1 . Saving the environment might seem like a tall order, but living an environmentally friendly life is actually quite easy. With just a few small lifestyle changes, you can make a difference.     1    

Recycle.

Recycling is a simplest lifestyle to lower the amount of environmental waste.     2     Check the regulations to ensure you use them properly. For instance, some places may no: accept glass, while others might require you to separate the different materials. If you dispose of something improperly, the whole load will likely be rejected and end up in a landfill.

Buy locally sourced foods.

    3     Shipping products by truck, rail, flight, or boat creates pollution and goes against an environmentally friendly lifestyle. Instead, shop at local farmers’ markets and grocery stores stocking locally - sourced products. Alternatively, use community - supported services to get fresh produce regularly.

Cut back on driving.

Applying alternate forms of transportation consumes less gasoline. Walk or ride a bike whenever possible. If that isn’t an option, consider organizing carpools or using public transportation.     4     Also, combine multiple trips into one to help minimize the distance traveled and fuel consumed.

    5    

Advocacy allows more people to create a positive impact. Spread the word about environmental conservation by sharing some of the lifestyle changes you’ve made on social media and in conversations with people around, calling on everybody to play a role.

2 . In order to survive trips to Mars, humans need oxygen. Now, a team of scientists has designed a robot that could extract oxygen from water on the Red Planet.

The robot, which is called “AI chemist”, used a machine learning model to find a compound that could ignite an oxygen-producing chemical reaction on Mars. The compound, known as a catalyst (催化剂), is made entirely from elements found in Martian meteorites (陨石) — which means, if such a system could work reliably, space travelers would not need to bring oxygen or even the catalyst needed to produce it.

Mars’ atmosphere contains only trace amounts of oxygen. But scientists have detected evidence of liquid water beneath the planet’s southern ice cap. To create the breathable gas, researchers wanted to find a way to break down this water into its hydrogen and oxygen molecules using materials found on Mars.

Their robot analyzed five meteorites that either came from Mars or had a composition similar to that of the Martian surface. Using a laser, it identified significant amounts of iron, nickel, calcium, magnesium, aluminum and manganese in the samples. From these six elements, the robot’s algorithm (算法) deter-mined it could produce more than 3.7 million possible molecules to break down water and form oxygen on Mars. According to the researchers, finding the best one from this extensive list would take roughly 2,000 years of human labor, but for the AI chemist, it took only weeks.

“On the Earth, we don’t use these six elements,” Yi Luo, a co-author of the study says. “They are not the best choices for catalysts, but it’s only what you’ve got on Mars.”

With its chosen catalyst, the system could produce oxygen from the Martian materials at around - 37℃, demonstrating the chemical reaction could be possible on the cold Martian surface.

Notably, the robot was able to carry out the entire process — analyzing the rock samples, identifying the Jest possible catalyst and producing it without human intervention.

My Favourite Scenic Spot

The “Reminiscing Jiangnan (忆江南) — Shanghai Intangible Cultural Heritage Arts Exhibition” kicked off at the Sydney Opera House     1     Tuesday.

The exhibition,     2     aim is to promote cultural exchanges between China and Australia, is co-hosted by China Cultural Center in Sydney and other agencies. It is held     3     (mark) the 10th anniversary(周年纪念) of the establishment of the China-Australia strategic partnership. The 10-day exhibition will showcase a selected     4     (collect) of Jinshan peasant (农民) paintings at the China Cultural Center in Sydney. The works often feature a wide range of striking colors     5     diverse elements from traditional arts.

    6     (list) as Shanghai’s intangible cultural heritage, the art of Jinshan peasant painting       7    (exhibit) in many nations and regions across the world over the past decade. This time,painter Li Yuan presented his work themed on Sydney’s landmarks as a gift to David van Nunen, president of the Australian Watercolor Institute.

Themed “Reminiscing Jiangnan”, the exhibition expresses     8     expectation to further promote the exchange and understanding of civilizations between the two nations. “It’s obvious that the people of both     9     (nation) share a deep enthusiasm for life. I’m delighted to participate in this extraordinary cultural exchange,” said David van Nunen.

In particular, the City Walk Shanghai series albums were displayed at the opening ceremony,     10    (show) Shanghai’s innovation and convenience.

5 . Today I am working with Sim on for starting a mobile repairing shop. His ________ made me think of the day he joined us as a participant under Naya Savera, a skill-building program for different backgrounds.

My memory stretches back very ________. When I first looked at him during selection interview we ________ for taking on the participants, I wondered how I was going to help this person who could not even ________.

Simon has a ________ problem in both his legs. And to reach from one place to another he has to ________ a wheelchair. I didn’t take him seriously at first, but something changed when we ________ talking with him.

He made us ________ with all his funny stories. And made us cry by sharing his ________ to live normally. It is a pity that people underestimate him and look down on his ________ to become a successful person. By the time interview was over, we were all looking at him with awe and wondered who ________ whom, as most of the time he was the one posing questions.

Needless to say, he was selected for the training program and also ________ the program with ease. He was one of the ________ who never missed even a single day of training. He was one of the highest scorers in exams ________ on the last day of the training program. He touched everyone with his positivity and ________.

6 . You know that short walk to the shops and back? It’s about 10 minutes each way and you don’t know if you can be glad to make the trip, but that one short walk could save you from an early death, a new research by Cambridge University shows. In fact, as many as one in ten early deaths could be prevented if everyone managed at least half the recommended level of physical activity.

Risks of diseases such as heart disease, strokes(中风) — which were responsible for 17.9 million deaths in 2019 — and various cancers are all reduced with this simple short walk. This easy lifestyle change was also noted in an earlier study in January, 2023, so you really should give it a go.

By carrying out studies among a total of over 30 million participants, the latest Cambridge research found that just 75 minutes of exercise a week can reduce the risk of cancer by 7%. It was also enough to reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular(心血管的) disease by 17%.

Professor James Woodcock from the MRC Epidemiology Unit said, “We know that physical activity, such as walking or cycling, is good for you, especially if you feel it raises your heart rate. But what we’ve found is that there are many benefits to heart health and reducing your risk of cancer even if you can only manage 10 minutes every day.”

It goes without saying that doing the recommended 150 minutes per week is more beneficial than just 75 minutes. Around one in six early deaths would be prevented with the two plus hours of exercise, while 11% of cases of cardiovascular disease and 5% of cases of cancer would be avoided.

So what are you waiting for? Boots were made for walking.

8 . When you think of a map, is north on the top or the bottom? Usually, maps are designed with north on top, though when we think about it, there is no logical reason for this bias (偏见). After all, there is no up or down in space. So what is wrong with south, east or west being on the top of the map? The answer is: nothing at all. In fact, north-up maps only became the norm in the last few hundred years.

Ancient Egyptian maps had south at the top because the Nile River flows downhill from mountains in the south to the Mediterranean Sea in the north. Mecca was to the south of most early Muslim civilizations, and south-up maps were designed so that viewers would look up to see Mecca. Medieval Christian maps had east at the top, as they believed the Garden of Eden was in the east. The only early maps that had north at the top were those of early China because the emperor lived in the north.

North seems to have settled at the top of maps during the 16th century, largely thanks to a Flemish mapmaker, Mercator. Mercator was a great admirer of an early Greek mapmaker, who, for reasons now unknown, put north at the top of maps, so Mercator did, too. When Mercator’s world map became the standard map to navigate the oceans, north up became standard as well.

What is the implication of this north-view of the world? Psychologically, people tend to think of up as good and down as bad. Just think of words and phrases like “upmarket”, “upbeat” and “moving up in the world”, and how they contrast with their opposites. Because north is so consistently put at the top of maps, people now think of north as good, too.

Several attempts have been made in recent years by introducing south-up maps to the market. These maps not only give us a chance to see the world differently, but also give everyone the chance to see themselves on top.

10 . “In the future, everybody will be famous for 15 minutes,” said US artist Andy Warhol (1928-1987). And he is quite right. Now it seems that anybody can become an instant online celebrity.

Warhol is best noted for his paintings that represent celebrity faces and US consumer goods, like Coca-Cola bottles or Campbell’s soup cans. As a great influence on the twentieth century pop art movement, Andy Warhol rose to become a cornerstone in the contemporary art world, devoted to bringing his views on materialism, polities and economics to the art. Actually, the visual world Warhol created is directly connected to his background.

In the mid-1950s, the working class gathered a great deal of fortune. They wanted to achieve a higher status in society. “The consumer goods and Hollywood faces are a working-class-coded iconography (肖像) that is often misinterpreted as generally ‘American’.” Anthony E. Grudin, author of Warhol’s Working Class commented. Reproducing these themes in his work meant that people outside of the art world could immediately connect with Warhol’s pictures. Considered “a creature of transformation”, Warhol constantly explored with different forms of media to evoke resonance among people.

For example, in addition to being a painter, Warhol was, in the words of UK writer Peter Wollen: “A filmmaker, a writer, a photographer, a TV soap opera producer.” Warhol, in short, was what we might call a ‘Renaissance (文艺复兴) man’, even though he was a leader in pop or perhaps post-modern art.

In his later years, he founded Interview Magazine and wrote several books, including The Philosophy of Andy Warhol. But UK artist Gillian Wearing said, “Warhol left his mark in many more ways than his actual work.” Warhol’s works are all about “America, money, fame and death”, UK writer Jon Savage remarked. “He summed up, defined and in many ways symbolized the world in which we now live.”