When Samantha was younger, she thought that her grandmother was the best cook in the world. Every time she visited her grandmother she would be treated to lots of delicious food—buttery shortbread cookies, piles of fluffy (松软的) pancakes for breakfast, and thick, hearty soup for dinner.

But, as Samantha grew older, she started to notice that her grandmother had begun to cook less and less. The meals grew simpler, and the visits to her grandmother’s beautiful life-filled home grew fewer. Finally, Samantha’s parents told her the truth: her grandmother had arthritis (关节炎) in her hands, which meant it was too painful for her to cook the elegant dishes.

“Why don’t we visit grandmother and just get food from a restaurant?” she asked.

Her parents smiled and told her they had suggested this but the idea had been refused, “Your grandmother loves cooking. It saddens her to be reminded that she can't share her food any more.” Samantha understood, but she silently determined to find a way to help.

A few weeks later, Samantha stopped by her grandmother’s house to deliver some groceries. As she carefully put away the boxes and cans in the kitchen, Samantha discovered something she had never seen before. Sitting on one of the highest shelves was a small wooden box. Out of curiosity, Samantha took the box down from the shelf and opened it.

Inside were hundreds of index cards (索引卡)—and on each one was a hand-written recipe (食谱)!

Her hands shaking with excitement, Samantha went through the cards. She recognized all of her grandmother’s classic recipes—the cookies, the pancakes, the soups. They were all here!

Samantha knew now what she would do to cheer her grandmother up.

3 . The tendency to look for some outside group to blame for our misfortunes is certainly common and it is often strengthened by social prejudice. There seems to be little doubt that one of the principal causes of prejudice is fear — in particular the fear that the interests of our own group are going to be endangered by the actions of another. This is less likely to be the case in a stable, relatively unchanging society in which the members of different social and occupational groups know what to expect of each other and know what to expect for themselves. In times of rapid racial and economic change, however, new occupations and new social roles appear, and people start looking jealously at each other to see whether their own group is being left behind.

When a community begins to feel unsure of its future, it becomes especially likely to turn in upon itself, to imagine that surrounding groups are threatening and unfriendly. At a time like this, distorted (扭曲的) ideas about the other community are readily believed and are passed on as statements of fact. One of the tragic things about intercommunal (社区间的) conflict is that both parties quickly find themselves “moral rationalization (合理化解释).” Each side insists and believes that its own actions are inspired by noble ideals, even when they are really acting out of pure self-interest. To a third party, neutral to the conflict, it may seem obvious that both are behaving unreasonably; but when one’s emotions are involved, and especially the emotion of fear, it is extremely difficult to remain sensible.

Once prejudice develops, it is hard to stop, because there are often social forces at work which actively encourage unfounded attitudes of unfriendliness and fear towards other groups. One such force is education: We all know that children can be taught history in such a way as to keep alive old hatred and old prejudices between racial and political groups. Another social influence that has to be taken seriously is the pressure of public opinion. People often think and act differently in groups from the way they would do as individuals. It takes a considerable effort of will, and often calls for great courage, to stand out against one’s fellows and insist that they are wrong.

Why is it that we hear so much more about the failures of relationships between communities than we do about the successes? I am afraid it is partly due to the increase in communication which radio, television and the popular press have brought about. In those countries where the media of mass communication are commercial enterprises, they tend to measure success by the size of their audience; and people are more likely to buy a newspaper, for instance, if their attention is caught by something dramatic, or something that can arouse their anxiety or interest as much as failures of intercommunal relationships do. And popular public speakers, especially if they are politicians addressing a relatively innocent audience, know that the best way to arouse such an audience is to frighten them.

Where there is a real or imaginary threat to economic security, this is especially likely to arouse group prejudice. It is important to remember economic factors if we wish to lessen prejudice between groups, because unless they are dealt with directly, it will be little use simply advising people not to be prejudiced against other groups whom they see as their competitors, if not their enemies.

My friend Ollie had a birthday party recently and I wanted to make him something awesome to show how much our friendship means to me. I pulled out the craft box and spread everything out on the table: markers, paints, seashells, craft sticks, and construction paper. I stared and stared but couldn’t think of what to make.

Just then, my little brother and sister came running into the room. Indi was carrying our silly kitty Charlie. Tex asked me to help him make something, but I refused him because I need to make the best present ever for Ollie’s birthday.

Charlie wiggled in Indi’s arms. And Indi suggested making him a cat holder while Tex a cat tickler. “Cute suggestions,” I said, “But Ollie doesn’t have a cat.”

Just then, Charlie leaped out of Indi’s arms and landed on the pile of paper. The paper, and Charlie, slid across the table. Tex laughed, “It looked like Charlie’s skateboarding!”

“Skateboarding! That’ s it !” I ran to my room and found an old photo of Ollie and me with our first skateboards.

I worked all afternoon on the coolest picture frame ever. It was shaped and colored just like the skateboard Ollie had in the photo. “Thanks for giving me the skateboarding idea,” I said to Tex, “I bet this will be Ollie’s favorite present !”

When I arrived at the party, I set my gift behind all the others so Ollie would open it last. The whole time we were playing games, I kept glancing over at it. Then Ollie ’s grandmother, Abuela, brought out the cake. Ollie blew out all the candles.

Finally, it was time to open presents. Ollie opened a book, a paint set, and a baseball cap. The next-to-last thing was a long, heavy box. “I got two of the same thing for my birthday,” Justin told Ollie. “So I’m giving one of them to you.”Ollie opened the box and pulled out a super-nice skateboard. “No way!” he shouted. “This is exactly the one I’ve been wanting. Let’s go outside and try it!”

“Um, Ollie,” I said, “aren’t you going to open my gift?”

That night, after dinner, the doorbell rang.

6 . Two years ago, I was sitting in my car waiting in a long line for a toll booth (收费站). When I ________ reached the booth, the toll operator told me that the person in front had paid for me and I was ________ to go. I was so ________. I didn’t ________ to save the 5 dollars. I would never know who it was. I was ________ by the traffic and the long line, and that gesture was surprising and unbelievable. It really ________ my heart. I ________ to pay the toll for the next car for life.

The first time I tried to pay forward the toll, I kept ________ my rear view mirror to see who I’d be paying for. In the mirror, I saw a tired looking Uber driver. I felt satisfied that my ________ would be going to a good place. But before we got to the ________, the Uber driver had ________ lanes (车道) and now there was someone else behind me. She looked ________ and was gesturing angrily in a ________ with her friend. I wasn’t thrilled to be paying for a woman like that and was ________ judging her by what I was seeing in the mirror. Anyway I paid the toll for both of us and left.

Thirty seconds later I was surprised to ________ a honk (汽笛声). It was the woman and her friend ________ at me from the next lane! She looked bright and ________ . She wasn’t what I thought she was like. This was a valuable ________ that I shouldn’t ________ people so quickly... I don’t know their ________.

10 . Many people travel to enrich and enjoy themselves.     1     Lonely Planet and Forbes listed their top trends of 2019. Here, TEENS has picked out three of them. Let’s take a look.

Augmented attractions

World travel can be expensive. But virtual reality and augmented reality (VR and AR), are giving more possibilities to “travel” for little cost. With ever-improving headsets, smartphones and WiFi connections, technologies have changed the way we travel.     2    

In 2019, NASA provided a VR experience of Mars, allowing people to “walk” its surface with just a headset. Paris’ famous museums, meanwhile, provided more applications with AR technology, which gives visitors more context and information about exhibits.

    3    

Which style do you prefer, travel on your own or with family and friends? Traditionally, travel seems to be a group activity to have fun together and avoid loneliness. But that has changed. This year, solo travel has become popular, especially among young people.

Traveling on your own means that you are the boss of everything, choosing wherever you want to go, whatever you’re eager to tuck into and whenever you go out. For some people, it also releases a better person, ready to deal with anything.     4     It opens up your mind to new things and pushes you out of your comfort zone.

Getting off the common path

There are always some “must-see” spots anywhere you travel. Paris’ iconic Louvre Museum is an example. However, with crowds blocking your view of Mona Lisa to take pictures with their phones, you may not be able to enjoy this masterpiece.

In order to avoid the crowds, many like to visit less famous places after searching online or following local agencies. With less transportation and fewer things to do, hitting up small towns lets people slow down and notice the little things.     5     What better way to enjoy the scenery?