It began with one red paper clip (回形针) and ended with a house. Kyle MacDonald, a 26-year-old Canadian, got a three-bedroomed house through 14 trades (交换) that started with a single red paper clip. Encouraged by Kyle’s successful experience, now more and more young people around the world are starting their own trading activities. They set up websites where people can trade things they do not usually use with other people. A website called Peerflix allows people to trade their used DVDs. These traders usually prefer face-to –face trading, which means they don’t have to worry about who is going to pay for the delivery (递送). Last year, a young girl in Beijing decided to follow the example of Kyle. She started with a paper clip and hoped to get a house in the end. After several trades she now has a piano which is worth more than 10,000 yuan. But she may still have a long way to go. You may be puzzled about why people are doing this. In fact, everyone involved in trading activities gets things that are useful to them. Just as Kyle said, “What’s more important to a man dying of thirst in the desert — one million dollars or a glass of water?” Kyle’s words probably show why these trades are popular among young people.

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