Everyone in the seaside town knows that Fliss has a special bond with her dog Molly. They work together, live together, and play together. The Labrador is literally at Fliss’s side all the time. If a person spent this much time with a friend, they would probably have fallen out by now, but the bond between Molly and her owner just gets stronger over time.

Fliss grew up in the city. In 2017, she moved to the seaside where she opened a bath and skincare shop. Upon arrival, she couldn’t believe how much litter was left “senselessly” on the beach. In fact, she was shocked and appalled by the “unavoidable” amount of litter she found while taking Molly for walks. Being a person who cares a lot about her surroundings, Fliss decided that she had to do something about it before the tide carried the litter into the sea, threatening marine life.

One day, while collecting litter on the beach, Fliss saw Molly running towards her with an empty water bottle in her mouth. As Molly drew near, she dropped the bottle at Fliss’s feet and set out to find other waste. This gave Fliss an idea: what if she could train Molly to find all those plastic bottles and bags, and make good use of them?

The training started and Fliss was surprised at how fast Molly learned. Before long, the clever girl would venture to the seaside on her own and come home with her “prize”. She had soon filled Fliss’s house with pieces of rubbish from the local beach. At one point, Fliss’s garage was 60% filled with beach litter waiting to be distributed to local artists for use in their artwork.

When Fliss heard paws on the door the other day, she went to greet her good girl as usual. To her surprise, she saw Molly carrying a small plastic purse in her mouth. Fliss opened the purse and gasped. Inside was a passport, several credit cards, and a bunch of keys.

Fliss immediately took the purse to the local police station.

Three days later, a journalist called at Fliss’s shop.

Ban the Bag!

Standing in line at the grocery store last week, I watched the woman in front of me buy a tube of toothpaste. As the clerk placed her purchase in a plastic bag, I couldn’t help wondering how long it would take for that bag to end up in the trash. Then I noticed the big purse the woman was carrying and wondered why she had needed a plastic bag at all.

People have come to rely on plastic bags as everything from shopping bags for groceries to trash-can bags. Although plastic bags can be recycled, only about one percent of those used in the United States are. Instead, after helping people transport items from one place to another, most are thrown away. They end up in landfills, where it can take a plastic bag up to a thousand years to decay. Some bags end up elsewhere in the environment, sticking to trees and fences, blocking rivers and oceans, or floating along city sidewalks.

Plastic bags harm the environment in several ways. First, they break down into particles that pollute our soil and water. Because most plastic bags are made of polyethylene, a product derived from crude oil (原油) or natural gas, they waste nonrenewable resources. Plastic bags can also harm animals. Scientists estimate that more than one million sea animals, including whales, seabirds, and turtles, die each year from intaking or becoming stranded in plastic.

People all over the world are starting to recognize the problems associated with plastic bags. Countries such as China, South Africa, Switzerland, and Uganda are taking action and banning the bags. Other nations, including Italy and Ireland, have been trying to restrict the use of plastic bags by taxing them. In the United States more and more communities are ridding themselves of plastic bags. Now more and more people are also purchasing inexpensive, reusable bags and using them when they shop. If we all take this simple step, we can be a part of a “green” revolution.

在学习global warming之后请你谈谈对the warming of the earth的认识，并谈谈作为一名在校高二学生你应该做哪些事情来保护环境。（至少三件事）

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