ClothesDonation (捐赠) Box

    Have youever put your old clothes into the donation box in your neighborhood? If not,you can do it right now because the clothes donation is becoming a trend (趋势) in Urumqi.

    "Fromtime to time, my mother clears out the clothes which I no longer wear. Youknow, we teenagers are growing fast. I think it's a good way to helpothers." Lin Tao, a junior student says.

    "Ioften pick out some of my clothes which are out of style after going shopping.Then I put them into the donation box." Miss Li, a pretty young lady says.

    "Thatseems like a good idea. Some clothes in the box are quite new. People caneither wear them or usethem to make things such as handbags and pencilcases," Mrs Wang, an old woman says, "sometimes I also look throughthe box for some nice clothes."

    However,there are some problems along with the popularity of clothes donation.Recently, a UTV reporter from Focus on the City has made a survey. Here are theresults:

    Some boxesare full of clothes in a short time. There is no more room for people to giveaway clothes.

    Somepeople sell the clothes in the donation box for making money instead of wearingthem.

    Somecommunities set the boxes in unsuitable places. So there are few clothes in it.

    Manyclothes are too old and shabby (破烂的).

   "What's worse," one of the staff in a community added,"we quite often see people throw rubbish into the box when they pass by.We've tried to stop them several times but failed. It has been the most seriousproblem since we set the box."

    In orderto make the donation box work in an efficient (有效的) way, our government is taking action. Clothesdonation will be better-organized and it'll be more convenient for people inneed to take the clothes away.

Jin Ying, 25, is a lover of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). She took part in a three- month training course on acupuncture and tuina（针灸推拿）in the winter of 2023 at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. 

Jin's life has been different since the training. She changed her life habits after learning the Five Elements theory. For example，she avoided sweating too much during exercise in winter because the cold of winter means people should slow down，according to TCM. For her，learning these skills and theories was not about becoming a TCM doctor but rather about holding a new lifestyle. 

She is not an unusual example of young people becoming interested in TCM. A survey by China Youth Daily showed that 93. 3 percent of the 1, 000 young people who took part had tried different TCM treatments. 

"I have seen a rising number of young people come to me for neck and back pains, which are usually related to the elderly，" said Ma Huifang，a TCM doctor at Guoyitang，a TCM hospital. 

Between Western medicine and TCM，young people often choose TCM "because of its efficacy，" according to Ma. Some people question why TCM treats the same illnesses with different prescriptions(处方); "This is actually an advantage of TCM，, rather than a shortcoming，as it can be a more accurate treatment（精准的治疗) for different patients, " Ma explained. 

Younger age groups are accepting TCM，and，at the same time，TCM is also benefiting young people. As Jin noted，"It helps young people-understand Chinese medicine well. "

The 24-year-old volunteer, who is known online as Danni recorded(记录) happy times with her students on her phone. Each of the videos attracts thousands of Chinese netizens who are interested in her volunteer experiences.

After finishing university in 2020, Danni chose to work in Africa for a year and then traveled to seven countries. Finally, she stopped in Uganda because of a primary school. She taught children from Grade One to Grade Four. Danni set up different kinds of classes for her students, such as Chinese language learning and cooking.

Sometimes Danni would cook traditional Chinese food for her students, and she also taught them to speak Putonghua. "Their smiling faces gave me energy(能量) and I enjoyed staying with them," she said.

In 2022, Danni arrived in Lebanon and became a voluntary teacher at a local school. This time she taught arts and crafts(手工艺). At the school, Danni built beautiful friendships with the children. They would run to give her hugs(拥抱) or small presents every morning, and would invite her to their homes.

She had some interesting activities in her teaching such as paper cutting and the making of paper ice cream. Some of her students were good at these and could finish the handicraft works quickly, while some needed a bit of help. The good thing was that they all worked hard.

Hi, my name is Robert. Last summer I had a great vacation. I went on a trip with my parents by1 for two weeks. During（在…期间）the first week, we drove for four to six hours a day,2 we never felt tired. At night we stayed in big hotels. Many hotels had swimming pools. I was very happy to3 there. There were many people in the hotels and the rooms there were4 , so we often had to sleep in one room to save some money. 

During the5 week, we went camping in the mountains. We6 our tent and lived in it. I loved it so much! The tent was not big, but it was clean and quiet. I always got up7 because I wanted to see the sunshine. There was a beautiful lake near our tent. We went8 there. It was difficult for9 to get them and usually in the end I could only get one fish. At night, we saw a big moon in the sky. We10 each other stories, then we went to sleep. I had a great time during the vacation. 

As a child, cultural historian and writer Sofia Ake l often stayed at the local library." The library near the East London estate(庄园) where I grew up was where I developed my interest in reading as a child," she said.

Akel soon realized that many people couldn't afford books. Later, she started the Free Books Campaign, an organization with the goal of giving books to those who can't buy them." We've donated(捐赠)6,000 books to people in the UK and Ireland so far," Akel said.

The organization is funded by donations, and anyone càn request a book they'd like to read. Akel believes that reading should be something that everyone can take part in." Without the library, my worldview, my imagination, and my vocabulary would have been reduced," she continued.

In its third year of operation, the Campaign held the Free Books Festival in Peckham, Southeast London. Over a weekend, they gave away about 3,000 books.

Estelle, a biochemistry graduate, went to the festival with her friends." It's important that events like this exist," she said." With events like this, it means I'm able to enjoy my love for reading and find new books." When asked about her book selections, Estelle said,"I chose Good Intentions by Kasim Ali.I got my book signed by him during the event. It was very exciting because I'd never met the author of a book I'd read in person."

Data suggests that accessing books at a library has become increasingly challenging. According to the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), library book stocks.(储存) reduced by 11 per cent across England, Wales and Scotland between 2021 and 2022. So organizations like the Free Books Campaign are making a huge difference in the lives of many people around the world.

Jack and Emily are good friends. Emily loves {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (植物) , and Jack is {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (感兴趣的) in animals. They like to go {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(户外) to have fun. They live {#blank#}4{#/blank#} from (在.......对面) a park, and it is a great place for them to find {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(某物) interesting. They often watch birds, take photos, and {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(收集) flowers and {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(昆虫). And they dream to be {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (科学家) in the future. It's exciting to {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (开启) their own projects and {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (发现) the beauty of nature together.