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A Spanish project is attempting to use 3D-printed coral reefs to provide habitat for fish and protection for beaches and coastal communities at risk from rising seas and other damage.

Coral reefs are decreasing globally, and some scientists say we could lose 70% - 90% of our reefs due to warming ocean waters. That has all kinds of serious influences because a quarter of the world's fish live in and around reefs. Reefs are important protectors of coastal communities threatened by high waves, and they support the biodiversity (生物多样性). That led Nadia Fani and her co-founder Astrid Kramer to start Coastruction, a non-profit organization.

"Even if you start on a small scale (规模)... a square kilometer already, it could have a great impact," Fani says. "It could really protect a coast, a beach, or an area where there is a community and it needs protection because the sea level is rising. "

Being able to use 3D printing is important, because you can match individual sites. Every location is different with different coral species. "It's like everybody has a different house," Fani says. " You can take into account habitat requirements of not just the coral but also the fish that live nearby. "

Their present technology can print various shapes. The result can be an amazingly natural-looking man-made rock with plenty of corners for both coral and fish to attach themselves and make homes.

The Coastruction founders don't think they can possibly meet the global demand, so their goal is to provide the tools — like the 3D printer — for local people and develop the technology to create the artificial（人造的）coral reefs by using cheap and locally-available materials. No high temperatures or chemical additives are required, and any loose powder or sand material not used in one print will be used in the next. The 3D printer works on-site, so there's no transport of finished blocks required.

There's nothing wrong with a tomato that isn't perfectly round or a peach with an extra dimple or two; they still carry the same benefits and flavors as the versions we're used to seeing in grocery stores (食品杂货店). Farmers throw away these imperfect items, as many grocery chains won't buy them for fear that they are unsellable. However, a growing group of grocery chains are fighting to make these discarded fruit and vegetables part of consumers'  buying habits.

One such business is Imperfect Produce, a start-up that provides fresh ugly produce for consumers. Through this service, you can get up to 20 pounds of fruit and vegetables for around $20 a week. This is about a 30 percent discount compared to what's now sold in stores. Recently, the company had a major advancement when Whole Foods Market accepted their partnership and agreed to sell the misshapen produce.

While this movement might be a new trend here in the U.S., it's already gained serious momentum (势头) in Europe. In 2014, the EU announced the European Year Against Food Waste, with French supermarket chain Intermarché launching a very successful campaign called Inglorious Fruits and Vegetables and England's Waitrose selling weather blemished apples. In Portugal, a similar company to Imperfect Produce called Fruta Feia has also taken off.

Buying the unfortunate-looking produce should be attractive to consumers not only because of the affordability, but also because of the support it gives to farmers and the direct impact it has on reducing food waste and environmental pollution. When the discarded fruit and vegetables decompose, they release(释放) methane (CH.), a greenhouse gas. When released into the air, it is about 86 times as powerful as carbon dioxide (CO,) over a 20-year period. Waste is, in fact, the ugliest thing of all.

Can you imagine a world without music? Studies show that public schools across the country are cutting back on music classes to save money. Worse, some schools have never had music classes to begin with. But without them, students' academic growth and emotional health could suffer. In fact, music classes are necessary for all students in schools.

Recent studies by Brown University have shown that students who received music education were better in maths and reading skills than those without music classes. Another study by the College Board found that students taking music and art classes got higher points. Students' academic success seems to depend on their taking part in music education.

Music programmes in public schools also help to add to a student's sense of pride and self-confidence. Teens today have too many learning tasks. Besides, they have family problems, self-confidence problems, relationship troubles and other troubles. All of these can stop academic success, but music education can help. A study by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse found that students who took part in school music programmes were less likely to turn to drugs. Music programmes encourage students to work together to produce an excellent performance.

Music crosses language, class, cultural and political boundaries. Music allows students from different countries to connect. For example, at a school talent show, a new Japanese student played a piano duet with an American classmate. Although they could not communicate verbally, they were able to read the music in order to play the duet. Two students from different cultures worked as a team with self-confidence and common purpose through music.

The gift of music is priceless. We need to be sure to have necessary music classes for all students. The world is losing its music, and putting music into schools is the first step to get it back.

Instant Expert: Wonders of Space

Saturday 17th July, 10am - 5pm | Cavendish Conference Centre, London

Join us for a day of exploring the wonders of outer space with six leading scientists. You will start where everything began — at the Big Bang. Throughout the day, you will hear about everything from the exploration of Mars to the discovery of liveable planets.

Who should attend?

Anyone interested in the secrets of space, whatever your age or background. Whether you're a scientist, a student or simply an attracted human being, our event offers the chance to learn directly from the experts at our one-day masterclass.

Benefits of attending:

• Open your mind and be inspired.

• Talk with like-minded people through the informal set-up.

• Meet our six speakers and ask your burning questions.

What's included in your ticket:

• In-depth and interesting talks from six leading scientists.

• A buffet lunch, plus morning and afternoon drinks and snacks.

•An Instant Expert certificate（证明书）provided by event organizers.

Booking information:

We will email you your ticket immediately after your payment. Please remember to bring your ticket with you as you'll need it to enter. We can scan（扫描）tickets from a printout, or off the screen of a phone.

A Limited number of discounted early bird tickets priced at & 129 will be offered. You can save &20 per ticket. These tickets can be bought by clicking the following green "Buy" button if still available.

1. 时间与地点；

2. 内容与意义。

注意：

1.词数100左右；

2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Dear Sue,

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua

增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号(∧),并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜线(﹨)划掉。

修改：在错的词下画一横线,并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：

1.每处错误及修改均仅限一词；

2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

In recent years many flowers shops have been appeared in our small town. It is common for people to buy flowers when they go to a gathering, visiting a friend, or attend a party. Last winter vacation, I was about to leave a flower shop that a disabled boy caught my attention. I still remembered clear that the disabled boy, owing his entire life to his mother, presented some flowers to his mother to express his gratitude to her. With her kindness and care he would not have had the confidence and courage to fight his disability. As the result of the great effort he had made, he was finally admitted a key university in advance. What a moved moment!

The English Channel crossing, one of the most famous global swimming challenges,  (refer) to as the peak of endurance swimming. 

A relay team of winter swimming  (enthusiasm) from Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, swam the English Channel in less than 12 hours on Friday. They  (choose) to swim the shortest route across the channel, the 

33.8 kilometers from Dover in the UK to Cap Gris Nez, a cape near Calais in France. 

In fact, the team took exactly 11 hours and 54 minutes to make the crossing, (swim) more than 50 km to avoid obstacles and strong currents. During the team's crossing, each team member swam at least an hour before alternating until they reached France.

Xie Derong, a member of the team, said that although the relay went (smooth) for the most part, the final 6 km proved to be an enormous test of (they) endurance. "We encountered counter currents that caused us (slow) down."

 idea of crossing the English Channel first came to them in 

2019. Training started several weeks before Friday's swim in the Sanqi Reservoir in Wencheng county, the water temperature was similar to the English Channel.

On a clear afternoon in late October a few years ago, I stood underneath a giant overhanging cliff near my hometown, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The scenery that day was particularly 1 , with deer chewing on the brown grasses by the river below, and hawks 2  the wind. 

I was tied in, ready to 3 . I was attempting to do a tough route for the first time. "Onsight" (首次攀登), as we call it, means I didn't know where I was climbing to. It would be a hard try for me to onsight such a difficult route. What I need is focus. No 4 .

Just as I was about to climb, 5 in my body, which I hadn't felt yet, woke up and said hello to me. That was a terrible sign for any athlete. Desperate as I felt, I painted a coat of 6 on my inner walls of doubt to ease my tension. I 7 myself at the top, celebrating. "You can do this," I 8 told myself. "If you believe, success is for sure."

It didn't work. 9 , I fell near the top. Defeated, I lowered myself to the ground and realized immediately that the too strong desire to climb the route had 10 me from doing it.

My self-worth was closely 11  at that unnatural moment with my success or failure, which 12  a chain of reaction: unnatural desire, pressure, performance anxiety. I had just climbed with a mind fascinated with the top but a body 13  below with irregular and unnatural movement. 

I told myself that on my next 14 , success or failure didn't matter. "Just make one move at a time." I gave myself a pass for whatever would happen. Case closed, it 15 . I floated to the top with grace, clarity and 16 .

That moment got me thinking, and then researching. At some point, I concluded this experience 17  simple arithmetic (算术): When I 18  (determination, self-confidence, desire), I failed; when I took away (the desire for success); my body moved with greater 19  and I made it. As an athlete of 30 years, I discovered the 20  of subtraction (减法) for the very first time.

The information age has reached a critical point, with AI's superior computation ability surpassing that of humans. A report released by Goldman Sachs in March 2023 estimated that AI is capable of doing a quarter of all the work currently done by humans. It would not just happen to individuals, but it could be pretty systematic. Across the European Union and US, the report further notes, 300 million jobs are expected to be lost to automation.

According to Martin Ford, author of Rule of the Robots: How Artificial Intelligence Will Transform Everything, three categories are going to be relatively secure in the foreseeable future. That means you're not doing formulaic (程式化的) work or just rearranging things, but generating new ideas. For example, in the field of science, where your job is coming up with a novel strategy or solution, there's going to be a place for human beings.

The second category is jobs that require sophisticated interpersonal relationships like nurses, business consultants and investigative journalists. These are jobs where you need a very deep understanding of people.  

The third safe zone includes jobs that really require lots of mobility and problem-solving ability in unpredictable environments. Electricians, plumbers, welders (焊工) and the like all fall under this umbrella, where you're dealing with different situations all the time.

In short, seeking roles in dynamic, shifting environments that include unpredictable tasks is good way to avoid job loss to AI, at least, for a while. It's important to note that an advanced education is not a defense against AI takeover. In many cases, more educated workers are going to be more threatened than even the least educated workers. It's really hard to automate that job.

A．That could be terrible.

B．However, they are not coming for all jobs.

C．Thankfully, there are still things AI isn't capable of.

D．The first would be jobs that are genuinely creative.

E．Think of the person that cleans hotel rooms.

F．That doesn't necessarily mean all jobs that are considered "creative" are safe.

G．It'll be a long time before AI has the ability to really build relationships and interact.

Space is becoming more crowded. On December 3, a Falcon 9 rocket made by Space X thundered into the sky. On board were 64 small satellites, more than any American company had launched before in one go. They have a variety of uses, from space-based-radar to the monitoring of radio-frequency-emissions. They will be working in their orbits(轨道).

These objects are part of the latest breed of low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites. This launch is just taste of what is planned. Space X and One Web, a communications firm, plan to launch satellites in their thousands, not hundreds. The pair are set to double the total number of satellites in orbit by 2027. 

That promises to change things dramatically on Earth. LEO satellites can bring internet connectivity to places where it is still unavailable or unaffordable. This will also be a lasting source of new demand for the space economy. Morgan Stanley, a bank, projects that the space industry will grow from $350 billion in 2016 to more than $

1.1 trillion by 

2040. New internet satellites will account for a half this increase.

For that to happen, however, three worries must be overcome. Debris (碎片) is the most familiar concern. As long ago as 1978, Donald Kessler, a scientist at NASA, proposed a situation in which, when enough satellites were packed into low-Earth orbits, any collision could cause a chain reaction which would eventually destroy all space craft in the same orbital plane. The syndrome which bears Mr. Kessler's name weighs heavily on the minds of executives at the new satellite firms. Debris could cause entire tracts (广阔的一片) of space to be unusable for decades.

Solutions exist. One is to grab malfunction satellites and pull them down into Earth's atmosphere. Another is to monitor space more intensively for debris; a US Air Force program me called Space Fence is due to start in

2019. But technology is only part of the answer. Rules are needed to govern the safe disposal of old satellites from low-Earth orbit.   

Cyber-security is a second, long-standing worry. Hackers could take control of a satellite and seal intellectual property, redirect data flows or cause a collision. The satellite industry has been slow to respond to such concerns. But as more of the world's population comes to rely on the infrastructure of space for access to the internet, the need for action intensifies.

The third issue follows from the first two. If a simple mistake or a cyber-attack can cause a chain reaction which wipes out hundreds of billions of dollars of investment, who is liable? Underwriters (承保商) are studying the plans of firms (quite a lot) that wish to operate large numbers of satellites. But there is a long way to go before the risks are well understood, let alone priced.

As space becomes more commercialized, mind-bending prospects open up: packages moved across the planet in minutes by rocket rather than by plane, equipment sent to other small planets, passengers launched into orbit and beyond. All that and more may come, one day. But such activities would raise the same questions as LEO satellites do. They must be answered before the space economy can truly develop.