The Xishuangbanna Wild Elephant Valley is China’s first 【小题1】 (nation) theme park for the animal. The valley including 【小题2】 elephant museum claims to be the only place 【小题3】 visitors can safely observe wild Asian elephants. More than 300 wild Asian elephants are in the park, and visitors can watch the elephants dance, walk on a bridge or play with 【小题4】 (ball). A small road 【小题5】 (run) over 4,000 meters through the tropical forest, 【小题6】 (make) sure the animals can close contact with nature. “The wild elephants get 【小题7】 (annoy) if they are disturbed,” one of the employees Chen Jiming says. Chen has taken care of wild elephants for the past 20 years. Chen and most of his colleagues spend 【小题8】 (much) time with the elephants than with their own children. “We do not keep elephants behind iron fences permanently, so all elephants are taken out to adapt 【小题9】 the wild environment every day,” Chen says. “All the animals in the park 【小题10】 (care) for well now, and we are getting along well with each other.”

COVID offers rare chance for scientists to study quieter oceans

The economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to a sharp drop in shipping traffic around the world, 【小题1】 (give) scientists a rare chance to observe quieter oceans.

One international project has been conducted to listen to the sounds of the sea to study 【小题2】 the reduced shipping activity has affected sea life.

Many scientists have long dreamed of the chance to observe the sounds of a quiet ocean. One of 【小题3】 is environmental scientist Jesse Ausubel. He leads the Programme for the Human Environment at The Rockefeller University in New York.

Ausubel once dreamed aloud about the possibility during a speech to university students. In such an ideal environment, researchers could listen to underwater communications between blue whales hundreds of kilometres apart. Scientists could carry out the observations without human influences, 【小题4】 the goal of understanding the ways industrial activity affects sea life.

Ausubel told the Reuters news agency that at first he suggested one year of “quiet ocean”, a period during【小题5】 shipping would come to a stop, or at least be greatly slowed down. But he realized that such a period was not realistic and dropped his goal to one month. Then, he hoped for just a few hours.

His desire to create a quiet ocean experiment【小题6】 (draw)interest from about 100 supportive scientists ever since.

【小题7】 the coronavirus led to an extreme economic slowdown that stopped shipping traffic, the chance came. Leaders of the experiment made efforts【小题8】 (establish)a network of listening stations to pick up ocean sounds across the world.

The stations applied hydrophones, 【小题9】 (use)for listening and recording underwater sounds. In May 2020, the group reported it had helped set up 130 underwater listening stations.

Ausubel noted that orcas, dolphins and humpback whales communicate using high-frequency sounds that do not travel far. So they often gather in 【小题10】 (deep) waters. He said this may have caused some animals to move closer to once-busy ports.

World Oceans Day is an international day that takes place annually on 8 June. It is observed as a【小题1】(remind) every year of the destruction【小题2】(cause) by human activities like garbage and waste water treatment and oil leaks. This year the main purpose of the Day is to inform a【小题3】(wide) public of the impact of human actions【小题4】the ocean, expecting more people【小题5】(care) about the worsening situation.

The Day is now celebrated in over 100 countries with hundreds of special events broadcast across the globe. It【小题6】(mark) in a variety of ways, including launching new campaigns and holding special events, to advance ocean conservation and education.

Young people are an important part. The Day provides them with a platform【小题7】they can express their concerns and share their ideas. Each year, the Day has a theme for the campaigns and events. For example, in 2016 and 2017 the themes were “Healthy oceans, healthy planet” and “Our oceans, our future”,【小题8】(respective). “Collective Action for the Ocean” is the theme in 2022,【小题9】(throw) light on the communities, ideas, and solutions that are working together to protect and recover the ocean【小题10】everything it sustains.