In 1996, John Tierney suggested in the New York Times Magazine article that “recycling is garbage.” He wrote, “The money spent on recycling programs should have been spent on real social and environmental problems. Recycling programs not only increase energy use and pollution, but also cost more money than the disposal (处理) of plain old garbage. Recycling may be the most wasteful activity in modern America.”

Environmental groups were quick to express their disagreement. They wrote reports on how recycling programs in cities can reduce pollution and cost less than regular garbage pickup and disposal. Michael Shapiro, an official of the US Environmental Protection Agency(EPA), said that “recycling can be good value for money, although there's still room for improvements.”

But in 2002, New York City, a pioneer of recycling, found that its recycling program was losing money, so it stopped glass and plastic recycling. Other major cities watched closely to see how New York was dealing with its remaining program (the city never stopped paper recycling). But then it closed its last landfill (垃圾填埋地), and private companies out of New York raised prices due to the increased workload of carrying away and disposing New York's garbage. As a result, glass and plastic recycling became profitable for the city again, and New York brought the program back. According to Cecil Adams of The Chicago Reader, the lessons learned by New York are relevant everywhere. He believes that, if managed correctly, recycling programs should cost cities less than garbage disposal.

    Even though the benefits of recycling over disposal are many, keep in mind that it better serves the environment to “reduce and reuse” before recycling is even considered as a choice.

    At exactly eleven Sir Percival knocked and entered, with anxiety and worry in every line of his face. This meeting would decide his future life，and he obviously knew it.

    "You may wonder, Sir Percival,”said Laura calmly, “if I am going to ask to be released (免除）from my promise to many you. I am not going to ask this. I respect my father's wishes too much.”

    His face relaxed a little, but one of his feet kept beating the carpet.

    "No, if we are going to withdraw. (退出）from our planned marriage, it will be because of your wish, not mine.

     “Mine?” he said in great surprise. “What reason could I have for withdrawing?^'

    "A reason that is very hard to tell you," she answered. "There is a change in me.”

    His face went so pale that even his lips lost their color. He turned his head to one side.

    "What change?" he asked, trying to appear calm.

     “When the promise was made two years ago,” she said, ⁴⁴ my love did not belong to anyone. Will you forgive me, Sir Percival, if I tell you that it now belongs to another person?”

    “I wish you to understand, “Laura continued, “that I will never see this person again, and that if you leave me, you only allow mc to remain a single woman for the rest of my life. All I ask is that you forgive mc and keep my secret."

    ‘I will do both those things, “he said. Then he looked at Laura, as if he was waiting to hear more.

    "I think I have said enough to give you reason to withdraw from our marriage, “she added quietly.

    “No. You have said enough to make it the dearest wish of my life to marry you, ” he said.

    We've reached a strange—some would say unusual—point. While fighting world hunger continues to be the matter of vital importance according to a recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO), more people now die from being overweight, or say, from being extremely fat, than from being underweight. It's the good life that's more likely to kill us these days.

Worse, nearly 18 million children under the age of five around the world are estimated to be overweight. What's going on?

    We really don't have many excuses for our weight problems. The dangers of the problem have been drilled into us by public ­health campaigns since 2001 and the message is getting through—up to a point.

    In the 1970s, Finland, for example, had the highest rate of heart disease in the world and being overweight was its main cause. Not any more. A public ­health campaign has greatly reduced the number of heart disease deaths by 80 per cent over the past three decades.

    Maybe that explains why the percentage of people in Finland taking diet pills doubled between 2001 and 2005, and doctors even offer surgery of removing fat inside and change the shape of the body. That has become a sort of fashion. No wonder it ranks as the world's most body ­conscious country.

We know what we should be doing to lose weight—but actually doing it is another matter. By far the most popular excuse is not taking enough exercise. More than half of us admit we lack willpower.

    Others blame good food. They say: it's just too inviting and it makes them overeat. Still others lay the blame on the Americans, complaining that pounds have piled on thanks to eating too much American­ style fast food.

    Some also blame their parents—their genes. But unfortunately, the parents are wronged because they're normal in shape, or rather slim.

    It's a similar story around the world, although people are relatively unlikely to have tried to lose weight. Parents are eager to see their kids shape up. Do as I say—not as I do.

    In the early hours of the morning, Gary Miller was in his truck, traveling down the road alone to deliver. Everything seemed calm. But with the sound of a fire siren (警笛) cutting through the wind, he became alarmed. Miller, a trucker by trade, has been a volunteer firefighter for 40 years. That loud, sharp siren assured him that help was on the way.

    Most people never realize that this help is often a crew of volunteer firefighters. They make up 70 percent of the country's nearly 1.2 million firefighters. "When I was a teenager there would be many who responded. About 20 people were coming into the voluntary fire station at one siren." Miller laughed. But now, at his 54, that memory is almost ironic (讽刺的)to him. When a call comes in, his station might get only three or four people responding. He said: "People don't want to, or rather, they don't have time to volunteer." Adults' burdens have become greater. There isn't as much time left for volunteering when most people rely on a two-income household now more than ever.

    Firefighters face far more than what we imagine. The emotional stress on a firefighter stands out. "We're asked to help someone at their most vulnerable (易受伤的) time. But we can't always save the day like we hope to." Miller reflected on the case years ago. "A mother's car was hit hard, and she had two children in the backseat." By the time he arrived on the scene, there wasn't much to be done. "One child died in my arms and I felt so defeated."

    Along with the emotional stress, the physical danger is just as great. Even with the progress of equipment and new training, that's still not always enough to save a firefighter's life. In 2016, 60 firefighters died in the line of the duty. "When you respond, you never know if it is to be your last," Miller said. "And that's just a risk we take." Miller continued. "It's dangerous. But it's also the most rewarding thing I've ever done."

    When I was small, my mother and I would walk to our local library in Franklin Square. As we didn't always have access to a reliable car, walking hand in hand was the most convenient way to get anywhere. It was at story time for children that both my mother and I made lasting friendships.

    Today, I am fortunate to live around the corner from the Cold Coast Public Library in Glen Head and a short walk to the Sea Cliff Children's Library. My 18-imonth-old son, Colin, and I find ourselves in Sea Cliff several times a week, meeting and making friends. Well, that is what many people don't understand-a library is more than books; it's a community.

    Sure, the library in Franklin Square was the place where I was introduced to Judy Blume novels. But it was also the place where I got my first email address in 1997. At the library, friends and I learned how to research colleges and search for scholarships on the Internet. The library was the place where we sometimes giggled(咯咯笑)too loudly, and where the librarians knew us by name. Their knowing our names wasn't a bad thing. When I came home from my first term at Binghamton University, Mary LaRosa, the librarian at the Franklin Square library, offered me my first teaching job.

    I now teach reading at Nassau Community College. My students are often amazed that they can check out books via their smartphones and virtually(虚拟地)visit a variety of Long Island libraries. The app used by Nassau and Suffolk county public libraries, as well as the college library, makes their homework easier by helping them find resources. Even though they can't always easily visit their local libraries, the library is always with them.

Dawn Loggins of Lawndale, N. C. is on her way to Harvard, one of the eight world­famous universities in the eastern US. Nobody encouraged her to study or paid for her special classes. This girl created her own future.

The teen was abandoned by her family last summer, when her parents and two sisters moved to Tennessee. She found herself homeless and had to spend the night on friend's sofas.

The school bus driver learned about Dawn's situation and invited Dawn to move in with her family. Soon, Dawn had a job at Burns High School. She worked from 6 a. m. to 7：40 a. m. before the first school bell rang. She swept floors and picked up trash again in the afternoons, before diving into her studies in the evenings.

Dawn's hard work paid off. She finished school with a 3. 9 GPA and scored 2, 110 on the SAT.

"There were times when I felt like it would be easiest if I gave up," the 18­year­old said." But it was never in me to give up, because I realized that I was never going to be successful unless I got an education."

Even before Dawn's family left her, she led a difficult life. Her family was poor and cups of noodles were often the only food. Dawn" studied by candlelight" because her parents couldn't afford to pay the electricity bill(电费).

Dawn has now reconnected with her family. They are proud of her accomplishments(成就)and are attending her high school graduation.