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.

    Sharon, Aged 22

    The most important thing to keep in mind when going into high school is to be yourself. Besides, I don't know what your middle school was like, but high school teachers will not care about things such as how much homework you already have in one night. It's best to just learn to deal with things and manage your time wisely so you can achieve everything you need to.

    Frank, Aged 21

    I think almost every kid feels both nervous and excited before their first day. You will probably love it. I know I did. You should join some sports or activities that will make your high school experience more enjoyable.

    Good luck!

    Eddie, Aged 20

    When I started high school I was really nervous too, especially since I had been homeschooled all through middle school and didn't really know anyone. I suppose the best advice would be to just relax. The first couple of days can be a little bit hard, but things will become easier before you know it.

    David, Aged 19

    I am not going to lie. The first day is kind of frightening. But you'll get used to it. Don't be afraid of anyone; upperclassmen will pick on you more if you let them know you're afraid. Just take it easy. Making some friends and staying with them will greatly help you get used to high school quickly. After the first week it's really not bad at all. Don't worry.

    Kettle's Yard, Cambridge

    This modern-art gallery in a Victorian house was founded in the 1950s by Tate Jim and reopened in February following a two-year redevelopment by Jamie Fobert Architects, the team behind the 2017 Tate Steves extension. This means a new cafe, a four-floor education wing and improved gallery space that can accommodate more visitors. The gallery's permanent collection includes works by Joan Miró, Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth.

    Being Brunel, Bristol

    To celebrate the life and work of famous civil engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunei, Being Brunei will open in March on Bristol's harbourside. The museum will include a range of interactive and entertaining exhibits, including talking portraits of his friends and family and personal possessions, including an 1821 school report. It is a good place for families to strengthen connections.

    Royal Academy of Arts, London

    The RA reopens on 19 May for its 250th anniversary, following a £50m renovation (翻新) with a gallery and expanded exhibition programme. These will include three day-lit galleries, which will host exhibitions with a focus on contemporary art and architecture. The grand frontwall of the Burlington Gardens building has also been restored—possibly the first time it's had a proper clean in its 150 year history.

    V&A, Dundee

    One of the most significant new openings of the year will be Scotland's first design museum and also the first V&A anywhere outside of London on 15 September. The museum building sits on the river Tay. It will celebrate Scottish design and objects in its collection.

    Bees may soon need to add protein shakes to their diet. Pollen (花粉) normally provides their protein (蛋白质). But rising levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the air have reduced the protein in pollen. That's what a new study finds.

    Scientists compared recently collected flowers from Canada goldenrod. Then they compared pollen in them to pollen in goldenrod reserved at a museum in Washington, DC. They found today's plants have less protein. Protein levels in pollen from the older flowers were 18 percent. Today's goldenrod pollen has only about 12 percent protein. That's about one-third less than 172 years ago. Over that same period, CO₂ levels have gone up by more than one-third. Back more than 170 years ago, they were about 280 parts per million in air. Today they are about 398 ppm.

    To test whether CO₂ changes had played a role in the falling protein levels, the researchers did some tests. They grew goldenrod for two years at CO₂ levels of up to 500 ppm. More CO₂ in the air led to lower levels of protein in the flowers' pollen.

    Joan Edwards, one of the researchers, says that this drop in pollen protein could affect a bee's diet and health. It would be like eating junk food, tasting good but offering less nutrition (营养).

    Honeybees need to eat lots of protein. They use it to feed their young. They also need it to keep their immune systems healthy, says Cédric Alaux, a bee biologist at the French agricultural research agency.

    Bee populations have been decreasing worldwide in recent years. A drop in their food quality might play a role, Edwards says. And that drop might affect crops too. "The health of the bee population is not just for the flowers and the bees and biodiversity." She worries it also could play a role in "human health and well-being."

    Eight years ago, Special Olympics Georgia Forsyth County was introduced to Britt Hall. Britt Hall is a Special Olympics Georgia athlete. "The first sport I started competing in with Special Olympics Georgia was softball. I was with the Forsyth Golden Gloves, and we were a pretty good team," said Britt as he looked back upon his first state game.

Since then, the athlete has competed in much more than softball. Britt has gone on to compete in bocce, basketball, athletics, table tennis, volleyball and flag football during his Special Olympics Georgia career (职业生涯). And he performed well in these games. "Athletics has always been one of his favorite sports to compete in," said Britt's father. "He likes the different competitions within athletics, especially the races (赛跑). "

    "I like athletics, but I am excited for flag football this year. We are going to play just as well as the Falcons," Britt said. This year, Britt and his teammates will be returning to Emory University as the Special Olympics Georgia Forsyth County Mean Machine, one of the two flag football teams from Special Olympics Georgia Forsyth County. Despite the word "mean" being in their name, Britt says that their aim is not to be mean to their competitors. "We want to win the gold, but we want to be nice to the other teams and encourage them. They are our friends and have worked just as hard as we have for the state competitions," Britt explained.

    While athletes are encouraged to try their very best and go for the gold, Special Olympics Georgia centers on sportsmanship and friendship during competitions. Britt has always been a good team player, but he is also very competitive. Special Olympics Georgia has helped him gain confidence as an athlete, which shows him how to cheer on his teammates and the opposing athletes.

    "I've learned a lot from being in Special Olympics Georgia. I think there is a lesson for everyone who competes," said Britt.

    History is full of tales of great ideas taking shape in sleeping minds; Paul McCartney said that he awoke with the tune of Yesterday in his head, and Robert Louis Stevenson said that the idea for The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde came to him in a dream.

    Scientists believe that the mind at night puts together bits of information in creative ways. Throughout the day your brain rarely gets a chance to stop and think. It constantly responds to a stream of challenges, from writing a report for a work deadline to remembering where you left your car keys and figuring out what to buy for dinner.

    "Think of your brain like a web," says Russell Foster, Professor of Neuroscience at Oxford University. "During the day the web is very tight, so you can only put information in a certain number of places. During sleep the web expands, and with the luxury of time, those bits of information can be put into lots of different places and make new associations."

    He adds that this process may help to foster the formation of new ideas. "This bringing together of seemingly unrelated bits of information is vital to helping the brain think itself out of problems," says Russell Foster.

    "Sleep seems to allow your mind to make non-obvious connections. It puts all the information from the day into a big biological theatre and forces the mind to speak to people at the back of the theatre, who you may not think you have any connection with. This is the basis of creativity connecting ideas, events and memories that wouldn't normally fit together.

    By placing volunteers into brain scanners and sending them to sleep, scientists have seen that the areas associated with emotion go into overdrive, especially while dreaming, while the areas that are responsible for logic (逻辑)are switched off. This not only explains why dreams are unbelievably random-you can be talking to a colleague one minute and the next minute sitting in your old school classroom dressed in your nightclothes­but also explains how the brain can put together different information.