On the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau (高原), the Sanjiangyuan Region, which has the 【小题1】 (impress) landscape and various wildlife, is home to the headwaters (上游) of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers, 【小题2】 is thus known as Asia’s “water tower”. The Sanjiangyuan Region is not only the source of splendid rivers, but also an important habitat for species on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. In the past few decades, the delicate ecological environment 【小题3】 (preserve) silently by the locals.

Little known to the outsiders, Jianzuo Village, located near the headwaters of the Lancang River, is the first community on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau to lead a zero-waste life. People gave up using plastic products 【小题4】 (protect) the water and soil in the Sanjiangyuan Region. In 2017, local people made use of floors, doors and windows 【小题5】 (desert) in the Yushu earthquake to build 【小题6】 zero-waste environmental protection school. 【小题7】 makes the school unique is that the insides are decorated with recycled things and second-hand furniture. And every old object has a special story. The zero-waste school also 【小题8】 (remind) the local people of the beauty of traditional culture. As the “zero-waste dream” comes true, people who have lived 【小题9】 generations on the plateau have also regained their cultural 【小题10】 (confident).

Plastic has polluted the countryside and been 【小题1】 threat to wildlife for decades. In the last century or so, environmentalists have urged us 【小题2】 (cut) the amount of plastic we use or recycle the plastic bags. However, with only less than 14 percent of the total amount recycled, people are still struggling with plastic pollution 【小题3】 (global).

There may be a solution. Recently scientists have made a biodegradable (可降解的) plastic, 【小题4】 means the billions of plastic bags, cups, straws, etc. that we throw away each day could be recycled. 【小题5】 (compare) with ordinary plastics, they could break down as naturally as organic waste. They could do it within a few weeks, 【小题6】 (use) just heat and water. The new, biodegradable plastic has polyester-eating enzymes (酶) inside it, When these enzymes are exposed 【小题7】 heat and water, they eat away at the plastic and turn it into “food” for the soil. Professor Ting Xu said up to 98 per cent of the plastic her team made reduced into tiny pieces: She said: “The study gives us a belief that this continuing problem of single-use plastics can 【小题8】 (solve) in the near future.” She added: “Look at all the 【小题9】 (waste) stuff we throw away—clothing, shoes, electronics.... We are taking things from the earth at a 【小题10】 (fast) rate than we can return them.”