Once upon a time there was a writer who liked to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the beach. As he looked down the beach, he saw someone moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up. As he got closer, he saw that a young man was reaching down to the shore, picking something up and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

    As he got closer, he called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?"

    The young man stopped, looked up and answered, "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

    "I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?"

    "The sun is up, and the tide(潮汐) is going out, and if I don't throw them in, they'll die."

    "But, young man, don't you see that there are miles and miles of beach, and starfish all along it? You can't possibly make a difference!"

    The young man listened politely, then picked up another starfish and threw it into the ocean, past the breaking waves and said, "It made a difference for that one." And he kept throwing starfish.

    There is something very special in each and every one of us. All of us can make a difference in life. If we know that, we have the power to shape the future.

    Mr. Brown got up late this morning. He was going to be late for work. It was raining hard and the streets were wet. He drove so fast that he didn't see the red lights. He couldn't stop his car and hit a car. An old man got out of the car and called out angrily, "What are you doing? How can you drive so fast?" "l'm sorry, sir," said Mr. Brown, "l didn't see the lights turn red." Then he brought out a bottle of wine and gave it to the old man. "It's cold today, sir," said Mr. Brown. "Please drink a little, and then you'll get warm." The old man drank some wine and became happy. He asked, "l'm feeling much better now. Why don't you drink any?" "l can't drink anything now, sir, "answered Mr. Brown "l'm waiting for the policeman. Only drunkards cause accidents, you know!"

    Yesterday the police were joined by more than 20 volunteers in the continuing search for the two missing teenagers, Vicky Gray and Tom Hunter, and their guide, Gavin Jones. The police said that they had disappeared during an adventure tour of Cape York Peninsula.

    This was the second day of the search and the police were now very worried about the safety of the three missing people.

    The police said that the search had covered a wide area, but the rain forest was thick and their work was made harder by the recent rain. Later on Chief Inspector (警官) Roger Fleet said, “The travellers had a radio with them. If they had been in trouble, they would have called us.”

    The three travellers left Cooktown very early on Saturday morning in a Toyota car. They took a small dirt road that runs down to the Daintree River, a dangerous river full of crocodiles (鳄鱼). Chief Inspector Roger Fleet said the tourists wouldn't have got into trouble if they had stayed on the main road.

    A photo of Vicky and Tom was found by a policeman under the “Be Careful about crocodiles” sign near the river. Why was the photo left behind? This is just one of the unanswered questions. Other questions are: Why was the photo left behind? Why was the Toyota parked and locked at the edge of the rain forest? The police said that the travellers had left a map of the area behind. Why? Why had someone drawn a cross on the point where the car is? Is this a sign? What does it mean? If anyone can give information or has seen these three young people, contact the local police in Cooktown.

    Jehdi and Hassan were businessmen and good friends.

    One day they found themselves in a forest. They were tired so they sat down and Jehdi fell asleep.

    As Jehdi slept, Hassan saw a wasp (黄蜂) coming from his friend's nose. It flew toward a pine tree (松树), circled it three times, and then returned to Jehdi's nose.

    When Jehdi woke he said, “Hassan, What a dream! Imagine a big pine tree, like that one there. A wasp flies around it and its buzz (嗡嗡叫) seems to say,

    ‘You must dig here.' I dig and I find a big box of gold.”

    “Yes, a strange dream,” replied Hassan. “Why don't you dig around that tree and see if it's true?”

    “My friend, it was just a dream and anyway it's too hot to dig.”

    Hassan said, “If you do not want to dig, I will. Sell your dream to me.”

    “How much will you pay?” asked Jehdi.

    Hassan agreed to pay 300 coins.

    “Never have I made such a business deal. How naïve (天真的) you are, Hassan!”

    The two friends then went to the pine tree Jehdi had dreamed about. Jehdi stood there with a smile on his face to see Hassan start digging. But he laughed on the other side of his face when Hassan dug up a huge box of gold.

    After this, Hassan had so much gold that he lived a rich life until his death. Jehdi often visited him. He would say, “Well, Hassan, how are you? I have come to see my dream.” They would pat(轻拍) each other on the back and laugh. But each time Jehdi went home sadly. He could never buy back his dream.

    It is over a year now since Cathy came to China. She is now living in Nanjing and has worked in a computer factory for six months. The factory is in the north of the city, and her flat is in the south. But, she has never been late for work.

    Cathy is very popular in the factory. She is kind to everybody and gets on well with the Chinese workers. After work, in the evenings they visit each other and talk about almost everything.

    However, Cathy has made up her mind to leave the factory. She is going to find a job in a travel agency(旅行社). “If I work in a travel agency, I'll be able to meet more people. I can learn more about China，” she told her friends.

    One day last week she had a talk with the manager of the travel agency .He seemed pleased with her Chinese. At the end of the talk, he said, “I'll give you a ring in a week and tell you the result.” Now Cathy is waiting for the answer.

    Studies have shown it takes a doctor about 18 seconds to stop a patient after he begins talking.

    It was Sunday. I had one last patient to see. I came close to her room in a hurry and stood at the doorway. She was an older woman, sitting at the edge of the bed, trying to put socks on her swollen feet. I spoke quickly to the nurse, saw her chart saying she was in stable condition. I was almost in the clear.

    She asked if I could help put on her socks. Instead, I began a long speech that went something like this: "How are you feeling? Your blood sugar and blood pressure were high but they're better today. The nurse said you can't wait to see your son who's visiting you today. It's nice to have family visit from far away. I'm sure you really look forward to seeing him."

    She stopped me with a serious voice. "Sit down, doctor. This is my story, not your story."

    I was surprised and ashamed. I sat down. I helped her with the socks. She began to tell me that her only son lived around the corner from her, but she had not seen him in five years. She believed that the pressure of this caused greatly to her health problems. After hearing her story and putting on her socks, I asked if there was anything else I could do for her. She shook her head and smiled. All she wanted me to do was to listen.

    Listening to someone's story costs less than expensive diagnostic testing but is key to healing. I often thought of what that woman taught me—the importance of stopping, sitting down and truly listening. And, not long after, unexpectedly, I became the patient, with a diagnosis of sclerosis at age 31. Now, 20 years later, I sit all the time—in a wheelchair.

    For as long as I could, I continued to see patients from my chair, but I had to give up my job when my hands were influenced. I still teach medical students and other health care professionals, but now from the view of doctor and patient.

    I tell them I believe in the power of listening. I tell them I know firsthand that huge healing takes place within me when someone stops, sits down and listens to my story.