The Australian Koala Foundation says Australia has lost about 30 percent of its koalas over the past three years. The number of koalas is getting so small because of the loss of living space, and being killed by cars, as well as dying from illness. The Foundation says droughts, wildfires and development projects also played a part in the drop in the koala population. They are calling on the government to do more to protect the environment.

The group says the koala population has dropped to less than 58,000 this year from more than 80,000 in 2018. The state of New South Wales, where the numbers have dropped by 41 percent, lost more koalas than other places.

Deborah Tabart, leader of the Australian Koala Foundation, said only one area in the study was thought to have more than 5,000 koalas. Some areas were believed to have as few as 5 or 10. Tabart said the country needs a koala protection law. She added, “What we’re worried about is places like western New South Wales. The drought over the last ten years has just had this result—rivers were nearly dry for years. As a result, river red gum plants, which are the lifeblood of koalas, died.”

The loss in New South Wales became more serious after large forest areas were destroyed by wildfires in late 2019 and early 2020. And some of those areas already had no koalas.

Land clearing by road builders has also destroyed the koala’s environment. “I think everyone gets it, we’ve got to change. But if those machines keep working, then I really fear for the koalas,” Tabart said.

For many years, thousands of people went to the Arctic in summer, but in winter few people went there. In the winter of 1990, the French artist Jannot Derid was invited to have the opening of his exhibition in a building in the little village of Jukkasjarvi. The building named the Arctic Hall, was made of snow.

Many visitors went there. One night, a group of visitors decided to sleep in the Arctic Hall. The following morning the brave group was very pleased with their experience and the idea of an ice hotel was born. Today the ICE HOTEL is a world-famous. As soon as winter begins, a team of builders from all over the world come to Jukkasjarvi and they make the hotel for that year. As one part is completed, it opens to visitors, while the other parts are still being built. The first part is completed in December and each week after that, a new part opens. The hotel isn’t usually completed until January 7th. The ICE HOTEL is built under the open sky, using the natural materials of the winter season. So the finishing date depends on ________ and there are sometimes changes to the plan. In spring, as the weather gets warmer, the hotel melts.

No matter how cold it may be outside, the temperature inside the hotel is never colder than -8°C. Water outer clothes are included in the cost of visitors’ stay at the hotel. If you are planning to come to the hotel, you can buy warm sweaters, socks and much more on the ICE HOTEL website. They will be sent to your room when you check in.

Rosa, Gina and Jason live in the same town. They like going to the movies on weekends. Now they are talking about the movie theaters in their town.

Rosa	I like going to Town Cinema, because it’s the closest to my home. I often walk there with my cousins on weekends. I think it has the friendliest service and the biggest screens in our town.
Gina	I like Happy Cinema. It’s the most popular. Many people go there to see the latest (最新的) movies. But it’s the most expensive in our town. I only go there three times a year.
Jason	I often go to June Cinema. Although it’s the cheapest, it has the most comfortable seats. It’s a little far away from my home, but I can ride my bicycle to go there. On my way home, I often go to Uncle Bob’s to eat a chicken hamburger. It’s delicious.