It was a winter morning,just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2005.While most people were warming up their ears,Trevor,my husband,had to get up early to ride his bike four kilometers away from home to work.On arrival, he parked his bike outside the back door as he usually does.After putting in 10 hours of labor,he returned to find his bike gone.

    The bike,a black Kona 18 speed,was our only transport（交通工具）.Trevor used it to get to work,putting in 60-hour weeks to support（养活）his young family.And the bike was also used to get groceries（食品杂货）saving us from having to walk long distances from where we live.

    I was so said that someone would steal our bike that I wrote to the newspaper and told them our story.Shortly after that,several people in our area offered to help.One wonderful stranger even bought a bike,then called my husband to pick it up.Once again my husband had a way to get to and from his job.It really is an honor（幸事）that a complete stranger would go out of their way for someone they have never met before.

    People say that a smile can be passed from one person to another,but acts of kindness from strangers are even more so.This experience has had a spreading effect in our lives because it strengthened our faith in humanity（人性）as a whole.And it has influenced（影响）us to be more mindful of ways we,too,can share with others.No matter how or how small,an act of kindness shows that someone cares.And the results can be everlasting.

    The full moon climbs over the eastern horizon (地平线) and hangs like a huge orange globe in the sky. A few hours later, the moon is overhead but seems to have changed. The huge orange globe has become a small silver disk. What has happened? Why has the orange color disappeared? Why does the moon seem so much smaller and farther away now that it is overhead?

    The moon appears orange on the horizon because we view it through the dust of the atmosphere. The overhead moon does not really shrink as it moves away from the horizon. Our eyes inform us that the overhead moon is farther away. But in this position the moon is actually closer to our eyes than when it is near the horizon.

    The change in size is a trick our eyes and minds play on us. When the moon is low in the sky, we can compare its size with familiar objects. It is easy to see that the moon is much larger than trees or buildings, for example. When the moon is high in the sky, however, it is hard to compare it with objects on earth. Compared to the vastness of the sky, the moon seems small.

    There is another reason why the moon seems to shrink. We are used to staring at objects straight ahead of us. When an object is difficult to see, our eyes have to try to focus on it. When we move our heads back to look up, we will try hard again. Looking at something from an unaccustomed position can fool you into believing an object is smaller or farther away than it is. However, scientists do not yet understand completely why the moon seems to shrink as it rises in the sky.

    No matter where you live or how you define yourself, these are some of the best activities to get in touch with nature.

Hiking

    One of the easiest and most accessible ways to get close to nature is by setting out on a good old hike. Hiking generally doesn't require any special equipment or special skills; just a good pair of boots, a map, and a thirst for adventure. This activity can be as relaxing as you make it. Suggestion: consider doing a little advance research on Trails.com or EveryTrail.com.

    Backcountry Camping

    Why limit yourself to just a day hike when you can have a full weekend (or longer) adventure? Backcountry camping involves packing your tent, sleeping bag, food，and water on your back to set up camp in a remote location. If you're an experienced hiker and camper, this is an excellent way to test your survival skills and explore the wildness. Many parks require backpackers to obtain permits, so make sure to register and map your route before stepping on the trail.

    Mountain and Road Biking

    Unlike long hikes through the woods, biking allows you to cover more ground and travel farther while still being in nature. Mountain biking typically involves riding up and down steep slopes, between trees, and over rocks. If this sounds too intense or your tires aren't suited for a rocky path, consider taking a road bike or a hybrid on paved trails through forest preserves or along country roads.

     Many of us feel uneasy when someone stands too close to us, talks to us too loudly or makes eye contact(接触) with us for too long. But have you ever wondered why those things make you uncomfortable?
      It's all about personal peace, which means not only an imaginary space around the body, but also the space around all the senses. People feel that their space is being violated(侵犯) when they meet with an unwelcome sound, smell or look. This is probably why a man on a crowded bus shouting into his mobile phone or a woman next to you putting on strong perfume(香水) makes you feel angry.

    Whether people have had a stronger wish to protect their personal space in recent times is hard to say. Yet studies of airlines show that people have a strong desire to have space to themselves. In a survey by Trip Advisor, a travel website, people said that if they had to pay more for some extra service, they would rather have larger seats than extra food.

    Although people may need their personal space, some hardly realize it. For example, people on a bus who hold newspapers in front of their faces to read in fact keep a distance from strangers.

    Go and watch a library table. You will notice that one of the corner seats will usually be taken first, because they are the farthest way. What if someone sits opposite to you? Maybe you will pile up books as if to make a wall.

    Preference for personal space is different from culture to culture. Scientists have found that Americans generally prefer more personal space than people from other cultures. In Latin cultures, however, people are more comfortable standing close to each other.

    Young people almost never get a good press(评论) these days. “Their outlook is centered on trashy books and films,” expressed one citizen in a letter I recently came across in the Daily Mail. It seems that people have been complaining about the young since ancient times. However, the young are probably no worse than they've ever been. And I think they're better. Teenagers today are brighter, more energetic, more outgoing, and more interesting than any generation before.

    The truth is, we hear plenty of bad news about youth, but we never hear about the majority. Surely they all want to be footballers or attractive models? Not a bit of it. When research company Britain-Thinks examined teenagers attitudes earlier this year, they found that the most popular goal (shared by some 70 percent) was to “have a job you love”, followed by having a university degree, owning your own home and being in a happy, long-term relationship. It tallies with another study by the Institute for Economic and Social Research, which found that what made teenagers happiest wasn't a new smart-phone or pair of shoes, but “the simple things in life” such as close friends, going swimming and spending time with their parents.

    Indeed, the more you look at the young, the more impressive they seem. They are, of course, more technologically knowledgeable and skillful than any generation before them. But the interesting thing is that they're not merely consumers; they're creators. Think of all those young people developing their own websites or machines.

    Seventeen-year-old Nick D'Aloisio is an example. He invented a news-summary app (应用程序)called Summly and sold it to Yahoo this year for a reported £18 million. The company offered him a job in California, but he turned it down. “I'll be staying in London,” he explained. “I want to finish my A levels and I couldn't really live on my own out there.”

    Of course they aren't perfect, and every generation has its fair share of bad apples. But I think our future is in safe hands.

It should be one of the main goals in today's society to reduce plastic consumption.Though many believe recycling will solve the problem,and continue using plastic,it's actually the opposite.In 2013,254 million tonnes of trash was produced in the US alone,and only around 30% was recycled.This means the rest ended up in a landfill and will stay there for up to 1,000 years.

Now Asian countries,including Vietnam and Thailand,are looking for new ideas to avoid plastic.One of those ideas was a new,eco-friendly way to pack their goods by avoiding plastic packaging.One of Perfect Homes Chiangmai's team members noticed a creative way to reduce plastic that a supermarket called Rimping Supermarket was using.Little did he know that people all around the world would absolutely love this idea."I just entered to get a few items while we were waiting to sign some contracts with our lawyer,who was delayed.When I noticed the vegetables wrapped in banana leaves,I simply liked the idea.So I took a few pictures and posted them online," he said.

With more than 3.5 million views and over 17 thousand shares,the idea became something people can encourage more supermarkets to implement(实施).

Some have noticed that not everything on the shelves is completely plastic-free to which the supermarket responded that they are taking one step at a time,but it's not that easy.Many products come to the supermarkets pre-packaged and many companies are interested in wrapping their produce in plastic since it is the cheapest and the easiest option.

It's now up to the shoppers to show the supermarket which they prefer.If everyone opts for the banana leaf packaging,they will probably stop stocking the items in plastic.