【推荐2】Have you ever imagined being able to communicate with your pets at home and have them understand everything you say? It sounds too good to be true, but scientists have started using AI to help communicate with animals.

Professor Bake told Scientific Magazine that AI allows humans to use technology to watch and understand the sounds and signals animals communicate with so we humans can try to speak back to them. She said trying to communicate in animals’ language could be better than teaching them how to use human sign language. AI is already helping us communicate with bats and bees. This could change what we know about these animals and our relationships with them.

Professor Bake explained how Scientist Tovel had used recordings and AI to understand bats. “Bats have their own language. They often argue over food. They have different names, or ‘signature calls’,” she said, “mother bats lower their voice when speaking to their babies. Their voice can never be heard with human ears. But AI makes this possible because a computer can be trained to listen like a bat.”

Actually, AI has so far achieved a lot in this field. For example, the computer not only listens but also watches bees’ body movement to understand what they are communicating. Bake said scientists now know how bees say things such as “be quiet” or “stop”. Scientist Landlof even created a robot Honeybee that entered a bee’s home and was able to communicate with other bees when it wanted them to stop doing something or fly.

【推荐3】The world has a plastic problem. And not just with bottles. Straws (吸管), toothbrushes, toys—all kinds of plastics are placed in landfills (垃圾填埋场). There are 5 billion tons of plastic waste in the world. Landfills have a large part of it. By 2050, they could have 13 billion tons.

Much of plastic rubbish finds its way into the ocean. Scientists say 165 million tons of plastic pieces are floating (漂浮) around out there. And most plastic won’t disappear itself. It will remain in the ocean forever. Whales get caught in plastic fishing nets. Birds die because of eating plastic straws and bottle caps. It endangers ocean life. Plastic rubbish even ends up in the food we eat.

Governments are realizing that recycling may not be enough. They are taking more actions. Though it is hard work, it is still a solvable problem. In Britain, people are not allowed to use plastic bags except in hospitals. Scotland and several coastal (沿海的) cities in the US stop people from using plastic straws as well. The US alone discarded (丢弃) some 500 million plastic straws a day. That’s enough to circle the Earth twice. “Saying no to a plastic straw is an easy way to protect the environment,” Diana Lofflin who started www.strawfree.org said. “Do we really want to pass on to our children a world harmed by plastic?”

People have found some tasty ways to reduce waste. A company in India made the first-ever spoon that people can eat. You don’t have to eat the spoon. You can throw it away. It decomposes (分解) in just a few days. David Edwards, a scientist at Harvard University, designed an eatable bag which can protect the food or drink inside. It is a delicious replacement (替代品) for plastic ones.

【推荐3】How would you feel if a stranger bought you something to eat or drink? Would you like to buy another stranger some food or drinks?

Do you know what "paying it forward" means? It's not paying for something before you buy it. "Paying it forward" is to do something nice for another person for no reason. Then that person does something nice for someone else.

You might think that this doesn't seem like much. But this kind act can spread (传播) really fast. In December 2015, a woman was buying a meal at McDonald's in Florida, US. She also bought a meal for the person standing in line behind her.   Well, that person did the same thing, and the next person did too. Soon, 250 people had bought meals for another person!

But you don't need to spend money to pay it forward. There are examples of paying it forward every day like volunteering (做义工), giving food to the homeless or doing something extra nice for someone around you.

Try it out for yourself. All you have to do is look for little things you could do to make a person's day. Then, ask them to spread the word and do three kind things for someone else. And when someone does something nice for you, don't forget to do the same!