Birds are building their nests (巢) with rubbish, said a new study. The rubbish includes cigarette buts (烟头) and plastic bags.

A group of European scientists looked into about 35, 000 studies on bird nests. They found that birds had used man-made things in nests almost everywhere on Earth except Antarctica.

Some rubbish seems to be helpful. This is why birds “like” putting it in their nests. For example, cigarette butts have some chemicals (化学物质), so they can keep insects away and protect the chicks (雏鸟). Plastic bags are useful in keeping the animals warm, and other hard things, such as paper cards, can make nests stronger.

However, in the end, human rubbish may only bring more harm to birds. The toxic (有毒的) chemicals in cigarette butts hurt the chicks. The chicks may get sick or have shorter lives, according to a 2014 study.

To make matters worse, if the cigarette butts still burn when the bird brings them back to its home, they may set fire to the nest. Pieces of fishing net may also trap (缠住) birds, and it’s impossible for them to get out by themselves. If the chicks eat other kinds of rubbish by accident, they will also get hurt. Our friends in the air are feeling the bad effects of humans’ polluting the environment.

3 . Have you ever stopped to think about your life goals? Life goals are the things you’d like to achieve, in order to be satisfied with your future and who you become. Luckily for you, this passage is all about how to set life goals that will set you up for a life of success.

Find what you love doing. If you do a job you really don’t like, you may feel like you are wasting your time and doing nothing useful. Luckily, it’s never too late to find your true hobbies and turn them into something more. Be honest about what you enjoy and what you don’t. Listen to your instincts (本能) and you’ll find it.

Start taking care of yourself. Let this be one of the personal goals you set: to finally make more time for yourself. Start saying “no” when you don’t want to do something. And say “yes” to the desires (渴望) that you’ve been hiding deeply for so long. Self care is a way of life. It can begin by writing a journal and experiencing all the healthy benefits it brings.

Learn to give. Another one of the examples of life goals worth setting is about giving, because it’s true that the more you give, the more you will get in return. Giving means leaving behind your own wants and needs to see if you can be of help to others.

4 . Have you ever heard of Pi Day? You may think it is all about having pies. That’s only partly right. Pi Day is actually about maths! Every year on March 14th, maths lovers and scientists celebrate Pi Day to honor the special number π (3.1415926…).

Pi Day is a young international festival. It was founded in 1988 by Larry Shaw. He worked at the Exploratorium, a museum of science and technology. He linked (联系) March 14th with π and celebrated his very first Pi Day with a pie party. Later, the celebration became a yearly tradition at the museum and more visitors joined in. In November 2019, Pi Day was designated (指定) as the International Day of Mathematics by UNESCO, an international organization.

There are many kinds of celebrations of Pi Day. Some people choose to memorize as many digits (数字) as they can, while some take part in a Pi parade, enjoying delicious pies and dancing to music. Besides, people use a writing style called Pilish to celebrate Pi Day. In a Pilish sentence, the number of letters in each word matches the digit of π. The first word has three letters, the second has one letter, the third has four letters, and so on. An engineer, Michael Keith, even wrote a book called Not a Wake by using Pilish.

Pi Day is a day of discovery and joy, reminding us of the importance and beauty of mathematics in our lives. Let’s celebrate the mathematical wonder of π!

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5 . Wukong, Tiangong, Tianwen ... Do you know where the names of Chinese space programs come from?

Wukong, the Dark Matter Particle Explorer satellite (暗物质粒子探测卫星), is named after (以……而命名) Chinese superhero Monkey King. According to Journey to the West, Monkey King has a pair of sharp eyes (火眼金睛) which can tell the difference between good and evil (恶). The Wukong satellite is just as sharp-eyed as Monkey King to help scientists look for dark matter in space.

The name of the space station, Tiangong, means “Heavenly Palace”. In Chinese myths, this is the home of Tian Di. Now Tiangong Space Station is a home for Chinese astronauts in space. And China welcomes foreign astronauts to Tiangong so that they can work together.

Tianwen, China’s Mars missions (火星任务), gets its name from the poem Tianwen by Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan is a famous poet from ancient China. In Tianwen, he had the questions about the sky, stars, nature, myths and the real world, showing his hunger (渴望) for truth. Perhaps the Tianwen missions will end up answering some of Qu Yuan’s questions.

If you look into more names of Chinese space programs, you will find that they all have beautiful meanings. We, the Chinese people, have a long-cherished (珍藏已久的) space dream. So the naming of Chinese space programs is taken very seriously.

8 . Being green means protecting the environment in our daily life. The best way to do this is buying green products. But how do we know if a product is really green? We need to think about everything of the product.

First, we should look at the materials of the products. Green products are made of natural materials. This is good for our health.

Second, where a product is made and where we buy it are also important. We should try to buy local products, especially food. We can order directly from local farmers. Buying from shops near our homes is also a good idea, because we can go there without driving a car.

Packaging (包装) is another thing we should think about. We should choose products that have glass, paper or other packaging that can be reused or recycled. We should also try to buy products that have less packaging or no packaging at all.

The greenest thing we can do is not to buy unnecessary products. We should only buy things we really need, like food and clothes. If we don’t need something, we should leave it in the shop. This saves money, reduces waste, and helps keep the planet healthy.

All in all, by buying green products, we can help make our planet a better place to live on.

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10 . Do you know how to be street smarts? Being street smarts means knowing how to keep yourself safe from strangers when you’re alone or with other kids. Whether you’re walking to the school or to the bus, hanging out in the playground, or riding your bike in your neighborhood, being street smarts helps you stay safe.

When you’re walking home from school, a person in a car stops and asks you for directions. At the park, someone says he needs you to help look for his lost dog. These people may seem friendly, but they’re strangers.     1     But some strangers can be dangerous, and it’s impossible to tell who’s OK and who's not.

If a stranger approaches (靠近) you and asks for help, don’t help.     2     Right away, you should walk the other way. If you’re not near a safe place, try any store or restaurant. If you feel you’re in danger, call for help.

If a stranger stops his/her car and offers you ride, don’t get in. It’s also important to avoid a stranger’s car completely.     3     Don’t agree to come closer to see a pet or to get a toy that’s offered. What if a stranger comes to pick you up from school, dancing lessons, or the park? Don’t get in the car.     4     There are lots of ways to find out kids’ names.

Kids need to follow the rules of street smarts all the time with every stranger, even if the situation seems fine. No one will think that you are silly.