Voice for the Planet

It’s the voice you notice first. In person, David Attenborough speaks in the same awestruck hush he has used in dozens of nature documentaries, a crisp half whisper 【小题1】 is often imitated but seldom matched. Sitting in his home in the Richmond neighbourhood of west London for one in a series of conversations, I feel obliged to drink   【小题2】 second cup of tea when he offers. It somehow seems wrong to say no.

In his native U. K. Attenborough is held in the kind of respect usually   【小题3】 (reserve) for royalty. Over decades — first as a television executive, then as a wildlife filmmaker and recently as a kind of elder statesman for the planet — he has achieved near saintly(圣人的) status. He was knighted(封为骑士) by the Queen in 1985 and 【小题4】 (usually refer) to as Sir David.

Attenborough pioneered a style of wildlife film-making that brought viewers to remote landscapes and gave them a close perspective on the wonders of nature. In the autumn of his life, Attenborough has largely moved away from 【小题5】 these films are made but lends his storytelling abilities to wildlife documentaries in collaboration with filmmakers his storytelling abilities to wildlife documentaries in collaboration with filmmakers he has mentored. His most famous work, the 2006 BBC series Planet Earth, set a benchmark in the use of high-definition cameras and had a budget equal to 【小题6】 of a Hollywood movie. Among its highlights 【小题7】 (be) the first footage of a snow leopard, the impossibly rare Asian wildcat that hunts high in the Himalayas. More than a decade 【小题8】 it was first released, Planet Earth remains among the all-time best-selling nonfiction DVDs.

Now Attenborough is putting his voice and the weight of authority he has accumulated to greater moral purpose. In recent months he has stood 【小题9】 powerful audiences at the 2018 U. N. climate talks in Katowice, Poland, and the 2019 World Economic Forum at Davos, in Switzerland, to urge them into action on climate change. These kinds of event are not his chosen habitat, Attenborough tells TIME. “I would much prefer not to be a sign- 【小题10】 (carry) conservationist. My life is the natural world. But I can’t not carry a placard(标语牌) if I see what’s happening.”

The Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area reported a sharp decline in water 【小题1】(consume) and a great improvement in natural and living environment.

Water use per unit of GDP for the area, also known 【小题2】 Beijing E-Town, was only one-third of Beijing’s average. The efficiency of water use in the area is among the highest 【小题3】 (global), said an official at the administrative committee of Beijing E-Town.

In the past decade, Beijing E-Town has further improved 【小题4】(it) natural and living environment, struggling to become an ideal place to live and work and 【小题5】 urban area free of “urban diseases”, which refer to problems facing big cities such as traffic jams and environmental pollution.

Now, it has become an ideal habitat for animals. Every year, a large group of birds 【小题6】 (spot) in the Beijing E-Town section of the Liangshui River, 【小题7】 was once full of pollution and had an unpleasant smell. After more than 10 years of pollution control and management, it passed the evaluation by the Ministry of Water Resources in 2020, 【小题8】 (recognize) as one of the first exemplary (典范) rivers in China.

“Beijing E-Town will proceed 【小题9】(adopt) a people centered approach to development and promote the combination of 【小题10】 (industry) growth and urban development,” said an official of Beijing E-Town.

There is no doubt that the world climate 【小题1】 (change) in recent years. Many people blame this change on gases such as carbon dioxide. Animals and humans produce carbon dioxide when they breathe. However, many other human 【小题2】 (activity) also let off carbon gases. Anytime something is burnt, carbon is put 【小题3】 the atmosphere. Cars and other vehicles burn petrol in their engines, and electrical power plants most often burn fuels such as coal and oil in order to produce electricity.【小题4】, the more petrol and electricity we consume, the 【小题5】 carbon we are letting off.

One thing we can do to help solve this problem is to walk or use 【小题6】 bicycle when possible. Of course, there are times 【小题7】 we need to travel long distances. In this case, public transport such as buses and the underground is always a much better choice than a private car or a taxi.

You can also plant a tree,【小题8】 trees absorb the carbon dioxide in the air to produce oxygen. Planting a small tree is cheap and easy, and two decades from now, when you look at 【小题9】 will have become a large tree, you will find a sense of satisfaction,【小题10】 (know) that you did your part to help solve the problem of climate change.