【推荐2】I THIRST

Each day water related, diseases kill 3,900 of the world’s children.

Across the world, 1.1 billion people have no access to clean drinking water. More than 2.5 billion people lack basic sanitation (卫生设备).

The combination proves deadly. Each year, diseases related to inadequate water and sanitation kill between 2 and 5 million people and cause an estimated 80 percent of all sicknesses in the developing world. Safe drinking water is a precondition for health and the fight against child death rate, inequality between men and women, and poverty.

a)The average distance that women in Africa and Asia walk to collect water is 6 kilometers.

b)Only 58 percent of children in sub-Saharan Africa are drinking safe water, and only 37 percent of children in South Asia have access to even a basic toilet.

c)Each year in India alone, 73 million working days are lost to water-borne diseases.

1) Write Congress

Current U.S. foreign aid for drinking water and sanitation budgets only one dollar per year per American citizen. Few members of Congress have ever received a letter for voters about clean drinking water abroad.

2) Sponsor a project with a faith—based organization

Many U.S. religious groups already sponsor water and sanitation projects, working with partner organizations abroad. Simply put a single project by a U.S. organization can make safe water a reality for thousands of people.

3) Support nonprofit water organizations

Numerous U.S.---based nonprofits work skillfully abroad in community---led projects related to drinking water and sanitation. Like the sample of non-profits noted as follows, some organizations are large, other small-scale, some operate worldwide, others are devoted to certain areas in Africa, Asia, or Latin America. Support them generously.

【推荐1】As the coronavirus (冠状病毒) outbreak continues, many Americans are fearful of using public transportation. They are also looking for ways to get exercise without going to a gym. So, it may not be surprising that the pandemic (疫情) has led to a major increase in bicycle sales.

In the US, bicycles at big stores have sold out. And small bicycle stores cannot keep up with demand for “family-style” bicycles: the low-cost, easy-to-ride models. “The bicycle industry is seeing its biggest sales increase since the oil crisis of the 1970s,” said Jay Townley, an industry expert. He compared the sale of bicycles to the rush to buy products like toilet paper at the start of the pandemic.

The rise in bicycle sales is not happening just in the US. Italy has created bicycle paths for the growing number of people who want to avoid public transportation. In London, city officials plan to ban cars from some central roads. Bike shop owners in Manila say demand is even stronger than what they see at Christmas time.

Of course, you can only buy a bicycle if you can find one. In the US, the shortages now mean it may take many months to get a bicycle. High demand is not the only reason for the shortage. Many bicycle factories were shut down to stop the spread of COVID-19. The increase in bicycle demand began in March as countries began to close down. In April, the sale of bicycles increased 200 percent in the US.

Joe Minutolo is the co-owner of Bar Harbor Bicycle Shop in Maine. He said he hoped the increased sales meant a change in the way people think about transportation. “People are having a chance to rethink things,” he said, “Maybe we’ll all learn something out of this, and something really good will happen.”

【推荐2】When your alarm clock rings and you drag yourself out of bed, you probably wonder: Why on earth does school have to start so early?

Fortunately, there is a new law to back you up—or better still, science. A law in California requires that public middle schools begin classes no earlier than 8:00 am and that high schools start no earlier than 8:30 am. The law will go into effect by July 1, 2022.

Starting school at 8:00 or 8:30 in the morning may not sound like a big change, but it could mean one more hour of sleep for students who used to start school at 7:30 or even earlier. “The effect of that one hour is something they will be feeling as 40-year-old adults,” Sumit Bhargava, a sleep expert at Stanford University, told The New York Times. He said that not having enough sleep can affect students’ mental health and increase the risk of fatness and diabetes.

In the short run, students’ school performances should improve almost immediately. Kyla Wahlstrom, a researcher at the University of Minnesota’s College of Education and Human Development, found that students who have enough sleep are more active in class and get better grades.

Some might say that urging students to go to bed earlier could have been a much easier solution than changing the school timetable across an entire state. But according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, teenagers go through biological changes when they enter adolescence, which makes it difficult for them to fall asleep before 11:00 pm. So when school starts at 8:00 or earlier, they can hardly get the ideal 8.5-9.5 hours of sleep that experts suggest they need to do their best in the daytime.

This is why when the new law came out, its author, Anthony Portantino, said, “Generations of children will come to appreciate this historic day and our governor for taking bold action.”

【推荐3】Professional rock climber Emily Harrington has made history after successfully free climbing Yosemite National Park's El Capitan last Wednesday.

Harrington, 34, became the fourth person—and the first woman—to ever scale the 3,000-foot El Capitan without the help of a rope or other equipment. “The people before me who have achieved this are kind of like some of my heroes in rock climbing,” she said, “so it feels pretty special to join that group.”

But Harrington's climb was not without injury—at one point, she slid and was left with a serious wound on her forehead that required her to take a break. “I took a fall and I couldn't get my feet out and my head actually hit the wall,” she recalled, “I got this wound on my forehead. I rested a little bit longer, bandaged (包扎) it up, and then tried again,” Harrington said，adding that although she “kind of didn't really want to try again,” she powered through because “ I felt like I should try again.”

After 21 hours and 13 minutes, Harrington scaled all of El Capitan, achieving a feat (壮举) she failed to finish twice last year. “That was my life dream. I achieved it,” she said.

Harrington said she's hopeful that her journey has inspired others. “I hope that as a result of my story more people will get to experience climbing, or at least try.”

Harrington previously scaled Mt. Qomolangma, the tallest mountain in the world. As a former member of the USA climbing team, Harrington has competed in five U. S. sport climbing championships and two North American championships.