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　　Young adult filmmakers all hope to show their works in international festivals like Sundance and Toronto．But what about really young filmmakers who aren’t in film school yet and aren’t, strictly speaking, even adults?

　　They are at the heart of Wingspan Arts Kids Film Festival, tomorrow, in a setting any director might envy：Lincoln Center．Complete with “red carpet” interviews and various awards, the festival has much in common with events for more experienced moviemakers, except for the age of the participants：about 8 to 18．

　　“What’s really exciting is that it’s film for kids by kids,” said Cori Gardner, managing director of Wingspan Arts, a nonprofit organization offering youth arts programs in the New York area．This year the festival will include films not only from Wingspan but also from other city organizations and one from a middle school in Arlington, Virginia．“We want to make this a national event,” Ms．Gardner added．

　　The nine shorts to be shown range from a Claymation biography of B．B．King to a science fiction adventure set in the year 3005．“A lot of the material is really mature,” Ms．Gardner said, talking about films by the New York City branch of Global Action Project, a media arts and leadership-training group．“The Choice is about the history of a family and Master Anti-Smoker is about the dangers of secondhand smoke．Dream of the Invisibles describes young immigrants’(移民)feelings of both belonging and not belonging in their adopted country．”

　　The festival will end with an open reception at which other films will be shown．These include a music video and a full-length film whose title is Pressures．

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　　I began working in journalism(新闻工作)when I was eight．It was my mother’s idea．She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition．

　　With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue．The crowds were there．There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union．For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST．When it was suppertime, I walked back home．

　　“How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked．

　　“None．”

　　“Where did you go?”

　　“The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues．”

　　“What did you do?”

　　“Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post．”

　　“You just stood there?”

　　“Didn’t sell a single one．”

　　“My God, Russell!”

　　Uncle Allen put in, “Well, I’ve decided to take the Post．” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickel(五分镍币)．It was the first nickel I earned．

　　Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman．I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence(自信), and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home．

　　One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind．I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business．

　　“If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “ you’ll become a good-for-nothing．” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines．Whenever I said no, she would scold me．

　　My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember．My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people．But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love．

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　　Scholars and researchers have tried to discover what personality characteristics go along with success in intercultural experiences．Their findings have often been unclear or incomplete．But three characteristics stand out in their reports：patience, a sense of humor, and the awareness of being unclear．

　　Patience, of course, is the ability to keep calm even when things do not go as one wants them to, or hopes they will, or has even been sure they will．Impatience sometimes brings improvements in relations with other people, but usually it does not．

　　A person with a sense of humor is less likely to take things too seriously and more ready to see the humor in his own reactions than a humorless person．The value of a sense of humor really needs to be paid more attention to．

　　The awareness of being unclear is a more difficult concept than patience or a sense of humor．Foreigners often find themselves in situations that are unclear to the newcomers．That is, they do not know what is happening in the situation．Perhaps they do not understand the local language well enough, or they do not know how some system or organization works, or they can’t be sure of different people’s roles in what is going on．“It’s like I just got here from the moon,” a Chinese graduate student who newly arrived in the United States said, “things are just so different here．”

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　　Computer programmer David Jones makes 35,000 pounds a year designing new computer games, yet he cannot find a bank prepared to let him have a credit card(信用卡)．Instead, he has been told to wait another two years, until he is 18．

　　The 16-year-old boy works for a small firm in Liverpool, where the problem of most young people of his age is finding a job．David’s firm puts two new games on the home market each month．

　　But David’s biggest headache is what to do with his money．In spite of his salary, made by inventing new programs within a quite short period of time, the bonus payments and profit-sharing(奖金和分红), he cannot drive a car, get some money from a bank to buy a house, or get credit cards．

　　He lives with his parents in their house in Liverpool, where his father is a bus driver．His firm has to pay ￡150 a month in taxi fares to get him the five miles to work and back every day because David cannot drive．

　　David got his job with the firm a year after leaving school with six 0-levels and working for a time in a computer shop．“I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programs,” he said．

　　“I suppose 35,000 pounds sounds a lot but actually that’s not good enough．I hope it will come to more than that this year．” He spends some of his money on records and clothes, and gives his mother 20 pounds a week．But most of his spare time is spent working．

　　“Unfortunately, computing was not part of our studies at school,” he said．“But I had been studying it in books and magazines for four years in my spare time．I know what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school．Most people in this business are fairly young, anyway．”

　　David added, “I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement(退休)is a possibility．You never know when the market might disappear．”

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　　Everyone loves Adventureland! The Parks and Exhibitions were built for you to explore(探索), enjoy, and admire their wonders．Every visit will be an unforgettable experience．You will go away enriched, longing to come back．What are you going to do this time?

　　Explore places you have never been to before, and experience different ways of life．Visit the Amazon jungle(丛林)village, the Turkish market, the Tai floating market, the Berber mountain house and others．Talk to the people there who will tell you about their lives, and things they make．You can try making a carpet, making nets, fishing…

　　This exhibition shows how progress will touch our lives．It allows us to look into the future and explore the cities of the next century and the way we’ll be living then．Spend some time in our space station and climb into our simulator(模拟装置)for the Journey to Mars!

　　This is not really one park but several．In the Safari Park you can drive among African animals in one of our Range Cruisers：see lions, giraffes, elephants in the wild．Move on to the Ocean Park to watch the dolphins and whales．And then there is still the Aviary to see…

　　This is the center of Adventureland．Run out of film, need some postcards and stamps? For all these things and many more, visit our underground shopping center．Come here for information and ideas too．

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　　It is natural that children are curious about the world around them．For example, they want to know how their hearts beat．They want to know why the ocean water tastes salty．

　　As children grow up, they become curious about different kinds of things．When they are babies, they are interested in the parts of their bodies and in the smiles of their mothers．They become interested in the physical world around them：the plants, the animals, the sky．Later, they become interested in the things that people have made：wheels, bicycles, cars．And when they are adults, their curiosity continues．Sometimes this curiosity leads to a career(生涯、职业)in science．

　　Scientists spend their lives trying to find out about the world．Those who work with the earth sciences study the earth, the oceans, and the skies．Other scientists who study living things work with the biological sciences．A third group of scientists study the physical sciences, e．g．physics, chemistry．

　　These scientists have already discovered a lot about our world．For example, they tell us why your heart beats fast when you run．They say that when you are quiet, your heart normally beats sixty-five or seventy-five times a minute．Your heart is a pump(泵)that pumps blood to all parts of the body．The blood carries oxygen and nutrition．When you run, your muscles work very hard and use the nutrition that the blood carries to them．The muscles need oxygen, too．So your brain sends a signal to the heart．The signal means that the muscles need more nutrition and oxygen．Then the heart beats fast and sends blood quickly to the muscles．It may beat 90 to 140 times a minute．

　　Of course, scientists cannot answer all of our questions．If we ask, “Why does the ocean water taste salty” scientists will say that the salt comes from rocks．When a rock gets very hot or very cold, it cracks．Rain falls into cracks．The rain then carries the salt into the earth and into the rivers．The rivers carry the salt into the ocean．But then we ask, “What happens to the salt in the ocean? The ocean does not get saltier every year．” Scientists are not sure about the answer to this question．

　　We know a lot about our world, but there are still many answers that we do not have, and we are curious．

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　　Chocolate is good for your heart, skin and brain．Usually, people think that chocolate is bad for their health．They describe chocolate as “something to die for” or say “death by chocolate”．Now they should bite their tongues! Evidence(证据)is showing that some kinds of chocolate are actually good for you in the following ways：

　　A happier heart

　　Scientists at Harvard University recently examined 136 studies on cocoa－the main ingredient in chocolate and found that it does seem to strengthen the heart．Studies have shown heart benefits from increased blood flow．These benefits are the result of cocoa’s chemicals, which seem to prevent both cell damage and inflammation(炎症)．

　　Better blood pressure

　　If yours is high, chocolate may help．Jeffrey Blumberg from Tufts University recently found that people with high blood pressure who ate 3．5 ounces of dark chocolate per day for two weeks saw their blood pressure drop quickly．

　　Muscle magic

　　Chocolate milk may help you recover after a hard workout(锻炼)．In a small study at Indiana University, people who drank chocolate milk between workouts did better on a tiredness test than those who had some sports drinks．

　　Better for your skin．German researchers gave 24 women a half-cup of special cocoa every day．After three months, the women’s skin was moister(滑润的)and smoother．The research shows that chocolate helps protect and increase blood flow to the skin, improving its appearance．

　　Brain gains

　　It sounds almost too good to be true, but research suggests that chocolate may improve your memory, attention span, reaction time, and problem-solving by increasing blood flow to the brain．

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　　He wishes the holiday season would end already．His back aches, his red suit feels like a spacesuit, his cheeks have gone tight from smiling for 12 hours－and still the kids keep coming and coming, like ants at a picnic．As Christmas becomes more commercialized(商业化)across the U．S．and Canada, so must Santas．As the holiday begins earlier each year, so must its spokesmen．

　　The questions from children these days are harder than ever．Now, with thousands of children expecting a father or mother serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, the questions are as heart-breaking as they are unanswerable．For example, “Can you please bring Daddy home from the war in time for Christmas morning?”

　　Santas also have a pretty good chance of getting sued(指控)．A professional Santa Claus in Canada told a story：A Santa had a girl on his knee, and he commented, “You have nice eyes and nice hair．” The girl later said it was sexual harassment(骚扰)．When a Santa feels anxious, he often shows it in the same ways ordinary people do：The Santas were always seen to hang around at the dinner table when the show ended．Many of them just sleep in bed for several days and don’t see other children again．

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　　Every year on my birthday, from the time I turned 12, a white gardenia was delivered to my house．No card came with it．Calls to the flower-shop were not helpful at all．After a while I stopped trying to discover the sender’s name and just delighted in the beautiful white flower in soft pink paper．

　　But I never stopped imagining who the giver might be．Some of my happiest moments were spent daydreaming about the sender．My mother encouraged these imaginings．She’d ask me if there was someone for whom I had done special kindness．Perhaps it was the old man across the street whose mail I’d delivered during the winter．As a girl, though, I had more fun imagining that it might be a boy I had run into．

　　One month before my graduation, my father died．I felt so sad that I became completely uninterested in my upcoming graduation dance, and I didn’t care if I had a new dress or not．But my mother, in her own sadness, would not let me miss any of those things．She wanted her children to feel loved and lovable．In truth, my mother wanted her children to see themselves much like the gardenia-lovely, strong and perfect with perhaps a bit of mystery(神秘)．My mother died ten days after I was married．I was 22．That was the year the gardenia stopped coming．

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　　What is it that makes people laugh? More than two thousand years ago the ancient Greek philosopher(哲学家)Aristotle defined(定义)jokes as the pleasure that results from a feeling of triumph by showing we’re better than someone else in a certain way．According to Aristotle and many other philosophers, all jokes depend mainly on showing inferiority in another person or group of persons－that is, putting it clearly, on showing that they are worse off than ourselves．Jokes raise our good opinion of ourselves at someone else’s expense．

　　Showing how much better than other people we are is only one reason we like jokes．Someone may also use a joke to express their anger or their cruelty(残酷)or any other kind of action that is not acceptable to us．We feel free to laugh when we hear about someone sliding on a banana skin．The joke lets us express those attitudes which are usually unacceptable to society．This is probably the reason why some of the jokes, especially those involving cruelty, are so popular with certain people．

　　Besides, all jokes depend on our enjoyment of laughing at something that is strange and out of place because it’s different from things which are happening around it．The same situation can be either sad or pleasant, depending entirely on how strange and out of place it is．If a girl in a bathing suit falls into a swimming pool, we don’t laugh because nothing unusual has happened．But if a man in a smart suit falls in, the situation is at once unusual in a pleasant way and we laugh．A good joke-teller will always try to build up a situation in which one thing is expected until something unexpected suddenly happens, and so we laugh．

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