Gwendolyn Brooks was the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize for Literature. Gwendolyn Brooks wrote hundreds of poems during her lifetime. She was known around the world for using poetry to increase understanding about black culture in America.

  Her poems described conditions among the poor, racial inequality and drug use in the black community. She also wrote poems about the struggles of black women. But her skill was more than her ability to write about struggling black people. She was an expert at the language of poetry. She combined traditional European poetry styles with the African American experience.

  In her early poetry, Gwendolyn Brooks wrote about the South Side of Chicago. The South Side of Chicago is where many black people live. In her poems, the South Side is called Bronzeville. It was “A Street in Bronzeville” that gained the attention of literary experts in 1945. Critics praised her poetic skill and her powerful descriptions of the black experience during the time. The Bronzeville poems were her first published collection.

In 1950, Gwendolyn Brooks became the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Literature. She won the prize for her second book of poems called “Annie Allen.” “Annie Allen” is a collection of poetry about the life of a Bronzeville girl as a daughter, a wife and mother. She experiences loneliness, loss, death and being poor. Ms. Brooks said that winning the prize changed her life.

  Her next work was a novel written in 1953 called “Maud Martha.” “Maud Martha” received little notice when it was first published. But now it is considered an important work by some critics. Its main ideas about the difficult life of many women are popular among female writers today.

  In some of her poems, Gwendolyn Brooks described how what people see in life is affected by who they are. One example is this poem, “Corners on the Curing Sky”.

By the end of the 1960s, Gwendolyn Brooks’s poetry expanded from the everyday experiences of people in Bronzeville. She wrote about a wider world and dealt with important political issues.

After breakfast the boys wandered out into the playground. Here the day-boys were gradually assembling. They were sons of the local clergy, of the officers at the depot, and of such manufactures or men of business as the old town possessed. Presently a bell rang, and they all trooped into school. This consisted of a large, long room at opposite ends of which two undermasters conducted the second and third forms, and of a smaller one, leading out of it, used by Mr. Watson, who taught the first form. To attach the preparatory to the senior school these three classes were known officially, on speech days and in reports, as upper, middle, and lower second. Philip was put in the last. The master, a red-faced man with a pleasant voice, was called Rice; he had a cheerful manner with boys, and the time passed quickly. Philip was surprised when it was quarter to eleven and they were let out for ten minutes’ rest.

The whole school rushed noisily into the playground. The new boys were told to go into the middle, while the others stationed themselves along opposite walls. They began to play Pig in the Middle. The old boys ran from wall to wall while the new boys tried to catch them: when one was seized and the mystic words said—one, two, three and a pig for me—he became a prisoner and, turning sides, helped to catch those who were still free. Philip saw a boy running past and tried to catch him, but his limp gave him no chance; and the runners taking their opportunity, made straight for the ground he covered. Then one of them had the brilliant idea of imitating Philip’s clumsy run. Other boys saw it and began to laugh; then they all copied the first; and they ran round Philip, limping comically, screaming with shrill laughter. They lost their heads with the delight of their new amusement, and choked with helpless merriment. One of them tripped Philip up and he fell, heavily as he always fell, and cut his knee. They laughed all the louder when he got up. A boy pushed him from behind, and he would have fallen again if another had not caught him. The game was forgotten in the entertainment of Philip’s deformity. Philip was completely scared. He could not make out why they were laughing at him. His heart beat so that he could hardly breathe, and he was more frightened than he had ever been in his life. He stood still stupidly while the boys ran round him, mimicking and laughing; they shouted to him to try and catch them; but he did not move. He did not want them to see him run any more. He was using all his strength to prevent himself from crying.

   In my profession as an educator and health care provider, I have worked with numerous children infected with the virus that causes AIDS. The relationships that I have had with these special kids have been gifts in my life. They have taught me so many things, and I have especially learned that great courage fan he found in the smallest of packages.

   Tyler was born infected with HIV and from the very beginning of his life. he was dependent on medications to survive. When he was five, he had a tube surgically inserted in a vein in his chest. This tube was connected to a pump, which he carried in a small backpack on his back. Medications were prepared inside this pump and were continuously supplied through this tube to his bloodstream. At times he also needed supplemented(补充的)oxygen to support his breathing.

   Tyler wasn't willing to give up one single moment of his childhood to this deadly disease. It was not unusual to find him playing and racing around his backyard, wearing his medicine-loaded backpack and dragging his tank of oxygen behind him. Tyler's morn often teased him by telling him that he moved so fast that she needed to dress him in red. That way, when she peered through the window to check on him playing in the yard, she could quickly spot him.

   This fateful disease eventually wore down Tyler. He grew quite ill and, unfortunately, so did his HIV-infected mother. When it became apparent that be wasn't going to survive, Tyler's mom talked to him about death. She comforted him by telling Tyler that she was dying too, and that she would be with him soon in heaven.

   A few days before his death, he whispered to me, "I might die soon. I'm not scared. When I die, please dress me in red. Morn promised she's coming to heaven, too. I'll be playing when she gets there, and I want to make sure she can find me."

C

Thirty workers at a Turkmenistan television network have been fired after a cockroach（蟑螂）was seen crawling （爬行）across the newsreader’s desk during a live broadcast, it has been reported.  

       As the newsreader began the 9 pm news program, Vatan, viewers across the Central Asian country  spotted  something unusual crawling slowly across the studio table: a large brown cockroach. The program, complete with（连同） cockroach, was aired again at 11 pm that night.

       The national station was bombarded（炮轰） with calls from a large number of viewers, who said the cockroach’s guest appearance had put them off their dinner.

       It was only at 9 am the following day that horrified officials from Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Culture discovered the cockroach’s guest appearance. And they immediately informed the country’s president, Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedo.

       The president was so horrified that he fired 30 workers from the station, the Guardian reports. The fired workers included journalists, directors, camera operators, and technical staff. 

It was named the worst place in Britain to live. But now Hull has been selected as one of the world's top 10 cities to visit in travel guide company Rough Guides' list.

    The city in the English county of Yorkshire was honored 12 years after the book Crap Towns named it as the worst place in Britain to live. But why has the opinion of Hull changed so much? One of the biggest reasons is the appreciation of its many cultural attractions, just in time for Hull to be the UK's City of Culture in 2017.

    On its website, Rough Guides explained why it had chosen Hull in its list. "It'll be full of new hotels and restaurants, and even more of that home-grown creativity the city has always had," It wrote. "There are atmospheric old-time pubs, eight excellent museums and a beautiful Old Town."

    Indeed, Hull is famous for its historical pubs, like Ye Olde White Harte, the place where the decision to start the English Civil Wars of 1642 to 1651 was made. But it is not just known as a city of pubs nowadays.

    Hull is now praised for its buildings, too, like the interesting design of the Scale Lane Bridge, known as the "pinball flipper (弹球板)" because it looks like part of a pinball machine. Hull's biggest tourist attraction, the aquarium and museum known as "The Deep", is also well-known for the design of its glass and aluminum(铝) building. The aquarium, which opened in 2002, was designed by Sir Terry Farrell to look like a big shark's head.

    This year's cultural events will end with the 2016 September Freedom Festival, when the whole city will be turned into a stage for performers and artists from Sept. 2 to 4. The event's website describes it as a mixture of "theater, music, comedy, poetry and outdoor performances aimed at a wide audience of all ages". What could be a better way to celebrate the city's amazing journey from bottom to top?

For the Perry family，Christmas this year will be a little different．It will"be held in a hospital room where Owen Perry，12,is receiving treatment for leukemia(白血病).

    By the middle of January，Owen will have completed his fourth and final round of chemotherapy(化疗)．with his doctor’s permission．Owen will retum home，where the family plans to celebrate a second Christmas．That celebradon will also mark an important moment for his mother Karen．In July,a few months before her son was diagnosed with leukemia,Karen was told she had ovarian cancer(卵巢癌)．She’s just finished 18 weeks of chemotherapy．Though Karen must wait three months t0 1eam whether her cancer is in remission(缓解期)，Owen’s expected return home will finally bring the family of four together under one roof again for the first time in several months．

    “Everything has basically been turned upside down，”said Owen’s father Brian．That includes the life of their 13-year-old daughter Julia．who sometimes stayed with friends and family when they couldn’t be home．There’re many things the family miss about their lives before cancer．Owen wishes he could eat lunch with his friends at school．and get back on the basketball coort with his team．Karen longs to play golf．Brian would love for the family to gather around the dinner table again．

    When both a parent and child are undergoing treatment，lt creates a unique challenge．To help patients and their loved ones understand these emotions，hospitals frequently offer counseling and support groups．

    While Owen regularly meets with a social worker，the Perrys have yet to take advantage of therapy services．“People are always asking to help．”Karen said．“The hardest thing is to accept that help．You think you can do it all on your own.”But their loved ones have stepped in，preparing meals and helping to coordinate(调节)Julia' s schedule．Their families hosted two separate charity activities，raising several thousand dollars to help pay hospital bills and lost income，since Karen and Brian had taken leave from their jobs．

Every day，hundreds of thousands of us visit coffee shops．While we drink our coffee，we may connect our smartphone to the shop’s Wi—Fi network．and keep in touch with friends via services such as Facebook．

　　As well as socializing，we may use the time and free access to a wireless connection to get on top of our finances．Transferring money from your account to others’account is nothing more than a few taps on your screen．

　　But what coffee drinkers do not realize is that lurking（潜伏） among their fellow coffee lovers are bank robbers．

　　Unbeknown to you，this modern form of bank robber is silently coHecfing all your private data．The only sign of his thievery is perhaps a little smile as your bank log-in details appear on his screen．

　　You’ll only realize when you later go to a cash machine to withdraw（提取） some money，and discover that every penny in your account has been cleared out．

　　The common method for thieves is to use your smartphone’s Wi—Fi connection．They rely on the fact that most of us are not careful about the security of networks we connect to．

　　For example，when you are in a coffee shop，your smartphone will present you with a list of available Wi—Fi networks that you can use to connect your phone to the Interact．Most of these networks are run by legitimate（合作） companies，but sometimes they are actually created by a thief sitting nearby with little more than a laptop．

　　These networks are often given names，such as“Free Public Wi—Fi”，which deceive smartphone users into logging in．On the surface，everything seems normal，and you will be able to connect just as you are with a legitimate Wi—Fi service．

　　However，because you have connected to a network controlled by a thief，he can monitor everything you do，enabling him to collect passwords and log—in details about your bank account．

 F   

      When was the last time you sat down, made a story up and wrote it down for the fun of it? I’m guessing school. That’s the case with me. Somewhere along the way, I stopped exercising my imagination when I became an adult and just let Hollywood and other people’s books take over.

     A guy I know called Johnny Lake has started a blog (博客) at 20minstory.blogspot.co.uk. I’ve now written three stories for him. The 20-minute story gives you a time limit to pen a tale. It could be about anything. But I found it’s not as easy as just telling an opinion or experience as a journalist. To make something up and finish it in that time, you need to have the idea.

Eventually I found the idea and the moment. I picked up my iPad in bed in South Wales and wrote about the weather I might encounter (遭遇) driving through the Brecon Beacons, across the country to the Yorkshire moors (漠泽), and on to Northumberland, which at the time was in rainstorms, floods and snow threats.

      I thought about those unstoppable TV pictures of old stone bridges being washed away, and set my story in the mind of a guy who goes hunting for wild weather, explaining why he loves it so much and how nature makes him feel that man can be easily harmed.

I finished it in 18 minutes and sent it off to the site. Johnny published it. People read it and gave me feedback (反馈). I hope it encouraged others to give it a go. Since then, I’ve written another about fear in the face of danger on the London Underground, and another about meeting the American film director Quentin Tarantino’s parents on a plane many years ago.

      It feels good to be writing something for no other reason than the fun and the challenge of it. In all three of the stories, I haven’t gone back and edited (编辑) anything. All you have to do is write the first words and you’re away.

Natural disasters are often the headlines of newspapers. There have been floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, wildfires, snowstorms and so on. People often find themselves in the middle of one of these disasters and have their lives completely destroyed. But it doesn’t have to be that way for you and your family. There are several important steps that you can take to help you and your family reduce the damage.

   The most important thing is to develop a plan. Discover just what disasters you can expect in your area and think how to best prepare for them. Every city, family, and home may have different threats (威胁) and dangers. It is up to you to evaluate(评估) your situation and come up with a proper plan.

   Share responsibilities(责任) with everyone. You are going to have to work together as team! Every family member should know what to do, where to go, and how to get there. Everyone also needs to know how they will communicate about their locations and their condition to the family. Make sure that all family members know how to text because sending a text will often work when voice calls won’t.

Have a survival kit(救生包) ready at all times. There should be one in your car, your home, even one at your office. Rotate (更换)the food and water in it every 6 months. Also check batteries and the functions of flashlights, radios, and other battery-operated equipment in it. Make sure you know how to use all the tools.

Unfortunately, natural disasters don’t wait for you to be prepared enough before they strike. They usually happen suddenly when you least expect them. But do the right things for you and your family by getting prepared in advance, and you will never be sorry.

B

Most of us know about the Nobel Prize, especially the Nobel Peace Prize, but few of us know anything about the man who set them up. His name was Alfred Nobel. He was a great scientist and inventor himself. Besides, he had a big business. His business may surprise you. He made and sold explosives. His companies even made and sold weapons. Isnˈt this something that surprises you? The man who made money from weapons should set up the Peace Prize?

Though Alfred Nobel had a lot of money from weapons, he hated war. He hoped that there would be no war in the world. He was one of the richest in Europe. When he died in 1896, he left behind him a lot of money and his famous will. According to his will, most of his money was placed in a fund. He wanted the interest from the fund to be used as prizes every year. We know them as the Nobel Prizes. The Nobel Prizes are international. Alfred Nobel wanted the winners to be chosen for their work, not the country they came from.

Alfred Nobel had given his whole life to his studies and work and to the benefits of mankind. He made money all by his own efforts, but he left the world share his wealth. His inventions and wealth stay with the world for ever.