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.

     Becoming Refreshed without sleeping

Sometimes there is just not enough hours in the day to get everything done and get a good night's rest.{#blank#}1{#/blank#} Once in a while you can get away with a sleepless night and still feel reasonably good by adjusting your meals and activities.

     {#blank#}2{#/blank#} The last thing you want to do when you are tired is get warm and cozy, this will cause you to fall asleep. Keeping the air conditioner on will make you feel much more alert and refreshed.

     Eat small amounts. Eating small amounts of healthy food will help refresh you. Fruit and nuts are a good choice because they are nutritious and will energize you {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Try to stick to low carbon meals to keep you going. Chewing gum after your snack or small meal will also help keep you awake.

     Keep it bright. When it is dark your body thinks it is time to go to sleep. Turn on lots of lights, which will trick your body into waking up and feeling better. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} You get double the benefits if it is daytime.

     Take a break. Taking a little break will help you in the long run. Turn up some energizing music to get yourself positive. Relax and talk to a friend in person or on the phone for a few minutes.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. Keep it cool

B. Calm down and sleep

C. Avoid big, heavy meals as they will make you tired

D. Going outside whether it is day or night for some fresh air

E. Missing sleep regularly can make you sick and should be avoided

F. When you are tired, you may just want to sit around and do nothing

G. Having a good time for a few minutes will refresh you quicker than anything else.

    In January, 2016, Harry Styles made a bold decision. He left the popular boy band One Direction and went solo (单飞). Now he is making his own voice heard. The 23-year-old British singer released his first solo single called Sign of the Times. His self-titled album (个人同名专辑) is coming out on May 12.

    Going solo is a journey for him to find his identity (身份). Though at the time, he was uncertain about his future, he kept a word in his mind - “honesty”. “I didn't want to write ‘stories',” he told Rolling Stone. “I wanted to write my stories, things that happened to me. The number-one thing was I wanted to be honest. I hadn't done that before.”

    He is indeed full of stories since beginning his solo career. Last fall, he spent two months recording on a remote island in Jamaica (牙买加).Along with some musicians, he filled a two-floor house with instruments. They hung out at the bar that looked like a tree house. Many mornings began with a swim in the river down the hill. They watched many romantic comedies. Styles always held a black notebook and looked like a college student who was studying, Rolling Stone reported.

    His coming album is about rock music. In fact, he grew up with it. His father Desmond was a rock music fan. When Styles was very young, he danced to The Dark Side of the Moon, a classic song by British rock band Pink Floyd. “I couldn't really get it. But I just remember (thinking that) this is really cool.”

    Harry said, “At the very beginning, all I wanted was to be the granddad with the best stories.” Surely, now he is on the right track (轨道).

    Mark felt that it was time for him to take part in his community，so he went to the neighborhood meeting after work. The area city council(委员会)woman was leading a discussion about how the quality of life was on the decline. The neighborhood faced many problems. Mark looked at the charts taped to the walls. There were charts for parking problems, crime, and for problems in vacant buildings. Mark read from the charts, “Police patrols(巡逻)cut back, illegal parking up 20%.” People were supposed to suggest solutions to the council woman. It was too much for Mark. “The problems are too big,” he thought. He turned to the man next to him and said, “I think this is a waste of my time. Nothing I can do would make a difference here.”

    As he neared the bus stop on his way home, Mark saw a woman carrying a grocery bag, and a baby. As Mark got closer, her other child，a little boy, suddenly dashed into the street. The woman tried to reach for him, but as she moved, her bag shifted(滑落), and groceries started to fall out.Mark ran to take the boy's arm and led him back to his mother. “You gotta stay with Mom,” he said. Then he picked up the fallen groceries while the woman smiled in relief. “Thanks,” she said. “You've got great timing.” “Just being neighborly,” Mark said. As he rode home, he glanced at the poster near his seat in the bus. Small acts of kindness add up.Mark smiled and thought, “Maybe that's a good place to start.”

    Chicago is considering firm measures to prevent the Asian carp, a giant fish native to the Far East, from coming into North America's Great Lakes in large numbers. Such a move could cost up to$18bn, a heavy economic burden to the city.

    This species, more than a metre in length, was originally introduced to southern US states three decades ago to control weeds in sewage (污水) treatment plants. But they escaped into the Mississippi River and increased in number quickly, making their way north towards the Great Lakes and threatening the native fish species along the way.

    "Dozens of them will often leap out of the water as boats approach." Michael Beecham, a local environmental expert, described how frightening the scene was. "I've gone down the river and seen these fish jump up and hit me in the face. It is a big problem for our native species." he said.

    A meeting has been organized to find a technological solution to the carp problem, one of which involves blocking parts of Chicago's canal system. Listening at the meeting was John Goss, who was worried about the effect that having barriers in the canal system would have on industry. "It would certainly increase the cost of transportation," he told. "It is currently very cheap and efficient to bring materials and finished goods down the Chicago ship canal.''

    Another cheaper option is to eat the fish out of existence. Dirk Fucik is selling carp burger(鲤鱼汉堡包) at his fish shop not far from downtown Chicago. He thinks the carps are a great resource. "To catch it and throw it away is a waste," he says. "Eating them helps solve the problem and also provides jobs." But the idea has not yet caught on. So far, he is the only person in Chicago selling carp burgers.

    Children who qualify for free school meals are twice as likely to be out of work in later life as their better off peers, and even when they get good qualifications at school, the employment gap remains, as a research has found.

    A report by Impetus, a charity that supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, found that 26% of those on free school meals (FSM) were not in education, employment, or training (Neet) after leaving school. In contrast, only 13% of non-FSM children ended up Neet.

    The study found that young people from disadvantaged backgrounds were less likely to get good qualifications, but even when they had the same qualifications as their better-off peers, they were still 50% more likely to be out of education and employment as other young adults.

    The research is based on analysis of longitudinal education outcomes data from the Department for Education, which reveals the impact of having a disadvantaged background on life chances and connects pupils' school records with their employment.

    "Qualifications play a central role," the report said, "and it is well known that disadvantaged young people have worse qualification outcomes than their better-off peers." It added qualifications alone were not enough to explain the difference in Neet rates. "Disadvantaged young people are around 50% more likely to be Neet than their similarly qualified but better-off peers. This is true at all levels of qualifications and regardless of age. This means that half the gap in Neet rates can be explained by qualifications, but half cannot."

    The study also showed how where you grow up affects your life chances—it found that a disadvantaged young person in north-east England is 50% more likely to end up Neet than a disadvantaged young person in London.

    Andy Ratcliffe, the CEO of Impetus, said: "We are breaking a fundamental promise to young people in this country. We tell them that study hard, get your qualifications and good jobs will follow. For many young people this is true. But for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds it isn't. They are less likely to get those qualifications, and even when they do, less likely to benefit from them."