【推荐1】“I have cancer.” Mom said and held me in a tight hug. I could feel her chest shaking as she tried not to cry but failed.

For all of my twenty-four years, my mom had been supportive. Strength and protection had always flowed from her to me. Now I knew it would have to flow the other way.

Mom didn’t stay down for long. After the shock of breast-cancer, she armed herself with a notebook and a pen and a thousand questions for the doctors. She took notes on white blood cell counts (白细胞数量) and medications (药物) with long names as though she were studying for entrance exams into medical school. “The not-knowing is the worst.” she said.

The operation was successful. The chemo (化疗) was the harder part. I went with Mom to every chemo treatment. She rarely complained, though her hair was gone and her toenails and fingernails fell out one by one. She joked that she could save money on nail polish and put it toward the doctor bills, even though she never wore nail polish. “Cancer can take my hair, my nails, my health, my very life. But it can’t take my smile.” Mom said.

Mom learned to share her fears with me, and it formed an even deeper bond (纽带) between us. Yet I am certain there were fears she didn’t share because she was still protecting me—worries she only shared with Dad. Even in the darkest hours, she would just joke about the cancer. Mom always said, “When you look your greatest fear in the eye and laugh at it, you take away some of its power.”

Mom was one of the lucky ones. She did beat her cancer, though not without scars. From her, I’ve learned I may not get to choose what I face, but I do get to choose how I face it.

【推荐3】The term “helicopter parents” refers to “a style of parents who are over focused on their children”.

Helicopter parents are always making a big push to provide children with every opportunity to succeed, from baby steps at age 1, homework at age 8, college application at age 18, employment issues at age 25 to family problems at age 30, 40 or even older. They constantly shadow the child, always directing his behavior, allowing him zero alone time.

Helicopter parenting can develop for a number of reasons. Worries about the economy, the job market, and the world in general can push parents toward taking more control over their child’s life in an attempt to protect them. Adults who felt unloved or ignored as children can overcompensate their own children. When parents see other overinvolved parents, it can cause a similar response. They feel that if they don’t involve themselves in their children’s lives, they are bad parents.

The main problem with helicopter parenting is that it can backfire. To give an example, the house where Mary lived with roommates was broken into and things were stolen. Mary called the landlord (房东) to install an alarm system, but before she could finish the negotiations (协商), her mother rushed in and demanded action. “I felt like my mother ruined my communication with our landlord. We could have gotten it done ourselves. She was well intended but only made me feel annoyed and defeated,” says Mary.

Obviously, overparenting is motivated with the idea of doing good things but it does the exact opposite. In the long run parents are actually damaging their child’s basic skills to deal with matters independently. It makes the child feel lacking in confidence, less competent in dealing with the stresses of life on their own. They’re winning the battle, but actually losing the war.

【推荐1】Lomography was first officially introduced to China when the Lomography World Congress was held in Beijing in July, 2004. The Lomography World Congress is the greatest annual event of the Lomographic Society. It has been held in Madrid, New York, Tokyo, Cologne and Vienna, etc. The 2004’s great affair (盛会) took place in Beijing and ran a full week.

The first non-official affair of Chinese Lomographers was held in August, 2005 and it attracted much attention. A lot of energetic young people got together under the banner of “I Loma you” which was the slogan of this big party. In China Lomo is more of a symbol of fashion and youth, and most of the Lomographers are stylish young people who work with or study art. The organizer told the editor that the oldest Lomographer who came here is in his forties while the youngest one is about nine years old, but most of the people who are into Lomo are about 20 years old. In China the concept of Lomography is not only about Lomographyer taking photos with Lomo camera, but also a kind of spirit. “I think, generally, the Lomo spirit is everyone trying to love one’s own life and discover the beauty of everyday life,” the organizer said, “what I think more important is the idea of freedom and creativity. The 10 th Golden Rule is ‘don’t worry about any rules’, I think it introduces to us a concept: It’s you who make the rules and it’s you who break the rules. So free your mind and let your creativity work, and your life will be fantastic.”

【推荐1】When I was seven years old, my family made me an ant farm. First, we put clean sand in a thin glass box. Then we waited for the ants to arrive. After the ants were in the glass farm, they started to make tunnels (地道). I was amazed that each one knew exactly what to do. Each had its own job.

On the fifth day a tragedy (悲剧) happened. I put my face so close to the glass farm that I knocked it over. All the tunnels fell down. Although the ants remained alive after their earthquake, one by one they began to die. I was scared as I watched them give up building their tunnels to carry the bodies to a corner of the farm. My mother said that the ants were dying of sadness. They simply could not stand that their tunnels were gone.

Although much time has passed, I still think of that ant farm. Mom had hoped it would teach me about the natural world, but it taught me much more.

Over the years, I came to realize the importance of teamwork. Working together, the ants were able to make an amazing world for themselves. I also learned that they should be admired for their hard work.

But there was an even larger lesson that I did not realize until recently: Adversity (逆境) is a natural part of life, and must be accepted. Unlike the ants, we cannot give up when we are sad. We have to realize that if a tunnel is gone, we must build another.

Giving up, I say, is not a good choice.

【推荐3】Benjamin West, the father of American painting, showed his talent for art when he was only six years of age. But he did not know about brushes before a visitor told him he needed one. In those days, a brush was made from camel’s hair. There were no camels nearby. Benjamin decided that cat hair would work instead. He cut some fur from the family cat to make a brush.

The brush did not last long. Soon Benjamin needed more fur. Before long, the cat began to look ragged (蓬乱). His father said that the cat must be sick. Benjamin was forced to admit what he had been doing.

The cat’s lot was about to improve. That year, one of Benjamin’s cousins, Mr Pennington, came to visit. He was impressed with Benjamin’s drawings. When he went home, he sent Benjamin a box of paint and some brushes. He also sent six engravings (版画) by an artist. These were the first pictures and first real paint and brushes Benjamin had ever seen.

In 1747, when Benjamin was nine years old, Mr Pennington returned for another visit. He was amazed at what Benjamin had done with his gift. He asked Benjamin’s parents if he might take the boy back to Philadelphia for a visit.

In the city, Mr Pennington gave Benjamin materials for creating oil paintings. The boy began a landscape painting. William Williams, a well­known painter, came to see his work.Williams was impressed with Benjamin and gave him two classic books on painting to take home. The books were long and dull. Benjamin could read only a little, having been a poor student.But he later said, “Those two books were my companions by day, and under my pillow at night.” While it is likely that he understood very little of the books, they were his introduction to classical paintings. The nine­year­old boy decided then that he would be an artist.