Have you seen some machines that eat used plastic bottles and give some coins to the users(用户) ?
Recently, such machines have appeared at universities in Chongqing. They can turn rubbish into treasure and encourage the public to recycle rubbish. The machine is as large as a fridge. Users put an empty bottle in the machine, It is identified(识别) by a small camera. Then it is put into a built-in bin. The users can get some coins. They can also give away the money.
When the machine is filled with bottles. it will tell the company's(公司) head office. Nearby stations will send workers to have bottles collected . packed and send to the company.
The bottle recycling machines could greatly encourage the public to recycle rubbish and save natural resources(资源) . Now the machine only eats plastic bottles. At sometimes in the future it will also cover others, such as glass bottles, to turn more rubbish into treasure and make full use of the natural resources.
People can also see similar machines in Shanghai. In the future, more such machines will appear at some large stations. Bus stops, neighborhoods and schools.
The earth is about 4,600 million years old. Modern man has lived on the earth for only 35,000 years, but during that time, we have changed our planet in many ways. Many of the things that we have done are good, but more are not good for the earth.
Water pollution
A lot of people, birds and fish die each day because of water pollution. Factories have polluted the land and the water. As a result, many river and lakes are now dead.
Air pollution
In big cities, factories, as well as cars, trucks and buses are the biggest cause of air pollution. Many people in cities now have bad health problems. For example, Mexico city used to be a beautiful sunny capital, but today it is almost covered by thick brown clouds.
Soil pollution
In order to have a good harvest, most of the farmers use chemicals too much on their fields. That's bad for the soil. But this kind of pollution is difficult to stop.
Hope for the future
These problems are very serious for our future, so all of us should do something to improve our environment. If we can stop pollution, our planet will become more and more beautiful and our health will be better. Let's be greener people.
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People often think of the North Pole(北极) and the South Pole as similar frozen(冰冻的) wastelands. They are both places with very cold temperatures and few people live there. However, the North and South Poles are not much alike as people may imagine.
The North Pole has no land, only thick ice. Temperatures seldom go above 32°F, at which water turns into ice. Most of the time, it stays below zero. In winter temperatures are usually as low as -30°F.
Although conditions were very poor, people tried for many centuries to reach the North Pole. About 100 years ago, two men, Robert Peary and Mathew Henson, were able to get to this environment full of troubles and difficulties. They reached the North Pole on March 8th, 1909. It was really a hard trip for them.
There are few things more dangerous than crossing the Arctic(北极圈) on foot. People who stayed there may face many problems: very cold temperatures, sudden storms, and even hunger. Most of the area is uninhabited. Few people can live in such a difficult place.
People might think that with such low temperatures for most of the year, the ice would be thick and hard. However, this is not true in the Arctic. The movement of the ocean water under the ice may often cause many different changes on the surface. Sometimes the ice breaks into two opening lanes of water(水道) called “leads”. Anyone who falls into a lead can be frozen to death in a few minutes.
Canada Geese are large blue and white birds. When autumn comes, they have to fly south where the weather is warmer. The winters are so cold in Canada that the birds will die if they stay there.
Last spring, Bill Lishman found sixteen young Canada Geese on his farm. They had lost their parents. Bill thought, “These young birds won't know what to do in the autumn.” He had a small plane and he decided to teach the birds to fly by following him. All through the summer, he went on short trips in his plane and the young geese flew after him.
When the cold weather arrived in the autumn, Bill flew to Virginia in the United States——600 miles South of his home in Canada. The geese followed him all the way. Bill left the geese in Virginia and he returned home.
This spring, Bill was waiting for the birds to come back. They didn't arrive, so Bill flew to Virginia to get them. He looked for them for two weeks but he couldn't find them. When he arrived back home, he found the geese waiting for him. They had found their way home without him!
( No more than 4 words)

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Have you ever stayed in a hotel? Most Chinese hotels often provide guests with things like disposable (一次性的) toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo and slippers. Many guests like the idea because they don't have to bring their own. But, if you travel to Beijing, remember to bring your own things. Starting from June, some hotels in Beijing will no longer provide guests with these disposables. They want to ask people to use less disposable things.
Many disposable things are made of plastic. People throw them away after only using them once. It is a waste of natural resources (资源) and is very bad for the environment. Do you know, one Chinese person makes as much as 400kg of waste a year! Most of that waste comes from disposable things. In Beijing, people throw away about 19,000 tons of plastic bags and 1,320 tons of plastic lunch bowls every year! Plastic can take between 100 and 400 years to break down. So the less plastic we throw out, the better. So, wherever you travel, bring your own things and use them again and again.
Back at home and school, you can also do something to make our world a better place. Try to do these things in your daily life: Use cloth shopping bags, not plastic ones. After using a plastic bag, wash it out and let it dry. Then you can use it over and over again. Do not use paper cups. At your school canteen(食堂), use your own bowl and chopsticks instead of disposable ones.
Could smells affect your lifespan? Female fruit flies (果蝇) without the ability to smell food live longer than other fruit flies.The sense of smell may be connected to the cellular ageing (细胞老化) process in many other living things even people.Such connection has recently been found in both worms and flies.For example, scientists found that removing fruit flies' ability to smell made them live nearly 20 percent longer than flies with a sense of smell.
They confirmed that food smells were the ones most likely to affect ageing, as nutrition (营养) and lifespan are known to be connected in many living things.To test the idea that food smells affect lifespan, they removed flies' ability to smell carbon dioxide, which is produced by some fly foods.They left the rest of the smelling system.
This action had no effect on male flies, but the females lived 30 percent longer than normal.Removing the ability to smell CO2 may stop flies getting information about food availability.This could mean that food is not enough, causing processes that encourage flies to survive.Scientists found that the female flies from stored extra fat and that both males and females immune (免疫) to CO2 were stronger against the stress than normal flies.It is suggested that females may simply be easily influenced by the smells of CO2 .
Scientists point out that people don't know whether ageing and smell are connected in animals and humans.But they clearly experience physical changes after smelling food.
Have you ever stood beside the ocean and stared at the waves (波浪)? The way they move is changing! Nothing is more peaceful than watching the movement of water.
Every ocean has waves. Unless you are lucky enough to live by the sea, though, you probably can't watch the waves very often. How would you like to have your own wave machine? Making one is easy and a lot of fun.
Start with the following things: a glass bottle, water, food colouring, some dish soap, vegetable oil, paint thinner (涂料稀释剂), a cap for the bottle *Note: Use the paint thinner only when your parents agree. Put it away carefully. | |
Step 1: Using the dish soap, wash the bottle carefully. You want your sea to be nice and clean! |
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Step 2: Fill the bottle halfway with clean water. |
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Step 3: Now pm food colouring into the bottle. A few drops will colour the water. You might want to use blue or green. The prettiest colour is actually a mix of blue and green! |
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Step 4: Pour some vegetable oil into your bottle. Pour until the bottle is almost full. Then add some paint thinner until your bottle is full. |
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Step 5: Cap your bottle gently. |
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Now that you have made your ocean, put your bottle on its side. Wait a minute. The water win be on the bottom. The oil and paint thinner mixture will be on the top. Now tip (倾斜) the bottle back and forth (反复来回) and watch the waves.
Many animals are in danger of dying out. We can see the number of animal species decreases faster and faster and this trend will continue. From 1980 to 2010, at least I million animal species disappeared. Worse still, more and more wild animals are in great danger. It is not a piece of terrible news; it is a fact, a harsh reality. Unfortunately, we may not see these animals in the near future.
Why is the number of animal species declining year by year? Apparently animals have become victims of fashion industry. Animal skin has been used to make fashionable clothes and these clothes are sold at a high price. So some greedy people begin to kill animals in a large quantity. This irresponsible behaviour not only breaks the balance of nature but also endangers the living environment of human beings.
As far as I am concerned, something must be done to stop this illegal action. We believe "no buying, no killing". First, we must make concerning laws to protect these animals in danger. Second, we must take some measures to protect animals effectively. Animals are our friends and part of our environment. Third, we should raise people's awareness to protect animals and our environment. In this way, we can build a harmonious society and ensure a sustainable development.
Most of us know that Ikea is the world's biggest furniture company. However, did you know that it's also a pioneer in environmental protection?
Ikea says it's working hard to improve the environment. The company has made huge efforts to cut the carbon emissions(碳排放)of its suppliers(供应商).Over the past five years, Ikea has helped its suppliers become 18 percent more energy-efficient. It managed to do so by bringing its suppliers together. The one that produces the least carbon emissions will be praised.
Ikea has also invested(投资)heavily in clean energy. The company now operates more than 300 wind turbines(叶轮机)around the world. It has also set up nearly 750,000 solar panels(太阳能嵌板)on the roof of its stores. As a result, Ikea can produce 71 percent of the energy it uses, which are all from clean sources. In some countries,such a} Denmark and Finland,the company produces as much energy as it uses.
Ikea has been buying forests as well. It owns nearly 750 square kilometers of forest.
Last but not least, Ikea has tried changing customers' behavior(行为).It does so by improving product designs. In 2015, Ikea changed all of its lighting products into LED. This change alone, it says, has saved lots of electricity.
① Fire wood. ② Oil. ③ Solar energy. ④ Wind power.
When you are waiting on a phone call with a pen in your hand or feeling bored on a train, you may probably doodle(涂鸦). Consultant Graphology(笔迹咨询师)Tracey has studied the most common doodles and their meaning in a new piece of research. Here she shares the psychology(心理学)behind those doodles.
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Circles Drawing round shapes expresses the need to love and be loved. |
| Squares If you're drawing squares, then this shows a practical(脚踏实地的)nature. |
| Triangles If you're drawing triangles, his shows you are an energetic and powerful nature. |
| Flowers If your flower has a large round centre, this expresses confidence and the enjoyment of a good social life. |
| Hearts Hearts have always been symbols of love. It clearly expresses that you pay much attention to feelings, but easily get sad as well. |
| Coils(线圈) Drawing these complicated(复杂的)shapes means the doodlers have a colorful life and the ability of creativity. What unusual doodles they are! |
| Webs This kind of doodles may be unusual and complicated, but drawing webs shows special personalities that are good at leading people to a special situation. |
| Boxes It's not good news for people who draw boxes. Because Tracey believes that while this shows great dreams, it can also be a sign of materialism(物质主义). |
Everybody hates rats. But rats may soon be man's new good friends. What happens after an earthquake? We send in rescue dogs. Why? Because they can smell people. Dogs save lives. They help rescuers to find living people. But dogs are big and they can't get into small spaces. So now a new research project is using a smaller animal to save lives: the rat.
How does it work? First, the rat is trained to smell people. When this happens, the rat's brain gives a signal. This is sent to a small radio on its back, and then the rescuers follow the radio signals. When the rat's brain activity jumps, the rescuers know that someone is alive. The rat has smelled that person.
Although there are already robots which can do this job, rats are better. Robots' noses don't work well when there are other smells around. Rats are good at that. Rats can also see in the dark, they are cheaper and quicker to train than dogs, and unlike robots, they don't need electricity!
The "rat project" is not finished. But a scientist says, "It would be great. A rat could get into any place we couldn't get to, and a rat would get out if it wasn't safe." Perhaps for the first time in history, people will be happy to see a rat in a building (but only after an earthquake, of course).
When someone says, "Well, I guess I'll have to face the music", it doesn't mean that he is planning to go to hear a singer or attend a concert. It is something far sadder than you are called in by your leader to explain why you did this and that or why you did not do this or that.
At some time or another, every one of us has to "face the music", especially as children. We can all remember Father's angry words "I want to talk to you". And only because we did not listen to him. What a bad thing it was!
In the middle or at the end of every term, we students have to "face the music". The result of the exam will decide whether we will face the music or not. If.…that means parents' cold faces and contempt (轻蔑) of the teachers and classmates.
The American novelist James Fennimore Cooper said in 1851 that the expression "face the music" was first used by actors while waiting aside to go on stage. When it was their turn to go on the stage, they often said, "It's time to face the music." An actor might be frightened or nervous as he moved onto the stage in front of the audience because they might be friendly, or perhaps they are hostile, especially if he forgot what he would say. But he had to go out. If he did not, there would be no play. He would lose his job.
"To face the music" is well known to every American, young or old. It is at least 100 years old. It really means that you have to do something, no matter how terrible the whole thing might be, because you know you have no choice.
On July 1, 2019, Shanghai began the waste sorting programme. There are four kinds of waste: wet waste, dry waste, dangerous waste and recyclable waste. Under the new rules, people must put their waste in the right place. Or they will be fined more than 50 yuan and less than 200 yuan.
Sorting waste is very important. By doing so, we can take out non-degradable(不可降解的)waste and save resources(资源)In return, we can get a better environment. ▲ Luckily. Internet companies like Wechat, Baidu and Alipay made apps to help.
How do we use the apps? Just open one waste-sorting app and write down the keyword. Then the app will tell us the answer and why, Alipay says its waste-sorting app got one million users in just three days and the number is still growing. They are working on the app and people may use it by taking photos in the future.
The waste-sorting programme is the talk of the whole country now. And another 21. 3 billion yuan will be used on the programme in 46 cities by the end of 2020.
Science and technology can be seen everywhere. They are making our life more convenient(方便的) and comfortable. Some scientists recently added amazing ideas to four common things and made great changes to them.
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It's not just a phone. China has taken the leading place in several scientific fields. In February, 2019, Huawei introduced Mate X, the first 5G phone that can be folded( 折叠) in the world. It allows users to read e-books or watch movies on a larger screen. The Mate X supports(支持) 5G. It means you can get a movie from the Internet about 100 times faster than using 4G. |
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They are not just chopsticks. Scientists at an American university have invented a pair of electronic chopsticks that can change the taste of food. When you put the chopsticks in your mouth, they can make you feel the taste becomes better, such as making sweet food taste sweeter or salty food less salty. Soon the scientists are going to try their technology on bottles, cups and spoons(勺子). |
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It's not just a sticker(粘贴). It's said that about 52% of the fruits of the earth go bad before reaching the buyers. Scientists from Malaysia(马来西亚) thought of a simple way to solve the problem--tiny stickers that are made out of some natural materials(材料). Put the stickers on fruits, and the fruits can keep fresh up to two weeks. |
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They are not just shoes. Every step you take is helping cut down air pollution. This is not in science fiction(科幻小说). A team from Europe has invented such a pair of shoes. The shoes can take in dirty air and send out clean air. If you wear the shoes and walk one kilometer, the shoes can clean the air polluted by eight cars. |