【推荐1】There are some easy things you can do to protect the environment and the earth. Choose ideas from the list or come up with a few of your own.

Plant flowers, grass or trees.

Whenever you visit a park or a beach, take away what you bring there and keep rubbish in a bag until you can put it in a dustbin.

Turn off the tap when you brush your teeth. You can save some water by not letting it run. Also, use a glass cup instead of a paper cup, because this saves paper.

Turn off the lights, TV sets when you leave the room. This saves a lot of electricity.

Keep the doors and windows closed in winter to keep warm instead of using air conditions.

Give your old clothes to poor children you know and give your old books and magazines to library instead of throwing them away.

Use both sides of paper.

Stop pouring dirty water into the river or lakes nearby.

Encourage all your friends to do the same things you do to help protect the earth.

You don’t have to wait until Earth Day to do these things. Make every day Earth Day.

If everyone makes a contribution to protecting the environment, the world will become much more beautiful.

【推荐2】Imagine having something that you loved so much. Imagine what it would feel like losing it. While that one may be something as simple as a doll, you would still feel very upset, but you could replace (代替) it with a new one.

Now imagine you depend on something to live on, but you lose it and nothing can replace it. That is what it would be like if we lost the natural environment around us.

Firstly, I believe the environment should be protected because it supports human life. One of the largest examples is that we get all of our food and drinks in the environment. If the environment were to be destroyed, then the humans would be over in months. Scientists have yet to find another planet with similar conditions to Earth, and if it is found, we don’t have the technology to get to that planet on time.

Secondly, I believe that the environment serves as an amazing educational tool for students. When I was in second grade, I had a great interest in animals. When we had a field trip to the Daggerwing Nature Center, I was really amazed. There was a bridge to get to the main building, and under the bridge was a small swamp (沼泽) with turtles, fish, and my personal favorite, alligators (钝吻鳄). I was so surprised that I almost ran into the tour guide. We walked into the buildings and saw different animals in their habitats. I was so inspired by this visit. Six years later, I have taken an animal behavior class for three weeks. Meetings by chance with the environment can inspire people.

In a word, the environment is so valuable because it can’t be replaced.

【推荐1】We all know there is a problem with plastic pollution. Five trillion plastic bags are used every year. One million plastic drinking bottles are bought every minute.

What if we could use plastic waste to build roads? This is exactly what Toby McCartney has done.

In 2019, McCartney’s UK-based company, MacRebur, built the world’s first plastic road in Elgin town, Scotland. The plastic waste was made into grains(颗粒) and then mixed with biturnen(沥青). The road looks just like any other road. But it has improved strength and is more stretchy(有弹性的) thanks to the plastic.

“Our technology can not only help solve the problem of plastic waste but also produce roads that deal better with changes in the weather, reducing cracks and holes,” McCartney told the BBC.

McCartncy’s idea came from a trip to India. “I saw people in India would put plastic waste into holes and burn it. The plastic would melt down(熔化) and form a seal in the hole,” said McCartney.

“I knew that there must be some similarities between the plastic and biturnen, which both come from oil. That’s how I started to think about mixing them,” he said.

After lots of testing, McCartney found the perfect recipe. And now his company has built many plastic roads around the world, from Australia to Europe. A one-kilometer road uses about 684,000 plastic bottles or 1.8 million plastic bags. The road itself can be recycled at the end of its lifespan. The materials can be reused to build new roads.

“We’re just a small part of ending the plastic pollution, but it’s nice to be part of it,” McCartney said. “I just don’t want my daughters to live in a world where there are more plastic in our oceans than fish.”

A recently study found people’s lives are made shorter in North China. It is showed the life expectancy(平均寿命) had been cut down by 5.5 years there. Researchers think that the heavy air pollution in China should be to blame. It’s really the truth. Our government has already done something. However, it doesn’t seem to work so well.

“Air pollution in China is doing harm to people’s health. The harm is much more serious than we can imagine,” said Chen Yuyu of Beijing University, one of researchers of this study.

Dirty air brings serious problems in North China. In January this year, the air pollution was worse than that in other places. That was caused by rising temperature and waste gas from coal heating.

Chinese government should strongly fight against air pollution. They should think of more proper ways to deal with the problem. People should be encouraged to take buses, ride bicycles or walk, instead of driving cars. The factories that pollute heavily should be closed.

“We need to improve our environment, although it might be expensive. Protecting our environment means protecting ourselves,” Li Hongbin, another researcher of the study said.

【推荐3】Why is clean water important to developing countries? A recent report shows that about 80 percent of diseases in developing countries are caused by poor water and low sanitation（卫生）conditions. In those countries, women and girls spend several hours collecting water, but often polluted, far away from their families. The polluted water more or less influences their health. In this case, there is an urgent（迫切的）need for people in developing countries to have access to（有机会或权利使用）clean water to improve their health.

Here is a short story about Hadjara Zakari, a 12-year-old girl in Niger. Having access to clean water changed her life. She learned about the importance of hand-washing when the school first received clean water three years ago. That evening, she told her father, “You shouldn’t eat with me unless you clean your hands.” Her father was very angry and shouted at her, “It’s not up to you to tell me what to do!” Stunned（目瞪口呆的）, Hadjara sat in silence. But she knew she was right. In protest, Hadjara refused to eat dinner that night. After her father questioned Hadjara’s head teacher, he understood the importance of hand-washing and his daughter’s intentions（目的）. The girl really wanted her family to live longer and healthier lives.

For people in developing countries, clean water can change many things, especially improve their health. So, from now on, let’s avoid wasting water and take action to save water, which is important to people all over the world.

【推荐2】Every school seems to have bully（欺凌）. In fact, bullying goes on in schools all over the world. Bullying is common situation at school. We need to get to know more about bullying.

Who gets picked on?

Bullies pick on people they think don't fit in—someone who looks different or isn't as smart or as rich. For example, shy kids often get picked on because of their characters.

Forms of bullying

Physically hitting someone is the clearest form of bullying, but insulting（侮辱）, gossiping（说闲话）and making fun of others are also usual forms of bullying.

What can we do to stop bullying?

If you are the bully, think about how your actions hurt others. You can't build yourself up by putting others down When you're' feeling stressed or angry, find acceptable ways to deal with your frustrations（挫折）.

If you are the victim（受害者）, tell trusted adult and get some help. Many times adults can find ways to solve the problem. Here are some wise suggestions:

Ignore（忽略）the bully and walk away.

Hold your temper（脾气）. Maybe the bully wants you to lose control.

Don' 't fight physically. It may lead to more violence（暴力）.

Practice confidence even if you have to pretend it.

Talk with parents or teachers about it. They are sure to help you solve the problem.

Make true friends at school. That may be helpful.

【推荐1】I was cute, active and happy-until that day when I was 15 months old. I had a bad fall. I landed on a glass rabbit and cut one of my eyes badly enough to blind me. The doctor said that if the eye was taken out, my face would look worse, so my scared and blind eye lives on with me.

People often ask me uncomfortable questions about my eye or even play jokes on me. When the kids played games, I was always the “bad guy”. Everyone looked down on me. Yet every time mom noticed I was unhappy, she would say to me, “Hold your head up high and face the world.” It helped me move on in life.

As a child, I thought mom meant: “Be careful or you will fall down or knock into something because you are not looking.” As a teenager, I always looked down to hide my shame, but I found that people liked me when I held my head up high. In high school I was even made monitor, but outside I still felt like a freak（怪物）. All I really wanted was to look like everyone else. When things got really bad, I would cry to my mom and she would look at me with loving eyes and say, “Hold your head up high and face the world. Let them see the love that is inside.”

Mom’s love gave me confidence. Finally I was able to look people in the eye. I learned not only to appreciate（欣赏）myself but also to have deep love for others.

【推荐3】In many cases, South Korea is a very ordered country. The influence of Confucian principle（儒学）is through every case of day-to-day living. As a result, everyone should be on time, all the time. And to be late in this regard is to mark oneself out as bounder（无赖）.

Though the Japanese people are famous for their high-rolling gamblers, they just don't gamble（赌博）with time. People will sorry and regretted for being late. However, the modern world being what it is, young Japanese people may be more comfortable with the rules of societal standards（社会标准）than older generations. And they might not expect you to beat yourself up too badly if you are late.

When in Greece it is worth remembering that Greeks ‘pass’ the time instead of ‘using’ it. In other words, time is something to be enjoyed rather than be rushed. As such, it is not unusual to arrive 30 minutes later for a dinner party. However, it does not extend（延伸，延展） to business meetings where visitors are expected to be on time.

Ghanaians are very relaxed and accommodating（随和）. People think if everyone is late then no one is late. After all, what can't be done today can get done tomorrow. If you find that kind of attitude difficult to deal with, you have to be annoyed by yourself. So just sit back and enjoy the ride.