The Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, 【小题1】 (surround) by advancing deserts on three sides, is one of the major sources of sandstorms which threaten northern China. The region lacks water resources 【小题2】 faces extreme weather events. If no actions 【小题3】 (take), the region will face the threat of being buried by sand as no 【小题4】 (defend) can stop the advancing deserts and repetitive strong sandstorms.

More than four decades of efforts against desertification in Ningxia have helped develop crucial experience. Growing different trees based on different habitats is 【小题5】 (critic) to maintaining the forests’ quality and sustainability. In Shapotou District, Zhongwei City, wild shrubs (灌木) are planted because of the 【小题6】 (extreme) low groundwater. Shrubs help lower the wind speed, preventing the transportation 【小题7】 sands to neighboring areas. At the same time, the organisms 【小题8】 (live) on the shrubs gradually form biological soil coats to hold the sand firmly.

By the end of 2020, Ningxia 【小题9】 (grow) 510,000 hectares of forest, increasing forest coverage from 8.4 percent in 2000 to 15.8 percent. During 【小题10】 “14th Five-Year Plan” period, Ningxia plans to create 96,000 hectares of forest and restore over 66,000 hectares of grassland.

Saving nature is at the very heart of what we do as World Wildlife Fund(WF). For nearly 60 years, we have made it our mission【小题1】(find)solutions that save the amazing herd of life on our planet by 【小题2】 (apply)the best science available and working closely with local【小题3】 (community). But our work is far from done. Humans 【小题4】 (be)behind the present rate of species extinction, 【小题5】 is at least 10—1, 000 times【小题6】 (high) than nature intended. We’ve seen 【小题7】 surprising 60% drop in the size of populations of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles in just over 40 years, according to WWF’s Living Planet Report 2018. And the influences will reach far beyond the possible cultural loss of some species like tigers, rhinos and whales. The good news is that we’ve also seen what’s working. WWF has been part of 【小题8】 (success)wildlife recovery stories, from southern Africa’s black rhinos 【小题9】 blackbucks(印度羚羊)in the Himalayas. And this, in turn, is helping to protect rich and various ecosystems while ensuring people continue benefiting from nature.

This is clear: we cannot afford to fail in 【小题10】 (we)mission to save a living planet.

Recycled Island

“Recycled Island” is designed by a Dutch architect Ramon Knoester. 【小题1】 the help of the Netherlands Architecture Fund, his firm，WHIM Architecture, is working on this island 【小题2】 (make) of garbage.

The project tries to solve a lot of the problems that our planet 【小题3】 (experience) nowadays. Considering that the oceans take up more than half of the earth, wouldn’t it be nice 【小题4】 we could settle on them by making our own 【小题5】 (island)? It is a research project with the aim 【小题6】 (complete) a habitable island made from all the plastic waste in the Pacific Ocean. The habitable area is designed as 【小题7】 urban setting.

The starting point is to create an island of 10,000 sq. km. This is about the size of Hawaii and its 【小题8】 (locate) is the North Pacific Gyre, 【小题9】 a large quantity of plastic waste is discovered. This is a beautiful spot northeast of Hawaii. By recycling and constructing 【小题10】 (direct) on the spot with the plastic waste, the need for long transport is avoided. Because of the floating character, the island’s position could change.