2 . While pedaling hard on a bike, do you feel like you are saving the planet? Or do you just feel out of breath? In fact, cycling is now considered one of the ultimate weapons humanity can use in the fight against climate change.

The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution in March supporting bicycles as a tool for dealing with climate change. The resolution calls on member states to “integrate the bicycle into public transportation, in urban and rural settings in developing and developed countries”, with all 193 members of the UN unanimously (一致同意地) adopting the resolution.

This decision has received a positive response from numerous groups in support of cycling and environmental awareness internationally. “It is an important step toward the recognition of cycling as an important mode of transport,” said the European Cyclists’ Federation.

The resolution from the UN comes at a time when climate change has returned to the center of global attention. On Feb 28, the UN published a new report assessing recent climate change trends. The report warns that the global average temperature will rise by 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels (1850-1900), with more than 40 percent of the world’s population being “highly vulnerable” to these temperature changes.

In May 2020, bike sales in Spain increased 22-fold (22倍) compared with 2019. In London, large parts of the city are being closed off to cars so that people can walk and cycle safely. Cities like Berlin and Montreal have also added new, wider bike lanes.

More importantly, the resolution focuses on bike-sharing services, which could be seen as recognition of China’s bike-sharing success, noted CGTN.

China has some of the largest bike-sharing systems in the world. The country has more than 360 cities with dockless (无桩的) bike-sharing systems, with nearly 20 million bicycles for an average 47 million trips each day, according to China’s Ministry of Transport. This transportation option that produces zero emissions reduces the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere by 4.8 million tons every year, according to a 2020 report from the World Resources Institute.

In China, Tree Planting Day falls on March 12, but more often people plant trees during Qing Ming Festival in early April. Newly-planted trees can survive more easily with a     1     (warm) climate and frequent spring rainfall at that time.

China set March 12     2     the National Tree-Planting Day in 1979 to memorize Sun Yat-sen (孙中山),     3     died on March 12, 1925. Sun had called for planting trees.

Since 2013, President Xi Jinping has joined Beijing citizens in tree planting activities for nine years in a row. President Xi called on the public     4     (stick) to the tradition of planting trees in spring. “Students should establish an awareness of protecting     5     environment and cherish the green plants,” Xi said in 2017 when     6     (attend) a tree planting activity in Chaoyang district of Beijing.

China has seen a remarkable     7     (grow) in forest resources and afforestation(造林) projects. Nationwide voluntary tree planting campaigns in China over the past four decades     8     (see) increased participation by members of the public and nearly 79 billion trees have been planted. The campaign has made China the country with the largest increase in forest resources and the largest area of     9     (plant) forests.

In the future, China will launch more effective     10     (measure) to fulfill the country’s climate commitment to peak (达到峰值) carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality (碳中和) before 2060.

5 . Japanese researchers placed electronic devices(装置)on seals(海豹)in Antarctic waters to collect surprising information about the environment there. Japan’s National Institute of Polar Research started the research project in 2017. The team recently reported its results in a study in the publication Limnology and Oceanography.

Eight Weddell seals were fitted with the devices,which have antennas(天线)to send electronic signals.The 580-gram monitoring devices were attached(缚上;系上)to the animals’heads. They were designed to measure data such as water temperatures and sea salt levels.

Investigative teams on ships have difficulty reaching important research areas in Antarctica. These include areas along continental shelf formations where ice is attached to the shore, the National Institute of Polar Research said in a statement. Nobuo Kokubun led the project. Since the seals are active year-round, Kokubun added, “I thought we should have them collect the data.”

He told Reuters that the research also helps scientists follow the seals’ behaviors and learn about their relationship to the environment. “During the summer, we can go to Antarctica on icebreakers to conduct actual research activities, so that we can collect data there.” Kokubun said. ”But during the winter. such things cannot be done in so many places.“

Information gathered from the seals showed that one of the animals traveled as far as 633kilometers from Japan’s Showa Station in Antarctica. Another dove to a depth of 700 meters.Kokubun said the scientists learned from the data that warm seawater from the upper levels of the open sea reached Antarctica from March through the winter of 2017. The water flowed below the ice, bringing in sea creatures like Antarctic krill, an important food for seals.

Kokubun and his team plan to keep finding new ways to further examine the effects of climate change on Antarctic coastal areas. Next, he hopes to make the device small enough to fit on other animals at the South Pole, such as penguins,“The advantage with penguins is that they come back to the same place and we can collect data from them immediately,”Kokubun said.

10 . The worldwide 20th century “Green Revolution”, which saw huge year-by-year increases in global grain yields (产量),was fueled by the development in the 1960s of new high-yielding dwarfed (矮小) varieties known as Green Revolution Varieties (GRVs).

These dwarfed GRVs are common all over the world in today’s wheat and rice crops. Because they are dwarfed, with short stems, GRVs devote relatively more resources than tall plants to the growth of grains rather than stems, and are less likely to suffer yield losses from wind and rain damage. However, the growth of GRVs requires farmers to use large amounts of nitrogen fertilizers (氮肥) in their fields. These fertilizers are costly to farmers and cause extensive damage to the natural environment. The development of new GRVs combining high yields with reduced fertilizer requirements is thus a global agricultural goal.

Researchers at the University of Oxford and the Chinese Academy of Science have discovered for the first time a gene that can help reach the goal. Comparing 36 different dwarfed rice varieties, the researchers identified a novel natural gene that helps increase the rate at which plants make use of nitrogen from the soil. This gene, called GRF4, can increase the amount of a protein (蛋白质) in plant cells. GRF4 is actually a promoter that encourages the activity of other genes—genes that promote nitrogen uptake (摄入). Professor Harberd said, “Increasing GRF4 levels could contribute to an increase in the grain yields of GRVs, especially at low fertilizer input levels.”

The researchers say the latest rice variety containing GRVs should now become a major target for farmers in increasing crop yields and fertilizer use efficiency, with the aim of achieving the global grain yield increases necessary to feed a growing world population at a reduced environmental cost. It is very urgent at the moment.

Professor Harberd added, “This study is an example of how studying fundamental science objectives can lead rapidly to potential solutions to global challenges. It shows how the discovery can enable chances for food security and future new green revolutions.”