Drive through any suburb in the U.S. today,and it's hard to miss the bins that have become companions to America's trash cans.Recycling has become commonplace,as people recognize the need to care for the environment. Yet most people's recycling consciousness extends only as far as paper,bottles,and cans.People seldom find themselves facing the growing problem of e-waste.

    E-waste rapidly increases as the techno-fashionable frequently upgrade to the most advanced devices,and the majority of them end up in landfills（垃圾填埋地）.Some people who track such waste say that users throw away nearly 2 million tons of TVs,VCRs,computers,cell phones,and other electronics every year.Unless we can find a safe replacement,this e-waste may get into the ground and poison the water with dangerous toxins（毒素）,such as lead, mercury,and arsenic.Burning the waste also dangerously contaminates the air.

    However,e-waste often contains reusable silver.gold.and other electrical materials.Recycling these materials reduces environmental problems by reducing both landfill waste and the need to look for such metals,which can destroy ecosystems.

    A growing number of states have adopted laws to ban dumping e-waste.Still,less than a quarter of this refuse will reach lawful recycling programs.Some companies advertising safe disposal（处置）in fact merely ship the waste to some developing countries,where it still ends up in landfills.These organizations prevent progress by unsafely disposing of waste in an out-of-sight,out-of-mind location.

    However,the small but growing number of cities and corporations that do handle e-waste responsibly represents progress toward making the world a cleaner,better place for us all.

    A woman lost the sight in one eye after going swimming in a pool at a hotel wearing contact lenses（隐形眼镜）. Jennie Hurst, from Southampton, suffered from a rare and painful infection caused by amoeba（变形虫）in water. The infection causes people to be sensitive to light and the 28-year-old said she had to stay in a dark room for three months. She is now warning of the dangers of swimming or showering wearing contacts.

    Ms Hurst experienced four operations and a treatment in which she had eye drops every half hour. "During that time I stayed in my bedroom with black curtains at the window. The only thing I could do was to listen to the radio. One evening, I was so eager to look out of window to get a look of the outside world that I opened my curtains in the middle of the night. As soon as I did this the moon shone in my eyes and it really hurt. I didn't do that again. I have been left with no sight in my left eye and the damage to my right eye could be lasting," she said.

    Ms Hurst had been wearing contact lenses for five years. "I don't even like swimming,"she said. "My friends were quite surprised that I had gone swimming and probably thought that I had been a bit lazy. I wasn't aware of the problem at all — it didn't even enter my brain to take them out. I felt responsible that I had let it happen when actually I could have just taken my contacts out."

    I was in a rush as always, but this time it was for an important date I just couldn't be late for! Thinking of my upcoming evening, I hurried into a store to pick up some flowers, for I did not want to be late for this date. When I paid the bill at a checkout counter, I found myself behind an elderly woman who seemed in no hurry when she paid for her groceries. She looked up at me and smiled. It was a nice smile –warm and friendly –and I returned her gift by smiling back.

    “Must be a special lady, no matter who will be getting those beautiful flowers,” she said.

    “Yes, she's special,” I said, and then to my embarrassment, the words kept coming out.

    “It's only our second date, but somehow I am just having the feeling that she's 'the one'. Jokingly, I added,“The only problem is that I can't understand why she'd want to date a guy like me.”

    “Well, I think she's very lucky to have a boyfriend who brings her such lovely flowers and who is obviously in love with her,” the woman said.” “My husband used to bring me flowers every week –even when times were hard and we didn't have much money. Those were wonderful days; he was very romantic and – of course – I miss him after he died.

    I paid for my flowers as she was gathering up her groceries. I walked up to her, touched her on the shoulder and said,“You were right, you know. These flowers are indeed for a very special lady.” I handed her the flowers and thanked her for such a nice conversation.

    It took her a moment to realize that I was giving her the flowers I had just bought.“You have a wonderful evening,” I said. I left her with a big smile and my heart warmed as I saw her smelling the beautiful flowers.

    I remember being slightly late for my date that night and telling my girlfriend the above story. A couple of years later, when I finally worked up the courage to ask her to marry me, she told me that the story I had told her that night helped me win her heart.

    International Airport Sheremetyevo Moscow

    If You've Lost Personal possessions

    On Board

    Contact the airline's representatives

    At the Airport

    Contact:

    Sheremetyevo Police Department

    +7(495)578-22-55

    Unclaimed luggage storage room in Terminal C

    +7(495)578-23-26

    Umclaimed luggage storage room in Terminal D

    +7(499)500-65-52

    (domestic flights)

    +7(495)753-86-41

    (international flights)

    When collecting Lost and Found items, you shall have an identification document, a boarding pass or a ticket, and also to indicate a place where the items were lost and prove they are yours.

    If Your Luggage Is Lost or Damaged

    Before leaving the arrival area, please turn to the Lost and Found counter to file a report. The written claim shall be submitted to the airline company not later than seven days from the time when the luggage was to be collected.

    If your luggage is not found within twenty-one days of the time when the claim was filed, you have the right to claim damages in the amount of not more than 600 rubles per kilogram. Amount refunded (退款) for a hand luggage lost through the fault of an airline is not more than 11,000 rubles regardless of its weight. Amount refunded for damaged luggage is calculated based on the tariffs (关税).

    Keep your flight documents (a ticket, boarding pass, luggage tag, and delayed luggage report filed at the airport) until the end of the procedure for searching for your luggage.

    Current information on luggage-tracing results

    +7(495)578-76-65

    Lost and Found service of Aeroflot Airlines

    +7(495)544-33-25

    (from 9:00 to 20:00)

    +7(495)753-86-41

    (24 hours)

    For further information please contact the airline.

    Nelson Mandela is respected and admired around the world. And to South Africans he is a superstar. He is a hero who shocked the world by fighting for peace between races, despite the 27 years he spent in the prison of the South Africa's white, racist regime (种族主义政权).

    Mandela who won the nation's first all-race elections after the fall of apartheid (种族隔离) in 1994, retired in 1999. But he remains as popular as ever. His popularity has inspired an entire national industry. His portrait (肖像) has appeared at many places, including on some goods. His face has appeared on a South African coin, and some business leaders hope to build a statue in his likeness—the Statue of Freedom. It would stand taller than New York's Statue of Liberty.

    “His popularity is similar to that of John F. Kennedy with US or Winston Churchill in Britain, but few politicians in his times have achieved his level of admiration,” said Tom Lodge, head of the political science department of the University of the Witwatersrand, “What a skilled performer Mandela has been throughout his political career! He's a very, very clever man.”

    However, he is far from perfect. Most articles for his birthday, which appeared in every major South African newspaper on the day, briefly mentioned that Mandela did have his shortcomings.

    Then they returned to their flowing praises. “Through the ages, the human race has had its icons (偶像)—men and women who rose above ordinary people to inspire their generations,” The Mail and Guardian Weekly said. “In our generation, the gods presented us Nelson Mandela.”