When I was young, I had an old neighbor named Dr. Gibbs. He didn't look like any doctor I'd ever known. He never shouted at us for playing in his yard. I remembered him as a neighbor who was nicer than anyone else in the neighborhood. When Dr. Gibbs was happy, he was planting trees. And his life's goal was to make it a forest.

    Dr. Gibbs had some interesting theories about planting. He talked about trees that weren't watered would grow deep roots in search of water. So he never watered his trees. He planted an oak (橡树) and, instead of watering it every morning, he beat it with the rolled-up newspaper. I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree's attention.

    Dr. Gibbs died a couple of years. Every now and then, I walk by his house and look at the trees that he planted twenty-five years ago. They're very strong now.

    I planted a couple of trees a few years later. I watered them regularly and took good care of them. Whenever a cold wind blows, they shake their leaves and branches.

    The funny thing about those trees of Dr. Gibbs was that difficulty seemed to help them in ways comfort and ease never could.

    She was walking home from work one evening when she got the idea. Rosa didn't like her job at the factory, but it was better than no job at all. So, while she was trying not to think about work, she saw the pots in an alley. They were cheap plastic pots, but there were dozens of them piled up behind the flower shop. Such a waste, she thought. When the pots were still there three days later, Rosa went in and asked if she could take some. The flower shop lady said she didn't mind, so Rosa carried home a tower of pots, pretending she was a circus performer on the way.

    At home, Rosa set them on the fire escape outside her tiny apartment. And there they sat. Once a gust of wind sent them slipping to the street three floors below, and she had to go to run after and catch them before the gathering storm.

    Every day, Rosa went to work and thought about her pots- She was wailing for something, but she had patience.

    At last, the newspaper brought good news. A hardware store had a sale on potting soil. Rosa carefully counted her money, then walked six blocks to the store. She bought six bags and carried them home. She bought seeds, too. Rosa slept well that night and dreamed of masses of flowers and fat, glowing fruits,

    Sundays were always good days. Rosa didn't have to work on Sundays. But Rosa couldn't remember when she had had such a good Sunday. She got up early and ate her breakfast on the fire escape with her pots. Then, she began to put dirt into the pots. She sang a little song until all six of her bags of soil were empty. Then, she laid her precious seed packets out and planned her garden. Tomatoes for the biggest pots, and peppers for the next-biggest ones. Flowers in all the rest.

    At the end of the day, Rosa sat in her garden and watched the sunset. Soon, she thought, there will be masses of flowers and fat, glowing fruits.

    Bike Share Toronto is the city's official bike share program, designed to give locals and visitors a fun, affordable and convenient alternative to walking, taxis, buses and the subway. There are 200 Bike Share Toronto stations and 2,000 bikes across the city, making Bike Share the most accessible way to get around and explore.

    How it works

    Become an Annual Member or buy a day Pass to access the system.

    Find an available bike nearby, and get a ride code or use your member key to unlock it.

    Take as many short rides as you want while your pass or membership is active.

    Return your bike to any station, and wait for the green light on the dock (停靠点) to make sure it's locked.

    Choose a plan

    For visitors

    Day Pass: $ 7. Unlimited 30-minute rides in a 24-hour period. 3-Day Pass: $ 15. Unlimited 30-minute rides in a 72-hour period.

    For locals

    Monthly Pass: $ 25. Unlimited 30-minute rides for a month.

    Annual Membership: $ 90. Unlimited 30-minute rides for a whole year. The Annual Membership is the best deal for locals of Toronto and other frequent riders.

    The first 30 minutes of each ride is included with the membership or pass price. Avoid extra fees by dropping off your bike every 30 minutes at any other station. If you keep a bike out for longer than 30 minutes at a time, you will be charged all extra $ 1.50 for the first 30 minutes, $ 4 for the next 30 minutes, and $ 7 for each additional 30 minutes after that.

    Contact us

    Customer Service: (855)898—2388

    Repair Service: (855)—2378

    Corporation Partners: (855)898—2398

    Employment Opportunities: (855)898—2498

    If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

    Dreaming about whether you would want to read minds, see through walls, or have superhuman strength may sound silly, but it actually gets to the heart of what really matters in your life.

    Every day in our work, we are inspired by the people we meet doing extraordinary things to improve the world.

    They have a different kind of superpower that all of us possess: the power to make a difference in the lives of others.

    We're not saying that everyone needs to contribute their lives to the poor. Your lives are busy enough doing homework, playing sports, making friends, seeking after your dreams. But we do think that you can live a more powerful life when you devote some of your time and energy to something much larger than yourself. Find an issue you are interested in and learn more. Volunteer or, if you can, contribute a little money to a cause. Whatever you do, don't be a bystander. Get involved. You may have the opportunity to make your biggest difference when you're older. But why not start now?

    Our own experience working together on health, development, and energy the last twenty years has been one of the most rewarding parts of our lives. It has changed who we are and continues to fuel our optimism about how much the lives of the poorest people will improve in the years ahead.

Yosemite is a national park in California. It is very beautiful and big. The park includes more than 760,000 acres in the California Mountains. Most of the park is wilderness.

The part of Yosemite that everyone likes is Yosemite Valley. It is a tiny valley that is 7 miles long and less than 1 mile wide. It has tall rock walls and streams that splash down in waterfalls. More than two million visitors come to the valley each year.

One ranger (守护人) says the number of visitors is more than the land can handle. The valley has 4,500 camping spots. It has a hotel that can hold 4, 000 families. This is still not enough to handle all of the visitors. The valley has grown so big that it has a lot of traffic and crime.

A worker says the park is trying to keep the beauty of the park and let everyone visit. Some areas have been fenced off from people and planted with seeds to try to keep them beautiful.

A former worker thinks Yosemite should get more money to take better care of the park. He would also like to teach people what the park service is trying to do.

Some people are trying to save Yosemite Valley. A plan has been made to get rid of some buildings. There will be fewer cars allowed inside the park. More buses will help get people around.

There're plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables available in local markets.But while those red juicy strawberries look  fresh,consumers have no way  of knowing how  long the  fruit  can be  stored  at  home.The  same  goes  for distribution centers and supermarkets.

Now,the food technology startup OneThird,located in the Netherlands,is looking to change that with an infrared (红外线)scanner that can accurately predict how long fresh fruits and vegetables will last.The startup is named OneThird because one-third of food is wasted due to spoilage(变质)every year.

The startup's founders were inspired by a UK company that uses this type of technology in the medical field and decided to see if it was applicable for food."I looked at the challenges in the food-supply chain and found out that 40 percent of food waste is fresh produce.One of the biggest causes of waste is that nobody knows shelf life." founder and CEO of OneThird,Marco Snikkers said.  Quality inspections at farms and distribution centers are done manually(手动地).An inspector checks the fruits and vegetables and makes notes about the size and quality.Then the food is sent to consumers without considering travel time or how long the produce will remain usable.

Using the infrared scanner at the distribution center means that inspectors can use the information to approve shipments that will ensure the produce can be distributed on a timely basis.This means that a shipment of ripe tomatoes will not be sent long distances away.

OneThird's scanner combines the technology of optical scanners,image modeling,and Artificial Intelligence to provide accurate shelf-life predictions.  The startup found that the technology can reduce up to 25 percent produce waste that was caused by spoilage. "Global food waste has an enormous environmental impact;reducing global food waste cuts global greenhouse gas emissions and promotes global food security,"said Jacob Smith,a climate expert from the University of Maine.