2 . The first time ever I realized that plastic was a serious matter for our planet was during a road trip in Western Australia, almost 12 years ago.

We________at a supermarket along the Coral Bay coast to buy some groceries and the lady at the counter told us they didn’t sell any shopping bags in order to prevent plastic in the________and to help preserving the endangered turtles living in that area. After a first reaction of surprise, we________all our shopping in our arms and left.

This was just one of the many experiences I’ve lived that made me more________about my impact and pushed me to adopt different habits to live and________more sustainably.

Our trip to Borneo was another life-changing________that has strengthened my resolution to a zero-waste lifestyle. While traveling in some Asian countries, we came to know that________drinkable water was always a challenge. So we had to travel with our water bottle, and we________to avoid using plastic during our trip.

Besides, we were also________impressed by our stay on Libaran Island. A sustainable turtle conservation________and the community had made big efforts to________ the beaches and creatively re-use plastic for ten years. Despite that, the shore is________daily with tons of plastic coming from the tides.

Facing this global issue________, raised in me a feeling of sadness and anger that soon turned into________: to do as much as possible to reduce plastic in our life. Small changes can________a difference!

3 . The amount of plastic pollution in the oceans is rapidly increasing. This is problematic, as at least 700 kinds of ocean animals — including sharks, whales, seabirds and turtles — can become caught in the stuff or mistake it for a tasty snack.

While we know that some ocean animals seem to catch plastic because it looks like jellyfish or some other food sources, less research has been carried out into what plastic smells like to ocean animals. But now, a study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has found the coating (涂层) that naturally builds up on ocean plastics causes the rubbish to give off the smell of food.

The researchers took 15 turtles, each around five months old, and placed them in a lab aquarium. They then piped in smells of clean water, clean plastic, turtle food, and plastic that had been soaking in the ocean environment for five weeks. The turtles showed no reaction to the smells of clean water or clean plastic. But when facing ocean soaked plastic or turtle food, they stuck their noses out of the water and showed increased activity.

“This finding is important because it’s the first proof that the smell of ocean plastics causes animals to eat them,” said Dr Kenneth J Lohmann, who took part in the study. “It’s common to find a turtle with its stomach full of plastic materials. There are also increasing reports of sea turtles that have become ill and stuck on the beach due to their taking in plastic.”

According to the researchers, areas of the ocean with much plastic may trick turtles and other animals into thinking that there are plenty of food sources, when the opposite is true. “Once these plastics are in the ocean, we don’t have a good way to remove them or prevent them from smelling like food,” said Lohmann. “The best thing we can do is to keep plastic from getting into the ocean at all.”

7 . Ninety-seven percent of Earth’s water is ocean. No blue, no green. If you think the ocean isn’t important, imagine Earth without it. Fifty years ago, when I began exploring the ocean, no one realized that we human being could do anything to harm the ocean.

For me, as a woman scientist, it all began in 1953 when I first tried diving. In 1979, by using a submersible, I had a chance to reach the ocean floor which was six miles offshore and 1,250 feet down. Since then, I’ve used about 30 kinds of submarines. We need new deep-diving submersible. We need to see the undersea mountains and understand life in the deep sea. Exploring and protecting the wild ocean is my big wish.

What’s worrying us is that an ice free Arctic Ocean may happen in this century. That’s bad news for the polar bears. Additional CO₂ is not only driving global warming, but also changing ocean chemistry, making the sea more acidic. That’s bad news for coral reefs and oxygen-producing plankton(浮游生物). Actually, nearly half of the coral reefs have disappeared. We’re putting hundreds of millions of tons of plastic and other rubbish into the sea. We’re blocking the ocean, poisoning the planet’s circulatory system. Most of the turtles, sharks, tunas and whales are way down in numbers. All of these are part of our life support system.

Health to the ocean means health for us. I wish we would use all means—films, explorations, the web, new submarines—and campaign to stimulate public support for ocean protected areas. My wish is a big wish, but if we can make it happen, it can truly save and restore the ocean, the blue heart of the planet. For the children of today, for tomorrow’s children: as never again, now is the time.

8 . The amount of plastic pollution in the oceans is rapidly increasing. This is problematic, as at least 700 kinds of ocean animals—including sharks, whales, seabirds and turtles—can become caught in the stuff or mistake it for a tasty snack.

While we know that some ocean animals seem to catch plastic because it looks like jellyfish or some other food sources, less research has been carried out into what plastic smells like to ocean animals. But now, a study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has found the coating (涂层) that naturally builds up on ocean plastics causes the rubbish to give off the smell of food.

The researchers took 15 turtles, each around five months old, and placed them in a lab aquarium. They then piped in smells of clean water, clean plastic, turtle food, and plastic that had been soaking in the ocean environment for five weeks. The turtles showed no reaction to the smells of clean water or clean plastic. But when facing ocean soaked plastic or turtle food, they stuck their noses out of the water and showed increased activity.

“This finding is important because it’s the first proof that the smell of ocean plastics causes animals to eat them,” said Dr Kenneth J Lohmann, who took part in the study. It’s common to find a turtle with its stomach full of plastic materials. There are also increasing reports of sea turtles that have become ill and stuck on the beach due to their taking in plastic.”

According to the researchers, areas of the ocean with much plastic may trick turtles and other animals into thinking that there are plenty of food sources, when the opposite is true. “Once these plastics are in the ocean, we don’t have a good way to remove them or prevent them from smelling like food,” said Lohmann. “The best thing we can do is to keep plastic from getting into the ocean at all.”

9 . Pets are like our family members and their good health is very important to all pet owners. Just as the pollutants in the air affect our health, they can affect our pets too.

    1     57% of dogs exposed to higher pollution levels developed brain diseases and showed signs of neuro(神经)problems. While a more recent study found that cats with breathing problems were more likely to live in households with higher indoor air pollution.

Air purifiers (净化器) have been brought into use in recent years. They work to remove harmful chemicals from the air.     2     But are they safe for pets? How can we ensure that they aren’t harming our furry friends?

    3     The physical safety of using a mechanical device around pets is what we have to pay attention to. There is an existing risk of our pet becoming trapped in the electrical wire of our air purifier. Air purifiers are designed to be used in the home around children and their internal mechanisms should also be safe from small tails of our pets and other parts of their bodies.    4    

Whether the air purifier improves or damages the health of our animals is also something we have to consider. The air purifiers are safe for pets, but only if they do not produce any ozone byproduct (臭氧副产品) .     5     We should always stay away from the ones that produce even minimal quantities.

Picking the wrong air purifier type can quickly make things worse for our pets. On the other hand, picking the correct air purifier can lead to a big increase in the quality of life for them.