Pat O'Burke was a poor Irishman with a large family, and one morning, waking up very early from cold and hunger, he decided to go shooting in a wood near his cottage. The wood belonged to Lord Northwood, a rich gentleman. Pat had no right to go there, but in it there were swarms of rabbits and flocks of birds that were good to eat, and Pat determined to take the risk. Suddenly he saw the owner, with a group of friends, coming towards him in the wood. There was a look of anger on Lord Northwood's face as he caught sight of the gun in Pat's hands.

    Pat's heart sank with fear, but he saw there was no hope of escape, so he walked boldly(大胆) up to the group and said to Lord Northwood, “Good morning, sir, and what has brought you out so early this morning?”

    Lord Northwood, rather surprised, said he and his friends were taking a little exercise to get an appetite(食欲) for their breakfast. Then, looking at Pat with suspicion(怀疑), he said, “but why are you out so early in the morning?”

    “Well, sir” said Pat, “I just came out to see if I could get a breakfast for my appetite.”

    The whole crowd burst into laughter at Pat's ready wit, and with a smile Lord Northwood walked on, leaving Pat to try his luck with the rabbits.

    Regardless of how far we'd like to believe gender(性别) equality in the workplace has come, there's still a yawning gap between male and female leaders in the professional world. A 2018 statistic shows that women nowadays hold just 5.8 percent of CEOs positions at S&P 500 companies, according to Catalyst.

    While it's not a huge shock that women are somewhat underrepresented in leadership positions, what is surprising though, is the fact that females may actually be better suited to lead in almost every area, at least according to new findings from the BI Norwegian Business School.

    In their research，Professor yvind L. Martinsen and Professor Lars Glas surveyed (调查)2,900 managers with a special focus on personality types. The results were clear: Women scored higher than men in four of the five major leadership-centric categories.

    While some people believe that men inherently make better leaders — probably because they picture a leader with a commanding voice, which is more typical of men than women — this piece of research suggests that women are better at methodical management and goal-setting, openness, sociability and supportiveness, as well as ability to communicate clearly.

    There was one area in which men scored higher than women, though, and that was on emotional stability and ability to face job-related pressure and stress. The results suggest that women are more sensitive to the effects of high-pressure or highly emotional situations.

    Obviously，it's important to consider individual(个人的) differences. Anyone, regardless of gender, may be an inspiring leader and a competent boss. But next time you're hiring for a management position, you just might want to give the resumes(简历) from female candidates a harder look.

    Ever walked to the shops only to find, once there, you've completely forgotten what you went for? Or struggled to remember the name of an old friend? For years we've accepted that a forgetful brain is as much a part of ageing as wrinkles and grey hair. But now a new book suggests that we've got it all wrong.

    According to The Secret Life of the Grown-up Brain, by science writer Barbara Strauch, when it comes to the important things, our brains actually get better with age. In fact, she argues that some studies have found that our brain hits its peak between our 40s and 60s— much later than previously thought.

    Furthermore, rather than losing many brain cells as we age, we retain （保留）them, and even produce new ones well into middle age. For years it's been assumed that brain, much like the body, declines with age. But the longest, largest study into what happens to people as they age suggests otherwise.

    This continuing research has followed 6,000 people since 1956, testing them every seven years. It has found that on average, participants performed better on cognitive （认知的）tests in their 40s and 50s than they had done in their 20s. Specifically, older people did better on tests of vocabulary, verbal memory (how many words you can remember) and problem solving.

    Where they performed less well was number ability and perceptual speed－how fast you can push a button when ordered. However, with more complex tasks such as problem-solving and language, we are at our best at middle age and beyond. In short, researchers are now coming up with scientific proof that we do get wiser with age.

    Neuroscientists are also finding that we are happier with ageing. A recent US study found older people were much better at controlling and balancing their emotions. It is thought that when we're younger we need to focus more on the negative aspects of life in order to learn about the possible dangers in the world, but as we get older we've learned our lessons and are sub-consciously aware that we have less time left in life: therefore, it becomes more important for us to be happy.

    Once, a lioness and her cub were hunting in the jungle. The baby asked its mother, "Mother, why are we hunting when a deer is already at home?”

    The mother said, "My love! We can' t eat that deer because it has surrendered (投降) himself seeking our help. He is wounded and helpless. We must help him.”

    The baby cub was surprised and questioned again, "Why so? That's our food, we can eat it.”

    “Honey, you are right! It's our food and we can kill him in any second but do you think he deserves to be killed when he has come to-us for protection?”

    The baby cub couldn't understand her mother's vulnerability(软弱). It kept quiet and paced with its mother. At last, they didn't get anything and came back to their cave.

    The deer, on the other hand, was terrified of his own decision of taking shelter in the cave. Unfortunately he had no choice! He was attacked by a hunter and somehow managed to escape. While running for his life, he saw the cave and without a second thought entered it. He had already got a shot from the hunter. When he realized he was in the lions cave, he gave up the idea of running back again. The deer gazed at the lioness with a pitiful look, tears rolling down He sat there as if he urged for the mercy of the lioness.

    The lioness came closer to the deer, smelled it and slowly moved out of the cave with her cub.

    When the lions came back, the cub asked its mother to kill the deer again. But the lioness was firm on her decision. She said, "Sweetheart! We can-manage one night without any food. Tomorrow, I would definitely fetch out some food for you.”

    The cub said nothing, grunted(嘟哝）a little.

    When the cub slept, the lioness whispered to the deer, "Run, away from this area because I doubt if I could save you any longer if the next time situation demands!"

    The deer looked at the lioness with gratitude and slowly walked away from the cave.

    To err is human. To blame the other guy is even more human. Common sense is not all that common. Why tell the truth when you can come up with a good excuse?

    These three popular misquotes (戏谑的引语) are meant to be jokes, and yet they tell us a lot about human nature. To err, or to make mistakes, is indeed a part of being human, but it seems that most people don't want to accept the responsibility for the problem. Perhaps it is the natural thing to do. The original quote about human nature went like this: "To err is human, to forgive, divine (神圣的)." This saying mirrors a deal people should be forgiving of others' mistakes. Instead, we tend to do the opposite-find someone else to pass the blame on to.

    However, taking responsibility for something that went wrong is a making of great maturity.

    Common sense is what we call clear thought. Having common sense means having a good general plan that will make things work well, and it also means staying with the plan. Common sense tells you that you take an umbrella out into a rainstorm, but you leave the umbrella home when you hear a weather forecast for sunshine. Common sense does not seem to be common for large organizations, because there are so many things going on that one person cannot be in charge of everything. People say that in a large company," the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing."

    And what is wrong with a society that thinks that making up a good excuse is like creating a work of art? One of the common problems with making excuses is that people, especially young people, get the idea that it's okay not to be totally honest all the time. There is a corollary (直接推论) to that: if good excuse is "good" even if it isn't honest, then where is the place of the truth?

    Do you have a talented young artist, photographer, or designer in your life? It's never too early to start helping them get their work out there! We've rounded up the top art competitions for kids and teens that can help these young creators share their first masterpiece with the world. Most of them are totally free to enter!

Global Canvas Children's Art Competition

    Ages: 16 and under Mediums: drawing, painting

    Organized by the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, this art competition wants to inspire the next generation to be more mindful of how we take care of the earth. The judges are looking for artists to discover the wonderful places that wildlife calls home.

    Toyota Dream Car Art Contest

    Ages: 15 and under Mediums: drawing, painting

    Time to design a dream car! Toyota wants to get junior artists thinking about what the future of transportation might look like. Prizes include a chance to tour one of the Toyota car plants and experience various aspects of Japanese culture.

    Advena World Children's Art Competition

    Ages: 15 and under Mediums: drawing, painting, photos and other original artworks

    The competition aims to promote creativity and self-expression. Instead of a theme, it asks the participating artists to simply express their feelings—anything from sadness or joy to anger or excitement—through their chosen medium.

    Progressive Young Artists Awards

    Open to: high school and college students Mediums: drawing, painting, photograph, mixed media, sculpture

    PYAA is all about expressing and celebrating progressive values. So, if there is a creative teen in your life who wants to do good in the world, sign him or her up for this art competition. The prize is a scholarship that winners can put forwards their post-secondary schooling.