Modern graffiti began in big cities in the United States in the 1970s. In New York, young people wrote their names, or 'tags', in pen on walls around the city.

    One of the first 'taggers' was a teenager called Demetrius. His tag was TAKI 183. He wrote his tag on walls and in stations in New York. He did it just for fun and he had never imagined his behavior would have launched an amazing art campaign. Other teenagers saw Demetrius's tag and started writing their tags too. Soon, there were tags on walls, buses and trains all over New York.

    Then, some teenagers started writing their tags with aerosol paint. Their tags were bigger and more colourful. Aerosol paint graffiti became very popular in the 1970s and 1980s. It appeared on trains, buses and walls around the world.

    In the 1990s and 2000s, a lot of graffiti artists started painting pictures. Some artists' pictures were about politics. Other artists wanted to make cities beautiful and painted big, colorful pictures on city walls.

    In some countries, writing or painting on walls is a crime. Sometimes, graffiti artists have problems with the police. In other countries, artists can draw and paint in certain places. For example, in Taiwan, there are 'graffiti zones' where artists can paint on walls. In São Paulo in Brazil, street artists can paint pictures on walls and houses. Their pictures are colorful and beautiful. Some tourists visit São Paulo just to see the street art!

    In Bristol in the UK, there is a street art festival in August every year. Artists paint all the buildings in a street. Lots of people come to watch the artists and take photos. You can see exhibitions of street art in some galleries too. There have been exhibitions of street art in galleries in Paris, London and Los Angeles.

    A bookseller in Chongqing has been leaving novels on trains and at stations to inspire more commuters(上下班往返的人)to read, after seeing British actress Emma Watson take part in a similar project in London.

    Author and bookstore owner Jiang Lin, 29, randomly placed 40 works along the city's light-rail system on Sunday. Whoever finds a book can read it in public or take it home, but they are encouraged to leave it again on public transportation once they have finished with it. Jiang said, “I considered the needs of commuters," he said. "I hope strangers can feel comforted by the books and feel connected with other readers."

    All 40 books were chosen from Jiang's store, Razor's Edge Book Club, which he opened in the summer, and included fiction and nonfiction, with topics ranging from art and social sciences to philosophy and history Jiang's Books on the Chongqing Light Rail project follows the same model as Books on the Underground, which was started in 2012 and sees “book fairies” leave works on London Tube trains and at stations. Readers are encouraged to share their views on the books. It was revealed on Nov. 1 that Watson, who is best-known for the Harry Potter movie series, is a book fairy.

    “After I read the news about her leaving books on the London Tube, I was so inspired that I immediately decided to do something over the weekend,” Jiang said. However, his decision was so spontaneous that he had no time to make the stickers that are usually placed on each book to identify them as part of the project . Instead, he put a note on the fly page to introduce the concept.

    To his surprise, one of his friends was among those who found his books and posted a picture on WeChat Moments, a social media function on the instant-messaging app. Jiang said more than 20 people have since come onboard and are now working on a more detailed than to spread the love of reading. Although increasing numbers of people read on digital devices, books have not totally gone out of fashion. Jiang mentioned that they needed the support from Chonqing Light Rail Co. to ensure the books to stay there and also hoped the project could be welcomed across the country.

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    If you thought helicopter parents were too much, wait till you learn about “lawnmower (割草机) parents”. These are the next generation of helicopter parents, who take over-parenting to the next level. Rather than staying overhead in the air, these parents actively prepare the way for their children to succeed, cushioning every bump along the way.

    Their goal is to create a soft, even surface onto which their child will proceed, free from harm and worry. They get involved before problems reach their child, sometimes even going to immoral lengths, such as writing college papers for a child who's running out of time.

    One teacher told the Irish Times: “These days you would often hear from a mother or father insisting their child be put in the top math class, for example. Self-esteem (respect) is the buzzword (popular word). They feel it would harm their child's confidence. The irony is their self-esteem would be damaged far more by sending them into a class where they can't catch up with others.

    It's not children who are out of control. It's parents. There will come a point when these children won't have parents on which to depend, and then how are they going to function? It's frightening, too, to imagine these children becoming adults and attempting to raise families of their own. They would hardly be capable of teaching independence, confidence, work ethic, and discipline to their own children if they've never learned it themselves.

    At the end of the TIME article, Gibbs shared a wonderful quote from writer D.H. Lawrence, written in 1918: “How to begin to educate a child. First rule: leave him alone. Second rule: leave him alone. Third rule: leave him alone. That is the whole beginning.

Making Peace with Your Parents

    As a teen, you're going through big changes physically and mentally. Your interests are increasing.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Here is the challenge: Kids need to explore the world in new ways, and parents need to protect them from the dangers that are all out in that world. These conflicts can easily set off fireworks in otherwise calm houses. Sometimes conflicts can't be avoided. But by paying attention to the building blocks of successful relationships, you can work towards making home a happy and healthy place for you and your parents.

    For example, try to find a time to talk when your parents are not angry, tired, distracted or hungry. A good time to talk is when you're all relaxed. Timing is everything if the conversation begins to turn into an argument, you'd better calmly and coolly ask to stop the conversation for now.{#blank#}2{#/blank#} Listen to what your parents are saying, and repeat it back to them. This shows them that you're listening. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Respect is the building block of good communication. People who respect each other and care about each others' feelings can disagree without getting things ugly.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} How do you build trust? Trust comes by actually doing what you say you're going to do. Some teens find that doing fun activities with their parents can improve their relationships. Sometimes we forget that parents are more than rule-maker—they're interesting people who like to watch movies and go shopping—just like their teenagers!

    What do you do if you are trying your best, but your relationship with your parents continues to be rocky?{#blank#}5{#/blank#}You can find supportive adults, such as a teacher or a coach, who can lend an ear. Remember you can only change your own behavior. Your parents are the only ones who can change theirs.

A. You may consider seeking outside help.

B. And then you'll be able to accept what your parents say.

C. You can pick it up again when everyone's more relaxed.

D. Faced with the challenge, children don't know what to do.

E. And your desire to take control of your own life is growing.

F. It also gives them a chance to clear things up if you're not on the same page.

G. You are more likely to get along with your parents and have more independence if your parents believe in you.

    It is the ideal way for traveler to ensure they wake up with the perfect view — a portable Eco-capsule that can be set up anywhere in the world. The egg-shaped pod (独立舱) ensures travelers can camp in the most extreme corners with all the luxury of a hotel room.

    Looking like something in a sci-fi movie, the pod is equipped with solar panels, which guarantee solar energy as its power. In this way the tiny home can let you live comfortably wherever you travel. It even has its own shower and toilet, sleeping area for two, and a small kitchen. The 3,306 ib pods can be transported in a sea-container, meaning the possibilities are endless.

    Bratislava-based Nice Architects are behind the extraordinary Eco-capsules and said they initially designed them for people who stay in the nature for a long time. However, it quickly became apparent that they could be opened up to the wider public and even used in urban areas to fight against high rent and placed on roofs for studio space or living quarters. The Eco-capsule can serve as a cottage, a pop-up hotel or even as a charging station for electric cars.

The Eco-capsules could even be quickly imported for housing for emergency teams who have been quickly arranged to help with natural disasters. Described by the website as a "Swiss Army knife" — it packs everything you need, the self-contained unit can sustain long periods of time without external resources.

    The 86 sqft pods are able to sleep two people for up to year and for those worried about a cold night's sleep, the Eco-capsule has a thick layer which significantly reduce heat loss.

    The pod is designed to cope with extreme weather conditions due to its innovative (创新的) design and materials used. No wonder the Nice Architects are so confident about its future and the producers are receiving heavy orders.

    People have been wondering why elephants do not develop cancer even though they have lifespans (寿命) that are similar to humans, jiving for around 50 to 70 years.

    Now scientists believe they know why. A team at the University of Chicago, US has found that elephants carry a large number of genes that stop tumors (肿瘤) developing. To be precise, they found 20 copies of an anti-tumor gene called TP53 in elephants. Most other species, including humans, only carry one copy.

    According to the research, the extra copies of the gene improved the animal's sensitivity to DNA damage, which lets the cells quickly kill themselves when damaged before they can go on to form deadly tumors.

    "An increased risk of developing cancer has stood in the way of the evolution of large body sizes in many animals," the study author Dr Vincent Lynch told The Guardian. If every living cell has the same chance of becoming cancerous (癌变的), large creatures with a long lifespan like whales and elephants should have a greater risk of developing cancer than humans and mice. But across species, the risk of cancer does not show a connection with body mass.

    This phenomenon was found by Oxford University scientist Richard Peto in the 1970s and later named "Peto's paradox (悖论)”". Biologists believe it results from larger animals using protection that many smaller animals do not. In the elephant's case, the making of TP53 is nature's way of keeping this species alive.

    The study also found that when the same genes were brought to life in mice, they had the same cancer resistance as elephants. This means researchers could use the discovery to develop new treatments that can help stop cancers spreading or even developing in the first place.

    "Nature has already figured out how to prevent cancer," said Joshua Schiffman, a biologist at the School of Medicine, University of Utah, US. "It's up to us to learn how different animals deal with the problem so that we can use those strategies to prevent cancer in people."