Although people often say we look alike,they also say that our personalities are completely different from each other.They describe me as intelligent and dependable,but consider him as self-centered.

He is my younger brother, Bob. He was born only 18 months after I was born.We did not get along well with each other. Maybe I was unhappy, even at the age of 18 months, about the new arrival. Another problem was that Bob was often sick. I must have felt cheated out of my parents' attention. I didn't understand why the two people I wanted to be with were always with him. We were fighting all the time.

Then, just over a year ago, doctors thought my brother could have cancer. Suddenly I felt as if the whole world was going black. It was at that point in my life that I realized just how much he meant to me. The day he went into surgery(手术) was one of the most terrible days in my life. When the test result came back negative(阴性), I felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted off my family and my brother.Although Bob has to go every few years for tests just to make sure that he is healthy, right now he is the picture of health.

Now, with me away at college, our relationship has improved greatly. Suddenly, he is more responsible, and is showing it. When I am home on breaks, he treats me with some respect. He even tries to include me in some of his activities with his friends.

Many years ago, I had wished that my baby brother would go away. But now, I will never find another person like him. He has the ability to make me laugh now, instead of upsetting me. I won't give him up for anything.

When it comes to saving the planet,more and more people begin to realize the importance of living green.However,more rubbish than we can imagine is being produced every day.How we deal with waste is a big environmental problem.

Waste sorting is a good way to save the planet.Waste sorting refers to the separation of waste into different kinds.Dry waste should be separated from wet waste.Dry waste is made up of anything that is naturally dry and can't be broken down,such as metal and paper while wet waste refers to organic(有机的）waste,such as trees,plant cuttings and flowers.Wet waste also refers to food that needs to be thrown away.Famous companies such as Allmetro Bins are available to offer advice about how to sort waste.

Waste sorting allows recycling factories to place all of the recyclable items together and get rid of what can't be recycled,thus doing less damage to the environment.In addition,we can reduce producing products using raw materials,which is good for the protection of natural resources(资源）。

Advanced technologies are being developed and used nowadays to help sort out waste. Even so,about another 300 factories for sorting and recycling are possible to be built by 2025 to meet the increasing need to reduce waste across Europe to the lowest possible level.

Remember:sorting at home is the first step towards recycling.By separating the glass waste from the rest,we will be doing our bit for the environment.

Bumblebees(大黄蜂）aren't simply dancing around our gardens.Now,a new study suggests that bumblebees force plants to flower by making small bites in their leaves.

Consuelo De Moraes,a scientist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, noticed bumblebees making tiny bites in the leaves of their greenhouse plants.The insects didn't seem to be carrying off the bits of leaves to their nests or eating them.

Supposing the bees were causing the plants to flower,Consuelo De Moraes and his team set up a series of experiments.They placed flowerless tomato plants and two kinds of worker bees in cages.The bees fed with enough pollen(花粉）seldom damaged the plants,while the ones without having pollen for three days busily did so.Scientists then removed the plants after the bees made five to ten holes in their leaves.The small holes caused the tomato plants to flower a month sooner than usual.

＂In a sense,the bees are signaling,'Hey,we need food.Please speed up your flowering, and we'll pollinate(授粉）you."said Lars Chittka,a behavioral scientist at Queen Mary University of London.

To make sure that their discoveries didn't result from the man-made conditions in the lab, the scientists placed bumblebees and a variety of flowerless plant species on their Zurich rooftop in late March 2018.The bees were free to fly as far as they could.Yet they set to work damaging the leaves on all the non-flowering plants nearest to their nests.The bees lost interest in this activity toward the end of April as more flowers came out,according to the study.

The research is of great value,for it can increase the human food supply.However,some questions remain to be answered,like"Why do the bites cause the plants to flower?"and ＂Does flowering early lead to higher fitness for the plants?"

Nowadays,being a parent has become harder than ever before.When it comes to useful parenting methods,advice from experts is different.One of the things researchers and educators agree on,however,is that if you want to raise successful children,you must"give them wings and let them fly."    11     But how do you go about it?Here are some tips to raise independent kids.

Let go.It's natural to want to help your kids but raising independent kids requires you to fight the urge(欲望）to help at all times.    12    Providing unnecessary help means you're taking away important chances to build independence.The golden rule is:if they can do it, don't insist on doing it for them.

Be present.Raising independent kids is difficult.It requires you to find the right balance between being present and letting go.    13     You need to create the environments that allow them to feel confident enough to go out on their own.

    14    Competitiveness draws the attention of many parents.    15     Your kid is unique.It's important to find out what he or she likes and to focus on developing his or her personal strengths.Research has shown that the activities to show children's unique abilities help lead them towards a meaningful life and help them develop confidence in their abilities.