1 . Climate experts have warned about the many ways a warming planet can negatively affect human health. ________ global temperatures are predicted to increase by 1.5℃ by the 2030s, that risk is becoming increasingly real.

One long-held prediction that appears to be coming true — according to the results of a study recently published in Nature Scientific Reports — is how climate change might enhance ________ of bacteria that thrive and spread through warm sea waters and cause an infection with a particularly high ________ rate.

Vibrio vulnificus (创伤弧菌) flourishes in salty or brackish waters above 68℉. Infections are currently rare in the U.S., but that’s likely to change. Using 30 years of data on infections, scientists at the University of East Anglia in the U.K. found that Vibrio vulnificusis ________ from its historic Gulf Coast range, with more Northern states reporting infections as waters become warmer.

“We’re seeing the core ________ of infections extending to areas that traditionally have very few and very rare cases,” says Elizabeth Archer, a Ph.D. researcher and ________ author of the study. “But these areas are now coming into the main area of infections.”

Based on the latest data on how much the world’s water and air temperatures will rise, the scientists predict that by 2081, Vibrio vulnificus infections could reach every state along the U.S. East Coast. Currently, only about 80 cases are reported in the U.S. each year; by 2081, that could go up to over three-fold, the authors say.

Such a proliferation could have serious health consequences. Vibrio vulnificus kills approximately 20% of the healthy people it infects, and 50% of those with weakened immune systems. There is little evidence that antibiotics can ________ the infection, but doctors may prescribe them in some cases. People can get infected either by eating raw shellfish like oysters or by exposing small ________ to waters where the bacteria live, which can lead to serious skin infections.

Warming sea temperatures aren’t the only reasons behind the rise of Vibrio vulnificus. Hotter air also draws more people to the coasts and bays, bringing them into closer contact with the bacteria.

“The bacteria are part of the natural marine environment, so I don’t think we can ________ it from the environment,” says Archer. “It’s more about mitigating infections by increasing ________ of the risk.”

To alert people to the growing threat, ________ systems are needed to track when concentrations of bacteria start to rise, similar to currently available pollen and pollution alarm.

Vbrio vulnificus is so ________ to temperature changes that concentrations could bloom after even a day of warmer water, so consistent monitoring and alerts are critical, says Iain Lake, professor of environmental epidemiology at University of East Anglia and senior author of the paper.

Lake says the expansion of Vibrio vulnificus is concerning for public health since the bacteria are now invading waters closer to heavily ________ areas, such as New York and Philadelphia. “Everyone can get a Vibrio vulnificus infection,” he says. “But the more ________ there is between warmer waters and people, the more the bacteria can move into populations ________ the elderly and those with other health conditions, who are more vulnerable to infections.”

The illegal ivory trade (象牙贸易) has been a major problem in Africa for decades. Poachers (偷猎者) and hunters have killed hundreds of thousands of elephants to obtain this precious material. Now the areas in which they do it are taking action. The International Union for Conservation (保护) of Nature (IUCN) announced on Dec 3 that key states     1     poaching takes place have made a promise to stop the ivory trade and protect Africa’s elephants.

Recently, top officials and experts from 30 states met to discuss how to protect Africa elephants. The conference,     2     (organize) by the IUCN and the government of Botswana, was held in Gaborone, Botswana’s capital city.

In     3    1980s, as many as 1 million elephants across Africa were killed for ivory. The ivory     4     (use) to make jewelry and other items. This continued until 1989,     5     the convention (大会) on International Trade in Species voted to ban all trade in ivory. Then, elephants’ population slowly began to increase.

According to the IUCN, 2011 saw the highest levels of poaching and illegal ivory trading in at least 16 years. Around 25,000 elephants were killed in Africa that year. “With an estimated 22,000 elephants illegally     6     (kill) in 2012, we continue to face a critical situation,” said John E. Scanlon, CITES Secretary- General.

At the meeting, key Africa states where elephants make     7     home agreed to develop a “zero-tolerance approach” to poaching. The deal calls for tough sentences for poachers and hunters, and increased cooperation between states where poaching and hunting is a big problem. All participants at the conference agreed to sign the deal. With these states     8     (come) together, there may be hope for elephants.

4 . Each one of us shares this planet with seven billion other individuals. And we all need transportation. The majority of cars, motorcycles, boats and planes cause pollution. They are also noisy. This is a serious problem in many cities. So inventors are coming up with innovative ideas to try to reduce the pollution and noise.

In many cities around the world, motorcycles are becoming increasingly popular. Currently, Vietnam has around 33 million motorcycles. China has almost 120 million. The convenience of these motorcycles comes at a cost. Air pollution is a growing problem. In large cities, people often complain it is difficult to breathe. They also complain about the noise.

To solve these problems, a U.S. company designed an environmentally friendly motorcycle. It uses electricity as fuel. You can drive it for 40 miles (64 kilometers) before recharging the battery.

It is also quiet and fast-60 miles (96 kilometers) per hour. This makes it a good choice for getting around a city.

The Italian city of Venice is a city with only a few roads. There are no cars in the city center. Instead of cars, water taxis and buses carry people along the city’s canals. The engines of these boats are simple and cheap. However, they cause pollution, particularly to the water. This causes damage to the city’s buildings.

English mechanics Dick Strawbridge and Jem Stans designed a solar-powered water taxi. The solar panels charge three electric batteries. These, in turn, provide power to the engine. The water taxi can carry six passengers. It can run for a day. In the future, solar taxis could be an alternative to Venice’s current taxis.

Designing an environmentally friendly airplane is a real challenge. Planes use an enormous amount of jet fuel. This means they cause significant air pollution, and they are very noisy. Some major airplane manufacturers have started to address the problems. They are using cleaner fuels, for example. However, Swiss engineers have gone one step further. They developed a solar airplane — the Solar Impulse. Solar panels cover its wings. These panels provide power to four electric motors and batteries. The batteries allow the plane to fly at night. This plane holds the world record for the longest solar-powered flight — 985 miles (1541 kilometers) from Arizona to Texas in the United States.

How sustainable are your sneakers?

Over the last five years the sneaker industry has grown rapidly and shows no sign of slowing down. The global athletic footwear market is expected to exceed 95 billion (USD) by 2025. According to the World Footwear Yearbook, over 24 billion pairs of shoes are produced annually. Among them sneakers account for the largest     1    . What are the environmental impacts of the rapidly growing sneaker industry?

Sneaker production is very     2    . A typical pair of running shoes produces about 13.6 kilograms of CO₂ emissions which is unusually high for a product that does not use electricity or require power-driving components.

These emissions mainly come from     3    . The majority of sneakers are made from plastic and/or plastic-like materials. All these petroleum-derived plastics produce a(n)     4     number of carbon dioxide.

Then why don’t we move away from the use of plastic? Since sneakers have to endure much more than a regular pair of shoes, the aspect of their     5     is very important when it comes to their overall performance. Unfortunately,     6     materials hold up better than natural ones. Plastic has made shoes better, lighter, faster, more comfortable, and more accessible to everyone worldwide. Another issue with sneakers today is that most of them are made by using a combination of different plastics     7     in a very complicated way, making them very hard to     8    .

The footwear industry is at least 10 years behind the rest of fashion in terms of environmental standards. Seven out of ten brands are having discussions on sustainability, yet only 40% of companies have a sustainability program in place. Big industry players (such as Adidas and Nike) and some smaller     9     are trying to reduce their carbon footprint in different ways.

Considering that close to 25 billion pairs of shoes were produced worldwide in the last year, it is clear that immediate action is very important. It is my hope that we consumers will     10     our relationship with fashion and think about the environmental impact of our shopping habits.

9 . A simple piece of rope hangs between some environmentally friendly Americans and their neighbors. On one side stand those who have begun to see clothes dryers as a wasteful consumers of energy (up to 6% of total electricity) and powerful emitters of carbon dioxide (up to a ton of CO2 per household every year). As an alternative, they are turning to clotheslines as part of what Alexander Lee, an environmentalist, calls “what-I-can-do environmentalism.”

But the other side are people who oppose air-drying laundry outside on visual grounds. Increasingly, they have persuaded community and homeowners associations (HOAs) access the U.S. to ban outdoor clotheslines, which they say not only look unattractive but also lower surrounding property values. Those actions, in turn, have led to a right-to-dry movement that is pressing for making laws to protect the choice to use clotheslines. Only three states — Florida, Hawaii and Utah — have laws written broadly enough to protect clotheslines. Right-to-dry advocates argue that there should be more.

Matt Reck is the kind of eco-conscious guy who feeds his trees with bathwater and recycles condensation drops (冷凝水) from his air conditioners to water plants. His family also uses a clothesline. But Otto Hagen, president of Reck’s HOA in Wake Forest, N.C., notified him that a neighbor had complained about his line. The Recks ignored the warning and still dry their clothes on a rope in the yard. “Many people claim to be environmentally friendly but don’t take matters into their own hands,” says Reck. HOAs Hagen has decided to hold off taking action. “I’m not going to go crazy,” he says. “But if Matt keeps his line and more neighbors complains, I’ll have to address it again.”

North Carolina lawmakers tried and failed earlier this year to insert language into an energy bill that would expressly prevent HOAs from regulating clotheslines. But the issue remains a touchy one with HOAs and real estate agents. “Most visual restrictions are rooted. to a degree, in the belief that homogenous (统一协调的) external appearance are supportive of property value,” says Sara Stubbins, executive director of the Community Association Institute’s North Carolina chapter. In other words, associations worry that housing prices will fall if prospective buyers think their would-be neighbors are too poor to afford dryers.

Alexander Lee dismisses the notion that clotheslines devalue property advocating that the idea “needs to change in light of global warming.” “We all have to do at least something to decrease our carbon footprint,” Alexander Lee says.