Benjamin West, the father of American painting, showed his talent for art when he was only six years of age. But he did not know about brushes before a visitor told him he needed one. In those days , a brush was made from camel's hair. There were no camels nearby. Benjamin decided that cat hair would work instead. He cut some fur from the family cat to make a brush.

    The brush did not last long. Soon Benjamin needed more fur. Before long, the cat began to look ragged （蓬乱）. His father said that the cat must be sick. Benjamin was forced to admit what he had been doing.

    The cat's lot was about to improve.  That year, one of Benjamin's cousins, Mr.Pennington, came to visit. He was impressed with Benjamin's drawings. When he went home, he sent Benjamin a box of paint and some brushes. He also sent six engravings （版画）by an artist. These were the first pictures and first real paint and brushes Benjamin had ever seen. In 1747，when Benjamin was nine years old，Mr.Pennington retured for another visit .He was amazed at what Benjamin had done with his gift.He asked  Benjamin's parents if he might take the boy to Philadelphia for a visit.

In the city, Mr.Pennington gave Benjamin materials for creating oil paintings.The boy began a landscape (风景) painting.Wiliams ,a well-known painter,came to see him work . Wiliams was impressed with Benjamin and gave him two classic books on painting to take home .The books were long and dull. Benjamin could read only a little,having been a poor student.But he later said,”Those two books were my companions by day,and under my pillow at night.”While it is likely that he understood very little of the books,they were his introduction to classical paintings.The nine-year-old boy decided then that he would be an artist.

    I walked to Mrs. Windsor's house and waited outside. She was working with another student, and I was not supposed to bother them by ringing the bell. I stood against the wall and daydreamed what I'd rather be doing. I had been tutored enough to read, understand, and even write some musical compositions, but I just didn't have a gift for it. Mrs. Windsor had offered to give me the lessons for free, so I felt my duty to try.

    The door opened and Wendy Barton came out. I walked in, sat down on the piano bench and began to sort through my sheet music. Today Mrs. Windsor introduced her niece Pasha to teach me. With a smile, Pasha sat beside me on the piano bench, opened my sheet music to the beginning page and asked me to play. I arranged my fingers on the keys. Then I frowned(皱眉) and concentrated to make the notes on the page match the finger movements. I had to admit I was a rather mechanical (呆板的) pianist.

    After about a page or two, Pasha gently put her hand on top of mine as if to calm my fingers. There was a long pause. "What are you hearing in the music?" I looked at her rather strangely and admitted I didn't know what she meant. "Like a story. Here, let me try and you listen," Pasha advised.

    She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting her fingers dance lightly over the keys. Then, she began to play. "See, it begins here beside some kind of river. Hear the water flowing beside you?"

    Her fingers rose and fell gently on the keys. "Now the princess appears and she's picking flowers from the water's edge." A happy piece of music filled the air in time to Pasha's dancing fingers. "Oh, but she slips!" The music changed. "And our princess is being carried off by the fast-flowing stream. Quickly, the princess' horse sees her plight (困境) and races to the river's edge where he swims out to let her catch hold of him. Luckily, they make it to the bank." Pasha said.

    I played many pieces of music that afternoon, finding the stories in the music and learning that sometimes it takes a friend to pull you out of the river onto dry land again.

    The most famous war movies reflect the American public's continuous fascination with World War II and the Vietnam War. Many movies of this kind have been well-received when they were first shown, but few of them have enjoyed lasting fame and popularity. The films on the list of the five most famous war movies still remain fresh and are popular among many people.

    Jon Hoffman was sitting at a red light when he saw a man run out of a store carrying a plastic donation jar full of cash. The Plano, Texas, detective, dressed in plain clothes but wearing his badge (徽章) and gun, caught the man and pinned him to the hood of his car. But Hoffman had trouble containing the thief, and they got into a struggle.

    "The detective has a martial arts background, and he said he thought the suspect must have a martial arts background, too, because he was able to break away so easily," a Plano police spokesperson said.

    The detective called out for help as a crowd gathered. Among those watching: Andre Harvey and Kirby Sample, two day laborers. Harvey did what has become common these days—he took out his phone and hit record. "I hate to say it, but I thought that this policeman was doing something illegal," Harvey said. "But when he asked for help, I thought, well, there won't be a shooting if I get over there in time.” Harvey jumped into action—while he was still recording the video—as did Sample.

    "Harvey caught hold of the suspect's arms, while Kirby seized his legs, and they were able to get the suspect to the ground to help Detective Hoffman put the handcuffs (手铐) on," said the police spokesperson. The 27-year-old suspect was charged with resisting arrest and other offenses. The charity jar he stole held less than $ 50.

    "I've been on the wrong side of the law several times in my life," Harvey told WFAA. "It feels good to be on the right side and do something positive."

    After the arrest, the three men got to know each other over steaks and ribs at a local steak house—Hoffman's treat, as a thank-you. But the rescuers say Hoffman deserves credit too. "It could have turned real ugly." Sample told the media "He handled himself like a real professional."

Earthquakes are common natural disasters. No matter where you are, knowing how to protect yourself and your family during an earthquake is necessary.

Some experts believe that when you feel the ground is shaking, drop down, take cover under a desk and hold on. Most earthquake injuries are the result of being hit by something falling on you. You should stay indoors until the shaking stops. If you are outdoors, don't stay near buildings, trees or power lines. Many people think that in case of an earthquake, they should "get under something" like a doorway or desk, in order to avoid being hurt by falling objects. Rescue experts now say this is the wrong thing to do. For example, in the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, they found hundreds of children in schools, crushed by their desks. However, they could have survived by lying in the aisle (通道，走道) next to their desks.

So find a nice piece of furniture, a chair, a sofa, and lie down, or curl up next to it. A falling roof may compact (压实) the furniture, but will still leave a space for you to survive next to it. This also holds true if you are in a hotel room, especially at night. Get off the bed, and lie down next to it.

In San Francisco's 1989 earthquake, the upper freeway fell on the lower one. People who drove along were crushed in their cars. But they had time to get out and lie down next to their cars. Yes, their cars were crushed, but there was space from top to bottom next to the vehicles for people to survive and wait a rescue.

Doorways and stairways are very unsafe. Stay away from those.

What can we do to keep ourselves safe? Staying calm is the first and most important rule when facing accidents.