【推荐1】As free as they make us, mobile phones still need to stay close to a power source. Soon that may change with "green" power.

Three Chilean students got the idea for a plant-powered device(装置) to charge their cellphones, while sitting in their school's outdoor courtyard during a break from exams, with dead mobile phones. Then, one of them had an "aha" moment.

“It occurred to Camila to say about plants, "said inventor Evelyn Aravena. “‘Why don't you have a socket, if there are so many plants? ’After that, we thought, ‘why don't they have a charging outlet? Because there are so many plants and living things that have the potential to produce energy, why not?’”

Their invention—a small biological circuit called E-Kaia—uses the energy plants to produce during photosynthesis(光合作用). A plant uses only a small part of that energy and the rest goes into the soil, and that's where the E-Kaia collects it. The device plugs into the ground and then into your phone.

"It's the most amazing project I've ever seen in my life, plain and simple. They brought this original model, and it worked — and that's when it all changed, at least from my personal point of view and I began to support them." said Mauricio Cifuentes.

The device solved two problems for the engineering students — they needed an idea for a class project, and an outlet to plug in their phones.

"Looking for a place to charge the notebook, which had no power, and the mobile phones, we weren't able to find anything because all the other students were in the same state of madness trying to find a place to charge their devices," said Aravena.

But plants are everywhere, and the bio－circuit makes the best of their excess(过多的) power.

The E-Kaia doesn't carry much charge but it's powerful enough to completely recharge a mobile phone in less than two hours.

The student inventors have applied for patents on their technology, and expect the E-Kaia to go on sale in December 2016.

【推荐2】Professor Veena Sahajwalla, 2022 Australian of the year, has created a solution to our massive trash problem: waste microfactories. These little trash processors (处理器)-some as small as 500 square feet- house a scries of machines that recycle waste and transform it into new materials with thermal technology (热技术). The new all-in -one approach could leave our current recycling processes in the dust.

In 2018 she launched the first microfactory, establishing a model of recycling that enables businesses and communities to develop commercial opportunities while addressing local waste problems. A second one began recycling plastics in 2019. Now, her lab group is working with university and industry partners to commercialize their patented Microfactory technology. “The small scale of the machines will make it easier for them to one day operate on renewable energy, unlike most large manufacturing plants. The approach will also allow cities to recycle waste into new products on location, avoiding the long, often international, high-emission journeys between recycling processors and manufacturing plants. With a microfactory, gone are the days of needing separate facilities to collect and store materials, extract (提取) elements and produce new products,” says Sahajwalla.

Traditionally, recycling plants break down materials for reuse in similar products-like melting down plastic to make more plastic things. Sahajwalla’s invention advances this idea by taking materials from an old product and creating something different. “The kids don’t look like the parents,” she says. Sahajwalla refers to this process as “the fourth R,” adding “re-form” to the common phrase “reduce, reuse, recycle”.

Professor Veena Sahajwalla’s programs help to develop innovation and promote cooperation with industry, ensuring that sustainable materials and processes become commercially practical solutions for dealing with waste.

【推荐2】Some people say that friendship is the only channel through which human beings can ever experience the value of life. In our daily life, it is likely that you share some common interests with others-they may like the same sport, go to the same school or like the same kind of music as you do. Since you often meet them, they become your acquaintances (相识的人). Although some people develop many acquaintances, only a few become their good friends in their lifetime because there are differences between acquaintances and friends.

It is said that true friendship begins when someone knows what you are really like, but still likes you anyway. A true friend shows loyalty (忠诚)from the very beginning of the relationship. A friend will go through challenges to help you without expecting anything in return. A "friend" today may probably become a "true friend" tomorrow when they get involved in unexpected circumstances (条件)together with you-for example, when you are going through a difficult experience and your friend is there to help you out. However, some acquaintances might leave you when you badly need their help. At this time, you can experience what true friendship is.

In our life, some people seem to go through life with plenty of friends. They may be funny or they may have a bright and pleasant personality (性格). For these people, wherever they go, people seem to like them and welcome their company. But when they go through challenging life experiences, some of their friends are not there to help them. Therefore we can say some of their friends are not real friends and their friendship is just skin-deep.

However, others seem to go through life with no friends at all. They like to be alone, to travel by themselves or to do their own things. It's a pity that few of these people find success in life because they have no friends. They lack the best gift in life-friendship.