Is it possible to be born shy? Many scientists say yes. They say 15 to 20 percent of babies behave shyly. These babies are a little quieter and more watchful than other babies. Interestingly, these shy babies usually have shy parents. As a result, scientists think that some shyness is genetic.
    Family size might causepeople to be shy as well. Scientists at Harvard University studied shy children. They found that 66 percent of them had older brothers and sisters. As a result, they became shy. At the same time, children with no brothers and sisters may be shy as well. Growing up alone, they often play by themselves. They are not able to learn the same social skills as children from big families.

    You may also be shy because of where you were born. When scientists studied shyness in different countries. They found surprising differences. In Japan, most people said they were shy. But in Israel, only one of three people said so. What explains the difference? One scientist says the Japanese and Israelis have different opinions of failure. In Japan, when people do not succeed, they feel bad about themselves. They blame（责备）themselves for their failure. In Israel, the opposite is true. Israelis often blame failure on outside reasons, such as family, teachers, friends, or bad luck. In Israel, freedom of opinion and risk taking are strongly supported. This may be why Israelis worry less about failure and are less shy.

    For shy people, it can be difficult to make friends, speak in class, and even get a good job. But scientists say you can get over your shyness. They suggest trying new things and practicing conversation. And don't forget—if you are shy, you are not the only one.

    Our children and grandchildren may not have a chance to visit many of the most famous places around the world. War, weather, age, traffic and pollution damage (破坏) these famous places. If we do nothing, they may even no longer remain. But looking after these places often costs more than one country can afford.

    In the early 1970s, world governments decided that if they joined together, they would be able to preserve (保护) our history. If every country paid some money, they said, it would be possible to look after important historic places. For this reason, countries around the world united to form the World Heritage Organization in 1972. Today, the organization helps to protect and rebuild the most important places from our history.

    However, one of the biggest problems for historic places is vandalism. That is to say, people sometimes enter these places and damage the buildings. At some places, such as Stonehenge in England, governments have built high fences to protect it from vandals.

    There are many different ideas about how to solve the problem of vandalism. Some professors say that if guards keep walking around these places, vandals won't be able to get in. Some professors say that if they fix more television cameras, they won't need so many guards. Others say that the best way is education. If people learn to respect history, they won't damage it. They will also want to spend money looking after old places. For this reason, the World Heritage Organization helps to spread information about the value of historic places.

    Cars make our lives more convenient. But they can also be a problem. For example, fossil fuel(化石燃料) cars mainly cause air pollution.

    To improve the environment, many countries are developing electric vehicles (EVs,电动车). Among them, China is taking a leading role and has created the world's largest EV market.

    Last year, over 40 percent of the 753,000 EVs sold in the world were sold in China, more than twice as many as the number sold in the United States.

    "Filling up a fossil fuel car with gas(汽油) is more expensive than charging( 充电) an electric car，" said Wu Hao，who bought an electric car this year.

    However, there are still some problems. It can be hard to find charging piles(充电桩) and the cars can't go far before needing to be recharged.

    Some of these problems are being solved. In 2014，China had 31,000 charging piles. Now China has the world's largest EV charging network, with more than 167, 000 charging piles in total.

    Developing EVs is one of many efforts that China has made to cut down pressure on its environment after the government promised to stop increases in carbon dioxide emissions(二氧化碳排放量) by 2030.

    "As China goes, so will the world's car industry," The Wall Street Journal said. China has taken a leading role in the world's electric vehicle industry.