will mean less to people.

    3    . If you tell most people you see “I like your outfit” or something similar, the end result will be that the people you compliment won’t feel very special. Complimenting people on their specific positive characteristics goes a lot further.

Focus on achievements more than physical traits. It’s always nice to get a compliment like “You’re so pretty” or “I like your shoes.” But the best compliments are those that point out someone’s awesome achievements or personal qualities.     4    , if you want to give a compliment to a classmate.

    5    . It’s a passive-aggressive way to really hurt a person’s feelings. It’s possible to deliver a backhanded compliment without even knowing you’re doing it. For example, you might say, “You’re amazing at baseball, for a girl.” Attaching a qualifier (限定语) to the end of your compliment turns it into an insult.

5 . In order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius — a suggested safe threshold (阈值，界限) — carbon neutrality by mid-21st century is essential. This target is also laid down in the Paris agreement signed by 195 countries, including the EU, which aims to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible and to undertake rapid reductions.

Carbon neutrality means having a balance between emitting carbon and absorbing carbon from the atmosphere in carbon sinks. Removing carbon oxide from the atmosphere and then storing it is known as carbon sequestration (碳封存). In order to achieve net zero emissions, all worldwide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will have to be counterbalanced (抵消) by carbon sequestration.

Carbon sink is any system that absorbs more carbon than it emits. The main natural carbon sinks are soil, forests and oceans. According to estimates, natural sinks remove between 9.5 and 11 Gt of CO2 per year. Annual global CO2 emissions reached 38.0 Gt in 2019. Moreover, no artificial carbon sinks are able to remove carbon from the atmosphere on the necessary scale to fight global warming at present. The carbon stored in natural sinks such as forests is released into the atmosphere through forest fires, changes in land use or logging. This is why it is essential to reduce carbon emissions in order to reach climate neutrality.

Another way to reduce emissions and to pursue carbon neutrality is to offset (补偿) emissions made in one sector by reducing them somewhere else. This can be done through investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency or other clean, low-carbon technologies.

The European Union is committed to achieving the carbon neutrality by 2050. Under the Green Deal it aims to become the first continent that removes as many CO2 emissions as it produces by 2050. On 7 October 2020, the European Parliament backed climate neutrality by 2050 and a 60% emission reduction target by 2030 compared to 1990 levels — more than Commission’s proposal of 55%.

In addition, members called for all EU countries individually to become climate neutral and insisted that after 2050, more CO2 should be removed from atmosphere than is emitted. Also, all direct or indirect subsidies (补贴) to fossil fuels should be canceled by 2025 at the latest.

6 . At the beginning of the 21st century China had no high-speed railways. Slow and often uncomfortable trains plodded across this vast country, making journeys a test of travel endurance.

Today, it’s a completely different picture. The world’s most populous nation has — by some distance — the world’s largest network of high-speed railways. Half of that total has been completed in the last five years alone. By 2020, 75% of Chinese cities with a population of 500,000 or more had a high-speed rail ink. With maximum speeds of 350 kph (217 mph) on many lines, intercity travel has been transformed.

In contrast, the UK currently has just 107 kilometers while the United States has only one rail route that (just about) qualifies for high-speed status with top speed at 240 kph.

The size of China and its tremendous variations in terrain (地形), geology and climate have presented the country’s railway engineers with incredible challenges. From sometimes frozen Harbin in the far north to the near-tropical humidity of the Pearl River Delta megalopolis (特大都市), to the 1,776-km Lanzhou-Urumqi line crossing the Gobi Desert, China’s engineers have quickly developed extensive expertise in driving railways over, under and through whatever terrain lies in their path using overpasses, tunnels and bridges.

Chinese companies are among the first in the world to introduce new technology. The driverless “bullet trains” connecting Beijing and Zhangjiakou in northern Hebei province are capable of hitting speeds up to 350 kph, making them the world’s fastest autonomous trains. These trains are equipped with seats with 5G touchscreen control panels, intelligent lighting, thousands of safety sensors and removable seats for passengers in wheelchairs. Facial-recognition technology and robots are used in stations to assist travelers with navigation, luggage and check-in.

These new railways are a symbol of the country’s economic power, rapid modernization, growing technological prowess (高超造诣) and increasing prosperity. Moreover, they are also a powerful tool for social cohesion, political influence and the integration of disparate regions with distinct cultures into the mainstream.

I have been a pet behaviorist for more than 25 years, helping animals “perform” on camera. But when a TV company asked if I could teach a dog to fly a plane, I faced the toughest challenge of my career.

Initially, I was hesitant about the project, which involved taking rescue dogs through training to control a light aircraft. I wondered if the idea was in the animals’ best interests but was won over by the program’s aim: to prove that an abandoned dog is capable of far more than people might expect.

My all-male crew was Alfie, Blondie and Shadow. We started with fun tasks that tested the dogs’ memories and abilities, training them to perform complicated moves. By breaking down a complex trick into simpler tasks, I was able to get my boys to achieve polished performances.

The tasks (barking on signals and pushing buttons with their paws) gave us a good feeling for which dogs might be most suited to flight school. I was delighted when Alfie and Shadow made it through, along with another trainer’s dog, Reggie.

We had six weeks to turn them into pilots. I built a copy of the plane’s seat and controls. Another system in front of the dogs included lights – red for right, blue for left and white for straight – and made distinctive sounds. We operated it from the back.

After six weeks, I was delighted at how far the dogs had come. Their final test was to perform a figure of eight, making turns while controlling their altitude. We needed a human co-pilot to take them to 3,000 feet before giving control to the dogs. All three of them performed admirably, flying the plane for minutes at a time.

In the five years since making the program, I visited London and saw Shadow, who is becoming a Hollywood star. Before the show, Shadow was only hours away from being put to sleep(安乐死). It’s a situation that tens of thousands of dogs find themselves in every year. They all have the potential to achieve amazing things if given the chance.

8 . Heading to Rome, but not in the city for too long? We’re going to focus on Rome’s highlights in this guide to help you get the most out of your day in Rome.

Colosseum

Dating from ancient Rome, it has survived through the fall of the Roman Empire, the Dark ages, the Middle Ages, the Industrial Revolution, and our current modern age, but it’s still incredibly recognisable as a giant sporting arena(圆形运动场), and looks pretty good for a 2,000-year-old building! The Colosseum is open every day, with times varying depending on the time of year.

Roman Forum

Close to the Colosseum, and included with your Colosseum ticket, is the Roman Forum. This was the heart of the Roman Empire with temples, shrines, government buildings, speech platforms, judiciary buildings, and places of commerce. There’s a great deal to see here, although we’d suggest trying to limit your time to around an hour to 90 minutes so as to allow you more time for your rest day in Rome.

Vatican Museum

The Vatican Museums are vast. There are over seven kilometres of corridors spanning 54 galleries, and with 20,000 works of art on display, there’s no shortage of content to keep you busy. Enough to say, an afternoon, or even a day, is unlikely going to be enough to fully appreciate what is on display. Note, the Vatican is closed on Sundays and some other days. Book your tickets in advance of your visit.

Sistine Chapel

Within the Vatican Museum complex is the Sistine Chapel (entry is included with Vatican Museum entry), whose ceiling and Last Judgement painting are generally regarded as one of Michaelangelo’s greatest works, and one of the greatest Renaissance works. As a sidenote, there’s no photography allowed in here, and there are guards who will enforce this rule. Lots of people break it, but we have seen people escorted(护送) out for doing so.