O. Henry, a famous American writer of short stories, was born in North Carolina in 1862. O. Henry was a pen name. His real name was William Sydney Porter. When he was a young boy, he did not go to school for long because of being born in a poor family, but he tried to teach himself everything he needed to know.

   When he was about 20 years old, O. Henry went to Texas. There he tried different jobs. He first worked on a newspaper, and then had a job in a bank. But he got himself into some trouble. Some money went missing from the bank. O. Henry was believed to have stolen it, so he was sent to prison(监狱). During the three years in prison, he learned to write short stories. After he got out of prison, he went to New York and went on writing.

   He wrote mostly about New York and the life of the poor there. People liked his stories, because almost all of them finished with a sudden change. This made the readers surprised.

A slow train in Southwest China with its own study room has drawn much attention. The train No. 5609/5610 runs between Chongqing and Xiushan county.

It is a public-welfare (公益的) "slow train". In some carriages (车厢), some desks and chairs next to the windows take the place of seats in order to turn the carriage into a "study carriage" for passengers in need.

The train No. 5609/5610 is not the only one of this kind. Other "slow trains" have become "study carriages", too, including No. 5619/5620 and 5633/5634. They run along the Chengdu-Kunming Railway. Students from nearby schools often take the trains between school and home. The trains are their "school buses" and they often use their travel time to finish homework. Many passengers also use their travel time to complete work.

On the train No. Z150, running between Guiyang and Beijing, a "book bar" carriage has been popular with college students. There are nearly 400 universities and colleges in the cities along the line, making the train the top choice for most students from those schools. Since 2015, the train's dining car has been open for free at night. It provides students with a lending library, free tea and other services. It's a relaxing place for the students to continue their studies.

Buying clothes in a busy shop can be a bad thing. But shopping online can be a bit hit-and-miss. Sometimes you can't find what you like. So shopping online is not an easy thing. This has led to a number of companies' owners to come up with a new idea—interactive mirrors (互动试衣镜) in shops that let you try on different clothes with different colors and patterns (样式) without putting on or taking off by yourself.

Now the scientists have made the latest interactive mirrors in the USA. The interactive mirror uses a new kind of technique (技术) to show how clothes will fit. It was founded by a person named Salvador Nissi Vilcovsky who was from California. There is a little device (装置) like a computer behind the mirror. First, we should store kinds of clothes including colors and patterns in the mirror. Then, when the customers stand in front of the mirror, the shop assistant only uses hand gestures. Through the gestures, there will be different kinds of pictures in the mirror. The pictures show the right customer in different clothes without any changing. The shop assistant can change different colors, patterns and sizes, and the smart mirror will remember top two best choices, so the customer can compare and contrast. It also lets people see clothes from different angles (角度) without straining (用力拉) their neck or using a wall of mirrors. In 2014, the technology was introduced into Neiman Marcus stores in San Francisco, and later, Texas. It was widely welcomed by the shop owners and the customers. Maybe, we can see one of these interactive mirrors in a shop in China in the near future. 

What will our life be like in the future? Let's learn about some of the cool things in the future.