Last Friday, Britain's Prince William announced the winners of this year's Earthshot Prize. The prize is meant to encourage new ideas and rapid action to help protect the planet. Below are parts of this year's prize-winning projects in each category.
Protect and Restore Nature
Kheyti won the prize for protecting and restoring nature with its "Greenhouse-in-a-box" idea. Kheyti is already working with 1,000 farmers across India, which is one of the most climate-affected countries in the world. The company says the greenhouses allow farmers to use 90% less water and produce seven times as much food. Kheyti hopes to get its greenhouses to 50,000 farmers by 2027.
Clean Our Air
Charlot Magayi won the prize for cleaning the air. Ms. Magayi developed a stove(炉子) that uses a fuel that's cheaper and pollutes far less than charcoal stoves. Currently, over 200, 000 of her Clean Stoves are being used in Kenya.
Build a Waste-Free World
A London-based company called Notpla(for "Not Plastic") won the prize for building a waste-free world. They've created a plastic substitute(替代品) from plants found in the ocean. Unlike most plastic, their products break down naturally with no microplastics. Notpla believes their products can help end the plastic pollution that's filling landfills and polluting oceans.
Fix Our Climate
The Earthshot Prize for working toward fixing our climate went to a company called 44.01. 44. 01 has come up with a way to turn polluting carbon dioxide(CO2) into a rock called peridotite. Once the CO2 has been turned into rock, it can no longer be released into the atmosphere again. The method that 44. 01 uses is fast, cheap and permanent(永久的).
Last Sunday, the famous Champs-Elysees street in Paris was turned into a giant outdoor classroom for a special spelling event called "The Big Dictation". The event was a chance for people who love words to show off their listening and spelling skills in an unusual setting.
The Big Dictation of Champs-Elysees was organized by a writer named Rachid Santaki. He came up with the idea of large groups of people taking part in dictations back in 2013. Over 50,000 people asked to join the special spelling event on the Champs-Elysees, which turned one of Paris's busiest streets into a classroom, with cars replaced by desks. In the end, around 5,000 people, aged 10 to 90, were chosen to take part.
Just like in school, a large "blackboard" was set up for the event near a famous building, the Arc de Triomphe. Several famous people were there to play the part of the teacher, and read the dictation texts out loud. After the dictation is read, the text on the screen lets people check their work.
Not everyone found it easy. Ten-year-old Samson thought the dictation was too quick and he couldn't finish. Another young student agreed. "It was impossible!" he said. "The dictation was for adults."
Even adults found it challenging, reporting that it caused stress and worry. One retired woman was pleased that she had only made two mistakes.
Marc-Antoine Jamet is in charge of the Champs-Elysees Committee, who brought the event to the famous street. He said the event wasn't just about getting all the words right but also about bringing people together.
Another goal of The Big Dictation was to break the record for the largest dictation event ever. The previous record was set in 2018 at France's national stadium, Stade de France, with 1,473 people taking part. That event was also run by Mr. Santaki.
French officials are preparing to offer flying taxi services to people attending the Paris Summer Olympics in 2024. If the taxis are actually used in the French capital, it could mark the first major real world show of the flying technology.
Some air taxi developers attended the recent Paris Air Show to show off their products and seek industry support. One of the companies in attendance was Germany's Volocopter, which plans to offer a flying taxi service during the Olympics.
But so far, no air taxi maker has received government permission to launch service in France. Volocopter hopes to be the first. But the company still needs to run its aircraft through rigorous weather tests and provide thousands of pages of documentation to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.
Company chief Dirk Hoke said that in addition to worries about government approvals, air taxi companies have also faced difficulties linked to economic slowdowns affecting the world. Robin Riedel, who co-leads the Center for Future Mobility at the business advisory company McKinsey, said companies formed to support air taxi projects have lost about 30 percent of their value in recent years. In addition, many investors(投资人) have decided to put money into drones(无人机) instead of flying taxis.
Hoke has thought about a person he would like to be the first rider of his flying taxis-French President Emmanuel Macron. "That would be super amazing,"Hoke said, "That would be a strong sign to Europe to see the president flying."
In the beginning, air taxi trips are likely to be short and costly. This is because current battery technology limits the distance and number of paying passengers the aircraft can carry. The long-term success of air taxis will also be dependent on effective systems to manage all the air traffic using the skies. Experts say such systems will need new technology to provide safety for all flyers. As the industry progresses, the number of air taxis is expected to reach into the millions.
Wildfire season has begun in many places around the world. The dangerous smoke wildfires produce can spread far and wide. It blocks sunlight, poisons the air and damages the health of people and other living things.
Some of those living things could be the plants in gardens, says gardening expert Jessica Damiano, who writes gardening stories for the Associated Press. Damiano lives in New York City and recently experienced several days of very smoky air. Wildfires in eastern Canada were the source.
Damiano, like other people, limited the time she spent outdoors when the air quality was poor. She also wore a face covering when she had to go outside.
But the plants in her garden had no such escape. They had to breathe the poisoned air through the extremely small holes in their leaves.
Pollutants in smoke landing on plants can block sunlight, which is essential for photosynthesis (光合作用). Reduced photosynthesis results in reduced energy. That means slower growth. Additionally, smoke can also affect a plant's ability to take in nutrients(营养物质).
Brooke Edmunds, a plant scientist and community horticulturalist with Oregon State University Extension, said plants that are affected by smoke for a short amount of time will usually recover quickly."It depends on how close they are," she said. "There could also be a localized effect, where one garden is covered in ash(灰烬), and a half-mile away, there's nothing because that's the way the wind was moving things around."
The best thing home gardeners can do is keep an eye on plants. Edmunds suggests giving plants some extra love and care. "Wash the plants gently to remove pollutants left by smoke. Then give them a long, slow drink of water. Most will pull through," Edmunds said. However, people should not use leaf blower machines to remove ashes from plants because they will risk breathing in what is blowing around.
How to Read a Poem
You've selected the poem you want to read-congratulations! Now it's time for the business of reading it.
Examine the title and the shape
-how does it make you feel? How does the title fit the shape of the poem? If the title is sad, let the shape of the poem inform the small difference of the emotion—if it's short and sparse(稀疏的), maybe it's coming from a place of desolation or desperation. .
Read the poem as you normally read anything
Reading poetry doesn't require a clever approach; you can read as you'd read anything else. On the first pass through, absorb whatever it is that arises upon first impression.maybe your stomach churns(恶心) at a particular phrase, or you hold your breath at a certain line. Explore the feelings that come up as you read.
Next, try reading the poem out loud or search for readings of the poem online. This is where the music of a poem emerges, and you can feel the shape of each word and line as you move through it.
Add context to paint a full picture
Finally, return to the poem context. ; look at the publication date and consider the world around the poem when it was first released. Consider where the poem lives: Was it released as part of the author's poetry book, or was it published in a literary magazine? From these details and materials you will get a deeper understanding of the poem.
A. Re-read for sound
B. Re-read for meaning
C. Dig into the author's history
D. Notice where in the poem you react
E. Look for where the poem offers a moment of surprise
F. Before you start a poem, you should first read the title
G. Long messy forms might mean it's coming from a place of confusion or anger
Sirine Jahangir has a rare condition that left her completely blind by the time she was 10 years old. While her parents and doctors have tried to find 1 for her, there isn't much they can do.
So her parents focused on helping her 2 her new life. Her father said, "One day, we were driving in the car, but she couldn't look out of the window anymore to 3 things. I didn't know what to do, so I just put the music on really loud. She 4 singing in the car, and she was so happy. And then she just found 5 every time I put music on."It didn't take long for them to realize Sirine has great 6 ! Her interest in music not only got her through some 7 and lonely times, but when she was 14 it also brought her to the"Britain's Got Talent" stage.
When she 8 on the stage, she told everyone how much her 9 for music means to her. Then she 10 over to the piano, where she played a melody(旋律) and 11 beautifully enough to bring the audience to tears!
12 to everyone but Sirine, all four judges voted(票) her into the next round of the 13 !
Afterward, she said, "I can't even say it's a dream come true, 14 I didn't even dream of it at any point. I never thought that would be 15 in my life."
British people are big tea drinkers. It is a tradition in Britain to drink tea for different occasions and reasons. People have it for breakfast, for when guests visit, for tea breaks at work. People even have a cup of tea when they talk about their (person) problems. However, research from The Tea Group shows that herbal, fruit and other teas have become (popular) than traditional English breakfast tea. Researchers conducted a survey of more than 2,000 tea lovers. Over half of the people said their favourite tea was not the traditional (various). Over a fifth of people chose green tea their favourite drink.
(sale) of traditional tea in the UK have been going down. Three years ago, a survey found that 54 per cent of Britons (prefer) English breakfast tea. The new research shows that breakfast tea is likely (continue) to decrease in popularity. The researchers also found many other things about tea-drinking habits in the UK. The biggest reason for (drink) tea was to relax. A quarter of Britons drink up to 10 cups a day. Britons seem to love milky and sugary tea. Around 85 per cent of people drink Earl Grey tea and English breakfast tea put milk in it. Nearly 45 per cent of people sweeten their tea with sugar.
Ari was a lonely young man who lived on a large island called Iceland. Most of the villagers were fishermen. Ari often wondered what lay beyond the island. The days were long and cold, and he spent many hours in his small house thinking about what life would be like in a warm, sunny place.
"I shall find a true friend far away from here," Ari thought, and he began writing a letter. He described himself as a loner who had few visitors, yet he had a warm heart. It was his hope to find true friendship with someone who understood his sadness.
Ari described the volcanos on his snowy island and the impressive glaciers(冰川). He wrote about the sky turning green, blue, yellow, and pink at night when the Northern Lights shined in the heavens like silk. For days, Ari poured his soul and innermost thoughts into the letter. Then he placed it into a bottle, and sealed(密封) it tightly.
Ari threw the bottle into the sea and wished upon the brightest star that a true friend would find the letter.
A year later, Ari received a letter. He had no idea who would be writing him, but with joy, he opened the envelope.
Dear Ari,
I found your simple but lovely letter. Imagine my surprise when your little bottle from so far away washed up on my shore. I; too, live on an island. It is called Sardinia. My island is warm and filled with mountains, beaches and waters. Most of the people I know are my family, and I, too, long for a true friend. Now that you have found a friend far away, I do hope that you will write and tell me more about your life and people.
Your new friend,
Renata
注意：1.续写词数应为150个左右;2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答.
For three years, Ari and Renata exchanged letters.
……
Without telling Renata, Ari started a long journey.
