Wind power is a very clean source of energy. This is how wind power works. Wind makes windmills spin (旋转). When the windmills spin, they make electricity. Then we can use the electricity.

    A lot of people think that wind power is new, but that's not true.

    For thousands of years, people have used wind to sail boats and move water. We still do those things today, but these days we mostly use wind power to make electricity.windmills

    Wind power is a very popular source of energy. Most people think that we should use it more and more. First of all, it's clean. Windmills don't pollute the environment at all. Second, we can use wind power forever. After all, we will always have wind. Also, wind power is cheap, and it's getting even cheaper.

    A lot of people don't understand wind power very well. They believe that there are problems with wind power, but many of those problems are not real. For example, some people say that windmills are dangerous for birds. They used to be true, but it isn't true anymore. Old windmills killed birds because they spun very fast. New windmills spin slowly, and they aren't dangerous for birds.

    However, there are real problems with windmills. One problem is that many people think windmills are very ugly. This is a problem for people, because windmills are often in very pretty areas. Also, wind doesn't blow all the time, so we can't use wind power all the time. Finally, windmills are noisy.

    Wind power is becoming more and more common. Right now, more than 80 countries use wind power. About 2.5 percent of the world's power comes from the wind. For some countries, that number is a lot higher. Wind power gives Denmark more than 25 percent of its electricity.

Better hygiene (卫生) habits can help you stay healthy

According to the World Health Organization, 60 percent of people's health problems are related(与…相关) to everyday hygiene habits. As the COVID-19 spreads across the world, governments and organizations in many countries have suggested that people should pay more attention to their daily hygiene practices.

In China, for example, people usually share dishes together at the dining table. But this habit has a high risk of spreading diseases through saliva(唾液). To fight against COVID-19, many cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, have called on people to order separate(分开的)meals or use serving chopsticks(公筷) to take their food. Many people also suggest that Chinese should continue these habits after the outbreak.

In the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has asked people to develop healthy hygiene habits. For example, people should cover their mouth and nose with a tissue when they cough or sneeze.

    According to a survey by YouGov, a British market research company, many Americans have taken action to change their daily habits in the face of COVID-19.

Has your mother or grandmother ever made embroidered (刺绣的)clothes for you? In the past, Chinese people often embroidered on hats, shoes and dresses. Some girls would even embroider on a sachet (香囊)as a gift for their lovers.

Shu embroidery comes from Sichuan. It is said that Shu embroidery is the old lest kind of embroidery in China. People began to make it during the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD).They sold it to other countries such as ancient Rome.

Shu embroidery takes time. It might take as long as a whole day to finish just 10 cm. Embroidery workers need to divide each silk thread (丝线) into more than 10 or over 30 smaller threads. Each smaller thread is thinner than a human hair.

Meng Dezhi, who used to work at the Chengdu Shu Embroidery Factory，has been making Shu embroidery for over 40 years. She loves this form of art and wants more people to try it, so she gives lessons in universities. She said. "Although the work is hard, Shu embroidery stands for thousands of years of Sichuan culture. It is a symbol of Chinese culture as well."

There is a great plan to build a "wood (木材) city" of 2,000 homes and 7,000 offices in Sweden. The work in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, will be the world's largest wood construction (建造) plan. Stockholm Wood City, in the south of the city, will cover 250,000 m². It will have restaurants and shops.

Wooden buildings can help the environment. As they grow, trees take in CO₂from the air. CO₂is a greenhouse gas. It keeps the sun's heat (热气) in the air, making temperatures (温度) go up and the weather become hot. Using wood to build houses is good for our world.

However, to build wooden buildings, we should get wood from forests. Workers cut down trees, but later, they have to plant new trees to replace old ones. Wooden houses are safe if we build them correctly (适当地), but there are also worries that wooden buildings are in danger of fire (火).

Construction will start in 2025 and the first buildings should be ready in 2027. Annica Anas works for the company to run the project. She says the wooden buildings are special and that it is important for them to "make a good difference".

A zero－waste life is a lifestyle that hardly creates any rubbish. "Zero waste" was first suggested by a French woman called Bea Johnson. Her idea is：live a life and try not to create any rubbish；use different kinds of ways to save the environment，such as stopping the use of one－off objects；giving unwanted things to others or donating these things to organizations like the Red Cross. 

A zero－waste life follows the 6R rule—Refuse，Reduce，Reuse，Repair，Recycle and Rot. Chen Yuan，27，is deeply interested in this idea. She and her boyfriend Joe have lived in Beijing for many years. Over August—October when Chen followed the rule of zero waste 6R，she and her boyfriend both produced only two cans of rubbish. Now the couple have opened a small shop in Beijing，where they use wood products to take the place of plastic ones and cloth bags printed with environmentally logos. The store also has second－hand books and CDs to make the best of the used things. 

 "The zero－waste lifestyle is not for ascetics（苦行僧）. It is just around us. " Chen expects some of her friends to join her on the road to zero waste.