Because of President Trumpˈs decision to remove America from the Paris Climate agreement, youˈd be forgiven for feeling a little negative about the future of the planet.

With reports of huge cracks (裂缝) appearing in the Antarctic ice, fears that   (1)   the two degree heating of the planet might be a dream. And the worldˈs food supplies at risk --- everything   (2)  and sounds gray.

  (3)  , there are also some good news stories; with many of them coming from China.

The country has been   (4)  the way when it comes to "green living" in recent years, with the government announcing it had completed building the worldˈs   (5)   floating solar farm.

Now, in   (6)  to control the production of bad gasses, the country is continuing to work hard (so to speak) for the construction of one of the worldˈs first "forest cities".

Designed by Stefano Boeri, who you might remember also   (7)  two special “forests”. The city is now   (8)   construction in Liuzhou, Guangxi Province.

It is reported that once completed, the new city will host 30, 000 people and---thanks to the trees and plants---will (9) almost 10, 000 tons of CO2, 57 tons of pollutants (污染物) per year and produce nearly 900 tons of oxygen every year.

The city will achieve   (9)   thanks to about a million plants from over 100 species (物种). As well as 40,000 trees are being planted over almost every surface imaginable.

Close your eyes for a minute and imagine what life would be like if you couldn’t see. Imagine having to read this page, not with your eyes but with your fingers. How do you feel, then?

    With medical knowledge and skills today, two-thirds of the world’s 42 million blind people should not have to suffer. Unluckily, rich countries have this knowledge, but developing countries do not.

    ORBIS is an international charitable (慈善的) organization. Its goal is to help fight blindness all over the world. Inside a DC-8 airplane, there is a teaching hospital with television room and classroom. Doctors are taught the latest technology of helping the blind get sight again here. ORBIS is always trying to keep a closer relation among countries.

    ORBIS helps those developing countries by providing sight-saving training. It has taught over 35,000 doctors and nurses. They continue to treat thousands of blind people every year. They have traveled around the earth 3 times, visited 76 countries and treated over 20,000 blind people. They need your help to continue their work and free people from blindness.

    For just $ 38, you can help one person see; for $ 380 10 people can see; $ 1,300 helps train a doctor new skills; and for $ 13,000 you can provide a training program for a group of doctors who can make thousands of blind people see again. Your love can help them open their eyes to the world.

2,000 British schoolchildren (5 to 16) are asked questions about success. Many people feel like it’s all about the money, but these children insist that the one true secret to success is being happy. Many children think the Queen is the most successful person in the world. They think she is more successful than pop star Taylor Swift and footballer David Beckham.

However, some things never change. When asked what they want to be when they grow up, “a footballer” becomes the most popular answer. There are also some interesting answers. Some children want to be forest explorers, YouTubers and computer gamers.

before30.

Green is an important color in nature. It is the color of grass and the leaves on trees. It is the color of most growing plants, too.

Sometimes, the word green means young, fresh and growing. Sometimes, it describes something that is not yet finished or plants that are not ripe.

For example, a greenhorn is someone who has no experience, who is new to a situation. In the fifteenth century, a greenhorn was a young cow or ox whose horns had not yet developed. A century or so later, a greenhorn was a soldier who had not yet had any experience in war (战争). By the eighteenth century, a greenhorn had the meaning it has today--a person who is new in a job.

About one hundred years ago, greenhorn was a popular expression in the American west. Old-timers used it to describea man who had just arrived from one of the big cities in the e ast. The greenhorn didn’t have the skills that he would need to live in the hard,roughcountry.

Someone who has the ability to grow plants well is said to have a green thumb. The expression comes from the early nineteen hundreds.

A person with agreen thumb seems to have a magic touch that makes plants grow quickly and well. You might say that the woman next door has a green thumb if her garden continues to grow long after your plants have died.

The Green Revolution (革命) is the name which was given some years ago to the development of new kinds of rice and other grains. The new plants produced much larger crops. The Green Revolution was the result of hard work by agricultural (农业的) scientistswho hadgreen thumbs.

The United Nations said that the world’s population will increase from 7.2 billion today to 8.1 billion in 2025. By 2050, it will reach 9.6 billion.

According to the report on World Population Prospects（预测）, India’s population will surpass(超过) China’s in around 2028 when each of the two countries will have a population of around 1.45 billion.India’s population is expected to grow to around 1.6 billion and then slowlydeclineto 1.5 billion in 2100, while China’s will start decline after 2030, possibly fall to 1.1 billion in 2100.

According to the report, Nigeria’s population will surpass the US’s population before the middle of this century and Nigeria will start to take China’s place as the second-most populous（人口稠密的）country in the world by the end of this century. By 2050, Nigeria’s population will reach more than 440 million, and it will be nearly 914 million by 2100.

The population of developing countries will increase from 5.9 billion in 2013 to 8.2 billion in 2050. However, the population of developed countries will remain generally unchanged during that period, at around 1.3 billion.

Africa’s population will increase from 1.1 billion today to 2.4 billion in 2050, and may reach 4.2 billion by 2100.

The populations of several countries are expected to decline by more than 15% by 2050, includingBelarus,Bulgaria,Cuba,Latvia, Ukraine, etc.

The back door of the ambulance (救护车) was suddenly shut and the driver ran to the front, ____  (1)  ____ into his seat, and started the engine. Inside were the worried parents, Mr. and Mrs. Green, the mother holding their baby daughter Ally. The little girl had some food stuck in her ____  (2)  ____ and could hardly breathe.

   The driver, Mr. White. turned on his siren (报警器) and flashing ____  (3)  ____, and started speeding towards the nearest hospital. The cars ahead of him ____  (4)  ____ out of the way as he drove ____  (5)  ____ the busy traffic. From the back of the ____  (6)  ____, the parents were shouting at him to hurry, since Ally had ____  (7)  ____ stopped breathing. In front of him he saw some red traffic light shining. Mr. White knew that he had no time to ____  (8)  ____. so he drove straight past the traffic lights, looking to his left and right as he did so.

   Coming towards him from his right was a taxi. The driver had the windows ____  (9)  ____, since the car was air-conditioned, and he was playing his radio. He did not ____  (10)  ____ the ambulance. The lights were green, so he drove straight on into the path of the ambulance.

   Mr. White tried to stop his ambulance but it was too late. It hit the taxi. Everybody was shaken but no one was hurt. Mr. White looked to sec how little Ally was. He was surprised to see relief instead of ____  (11)  ____ on the faces of the parents.

   "Look!" cried Mrs. Green. "She is   (12)  ____ again."

   "It must have been the crash (撞击)." said her husband. "It ____  (13)  ____ the food out of her throat." The baby's color was turning to ____  (14)  ____, and she was crying in a loud but healthy voice.

   They were all joyful, and quite forgot about the ____  (15)  ____, the taxi, and the lines of cars all around them.