Rainforests are thick forests in the hot parts of the world. It rains a lot and the ground is always wet. It’s always dark and hot in rainforests. Rainforests cover 6% of the earth’s surface. They provide (提供) places to live for thousands of plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth. There are lots of tall trees and other different kinds of plants. Thousands and thousands of animals live in rainforests. Many of them live in the trees over 30 meters from the ground.

Rainforests are very important to us. They are the lungs (肺部) of the earth. The plants in the forests help to make the air fresher and cleaner. They also help to hold the water when it rains and keep the water cycling (循环). They play an important part in controlling (控制) the climate. Rainforests also help to keep the beauty of nature. Without rainforests, many beautiful plants and animals would die out. Rainforests give us wood, food, fruit, medicine, and many more useful things. We need rainforests for many reasons. But now, rainforests are becoming smaller and smaller, so we should protect them.

In the future, we could all work and live in buildings with their own ecosystems (生态系统). They are made to produce more energy than they use.

Toby is an engineer from Europe. He has now made wonderful models, showing what this new building could look like.

He said he was suggested by a kind of tree to create the towers. The Hyperion, found in Northern California, is the tallest tree in the world, reaching 115m. The buildings will be 120m high and have 1,000 homes, offices and working spaces, gyms, restaurants and swimming pools.

Because of the ecosystems, the buildings will also make fewer diseases.

The buildings will have city farms and small animal farms producing eggs and milk. "Farming can bring methane (甲烷) that produces energy, and then the energy is supplied to homes," said Toby.

Toby has had many excellent designs (设计). At the end of last year, he also showed designs for eco-friendly (环保的) ocean buildings.

The eco-friendly buildings don't need coal or oil as they produce their own energy and heat.

The coffee shop Starbucks will give people a discount if they bring their own cups. It wants to cut down on the number of paper cups that are put in the rubbish bins. It is part of a two-month experiment in cafes in England. Starbucks wants to reduce waste and recycle more, The president of Starbucks in the UK said, "We are very happy to increase recycling rates(比率)，and reusable cups are a key part of our waste reduction plan." Bosses will decide later if they will continue the discounts. People who bring their own cups will not get a discount on the cafe's cheaper filter coffee.

The problem of paper cups has been in the news a lot. Around seven million cups are thrown away every day. Reporters say that some cafes lie about how many paper cups they recycle. The reporters say the cafes do not recycle as many cups as they say. Customers wrongly believe that a coffee shop is environmentally friendly. Less than one in 400 paper cups at coffee shops are recycled. A coffee drinker said she would bring her own cup. She said, "I am so sad that cafes recycle so little. I thought they were more responsible."