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Since the 1950s, some 9.2 billion tonnes of plastic have been produced globally, of which only about 10% has ever been recycled. Yet environmentally conscious companies and consumers continue to look to recycling as a way to ease the plastic problem. Manufacturing giants claim to be committed to making more of their products and packaging from recycled materials. However, this confidence masks （掩饰） a complex web of issues around plastic recycling. Recycling rates remain extremely low and critics argue that we should look at alternative ways to tackle plastic pollution.

While many plastics have the potential to be recycled, most are not because the process is costly, complicated and the resulting product of a lower quality than the original. Despite rising demand for recycled plastic, few waste companies turn a profit. Part of this is because virgin plastic—linked to oil prices—is often cheaper than recycled plastic, meaning there is little economic motive to use it. Worse yet, much of our plastic waste is difficult to recycle. Lightweight food packaging, like a mozzarella packet, contains different plastics, dyes and toxic additives （添加剂）. This dirty mix means plastic recycled through mechanical methods—the most common form—can only be melted down and moulded again a couple of times before it becomes too fragile to be reused. And the nature of the process means plastic recycling has a carbon footprint of its own.

Given all of these difficulties, environmental critics say recycling is not the solution and argue that creating more products from recycled material to attract environmental consciousness merely worsens the problem. "The solution is to use less plastic and to stop misleading the public about the recyclability," says Enck, president of Beyond Plastics, a US campaign group with a mission to end single-use plastic. "They should stop making false claims about the recyclability of plastics since they know most will either be littered or burned or landfilled （填埋）. Using less plastics means shifting to reusable products and relying more on paper, cardboard, glass and metal—all of which should be made from recycled content."

3M and Discovery Education announced Sean Jiang from Gilman School as one of the top ten finalists from across the nation for the 2023 3M Young Scientist Challenge. It's a competition that encourages students to identify an everyday problem and submit a video showing the science behind the solution he or she came up with.

14-year-old Jiang decided to help those who can't see. Blind people had a hard time navigationg （导航） objects that are medium to far range. So Jiang wanted to design something to give them aheads-up on obstacles （障碍） that may be incoming.

Jiang's inspiration came from the powers of the hearing system. "I learned in school that bats and whales are able to use echolocation （回声定位） to help them navigate and just use their sense of hearing and I also saw on YouTube some very skilled blind people that use echolocation to help them walk," said Jiang.

Jiang started with a virtual reality setting and then made it a reality. His creation uses a depth camera that can detect how close objects are, thus giving enough time to avoid the obstacles. When a blind is walking with the device, the sensor of the depth camera gathers the information regarding the obstacles' position and distance. Then the AI system in it will turn the distance data into musical sound guidance. This could significantly increase the walking speed of a blind person as well as decrease the number of obstacles they hit.

Some other similar programs were alright at finding objects that were in close range, but Jiang still wanted the blind to experience the world even fuller so they were able to see stuff that was much further away than their circle of reach.

In October, the top ten finalists will compete in person in Minneapolis for the title of "America's Top Young Scientist" and a $25,000 prize.

At 98, Dick Van Dyke still sings with his group, The Vantastix, and still makes it all look easy. When asked how important it is that he's having fun when he's doing it, Van Dyke replied, "My whole career has relied on that. It's such a blessing to find a way of making a living that you love. I feel so sorry for people who hate their job. I look forward to going to work every morning!"

And some of his work helped define a generation. Take "The Dick Van Dyke Show"; it ran for five years on CBS, and it was such a hit that they're bringing it back. This week, CBS aired a two-hour tribute （致敬）, "Dick Van Dyke, 98 Years of Magic", and for the occasion, they recreated the original Dick Van Dyke Show set, down to that well-known sofa.

Early in his career Van Dyke was quoted as saying he only wanted to make films his children could watch. That got the attention of Walt Disney, who promptly cast him in "Mary Poppins". And his next few films were equally family-friendly, like "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," which happened to have been co-written by James Bond creator Ian Fleming. From then on, Van Dyke was almost always assigned to play the good guy, though he claims to have missed out on a choice part: "Yeah, I could have been James Bond. When Sean Connery left, the producer said, ‘Would you like to be the next Bond?' I said, ‘Have you heard my British accent?' That's a true story!"

It seems that in show biz the true legends never stop. In an interview from 2017 with his friends, Van Dyke described what it was like hitting 90: "People are more afraid of aging than they are of death these days. And I want to say that remain young in heart and there's a lot of good living to do."

Flights of imagination take wing with picture books

Room for Everyone (ages 4-8)

Written by Naaz Khan, illustrated by Merce Lopez

Hop on the dala-dala (a kind of minibus taxi) on the way to the blue crystal waters of Zanzibar! Rhythmic language dances across the pages as more and more people and their belongings pile into （挤进） the vehicle on the way to the beach. It seems there can't possibly be room, but "after some moving around and fun, they make enough room for everyone." This is a book you will be happy to read again and again because it's so full of sunlight and energy.

Gladys the Magic Chicken (ages 4-9)

Written by Adam Rubin, illustrated by Adam Rex

It's a big, sweeping story that's just right for sharing a belly laugh （捧腹大笑） with the whole family. Set in ancient times, the story centers around a much-celebrated chicken named Gladys. At 48 pages, this is longer than the standard picture book, which helps give it a bigger feeling.

Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey (ages 4-10)

Written and illustrated by Erin Entrada Kelly

Readers might know Erin Entrada Kelly from her Newbery Medal-winning chapter book, "Hello, Universe". In this start of a series aimed at younger readers, Kelly again creates rich characters, but this time with short chapters and cute line drawings that work perfectly for early independent chapter-book reading.

A Boy Named Isamu (ages 3-7)

Written and illustrated by James Yang

One of the unexpected charms of this book is that it is told in the second person. The lines between audience and character, observer and artist, and reader and listener soften to allow us to explore isolation （孤独） and creativity along with the protagonist （主人公）. This book might help everyone understand how one might be "alone but not lonely".

My husband Larry and I have always had our basic values in common, but our interests are far apart. I love the arts, especially opera. He' s a huge sports fan of hockey (曲棍球). His big passion is NHL hockey. He' s shared season tickets with his friends for years. 

There were times when we attended the games with other couples. The rest of our group was enthusiastic about the game, even the women. They knew all the players and how to pronounce their long names. I enjoyed participating in the National Anthem, but aside from the meal, that was the only thing I enjoyed about our hockey nights. Instead of appreciating the good seats we had, I' d complain that it was too cold there. When the game started, my phone would be on my lap. Most of the time, I' d be texting or daydreaming. ometimes, my texting would be interrupted when the home team scored. I knew they scored because everyone jumped up and exchanged high-fives and shouts. 

What was so exciting about a group of grown men on ice hitting something with a stick? It was beyond me. I started to wonder. Why was I the only one not enjoying myself? As I looked around at thousands of people cheering and getting increasingly excited, I decided to at least give it a try — for my husband' s sake, if not for my own. 

It took a few games, but soon I learned who the goalie (守门员) was, who our latest player was, who had been traded and from where. When the other team scored, I eventually felt great disappointment with the rest of my crowd. I searched the program to see which part of the globe our players had come from. 

注意：

1. 续写词数应为150左右；

2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

I was surprised that I began to like the games I watched. 

I felt excited when I heard that our city would have the first women' s hockey team. 

1. 活动目的;

2. 活动时间参加者及内容;

3. 活动感想。

注意：

1. 写作词数应为80左右;

2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

A Celebration for the Successful Launch of Shenzhou-16 Mission

I had graduated from college with a degree in education. But I still couldn' t find a(n) 1 teaching job. I waited for the phone to ring so I could 2 work as a replacement. One day I would be teaching high school science and the next day I would be 3 with kindergarteners on a playground. This time I was in a local grade school as a(n) 4 for a 5th grade teacher for the day. Determined not to let my time simply 5 , I went over the lesson plans and stayed 6 with the students, smiling and encouraging them. I was determined to 7 the great teachers I' d had when I was a boy and not the critical ones who always left me 8 bad. 

At the end of the day just as they were leaving the room a girl handed me a 9 note. I waited until they were all gone before I opened it. It was a lovely drawing full of 10 wonder and a note that said: " You are the best teacher I have ever had!"  My mouth fell open in 11 . It really amazed me that my kind 12 had touched that girl' s heart so deeply. I took that note home and put it in a folder. Anytime I was feeling 13 I would look at it and it always made me smile. 

That experience showed me the 14 that a single kind word can have on a life. I never saw that girl again, but I 15 that her life has been full of kind words and loving people. And I continue to try my best each day to let love and kindness live through my words and my life. 

Do you enjoy playing video games? Have you ever thought about what it would be like to design them for a living? Let' s talk with Mitu Khandaker to learn about her cool career as a video game designer. 

What' s it like to be a game designer?

Being a game designer is like wearing a lot of different hats at once.  . Another minute, I might be solving a design problem, or creating art. The other part of the job is working with people. It' s very collaborative (协作的). 

What makes a great game designer?

The best game designers are people who have a wide range of interests, because you want to bring those into games.  , but you might also be someone who loves painting or writing stories, or making music, or even just listening to music. For instance, I love listening to hip-hop and rap. Whatever your interests are, there is a space for that in games to tell these amazing new stories. 

  ?

I would love for my work to change the way people think about representation in games. I' m all about telling stories that make people feel seen. For me, growing up as a little brown girl, I didn' t see any characters who looked like me.  . 

What' s your advice for future game designers?

  , if you want to be a game designer. If you like writing stories, or you like drawing or painting or designing board games—whatever it is—there is a place for you in games. Don' t take no for an answer. That' s how I got to where I am. 

A. You might love playing games

B. How do you become a game designer

C. That' s something I really want to change

D. One minute, I might be fixing some code

E. What effect can you have as a game designer

F. What inspires you to start your own game-development company

G. I would say absolutely follow your passion and believe in yourself

One of the most productive architects of the 20th century, Frank Lloyd Wright had no shortage of ideas. Throughout his life, he designed 1,171 architectural works. Many of them, like the Guggenheim Museum and Fallingwater, were eventually built. But over half—660 to be exact—never moved beyond paper. Now, thanks to the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, we are finally getting a look at what his unbuilt architecture would have looked like. Working with digital artist David Romero, the organization has been building an impressive library of works that show Wright' s creative genius. 

The reasons that these pieces of incredible architecture were never built vary. Wright' s homage to his adopted home state of Arizona was rejected for several reasons. While Wright considered his avant-garde (前卫的) design for the Arizona State Capitol Building to be a gift to the city, officials felt otherwise. With a price of $5 million, too costly, he was passed over for the project. 

In the case of the cliffside (悬崖边) Morris House, it' s not completely clear why the family did not go with Wright' s design. But, in examining his ideas for the home, it' s clear that Wright successfully combines the architecture and nature. The design uses rounded forms that fit into the cliffs and merge the home and the natural surroundings. 

In 1947, he was asked to rebuild Roy Wetmore' s service station. What Wright provided was a futuristic design that included a ramp (斜坡) allowing a car to be displayed on the roof. Unfortunately, Wetmore wished to simply remodel the existing structure rather than demolish it and start over, so the project was never done. Later, Wetmore did incorporate the car ramp on the roof. 

Romero has been able to bring these ideas to life and give a new generation of architecture lovers a reminder of why Wright had such a long, influential career. 

During the Olympics in Paris, Volocopter, a German maker of electric aircraft, will launch a flying-taxi service, with a new generation of battery-powered flying machines designed for urban transport. 

The electrification of flight has often been considered a pipe dream, with batteries thought too heavy a substitute for fuel in a plane. Yet companies like Volocopter bet that electrification can unlock a demand for clean and quick aerial journeys over shorter distances. The main form of flying taxi under development, powered by batteries, is called eVTOL aircraft and looks like a super-sized drone, carrying one to four passengers, plus a pilot. Indeed, optimists hope the absence of traffic in the sky will make eVTOLs suitable for autonomous operation and for transporting goods. That vision has inspired predictions. Joby, a Silicon Valley startup, has already raised $2 billion from investors. Archer, another, hopes to have hundreds or thousands of its craft flying by the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. 

But the question is the cost. eVTOLs currently range in price from $1 million to $4 million. Although their cost may come down as the industry develops, they are likely to remain expensive. Brian Yutko, a maker backed by Boeing, says that flying-taxi rides will be accessible to the masses. Joby promises that its fares will be comparable to catching a taxi. Yet some studies suggest the cost could end up many times a regular taxi fare. Even without a pilot, flying taxis may remain a convenience affordable only to a lucky few. 

An alternative opportunity for electrification lies with small fixed-wing planes designed to transport a few dozen passengers over distances of a few hundred kilometres, for instance, between nearby cities. Last September Eviation, an Israeli company, successfully tested a nine-seater electric plane with a range of 400 km. 

According to statistics, air travel accounts for just 8% of journeys between 150 km and 800 km in America and 4% in Europe. Most such journeys are taken by car, even in Europe, where buses and trains are more available. That creates a big opportunity for environmentally friendly short-distance flights. Expect plenty more experiments with electric aircraft in the years ahead.