1 . In the first test of its kind in Europe, and only the second in the world, Belgian researchers tested 39 brands of straws (吸管) for the group of synthetic (合成的) chemicals known as poly-and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The straws are made from five materials — paper, bamboo, glass, stainless steel and plastic. PFAS were found in the majority of the straws tested and were most common in those made from paper and bamboo. They were not found only in steel straws tested.

PFAS are used to make everyday products, from outdoor clothing to non-stick pans, resistant (抵抗to water, heat and stains. They are, however, potentially harmful to people, wildlife and the environment. They have been related to a number of health problems, including lower response to vaccines (疫苗), lower birth weight, thyroid disease, liver damage, kidney cancer and testicular cancer. They break down very slowly over time and can last thousands of years in the environment, a property that has led to them being known as “forever chemicals”.

A growing number of countries, including the UK and Belgium, have sopped the sale of single-use plastic products, including drinking straws, and plant-based versions have become popular. The PFAS concentrations (浓缩物) were low in them and, bear in mind that most people tend to only use straws occasionally, bringing a limited risk to human health. However, PFAS can remain in the body for many years and concentrations can build up over time.

It isn’t known whether the PFAS were added to the straws by the producer for waterproofing or the PFAS were the result of contamination. Potential sources of contamination include the soil the plant-based materials were grown in and the water used in the production process. However, the presence of the chemicals in almost every brand of paper straws means it is likely that it was, in some cases, being used as a water-resistant coating, say the researchers.

4 . A powerful earthquake hit Morocco on Friday night, killing over 2,500 people and causing huge damage over a large area. The quake was one of the most powerful ever recorded in Morocco. It’s also the country’s deadliest earthquake in over 60 years. So far, the earthquake is reported to have killed over 2,680 people. It has injured over 2,500 others. The earthquake was especially dangerous because it happened at night, when people were asleep in their homes.

Marrakesh is a big city that’s popular with tourists. Many of its modern buildings seem to have survived the earthquake, but the old part of the city, Medina, was hit hard. It has buildings that are over 1,000 years old. Many of those buildings were demolished.

Outside of Marrakesh, the earthquake caused even more damage. In the Atlas Mountains, the earthquake’s center, there are many small villages, some of which were nearly destroyed.

Many of the people in the area live in simple houses made of mud bricks, which is a traditional way of building in Morocco. But it’s not strong enough to protect against earthquakes. Although the Moroccan government has laws that require buildings to be built more safely, these rules are often ignored.

Rescue workers have been working hard to save those affected by the quake. In larger cities, rescue efforts seem to be going well. But it has taken a lot longer for help to reach remote areas in the mountains. Many of these villages are difficult to get to. The earthquake caused landslides, blocking roads, and making these places even more difficult to reach. In some areas, phone and electrical service were also knocked out, leaving these places completely cut off. That means that the local people in some remote areas have had to deal with the situation on their own. In some areas, people have been digging through the broken stones or bricks with their hands, trying to find survivors. Many people are sleeping outside, unsure if their houses are safe.

Many outside countries have offered to help Morocco. Some countries have offered teams of experts; others have offered supplies.

5 . It happens in every disaster (灾难): For those in need, people often donate (捐赠) things that turn out to be more of a trouble.

Juanita Rilling remembers it happened in 1988 when she was a disaster expert trying to help people suffering from a hurricane (飓风) in Honduras. “One morning I received a call from one of our logistic operators (物流运营商), and he explained to me that there was a plane carrying medical supplies that needed to land,” says Rilling. “But the ground was full, with lots of donations that no one had required. The plane—full of needed supplies—had to find someplace else to go. And it ended up stopping everyone’s plans by about 48 hours, which is important time in a disaster.”

Rilling now runs the Center for International Disaster Information, which is trying to make sure things like that don’t happen again. So when Superstorm Sandy hit, Rilling’s group started a project to encourage money donation. “Even a small donation can make a big difference and can quickly become exactly what people affected by a disaster need most,” Rilling says. But despite this, donators do that over and over. About 60% of the things donated after a disaster couldn’t be used. Often it’s old clothing or food.

Meghan Hara, who deals with kind donations for the American Red Cross, says she knows that some people are careful with giving money. And she doesn’t think that the need to give something concrete (实物) should be completely stopped.

“Part of what people are doing is that they’re helping, and they’re trying to help. What we need to work out is how to effectively deal with that,” Hara says.

6 . Popularly known as the environmentalist and founder of the international tree-plant, Felix Finkbeiner is only 25 years old but he has been urgently at work for over a decade.

In 2006, Finkbeiner was asked to give a presentation on climate change in his class. Inspired by Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai, who led an effort to plant 30 million trees, Felix spoke about deforestation and its effect on the planet. At the end of his talk, he followed with his own fearless idea that a million trees should be planted in each country to fight climate change. He challenged his classmates to help him. One year later, the project named “Plant-for-the-Planet” was born. It wasn’t long before his fearless dream was realized.

When he was just 13, He was invited to speak at a United Nations conference and made the call for others to join him. “We cannot trust that adults alone will save our future, “he said in the speech. “We have to take our future in our own hands.”

Finkbeiner is now in his twenties, and Plant-for-the-Planet is an organization with around 70, 000 members. It works to teach people about climate change and to encourage the planting of more trees. Finkbeiner has taken over the United Nations’ Billion Tree Programme, planning to plant another trillion trees instead.

Finkbeiner continues to give talks on climate change to world leaders. “I don’t think we can give up on this generation of adults,” he says, “and wait 20 or 30 years for our generations to come to power. We don’t have that time. All we can do is to push present world leaders in the right direction.

8 . “Is there going to be a flood?” asked Daniel. He looked nervously at his dad and mom. They both looked worried. Dad was completely wet and dirty. He and some other men in town had spent the morning piling bags of sand on top of the levee (防洪堤) along the river. For years the levee had kept the Mississippi from flooding its banks. After three straight days of rain, though, the water grew higher and higher. If the levee broke, Daniel’s neighborhood would be flooded for sure.

“We’ll be fine,” Dad placed a reassuring hand on Daniel’s shoulder. Outside, lightning flashed, followed by distant thunder. “Just in case,” said Dad. “I think we should start moving some things to Uncle Mike’s house.” Uncle Mike lived farther away from the river on higher ground. “And we’ll take everything we need to cook and eat upstairs,” he said, “like camping out in our own house.”

By nightfall, everything the family needed had been moved upstairs. Dad had taken their new couch and TV to Uncle Mike’s. Daniel helped his dad tie a fishing boat to the front (门廊). “Just in case,” said Dad.

Lying in bed that night, Daniel tossed and turned. He could hear the heavy rain beating on the roof. “Everything will be all right,” he said to himself just before falling asleep.

Several hours later, the sound of sirens (警报器) woke Daniel from a sound sleep. He sat straight up in bed, his heart pounding. In rushed Mom ,“Get dressed, Daniel! The levee just broke! We’ re leaving. We have no other choice.”

A few minutes later they all got into the fishing boat, leaving behind just about everything they owned. Daniel asked, “We’re going to lose everything, aren’t we?”

“No, not everything”, said Mom, pulling him close. We’ll always have each other.”

“That’s right,” said Dad. “We may lose the house, but we can always rebuild it. We can’t ever lose our home, though, because home is us.”