【推荐1】The world has a plastic problem—and it is increasing.    1     But in the meantime, here are five things you can do to reduce plastic waste now.

1.Replace plastic bags. People use a lot of plastic bags worldwide every year.About 10 percent are used in the United States alone. That’s almost one bag per American per day.    2     In 1993, Denmark was the first country to place a tax(税) on plastic bags.Today, other countries either make customers pay for plastic bags or have banned them completely.

2.Skip the straw(吸管)．Today, around 8.3 billion plastic straws pollute the world’s beaches.    3    In 2018, Seattle became the first major U．S.city to ban plastic straws, and many other cities are set to follow its example.

3.Use limited plastic bottles. Buy a reusable bottle and fill it with any type of beverage(饮料)you like.    4    Globally, however, consumers still buy nearly a million plastic bottles every minute.

4.Avoid plastic packaging materials.Don’t buy fruit or vegetables in plastic packaging.In the United Kingdom, leaders are calling for supermarkets to have plastic­free areas.They also want to tax plastic take­out containers.

5.Recycle. We can’t recycle all plastic items, but it is possible to recycle most bottles and milk or juice cartons.Today, Norway recycles 97 percent of its plastic bottle.How?    5    

【推荐3】A librarian in Indonesia's Java island is lending books to children in exchange for trash to clean up the environment and get the kids to read more.

Each weekday Raden Roro Hendarti rides her three wheeler with books stacked up at the back for children in Muntang village to exchange for plastic cups, bags and other waste that she carries back.

She told Reuters the is helping promote reading in the kids as well make them aware of the environment. As soon as she shows up, little children, many accompanied by their mothers, surround her “Trash Library” and shout for the books. They are all carrying trash bags and Raden's three-wheeler quickly fills up with them as the books fly out. She's happy the kids are going to spend less time on online games as a result.

“Let us build a culture of literacy from young age to lessen the harm of the online world,” Raden said. “We should also take care of our waste in order to fight climate change and to save the earth from trash,” Raden said. She collects about 100 kg of waste each week, which is then sorted out by her colleagues and sent for recycling or sold. She has a stock of 6,000 books to lend and wants to take the mobile service to neighboring areas as well.

Kevin Alamsyah, an 11-year-old book lover, search for waste lying in the village. “When there is too much trash, our environment will become dirty and it's not healthy. That's why I look for trash to borrow a book,” he says.

Jiah Palupi, the head of the main public library in the area, said Raden's work strengthened their efforts in a novel way to battle online gaming addiction among the youth and promote reading.

The literacy rate for above-15-year-olds in Indonesia is around 96 percent, but a September report by the World Bank warned that the pandemic will leave more than 80% of 15-year-olds below the minimum reading proficiency (阅读水平) level identified by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

【推荐2】A simple, yet powerful UK program has been fighting elderly loneliness by recruiting young adults as volunteers to read to seniors with vision problems and mental diseases.

Lily has benefited from the program having her vision “restored” by 15-year-old Amy, a school girl who was paired with Lily through the Reading Friends project. Lily was a librarian and enthusiastic reader who would read “two to three books every week”. After developing a terrible disease, however, Lily found herself unable to read or watch television for any length of time without her eyes hurting. Not only have Lily’s regular reading sessions with Amy helped to reconnect her with her passion for literature, they have also built a song inter-generational friendship between the two ladies. “I chose a book and she would come along and read it to me,” Lily said. “But we have only got through two books so far because we end up catting too much. We have read two historical novels and get on very well.” Research shows that reading together can help older people to build social networks and connect with others. Evidence also shows that reading has a positive impact on the elderly’s will-being and can reduce the risk of developing mental diseases.

Rose, a teacher, is responsible for connecting school children like Amy with the program—and she says that it has had an amazing impact on the youngsters. “We have wonderful young people at our school and we wanted to get then into the community,” Rose said. “It has been fantastic to see them blossom as well as improving their literacy and social skills. They are meeting community members like Lily that they are making friendships with and library staff can help them, not only with education but outside as well.”

【推荐3】If a person forgets names, places or facts —and has trouble with everyday things like reading or shopping —it may not mean you are getting old. It could be Alzheimer’s disease. So it’s important to see a doctor as soon as you can.

There is no cure for Alzheimer’s. But a drug called ARICEPT has been used by millions of people to help their symptoms (症状).

In studies, ARICEPT has been proved to work for Alzheimer’s. It has helped people improve their memory over time. It has also helped them to keep doing everyday things on their own.

Ask your doctor if ARICEPT is right for you or your loved one. It is the Number One drug for Alzheimer’s in the world. The sooner you know it’s Alzheimer’s, the better ARICEPT can help.

ARICEPT is good for many but may not be good for everyone. Some people may experience not sleeping well, feeling very tired, or not wanting to eat. In studies, these side effects weren’t serious at all and went away over time. Some people taking ARICEPT may feel light-headed. In this case you should tell your doctors because your condition may get worse.