3 . A recent report revealed that, in the US alone, 27 million tons of plastic ended up in landfills in 2018, but only 3.1 millon tons were recycled. Wordwide the numbers are similarly bad, with just 9% of plastic being recycled. The statistics are even worse for certain types of plastic. For example, out of 80,000 tons of polystyrene (聚苯乙烯) containers generated in the United States, only a small amount (less than 5,000 tons) was recycled.

Now, researchers at The University of Queensland and have found a species of wom with an appetite for polystyrene could be the key to plastic recycling on a mass scale. The superworm can eat through polystyrene, thanks to a bacterial enzyme (酶) in their gut. To study how superworms react to purely plastic food, researchers broke up l35 of the creatures into three teams: one was fed only wheat bran(麸皮), another was fed only plastics, and the third was given nothing.

“We found the bran-fed worms have been significantly healthier than the plastic-fed or starved worms, more than doubling their weight over the three weeks they have been monitored. Though the plastic-fed worms made less impressive gains, they still put on more weight than the starved worms,” Dr. Rinke said. “This suggests the worms can get energy from plastics, most likely with the help of their gut microbes.”

Researchers used a technique called me a genomics to find several encoded enzymes with the ability to degrade polystyrene. The long-term goal is to engineer enzymes to degrade plastic waste in recycling plants.

“Super worms are like mini recycling plants, eating the polystyrene and then feeding it to the bacteria in their gut” Dr. Rinke said. It’s hoped this bio-up cycling will promote plastic waste recycling and reduce landfills. Researchers said they aim to grow the gut bacteria in the lab and further test its ability to degrade polystyrene. Then they can look into how to upscale this process to a level required for an entire recycling plant

4 . Padraig ó Dubhlaoidh,an Irish master violin maker，has created the world’s first-ever vegan violin,valued at 8, 000.

An amateur violinist himself, Padraig ó Dubhlaoidh has long held the belief that animal body parts aren’t needed to create the instrument.“With our planet facing crises on almost every front, the collective voice of people wanting a fairer future grows stronger every day, ”he said.“ Ethical(合乎道德的)musicians are part of this movement and have long wished for a violin that is fully vegan yet retains all the qualities of the classic instrument.”

Traditional instruments are tightly connected to animal products.Like other wood-based instruments, violins use hide glue-a product obtained from the skins and bones of animals-as a primary adhesive(黏合剂).Violin strings and bows have also been known to contain ivory and horse tail hair. Using traditional tools and methods, Padraig chose natural replacements such as steamed pears, berries, and spring water to create the instrument. His adhesive, composed in part of spring water gathered from the hills behind his home, is 100%natural.

More than just an ethical step in the right direction, Padraig says his natural adhesive has other advantages.He said, ”During my experiments, I discovered that the vegan violin has unexpected advantages.Apart from the benefit to animals, society, and our environment, it has become very clear that animal-based glues have harmful effects on violins, inducing powerful tension on wooden components.The adhesive used in my vegan violin, however, has no such effect.This is an acoustic(声音的)improvement.”

While Padraig doesn’t think everyone will switch to the vegan violin immediately, he does think there’s a bright future ahead for his instrument and the concept of vegan instruments. He continues to make both vegan and non-vegan violins in his workshops. However, he said, “Just as petrol cars are gradually being replaced with more eco-friendly options, the same progression may happen to violins gradually, and even many other handicrafts.”

Our world has been greatly affected by global warming and it is critical (关键的) that people, young and old, join hands to fight it. Most     1    (important), children today should learn to be eco­friendly at a young age.

It is believed that the nation should ask schools     2    (have) a class about “Green Living”. Every school should teach students to know about global warming and what they can do to reduce their carbon footprints. In the classes, students could be assigned to find several     3    (solve) to energy problems while learning about their effects     4     the earth. Students also should     5    (encourage) to use what they learned in class at home.

Too many people think that global warming is not a threat, but it is one of our     6    (big) problems. Steps     7    (take) to be “green” in the school are so effective. What would children be learning if the school’s lights were always left on and there were no recycling bins?

Green living and green schools are part of     8     new wave sweeping over the nation. How will our future leaders respond after years of living in a community     9     protecting our world’s natural environment just isn’t considered important？Schools and the government should teach young people to devote     10    (they) to dealing with global warming.

8 . France has changed the rules in its grocery stores and marketplaces. Starting on January 1, 2022, most fresh fruits and vegetables can no longer be packaged for salern plastic.

Under the new law, more than 30 types of fruits and vegetables must now be sold in materials that can be recycled. Potatoes, tomatoes, apples and carrots are some of the items included in the list. Plastic will still be allowed for packs that are over 1.5 kilograms. Smaller items such as raspberries and cherry tomatoes can still be sold in plastic for now, but the country plans to ban (禁止) all single-use plastic packaging for whole fruits and vegetables by 2026.

This ban on plastic packaging is part of a broader effort by France to control plastic waste across a range of sectors. Other efforts include preventing restaurants from including plastic toys in children’s meals, newspapers and magazines from being delivered in plastic, and tea bags being sold in plastic packages. Furthermore, public locations must provide water refill stations to disincentivize the use of single-use water bottles.

It’s believed that 37% of fresh fruits and vegetables are wrapped in plastic in France. The government says the new ban will stop one billion pieces of plastic from being used each year.

Not everyone is happy with the change. François Roch, president of the French fruit sellers’ federation, told Reuters, “Selling loose produce is complicated (复杂的) as many customers touch the fruit and people do not want their fruit to be touched by other customers.”

The ban will likely require a change in habits Shoppers will probably have to take their own reusable bags to fill and weigh. It will be interesting to see how France deals with the complications that come with selling loose produce, and whether other countries follow suit, once a precedent (先例) has been set.

10 . Carol-Anne O’Callaghan, a former teacher from Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, has fought hard to protect ancient oaks near her home, which she says are home to rare bats.

In February 2021, O’Callaghan was walking her dogs when she spotted yellow dots stuck on some of the 99 oak trees in a narrow country lane close to her home. The dots indicated trees marked for destruction. After she learned the trees would be felled as part of the HS2 high-speed railway works, she called the HS2 helpline and was told there was nothing that could be done as an over-road would be built. She gets choked up remembering the moment she realized many of them were to be cut down.

O’Callaghan loves that ancient line of oaks. They were planted in the 19th century. “My family and I would picnic under them,” she says, “climb them, have rope swings on them. The trees are amazing and beautiful and meant so much.” One of the last photos of her mother, taken shortly before she died, was of her sitting in a swing in their branches.

She noticed that on the other side of the lane, to the north, there were no ancient oaks. So she began campaigning to save the trees. With the help of her daughter, Blaize, she started a petition(请愿书), which went on to get nearly 43,000 signatures. “I saw someone passionate about giving a voice to those who don’t have one, someone not afraid of asking questions and calling out large, daunting businesses for doing the wrong thing,” says her neighbour Victoria.

Buckinghamshire Council has got involved, and the felling is paused. A final decision has yet to be made about the proposed over-road. “We’re optimistic that they’ll hear our argument and take the ecology of the lane into account,” says O’Callaghan. “We want them to put in a green crossing in the gaps between trees, for the bats, and we’d like the place to become a conservation area. For the trees and the bats—this is what we are fighting for!”