Daniel comes from Sydney. He is now staying in Beijing with his family. He usually gets up at about 6:30 am and has breakfast at 7:00 am. Then he leaves home at 7:15 am.

    He gets to school at 7:45 am. His first class begins at 8:00 am. There are four lessons in the morning. Morning classes are over at 11:50 am, and he has lunch 10 minutes later.

    Afternoon classes begin at 1:30 pm. There are two lessons in the afternoon. They are over at 3:10 pm. Daniel usually stays at school for another hour to play soccer, and then goes home.

B

    Thomas Edison lit up the world with his invention of the electric light. Without him, the world might still be in the dark at night. However, the electric light was not his only invention. Nearly every two weeks, he created something new.

    Thomas Edison was born in 1847. He attended school for only three months. His mother taught him at home, but he was mostly self-educated. He started trying out his new ideas at a very young age.

    When he was 12 years old, he got his first job. He became a newsboy on a train. He did experiments on the train in his spare time. Unluckily, his first work experience didn't end well. He was fired when he accidentally set fire to the floor of the train. Then Edison worked as a telegraph operator (电报员) for five years, but he continued to spend much of his time creating things until the vote recorder (投票计数器), his first invention, came in 1868.

    Thomas Edison was nearly deaf in one ear, but he never minded. Because of this, he could have more time for work. He always worked 16 out of every 24 hours. Sometimes his wife had to remind him to eat and sleep. Thomas Edison died at the age of 84. He left many inventions that greatly improved the quality of life all over the world.

B

    I have a twin brother, Bob. He is taller than me. His hair is shorter than mine. Many people think we must have many things in common. But in fact this is not true. Bob is more outgoing than me. When my parents' friends come to our house, Bob often sits there and talks to them. But I often sit there and say nothing. Bob likes reading, cooking and drawing. I just like swimming and playing basketball. He has more hobbies than me, but he is not as athletic(擅长运动的) as me. Because Bob does better than me at school, my mom often says to me, “Bob is younger than you, but he can get better grades, you should learn from him.” We both like eating fast food and listening to music.

    You probably know who Marie Curie was, but you may not have heard of Jane Addams. Of the outstanding ladies listed below, who do you think was the most important woman of the past 100 years?

    Jane Addams (1860-193)

    Anyone who has ever been helped by a social worker has Jane Addams to thank. Addams helped the pot and worked for peace. She encouraged a sense of community by supporting education and services for people in need in 1931, Addams became the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

    Rachel Carson (1907-1960)

    If it weren't for Rachel Carson, the environmental movement might not exist today. Her popular 1962 book Silent Spring raised awareness of the dangers of pollution and the harmful effects on humans and co the world's lakes and oceans.

    Rosa Parks (1913-2005)

    On December 1,1955,in Montgomery, Rosa Parks would not give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger .Her simple act brought a great change to the life of the black community in the US." The only tired I was, was tired of giving in, "said Parks.

    Sandra Day O'Connor (1930-now)

    Wan Sandra Day O' Connor finished third in her class at Stanford Law School, in 1952, she could not find weak at a law company because she was a woman. In 1981, she became the first woman to join the US .Supreme Court O'Connor gave the deciding choice in many important cases during her 24 years in bar field.

    It was Day 1 of our vacation on Cortes, a beautiful quiet island. "iPhone, iPhone, iPhone," my son kept moaning (呻吟). In front of him was a big window facing the blue ocean. And a cool gentle wind was coming in from the door. Clearly, he saw and felt none of it.

    Back at home, I'd soon give up and hand the phone over to him after five minutes of listening to this kind of moaning.

    But not here. Before we left, I had told my 10-year-old son the rule—no emails, no Facebook, no video games, and no iPhone. We came here to get away from them all. Here we were on our first day and already, he couldn't stand it.

         ▲      I walked down the grass road to the beach and looked out to the sea. My 6-year-old daughter and my husband were drawing on pieces of wood. They were doing just fine.

    On Day 2, we spent the whole morning digging for shells (贝壳). This time, my son joined us. He collected shellfish and other sea treasures. When we got back to our little wood house, I gave my son a book, and put him on the lovely garden chair. It was almost dinner when he looked up.

    The next few days passed in peace.

    On Day 6, my son was lying beside me on the beach, watching the sun going down. He was playing with the sand. And there was something shining in his eyes. I realized how time slowed down for both of us. It was exactly what I wanted. Finally, we were able to sit quietly without thinking about screens, phone calls and e-mail.

    A week away from all the electronics arid Lile is good.

    "Look here, Watson," Holmes said after we finished lunch. "Please sit down. I want to talk to you. I don't know what to do, and your advice is important to me. You smoke your cigar (雪茄烟) while I explain."

    "Please continue," I said, as I lit my cigar.

    "Now there're a few important points in young James' story. One, his father cries Coo-ee before he sees him. Two, he talks about a rat (老鼠). I think young James is telling the truth (真相)."

    "So why did Mr. McCarthy shout Coo-ee then?"

    "Well, he was not shouting Coo-ee to his son. It was by chance that James heard. The Coo-ee was to call the person he was meeting. But Coo-ee is an Australian cry, Australians usually say it when they meet to catch attention. Perhaps Mr. McCarthy was meeting someone from Australia."

    "I see. But why did he talk about a rat, then?" I asked.

Holmes took a piece of paper from his pocket and put it on the table.

    "This is a map of Australia," he said. He put his hand over part of the map. "Now, Watson, what can you read there?" he asked me.

    "ARAT," I read.

    "And now?" Holmes moved his hand.

    "BALLARAT," I read.

    "Yes. That was the word the dead man said. It's a place called Ballarat. His son only heard the 'rat' part of the word. Old Mr. McCarthy was trying to say where his murderer was from, the town of Ballarat. The grey cloak is point No. 3. If James is telling the truth, there was a grey cloak (斗篷). So now we have an Australian from Ballarat with a grey cloak."

    "Great!" I replied.

    "And it's someone who lives nearby, as the Boscombe Pool isn't open to the public. Only people from the farm nearby or the Turner house can go there," said Holmes.

    "That's wonderful, Holmes!" I exclaimed.