Andy never wanted to go to bed on time. His parents had explained to him how important it was to go to bed early and get a good rest. But Andy paid no attention to them, and they didn't know what to do until one weekend when they were visiting Andy's grandparents.

    Grandpa Peter heard all about it and said, "This sounds like a job for Tubby." So Andy's parents loaded the cat onto the car and returned home.

That night, at bedtime, the same problem happened. Andy didn't want to go to bed, and even though his parents waited a while to see if Tubby would solve the problem, nothing happened.

    Hours later, Andy finally decided to go to bed. But what a surprise when he entered his bedroom! Tubby was in his bed, totally sprawling out, pot-belly in the air, and snoring like an express train.

    Andy tried to move the cat, but there was no way of moving him an inch. That night he hardly slept, lying on one tiny corner of his bed.

    The next day the same thing happened, even though Andy was much more tired from not having slept well. When the third day arrived, he had understood that if he wanted to sleep in his bed, he would have to get into it before Tubby did. That night, when his parents only started to mention the topic of bedtime, Andy rushed upstairs and dived into bed. His parents could not believe it. They knew nothing about Tubby in the bed, nor did they understand why Andy went to bed on time without complaint. They were so happy about this that they stayed up quite late, celebrating.

    New Yorkers and visitors to the Big Apple will get to ring in the Lunar New Year，also known as Chinese New Year in the U．S．，in style with a fireworks display on the Hudson River set to music written by Academy Award﹣winning composer Tan Dun．

    The display is part of the second annual"Happy Chinese New Year：Fantastic Art China"festival held in New York on February 5﹣10，2016．The China Central Academy of Fine Arts （CAFA），the U．S．﹣China Cultural Institute and the Cultural Associate of the Committee of 100announced this year's events on November 18at a press conference at the Lincoln Center．

    The"Fantastic Art China"festival will feature a larger and more diverse series of artistic and cultural events across New York's top cultural venues （地点） and landmarks，including the Lincoln Center，Empire State Building and Jacob K．Javits Convention Center．

    This year's theme focuses on exploring the complicated relationship between sound and image，said Professor Yu Ding from CAFA，who is also president of Fantastic Art China and in charge of the festival's design．Lunar New Year，which celebrates the"Year of the Monkey"in 2016，is an opportunity to bring China's modern art to mainstream America，and the festival serves as  an innovative approach to establishing cultural exchange between China and New York City，Yu said．

    UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Tan Dun's music is a new edition that will be featured  at several venues，including a major art exhibition at the Javits Center，events at the Lincoln Center and the fireworks display on the Hudson，which will take place on the evening of February 6．Five barges （游艇） on the river will launch the fireworks designed by CAFA that will tell a story about celebration and conservation．

    "We Chinese are fond of nature，so the best way to celebrate the Lunar New Year is to salute with the sounds of nature，such as sounds of water，stone and bamboo，"said Tan Dun at the press conference，"And it will be fun to use the music of water during the firework display．"

    In addition to the fireworks，a special lighting show at the Empire State Building will illuminate New York City during the holiday．

    Chinese New Year is being recognized as a public school holiday for the first time in New York．Children from the National Dance Institute，which represents 75schools，will perform traditional Chinese dances at the Lincoln Center and the Javits Center．And，in celebration of the"Year of the Monkey"events will feature a conservation message about the endangered golden monkey in China．

Dear God,

    Now that I am no longer young. I have friends whose mothers have passed away. I have heard these sons and daughters say they never fully thanked their mothers until it was too late to tell them.

    I am blessed with the dear mother who is still alive. I appreciate her devotion more each day. My mother does not change, but I do. As I grow older and wiser, I realize what an extraordinary person she is. It's sad that I am unable to say these words in her presence, but they flow easily from my pen.

    How does a daughter begin to thank her mother for life itself? For the love, patience and just plain hard work that go into raising a child? For running after a toddler（学步儿童）, for understanding a moody teenager, and for tolerating a college student who knows everything? For wailing for the day when the daughter realizes what her mother really is?

    How does a grown woman thank a mother for continuing to be a mother? For being ready with advice when asked or remaining silent when it is needed? For not saying “I told you so.” when she could have voiced these words dozens of times? For being essentially herself－loving, thoughtful, patient and forgiving?

    I don't know how to thank her, dear God, except to bless her and live up to the example she has set. I pray that I will look as good in the eyes of my children as my mother looks in mine.

    Emily Urich 18 years old Canada

    A 1ot of teens aren't responsible, and that's where I'm different. Not just about school but everyday things, like being able to pay my own credit card(信用卡)bills on time.

    The first time I got a cartoon book was on my third birthday. From then on, I fell in deep love with it. And can you guess how many cartoon books I've read? I don't really know the exact number. But I have three full boxes of them under my bed.

    Joe Miller 16 years old America

    I'm proud of doing things in my own way. So whenever somebody wants me to do something or whatever it is, I feel like they're all other people's thoughts, not really mine. But like others, I love reading, too.

    When I first took skiing lessons, I found it exciting. For skiing racing, there's no question that I'm better than most boys. I think it's fun. I mean, it is a challenge. It's where I picked up the idea of needing a challenge always in my life. In order to improve my skiing skills, I have read many books and magazines about it.

    An Qi 15 years old China

    I'm different because I prefer to drop out of the world to create my own world. I'd like to build a house on a mountain. And I choose to live without electricity, a telephone, or even indoor plumbing(水管装置).

    I have many hobbies such as traveling, reading, writing and spending time with children. I love children because they are smart and creative. They always have many strange ideas. It makes me excited.

    I want to do something for Hope Project and become a country school teacher.

    A MENTORING (导师制) program is giving life changing opportunities to Banbury youth.

    Young Inspirations was founded two years ago to provide mentoring sessions for students and unemployed young adults aged 11 to 21.

    Alex Goldberg, the program's founder, said: "We set up Young Inspirations because we wanted to give young people experiences which will potentially be life changing and broaden their outlook.

    "We try to create work experience opportunities that will really make a difference to our youth. For example, we've secured internships (实习) with world­famous firms such as Honda."

    "At a time of funding cutbacks where schools are finding it more and more difficult to offer this kind of mentoring, it is extremely important that these opportunities are available both to help youth with their school work and grades and to give them opportunities which may help shape their futures." Kieran Hepburn, 14, is one of a group of Banbury youth who has benefited from the program so far. In October the Banbury School pupil was accompanied by Young Inspirations staff to Paris where he was an observer at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) International Youth Forum (论坛).

    The event was held for young people from around the world, to seek their views on how the future of youth and education should look. Kieran joined several hundred observers mostly in their 20s and was the only UK school pupil to attend the event. Kieran thinks the trip was a life changing experience. "Before we left I didn't quite know what to make of it but when we got there we didn't stop, it was amazing, " he said, "We went to three or four hours of debates each day and then did something cultural each afternoon."

    The main theme of the forum was how youth can drive change in political and public life. It dealt with issues (问题) such as drug abuse, violence and unemployment.

    Kieran said: "It has really helped me to improve my confidence and social skills as well as my school grades and I was voted most improved pupil at school in August."

    The Young Inspirations mentoring sessions take place each Friday in Banbury. For details visit www.younginspirations.com.

About us

    Family, Career and Community Leaders of America ( FCCLA) is a non-profit national career and technical students organization for young men and women in Family and Consumer Sciences education in public and private school through grade 12. Since 1945，FCCLA has  been making a difference in their families, careers and communities by addressing important issues through Family and Consumer Science education.

    Mission (任务)

    To promote personal growth and leadership development through Family and Consumer Science education. Focusing on the various roles of family members, wage earners and community leaders, members develop skills for life through: character development, creative thinking, interpersonal communication, practical knowledge and career preparation.

Purposes

    To provide opportunities for personal development and preparation for adult life.

    To strengthen the function of family as a basic unit of society.

    To promote greater understanding between youth and adults.

    To provide opportunities for making decisions.

    To prepare for the various roles of men and women in today's society.

Membership

    FCCLA has a national membership of over 205, 000 young men and women in nearly 6, 500 chapters. There are 50 associations. Since its founding in 1945, it has involved more than 9，000, 000 youth.

     Financial (资金）and Cooperative Support

     FCCLA is supported primarily by student membership dues. Additional money comes from individuals and businesses. It is supported by the US Department of Education artd the America Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS).

National Publications

    Teen Times, the official magazine of FCCLA, is published once every three months during the school year and sent to its members. The national staff also publishes a variety of other resource materials for members and adult leaders.