We have found plastic in the ocean and in animals like birds, fish and whales. But for the first time, scientists have found plastic in human poop (大便), USA Today reported. The findings came from a study led by scientists from Environment Agency Austria. 【小题1】 The volunteers wrote down what they ate for a week and then provided a stool sample (大便样本) for testing.

【小题2】 About 20 small plastic particles (颗粒) were found in every 10 grams (克) of the stool. “The smallest plastic particles can enter the blood, the lymphatic system, and may even reach the liver (肝脏),” said Philipp Schwabl, who took part in the research.

【小题3】 They’re not sure how the plastic got in the volunteers’ bodies, either. But most of the volunteers said they drank from plastic bottles and also ate seafood that could include plastic from ocean pollution.

In fact, plastic is everywhere around us. Every year, lots of plastic waste goes into the ocean. 【小题4】 Most of the particles stay in the ocean. Others can spread into the soil and air. Could plastic in the air fall onto food and get into the human body?

Some past studies may also give us a clue. 【小题5】 And even some drinking water has been found to have tiny plastic particles in it.

At the Beijing Olympic Games, a man in traditional clothes sat and played a seven-string (弦) instrument. It is a gugin.

Gugin, a kind of traditional Chinese instrument, can date back to the Zhou Dynasty (朝代). At first, gugin’s name was “qin”. As many western instruments came into China, people added the “gu” to it, meaning “ancient”. The history of gugin started from 3,000 years ago.

In ancient times, gugin was an important part of Chinese culture. But not everyone could play it. Only the rich people could play it. It was also the most important shown-up subject matter in Chinese literature (文学).

Many ancient Chinese stories are about it. For example, the saying “high mountains and running water” describes the true friendship between Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi. Their friendship came from their common understanding of gugin music.

Gugin has three kinds of sounds: Sanyin, Fanyin and Anyin. All these sounds have a sense of peace. The Chinese believe that gugin has included the sounds of the whole space and every-thing in it.

When studying a map of China, have you ever noticed the Mu Us Desert（毛乌素沙地）in the northwest? If you haven’t, then you probably never will. That’s because the desert is disappearing (消失).

You might wonder: Why is this happening? Who is the “killer”? Well, this is not a murder（谋杀）story. It is, the result of years of afforestation（无林地造林）efforts.

The Mu Us Desert used to be one of the largest deserts in China. Sandstorms（沙尘暴）were common in northern Shanxi. As a result, lots of people had to leave their homes.

The fight against desertification（沙漠化） began in the 1970s. The work was more than tiring. He Li led an afforestation team in Bulanghe, a town in Yulin, however, a strong wind blew away all the young trees. It was no use to cry. The next day, the team replanted all the trees.

In Yulin, there are many other sandstorm fighters. One of them is Guo Chengwang. In 1985, the government encouraged local people to plant trees. So he started to plant trees in his village. Guo is now over ninety years old. His children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are still going on doing the job. The family has turned 30 km² of desert into woods.

These trees have make a difference. In Yulin, the number of sandy days has dropped from 100 in 2000 to 10 now. With the sandstorm fighters’ continuing efforts, the Mu Us Desert will be gone. Our country is becoming greener and lovelier.