A MENTORING (导师制) program is giving life changing opportunities to Banbury youth.

    Young Inspirations was founded two years ago to provide mentoring sessions for students and unemployed young adults aged 11 to 21.

    Alex Goldberg, the program's founder, said; "We set up Young Inspirations because we wanted to give young people experiences which will potentially be life changing and broaden their outlook.

    "We try to create work experience opportunities that will really make a difference to our youth. For example, we've secured internships (实习) with world-famous firms such as Honda.

    "At a time of funding cutbacks where schools are finding it more and more difficult to offer this kind of mentoring, it is extremely important that these opportunities are available both to help youth with their school work and grades and to give them opportunities which may help shape their futures. " Kieran Hepburn, 14, is one of a group of Banbury youth who has benefited from the program so far. In October the Banbury School pupil was accompanied by Young Inspirations staff to Paris where he was an observer at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) International Youth Forum (论坛).

    The event was held for young people from around the world, to seek their views on how the future of youth and education should look. Kieran joined several hundred observers mostly in their 20s and was the only UK school pupil to attend the event. Kieran thinks the trip was a life changing experience. " Before we left I didn't quite know what to make of it but when we got there we didn't stop, it was amazing," he said, " We went to three or four hours of debates each day and then did something cultural each afternoon. "

    The main theme of the forum was how youth can drive change in political and public life. It dealt with issues (问题) such as drug abuse, violence and unemployment.

    Kieran said: " It has really helped me to improve my confidence and social skills as well as my school grades and I was voted most improved pupil at school in August. "

    The Young Inspirations mentoring sessions take place each Friday in Banbury. For details visit www.younginspirations.com.

    Why do Americans struggle with watching their weight, while the French, who eat rich food, continue to stay thin? Now a research by Cornell University suggests how life style and decisions about eating may affect weight. Researchers concluded that the French tend to stop eating when they feel full. However, Americans tend to stop when their plate is empty or their favorite TV show is over.

    According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, a health expert, the French see eating as an important part of their life style. They enjoy food and therefore spend a fairly long time at the table, while Americans see eating as something to be squeezed (挤进) between the other daily activities. Mercola believes Americans lose the ability to sense when they are actually full. So they keep eating long after the French would have stopped. In addition, he points out that Americans drive to huge supermarkets to buy canned and frozen foods for the week. The French, instead, tend to shop daily, walking to small shops and farmers' markets where they have a choice of fresh fruits, vegetables, and eggs as well as high-quality meats for each meal.

    After a visit to the United States, Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don't Get Fat, decided to write about the importance of knowing when to stop rather than suggesting how to avoid food. Today she continues to stay slim and rarely goes to the gym.

    In spite of (尽管) all these differences, evidence shows that recent life style changes may be affecting French eating habits. Today the rate of obesity (肥胖)—or extreme overweight — among adults is only 6%. However, as American fast food gains acceptance and the young refuse older traditions, the obesity rate among French children has reached 17% — and is growing.

    Many little girls like flowers, watching butterflies and riding small horses. A lot of them also like cars, robots and spaceships. But most girls' clothing only has pictures of flowers, butterflies or horses.

    Two mothers decided to make clothes that include all the things that little girls do and love.

    Six-year-old Bella loves to play with cars. So her dress has pictures of cars on it.

    “We haven't found this type of dress in the store,” Cathy, Bella's mother, says.

    The car dress is from a new girl's clothing line called Princess Awesome. Rebecca Melsky set up the business. She says its products (产品) for girls have some designs normally found on boys' clothes.

    It all started two years ago when Rebecca was hoping to buy clothing for her two-year-old, who liked robots, trucks and spaceships.

    “One day when I walked through a girls' store. I thought to myself I wish they'd make one of those beautiful dresses that also have a robot on it because she will love that. And I thought someone should do that. Maybe I should do that.” Rebecca said.

    Her friend Eva St. Clair believed she should, and their business was born. The women sold the first 70 dresses they made at a market. So they decided to expand(扩展）their business online. Their products sold very well there, too.

    “They sold out so fast that I could not make them fast enough. We decided it was time to think about a factory,” Rebecca said.

    So they started to raise money from people over the Internet. The women raised more than $215,000 within days, far more than the $35,000 they expected.

    “Our biggest challenge (挑战) is going to be how we expand as rapidly as people seem to want us to,” Rebecca said.

    The women hope Princess Awesome will expand into products for girls of all ages and all interests.

    Nearly 19 percent of teachers of color(有色人种教师) left their jobs after the 2014-2015 school year. Some left for personal reasons like taking care of their families. But 50 percent said they left because they were dissatisfied with their employment situation, such as poor working conditions, student discipline problems and large class sizes. Thus, taking immediate measures to improve it is our top priority.

    For years, researchers have proved the benefits of increasing the share of minority teachers in schools, especially as our public school system has turned to one that is made up mostly of minority students. Teachers of color, who are more likely than their white counterparts to choose to work in racially diverse( 多 种 多 样 的 ) schools, offer particular benefits to their students. Graduation rates increase among minority students when they are taught by racially similar educators, research shows. They can also serve as positive role models, and their presence reduces the chance of racial discrimination at school.

    The Shanker Institute report suggests that the rate of minority teacher hiring is not the whole problem. The problem is what happens after these teachers enter the classroom. These teachers often work in high-poverty rural schools. They are more likely to have less-desirable working conditions.

    Diversity is a key component to equality and opportunity. Where there's a diverse teaching workforce, all kids thrive. So solutions must be found at once to turn this trend around. Firstly, schools should develop mentorship programs that support minority teachers once they are in the classroom. Secondly, more money should be spent in improving working conditions in these schools. Of course, school headmasters should also be evaluated on their ability to retain teachers of color.

    Auctions (拍卖行) are everywhere. Here are just a few standouts and some of the areas they specialize in. All have brick-and-mortar (实体的) sales rooms in addition to online buying.

    Leslie Hindman Auctioneers

    Headquarters (总部): Chicago

    Founded: 1982

    Best bets: contemporary art, jewelry

    The founder, Leslie Hindman, has been on an expansion kick from her Chicago base and now runs eight offices across the country. Ms. Hindman said that plenty of items sell at her house for around $500. As in the auction world generally, jewelry and contemporary art receive lots of attention from bidders (出价者), and in 2017 a diamond ring sold for $97,000.

    Swann Auction Galleries

    Headquarters: New York

    Founded: 1941

    Best bets: books, works on paper, African-American art

    Founded as a rare-book auctioneers, Swann still holds dozens of such sales a year. The president, Nicholas D. Lowry, noted that Swann was the first auction house to sell old photographs, in 1952. The house has also had a department of African-American art for 12 years.

    Stair Galleries

    Headquarters : Hudson, N. Y.

    Founded: 2001

    Best bets: English and Continental furniture and paintings, modern and contemporary art

    Colin Stair, the founder and president, comes from a long line of antiques dealers. Stair is frequented by dealers and bargain hunters, and it's a place to find interesting things like a Gorge I carved walnut wing armchair, coming up as part of a sale on April 28 and 29.

    Heritage Auctions

    Headquarters : Dallas

    Founded: 1983

    Best bets: coins, sports memorabilia, movie posters

    With roots in coin auctions Heritage has grown quite large. But their bread and butter are items that the company president, Greg Rohan, calls "the kinds of things that everyone has." "People aren't buying what we're selling for decoration or for resale," he added. "They're buying things they absolutely love."

Many families take their children on vacation. They will usually travel for a few days or weeks during school breaks. But Julie and Tim Smith planned a longer vacation with their two children. The Smith family is on a one-year trip around the world. They plan to visit 30 countries in all. Right now, the four travelers are about halfway through their trip. Ms. Smith says they are trying to see as much of the world as they can.

Mr. Smith says one of the most interesting experiences of the trip has been meeting new people. He says people have been extremely friendly, very welcoming and love their kids. Eleven-year-old Tyler says he has enjoyed learning about the people they have met. He said, "I learned in Africa that people have very different lifestyles than in America. "His sister, 9-year-old Kara, discovered that she liked Thai food. Ms. Smith says that the trip teaches the children a lot.

It took the family a year to prepare for the trip. They had to sell their house and cars. Ms. Smith left her job and her husband is using unpaid leave. They carry small bags filled with lightweight clothing and whatever else they need. Ms. Smith says she enjoys being able to carry everything she needs on her back. She says she does not miss the things she has back home. "What has become more important is making these memories as a family and taking those with us instead."

The Smiths will continue to head east for the next six months.