Have you ever heard of e-waste, which can be produced every day? How do you deal with your computers, MP4 players and mobile phones when they're broken or you want a new one?

    Most people just throw them away. With the development of electric industry, e-waste pollution has become a serious problem. According to the United Nations, in 2014, people around the world produced 41. 8 million tons of e-waste and only recycled 6. 5 million tons. The US was the biggest waster, producing 7.1 million tons. China came second, with 6 million tons,

    It's important to pay attention to e-waste. It can either be valuable or harmful, depending on how we deal with it. E-waste is a valuable urban mine. The value of the metals, like gold and silver in the waste around the world, is amazing. And the metals can be reused. But if people throw them away, the toxic chemicals can get into the earth or air, affecting the environment and people's health.

    Apple, for example, now reycle people's used products in China when they are buying new ones. The company will test and repair the used ones and sell them at lower prices. To help reduce e-waste, we can also take computers and phones to see if companies offer recycling programmes.

    Dr Jack Todd is very interested in clean water. , so it's natural that he is the developer of a small and affordable system(系统) to clean wastewater. His "Living Machine" can clean wastewater in your home or in your business.

    The wastewater goes into a big plastic tank where bacteria(细菌) start to break down the waste. A few days later after it is dealt with, the water is brought into a greenhouse fill with plants and fish. With the help of sunlight, the plants and animals remove more chemicals from the water, making it cleaner. Then the water can be reused for washing or bathing , but the water is clean enough for watering the flowers, washing the dog, or even for bathing or swimming.

    The advantage of this technology is that it is affordable and good for the environment. , it can help to use less fresh water, and it can help keep the water supply unpolluted.

    Taking away a city's rubbish is a big job. Every day trucks come into a city to collect it. Most rubbish is made up of things we can't eat or use. If we kept these things we would soon have a mountain of rubbish.

    In some cities the rubbish is collected and taken out- side of city to a dump. Often the city dump is placed where the ground is low or there is a big hole. The kitchen rubbish is broken into small pieces and sent into the sewage system. The sewage system takes away the used water from toilets, bathtubs and other places.

    To keep mice and flies away, some earth is used to cover the newly dumped rubbish. Later, grass may be planted on the rubbish-filled land. Finally, a house or a school may be built there, and then you'd never know that this had once been an old rubbish dump.

    In other cities the rubbish is burnt in special places. The fire burns everything but the metal. Sometimes the metal can be used again in factories where things are made of metal. The food parts of rubbish are put in special piles where they slowly change into something called humus, which looks like black earth. It is rich with kinds of things that feed plants and help make them grow.

Pollution

    Hundreds of years ago, life was much harder than it is today. People didn't have modern machines. There was no modern medicine, either.

    Life today has brought new problems. One of the biggest is pollution. Water pollution has made our rivers and lakes dirty. It kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us talk louder and become angry more easily. Air pollution is the most serious kind of pollution. It's bad for all living things in the world.

    Cars, planes and factories all pollute our air every day. Sometimes the polluted air is so thick that it is like a quilt over a city. This kind of quilt is called haze(雾霾).

    Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. Factories must now clean their water before it is thrown away. They mustn't blow dirty smoke into the air.

    We need to do many other things. We can put waste things in the dustbin and not throw it on the ground. We can go to work by bus or with our friends in the same car. If there are fewer people driving, there will be less pollution.

    Rules are not enough. Every person must help to fight pollution.

    Sometimes people call ours a "throw-away society". That means that we're always throwing away old things and buying new ones. Many times, you no longer need something, but someone else may just need to buy one. For example, if your baby doesn't like his toy car any longer, why not give it to a family who has a little kid?

    Here are some other ways to help the society save resources(资源):

    Use the other side of the paper so that fewer trees will be cut down.

    Use rechargeable (可再充电的) batteries for your electric toys, MP4 players, cell phones and cameras.

    Choose reusable travel cups instead of disposable (一次性的) paper or plastic cups.

    Take your own cloth shopping bags instead of using the plastic bags that are offered when you go shopping.

    Drink tap water instead of buying bottled water.

    And there are some things you can exchange with your friends, for example, books, toys, even clothes. It's a way for everyone to get something new without spending any money and without throwing many things away.

    We need to be responsible for our environment. Being a frugal consumer(节俭的消费者) is one way to help. But, what exactly does that mean?

    Use it up

    You can use things up instead of wasting them. Squeeze that last bit of toothpaste out of the tube. Use the last little piece of soap. Don't throw away any bits of the biscuit at the bottom of the box.

    Wear it out

    You do not always need to have new things. Suppose your sneakers have broken laces, but they still fit you. Repair them and wear them longer. You don't need to have the latest iPhone until the old one doesn't work any- more. Then you can get a new one. Think twice before replacing something that still works.

    Make it do

    When something you want is not on hand, look for something else that you already have to take its place. Suppose you are, packing your lunch for, tomorrow and want a butter sandwich. You are out of butter. Have a cheese sandwich instead so that you can use all of the cheese. Learn to fix broken toys instead of just throwing them away. With a little thought, you can make something do, instead of buying something new.

    Do without

    Think about all those things that you would like to have. Do you really need them? How long will you really play with that new toy you saw on TV? Making the things that we want uses up our world's resources(资源). And, getting rid of the things we don't want anymore takes up even more resources and space.

提示词语: heavy smog (雾霾), housework, study online, bad, health, duty, on foot

提示问题: What did you do at home?

    How did you study for your lessons?

    What are you going to do to protect the environment?

Dear Peter,"

    How is it going?

Last December, we experienced a few days of heavy smog. In order to keep our health, teachers asked us to stay at home.

    I'm looking forward to your early reply.

Yours,

Li Lei