Join the Sydney City Library

Experience greater security and access to our library and other services by joining with a City of Sydney account. Your City of Sydney account uses your email address and a password as the login (登录). You’ll be able to use the same login to access other City of Sydney services.

① Go to the library online catalogue (目录) and select Join

② Select Create an account and follow the instructions

③ When the account is created, select Join the library

If you don’t have an email address you can still join the library.

① Go to the library online catalogue and select Join

② Select Create an account and then the option I don’t have an email

③ Follow the prompts to complete the library membership form

To ensure your full membership and collect your library card, visit a branch open for browsing and borrowing. You need to show proof of identity and permanent residential address. Official documents such as a driver licence, student card, bank statement or rates are accepted.

Applicants under 18 years old

A parent or guardian is required to approve your application. They need to visit a branch with you to show proof of identity, including their residential address and medicare card listing your name. For online memberships this proof of identity should be emailed to librarymemberships@cityofsydney. nsw. gov. au

When Param Jaggi was five years old, he had a passion to take things apart to see what was inside. He started with toys and even broke a computer, which made his parents not too pleased. As he got older, he shifted from breaking things to building things, which greatly comforted his parents. In middle school. he started working on projects in his kitchen laboratory, and his first project was making biofuels.

Although Jaggi’s parents initially thought his experiments were just. a boyhood fancy, he remained determined to make a difference to the environment. Eventually, his parents came around and started supporting his dreams. Jaggi’s interest continued as he grew up, but he focused more on solving real problems, especially those related to the environment.

At 17, Jaggi went beyond his school projects and. co-founded Ecoviate, a company that uses technology to solve everyday energy and environmental problems. He planned to transform people’s idea that going green is expensive, by making available a series of affordable products that are easy to use. Through Ecoviate, he designed products that could contribute to a greener future. One of his notable inventions was the “CO2ube”, a device that could be attached to vehicle tailpipes to reduce carbon emissions, and it’s available to many people at low prices. He also created a smartwatch that changed body heat into energy, which can be used to power up the watch as well as mobile phones.

Young Jaggi, now a third-grade college student studying engineering and economics, has become a famous eco-innovator and his company is developing promisingly. However, Jaggi’s vision to save the environment goes beyond creating products. He plans to launch an online platform through Ecoviate, which will encourage young students interested in science and technology to get actively involved in innovation and invention. Students can submit a science project online, and talk about the help that they need to make the project a reality.

Animals can adapt quickly to survive unfavorable environmental conditions. Evidence is mounting to show that plants can, too. A paper published in the journal Trends in Plant Science details how plants are rapidly adapting to the effects of climate change, and how they are passing down these adaptations to their offspring(后代).

Plants are facing more environmental stresses than ever. For example, climate change is making winters shorter in many locations, and plants are responding. “Many plants require a minimum period of cold in order to set up their environmental clock to define their flowering time,” says Martinelli, a plant geneticist at the University of Florence. “As cold seasons shorten, plants have adapted to require shorter periods of cold to delay flowering. These mechanisms allow plants to avoid flowering in periods when they have fewer opportunities to reproduce.”

Because plants don’t have neural(神经的) networks, their memory is based entirely on cellular(细胞的),molecular(分子的),and biochemical networks. These networks make up what the researchers call somatic memory(体细胞记忆). “It allows plants to recognize the occurrence of a previous environmental condition and to react accordingly,” says Martinelli.

These somatic memories can then be passed to the plants’ offspring via epigenetics(表现遗传). “Several examples demonstrate the existence of molecular mechanisms modulating plant memory to environmental stresses and affecting the adaptation of offspring to these stresses,” says Martinelli.

Going forward, Martinelli hopes to understand even more about the genes that are being passed down. “We are particularly interested in decoding the epigenetic alphabet without changes in DNA sequence(序列),”he says. “This is especially important when we consider the rapid climate change, we observe today that every living organism, including plants, needs to quickly adapt to survive.”

Since the last ice age, humans have cleared nearly half of the earth’s forests and grasslands for agriculture. With the world population expanding, there’s ever-increasing pressure on farmland to produce not only more food but also clean energy. In places such as Yakima County, Washington, it’s created competition for space as land-hungry solar panels (板) consume available fields. Last month, the state approved plans to cover 1,700 acres of agricultural land with solar panels, fueling concerns over the long-term impacts of losing cropland.

A recent study from the University of California, however, shows how farmers may soon harvest crops and energy together. One researcher, Majdi Abou Najm, explains that visible light spectrum (光谱) can be separated into blue and red light waves, and their photons (光子) have different properties. Blue ones have higher energy than red ones. While that gives blue light what is needed to generate power, it also results in higher temperatures. “From a plant angle, red photons are the efficient ones,” says Abou Najm. “They don’t make the plant feel hot.”

A goal of the study is to create a new generation of solar panels. He sees potential in the organic solar cells, which come from carbon-based materials. Thin and transparent, the cells are applied like a film onto various surfaces. This new technology could be used to develop special solar panels that block blue light to generate power, while passing the red light on to crops planted directly below. These panels could also provide shade for heat-sensitive fruits during the hottest part of the day.

By 2050, we’ll have two billion more people, and we’ll need more food and more energy. By maximizing the solar spectrum, “we’re making full use of an endlessly sustainable resource,” says Abou Najm. “If a technology kicks in that can develop these panels, then the sky is the limit on how efficient we can be.”

It’s no secret that reading good news feels a lot better than reading bad news. Like, would you rather bite into a lemon, or sip on a fresh glass of lemonade?

    16    The world is full of problems and conflicts and we need to stay informed and alert (警觉的) to what’s going on around us. While reading traditional, more negative news is important, consuming good news is also part of staying informed.     17    And it also brings meaningful benefits, like reduced stress and anxiety, higher rates of engagement, community building skills, and inspiration for creating a better world. Plus, knowing what to look for in the good news landscape is a key part of improving our media literacy skills and being thoughtful news consumers.

In fact, good news, known as solutions journalism, is becoming more popular, as publishers and news stations discover the benefits of sharing positive stories. Good Good Good is one of them.     18     A team of reporters and editors there work daily to deliver stories that make readers feel hopeful and equipped to do more good with possible solutions.

“If it bleeds, it leads.” has long been a saying used in the media to describe how news stories about violence, death and destruction draw readers’ attention.       19     The thing is, however, there’s also good stuff out there—the delightful and kind parts of humanity. “Beautiful stories are happening worldwide.    20    When you do find them, the world can suddenly feel like a very different place. Good news is a vital part of how we learn about the world and solving the world’s problems.” Hervey, one of Good Good Good’s editors said.

Adam Wolfers believes that his son’s autism (自闭症) has a positive impact on his hobby of photography. 10-­year­-old Morgan has always possessed a _________ eye for capturing the world around him through his camera. Diagnosed (被诊断) with autism at the age of 3, Morgan has had a hard time _________ with others.

_________ these difficulties, he has shown an exceptional talent for noticing details that _________ others. Morgan has found clarity and focus in nature, particularly in the vivid colors and shapes of plants, leading him to _________ the art of nature photography.

Not _________ with merely capturing pictures, Morgan has even established his own photography business, becoming one of the top sellers in a local shop. _________, he donates ten percent of his _________ to support autistic artists through the Blue Ribbon Arts Initiative.

However, his motivation for photography _________ financial gain, as he simply wants to share the beauty he __________ with others. His work has gained __________, with one of his photos picked by National Geographic for __________ in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

His parents teared up as they told what his photography means. Morgan’s photography has become his saving grace (体面) because it gets people to look __________ his issues. “He’s going to make his __________,” his mother said.

Morgan advises all of us to try new things and explore our __________ and what we want to do. In other words, don’t be afraid to see things differently.

To write his own medical text, Li Shizhen referenced over 800 medical texts, countless books on history and geography, and works of literature. He even studied the complete works of many ancient poets, from     36     he selected a surprising number of verses about medicine. However, the greatest issue he encountered was the widespread     37    (inconsistent) in the use of drug names. Realising the importance of field research outweighed     38    of extensive reading, in 1565 Li travelled far and wide into the mountains and wilderness. He covered what are today’s provinces of Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui and Jiangsu, and many other places.

After over a decade of field research, Li     39    (successful) completed the first draft of his masterpiece, Bencao Gangmu, or the Compendium of Materia Medica in 1578. He revised     40     work at least three times right up until his death in 1593.

Since its first publication in 1596, the book     41    (receive) world-wide recognition. British naturalist Charles Darwin acknowledged the book     42     an “ancient Chinese encyclopedia.” In 2011, the book    43    (list) on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. In 2017, an international conference was held in Beijing     44    (celebrate) Li’s 500th birthday.

Today, there are a     45    (grow) number of international exchanges centering on Li Shizhen and his book, and many people around the world can still find the wisdom of human development in this ancient classic.