Where did the idea of “white bikes” come from? In the 1960s, a group of cycling fans     1    (come) up with an idea. They believed that it would be better for everybody if cars weren’t allowed in the city centre and only bicycles were. They were    2    ( hope) that this would help to save energy, reduce     3    (pollute) and provide free public transport. The group painted hundreds of bicycles white and placed them in many areas around Amsterdam for people to use. Anyone was allowed to take them and use them for short journeys.

2 . After spending 589 days picking up litter or rubbish at one of Los Angeles County’s most popular hiking spots, 20-year-old Edgar McGregor says the park is clean of waste.

McGregor’s journey was sparked by an Olympic dream. When he learned Los Angeles would be hosting the 2028 summer games, he worried that its national forest with litter everywhere would become a “global embarrassment” and took it upon himself to start cleaning.

McGregor decided to start with Eaton Canyon, the closest of the Angeles National Forest parks to where he lives. It has miles of crisscrossing trails, popular waterfalls, eleven storm drains, seven homeless encampments, five entrances, four parking lots and more than two miles of streambeds. At the beginning, he thought that cleaning the park would take 10 to 20 days. It took 589 days.

On his largest solo cleanup day, McGregor spent 300 minutes clearing an area less than one acre in size. He filled a previously empty dumpster (垃圾箱) with more than 1,000 pounds of trash. He ventured out in extreme weather, including during the state’s record heat wave in September, after a January snowstorm, and even while the other side of the park was actively on fire.!

After months of park cleanliness, McGregor noticed several weeks ago that he was running out of locations to clean-even the spots that were usually reliable sources of litter were mostly empty.

“Not worrying about litterbugs and simply immersing myself in this work has made me more excited than ever to go out every single day and pick up,” McGregor said “There is nothing more satisfying than seeing brand new animals return to your park after months of cleaning up. I highly encourage anyone with any spare time to give this mission a shot. Your parks need you.”

Fishing is one of the most     1     (strike) drivers of declines (降低) in ocean wildlife populations. Catching fish is not naturally bad for the ocean and without doubt     2     (accept), except when boats catch fish faster than stocks (储备) can catch up, something called overfishing.

The damage done by overfishing goes     3     (超出……范围) the needless loss of billions of fish. The number of overfished stocks     4     (global) has increased a lot in half a century and today one-third of the world’s fisheries are being pushed over their biological limits, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. It is shown by a new study that more than one-third of all sharks and rays are now at risk of     5     (extinct) because of overfishing.

Overfishing is closely tied to bycatch — the catch of unwanted sea life while fishing for a specific species. This, too, is a serious marine (海洋的) threat that     6     (导致) the needless loss of billions of fish.

Billions of people rely on fish for protein, and fishing is the main livelihood for millions of people     7     (全世界).     8     (因此), governments and regional fisheries bodies must     9     (采取行动) now to stop overfishing and prevent a global crisis. To our relief, many people who make a living by catching and selling fish are working to promote how the world manages and protects ocean resources. WWF works with a lot of organisations to reform fishery management     10     (在全世界), focusing on sustainable (可持续的) practices that not only protect ecosystems, but also sustain livelihoods and ensure food security.

5 . The current population of oysters (牡蛎) is only a small part of their historic levels.     1    . To help maintain existing habitats, the state requires licenses for the harvesting of shellfish and controls where and when the harvesting activity can take place. South Carolina’s Department of Natural Resources has also planned to recycle and replant oyster shells.

    2    . They serve as anchors to which babies can attach themselves. Returning shells to the state’s rivers ensures that any larvae (幼虫) looking for a home can find something to which they can be attached.

The critical nature of oysters in the ecosystem is difficult to overstate. Along the Atlantic shoreline of the United States, the Eastern Oyster is considered a foundation species. Oysters gather together as part of their natural life cycle, forming reefs that provide the habitat for fish, crabs, and other small ocean creatures.     3    .

In addition to being the bedrock of many underwater communities, oysters also help maintain the cleanliness of South Carolina’s coastal waters. Dirty water comes in from the ocean and gets filtered by oysters. Water goes back out cleanly.     4    . Tourists want to go to beautiful and clean beaches, come out on boat trips, and see dolphins.

South Carolina is working hard to rebuild coastal reefs that will support and sustain future oyster populations. It’s worth keeping in mind that every shell removed from the river could be the base for the next year’s new oysters.     5    , it’s going to be a long time before we get enough recruitment (增长) in the oyster population to keep it sustainable.

8 . Homes are usually warmed with radiators (暖气片). Some homes are warmed by floor heating. Now, a new way of heating is being developed by using the “wallpaper” on your walls. This wallpaper is not decorative. It actually goes under and not over the wall-electrically heats a room. And this type of heating technology heats objects, even people, instead of the air and this helps you feel warmer.

The electric heating panels (嵌板) which are hidden in the wall are connected to the main electrical panels of your home. Each room can be heated independently through an app, so you do not have to heat unused rooms. It takes around 20 minutes to heat a room.

With rising prices for home heating, the panels seen like the right way to go. “It makes me happy that I don’t depend on gas,” Kris Bilski, an early user, said. About 23 million homes in the UK are connected to the gas grid (网) but the government wants to phase out gas-fired pots by 2035. Home heating is responsible for 17 percent of greenhouse gas materials, so removing fossil fuel-based heating will help the environment.

The new electric heating systems are easy to get for private homes and the company is currently testing the new technology in public housing in some cities. The types being tested can be fitted while people are still living in the apartment so it makes installation a lot easier.

Heating your home with this type of technology does not heat your water, so an additional heating system is required, but an energy efficient heater can be used.

While the wallpaper is greener, electricity in the UK is very costly so it is not an economic way to heat homes unless there is a renewable energy source like solar panels used. Still, reducing the dependence on fossil fuels will go a long way to green the UK and help the country meet its climate targets.