A famous teacher was speaking to the students at our school. He began his lesson by holding up a ￡100 bill. Then he said to the three hundred students, "Who would like to have this ￡100 bill?" The students began to put up their hands at once.

    Then he said, "I am going to give this bill to one of you, but first, let me do this." He then made this bill into a ball. Then he said, "Who wants it?" Hands went into the air.

    "Well," he said, "What if I do this?" and he dropped it on the floor and stepped on it. He picked up the dirty, crumpled bill and said, "Who still wants it?" Hands went back into the air.

    "My friends," he said, "You've learned a valuable lesson today. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it didn't go down in value. It was still worth ￡100.”

     “Many times in our lives, we're dropped, crumpled, and stepped on by the chances we take and the things that happen to us. We feel as if we are worth nothing. But remember, no matter what has happened to you, you will never lose your value: you are always valuable to those who love you. Your value doesn't come from what you drop or whom you know, but WHO YOU ARE.”

    You are special and valuable. Don't ever forget it!

    George Bernard Shaw, the greatest and funniest British dramatist of the first half of the 20^th century, was born in Dublin, Ireland on July 26^th, 1856. His early life was not happy. His father was a selfish man who drank too much and could not support his family properly. His mother was a disappointed, unhappy woman who found more pleasure in studying music than in her children. Shaw and his two sisters received little love and attention from their mother while they were young. At the age of ten Shaw entered school. At first he was the best student, but soon he was at or near the bottom of his class.

    Although he did not like school, Shaw was a good, bright, curious student. His lifelong interest in everything from music and art to machines and medicine began at school. The interests of this tireless schoolboy were literature and music. He often entertained his classmates with stories he read.

    Early at the age of fifteen, he went to work in an office. He did well as an office clerk, but after five years he decided that he wanted to be a writer. He left Ireland and went to London, where he began to write seriously. Seventy-four years later the great dramatist died.

    Watching wooden dolls come to life may not be one of the most popular forms of entertainment today, but with over twenty years' experience, talented puppeteer (木偶表演者) Peter Roberts has earned himself the title "master puppeteer" because of his great ability to turn puppets into believable, almost living characters. "People are quite often surprised to hear what I do for a living and have little appreciation of puppy as a form of entertainment. But while the exact origins of puppet theatre are unknown, it has been popular in many cultures and may have been the very first kind of theatre," he explains.

    Roberts' shows are highly original. "A puppet show can involve anything from clowning(傻逗) to storytelling," he says.  Equally diverse are the audiences he performs for. "Some are attracted by the puppets themselves, while others enjoy the dialogue." Roberts believes that this form of entertainment can be appreciated by people of all ages and cultures.

    Roberts' interest in puppets started when he received some beautiful glove puppets one Christmas. He started putting on shows with these for family and friends and then moved on to handmade Chinese string puppets. Learning mostly from books and personal experience, he explains, "I was already spending most of my free time carving puppets and putting on shows, so I hardly noticed the change from students to full-time professional puppeteer."

    The puppets are designed specifically for each show, which is extremely time consuming. According to Roberts, "Sometimes what you expect and what you actually create in the end are two very different things. I've made some of my best puppets 'accidentally'."

    When most people hear the word "puppetry", they more than likely think of a way of keeping children entertained at birthday parties. Certainly the subject matter will be expected to be light-hearted rather than serious. However, Roberts wants to point out that puppets convey serious messages sometimes." he says.

    I can proudly say that last year I broke the record for the oldest person in the world to ride a roller-coaster. I'm 105, but I feel younger. Even the doctor agrees I'm in good condition. I'm a bit deaf and my legs feel weak, but they are the only issue.

    I rode the Twistosaurus at Flamingo Land, which spins you round quite fast. I didn't choose to go on that. I'd have preferred a really fast one that went upside down. But I was told I couldn't ride something like that, because my blood pressure could drop and I might have some danger.

    I wasn't nervous — I don't get frightened of anything. I was securely fastened, so I knew I wouldn't fall out. The roller-coaster ride went on for three or four minutes, and it couldn't be a better experience. And I raised a lot of money for the Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance fund, which was fantastic.

    People were saying I'd got a place in the Guinness World Records. Later, someone came to present me with the certificate. I had it on the wall in my living room, with another one that got a year earlier.

    My record-breaking ways really began a couple of years ago, with the ice-bucket challenge. It turned out that I was probably the oldest person in the world to do it, and the video was very popular. After that, I stared to think about what else I could do to raise money for different charities.

    I'm not sure if anyone admires all the fun I'm having. They just say I'm daft and that's about it. But I've had many good days and many exciting times. I've had a really good life. I don't think I've wasted any of it.

    Let's catch a glimpse of the latest inventions this year.

    Parallels lets you use desktop apps on your phone

    You'd think most applications would have created a mobile app by now — but many companies still use desktop apps exclusively. Now Parallels Access lets you access them on your smartphone. All you need to do is download the app, then connect Parallels' Applification™ to your computer, so you can access important files and other apps with a single click. You can easily use your apps in full-screen mode, using intuitive(直观的) touch controls to work faster than before.

    Usually, Parallels Access is $19.99, but you can get it now for $9.99.

    Take your lighting to the next level with this smart switch

    You probably don't spend a lot of time thinking about your home's lighting, but it's important: the way that you control your lighting affects the environment (and your electric bill).

    This WiFi wall switch is controlled via a companion app on your smartphone, so you can control connected lights or ceiling fans from anywhere.

    Usually, the Meross WiFi Wall Light Switch costs $45.99, but right now it's on sale for $39.99 .

    Shoot beautifully clear videos with this smartphone gimbal

    If you're interested in shooting professional-quality videos and photos, you don't have to spend a fortune to take a beautifully composed shot: just use this Rigiet Smartphone Gimbal instead.

    A gimbal is a support for your camera (in this case, your smartphone) that allows it to pivot（移动）, and automatically detect and adjust to the position that you want to film in. Unlike any other camera hardware you might own, this one comes with its own accompanying app.

    Usually, this Rigiet Smartphone Gimbal is $269, but you can get it now for $109.99.

    Do you often feel like you want to wash your hands again and again? Or do you ever have the urge to line up the items on your desk? These all may be symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (强迫症), or OCD, which affects about 2 percent of the world's population.

    Those who suffer from OCD have difficulty finding successful treatment because doctors don't clearly understand its causes. But now, a new study has given hope for a future cure.

    For the study, which was published in the journal Nature in October, researchers observed humans, dogs and mice. They discovered four genes that may be responsible for obsessive-compulsive behaviors in humans.

    But why observe dogs and mice to learn about humans?

    "Dogs, it turns out, are surprisingly similar to people," study author and geneticist Elinor Karlsson, of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University, US, told NPR. "They're chasing their own tail or chasing shadows like normal, but they're doing it for hours."

    In the study, researchers made a list of about 600 genes in mice, dogs and humans that they thought might cause OCD, reported NPR. They then compared those genes in two large groups of people – those who don't have OCD and those who do. In the end, they identified just four genes with mutations (突变) in the OCD group. The genes are active in a neurological pathway (神经通路) in the brain, which is believed to help control actions. But the mutations could block the neurological pathway.

    For example, for people without OCD, when they finish washing their hands, a signal will come, telling them to stop. But for people with OCD, the neurological pathway is blocked, so the message isn't getting through. As a result, the person will continue to wash their hands.

    "OCD and anxiety are kind of like learning disorders," Marcos Grados, an OCD researcher at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, told NPR. "Often with OCD, people have a fear of germs (细菌). You can't touch tables or door knobs (把手) and every time it's the same sensation (感觉). You didn't learn that the last time you touched a door knob, nothing happened. It's like touching it for the first time ever."

    However, that doesn't mean people who have these genetic mutations will always have obsessive-compulsive behaviors, the researchers said. That's because the disorder also relies on other things, such as one's environment.

    According to reports, various existing treatment methods have low success rates in patients. But now that we know where OCD comes from, let's hope we will soon find an effective way to treat it.