French artist Henri Matisse(1869-1954) was described as “a man ahead of his time” . In honor of the artist, an exhibition titled “Matisse by Matisse” will be held in China this year. It follows Matisse’s works across sixty years.

Originally, Matisse aimed to become a lawyer. He attended law school and worked as a law worker until he came down with a disease in1889. To help him kill time on the road to recovery, Matisse’s mother bought him painting tools. His feeling for color was waken up and he decided to become an artist.

Matisse wanted to create his own style. Instead of painting realistic objects people saw he preferred to express his emotions and feelings toward these objects. One way he achieved this was through using bold(大胆的) colors. In his eyes, colors had more meanings than people would usually think of.

Yet his style was so unusual that Matisse was called the “father of Fauvism(野兽派)” . Even so, Matisse never gave up digging out more for art. Matisse once wrote in the book Jazz that “an artist should never be a prisoner of himself”. In the later years of his life when he suffered from cancer and couldn’t paint, he tried a new kind of art: paper cut-outs. He took brightly painted papers, cut them into shapes, and arranged them in designs. That’s what Matisse called “painting with scissors”.

With great creativity, Matisse’s works have been welcomed and used in many forms of popular art. For example, Yves Saint Laurent, an influential European fashion designer, showed a section of his 1981 autumn-winter collection in honor of Matisse’s works. Now his cut-out patterns and stylish colors are still seen on album covers, T-shirts and in ads.

Some teens are disapproving of compulsory BMI (body mass index) （身体质量指数） checks in PE classes. Do BMI checks at school do more harm than good? Two teens take sides.

Maya Meade, a high school freshman in Ohio, says yes. “I understand that schools want to weigh students because they are concerned about their physical health. That’s not a bad thing! But what about their mental health? For many students, appearance and self-image are huge sources of stress. Forcing teens to be weighed at school will only increase the pressure they feel to fit a certain mold (模子)”, says Maya.

In Maya’s opinion, weight is a personal matter that should stay between a doctor and a patient. She says, “Just imagine someone who struggles with body image being told that his or her BMI is too high as classmates look on! Even if other kids can’t hear, no student wants to feel judged by his or her teacher. That’s not why we go to school.”

Maya thinks if a school wants to have an impact on a student’s physical health, there are better ways to do it, such as providing healthy but filling meals, encouraging physical activity and teaching students about nutrition.

Ben Bagbek, a second-year student in a high school in New York, holds a different opinion. “There is no reason why a school should not be allowed to weigh its students and teach them how to calculate BMI! Obesity (肥胖症) is a huge public health concern in our country. And schools are in a position to help students understand what their weight means to their health -- before they’re at risk of life-threatening conditions.”

“A school’s job is to help students reach their full potential, and your health undoubtedly plays a role in your academic performance. BMI is not a perfect measurement, but it can help you identify the need for healthier eating habits or more physical activity.” says Ben.

The bottom line is: When you feel good, you learn better. As long as the actual number on the scale stays private, it should be viewed as an important part of your health education.

Many people are interested in taking selfies(自拍). However, can you imagine some animals also like this cool way of self-expression?

Two gorillas(大猩猩)and a park keeper can be clearly seen in a selfie. The gorillas are striking poses(姿势)like humans. They look so cool! In fact, the park keeper named Mathieu Shamavu used to help save the two gorillas when they were very small. Ever since, they’ve lived at Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The park is the home to about 1,000 mountain gorillas and tries to protect wildlife.

The selfie became famous after being posted on Facebook by Mathieu Shamavu. So far, it has been shared more than 20,000 times.

In the selfie, these two gorillas Ndakazi and Ndeze appear to be natural in front of the camera. One stands proudly in a power pose with her feet wide apart, while the other leans(倾斜)forward to make herself into the shot.

“The two girls are always funny, so this was the perfect shot of their true personalities,” Vinunga National Park wrote on Instagram.

According to the park, the gorillas are used to thinking of the park keepers as their “parents”.

Since they were found, the park has been taking care of them and they’ve learned to imitate what their “parents” usually do. They act very like humans.