For most of us, when we were 12 years old, schoolwork and video games may well be our only memories of those days. If we remember guns being pointed at our heads, we think that we must be remembering video games or movies.

    Unluckily, at age 12, that was Malala Yousafzai's real life.

    Malala lived a quiet life in Pakistan until 2009, when the Taliban, an Islamic organization of violence(暴力) took control of her village. They forbade girls to go to school as groups. They believe that educating girls is against Islam. But Malala didn't agree. She wrote on the BBC site, "We want all girls to get their schools back."

     However, her actions put her in danger. On Oct 9, 2012, when Malala was taking a bus a man from the Taliban holding a gun shot her in the head. Luckily, the shot didn't kill her. She was taken to a hospital in the UK, and she gradually recovered.

     The shot didn't kill her courage to carry on, either. She set up the Malala Fund, which helped put 40 girls from her former home province in Pakistan into schools.

     Malala has become an international symbol of inspiration and bravery, commented BBC News. Her survival has instilled(渗透) educators with courage and is slowly helping make Pakistani schools safer.

    Malala said in her speech, "The terrorists(恐怖分子) thought they would change my aims and stop my ambitions. But nothing changed in my life except this: Weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage were born."

    On Oct 10, the European Union awarded Malala its top human rights prize. She was considered an icon (符号) of courage for all teenagers who dared to follow their aspirations .

    Jack Green is 75 years old. He is not in good condition. "I think I'm ill," he tells his wife, "I feel awful. I've got a headache and I don't feel like eating."

    "You've put on a lot of weight recently. You should see the doctor," his wife says, "ask him how to lose weight. It's not good for your health."

    "OK," says Jack. He goes to see a doctor.

    The doctor checks his heart and weighs him. Then he says, "You are too heavy. You need to do some excercise to lose about 30 kilograms. Run two miles a day for the next 100 days. Then call and tell me your weight."

    A week later, the doctor receives a call from Jack. "Doctor, I ran two miles every day and I feel much better. But I have a new problem."

    "What's that?" asks the doctor.

    "I'm 14 miles away from home, and I can't find my way back."

    Mr. Zhang and Mr. Wang work in the same office. They're good friends.Mr. Zhang says to Mr. Wang in the office,“I would like to have a small party in my home on Sunday evening. Would you and your wife like to come?”

    Mr. Wang says,“Thanks a lot. I'd like to. Let me tell my wife about it.”So Mr. Wang goes to the other office and calls his wife. About half an hour later, he comes back and looks very worried.

    “What's up?” asks Mr. Zhang,“Is your wife at home?”

    “No,” says Mr. Wang.“She isn't at home now , but my little daughter is in .My little daughter says her mother goes out to look for her.”

    Unlike most restaurants, the Enoteca Maria Restaurant in New York offers only home-cooked food by grand mas coming from across the world.

    Joe Scaravella, a 61-year-old Italian-American born and raised in New York, opened a restaurant in 2007. Having lost almost all his family members, he tried to recreate the feeling of home-cooked meal in his restaurant.

    He employed (雇佣) grandmas from different parts of Italy at first, and later, he begin hiring grandmas from other countries like Brazil, France and Greece. He built two kitchens in the restaurant: one for Italian grandmas to cook during lunchtime and the other for grandmas from other countries to cook every evening. The menus in the restaurant are constantly (不断地) changing because what is being served depends on the grandmas who are on duty.

    The restaurant opens five a week from Wednesday to Sunday. At present, there are more than 40 grandmas working in it. Most of them came to the U. S. with their children, helping take care of their grandchildren Scaravella give them the chance to express themselves in a culinary (烹饪的)way.

    The Enoteca Maria Restaurant has received positive reviews since its opening. Customers are ingested by its delicious food, comfortable environment and most importantly, the grandma who may remind them of their own.