Passage 15
学霸导读 2019 年，蚂蚁森林荣获联合国环境规划署的“地球卫士奖”，可谓实至名归。
Alipay Ant Forest has been awarded the United Nation’s highest environmental honor—the “United Nations Champions of the Earth Award” （ “地球卫士奖” ）， according to the statement by the United Nations Environment Programme （ UNEP，联合国环境规划署 ） on September 19， 2019.
The Ant Forest green initiative （ 倡议 ） was started in the Alipay app in August 2016. It encourages users to live a low-carbon life by paying utility bills （ 水电费账单 ） online and walking or taking buses to work instead of driving. Such behavior p 1 virtual “green energy points”. With enough energy points， users can grow a virtual “tree” on their mobile phone. Then the virtual tree is planted by Alipay and its philanthropic （ 慈善的 ） partners in areas that need reforesting （ 再造林 ）.
By August 2019， Alipay Ant Forest has a 2 over 500 million users. Their low-carbon behavior has resulted in 122 million trees in arid （ 干旱的 ） areas in China， including regions in Inner Mongolia， Gansu， Qinghai and Shanxi. The i 3 of the green initiative has also traveled beyond China. Inspired by Alipay Ant Forest， the Philippines’ famous mobile wallet service GCash added GCash Forest to its App in June 2019. Local users are encouraged to contribute to reforestation and environmental protection by m 4 of low-carbon activities in their daily lives.
“Alipay Ant Forest shows how technology can transform our world，” said Inger Andersen， Executive Director （ 执行主任 ） of the UNEP. “Although the environmental challenges we face are daunting， we have the technology and the knowledge to overcome them and redesign the way humans and the planet a 5 each other. Initiatives like Alipay Ant Forest take advantage of the best of human ingenuity and innovation to create a better world，” she said.
Eric Jing， Chairman and CEO of Ant Financial said， “Alipay Ant Forest ref lects our b 6 that technology can and should be used for social good （ 社会公益 ）. Its popularity shows that the public is ready to take action to deal with c 7 change.”
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高频词汇
virtual /'vɜːtʃuəl/ adj. （通过计算机） 虚拟的，模拟的
result in 导致，结果造成
daunting /'dɔːntɪŋ/ adj. 令人发怵的；使人气馁的
ingenuity /ˌɪndʒə'njuːəti/ n. 心灵手巧；足智多谋；独创力
popularity /ˌpɒpjə'lærəti/ n. 流行