【推荐1】At long last, Stefano Boeri Architects’ brilliant Bosco Verticale towers are finally completed. The “world’s first vertical forest” consists of a fantastic pair of costly towers that add nearly 2.5 acres of lush vegetation to the sky line of Milan, a city notorious (声名狼藉的) for its air pollution.     1     Like a pair of green lungs, its forested appearance of 21,000 plants will absorb CO₂, control noise pollution, lessen the urban heat island effect, and create oxygen and favorable micro-climates.

The Bosco Verticale mixed-use towers are constructed with a $2.5 billion public-private investment as part of the re-development of Milan’s Porta Nuova district. The towers, measuring 260 feet and 367 feet, house 800 trees between 9 and 30 feet tall, over 4,000 shrubs (灌木) and 15,000 ground cover plants. Bosco Verticale is created with LEED Gold Certification (绿色建筑黄金认证) in mind.     2    

The buildings shrub have welcomed their first residents.     3     A fast-growing bird population has already begun to nest in Bosco Verticale’s rich leaves, of which over a hundred different species of trees and shrubs are represented.     4    

The superstructure is also selected for the world famous International Highrise Building Award as one of the five most beautiful and original high-rises in the world that is completed.     5    

【推荐3】Several years ago, Jason Box, a scientist from Ohio, flew 31 giant rolls of white plastic to a glacier (冰川) in Greenland. He and his team spread them across 10,000 feet of ice, and then left. His idea was that the white blanket would reflect back the rays of the sun, keeping the ice cool below. When he came back to check the results, he found it worked. Exposed ice had melted faster than covered ice. He had not only saved two feet of glacier in a short time. No coal plants (煤炭工厂) were shut down, no jobs were lost, and nobody was taxed or fired. Just the sort of fix we’re looking for.

“Thank you, but no thank you.” says Ralph King, a climate scientist. He told Grey Childs, author and commentator, that people think technology can save the planet, “but there are other things we need to deal with, like consumption (消费). They burned $50,000 just for the helicopter to bring the plastic to the glacier. ”This experiment gives people false hope that climate change can be fixed (解决，处理) without changing human behavior. . It can’t. Technology won’t give us a free ride (搭便车).

Individuals respond to climate change differently. Climatologist Kelly Smith is hardly alone in her prediction that someday soon we won’t be climate victims; we will be climate choosers. More scientists agree with her that if the human race survives, the engineers will get smarter, the tools will get better, and one day we will control the climate. But what then? "Just the mention of us controlling the climate sent a small shiver (颤抖) down my back”, Grey Childs writes, “Something sounds wrong about it.”

Me? I like it better when the earth takes care of itself. I guess one day we will have to run the place, but for the moment, sitting at my desk. looking out at the trees bending wildly and the wind howling. I’m happy not to be in charge.

【推荐1】In the first days after a team of 25 delivery robots landed on George Mason University's campus in January,they appeared to cause curious glances and many photos but not much else.

It was clear,officials said,that more time and more data would be necessary to understand whether the robots would change the campus culture or become forgettable.Two months later,an extra 1,500 breakfast orders have been delivered autonomously,according to the technologists of Sodexo,a company that manages food service for GMU and works closely with the robots.

Research has shown that up to 88 percent of college students skip breakfast,primarily because of lack of time,but that number is starting to turn around when delivery robots arrive on campus.They're constantly seen making the 15 minute trip from campus restaurant to a handful of nearby dorms,as well as to other buildings across campus,where students meet them.Two months later,breakfast has replaced dinner as the go-to meal for robot delivery.

Sodexo officials have noted that college students are main users of food delivery apps and place a high value on convenience and multiple options when they dine.During the morning hours,restaurant experts say,there is generally more emphasis（强调）on speed than any other part of the day.Combine college students'love of food delivery with messy morning routines,and perhaps they have a perfect recipe for robots to deliver in the campus.

The robots also provide campus officials with valuable data showing how meal plans are being used,which could lead to changes in how the university serves students over time.Sodexo technologists also announced Monday that a new team of more than 30 robots is launching at Northern Arizona University.

【推荐2】The UN refugee agency(难民署）is heaping pressure on Europe to help Italy defuse(平息）the “unfolding tragedy” of tens of thousands of migrants flooding its shores. Italy needs more international support to deal with a growing number of migrants who have braved a risky Mediterranean crossing to reach Europe this year, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said on Saturday.

“What is happening in front of our eyes in Italy is an unfolding tragedy,” Grandi said in a statement. “In the course of last weekend，12,600 migrants and refugees arrived on its shores, and an estimated 2,030 have lost their lives in the Mediterranean since the beginning of the year. ’’ Italy, he said, was “playing its part” in taking in those rescued and offering protection to those in need. “These efforts must be continued and strengthened. But this cannot be an Italian problem alone.”

Separately, a source in Paris said the interior ministers of France, Germany and Italy would meet in the French capital on Sunday to discuss an approach to help Rome.

Violence in Calais

Europe has been dealing with the worst migration crisis since the end of World War II with the arrival of large numbers of people fleeing the wars in Syria and Iraq while others from Africa are seeking an escape from poverty or political persecution(迫害）.

In the northern French port city of Calais, police stepped in over the past two days to break up fighting among African migrants armed with sticks and rocks. Calais has for years been a magnet(磁铁）for migrants and refugees hoping to cross the Channel to Britain.

Last October, France broke up the disreputable tent camp known as “the Jungle” transferring thousands of migrants to centers around the country. But hundreds remain near the port, mostly Africans and Afghans, who fight sporadically with police as they make nightly attempts to stow away(偷乘）onto trucks heading across the Channel to Britain.

【推荐3】When Peng Liyuan stepped off the plane in Moscow, the whole world wanted to know who dressed the elegant first lady. The reporter released the secret—Ma Ke.

Peng Liyuan has been wearing Ma Ke's designs for more than a decade, a fact that was only highlighted recently when she was on her first state visit, accompanying her husband President Xi Jinping. The elegant and attractive Peng, formerly a popular singer, has been compared with the US’ first lady Michelle Obama and France’s Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, since stepping off the airplane in Moscow on March 22. Suddenly, everyone was curious to know more about the first lady’s wardrobe.

Even so, Ma prefers a low-key approach. “If you eat a tasty egg why would you want to see the hen?” she says of all the media attention.

Ma’s relationship with Peng began 10 years ago after a concert in Guangzhou when a reporter told Peng she knew the designer behind the label Exception de Mixmind. Peng asked for an introduction because she was a fan of Ma’s designs and had been wearing them for years.

The two naturally became friends. Ma says: “The painting reflects the painter, and clothes reflect both the designer and the wearer. Someone desires fame and wealth, or love and sympathy; what you have in your heart is reflected in the design. Those who don’t share my philosophy won’t buy my clothes. Peng is a caring person, devoted to charity and environmental protection, which is exactly what I’m doing now.”

However, regardless of the brand, Peng’s support of Chinese labels has surprised millions of Chinese who favor foreign fashion brands.

“Instead she presented a vision of Chinese fashion, desiring to bring Chinese designers to the world stage,” says a western designer.

The first lady’s double-breasted coat and her black leather handbag aren’t available at any of Exception’s shops, though Exception’s physical stores do have seen a rising number of visitors.

【推荐1】I was deeply moved by the kindness of an elderly flower seller at Sydney’s Central Station one evening.

I was feeling as cold as the winter winds quickening the steps of the people who buried chins (下巴) in scarves and hands deep into coat pockets. In many ways, 2018 had proven an arduous year. My teenage daughter had left home for university, my job of 23 years was no more, and a creative project I’d given my all to for years had also been suddenly called off. I also found out a person I considered a friend was far from it.

A year earlier, I’d dreamt about an earthquake. In the dream, a red light flashed inside a building and then the earth began to rock. Walls fell down on me as I ran into the open, feeling sorry for the people I hadn’t loved enough. Before I was buried completely by the falling world, I shouted, “Abuelo, ayudame,” in my native Spanish. “Grandfather, help me!”

Now, with the very real aftershocks of a series of unexpected endings, I walked into a little flower shop to buy a gift for a friend. The gentleman at the shop looked at me and turned away for a moment, returning with a fragrant flower. “For you. You need to smile today,” he said in a rich and beautiful accent, offering me the flower with eyes full of care. It took all my strength not to cry. Then he gave me a grandfatherly hug that made me want to tell him everything.

Instead, I thanked him and headed for the train. How did he know? I wondered. For the first time in weeks, I felt hope.

【推荐3】You can’t imagine how terrible I felt at that time. A month before my first marathon, one of my ankles was injured and this meant not running for two weeks, leaving me only two weeks to train. Yet, I was determined to go ahead.

I remember back to my 7th year in school. In my first P.E. class, the teacher required us to run laps (圆圈) and then hit a softball. I didn’t do either well. He later told me that I was “not athletic”.

The idea that I was “not athletic” stuck with me for years. When I started running in my 30s, I realized running was a battle against myself, not about competition or whether or not I was athletic. It was all about the battle against my own body and mind. A test of wills!

The night before my marathon, I dreamed that I couldn’t even find the finish line. I woke up sweating and nervous, but ready to prove something to myself.

Shortly after crossing the start line, my shoe laces (鞋带) became untied. So I stopped to readjust (重新调整). Not the start I wanted!

At mile 3, I passed a sign: “GO FOR IT, RUNNERS!”

By mile17, I became out of breath and the once injured ankle hurt badly. Although my ankle was very painful, I stayed the course walking a bit and then running again.

By mile 21, I was so hungry!

As I came to mile 23, I could see my wife waving a sign. She is my biggest fan. She never minded the alarm clock sounding at 4 a.m. or questioned my expenses on running.

I was one of the final runners to finish. But I finished! And I got a medal. In fact, I got the same medal as the one that the guy who came in first place had.

Determined to be myself, move forward, free of shame and worldly labels (世俗标签), I can now call myself a “marathon winner”.