3 . Would you sail over 12,900 kilometres across the Pacific Ocean in a boat made from plastic bottles?

In 2010, a crew of six people did. They sailed on the Plastiki, an 18.3-metre boat made from recycled materials. Everything about the Plastiki was environmentally friendly. The sails were produced from recycled plastic and the masts that held them from used aluminum pipes. Organic materials, such as glue made from nuts and sugar, were used to keep the bottles in place. To power the boat, solar panels and wind turbines were used.

During the journey, crew members lived in a plastic cabin. Their daily routine consisted of sleeping, eating and doing chores. For food, they mainly survived on fresh vegetables grown in a hanging garden as well as canned and dried food. They also ate fresh fish, but were surprised to discover that they found more plastic than fish. “From above, the oceans still look beautiful and untouched,” David said, “but just below the surface is this toxic stew that could quickly end up on our dinner plates.”

The leader, David, organised the voyage in order to draw people’s attention to the environmental dangers our oceans face and the need to recycle plastic. He planned to visit damaged coral reefs and islands in danger from rising sea levels. However, his most important objective was to see the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a huge mass of plastic particles floating in the North Pacific. David hoped that, by sailing through the Patch, he could show the world how serious plastic pollution had become.

Unfortunately, the Plastiki was more difficult to control than expected. Therefore, the boat missed its main destination. However, the crew did make stops at islands in the mid-Pacific, where they picked up supplies and talked to local students. Along the way, they battled fierce ocean storms, torn sails and temperatures that reached up to 38°C.

When the Plastiki finally sailed into Sydney’s harbour, the crew were greeted by cheers. The Plastiki’s journey had shown that if we understand how to use waste materials efficiently, they can be transformed into valuable resources. It had also revealed that it was more important than ever to deliver a serious message: our oceans are filling up with plastic faster than we thought.

5 . The Sanjiangyuan National Park, China's first experimental national park, has been established to protect the local environment. The area is known as the country's "water tower" because it houses the headwaters of the three great rivers of the country: the Yangtze, the Yellow and the Lancang rivers.

Covering a total area of 123,100 square kilometers, the national park emphasizes the protection of the entire ecosystem, including all of the local natural resources such as wild animals, water, grassland and forests.

Since the national park started its trial operation in 2016, locals have been called on to help protect and improve the environment. Their work includes patrolling (巡逻) the grassland as well as monitoring and rescuing the park's wildlife. To date, there are 17,211 rangers (护林人) operating in the national park.

Kunsang, now 39 years old, is a Tibetan herdsman (牧人) turned park ranger for the headwaters of the Yellow River in the national park. On November 16^th, 2020, Kunsang put his life at risk while attempting to save a wolf trapped in a broken ice patch on a lake. Braving temperatures of minus 10 degrees Celsius, Kunsang rushed over to the wolf and pulled the wild animal out from the icy opening on the frozen lake with the help of his colleague.

The efforts of rangers including Kunsang are paying off, and the national park has seen its wild animal populations bounce back apparently in recent years. Hoh Xil (Kekexili) National Nature Reserve, one of the largest no man's lands in China and a part of the Sanjiangyuan National Park, is now home to more than 70,000 Tibetan antelopes, said Wang Xiangguo, deputy director of the park. The official explained that the population numbers for the rare species, which is under first-class state protection in the country, once declined sharply to no fewer than 20,000 due to the impacts of illegal hunting.

6 . After a lifetime of bringing nature back. Sir David Attenborough wants us to get out of our comfort zones and help save the natural world. "I think it's terrible that children should _________without knowing what a tadpole（蝌蚪）is. It is very _________ . “ he says. He sees a very different world: Arctic sea ice has _________ and some of the reefs where he dived are lifeless. His latest film, A life On Our Planet, highlights the large scale of humanity's impact on _________ , He says, the earth is heating up and could possibly _________ it into sudden, catastrophic disaster. Probably no one else alive has _________ as much o£ the Earth's surface as Attenborough. He warned if we don't mind our ways, we will _________ life as we know it. including ourselves.

For so many years, he travelled with just a leather suitcase. His wife would see him off at the airport, never knowing _________ when he would return. In 1997・ when he was filming a _________ about birdlife, his wife suffered a serious illness. He flew to her bedside just in time for her to squeeze his __________ before she died. Afterwards, he __________ himself into his work again. These days» more often he is in a recording studio so he stresses it's film crews who spend months capturing footage（镜头），not he that should take the __________

Despite his __________ , he remains modest.   The future is at stake not for him but for the next __________,“he says, “We are representatives of a very __________ damaging species.

So just be modest. Don't waste.”

If the world wants to control global warming, water shortage and pollution, we all need to welcome “flexitarian” diets. This means     1     (eat) mainly plant-based foods, and is a key step toward     2     environment friendly future for all in 2050, they say.

The authors say that present food industry has a number of environmental effects including being a great driver of climate change, using up freshwater     3     causing pollution through heavy use of chemical fertilizer. The study finds that no single solution will avoid the dangers, so a combined approach     4     (need). So when it comes to climate change, the authors looked at     5     they called a “flexitarian” diet.

“We can eat a range of     6     (health) diets but what they all have in common, according to the     7     (late) scientific evidence, is that they are all     8     (relative) plant-based,” said Dr. Marco from the University of Oxford. We call it a flexitarian diet over to a vegetarian (素食的) diet.

If the world moved     9     this type of diet, the study finds that greenhouse gas emissions (排放物)from farming would be reduced by more than half.     10    (accept) by the experts, this type of diet is bound to be adopted by more and more people.

9 . Keeping curious kids from disrupting wildlife

Interacting with the wild, naturally curious kids tend to collect seashells at the beach or keep small wildlife as pets.     1     So how to help kids protect the wild while enjoying spending time outsides? Here are alternatives for some of the most common outdoor behavior no-nos.

Take an interest, not things. Kids show interest in picking flowers, rocks, or shells outdoors. They’re part of wildlife's habitat and play an important role.     2     Let kids explore with a magnifying glass (放大镜)instead of their curious fingers. Let whatever they find outside stay outside.

    3     It seems a fun idea to throw pieces of bread to ducks. Animals have unique dietary needs that are different from humans. Eating human food can make them sick or become dependent on human food. Bears are an example of animals that often have to be killed after developing a taste for human food.

Admire animal afar, not disrupt nearby. The urge to take a photo with a squirrel, bird, or slow-moving turtle can be strong for kids.     4     Instead, remind kids to stay away and show them how to use a camera's zoom button, or just admire with their eyes.

Take well-worn paths, not off-road romps (嬉戏). Kicking piles of leaves, stepping on bushes, and walking through forested areas can unintentionally scare wildlife. If surprised animals defend their homes, everyone could get hurt. Nobody likes having a guest come in and destroy their home and act rudely.    5    

10 . More than half the world’s population live in cities, and by 2050 the UN expects that proportion to reach 68%. This means more homes, roads and other infrastructure. In India alone, a city the size of Chicago will have to be developed every year to meet demand for housing. Such a construction increase is a bad sign for dealing with climate change, because making steel and concrete, two of the most common building materials, generates around 8% of the world’s CO2 emissions (排放). If cities are to expand and become greener at the same time, they will have to be made from something else.

Wood is one of the most promising sustainable (可持续的) alternatives to steel and concrete. It is not, however, everyday wood that is attracting the interest of architects.

Rather, it is a material called engineered timber. This is a combination of different layers, each designed to meet the requirements of specific parts such as floors, panels and beams (横梁). Designers can use it to provide levels of strength like steel, in a product that is up to 80% lighter. In addition, engineered timber is usually made into large sections in a factory for future use, which reduces the number of deliveries to a construction site.

According to Michael Ramage of the University of Cambridge, a wooden building produces 75% less CO2 than a steel and concrete one of the same size. However, if building with wood takes off, it does raise concern about there being enough trees to go round. But with sustainably managed forests that should not be a problem, says Dr Ramage. A family-sized apartment requires about 30 cubic metres of timber, and he estimates Europe’s sustainable forests alone grow that amount every seven seconds. Nor is fire a risk, for engineered timber does not burn easily. Besides, fireproofing layers can be added to the timber. All in all, then, it looks as if wood as a building material may get a new lease of life.