高中英语作文错误范文（汇集20篇）

As is shown by the figure/percentage in the table /picture，____ has been on rise/ decrease， significantly/dramatically rising/decreasing from ____ in _____ to _____ in _____. From the sharp rise/decline in the chart， it goes without saying that _____.

There are at least two good reasons accounting for _____. In one hand， ____.In the other hand， _____ is due to the fact that ______.In addition， ______ is responsible for _____. Maybe there are some other reasons to show ______.But itis generally believed that the above mentioned reasons are commonly convincing.

As far as I am concerned， I hold the point of view that _______. I am sure my opinion is both sound and well-grounded.

Dear editor,

I’m writing to tell you about the discussion we have had about whether an entrance fee should be charged for parks. 60% of us schoolmates think that an entrance fee do not meet people’s expectations, for a park is considered to be a place where the public can have a good time when they are not busy either at home or at work. If an entrance fee must be paid by the visitors for a park, it will be necessary to build a gate and surrounding walls. In the end a city will take on a bad look. 40% of us schoolmates think that an entrance fee can be accepted, but it must not be too expensive. The money from ticket selling can be used for paying the gardeners in the park and buying some other kinds of flowers and trees.

With regard to myself, I think an entrance fee is useful, for it can be used to protect a park. Do we share the same opinion, dear editor?

Yours truly,

Li Hua

There is a saying that man proposes, god disposes, which means man plan the

things and the rest of the outcome lies in the luck. This saying reflects the

connection between hard-work and luck, which is though sometimes we have worked

so hard, luck occupies great position, the unexpected things happen and refrain

us from succeeding. In order to be successful, people work so hard, they believe

they can achieve their goals, but lacking luck stops them achieving their goals.

So working hard doesn’t mean bringing people success directly, they just need to

try more times, without luck, they still can make their goals. Luck can help

people close to success, without hard-work, they can’t be successful. Hard-work

and luck make people realize their goals, but without luck, people still can

make it by trying more times.

Courage is very important. Everyone needs it. We will meet many difficulties in our life and sometimes we will fail, but we can’t lose courage. If we lose courage, we can’t do anything, because we don’t dare to do anything; we are afraid of failure. This is my Chinese teacher me in the first class. I agree with him. For example, we don’t have the courage to hands up to say our answer, how can we know we are right or wrong. I will remember his word forever,” never lose courage .”

勇气是很重要的。每个人都需要勇气。我们在生活中会遇到很多困难，有时我们会失败，但是我们不能失去勇气。如果我们失去了勇气，我们将会一事无成，因为我们什么都不敢做；我们害怕失败。这是我的语文老师在第一节课的时候说的。我同意他的说法。例如，我们没有勇气举手说出我们的答案，我们怎么能知道我们的答案是对的还是错的呢。我会永远记住他的话，“永远不要失去勇气。”

[别失去勇气高中英语作文

when we talk about dreams, we are so excited, we have many dreams, such as being a famous person, traveling around the world and so on. dreams are what we pursue for a lifetime, with many dreams, we have motivation to fight for our life. the opposite side of dream is reality, we have to face reality everyday, reality is what we perceive in our life. reality always frustrates us to be successful. we need to balance them. first, we need to face reality, though it is not ideal, we live in a world, we have to know exactly who we are. second, to make our dreams come true, we need to adjust our dreams according to the reality.

in this way, our dreams can achieve. lets work hard together to make our dreams come true.

When I was a child, I raised a pet, named Lucky.Actually he is a cat.His fur is soft with yellow and white color.Lucky is a good boy.He always behaves well.I remember when my uncle took him back to my home at first, I was afraid of him.But soon I found him is very interesting.I started to play with him.As time goes, we like each other very much.And then my uncle gave him to me.I was so happy.Now he always lies beside me quietly, when I’m doing my homework.As winter comes, he will sleep with me.sometimes he will dance for me, which is very funny and sometimes his hands are wet would leave many “plum flower” on the ground.He is so lovely.

在我还是个孩子的时候，就养了一只叫做幸运的宠物。其实他是一只猫。他的毛很柔软，是黄色和白色。幸运的是一个好男孩。他总是很听话。我记得当我叔叔带他来到我家的时候，我很怕他。但不久后，我发现他很有趣。我开始和他玩。随着时间的推移，我们都互相非常喜欢对方。之后我叔叔就把他送给了我。我是如此的高兴。现在他总是在我做家庭作业的时候悄悄地躺在我的身边。冬天来了，他会跟我一起睡。有时他会为我跳舞，那是非常有趣的，有时他的爪子湿了就会在地面上留下许多“梅花”。他很可爱。

The quality of human life has improved greatly over the past few centuries, but Earth is being harmed more and more by human activity. As we develop our technology, we demand more from our planet. Eventually, this will harm people as well.

Our planet gives us everything we need, but natural resources are not endless. Strip mining devastates whole regions, leaving bare and useless ground. Deforestation removes old growth trees that cant be replaced. Too much fishing may harm fish populations to the point where they cant recover. We are too careless in taking what we want without giving anything back.

There are more people than ever, living longer that ever. So is it any surprise that many areas suffer from too much development? Anyone living in or near a city has experienced "urban sprawl". There is a new shopping area on every corner and new houses, townhouses and apartments everywhere. Traffic gets worse and worse because planners cant keep up with growth. Keeping up with human demand is hard enough. Environmental concerns come in last.

With growth comes pollution. Companies and communities dump waste into water. Landfills are full of trash. Emissions from factories pollute the air. Barrels of industrial waste and worse, radioactive waste, have no safe place to go. If were not careful, we can harm our planet beyond repair.

People need to respect the Earth and try to preserve it. If we dont, what kind of future will we have?

Nowadays, some discussions about the childrens education and management

have raised the whole social concern. It seems not only about childrens

personal development, but also about the whole countrys future.

There are two main views in debate, which of them is that children should

obey the rules set by parents and teachers. The other is that less control will

help children to deal with their future adult life.

As for the former, the advantages of it seem to be very apparent, which of

them is that children can make a distinction between right and wrong things. And

they will have a sense of principle and responsibility. Of course, the

disadvantages are also very clear. Firstly, children will be lacking in

imagination and creation. Secondly, they cannot make up their mind on their

own.

Concerning the latter, the view seems to be reasonable because in this ways

these children are more clever and active to create something special. However,

the drawbacks couldnt be ignored as a result of a problem that children cannot

get a clear understanding of their lifetime.

Combining the both points, as far as Im concerned, parents and teachers

are supposed to instruct children to obey the primary principle when they do

some deeds. Moreover, children need more freedom to realize their dreams. Only

in this way can the problem be solved perfectly.

In conclusion, we cant only support one side simply. On the contrary, we

ought to choose different measures to educate children flexibly.

高中英语高分作文：春节

I like The Spring Festival. The Spring Festival is the most important festival for the Chinese people and is when all family members get together， just like Christmas in the West. All people living aw

ay from home go back， becoming the busiest time for transportation systems of about half a month from the Spring Festival. Airports， railway stations and long-distance bus stations are crowded with home returnees.

During Spring Festival， the most improtant days are Spring Festival Eve and the first three days.Many customs accompany the Spring Festival.During Spring Festival time， you can see kinds of decorations.you can go to temple fairs and enjoy superb performances of the dances， stilt-walking and amazing acrobatic shows.

so i like it .

Dear Friend,

How have you been recently? I miss you very much. Do you still remember

me?

To be honest, Im honored to make friends with you. I still remember the

days when we were together. As far as I know, you are the kindest person in the

world. Once we were together, you always treated me as if I were your dear

brother, so I was grateful to you in my heart. After you leaving, I always

thought of you. Next time we have a chance to see each other, I will say "thank

you" to you. Thank you for your kindness. Now I have got the meaning of my

life.

Although we are in two different places now, we are still together, because

we are always heart to heart. I believe we can see each other again. Since we

are always close friends as well as dear brothers. Because of you, my life is

always so significant. Wherever I am, I will pray good luck for you.

Last but not the least, I hope you can make it and have a bright

future.

Sincerely yours,

Jason

I had a great time throughout my may day holiday.

On monday, i went bbq with my classmates who threw a celebration party at our middle school principles flat. our parents were invited to the party. everybody was excited about the holiday. i ate a lot of delicious food at that time.

On tuesday, i went visiting my uncles family with my parents. we went to celebrate our good time at a fancy restaurant in shanghai. later that day, we sang karaoke in my uncles house. we stayed for the night.

On wednesday, i went shopping with my cousins. we bought some brand name t-shirts and pants. in the afternoon, my cousins gave me a fun ride on the city highway. they also taught me how to drive their fancy car, so i tried to do some turning and parking. it was not easy first. but i learnt quick.

on thursday, we returned home with many gifts from our trip. i tried to get some rest. at night, i chatted with my classmates on the phone, and i watched cctv before going to bed.

From friday on, i started to finish up my homework assignments on my personal laptop. some of my assignments were quite boring. after i finished the homework, i emailed them to my teachers. that was the end of it. i started to prepare things for school on this coming monday.

一、纵观近年各地中考英语写作题，题材一般是写人、写事、写物、写景、日记、书信、通知、便条等文体。一般来说，不同的写作题材，它的人物，时间，写作的重点也是不尽相同的。下面结合一些常见的题型介绍一下写作的注意事项以及写作技巧。

1、以图表提供情景的作文要以“读”为主，首先要读懂图表中的数据、时间、编码、序号以及相互间的变化关系，对所给的信息加以分析、推断、筛选、概括、去粗取精；在写作时目的要明确，要注意内容的准确性和严肃性，尤其是图表中的数据、时间等不得有误。

2、以图画提供情景的作文应以“看”为主，通过细心观察图中的人物、景物、文字、环境、数字等，弄清写作的意图，通过分析思考把握逻辑联系，找出主题并借助所给的文字，把图中的信息转化成文章，但要注意，文章不能停留在图画的浅表，而要表达出提供情景的意图和内涵。

3、以提纲提供情景的作文。这种形式本身的要点已经很明确，重点也很突出，只要把各个提纲加以发挥，注意遣词造句的灵活性和语法规则的正确性，就不会造成审题不清而偏离主题，但要注意，文章必须覆盖所提供的各个提纲的要点。

4、以书信格式提供情景的作文。首先要了解书信的格式，英文书信格式与中文有所不同，(1)、一般在信纸的右上角写上写信人的地址和日期，地址应按从小到大的顺序排列；(2)、左边顶格写上收信人的姓名；(3)、正文部分；(4)、祝愿的话；(5)、写信人签名。信的内容一定要按所给的要求写，不要漏写。

二、各地的评分标准略有差异，但是都包括以下几个方面：整体印象、语言表达、词数规定等几方面内容。我们在写作中要尽量避免扣分，争取有加分点。当然用英文写作不同于用母语那样得心应手，常常会受到生词、语法、惯用法的限制，只要同学们平时注意两种语言的异同性，抓住写作要点，也可妙笔生花。

1、为了保证文章层次分明、条理清楚，要把时间固定下来，如：记叙一件事要用过去时；写经常发生的事或对人物的描写，要用一般现在时。整个文章中的人称要一致，首尾呼应，不要随意改动，以免造成误解。

2、不要为了追求“一鸣惊人”而去找一些生冷的词汇，对这些一知半解的词你不会用，不知道如何搭配，结果可能适得其反，使文章显的生硬、不协调，甚至错误百出，所以要使用有把握的词，避免不必要的失分。比如说发生了一起意外事件，我们通常用“have an accident”来表示，不要错误的使用“have an incident”。

3、注意不同语言的表达习惯，也是写好英语作文的重要环节，如“我的理想是做一名歌手”，很多同学写成“My ambition is to do/make a singer，”“to do”表示“做”或者“干”，“to make”表示“制作”，而“做一名歌手”则表示“成为一名歌手”应该用“be/become a singer”；又如“看书、看报”应用“read a book/newspaper”，而不是“see a book/newspaper”。因此，平时应该注意不同语言的表达习惯，切忌望文生义或一味生搬硬套。

4、有些同学因怕出错而只写短句或简单句，写出的文章过于幼稚、空洞乏味。要使文章有血有肉就要把平时学的知识用进去，如：定语从句、宾语从句、非谓语动词和比较等句型，关键时用上一、二个，就能使文章不同凡响，更有文采，特别是对关联词的使用，如“so that”、“not…but”“not only。。。but also”等，会使你的文章逻辑结构紧密、层次鲜明、条理清楚，更能显示出你的英文功底，但要做到这些并非一日之功，要靠平时的不断训练和积累。

5、最简单的增分点就是认真的书写。工整漂亮的书写会给评卷老师留下美好的第一印象，在扣分时自然会“手下留情”，而且很多地区都在写作上有1分的书写分。只要平时多下点功夫，得到这一分并不难。

三、最后将中考写作的基本步骤和技巧归纳为以下几个环节：

1、细心审题细读题目中每一项提示或观察所给的每一幅画，明确文章的中心思想，弄清题意，确定写作体裁，掌握所要表达的要点做到心中有数，避免随心所欲，文不对题。

2、理顺要点在所给提示或图上标出要点，然后按事件先后的顺序或各要点之间的内在联系排序，分出层次。如果是看图作文，则要按图构思，这样做既可避免要点遗漏，又可使表达内容条理清楚。

3、构成框架将理顺的要点或每幅图画的含义加以连贯，构成写作的整体框架，进一步定人称、定时态语态、定顺序、定段落、定开头结尾。基本框架构成后，写作就有了把握。4、组织句子用自己最熟悉的短语或句型将理顺的要点逐句表达出来，多用简单句，用有把握的复合句。要扬长避短，避难就易。若遇到表达障碍，可换一种说法，将一句变成两、三句，只求达意。

5、串句成篇将写好的句子连贯地组织起来，注意上下句的逻辑关系，适当采用递进、让步、转折、因果等关联词语，使短文浑然一体，层次分明，过渡自然。6、检查修改文章草成后，默读1～2遍，检查修改，尤其要注意人称、大小写、拼写、习惯用语、格式有无错误，要点有无遗漏，文句有无语病，词数是否恰当，行文是否连贯。

我们要保护小动物，特别是小鸡这类弱小的动物，因为小鸡早晨可以叫我们起床，可以生一个又一个圆圆的的鸡蛋，还可以提供鸡肉给我们吃。

We need to protect the small animal, especially this kind of small animal chicken, because chicken morning to wake us up, can have a round egg, can also provide for us to eat chicken.

有一次，我和妈妈上菜市场，听见一位老奶奶在喊：“卖鸡了，今天的鸡又肥又嫩!”妈妈说：“今天，我们买一只鸡回家，炖汤喝。”我说：“好吧。”可又想了想：如果我们吃了鸡，那么就吃不到鸡蛋了，就对妈妈说：“不行，吃了鸡就没有鸡蛋吃了。”“傻孩子，你瞎操什么心啊!”妈妈不由分说地把我拉到卖鸡的那边。卖鸡的老奶奶正在杀鸡，只见她拔下鸡脖子上的毛，拿刀用力地在鸡脖子上划了几下。血喷向了四周，鸡挣扎了几下就死了。“太残忍了，我不要吃鸡!”我向妈妈大声的抗议。“好吧，不买了，我们就去买点蔬菜吧。”也许妈妈也觉得残忍，就同意了。

One time, my mother and I heard the food market, an old woman shouted: "chicken, chicken fat and tender today!" Mother said: "today, we bought a chicken soup to drink at home." I said: "OK." But think again: if we eat chicken, so cant eat the egg, the mother said: "no, not eat chicken egg to eat." "Silly boy, what do you care ah!" Mother allowing no explanation to put me into the chicken. The old woman was a chicken, she pulled out the hair on the neck, a knife in the neck with a few strokes under. Blood sprayed around chicken, struggled and died. "So cruel, I dont eat chicken!" I asked my mother loudly protested. "Well, do not buy, we went to buy some vegetables." Maybe mom was cruel, also agreed.

假如我们的生活中没有了动物，世界就会变得很孤独。我们要保护动物，从自身做起：少吃肉类食品，少穿皮衣毛衣;看见别人欺负动物，要勇敢地站出来劝说他们。

If we live without the animal, the world will become very lonely. We must protect the animal, start from their own: eat less meat, less wear fur sweaters; see others bully animal, we should stand up to persuade them.

保护动物，人人有责!

Animal protection, everyones responsibility!

Before we go to school, we get our parents to supervise us all the time, so we live in a very safe environment.

While when we go to school, parents can’t keep their eyes on us all the time, they are so worried about us, so they begin to tell us how to keep ourselves safe.

The most important thing is that don’t talk to strangers, as a teenager, we haven’t had the ability to judge who is the good guy and who is the bad guy, so it is better not to talk to the strangers.

The bad guys will like to talk to the teenagers, they want to do something to pay the teenagers’ attention, thus they can induce the children to go with them and do the bad thing.

In order to protect teenagers’ security, teenagers are taught to keep distant from the stranger.

在我们上学前，我们一直有父母的照看，所以我们生长在一个很安全的环境。然而当我们上学以后，父母不能一直监视着我们，他们很担心我们，因此他们开始教导我们如何保持自身的安全。

最重要的事情就是不要和陌生人说话，作为一名青少年，我们还没有能力去判断好人和坏人，所以最好不要和陌生人讲话。

坏人会喜欢和青少年聊天，他们想要做一些事情来吸引青少年的注意，以此来引诱青少年跟他们走，做坏事。

为了保护青少年的安全，青少年应该和陌生人保持距离。

[高中英语作文：不要和陌生人说话

I believe whenwe were little babies, we were taught to learn to share with others. At first, Idon’t understand.

But now I can understand gradually.

Share happiness will makeme feel happier, while share my sadness with my friends will make me reduce sadness.When I told my friends I got the first praise in the recital contest, they allcongratulated to me and said many good words, which made me happier.

When I gotblame from my teacher, I told my friends, which made me felt comfortable. Besides,their comfort also helped me feel better.

What’s more, sharing my experiencewith others that help them lots can makes me feel satisfied.

Anyway, sharing my emotion and things withothers makes me feel awesome. You’d better try to learn to share, and then youwill understand.

我相信在我们还是小孩的时候，我们就被教导要学会与人分享。起初，我不是很明白。

但现在我慢慢地了解了。分享快乐会让我更加快乐，而和朋友分享我的悲伤也会减轻我的悲伤。

当我告诉我的朋友我在朗诵比赛上取得第一名的时候，他们都向我表示祝贺，并说了很多好话，这让我感到更开心。

当被老师责备时，我告诉我的朋友，说出来能让我感到舒服。此外，他们的安慰也能让我感到更舒适。

更重要的是，分享我的经验给他们，能够帮助他们使我感到很满足。不管怎么说，与别人分享我的情感，事情让我觉得很棒。你最好也努力尝试着分享，之后你就会明白了。

[高中英语作文：分享的意义

My Family

My name is Li Hua. I am from a workers family. There are six people in my

family. They are my grandfather, my grandmother, my father, my mother, my sister

and I.

Every member in my family works for his or her own trade①. My grandfather

and grandmother are peasants. They do farm work every day in my hometown. My

father is a senior engineer. He is now working in Africa, helping to build a

power station. My mother is a teacher. She teaches English in a middle school.

My sister, five years older than I, is a doctor in the Peoples Hospital of our

county. She loves her work and does it well. I am a middle school student. And I

am going to take this years college entrance examination. I wish that I could

be enrolled② by a famous university.

That is my family. All the members in my family live in harmony③. We love

each other devotedly.

Sichuan is located in the Upper Yangtze Valley in the southwestern part of the country. The second largest of the Chinese provinces, it covers an area of 220,100 square miles (570,000 square kilometres). Szechwan is bordered by the provinces of Kansu and Shensi to the north, Hupeh and Hunan to the east, and Kweichow and Yunnan to the south and by the Tibet Autonomous Region to the west and the province of Tsinghai to the northwest. It is the most populous province in China. The name Szechwan means “Four Streams” and refers to the four main tributaries of the Yangtze River, which flows through the province. The capital, Cheng-tu, is located in the centre of the province.

From economic, political, geographical, and historical points of view, the heart and nerve centre of Szechwan is in the eastern basin area, commonly known as the Sichuan, or Red, Basin. Its mild and humid climate, fertile soil, and abundant mineral and forestry resources make it one of the most prosperous and economically self-sufficient regions of China. The area has been seen by some as China in a microcosm and is often viewed as a country within a country. The Chinese call the basin Tien Fu Chih Kuo, which literally means “Heaven on Earth”.

Long-awaited winter vacation life is about to start, in order to have a perfect and happy summer vacation, Ive set a plan for the winter vacation, for their content is as follows:

A teacher winter vacation homework, do every day 10 pages each, for within three days to complete winter vacation homework.

Second, is to do good, in advocate for propaganda.

Third, learn to play jump ball.

Four, learn to write c font, strive for to write beautiful calligraphy.

Five, a classmate party, eat delicious, go out to play one day, but in play at the same time to pay attention to safety.

Six, the national flag, learn personal character and social learning lays the foundation for the next semester.

【摘要】考研英语作文的评分，首先关注的就是单词、句子、格式的正确性。因此，在作文的复习中，不能只关注高端句型，正确的格式也是不容忽视的。

写作格式错误主要包括题目的写法、文章的格式、大小写以及标点符号等四个方面。

题目的写法

题目是首先映入读者眼帘的，所以要注意题目的书写位置。一定要在试卷作文纸上的上方中间位置书写。同时还应在话题和正文之间留出一定的距离，即比正文行距稍宽一些。

其次，要注意题目的大小写，实词的首字母一定要大写。其它虚词如冠词、连词（但如连词的字母多于5个时则大写)和介词首字母不需要大写。比如：

跳动的心（例子）

误：Attitudes Toward Money

正：Attitudes toward Money

文章的格式

1、四边留空：卷面的四边一定要留出适当的空白。这样的文章才能整齐、美观，给人以清晰、明快的感觉。

2、空格：文章的每段的首行一定要有统一的空格（一般缩进4-6个字节）。

大小写方面的错误

在考研文章的评改过程中，有关大小写方面的错误层出不穷，这是考生的一个弱点。一般来说，大写规则有以下几条：

1、大写每句话的第一个字母和直接引语的第一字母

如：He said,He is going to Shanghai next week.

2、大写专有名词，或用作专有名词的部分普通名词，通常是缩略形式

如：DrG .G . East

3、大写缩写字母

如：MPA ,MBA ,BBC

4、文章标题要大写

5、头衔在专有名词前要大写，在专有名词后就小写

例如：Captain SmithSmith, the captain；Uncle GeorgeGeorge ,my uncle

标点符号

考生在写文章时，一定要注意正确使用标点符号，切忌从头到尾只用逗号的现象。一定要熟练掌握常用标点符号的基本用法，尤其要正确使用逗号和分号。

三段式作文注意事项

1、作文卷面要保持整洁，不要连笔，不要涂改，这是获取印象分的重点。很多考生由于在考场过于紧张导致作文的单词老是写错，这是致命伤啊，会直接让你越写越没感觉就越没信心了，所以平常要加强练笔！

2、全文的第一句和各段的第一句必须是文章的中心句，最好能用复杂句表达。这是因为阅卷老师一般没有那么多的时间去看作文，所以只能大概浏览下各段的首句，这是获得高分的关键。

3、全文结构布局：全文分为三段，第一段3句，第二段5句，第三段4句，可根据具体情况调整。段落中，第一句是topic ，第二三句是detail ，第三句是conclusion 。

另外为了方便大家学习，提高复习的效率。小编为广大学子整理了考研技巧和考试大纲，更有历年真题提供测试等等。针对每一个科目进行深度的探讨和技巧挖掘。欢迎各位考研的同学进行了解和资讯。考研的痛苦是难免的,不要丧失信心,坚信苦尽甘来。预祝各位学子取得成功！

[考研英语作文常见的四个写作格式错误

Recently, a Chinese student who studied abroad delivered a speech at the

graduate ceremony. Her speech soon became the hot issue, because she criticized

Chinese air pollution, which was a great threat to her health. Though her speech

had exaggerated the problem, it is true that China has faced many pollution

problems. The haze in Beijing is famous around the world, which is the

punishment for human to ruin the environment. It needs time to fix the problem,

but there is no need to deny our country. Even for the developed countries, they

have once faced such problem before. We can do something in the daily life to

protect it, such as do not throw away the rubbish.

导语：每个人都有自己的妈妈，你喜欢你的妈妈吗?下面是yuwenmi小编为大家整理的优秀英语作文，欢迎阅读与借鉴，谢谢!

My mother has no idea that her ninetieth birthday is coming up. She has no notion of the time of day, the day of the week. the season of the year, the year of the century. No notion of the approaching millennium. And no idea any longer, who I am. Her forgetting of me happened just a few months ago, after I had been traveling for more than a month and hadnt been to see her. When I came back, she asked me if I were her niece, l said no, I was her daughter. "Does that mean I had you?" she asked. 1 said yes. "Where was I when l had you?" she asked me. I told her she was in a hospital in Far Rockaway. New York. "So much has happened to me in my life." she said "You cant expect me to remember everything."

My mother was once a beautiful woman, but all her teeth are gone now. Toothless. No woman can be considered beautiful. Whenever I visit her in the nursing home, she is sitting at the table in the common dining room, her head in her hands, rocking. Medication has eased her anxiety, but nothing moves her from her stupor except occasional moments of fear, too deep for medication. This is a room that has no windows, that lets in no light, in which an overlarge TV is constantly blaring, sending images that no one looks at where the floors are beige tiles, the walls cream colored at the bottom, papered halfway up with a pattern of nearly invisible grayish leaves. Many of the residents sit staring, slack-jawed, open mouthed. I find it impossible to imagine what they might be looking at.

When I walk into the dining room on the day of my mothers birthday, I see that she has already been served lunch. The staff has forgotten to hold it back. Though I told them a week ago that I would be providing lunch. She hasn’t touched anything on her tray except a piece of carrot cake, which she holds in her hands. The icing is smeared on her hands and face. I dont want my friends to see her smeared with icing, so I wet a paper towel and wipe her. This fills me with a terrible tenderness, recalling, as it does. a gesture I have performed for my children. As I wipe my mothers face, I see that her skin is still beautiful I hold her chin in my hand and kiss her forehead. I tell her its her birthday, that shes ninety years old. "How did that happen?" she asks. "I cant understand how that could happen."

l have brought her a bouquet of crimson, yellow, and salmon-pink snapdragons. She likes the flowers very much. She likes the name. "Snapdragons. It seems like an animal thats going to bite inc. But its not an animal, its a plant. Thats a funny thing,"

I have bought food that I hope will please my mother, and that will be easy for her to eat: orzo salad with little pieces of crayfish cut into it, potato salad, small chunks of marinated tomatoes. I have bought paper plates with a rust-colored background, upon which are painted yellow and gold flowers and blue leaves.

My friends Nola and Gary come for my mothers birthday. When we are about to leave, I tell my mother that Im going on vacation, mat I wont see her for three weeks, that 1 am going to the sea. "How will I stand that, how will I stand thats she says, but I know that a minute after I’m gone shell forget I was there.