Chinese scientists have developed a kind of plastic that degrades in sea water and could help slow down the     1    (increase) serious plastic pollution in the ocean.

The new plastic can degrade in sea water over a period ranging from a few days to several hundred days,     2    (leave) small parts that cause no pollution, said Wang Gexia,     3     is a senior engineer. 

For a long time, people focused     4     white pollution on land. Plastic pollution in the sea only caught people’s attention when more and more     5    (report) about marine animals dying from it appeared in recent years.

Scientists combined water dissolution and biodegradation processes     6    (design) and invent     7     new plastic.

The research     8    (select) as one of the winning projects at a contest. The contest encouraged young Chinese scientists to develop groundbreaking technologies and was intended to inspire creativity. 

China has given top attention to     9    (environment) protection, contributing Chinese wisdom to     10    (resolve) global pollution problems.

3 . There are hundreds of great national nature reserves in China. Now feast your eyes on the following amazing ones.

Qinghai Lake, China’s largest saltwater lake in Qinghai Province, is a key body of water for lots of animals and birds. As an important stopover, migratory birds (候鸟) would rest in this area during their movement trip every year. The reserve became a national nature reserve in the year of 1997.

The only Bayanbulak Wetland, in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, is at the foot of Tianshan Mountains, which makes itself suitable for migratory birds. Bayanbulak means “rich spring water” in Mongolian, meaning that the area is rich in water. Every year, swans (天鹅) from different places fly here for nesting, which became a national swan reserve in 1986.

As one of the largest wintering places for swans in China, this reserve in Shandong Province mainly protects whooper swans (大天鹅), which make it different from other nature reserves. In 2007, it was changed into a national nature reserve. Now every year, thousands of whooper swans arrive here to spend the winter, making it an important resting and wintering place for themselves.

This reserve focuses on protecting coral reefs and their living environment in Sanya City, Hainan Province. In 1990, it became a national nature reserve. This reserve is on the coast, so the area of the reserve has good water quality and many kinds of creatures,

4 . Around the world, people are realizing the significant problems caused by plastic waste. In the last 65 years, we have become increasingly dependent on plastic. It’s easy to understand why: it’s cheap to produce, light — therefore easy and cheap to transport — and incredibly strong and durable.     1    

One popular solution to the problem is to prohibit single use plastics. In the British supermarkets, shoppers are encouraged to make more environmentally-friendly choices in packing and transporting their food.     2     Some governments have even promised to ban the use of single-use plastic altogether by the not-too-distant future.

However, such plans may not be beneficial to eliminate (消除) the use of single-use plastic altogether.     3     This is not just because of its low cost. It’s also because infection and cross-contamination (交叉感染) are minimized. Plastic packaging is also crucial in the food industry. It ensures that food is safe for consumers.

Another issue is that alternative materials to plastic are often more environmentally harmful than plastic. Take paper bags, for example.     4     The process requires cutting trees, the emission of greenhouse gases and the production of poisonous chemical waste. Even more pollution is created when paper bags break down.

Clearly there is a need to reduce plastic waste and its impact on the environment.     5     Industries that rely on single-use plastics for people’s health and safety must be considered. Moreover, alternative materials must be evaluated strictly regarding their own environmental impact.

5 . Made out of thin air

The world has experienced a lot of extreme weather this year due to climate change, which carbon emissions are believed to be most responsible for.     1    

Meat made from air

It is hard to imagine that food consisting of protein could be produced from CO2, but that is exactly what Solar Foods is working on. To create the protein, the company uses renewable energy to split water cells into hydrogen and oxygen.     2     This is fed to microbes(微生物), which in turn create an eatable food, according to science website Futurism. This process makes alternative protein 100 times more climate- friendly than other sources of protein, the company said.

    3    

What about wearing a pair of shoes made of carbon emissions? On Running, a Swiss sports shoe brand, is trying to make foam(泡沫) for its shoed from captured carbon. In November, it announced it was teaming up with US-based company LanzaTech to make ethanol(乙醇) out of waste CO2, which would otherwise be burned, releasing CO2. On Running hopes to produce its first pair of shoes made wholly from carbon sometime next yeat.     4    

Turning CO2 into perfume

What is the smell of a perfume made from CO2? New York-based startup Air Company is selling perfume made from CO2. Perfume has an alcohol base. When mixed with a bit of water and fragrance(芳香) oil, it becomes perfume. Ethanol is widely used in perfume production because it has a neutral smell. This means you only smell the oil.     5     And with the addition of water and fragrance oil, you get perfume made mainly from air.

8 . Lithium (锂) is called “white gold” for good reason. The metal’s value has been growing rapidly over the last several years, mainly because it is an essential material of lithium-ion batteries, which play an important part in several key sustainable technologies, e. g. electric cars.

As ocean waves, wind and solar power have grown into major players in the energy industry, lithium has also become key to building a future free of petrol. But getting lithium comes at a huge cost. As with most metals, its mining is damaging. It often works like this: Briny water, containing lithium and other metals, is pumped to the surface from underground. Then it sits in pools to allow the water to evaporate, leaving the rest behind as poisonous matter. Workers use chemical reactions to remove the lithium from that, making it into powder which is then packaged and shipped to the buyers around the world. Any accident that releases mine matter into surrounding communities or the groundwater supply could have damaging long-term impacts.

Indigenous (原住民) communities often bear the result of the damage, and political leaders have paid little attention to their concerns. In Arizona, for example, an expanding lithium mine is threatening the Hualapai Tribe’s historical sites. And for politicians who have promised to work with native peoples to deal with it, mining lithium and other precious metals is putting them into a dilemma: How do you ensure the availability of materials which are essential to the future while protecting indigenous people’ rights?

Mining of the metal is expected to increase greatly in coming years. Over time, that will make electric cars inexpensive and, therefore, more popular.

As environmentally conscious consumers buy electric cars in ever-greater numbers, it’s important to be aware of the dirty process that powers those clean air vehicles.

9 . Macquarie Island is a tiny island that’s part of Australia. It’s about halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica. The island’s been made a world heritage area because it’s so untouched, but this unique environment is under threat from some unwanted visitors.

It all started when seal hunters came to the island in the early 1800s. They brought rabbits with them as a source of food for the journey, and also on board the ships were rats and mice, which made their way onto the island too. They’re being blamed for destroying the homes of marine birds, causing soil loss and ripping up plant cover, as these before-and-after photos show.

So what’s being done about the problem? It starts with a team of helicopters that fly across the island carrying these giant containers. Inside them are poisoned pellets (有毒饲料) which are dropped and spread across the island. For any rabbits that survived the baiting (诱饵) , there’s a plan B. This special team of dogs is being put through a final training. It’ll be their job to track down any remaining rabbits. They have to also learn to behave around the island’s native wildlife. The dogs could be here for years or until the task is complete. The dogs don’t actually kill the rabbits. They find them, then the hunters decide to either catch the rabbits or shoot them.

But the program has received a bit of criticism. Some people argue 25 million dollars is a lot of money to be spending on wiping out rabbits and rodents (啮齿目动物), and in the process, some native birds will be killed because of the baiting.

The reality is the problem isn’t going to be solved overnight. The people running the program say that even if one pair of rabbits is left alive, the whole task will be seen as a failure, which means these guys could be here for a long time, trying to ensure that this precious island remains protected from pests.

10 . What do the following animals have in common? Pandas, rhinoceros, Mexican burrowing snakes, pink pigeons and small tooth sawfish.

They are all endangered animals! Animals become endangered for a variety of reasons. Sadly, humans are behind every one of them!

For centuries, humans have hunted elephants for their tusks, and killed tigers for their beautiful fur, caught fish for food. While we still have elephants, tigers, and fish in the wild, we cannot say the same about many others that have simply died out!

Year 1505 was a dreadful turning point in the natural history of the island of Mauritius — European sailors discovered this beautiful island in the Indian Ocean and brought dogs, pigs, monkeys with them. The arrival of humans and those introduced animal species were bad news for dodo birds. About 50 pounds and flightless, dodo birds did not have any natural enemies until then. They picked fruit fallen from trees and built their nests on the ground. Shortly after humans set foot on Mauritius, however, dodo birds realized that they were in big trouble — men killed them for their meat, and those introduced animal species destroyed their nests and ate their eggs. The effects of excessive hunting and foreign species drove dodo birds to first become much fewer and then die out. The last dodo bird was killed in 1681.

Humans and animals have always competed for land and other natural resources. We clear an area of a forest for farming. We cut down trees and use wood to build beautiful houses. We build reservoirs to make sure that we have enough water to use. At the same time that we are trying to make our life comfortable, we destroy the habitats of wild animals.

More than once we have seen on television that rescue workers are trying their best to save seabirds in spilled oil. More than once we have heard about how emissions of carbon dioxide (二氧化碳的排放) and other gases have raised the earth's temperature and caused global warming. Pollution has a serious and long lasting effect. If we choose to do nothing and continue to pollute our planet Earth, our next generations will have to face an Earth without birds singing and beasts roaring.