【推荐1】Ireland is throwing away peat（泥炭) for energy and turning to wind.

Peat has a lot to recommend it. It sends off a pleasant smell when burned. It is a cheap source of energy; at its simplest it needs no more than digging by hand. But peat is also one of the dirtiest fuels available, emitting 23% more carbon dioxide than coal.

Ireland is unusual among developed countries in burning it for energy. Peat has been used on the island for at least 1,000 years. But it may at last be on its way out as Ireland turns to another energy source of which it has unlimited quantities: wind.

Galway Wind Park will be Ireland's largest wind farm when it is completed, producing 169MW of power at peak capacity（容量), or about 3% of Ireland's average needs. It is only the latest development in Irish wind power, which has tripled in the last decade to more than 3GW of capacity. The renewable resource now provides a quarter of the electricity Ireland consumes every year.

Eirgrid, a state-owned company which manages the grid（电网 ） in both Northern Ireland and the Republic, says much more wind capacity is in the planning stages. Wind is difficult to manage because it is unpredictable, even on the shores with strong winds of western Ireland. Since wind turbines （涡轮机）do not turn consistently, the grid must be carefully tuned to keep it stable.

Eirgrid is planning a set of wires to continental Europe.

A report from SEAI, Ireland's energy authority, suggests that the island could produce enough wind electricity to match domestic demand by 2030, with more left over to export. Bord na Móna, the body responsible for developing Ireland's peatlands, has said it will stop using peat for electricity by the same year.

【推荐3】“What kind of rubbish are you?” This question might normally cause anger, but in Shanghai it has brought about complaints(抱怨) over the past month. On July 1^st, 2019, the city introduced strict trash-sorting rules that are expected to be used as a model for the country. Residents must divide their waste into four separate groups and throw it into specific public bins.

Shanghai is faced with an obvious environmental problem. It produces 9 million tons of rubbish a year, and the number is rising quickly. Like other cities in China, it is in short of a recycling system. Instead, it has relied on trash pickers to pick out whatever can be reused. This has limitations. As people get wealthier, fewer of them want to do such dirty work. The waste, meanwhile, just keeps piling up.

Many people appear to be bothered by the details. Rubbish must be divided according to whether it is food, recyclable, dry or hazardous(有害的), the differences among which can be complex and confusing. Some have complained that they must put food waste straight in the required public bin, forcing them to tear open plastic bags and throw it by hand. Most annoying are the short scheduled time for throwing trash, typically a couple of hours, morning and evening. This means that people go at around the same time and anyone can keep an eye on what is being thrown out; no one wants to look bad.

People who fail to obey the rules will be punished. They could be hit with fines of up to 200 yuan ($29). For repeat violators, the city can add black marks to their credit records, making it harder for them to get bank loans or even buy train tickets.

However, others support the idea of recycling in general and say a tough campaign is necessary. “Slowly people will get used to it,” says Li Changjun of Fudan University.

【推荐2】Researchers in Hong Kong showed that when the patients at nursing home with pain enjoyed jokes, funny books and videos, and singing and dancing on a weekly basis, their awareness of pain and loneliness decreased significantly. They also felt happier and more satisfied with life.

Others have confirmed that laughter can be associated with increased blood flow, improved immune response, lower blood sugar levels, and better sleep. You don’t have to write a joke to obtain the benefits. Merely experiencing humor will do the trick.

But there might be an even stronger reason that a sense of humor is born into the human body. Not only does humor make us smarter and healthier, but it may also make us more attractive to others. Because creating and appreciating jokes both require us to make connections between many separate pieces of information, having a sense of humor shows that we are knowledgeable and that we know how to think about it in new ways.

It is amazing that intelligence is related to humor. A University of New Mexico study of 400 college students found that those who scored highest on intelligence tests also scored high on humor ability.

Humor has several unique powers. It forces people to consider different perspectives. It brings people together. If they are laughing together at something, they must agree with each other on some level. It reduces the pain associated with life’s difficulties. It exercises your brain. And it makes you happy. If a healthy sense of humor can make you smarter and happier, then one thing is clear: Finding time in your day for a good joke or two is no laughing matter. To start laughing, check the funniest jokes of all time.

【推荐3】Nowadays people are facing lots of threats(威胁) all over the world.

A serious threat to farmers in many parts of the world is, erosion(侵蚀). Erosion happens if a large area of land is cleared of trees and is then badly treated by the farmers. The rain and winds may gradually wash away, or blow away much of the topsoil. When this happens, crops of wheat and corn become weaker and weaker until nothing grows well. If erosion continues, it will turn good land into a desert.

In the past, when erosion appeared, farmers sometimes moved to a new place to farm. Sometimes they could not move, but continued to try to grow food in the unhealthy soil. This caused them to sink into poverty. Soon some people realized that there was little rich, fertile soil in the world. The government began to try to stop erosion.

One of the first experiments to stop erosion began in the United States in 1933. The experiment was carried out in the area of the Tennessee River. Flood and bad farming in this area had ruined the land that had once been rich. As a result, most of the people living around the Tennessee River were very poor.

The government built big dams across the river and stored the water for use during the dry season, when there was no rain. The government workers also helped the farmers fertilize their soil and learn new farming methods which could stop erosion.

In the beginning, the farmers were not interested. But soon, good healthy crops began to appear on the land where new methods were used. Ten years after that the crops were extremely good. The great success of this experiment led to similar projects in other parts of the world.

With the development of science and technology, people are trying to get rid of all the threats they are facing. However, it’s not an easy job, because at the same time people are polluting their homeland.