The world is in danger. At one time there were 1,300 different plants, trees and flowers in Holland, but now only 860 remain(剩余). The others have been destroyed(破坏) by man. We are changing the earth, the air, the water and everything that grows and lives. We can't live without these things. If we continue doing like this, we will destroy ourselves.

    What will happen in the future? Perhaps it is more important to ask "What must we do now?" The people who will be living in the world of tomorrow are the young of today. A lot of them know that conservation(对自然环境的保护) is necessary. Many are helping to save our world. They plant trees and protect animals in forest. In a small town in the United States, a large group of volunteers cleaned the banks of their rivers. Young people may hear about conservation through a record called No One's Going to Change Our World. It was made by the Beatles, Cliff Richard and other singers. The money from it will help to protect wild animals.

    "How can I improve my English?" A lot of my students have been asking me about this same question again and again.1 the answer won't be suitable for everyone, I'm still going to tell you some of my experience. I hope that you will improve your English learning skills.

    One thing I can tell you is that, once you start learning, you should try to think in English as

    2as you can. If you see something when you're riding your bike or walking down the street, just3"How would I say them in English?" At first, you may think with simple words but later with longer sentences. Now I'm in America, and for4the time, I would think in English and   speak it directly. It's amazing how much this helps.

    When I started learning, I was5 afraid of talking with others in English because I didn't want to make mistakes. Finally, I had a chance to6. And while traveling in America, I'd try to hang out with American friends,7 I'd have no choice but to speak English. Also, I decided if I said anything stupid and other people would look8 me, then so be it. After that, my English started to9 much more quickly.

    Besides, it may be a good idea to ask your American friends to look at the way you're writing, and give you some10 for improvement.

    Don't throw away your old phones. You are actually throwing away real gold! Smartphones have many kinds of useful metals. People can recycle them to make new electronics.

    But many people may not know this. In Australia alone there are more than 25 million unused mobile phones lying around, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. The gold in these phones can add up to a value of more than $80 million. There are about 2 billion smartphone users around the world, who change their phone once every 11 months on average. So in China, eighty million old phones come along every year.

    However, it's not easy to get the useful things out of the phones. Smartphones have not only useful things but also harmful materials. Guiyu, a small town in Shantou, Guangdong, is one of the world's biggest dumping grounds for electronic waste, Reuters reported. Many recycling centers in Guiyu simply break the old electronics by hand and don't think about the pollution it causes. It's reported that 81 percent of children in Guiyu are harmed by lead poisoning(铅中毒).

    Veena Sahajwalla, a professor at Australia's University of New South Wales, has made a mini factory. It makes smartphone recycling cleaner and easier. The mini factory is very small and easy to move around. It breaks the phones and automatically(自动地)removes the phone's useful things. That way, humans do not get poisoned.

    Well, have you ever wondered what happens to the old phone after it's no longer yours? A part of your old smartphone could soon be proudly worn around the neck of one of the world's top athletes. Organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics say that medals for the event will be made from recycled phones. They will also be made out of people's thoughts for avoiding waste. They think there is an important message in this for the future.

"Spell ‘champion,'" Scott told his elder sister.

"C-h-a-m-p-i-o-n."

Unsure about it, Scott still cheered, "You'll win the spelling bee (拼写大赛)!"

Lucy thanked, happy but worried, wondering if her dog Senator would be looked after well when she was away for a week.

"Dad and I will keep him perfectly!" said Scott, dreaming of getting his own pet if he could prove himself.

It was time to leave. Dad wished Lucy good luck.

"See you in a w-e-a-k," Scott said.

"W-e-e-k," Lucy corrected him and said, "Bye!"

Each morning Scott woke up early to feed Senator, leaving a note to remind Dad. After that Scott continued to sleep.

A week later, Lucy returned and told the family she failed. Then she found her dog sick. Scott felt sorry but confused, because he'd been a strict direction-follower.

They came to the animal hospital. After the examination, Lucy was angry, "A terrible stomachache! How could Senator put on two pounds in such a short time?"

Dad said, "I only fed him two scoops of dog food every morning."

Scott shouted, "Dad! You fed him again? Didn't you read my note? It says I've fed him!"

It took Lucy a while to understand before asking Scott how to spell "fed".

"F-e-e-d? Scott! ‘Fed' is spelled f-e-d. But your note says f-e-e-d, telling Dad to feed the dog!"

"So Senator was fed twice?" Dad asked.

Scott said sorry, "I just wanted to be responsible so I could get a dog for my next birthday."

"OK. I'll teach you how to spell correctly and train myself for next year's spelling bee," Lucy said.

"You have a few months to practice before you get one for your birthday," Dad added. 

Scott burst into laughter.

"Having a little brother isn't so bad," Lucy told Senator, "if he can help f-e-e-d!"

I think the most basic way to connect with others is to listen. Perhaps, the most important thing we give each other is our attention. When people are talking,there is no need to do anything but receive them and take them in. Listen to what they are saying. In most cases, listening is more important than understanding. It takes me a long time to believe in the power of simple saying"I'm sorry."One of my patients told me that when she tried to tell her story, people often broke her off. Finally, she stopped talking to most people. When we stop what some one is saying to let him or her know that we understand, we move attention to ourselves. Ihave learned to do with someone's crying by just listening to him or her. I used to pass them the paper. I realized that it might be just another way to calm them down. When they cried, they find me there with them. I used to think that people were very great if they were willing to listen only even if they did not know the answer. But now I know ____.