Alternative energy is becoming popular in many homes. Solar systems are being set up to heat water and provide energy,【小题1】. In addition to saving energy, you will also save a lot of costs and keep your energy bill lower. Solar water heaters can be placed on the roof, while most wind systems are placed on the ground.

【小题2】. Rain water can be collected and used in the garden and lawn, and recycled water from showers and sinks can be used in the garden as well. You can also buy a low flow toilet as they help to reduce water waste.

When cleaning inside the home you can use cleaning products that are eco-friendly, and reduce the amount of chemicals that are released in the environment. 【小题3】, as it is not bio-degradable(生物可降解的)and has a negative impact on the environment.

There are many things that you can do to reduce the impact on the environment when building a home.【小题4】, but it can also reduce your monthly electricity bill, which is why more and more builders are starting to use these methods. By building an eco-friendly home and living a greener lifestyle, you will help to reduce the impact that humans have on nature, and allow the environment to be protected as much as possible. Who knows, you might influence other people in your neighbourhood and encourage them to “green up” their homes and lifestyles.

【小题5】. Many small changes do make a big difference, though.

Coral reefs (珊瑚礁)are in great danger ,due to warming oceans. Conservationists are worried about how to save them, but a new study might come as music to their ears.

A team of scientists came up with an unusual idea to play underwater sounds along degraded(退化) coral reefs of Australia's Great Barrier Reef that would copy the usual noises heard on a healthy and active reef. When they did so, they found that fish were attracted to the music and more willing to hang around.

Dr. Stephen Simpson, a researcher at the University of Exeter, UK, said that coral reefs are remarkably noisy places full of various sounds. Young fish will be attracted to these sounds after they spent their early stage in the open ocean. However, once a reef becomes degraded, it smells and sounds less attractive to the young fish, who choose to settle elsewhere, thus speeding up further degradation of the reef.

In the experiment, reefs were given one of three experimental treatments. They either had no loudspeaker, a fake loudspeaker, or a real loudspeaker that played reef sounds. Playback occurred for 40 days, always at nighttime, which is when fish settlement typically occurs.

After 40 days, there were twice as many young fish on reefs with real loudspeakers than the other two kinds of reefs, with no significant differences between the two control treatments. And biodiversity also increased by 50 %, with more species attracted to the sound.

While the presence of fish alone cannot restore a coral reef to good health, study author Dr. Mark Meekan explained that “recovery is encouraged by fish that clean the reefs and create space for corals to regrow”. This could promote a “snowball effect”, with other fish responding positively to communities founded earlier, causing further increases in settlement.

The researchers hope that this discovery can add to reef restoration efforts because, at this point ,the reefs need all the help they can get.