Teenager Jake Denham was skiing (滑雪) with his family in the USA when he felt over and lost one oi his skis. His family didn't know that he had a problem. They kept on skiing. When they got to the foot of mountain, there was no sign of Jake.

Jake couldn't find his ski anywhere. In the end, he decided to take off his other ski and walk down the mountain. But he couldn't work out the right way to go.

    It was now getting dark and he was a long way from any place of safety. He knew that he might die that night in the cold temperatures. But Jake kept calm. At home, lake watched a lot of TV programmes about living in difficult situations. He remembered the advice from these programmes and knew that he should build a hole in the snow. He made a hole and pointed it up the hill so the wind couldn't blow into it. Outside the temperature fell to a dangerous -15℃ that night, but inside it Jake was safe from the cold.

    But he had to get down the mountain. The TV programmes always said. "If you are lost, you should find someone else's tracks (轨迹) through the snow and follow them." "I wanted to live my life." remembers Jake. "So I got up and I found some ski tracks and I followed those." He walked and walked and finally he saw lights. Nine hours after he lost his ski, he found a team of worker who came to save him. He was safe!

    His mum was very happy when she heard the news. Amazingly, Jake didn't even have to go to hospital. He got through the terrible experience without any injuries.

    So, the next time someone says that watching TV is a waste of time, think of Jake. Sometimes TV can save your life.

    I was 12 when I came to Maywood School three years ago. Like most schools in the US, classes here began at 8:00 am. However, the head teacher, Mr Bergman, found there was a problem — so many students were either missing (错过) the first class or arriving late. My classmates and I often found it hard to keep our eyes open in the mornings, so lessons were no fun for us. Our marks weren't good either.

    In the end, Mr Bergman asked the school doctor for advice. The doctor said that because children's bodies are growing so quickly, they need more sleep than adults (成人). But their body clocks make it hard for them to go to bed before 11:00 pm, so the best time for them to get up is around 8:00 am.

    Mr Bergman decided to do an experiment (实验). He changed the start time for classes to 9:00 am. The school still opened at 8:00 am and teachers used the extra (额外的) hour to prepare lessons.

    I didn't think the new timetable (时间表) would make much difference, but I was wrong. I felt much better! Everyone's grades improved. Also, more students had time for a hot breakfast together in the dining hall. We all felt healthier and happier.

    After three months, Mr Bergman asked teachers, students and parents if they wanted to keep the new timetable. Everyone did.

    Dai Shifang was an easygoing girl, who seldom argued with her parents. But when she became a ninth-grader, things started to change. "We often have arguments, sometimes because of some little things," she said.

    Maybe Dai has got the "ninth-grade syndrome (综合征)". Some experts think ninth-graders usually suffer a lot because of the changes in their body and mind.

    A study shows that the lack of support from parents makes things even worse. Dai's classmate Liu Shijia is an example. "The exams in Grade 9 are more difficult. So I'm under great pressure. But my parents push me so hard and they don't support me at all," she said sadly.

    As ninth-graders enter the rebellious phase (叛逆期), they want to be free and have their own ideas. The study shows that about 47 per cent of ninth-graders try to make their parents agree with them when they have different ideas. Dai feels this deeply. "I think I am an adult already. I can make decisions for myself," she said. For example, she thinks there is nothing wrong with playing with boys, but her parents don't agree with her. They often argue about that.

    To deal with these problems, an expert from Nantong gave useful advice to students. "First, talk with your parents. Sometimes you may not fully understand each other, but keep trying. Second, pay more attention to your studies. Finally, learn about the changes in your body and get to know yourself better. Then try to accept them and control your feelings," she said.

    My great-grandmother, Ethel, came from England to the United States in 1921. She brought almost nothing with her-just a few clothes and trinkets(小饰物). But she did bring some customs from "the old country" that she had learned as she grew up.

    One custom was that if you dropped a glass or a cup and it broke, you would throw a little salt over your left shoulder. It was funny that she did that-she wasn't superstitious(迷信的) in other ways. I think that she grew up doing that, so she continued to do it as a connection to her childhood.

    Ethel also taught us a New Year's Day custom that our family continues to follow today. To celebrate the new year, we would travel to a friend's house for a quick visit. My great-grandmother always took a pound of butter with her on our visits. We would enter the friend's house through the back door. The butter we brought was to give our friend a "gift of gold" to symbolize hope for prosperity in the new year.

    After my great-grandmother died, we still visited people on the first day of January, but eventually we stopped bringing the butter. We never did throw salt over our shoulders after breaking a glass or a cup. Some customs are continued when they cross from one country to another, but some customs fade away.

    When you are ill, you should go to see a doctor. After the doctor looks you over, he will write you a note to take to the chemist for some medicine. Chemists are usually good at reading doctors' notes. But sometimes doctors write too badly and even the chemist can not read them.

    One day a woman wrote to a doctor to invite him to have dinner with her family in the restaurant. The doctor wrote an answer, but he wrote too badly and the woman could not read it. "What shall I do?" she asked her husband, "I don't know whether he is going to come or not. I don't want to call and say that I don't understand him."

    Her husband thought for a few minutes and then he had an idea. "Take it to the chemist," he said, "He will be able to read it for us."

    "Thank you," the woman said, "That's a good idea." She went to the chemist's shop and gave the doctor's note to him. The chemist looked at it for a long time.

    "Could you wait a moment, Miss?" he said. Then he went to the back of the shop. After a few minutes he came back, carrying a large bottle. He gave the bottle to the woman.

    "Take one spoonful(一匙) every day." He told the woman.