I'm Li Hua. Recently we had a discussion _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Yours sincerely，

Li Hua

   In the modern world，there is an unfortunate tendency to value profit over intelligence. People may know a practice is harmful，but continue to do it anyway because it produces an in-demand product. Fortunately，there are inventors who work tirelessly to develop more responsible solutions. Sally Fox is one such individual.

Before Fox's invention of Foxfibre cotton，naturally colored cotton could only be spun（纺线）by hand，which was such a long and laborious process that businesses chose to take white cotton，bleach（漂白）it，dye it and spin it on a machine. This produced the colored fabrics people wanted，but also created a lot of pollution through the bleaching and dying processes. Sadly，there weren't really any practical choices available until Sally Fox came along in the late 1980s and revolutionized the industry.

While working as a pollinator（传花粉者）for a cotton breeder looking to develop more pest-resistant plants，Fox began breeding brown and green cotton，picking out the best seeds that produced the longest fibres and replanting them year after year. Finally，she created two kinds of colored cotton that could be spun on a machine，and she purchased a small lot of land to grow them. Sally even received Plant Variety Protection Certificates for the new cotton.

By the early 1990s，Sally Fox had had a 10-million-dollar business that produced naturally colored cotton for major companies like Levi's，Esprit，Land's End and L. L. Bean. It was a more environmentally friendly product that was also turning a profit. After globalization forced most of the spinning mills（工厂）to South America and Southeast Asia，Fox's business took a hit，but she continues to make new naturally colored cotton to this day. Each new color takes about 10 years to produce—but，for Sally Fox，the patience is worth the payoff.

   Trying to fight against the nation's food waste problem，Denmark opened the world's first supermarket that sells expired（到期的）or damaged products.

Ever since it was opened in Copenhagen，people have been standing in line outside WeFood for a chance to buy discounted items that would otherwise have ended up being rubbish because of damaged packing or very short use-by dates. Food，cosmetics，and other household items at WeFood are priced at least 30% to 50% lower than those at regular stores.

It's foolish to throw away or let food go to waste," said Hansen, former Minister for Food and Environment." It's bad for the environment and obviously it is money spent on nothing. A supermarket like WeFood makes so much sense and is an important step in the battle to fight against food waste."

While Denmark alone is said to waste about 700,000 tons of food this year, the United Nations has stated that globally, food waste adds up to 1.3 billion tons. It is really shocking, considering that about795million people in the world are still short of food. Denmark, however, has taken measures. As a result, it wastes 25% less food than it did five years ago.

The We Food project is cooperation between the Food Bank and Dan Church Aid. Together they have collected over s 150，000 over the past years. They faced many problems while convincing the government to permit the sale of expired or damaged products. They were finally allowed to carry out the project，and the store is now specially run by volunteers. The money it earns is used to provide funds（基金）for Dan Church Aid's other projects in developing nations.

If We Food can successfully maintain its goods deliveries and remain popular in the long term，Dan Church Aid plans to open many other branches across Denmark.

   Blind people can read. They do so by running their fingers along a line of raised points or dots on paper. Of course, they first have to learn the code（代码）. Here are some examples of it. One dot stands for the letter “A”. Two dots side by side mean “C”. Four dots arranged to look like a box（：：） stand for the letter “G”. By placing the dots in special patterns, all the letters of the alphabet can be formed.

This code was made up by a Frenchman called Louis Braille. Though he could see at birth, he became sightless when he was only three. Braille was cutting leather in his father’s shop. His knife slipped and cut his eye. Infection（感染）spread to both eyes, and he became blind.

At 10, he was placed in a home for the blind. But young Braille had great talent. He became a skilled musician and soon got a job as a church organist（风琴弹奏者）in Paris.

Because he had talent and was quick, he became a teacher at a school for the blind. While there, he heard that a captain had sent messages to his soldiers that they could read at night without light. His messages were in the simple form of raised dots and dashes. This was the clue Braille needed. At the age of 15, he worked out his own six-dot code. Each group of dots is called a cell. The cells are three dots high and two dots wide. For the rest of his life, Braille taught his young flock to read both written and musical works using his code.

For the last 17 years of his life, Braille was ill with tuberculosis. He died at the age of 43.

   Researchers are placing robotic dogs in the homes of lonely old people to determine whether they can improve the quality of life for humans. Alan Beck, an expert in the human-animal relationship, and Nancy Edwards, a professor of nursing, are leading the animal-assisted study concerning the influence of robotic dogs on old people’s depression, physical activity, and life satisfaction. “No one will argue that an older person is better off being more active, challenged, or stimulated (刺激), ”Edwards points out. “The problem is how we promote that, especially for those without friends or help. A robotic dog could be a solution.”

In the study, the robotic dogs, called AIBO, are placed for six weeks in the houses of some old people who live alone. Before placing AIBO in the home, researchers will collect data for six weeks. These old people will keep a diary to note their feelings and activities before and after AIBO being placed. Then, the researchers will study the data to determine if it has inspired any changes in the life of its owner.

“I talk to it all the time, and it responds (回应) to my voice,” says a seventy-year-old lady. “When I’m watching TV, it’ll stay in my arms until it wants to go down. It has a mind of its own.”

The AIBOs respond to certain orders. The researchers say they have some advantages over live dogs, especially for old people. Often the elderly are disabled and cannot care for an animal by walking it or playing with it. A robotic dog removes exercise and feeding concerns.

“At the beginning, it was believed that no one would relate to the robotic dog because it is metal and not furry,” Beck says. “But it’s amazing how quickly we have given up that belief.”

“Hopefully, down the road, these robotic pets could become a more valuable health helper. They will record their masters’ blood pressure, oxygen levels, or heart rhythms. AIBOs may even one day have games that can help stimulate older people’s minds.”