Potato chips are Americans' favorite snacks(零食). Where do potato chips come from? In 1853 a native(本土) American named George Crum made the first potato chips. Crum was a chide(头目) in an expensive restaurant in Saratogasprings， New York. One day， a customer(顾客) did not like the French fries. He said they were too thick(厚的). So Crum made more， this time thinner. The customer still didn't like them. Crum got unhappy. He decided to make the customer angry. So he cut the potatoes， very thin. The customer loved them.

    Other people wanted Crum's  potato chips. Now， there was a new food on the menu— Saratoga chips. Soon Crum opened his own restaurant and made his special chips.

    It took a long time to make potato chips. People peeled the potatoes by hand. Then in 1920，the automatic(自动的) potato peeler changed everything. Now it was faster and easier to make potato chips. Now potato chips were not a specialty. They were a popular snack food， but only in the north.

    A salesman named Herman Lay wanted to sell potato chips in the south. He sold potato chips in bags. His business grew. Today， Americans eat a lot of potato chips every day.

    It may be really hard to tell others that you're feeling sad or worried. If you keep these feelings in your heart and don't talk about them with others, you will even fall ill at last.

    If you talk with someone, who cares a lot about you, like your dad or mom, you may feel better. You're not alone with your problems or worries. But if a kid doesn't want to talk with his or her Dad or Mom, what should he or she do? It's better to find another trusty(可信的)adult ,like a teacher at school. Maybe this person can help you talk with your Dad or Mom about your problems.

    Once you know who you can talk to, you should choose when and where to talk. If you think it's difficult for you to say what you think, write it down on a piece of paper. If the person can't understand what you mean right away, try to say it in a different way or give an example.

    Some kids may feel shy about sharing their feelings. But it is important to share their feelings when they need help.

    A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held a sign which said, "I am blind. Please help me."

    There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by. He took out a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words on it. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by could see the new words.

    Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized(认出) his footsteps and asked, "Are you the one who changed my sign in the morning? What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said, but in a different way."

    What he had written was, "Today is a beautiful day, but I cannot see it."

    Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?

    Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply told people to help by putting some money in the hat. The second sign told people that they were able to enjoy the beauty of the day, but the boy could not enjoy it because he was blind.

    On my weekly math exam, I made a big mistake. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Even worse, in front of all my classmates he criticized(批评) me! I was angry.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}I thought I must be called for more punishment. But to my surprise, he said, Do you get your mistake now? I believe a clever student like you would have never done that except by accident.

    Next, he carefully read both the question and the answer. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    He was so kind that I was deeply moved. My anger went away.

    But it wasn't the end. He called me again and gave me some papers that afternoon. They are especially designed for me. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    In my heart I had nothing left to say, only thanks and sorry. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}I should thank him for he was such a good teacher.

    December 21 was Becky's fourteenth birthday. When she got home after school, she saw her parents in the living room. They said to her, "Happy birthday, dear! We have a present for you, Becky. Go and look for it in your bedroom."

    Becky ran quickly to her room. On her bed she saw a bright red box. She thought that her present must be in the box. She opened it. There was nothing but a card in it. The girl took it out and read.

    "Dear Becky, I'm your present. My first three letters are the same as in the word 'come'. My last two letters are the same as in the word 'water'. My middle three letters are in the word 'put'. What am I?"

    Becky thought hard and soon smiled. She then went back to the living room and shouted. "Aha, I know what present it is. Thank you very much, Mum and Dad! But where is it?" Her mother answered, "Look at the back of the card." Becky turned it over and read, "Come and look for me in the study."

    Becky hurried to the study. There on the desk she found her present. What was it? Do you know?