【推荐1】Has such a scene ever come to your mind? You’re sitting in the hot sunshine beside the swimming pool of your international hotel, drinking your expensive whisky. In front of you is the beach, only for hotel guests. Around the hotel are fancy international restaurants.

Is this your idea of paradise (天堂) or would you prefer something different?

Nowadays, many of us try to live in a way that will harm the environment as little as possible. We recycle our newspapers and bottles, we take public transport to get to work. And we want to take these attitudes on holiday with us. This is why ecotourism(生态旅游) is becoming more popular all over the world.

Everyone has a different idea about ecotourism, but most people agree that ecotourism must: protect the wildlife and culture of the area; do no harm to the nature; offer an experience that tourists want to pay for.

So, for example, in a true ecotourism project, tourists stay in local(当地的) houses with local people, not in specially built hotels. They travel on foot, by boat, or bicycle so that there is no pollution. And they have a special experience that they will remember for the rest of their lives.

This type of tourism can only involve(涉及)a small number of people, so it can be expensive. And if you want to have an “eco” holiday wherever you go, remember these basic rules:

• Be prepared. Learn about the place that you’re going to visit. Find out about its culture and history. Think of your holiday as a chance to learn something.

• Have respect for the local culture. Wear clothes that will not annoy people. Always ask permission before you take a photograph. Remember that you are a visitor.

• Don’t waste resources. If the area doesn’t have much water, don’t take two showers every day.

• Stay in local hotels and eat in local restaurants.

But before you get too excited, think about how you are going to get to your dream “eco” paradise. Flying often causes air pollution. So don’t forget that you don’t have to fly to foreign places for your “eco” holiday. There are probably places of natural beauty in your own country that you’ve never visited.

【推荐3】On July 1, Shanghai started a garbage-sorting program. Under the new regulations（规定）, families and companies must classify their waste into four types and throw them in certain places at certain times. People who don’t follow the regulations will be fined.

The strict regulations became the talk of the city’s more than 24 million people. Many of them complained that they are so confused about waste categorization(分类). Luckily, China’s tech companies are here to help.

For example, China’s biggest Internet companies come up with new search features that help people figure out which waste is “wet (compostable)”, “dry”, “toxic”, or “recyclable”. By opening a mini app on WeChat, Baidu or Alipay and entering the keyword, people can easily tell which bin the newspaper should go to and which type the one you used to pick up dog poop belongs to. Ele me (饿了么), Alibaba’s food delivery arm, even offered the waste pickup services on top of “apologize to the girlfriend” and dog walking.

Besides helping families, companies are also building software to make property(物业) managers’ lives easier. Some residential complexes(住宅小区)in Shanghai began using QR codes (二维码)to find out the origin of waste. Each family is asked to attach a unique QR code to their waste bags, and then the bags will be scanned to find where they come from and which bin they should go to.

This way, regulators in the region know exactly which family has produced the waste. Those who correctly categorized will receive a small reward.

【推荐1】How do people from all over the world spend their free time? Let’s have a look.

※Internet

People from Canada spend about 43.5 hours online every week, 8 hours more than Americans. Canada has long cold winters, so people spend lots of time at home.

※The outdoors

People from New Zealand spend most of their free time outdoors. The countryside there is great for mountain climbing and water sports.

※Bars (酒吧)

Spain has a lot of bars. In Spain, a bar is for families, not just for drinkers. It’s a good place to meet friends and to eat tasty food. When none of your family or friends are free, you can still go to a bar by yourself. People around you in the bar may ask you to join them.

※Museums

The UK has six of the top 20 most visited museums in the world, such as the National Gallery, the British Museum and Tate Modern.

※Parties

As for parties, most people will think of Brazil. Its carnival (狂欢节) is famous all around the world. Bangkok and Berlin are two of the best cities or partying. In Bangkok, you can meet friendly people and visit great nightclubs. In Berlin, you can enjoy beautiful music on the streets.

※Exercising

In Greece and Estonia, over 80 percent of people exercise every day. The Olympic sports are very popular in these two countries, but Estonia has a very special game: ice cricket (冰上板球)!

【推荐2】A team of senior women in Southwest China’s Chongqing serving as “shared-grandmas” to help working parents pick up their children from school, stay with the kids and help their homework, has received a lot of likes and comments online lately.

The team of “shared-grandmas” from the Shipingcun community in Chongqing’s Jiulongpo District is made up of 9 female retirees (退休者), mostly empty-nesters. They take on the duties as volunteers taking care of 25 pupils in the community. The program started in April and the size of the team is still increasing.

Working parents of the children who are not able to pick up their kids from school at 3 p.m. are in great need of help. The volunteer can spare the time and energy for the family and reduce their loneliness by taking part in the job.

Deng Lihong, 66, is a public-spirited member of the team. Every workday, she picks up the children from school, and stays with them while they finish their homework and play in the community room until their parents pick them up. “I feel young with the kids and my retire life’s meaningful,” she smiled.

The retired senior women in the community are encouraged to take part in this public service. The feeling of achievement and happiness means a lot to “shared-grandmas”.

The “shared-grandmas” program began in the Jifu community in Wuhou district of Chengdu, Sichuan Province in 2019, and has created a new type of public welfare—taking care of the your and lifting the spirits of older citizens. “The positive (积极的) way of retirement”, for a retiree is thought to have practical, psychological and sociological importances.

【推荐3】The computer is important and can help us do a lot of things. Lots of children spend too much time on the computer. It’s bad for their study. Here is some advice (建议) for the parents.

•Move the computer out of the child’s bedroom. It is good for children to reduce (减少)the time to use the computer.

•Set a password for the computer. If your child wants to use it, he/she should get your permission（允许）.

•If your child uses the Internet for studying, he/she doesn’t use it to play games, praise（表扬）him/her for that.

•When your child wants to use the computer to play games, you can take him/her to the library, get him/her together with friends to play sport.