Thank you for your last letter. You asked me about my hobby. Well, I enjoy doing many things when I am free. I like drawing very much. My mother taught me to draw when I was four years old. I like drawing animals such as pandas, dogs, cats, elephants and so on. I took part in a drawing competition last term and got second place. And my father bought me a bike to encourage (鼓励) me.

You like sports a lot. And I am fond of sports, too. I often watch all kinds of games on TV. My favorite player is Yao Ming. He plays basketball very well and he gives money to the poor children in China and in American as well. He is a great player. I would like to learn from him and help more people in the future.

My winter holidays will begin next week. Would you like to come to Shanghai for a holiday? I believe you can enjoy yourself in Shanghai.

Best wishes!

Yours,

Wang Wen

【推荐3】I was able to write and read in English, but I couldn’t speak English well when I was traveling to English-speaking countries. It was also very difficult for me to understand the natives (本地人). Things changed after I joined ACC (Advanced Conversation Club).

For a long time, I tried to learn English in different schools and in different ways, but it didn’t work well. I’m a doctor and I am very busy with my work so I don’t always have free time for studying. Joining ACC is perfect for me because I can listen to the lessons anywhere and anytime. For example, every day it takes me about one hour to go to work or to go home. When I am in the car, I always listen to ACC lessons. By doing it, I improve my English day by day.

After three years’ study, I can understand 80%~90% of a movie without reading subtitles (字幕). Last year I was in New York City and I could talk to the natives with perfect English. Once, at a bus station, an American told me, “Your English is good. You could live here without problems.” Of course, I was very happy when hearing the words.

【推荐1】A general was going to fight a strong enemy. He had only one-tenth the number of men the enemy had. Hearing this news, the soldiers (士兵) were worried. They didn’t think they could possibly win. The general thought for a while and then had an idea. He told his soldiers that they could win the fight only if they followed his new plan.

On the way to the battlefield (战场), the general stopped at a temple and told his men, “After my visit to the temple, I will toss (投掷) a coin. If it comes up heads, we will win; if tails(背面), we will lose. Destiny (命运) holds us in her hand.”

The general went into the temple and wished for victory. Then he came out and tossed a coin in front of his men. The coin came up heads. The soldiers were amazed and thought they would win the coming fight. They fought hard and won in the end.

“No one can change the hand of destiny,” one of his men told the general after they won the fight. They believed that the gods had planned for them to win the fight.

“In fact, it was not like that,” the general said, taking out the coin. The soldiers walked up to see what it was, but only saw a coin with heads on both sides. The coin toss might have been “fake”, but their confidence and courage were still real.

【推荐3】Natalie Portman, an actress and film producer, is well known for her talents in acting. Portman was born on June 9, 1981, in Jerusalem and then she and her family settled in America.

Portman started dancing lessons at age four and performed in local dance clubs. In 1993, she was interviewed for the role of a poor child who made friends with a middle aged killer (played by Jean Reno) in Lue Besson’s film, Leon: The Professional. The film opened in 1994, marking her famous overnight. At the same time, she studied dancing and acting in New York, and starred in Star Wars: Episode Ⅰ—The Phantom Menace while still at high school in Long Island. In 1999, after filming Where the Heart Is, Portman moved into the dormitory of Harvard University to pursue her bachelor’s degree in psychology, with her work as an actress, she completed a bachelor’s degree in 2003. During her studies, she starred in Star Wars: Episode Ⅱ—Attack of the Clones.

To prepare for the role of a young ballerina (芭蕾舞女演员) in Darren Aronofsky’s 2010 film Black Swan, she went through five to eight hours of dance training each day for six months and lost 20 pounds (9 kg). But her hard work paid off. Not only did she win the Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2011 by this film, but also found her soulmate—Millepied, who was the choreographer (舞蹈指导) of Black Swan. The couple married in Big Sur, Califormia on August 4, 2012.

Apart from show biz, Portman devotes herself to many social and political causes. For example, she is a supporter for animal rights and became a vegetarian (素食者) after she saw an operation on a chicken while attending a medical meeting with her father.