Su Dongpo was a great poet, writer, painter and calligrapher in the Song Dynasty. Su Shi, which is his real name, together with his brother Su Zhe and father Su Xun, were called “Three Sus” in the history of China.

Su Dongpo was born in 1037 in Meishan Sichuan Province. At the age of 5, he began to learn reading and writing from his mother. The boy became very talented in the Chinese classics when he was only 7 years old. Su Shi passed the important examinations to get the title of Jing Shi at the age of 19. Later, he served in a number of government offices. However, he went through some difficult time in his life. He lived in exile (流放) for many years. No matter what trouble he was in,he always created new works to cheer himself up.

Su played a very important role in the history of Chinese poetry. Luckily, more than 2,300 of his poems have survived. Among them, Battle of Red Cliff, Jiang Chenzi, The Immortal by the River, Prelude to Water Melody and quite a few other poems are very famous. The last two lines of the poem Prelude to Water Melody are so popular that nearly every student can recite them, “May you live a long life, the moon we share across 1000 miles.”

Su died in 1101 in Changzhou after a long period of exile.

Su Dongpo, a star in Chinese history, lights up uncountable people’s hearts and souls with his great talent and positive spirit.

Are you looking forward to starting a club or joining after-school activities? If you do, you can have more chances to develop your interest. Good friends are always around when you share similar interests and clubs, which helps you keep the friendship and find more friends.

As we know, lots of universities have after-school clubs. They offer students a choice of interesting activities, from dancing and playing chess to cooking and doing sports. There are also clubs that help students with their homework. Students enjoy after-school clubs and they learn a lot of new things.

University trips are an important part of university life too. Teachers take their students on day trips to museums and other places of interest. Sometimes they go to theatres and concerts, too.

Most universities have teams for sports such as football, tennis and basketball. There is usually training at lunchtimes and after school. The university teams play matches against other university teams.

Universities often have an orchestra (管弦乐队), and there are sometimes rock and jazz bands too. University orchestras give concerts during the year. In January, music teachers usually organize a New Year concert.

The university theatre production is another important part of university life. Universities usually have one theatre production a year like Hamlet, a play written by Shakespeare. Musicals like The Lion King are also popular—students play music, sing, dance and act. The performances are usually in the evening so students’ families and friends come to watch them. These activities make the life of the universities colorful.

Jack

I spent a day with my teachers and classmates in the woods (树林). We learned something useful about trees, flowers and small animals. We also learned how to cook outside. What an exciting trip!

Tim

At first, I thought it would be boring to visit a farm. But after we arrived at the farm, I found everything there was fun. We fed chickens and rode horses. Oh, I also bought some eggs for my grandparents.

Lisa

I took a trip to the old people’s home last month. In the morning, we helped the old people clean the house. Then we talked with them and gave music shows to them. From the trip, I learned that young people should (应该) help the old in life.

Susan

Last week, my teacher took us to a restaurant called Epcot Center. We visited the kitchen first and learned how to cook healthy dishes. Then we ate some noodles for lunch. We arrived there at 10:00 a.m. and left at 4:00 p.m. The school trip was fun for me.

茶园之旅