Biodiversity is a concept that's commonly referenced, yet regularly misunderstood. The complex_______ not only refers to the unbelievable variety of life on Earth, but to how everything from genes to entire ecosystems interact to make the planet habitable. The bad news: science shows that biodiversity is _______ worldwide at a faster rate than at any time in human history. That’s obviously devastating for everything in nature--including us.

“If biodiversity disappears, so do people,” says Dr. Stephen Woodley, field ecologist and bio-diversity expert with the International Union for Conservation of Nature. “We are part of the _______ and we do not exist without it.”

Preventing such a catastrophe, says Woodley, begins with understanding why biodiversity is declining, and then taking action to _______ course.

“The two greatest _______ of biodiversity loss are habitat loss, primarily on land, and overexploitation, primarily in the ocean,” Woodley says. He explains that we can solve these problems by permanently _______ more lands and oceans and managing them for their conservation values.

That's the mission of the global Campaign for Nature, a partnership of the Wyss Foundation and the National Geographic Society. Instead of simply protecting 30 percent of the Earth, the_______ also encourages nations, in full partnership with local communities, to focus on the right 30 percent. Those areas, says Woodley, _______ the most important biodiversity, such as endangered species and ecosystems and rare species and ecosystems.

The campaign also recognizes the importance of_______ local rights. Local peoples manage or hold tenure(保有权) over lands that support about 80 percent of the world's biodiversity, making it ________ for these communities to be full partners in developing and implementing strategies.

________, protecting the health of key biodiversity areas is vital for tackling climate change, says National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Dr. Enric Sala. Pairing the international Paris Agreement to combat climate change, Sala's paper asserts, “would ________catastrophic(灾难性的) climate change, conserve species, and secure essential ecosystem services.”

“Biodiversity is stability,” says Sala. “Trees, wetlands, grasslands, peat bogs(泥炭沼泽), salt marshes(盐沼), healthy ocean ecosystems, mangroves(红树林), and plants ________ much of the carbon pollution humans put into the atmosphere. Yet, right now, less than half of the planet is in its natural state, which isn't enough.” Bottom line: Nature needs us to act-now. “Moving to Mars is not a(n) ________,” Sala adds. “The only conditions for our life and for the prosperity of human society are here on Earth ...we are ________ protecting it.”

Life will be peaceful if you always do kind things. I teach my daughters to develop a habit of _____ others. The little acts of _____ give you opportunities to provide service for others. They can make you remember how great it feels to be kind and helpful.

We _____ in a rural (乡村的) area. Most of what we see is beautiful nature. One of the exceptions to the _____ is the rubbish that some people throw out of their car windows as they drive along the rural roads. One of the few _____ of living there is the lack of _____ public services, such as rubbish collection, which is common in the city.

A helping behavior that I practice regularly with my daughters is _____ rubbish in our neighborhood. My daughters often have a match to see who can collect the most rubbish. They will often say to me in a(n) _____ voice, “There’s some rubbish, Daddy—stop the car!” And if we have time, we will often get out of our car and pick it up. _____ it may seem strange, we do it. In fact, we enjoy it. We pick up rubbish in parks, on sidewalks, almost anywhere.

One day I saw a stranger picking up rubbish on the road. I stopped. He ______ his head and smiled, ”I saw you doing this with your family. It’s a good ______ to protect our environment.“

There are many other ways to ______ kindness for others. You may share a dinner with a beggar, visit ______ old people in the nursing home, or help the blind ______ the street. You can think of something that can be finished _______but helpful. It is fun, self-satisfying, and What’s more, it can set a good example. Helping others is helping yourself.

On an island in Indonesia, one librarian has started a mobile library, lending books to children in exchange for trash. This is a new way to ________ the environment and get the kids to read more.

The________of the “Trash Library” is Raden Roro Hendarti. Every weekday, Raden________her tricycle with books and rides to the village of Muntang. She________books for plastic cups, bags, and other waste from the children living there. ________ she shows up, little children, many accompanied by their mothers, ________ her “Trash Library” and cry for the books. They are all carrying trash bags and Raden’s three-wheeler quickly fills up with them as the books________out. She’s________the kids are going to spend more time reading instead of________on online games as a result. Raden collects about 100 kilograms of________each week, which is then sorted out by her colleagues and sent for________or sold. Raden weighs the collected trash daily to________how much has accumulated (积累) over the months. She has a stock of 6,000 books to lend and wants to take the mobile________to neighboring areas as well. The idea behind the small mobile library is well________by the children. Kevin is an 11-year-old reader in the village. “When there is too much trash, our environment will become dirty and it’s not________. That’s why I look for trash to borrow books,” he says.