【推荐3】In their book Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable living, Robert and Brenda Vale say keeping a medium-sized dog has the same ecological influence as driving 10,000 km a year a 2.0 liter car.

“We’re not actually saying it is time to eat the dog. We’re just saying that we need to think abut and know the ecological influence of some of the tings we do and that we take for granted.”

Constructing and driving the jeep for a year requires 0.41 hectares（公顷）of land, while growing and manufacturing a dog’s food takes about 0.84 hectares—or 1.1 hectares in the case of a large dog such as a German shepherd.

Convincing flesh-eating cats and dogs to go vegetarian for the fate of the planet is a non-starter, the Vales say. Instead they recommend keeping “greener”’ smaller, and more sustainable（可持续的）pets, such as goldfish, chicken or rabbits.

The book’s playful title, and serious suggestion that pet animals may be usefully “recycled”, by being eaten by their owners or turned into pet food when they die, may not appeal to animal fans. Annoying as the idea may be, the question is valid given the planet’s growing population and limited resources, Robert Vale said.

“Issues about sustainability are increasingly becoming things that are going to require us to make choices which are as difficult as eating your dog. It’s not just about changing your light bulbs or taking a cloth bag to the supermarket,” he said.

“It’s about much more challenging and difficult issues,” he added. “Once you see where cats and dogs fit in your overall balance of things, you might decide to have the cat but not also to have the two cars and the three bathrooms and be a meat eater yourself.”

【推荐1】A British woman, Dr. Mantri, growing up in India started to notice her son, Dhruv, was struggling with simple math problems when he was in the fifth grade. After noticing this, she started using an abacus (算盘) to help her son visually (形象化地) understand mathematics.

“I would ask him something like 35 minus 13 but he ‘couldn’t’ do it,” said Dhruv’s mom Dr. Mantri. “I decided to change the way he looked at numbers,” she said. “An abacus is a tried and tested method, and the Egyptians used them for building the pyramid.” In just six days he started to make progress in using the abacus and would go on to become an outstanding kid with numbers, with even his classmates’ parents reaching out for help.

She never thought she would teach her son to use an abacus, which she used as a child in India and it was always helpful. Within six days she started to notice a difference and see results. So dramatic was the change that school staff asked him to perform with the abacus at a meeting, where some parents even came to ask for advice on using it for their kids.

IT specialist Dr. Mantri said the humble abacus can be used for calculations and kids enjoy learning on it because it’s like a game. “It becomes a playing tool for younger children, for it feels like a game. I think the success comes because children can touch and feel an abacus and visualize them,” she added.

By the age of 12, Dhruv was giving online cyber security class and is now pursuing a career in data science and analytics. Dhruv has now got an apprenticeship (实习) at an international firm. During the four-year apprenticeship, he will spend one day a week studying Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at Glasgow Caledonian University. “He is so confident now and I am so proud,” Dr. Mantri said, with Dhruv adding, “I don’t think my teachers would have guessed that I would be following a career in data science at that time.”

【推荐2】Poetry is an interesting form of writing.It is very free，has few restrictions and can be a great way to express feelings.Writing a poem is all about observing the world within you or around you.

To write a poem，first you should begin with an idea or inspiration.Inspiration may come at any time unexpectedly.It may be a specific person，place or thing that causes some sort of strong emotion.It may be more of an abstract idea or release of emotion.

After getting the idea，you can write down everything that comes to mind.Don't think much and let all feelings pour out.Remember everything can be thrown out later.

Then，you can think about its form and begin to organize thoughts.Poetry comes in many forms，from epic poetry that has a story to dramatic poetry intended to be performed.Try them all out.One will come naturally.Maybe different poems fit different forms.When you write a poem，think about both meter(韵律)and rhythm   carefully，which are equally important in poetry.Meter is the fixed pattern of the poem，while rhythm refers to the   sound when it is spoken.It is also important to use a lot of descriptive words.Create imagery(意象)with words，trying to make them attractive to all the senses.For auditory(听觉的)interest，try repeating of similar sounds in a sentence or phrase.All of this adds life and interest to a poem.

After you finish your work，don't be afraid to share your work with others.When others point out your weakness，accept and grow from it.