From a young age, Michael Platt loved two things: Martin Luther King and cupcakes. He remembered statistics about income inequality and children hunger. But he also1afternoons at his computer in his Bowie home, awestruck by YouTube bakers who transformed a base of eggs, flour and water2edible (可食用的) works of art.

    Michael saw a way to3his twin passions. At age 11, he founded a bakery that operates on the Toms one-for-one model: For every cupcake, cake or cookie Michael4, he donates another to the homeless and5. Michael, now 13, said he6enjoys handing out cupcakes to kids.

    Sometimes Michael bakes to7money for hunger-fighting nonprofit groups, too. He spent a morning last weekend teaching a baking class to raise money for No Kid Hungry.

    He can keep up with his baking in part because he is homeschooled by his mother, who quit her job to8Michael full time. Michael9from public school-and his mother from job-after his epilepsy (癫痫) was diagnosed in sixth grade. His epilepsy became too10and too frequent to allow him to sit in a classroom, his mother explained.

    "It was a very, very11time," she said of the period after the diagnosis, during which Michael had to12 his physical activity. "He had to stop everything he13:Gymnastics, climbing trees, diving. So that's when he kind of threw himself into baking," she said. Baking, Michael said, makes him feel 14 .

    But when he started the bakery, he knew from the beginning that he wanted his15to do more than make money. Michael hopes his cupcakes spread awareness of the past and16others to work for social equality.

    Sometimes, Michael17, he grows tired of being in the kitchen. Then he remembers the18boy he met once while19cupcakes. A couple of days afterward, the boy's father messaged Michael on Facebook to say that his son, encouraged by Michael's example, now aspired (向往) to20a baker, "That inspired me," Michael said.

    When you think of batteries, you'll likely think about them powering up remote controls, cellphones, flashlights and toys. But some people carry a battery around in their body to power a pacemaker (起搏器). It isn't really pleasant and easy to carry batteries because they need to be replaced so often and they can leak poisonous chemicals. A battery-powered pacemaker may become a thing of the past, thanks to a new technology developed by UCLA researchers: A biological super capacitor (超级电容器) , which is thinner than several hairs.

    Teams of researchers at UCLA and the University of Connecticut published a paper in a journal explaining their new invention. The super capacitor is made from a carbon material, and coated with human-like proteins that act as electrodes (电极). But what makes the device different is that it is powered by an energy harvester that changes body heat and movement in the blood into energy.

    Those traditional pacemakers are six to eight millimeters(毫米) thick. They are much bigger. The new super capacitor, which, due to its lack of battery, is only one micrometer(微米) thick. This "little" feature could benefit the new pacemaker's energy efficiency, researchers stated. Also, unlike other batteries used in medical treatments, the super capacitor can bend and twist in the body without suffering damage.

    Though they've not been widely used in the medical world, super capacitors have the ability to serve as a safer and more efficient medical device than the traditional battery-operated devices, the researchers believe.

    "In order to be effective, battery free pacemakers must have super capacitors that can get, store and transport energy. However, commercial super capacitors are too slow to make them work", said Maher El-Kady, a UCLA researcher and co-author of the study. “Our research focused on the custom-designed super capacitor to capture energy effectively, and finding a way to make it exist together successfully with the human body."

    Coral reefs are,in fact,a necessary part of our ecosystem and provide opportunities for human beings to gain a better understanding of the ocean.Unfortunately,they're also disappearing faster than ever.

    According to a warning by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA) on Oct.8,the world is in its third recorded global coral bleaching（白化）since 1998 and 2010.This means no place with coral has been spared,as coral reefs are coming into contact with increasingly warm seas,which is leading to them dying off in large numbers.

    Coral bleaching is like human cancer.It happens when corals are under stress from changes in light,nutrients,or temperature.This causes the coral to drive away the symbiotic algae（共生藻类）,living within their tissues（组织）, which play an important role in providing food for coral while making it colorful.Without the algae,coral reefs become pale and weak.In some cases they are not able to recover and eventually die off.

    The current coral bleaching event started back in late 2014 and continued into this year with no signs of stopping.The BBC reports that 35% of coral reefs in the world will likely be affected,and an estimated 4,633 square miles (about 120,000 square kilometers) of coral reefs could die.

    The loss of coral reefs is no small matter.Although they only take up 0.1% of the ocean floor,coral is home to about 25% of marine life.This isn't just a problem for divers and fish,as Eakin pointed out.Coral reefs are important globally,he added,as they protect shorelines,produce money in tourism,and help provide food for 500 million people worldwide.So people cannot overlook the environmental,economic and social effects of the loss.

    The NOAA warning about coral bleaching came just about two months before a global climate summit（峰会）in Paris,where hundreds of world leaders will attempt to work out a plan to fight climate change.

    Oceans will be a key subject during the summit,and Eakin says there's an "absolutely urgent need" for action.

         Imagine looking f or your lost dog. You step into a cave. But instead of the dog, you find beautiful cave paintings. You see paintings of horses, deer, and bison drawn in black, brown, red and yellow. Your first question would probably be“Who did this? ”

          This is what happened to four French boys in 1940. They found the Lascaux caves. The paintings the boys discovered in those caves are about 17, 000 years old. They were drawn by the ancient people called Cro-Magnon(克鲁马努人).

          Cro-Magnons looked much like people of today. They used tools, such as fishing nets. But their art was extremely good. The main cave at Lascaux is called Great Hall of Bulls, which has a picture of bulls and horses in many colours. The largest animal is 18 feet long. There are smaller animals, such as bison, stags and a bear. There is also a strange spotted two-horned(两只角的)animal.

          To the left of the main cave are the most famous paintings that are the drawings of animals in many different colours. One painting is called Little Horses. On the ceiling are horses and cows. The most unusual sight may be in the Shaft of the Dead Man where there is a rhinoceros, a carefully drawn dead man, an injured bison and a bird.

          Why did Cro-Magnon artists do these beautiful drawings on cave walls? Did the drawings call upon some magic power? Did the Cro-Magnon people hope that the drawings would bring good luck? There is one thing the paintings seem to tell us. The Cro-Magnons were interested in the world. They looked at beauty and they understood it.

    I was on my way home from work, cutting through the Bryant Park. On that day, the sun seemed to set faster than usual, and suddenly I found myself walking in the dark. I was less than half a mile from my apartment, but the path would lead me over a bridge, across train tracks, and through an unlit underpass.

    Then I heard him – a stranger running alongside me, partly obscured(遮掩) by the bushes. My mouth went dry; my legs felt like water. But I didn't pick up my pace – instead, I stopped, turned, and faced him. He came out of the bushes and said he'd been watching me "for a long time".

    As he walked beside me, I guided us towards the edge of the park. When we reached the bridge, a train rumbled(轰鸣着缓慢行进) past, and he seized the moment, attacking me with a knife around my throat. The self-defense skills I had learned years before kicked in, and I pushed my finger into his eye, hard. And then came the shock: That didn't frighten him away. My mind flashed back to a tip from an old guitar teacher: "Press the strings like you're squeezing a flea(跳蚤)." I put all my strength into that finger, and finally he let go.

    I was shaking with fear, but I looked him straight in the eye and began to back away. I turned to run the hell out of there, but then I remembered another self-defense lesson: Never run, because then you're a target. So I walked away alone – through the dark tunnel as I dialed 911 with trembling fingers. If you ever find yourself in this situation, use these self-defense skills that you already know. They can really make all the difference to you.

    Smokejumpers are a special type of firefighter. They jump from planes into areas that are difficult to reach by car or on foot. When they arrive there, they first examine the land and decide to fight the fire. Their main goal is to stop a fire from (spread). They will use basic equipment to clear land of plants and other dry materials. The work is dangerous, they love being able to jump out of planes, fight fires, and live in the forest. As 38-year-old Alexi Tishin, who (work) as a smokejumper for 15 years, says, “This is the best job for tough guys.”

选项。

    Many experts are calling the growing problem of global waste a worldwide health crisis in since pollution from trash is not only harming the world's oceans, air and soil but also endangering people's health as well as the livelihood of all living creatures.

    Reduce, reuse, recycle

    Such a dilemma raises the question, is there a more responsible way of dealing with trash? Fortunately, there is. One example of this is what's often called the three Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle. Reducing the use of plastic containers as well as reusing and recycling bottles and cans decreases the amount of garbage being sent to landfills. As a result, less money is spent on waste management, and countries' financial burdens are significantly relieved. Such positive effects on an economy are known as a circular economy.

    Circular economy

    Traditionally, manufacturers would make a product to be used and disposed of by consumers. This linear (直线型的) model of production offered no help in the fight against global waste.

    Once a product's value is exhausted, the materials are recycled and returned to manufacturers. The outcome is less waste. One large-scale example of this is happening on the island of Taiwan.

In 1997, Taiwan established its signature 4-in-1 Recycling Program, consisting of communities, government cleaning teams, recycling companies and the Recycling Fund. Residents separate their recyclable waste. The local government collection teams collect it.Importers and manufacturers who are responsible for the recyclable products pay a fee into the Recycling Fund.

    The Recycling Fund is an essential aspect of the program used to subsidize (补贴) the recycling disposal system, support education and research and development as well as finance recycling efforts in the future.

    Turning garbage into gold

    By following a circular system, more products than ever are being manufactured using recycled materials. Environmentally-friendly decisions like these help to conserve natural resources, reduce pollution, save landfill space and even create new job opportunities.

A. Practices in Taiwan

B. 4-in-1 Recycling Program

C. Recycling can truly turn garbage into gold.

D. Living a zero-waste lifestyle is the way to go.

E. Alternatively, a circular economy was introduced.

F. The recyclable waste is recycled in many local factories.

G. Recycling companies buy waste materials from them to make profits.

It's never hard to identify pictures from Instagram: They're usually bright-colored, shot with tasteful lighting, and the people and items are artfully arranged in the frames (画面). Instagram photos seem much similar to each other and to be effortlessly perfect.

Even though it has been here for less than a decade, Instagram — a photo and video-sharing platform started in 2010 in the US — has redefined fashion, travel, food, and even art, because almost everyone wants to make themselves and things look "effortless" and "perfect".

But every trend has its sell-by date, including the so-called "Instagram aesthetic (审美)". Once young people figured out that what appeared to be effortless was actually carefully staged, they lost interest immediately. To them, "trying too hard" is never cool.

This is why a new trend is growing on Instagram - one that wants to be "more authentic", Lexie Carbone from social media marketing firm mentioned. For example, people have been posting "Instagram vs reality" photos to show the real side of themselves. One Instagram user, 22-year-old Reese Blutstein, has attracted over 238,000 followers since she began posting unfiltered photos of herself in strange outfits (装束). "For my generation, people are more willing to be who they are," said Blutstein. "We are trying to show a real person doing cool things as a real person, not trying to create a persona (人设) that isn't actually you."

So perhaps the "Instagram aesthetic" is not coming to an end after all. It's just evolving — into a cooler and more honest version of itself.

Ocean pollution is serious. It can kill ocean creatures  even harm humans. It's vital to focus on this issue and find ways to prevent pollution in our waters.

Pollution in the ocean (severe) harms sea creatures. For example, ocean animals often mistake pieces of plastic for food. As a result, their bellies fill up with plastic from bottles, containers and beach toys, can be deadly to the animals.

Ocean pollution (cause) risks for humans, too. Polluted water can result diseases among swimmers. Also, people eat fish which might （poison）with harmful chemicals from oil leaks and rubbish in the sea water.

Some people may argue that ocean pollution is not serious, (believe)that the ocean is so vast that it can absorb all kinds of pollution. However, the examples of ocean creatures (kill) by pollution prove them wrong.

In (conclude), it's clear that ocean pollution is a (challenge)problem. We need to learn more about how to stop it.

Learn a language in the native country and add some extracurricular fun with these holiday courses that offer a skill or some culture, too.

Mandarin and various activities, China

Four hours of lessons a day plus the benefit of one-to-one level assessment and study plan is the deal at the Hutong School's Mandarin courses in Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou. A two-week course also includes up to four activities a week—tai chi, cooking, even skiing—and there are outings at the weekends to explore more of China.

Greek and culture, Lefkada

Omilo runs Greek courses in Athens and Nafplion, and on the islands of Syros and Lefkada. The latter is perhaps the most appealing: classes take place 200 metres from the beach in the village of Agios Nikitas on the west coast. A week's course includes 24 hours of lessons over six days and at least four activities. Strangely, students must be 26 or over.

Japanese and pop culture, Fukuoka

Cactus has courses in 120 destinations in Fukuoka. Lessons are from 9.30am-2.30pm, Monday to Friday, and cover movies, music, TV and books as well as the Japanese language. Optional extras include studying tea ceremonies, calligraphy, Japanese food and other customs.

French and horse-riding, Provence

CESA has great courses based at a mansion in Aix-en-Provence. Two weeks of French lessons can be combined with horse-riding (20 group lessons per week), painting, hiking, cooking or oenology. Accommodation options include staying with a host family. The school arranges activities such as town tours.