Molly's family is Chinese-American. They serve a traditional Chinese meal once a week. Molly invited her friend Amy to join them this week.
Molly's family was busy preparing for dinner when Amy arrived. The house was filled with many good smells. “You can help me set the table,” Molly told her friend. They laid the place settings on the table. They gave each person a pair of chopsticks, a soup bowl, a soup spoon, and a rice bowl.
“Where are the forks and knives?” Amy asked.
“Oh, you won't need those,” Molly explained. “We use chopsticks. But don't worry. I'll show you how to use them.”
The two girls went into the kitchen. Molly's father was cutting vegetables. He threw the vegetables into a large cooking pan coated with (涂有)hot oil.
Amy watched the vegetables cooked. Then Molly's mother asked the girls to carry plates of food to the table. Amy carried the rice. It was one of the few dishes she recognized. There were meat-filled bundles called won-tons, noodles, stir-fried beef and sweet-and-sour chicken.
Amy was a little nervous about eating with chopsticks. Molly gave her directions on how to hold and use chopsticks.
Amy managed to pick up a piece of chicken in her chopsticks. Suddenly, her fingers slipped(松开) and the chicken flew across the table. It landed in Molly's soup. Everyone smiled. “We keep these on hand for emergencies(紧急情况),” Molly's father said kindly. He brought out a knife and fork and handed them to Amy. Amy was relieved and ate her dinner. It was delicious!
At the end of the meal, Amy was given a fortune(幸运) cookie. She broke it open and read the fortune inside. It said, “If you practice hard, you will learn many things.” Amy laughed and said, “If you let me take home a pair of chopsticks, my fortune may come true!”
