2 . At eleven, I decided to learn to swim. There was a pool at the YMCA offering exactly the opportunity. My mother continually warned against it, and kept fresh in my mind the details of each drowning in the river. But the YMCA pool was safe.

I had a childhood fear of water. This started when I was three years old and my father took me to the beach.The huge waves knocked me down and swept over me.

The pool was quiet. I was afraid of going in all alone, so I sat on one side of the pool to wait for others. Then came a big boy. He yelled, “Hi, how’d you like to be ducked?” With that he picked me up and threw me into the deep end.I landed in a sitting position, and swallowed water. But I was not frightened out of my wits—when my feet hit the bottom, I would make a big jump to come out of the surface. It seemed a long way down. I gathered all my strength when I landed and made what I thought was a great spring upwards. Then I opened my eyes and saw nothing but water. I tried to yell but no sound came out. I went down, down, endlessly.

When I came to consciousness, I found myself lying on the bed in the hospital.

I never went back to the pool. I avoided water whenever I could. This misadventure stayed with me as the years rolled by.It deprived(剥夺) me of the joy of boating and swimming. Finally, I decided to get an instructor. Piece by piece, he built a swimmer. Several months later, the instructor was finished, but I was not .Sometimes the terror would return. 

This went on until July. I swam across the Lake Went worth.Only once did the terror return. When I was in the middle of the lake, I put my face under and saw nothing but bottomless water. I laughed and said, “Well, Mr Terror, what do you think you can do to me?” I had conquered my fear of water.

Yours,

Li Hua

5 . At 12, my father decided to take me on a trip to France. I had never been out of the country before, so I was very excited. My aunt, my father and I went around with my father showing us all the unbelievable sites in Paris. None of us spoke much French but we loved the city.

We had taken the subway all over the city and were congratulating ourselves on our mastering what is honestly an excellent subway design that is pretty easy to follow. We decided to visit Versailles by train. We chatted happily along the way until my father realized we were far into the French countryside and no one around spoke English.

We reached the end of the line and felt afraid when everyone finally left the train. An old man and his grandchild noticed us and came to help. He spoke no English, so in broken French we tried to explain. When he finally understood, this great man settled his grandson and showed us to the correct train and then boarded with us.   

Later we knew the truth that there was a train transfer (转乘) and he didn’t want us to miss it. This kind man rode a train for an hour and a half out of his way to make sure that three Americans got where they wanted to be. He refused to let us pay for his ticket. He did it all with a gentle smile and patted our hands gently at the stop. Then in his quiet way, he boarded the train to return the way he had come.

What impressed me most was the man and his kindness during the amazing trip. Some Americans think the French are rude for some reason, but I always try to persuade them to change their minds with this very story.

6 . Chinese cuisine is widely known and enjoyed all around the world. Who doesn’t long for a favorite Chinese dish? But there is one interesting concept concerning Chinese food which is almost unheard of in the West, and which is becoming increasingly ignored by the youth of the East—the ancient custom of “tonic food”.

Tonic food is food which is consumed to improve one’s well-being or avoid sickness. For instance, it was once the custom for new mothers to eat a sesame oil(麻油) chicken soup every day for the first month after giving birth. It was believed that this dish would benefit the muscles, reduce pain, improve circulation, stimulate sweating, and warm the body. Some foods, such as goat meat and spinach, are seen as “hot”, while others, such as Chinese cabbage and radishes, are seen as “cold”. One should be careful not to eat too much of either “hot” or “cold” food. However, how much “hot” or “cold” food one should eat depends on the time of the year, how the food is prepared and what it is prepared with, and the individual’s health.

The custom of employing tonic food for a healthier life also influences the catering industry. Chinese herbal medicines, such as wolfberry(枸杞子), can be found on many a restaurant menu, either added to fruit tea or as a beneficial addition to a dish. These herbs attract customers, such as overworked office staff, in need of a modest pick-me-up.

So, whether you need to boost your strength with a large helping of chicken soup, or increase your mental powers with a serving of fish soup, you may find that this ancient Chinese custom could be just the tonic you were looking for.

9 . Welcome to the Painting Competition for Woodlands Students

The International Anti-Drug Day this year is coming soon. In order to raise teenagers’ awareness to fight against drug taking, the City Art Council is going to hold a painting competition for the students in our city. Students who want to take part in the competition can hand in their own 2D paintings in either of the following two ways:

Each school will be provided with a box for students to put in their paintings. Boxes will be picked by the City Art Council on Thursday, June 23rd, 2016, before the end of the school day.

Paintings can be also handed in on Friday, June 24th, from 8:00 am to 10:00 am at the Woodlands Art Hall (175 Riverside Street).

All paintings are required to be 60 cm wide by 80 cm long or smaller. Larger sizes will not be accepted. Each student can only hand in one painting. The final decision on the competition results will be made on June 26th, the Anti-Drug Day. The name list of the winners will be made known on the website of the City Art Council on the same day. All winning paintings will be shown to the public at the City Youth Park from June 27th till the end of July.

Prizes:

1st Prize (10 students) ＝$ 300 Gift Card each

2nd Prize (20 students) ＝ $ 200 Gift Card each

3rd Prize (30 students)＝ $ 100 Gift Card each

For further information:

Visit http://www. woodlandsartcouncil. org or call 2569-8632.

I am Li Hua, a senior student from Hongxing High School.

Yours,

Li Hua