These days there are thousands of charities around the world and it is possible to donate money to help people, animals and places.
Mencap is a charity which is dedicated to fighting against discrimination towards those people who suffer from any kind of learning disabilities. Most of Mencap's work is campaigning. People with learning disabilities are disadvantaged because of discrimination and lack of funding for community care. Mencap raises awareness by working at local, national and European levels to deal with those issues that affect people with disabilities. It also provides services of education, housing and employment as well as support and advice for families and carers of sufferers.
EveryChild is a relatively new charity which was created in 1983. EveryChild identifies the needs of a particular community and then sets up projects to ensure that children in these communities have basic rights such as healthcare, education, social services and community development. EveryChild sets up the projects so that they are self running. The organization then moves on to new projects, leaving things in the hands of locals.
The RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) is the first organization dedicated to the well-being of animals anywhere in the world. The RSPCA was set up in London in 1824. At this time it was considered strange that people should care about cruelty to animals. In 1840 Queen Victoria gave the organization permission to be called a royal society: The RSPCA. These days there are almost two hundred branches in the UK.
The TBG (Tidy Britain Group) is an independent national charity fighting to improve the quality of the local environment. They aim to get everyone involved in doing their bit to keep Britain clean. The work of the TBG is done mainly through campaigning. Volunteers work closely with governments and businesses to organize educational programmes designed to raise awareness of the problems. The TBG's sister organization, Going for Green, concentrates on pollution issues. The two groups have the same chief executive.
After we listen to songs on a music app, we are surprised to see recommended(推荐的)songs. When we open shopping websites, we can easily see things that we might want to buy.
This is based on data(数据). Data is not only about numbers but also information from every side of our lives: our shopping habits and interests... All of this is called "big data."
In December, President Xi Jinping called for China to accelerate its big data plan to serve the development better and improve people's lives. He also asked for greater use of big data in fields like education, social safety and transportation(交通).
Big data have been used more often in China in the past few years. Its role in tourism is just one example.
The data that travelers share online give the tourism industry a lot of information about the country's tourist places. After studying the data, different tourist places can create their own online instructions. The instructions show travelers, reviews and services needed to be improved.
Big data is growing quickly, With a growth of 30% every year, sales of big data services and products in China will reach 1 trillion(万亿)yuan yearly by 2020, China News Service reported.
What will man be like in the future-in 5,000 or even 50,000 years? We can only make guesses, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today, for man is slowly changing all the time.
Let us take an example. Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today. Now, on average(平均),men are about three inches(英尺)taller. Again, in the modern world we use brains a great deal. Even so, we still make use of only about 20% of the brain's capacity(容量).As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more, and eventually we shall need larger ones! This is likely to bring about a physical change to the head, especially the forehead, will grow larger.
Nowadays our eyes are used very often. In fact, we use them so much that they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over a very long period of time it is likely that man's eyes will grow stronger.
On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive(敏感的) because they are used a great deal in modern life.
But what about hair? This will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer. In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald(光头的).
Perhaps all this shows that future man will not be a very attractive being to look at! This may well be true. No matter how great the change is, future man will still have a lot in common with us.
I was having a period of bad health. I had one operation after another. I was falling1faster than the doctors could put me back together. But I just couldn't bear the operation, the hospital stay, the long recovery and the physical therapy(康复治疗). I told my doctor I was going to try2else.
I had discovered that walking gave me a little3. So I started walking. The first day, my wife4off our steep Silver Lake hill to a flat street. She got me out of the car, and I walked about two blocks5asking to be taken home. The next day, I walked about four6.
Slowly, feeling a little7every day, I began to walk a mile or more. I even8some hills to my route. I became interested in the network of public stairways around Silver Lake I made a9of it and walked every public staircase in Silver Lake. That went pretty well, so I10onto Echo Park. I was feeling better, so I kept going. The search finally11"Secret Stairs: A Walking Guide to the Historic Staircases of Los Angeles' "a book12in the spring of 2010. By then, I had13. I had been walking at least an hour a day for three years. My life 14returned to normal.
In three years of walks, I've met dozens of people who had had 15experiences of rebirth or recovery. One man told me he'd lost 80 pounds walking the secret stairs and was dating for the first time in a decade. One woman told me she had 16knee operation. Another told me she had been 17to start ballroom dancing again.
All I'd18from the walks was relief from pain. What I got was 19, community and a whole new experience of my city. Out of the car, on my feet and moving at walking pace, I20Los Angeles for the first time.