我新交的笔友(My new penpal)



　　My new pen pal is an American boy. He is 13 years old. He is a middle school student. He often exercises, so he is very strong and tall. For food, he likes hamburger and salad. His favorite subjects are P.E. and physics at school. He likes playing basketball and going to the movies. Because he loves to tell jokes, he is very popular in his class.



　　I hope we can have a beautiful friendship.

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　　我难忘的一件事



　　I liked playing computer games,but my daddy was not happy because he thought it was not good for my study.Sometimes I felt I was not a free boy when my daddy was so strict with me,so I tried to talk to my daddy,and he said he was happy because I talked to him,and now he let me play games if I study well.From this,I understand a friendly talk can help people get along well.

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　　monkeys

　　Back in 1986, during my last year of high school, there was a radio trivia contest to win tickets to a concert. I didn’t have much money, but I really wanted to go see this particular group, so I sat myself beside the radio one Monday morning, phone in hand, and waited. Now, my head has always been overflowing with completely useless information –probably more so at that time in my life– so I knew I stood just as good a chance as anybody else. Finally, they asked the question: “What was David Bowie’s theatrical rock-star persona backed by the Spiders from Mars?” I dialed as quickly as I could, but I was not the first, and so didn’t win the tickets. For three more mornings, I did the same, each time knowing the answer, but failing to be the first to call. On that Friday, however, the question was much harder: “Whose band did Canadian singer Gowan borrow for the recording of his Strange Animal LP?” This time I won the tickets.



　　I was proud of my accomplishment, elated by that vindication of the sheer width and breadth of the mostly impractical data stogged tight into my brain. It seems a little foolish in retrospect, but the accumulation of knowledge was –for me– the most distinguishing facet of my self-identity.



　　Back then, information was far less transitory. I remember reading and studying endlessly, trying to retain every nugget of information I could, whether it was useful or not. Now, I have become lazy. When a question is asked and I don’t know the response, a quick search on the Net will generally take me directly to the right information. The question answered, the details then drop away from my mind, and I usually forget it completely. I suspect most people do this nowadays, relying upon the Net far more than memory. When someone dials a friend from Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, are they really choosing their most knowledgeable friend, or simply the fastest with Google? Who would you phone?

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　　夏令营



　　A Summer Camp



　　This summer, I had some special days. I joined Dongzhou International Educational Exchange Summer Camp.



　　First, I will tell you about our foreign teachers, they are Shrina and Rebecca. They are friendly and beautiful. They are students at Oxford University.



　　We talked about many things: famous people, subjects in England, different jobs, our deal days, western star signs, what can we say in a restaurant and so on.



　　We know lots of things, like what the difference is between “chef” and “cook”, all the parts of the body…



　　We tried to write a letter to Principal Zhang. We made a play and we drew our own comics and tried to sell it. We gave some other students English lessons, we taught them about Chinese Dragon, Chinese Martial Arts and the Olympics.



　　Every afternoon, we played exciting games: Chinese Whispers, Tongue Twisters, Wheelbarrow, egg and spoon, three legs…



　　On the last day, we had a good time. We made black tea. We put tea bags, some milk and lots of water in to a big bowl, and then we stirred the tea until it became red and dark. Oh, it tasted good! Later, we used eggs, flour and milk to make many pancakes. To cook them is very interesting. When we finished it, the pancakes looked round and nice. We put some jam on it. How delicious! I won’t ever forget it.



　　The summer Camp is a really good chance for me. I know the local things in England. I learned a lot and like English more. I also know better ways to learn English well.



　　I hope one day I can see you in England.

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　　Nowadays，there is often a lack of understanding between parents and children. Children always complain that their parents are out of date， while parents can't approve of what their children say and do. Thus，a big generation gap is formed.



    The gap remains wide for many reasons. Children want to be free to choose their own friends， select their own classes in school， plan their own future ， earn and spend their own money ，and generally run their own life in a more independent way than many parents allow. Also， young children wish to be understood by their parents， but most parents don't quite understand their children. They regard it as their responsibility to teach their offspring traditional beliefs. They want them to be obedient and do well in school . Therefore， misunderstanding often arise from parents' tendency to interfere in children's daily activities. In my opinion， most problems between parents and children could be solved by joint efforts of both sides to enhance mutual understanding.