When my students ask me why I live in a tiny house, they ask it in light of all the “sacrifices(牺牲)”I an making. They know that I have moved from a large apartment in the city to a small custom-built home on wheels in the backyard woods. They know I forego running water, Internet connection, sewage(下水道), and reliable phone reception.

    However, it was possible for me to be truly happy while living with very few material things. My body responded well, in health, fitness and mood, to a schedule more consistent(一致的)with the natural day and night cycle. Observing the daily sunset, hosting friends for days at a time, reading, writing letters to my families and friends and exploring natural wonders in my spare time all were free and invaluable experiences.

    What was necessary to my survival proved to be a rather short list-healthy food, clean and drinkable water, heat source, weather-protecting shelter, weather-suitable clothing, equally important friends and mental and physical stimulations(刺激).

    When I returned to life in the US, I couldn't help but sense a deep and uneasy belief that life suddenly changed. I felt disconnected with many things- the earth, others, my food source, my waste disposal, the natural cycle of my body and the productive interests. These are the things I once cared for but now find myself too busy to enjoy. How was it that I was earning literally 40 times my Peace Corps salary and was less healthy, satisfied and intentional in my daily schedule? I found myself asking-what is it to be rich anyway? Therefore, last August I let go of most of my possessions and moved into a tiny house on wheels because I wanted to see if I could live a more enjoyable lifestyle. So far so good. No inconvenience has made up for the many positive benefits that continue to come from this change in lifestyle. I believe that I have made the right decision.

    Some people will do just about anything to save money．And I am one of them．Take my family's last vacation．It was my six­year­old son's winter break from school, and we were heading home from Fort Lauderdale after a week long trip．The flight was overbooked, and Delta, the airline, offered us $400 per person in credits to give up our seats and leave the next day．I had meetings in New York, so I had to get back．But that didn't mean my husband and my son couldn't stay．I took my nine­month­old and took off for home．

    The next day, my husband and son were offered more credits to take an even later flight．Yes, I encouraged — okay, ordered — them to wait it out at the airport, to “earn” more Delta Dollars．Our total take: $1,600．Not bad, huh?

    Now some people may think I'm a bad mother and not such a great wife either．But as a big­time bargain hunter, I know the value of a dollar．And these days, a good deal is something few of us can afford to pass up．

    I've made a living looking for the best deals and exposing（揭露）the worst tricks．I have been the consumer reporter of NBC's Today show for over a decade．I have written a couple of books including one titled Tricks of the Trade: A Consumer Survival Guide．And I really do what I believe in．

    I tell you this because there is no shame in getting your money's worth．I'm also tightfisted when it comes to shoes, clothes for my children, and expensive restaurants．But I wouldn't hesitate to spend on a good haircut．It keeps its shape longer, and it's the first thing people notice．And I will also spend on a classic piece of furniture．Quality lasts．

    The quick action of Nick helped five people escape a fire on Hope Road. Nick said he usually left his house about 5:30 a.m. to do morning exercises, but that day he decided to stay at home to get his daughter ready for school. As he looked at his neighbor's house, he realized that it was on fire. "I saw smoke and flames and ran over and started beating on the side of the house shouting, 'Your house is on fire! Your house is on fire!'" Nick remembered it was at about 9 a.m. that the firefighters put out the fire.

    Beverly Penny and her husband, Clark, along with their younger daughters, were sleeping in the living room, next to the kitchen, when they heard Nick beating on the walls. She opened the bedroom door and black smoke came in. She managed to get her kids out. Her dog tried to hide under the bed, but Penny caught it by the leg and threw it out of the door. However, chickens in one of the rooms weren't so lucky.

    Firefighters got the call at about 7:05 a.m. "When we arrived with our fire trucks, there were heavy flames outside on the house," Jerry said. He called Nick a hero, saying that without his quick responses(回应) the result could have been much worse. "The firefighters were fast," Nick said. "They arrived here within about three minutes."

    "They did a great job, and I can't thank them enough," Penny said, then looked at what remained in the house and shook her head as tears rolled down in her eyes. "Everything I have is gone. Luckily nobody was hurt in the fire." She said the fire could have been caused by an electrical problem. "We've been having problems with mice, so that we could have had something to do with it," she added.

    These days, it seems like everything is going digital. You can find almost everything on the Internet.

    Many people find this way of life more convenient, because they can complete their daily chores（琐事） from the comfort of their own home.

    Firstly, online shopping can be far less stressful than hitting the high street shops. There are no huge crowds of people or boring long queues. With online shopping, it's just you and your computer. It's like you have the whole shop to yourself! Secondly, online stores don't have opening and closing times. This is perfect for anyone with a busy schedule. If you want to, you can even place an online shopping order at three o'clock in the morning!

    In the busy modern world, there are clearly many advantages to online shopping. However, in my experience, there are also several cons… With online shopping, you can't try before you buy, and that's a definite disadvantage for me. Often, when my new clothes arrive, I find they don't fit very well. It's always annoying when a dress is a little too big, or when sleeves are too short… Sometimes, the clothes are not what I was expecting. A piece of clothing might look great in photos online, but quite different in real life.

    In these cases, you want to return the item, but here lies the biggest problem with online shopping. You have to pay for your order's delivery, and for an item to be returned to the warehouse! These charges are often very expensive, which suddenly make online shopping seem a little less convenient… That's why I don't choose to shop online very frequently. For now, I will continue to find the time for a trip to a real shop, where I know exactly what I'm buying!

    Each year, hundreds of thousands of wild animals around the world are killed in trophy hunting—the organized shooting of animals for pleasure. The hunters then bring parts of the animal home with them as their "trophy" to remember the hunting.

    Trophy hunters pay big money to kill animals. Some of the money goes to helping wildlife protection. Trophy hunting also attracts business, which encourages people to preserve land and breed(饲养) animals that would otherwise be endangered. Cathy Dean, head of the Save the Rhino Charity, says that at the start of the 1900s there were only 50–100 southern white rhinos. Now, there are around 18,000. This is partly because some of them were raised specially for trophy hunting.

    But things don't usually go on one way. According to WWF, elephant populations have fallen from 1.3 million to just over 400,000 since the 1980s. Over the same period, hunters from around the world have taken home more than 100,000 African elephant trophies. Trophy hunting is not illegal(非法的) but unfair on the animals. In 2015, Cecil the lion was shot by a US trophy hunter. Cecil was a beloved lion in Zimbabwe, Africa. Cecil was lured with bait(诱饵), shot with an arrow and struggled in blood for more than ten hours before his hunters tracked and finished killing him. His son, Xanda, met a similar fate two years later.

    Cecil's death caused worldwide outrage and protests(反抗) against trophy hunting. Countries including Australia, France and the Netherlands banned(禁止) the import of lion trophies—they stop hunters from being allowed to bring home parts of the animal they kill. They believe that people will stop trophy hunting because the activity might lose its attraction if hunters can't bring their trophies home.

    The UK Government said that it would consider a ban on trophy-hunting imports by 2017, but no action had been taken. In April 2019, a letter by protesters against trophy hunting was sent to the UK government asking to ban trophy-hunting imports. On 7 May, the official in charge of the environment, Michael Gove, said that the UK would not ban the imports for the time being. This left the world in a state of a shock. Hopefully the UK will place a ban on trophy-hunting imports, which would be an important message and inspire others to treat animals better. We're waiting for the day to come.

    Recently, American President Trump announced his budget. One of the budgets would cut all money to the Institute of Museum and Library services and libraries across the United States. However, as far as I'm concerned, we need to save our libraries.

    Libraries provide books and after-school programs for children. They encourage literacy (识字）with summer programs. They help inspire a life-time love of learning and reading in children of all ages. Without them, where will kids with no Internet at home do their homework? Where will kids have a place to study or borrow books after school? Therefore, we need libraries for our kids. We need them so that kids can grow up with a place, other than school , where learning and exploration is encouraged. For adults, libraries serve as a place where they can use the Internet to apply for jobs, get job training, early voting centers as well as book clubs to help make new friends. It can also serve as a place to pick up a book and learn something new. What's more, they can also borrow a book and get away from it all.

    Libraries save our information for the next generation. When we live in an age of alternative (选择性的）facts, where science is ignored in favor of personal feelings, we need libraries now more than ever. We need them to educate ourselves on the facts and hold the government responsible for them. We need them to have strong public participation.

    If you agree with me, you shouldn't be silent on this issue. You can write or call directly to tell the president to save our libraries. You can also write to both your state Senators (参议员）and your district representative. If you do not know who they are, you can find out here. Let them know this is a beneficial issue because all people use public libraries in their daily life.