【明報專訊】SUSAN loved cooking and she was good at making broccoli (西蘭花) soup. One day, as usual, she brought with her an insulated pot (保溫壺).

Tony was a classmate of Susan's. He knew that her cooking was superb.

''Hey Susan. Your soup smells nice. Would you mind sharing some with me?''

''Nope. I prefer not to share it.'' Susan didn't know Tony well. She thought that it'd be weird to share food with somebody who wasn't her friend. Tony asked Susan for a spoon but failed to get even a drop!

The next day, something strange happened. Susan still brought with her a pot of broccoli soup. It was lunchtime.

She opened the insulated pot and found nothing. Yes, not even a single drop of soup.

''How come!'' She racked her brain but came up with no answers. She immediately thought of Tony. ''Let's spy on him!'' She was determined to solve the puzzle.

It was hard to spy on somebody, especially when you aren't always in the classroom. Susan then had another idea. She decided to hide her pot somewhere hard to locate — a bush near the school's entrance.

Alas, the same thing happened. The pot was empty again and she couldn't realise anything unusual.

In her another attempt, she decided to hide near the bush to see if any people came by.

There was a boy approaching. ''Oh he looks so familiar... '' Susan murmured. It's Tony!

She saw Tony pouring the soup into a bottle. He then went back to the classroom. The strangest thing was that he didn't drink the soup. Rather, he put the bottle inside his school bag.

All this made Susan feel extremely curious. What's he gonna do?

After school, Susan didn't give up playing a detective. She crept along the streets, not letting Tony realise somebody was following him.

It was an elderly home! Tony was greeted by a middle-aged woman. ''Hey Tony, how warm-hearted you are! Don't stand like a rock. Come in, it's very cold outside. Oh who's that girl?''

Who's that girl? Susan of course. She came out without further ado. ''Why are you following me?'' Tony laughed. Susan's cheeks turned as red as an apple.

She couldn't speak a word but come inside. A number of elderly people looked at Tony with much expectation. ''Hey kid have you brought the broccoli soup? Surely you have!'' He stared at Tony's school bag.

Tony took out the bottle and suddenly turned to Susan, feeling very sorry. ''Actually it's my fault. I shouldn't have stolen your food...''

Not expecting such a courtesy, Susan said, ''Never mind. I could teach you how to make the soup next time!''

What a wonderful afternoon.

■Gear up

According to the story, answer the following questions.

(1) Susan's mom taught Susan how to cook.

( True / False / Not given )

(2) Susan follows Tony because she is fond of him.

( True / False / Not given )

(3) Tony steals Susan's soup mainly because he wants to let the elderly people taste it.

( True / False / Not given )

(Answers on next text)

■Food for thought

The freezing winter season is depressing, not if you've got a hot soup. Do you have someone you should care for but haven't got the time to do so?

■Glossary

superb (adj) 傑出的

rack one's brain (idiom) 絞盡腦汁

bush (n) 灌木

courtesy (n) 禮節

[Smarties' Power English 第262期]