Tom arrived at the New York airport two hours before the flight to Paris. He was wearing three shirts, a jacket, two pairs of socks, a pair of shorts, and two pairs of jeans. He was carrying one small backpack, which was very full, but he didn't have any other luggage. Tom needed to meet a man named Tony before he checked in for his flight. He found Tony near the Air France counter. Tony gave him a round-trip ticket and a small package.

    “Give this package to Jean-Paul at the airport in Paris. He will have a sign with your name on it. I think you can find him easily,” Tony said, ”You don't have any luggage, right?”

    “Only this backpack,” Tom answered. ”You said I could bring one carry-on bag.”

    “That's right. One carry-on bag is fine. Have a good trip.”

    “Thanks.”

    Is Tom a criminal (罪犯)? Not at all. He is an air-courier(空中信使). And he paid only $110 for the round-trip ticket to Paris. Air couriers get cheap airline tickets because they take important packages and papers to foreign countries. Businesses sometimes need to get packages and papers to people in foreign countries by the next day. Often, the only way they can do this is to use an air-courier company. It is not cheap for a business to send a package with an air courier, but it is quick.

    Every year about 80,000 people worldwide travel as air couriers. The number of tickets for courier travel is growing by about 10 percent a year. However, air-courier travel isn't for everyone. But if you have very little money, can be flexible(灵活的) about your travel plans, and don't mind wearing the same clothes for a week, it can be a great way to take a vacation!

    It's Sunday today. The weather(天气) is fine. Tom doesn't need to go to school. He takes the No. 24 bus to Wanda Cinema(电影院). An old man gets on the bus at the Xihu Park Stop. Tom stands up and says to the old man, "Come and sit here, please!" The old man goes over and sits down. He says, "Thank you very much, my boy. You are a good student." "You're welcome." says Tom.

    "Which school are you in?" the old man asks Tom.

    "I am in No. 16 Middle School." answers Tom.

    "No. 16 Middle School? I graduated(毕业) from this school 50 years ago(以前)." says the old man.

    "We are alumni." says Tom. Then they begin to talk about No. 16 Middle School.

    When she was at the age of 9,Katie planted a cabbage seed(种子)in the garden outside her house. She took care of it every day by watering it, weeding(除草)it and giving it plant food. At last, it grew to be HUGE! More than 18 Kilograms huge!

    Katie wanted to do something special with this very special cabbage. With her mom's help, Katie made up her mind to donate(捐赠)it to a local soup kitchen to help feed the hungry people in her community(社区).

    When she arrived to make her donation, she saw a long line of people waiting for food. Then Katie gave her cabbage to the guests. As people thanked her, she knew she could do more to help. With the help of her parents and school, Katie's Krops was born! Katie's Krops creates gardens to grow food that is donned to local soup kitchens to feed the hungry.

    Katie's dream is to end hunger around the world. So, after she created several gardens in her community, she decided to do more. She wanted to help other kids create gardens in their own communities!

    There are now about a hundred Katie's Krops gardens growing all over the United States! Kids between the age of 9 and 16 take care of them.