Elephants might be the most well-known and well-loved animal in African wildlife. But conservation (保护) of the African elephant faces special difficulties. While the elephant population is half of what it was 40 years ago, some areas of Africa have more elephants than populated areas can support. That's why AWF scientists are studying elephant behavior, protecting habitats and finding ways for humans to live peacefully with elephants in Africa.

    Years ago, over hunting and the ivory trade were the biggest threats to elephants survival. Luckily, ivory bans (禁令), hunting rules and protected areas protect elephants from these dangers today.

    The 21st century brings a different challenge to elephant conservation —land-use. Elephants walk across borders and outside parks and other protected areas. So they often destroy crops, causing conflicts (冲突) between local farmers and these big animals.

    Successful conservation strategies (策略) must allow elephants to walk freely in their natural habitats while reducing conflicts between elephants and local people.

    AWF researchers are searching for a way to give both elephants and people the space they need. The AWF is collecting information on elephant habitats and behavior. The information they gather will help to develop the widest possible space for elephants.

    The AWF is helping elephants by protecting their habitats. And they also work with local farmers to improve their life in order to encourage them to protect rather than destroy elephants.

    If it had not been for Fan Jinshi and her team, the world cultural heritage at Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes in a remote Chinese desert might have long been destroyed by sand, weather or humans.

    Born and raised in Shanghai, Fan has spent half a century fighting an uphill battle to preserve the ancient Buddhist wall painting at Dunhuang, in Northwest China's Gansu Province. The 1,651-year-old Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes are a huge collection of Buddhist art—more than 2,000 buddha figures and 45,000 square meters of paintings spread among 735 caves. It is China's first UNESCO World Heritage Site.

    Archaeologist Fan was sent to Dunhuang after graduation from Peking University in 1963. While in Dunhuang, a remote village in the desert then, Fan lived in an abandoned temple. At first, she did not even dare to go out to the toilet at night. To protect the treasures from sand and dampness, Fan and other workers put doors on the caves, planted trees and started monitoring temperature and humidity in the caves. They also controlled the number of visitors.

    In the late 1990s, with tourism booming nationwide since national holidays were extended, the local government planned to go public with Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, but found Fan firmly in their way. “The heritage would have been destroyed if it had been listed,” she said.

    Dunhuang Academy has now photographed and cataloged online all the sculptures and paintings. “Despite our efforts to minimize damage, we can't completely stop them from being eroded. But the digital database will last.”

    Fan was grateful when her husband joined her in Dunhuang in 1986 after 19 years of separation. Her two sons grew up in Shanghai with their aunt.  “I have not been a good mother or wife. With regard to my family, I'm full of guilt,” she said. Fan, 79, retired two years ago as the director of Dunhuang Academy but continues her efforts as a national political adviser.

    About one hundred years ago many educated people learned and spoke French when they met people from other countries. Today most people speak English when they meet foreigners. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} There are more people who speak English as a second language than people who speak English as a first language. Why is this?

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} One of them is that English has become the language of business. Another important reason is that popular American culture (like movies, music, and McDonald's)has quickly spread throughout the world. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Is it good that English has spread to all parts of the world so quickly? {#blank#}4{#/blank#} It's important to have a language that the people of the earth have in common. Our world has become very global and we need to communicate with one another. On the other hand, English is a fairly complicated language to learn and it brings its culture with it. Do we really need that?

    Scientists have already tried to create an artificial language that isn't too difficult and doesn't include any one group's culture. It is called Esperanto. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Maybe the popularity of English won't last that long either. Who knows? There are more people in the world who speak Chinese than any other language. Maybe someday Chinese will be the new international language.

A. People like English.

B. But it hasn't become popular.

C. It has brought its language with it.

D. There is no doubt about the question.

E. This is why English was widely spoken.

F. It has become the new international language.

G. There are many reasons why English has become so popular.

    When my father married my mother in 1943 he gave my mother a 1937 crown coin and told her to keep it in the back of her purse and not spend it. This would mean that she always felt that she was protected and would always have money if she really needed it.

    When I was married in 1970 my husband who had heard this story obtained a 1937 crown for me and I have always kept it in my wallet and I have always had enough for my needs.

    A friend recently fell on hard times partly through external (外部的) circumstances and partly through poor planning. Friends and I have loaned her money, paid her bills, even given her food and tried to teach her budget techniques, but none of them has been a solution. She has just slipped deeper and deeper into financial trouble and depression.

    Last week she looked pale and unwell, very depressed and hopeless. I then thought about how the crown, a reminder of another's care and love, had protected me so I went to the bank for a $100 dollar bill. I told my friend the story and asked her to keep the $100 in the back of her wallet. It turned out that she didn't have a wallet so she put the money in a little pencil case where she kept her coins. She immediately felt better. "I feel rich and thank you for being a good friend" she said and we were both a bit teary.

    The reason for passing this on is not to praise any generosity on my part but to show the power of "random acts of kindness". I went home and remembered a little wallet I had that I'd never used and thought "I'll give that to my friend." I opened it and inside found $100. The universe is very just and if your heart is open the reward always comes.

    Measles (麻疹) is only found in human beings. There is a highly effective and safe vaccine (疫苗) for the disease. So, in theory, measles could be destroyed.

    Yet the number of measles cases is on the rise.

    The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that, in the first three months of 2019, the number of cases is three times higher than it was last year. Africa alone has had a 700 percent increase compared to last year.

    The Democratic Republic of Congo reported 67,000 measles cases and 901 measles-related deaths in 2018. This year, WHO officials have noted more than 40, 000 suspected measles cases in the country. That number includes 284 measles-related deaths in the first weeks of 2019. Between September 2018 and February 2019, Madagascar reported over 67, 000 measles cases, including 828 deaths.

    Dr. Fauci, who directs the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease in the USA, said that one in 10 children who get infected with measles will get an ear infection that could cause deafness. One in 20 would get pneumonia. One in a thousand would get brain swelling, and one to three per thousand would die. To say that measles is a slight disease is completely incorrect.

    Walter Orenstein is with the Emory University Vaccine Center in Atlanta, Georgia. He has spent his life working to end measles. Orenstein says possible effects of the disease are worse in poor countries. In those countries children are already at greater risk. They may be malnourished (营养不良的). They may have damaged immune systems. They may be underweight and may have no access to health care so measles is a big killer, he said.

    You have a 90 percent chance of getting measles if you have not been vaccinated and you come in contact with someone who has it. Dr. Rebecca Martin is the Director of the Center for Global Health at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. She is working to remove measles from Africa completely. It is very infectious. It will find nearly everybody who is not protected against measles, Martin said.

    Health experts advise patients to get two treatments of the measles vaccine. U.S. health officials say educating parents about both the disease and the vaccine is an important step in stopping the spread. Equally important is making vaccination a top goal of health systems worldwide.

    HANGZHOU — Chinese internet giant Alibaba on Tuesday opened a hotel loaded with artificial intelligence (AI) and robots, automating a series of procedures like check­ in, lights control and room service.

    FlyZoo Hotel, opened in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, where Alibaba is headquartered, is known as the company's "first future hotel". Customers can check into the hotel by simply scanning their faces. The facial recognition system installed in the hotel also enables customers to use their faces as key cards to open doors and access another hotel service. Users can also control the lights, televisions and curtains in the room via Alibaba's voice­activated digital assistant, while robots are deployed to serve dishes, cocktails and coffee. Hotel bookings and check­out can also be done with a few clicks on mobile through an app. "The AI­based solution can help customers save time and relieve hotel employees from repetitive work," said Wang Qun, CEO of FlyZoo Hotel. The hotel is the latest example of Chinese tech companies' attempt into traditional industries such as the hotel industry.

    E­commerce giant JD.com announced in October its strategy to put smart home and electronic devices sold on its platform into hotels, in an effort to improve online sales.

    In July, Baidu teamed up with Intercontinental Hotels Group in Beijing to allow guests to use its voice­ controlled assistant to adjust room temperature and order room service at ease.

    Before that, social media giant Tencent introduced QQfamily, a similar tech solution for hotel operators, in the southern city of Zhuhai last year.

    "We want to install a 'smart brain' for hotels," said Wang. "In the future, we will continue to make hotels smarter and more automated, as well as create more personalized experiences for consumers."