A new rubbish sorting system (垃圾分类系统) has been put into use in Fangchengyuan Community in Beijing. Local people not only sort their rubbish, but also put QR codes (二维码) on it.

    "When the rubbish is collected and the codes are seen, I will get reward points to exchange for small gifts and even some money," one of the local people told reporters. "It's really creative and encouraging."

    This smart system has been carried out in 350 communities in Beijing. The capital of China has joined a list of cities in the country that take action to support rubbish sorting. For example, Shenzhen and Shanghai have made laws to punish people and organizations for not sorting rubbish correctly.

    China produces quite a lot of rubbish every year. Much of the rubbish is buried (填埋) in soil or burned without being sorted. Landfills (填埋场) take up a lot of land and have a risk of polluting the soil and water nearby. And burning rubbish can produce harmful gases. Through rubbish sorting, we can reduce the use of landfills and air pollution.

    What's more, rubbish sorting saves resources, which could bring economic benefits (经济利益). For example, a ton of waste paper can be reused to make about 850 kg of paper, saving 17 trees and 50 percent of water. Because of the benefits, some countries have developed successful sorting systems.

    Japan has a strict and detailed system. When people throw away a water bottle, the cap, the wrapper (包装纸) and the bottle itself have to go into three different bins. Every year, families receive special rubbish sorting timetables and directions from their local governments. They are advised to follow the timetables and directions when they throw away rubbish.

    In Australia, every family is provided with three rubbish bins—the red lid (盖子) bin for "general waste" like food and plastic bags, the yellow lid bin for "recycling" like steel and glass, and the green lid bin for "green waste" such as grass and leaves. On the streets, the bins are printed with pictures of the things that are allowed inside. It makes recycling quite easy.

Hello! My name is Anna. I'm thirteen and I come{#blank#}1{#/blank#} the USA. I have{#blank#}2{#/blank#}big family. My grandparents live with us. They are 70 years old. They often{#blank#}3{#/blank#}sports in the morning. Sometimes they go for a walk in the park after dinner. Look at the two{#blank#}4{#/blank#} of them. The first one is a black-and-white photo. They are young，{#blank#}5{#/blank#} they look happy in it. The second one is a color photo. 

There are three people in it. They {#blank#}6{#/blank#}my grandparents and my father. Now my parents have three children. They are my brother Tim, my sister Cindy and me. Tim is only 3. Cindy is a seven-month-old baby. My father has a sister. {#blank#}7{#/blank#}name is Olivia. My mother has two brothers. Their{#blank#}8{#/blank#} are Richard and William. They like{#blank#}9{#/blank#} books when they have time. I have a pet called Phil. He is a dog. He is brown. He is in my family, {#blank#}10{#/blank#} I love my family!

 Volunteering in your community gives you a chance to give back. You' ll feel proud that you are volunteering your time, and a local organization will benefit, too. There are some tips(建议) you can follow to help you do your volunteer jobs well. You should choose a volunteer job first and pay attention to the volunteer job you feel strongly about. When you decide to volunteer, you shouldn't accept the first volunteer chance you come across easily, because you' re likely to be happier and volunteer longer at an organization that supports a job you care about. So you may need to find a volunteer job that makes full use of your abilities or skills. Then, treat the volunteer job like a real job or your study task. That means being serious. Spend some time preparing for the interview, much as you would prepare for a job interview. During your volunteering, you should take responsibility (责任) for everything you do instead of giving up. You may even complete any needed training to help you volunteer well, such as learning some useful skills to help others. Being active and creative is also necessary. Both of the two traits(特质) will help you be great volunteers. 

 We all have experienced the strong link between smell and memory. A whiff of chlorine(一股氯气) probably reminds you of summer pool parties, while the scent of flowers may bring back memories of your grandma's garden. Now, researchers from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) have found that breathing in pleasant smell could even help improve memory and learning.

 The study, led by Cynthia Woo, invited 43 healthy adults aged between 60 and 85. The scientists divided them into two groups. The test group(实验组) was provided with some natural oils with different fragrances(芳香). They included orange, eucalyptus(桉树), lemon, peppermint(薄荷), rosemary(迷迭香), and lavender(熏衣草). However, the control group(对照组) only received fewer types of natural oils with different fragrances.

 The participants were asked to use one of the scented oils(香精油) to perfume(使...充满香味) their homes for two hours every night for six months. They were also asked to change the fragrances every night.

 At the end of the six months, all volunteers took a memory test. The test group outperformed the control group by a shocking 226 percent!

 Woo and her team thought that it does not matter when the scents are taken in. However, varying the fragrances is the key. The scientists believe the changes of different smells helps activate (激活) the memory centers of human brains.

A new study has found that certain fragrances may help prevent memory loss in adults. The findings were published in   the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience on July 24,2023. The study also showed that certain fragances could probably also help improve memory in younger people.

 The UCI team's next plans are to carry out a similar study on older people who already suffering from memory loss. They are eager to learn if pleasant smells can help reverse(逆转) the memory loss.