初中8年级英语作文（优秀20篇）

The ancient and modern in China and abroad, nobody all the time is not

making the success dream.The scholar was vainly hoping for obtains the

outstanding academic record; The poor was vainly hoping for the one day on

wealthy small capital life .......The success, is in each individual heart the

loftiest dream.Studies the multitudinous celebritys success experience, always

cannot leave the following many factors the union: Scientific method,

self-confident, insistence, patience, tenacious, discipline, good faith,

industrious and so on.This also became a person to obtain the success the

formula.

But in realistic society, the people always said the matter easy to be

doing difficultly.Finally could obtain the successful person to become extremely

rare.Therefore, the success, became the people one kind luxuriously to yearn

for.When the people through how many year endeavor, had still not seen success

hope, peoples thought always depth is having doubts unavoidably bog: I can

succeed? When can succeed? In this a succession of question behind, is following

close on is the suspicion and lax.

When Nicolay. Forced the plum to explore in the entire 21 years fable after

the secret condition ;the alchemy;, still had achieved nothing, he could not

find way out, really somewhat dispirited.But, he vainly hoped for the successful

will defeated tenaciously has despaired the feeling.Finally, Nicolay studied in

the fable;the alchemy;, obtained ;the black magic stone;, through 23 years half

endeavor, has become the European renowned alchemy gentleman, has subsidized

Frances multitudinous common people, became generous charitable everybody.21

years, the futile effort 21 years, the human no longer is young, although truth

on in his hand, but he is a blind person as if, any also cannot see.Only then

can the personal experience person, only then clear that be road of the section

of how lonely exploration.

The life is very marvelous, the human knew the natural ability has the

limitation, you never can know meets down can have any, when you thought

especially oneself despairs extremely time.On perhaps the success path fills the

variable, the success is only one kind of possibility.Perhaps, we pass through

for a lifetime endeavor, arrives the life the end point, finally has not

obtained successfully, but, we did not regret, because of us diligently.

在2017年10月1日，我终于亲眼在电视上看见了国庆阅兵仪式，当胡锦涛同志乘坐检阅车缓缓地驶向受检时，他亲切而又不停地向战友们问好：“同志们好!同志们辛苦了!”

从我懂事起，我还第一次收看这么雄伟壮观的阅兵仪式，那一排排整齐的各种各样方队，有空军，海军等，迈着铿锵有力的步伐从天安门走过;那一架架飞机编队从天安门上空飞过，划出了一道道美丽的彩虹;那一辆辆汽车载着各种各样的先进武器，像一个个威严的战士排着整齐的队伍展现在人们的眼前。

我的祖国已度过68华诞，我作为一名少先队员，在祖国那么美好又伟大的大家庭里，我要加倍珍惜每一分钟，奋发学习，努力成为栋梁之才，为祖国更加美好的明天贡献出自己的力量。

我想对我们伟大的祖国说一句我一直藏在心里的话：“祖国我们为你骄傲，自豪!”

On October 1, 2017, I finally saw the National Day parade on television, and when President Hu Jintao took the review vehicle slowly toward the inspection force, he greeted his comrades and helplessly to his comrades: "Comrade "Comrades are so hard!"

From my sensible, I also watched such a magnificent military parade for the first time, the rows of neat rows of squads, the Air Force, the Navy, etc., walked by sonorous and vigorous pace from Tiananmen Square; The plane fleet flew over Tiananmen Square and set off a beautiful rainbow; the car carrying a variety of advanced weapons, like a majestic warrior row of neat teams show in front of people The

My motherland has spent 68 birthday, I as a young pioneer, in the motherland so beautiful and great family, I want to cherish every minute, work hard, and strive to become a pillar of the better for the motherland tomorrow Contribute to their own strength.

I would like to say to our great motherland that I have been hiding in my heart: "The motherland we are proud of you, proud!"

二十年后的秋天，我已成为一名刚就读博士的大学生，我有闪起了一个念头，我们难道不能去看一看自己以前居住的家乡呢？于是我开着漂亮的小汽车，缓缓的向我们以前居住的家乡驶去……

到了家乡之后，我们已经看到了令我们难忘的一刻：以前我在家乡居住的房子都不见了，变成了一幢幢高楼大厦；我们的农田不再是荒唐的，而是那一大片金色的小麦和麦穗，它们向我弯着腰，好像在向我打招呼；那各种各样颜色鲜艳的菊花，也在欢迎我，它好像很害羞似的。我仿佛又回到了比二十年前那更为完美的世界。接下来，我就去访问我家乡是的小朋友，虽然有些邻居搬到外面去住，

但是我还是有一个小时候和我非常要好的领居――刘羽毛。

我向这里的人打听，有一个人告诉了我，原来他已经是一个公司的经理。我看了看这家公司店，我看见这是一个非常有名的饭店。我就走进那里的经理室，看到他正坐在梨花木大交椅上舒舒服服的躺着，他见我进来，让他的部下来招待我，我很感谢他。随后，他又和我谈了小时候的故事，我们有说有笑，热烈的欢庆着……

那一刻，令我终生难忘……

[二十年后回故乡初中1年级的作文

中国共产党对于当代人来说毕竟已然是一个历史，曾经的辉煌也已经属于有了些年头的明日黄花，何况其后的某些人言论上的恶意歪曲、肆意诋毁再叠加行动上的以假乱真、冒名顶替之类混淆，更是令大多数今人无论是实际抑或是性质都莫辨真伪和黑白难分了，以至于许多人印象中的中国共产党早就截然不同于当时的真实中国共产党，甚而至于有些人意识中的中国共产党更是被凭空虚构的邪恶卑劣政党所替代、置换。故此，为了明正视听，更为了及时让世人重新了解、明白真实的中国共产党，就促使我明知刻下时机尚未成熟因而极有可能又将事倍功半，也不得不抽出时间吃力不讨好地让曾经的中国共产党重现于我周群的笔下。

中国共产党自创建始，就不仅以其党名更是以其纲领宗旨和实际行动，毫不隐晦地向全世界宣布：中国共产党是以解放全人类为己任的政党，目标在于解放全世界所有被剥削、被压迫的劳苦大众。因此，中国共产党的实质和存在意义也都是非常显然的：消灭一切人剥削压迫人的体制和制度，推动人类社会往共产主义发展、前进。而此也就注定了中国共产党的入党标准更是独一无二的，且是唯有无产阶级先锋队才会设立的标准和条件：区域与时段内从人民群众中脱颖而出的思想好、觉悟高、能力强——亦即：最大公无私、最有能力的人，才可加入中国共产党！

不过，源于中国共产党随后所面临的当务之急是武力推翻半殖民、半官僚资本主义，因此入党标准中的最有能力暂且被提置在了最大公无私之前，形成了考量最利于推翻统治为首选的入党标准，其中包括杀敌的能力和勇敢的程度。这种调整在当时是非常必要和明智的，有利于迅速推翻反动派——即：反人民政府，但同时却也由此埋下了隐患：实际并非具备大公无私品质的人，也会因为凭着一时冲动的表现或仅擅长于打仗而进入中国共产党。虽然这类人在后来的共产主义思想教育和改造中居多有所进步了，起码不会主动追求封建官僚式的腐朽糜烂生活方式了，但残存的一些冥顽不灵的却事实证明了确实仍然是中国共产党的最大威胁！

战争年代的结束，使得中国共产党从容纳上了正规。中国解放后肃清了旧社会遗留、潜伏下来的各种封建意识和邪恶势力——包括逃跑前布置下的庞大地下美蒋特务组织，以及乱搞各种各样迷信活动的邪教和五花八门的，亦即进入了真正的太平时期之后，基于建设新中国的需要而把中国共产党入党标准中的最大公无私设为了首要，并且抓紧对之前的原党员不停地作共产主义思想教育和改造。

[七一建党节的由来初中3年级作文

今天是10月22日，中午12：30分左右，我和同学们怀着一颗忐忑的心上了大巴车。我们这是要去干什么呢？告诉你吧，我们要去九龙湖儿童军官学校参加军训了。可是为什么我们的心是忐忑的呢？那是因为我们既为能离开家去过集体生活感到开心，又担心教官太严厉了罚我们，所以才有了忐忑的心情。

经过了一个小时的车程，我们终于到了军训地点。我们来到了一个宽阔的操场，仅仅站了几分钟军姿后，我就和其他寝室长一起在周老师的带领下去领床上用品了。等同学们都回到寝室了，我们就开始一起套被套了，那场面可真混乱啊！虽然在家里妈妈已经提前教过我怎么套被套了，可看着手中的被子、被套我却毫无头绪，不知该如何是好。看着挺简单的事情真真要自己动手了，才发现好难啊！最后还是在朱老师的帮助下才完成的。

准备吃晚饭了，我们一起唱起了军歌。大家都扯着嗓子拼命地唱，结果有的同学把嗓子都唱哑了。

我们的晚饭很丰盛，但是都不许说话，只能安静地吃饭。

吃完晚饭后，我们就回寝室写日记。等一下写完日记我们曙光小学和幸福苑小学的同学们还要举行好玩的友谊比赛：拔河、跳长绳、夹篮球跳。希望我们能赢比赛。今天过得很充实，期待明天！加油！

[军训日记初中1年级作文

My hometown used to be a backwardplace, because it was deep in the mountains, where there were no nice buildingsand the roads were so narrow and dirty. People lived a poor life.

我的家乡过去是一个落后的地方，因为它在深山里面，那里没有漂亮的建筑物，公路也是又小又脏的。人们的生活都很贫苦。

While in recent years, with thedevelopment of society, my hometown has been greatly changed. Now the roads aregetting much wider. There are many different cars and buses running on theroads. Trees and flowers are planted on the two sides of the roads. They canprovide us with oxygen and fight against the pollutants. So the sky becomescleaner and brighter. Whats more, you can see many modern and beautifulbuildings everywhere, and the living conditions are improving. People areenjoying a comfortable life now.

近年来，随着社会的发展，我的家乡发生了很大的变化。现在的路是越来越大了。有许多不同的汽车和公交车在道路上运行。道路两边种满了树木和鲜花。他们可以为我们提供氧气，与污染物抗争。现在天空变得更清洁、更明亮。更重要的是，你随处可见到许多现代和美丽的建筑，人们的生活条件也得到了改善。现在人们在享受舒适的生活。

Every body wants to succeed. But when it comes to the question that which

factor leads to success, opportunity or hard-work, different people will offer

different answers.

Some people think that opportunity is the first factor leading to success.

They hold the idea, as a proverb saying, “Man proposes, god disposes”. Because

almost all successful people have good luck and have caught their valuable

opportunities, they believe that opportunity is a leading condition of the

success. If seizes and makes the best use of opportunity available, one can

succeed surely. In summary, to them, chances and lucks play the most important

role on the road to success.

However, others maintain that “no pains, no gains” .Without exerting

oneself, one could never expect to achieve success in no matter what one is

doing. As is known to all, there is no royal road to the summit of success. One

is likely to succeed only when one has worked with whole-hearted devotion and

perseverance. Those who are lazy, sloppy and indifferent to their work, those

who never concentrate on work will definitely end in failure. On the whole, as

far as they are concerned, hard-working is the decisive factor to success.

In my view, both hard work and opportunity eventually matters. They are

inseparable from each other, and put together, they make a great success. Hard

work is to luck what fish is to water, and can be seen as an interior

precondition of success. It lays the corner-stone for building a house while

luck serves to cement it, to make the building bricks adherent to one another.

They are the twins that contribute to success together. They are the factors

from within and without respectively. We must work hard, make efforts and get

prepared. When opportunities come, meet and make full use of them. Only in this

way can we succeed one day.

laba rice porridge was first introduced to china in the song dynasty about 900 years ago.

buddhism was well accepted in the areas inhabited by the han chinese, who believed that sakyamuni the first buddha and founder of the religion, attained enlightenment on the eighth day of the twelfth month. sutras were chanted in the temples and rice porridge with beans, nuts and dried fruit was prepared for the buddha. with the passing of time the custom extended, especially in rural areas where peasants would pray for a plentiful harvest in this way.

there is, however, another touching story: when sakyamuni was on his way into the high mountains in his quest for understanding and enlightenment, he grew tired and hungry. exhausted from days of walking, he fainted away by a river in india. a shepherdess found him there and fed him her lunch -- porridge made with beans and rice. sakyamuni was thus able to continue his journey.

[腊八节初中英语作文

少年文库像一艘船，把我们载入了知识的海洋之中。这些书中，有歌颂英雄人物的，令人钦佩；有介绍科学知识的，饶有趣味；还有描写神话故事的，优美动人

其中，《钢铁是怎样炼成的》这本书给予我很大的启迪。

“钢是在烈火中和急剧冷却里锻炼出来的，所以才能坚强和什么也不怕。我们这一代也是这样在斗争中和可怕的考验中锻炼出来的，学会了不在生活面前屈服。”这是保尔柯察金生前说过的话。每当想起这句化，我就思绪万千，浑身增添了无穷的力量。

保尔生长在极其艰苦的战争环境中，他的一生是与挫折、困难作斗争的一生。面对凶恶的病魔，他没有屈服，面对生活的挑战，他没有退缩。跌倒了，又爬起来，甚至在双目和下身瘫痪的情况下，他还靠口述完成了《钢铁是怎样炼成的》这部著作。

保尔之所以有这样的惊人的毅力，来源于他正确的人生观念。他认为：人生最美好的，就是在你停止生存时，也还能以你所创造的一切为人们服务。”

作为独生子女，我们生长在蜜罐里，既没有尝过旧社会的辛酸，也没有像老前辈那样经过生与死的考验。大家称我们为掌上明珠，帝国主义也把和平演变的希望寄托在我们身上。怎样才能成为像保尔那样勇敢坚强、不怕困难的战士呢？我觉得最重要的应当树立正确得人生观念，自觉地在惊涛骇浪中磨练自己的意志，在与各种困难的争斗中经受住考验。

真金不怕火炼，百炼方能成钢。保尔永远是我学习的榜样！

[我喜欢的一本书初中1年级作文

“一去紫台连朔漠，独留青冢向黄昏。”你抱着琵琶凝伫。慢捻复轻拢，切切如私语。抬头望，是汉宫月。万千哀婉俱化静水，少女在香溪畔，仰望明月的脸。那笑容让水墨丹砂，青竹卷画都为之黯然。

岁月轮回，幽幽弦音。在无尽的历史长河里，我终于觅见你的倩影，“环珮空归夜月魂”可能是知道结局的哀恸，我不愿你踏入这汉家宫阙，“等等，等等”我使出浑身解数，可你还是踏入宫门，“一入侯门深似海。”如若你知道日后的劫数，可愿停下三寸金莲？

玉壶光转，一曲离殇。只因你孤标傲世，“不把黄金买画工”，悄然被遣入永巷，青墙黛瓦怎比得上金碧辉煌，你不甘，我看得见你日日“人比黄花瘦，”“卷帘”尚没有，又何来“西风”，岁月尘烟，一曲琵琶掠过了谁的梦境，令人肝肠寸断，“放下吧，放下做君临天下的他身边的她，放下吧，放下做盛世繁华的金丝雀。”是听见我的低喃，还是自勉，你摇摇头，从你如炬的目光里，我看到你深藏心底的哀怨还有不肯屈挠的决然。那夜永巷月色未央，月光下我看到你脸颊两行清浅。

笑靥如花，浅吟低唱。你的美令人窒息，以致到后世还有关于你的“落雁”之说，万里黄沙迷了你的眼，我问你：“后悔吗？”你轻抚琵琶，我懂了，你是不悔的，无论是大漠的黄沙，还是清冷的宫墙，一旦踏入洗尽铅华你也不悔。

昭君，哦，不，嫱儿，如若可以，你是否宁愿永远是南郡香溪边的一个浣纱的女子，也无风雨也无晴，如此芳华绝代的你，本该与你爱的人执手相望，“小楼一夜听春雨，深巷明朝卖杏花。”你是否愿？

“千载琵琶作胡语，分明怨恨曲中论。”你不悔，你只身换大汉江山几十年安稳祥和，你在黄沙弥漫的遥遥无尽中，仿佛看见“烟柳画桥，风帘翠幕”的南方，还有十里荷塘边悠悠桂子香，物阜民丰，足矣。

抚一曲千年古音，将时光拨成过往，将过往拨成回忆，汉宫的月光还是静静地流淌，月色古旧，琵琶声里我泪光点点，琵琶声里你静眺远方……

[与嫱儿对话初中3年级作文

一、指导思想：

围绕课改完善和深化学科教学常规，严格执行教研室、学校的各项教育、教学制度和要求，加强英语学科与信息技术的整合，聚焦常态课堂，关注教师成长，强调团队合作精神，全面提高英语教学质量,切实抓好校本科研、校本培训，从而促进全体英语教师的业务水平。

二、基本思路：

1、教学目标：培养兴趣，加强学法指导，抓常态课堂、高效课堂，稳固提高英语教学质量。

2、教研目标：组织进行校内外的教学研究活动，认真撰写论文，组织老师上研究课、示范课，通过研讨、评课等形式，做好课后反思，使本组教师理论与实践水平共同提高。

三、具体工作：

1、加强理论学习，更新教学理念，全面推进素质教育。全体英语教师都要抽出时间学习新理论，以先进的教育理念指导自己的教育教学实践。改进评价内容和评价方法，即努力做到关注学生学业成就的同时，还要关注学生情感态度、行为方式的发展，注重培养学生综合实践的能力，全面提高学生的素质。

2、强化教学常规的落实，提高课堂教学效率，组织教师认真学习学校教学常规，指导检查教师的教学工作，特别抓好“备课”、“上课”、“课后辅导”、“培优辅导”等主要环节，鼓励教师充分发挥教学特长，有效提高教学效率。

3、加强集体备课仍是本学期教研组工作的重点，因此要做到有计划、有目标、有实效，不走形式，各备课组每周至少活动一次，时间固定，要紧紧围绕教研组活动的主题，并有活动记录。以集体力量、集体智慧来提高英语组全体教师的业务水平。

4、打造“常态课堂、高效课堂”。教研组各教师认真学习常态课堂的基本要求，并每人按计划上一次公开课，要求集体备课，及时评课，找出不足，共同学习，共同促进，以学生的主体作用为重点，以合作学习的时效性为重点，从而来实现高效课堂。

5、加快信息技术学习进程，从而推动学科教学与信息技术的整合。组织所有教师运用现代教学理念设计多媒体教学辅助课件，组织多媒体教学观摩活动等，达到能将多媒体高效运用于英语教学中。

6、加强初三毕业班工作的研究，提高毕业班教学效率，组织全组成员认真学习《大纲》、《中考说明》，加强对中考动向的信息收集和试题研究。抓好听、说、读、写综合技能的培养，特别注重学生阅读能力的训练，另外所有英语教师要协助九年级教师搞好中考复习和模拟考试，力争中考第一仗顺利。

7、组织本教研组教师撰写论文。英语组要确定教研专题，全体英语教师通过理论学习和校本培训，不断反思、探索，并联系实际积极撰写英语教育教学论文。

总之，在校领导的带领下我们英语组全体组员会开拓进取，不断完善自己，将教学质量放首位，为学校的教育事业贡献力量。

Last night, I watched a movie, it is about two teenagers, they have cancer, but the boy is positive about life while the girl is negative about life. They meet each other, then the girl is affected by the boy, she starts to see the beautiful things in her life. I am so moved by the movie, though the ending of the movie is not so perfect, we see the change of the girl’s life. The topic of the movie is to tell people to be positive about life, no matter what happens, even the bad fortune they get, they still need to smile every day. People need to find the beauty of life, so they won’t life live without meaning.

昨晚，我看了一部电影，那是关于两个青少年，他们身患癌症，但是男孩对生活很乐观，然而女孩子却对生活很悲观。他们遇见了彼此，然后女孩受到了男孩子的影响，她开始看到了生活的美好食物。我被这部电影深深地感动，虽然电影的结局不是那么的完美，但是我们看到了女孩生活的改变。电影的主题是告诉人们要对生活乐观，无论发生什么事情，即使他们遇到不幸，仍然需要每天乐观面对生活。人们需要发现生活的美，这样他们就不会活得没有意义。

[美丽人生初中英语作文

我们的一生离不开书本的陪伴，因为有书，所以我们的生活才不会这么寂寞。

I enjoy reading different kinds of books, but "Harry Porter" is my favorite one. The story is very long but I am interested in it. Harry was such a brave and clever boy that he dared to fight against powerful enemies.

His Z-shaped scar and magic stick brought me into a magical world. In fact, the fiction story is so meaningful that I can learn a lot from it.

I think its the best book Ive ever read.

关于书本，不知道，同学们有没有自己最爱的那一本呢？为什么会喜欢那一本呢写下自己的理由吧！

[我最喜欢的一本书初中英语作文

Transportation has been greatly changed in the past few years. In ancient days, people used to travel by horse or carriage. The journey was often tiring and tedious. Then people had buses, trains and ships, which could shorten the time of the long-distance trip. Now we have not only more private cars, but also planes and high-speed rails. All of these modern transports could offer us a quick and pleasant travel. Thus, more and more people enjoy traveling very much these days. In conclusion, modern transportation has completely changed our life. Thanks to modern transportation, our world is becoming smaller and smaller.

She is such an ideal singer!

She is a girl with a lot of talent. She is a girl but she has individuality like a boy. On the stage, she sings and dances so well. She is so happy and she makes us excited… Can you guess who she is? Yes, she is Li Yuchun, the winner of "Super Girl 2005."She is a student of Sichuan Music College in Grade 3. She is twenty-one this year. She is 1.74 metres tall. Now she is very popular in China and even in the world. I know she worked hard in the past, and has succeeded today. Ill learn from her and try my best to achieve my dream.I like her because she is so cool and lovely. I love her because she makes me feel happy. I enjoy her because she is independent and she has the individuality of herself.

Li Yuchun, Ill cheer for you forever!

[歌手初中英语作文

Everyone needs a friend, because we are not the only one in the world. We

need someone to talk to and share our happiness and sorrow. Last night, I saw a

movie, the protagonist’s friend asked him what was a friend, and he gave the

answer that a friend was someone you can talk about your secret and you would

share food with. It is a child’s opinion, and it is simple and real. A friend is

someone who we can trust, we don’t have to hide ourselves and just who we are.

We will feel comfortable with them. When we are in trouble, we will think of

them and they will come to help.

Today, we talk about mobile phones, and as mobile phones are growing, more and more people are using mobile phones, which brings us a lot of convenience. There are also countless people who are addicted to mobile phones, especially small-school students, and i dont really object to mobile phones, and mobile phones are a good relaxation tool. I dont think its bad to play a mobile phone, but the middle school students are self-control, and they cant control the length of time they spend on their phones. So im addicted to cell phones, so i suggest relaxing a mobile phone, but it requires parental supervision, proper play, and not obsolete. You can relax your emotions, so i suggest that every day you can come back to play for an hour a day and relax and dont be too old to play. Relaxing, relaxing, relaxing relaxation

难忘的回忆

Last summer holiday, I learned to swim. It was very unforgettable and interesting. I went to the swimming pool with my father. He taught me how to swim. At first, I was afraid of diving in the water. And I felt uncomfortable in the water. But father said it doesn’t matter and he would protect me. Then I began to swim, but I couldn’t swim forward at all. It made me upset. Then father told me how to move, how to stretch out my hands and legs. Slowly, I could move a little. In fact, it was not that easy. I learned it for almost half a month. I was excited when father told me I made it.

这篇内容是关于回忆的初中英语作文，讲述的是暑假去学游泳，我和爸爸去游泳池，他叫我怎么游的故事。

Ive been to a lot of beautiful places, but in my mind, the most important

thing in my mind is the Forbidden City.

The Forbidden City is a place where the ancient emperor of China can live.

The imperial palace has: temple of heaven, echo wall, emperors study and so on

many beautiful places. There are colorful flowers in the temple of heaven, very

beautiful. The flowers and grasses and the famous flowers and plants are all

numerous and numerous, very beautiful, far from looking like a colorful flower

in the open. Like a fairyland on earth. The temple of heaven is not a famous

artist.

The echo wall is a miracle of acoustics, which is a masterpiece of ancient

craftsman. The wall tiles of the echo wall are not as strong as others. It is

specially made in shandong linqing place. The slurry brick is exquisite, and the

sound of the metal sound, commonly known as the gold brick. If you shout in the

echo wall, the echo will be strong.

Its better to see if you have the chance, and believe that it will make

you feel better.

Dragon Boat Festival is a Chinese traditional festival. It falls on the

fifth day of May in the lunar calendar. A day before this festival, my mother

and grandmother began to make zongzi. Of course, I would act as assistant. But

it turned out that I was more of a hindrance than a help. When they finished,

they started to cook them. This process needed a long time, because I could have

them in the next day. Zongzi was very delicious. On the day of dragon boat

festival, our family prepared for dinner after having breakfast. Everyone of my

family will come back home for the solid diet. Chicken is indispensable on the

dinner desk in Chinese traditional festival. There were many delicious foods,

which made me watering. I ate lots of them. It is a wonderful festival.

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.