Litter is everywhere, doing great harm     1     the environment and life on our planet. Jeff Kirschner, who wants to build a litter-free world, started a global community named Litterati     2    (settle) this problem.

The story began with his 6-year-old daughter. One day they were going on a hike when the girl noticed a broken plastic tub (浴盆) in a river. She said, “Daddy, that doesn't go there.”That took Kirschner by surprise. He, like many adults, had become so used to seeing the rubbish     3    (throw) around them that he hadn't given it a second look.     4     his daughter said reminded him of the serious problem our planet faces.

Jeff started to take     5    (act). He created Litterati, an app that makes it fun to pick up litter. The idea is     6     (fair) simple: Spot a piece of trash, take a photo, post the photo online and then put the litter into dustbins.

    7    (see) that Jeff was keeping a record of the positive impact he was having on the planet, people worldwide started participating. Up to now, over 2,500,000 photos     8    (post) by 3,500 people from over 40 countries have found their way to Litterati's digital landfill.

Litterati is more than an app. It is highly     9    (effect) solution to a pressing issue. Wherever you live, whatever you do and     10     you are, join Litterati to make the world a cleaner and healthier place to live in.

4 . As a result of pollution，Lake Erie, on the borders of the USA and Canada, is now without any living things.

Pollution in water is not simply a matter of “poisons” killing large numbers of fish overnight. Very often the effects of pollution are not noticed for many months or years because the first organisms (生物体) to be affected are either plants or plankton(浮游生物). But these organisms are the food of fish and birds and other creatures.When this food disappears, the fish and birds die too. In this way a whole food chain can be wiped out, and it’s not until dead fish and water birds are seen at the river’s edge or on the seashore that people realize what is happening.

Where do the substances which pollute the water come from? There are two main sources of sewage (污水) and industrial waste. As more detergent (洗涤剂) is used in the home, so more of it is finally put into our rivers, lakes and seas. Detergents harm water bird, dissolving the natural substances which keep their feathers waterproof. Sewage itself, if not properly treated, makes the water dirty and prevents all forms of life in rivers and the sea from receiving the oxygen they need. Industrial waste is even more harmful as there are many highly poisonous things in it, such as copper and lead (铅).

So, if we want to stop this pollution，the answer is simple: sewage and industrial waste must be made clear before flowing into the water.It may already be too late to save some rivers and lakes, but others can still be saved if the correct action is taken at once.

5 . A team of scientists has come up with a plan to help rebuild the Arctic (北极) ice cap.

Usually, the sea ice gets thicker and spreads further each winter, but this hasn't happened for the past few years.

Last month, the ice cap had reached its smallest size since scientists began keeping a record of it 38 years ago. The weather in the Arctic has been unusually warm this winter. Some days, temperatures have been 20 degrees Celsius higher than before at this time of year. With less ice, the Arctic would warm up even more quickly, and more ice would melt (融化). Without sea ice, many animals would lose their natural homes.

Dr Steven Desch and a group of scientists from Arizona State University in the United States think they can help to build up Arctic sea ice again. They want to fix wind-powered pumps (抽水机) on the sea ice. During the winter, the pumps would spread water from the ocean over the surface of the ice where it would freeze and form a new layer of ice. The scientists say that in 10 years, this could add a metre of ice to the ice cap.(The                    Arctic ice cap is about two to three metres thick right now.)

The plan would require about 10 million pumps and it would be very expensive—about $655 billion. Some other scientists are wondering if the pumps would actually work in cold Arctic conditions. They are also worried about how the project might affect the environment.

Dr Desch and his team hoped their plan would get more people interested in looking for a solution to the problem of melting sea ice. He said the only plan people have right now is to try to cut greenhouse gas emissions (温室气体排放) from cars and other man-made sources. He and his team don't think that will be enough to save the sea ice, but hope it will get everyone moving in the right direction.

6 . Earth Hour is organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature. It's a big event usually at the end of March every year. On this evening, people “go dark”.     1    

It's true that turning off lights for just one hour saves only a small amount of power.    2    On one level, joining in Earth Hour makes people think about the problem of climate change and what we can do in everyday life to protect nature.

But on another level, a large number of people’s acting together sends a powerful message to governments and companies.     3     They begin considering green issues when big decisions.

The logo(标识) of Earth Hour is “60+” .The number 60 is for the 60 minutes of Earth Hour.     4     In fact, people who join in Earth Hour say that taking part makes them want to do more for the environment.

    5     Musicians give concerts by playing acoustic(原声的) instruments instead of electric ones, and using candles instead of electric lights. Celebrity chefs have created special recipes for families to prepare and eat by candlelight. Tree-planting sessions, group walks and runs are also among the options.

7 . Many companies today hold meetings to discuss their new plans.As people are paying more attention to the environment problems,more companies are looking for ways to reduce their bad influence on the environment.Many of them achieve this by using web meeting.

    1     It’s an easy way of hosting and attending a meeting.Participants (与会者) don’t have to leave the office.Each of them will receive an invitation with the meeting time and date on it.When the meeting is ready to begin,they must sit before their computers.

With web meeting,all participants can attend the meeting at their own desks.    2     As a result,no fuel (燃料) is used and less time is taken up in attending a web meeting.

Materials for the meeting are e-mailed to all the participants before it begins.    3     For the company,this not only saves the use of paper but also greatly reduces the mailing cost.

As a meeting hall is not used,the only power for a web meeting is the power that is used by the computers.Besides,organisers don’t have to pay for food and accommodation (住宿) for the participants.    4    .

In a word,web meeting is a cheaper,greener,and more friendly way of hosting and attending a meeting.    5     So they can more easily find their working partners who have the same green ideas.In return,they develop good relationship with other companies and improve their business.

8 . Tips for Green Travel with Kids

Traveling doesn’t mean letting go of all the eco-friendly choices we work so hard to achieve in our daily life. Here are a few tips for green travel with kids:

Booking nonstop flights whenever possible will reduce carbon emissions (碳排放). If the closest local airport doesn’t have nonstop flights to a certain place, check in with other local airports to see if nonstop flights are available.    1    

Whether you’re flying or driving, it’s easy when traveling to pull into fast food restaurants for snacks.    2    My kids love to help plan snacks. I let them create their own snacks for the trip at home.

Reusable water bottles are easy to bring along whenever you travel. At the airport, keep your reusable bottles empty until you have passed through the security (安检).    3    Single-use plastic water bottles create unnecessary waste and the plastic can be harmful to your health.

    4    Open a few windows and turn off the air conditioner. You should also help your children keep their good, green habits from home to place while traveling. Sometimes vacation can mean more than one shower each day — once in the morning and again after getting out of the pool. Pay attention to the number of showers and the length of showers.    5    

Imagine living on the edge of a vast desert, which is moving quietly closer to your village every day and covering your fields. The desert is on the move. This is called desertification.

Desertification occurs in regions close to an already existing desert. It generally arises from two related causes. The first is over-use of water in the area. There is not enough water in any case, and if it is not carefully used, disaster can follow. As time goes on, water shortages make farming more and more difficult. In some places, locals can remember local lakes and marshes which were once the homes for all kinds of fish and birds. They have been completely buried by the sand now. Farmers leave the land, and fields are replaced by deserts.

The second cause is misuse or over-use of the land. This means that the wrong crops are planted and need more water than is available. Ploughing large fields and removing bushes and trees means that the wind will blow away the soil. Once the soil is lost, it is hard to replace, and if there is rain, it has nowhere to go, and brings no benefit.

It is not only the farmers and villagers who suffer. Every spring, the skies over some of eastern cities, thousands of kilometers away from the deserts, can be darkened by sandstorms. Dust from deserts can have a great effect on weather systems. While desertification is perhaps being partly caused by global warming, these sandstorms can make global warming worse by adding to what is known as the greenhouse effect.

What can be done to slow down or stop the process of desertification? A great deal of work is already under way. Obviously first steps are to find new water sources. Tree planting can help, by providing barriers between desert and rich field. Some types of grass also hold the soil together, and stop the wind taking it. Without these efforts, it will be harder and harder to stop the world’s deserts in their tracks, and more and more farmers will give up and head for cities. The lesson to be learnt lies beneath the sand.

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10 . More than one million single-use straws (吸管), most of them plastic, are used in the United States each day. They end up in waterways, harm sea animals, and break down into micro-plastics. Quantities of places have passed plastic-straw bans as a way to start handling the global plastic waste problem.

Straw materials: advantages and disadvantages

1. Metal

Made of stainless steel, aluminum, or even titanium, metal straws have become popular. They draw some criticism for having a metallic taste and conducting heat from a hot drink, but they’re strong and can be reused.

2. Paper

Paper drinking straws, which date from the late 1800s, often absorb liquid over time and can leave a taste or fibers in drinks. They’re the most popular throwaway choice in places with plastic-straw bans.

3. Glass

Though glass straws may be more breakable and thus less portable than reusable straws of other materials, they hold up well to washing and reuse. Some straws are made to look artistic, with colors and blown-glass designs.

4. Bamboo

This natural material can be sustainably produced and is a plant-based replacement of plastic straws. Bamboo straws are easily disposed of and turned into fertilizer. They are reusable but can be hard to clean completely and may absorb flavors.