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flat; desert; tissue; shoot; battery; transport; institute; take action; do our part; all over the world |
To inspire young people (take) action for the environment, animals and their community, Roots & Shoots (establish) in the early 1990s by Dr. Jane Goodall, scientist who's the world's (well-known) expert on wild chimpanzees. The whole purpose of Roots & Shoots is to educate young people, so they can help to build a future. is secure and live together in peace with nature.
The organisation is called Roots & Shoots because roots move slowly under the ground to make a firm foundation, and shoots seem small and weak, but they can break open brick walls to reach the light. The roots and shoots (be) you, your friends and young people all around the world. Hundreds and thousands roots and shoots can solve the problems, change the world and make it a better place to live in. Roots & Shoots (attach) importance to the value and importance of each individual — human, animal or plant. Dr. Jane Goodall believes that the most important thing is that:" Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference." You get to choose: Do you want to use your life to make the world a better place for people, animals and the environment? Do you want to make Roots & Shoots rooted in everyone's heart? Do you want to be a part of a community for a (share) future? You cannot be (absence).
Liu Jichen, 23, a student from Tsinghua University, has developed a WeChat mini-program called "Clear Your Plate". After a meal, users can open the mini-program and take a picture of their empty plates. Once the image is recognized by the AI (Artificial Intelligence), students can collect points and use them to buy gifts or purchase charity meals to children in poor rural areas.
Liu and his team, together with other organizations, launched the "Clear Your Plate" campaign in November for the third year. It has swept over 1, 017 universities across the country. The one-month campaign attracted almost 1. 6 million participants and collectively reduced food waste by 862 tons and carbon emissions(碳排放) by 3, 337 tons.
"Technological innovation is a good way to reduce food waste," Liu thought. He organized a team of 20 members to work on the project at the end of 2017. To solve the AI's problem of identifying photos of empty plates, the team spent half a year collecting over 100, 000 samples in canteens and restaurants. In 2018, the mini-program was officially put into operation on Oct 16, World Food Day. They then launched a campaign later that year.
"There were so many unknowns in research and development. For our team members, the biggest challenge was whether we were confident enough to complete it," Liu said. They not only achieved their goal, but now, the mini-program has more than 5 million registered users, according to Liu. "We hope our efforts can start a new trend among the younger generation by encouraging them to cherish(珍惜) their food and develop the habit of thrift(节约)," Liu added.
How green are you? Do you know how to be green?
We all need a healthy environment, but we produce waste every day and it is harmful to our environment. Though we are young, we can still do something to help. Here are some ideas for you.
Reduce
Reduce means "use less". Don't waste things. This saves money and reduces pollution. Before we buy something new, think whether it is really necessary—or maybe the old one is still useful.
Reuse
Reuse means "use again". When we buy things, make sure that they can last a long time. When something is broken, we should repair it instead of throwing it away and buying a new one. Don't use a paper cup or a paper bag. It's better to use a china (瓷) cup and a lunch box because you can use them again.
Recycle
Recycle means "change things into something else". Though it takes energy to change something into something else, it's better than throwing things away or burning them.
So please remember these words: reduce, reuse and recycle.
One year, a college in the United States announced that it would offer a lot of money for the pure white marigold (金盏花). The high reward attracted so many people, but in nature, besides golden, the marigold is brown, and it is not easy to get the white one. So after they were excited for a time, many people had forgotten the announcement.
One normal day after 20 years, the college received a letter and 100 seeds of pure white marigold. It was an old woman of over 70 years old. Some experts in the college doubted it, but in order not to let her down, those seeds finally took root (根) in the earth. The miracle appeared after one year; the field was covered by pure white marigold.
Therefore, the old woman who was always unknown to the public became a new focus.
The old woman was a flower-lover. When she read the announcement 20 years ago, she got very excited like others. But her eight children were totally against her decision. After all, a woman who never knew the seed genetics (遗传学) couldn't complete what the experts could never do, so her thought was only a day dream.
Still, the old woman didn't change her mind and went on working. She planted some of the most common seeds and took good care of them. A year later, when the marigold came out, she chose one faintest(最暗淡的) from those golden and brown flowers and got the best seed. The next year, she again grew them and chose…Day after day, year after year, through many seasons, the old woman's husband died, her children flew far, a lot of things happened in her life, but only the wish to grow the pure white marigold took root in her heart.
Finally, after 20 years on the day we all know, in the garden she saw a marigold, which was nearly white, but as white as silver or snow.
A problem even experts couldn't deal with was solved by an old woman who didn't understand genetics. Was it a miracle (奇迹)?
To take root in the heart, even the most common seed can grow into a miracle!
We all grew up hearing people tell us to "go out and get some fresh air". According to recent studies, the answer is a big YES, if the air quality in your camping area is good.
If the air you're breathing is clean — which it would be if you're away from the smog of cities — then the air is filled with life-giving, energizing oxygen. If you exercise out of doors, your body will learn to breathe more deeply, allowing even more oxygen to get to your muscles (肌肉) and your brain.
Recently, people have begun studying the connection between the natural world and healing (治愈). In these places patients can go to be near nature during their recovery. It turns out that just looking at green, growing things can reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and put people into a better mood (情绪). Greenery is good for us. Hospital patients who see tree branches out of their window are likely to recover at a faster rate than patients who see buildings or sky instead. It gives us a great feeling of peace.
While the sun's rays can age and harm our skin, they also give us beneficial Vitamin D. To make sure you get enough Vitamin D — but still protect your skin — put on sunscreen right as you head outside. It takes sunscreen about fifteen minutes to start working, and that's plenty of time for your skin to absorb a day's worth of Vitamin D.
A. Fresh air cleans our lungs.
B. So what are you waiting for?
C. Being in nature refreshes us.
D. Another side benefit of getting fresh air is sunlight.
E. But is fresh air really as good for you as your mother always said?
F. Just as importantly, we tend to associate air with health care.
G. All across the country, recovery centres have begun building Healing Gardens.
