Every home has one drawer that nobody can explain. In ours there is a rope, half a candle, three keys, and a needle that has been there since I was born. My mother says she will clean it out every spring. (11) Last year I tried to help her. I held up an old tool and asked what it was for, (12) she took it from my hand and put it back at once. She said we might need it one day. (13) that drawer is the only place in the house where nothing is ever thrown away. (14), I have started my own drawer in my room.
Last year a group of neighbors opened a public kitchen beside the bookstore on Middle Road. Anyone may use the stove, the wok, and the big pot there, but each person must wash every plate and glass before leaving. (15) On Sunday morning it is full of people who do not usually cook at home. An old man from Singapore, who cooks everything himself, teaches others how to make soup, (16) he never writes down the amounts. (17), three neighbors have opened small food shops of their own. The kitchen has no prize and no sign, (18) everyone in town knows where it is.