Emily White was born seventeen years ago with so many birth problems in her body. Some of her organs, bones and muscles were out of shape. No one expected her to survive. She did make it but with her strange body figure, everyone could recognize her, even from a distance.

In Emily White’s hometown, there was a yearly outdoor performance in the school auditorium (大礼堂). It had been performed for so many years and actually had become one of the most important events of the Christmas season for many of the town’s people.

Many people tried out each year for it, but so many were turned away. It can only include the most excellent people in the field.

Emily had a beautiful singing voice. Last year she went to Mrs. Owens — her music teacher to ask to join in the performance. Without letting her sing, Mrs. Owens took a look at Amy’s body and said, “Child, you just don’t fit. Everyone would stare at you and that would make you uncomfortable. It would make them uncomfortable, too.”

Without singing a single note, Emily was sent back through the door of the choral room. Hurt and upset, she decided never to try out again. But Mrs. Owens then retired.

This year, there came a new music teacher, Mr. Buttler. He heard about Emily and suggested that she have a try.

Emily didn’t want to be rejected again, so she hesitated a little about it. As Emily struggled, the door was pushed open and Mr. Buttler called, “Emily, you’re next.” Although kind of nervous, Emily did as Mr. Buttler told her to do. Mr. Buttler sat by the piano to keep Emily company. When Emily finished her testing performance, she thanked Mr. Buttler and knew the result would be posted on the door of the choral room the next day.

Emily couldn’t sleep that night. She was suffering from the feelings that she didn’t fit and the great need to be accepted. By the next morning, her stomach was even in pain because of stress.

Paragraph 1: The next day, Emily nervously glanced at the list on the door of the choral room.

Paragraph 2: Finally, the day of performance came.

In 2000, when I was around seven years old, all my family were coming back from a T-ball game, which was our usual weekend adventure, but unlike every other weekend, a surprise was waiting for us in our driveway—two adult geese and a small goose. Obviously startled by our return, the adults flew away in panic, with their baby, too young to fly, left in place, tiny and delicate.

Hours passed one after another, and night eventually fell. However, with it also came a deep chill and a fear of watchful animals. It was apparent that the gosling needed protection, warmth, and food to make it to the morning, so we had to help it, and we brought him onto our back yard.

We all pretty much slept with one eye open till morning came. And then another morning. And still another. Each morning, we would try to drive the goose away to his parents, who kept coming back to our yard. He wouldn’t go to them, though, and neither would they come close enough to claim him. We kept this up for five days, but no luck. Realizing the young goose had clearly decided we were his family by then, we had to give him a name, calling the little guy Peeper, because he would often follow us around the yard making a peeping(唧唧叫) noise, nonstop. Besides, we decided that Peeper was a boy. I don’t know why; it just felt right.

A year passed and we settled into a routine. Peeper slept on our back yard each night and, in typical goose fashion, used it as a latrine(公共厕所). My dad would spray off all the goose droppings daily. Part of this ceremony included Dad throwing Peeper up into the air so he could flap its wings and flew a loop(圈) around the house, and then came back again once the porch was clean.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months.

Before we knew it, the little thing had grown into a big bird with two powerful wings.

It came as a total surprise to me when, in 2020, an adult goose made his way back to my family home.

At the end of the 16th century, about five to seven million people spoke English. Nearly all of them lived in England. Later in the next century, people from England made voyages to conquer other parts of the world and because of that, English began to be spoken in many other countries. Today, more people speak English as their fist, second or foreign language than ever before.

Native English speakers can understand each other even if they don't speak the same kind of English. Look at this example:

British Betty: Would you like to see my la?

American Amy: les. I'd like to come up to your apartment.

So why has English changed over time? Actually all languages change and develop when cultures meet and communicate with each other. At fist the English spoken in England between about AD 450 and 1150 was very different from the English spoken today. It was based more on German than the English we speak at present. Then gradually between about AD 800 and 1150, English became less like German because those who ruled England spoke first Danish and later French. These new settlers enriched the English language and especially its vocabulary. In 1620 some British settlers moved to America. Later in the 18th century some British people were taken to Australia too. English began to be spoken in both countries.

Finally by the 19th century the language was settled. At that time two big changes in English spelling happened: first Samuel Johnson wrote his dictionary and later Noah Webster wrote The American Dictionary of the English Language. The latter gave a separate identity to American English spelling.

English now is also spoken as a foreign or second language in South Asia. For example, India has a very large number of fluent English speakers because Britain ruled India from 1765 to 1947. During that time English became the language for government and education. English is also spoken in Singapore and Malaysia and countries in Africa such as South Africa. Today the number of people learning English in China is increasing rapidly.