The Sponge(海绵)City

Between 1950 and 2018, flooding in China damaged 【小题1】 (near) 15 billion acres of land. The nation isn’t alone. According to climate change predictions, extreme rainfall and flooding 【小题2】 (be) going to increase worldwide, and cities are especially weak. That’s 【小题3】 plants, soils, and trees, which naturally absorb and store groundwater, are much 【小题4】 (few) compared to highways and buildings.

Located 【小题5】 the banks of the Yangtze River in eastern China, Zhenjiang is just one of the country’s zones at high risk for floods. In response to this 【小题6】 (grow) risk, it was one of 16 pilot locations for the “sponge city" project in 2015. The goal is to transform at least 20 percent of the land into permeable(可渗透的)surfaces, 【小题7】 include parks, rain gardens, green roofs, and sidewalks. so that neighborhoods can absorb heavy rains. Since the effort took off, Zhenjiang 【小题8】 (expand) green space. built rain gardens. and set up storage systems to clean and reuse rainwater and floods. Some 658 Chinese cities have also carried out 【小题9】 own sponge city designs to adapt to the local geographical needs.

Meanwhile, other areas at risk of urban flooding across the globe are making their own greening projects 【小题10】 (help) absorb heavy rainfall, from Philadelphia’s Green Acres program to Cairo’s rooftop garden initiative(倡议).

In early 2022, the Ministry of Water Resources in China planned to invest 800 billion yuan building water management projects during the year. But the country 【小题1】 (see) the funds reach 823 billion yuan by the end of September.

Last year, the large-scale development played a significant role in ensuring stable home fund 【小题2】 promoting employment. Over 2. 5 million workers 【小题3】 (employ) in the development, including almost 2.1 million people from rural China. People also noted the 【小题4】 (remark) growth in funds it raised for water management projects. Almost 1. 16 trillion yuan was collected across the country last year, 44 percent more than 2021. Over 203.6 billion yuan was raised 【小题5】 government bonds, roughly 1.5 times that of the previous year. Over 37.9 billion yuan was invested 【小题6】 (expand) and renovate (翻新) 529 medium and large-scale irrigated areas in 2022. Thanks to the 【小题7】 (invest), over 10,000 kilometers of irrigation channels were built or renovated.

During the rare drought in the Yangtze River Basin last year, the complete systems in many of those irrigated areas functioned 【小题8】 (efficient) in reducing the impacts of the drought and reducing losses. Such irrigated areas guaranteed water supply to 11.3 million hectares of farmland in 【小题9】 (strike) regions. Despite the drought, the basin saw 【小题10】 good harvest of grain.

Over the past few day, a number of forest fires 【小题1】 (break) out in Chongqing and its surrounding areas due to the extremely dry and hot weather. Many rescue personnel and volunteers participated in the rescue overnight, 【小题2】 moved a lot of people across the country. The mountain fires in several regions in Chongqing have been 【小题3】 (eventual) put out on Friday morning. No casualties have been reported.

Chongqing motorcyclists are being praised 【小题4】 heroes for volunteering to transport much-needed supplies to the fire and rescue workers 【小题5】 (fight) the wildfires caused by prolonged heat and drought across multiple districts in the municipality (自治市).

Facing the tough situation, the city government called for volunteers with related skills and experience 【小题6】 (join) the firefighting, 【小题7】 a large number of motorcyclists have played an important role and won widespread praise. The team members, with 【小题8】 average age of 29, took turns to use five dirt bikes and four scooters to carry materials and equipment to 【小题9】 (firefighter) and to transport people and necessities.

The example of a foreign teacher who volunteered to help fight the raging wildfires in Chongqing’s Beibei district with other local residents has touched many people.

When all the people 【小题10】 (unite), peace will reign across the country.