【推荐1】When you and your family go out for dinner, do you notice how many dishes you usually order? It’s fine if you finish all of them. But if you waste too much food, you might pay a fee for it in the near future.

On Dec 22, China’s top legislature (立法机关) reviewed a draft law (法律草案) for stopping food waste for the first time. In general, a draft will become law after the top legislature reviews (审议) it three times.

According to the draft law, restaurants should tell diners not to order too much. They should describe the size or amount of each dish. If customers leave too much food uneaten, restaurants can charge (收费) them for food waste.

The law also bans (禁止) waiters from encouraging diners to order too much food. Those who don’t follow the law will receive a fine from 1,000 to 10,000 yuan.

The draft law also asks schools to teach their students to avoid food waste. It bans livestreams (直播), radio and TV programs about overeating and overdrinking. Producers (创作者) of such programs will face a fine of up to 100,000 yuan.

Food waste happens in many places. In China alone, 35 million tons of food ends up in landfills (垃圾场) every year. About 12 percent of the nation’s harvest (粮食产量) goes to waste, CCTV News reported.

【推荐2】Born at the Beijing Zoo, China’s giant panda Yaya was taken to the Memphis Zoo in Tennessee, the United States in 2003 for a research project. In December 2022, the Memphis Zoo announced (宣布) that it would return Yaya to China. After finishing her 20-year loan period (租借期), China’s giant panda Yaya finally returned home from the US on April 27, 2023.

In January, visitors in the Memphis Zoo found that Yaya became bony, making many Chinese and animal lovers abroad worried about her health and life quality at the Memphis Zoo. China prepared to welcome back Yaya and experts from the Beijing Zoo arrived in the US in March to learn about her habits and feeding situation from the zoo staff members. Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that the quarantine (检疫) and feeding places for Yaya were ready along with her feeding plans and medical care.

The news that Yaya is coming back to China has cheered up millions of Chinese people. By April 9, a topic about Yaya had received 250 million views. “Come home soon, Yaya. I’ll go to see you in the zoo even if I have to queue all day long!” an Internet user commented (评论) on Sina Weibo.

On April 27, Yaya arrived in Shanghai. Groups of people rushed to the airport to welcome Yaya. During the quarantine in Shanghai, the zoo prepared enough bamboo and foods for Yaya. Experts and carers took care of her 24 hours a day there. Yaya’s health was in stable (稳定的) condition. After finishing the quarantine, Yaya was safely transported to the Beijing Zoo on May 29. The giant panda Yaya will spend her late years there and won’t meet the public recently.

【推荐1】Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed a boy ahead of him. He had tripped (绊倒) and dropped all of the books he was carrying, along with some clothes, a baseball bat and a glove.

Mark knelt(跪) down and helped the boy pick up the things. Since they were going the same way, he offered to carry some things for the boy.

As they walked, Mark discovered the boy’s name was Bill. He loved video games, baseball and history, but he was having trouble with some of his subjects.

They arrived at Bill’s home first. Mark was invited in for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed pleasantly with some laughs and talk. Then Mark went home.

They continued to see each other around school, had lunch together once or twice, then both graduated from junior school.

Three days before graduation, Bill asked Mark if they could talk.

Bill reminded Mark of the day years ago when they had first met. “Did you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?”   asked Bill.

“You see. I took away all my things from school. I had stored away some of my mother’s sleeping pill(安眠药). I was going home to kill myself. But after we spent some time talking, and laughing. I realized that if I had died, I would have missed so many good times. So you see, Mark, when you picked up those books that day, you did a lot more. “ ▲     ”