The iPhone, the iPad: each of Apple's products sounds cool and has become a fad(一时的风尚). Apple has cleverly taken advantage of the power of the letter “i” --and many other brands are following suit. The BBC's iPlayer--which allows Web users to watch TV programs on the Internet--used the title in 2008. A lovely bear--popular in the US and UK--that plays music and video is called “iTeddy”. A slimmed-down version(简装本) of London's Independent newspaper was started last week under the name “i”.

    In general, single-letter prefixes(前缀) have been popular since the 1990s, when terms such as e-mail and e-commerce(电子商务) first came into use.

    Most “I” products are targeted at(针对) young people and considering the major readers of Independent's “I”, it's no surprise that they've selected this fashionable name.

    But it's hard to see what's so special about the letter “i”. Why not use “a”, “b”, or “c” instead? According to Tony Thorne, head of the Language Center at King's College, London, “i” works because its meaning has become ambiguous. When Apple uses “i”, no one knows whether it means Internet, information, individual or interactive, Thorne told BBC Magazines. “Even when Apple created the iPod, it seems it didn't have one clear definition(定义),” he says.

    “However, thanks to Apple, the term is now connected with portability (轻便).” adds Thorne.

    Clearly the letter “i” also agrees with the idea that the Western World is centered on the individual. Each person believes they have their own needs, and we love personalized products for this reason.

    Along with “Google” and “blog”, readers of BBC Magazines voted “I” as one of the top 20 words that have come to define the last decade(十年).

    But as history shows, people grow tired of fads. From the 1900s to 1990s, products with “2000” in their names became fashionable as the year was connected with all things advanced and modern. However, as we entered the new century, the fashion disappeared.

    One second-grade student wanted to help erase school lunch debt for her fellow students, so she decided to create lemonade stands to raise funds（资金）.

    Amiah Van Hill was inspired to raise funds to help pay off her classmates' lunch debt back in May after reading about Jeffery Lew. The father of three crowd-funded to cover the cost of unpaid lunches in the Seattle School District, where his 8-year-old son took part. “She's a really strong reader, so she read the story and said, 'Wow, this is great! I wonder if there's any kids at my school that need help paying their lunches,'” said her mother, Rachel Van Hill.

    Amiah, 6, and Aria, 4, discovered that at Hayden Meadows Elementary School in Idaho, the unpaid lunch debt was $40.55. They set up a lemonade stand last month to raise the money, with a sign reading, “Lemonade 4 Lunch.” During their first set-up, the two met their goal within an hour.

    The school was very much appreciative. Principal Lisa Pica said “Our school believes in giving back to the community and we are excited that Amiah has got that value at such a young age and we are so proud that she has found a way to help those in need. She is a very special little lady.”

    After discovering it was “easy” to pay off one school's debt, they set up another lemonade stand a week later to raise money for two more local schools. The girls then decided to set their sights higher and raise funds for the entire Coeur d'Alene Public School district. In 22 days, they've raised more than $2,700. The school district is excited to recognize her for her good deed.

    Some people are never right. They never have good luck. They usually do the wrong things and say the wrong things. And even if what they say and do is OK, they say it or do it at the wrong time. So these people always have problems. They often break glasses. They sometimes miss buses or trains.

    Mr. Neff is different. He is always right. He is never wrong. He usually has good luck. He hardly has problems. He never misses buses and trains. Even though he really misses them, it is always the fault of the buses and the trains.

    Mr. Neff knows almost everything. He doesn't ask questions. He answers questions. He never says “I don't know”．

    I don't know Mrs. Neff. It seems that not many people know her. I sometimes want to know about her. Is she always right? Or maybe she is always wrong? Does she often break glasses or miss buses and trains?

Does she have problems? I really want to know!

    He may not have an "S" across his chest but this dog is most certainly a hero.

    Harley, who was rescued from a puppy mill four years ago, was named the American Humane Association's 2015 American Hero Dog. Harley, who is missing an eye and has other medical issues from his time at the mill, is now a "spokes-dog" against puppy mills. He serves as the adorable furry face of the "Harley to the Rescue" campaign, which raises funds for the National Dog Mill Rescue, according to a press release.

    The pup was rescued back in 2011 and adopted by Rudi and her husband, Dan. "It was just four years ago that he was pulled from the cage in the puppy mill and left to die," Harley's owner, Rudi, said during the awards show at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles this past weekend, according to Today. com. "We never would have ever thought he would live this long and make such a difference for so many puppies."

    The dog was one of eight finalists up for the American Hero Dog and was chosen as the winner through public votes. The finalists all won $ 1,500 to be donated to one of American Humane Association's charity partners, with Harley receiving another $ 5, 000 to go toward his charity partner, New Leash On Life.

    According to the release, Harley spent 10 years at the puppy mill, and endured rough treatment there, which led to his many medical issues. He lost his eye as a result of his cage being power-washed with him inside.

    The dog isn't just the face of his campaign, he also goes on rescue missions and makes public appearances at events and schools to raise awareness for puppy mills.

    This incredible work is all due to the dog's fighting spirit. That spirit is allowing him now to be the voice for dogs who cannot speak for themselves and give everybody hope that tomorrow's going to be a better day.

    This year marks the 170th anniversary of Paul Gauguin's birth. He lived for just 54 years but he packed his brief life with activity.

    The French painter spent his early childhood in Peru before returning to France. As an adult, he continued to travel a lot. Most famously, he spent much of the last decade of his life in Tahiti, an island in southern Pacific Ocean. Indeed, Gauguin is best known for his colorful paintings of Tahitians and their culture.

    The restlessness of this great painter has been normal among modern artists since the middle of the 19th century. They're never satisfied for long with a certain style or way of life. Once something becomes conventional, it's turned down.

    The artistic culture that Gauguin developed from was that of Impressionism (印象派). Painters like Claude Monet had wanted to paint how they saw the world, not how their teachers taught them it should be seen. Gauguin, and similar artists like his friend Vincent van Gogh, moved even further away from "respectable" art than the Impressionists. For them, it was not simply a matter of seeing the world differently, but feeling and thinking about it differently, too.

    Gauguin saw, felt and thought differently from most members of European society. He thought that European culture was too fancy and not spontaneous. This is why he turned to the traditions of other parts of the world, like Africa, and, eventually, Tahiti. Artists like Gauguin used the word "primitive" for these cultures, but not as a negative term. For him, Europe, in becoming modem, industrial and scientific, seemed less natural than other parts of the world.

    In truth, Gauguin's paintings may be unconventional but they are certainly not "primitive". They are the work of a painter with great awareness of what he was doing. It was this awareness that made him such an important painter for those that came after, in the 20th century. When we look closely at the works of Gauguin we begin to understand Pablo Picasso, and especially Henri Matisse, a little better.