A car mechanic Paul Jobs and his wife Clara jobs adopted Steve Jobs. Steve was abandoned at birth. Paul and Clara loved Steve very much. They made him feel that he was ‘chosen’ and very ‘special’. One of his colleagues, Del Yocam said about Steve, “I think his desire for complete control of whatever he makes derives directly from his personality and the fact that he was abandoned at birth.” Jobs’ mother taught him how to read and write before he went to the elementary school. So when he went to school, he found out that he knew everything that the teachers were teaching. He got bored and played pranks to keep him busy. This continued for the first few years. It was clear from his behaviour that he could not accept other people’s authority. He said, “I encountered authority of different kind that I have never encountered before, and I did not like it.” A turning point came when he was in grade four. His teacher Imogene Hill watched him very closely for some time and soon found out how to handle him and get things done by him. In order to get things done she used to give him money and food. One day after school, she gave Jobs a workbook with math problems in it. She said, “ I want you to take it home and do this.” She showed Jobs a huge lollipop and said, “ When you are done with it, if you get it mostly right, I will give you this and five dollars.” Within two days, Jobs solved the math and returned the book to his teacher. This continued for a couple of months and Jobs enjoyed learning so much that he did not need any return. Also he liked his teacher very much and wanted to please her. In Ms. Hill’s class, Jobs felt he was special. At the end of the fourth grade, Jobs did very well. It was clear not only to Jobs and his parents but also to the teachers that he was exceptionally intelligent. The school proposed that Jobs should skip two classes English For Today 123 and go into seventh grade. This would mean that Jobs would find the study challenging and he would be motivated to study. His parents had him skip only one grade. Steven Paul Jobs was the pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was famous for his career in the electronic field of computers and consumers.

Steven Paul Jobs ( 24 February 1955 – 5 October 2011) , most popularly known as Steve Jobs was the co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Apple Inc. He was the pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was famous for his career in the electronic field of computers and consumers. This became possible through the marketing of Apple computers. In 1985, Jobs left Apple after losing a power battle with the board of directors. He then founded NeXT, a computer platform development company specializing in the higher education and business market. On the other hand, Apple failed to bring up any new operating system during Job’s absence. Jobs returned to Apple as an adviser, and took control of the company as an interim CEO. By 1998, Jobs brought back Apple to profitability from the verge of bankruptcy. He supervised the development of iMac, iTunes, iPod, iPhone and iPad. These devices are so simple and user friendly that even a child can operate them. He supervised the company’s Apple Stores, iTunes Store and the App Store too. The success of these products and services brought about steady financial returns for several years and pushed Apple to become the world’s most valuable publicly traded company in 2011. This triumph is regarded as the greatest turnarounds in the business history. Steve Jobs has been highly acclaimed as a visionary leader. Jobs has changed people’s perspective computer, and how they use it, consume personal media, and how they communicate with each other. Hence i-Books, i-Phones, i-Pods and i-Pads have become extremely popular. Jobs saw and felt the need of Wi-Fi (wireless English For Today 121 internet connection) in laptops. It is who made Wi-Fi a standard feature of every laptop, and of many other devices worldwide. So Jobs’ dream to be anywhere anytime became a reality. Jobs also co-founded and served as chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios. He became a member of the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company in 2006, when Disney acquired Pixar.

Mother Teresa was moved by the presence of the sick and dying on the streets of Kolkata. She founded the home for the dying destitute and named it ‘Nirmal Hridoy’, meaning ‘Pure Heart’. She and her fellow nuns gathered the dying people off the streets of Kolkata and brought them to this home. They were lovingly looked after 118 English For Today and cared for. Since then men, women and children have been taken from the streets and carried to Nirmol Hridoy. T hese unloved and uncared for people get an opportunity to die in an environment of kindness and love. In their last hours they get human and Divine love, and can feel they are also children of God. Those who survive, the Missionaries of Charity try to find jobs for them or send them to homes where they can live happily for some more years in a caring environment. Regarding commitment to family, Mother Teresa said, “ Maybe in our own family, we have somebody, who is feeling lonely, who is feeling sick, who is feeling worried. Are we there? Are we willing to give until it hurts in order to be with our families, or do we put our interest first? We must remember that love begins at home and we must also remember that future of humanity passes through the family”. Mother Teresa's work has been recognised throughout the world and she has received a number of awards. These include the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize (1971), the Nehru Prize for Promotion of International Peace & Understanding (1972), the Balzan Prize (1978), the Nobel Peace Prize (1979) and the Bharat Ratna (1980). Mother Teresa died at the age of 87, on 5 September 1997.The world salutes her for her love and compassion for humanity. She has taught us how to extend our hand towards those who need our love and support irrespective of creed, caste and religion. Draped in a white and blue-bordered sari, wrinkled face, ever soft eyes and a saintly smile, is the picture of Mother Teresa in our mind.

The pioneer of Bangladeshi modern art Zainul Abedin is widely acclaimed for his Bengal ‘Famine Sketches’. Through a series of sketches, Zainul not only documented the harsh famine of 1940 but also showed its sinister face through the skeletal figures of the people destined to die of starvation in a man-made plight. He depicted these extremely shocking pictures with human compassion. He made his own ink by burning charcoal and using cheap ordinary packing paper for sketching. He produced a series of brush and ink drawings, which later became iconic images of human sufferings.

Zainul developed a knack for drawing and painting when he was a high school student. After completing high school, he got admission to the Government School of Art, Calcutta (now Kolkata). He graduated with the first position in first class in 1938. He was appointed teacher of the Art School while he was still a student there. He also attended the Slade School of Arts, London in 1951-52.

Zainul Abedin is considered the founding father of Bangladeshi art. He was an artist of outstanding talent and earned international reputation. For his artistic and visionary qualities, he is referred to as Shilpacharya meaning ‘great teacher of art’ in Bangladesh. He was the first Principal of the first art school in Dhaka in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). He organized the Nabanna (harvest) exhibition in 1969. In the exhibition, a 65-foot long scroll portraying the rural East Pakistan in phases from abundance to poverty. This intensified the already heightened non-cooperation movement against the Pakistan regime. The exhibition was symbolic of the artists protest and a milestone in demanding cultural and political freedom. Zainul’s dynamic style of work is evident in a 30 foot long scroll painting called Manpura, which was done to commemorate the death of hundreds and thousands of people in the devastating cyclone of 1970.

He designed the pages of Constitution of Bangladesh. He founded the Folk Art Museum at Sonargoan, and also Zainul Abedin Shangrahasala, a gallery of his own works in Mymensingh in 1975.

The river Brahmaputra plays a predominant role in his paintings and a source of inspiration all through his career. Much of his childhood was spent near the scenic beauty of the river Brahmaputra. A series of water colours that Zainul did as his tribute to the river earned him the Governor’s Gold Medal in an all-India exhibition in 1938. This was the first time when he came into spotlight and this award gave him the confidence to create his own visual style.

Zainul was born in Kishoreganj on 29 December 1914, and died on 28 May, 1976.