For 26 years, the Chicago International Children's Film Festival (CICFF) has featured (放映，上演) thoughtful, memorable, meaningful and culturally diverse children's movies. This film festival in 2009 ran from October 22 to November 1 and featured more than 200 films. It is the largest annual film festival in North America and the only Academy­qualifying children's film festival in the world. Winners in the short film category go on to compete in the Oscars！The films came from more than 40 countries. More than 25,000 people attended.

    TFK Kid Reporter Meghan Pfau was there. “We don't just show kids movies. We ask kids to think about what they are watching,” CICFF Director Nicole Drieske told TFK. “Five minutes before the lights go down we have a talk with everybody. We talk about what's going on in our minds when we are watching a movie,” she explains. “Movies teach us so much. If we're not paying attention to what we are watching, we aren't learning as much as we could.” Viewers vote to give their opinions at the end of each movie. The CICFF staff wants kids to feel like they are an important part of the festival.

    Kids can also attend interactive (互动的) workshops led by filmmakers, media professionals and celebrities. And young talent takes part in the CICFF. Eleven­year­old Shiropa Purna wrote and directed Our Boat is Our Address ， which is featured in the festival. “My dad is a director and he taught me many things，”Shiropa says.

    A “children's jury” meets in August to watch more than 100 movies that will appear in the festival. They rate the films based on plot, character, setting, acting and sound. The jury awards more than a dozen prizes. The awards are announced at the festival's Closing Night Award Ceremony.

    Most people have flown a kite or have seen one ride and dip in strong spring wind. Not so many people know that kites were first made in China thousands of years ago. The ancient Chinese were making and flying kites even before they were writing.

    A long time ago, the Chinese made kites to use in wars. They would fly these war kites in the dark. The kites were fixed so that they made strange sounds. Men who were at war with them would hear these sounds and run away. They thought those strange sounds were made by gods in the sky.

    The ancient Chinese also flew kites to bring good luck and to make their crops grow rich and tall. Sometimes they tied long strings and hooks to their kites. Then they would fly the kites over water, letting the hooks hang down to catch fish.

    The Chinese use sticks, strings and paper for their kites. Some of these kites look like animals or trees. Others look like birds or houses.

    Jimmy is an automotive mechanic (汽修工), but he lost his job a few months ago. He has good heart, but always feared applying for a new job.

    One day, he gathered up all his strength and decided to attend a job interview. His appointment was at 10 am and it was already 8:30. While waiting for a bus to the office where he was supposed to be interviewed, he saw an elderly man wildly kicking the tyre of his car. Obviously there was something wrong with the car. Jimmy immediately went up to lend him a hand. When Jimmy finished working on the car, the old man asked him how much he should pay for the service. Jimmy said there was no need to pay him; he just helped someone in need, and he had to rush for an interview. Then the old man said, “Well, I could take you to the office for your interview. It's the least I could do. Please. I insist.” Jimmy agreed.

    Upon arrival, Jimmy found a long line of applications waiting to be interviewed. Jimmy still had some grease (润滑油) on him after the car repair, but he did not have much time to wash it off or have a change of shirt. One by one, the applicants left the interviewer's office with disappointed look on their faces. Finally his name was called. The interviewer was sitting on a large chair facing the office window. Rocking the chair back and forth, he asked, “Do you really need to be interviewed?” Jimmy's heart sank.“ With the way I look now, how could I possibly pass this interview?” he thought to himself.

    Then the interviewer turned the chair and to Jimmy's surprise, it was the old man he helped earlier in the morning. It turned out he was the General Manager of the company.

    “Sorry I had to keep you waiting, but I was pretty sure I made the right decision to have you as part of our workforce before you even stepped into the office. I just know you'd be a trustworthy worker. Congratulations!” Jimmy sat down and they shared a cup of well-deserved coffee as he landed himself a new job.

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

    Jane Addams (1860-1935)

    Anyone who has ever been helped by a social worker has Jane Addams to thank. Addams helped the poor and worked for peace. She encouraged a sense of community(社区) by creating shelters and promoting education and services for people in need. In 1931, Addams became the first American women to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

    Rachel Carson (1907-1964)

    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 of chemicals on humans and on the world's lakes and oceans.

    Sandra Day O'Connor (1930-present)

    When Sandra Day O'Connor finished third in her class at Stanford Law School in 1952, she could not find work at a law firm because she was a woman. She became an Arizona State Senator(参议员) and in 1981, the first woman to join the US Supreme Court（高等法院）. O'Connor gave the deciding vote in many important cases during her 24 years on the top court.

    Rosa Parks (1913-2005)

    On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks would not give up her seat to a white passenger. Her simple act landed Parks in prison. But it also set off the Montgomery bus boycott. (抵制行动) It lasted for more than a year, and kicked off the civil-rights movements. "the only tired I was, was tired of giving in." said Parks.

Choose Your One-Day-Tours!

Tour A—Bath &Stonehenge including entrance fees to the ancient Roman bathrooms and Stonehenge—￡37 until 26 March and ￡39 thereafter.

Visit the city with over 2, 000 years of history and Bath Abbey, the Royal Crescent and the Costume Museum. Stonehenge is one of the world's most famous prehistoric monuments dating back over 5, 000 years.

    Tour B—Oxford & Stratford including entrance fees to the University St Mary's Church Tower and Anne Hathaway's—￡32 until 12 March and ￡36 thereafter.

Oxford: Includes a guided tour of England's oldest university city and colleges. Look over the "city of dreaming spires (尖顶)" from St Mary's Church Tower.

    Stratford: Includes a guided tour exploring much of the Shakespeare wonder.

    Tour C—Windsor Castle &Hampton Court including entrance fees to Hampton Court Palace—￡34 until 11 March and ￡37 thereafter.

    Includes a guided tour of Windsor and Hampton Court, Henry VIII's favorite palace. Free time to visit Windsor Castle (entrance fees not included). With 500 years of history, Hampton Court was once the home of four Kings and one Queen. Now this former royal palace is open to the public as a major tourist attraction. Visit the palace and its various historic gardens, which include the famous maze (迷宫) where it is easy to get lost!

    Tour D—Cambridge including entrance fees to the Tower of Saint Mary the Great—￡33 until 18 March and ￡37 thereafter.

    Includes a guided tour of Cambridge, the famous university town, and the gardens of the 18th century.

    If you love eating and drinking for free and are looking to make some pocket money, there's a job in China with your name on it. A new type of online service allows people to hire others to eat or drink their favorite treats, either to cure their boredom or satisfy their appetite without the calories that usually come with it.

    Chinese media recently reported on an increasingly popular service on online platform Taobao that's as startling as it is appealing. People can now go online and hire others to consume certain foods and drinks, and ask them to provide video evidence of them eating or drinking the said treats.

    Fees usually range from two to nine yuan ($0.30 - $1.35) plus the cost of the food. It's not exactly a get-rich-quick job, but there are quite a rot of people willing to do it for the free treats alone.

    "Bubble tea drinking" is a particularly popular service, as the chewy tapioca(木薯粉)balls and popping drink is all the rage in Asia these days, but there are also ads from people willing to eat fried chicken or hot pot for anyone willing to pay for them.

    Advertised as being "fat-free" and "free of queues" those who pay for the service will receive the full experience, which includes a 360-degree video of the drink, photos, and a detailed description. Prices of the service are based on the drink's sweetness level, its price, and popularity. Some clients even require a short written review to be sure that the person they hired actually does what they are supposed to.

    Sellers explained that most customers buy their "Bubble tea drinking" service maybe because they're trying to shake off desires while they're on a diet. Drinking bubble tea by proxy may help customers avoid high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and other health problems that the sugar-laden drink may cause.

    So why would anyone pay a total stranger to enjoy a treat rather than consume it themselves? Well, apparently, the online service is so cheap that some people simply do it out of boredom, while others get satisfaction from watching others indulge in their favorite treats.

    This indulging-by-proxy service(代享受服务)has received a lot of attention on social media in China, with some people describing it as the job of their dreams.