Tom and his cousin took a boat trip. When they got on the boat, every passenger(乘客)should answer the keeper a question. If the passenger answered "yes", he or she got one gift; if the passenger answered "no", he or she got two gifts. Tom and his cousin saw all about this. Now it was their turn. The keeper came up to them and asked, "Are you a good sailor?" Tom wanted to get two gifts, so he answered "no" loudly, at the same time he said, "I have never been a sailor, how could I be a good sailor?" The keeper gave him two gifts. His cousin gave the same answer, so he got two gifts, too.

    The boat started off. The passengers began to open their gifts. Tom and his cousin did the same. They found that one of the two gifts was a small bottle of drinking water, the other was a seasick tablet(晕船药). Tom had a look at a "yes"-passenger's gift. His was a nice chocolate. Tom shouted at the keeper, "We are never seasick. Why do you give us seasick tablets? "

    My life plan is to visit all the states in the US. Several years ago， my husband and I were traveling in the northwest. One day， when we were having our breakfast， I lost my wallet that had over $300 in it. There was no way for us to be able to find it， but we went on with our trip.

    We went off to drive around and enjoy the city， completely forgetting my missing wallet. Later on， when I checked my phone， there was a message from the boss of the restaurant where we had our breakfast：

    “I have something that belongs to you， and you're going to be very happy.”

    We got back to the restaurant and there was the wallet on the table with all the money in it!

    The boss's son found the wallet in front of the door， and brought it to him. He thought that it must belong to someone who had a meal in the restaurant， so he checked inside and found my phone number on a piece of paper.

    Peter Owen has been making wigs (假发) since the 1980s. He has made wigs for the stars of more than seventy movies, including Tom Hanks in Philadelphia, Johnny Depp in Sleepy Hollow, and Nicole Kidman in The Others. One of his biggest jobs so far has been designing the hair and make-up(化妆) for the three Lord of the Rings movies. He had just six weeks to design and make more than a hundred wigs, each one a different style, colour, shape and length.

    The hair and make-up in a movie are just as important as the costumes(戏装) or the sets. Over the years, Peter has made actors look older, younger, healthy and sick. For one movie he even made a female actor look like a man!“What people don't realize about wigs is that we are not always making people more beautiful,” he says. “Often we are covering up beauty and making them look ordinary.”

    All Peter's wigs are hand-made using human hair, so they look as real as possible. This also makes them very expensive―between US$4,500 and US$12,500 each! He knows he's done a good job when people don't realize the star of the movie is wearing a wig. So he was pleased when one newspaper said that Nicole Kidman had dyed（染色） her hair dark brown for a movie. “It was a wig and no one knew that,” he says.

    At just 17 years old, Pakistan's Malala is the youngest ever winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

    Malala came to international attention when she spoke up for the rights of all children to have an education. Malala's father was a teacher who ran a school. For her early life, her family lived in the school so she was used to sitting in the classrooms before her school age. Now, she can speak three languages and loves learning.

    She grew up in Pakistan. The living conditions in her area were very poor and unsafe. Many people were hurt and many schools were closed. Especially girls were not allowed to go to school.

    Reporters from Britain told the world what was happening with the help of Malala. In 2009, 12-years-old Malala wrote 35 diaries on the Internet. She wrote about the difficulties of her life, and about her strong hope for education. Soon after that, Malala's family was chosen to be in a TV program to show ordinary children's education because both father and daughter spoke good English, and they cared about children getting an education.

    From then on, a few people hated her and hurt her. Though terribly wounded, Malala became a courageous fighter for the education rights of millions of girls worldwide. "I don't want to be remembered as the girl who was hurt, I want to be remembered as the girl who stood up," she said.

    She has now written a book about her life called I am Malala. The book shows that one person's voice has the power to inspire change in the world. In her speech, she spoke warmly about her aims for education and peace. One sentences she said one day became famous: One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can greatly change the world.

    "My dear lady," says Holmes. "You're shivering. Are you cold? Do you want a cup of hot tea?"

    "I'm not cold," the woman replies. "I fear for my life!"

    "We are here to help you. Don't worry about anything. I don't know you. But I know many things about you. For example, I know how you travel. You came to London by train. You also rode to the train station on a horse­drawn wagon(马拉车). "

    "Why, yes. You're right. But how do you know these things？"

    "I see a return ticket in your glove. I see fresh mud on the left arm of your dress. Now tell us your problem. "

    "My name is Helen Stoner," she states. "My mother and father are dead. I am living with my stepfather, Dr Grimesby Roylott. He comes from a rich family. But they are no longer rich. They have nothing except a small piece of land and a huge old house. We are living in the house. Dr Roylott is using my mother's money for expenses(开支). Part of it was for my sister and me. It was for our marriages."

Holmes is sitting in his chair. His eyes are closed. He is listening carefully to Helen's story. He hears every detail.

    Helen continues. "My stepfather has no friends. He fights with everyone. He is strong and gets angry quickly. Everyone is afraid of him. "

    "He has no friends at all?" asks Holmes.

    "No. He talks to no one except the gypsies. They are poor people who travel from place to place. A band of gypsies is staying on our land right now."

    "Are you and your sister afraid of the gypsies?"

    "My dear Mr. Holmes. You are making me so sad. My sister is dead. That is why I am standing here in this room."