A newly published study on frogs and malaria (疟疾) shows how closely human health may be influenced by these lovable creatures. In the 1980s, scientists in Costa Rica and Panama began to notice a quiet and dramatic decline in frog numbers. Frogs in this part of the world were falling prey to a deadly fungal pathogen (真菌病原体), and they were doing so at such a rapid rate that researchers at the time feared a wave of local extinctions.

Some scientists now argue the fungal pathogen has caused the greatest recorded loss of biodiversity to a disease ever. And it is responsible for significant declines in at least 501 amphibian (两栖类的) species, including 90 extinctions, from Asia to South America.

Frogs directly influence mosquito population sizes because mosquitoes are a key source of food, which means the numbers of amphibians could ultimately influence the vectors that spread deadly human diseases.

Comparing an amphibian decline map and malaria occurrence map between 1976 and 2016, researchers found a clear pattern that could be predicted with high accuracy and confidence by their model.

In the eight years after great amphibian losses from fungal pathogen, there was an increase in malaria cases equal to about 1 extra case per 1,000 people. This extra case would probably not have come about without the recent amphibian die-off. In a usual outbreak of malaria, occurrence rates usually peak from about 1.1-1.5 cases per 1,000 people. This means a loss of amphibians in Central America could have possibly driven a 70-90 percent increase in how many people were getting sick.

As you read this, the fungal pathogen is taking a ride around the world with global trade, and it threatens not just the future of amphibians but the health of our own species. As the current study reveals, frogs and human health often go hand-in-hand. We’re stuck together whether we like it or not.

Norah Wimer, a volunteer at Adoption First Animal Rescue in Jacksonville, North Carolina, was trying to brainstorm ways to help some of the dogs find their forever homes a little faster. She saw an article about a project where a class of kids helped shelter dogs find homes, and immediately she was inspired.

Wimer asked her son’s teacher if the second-grade class would want to write bios (小传记) for some of the dogs at the rescue to help them find homes. As soon as the kids heard about the project, they were so excited that their words and pictures might actually make a difference for a dog in need. The kids were each allowed to pick which dog they wanted to write about, and a lot of them were attracted to the dogs with disabilities because they wanted to show people how wonderful they are despite their differences. Each bio consisted of a short write-up (评述) and a drawing, and the kids worked so hard to show each dog’s unique personality.

Once the bios were all completed, the teacher sent them to Wimer, who was pretty floored — the whole project had worked out even better than she could have imagined.

“I was deeply impressed when I read the bios,” Wimer said. “They were so cute, and you could tell that the kids put a lot of work into them.”

Some of the bios were sweet, some were funny, and all of them were unique and really gave some personality to the dogs, who were eagerly waiting to be adopted. The bios are currently being displayed online —and have already made a difference in the lives of the dogs they feature.

When Wimer first came up with the idea, she had no idea how it would turn out. In the end, it brought joy to a whole class of kids and helped dogs in need find homes, which definitely all adds up to a huge success.

The big French pet care company AgroBiothers Laboratoire will no longer sell very small containers for raising fish.

The company has a 27 percent share of the French market for products used by people who raise animals at home. But it said it would no longer sell any fishbowls that hold less than 15 liters of water. They will only offer four-sided ones.

The company said it was animal abuse (虐待) to put fish in small bowls without added oxygen and filtration. Filtration is the process of removing small waste from the water with a device.

AgroBiothers chief Matthieu Lambeaux recently used the term “impulse”—meaning a sudden strong desire to do something—to describe why many adults buy goldfish. “People buy a goldfish for their kids on impulse, but if they knew what torture it is, they would not do it. Turning round and round in a small bowl drives fish crazy and kills them quickly,” Lambeaux added.

Goldfish can live up to 30 years and grow to about 25 cm in large aquariums (养鱼缸) or outdoor ponds. But in very small bowls they often die within weeks or months. Lambeaux said goldfish are social animals that need other fish, lots of space and clean water. He added that having an aquarium requires some special equipment and knowledge.

Germany and several other European countries have long banned (禁止) fishbowls, but France has no laws on the problem.

Lambeaux explained the company’s decision further by saying, “We cannot educate all our customers by explaining that keeping fish in a bowl is terrible. We consider that it is our responsibility to no longer give customers that choice.”

“There is demand for fishbowls,” he said, “but the reality is that what we offer children is the possibility of seeing goldfish die slowly.”

Rising water temperatures and the increasing levels of carbon dioxide in our oceans are killing our beautiful coral reefs at a surprising speed. Add the current extreme weather pattern, and things look even worse.

So what makes coral so sensitive? Although it may be hard to believe, corals are not plants, but animals. The colorful reefs we admire so much happen to be skeletons(骨骼) given up by hundreds of thousands of polyps(珊瑚虫). To survive, these animals live with an algae(海藻). The coral polyps give the algae a home and then the algae provide the polyps with their bright color and food.

But the rising water temperatures are causing the coral polyps to lose their algae friends. As a result, the corals are not only losing their food source but also their beautiful colors.

The disappearance of the coral not only makes humans lose the chance to admire the beautiful coral reefs. It also removes a natural barrier which protects shorelines from storms and also fewer living places for fish and other sea animals.

To prevent these important animals from disappearing, a team of researchers are attempting to raise ‘super’ corals.

They began by selecting certain coral species that seems to have got used to the changing ocean conditions. Then they made them even more adaptable to warmer water. Once ready, the researchers plan to transplant the coral into Hawaii’s Kaneohe Bay.

This sounds simple, but they are not sure that it will work because coral is sensitive to touch and also develops very slowly and infrequently. Also, past attempts to remove coral have failed because they were either eaten by fish or died of disease.

Though there exist these dangers, researchers believe there’s no other choice to prevent the reefs from disappearing. Tom Oliver, a scientist says, “The question is not ‘can they do it?’, but ‘can they do it fast enough?’”

Ways to help kids explore nature

Summer is the best time for kids to spend time in nature. Here are some ways to help kids explore nature in the summer holidays.

    1     You don’t have to teach kids to love nature because they already do. Young children naturally love the outdoors and are fascinated by dirt, rocks, trees and so on. Therefore, the parent’s role is more about removing distractions like phones and tablets to enable that exploration to take place.

Allow for full engagement with nature.     2     Bug bites will eventually disappear. Cuts and broken bones heal in time. Let your kid throw themselves into the natural world freely and resist (忍住) the parental urge to shout, “Be careful! Put that down! Ew, that’s dirty!”

Set a goal for the summer. Make it your family’s mission to spend as much time outside as possible in summer. Sit down with your kids and brainstorm ways of doing so. Create a list of places in your area that you can visit and check them off the lit.     3    

Prepare an outdoor exploration kit (工具包). Make your nature adventure easy and safe by putting together an exploration kit in advance. Keep it in a box or a bag in your car or on your bike.     4     They can include hats, sunscreen, snacks, rain jackets and a water bottle.

Have a positive attitude.     5     Instead, consider it a welcome escape for yourself as well. Kids are the best possible excuse to get away from your desk, away from the piles of laundry and dishes, and out of the house for a few hours.

In her latest gardening story, Jessica Damiano tells of the garden pests (害虫)and diseases she has seen in her plants.     1     When not dealt with quickly, pests and diseases can quickly grow and produce again. That can result in less plant growth and worse health, less flower and fruit production, or even death of your plants.

Damiano’s way always begins with the gentlest treatment possible.     2     Even then, she has her standards. Damiano says she would rather lose a flower or vegetable plant than use strong drugs.

In the case of her tomato plants, Damiano caught the aphids, a pest, early. She washed them off and removed the ones that would not come off by using her fingers under moving water. They have not returned in the week since removing them.     3    

If she fails to remove pests with water and finger, she will use Neem oil. The oil, which comes from the tree seeds, kills pests by not allowing them to breathe. It is safe to use on plants that will be eaten and it is not harmful to people, animals, and birds.     4     At that time, helpful insects (昆虫) are less active.

The pests had already damaged some of her plants. To prevent more damage, she removed them by knocking them off the plant into some water with soap, or household cleaners.

Her rhododendron, a flowering plant, was damaged by a pest last summer.     5     Some of the leaves were dying, so she cut them off. But because most of the leaves only had a few of the pests, she was able to remove them by touching each insect with some rubbing alcohol (酒精).

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.

As the family of 16 Asian elephants started moving north, no one knew where they were heading, or why. At first, no one thought much about it. Elephants sometimes disappear beyond Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve in southwestern China’s Yunnan Province, but they always return.

    1    . During 16 months the elephants walked 300 miles north to Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan Province. Along the way, they robbed the crops and blocked the traffic, causing about a half million dollars in damage, and there was the risk of an elephant attacking a curious onlooker.     2    . The simple answer would be to calm the giant mammals and transport them back to the reserve.

But that would be risky for this group, especially for the three baby elephants. Instead, officials mobilized (动员) an emergency task force to keep everyone, elephants and humans alike, safe. Drones tracked the elephants’ every move. Electric fences, road barriers, and new pathways helped them move toward safer routes. Tons of corn, pineapples, and bananas were used to trick them away from towns.     3    .

Some might argue that doing so much to keep a family of elephants safe was wasteful. But conserving our natural and human heritage is about encouraging good in the world.     4    , just as we need health and peace. They’re essential parts of the world where our lives take place, and they help us make sense of our own stories. They provide the context for our existence.     5    .

David lost his beloved dog Baya before Christmas two years ago. Baya was active and cute. David’s family spent many days _________ for their furry (毛茸茸的) family member. The kids said they wouldn’t want any _________ from Santa Claus. They just wanted to get their dog back. All attempts to find her turned out to be _________. Baya was nowhere to be found. It seemed that the family wouldn’t have any more _________.

Two years later, a homeless dog _________ alone on a busy road. Someone _________ it to the Animal Protection Association (协会). Thanks to the microchip (芯片) planted in the dog, the association was able to _________ the owner. They _________ David. When David got a phone call that they were going to get Baya back, the family were pretty _________.

Obviously, Baya is __________ to living in this home. She is quite __________ of where her feeding bowl is. Even though Baya isn’t the dog she used to be, David is confident she’ll become her old __________ again. He said, “She was a very healthy and __________ dog. She’s not like that anymore, but we’re going to get her back. Our whole family are taking __________ of her. Kids play with her happily. She’s __________ her joyful nature. We will love her even more.”

While doing some cleaning in my kitchen, I noticed a tiny black pellet(小球)on the shelf. Gecko(壁虎)dropping, I _______. There must be a baby gecko here.

There are lots of geckos here in the Desert Southwest. I’d _______ the habit of checking the oven and dishwasher before I turned them on. I didn’t want one of the little guys to get _______.

Nevertheless, the oven or the dishwasher wasn’t the biggest _______ for a gecko inside a home. It was _______. A gecko trapped in a house wouldn’t find enough bugs to eat. I didn’t want that to happen to my current visitor. But to save him, I had to find him first. And that would be _______.

I searched everywhere in the _______, but useless. Suddenly, a picture flashed in my mind: a pile of _______. “Yes, I know where that is!”I have a basket that holds my collection of oddly shaped or uniquely coloured stones, which caught my eye. Ever so carefully, I _______ one stone, then another—until I ________ a tiny yellow tail!

I brought the whole basket outside and left it on the ground, where I ________ the baby gecko could find his way home. When I ________ a few hours later, the little gecko was gone.

Now I ________ peek(窥视)inside the dishwasher and the oven before turning them on. ________, I know I am not the only one looking out for geckos. No ________ is too small for us to love.

After the doctor’s examination, little Lucy was diagnosed (诊断) with a serious disease. Doctors had to perform an operation on her to save her life. Facing a year of treatment, Lucy ________ her mother for a puppy (小狗). Then, the lovely puppy Lucy named Bobby ________ left her side, keeping her company and sitting beside her as she ________ her life after the operation. “I get along well with Bobby, which ________ me that animals can think, feel and suffer as much as we do,” says Lucy.

In 1994, Lucy graduated from college and began a ________ in film. During her free time, she ________ as a photographer for animal rights groups in 2002.

A year later she ________ her film career. Then she worked full-time as an animal caregiver at Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, New York. “Farm ________ are typically very shy,” says Lucy. “But in a loving environment, you begin to see how ________ and lovely they are.”

Lucy learned farm life and with her partner, Doug Abel, a film editor, set up the Woodstock Farm Sanctuary, a nonprofit organization aimed at ________ farm animals. Through their website, they ________ the backstory and personality of each of the more than 350 animals living at the farm, ________ them and protected them from being sold.

To help more animals, Lucy and Doug ________ the sanctuary to a 150-acre farm in High Falls, New York, which has a fully equipped kitchen and a dining hall in addition to a barn. The new space has ________ their team of 17 members, to host meaningful classes and a kids’ camp.

“People who came here ________ spending time with the animals. It’s therapy (治疗) for them,” says Lucy.

At our residence, we made sure a small lawn (草坪) space remained green by watering regularly. I live in an area _________ by a fairly large garden. There are a number of fruit trees _________ here along with many plants and lots of grass. That _________ the flying beauties — the birds visiting the space regularly. At first sight, the garden appears very _________ but actually many birds live in it or visit it _________ . Some people keep birds in _________ to listen to their songs. I say it is _________ better for the birds to live freely.

Every morning I am awakened by the shrill _________ of a magpie-robin. The sound is so sweet and I just lie in bed listening to the songs _________ the bird flies away. Small plants and bushes provide good __________ for insects and very small birds, while larger trees will attract visits __________ more birds and mammals. They come to sing, __________ a bit or look for food. So it is always a(n) __________ to see them. I just sit quietly and they __________ their business undisturbed.

It’s easy to attract birds to your __________   however small and close it is to a city. I have seen the spotted-dove, pigeon and various other little birds which I cannot __________. They sing, dance and __________ their beautiful colors. It is quite a(n) __________. On the other hand there are those annoying little sparrows that come into the house to __________ food.

__________ to say, the surrounding area is being developed and the wildlife is being chased away or destroyed.

In the early 1990s, Eric Domb, a highly successful lawyer, came up with the idea of building a bird park. His father-in-law ________ the idea in the beginning, but when the ________ started to make shape he backed out. Domb thus had to ________ money from former clients, his two brothers and father as well as a bank to build a zoological park known as Pairi Daiza.

After the park opened in 1994, his inexperience led to many ________, but he pushed on with his venture (冒险). By 2000, the park was turning a profit, and Domb’s ambitions were ________. The park needed more than birds, he believed, and other creatures and cultural gardens would help turn it into something ________.

Since his childhood he has been fascinated by Chinese ________. In 2006, he built the first Chinese garden, Dream of Han Wu Di in his zoo. It was said to be the largest Chinese garden in Europe. Domb kept ________ new elements. It finally took more than six years to complete the project.

Domb felt ________ by the joint panda breeding program. Domb and his people spent the following months ________ building giant panda houses with no guarantee that Pairi Daiza would be fortunate enough to ________ giant pandas. The huge enclosure built includes a pool, cave and ________ plantation.

Now, Domb is eager to tell how he ________ a pair of giant pandas, Xing Hui and Hao Hao in February 2014. The sense of ________ is all the more profound in that Pairi Daiza is one of the few private zoos outside China to ________ giant pandas.

It seems that wild animals    1    (take) over our cities. Most of us would assume that urban     2    (develop) and climate change are responsible for pushing the animals out of their natural habitats.     3    they go, animals find towns and cities in their way.     4    nowhere else to make their homes, they have no choice but    5    (move) in with us. As our cities become    6    (green), they offer    7    (increase) appealing spaces to animals looking for new habitats. These newcomers often flourish in their new city lives. Some animals have even changed their living    8    (habit) to fit in with their new homes. However they adapt to our ways of urban living, it’s important that we get    9    better understanding of and even learn to appreciate our wild neighbours. Only then can we look towards harmoniously    10    (share) our urban habitats.

Beijing is the capital city of China. It     1     (cover) an area of around 17, 000 square kilometers, in which there are different kinds of bird habitats (栖息地),     2     (include) grassland, scrubland (灌木丛林地), wetland, and also agricultural land. Researchers call these areas “service stations,” where migrating (迁徙) birds stop     3     (rest) and feed. But the birds ‘“service stations” re     4     (rapid) closing in Beijing, as the city considers scrubland, grassland and old agricultural land to be “dirty” and “ugly”.

The loss of grassland and scrubland is already having a major influence     5     Beijing’s bird life. In the north of Beijing, the land around Miyun used to be visited by thousands of cranes (鹤). Now, much of that land is covered with man-made forest and     6     number of cranes there has greatly fallen.

“Cranes are rare and valuable animals in China. At Miyun, a festival     7     (hold) to celebrate the migration of cranes every year,” one researcher, Townshend, says. “Because it is Beijing, we can attract many people—both local people     8     visitors.”

“More cooperation (合作) between     9     (country) is needed,” Townshend adds. “Migratory birds are a shared natural heritage (遗产), and with this comes a common     10     (responsible) to protect them and the places they need,” he says.

Researchers have been applying artificial intelligence (AI)to monitor biodiversity and enhance efforts to protect some species from     1     (threaten). Unlike conventional methods, AI has the capacity     2     (analyze)massive amounts of data effectively.

Species are disappearing     3     a rate much faster than that millions of years ago, with up to one million species on the edge of     4     (extinct). In response, the United Nations set a goal in 2020 to safeguard at least 30%of Earth’s land and oceans. “Al is imperfect     5     could promote important discoveries.” says Nicolas Miailhe, Paris-based founder of the Future Society, an international non-profit organization     6     aims to better govern AI. “We badly need human practitioners to design models and interpret data. ”

Besides monitoring biodiversity in real time, AI can also be used to model the impacts of human activities on an ecosystem. Although it     7     (document) that human activities have resulted in biodiversity loss, little is known about which environmental factors have       8       (large) impact.

“Long-term statistics will play     9     essential role in connecting changes in biodiversity with environmental changes. ”says Luisa Orsini, who     10       (study) evolutionary bio-systems at the University of Birmingham, UK.

Due to the improvement of ecological and environmental     1     (protect) in recent years, the western part of Northeast China’s Jilin province has seen     2     (many) rare migratory birds than other places, searching for food in spring and autumn.

With     3     (it) favorable geographical location and wetlands, Jilin is     4     important stop for migratory waterfowl, including large numbers of rare species, such as white cranes (鹤), red-crowned cranes, white storks and Chinese merganser ducks (秋沙鸭).

Western Jilin     5     (focus) on water management and started major projects such as river and lake connectivity in the past decade to improve the ecological conditions.

    6     (locate) on the border of Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces and the Inner Mongolia (蒙古) autonomous region, the Momoge National Nature Reserve in Baicheng city has rich natural     7     (resource) and is a key habitat     8     migratory birds in China settle. It is one of the nine major global bird migration routes,     9     more than 5 million migratory birds passing through every year.

The number of white cranes     10     (stop) in the reserve in spring and autumn has risen to around 3,500, with a resting period of about 100 days every year.