Philo Farnsworth is not a name most people know. But his work changed the way we learn, the way we live, and even the way we think. Philo Farnsworth is responsible for one of the 20^th century: television.

    Philo Farnsworth was born in America in 1906. He was interested in science and technology at an early age. When he was twelve years old, he built an electric motor for his family's washing machine. When he was fourteen, he was already giving a lot of thought to electrons（电子）. As he was driving the family's horse-drawn plowing machine, he noticed the evenly spaced rows of the potato fields. This sight gave him the idea that electrons could scan（扫描） an image one row at a time—an idea that was the key to electronic television.

    By the time he was twenty-one years old, Farnsworth had started his own company and had managed to build the world's first electronic television. It was a very simple device（设备）. But after years of hard work, Farnsworth was able to introduce the kind of television we now use.

    Farnsworth was a great inventor, but lived an unhappy life. He had a legal battle with the company, Radio Corporation of America (RCA) over who the real inventor of the TV was. He won the case, but the government stopped companies from making TVs during the war, so Farnsworth didn't make much money from the invention.

    When Farnsworth was young, he imagined television as a convenient way for distant audiences to enjoy lectures by famous professors, or entertainment by the best symphonies（交响乐） and ballets. When he was older, television became much more popular, but he was very disappointed in the silly programs on TV. He even told his own son, “There's nothing on it worthwhile, and we're not going to watch it in this household.”

    Astronauts on shorter shuttle missions（使命）often work very long days. Tasks are scheduled so tightly that break times are often used to finish the day's work.  This type of schedule is far too demanding for long missions on the International  Space Station（ISS）.  ISS crewmembers usually live in space for at least a quarter of a year. They work five days on and two days off to mimic the normal way they do things on Earth as much as possible . Weekends give the crew valuable.  Weekends give the crew valuable time to rest and do a few hours of  housework.  They can communicate with family and friends by email , internet phone and through Private video conferences.

    While astronauts cannot go to a baseball game or a movie in orbit, there are many familiar activities that they can still enjoy . Before a mission. The family and friends of each ISS crewmember put together a collection of family photos, messages, videos and reading material for

    The astronauts to look at when they will be floating 370 kilometers above the Earth.  During their mission, the crew also receives care packages with CDs, books, magazines, photos and letters . And as from early 2010, the internet became available on the ISS , giving astronauts the chance to do some “web surfing （冲浪）”in  their personal time.  Besides relaxing with these more common entertainments, astronauts can simply enjoy the experience of living in space.

    Many astronauts say that one of the most relaxing things to do in space is to look out the window and stare at the universe and the Earth's vast land mass and oceans.

    He was a founder of modem Chinese literature. He was regarded as "an old man always telling the truth". Living across two centuries, he experienced many periods of danger and suffering but never lost his beliefs. His name was Ba Jin.

    As the 101-year-old legendary（传奇的）writer passed away in Shanghai after a six-year battle with disease, millions of Chinese were deeply sad. People in Shanghai and Chengdu gathered around his old house and literature museum to mourn for the great man.

    "My school held a series of ceremonies to express our deep sorrow,'' said Zuo Shang, a 17-year-old girl in Shanghai, who appreciates much of Ba's works. "He is a great writer who wrote so many masterpieces, but what I admire about him the most is his courage to tell the truth, 'Telling the truth, being an honest man.' That's what I learned from him," explained Zuo.

    Ba Jin was born in 1904 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. A son of a wealthy family, Ba helped the poor ever since he was a child. It is they who taught him a strong yet down-to earth way of living.

    Ba finished his first novel, "Destruction", in 1929 during his travels to France. His later masterpieces, "Family" "Spring" and "Autumn", mirrored the struggles, tragedies and loves of the young in a feudal society. The books encouraged Chinese people not to give in to fate and to be their own masters.

    "Ba Jin told the true story of his country and his people. His great love and service to them meant he was thinking about what he could do for them," said Bing Xin, a well-known writer and also his good friend.

    Like other famous writers in China, Ba suffered in the "cultural revolution" during 1966—1976. But several years later, Ba examined his hard experience in strict introspection（自我反省）instead of hatred. His book, "Random Thoughts"， in 1979 displayed his real thoughts with painful sincerity and won him his reputation for honesty.

    "It really hurts to recall my past mistakes, but 1 have to," said the respectable man. "Always tell the truth. Say what you think in the bottom of your heart. That's my life motto."

    The elephant was lying heavily on its side, fast asleep. A few dogs started barking at it. The elephant woke up in a terrible anger: it chased the dogs into the village where they ran for safety. That didn't stop the elephant. It destroyed a dozen houses and injured several people. The villagers were scared and angry. Then someone suggested calling Parbati, the elephant princess.

    Parbati Barua's father was a hunter of tigers and an elephant tamer. He taught Parbati to ride an elephant before she could even walk. He also taught her the dangerous art of the elephant roundup-how to catch wild elephants.

    Parbati hasn't always lived in the jungle. After a happy childhood hunting with her father, she was sent to a boarding school in the city. But Parbati never got used to being there and many years later she went back to her old life. "Life in the city is too dull. Catching elephants is an adventure and the excitement lasts for days after the chase," she says.

    But Parbati doesn't catch elephants just for fun."My work," she says," is to rescue man from the elephants, and to keep the elephants safe from man." And this is exactly what Parbati has been doing for many years. Increasingly, the Indian elephant is angry: for many years, illegal hunters have attacked it and its home in the jungle has been reduced to small pieces of land. It is now fighting back. Whenever wild elephants enter a tea garden or a village, Parbati is called to guide the animals back to the jungle before they can kill.

    The work of an elephant tamer also involves love and devotion. A good elephant tamer will spend hours a day singing love songs to a newly captured elephant."Eventually they grow to love their tamers and never forget them. They are also more loyal than humans," she said, as she climbed up one of her elephants and sat on the giant, happy animal. An elephant princess indeed!

    On the first day of my new high school, I almost had a nervous breakdown. Everything about the school seemed so difficult. When I got home, my parents said, "You're nervous and that's okay. Everyone is afraid of high school." I denied it. I wanted to be strong, so I refused to let anyone know about my fear, even my closest friends.

    On the first day I was late for every class and was constantly lost. The school seemed like a puzzle that I couldn't figure out. Was this how the whole year was going to be? I didn't think I could rise to this challenge, especially carrying a huge backpack that I could hardly lift. It was so big that I could knock someone out with it!

    Despite my fears, after the first week I finally had my schedule figured out. With the exception of falling up and down the stairs a couple of times and getting laughed at, high school was turning out to be not so bad. It was actually much better than middle school and much more challenging. Since then, I've been elected（选举）vice monitor of my class, which wasn't much of a victory since only three people ran for the four positions.

    It is normal to be scared about a new school. Take a deep breath and relax. High school is something that any student can overcome. Make sure you participate in some out-of-class activities because you'll find it easier to make friends. Try to do your best  even if it isn't straight A's.

    Most important of all, be who you are, whether you're a "fool"， an athlete, or a lower grader. Don't try to pretend to be someone you're not. Now you know the true secrets of high school.

A Wild Child's Guide to Endangered Animals

From New York Times bestselling author Millie Marotta comes this gorgeous celebration of the animal kingdom. Highlighting 43 endangered species, the book takes readers on a trip around the world while learning about rare and well-known animals and their habitats.

Marcovaldo

Marcovaldo is a collection of 20 short stories written by Italo Calvino. Describing the life of a poor rural man living in northern Italy, the stories unfold according to the seasonal cycle of a year. Common themes in the stories include pollution, failure and poverty.

The Art of Mondo

Over the years, Mondo has received global recognition for its incredible art posters that bring to life classic films, television shows, and comics such as Jurassic Park. For the first time, The Art of Mondo brings together this highly sought-after art in one volume that showcases the incredible creativity of the studio's artists whose vastly different styles are united by one guiding principle: limitless passion for their subject matters.

The Coming of the Third Reich

There is no story in 20th-century history more important to understand than Hitler's rise to power and the collapse(坍塌) of civilization in Nazi Germany. The Coming of the Third Reich, by Richard Evans, offers a masterful combination of academic work, important new research and interpretations.

Patriarchy and Capitalism

Chizuko Ueno, a leading Japanese sociologist, feminist critic and public intellectual, has been a pioneer in women's studies and the author of many books, including Patriarchy and Capitalism.