We produce 500 billion of plastic bags in a year worldwide and they are thrown away polluting oceans, killing wildlife and getting dumped in landfills where they take up to 1,000 years to decompose. Researchers have been unsuccessfully looking for a solution.

    The 16-year-old Canadian high school student, Daniel Burd, from Waterloo Collegiate Institute, has discovered a way to make plastic bags degrade(降解) in as few as 3 months, a finding that won him first prize at the Canada Wide Science Fair, a ＄10,000 prize, a ＄20,000 scholarship, and a chance to revolutionize a major environmental issue.

    Burd's strategy was simple: Since plastic does eventually degrade, it must be eaten by microorganisms(微生物)．If those microorganisms could be identified, we could put them to work eating the plastic much faster than under normal conditions.

    With this goal in mind, he grounded plastic bags into a powder and concocted(调制) a solution of household chemicals, yeast(酵母) and tap water to encourage microbes growth．Then he added the plastic powder and let the microbes work their magic for 3 months．Finally, he tested the resulting bacterial culture on plastic bags, exposing one plastic sample to dead bacteria as a control．Sure enough, the plastic exposed(暴露) to the live bacteria was 17% lighter than the control after six weeks.

    The inputs are cheap, maintaining the required temperature takes little energy because microbes produce heat as they work, and the only outputs are water and tiny levels of carbon dioxide.

    “Almost every week I have to do chores and when I open the closet door, I have piles of plastic bags falling on top of me．One day, I got tired of it and I wanted to know what other people are doing with these plastic bags．The answer: not much．So I decided to do something myself.” Said Daniel Burd.

    A few years ago, I took a sightseeing trip to Washington, D.C standing outside the Ronald Reagan Center, I heard a voice, “Can you help me?” When I turned around, I saw an elderly blind woman with her hand extended. I reached into my pocket, pulled out all of my loose change and placed it on her hand without even looking at her. I was annoyed at being bothered by a beggar. But the blind woman smiled and said, “I don't want your money. I just want you to help me find the post office.”

    In a moment, I realized what I had done. I judged another person simply for what I guessed she had to be. I hated what I saw in myself. This incident reawakened my belief in humility（谦恭）,even though I'd lost it for a moment.

The thing I had forgotten about myself is that I am an immigrant. I left Honduras and arrived in the US at the age of 15. I started my new life with two suitcases, my brother and sister, and a strong, serious-minded mother. Through the years, I have been a dishwasher, mechanic and pizza delivery driver among many other humble jobs, and finally I became a network engineer.

    In my own life, I have experienced many open acts of prejudice（偏见）. I remember a time, at the age of 17, I worked as a waiter, and I heard a father tell his little boy that if he did not do well in school, he would end up like me. I have also witnessed the same treatment of my family and friends, so I know what it's like, and I should have known better.

    But now, living in my American middle-class lifestyle, it is too easy to forget my past, to forget who I am and where I have been, and to lose sight of where I want to be going. That blind woman on the street of Washington, D.C. cured me of my blindness. She reminded me of my belief in humility to always keep my eyes and heart open. By the way, I helped that lady to the post office. And in writing this article, I hope to thank her for the priceless lesson.

    The Bristol International Balloon Festival is a world-class hot air ballooning festival and is recognized as one of the UK's top five outdoor events. Founded in 1978, the Festival has become a symbol for Bristol, the same as Brunel's famous Suspension Bridge.

    Held in the rolling hills of Ashton Court on the edge of Bristol, the Festival is hugely popular and completely free, attracting around half a million people from across the country and beyond. This year, for the first time, visitors will get to see how a hot air balloon is made. To celebrate its 40th anniversary, the world's largest hot air balloon producer, Cameron Balloons, will take on the challenge of constructing a passenger-carrying balloon, on site, in about four days.

    Other events to look forward to at the Bristol International Balloon Festival include daredevil stunts(冒险特技表演) from the Red Arrows, over 250 trade stalls, local and international food stalls, and a funfair(露天游艺集市). Here's what's on in detail:

    Thursday 11th August:

    12 pm Gates Open and Trade Village open

    6 pm Special Shapes Ascent — a number of hot air balloons will take to the sky

    9:30 pm Nightglow and Firework Finale — 30 or more balloons will glow in time to music

    10:30 pm Gates Close

    Friday 12th August:

    6 am Hot Air Balloon Mass Ascent

    9 am Trade and Entertainment Village open

    12 pm Arena(竞技) Entertainment and Tethered Balloons

    6 pm Hot Air Balloon Mass Ascent

    Saturday 13th August:

    6 am Hot Air Balloon Mass Ascent

    9 am Trade and Entertainment Village open

    12 pm Arena Entertainment and Tethered Balloons

    6 pm Hot Air Balloon Mass Ascent

    9:30 pm Nightglow and Firework Finale

    10:30 pm Gates Close

    Sunday 14th August:

    6 am Hot Air Balloon Mass Ascent

    9 am Trade and Entertainment Village open

    12 pm Arena Entertainment and Tethered Balloons

    6 pm Hot Air Balloon Mass Ascent

    There lived in South Carolina a young woman named Eliza Lucas. Her father was governor of one of the islands of the West Indies. Miss Lucas often got seeds from her father, and then she planted them in South Carolina.

    Once, her father sent her some seeds of the indigo (靛蓝) plant. She planted some of them in March, but a frost (霜冻) came and killed all her plants. However, she decided to plant some more seeds in April. These grew very well until a cutworm found them and ate her plants. Once more Miss Lucas planted some of the seeds. This time the plants grew very well. She wrote to her father about it. He sent her a man who knew how to get the indigo out of the plant.

    However, the man tried not to show Miss Lucas how to make the indigo. He did not want the people in South Carolina to learn how to make it. He was afraid his own people would not get so much money for their indigo if other people made it as well. So he destroyed the indigo on purpose. But Miss Lucas watched him closely. She worked out how the indigo could be made. Some of her father's land in South Carolina was now planted with the indigo plant.

    Then Miss Lucas got married, and became Mrs. Pinckney. Her father gave her all the indigo growing on his land in South Carolina. It was all saved for seeds. Mrs Pinckney gave some of the seeds to her friends while her husband sowed others. They all grew and were made into the blue dye(染料) that we call indigo. In a few years, South Carolina was producing more than a million pounds of indigo every year. All the people were grateful to her.

    Here are four tourist attractions in Havana in Cuba.

    Museum of the City

    The Museum of the City was built in 179L The building once served as the Presidential Palace and home to colonial governors. The museum's exhibits include collections of weapons, history and art as well as rooms documenting wars for Cuban independence.

    +53-7-861-6130 .

    Open: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

    Admission: $ 3

    Revolution Square

    Revolution Square is one of the largest open public spaces in Cuba and one of the largest public squares in the world. The site is home to the 138-foot Jose Mart Memorial, the tallest structure in Havana, which celebrates the national hero. Cuba's important leaders, including Fidel Castro, usually use the platform in front of the memorial to address the large crowds that gather on the square. The Jose Marti Memorial also includes a museum and an elevator that takes tourists to the top of the monument.

    +53-7-338-6363

    Open: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

    Admission: $ 5

    Cigar Factories

    Cubans famous cigar-making factories are open to the public. Three cigar factories in Havana offer public tours that show how Cuba's cigars are hand-rolled in the traditional way. The Partagas Cigar Factory, founded in 1827, is the oldest in Havana. The other two factories open for tours are La Corona and Romeo Julieta, and they include gift shops.

    +53-7-338-060

    Open: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday.

    Admission: $ 10

    Old Havana

    Old Havana is the capital's historic district, which dates back to 1519 when Spain used the city as a colonial port. Old Havana was important Spanish naval (海军的）base. Presently, Old Havana's stone streets are home to museums, hotels and restaurants among the grand colonial buildings that once housed Spanish power.

    +53-7-885-752

    Open: daily.

    Admission: free

    Having experienced a shocking electrical accident, which caused him to become both blind and deaf, James Franco's world became completely dark and quiet for almost ten years. The loss of sight and hearing threw him into such sorrow that he tried a few times to put an end to his life. His family, especially his wife, did their best to tend and comfort him and finally he regained the will to live.

    One hot summer afternoon, he was taking a walk with a stick near his house when a thunderstorm started all at once. He stood under a large tree to avoid getting wet, but he was struck by the lightning. Witnesses thought he was dead but he woke up 20 minutes later, lying face down in muddy water. He was trembling badly, but when he opened his eyes, he could hardly believe what he saw: a tree and muddy road. When Mrs. Franco came running up to him, shouting to their neighbors to call for help, he could see her and hear her voice for the first time in nearly ten years.

    The news of James regaining his sight and hearing quickly spread and many doctors came to examine him. Most of them said that he regained his sight and hearing from the shock he got from the lightning. However, none of them could give a compellent answer as to why this should happen. The only reasonable explanation given by one doctor was that, since James lost his sight and hearing as a result of a sudden shock, perhaps, the only way for him to regain them was another sudden shock.