Dream Conviction Love

Rachel (starred by Whitney Houston) was a very famous singer.She lived together with her eight-year-old son Flecher.She didn't feel safe and wanted a bodyguard.Her assistant invited Frank Farmer(starred by Kevin Costner) as her bodyguard.He was excellent and once acted as the bodyguard of US president.

Frank was very devoted to his job.Since he had to protect her safety, he followed her everytime she went out.In the beginning,she felt uneasy and disturbed.There were some small conflicts between her and Frank.

However,after Frank saving her child from a bomb in a boat and her from the dangerous crowd,she trusted him.

What impressed me the most is the scene when Frank discovered someone was going to shoot Rachel on the Oscar Academy Awards,he ran fast in front of Rachel to protect her from the gun.He himself was shot.At that time,I was so worried that he could die.Luckily he wasn't.

Kevin Costner's version of a bodyguard isn't a tough guy as everybody might have expected.However,he was fast,alert,thorough and brave.Above all,he was so kind-hearted.How I wish I could have a bodyguard like him

I like the ending of the movie.When they had to say goodbye to each other,the song"I Will Always Love You" began.Rachel got off from the plane and ran to Frank,they hug and kiss for a long time.That's a very touching scene.He protected Rachel because of his duty,and more because of his love. 

I emailed my script to the authority.A month later,I was informed that I won the first prize! Wow !!! Cool!!! Again it was our of my expectation.Here I should convey my heartily thank to my foreign teacher for her help of correction. I can still recall the evening at the awards ceremony.

The Awards ceremony was held in the Tianjin Foreign Language Institute on January 4.It was at 7 pm.The hall was beautifully decorated and held about 100 audience,including my parents.Yeah,they came along with me with a camera to take photos of me.

The ceremony was a gala.At the beginning,Some students were dacing to the music.Afterwards, a boy performed crosstalk and made everybody laugh.I was greatly impressed by his excellent and vivacious performance on the stage.

There were also games.I volunteered to join one as I always did.Five students took part in it altogether.Each one of us was required to guess the name of the country according to the pictures showed on the big screen.I certainly figured out it was "France". I could speak out the name of all the five respectively.Every one of us was given a pretty calendar as a small gift for participating.

Finally came the most remarkable moment! There were six contestant that won the first prize.We came to the front,the head of school authority of TFSU shaked hands with us and granted each of us an certificate,a golden trophy,a series of audio learning material and some cosmetics.A round of applause rose unanimously thorough the hall.It reminded me of the Grammy Awards and the Oscar Academy Awards.

Holding a trophy and those presents in hands,we took pictues together.That was the happiset moment I had ever experienced.I felt I was on top of the world on that special occasion.However, I knew it clearly that the road ahead is long and full of hardships and challenges.This was the milestone of my leaning life,moreover,the brand-new start of my future studies!

When you believe,you can achieve! The trophy is still in my room and it shines on me like a torch.Whenever I feel depressed,it will always light up my confidence...

I can make it through the rain! There is a sky illuminating us.There is a rainbow for you and me,a beautiful sunrise eternally.

Besides,there're varies kinds of competitions that everyone have the chance to participate.It's just like a stage to show yourself.

We have foreign language festival every November.There will be a lot of English and Japanese contests at that time,including speech contest,English movie dubbing and so on.Also,there are contests among the whole city and even nation,such as translation,writing and speaking.

I enjoy them and grasp every opprtunity to show and prsctise myself.A shy girl as I am,I gained a lot of experience through those competitions.There are man talented people here in my university,so winning the contests can be difficult.I haven't won much.During the contests,I have tasted bitterness,sweet,embarrassment,glory,cheer...To me,it's not the result but the process that I enjoy.

I've grown up little by little in college.Yes,it's true that college life is a crucial part of our life which we can't do without.In college,we can surely become more mature...

Our campus is rather big.So,there are lots of classrooms I can enter and study myself as long as there're no lectures.Without the bothering of any aquaintances,I felt very cool and peacefully quiet.I enjoy it very much!

Naturally,there're not many communications between my mates and me.That's not because I don't want to or I went insane,it's just due to the differences of our values and purposes in university that do us apart.What I wanna do is something meaningful within limited time.Besides,my principle is neither to be intimate or hostile with anybody.

Times really flies.It has been half a year since I graduated from high school.Looking back at the days I spent at this university,to be honest,I can't find anything that makes me happy besides the liberary.I dislike almost everything.However,there're several happy memories that could cheer me up.It happens and all of them are related to my English learning.

In the final exam of the first semester,I ranked NO.1 in my class with a GPA of 3.519.However,I know,among the total 180 students in my grade,there are atill several students that are better than me.For the first time,I realized no matter where you are,there're bound to be somebody excellent than I am.That's for sure.I can never be the best of all.I can just be better than myself.

One day,the monitor handed me 600 hundred yuan.I was shocked at that moment.Then,she said with a smile:" Congratulations! You have won the scholarship." At that time,words couldn't describe my excitement.I nearly cried.Thank God my hard work finally paid off.I couldn't wait to phone my parents to tell them...Yes,they are happy too and said I deserved the prize.

There's nothing I can do to change the atmosphere here,so I must change myself and make myself adjust to it as soon as possible.

So,I make up my mind to take advantage of everything here.Unlike that of the high school,we don't have classes at any time of the day.The intervals can be several hours at most.So,after class I won't go back to my dorm and chat or hang around like other students do.Instead,I go to the liberary and study myself.I do it because I don't want to be infected by others.All I need is a rather quiet place.

I know I must sacrifice and give up a lot to gain what I really desire.I know I don't have enough time to play or entertain.Time is too precious for me.In order to make up for my failure,I must make great efforts because I know clearly that opportunities are only for those who have made full preparations.

Although I didn't do well in the college entrance exam and entered a university I didn't like,I believe there're more chances out there only if I try my hardest to strive for them.Or there would be nothing for me.

I still have four years in college.Four years later,I will definitely give it my best shot to gain the precious position at BFSU.Sounds like an impossible mission,huh? No matter what the results will be,I won't retreat or surrender.

Somebody says we can't determine our destiny.However,I will never give in to my destiny.I wanna change it and hold it in my own hands!

There were no possibilities that I could enter my ideal foreign studies university.Heart-broken,I had to choose the university I didn't like.I was reluctant to do it.Besides that, there actually was another choice:to relearn and give another try next year.I was considering it.However,soon I gave up the idea.For one thing,that was a risk.Many students took it before and they didn't do any better for they suffered more pressure.Another thing was time is precious.I'd rather make good use of the year rather than waste it.It doesn't mean I won't achieve success in a common college.It depends not on which school I study at,but how much efforts I make.

Since our major could only decided by the ranking of our scores,I wasn't sure if I could be accepted to be an English major.So,I chose Tianjin University of Technology.That would probably garanteed my major.I had already lost the school.I couldn't lose the major again.A month later,I was informed that I was admitted by the foreign language department fo TUT.My major is English.That was probably the only thing that could comfort me a little.

Till now,It's still a "scar" in my heart and always will be.It seemed the failure had taught me life lessons.There are rises and falls in our life.We can never predict what will happen to us in the near future.The more we expect,the more disappointed we may get.Yes,sometimes,we have to lower our expectations.To hope the worst and prepare for the best.It's a big failure in my life.However,it's not the end of the world.My life goes on.

I seemed to have grown up overnight as I had suddenly realized a lot about life that in the past I had never ever thought of...

The days passed so quickly. The examination came.

According to our teachers,if the paper of the previous year was difficult,the next year will be easy.The 2005 paper was difficult,so all of us knew our paper was bound to be rather easy.We thought so and truly hoped it would.

The order was Chinese,Math,Liberty Art and English.It lasted for two days.However,things always came out of your imagination.The first exam Chinese came out very difficult,even more difficult than our daily exercises.The next few exams all came out difficult except English.The liberty art exam was extremely difficult.What's worse,that was my weak subject.It came out a very weird angle which was so different from the usual type of problems we solved.I still remember when the exam was over,a lot of students cried.

I didn't cry because I still held a glimpse of hope in my heart.I wished the result wasn't that terrible.If I cried,I would affect my emotions.After all the exams were over,we would get the answers in that evening.Thus,we could evaluate our scores after comparing them to out own answers.

I will never forget that evening.

We gathered at the hall of school.The headteacher distributed the answers to each of us.Actually we couldn't wait to open it and saw them.My heart was racing at that very moment.

Upon opening it,all the answers came to my eyes.Suddenly,I found quite a few amswers of the multiple choices were totally different from mine.I was so shocked and deadly disappointed.Words couldn't express my feelings.

After reaching home,I carefully examined the answers.An hour later,I finished evaluating my scores.I bursted into tears immediately.It was nearly 100 lower than my usual ones!

That night,I cried my heart out.Later I heard one of my classmates said many of them,esp good students cried a whole night...

That night became the most sorrowful one I had ever experienced in my life.I even didn't have the courage to continue living my life.When the reality hit me heartlessly,I felt so pale to accept the result...

I had to reduce my time of learning English and put more time to learn those tedious subjects which I wasn't interested in.How terrible!

I stopped reading English magazines and listening to the radio programmes which once were part of my daily routine.

The exercise papers flew like snowflakes.We just do those exercises endlessly and then the teachers explain to us when we couldn't understand.Everyone felt exhausted mentally and spiritually.It was such a torture.

Besides the English class,the only way I learn English was reading the 21st century English newspaper once a week.To me,it seemed my source of happiness.It could greatly released my pressure.Sometimes when I felt stressed-out,it would refresh my soul after reading it.Never before had I needed it so much.So,anticipating it to be published was my biggest wish at that very time.

Actually,those days of preparing for the exam passed very quickly because our daily tests occupied a large portion of the"hard times".I had always think that my dream was coming true.I dreamed that I could be admitted by that university.How I wish I could! I expected the exam and meanwhile felt very nervous deep inside.

Tired and bored as I felt,it brought me a little comfort on thinking of the  ideal university in my heart.Since getting a great score in the exam was the only way to realize my dream,there's no way not to strive for it.Maybe that was also the faith I sticked to that kept my company through those days...

I just hope I would be lucky enough to have a good result...

Actually,nothing in the world will always go very smoothly without trials and tribulations.I suffered failures too.

I once participate an very important English competition held in my city.But I didn't even make it to the final round.While feeling sad about it,I thought over the reason again and again.I came to an conclusion that I hadn't make much progress since my senior high school.So it was a pity.

Anyway,life goes on.I behaved well on my grade as usual.The teacher always paised me that my language ability was excellent.However,he always scoffed others when they didn't do well.That contrast would certainly caused jealously and unsatisfactary towards me.Some of them even avoid to talk to me after taking an English exam.

I felt so bad the first time that learning well is also a burden in some way.

Till now,I can't recall much of my second year of senior high school besides the compliments,the awful failure and my happy days spent on the selective course.However,my bittersweet Grade Three engraved in my heart forever...

                                                                                              (to be continued...)

For me,I couldn't decide who should teach me,So I'd better accept it rather than complain about it and it was useless.

Even though I didn't like his class.I still had my keen interest in English and my ideal university.I should hold fast to my dreams.It shouldn't be bothered by any obstacles.

I just finished the homework he asigned.Whenever I couldn't agree with him,I just thought in my own way.In the English exams,I always ranked NO.1.Gradually,I became his favourate student.However, troubles came too.

Frankly speaking,he treated me very well.He only favoured students who had a decent grade.However,when it comes to a student with poor grade,he would always throw bad words to him or her.Oh,that's not fair! I think everyone should be respected as we all have self-esteem.

In his class,I was always to answer all of the tough questions he raised.I think that was a challenge to answer his weird questions.Anyway,I did it.Sometimes wrong,sometimes exactly right.Well.I didn't care.As most of the questions were concerned with grammer which I considered the least important,I didn't think too much.I think the sense of language is the most vital.Even though I didn't know the theory well,I could did the multiple choices correctly.So I thought there's no point in focusing too much emphasis on grammer which is absolutely boring to most of us.

However,soon I reallised I was wrong.Since I couldn't solve all the problems only with my sense of language.There were always something I couldn't explain.I knew that's what he had been focusing on.That is the grammer rules.So I come to realize that he was right.

Everything has a rhyme and reason.I think I should pursuit an idea that nothing should be taken granted for.I must know the fact and how come it went like that.Since then,my attitude towards him and his class altered totally.

I didn't like his way of teaching English.He alwasy took grammer as the most important factor.In that case,I couldn't agree less.I think English is a language and a tool of communication.We should improve our practical skills rather than simply learning under a fixed frame.

Also,all he cared was the exam scores.If a student failed in an exam,he would scold at him or her very seriously.I don't think that works.It was no longer an effective way in education.Senior high school students are rather rebellous rather than obidient.They would lose the interest of learning gradually if they were always punished.So from that point,I definitely couldn't agree with him.

 At first,he didn't know me well.As usual,he pointed at students and asked questions that we considered very weird.Whoever couldn't answer correctly couldn't sit down and couldn't aviod being scolded.Oh! My goodness! How terrible! So at that time,no one wanted to be called.

Once,he called me.But I didn't answer quite right actually.So I was no exception.I just stood there.But for my answer was somehow partically correct,I wasn't scolded too strictly.Anyway,I didn't care.That won't stop my journey of learning English.My enthusiasm won't be extinguished.

Most of us didn't like him.But we had no choice.So,I decided to learn English in my own way.

According to the school regulation,we had to choose to study either science or liberty art at our second year of senior high school.

To be honest,I was weak at Physics and Math.I preferred English and Chinese.Besides,there was another important reason.Since I developed a keen interest in foreign language,I had already set a goal for myself--to be admitted a prestigious language university.In China,the most famous one is BFSU which locates in the capital city Beijing.Maybe some of you know it.Its name deeply imprinted deep inside my heart.

Sometimes,I write the name in my arm to stimulate myself to stive for it.BFSU is the faith of my life.To my knowledge,it mainly accept students of liberty art.So,I chose to learn it without any hesitation.

Ever since my entering the liberty art class,I felt a sense of relief.I hated those science subjects.The textbooks of ours were different from those science students.Ours were much more easier.Although I had to continue learning those subjects I disliked,the enjoyment of being a liberty art student soon drowned the slight unhappy feelings.

I soon adjusted my life and study there.We learned Chinese,Math,English,Politics,History and Geography.I don't think they were difficult for me,at least easier than science.So I would learn quickly and have more time to learn English.

Here,I have to mention my English teacher.As I switched to art class,the teacher changed.It wasn't the previous one I once wrote--a cute young female teacher.Our new teacher was an elderly man.

He was very weird,I should say,as he had a stange temper.Strict as he was,sometimes also mild.He also spoke good Japanese.I think he even looked like a Japanese.Oh! My goodness!
He was so different from my former lovely teacher.I wonder if I would feel comfortable in his class.The first time I saw him,I was very worried about that.

Later,it proved my worry...

                                                                                         (to be continued...)

At first,I was very curious because that was the first time I attended a foreign teacher's English lesson.I was also very nervous.He was from Belgium,a small country of Europe.He was a musician.But he didn't like talking.That class we just introduced ourselves one by one.It was kinda boring actually.But I still expected the next lesson because at least I had a chance to practise my English.

A new foreign teacher came on the next week's lesson.His name is Jack and is from Canada.He was pretty young.His lesson was totally different from that of the previous one.He was so humerous,energetic and lively.His exaggerating expressions and gestures made everybody laugh.That was probably the most lively and interesting lesson I had ever took.I was so impressed.And he made everyone feel very relaxed and involve in the pure English environment he created.Never before had I felt so delighted in class.

He prepared a topic to debate for each lesson.At first I was still nervous and my voice was low and even trembling.Gradually,as time went by,I overcame it and was very confident.
I was very active in his class.I always raised my hands to express my opinions and argued with different students.My opinions were always agreed by most of the students and of course him.I felt a sense of achievement at his class.My oral English improved greatly because of the debate.I liked debating and speaking English in public.

In fact,seldom students wanted to open their mouth in the class.But to me,speaking and expressing in a foreign language and be understood is such an enjoyable thing.I talked very fast.So I enjoyed every minute of the class.An hour an a half seemed too short to me.I always felt time files when I'm having fun.It was as if I hadn't speak enough before the class was over.

Everytime after the class,the teacher and I continued talking,discussing a certain topic or simply chatting about each other's life and experiences.He liked me very much and encouraged me a lot.He said:"Cynthia,among all the students I taght,you're the best.You have a very good command of English.You know how to use the words you've learned while others don't..." I was moved and thankful.

I think he was very smart.He could speak pretty good Chinese.He lived in Tianjin.We kept in touch since then.I was lucky to have met such a good teacher.I also realised that using English is way important than learning it.Simply memorzing new words isn't learning English.And that wasn't my way either.

Here,I should thank you heartily,Jack! You inspired me! That was one small step,but more of a giant leap in my process of leaning English.

                                                                                                    (to be continued...)

There are always all kinds of competitions aponsored by ChinaDaily newspaper agency as the English paper was a branch of it.During the summer vacation of my first year of senior high school,I noticed a writing competition held nationwide with the topic of "My Unforgettable Experience".

Soon uopn reading the note,I began to brainstorm.I thought of a great essay I once wrote which was thought highly of my Chinese teacher.But it's written in Chinese.So I decided to translate into English,then polish and refine it.Yeah! I wanna try!

And so I did.After about two days of hard work,I typed and mailed it to the contest authority in Beijing.At that time,I simply wanted to participate.I didn't dare to think about winning because everyone fron all walks of life could take part in.There wasn't an age limitation.You know,China is a large country with numerous talented people.So I wasn't very confident to be honest.Anyway,I just continued my dailylife without even thinking of it.

One day after a month,a postman arrived at my apartment.He was calling my name and said there was a mail for me.I opened the door and signed my name.Actually I was curious.

But on the cover of the mail the address read "Beijing..."I thought of the competition then.Oh! I couldn't wait to open it! Guess what? There was a dictionary and a certificate inside.On the certificate it wrote:"Dear Cynthia,YOU HAVE WON THE THIRD PRIZE.CONGRATULATIONS!"
I was so joyful that I felt like dreaming! Life was so wonderful to me!

It all came out so unexpectedly.They only selected 60 essays out of 3000.I was so lucky.Looking back,I can still recall the happy moment.That was the first time I won a prize nationwide.That year,I was 17.

                                                                                              (to be continued...)

As my home was near my school,I rode a bicycle to school everyday and it was only about 10 minutes' ride.Nearby my school,there was a book stall.After school,I would ride passing it. I would always stop and buy some magazines and periodicals concerning with English.Usually I would buy some famous magazines such as English salon or English Language Learning.Speaking of English learning,I could never forget that piece of newspaper.

In a period of time,I didn't buy any magazines and I actually even overlooked its exsistence. One day,I unexpectedly turn around as I was riding passed.Suddenly,I noticed a poster of a Jay Chow,a singer and also my ideal at that time.I stopped and had a look.However,I hadn't realized that it was actually a turning point of my English learning.

I later found that it was actually the cover of a newspaper.It was called 21st Century,an English newspaper published once a week.It had several kinds.The once I saw was for college students.But I was merely a first year of senior high school.I paid immediately,not knowing if I could understand totally maybe only for the singer...

Then I discovered the diversity of 21st Century.It covers news,sports,science and technology,arts,politics,books review,entertainment,language learning,fasion and so on.The content was interesting and was all written in Eglish with some Chinese meaning of several key new words in the articles.Oh!That suits me so well ! I was so excited. Thanks to my ideal, or maybe I wouldn't have taken notice of the wonderful newspaper.(although he is no longer my ideal now)

From then on,I bought it every week.It has been my best friend ever.It's as if I had an intertwined fate with it that I can't possibly do without.

No doubt it played an important part in my learning English besides the radio programme I mentioned earlier in my story.It made me consider English as a tool of obtaining information from the outside world rather than only focusing my energy in those foolish textbooks.I learned English unconsciously while at the same time broaden my vision.

A boy was chosen.But there seemed to be a lot of work waiting for him everyday.As time went by,she liked me more and more.

I still remebmered the first monthly test.The paper was very difficult.And when the result came out,many of us were depressed as the passing rate was only 20 persent.I got 78 marks and ranked NO.1 in class and NO.2 in the grade.My total score(of all the subjects)ranked NO.10 in my class.Actually,my class was a great one as many of my classmates were very brilliant.I just took it as my motivation.

And soon,I was prompted by my headteacher of the English class representitive.The boy remained his task.We shared the work of being an English representitive.We took turns to work for the class.

During the first year of high school,there were some unforgettable experiences.

The first one was my being a temporary English teacher.Once,my headteacher went to Beijing for a training.Before she went,she arranged me,the boy,study representitive and the monitor to give a lesson to the whole class.That class was an exercise class.We were required to answer questions of our classmates about the problems they met in doing exercises.Before the class began,we were gathered and she explained to us in detail.

Then began the class,we stood in the front in a row.(pretty sillyAnd they asked questions.We tried to explain.But as there were altogether 50 students in my class,so their questions varied.Some of them were really hard to explain though I did right.Soon,the class were a little bit noisy.I was nervous and tried hard to clam down and thought how to explain.But I always solved problems by intuition which was impossible to tell.With time doing on,we did one by one.Luckily there were four of us,so it could be called a success.Anyway,we tried our best to answer.As it rang,we were released.

That was my first time giving a lesson in the front of the class.I realized being a teacher isn't an easy task.And only when you can clearly deliver the reason why you did right the problems and other's don't,will you fully conprehend.But I still had to work hard as I discovered that I was far from it...

     My scores came out quite ok.And I was able to enter a pretty good key senior high school in my district---No.2 High School.And what excited me the most is that I eventually would enjoy a free and wonderful holiday.

     I often had a good plan for my long summer vacation.My first and the most important plan of mine is to buy plenty of English books to read.I bought two Chicken Soup for The Soul books.They were named Everyday Is A Gift and Love Is An Answer respectively.They were bilingual--English and Chinese.In that way,I can learn English and at the same time,appreciate the beauty of Chinese too.Not only were the essays in them beautifully written,they also conveyed many life philosophies.I did benefit a lot from the two books.They inriched my mind.

    Just as Francis Bacon said:"Studies serve for delight,for ornament and for ability." Throught English learning,I had gain my own delight and enthusiasm.

    I also got one English novel.It was called"The Seventh Scroll". I wonder if any of you had read it before.It tells a story of adventure to Egypt.It was actually a thriller.For me,it was still a bit difficult to read a totally English version.But I looked up every new words in my e-dictionary.And reading a novel can motivate me a lot as I was enthrolled by the gripping plots.But I didn't finish reading it before the new semester began...

    But soon there came my last year in junior high school.I was about to graduate.But I wasn't excel at all my subjects.And science subjects were the worst.So in order to balance my scores and to achieve a decent grade,I had to sacrifice my time of learning English a bit.I didn't want to,but I had no choice.

    The days I gave up English learning were so painful to me.The more I learned those subjects I wasn't interested in,the more frustrated I got.But I told myself that after one year's endure,I would be free learning English.At that time,my only wish was that time could go by as quickly as possible.

    Actually,I didn't reduce much time learning English.It's just my time learning it was relatively shorter than usual.My urge of learning it was so strong that I couldn't resist it.But I had to keep my ranking at top while the same time persuit my dreams.

    Honestly,everytime my average and total score was promoted higher due to my English score.When the exam paper proved to be easy,my score wasn't much higher than others'.However,the more difficult the exams were,the more extraordinary my score became.I was good at solving difficult problems esp the competiton problems.And I enjoyed doing them.

    Everytime either at the parent's meeting or at the time of picking me up,my parents were always asked about the "secrets"of my learning English by the crowd.They even thought my parents were English teachers.But in fact,they knew nothing about English.They were so amazed,but I was calm.

                                                                                (to be continued...)

   After the evening class,I went to the teacher's office to ask some questions.

   Just then,my politics teacher smiled to me radiantly and said,"Cynthia,do you know,you've won the first prize of the English competiton?Congratulations!"

  "Oh?"I was suprised and couldn't believe my ears.

  "Yes,I have seen the certificate.It has just been sent to the school security office.I think there will be an awarding ceremony on Monday."

  "Oh,really...Thank you...Thank you very much,my teacher!"

   I was so amazed and excited at that time so a little bit tongue-tied.I was so happy that I ran all my way to fetch my bicycle and hoped to tell my parents the good news at once.I did want to arrive home as soon as possible.On the way,I was full of tears.

   Upon seeing my parents,I cried,"Mom,dad,I have won the first prize of the competition!"

   "My dear,we know you can make it!We're proud of you!"

    We hugged togrther tightly.That was an unforgettable day.

    On Monday,after rising the national flag,it came a awarding ceremony.And I was granted a certificate and later school authority gave me 300 yuan as a scholarship.And also,I was informed that my graduation score would be added 5 extra points.Though not much,it's valuable.

    Not only did listen,I also joined the activity and was very hornoured to be invited to a conference.During that conference,I met the host and the head of Radio Australia.I was able to communicate with them in English.It was no problem to me.That year I was only 13.I was the youngest listener presented there.I was very lucky and was given a souvenir of a special memorial coin released restrictively in UK with the queen's potray on one side.(the host just joined the BBC crew as it's been almost 20 years since the programme was produced.What I listened was re-editted)

    Then I learned respectively"Family Album USA","Look Ahead","Modern American Conversation"things like that.My English language ability was racing very fast and far beyond my peers.To me,learning the language was a treat.Everytime I read it or even touch the surface of English books,I felt comfort , enjoyment and excitement.I was highly motivated.or I could say a little bit crazy.haha.English drived me mad.Sounds unique,uhh?

    Then,there came a good chance to prove my learning.I took part in an English competition held citywide.
 
    The first round of the competition was composed of two rounds the preliminary and the final.The preliminary round took place in my school.i made it into the final with the highest score in my school and ranked the eighth in my district.
 
    I still remember those days when I prepared for the competition.I was so dedicated to it.My school held an extra course to those who joined the competition.I took part in it and listened to it intently every class.I took those classes as I considered them so preciuos.On those classes,I learned a lot which couldn't possibly gained from the boring textbooks(I'm tired of those dull English textbooks).I enjoyed them very much.After class,I bought some reference books related to the English competition.I remember I even learned the subjunctive mood by myself.A teacher felt very amazed.Acturally at that time I didn't expect to win a prize.In fact,I almost think it's impossible.Maybe it was the right attitude that helped me a little too.

   Then came the final competition,I was permitted in two subjects(English and Chinese,I ranked NO.8 and No.34 respectively in my district.)I was a little nervous then.And the questions were sharp,the quantity of the questions were far more difficult with a various range of knowledge besides English language.

   So passed the competition,then a month's waiting.

                                                   A Tale of Two Phases
 
   The decision I made was to give up the chance of attending the foreign language elementary(very famous in Tianjin).But at everyone was surprised at my decision as they all thought I was meant to learn foreign language.My parents and relatives al suggested as long as I wanted to go,they would do all they can to support me as they considered my future the prioity.Because it costed too much and would be a heavy burden to my family.That's not what I desire.And also I didn't want to be so specific at so young an age and put myself in a frame.I wished to develop myself freely in every aspects not only English.Maybe later I would have potential in science or other as kids are changeable.So I insisted not to go.That was the first time I did such an important thing against the will of so many people in my family.I am so amazed at my courage then.A teacher at the admission office of that language school was also astound,she whispered:"You will regret one day.So many students want to learn here but they can't.Are you nuts?"Her words"you'll regret one day"is as if a spell.Several years later,I realized it was in some way true.

    However,I didn't do well enough in my graduation exam.But I was still able to attend a rather good elementary school in my district.And during the phase of middle school,I spent my happiest times there.

    In terms of learning English or languages,my middle school was not as ideal as that one of course.The first English teacher in middle school was Mr.Wang,an elderlt man.He was very kind-hearted and straightforward.His class was intersting.But his pronunciation wasn't accurate.Sometimes he has a slight accent of Tianjin dialect mixed with English.How horrible it was!But nothing can prevent me from learning English.Ever since I entered middle school,I made up my mind to conquer those students in foreign language middle school.I believe I could learn English better than them although I am not in a language school.And my other subjects will bound to be better then them too.

     The great American thinker,essayist and poet Rauph Waldo Emerson once said:"Nothing great can ever be achieved without enthusiasm.I have deep feelings for that in my journey of learning English though what I did couldn't be called great.

   At that time,a programme featured on Children's English learning was very popular.I was a loyal listener and joined by telephoning and read words,expressions and dialogues after the teacher.The teacher was a mid-aged lady with charming and sweet voice.Coincidentally she was also surnamed Young,same as my beloved teacher I mentioned last essay.In the air,she taught us English songs,little poems and nursery rhymes which greatly interested and impressed us small kids.I loved singing very much.Till now I can still remember those songs distinctively.Everytime I sing them,it bring back those sweet and happy memories of my childhood.

  The first relatively mature and difficult song I learned to sing was"My Heart Will Go On",the theme song of the movie"Titanic".At that time I didn't learn much English esp the grammer.After all,I've only learned the language for less than a year.So a large number of,or almost every I should say words in the lyrics were new to me.The only two great weapons of mine were the radio and the dictionary.I looked up every word I didn't know and followed the tape I recorded of that song again and again.Guess what?I could sing the song perfectly!I am so proud of myself when I recall that part of my experience.But because I was too small to understand the true meaning or implied meaning of the lyrics.But I did get it gradually as time went by.I was highly motivated and improved my listening and speaking .

   Time won't wait.My primary school years came to the last period:graduation.Before that year,I took an English competiton held city-wide among pupils of my grade.I scored 94 in the preliminary contest and was bound to be granted the chance of entering the next round of competition.

    However,things changed completely without a premonitor.

    According to the central goverment's rule,no such competitions were to held owing to the need of releasing the burden of pupils and students nationwide.So the contest was canceled.So was my chance of winning a big prize and the precious chance of adding extra points on my graduation exam.It was a pity.

    Several days before graduation exam,I took a special exam held by the elementary school of Tianjin Foreign Studies university,and I was admitted in advance.However,I made a decision out of everyone's expectation and the path of my life changed entirely since then.

   My pareants discovered that my interest had switched from painting to English.So they found a summer course for me.Indeed it was where I spent the happy days I will cherish forever.

   There were all pupils of my age.We had a female teacher of her mid-thirties.She is Mrs Young.She taught us from the ABCs of English language from the pronunciation and the International Phonetics.She taught us very precisely and standardly.That summer my mom had been taken ill very seriously .Despite the expensive medical expenses,she bought me a new walkman without any hesitation.I listened to the tape everyday and practised by reading after the tape.My English improved very fast.And that's the reason why my pronunciation is rather accurate now.

   But there were still a small failure.I didn't do well on one of the quizzes.There were several got 100 marks while I only got 94.I felt very frustrated as I thought I must have came out the best.But that experience pushed me to learn more deligently ever after.And in some way it inspired me .That's why we say"Failure is the mother of success."Then I did come out first on the final quiz.

   She taught us many new words besides those in the textbook.Her class was interesting as well as serious.In the last lesson she chose a dictionary for us.Rather than recommend a tiny one,she suggested that we should use a big and thick one.The dictionary was heavy and far beyond the level of Grade 4.But I bought it and I am still using it till now.

   Time flies.The course ended.And we parted.Though it lasted only a summer vacation,it was so instructive and unforgettable.You know,for a beginner like I was,the preliminary impression is extremely important.It was because of her that I had a solid foundation of English which makes a smooth path for my future study.I was so lucky to encounter such a great teacher.And my great parents who supported me so much.Here I should thank them heartily!

   Then it was as if a colourful window had opened for me through which I could see a brand new world in front of me.Back to my daily classes,I was the top and began to show promise.

     I started to learn English at 10 years old at my fourth grade of primary school.Acturally before I encountered English,I was learning painting because I loved painting very much since I was only three years old.And since I had painted very well,my parents didn't choose to push so much load on me to start another hobby.So it was not until my fourth grade did I really begin to learn English due to the required school courses.

     However, my future life changed totally since then.

     At that time,my English teacher was a fat young lady.She is very kind and warm-hearted.I don't mean to offend her today,but I have to say her English wasn't so good.And she only taught us the words and phrases in the textbook and asked us to memorize and then have some tests.It was not fun at all.I had no feelings towards English.

      But I remembered during one class, she asked everybody to read one text together. Suddenly I found there are some similarities between that one and the previous one.And I soon discovered more similar sentence structures.And since then my first impression of English formed--I guessed English may not be difficulte to learn as it seemed to be.

      Because of my good memory and maybe the words we learnt were easy,it didn't take me so much time to memorize and it's as if it's a subject I could handle easily.And thus I developed a little bit of interest in the subject and was curious about every single new words I didn' know.I just had an impulse to know the meaning.No wonder it's great to learn a language as early as possible because a kid has an excellent memory and endless curiosity in things they don't know.

       Yesterday a special galla was demonstrated on CCTV to celebrate this specific day.This morning,the newspaper I subscribed are much more thicker than usual.It contains 68 editions!Wow,cool!

       I've applied to be a volunteer although I'm still not sure if I can make it.But I think as long as everyone is doing what they can to help with the Olympics,that's great.There's no doubt that the whole nation is making a great effort.The cities are much cleaner and prettier than before.People are more kind.A series of relevent policies are being carried out to reduce polution and provide a better environment for the game.

      Our Olympics' slogan is "One World,One Dream."Our theme is"Green Olympics,People's Olympics,Technological Olympics".Yes,we are ready to win!

      On this special occasion,on behalf of Chinese poeple,I sincerely pray for an outstanding sports even in Beijing Olympics!

     Actually,it has been cloudy for several consecutive days since August here in Tianjin,which was quite different from the hot and sticky days as usual.It's abnormal yet cosy as I won'r sweat at all even without turning on an electronical fan or the air-conditioner.I think that's great.
However,I still feel a little afraid as the thunder roaring.

     Gazing out of the window,I saw different people.In facing of rain,some got anxious and hurring on his bycicle,some were standind leisurely under the bus stop which acted as a shelter.Some took a walk in the rain...

     Luckily,the rain lasted only about an hour and no damage will cost.And everything turns normal as it was.But there's still no sunshine.But the cool gentle breeze makes me feel enchanted all the same.

     Nature is so unpredictable.Somewhere shines,alsewhere rains or even floods.Just as our life which are full of obstacles.In facing them,everyone behaves in his own way.I do hope I'll be a calm one whenever happens.