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.

    Whatever life threw at us each year, our family had one tradition at Christmas: our dog Pepper opened our presents for us.

    Last year, everyone made it home for a Christmas get-together. However, it couldn't feel perfect because Pepper's health was becoming worse. Her life had already been longer than we expected-she was fourteen-and yet her mind was still sharp. Her love for life made us feel better. But her body could not keep up with her mind.

    Probably it was Pepper's last Christmas, so we decided to make sure she would enjoy it. On Christmas Eve, we each prepared presents for her.

    Soon, Pepper selected her first Christmas gift. She turned the present, just as she was a young dog once more. She pulled the paper off the dog treat before she chewed (咀嚼) it slowly. Our family was so happy.

    Pepper saw the remaining three presents, and then turned to Mom as if asking, “May I open another?”

    “Go ahead, girl!” Mom encouraged.

    For the next few minutes, Pepper opened each of her Christmas presents. While she did, she reminded us of the joy of being together. Our family felt as a whole-not because we were in the same room or city, but because our love brought us together.

    Pepper passed away after Christmas. Her peaceful passing made us tearful. Her passing was also a celebration of life, because she gave my family so much love and laughter.

    I still treasure Pepper's final Christmas gift. She taught me that no matter where we each spend the holidays, the smallest act of sincere giving can unite our family through our love. For me, that knowledge is the longest-lasting gift of all.

    A so-called “smart drug” intended to improve people's cognitive (认知的) function to protect the brain from altitude sickness.

    Visiting high-altitude sites for work, spot, religious pilgrimages and military can result in cognitive effects, including memory loss and attention difficulties. There's little you can do to prevent these symptoms except acclimatize -but this takes time and doesn't always work. A drug called oxiracetam might be the answer.

    ShengLi Hu at the Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China and her colleagues studied the performance of male military personnel at altitude. All lived in towns around 1,800 meters above sea level, During the study, they spent eight days at this altitude and then climbed for three days to reach 4,000 meters, where they stayed for up to a month.

    Twenty participants took oxriacetam three times a day for the first 15 days of the study, while another 20 received no intervention. The man did tests of attention and memory at the start and end of the study and 20 days in, by which time they had been at 4,000 meters for nine days.

    While all the participants experienced a drop in cognitive ability at 4,00 meters, those who took oxiracetam showed a much smaller drop than the control group.

    The team found that at high altitude the brain stem, which plays a critical role in supporting basic living functions, received blood at the expense of areas responsible for more advanced cognitive functions. But in people who took oxiracetam, blood flowing throughout the brain rose, thus offering more oxygen to these areas. This may be how the drug seems to lessen cognitive problems like with low oxygen.

    It isn't yet known whether diverting blood in this way could have negative effects in the long run. "The results are striking and imply that oxiracetam may be beneficial for helping to relieve cognitive ability decline caused by altitude." says Timothy Hales at the University of Dundee, UK.

    I left university with a good degree in English Literature, but no sense of what I wanted to do. Over the next six years, __________ just trying to earn an income. I tried journalism, but I didn't think I was any good, then finance, which I hated. Finally, I got a job as a rights assistant at a famous publisher. I loved working with books, although the job that I did was dull.

    I had enough savings to take a year off work, and I decided to try to satisfy a deep-down wish to write a novel. Attending a Novel Writing MA course gave me the structure I needed to write my first 55,000 words.

    It takes confidence to make a new start — there's a dark period in-between where you're neither one thing nor the other. You're out for dinner and people ask what you do, and you're too ashamed to say, "Well, I'm writing a novel, but I'm not quite sure if I'm going to get there." My confidence dived. Believing my novel could not be published.

    I put it aside.

    Then I met an agent(代理商)who said I should send my novel out to agents. So, I did and, to my surprise, got some wonderful feedback. I felt a little hope that I might actually become a published writer and, after signing with an agent, I finished the second half of the novel.

The next problem was finding a publisher. After two-and-a-half years of no income, just waiting and wondering, a publisher offered me a book deal — that publisher turned out to be the one I once worked for.

    It feels like an unbelievable stroke of luck — of fate, really. When you set out to do something different, there's no end in sight, so to find myself in a position where I now have my own name on a contract of the publisher — to be a published writer — is unbelievably rewarding.

    One day a poor man was begging with an old wallet in his hand. As he felt sad at his own bad luck, he kept wondering why some wealthy people were never satisfied and were always wanting more.

    "Here," said he, "is the master of this house—I know him well. He is a wealthy businessman. He should have turned over his business to others, and then he could have spent the rest of his life happily, but he didn't. Instead, he sent his ships to sea to trade with foreign lands. However, there were great storms on the water, so his ships were destroyed and his treasure disappeared in the sea. As for me, if I had only enough to eat and to buy clothing, I would not want anything more."

    Just at that moment, Fortune came down the street. She saw the poor man and stopped. She said to him, "Listen! I want to help you. Hold your wallet, and I will pour this gold into it, but only on this condition: all that falls into the wallet shall be pure gold, but every piece that falls upon the ground shall become dust. Do you understand?"

    "Oh, yes," said the poor man.

    "Then be careful," said Fortune. "Your wallet is old, so do not load it too heavily."

    The beggar was so glad that he quickly opened his wallet, and a stream of yellow dollars poured into it. The wallet grew heavy.

    "Is that enough?" asked Fortune.

    "Not yet."

    "Isn't the wallet cracking (裂开)?"

    "Never fear."

    The beggar's hands began to tremble. Ah, if the gold would only pour forever!

    "You are the richest man in the world now!"

    "Just a little more, add just a handful or two."

    Another piece was added, and the wallet cracked. The treasure fell upon the ground and turned to dust. The beggar had nothing now but his empty wallet. He was as poor as before.

Life Begins on Board Your Next Cruise(邮轮)

On a cruise, it's all about choices. And never about effort or annoyance. Simply step aboard and float away, as your grand accommodation takes you from port to port, country to country. Maybe you haven't been on a cruise yet. Let's see what it might look like.

Rise and shine

Everyone is a morning person on a cruise. Wake up to find yourself floating joyfully somewhere out on the horizon, between vast blue skies and rolling oceans. You've travelled far through the night, and each morning begins with a completely new and foreign destination calling from outside your window. What a way to start your day!

Breakfast of champions

Before the morning truly begins, spend some time relaxing on the top floor with a steaming cup of coffee and warm French pastries, taking in the unbelievable views and the fresh sea air. Or head to one of the many restaurants on the ground floor to find a rich meal fit for a king, then walk to the front of the ship and have some fresh fruit and American pancakes in the open-air market.

Ease into your day

Energize your morning with a yoga class, strengthening your body on the open-air board, palms stretched to the sea. Hit the gym for a refreshing workout or take a swim that will set you up for the day. If you are not so sporty, simply spend your morning sitting by the pool reading a book, perhaps losing yourself in the history, culture and legends of your next port of call.