【推荐2】Many people think of sharks as dangerous monsters. But human beings cause a far greater danger to them than they do to us. Although shark attacks do occur, they are quite rare. According to one estimate, however, humans kill 100 million sharks every year.     1    

Why should we save the sharks?

Sharks take up the top position on the food chain in the ocean. As sharks die off, the population of the animals that sharks consume will increase. This, in turn, means that the number of the creatures those animals eat will drop.     2     Fish that eat algae (藻类) are also included. This can cause algae to spread so much that it damages coral reefs.

    3     The ocean not only produces more oxygen than all the rainforests on Earth combined, but also removes half of the man-made greenhouse gas from the atmosphere. Once sharks die off, the global ecosystem will be upset, affecting all creatures including human beings.

Don’t use shark products

First, vitamin energy drinks and leather goods can be made from shark parts.     4     In addition, shark meat is sold around the world, sometimes under misleading names such as rock salmon or whitefish. Shark fin soup is a popular dish. However, the process of getting fins is cruel. Fishermen cut the shark’s fins off and then throw the shark back into the water, still alive.     5     Sharks breathe by swimming, so a shark that can’t swim will die.

【推荐1】Back in 1859, an Englishman, Thomas Austin, brought 24 rabbits to Australia's eastern state of Victoria. Never before had there been any rabbits on the Australian continent. Austin and other homesick English settlers thought rabbits would remind them of the green fields of home. They also felt the creatures would provide them with game to hunt.

However, the rabbits spread through Victoria, New South Wales, southern Queensland, and South Australia in no time. Worse, the animals had begun moving west. These little creatures easily went through pastures and crops, and destroyed almost everything in their path. They evicted wallabies(a kind of Australian animal) and other now-endangered animals, moving in and taking over their homes. The rabbits just chose to eat certain grasses and small bushes, which completely changed the local ecosystem. In times of drought, the rabbits dug deep into the ground to find small amounts of water in the roots of plants. As the vegetation cover was destroyed, erosion became a serious problem. By 1894 the threat had reached Western Australia's border.

In the end, a decision was made to build a rabbit-proof fence that would cross the continent from north to south. In late 1901, the construction of the Number 1 Rabbit-proof Fence began. The project required 400 camels, 150 horses, 50 donkeys, and 4 teams of oxen. Posts made of bushes were driven into the ground every twelve feet. Wire netting that reached out three and a half feet above the ground and one foot into the ground was fixed between the posts.

By 1907 the rabbit-proof fence was completed. A second and third fence line had been added when rabbits were found west of the original fence. With the Number 2 and Number 3 fences, Australia was totally divided by 2023 miles of netting. In 1907 the three parts of the rabbit-proof fence made up the longest fence in the world. No one could have imagined the consequences of Thomas Austin's decision to bring rabbits to Australia in 1859. Who could have known what it would take to contain 24 rabbits?

【推荐2】UrbanSpace in midtown New York is a place where white-collars come for lunch during their workdays.For the past a few months,customers have always lined up before a kiosk which sells a very authentic Chinese food in north China—Jianbing,or the Chinese crepe.

The kiosk is branded "Mr.Bing",and is owned by Brian Goldberg,who is born and raised in New York.Goldberg is very involved with Chinese culture.He was a Chinese major back in college in Boston,and studied in China 20 years ago.

"When I went to China,I just love Jianbing so much.It tastes so good.It's hot.It's fresh.It's customizable.They make it how you like it.When I come back to America,I can't find it. So I make it!"said Goldberg.

Goldberg's Jianbing plan is not a whim（突发的想法）.It was the theme of his business plan when he was a MBA in Columbia University.As a student,he didn't have enough funds to start.It was until five years ago that he made the first step in Hong Kong.To open the Hong Kong shop,Goldberg spent many weekends flying back and forth from Beijing,Tianjin,and Shandong Province,the origins of Chinese Jianbing.

After tasting tons,he focused on one kiosk in Beijing,Xiaoyan Jianbing,whose chef offered to teach him and his Hong Kong employees the recipe.In Hong Kong,"Mr.Bing" was fairly popular,but Goldberg always thought of going back home.

Two years ago,he moved back to New York and put himself into his Jianbing shop. Selling Jianbing to New Yorkers is surely not the same with selling them to Chinese.To cater to the taste of Americans,Goldberg applied several changes to the recipe after trial and errors.

The Jianbing as you see today at Mr.Bing's is a revised version: fried wonton skin is used to replace dough stick（油条）,and a signature Chinese spicy sauce instead of fermented bean curd,and there is meat,which Americans love.

Even with one storefront,Goldberg is selling hundreds of Jianbing each day.He is confident this Chinese snack can be something."Anyway,Americans didn't know much about sushi or burritos（墨西哥玉米面卷饼）back twenty years.But now they are having them all the time."Goldberg said.The great goal of Goldberg is bringing Jianbing to the world and establishing his own signature brand with "Mr.Bing".

【推荐3】“Runners, to your mark, Get set…” Bang! And I was off, along with a bunch of other teenage cross-country runners from high schools across the county. The day was like any other fair-weather autumn day in Maryland. But the race that day felt unique from the get-go. For one thing, I liked the course. It was my team’s home course, one I was used to running during practices. It took runners along an area of land that included open fields, hills and even winding dirt paths through a small forest. It was a beautiful 5-kilometer course. This particular race was our team’s invite, and I was proud to be sharing the course with competitors from other schools. It also meant a lot―more than normal that my parents were there to cheer me on.

With so much to expect that day, I was ready to run! And I didn’t want to be stuck with the pack of other runners, as is typical at the beginning of most cross-country races. So when the gun sounded, I took off running, leaving everyone else in the dust.

The first part of our course followed the outside edge of a large open field before disappearing into the forest. Within seconds of the start, I was far ahead of everyone, and all of the fans could see it. It felt magnificent.

But that feeling didn’t last long. Little did I know my coach was laughing to himself, thinking, “Gabe is done for!” And I was. My body was telling me to slow down. My pride, however, said “No! Not until you’re out of sight of the spectators!” I was in agony, but I kept up my pace until I reached the forest. Once in among the trees. I slowed way down.

I enjoyed most races, even while pushing myself, but this one was not enjoyable in the least. I finished the race, but in nowhere near the time I could have if I’d paced myself well from the beginning. Every time I reflect on that cross-country season, I’m reminded of something: Pride is no substitute for pace.

【推荐1】Ming Tinggui, 41, a landlord in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, has become famous online because of his acts of kindness during the city’s COVID-19 lockdown

Xi’an imposed a citywide lockdown on Dec 23 in an effort to curb a resurgence of COVID-19. Ming had 81 tenants in Yanta district at that time, about 80 percent of whom were students who had moved to Xi’an to attend training classes, begin internships or take China’s postgraduate entrance exam, scheduled from Dec. 25 to 27.

Most of the students only brought simple belongings that could fit inside a suitcase with no room for pots or pans to cook with. Under lockdown they were not allowed to go out, making mealtime a major headache. Having seen his young tenants living on instant noodles and snacks, Ming decided to cook meals for them.

He bought as many vegetables as possible in the community and told his tenants via WeChat that he could provide dinner for them each day. His idea was warmly welcomed. The tenants placed their orders in the WeChat group every day, and Ming prepared their meals accordingly.

His wife and 65-year-old mother also joined him to wash vegetables and dishes. Although there were food supply problems at the beginning of the lockdown, Ming still managed to buy some meat for his hungry young tenants.

Ming received as many as 45 orders a day. Some of the tenants wanted to pay him for the dinner but were refused.

With the tenants’ safety in mind, Ming divided the orders into small groups so that they could fetch their dinner one by one while keeping two meters from each other.

Greatly moved, the tenants reported his good deeds to the local media, shooting him to stardom overnight.

【推荐2】About15 years ago, Andrew McLindon, a business owner and passionate cyclist, was riding his bike in Austin, Texas, when he thought about a friend’s 12-year-old son. The boy had never known the joy of biking because he suffered from a brain condition that often caused balance disturbances.

When he got home, McLindon, now 60, went online and found a three-wheel recumbent (侧卧的) bike with a seat belt, perfect for a child with balance issues. Soon the boy was cycling around the street with his peers, having fun and getting exercise. But there was more, as McLindon learned from his friend’s reaction. “To see his son interacting with other kids,” McLindon says. “I’ll never forget the smile on his face.”

That smile launched the McLindon Family Foundation. Funded by donations, the group works with pediatric rehab (小儿康复) clinics to find children who can benefit from owning bike and to help craft each bike to the particular needs of the child. A bike may include a headrest, a shoulder band, a seat belt, and a caregiver’s steering and braking system in the back. The bikes are expensive — $3, 000 to $4, 000, and that’s with the foundation’s large discount. For kids lucky enough to get one, they’re a life changer.

“We worked with a 14-year-old who had a back problem,” says McLindon. She spent most days on the couch watching TV. Soon after she got her bike, she was training for special-needs triathlons (铁人三项). In a magazine interview, she said, “I always knew there was an athlete me.”

So far, the foundation has given away 450 bikes, and that’s just a start. “I do a lot of things. I run a lot of companies.” McLindon says. “But getting these kids their bikes most important thing that I do.”