FOOD is basic — it's what keeps us going. But for students at the International Culinary (烹饪) Center (ICC) in New York City, it's much more than that — food is the future. ICC "gave me a direction', said Song Wen long, 25, a Chinese native and recent graduate of the world famous cooking school.

ICC, which was set up in 1984, offers courses from chef (厨师)training programs to wine studies and restaurant management, according to its website.

And as the school has grown, the number of international students to ICC, including Chinese, is rising every year. One example is Song Wen long, who grew up in Shanghai but now works in Los Angeles as director of food development for RJ Chinese Kitchen, a restaurant in California.

Song has lived in the US for three years. He first completed a degree in Engineering at Stony Brook University in New York. Song said. "I chose the degree based on my parents' opinion. The people I met abroad encouraged me to chase my dream, so I ended up changing my whole career path.'

That's what brought him to ICC —his love of food. "Growing up, my uncle had a restaurant, and I loved going with him to the farmers' market. When I was 16, I started to cook on my own.'

Song said he likes ICC's ideas toward cooking. "They taught me how to cook, not special recipes（秘诀）. They call it 'cooking techniques'. I learned a lot from that. The two-month internship(实习) in a restaurant was helpful, too. It gave me a look at a high-quality, professional kitchen.'

Song highly recommends Chinese chefs and food lovers go abroad and study. Above all, he feels good about the fact that more young Chinese people are starting to chase their own dreams.

Last Sunday, …

One night many years ago, an angry voice woke me up from sleep. It was my drunken (喝醉的) father. Those days, he would always 1home very late. Sometime, he would also go on to fight with my mom.

My earliest memory of these events began when I was around four years old, I was filled with2at that time. There were lots of3—— crying, shouting, and doors slamming (砰地关上).

Then, there was a4knock at the door. My father opened the door. There were two tall men in blue. They wanted to come inside to5 everyone was okay. In a moment, my father was taken away. Everything became peaceful.

My father came back the next day. He became very friendly and6brought my mom flowers. I knew that these men in blue had taken away my fear. From that day on, 7I wanted to be was a policeman. And my dream has come true.

I realized that police officers not only8the little boy in me, but made me a helpful person. Once, my colleague (同事) and I jumped into a river and got a driver9a sinking (下沉的) car. Another day, we kicked open the door into a house10the fire spread through the whole building.

Police officers will always be my heroes, and I will always love my job.

It's hot in your country now, ?

 Jack one hour his homework yesterday．

“美国一分钟前得分了。”

—

— America scored a minute ago.

Hi! We are Lucy and Lily. We are sisters. We are studying in a high school. We are always wanting the weekends to come. Because on weekends there are different kinds of outdoor activities, such as going to the park, going shopping, playing ball games and so on.

We usually go to the park on Saturdays. We often take some bread, meat, water and milk with us. It's Saturday today. We are in the park again. Father is fishing in a boat on the lake (湖). Mother is sitting and reading under the tree. We are flying a kite. Now we are drinking some water. Do you think we are happy?

—I usually learn new words to tapes.