2 . In 1994, The Brazilian photographer Salgado went back to his homeland in Minas Gerais, Brazil. He was__________ to see the land run by his family. The thick forest there was once a paradise   ( 乐园 ) for him and his friends, bringing them___ memories.

To his horror, he saw a totally different____. Only 0.5% of the land was covered with trees. “The land was as sick as a serious patient — everything was______ due to deforestation (砍伐森林),” Salgado said___ during a meeting on climate change in Paris.

Salgado ______that he should do something about it. Then he ______the bold idea of replanting trees on the land, which beyond his expectations, received___ from his wife and relatives. Soon the whole family _______   and the results are remarkable. _______, the land is changing: It is carpeted with green trees again and some of the insects, birds and animals living in the land before____. The land has been brought back to life. The___ family’s hard work also impressed people around them. They___ cutting down trees and began to protect the environment.

“The work over the years is quite difficult but well worth the_____ and I think every   little bit of work_____,” said Salgado. Therefore, everyone should play a part in protecting   the environment.

3 . Cows produce much methane (甲烷) the world’s second worst greenhouse gas, as they break down the grass. They are a large source of the greenhouse gases that are driving climate change. Now scientists have shown the pollution from cows can be reduced by adding a little seaweed (海藻) to their food.

Recently, the researchers from the University of California studied 21 cows on a farm for about five months. They taught the cows to get their food from inside a special hood, which allowed the scientists to know the amount of the methane the cows were giving off. They added a small amount of seaweed to the cows’ food.

The consequences were surprisingly good. In some cases, the cows produced 82% less methane. The improvement depended on the kind of food the cows were given. Even the worst-polluting cows produced 33% less methane. Over the five months, the scientists didn’t see any signs that the cows’ stomachs were getting used to the seaweed and starting to produce more methane again. What’s more, the cows that were fed seaweed gained just as much weight as the other cows.

But there are still some big problems with the idea of feeding cows seaweed. For one thing, there’s not enough seaweed to feed all of the cows in the world. So farmers would have to figure out a way to grow lots of seaweed. A bigger problem is that for most of their lives, cows live in the fields, where they eat grass. That means there’s no chance to feed them seaweed every day.

Still, as the study shows, something as simple as feeding cows seaweed can help reduce some of the pollution causing the climate crisis.

4 . Balancing preservation of the land with our desire to travel is a challenge for us travelers. When seeing cities face constant resource and waste problems, I couldn’t help but think about how much travel can affect the environment.

Back in my youth, I was an environmental activist. But over the years, I leave the lights on. I fly a lot. I drink out of plastic bottles. I eat a lot of meat. And I love fish, especially tuna. However, recently, I’ve begun thinking harder about how travel affects the environment and how I affect the environment. In doing so, I’ve tried to be a lot more aware of my actions.

I don’t know if there is an easy solution for this problem. The most environmentally friendly activity is not to travel at all, but that’s unrealistic and too extreme. There’s so much money in travel that I don’t think the government and regulation can do much. Only when their profits are hurt will hotels, operators, and the industry as a whole begin to listen. Instead, it’s all about the consumers. The only good way is to get people to be more environmentally conscious and make better decisions.       

Consumers have a lot of power. Why did Wal-Mart start selling only sustainable fish and whole milk? Consumers wanted it. I think if we as travelers begin to demand more environmentally friendly practices and avoid companies with poor environmental records, we can change things.

Now, I recycle more, I use fewer water bottles, I shut off the lights. Most importantly, I use operators and stay at places that are reducing their environmental impact.

Travel can destroy the environment but it doesn’t have to. We have the power to make things better. We can do small things and demand more of the places we stay and visit. We can and should demand more of places, and of ourselves.

5 . A selection of wildlife sculptures made out of recycled rubbish is being displayed at an exhibition at the Harley Gallery in Glasgow, England. The sculptures have, been created by Glasgow — based artist Michelle Reader, who has been working with recycled materials for over 20 years. The inspiration behind this collection of artwork was the increase in fly-tipping during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Fly-tipping is when people illegally dump rubbish or litter in a public place.

Reader told the BBC, “Glasgow Wildlife Trust showed me some of the materials that were found on their reserves — a washing machine, rusty bike frame, car tyres.” She decided to create wildlife sculptures out of these materials to encourage people to think about the damage fly-tipping can do to the environment and wildlife. Her three-dimensional artworks included recycled items such as skis, a gas mask, and washing machine, parts.

Reader often drew inspiration from the “beauty of the natural world,” and said that the large model of the white-tailed bee was inspired by the many hours she spent on her distribution during the pandemic. Another sculpture, of a bearded eagle, was inspired by the sighting of one such bird in the Peak District in July 2020. This was only the second time it had been spotted in the UK.

Other projects Reader has been involved with have highlighted issues such as the importance of recycling and reducing food waste. In April, the National Space Centre in Leicester, England, launched their Home Planet gallery, which featured an art installation from Reader. Using rubbish found in rivers, such as plastic bottles, tennis balls, footwear, and toys, Reader created a large wave sculpture to highlight the problem of littering.

Reader says that through her sculptures she draws attention to environmental issues in an attractive and humorous way. The exhibition is on at Harley Callery in Glasgow, England, until 24 July.

7 . The early life of the green sea turtle (海龟) is full of danger. Only one in 1,000 baby sea turtles survive to adulthood (成年). From its home in the sand, it breaks its egg with an egg tooth. Its mother is not there to help it. Instead, it is greeted by crabs, coyotes, and dogs waiting to eat it for dinner. To survive, the baby turtle must hide in the sand until night. Then, it moves slowly to the sea.

The small turtle must swim hard to reach the ocean waters. In the sea, it tries hard to find food. It must also keep itself from being food for fish.

As dangerous as the sea turtle’s life is in the natural world, its most dangerous enemies are humans. The rubbish left by humans in the ocean causes problems for the small green sea turtle. A little turtle might eat a piece of plastic (塑料) in the sea. It might also eat oil on the ocean’s surface. Young turtles also get caught in fishing nets. There are laws against hunting sea turtles. Still, many are hunted, both for their meat and for their shells (壳). All of these dangers must be prevented.

Sea turtles that do survive to grow into adulthood go through many changes. For example, adult green sea turtles weigh about 500 pounds. They stop eating jellyfish and other meat and eat only plants. And they may plan a trip to go back home again. A mother sea turtle goes back to the beach where she was born. This is the only place where she will lay eggs. Even if it has been forty years since she was a baby, she always knows her way back home.

8 . Located at a depth of 20 feet below the surface, the sand of the ocean floor off the coast of the Florida Keys might be an unlikely spot to host a music festival, but that hasn’t stopped music enthusiasts from diving underwater to rock out.

For the past 35 years, the Underwater Music Festival, an event that pairs music with conservation, has been hosted. Equipped with guitars, drums and other musical instruments, divers go down to the depths and play along to a playlist of water-inspired songs that are piped underwater via speakers. Over the years the event has gone from being a small grassroots effort put together by few locals, with the idea that once people see what’s going on beneath the surface, the more likely they would be to protect it, to a two-day festival that draws dozens of divers, boaters, and musicians to the Keys from around the world.

“Thirty-five years ago a few Keys locals sat down and wanted to figure out a way to bring awareness to our coral reefs （珊瑚礁）that would preserve, rebuild and restore them in any way,” says Dave Turner, executive director of the Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce. “They came up with this idea of playing music underwater and invited people to listen while also enjoying the local sea life.”

“The preservation of the reef is our main purpose,” Turner says. “To avoid any further damage, the festival takes place in a nearby sandy area so that the musicians don’t disturb the coral when they’re performing.”

Although holding a music festival underwater may seem a bit out there, Turner is quick to point out that it is actually achievable. “The music is obviously not as clear as when you’re sitting in room with stereo （立体音响）but you can still hear it and understand the lyrics and music,” he says. “If you were to go underwater you would recognize the song and it would sound the same. It just has little different tone to it. Plus, sound travels faster and farther underwater.”