Direction: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

    Red grouper(石斑鱼) are known for a few key characteristics — their color, which can {#blank#}1{#/blank#}from pink to bright orange; their tastiness, whether they're grilled or fried; and their predation (掠夺行为) method, in which they {#blank#}2{#/blank#} sea creatures and swallow them whole.

    But their least-known characteristic might be the most valuable of all: They operate as underwater architects, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} the seascape for numerous other forms of underwater life. That surprising discovery is {#blank#}4{#/blank#} scientists and policymakers to readjust their approach to preserving the ocean's natural order — and heightening tensions with those who fish for a living or as a hobby.

    A team of scientists, led by Florida State University's Felicia Coleman, recently found that the red grouper off Florida's east and west coasts have created entire ocean {#blank#}5{#/blank#}by digging large holes in the sea's sandy bottom. In the same way beavers {#blank#}6{#/blank#}dams, red grouper dig and maintain distinct holes whose rocky surfaces provide a place for coral, sponges and other marine life to gather.

    This new understanding is changing the way federal and state authorities manage ocean habitats and is creating a completely new crack with fishermen. “The people who are in control want to {#blank#}7{#/blank#} fishing as much as possible,” said Bob Jones, executive director of the Southeastern Fisheries Association. He added that the recent discoveries about red grouper amount to an “excuse they can use to restrict fishing, {#blank#}8{#/blank#}or recreational.”

    But to many researchers, fishery officials and even some fishermen, the fact that fish act as environmental engineers provides a compelling reason to protect them from exploitation.

    “If you {#blank#}9{#/blank#} that fish, it puts into motion a whole chain of events,” said Don deMaria, who used to fish for red grouper near Key Largo, Fla., but no longer does. “There's a whole lot of other animals that are {#blank#}10{#/blank#}. I'm not saying you can't catch them. But you can't do it to the extent we've been doing for the last 20 years.”

Touring Cenotes

    My parents and I traveled to Mexico to visit my grandparents last summer, and we visited the cenotes (say-NO-tays), the natural swimming holes located on the Yucatán Peninsula. The term "swimming hole" might make you think that cenotes are just average, but cenotes are truly {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. I had the most exciting experience of my life exploring these wonders of nature.

    Thousands of years old, the cenotes formed and created sinkholes underneath. Though the ancient Mayans (玛雅人) used the cenotes as water {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, people can now swim, dive, take photographs, and admire local trees and {#blank#}3{#/blank#} life, all through water as clear as liquid diamond.

    In Cenote Azul, my parents, my grandparents, and I swam through water that seemed too blue to be real. I {#blank#}4{#/blank#} countless younger kids diving into the water from a small cliff, but I dared not to jump at first. I finally worked up the courage, and my {#blank#}5{#/blank#} try instantly put all my worries to rest.

    A few days later, we went to Cenote Ponderosa. We stayed in the sun-covered pond, where we {#blank#}6{#/blank#} floated while others did diving and took underwater photographs. Being surrounded by a valley of trees made everything else in the world seem to disappear.

    Grutas de Loltún were definitely the most magnificent of all the cenotes, even though there was no swimming involved. Grutas are caves, and the Grutas de Loltún are among the biggest caves on the entire Peninsula. Our guide, Carolina, walked us through several caves, where we saw many drawings thousands of years old on the cave walls! Just one brief look at those drawings made me feel like I had stepped back in time to a(n) {#blank#}7{#/blank#} era of history. Our group thought Carolina was joking when she claimed she could make the stalagmites(石笋) sing for us, but when she {#blank#}8{#/blank#} them, we heard what sounded like the words "Lol" and "Tun"—the name of the caves! I cannot imagine that a(n) {#blank#}9{#/blank#} played at a concert at Carnegie Hall would have been any better.

    Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula is filled with beauty, but the cenotes are a one-of-a-kind opportunity to commune with nature in a way that is impossible anywhere else on Earth, and I would not {#blank#}10{#/blank#} to do it all again.

    Like many people acting on the desire to eat healthy and local, Acropolis resident Eduardo Jimenez decided to plant a garden in his backyard. He ploughed the soil, he planted the seeds, and he even set up a fence to keep out the deer. Eduardo did everything right. Or so it seems. However, when {#blank#}1{#/blank#} time has come, he has not one tomato, bean, or leaf of lettuce to show for his hard work. How did this happen? The answer comes in the form of a small, brown, particularly smelly insect: the stink bug.

    Unlike their picky cousins, stink bugs feed on some 300 species of plants, including figs, blueberries, corn, and kiwi fruits as well as soybeans, peas, and weeds. Although they do little damage to the plant itself, they make the fruits and vegetables {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. For this reason, stink bugs pose the most serious threat to the big agriculturalists and macro farm operators. Macro farmers have more {#blank#}3{#/blank#} in their produce, and therefore have more to lose. While hobbyists like Eduardo are left to face the disappointment of an unsuccessful garden, macro farmers are forced to live with the loss of entire tracts of cash crops—a fact that has left many {#blank#}4{#/blank#} able to clothe their children or put food on the table.

    Last season alone, several New Jersey pepper farmers saw 75% of their crops damaged. Pennsylvania lost half of its peach population, and, according to the US Apple Association, apple farmers in the mid-Atlantic states lost $37 million. This year could be worse. As a result of this {#blank#}5{#/blank#} in the supply of fresh fruits and vegetables, shoppers have seen {#blank#}6{#/blank#}—sometimes quite dramatic—in prices at the grocery store. Prices of apples in Maryland are up 8%. In the north-Atlantic states, prices for peppers shot up an astonishing 14%. Not only are these items becoming more expensive, but they are also getting harder to find. Last week, Marge Jenkins of Athens, Georgia reported having to check three different stores before encountering a decent batch of peas. And this, she assures us, is a regular {#blank#}7{#/blank#}. Accidentally brought from Asia, the stink bug has no natural {#blank#}8{#/blank#} in America, and thus its population is rising sharply. Reported sightings of stink bugs are becoming increasingly numerous, as the dried, brown, trapezoidal(不规则四边形) shells of the dead bugs are everywhere in some areas. This has farmers and scientists alike {#blank#}9{#/blank#} their heads in search of a remedy. Hope, they believe, may lie with an Asian parasitic wasp(黄蜂), which helpfully lays its eggs inside stink bug eggs.

    The larvae(幼虫) of the wasp consume the stink bug from the inside. But the {#blank#}10{#/blank#} of such a solution is still several years away, as scientists must first determine if it is safe for the wasp to be introduced into America. Until then, some farmers are resorting to homemade traps. Others have even contemplated the use of peacocks and praying mantises, which, they imagine, will gulp down the little stinkers.

    Eco-tourism involves people travelling to beautiful but environmental sensitive place. Such trips are usually carried out with a(n) {#blank#}1{#/blank#} guide. Over recent years  this type of travel has been steadily gaining {#blank#}2{#/blank#} as more people search for new travel experiences.

    It is obvious that eco-tourism is beneficial in many aspects. First, all the money spent by the tourists is used to {#blank#}3{#/blank#} the important environmental spots they visit. Second, it helps visitors to better understand the environment, which is sure to {#blank#}4{#/blank#} their knowledge of the world. Furthermore, this style of travel is also more {#blank#}5{#/blank#} of the local culture.

    Compared to normal tourists, eco-tourist use energy more {#blank#}6{#/blank#}, save water and produce less rubbish by finding ways to recycle it. These behaviors have a(n) {#blank#}7{#/blank#} and lasting effect on the local environment.

    Two things are needed to make eco-tourism a success. First, it should be done in small groups. And second, because it requires {#blank#}8{#/blank#} effort, both eco-tourists and locals must be sincere in their devotion to improving the environment.

    Green travel provides local people with jobs in parks, hotels and shops. One great achievement of eco-tourism has been the {#blank#}9{#/blank#} of illegal hunting. Former hunters can now work as guides to help keep the animals safe in their natural surroundings.

Peru is one country using eco-tourism to promote respect for the environment. It's not able to take better care of its rainforests because of {#blank#}10{#/blank#} on more sustainable travel.

    In addition to this, local people's living-standards have improved. Many others are now following Peru's example and using eco-tourism to preserve their environment for the future generations.