Mr. Hopkins said, "We have a verywide choice of items for sale. Whenever I serve a new customer, I take hispicture. "  Mr. Hopkins pointed toan ancient camera on a table.

    I began to appreciate the lovely itemson sale. I spent a very pleasant hour being shown the commodi-ties inthe shop. Finally,  I bought an antiquejewelry box, a pair of riding boots and a sewing machine.

    I was very excited that I had found sucha good little shop. "I will tell all my friends about your love-ly place." I told the shopkeeper. "Please don't do that, sir. " said Mr.Hopkins. "This is a special place for special people. You must keep thisshop a secret. " Then he took my photograph and handed me the picturestraight away.

    " That was quick! " Iexclaimed. In the picture I looked proud and excited holding the presents I hadbought there.

    On Christmas Day, my friends andrelatives were delighted with the presents I had bought for them.

    For weeks, my brother begged me to takehim to the wonderful little shop. I finally agreed.

We walked along Oxford Street, past thedepartment store and found—nothing. In its place was an empty space beingused as a car park. I checked the area again. There was the music shop, andthere was the department store. In between should have been Hopkins and Son,but it wasn't there.

    Just then, an old policeman came."Are you looking for something, sir?" he asked. "I am lookingfor a little shop called Hopkins and Son. "

    "Oh yes, there was a shop here'once called Hopkins and Son. But it was knocked down over 30 years ago. "

    I looked again at the place, then Ireached into my pocket and took out the photograph that Mr. Hop-kins had takenof me holding my presents in the little shop.

    " How strange!"  I screamed.

    Developed and developing nations can learn from each other seeking a low carbon economy, a Chinese government official said in Shanghai yesterday. “China doesn't lag developed nations in terms of energy saving and green economy”, said Zhou Changyi, director of the energy saving department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

    “While we can learn many aspects from developed nations, they also should learn something from us, such as water conservation,” Zhou said in a speech during the new Path of China's Industrialization forum at the ongoing China International Industry Fair 2009.

    He said industrialized nations and China are dealing with different issues to combat climate change. The United Kingdom, for example, is concerned about transport, buildings and new energy in reducing carbon emissions. For China, the most urgent task is how to realize new type of industrialization and avoid mistakes that other countries made when they industrialized.

    As such, overseas exhibitors at this year's fair are showing ways to help China achieve low carbon emissions in the industrial section.

    Swiss power and automation technology group ABB called for a stronger focus on product lifecycle assessment, or LCA, which is used to study the environmental impact of a product from the research and manufacturing stage through its usage and recycling.

    Tobias Becker, head of ABB's process automation division for North Asia and China, said LCA is an effective tool in helping manufacturing industries to reduce carbon emissions.

    LCA shows that industrial customers should focus on a product's environmental impact throughout its lifecycle instead of on its initial investment or ready to use stage. For example, a motor's initial investment accounts for only 3 percent of its lifecycle cost, while 94 percent goes to fuel consumption and the rest to maintenance.

    Richard Hausmann, North East Asia CEO of Siemens, said, “The color of future industrialization is green.”

    The Germany Company recently announces that it wants to receive orders worth more than 6 billion Euros (US 8.8 billion) for intelligent net power networks, Smart Grid, over the next five years. Siemens has set a 20 percent market share target for the global smart grid business.

    A smart grid delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers using digital technology, advanced sensors specialized computers that save energy, reduce costs and increase reliability. The United States and China are considered the two biggest markets for smart grid.

    Welcome to Inspire 21!

    Our aim is to provide ”Inspiring words for the 21st century”. So, here we offer a unique collection of inspiring short stories, motivational short stories, and humorous short stories for you to read and share.

    If you do care to share, click the “SHARE”button in the bottom left corner of each page. And thanks for telling others about Inspire 21.

    The inspiring stories that are labeled(标记)“TRUE”are done so to the best of our knowledge, but we do not have full proof in some cases. However, all of these stories and messages are provided because of their uplifting content, whether true or not. Many books we've read and movies we've watched were totally untrue, but we enjoyed the inspiration they gave us—especially if they had a happy ending.

    So, please read and share these stories at your own discretion(判断力). Thank you for your understanding!

    Also, many of the inspiring stories used here are used with permission from the author. However, we cannot grant(授予) permission to reuse any of these inspirational stories, as the majority of them are not ours.

    Lastly, many inspiring stories(emailed to us or we came across online )are listed as “Author Unknown” If you happen to know the author's name, to whom credit should be given, please contact us with that information so we can keep our inspiring story collection accurate. Thank you again!

    Even nowadays there is a lot of misunderstanding between nationalities. Let's have a look at what the following people have to say.

    Maria Conti: I find the English people insincere, cold and unfriendly. They keep saying "Thank you", "I'm sorry" even when they don't know each other. They are even polite to their own relatives. Except for helping you find your way in the streets, they aren't really friendly and never invite you to their houses.

    Giannis Stinios: On the contrary I found them broad-minded and friendly.I was invited to people's houses and they all showed great interest in my ideas,Greek life and people.In England I learned that it was possible to be warm, friendly and polite at the same time.

    Judy Brown: I lived in both Italy and Greece for a few years.At first there were a few misunderstandings between my foreign friends and myself. For example, I once gave a Greek friend a present for her birthday party.I was rather sorry that she did not unwrap it immediately. What's more, she even didn't thank me until I asked her if she liked it.I've learned from different experiences that a lot of foreigners find our attitude to what we English people call politeness rather insincere. They feel that politeness isn't necessary between friends.

    You have heard the words “that which does not kill you makes you stronger”. I have found it true. But I also believe in the philosophy that we are not defined (定义) by what happens to us, but by what we do when things happen to us.

    Some friends think we have had far more than our share of bad things occur, but I don't think bad things are shared. They are events that occur as the result of many aspects, sometimes far past our control or even knowledge of them. I am also a firm believer in the laws of unintended consequences — one event causes things that are quite unexpected, sometimes positive, sometimes not.

    So as I considered the question of “What motivates me?” and sought an answer, it struck me that I simply refuse to be defeated. I won't let life or events tear me down to the point at which I am no longer me, or simply stop being.

    In 2008, I battled three types of cancer, had four cancer operations, the firm I worked for closed without notice, my wife was in a horrible car accident, got laid off from her company, the economy devastated our life savings, … and that was for starters.

    We also lost two family members and my closest friend. He was the last person I would expect to pass away out of our friends. But a disease took hold of him 9 years earlier. His memorial service was filled with love, and many of us told about his joy of life, humor, his achievements, and the challenges he had overcome in his life — which were many and painful. He would not be defeated in his life either.

    Today, my wife and I are hand-in-hand, continuing trying to live our lives with dignity, although living it differently from the end of 2007.