Holmes said， “Somebody sent a letter with five pips (桔核) in it from India， and arrived seven weeks later to kill John's uncle. Then they sent five pips from Scotland and arrived three days later to kill John's father. Now they have sent five pips to John from London!”

    “The letters are all from sea ports. The writer was on a ship when he wrote the letters，” I replied.

    “Very good， Watson! And John's enemy is in London already!”

    “Well， I hope they won't kill young John，” I said.

    But they did. The next morning， we read in the newspaper that a policeman found him die near Waterloo station. Holmes was very angry about it.

    “He came to me for help and those men murdered him! I'm going to find them， if it's the last thing I do!” he said to me， and he hurried out of the house.

    At night， when he came back， he was tired， but pleased， he said， “I know the names of John's enemies! And now I'm going to send them a surprise! This will frighten them!” He took five pips from an orange and put them in an envelope (信封). On it he wrote “S. H. for J. C.”

    “I'm sending the pips to captain James Calhoun. His ship is called the Star. He and his men are sailing back to Georgia， USA.”

    “How did you find him， Holmes?” I asked.

    “Ship's papers，” he said， “I've looked at hundreds of them today. Only one ship， the Star， was in the three ports at the right times， this morning the Star left London to sail back to Georgia. I found out that the captain and two of his men， all Americans， weren't on the ship last night， so I'm sure they killed John. When they arrive in America， they'll get the pips and then the police will catch them!”

A

    Bob is my cousin．He is only five years old．He likes eating meat(肉)very much．He always has meat for lunch and dinner．He doesn't like vegetables or fruit. So he is a little fat．My aunt worries(担忧)about him and doesn't want him to have so much meat．

    It's Sunday．Bob and my aunt go to the zoo to see animals．They see tigers and bears．Bob likes them very much．Then it's time for lunch．The keepers(饲养员)bring some meat for the tigers and bears． 

    "Mum, do tigers and bears have meat every day?"Bob asks．

    "Yes，they do，"my aunt says．"It's time to have lunch．Let's eat out. What do you want for lunch?"

    "Meat．"

    "Oh, Bob．You're a little fat．Eating much meat is not good for you."

    "No, Mom．Tigers and bears eat meat every day，and they're very strong-I want to be strong，too．"

    Many years ago, I was a shy boy and lived a very peaceful life. I liked school but I felt bored.

    And then I started the fourth grade. My teacher, Mrs. Chen, was a young woman who was good at writing, art and music. Her class was very interesting. With her help, I started Fun Club with some boys in my class. I also wrote a book called Through the Forest. And lots of my classmates liked it.

    However, I was surprised when fifty years later I got a letter about a reunion (聚会). A few days later, we had a reunion at Mrs. Chen's home. Reconnecting with Mrs. Chen was a journey back in time. Fifty years have passed, but my teacher still remembers every student. She even doesn't forget the class bully (欺负) — a boy used to hit me with snowballs on my way to school. Lots of teachers thought bullying was nothing serious at that time, but Mrs. Chen didn't agree. She put a stop to it at once when she found out about it.

    Now, in my mid-fifties, I appreciate the gifts Mrs. Chen has given me even more. It's never too late to say thanks to this fantastic teacher. I hope you are lucky enough to have one teacher like Mrs. Chen.

    Linda was a sixteen-year-old girl in Canada. She was feeling bad for several days. Her mother took her to a hospital and the doctors found out that she had cancer(癌症). Linda's life changed. She began to go to the hospital often for treatment(治疗), and she also became depressed.

    The hospitals and the doctors were good, but Linda did not have hope herself. Linda's mother called a flower shop close to the hospital. "I want some beautiful flowers for my daughter. She is a teen girl with cancer. "She told the shop owner.

    Later, the flowers arrived. Then Linda saw something unusual. It was a card. It read, "Linda, I own(拥有)this flower shop. I had cancer when I was fifteen years old. I am 24 years old now. Good luck. My heart goes out to you.

Yours,

Alice

    Linda smiled. She finally felt some real hope. She found the will(意志)to live. Little things make a big difference. All of us can give little things like kindness encouragement and hope to others.