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.

    The world is not hungry，but it is thirsty. It seems strange that nearly 3/4 of the earth is covered with water while we say we are short of (短缺) water. Why? Because about 97% of water on the earth is sea water which we can't drink or use for watering plants directly. Man can only drink and use the 3%—— the water that comes from rivers and lakes. And we can't even use all of that， because some of it has been polluted.

     Now more water is needed. The problem is: Can we avoid a serious water shortage (短缺) later on?

     First we should all learn how to save water. Secondly，we should find out the ways to reuse it. Scientists have always been making studies in the field. Today，in most large cities water is used only once and then runs to the sea or rivers. But it can be used again. Even if every large city reused its water，still there would not be enough. What could people turn to next?

     The sea seems to have the best answer. There is a lot of water in the sea. All that needs to be done is to get the salt out of the sea water. This is expensive， but it's already used in many parts of the world. Scientists are trying to find a cheaper way of doing it. So you see，if we can find a way out，we'll be in no danger of drying up.

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    There are some easy things you can do to protect(保护) the environment and the earth. Choose ideas from the list or come up with a few of your own.

    ●Plant flowers grass or trees.

●Whenever you visit a park or beach, take away what you bring there—-keep rubbish in a bag until you can put it in a dustbin.

    ●Turn off the lights, TV sets when you leave the room. This saves a lot of electricity.

    ●Turn off the tap when you brush your teeth. You can save some water by not letting it run. Also, use a glass cup instead of a paper cup because this saves paper.

    ●Keep the doors and windows closed in winter to keep warm air in.

    ●Give your old books and magazines to a library instead of throwing them away.

    ●Give your old clothes to poor children you know instead of throwing them away.

    ●Use both sides of paper.

    ●Stop pouring dirty water into the rivers or the lakes nearby.

    ●Encourage all your friends to do the same things you do to help protect the earth.

    You don't have to wait until Earth Day to do these things. Make every day Earth Day.

    If everyone makes a contribution (贡献)to protecting the environment, the world will become much more beautiful.

    According to a new study, cats may be just as smart as dogs. Both cats and dogs may have episodic memory（情景记忆）, similar to that of human beings.

    The discovery shows that cats can recall memories of positive experiences like eating a delicious snack. The study was a test of episodic memory. Episodic memory means memory of past experiences that happened at a special time and place.

    In the test, cats were led to four open bowls of food. They were allowed to eat from two of them. After fifteen minutes, empty bowls took the place of the old ones. Then the same cats returned to look for food again. They spent more time searching for the old bowls.

    It seemed that the cats were able to remember the information of “what” and “where” about the bowls. This discovery suggests that they may have episodic memory. However, it's still not clear whether cats can truly experience past memories in the same way as human beings do. “It's difficult to know whether the cats can subjectively（主观地）remember the experience,” Nick Diamond, a researcher at the University of Toronto, explained.

    Still, the test plays an important role in the development of memory research in animals. “It opens the door to new studies. How long can cats' memories last? We may do some research on this in the future,” Professor Laurie Santos from Yale University told BBC News.

    The road to new discoveries is long and difficult. Though there are lots of problems to be solved and discussed along the way, such studies do lead us a step closer to the final success.