“Mermaids” (“美人鱼”) come together against water pollution

Water pollution is damaging the UK’s rivers. Environmentalists (环境保护主义者) believe the problem has been caused by water companies and weak regulation (监管). Some of them have come to river banks to make their voices heard.

Surfers Against Sewage (污水) is a charity of water lovers. On April 23, thousands of the group's members gathered on river banks across the country. Their marches attracted large numbers of people. The beach-loving public are calling for an end to the dumping of waste water into the UK’s bathing waters (浴场水城) by 2030.

In Manningtree and Essex, people went on a march by the River Stour. Many of the swimmers dressed up in mermaid costumes. One of the signs on the site said, “Don’t be mean (卑鄙的). Keep water clean.”

Anglian Water is a water company in the east of England. Last year, it poured raw sewage (未经处理的污水) into the River Stour 389 times. This happened over a period of time of more than 4,000 hours. The company said it was spending millions of pounds in order to deal with this problem.

Anna Baxter organized the Manningtree march. She said that the situation was “completely unacceptable”. According to data, water companies poured raw sewage into British rivers 372,533 times last year, for a total of more than 2.6 million hours. Also, every single one of England’s rivers failed a pollution test in 2020.

Hugh Tagholm, CEO of Surfers Against Sewage, said, “When I go for a surf, when my son goes for a swim, or when anyone takes the time to enjoy the UK’s blue spaces, we shouldn’t have to do this at the risk of getting sick from sewage”.

【推荐3】Every year on April 22, the world celebrates Earth Day. It’s a day that reminds people to protect our Earth, and it is a special day that celebrates the earth as well.

Earth Day was first celebrated on April 22, 1970, in San Francisco, California. Every year, over 100 different countries join together in the celebration of Earth Day. It is the largest, most celebrated environmental event around the world. On Earth Day, we remember nature and learn ways to protect our environment.

What Earth Day is all about is learning about and protecting our planet. People all over the world celebrate our efforts to protect plants and animals and to clean up the world we live in.

We can do lots of things for the earth. Here are some ideas to keep in mind.

*Recycle cans, bottles, and paper. Save them at home and at school, and help your family recycle them.

*Ride your bike or walk to school to keep the air clean.

*Use both sides of your paper at school and at home.

*Turn off the TV when you’ve finished watching it.

*Don’t leave the water running while you brush your teeth.

*Turn off the lights when you leave the room.

And remember, don’t ever think you’re not important to our earth. You are! That’s because Earth Day reminds us that we all share the same planet. Sharing Earth means that taking responsibility for what we use and how we use it. It is a day to think of the environmental changes we face and how to solve them. Protecting Earth is every person’s and every country’s responsibility.

【推荐3】7:50 a.m.

I stayed up so late last night that I felt hard to get out of my bed. Okay, I had been lost in a new game. I was attracted into finishing all of its tasks, which kept me up till midnight. The interesting game was still in my head, but there was something more urgent to be done. I had to attend a conference 10 minutes later! Plenty of time. I got up slowly and spread out my arms and legs. I put on the VR glasses and sat myself down in a comfortable position. With five minutes to go, I still had time to calm myself and gather my mind. I looked at the bottom of the screen. Umm, it’s October 27th, 2031.

9:00 a.m.

The conference was off to a good start. We were talking about our latest project of developing come virtual (虚拟的) land to sell in the metaverse (元宇宙). The project was not simple and since I didn’t have breakfast, I couldn’t think well. While I was searching my desk for something to eat, it came to my mind suddenly that I was here in the metaverse, where no real food could be served.

10:35 a.m.

I was improving my project as a new nurse came in to give me a summary report. She was a little green, appearing nervous and making some speaking mistakes. I was about to give her some help when she suddenly disappeared. Then suddenly, she reappeared in front of me. “Sorry, it was my network connection.”

12:05 a.m.

Lunch time, at last! I couldn’t wait to take my glasses off. But at the thought of my completely empty fridge, I had to put on my glasses again to order food online. Seconds later, the doorbell rang and outside stood the deliveryman (投递员) holding my food.

“Thanks for your delivery, but how come you look so realistic (逼真的)?” Curiosity drove me to ask, but it turned out that I was indeed dizzy (头晕的). “Sorry, perhaps I mean you are real rather than realistic.”