Imagine that you’re sleeping in the wild in a tent and are awakened by the sound of wolves howling(狼嚎叫). That’s     1    happened to me last summer when my family and I spent the night at the Wolf Conservation Center (WCC) in South Salem, New York. The howling didn’t frighten me. Wolves howl to communicate     2    each other.

The WCC educates people about wolves,    3    (they) relationship to the environment, and how to ensure that they survive. Guests     4    (invite) to visit the wolves year­round. The center is home to twenty­five wolves and two    5    (serious) endangered species—the red wolf and the Mexican gray wolf. At one point, both species     6    (be) extinct in the wild. With help from the WCC, the wolves are making a comeback.

“Wolves help to keep all other animals in balance(平衡) and keep the environment really     7    (health) ,” said Mary Kate Kabbes, an educator at the WCC.

When wolves became extinct in Yellowstone National Park, the elk(麋鹿) population increased to five times its normal(正常的) size and destroyed areas where birds lived. As    8    result, several bird species were forced to leave the park.

Now that wolves are back at Yellowstone, the birds have returned. “Learning about wolves, reading books about them, and telling your family and friends is a simple way    9    (help) spread the word about the     10    (important) of wolves.” Kabbes said.

5 . The UK is blessed with some 1,000 ancient woods, which are free to visit today. Here are just four of the most appealing.

Quick Fact

1. Duncliffe Wood, Dorset       Age: 900+years old

This splendid ancient woodland sits on Duncliffe Hill and can be seen for miles around. Lots of butterflies, birds and wildflowers are dotted among the huge tree trunks.

2. Martinshaw Wood, Leicestershire   Age: 900+years old

The vast, picturesque Martinshaw Wood is steeped in history and packed with wildlife. You could see a host of rare and interesting insects. Birds are also plentiful here, including woodcock and mistle thrushes. This wood can be traced back to at least the 13th century, when it was part of a large deer park. Historical features include banks, earthen dams and a wide sunken track that appears to lead to ancient places where large quantities of stones are dug out of the ground.

3. Aversley Wood, Cambridgeshire     Age: 10,000 years old

This Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) has breathtaking views, plentiful birdlife and wild flowers. Wildlife species include the silver-washed fritillary butterfly, treecreeper and great crested newt. Much of Aversley Wood is ancient, which has been wooded since before the Middle Ages-some areas even since the Last Ice Age.

4. Dering Wood, Kent        Age: 1,400+years old

Dering Wood is an impressive showcase for wildlife and history. You’ll discover distinctive features including well-preserved woodbanks and agricultural drainage(排水)systems.

Protecting Together

There’s no better way to ensure ancient woods can benefit future generations of both wildlife and people than by becoming a member of our organization. You’ll help keep living history safe, plant more trees to keep our planet healthy, and make sure more than 1,000 of our woods-like the ones mentioned here-remain open for everyone to enjoy. Visit woodlandtrust.org.uk to join us today.

A salty sea which warms to planet-beating temperatures at the height of summer     1     (think) dangerous for most vegetation to survive. Yet in one corner of Abu Dhabi, there’s a forest not only surviving, but growing well,     2     (create) a habitat for wildlife and an escape from the desert and cities. Jubail Mangrove (红树林植物) Park is a green area of gray mangrove trees on the northeastern edge of Abu Dhabi’s Al Jubail Island,     3     shallow waterways flow into the clear blue Arabian Sea. Opened as a tourist attraction, the park now is a peaceful world away     4     the busyness and noise of downtown.

It’s not just humans who benefit from the restorative powers of the mangroves. Scientists say when     5     (manage) sustainably, the trees are also helping restore the planet and absorb carbon dioxide,     6     encouraging biodiversity. The peace of this corner of Abu Dhabi is     7     (part) down to the fact that it doesn’t allow some entertainment. “There’s no other place in the UAE that is     8     (compare) to here,” says Dickson Dulawen, a skilled guide.

And it keeps getting better. The Government and private planting programs have contributed to an     9     (expand) of mangrove areas using advanced technology in recent years, which is recognized as     10     top innovative initiative.

7 . Deforestation in tropical (热带的) regions of Asia, Africa and the Americas has reduced the cooling effects of trees. “The temperature change associated with deforestation over the 15-year study period is equal to a century of global warming, happening almost instantly, at these locations,” says Luke Parsons at Duke University in North Carolina.

Now, by using data from population surveys and mapping tree cover loss over a 15-year period, Parsons and his colleagues have estimated the effect of deforestation on outdoor workers across 41 countries. He says climate change has already pushed tropical locations right to the edge of what would be considered safe for heavy outdoor labour and that deforestation causes those locations to be even more precarious.

Parsons and his colleagues used land surface temperature measurements from satellites, and collected humidity (湿度) data, to estimate how hot an average day felt to outdoor workers in regions which either lost or maintained tree cover between 2003 and 2018. “The study focuses on what you would think of as a ‘feels-like’ temperature. It takes into account how well you can cool yourself by sweating, which is affected by humidity, as well as the temperature,” says Parsons.

The researchers then turned to population surveys to estimate the number of outdoor workers in these areas. This revealed that some 2.5 million outdoor workers in Asia lost at least half an hour of safe work per day, between 2003 and 2018, due to increased temperatures in deforested regions. Nearly 200,000 outdoor workers in the Americas and some 31,000 people in Africa lost this amount of safe work time each day. Regions that maintained forest cover generally stayed cool, and less work time was lost.

It is important to remember that, due to the scale (规模) of the study, the team didn’t measure actual worker hours on the ground across the entire tropics, says Parsons. This means the assessment of lost worker hours is based on theoretical considerations rather than direct observations of behaviour.

8 . In many parts of the world there may not be much rainfall, but there is a fair amount of water vapor (水蒸气) in the air — particularly at night. An experimental new device draws in that vapor, and uses it to water eatable plants.

Known as SmartFarm, the small device designed by a team at the National University of Singapore, led by assistant professor Tan Swee Ching aimed to help address two of the world’s biggest problems — water shortage and food shortage. It’s a transparent (透明的) box that has vegetable plants growing in soil on the bottom — on top, a hydrogel (水凝胶) panel lies beneath a solar-powered motorized cover.

The hydrogel is very absorbent, readily drawing water vapor from the cool night air while the cover is open. An integrated timer closes it at daybreak, with the sun’s rays subsequently heating the hydrogel through the clear cover material. The gel responds by releasing its stored water in the form of vapor, which turns into liquid on the inside of the cover. When that cover periodically slides open throughout the day, the liquid gets wiped off along the inside edges of the box and runs into the soil.

According to scientists, the gel can absorb up to 300 times its weight in water at night. During the day, it releases that water at an hourly rate of 2.24 grams of water per gram of gel. And what’s more, the released water meets World Health Organization standards for drinkability.

Tan said, “The SmartFarm concept greatly reduces farms’ demand for water and is suitable for urban farming techniques such as rooftop farming. This is a significant step forward in easing water and food shortage.” He believes the SmartFarm device can be further improved with additional functionalities before it moves to mass and commercial production. For example, it can include wireless networking capability to enable users to monitor and control the process using smartphones.

9 . Damon Carson must have one of the most interesting inboxes in the world. On any given day, in his office in Denver in the western US state of Colorado, he will field numerous inquiries from people looking to unload things. We’re not talking about someone trying to dispense with an old refrigerator or some out-of-fashion clothing, but companies.

Picture large companies looking to unload massive amounts of waste that would otherwise go to the landfill.

For example, Carson got a request from a battery company to deal with 22 tonnes of barium sulfate (硫酸钡) used in lead-acid batteries. A load of plastic garbage cans from a discount store were just waiting for him to repurpose them. And a recreation company wanted to know if Carson was interested in 360 kilograms of blue ropes, which they no longer needed to make the handles on coolers.

“They don’t want to just throw the waste away,” he explains. “Nor should they. Because it has value.” He is a matchmaker of the never-ending waste stream, trying not to pair people with people, but things with people. For nearly a decade, his company, Repurposed Materials, has been involved in this business. He’s not looking to recycle the things he gets-breaking them down to make something new-but rather finding a second life for cast-off goods in their original forms.

Once working in construction, Carson was familiar with an almost everyday phenomenon. “You’d open up one of these big construction dumpsters (大垃圾桶) and things would start falling out,” he says. He would find perfectly good windows still covered with plastic from the factory. “You can’t wrap your mind around how wasteful America is until you run a waste company,” he says. He began thinking about creating a sort of secondhand hardware store that would sell unwanted materials and keep them out of the waste stream. Then, in 2010, a business was born.