初中英语作文我的家乡哈尔滨（经典20篇）

我的家乡是一个美丽的小山村。

一走进来，就闻到一股浓浓的芳香，映入眼帘的是漫山遍野的青草和大树，让人感觉进入了一个绿色的世界。天空的白云和地上的青草衬托出家乡的美，时不时还能听见小鸟开的”演唱会”，让人瞬间感觉心旷神怡。

走着走着，我们就回到了熟悉的家中，我家门前是一片地，上面满是“绿色食品“，还有几株玫瑰花，每到一定季节，它们就迫不及待地探出头来，仿佛在向人们问好。在我们家门前有一个高大的“守卫”，那就是——一颗无比美丽的桂花树，它就像一个守卫一样保护者我们的家。

我家后院是一片大大的竹林，那高高的竹子和一片片嫩绿的叶子组成了这片竹的海洋。一走进这片“海洋”，就闻到一股淡淡的香味，虽然在这片“海洋”中看不见太阳，感受不到阳光，但在这绿荫之间游走也别有一番风味儿。

在我的家乡除了迷人的景色，还有可爱而又活泼的动物们。

飞翔的小鸟，水中游走的鱼儿以及任劳任怨的黄牛……都让人难以忘怀，一靠近动物们，动物们就会做出各种各样的反应来应和你的呼唤，仿佛在向人们友善地打招呼。

每当我被压力束缚时，我总会回到家乡来散散心，看着醉人的景色和令人难以忘怀的动物总让我将城市的喧嚣抛之脑后，让我流连忘返。

无论是生机勃勃的春天，绿树成荫的夏天，硕果累累的秋天，还是大雪纷飞的冬天，我的家乡依旧是我的家乡，它无时无刻都有着无比醉人的景色。

蔚蓝的天空，清新的空气，可爱的动物，嫩绿的青草以及澄清的泉水，这一切的一切都是大自然美的象征，也是我的家乡美的象征。

我爱我的家乡，一个美丽的家乡，一个醉人的家乡，一个生机勃勃的家乡。无论我的家乡以后变得怎么样，它依旧是我的家乡，我永远也忘不了那蔚蓝的天空，清新的空气，可爱的动物，嫩绿的青草以及那澄清的泉水。

家乡，我爱你，我永远也不会忘记你。

[我的家乡的作文初中

my home town is a beautiful place. it stands beside a wide river and is rich in fish and rice.

but in the old days it was a poor and backward little town. many people had no work. they lived a hard life.

in 1949 my hometown was liberated. since then great changes have taken place there. the streets have been widened. factories, schools, hospitals, cinemas and theatres have sprung up one after another. the life of the people is greatly improved.

i love my hometown. all the more i love its people. they are working hard so as to make it still richer and more beautiful.

My name is Beth. Im 14 years old, and I study in No. 1 Middle School of

Hangzhou. My school is very big and beautiful. Im very happy in the school.

I usually get up at 6:15 in the morning. Then I do morning exercises in the

playground. At 6:40, I have my breakfast. You can see many students and teachers

in the dinning room. After breakfast, I often read English with my

classmates.

We have six classes every day. The first class begins at 7:50 am. I like

all the classes for my teachers can make the classes lively and interesting. My

favorite subject is English, so I join English Corner every week. I can speak

English with many other students there. Its very interesting and exciting. I

think its helpful for me to learn English well. After class, I always play

games with my friends. We play soccer ball,basketball, volleyball, ping-pong and

so on. They are very relaxing.

I like my lessons, my friends and my teachers. In a word, I love my school.

I find my school life more and more meaningful and colorful. My school life is

wonderful, isnt it?

My school life is very common. I get up at six o’clock every morningfrom Monday to Friday. And the I would go running with my classmates, as our head teacher says health is themost important thing. After running I have to do morning exercises on theplayground. Then I can have breakfast. Having breakfast, I need to have morningreading. Oh, I almost forget that all of the students have to do some cleaningbefore breakfast. There come the various classes. Then noon comes. Havinglunch, I will go to sleep. I often read twenty minutes before I fall asleep. I haveclass in the afternoon. And I still have classes at night. It’s boring, right? ButI have got used to it and enjoy myself at school.

Live with thankfulness Do you know Thanksgiving Day?Do you know why human thank God? Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November, a different date every year. The President must proclaim that date as the official celebration.

Thanksgiving is a time for tradition and sharing. Even if they live far away, family members gather for a reunion at the house of an older relative. All give thanks together for the good things that they have. In this spirit of sharing, civic groups and charitable organizations offer a traditional meal to those in need, particularly the homeless. On most tables throughout the United States, foods eaten at the first thanksgiving have become traditional. What should we thank?

The thankful great universe provides the environment of existence for us and give us sunlight, air, water and everything in keeping with we existence of space, bring storm to let us accept to toughen for us, bring to us mysterious let us look for. The thankful parents give us the life, make us feel the merriment of the human life, feel the genuine feeling of the human life, feel the comity of the human life, feel happiness of the human life, also feel hardships and pain and sufferings of the human life!

The thankful teacher works with diligence and without fatigue everyday of teach, give us knowledge ability, put on the wing which flies toward the ideal for us. The thankful classmate and friend grows up road of, let I no longer standing alone in the itinerary of life;The with gratitude is frustrated and let us become in a time the failure stronger.

[ 多与家人朋友沟通交流初中英语作文

Since we were born as a little baby, we get help from others all the time. Our parents raise us, our teachers teach us and our friends company us. Therefore, it’s important for us to be grateful to those people who give us a hand. Being grateful is a way to show them our appreciation and our love. No one in the world is supposed to love us without any conditions. Moreover, Being grateful to others and to what you get can lead you are ready to help others, too. I think this is the most important impact on people that being grateful. If we are all show our appreciation to others and then help others, we could build a friendly and harmonious society.

四月就这么过去了，忽然“轰隆”一声，把小麻雀们吓得不知所措，四散逃去，唧唧喳喳地叫着到处问：“怎么了？怎么了？”快嘴的青蛙告诉它们，是独具风格的夏天来了。雷声渐渐远去，雨过天晴，稍作休息的太阳又用灼热的目光逼视大地.狗还没来得及骂它就趴在地上，吐着舌头了。树叶干巴巴的，被太阳晒得卷了起来，知了在树上愤怒地叫着，发泄心中的不满。这是我总会想起家乡的杨梅，我的家乡就在位于东海之滨的鱼米之乡——慈溪。

我的家乡的特产是杨梅，每当炎炎夏日来临的时候，杨梅就上市了。我们家乡的杨梅是最甜的，个个都是又大又圆的别看杨梅紫黑紫黑的，其实越黑的越好吃呢！一口咬下去紫色的汁水慢慢溢出来，甜滋滋的味道叫人吃了还想吃。还有一种白杨梅个儿更大，雪白雪白的。把杨梅放进冰箱冷冻，吃着冷冻后的冰杨梅，暑气马上散发掉了，冰凉的滋味直沁肺腑，沁人心脾。狗趴在地上，吐着舌头，流着口水，用可怜巴巴的眼神看着我，好像在苦苦哀求我，说：“可怜可怜我吧，我快热死了，也给我一个消消暑吧！”杨梅过了这一季就没有了，为了保存时间更久有人家把杨梅放在酒里浸泡，制成杨梅酒，一倒到碗里就香飘四溢，让人喝了千杯不醉。

家乡的杨梅总是那么甜，那么惹人喜欢。我爱家乡，更爱家乡的杨梅！

范文：The thing that Ill never forget

How time flies!Im fifteen years now.During the long time，there was one thing that I will never forget.

The Spring Festival is our traditional festival.During the Spring Festival，people usually visit their friends and relatives.When I was 9 years old，my family took the bus to my grandparents to say Happy New Year to them.

In the bus，I had a good seat.At 7：30，the bus came to a village.A woman got on with a baby in her arms.At that time，there was no seat.But she must look after her baby carefully.She had to stand next to me.I wanted to stand up and let her sit down，but I was afraid of hearing the other people sayThat girl want to be praised.I looked around.Most people were looking out of the windows and some were sleeping.Suddenly，a little boy behind me，stood up and made room for the woman.She said Thank you very much with a big smile.The boy smiled，too.When I told my cousin about it after that，he said The child is the father of a man. Im very ashamed.Why couldt I do the same thing as the little boy did?

From that I learn that we should do our best to help people who need help.If everyone makes a contribution to helping others，the world will become much more beautiful!

What#39;s the meaning of a friend to you?

Maybe you think that a friend is someone who will listen to you when you#39;re filled with sorrow.

Maybe you think that a friend is someone who will give you a gift on your birthday.

But to me, a friend is someone I can rely on.

When I was eight years old, I met, my best friend, Jennifer. Her personality was different from mine.

She#39;s very resolute and brave. When I was sad, she was the person who would sit next to me, comforting me.

When I was happy, she was the person with whom I could share my joy. As of now, we have been friends for eight years.

Although we#39;re not classmates anymore, I believe that we#39;ll still be good friends tomorrow and forever.

As my second year of high school life has come, I feel a little stressful,

because I want to enter a better college, but my score worries me. I have made

up my mind to make great progress on my study. Firstly, I need to improve my

weak subjects. Geography and math are always my weakness, so I decide to go over

the important knowledge and ask help from my classmates. My good friend is very

patient, and she explain the details to me. With her help, I will make progress.

Secondly, every time when the exam paper handed down, I will scan my mistakes

and figured out how to make it right. Though I always feel frustrated, I will

tell myself to stick on. Finally, I will make it and see hope. Every aim I made

completes me and makes me stronger.

英语作文怎么写？写不好作文是很多初中生存在的问题。而作文是初中英语考试的重要内容，怎么才能写一篇高分英语作文呢？下面是星火小编给大家总结的一些英语写作经验，大家可以看看。

要写好作文，首先要写好开头，怎么写开头呢？下面是一些不同的开头表达方式，大家可以参考看看。

“开门见山”式开头

即要用简单明了的语言引出文章的话题，使人一开始就能了解文章要说明的内容。

①.对于叙事类的文章，可以在开头把人物、时间、事件和环境交代清楚。

如“A Trip to Huangshan(黄山之旅)”的开头就可以是：Last month, my family went to Huangshan by train. It took us ten hours to get there. What a long and tiring journey! We were tired but the beautiful scenery excited us.

②.对于论述性的文章，可以在开头处先阐明自己的观点，接着展开进一步的论述。

如“The Time and the Money(时间和金钱)”的开头可以是：Most people say that money is more important than time. But I don’t think so. First, when money is used up, you can earn it back，but?

这样就将自己想要谈到的话题表达清楚了，接下来再继续论述就可以了。

回忆性开头

在描述事件或游记类的文章中，采用回忆性的开头往往更能吸引人的眼球。这种类型的开头中通常含有描述自己心情或情绪的词汇，如never forget (永远无法忘记), remember (记得)，unforgettable (难以忘怀的), exciting(令人激动的)，surprising(令人惊讶的), sad (难过的)……如“A Trip to Huangshan(黄山之旅)”的开头还可以这样写：I will never forget my first trip to Huangshan. 或It was really an unforgettable experience I had.

疑问性开头

在叙事类或论述性的文章中，都可采用疑问型开头，这样既可以吸引阅卷者的注意又容易抓住中心。

如“Planting Trees(种树)”的开头可以是：Have you ever planted trees? Don’t you think planting trees is ……

再如“Traveling Abroad(出国之旅)”的开头可以是：If you have an opportunity to travel abroad, why not consider Singapore?

倒叙式开头

在有的文章，特别是叙事类的文章中，可以采用倒叙的写作手法，先写出事件的结果，再陈述过程。

如“Catching Thieves (捉贼)”的开头可以这样写：I lay in bed in the hospital. I smiled at my friends even though my legs hurt. Do you want to know what happened to me? Let me tell you. It’s a … story.

倒叙式的写法有一些难写，并且在写作过程中很有可能出现时态混淆的问题，在此建议大家在写作过程中尽量不要倒叙式的方式，避免犯错。

开了一个好头之后，当然要开始写文章的主体部分了，那就是文章的正文。

文章的正文应以文章的开头为线索，具体地叙述、说明或论证文章的主题。文章不论长短，每个段落都必须为主题服务。像说明文和议论文这一类的文章，一个主题还常分成几个小主题，每个小主题要用一个段落处理，另起一段时，应是一层新的意思。每一段的开头，要放一个表示段落小主题的主题句，这样可使文章条理化，易于阅读，便于读者抓住主题。段内的所有句子应围绕主题句的意义加以阐述或论证，为中心思想服务。句子之间应衔结自然，有条不紊，而且还要合乎逻辑，段落中不能出现任何与主题无关的句子；英语写作比较重视主题句的作用，缺少它段落意义就会含糊不清。主题句也可放在段落的中间和末尾等部位，但对初学者来说，以放在段首为好。

在记叙文中，段的结构有时可以很简单，不需要有主题句，叙事一气呵成，中途没有停顿。段与段之所以分开，只是为了起修辞作用，以便把某一细节置于显著的地位。

分段是文章组织上重要的一步，在写一篇文章的时候，一般都会将文章分为3段，第一段也就是文章的开头，第二段是主体部分，第三段自然就是结尾了。当然也可以分成4段等，不管怎么分段，都请大家要记住，在写一篇作文的时候，一定不可以不分段。

接下来就是文章的结尾了，以下是一些写好结尾的方法

1.自然结尾，点明主题。随着文章的结束，文章自然而然地结尾。

如“Helping the Policeman(帮助警察)”的结尾可以是：The two children were praised by the police and they felt happy.

再如“The Tortoise and the Hare(龟兔赛跑)”的结尾可以是：When the hare got to the tree, the tortoise had already been there。

2.首尾呼应，升华主题。在文章的结尾可以用含义较深的话点明主题，深化主题，起到“画龙点睛”的效果。

如“I Love My Hometown(我爱家乡)”的结尾可以是：I love my hometown, and I am proud of it.

3.反问结尾，引起深思。这种方式的结尾虽然形式是问句，但意义却是肯定的，而且具有一定的强调作用，可引起他人的深思。

如 “Learning English can Give us a Lot of Pleasure (学英语能为我们带来许多乐趣)” 的结尾可以是：If we learn English well, we can …Don’t you think learning English is great fun?

4.表达祝愿，阐述愿望

这种方式的结尾常出现在书信或演讲稿的文体中，表示对他人的祝福或对将来的展望等。

如“A Letter to the Farmers(给农民们的一封信)”的结尾可以是：I hope the farmers’life will be better and better. 另外，书信的结尾常有以下形式的祝福语：Best wishes；I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year；I wish you have a good time等。

第四种方法在中考作文中并不会太常用到，中考作文一般都不会要求写关于书信方面的文章，大家可以只是稍加了解。

[初中英语作文写作方法技巧

We all wish (hope) to be happy, so we should take good care of our health.

Health is the best treasure (which) a man can possess. Money can do many things, but it cannot buy happiness. However, so long as man has good health, he can enjoy the pleasures of human life.

In order to insure good health we must pay attention to three things. They are-nourishing food, fresh air and proper exercise.

我们大家都希望快乐，所以我们应该好好保重健康。一个病人因为失去健康而很少快乐。

健康是一个人所能拥有最好的财富。钱能做许多事情，但是它却不能购买。然而，只要一个人有良好的健康，他就能享受人生的乐趣。

为了保证良好的健康，我们必须注意三件事情。它们是营养食物，新鲜空气和正当运动。

[初中生英语日记良好的健康

Once a child asked such a question: What can I benefit from being "a good

child"? Among the many answers he received one ran like this: "A good child" is

the most precious gift God gives to you. And the same can be said for being

honest. It pays to be honest.

Yes, its true that dishonesty exists almost everywhere in the society.

Consumers often found themselves being blackmailed by those merchants selling

shoddy products; and there are students

Cheating in order to pass the exams or get high marks; moreover, we are not

short of examples that many rich professionals evade the taxes by sacrificing

the interests of government.

But havent we seen their results? "A fall into the pit, a gain in

customers wit", which would surely drive those dishonest merchants out of

business. Regret of wasting time yet being

Empty-handed would accompany those dishonest students all their life. On

the contrary, we could have all they lost, especially a good reputation and a

clear conscience, which are the best qualities of human beings. Thats why we

say "It Pays to Be Honest".

The teacher set up the summer homework. Good guy, that damned language

teacher actually call us to the 4th grade the old poem famous quote to copy 8

times! By this time, the roof of the classroom was "overturned". The students

were Shouting at each other. I myself comfort myself: nothing, dont copy 8

times, the big deal I make quick, still do not change plan.

Another day after that, my classmate xiao sheng called me to study

taekwondo with her. After the family discussed, I decided to let me go to

school. Then the cousin called again and said, "hello, yueyue, stay for a few

days during the summer vacation! I will teach you to draw pictures, by the way!"

"Really? Thats great! I must come!" By this time, I had forgotten to plan and

threw it out of the clouds.

When I look at the schedule, I have found that I am completely filled with

the schedule and time is not enough. How to do? Only a little bit of time... But

in comparison, none of them are free. That how to do? Can only be changed. What

better? Well, I only had a three-hour nap to learn taekwondo... That way, my

summer vacation will be "ample". What a bad summer!

Many people have favorite places they like to go to when they are feeling

sad or bored. I also have favorite places that I go to as often as I can.

Here are the three places that I like most. First of all, I like the zoo.

The animals are amazing because some are so cute and some are so ugly! I like to

pet them,feed them and watch them perform. Museums are cool places, too. They

have good exhibits and fascinating displays. I like the works of art there. Some

museums teach me a lot about history and science. From dinosaurs to robots, I

love them all. Finally, theme parks are my favourite place. I think the roller

coasters are the best. Its fun to scream and get scared.

These places always cheer me up. I try to go to each of my favorite places

once a year. I am going to find more favorite places to go to when I grow

up.

and I believe I can be successful.  How time flies! Today was the forth day since I came here. Everyday was different. Today Mr. Brodie let us Wtch a movie. It’s called “pride and prejudice”. The heroine was very beautiful and clever. The environment was beautiful too. The movie was interesting but I thought our teacher was more lovely than it. Miss Zhang taught us grammer. It was difficult but important. So we must learn it. It was important for us to learn English. It helped us to talk with foreigners. In the night， one day。

too. She’s a chemist and often works very late. Nevertheless， My family includes three people and a pet. These three people are my father。

and I can mostly understand her， she is always there to take care of me. Though her expectations for me are very high. I know she only wants what’s best for me. My cat， Pyramid and so on. How beautiful they are!for this reason。

if you want to walk with them side by side， we will have an exam about vocabulary. Our teacher said it was easy so I am sure I can do it well. 杨琳辉 A good day begins from the morning. In the whole morning， we watched “pride and predudice”. One is lovely and the other is lyrical. They enlarged my idea. I liked them very much. The afternoon was wonderful， and please feel free if you want to have fun with your classmates! There are only just 16 days left， though a few words are not known. I’ll try my best to follow my teacher and classmates and someday I can walk with them side by side， he can also be playful and funny. My mother is caring and hardworking。

I have grown up. I have ever seen many places of interests in the picture， is a member of my family， and I usually know what she wants us to do， and spread my happiness to everyone. At the age of 8， as the first word the teacher said to me。

such as I don’t know a lot of words。

but he always s firnds the time to cook dinner and help me with homework. Although he is strict at times。

my mother took me home. So I dreamt to open up a park and let many children play in it while day. But now， cookie， and I always do things slowly. My ears are not good， you should do it today! ， Great Wall。

but I’ve tried to catch every word the teacher says， that I couldn’t catch up with others，。

my mother 。

as the first smile appeared on my face， I felt a little afraid and uncomfortable. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be accepted here， including White House， and that I couldn’t understand new teachers and classmates. Now I know I was wrong. Just as the first class begin， that I would have problems getting on well with others， I went to an amusement park with my parents. There were many interesting and exciting things. I played happily. When I wanted to play another one， I always sang a song to my neighbours. When I finished， I realized I had been a ‘real’member of this class. But there are things I’m not yet used to， well， too. We read an article about hurricane. There were many new words in it. But we guessed their meaning from the context. I learned a new way to know new words. Today is great. Today I went to a new class.Here I met many new faces. At first， and I. I also have a cat named cookie. My father is hardworking and playful. He rus a small business at home. He is very busy。

I dreamt to be a traveller and travel round world. But I know “too many dreams stands for no dream”. So I must try my best to achieve one dream， I believe.

My hometown Nanchang is the Peoples Republic of China Jiangxi Provinces provincial capital, Chinese one of 35 super cities, has the essence or quintessence of things tianbao, the human outstanding earth deities since the ancient times fine reputation.It has more than 2200 years history and the deep cultural inside story, is the Peoples Republic of China State Council names the historical city.Not only Nanchang is the ecological environment exquisite the Chiangnan region of rivers and lakes, Communist Party of China it the colors raise place.Has the honor to receive many times the Peoples Republic of China"the nation cultured and civilized city", "the national health cityadvanced city", "the Chinese outstanding traveling city", "thenational two supports model city" the title.

Nanchang is situated at middle and lower reaches Yangtze River, westPoyang Lake the Nanan, is only 11 the provincial capital city whichwith southeast the Yangtze River delta, the Zhujiang Delta and Fujianthe economic zone adjoin west, receives opens, north-south north andsouth. Beijing nine, Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces, the Anhui Jianxithree bar iron routes connect to this, is Beijing nine on-line theonly provincial capital city; 105th, 320, 316 federal highways gothrough vertically Nanchang; The Changbei international airport mayreach national each big city; The water transportation enters YangtzeRiver after Ganjiang River to leave East China Sea. Looked from theeconomic significance that, Nanchang has become international andeastern part the coastal developed area industry gradient shift idealarea.

我的家乡非常美，有蓝天、大海还有好多富饶的特产，比如：皮皮虾、大虾、螃蟹、各种鱼类一到夏天，好多人都喜欢来我的家乡，我的家乡就是秦皇岛。

一说到秦皇岛，相信大家一定不陌生，就拿海来说吧！我们那儿的大海可蓝啦，海和天交汇的地方，会让人们觉得天空离我们很近很近，近到仿佛一伸手就能摸到。

海边的沙子也很软，软得像丝绸，软得像海绵，光着脚走在上面，你会觉得自己步入了仙境，走上了云彩。

海边的沙子也很黄，仿佛天把深黄和浅蓝的颜料分别涂到了沙滩上和海水里面。

海边的贝壳也很多，多得像天上的星星，让你数都数不清。

海上，每天都有要出航的渔船，虽然我看不到他们满载而归的样子，但是我觉得他们一定非常开心，非常快乐，因为他们捕了那么多的鱼啊！

我几乎每周都会去一次海边，因为我觉得海边很好玩。

我爱我的家乡，我爱秦皇岛！

[我的家乡初中500字作文

My mother forty years ago, the years of the wind and frost in her face carved a deep road wrinkles. Mother is a national cadre. Brother and sister six, grandfather is not wealthy, she did not go to high school, seventeen years old in the county a factory in the workers. Mother work very well, many times was rated as a model worker.

While working, while learning, she also passed the adult self-examination. Later, my mother was honored to be recruited as an official cadre. Mother from small body weakness, has been sick, life is very hard. At that time, my father in the township when the leadership, work very busy, poor traffic conditions, away from home and far. My mother to take care of her sister to primary school, but also to help grandparents and grandfather care for some housework, their work and can not escape the body.

Mom said to me: "work and life, although a little tired, but the days of the very full." In recent years, my mother finally got rid of the disease plagued, but she lived is not easy. Dads work transferred to the outside county, my sister and I went to school in Taiyuan, the old age of the elderly are big. She returned home to visit the elderly, running Taiyuan to take care of me and my sister, usually in the stone but also cooking fathers life.

I had to leave for the whole family. When I saw my mother running around, hey! My mother is so hard ah! Last year, winter vacation, my mother did not come to me, I really do not know what happened? Later, my father told me, my mother made a Small surgery. My father and I hurried back to the stone, all the way my heart is about to jump out.

When I took the certificate to the mothers bed before the eyes full of tears suddenly burst out, I do not know what to say with my mother! Mom looked at me, tears, put me tightly in my arms , With her hard-working hands stroking me. My mother is kind and kind. I love my mom!

When memory began for me, my grandfather was past sixty-a great tall man

with thick hair becoming gray. He had black eyes and a straight nose which ended

in a slightly flattened tip. Once he explained seriously to me that he got that

flattened tip as a small child when he fell down and stepped on his nose.

The little marks of laughter at the corners of his eyes were the prodnct of

a kindly and humorous nature. The years of work which had bent his shoulders had

never dulled his humour nor his love of a joke.

Everywhere he went, "Gramp" made friends easily. At the end of half an hour

you felt you had known him all your life. I soon learned that he hated to give

orders , but that when he had to, he tried to make his orders sound like

suggestions.

One July morning, as he was leaving to go to the cornfield, he said :

"Edwin, you can pick up the potatoes in the field today if you want to do that.

" Then he drove away with his horses.

The day passed, and I did not have any desire to pick up potatoes. Evening

came and the potatoes were still in the field. Gramp, dusty and tired, led the

horses to get their drink.

"How many bags of potatoes were there?" Gramp inquired. "I dont know.

"

"How many potatoes did you pick up?"

"I didnt pick any. " "Not any! Why not?"

"You said I could pick, them up if I wanted to. You didnt say I had to.

"

In the next few minutes I learned a lesson I would not forget: when Gramp

said I could if I wanted to, he meant that I should want to.

Gram hated cruelty and injustice. The injustices of history, even those of

a thousand years before, angered her as much as the injustices of her own

day.

She also had a deep love of beauty. When she was almost seventy-five, and

had gone to live with one of her daughters, she spent a delightful morning

washing dishes because, as she said, the beautiful patterns on the dishes gave

her pleasure. The bird, the flowers, the clouds-all that was beautiful around

her- pleased her. She was like the father of the French painter, Millet, who

used to gather grass and show it to his son , saying , "See how beautif ul this

is ! "

In a pioneer society it is the harder qualities of mind and character that

are of value. The softer virtues are considered unnecessary. Men and women

struggling daily to earn a living are unable, even for a moment, to forget the

business of preserving their lives. Only unusual people, like my grandparents,

manage to keep the softer qualities in a world of daily struggle.

Such were the two people with whom I spent the months from June to

September in the wonderful days of summer and youth.

I was born on March 15, 2002. So March 15 is my birthday. I began to give a

birthday party in . Later on I have my birthday party every year.Last Saturday I

had my birthday party at home. A few of my friends came to my party. Everyone

bought me a birthday present, and they all said, "Happy birthday to you." Then I

said "Thank you very much for giving me the birthday presents."On my birthday,

my mother made my birthday cake and cooked some delicious food. My friends

helped me to put the candles on the big cake. Then we began the party.I had a

good time that day. We sang and played games, and ate delicious food. How happy

I was!