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.

    Animals are our friends. We can find different animals here and there. Some animals live in big forests(森林) and some animals live with man.

    Animals can help us a lot. Elephants can do some heavy work for us. And dogs can look after the home. The kids like dogs very much. Cats are women's favorite animals.

    We can eat their meat. We can make coats and shoes with their skins(皮). We can get milk from them. So man can't live without animals.

    Don't be too surprised if you see a car going down the road without a driver in Beijing these days. It might be one of Baidu's self-driving cars. Last month, Baidu was granted (授予) a license to test its self-driving cars on open roads in Beijing, China Daily reported.

    Self-driving cars have been in development since 2010, when Google announced that it was making such cars. Since then, companies like Tesla, Uber and Baidu have been working to produce and test their own self-driving cars.

    Self-driving cars are expected to revolutionize (革命) the way we get around. They are safer and more environmentally friendly than regular cars. They can remove the stress of driving and allow disabled or blind people to get around more easily.

    But self-driving cars have their own flaws (缺陷) as well. In one test, researchers pointed a laser pointer (激光棒) at the car's sensors (传感器) while it was moving. The car mistakenly thought that the laser beam was in its way and slowed down or changed direction. Flaws like this could be used by people to trick self-driving cars, according to the Guardian.

    The software that is used to direct the cars may not be safe enough, reported Live Science. It may crash (崩溃). When we use our computers or smart phones, they sometimes crash without any reason. But if this happened to a self-driving car, the results could be deadly. Improvements to the software could be a solution to this problem.

    It's important to learn about protecting our environment. Here is a 5R rule for us:

    Reduce

    If you want to reduce waste, you should use things wisely(明智地). A larger number of trees are cut down to make paper. If everyone uses paper carelessly, soon we will not have any trees left. Other things are also being wasted, and people don't know what to do with the waste in big cities. So it is necessary to use things wisely.

    Reuse

    You should always think of reusing the usable things before throwing them away. For example, you can give your clothes you do not wear any more to the poor. In a family, you may pass on such clothes to younger brothers or sisters.

    Recycle

    Bottles, cans and paper can easily be recycled. By recycling them we save lots of time and money. For example, Coke cans are sent to a factory, where they are smashed flat (压平) and melted(融化) and the metal things are made for new Coke cans.

    Recover(恢复)

    When you buy a box of apples, there may be a few rotten(腐烂的) apples, you have two choices(选择): One is to throw the whole apples away, or you can cut off the rotten parts and keep the good parts. In the way, you are recovering the eatable(能吃的) parts of food.

    Repair

    If one of the legs of your table is broken, you can repair it. If you want to change for better ones, it is better for you to sell the old things or give them to other people who can use them after doing some repair.