Nowadays more and more people are talking about geneticallymodified foods ( GM foods). GM foods develop from genetically modifiedorganisms (有机体), which havehad specific changes introduced into their DNA by genetic engineeringtechniques. These techniques are much more precise where an organism is exposedto chemicals to create a non­specific but stable change. For many people, thehigh­tech production raises all kinds of environmental, ethical, health andsafety problems. Particularly in countries with long farming traditions, theidea seems against nature.

In fact, GM foods are already very much a part of our lives.They were first put on the market in 1996. A third of the corn and more thanhalf the cotton grown in the U. S. last year was the product of biotechnology,according to the Department of Agriculture. More than 65 million acres ofgenetically modified crops will be planted in the US this year. The geneticgenie is out of the bottle.

However, like any new product entering the food chain, GM foodsmust be subjected to careful testing. In wealthy countries, the debate aboutbiotech is not so fierce by the fact that they have a large number of foods tochoose from, and a supply that goes beyond the needs. In developing countriesdesperate to feed fast­growing and underfed populations, the matter is simplerand much more urgent: do the benefits of biotech outweigh the risks?

The statistics on population growth and hunger are disturbing.Last year the world's population reached 6 billion. The UN states that nearly800 million people around the world are unhealthy. About 400 million women ofchildbearing age don' t have enough iron, which means their babies are exposedto various birth defeats.As many as 100 million children suffer from vitamin Adeficiency, a leading cause of blindness.

How can biotech help? Genetic engineering is widely used toproduce plants and animals with better nutritional values. Biotechnologistshave developed genetically modified rice and they are working on other kinds ofnutritionally improved crops. Biotech can also improve farming productivity inplaces where food shortages are caused by crop damage attributable to drought,poor soil and crop viruses.

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    Healthy eating doesn't just mean what you eat, but how you eat. Here is some advice on healthy eating.

    Eat with others. It can help you to see others' healthy eating habits. If you usually eat with your parents, you will find that the food you eat is more delicious.

    Listen to your body. Ask yourself if you are really hungry. Have a glass of water to see if you are thirsty—sometimes you are just thirsty, you need no food. Stop eating before you feel full.

    Eat breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. After you don't eat for the past ten hours, your body needs food to get you going. You will be smarter after eating breakfast.

    Eat healthy snacks like fruits, yogurt or cheese. We all need snacks sometimes. In fact, it's a good idea to eat two healthy snacks between your three meals. This doesn't mean that you can eat a bag of chips instead of a meal.

    Don't eat dinner late. With our busy life, we always put off eating dinner until the last minute. Try to eat dinner at least 3 hours before you go to bed. This will give your body a chance to digest most of the food before you rest for the next 8—10 hours.

    For Canaan Elementary's second grade in Patchogue, N.Y., today is speech day, and right now it's Chris Palaez's turn. The 8-year-old is the joker of the class. With shining dark eyes, he seems like the kind of kid who would enjoy public speaking.

    But he's, nervous. "I'm here to tell you today why you should … should…"Chris trips on the "-ld," a pronunciation difficulty for many non-native English speakers. His teacher, Thomas Whaley, is next to him, whispering support."…Vote for …me …"Except for some stumbles, Chris is doing amazingly well. When he brings his speech to a nice conclusion, Whaley invites the rest of the class to praise him.

    A son of immigrants, Chris stared learning English a little over three years ago. Whaley recalls(回想起)how at the beginning of the year, when called upon to read, Chris would excuse himself to go to the bathroom.

    Learning English as a second language can be a painful experience. What you need is a great teacher who lets you make mistakes. "It takes a lot for any student," Whaley explains, "especially for a student who is learning English as their new language, to feel confident enough to say, 'I don't know, but I want to know.'"

    Whaley got the idea of this second-grade presidential campaign project when he asked the children one day to raise their hands if they thought they could never be a president. The answer broke his heart. Whaley says the project is about more than just learning to read and speak in public. He wants these kids to learn to boast(夸耀)about themselves.

    "Boasting about yourself, and your best qualities," Whaley says, "is very difficult for a child who came into the classroom not feeling confident."

    Going back to school can be an anxious time for many students. But one institution in Texas is doing its part to make sure middle schoolers are returning refreshed and inspired to learn.

    Through a process called the "bathroom inspiration project," teachers and administrators at Warren Middle School, spent their summer beautifying the school's restrooms by painting motivational murals (壁画) on each of the stalls (小隔间).Forming messages like "Your mistakes don't define you" and "Scatter (撒播) kindness," the brightly colored words are exactly what a young student needs to see when having a rough day-or any school day for that matter. And now that classes are officially in session, people are already noticing a positive impact.

    Since posting photos of upgrades to the school in July, Principal Joshua Garcia says that the alterations have aroused a great response.

    "Students have been talking about the murals from the moment the pictures had been posted. Some even took the time to find a reason to come up to the campus to see the murals," he says. "I think what makes this small little action so valuable is that it has set the tone for our campus."

    And not only is that important to students, parents, and fellow staff, but it is also vital for the school's new principal, who is trying to gain the trust of the community during a time in which trust is so necessary for schools.

    "Being new to the campus, I think the parents were able to see how much I value their children and have their best interest at heart," Garcia continues. "I have had many parents tell me how they can just feel a difference in the campus climate and how much they are enjoying seeing their children wanting to come here. These murals have put trust back in the campus and its teachers, and by doing so we are able to build a culture in which our students want to be here and learn."

    Sally Dawly is a woman from Auburn, California. Over the last three and a half years, the anti-littering woman has spent most of her free time picking up cigarette butts (烟头) from the streets of her home city.

    Called the "Butt Lady" by her local community, Dawly began her mission to rid the streets of her city of cigarette butts in October, 2014. The woman looked for cigarette butts, picked them up and threw them in the trash. To keep a count of how many butts she picks up, the Butt Lady has been using a tablet, and earlier this month, she hit a historic milestone—one million cigarette butts.

    "I got tired of going on my walks and seeing cigarette butts everywhere," Sally Dawly said. "I'm just shocked that I had to pick up so many. I've ever picked up 3,000 butts in one day," she said. "Don't throw away your butts; better yet, stop smoking."

    With so many cigarette butts littering the streets, can one person's efforts really make a difference? Surprisingly, the answer seems to be yes. Soon after the Butt Lady of Auburn started her mission and word of her efforts spread, cigarette cans started appearing around bars and restaurants in the city. Members of the local community even came out to cheer her on as she approached her one-million-butt milestone.

    Sally knows her city's cigarette butt littering problem won't be solved anytime soon, but she hopes her work will inspire people to at least think twice before dropping cigarette butts in the streets. She has decided to continue cleaning up after irresponsible smokers, and already has a new milestone in her sights—two million cigarette butts.

    Word of the Butt Lady's efforts to keep the streets cigarette butt-free has reached neighboring communities as well, and CBS Sacramento reports that other cities have started seeking her help as well.