Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost mention recycling. Recycling in the homes is very important. However, having to recycle often means we already have more products than we need. We are just dealing with the results of that over-consumption in the greenest way, but it would be much better if we did not bring so many goods home.

    The total amount of packaging（外包装）has increased by 12% between 1999 and 2005. It is 1/3 of a home's waste in theUK. In many supermarkets, food products are packaged twice with plastic and paper. Too much packaging is doing serious damage to the environment. The UK, for example, is running out of land because of this unnecessary waste. If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect. Besides, the plastic from the package puts some creatures indanger, especially birds and fish.

    Recycling helps, but the recyclingitself uses energy. The solution is not to produce such waste in the firstplace. Food waste is a serious problem, too. Too many supermarkets encourage customers to buy more than they need. However, few of them have the idea that this cannot continue. For example, supermarkets should encourage customers to reuse their plastic bags.

    But this is not just about supermarkets. It is about all of us. We have been used to the idea that packaging means excellence while anything unpackaged is of poor condition. This is especially true of food. But this idea has spread to other products, which often have farmore packaging than necessary.

    There are signs of hope. As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realize just how many unnecessary goods are collected. We need to face the waste of our consumer culture, but we have amountain to climb.

    Today there are 6 billion people on the earth. By the year 2050 there may be 12.5 billion. There are a lot of people to feed. We need more food.

One way to produce more food is by growing stronger plants. For thousands of years，farmers have made plants better. Every season, they pick the best plants for the next season. It works very slowly. Since 1983, scientists have been able to change plants more quickly by changing their genetic material (遗传物质). Foods from plants grown in this way are called genetically modified foods (转基因食品), or GM foods.

    By changing the genetic material of a plant, it is possible to make new plants. They make plants which are strong against plant diseases. They can also help with our diseases: a kind of rice is being prepared, for example, which stops people from becoming blind.

    Rich countries produce GM foods because they are easy to grow and bring in more money. Poor countries are interested in them because they help produce more food.

    GM plants are not natural. No one knows how good or bad they are. Making GM foods is only one way of feeding people in 2050. There are strong feelings against them, because they are unnatural. They may feed people, and then hurt them or their children later. But, both rich and poor countries are very interested in their use, and they are not going to go away. In 2050, we may think differently about them.

    Have you learned something about robots? There are all kinds of robots. They are in different shapes. They can do lots of work.

    Robot teachers， who are working in elementary schools now， have been very popular with pupils during a project in some South Korean school， a government report said on Thursday.

    The elementary school children get on well with the robot teachers. They like the robotic teachers more than the ordinary ones because they never get angry and always kind to the students. The Ministry of Knowledge said.

    English teaching robots were sent to three provincial schools for eight weeks starting in late December. There they teach students as teachers. More and more students like studying and the other robot teachers were also sent out. They can teach math， science and art.

    The researchers found that the English-teaching robots helped raise interest in the language and helped the students feel more confident.

    “Tele-presence” robots are controlled by an English and are equipped with a microphone and video camera. Many people think we can use these robot teachers in the village far away from the cities so that the children in these areas can also get better education.

    The government has expressed great interest in robots to give rural school children more learning chances. I think in the future we can see more and more robot teachers working with the students. But I think the robot teachers can't replace the real teachers. What's your opinion?

B

    Many years ago, there was a very popular sport in America. Who invented the sport more than 3,000 years ago? We don't know. But everyone thinks it was the Olmecs(奥梅克人）made it popular.

    People don't have the same rules about the game all over the world. People in different parts of the world play the game in different places at different times. If we want to bring back the sport, we need to have two teams of players standing on each end of a court. When the game begins, the two teams need to pass a ball from one side of the court to the other. The players can't touch(触) the ball with their hands and feet. But they can use their elbows(肘) and other parts of their bodies hit it. If a player does not pick up the ball in time and lets it fall to the ground, that team loses a point. But if a player makes the ball through a hoop(环),that team scores a point. The team with the most points wins the game.

    Friendship between animals sometimes seems stronger than that between men.

    In France, a man had to move to a new job two hundred kilometers away. He had a dog and a cat, and he loved them both. But he thought that the cat would like to stay in the same house with new owners. So he moved and took only the dog.

    About three weeks later, the dog was suddenly lost. For several days, the man looked for his dog, but didn't find him. Then, seven weeks later, the dog came back but he was not alone. By his side was the cat. They were tired and hungry after their long trip. And they never left each other again.

    Another story is about goldfish. We usually think fish are cold-hearted, but sometimes we may be wrong. A friend had to work in another country. So I took her pet goldfish and put it in a bowl with mine. They two lived together for six months. When the friend came back, she took her fish home.

    Then, I found my goldfish was acting strangely, hitting against the side of the bowl. The next morning he died. Later that day, my friend phoned to say that her goldfish was also dead. I believe they died of sadness.