A

    The most popular food in America was invented because a cook got angry. George Crum was a cook at a restaurant in Saratoga Springs, New York. One day in 1853, a customer(顾客) who had ordered fried(油炸的) potatoes sent them back to the kitchen. He wanted the cook to slice(切) them thinner and fry them longer. George Crum had a bad temper(脾气), and he thought the potatoes were fine the way he made them. To teach the customer a lesson, he sliced potatoes very thin and fried them until they were crispy(脆的). But instead of being angry, the customer loved the new fried potatoes. He asked for more. Other people who tried them like them too, and customers kept asking for them. Far many years, people called them Saratoga chips after the town where they were first made.

    Even now, after more than 150 years, potato chips are very popular. At least one of every ten potatoes grown in the United States is made into potato chips. So if you like potato chips, be glad George Crum had a bad temper!

    Hi, friends! What do you like to do after school? In my school, we have different things (不同的事情) to do.

    For one little boy, it was the coldest winter because his father had an accident and lost a leg. The whole family got into trouble.

    One night, while the boy was hanging out in a small shop, he saw some beautiful bags of coffee. Then he had an idea. He knew his father loved coffee and he also knew stealing wasn't good. But to make his father smile, the boy put a bag of coffee into his jacket and ran back home. His father smiled when he saw the coffee. But, unluckily, before his father could taste it, the shop assistant came and caught the boy. His father became so angry that he beat the boy.

    Years later, the boy became a successful businessman. One day, his mother called and said his father wanted to see him. The boy was busy, so he refused. Weeks later, he received the sad news that his father had died. When he checked his father's things, he found an old box. Inside it was the coffee that he had stolen from the shop. On the bag his father had written：

    "Dear son, I haven't been successful as a father. But I had a dream-to own a coffee shop. Then I could make cups of coffee for you. I'm sorry I didn't make my dream come true."

    The boy felt so sad. He felt guilty about not meeting his father for the last time, and decided to achieve his father's dream. After giving up his own business, he started a coffee business. The coffee business is now a huge success.

    Being able to go to a perfect university is what every high school student dreams of. However, for Jin Chengkuang, a high school senior at Shenzhen Experimental Chenghan School, his long-standing dream has been to be a film director. He has received offers from four top art schools in the United States, which means he is already on the way of making his filming dream come true.

    Although Jin is only 18 years old, he has had some experience of filming. During his three years in high school, Jin produced four more short films besides Choose and Out of Control, which were more successful.

    According to Jin, he shot Choose with an Argentinian student when he was at a summer school programme in New York. It was a short film about freedom. The film was produced in a classroom with only a fish tank as the main prop (道具). To express the opposite of freedom, the tank was empty in the beginning, but suddenly, a fish appeared and swam freely in the tank. In the end, the fish disappeared, leaving us an open ending. It took Jin and his partner one month to finish the six-minute short film.

    As a beginner, Jin has been quite lucky so far. Last winter, he got a chance to join the well-known film director Chen Kaige when they travelled to Northern China to film I Legend of the Demon Cat.

    Jin said, "A great firm takes everyone's efforts. Although the conditions were pretty poor, it was all worth it because I learned a lot."

We asked readers to write in and tell us about all the things that happened to them recently. I got hundreds of replies. Here are two of them.

Shortly after I arrived in France, my phone was stolen. 

I was taking a trip by 1 . After knowing my phone was gone and I had missed the last train into the city, I 2 to spend the night at the train station. The workers there were very kind, assuring (向……保证) me their country was 3 . However, I still felt a little 4 and didn't want to take the bus in the dark. 

The next day, I arrived in Paris and reached the hotel at 8 am. At the front desk, a man 5 my story. Being 6 , he wanted to show me that Paris was a great city. He gave me his phone number after only 7 me for 20 minutes. He told me that 8 my visit to the Louvre the next day, I should call him so that he and his friend could 9 and show me around.

His friend spoke poor English, but was very 10 . They took me to the best cultural places in Paris. They acted as my guides 11 I had no map. They provided me with a lot of 12 that I would have never known if I had been on my own—or on my phone! 

They even took me to try traditional French food, like crepes, and didn't let me 13 anything. They were so kind and caring and we 14 became close friends. It's safe to say that the 15 of the trip was not so good, but I had the best experience in Paris and would love to go back!