【推荐1】Born to an adventure loving mom and a National Geogra phic’s photographer dad, Alison Teal was already exploring the world as a baby. The family traveled the globe staying not at five-star hotels but in a six-foot- wide tent. From cold mountaintops to hot jungles, they completely involved themselves in local nature and culture.

Between journeys, they would return home to a quiet and faraway part of the Big Island of Hawaii, where they built a solar- powered oceanfront rest center. The front yard was the ocean, and Alison’s friends were dolphins. She would dive into the water and release sea-weed. A dolphin would catch it on its nose or fin and throw it to the next player. Over the years, the dolphins grew to trust Alison. They looked for her and came close to her in the water.

After graduating from university, she continued her world travels. Her adventurous childhood and life skills landed her a spot in the reality show Naked and Afraid, in which she and her partner had to live on an unwelcoming island for 21 days. Alison’s deep knowledge of how to live in a wilderness saved the pair, but what shocked her was the amount of trash washed up on the shore.

“After that, I couldn’t ignore our plastic problem. I shifted my focus and started to protect our greatest resource, the ocean,” says Alison. Swimming in familiar waters back home, she also found her dolphin friends were no longer tossing (抛) seaweed to each other, but plastic. “That was distressing,” she says.

Her book, Alison’s Adventures: Your Passport to the World, is filled with travel tales and environmental lessons. She also offers free adventure films to go along with each chapter on her YouTube and TikTok. Alison believes all of us can make changes to protect the Earth and, in turn, those we love. “Whether you’re a lawyer, a gardener, an artist, a teacher or a surfer, we can all help in our own ways,” she says.

【推荐2】There’s nothing wrong with a tomato that isn’t perfectly round or a peach with an extra dimple or two; they still carry the same benefits and flavors as the versions we’re used to seeing in grocery stores (食品杂货店). Farmers throw away these imperfect items, as many grocery chains won’t buy them for fear that they are unsellable. However, a growing group of grocery chains are fighting to make these discarded fruit and vegetables part of consumers’ buying habits.

One such business is Imperfect Produce, a start-up that provides fresh ugly produce for consumers. Through this service, you can get up to 20 pounds of fruit and vegetables for around $20 a week. This is about a 30 percent discount compared to what’s now sold in stores. Recently, the company had a major advancement when Whole Foods Market accepted their partnership and agreed to sell the misshapen produce.

While this movement might be a new trend here in the U.S., it’s already gained serious momentum (势头) in Europe. In 2014, the EU announced the European Year Against Food Waste, with French supermarket chain Intermarché launching a very successful campaign called Inglorious Fruits and Vegetables and England’s Waitrose selling weather blemished apples. In Portugal, a similar company to Imperfect Produce called Fruta Feia has also taken off.

Buying the unfortunate-looking produce should be attractive to consumers not only because of the affordability, but also because of the support it gives to farmers and the direct impact it has on reducing food waste and environmental pollution. When the discarded fruit and vegetables decompose, they release (释放) methane (CH.), a greenhouse gas. When released into the air, it is about 86 times as powerful as carbon dioxide (CO,) over a 20-year period. Waste is, in fact, the ugliest thing of all.

【推荐1】I was with my mom one day as we took a walk while window shopping. We both knew we wouldn’t be buying much.

I remember I was looking up at the people we walked by. Ladies wore five-inch heels and bright clothing. Men wore expensive scents(香水)and creams that might wipe away the wrinkles (皱纹) on their faces. An uneasy feeling started to settle in my chest. I could deny it no longer; I was ashamed of my mother.

We were in a high-class neighborhood-I knew that. We lived in a small, overpriced apartment building at the edge of our county. Mom chose to move there because she knew the schools were good. I realized for the first time that we didn’t belong there.

I could see the heavy lines around mom’s eyes and mouth. She wore cheap clothes and worn-out shoes. Her eyes were tired from working long hours to make ends meet, and her hair was too gray for her age.

My mom is nothing extraordinary, yet at that moment, she stood out because she was just so plain. I didn’ t want to be seen with her, although there was no one important around to see me anyway. I felt embarrassed about being at her side.

We were standing in the middle of a high-end store, and mom was holding a sweater. She said, “This will look good on you. Do you want it?” It was much too expensive, but I almost thoughtlessly answered “yes”. Then I took a closer look at the small, tired woman with a big smile and a sweater in her hands, happy to be giving me something so nice. My words died in my throat.

Her clothes were worn and old because she spent her money buying me new ones. She looked so tired because she was busy working to provide for me. She didn’t wear jewelry or perfume because she was content with spending what little money she had on me.

Suddenly, my mom was beautiful and extraordinarily wonderful in my eyes.

I was no longer ashamed of her, but of myself.

“Do you want it?” my mom repeated.

“No, thanks,” I said.

【推荐3】My father, Michael, led me through the outside shed he’d filled with his paintings. “When I have an exhibition…” he began, pointing to the artworks he’d created, before stopping. Poor Pa, I thought.

In 1994 he’d been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease only in his forties. But after finding the right medication, he could continue on as normal and so had our family—Parkinson’s just wasn’t something we spoke about.

A husband and father to three, he had had a successful career and had always been extremely creative. Even when his Parkinson’s advanced, my father decided to attend a painting course. In art lessons, the class practised painting still life objects, like pears, but my father had other ideas. Inspired by his favourite artist, Jackson Pollock, a leading abstract expressionist, he began producing abstract pieces. He thought that it helped us to see the world in a different way. Soon, I realized he was right. When I observed my father’s works, I could interpret each of them in many ways.

While in 2019, my father was diagnosed with kidney cancer and given just three months to live. We all couldn’t contain our sadness, but we soon received great news that a new form of immunotherapy shrunk the cancer considerably. As weeks turned to months, it felt like my father was a walking miracle. To our sadness, his health battles had started to take a toll on him, and as he continued speaking about wanting to share his paintings with the world, I knew what had to be done.

In October this year, we welcomed the public to “My Kids Could Do That”, my father’s first public showing. Everyone loved his works. His eyes lit up with pride when he saw the walls filled with his works. I’ve got three of his pieces in my home and I couldn’t be more proud of what he’s achieved.

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