2 . One evening, I was preparing dinner. Suddenly, while setting the table, I heard a huge crash from the second floor. It was the kind of heart-stopping noise that immediately struck fear into a mother’s heart. My seven-year-old son Mike began screaming for help, and I raced up the stairs without even putting down the dinner fork I held in my hand.

Entering the room, I found my little son Tom trapped under a five-drawer wooden dresser. I could hear crying as I ran toward him. As I leaned over, I saw the terror in his eyes. I pulled the large dresser off him. At that moment, I felt I could move mountains. I was fearful to look but quickly tried to find out how badly he was hurt. I dialed 911 and began to pray. Before the ambulance arrived, although I was in a chaotic (混乱的) situation with both my sons in tears, I tried to be focused and controlled. I felt a strong presence keeping me clear-headed.

After testing in the emergency room, it was determined that he could return home. The doctor said, “Wow, he sure was lucky!”

Back home, my husband straightened up the bedroom and found what we believe to be my son’s guardian angel —only this angel had large wooden ears instead of wings. Earlier that year, my husband’s brother and his wife were on an African mission (任务) trip and brought my son a small, hand-carved elephant as a special gift.

My husband explained the elephant had taken the main impact of the dresser. The carved animal was only inches wide, but those few precious inches gave my son the space he needed to avoid terrible injury. I believe that although it was my family’s mission to visit Africa, it was also the mission of that carved elephant to save my son.

4 . My name is Ben. I am 13, and I live in Chantilly, VA. Just yesterday, June 24, I was at home watching my sister, who is mentally handicapped (弱智的). My father was at work while my mother and younger sister were at my mother’s office.

I had noticed the clouds growing darker and the ones to the east were turning green. At first I thought nothing of it, but then on TV, the weather reporter was announcing a big thunderstorm warning, one that usually brings hail (冰雹) and heavy rain.

After seeing that, I called my mother and told her about it. She told me I should not be worried because it was just a thunderstorm so we hung up. Then I looked outside and noticed it was almost pitch black at 4：30. I took a flashlight (手电筒) because I was sure the power was going to go out any second.   Then no sooner had I gotten back from getting the flashlight than the weather reporter announced a Tornado Warning! I had never been in an actual tornado before, but I had seen some funnel clouds before in Montana.

Suddenly I realised I had no time to lose and I had to try to get my sister down the stairs to the basement in a matter of minutes. I surprisingly got her down there with no trouble at all and I raced back up the stairs to get the cordless phone. When I got back downstairs my dad called and told me to get downstairs immediately. I told him I was already down there! He said OK and we talked for a few seconds and then we hung up. Then_through the basement windows, the only thing_I_could_see_was_lightning.

I do not recall hearing of any deaths, or too many injuries so I guess everyone got a good head start to run to their basements. Either that or we are all lucky.

8 . 4 World-Class Ski Resorts That Don’t Cost Much

Purgatory

Purgatory Resort represents the classic Rocky Mountain skiing experience, with open alpine runs, powdery glades(雪道) , aspen groves(白杨林)and Colorado sunshine. New lifts and strategic snow-making improve the attractions of carefree runs and parents will welcome the wallet-friendly Power Kids policy: Children 12 and under ski free. Day lift tickets from $44 to $139.

Nelson

The small mountain town of Nelson, British Columbia, has its reputation for some of B. C. ‘s best skiing, with deep, dry powder blanketing its 2, 367 acres. Skiers can enjoy old style chairlifts, uncrowded slopes, 40 feet of powder annually and a lodge with food. The ski hill boasts no Wi-Fi, and in town the nightlife maintains Nelson’s unique identity. Day lift ticket from $74.

Bridger Bowl

Just sixteen miles north of Bozeman, Mont, is Bridger Bowl, a nonprofit resort rich in ski culture and loved by local families and college students. Its 2, 700 feet of vertical drop includes a mixture of a green hand and intermediate(中级的)glades, plus challenging pitches for excited seekers. All key ski-day needs are available. Day lift ticket from $70.

Mad River Glen

Ski-cooperative Mad River Glen in Waitsfield, Vt, is a legend in American ski culture. Unlike at many U. S. ski areas, daily skier numbers are limited and leisurely lifts let ascending skiers take in the view. The clean and tidy base lodge remains the major center to recharge and warm up, and retrieve belongings casually left on hooks all day. Day lift ticket from S49.

9 . Although-London’s red telephone boxes may not get as much use these days, they are one of the city’s most recognizable features-but some could soon have a new purpose.

Recently, a developer wants to turn two run-down telephone boxes on Coventry Street in London’s West End into vending machines(自动售货机) that will operate 24/7. These telephone boxes will be filled with snacks for sale.

Application for this interesting redevelopment has been submitted by Nuriyeh Popalzi as part of the Young Entrepreneur Support Scheme (VESS), with plans currently in the consulting stage. If successful, this would mean the boxes on Coventry Street, which have sadly been subject to disrepair, get a fresh red lick(一点) of paint and have their doors removed to create the machines.

In her application, Nuriyeh Popalzi said, “Both telephone boxes are out of service and kept in poor condition of maintenance, creating an unpleasant site in one of the most historic and touristic parts of London, “she added. “These red telephone boxes are considered a key part of London not only for the Londoners but also for the tourists from all over the world. For decades, these red telephone boxes have been a symbol of London and in fact a symbol for the whole of Great Britain. ”

Popalzi believes the transformed boxes will have a positive effect on the community, much like other telephone boxes that have been turned into libraries. All profits made by the machines will go to charity, meaning happiness can be spread in multiple ways.

Before long some Londoners’ next afternoon pick-me-up could come from one of London’s iconic red boxes. However, there should be a speed dial(快速拨号) option-we know Londoners are always in a rush, after all.

10 . If you can’t trust an expert to make a good prediction, who can you trust?

Try a crowd. Under the right conditions, crowds can make better predictions than the individuals in them-a crowd can even beat a single expert.

More than a hundred years ago, the scientist Francis Galton visited an English country Faithere, he came across a contest to guess the weight of an ox. Interested in mathematics, Galton gathered 800 guesses and dealt with the numbers. To his surprise, Galton found that the crowd’s guess (the average) was just 1 pound different from the ox’s real weight. Did Galton happen to collect a lot lucky guesses?

David Kestenbaumand Jacob Goldstein, a pair of reporters, wanted to find out. One steamy summer day in 2015, they visited the “Burlington County Farm Fair” in New Jersey. There, Penelope, a black and white cow, shining with good health, greeted them. She was as tall as Goldstein’s shoulder. The reporters led the cow onto a large, flat truck scale (秤). A curious crowd had gathered, but Kestenbaum and Goldstein carefully guarded the scale’s digital display (数字显示), It flashed 1, 355 pounds.

Later, far from the sweet smell of warm hay, the reporters uploaded a photo of Penelope to the Planet Money website. They invited people to guess her weight, and more than 17, 000 people did. The crowd’s guess was 1, 287 pounds. That was just 5 percent less than Penelope’s true weight. Impressive!

Among the crowd, some called themselves cow experts, while others probably couldn’t tell a cot from an ox. When Goldstein and Kestenbaum calculated the guesses only from the experts, the result wasn’t any better. In fact, it was even worse:83 pounds off for the experts compared to 68 pounds for the whole crowd.

Crowds aren’t just lucky. Lots of people with different bits of information and ideas can make crowds collectively smart. A crowd will always make a prediction at least as good as the typical person in it. Often a crowd will do better. If people in a crowd have reasonably good information, they can make excellent predictions. Some businesses, financial markets, and Internet searches rely on this phenomenon (现象).

If you want to predict who’s going to win the big game on Saturday or when school buses will fly, ask a crowd of reasonably knowledgeable people instead of a single expert. Just make sure the crowd has people who know different things and have different ways of thinking. Without a diverse crowd, predictions can go badly.