If you visit the animal shelter in Salinas, California, you'll see huge wood cutouts(剪下的图形) of a dog and a cat. These signs were placed in front of the building to catch people's attention. The supersized cut outs make people curious and encourage them to visit the shelter— and maybe even adopt(收养) a pet. Each year, the Salinas shelter takes in around 2,000 dogs and 2,000 cats. The animals are either strays or are dropped off by people who couldn't take care of them. Of the 4,000 animals, some of them are finally adopted into new homes. Some animals are moved to other shelters. And, unluckily, some cannot be saved because they are too sick or are considered dangerous.   

   Animal shelters provide food, medicine, and a safe place for animals to sleep. But they are not ideal homes. The shelters are loud, and the animals stay in small cages. The people who work at shelters do their best to care for the animals, but the animals do not always get the attention or exercise they need.  

   To prevent so many animals from becoming homeless, pet owners should take care of their pets. One of the best ways to care for pets is to spray or neuter them. This surgery prevents cats and dogs from having more babies. And that reduces the number of homeless animals that end up in shelters.

    There are many wetlands(湿地)in China and some of them have become the world's important wetlands. The Chinese Yellow Sea Wetlands are among them. They are in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province. They are home for many different kinds of birds and animals. The world's largest Milu Deer Nature Reserve(自然保护区) is in them. More than 700 milu deer live freely there. In winter you can see some red-crowned cranes in the Yellow Sea Wetlands though there are not many in the world.

It is not too hot nor too cold in the wetlands. There is a lot of rain and sunshine, too. They are really good places for wildlife. Offering food and home for some special kinds of animals and birds is not the only reason why we need to protect wetlands. Wetlands are important because they also prevent flood(洪水). But some people want to change the wetlands to make more farms and buildings. This means there will be less and less space for wildlife.

    Luckily, more and more people are beginning to realize the importance of wetlands and wildlife. Every year, on February 2nd, many activities are held to tell people more about wetlands.

    We can express thoughts and feelings and send sounds and pictures on our smart phones today. We also communicate by using programs like Skype and Face Time. We can't send tastes, smells or touch, of course. But scientists in Britain are trying to develop a way for smart phones to do just that.

    Adrian David Cheok is a professor at City University in London. He wants people to experience communication using all of their senses. He said "In the real world, we can open up the glass, open the window. We can touch, we can taste, we can smell in the real world."

    To give users a sense of taste, researchers designed two electrodes (电极）that are placed on the tongue. A chemical process creates different tastes through molecules (微粒)on the surface of the tongue. This chemical process sends electrical signals that convince the brain that a person is tasting something. They have already created sour, salty, sweet and bitter tastes.

    "You put these two silver electrodes in your mouth, you put your tongue in between and then it stimulates electrically your tongue and you get a virtual taste perception in your brain."

    A device(设备）called "Scentee" permits users to have the sense of smell. Scentee plugs into a smart phone and can spray tiny clouds of fragrances, including flowers, fruits and coffee. Professor Cheok says the person speaking can activate the device.

    Scentee holds a container with about 100 different smells. The container must be replaced when all the scents（pleasant smells) run out.

    Clothes are traditionally made of natural materials, such as cotton, leather and wool. They are all from plants or animals, but that doesn't mean they're friendly to the earth. For example, farmers have to use a lot of chemicals to grow cotton plants.

    Scientists are now looking for new ways to make clothing materials. They hope the new materials are both comfortable and good for the earth. Scientists have worked out how to make materials out of corn husks(棉籽), chicken feathers and rice straws.

    "They used to be useless things. We always have a problem of how to deal with them," Yang, a scientist says, "Now, we can turn them into beautiful materials. Chicken feathers are better than other things. They have small air pockets like honeycombs. That means it will be very warm if you use them to make a jacket or sweater, and I think more and more people will like to buy these kinds of clothes."

    Each year more than2,500 people die and 12,600 are injured in home fires just in the UnitedStates, with direct property(财产) lossbecause of home fires at about $7.3 billion every year. Every day Americansexperience tile horror(惨状) of fires, but most people don'tunderstand fires.

    To protect yourself, itis important to learn something about home fires.

    In less than 30 secondsa small flame can get completely out of control and turn into a major fire. Itonly takes minutes for thick black smoke to fill a house or for it to be inflames. Most deadly fires occur in the home when people are asleep, lf yourealize a fire, you won't have time to take valuables because the fire spreadstoo quickly and the smoke is too thick. The fire uses up the oxygen you needand produces smoke and poisonous(有毒的) gases that kill. Breathing even small amounts of smoke and toxicgases can make you tired and sleepy, and short of breath. The smoke can causeyou to be a deep sleeper before the flames reach your door. You may not wake upin time to escape.

    Room temperatures in afire can be 100 degrees at floor level and rise to 600 degrees at eye level.Breathing in this super-hot air will burn your lungs. It can melt clothes toyour skin. In five minutes, a mom can get so hot that everything in it startsto burn at once.

    Fires are bright atfirst, but quickly produce black smoke and complete darkness. If you wake up toa fire you may be blinded, confused about where you are or which direction you shouldgo in and unable to find your way around the home you've lived in for years.

    Only when we know thetrue nature of fires can we prepare our families and ourselves.

    How do you deal with plastic bags from the supermarket? Throw them away or recycle them? How about eating them?

    The bags are not harmful to the environment, Humans and animals can safely eat them. Indian company EnviGreen has made a bag with natural materials. It looks and feels just like plastic, but can break down(分解) easily.

    Ashwath Hedge who set up the EnviGreen Company spent four years doing experiments(实验) with 12 natural materials. They include potato, corn, vegetable oil and banana. He made the materials into liquid(液体) and used the liquid to make the bag.

    Although the EnviGreen bag is more expensive than a common plastic bag, it has many advantages. According to the Wall Street Journal, it takes 1,000 years for common plastic bags to break down. But an EnviGreen bag can naturally break down in less than 180 days. It also breaks down in less than a day in water, and in less than a minute in boiling water. Hedge was happy to show it in his interview, he put an EnviGreen bag in water and ate it with a smile.

    There are more than 15,000 tons of plastic waste in India every day. But only 9, 000 tons are processed. In China, 3 billion plastic bags are used every day. Maybe the EnviGreen bag could be a solution(解决方法) to the world problem of plastic pollution.