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Supplementary materials

1. Background information

The blue recycling bin

A recycling bin (or recycle bin) is a container used to hold recyclables before they are taken to recycling centers. Recycling bins exist in various sizes for use in homes, offices, and large public facilities. Many recycling bins are designed to be easily recognizable, and are marked with slogans promoting recycling on a blue or green background along with the universal recycling symbol. While there is no universal standard, the color blue is commonly used to indicate a bin is for recycling in public settings.

2. Language points

1) ... make your life more comfortable and, more importantly, save our environment. (Para 1)

插入语，对并列谓语save our environment进行补充说明，说明其比第一个谓语make your life more comfortable更为重要。

2) Buying local means supporting the local economy and reducing the greenhouse gas emissions required to get food from its origin to your plate.

(Para 2)

buying local：buying local products购买本地产品

Paraphrase：If you buy local food and products, you will support local economy on the one hand; On the other hand, you can reduce the greenhouse gas emissions since foreign food and products requires a long distance of transportation.

结构：语句的主语和宾语分别由V-ing短语buying local和supporting...、reducing...充当，谓语为means；过去分词短语required to get food from its origin to your plate做gas emission的后置修饰语。

3) to keep ... off/out of ... (Para 2)

to prevent something from touching or harming something使避开，使远离

e.g. Keep the flies off the food. 别让苍蝇飞近食物。

4) anytime (Para 3)  conj. 连接时间状语从句，类似的还有next time, every/each time, the first time等

e.g. You can come round here anytime you want. 任何时候你都可以走访这里。

  Next time a customer comes to your office, offer him a cup of coffee.

顾客再来你办公室时，给他倒杯咖啡。

5) slow (Para 3)  v. also slow down if you slow something or it slows, you reduce the speed at which is happens（使）慢下来，（使）缓行：

e.g. An accident is slowing traffic. 事故使车辆行驶缓慢。

   Inflation slowed significant in the 90s. 90年代通货膨胀大幅降低。

6) When you do drive, make sure... (Para 3)

do  aux. verb 1) used for emphasis（助动词）用于强调表示肯定的陈述

e.g. I did lock the door. I’m absolutely sure. 我确实锁了门，绝对肯定。

2) used when you are politely trying to persuade someone to do something用于礼貌的劝说

e.g. Do be quite! 请保持安静！

7) Do you make proper use of the blue recycling bin? (Para 5)

make use of：to use someone or something for a particular purpose, esp. one that brings a benefit to you利用，使用

e.g. We’ll make use of her vast experience.我们将利用她丰富的经验。

make good/proper use of 好好利用

e.g. I hope you’ve made good use of your time.我希望你已充分利用你的时间。

3.  Extensive Reading

The 3R's of the Environment

Every year, Americans throw away 50 billion food and drink cans, 27 billion glass bottles and jars, and 65 million plastic and metal jar and can covers. More than 30% of our waste is packaging materials. Where does it all go? Some 85% of our garbage is sent to a dump, or landfill, where it can take from 100 to 400 years for things like cloth and aluminum to decompose. Glass has been found in perfect condition after 4,000 years in the earth! We are quickly running out of space. It's time to learn the three R's of the environment: reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Reduce

Reducing the amount of waste you produce is the best way to help the environment. There are lots of ways to do this. For example:

• Buy      products that don't have a lot of packaging. Some products are wrapped in      many layers of plastic and paperboard even though they don't need to be.      You can also look for things that are packed in materials that don't      require a lot of energy or resources to produce. Some products will put      that information right on their labels.

• Instead      of buying something you're not going to use very often, see if you can      borrow it from someone you know.

• Cars      use up energy and cause pollution. Some ways to reduce the environmental      damage caused by cars include carpooling with friends, walking, taking the      bus, or riding your bike instead of driving.

• Start      a compost bin. Some people set aside a place in their yard where they can      dispose of certain food and plant materials. Over time, the materials will      break down through a natural process called decomposition. The compost is      good for the soil in your yard and means that less garbage will go to the      landfill.

• You      can reduce waste by using a computer! Many newspapers and magazines are      online now. Instead of buying the paper versions, you can find them on the      Internet. Also remember that you should print out only what you need.      Everything you print that you don't really need is a waste of paper.

• Save      energy by turning off lights that you are not using.

• Save      water by turning off the faucet while you brush your teeth.

Reuse

Instead of throwing things away, try to find ways to use them again! For example:

• Bring cloth sacks to the store with      you instead of taking home new paper or plastic bags. You can use these      sacks again and again. You'll be saving some trees!

• Plastic containers and reusable      lunch bags are great ways to take your lunch to school without creating      waste.

• Coffee cans, shoe boxes, margarine      containers, and other types of containers people throw away can be used to      store things or can become fun arts and crafts projects. Use your      imagination!

• Don't throw out clothes, toys,      furniture, and other things that you don't want anymore. Somebody else can      probably use them. You can bring them to a center that collects donations,      give them to friends, or even have a yard sale.

• Use all writing paper on both      sides.

• Use paper grocery bags to make book      covers rather than buying new ones.

• Use silverware and dishes instead      of disposable plastic utensils and plates.

• Store food in reusable plastic      containers.

Recycle

Many of the things we use every day, like paper bags, soda cans, and milk cartons, are made out of materials that can be recycled. Recycled items are put through a process that makes it possible to create new products out of the materials from the old ones.

In addition to recycling the things you buy, you can help the environment by buying products that contain recycled materials. Many brands of paper towels, garbage bags, greeting cards, and toilet paper, to name a few examples, will tell you on their labels if they are made from recycled materials.

In some towns you can leave your recyclables in bins outside your home, and a truck will come and collect them regularly. Other towns have recycling centers where you can drop off the materials you've collected. Things like paper and plastic grocery bags, and plastic and aluminum cans and bottles can often be brought to the grocery store for recycling. Whatever your system is, it's important to remember to rinse out and sort your recyclables!