I call my story the story of a bad boy, partly to distinguish myself from those faultless young gentlemen, and partly because I really was not an angel. I may truthfully say I was a friendly, impulsive(易冲动的)teenager. I didn't want to be an angel. In short, I was a real human boy, such as you may meet anywhere in New England.

Whenever a new scholar came to our school, I used to ask him "My name's Tom Bailey; what's your name?" If the name struck me favorably, I shook hands with the new pupil cordially, but if it didn't, I would turn and walk away, for I was particular on this point.

I was born in Rivermouth almost fifty years ago, but, before I became very well acquainted with that pretty New England town, my parents moved to New Orleans. I was only eighteen months old at the time of the move, and it didn't make much difference to me where I was, because several years later, when my father proposed to take me North to be educated, I had my own view on the subject. I instantly kicked over the little boy, Sam, who happened to be standing by me at the moment, and declared that I would not be taken away to live among a lot of Yankees! You see I was what is called "a Northern man with Southern principles," I had no recollection of New England: my earliest memories were connected with the South. I knew I was born in the North, but hoped nobody would find it out. I never told my schoolmates I was a Yankee, because they talked about Yankees in a scornful way which made me feel that it was quite a shame not to be born in the South.

And this impression was strengthened by Aunt Chloe, who said, "There wasn't no gentlemen in the North no way."

    With this picture of Northern civilization in my eye, the readers will easily understand my terror at the bare thought of being transported to Rivermouth to school, and possibly will forgive me for kicking over little Sam, when my father announced this to me. As for kicking little Sam, I always did that, more or less gently, when anything went wrong with me.

    My father was greatly troubled by this violent behavior. As little Sam picked himself up, my father took my hand in his and led me thoughtfully to the library. He appeared strangely puzzled on learning the nature of my objections to going North.

"Who on earth, Tom, has filled your brain with those silly stories?" asked my father calmly.

"Aunt Chloe, sir, she told me."

My father devoted that evening and several evenings to giving me a clear account of New England: its early struggles, its progress, and its present condition. I was no longer unwilling to go North; on the contrary, the proposed journey to a new world full of wonders kept me awake nights. Long before the moving day arrived I was eager to be off. My impatience was increased by the fact that my father had purchased for me a fine little Mustang pony, and shipped it to Rivermouth two weeks before the date set for our own journey. The pony completely resigned me to the situation. The pony's name was Gitana, which is the Spanish for "gypsy", so I always called her Gypsy.

    Finally the time came to leave the vine-covered mansion among the orange-trees, to say goodbye to little Sam(I am convinced he was heartily glad to get rid of me), and to part with Aunt Chloe. I imagine them standing by the open garden gate; the tears are rolling down Aunt Chloe's cheeks; they and the old home fade away. I am never to see them again!

Scholastic Art: What is your job?

Jayson Fann: I build human-sized nests all over the world.

SA: Can people sit in your nests?

JF: Yes! People have dinner parties in my nests. They read and relax in them. Some of my nests even have several rooms. My nests are even used as hotel rooms.

SA: How do you make a nest?

JF: First, I make a design for the nest. Then I review the design with my client（客户）. After the design is final, I collect wood and work with a team to build it.

SA: What do you use to make your nests?

JF：I use eucalyptus（按树）wood， which is soft and easy to bend when it is young and freshly cut. But when it dries, it becomes extremely hard. So it holds its shape and can support weight. But the structure's strength also comes from the engineering -- how I weave the wood, and how I join major sections by bolting（用螺栓固定）them together.

SA: What makes a great nest design?

JF: Placement is important. The lines of the branches（树枝） create movement and energy, resulting in a cleaner, simpler background -- such as smooth stone or the sky -- which really fits the nest. For me, it's all about balance.

SA: What skills do you need for your job?

JF: You have to be able to draw and use different artistic tools. But you also have to know how to speak to people -- your clients and the people who work for you.

SA: What inspires you?

IF: I love to see how other artists, like Andy Goldsworthy, take common and natural materials and make something special with them.

SA: What is the best part of your job?

JF: I get to be creative in a way that doesn't harm the environment!

    Ray Tokuda, a 54-year-old Japanese American, is proud of the title his school has given him. He is a Shifu, a Chinese word literally meaning a master, mentor or senior practioner of martial arts.

    Tokuda has reason to be proud. He has been involved with Chinese martial arts for almost four decades. After learning them at the martial arts school in New Mexico State, today he is among the most experienced kung fu teachers of the school.

    Practicing martial arts two to three hours and helping students improve their skills have become Tokuda's daily routine. He expects to practice and teach martial arts for the rest of his life. "I'm still learning. It's worth more than a lifetime to learn Chinese martial arts," he said." Once I started, I just couldn't stop. I think it's also the magic of Chinese culture."

    Tokuda was sent to the martial arts school when he was 10. He still remembers how unwilling he was when starting out." My father had always wanted to learn Chinese martial arts but never got the chance, so he put his kid in," he said. "I was so afraid at that time because I thought kung fu was all about fighting."

    But things changed after he learned that martial arts were more than punching and kicking.

    "One of the things martial arts teach me is overcoming adversity," Tokuda said. "As a little kid, my first lesson was like, oh, look, this is a thing that I can get through by diligence, perseverance(毅力)and dedication, and that was priceless for my life."

    Learning Chinese martial arts opened a gateway for him to better understand Chinese culture because he could hear a lot of ancient Chinese kung fu-related stories. "It is like in America, where we hear stories about knights in shining armor and King Arthur and noble deeds done," he said. "I feel martial arts preserve something of ancient China that can't be found in books. They are sort of an oral history."

    Tokuda has also been invited to various events in his home state to showcase traditional Chinese culture, including the dragon dance and lion dance, which he also learnt at the martial arts school. Because of this, he is now considered a cultural envoy (使者) in the eyes of the public.

    As the international demand for narrative(叙事的) film/TV content continues to increase with popular streaming services like Netflix and others the two questions then come: will the coming generations receive most of their entertainment through visual means rather than through the written word and will such an increase of narrative film/ TV reduce the importance of reading?

    Growing examples of this trend include the diminishment(减少) of fiction in the common core (核心的)curriculum, the ever－rising culture of computer games, the wave of streaming services of wide international reach, and movies filled with special effects made for children and teenagers. Nor must we ignore the economic dangers that lie ahead for the written word. The narrative film industry is a moneymaker that dwarfs(使相形见绌) the publishing industry.

    The other underlying question, of course, is "does it really matter if the written word bows to the world of film/TV?" From my point of view, any diminishment of fiction delivered by words is a loss for mankind.

    There is no greater human feature than the imagination. It lies at the very soul of the human species. It is the brain's most powerful engine. It is the essential muscle of life and like all muscles it must be exercised and strengthened.

    Writing and reading are the principal tools that inspire, create and empower our imagination. Anything that diminishes that power is the enemy of mankind.

    It should be known that I am not opposed to new media and technological advances. Instead, I have always felt it necessary to adapt to advancing technology. In fact, a number of my novels are in various stages of development for film, TV, and live stage productions. My hope is that the written word will only stand to be complemented(补充)by its visual counterparts(对应物), not pushed to the edge of extinction.

    Of course, there are those who will present arguments for the superiority of the moving image over the written word. Each has its place. My argument is for finding the right balance between it and the moving image.

    Many of you may have used Siri, a voice assistant of US tech company Apple. You only have to say "hey Siri" and it will answer to your command. However, we may be sacrificing our privacy to enjoy this convenience.

    According to a recent report by the Guardian, Siri can be accidentally triggered and start recording private conversations, such as discussions between doctors and patients. Some of these recordings are then given to workers outside the company to review.

    Apple claimed the data was used to help Siri improve, but users were not informed of this measure in the first place.

    Apple's Siri is not the only voice assistant to come under fire.

    In 2018, Alexa, a voice assistant developed by US tech company Amazon, recorded a private conversation between a couple and sent it to a stranger without their permission.

    These issues deepened concerns that tech companies are infringing users' rights of privacy.

    Many people have long feared that tech companies are listening and collecting data from private conversations, reported Forbes. Using this data, third party companies could then paint an accurate picture of users' habits and preferences in order to serve them more targeted advertisements, or even worse, sell this private data.

    Despite this risk, the popularity of voice assistant seems to be unstoppable.

    "In the near future, everything from your lighting to your air-conditioning to your refrigerator, your coffee maker, and even your toilet could be wired to a system controlled by voice," commented The Atlantic.

    Colin Horgan wrote on the blog site Medium that he believed people's daily lives will soon become a source of data.

    "The sounds of our homes, the symphony of life – laughing, crying, talking, shouting, sitting in silence – will no longer be considered memories, but data," he wrote.

    To deal with the issue, Blake Morgan, reporter for The Atlantic, believed that the answer is transparency.

    "All companies need to have messaging ready to explain to customers what they do with private data," she wrote on The Atlantic.

Scientists at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology have-in just two years-nearly doubled the number of materials known to have potential for use in solar fuels.

They did so by developing a process that promises to speed the discovery of commercially viable (商业可行性) generation of solar fuels that could replace coal, oil, and other fossil fuels.

Solar fuels, a dream of clean-energy research, are created using only sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. Researchers are exploring a range of possible target fuels, but one possibility is to produce hydrogen by splitting water.

Each water molecule (分子) consists of one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms. The hydrogen atoms are extracted, and then can be reunited to create highly flammable hydrogen gas or combined with CO 2 to create hydrocarbon fuels, creating a plentiful and renewable energy source. The problem, however, is that water molecules do not simply break down when sunlight shines on them-if they did, the oceans would not cover most of the planet. They need a little help from a solar-powered catalyst (催化剂).

To create practical solar fuels, scientists have been trying to develop low-cost and efficient materials that perform the necessary chemistry using only visible light as an energy source.

A new method was developed through a partnership between the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP) and Berkeley Lab's Materials Project, using resources at the Molecular Foundry and the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSCC). JCAP focused on developing a cost-effective method of turning sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into fuel. It is led by Caltech with Berkeley Lab as a major partner. The Materials Project is a program based at Berkeley Lab that aims to remove the guesswork from materials design in a variety of applications.

"What is particularly significant about this study, which combines experiment and theory, is that in addition to identifying several new compounds for solar fuel applications, we can also learn something new about the basic electronic structure of the materials themselves." says Neaton, the director of the Molecular Foundry.