英語學習點: 有關問題的詞匯 Vocabulary: Problems

Have you ever had a troubling problem that has left you wondering where to turn for help?

Eve Hobsbawm is a life counsellor. She offers advice to people struggling with all kinds of dilemmas, from relationship difficulties to what to cook for dinner.

She does this through a website inviting people to email her with their queries and quandaries. There's nothing unusual about that... except for the fact that Eve is only eight years old.

This junior trouble-shooter, who also goes by the name 'Miss Evie Mouse', lives in London with her parents. Not only is Miss Mouse willing to lend an ear to her clients, she will also offer them a helping hand... for a fee of course.

She charges between 10p (1 yuan) for advice on little, everyday worries and ￡1 (10 yuan) for thornier problems. Her areas of expertise - if not of experience - are: "Problems about love, life and work-life balance."

A problem shared is a problem halved, but Eve can't always help. A note on the site states that she can't answer questions like "Does space ever end?" and she won't solve "schoolwork-related problems (especially not maths)."

She explained to the Guardian newspaper that she was inspired to set up the company by her father who runs a tech start-up. Eve said: "As soon as I saw his business and understood the kinds of things businesses do, I thought that's what I'm going to do."

But since setting up her company in December she has been so overwhelmed with messages that she has had to take a step back. "There has been a lot of sudden interest in my site, which is nice," she says, "but I need to do my homework too, so I won't be solving any more problems for a bit."