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 does harm to our environment. Though we are young, we can still do something to help. In fact, even the simplest everyday activities can make a real difference to the environment. Here are some ideas for you.

    Reduce

    Reduce means "use less". Don't waste things. This saves money and reduces pollution and waste going into the environment. Before we buy something new, think whether it is really necessary—or maybe the old one will be just as good! When we buy things, choose local products as possible as you can, and try not to buy too many things from abroad.

    Reuse

    Reuse means "use again". Use things for as long as possible. When we buy things, make sure that they last a long time. We should look after them so that they will last, and we should repair them if we can instead of throwing them away and buying new ones. Don't use a paper cup or a paper bag. It's better to use a china (瓷器) 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. Find out what can be recycled in your neighborhood and take part in recycling programs. We should also buy products made from recycled materials, such as recycled paper, to help save trees.

    So please remember these three words: reduce, reuse and recycle.

    Once upon a time, an old woman had two large water pots. Each hung on the end of a pole (杆子) which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect, From the river to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. And the other pot was always full. The perfect pot took pride in its talent. But the poor cracked pot felt sad for its own disadvantages.

    One day by the river the cracked pot said to the woman, "I feel bad about myself, because the crack in me causes water to come out all the way back to your house."

    The old woman smiled and said, "Why are there flowers on your side of the road, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your crack. So I planted flowers on your side of the road, and every day while we walk back, you water them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my house. There would not be this beauty without you. Each of us has our own cracks. But the cracks make our lives so interesting and beautiful."

    So, to all the cracked pot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the road!

    The coffee shop Starbucks will give people a discount if they bring their own cups. It wants to cut down on the number of paper cups that are put in the rubbish bins. It is part of a two month experiment in cafes in England. Starbucks wants to reduce waste and recycle more, The president of Starbucks in the UK said, "We are very happy to increase recycling rates(比率)，and reusable cups are a key part of our waste reduction plan." Bosses will decide later if they will continue the discounts. People who bring their own cups will not get a discount on the cafe's cheaper filter coffee.

    The problem of paper cups has been in the news a lot. Around seven million cups are thrown away every day. Reporters say that some cafes lie about how many paper cups they recycle. The reporters say the cafes do not recycle as many cups as they say. Customers wrongly believe that a coffee shop is environmentally friendly. Less than one in 400 paper cups at coffee shops are recycled. A coffee drinker said she would bring her own cup. She said, "I am so sad that cafes recycle so little. I thought they were more responsible."

    Kaitlin Riffle's dream of ending poverty (贫困) started when she was visiting her father, who worked for the homeless.

    "I never realized there were people in the world who didn't have a house or food before," said Kaitlin, who is now seventeen. "I knew there was something I had to do about that.

    At age eight, she started raising money to build a playground. "It took me two years," Kaitlin said. "We started small. We wanted to do something to make a difference. "

    In 2014, when Kaitlin was thirteen, she visited Central America, and saw people going hungry and families living in houses made of cardboard. That year, she set up Kids on a Mission, which has helped hundreds of people there.

    "The rooms were smaller than my bedroom, but there would be eight people living in each one," Kaitlin said. "We also got to see the dirty rivers that those people were drinking out of."

    Providing clean drinking water, food and clothes for people living in poverty is now an important task for Kids on a Mission. "This young lady is changing the hearts of people, and also changing the world,"" said the headmaster of Kaitlin's school.

    Sweden's program of producing energy from rubbish is so successful, but recently its success has also produced a surprising problem: There is simply not enough rubbish in this country. It has been reported that only 4% of their rubbish goes into landfills. 96% is recycled or recently being reused as fuel (燃料) in their waste-to-energy factories that are able to deal with up to 2 million tons of rubbish every year. And this situation has made Sweden face the serious and special problem mentioned above.

    Sweden has recently begun buying much waste every year from other countries, such as Norway, Bulgaria, Romania and Italy. These countries depend heavily on landfills. In the United States, where 250 million tons of rubbish was produced in 2010 alone, only about 34% was recycled. As a result, more than half of their waste ends up in landfills.

    Sweden is now paid by Norway to take its waste away. Sweden not only gets money from other countries but also changes the waste into energy in Sweden, which provides electricity and heating for so many homes. It's a win-win situation. Clever!

    Sweden is leading the way in waste management, but it is one of few. Most countries' technology in dealing with waste needs improving. We live in a world that is full of rubbish like plastic bags and beer bottles. Sweden's waste management offers a look into the future where countries can make money from their rubbish and not just put it in the ocean or put it in landfills.

    The Warrens are a common family.1, this common family has done something special.

    A few years ago, they2their big house in town and moved to the countryside. But that's not the only3thing that they did. They built a house which was powered (给……供电) by the wind and the sun in the country!

    Mr. Warren wanted his family to play a role in4the planet, so he read a lot about the electrical system. Then, he5to create electricity to power everything they needed for their daily lives. The kids were6at first. "Will we still be able to watch TV?" asked the daughter, Jane. "What about my computer?" asked James, the son. "Don't worry at all," said7father. "Just because we are going to create our own electricity doesn't mean we have to live in the8."

     "We are going to set up a wind generator (发电机) ," explained Mr. Warren. "Wind is a great way to9 electricity. It's not only free but also clean. The wind doesn't blow all the time, though. That's10we need to store (存储) our power. Then, when there is no wind, we will11have power to run everything in our house."

    Mr. Warren added, "We are also going to collect12from the sun and turn it into electricity. So, when the wind blows, we have power. When the sun13, we have power, too."

    It's easy to see that Mr. Warren really14renewable energy. And all his family hold the same15as him. Now, they are living happily in their self-powered countryside home.

    Night after night, she came to help me sleep, even long after my childhood years.

    I don't remember it first started making me a little angry- my mom's hands pushing my hair that way. But it really made me ( comfortable), for they felt rough (粗糙的) against my young skin. (final), one night, I shouted at her, "Don't do that anymore. Your hands are too rough!" She didn't say anything, she never did it again.

    Years later, I missed my mother's hands and her goodnight kiss on my face. I'm not a little girl any more. My mom is her mid-seventies，and her rough hands are still doing things for my family and me.

    Now my own children have grown up. It was late on Thanksgiving Eve. As I slept in my bedroom, a familiar hand ran across (I) face to push the hair from my head. Then a kiss, ever so (soft), touched my brow(额头).

    (take) my mom's hand, I told her how sorry I was for the night I shouted at her. But my mom didn't know what I was talking about. She had forgotten it long ago.

    That night, I fell (sleep) with the new appreciation(感激) for my mother's caring hands. And guilt(内疚) that I had carried around for so long was nowhere to be found.

    Many people have cars in the city. But (污染) is a problem because of the cars. Nowadays some downtown(闹市区的) areas around the world don't have cars. These car-free zones(无车区) are areas for people, bicycles and (公共的) transportation only. Eight million people   (居住) in the center of London and another two million people go to work there every day. The downtown area is very (吵闹的) with hundreds of cars, buses and taxis, but there are (也) a lot of beautiful parks with free music concerts. Many people go there for a rest (在……之后) they get off work. Parts of Tokyo are always crowded with hundreds of people- but no cars! These modern car-free zones are (真正地) popular and people like shopping there. In the past, Bogota was polluted (因为) there were lots of cars and traffic. Now the downtown area is a car-free zone and the air is (干净的)! Many people don't have a car and half a million people take the bus to work. There are lots of stores. It's not (昂贵的).

提示词语:factory, river, reuse, turn off, try one's best

提示问题: What are the pollution problems?

What should we do as students?

Why is it important to protect the environment?

    As we know, the environment around us is getting worse and worse.