2 . In spring, chickens start laying again, bringing a welcome source of protein at winter’s end. So it’s no surprise that cultures around the world celebrate spring by honoring the egg.

Some traditions are simple, like the red eggs that get baked into Greek Easter breads. Others promote the egg into a fancy art, like the heavily jewel-covered “eggs” that were favored by the Russians starting in the 19th century.

One ancient form of egg art comes to us from Ukraine. For centuries, Ukrainians have been drawing complicated patterns on eggs. Contemporary artists have followed this tradition to create eggs that speak to the anxieties of our age: Life is precious, and delicate. Eggs are, too.

“There’s something about their delicate nature that appeals to me,” says New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast. Several years ago, she became interested in eggs and learned the traditional Ukrainian technique to draw her very modern characters. “I’ve broken eggs at every stage of the process — from the very beginning to the very, very end.”

But there’s an appeal in that weakness. “There’s part of this sickening horror of knowing you’re walking on the edge with this, that I kind of like, knowing that it could all fall apart at any second.” Chast’s designs, such as a worried man alone in a tiny rowboat, reflect that delicateness.

Traditional Ukrainian decorated eggs also spoke to those fears. The complex patterns were believed to offer protection against evil.

“There’s an ancient legend that as long as these eggs are made, evil will not take over in the world,” says Joan Brander, a Canadian egg-painter who has been painting eggs for over 60 years, having learned the art from her Ukrainian relatives.

Although the tradition dates back to 300 B. C., the old symbols on the eggs still reflect their good wishes. A decorated egg with a bird on it, given to a young married couple, is a wish for children. A decorated egg thrown into the field would be a wish for a good harvest.

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Currently, words like “dirty” and “evil” are still used in dictionaries to define the word “black”. The words we choose matter, so it’s time to change them. It is a chance for you to learn how language affects perception. Sign up for resources on www.dosomething.org for a chance to win $5,000.

This firm is looking for a short video — just two to three minutes — on the topic of avoiding a car accident when driving, like texting while driving, or something more complex. Videos will be judged based on innovation, design and topic-related content. Sign up on the wedsite: www.phillyinjurylawyer.com. The first place winner will receive a scholarship of $1,500.

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If you want a simple way to earn money for college, look no further than VIP Voice’s $5,000 scholarship. To enter, all you have to do is sign up www.vipvoice.com and complete two short surveys. As you complete surveys, you’ll earn points. The more points you have, the better your chances of winning the contest.

They say to find out what you really want, go back to when you were a child.

When I was a kid, I really wanted to be a painter, but I was never great at it. I was discouraged, because in art classes my paintings were never the most beautiful. In the third grade, we were given a project to create a portrait. I used the skills and tips we were all taught in class. After we were done, we presented our portraits. We stood in front of the class and explained our technique. I remember looking at other portraits thinking, “We were given the same skills, why do theirs look so professional and mine looks so amateur?”

But I still really enjoyed painting because it’s a forgiving art. If I don’t like what I’ve put on paper, I can paint over it. I can mix colors and make new ones. Also, I can release some creative juices, use what has inspired me and allow that to pour out of me in a way I may not have imagined.

But because I have always wanted to paint beautiful pictures, I just decided to change what beauty looked like. I changed what beauty meant to me.

Throughout school, they taught us about Picasso, Van Gogh and Leonardo da Vinci who were always painting whatever was in front of them and around them. But that’s not what I saw around me.

Then I learned about Basquiat, who inspired me to paint abstract pictures. I paint when I’m moved, and I am often moved by what’s natural: emotions, nature, and other forms of art. I am also very moved by pain. When there is pain in the world or in my heart, it can be unbearable. I had a conversation with an activist in St. Louis named Spook, and I explained to her this feeling and she told me, “Pain is energy. You have to learn how to channel that energy into something productive.” So sometimes I channel that pain into art, into a painting.

Even if the picture doesn’t turn out aesthetically (美学地) pleasing by society’s standards, it’s still beautiful that I was able to create something. My paintings may not be a Basquiat, but they’re mine, so I love them anyway.

6 . Trees should only be pruned (修剪) when there is a good and clear reason for doing so and, fortunately, the number of such reasons is small. Pruning involves the cutting away of overgrown and unwanted branches, and the inexperienced gardener can be encouraged by the thought that more damage results from doing it unnecessarily than from leaving the tree to grow in its own way.

First, pruning may be done to make sure that trees have a desired shape or size. The object may be to get a tree of the right height, and at the same time to help the growth of small side branches which will thicken its appearance or give it a special shape. Secondly, pruning may be done to make the tree healthier. You may cut diseased or dead wood, or branches that are rubbing against each other and thus cause wounds. The health of a tree may be encouraged by removing branches that are blocking up the centre and so preventing the free movement of air.

One result of pruning is that an open wound is left on the tree and this provides an easy entry for disease, but it is a wound that will heal. Often there is a race between the healing and the disease as to whether the tree will live or die, so that there is a period when the tree is at risk. It should be the aim of every gardener to reduce that risk of death as far as possible. It is important to make the area, which has been pruned, smooth and clean, for healing will be slowed down by roughness. You should allow the cut surface to dry for a few hours and then paint it with one of the substances available from garden shops produced especially for this purpose. Pruning is usually done in winter, for then you can see the shape of the tree clearly without interference from the leaves and also it is very unlikely that the cuts you make will bleed. If this does happen, it is, of course, impossible to paint them properly.

7 . Sometimes you may find that you are not happy in your life, although everything is going well. Most of the time you have to _______ this kind of unhappy life, since it is really hard to make changes and move on to a new business, which often involves taking _______.

My father, however, was a quite different example. When I was about 9 or 10, he told me that I should be whatever I wanted when I grew up, so long as I _______ it. He said that if I were not feeling _______, I should try to change my life to make it more delightful, and I would find real _______ as a result. From him I learned a great lesson on the _______ of doing one’s favorite.

My father got into the insurance industry when he was very young, and he was very _______. He became one of the company’s top salesmen, even though he was only 25 years old. Soon he became one of the first independent insurance salesmen in our state. _______, he decided to leave his successful _______ and move on to other fields. You might ________ why he did so. The answer was simple: he liked to do something challenging, something that ________ his strength and ability, especially in a way that is interesting. My father just wanted to have a try, and so he did. After leaving the insurance company, he worked in social media and then in digital technology, which really ________ him. Of course he wasn’t successful in everything he tried, but he told me for ________ that he did something he liked, and that he had the ________ of doing what he enjoyed.

________ one’s comfortable life is not easy. I’ve learned this from my father, and I can say no matter whether the ________ is good or bad, it is ________ doing one’s favorite. When we do something we love, it gives us extra ________ to meet our goals, which are associated with psychological well-being and health. As long as we have no ________ and give it a try, we are forced to push against ourselves. After all, we all want to be where we are ________ ourselves.