毕业感言初中英语作文带翻译(通用20篇)

时间飞逝，转眼刚来又要走，匆匆离去，却未留下痕迹。我们也从一个个什么也不懂的少年成长为了一个懂事的少年。

就在昨天，我们经历了一场人生的转折点，是升是降，是停是走，似乎早已决定。前两年的努力才能换来今天的光明。我也不知道我是否真正的努力奋斗过，想到丽景学校大门口鲜红的榜单中写着一个个的名字却找不到我自己的。心中的失落，心中的后悔，都在一瞬间涌出来。为什么在七年级时不努力?为什么在七年级时没打好基础?可是什么都为时已晚。

看着当年的同学一个个脸上洋溢着满足的笑容，心中充满了懊悔。我现在要干什么?我又能做什么?我是来混日子的吗?为什么同样是同学，同时进来读书，他被学校载入史册，我却仿佛是这个学校的过路人?看着同学们手中一张一张无比闪耀的录取通知书，带着老师的祝福离去。自己呢?自己背着用了三年的破铜烂铁，在老师和同学们同情、怜悯的目光下落寞地走出学校，从此当一个社会基层的机器人只需每天重复着一个动作，没有创新，没有快乐吗?不!那不是我和我要的生活。年少轻狂时，想着快点毕业，找一份工作，不要上学多快乐啊。可是当你发现真的到了这个时候，心中却很焦急，根本无法想象下一步要怎么走，没有理想，没有动力，人就如行尸走肉一般。

突然，我的思绪又回到现实。幸运的是我还身处七年级中，上天又给了我一次机会啊!我一定要努力!

Dear Peter,

Hi,I am Lihua.I am you best friend. l hear that you are portically

interested in our Chinese culture,so I invented you join confusion

institute.

At the beginning of,l will sound you join confusion institute for you

happy.

Secondly, confused Institute including major Charities is kongzi.he is the

oldest world thinks and famous.He think a human being should kindness and hope

to peace,he has many students.so think studying mix to image.more and more

thinks. I will sent you to the email, I hope to for your hhelp.

Nowadays, there are more and more confucius Institute, its important to

learn Chinese culture.

As far as I know,many people join confucius Institute,I hope you take hold

of the chance.

Finally, I am looking forward to your come and letters.

Yours sincerely,

Lihua

My Class

here are forty-two students in my class, with 25boys and 17girls. It’s an active class, and the reason may be that the boys are more than girls. The classroom atmosphere of our class is very good, because we interact with teachers quite often. Our classmates are all united and helpful to each other. We often organize some activities to enhance the relationship between classmates and our regular activity is the English Day in every two weeks that we can only speak English during recess. Maybe it sounds a little difficult but it really funny and classmates enjoy it very much.

[我的班级初中英语作文

The Dragon Boat Festival is a lunar (阴历)holiday, occurring (存正)on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month (农历史五月第五天)

The Chinese Dragon Boat Festival is a significant (有意义的)holiday celebrated (庆祝)in China, and the one with the longest history (历史最悠久). The Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated by boat races (龙舟赛) in the shape of dragons. Competing teams (竞争团队) row their boats forward to a drumbeat (击古)racing to reach the finish end first.

The boat races during the Dragon Boat Festival are traditional customs (传统习俗)to attempts to (试图)rescue (搭救) the patriotic poet (爱国诗人)Chu Yuan. Chu Yuan drowned (溺死) on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month in 277 B.C. Chinese citizens now throw bamboo leaves (竹叶) filled with cooked rice into the water. Therefore the fish could eat the rice rather than the hero poet. This later on turned into the custom of eating tzungtzu and rice dumplings(棕子).

The celebrations is a time for protection (防护) from evil (邪恶) and disease (疾病) for the rest of the year. It is done so by different practices such as hanging healthy herbs on the front door, drinking nutritious concoctions (营养品), and displaying (展示) portraits (画像) of evils nemesis(邪恶报应), Chung Kuei. If one manages to (成功做...) stand (直立)an egg on its end at exactly 12:00 noon, the following year will be a lucky one.

我的新老师—初中英语作文大全

【—我的新老师—】下文是老师为同学们带来的关于对老师的印象及自己的看法，同学们对自己的老师是否也有着不一样看法呢？

My New Teacher

The new semester has begun. Every thing seems the same as before, except one thing. That is our class has a new English teacher. His name is Yang yang, but we always call his English name, Robert. He is a young and sunshine. He just graduated from university. His pronunciation is very good and I like his spoken English. Robert is humorous and his class is interesting and lively. Except for the textbook, he finds many other articles for class teaching, such as songs, movies and cartoons. He says that we can learn more from what we are interested in. I like this new teacher.

新学期已经开始了。除了一件事以外，每一件事看起来都和原来一样。那就是我们班来了个新的英语老师。他的名字叫杨阳，但是我们经常叫他的英文名Robert。他年轻阳光，刚刚从大学毕业。他的发音很标准 初中英语，我很喜欢他的口语。Robert很幽默，他的课堂生动有趣。除开课本，他还找了很多文章进行课堂教学，比如歌曲，电影和卡通。他说我们可以从我们感兴趣的东西学到更多。我喜欢这位新老师。

上面的是关于对老师的英文介绍，同学们对单词和短语都了解呢？如果不懂，记得要查英语字典哦！

初三英语单词表大全

A a(an) art

a(an) art ability n

ability n able a

able a about prep & ad

about prep & ad above prep

above prep abroad a & ad

abroad a & ad absent a

absent a accent n

accent n accept v

accept v accident n

accident n ache n

ache n achieve v

achieve v across prep

across prep act n & v

act n & v action n

action n active a

active a activity n

activity n add v

add v address n

address n advantage n

advantage n advertisement n

advertisement n advice n

advice n advise v

advise v afford v

afford v afraid a

afraid a after ad , prep & con

after ad , prep & con afternoon n

afternoon n again ad

again ad against prep

against prep age n

age n ago ad

ago ad agree v

agree v agreement n

agreement n air n

air n airline

airline airplane n

airplane n airport n

airport n alive a

alive a all a & pron

all a & pron allow v

allow v almost ad

almost ad alone a

alone a along ad & prep

along ad & prep aloud ad

aloud ad already ad

already ad also ad

also ad although conj

although conj always ad

always ad America n

America n American a & n

American a & n among prep

among prep ancient a

ancient a and conj

and conj angry a

angry a animal n

animal n another a & pron

another a & pron answer n & v

answer n & v ant n

ant n any pron & a

any pron & a anybody pron

anybody pron anyone pron

anyone pron anything pron

anything pron anyway ad

anyway ad anywhere ad

anywhere ad appear v

appear v apple n

apple n April n

April n area

area arm n

arm n army n

army n around prep & ad

around prep & ad arrive v

arrive v art n

art n article n

article n as ad, conj & prep

as ad, conj & prep Asia n

Asia n Asian a & n

Asian a & n ask v

ask v asleep a

asleep a at prep

at prep Atlantic n & a

Atlantic n & a attention n

attention n August n

August n aunt n

aunt n Australia n

Australia n Australian a & n

Australian a & n autumn n

autumn n available a

available a avoid n

avoid n awake v

awake v away ad

away ad baby n

In the evening, the families usually have pudding, sandwiches, apple pies and some other desserts for dinner.After supper, the families always sing and dance around the Christmas tree.Sometimes, they also go to church.Before going to bed, the children often hang up their stockings beside their bed, so that Father Christmas will fill them with presents.It is said that Father Christmas always drives a deer to the human world and entering into each house from the chimney.Now the children no longer believe in Father Christmas, but they still hang up their stockings, because their parents will fill them with presents.

晚上，家里面通常都有吃布丁，三明治，苹果派还有一些其它的甜点作为晚餐。晚饭后，家人们总是围着圣诞树唱歌跳舞。有时，他们还会去教堂。睡觉前，孩子们常常会把长统袜挂在床边，这样圣诞老人就会用礼物把它填满了。据说圣诞老人总是骑着一只鹿到人类，之后从烟囱进入每个房子。现在的孩子不再相信圣诞老人的故事了，但他们仍然会挂上他们的袜子，因为他们的父母会用礼物把它填满。

With the development of e-commerce, shopping online becomes a new way of

shopping which is getting more and more popular. Many citizens are likely to

shop through internet nowadays.

Generally speaking, shopping online offers lots of advantages with its

convenience the most prominent. There are many commodities on the internet where

you can search whatever you want. Besides, you just click the mouse can you get

all information you want, so that you don’t have to go to the shop personally.

In addtition, the commodities on the Internet is usually cheaper than the stores

which can save much money.

However, everything has two sides. You can not see the products or check

their qualities and some of the sellers on the Internet is not so honest. And,

for those who enjoys shopping around different stores, shopping online perhaps

will make them bored.

In my opinion, shopping online has more advantages than disadvantages, and

with the improvement of e-commerce, there will be more people to shop on the

Internet.

Environment protection

Today,I went to the park with my mother,when we walking along the lake,I

saw a couple was siting on the bench at the edge of lake, eating snacks and

casting the packaging into the lake.I was so anger to see that!I think their

behavir is very shameful.The park is a place for all citicens to enjoy beautiful

scenery ，not a place for them to cast rubbish casually.All of us should take

actions to protect our environment,only in this way can we have a clean and

beautiful world.

参考翻译

保护环境

今天，我和我妈妈逛公园，当我们沿湖边散步的时候，我看到一对夫妻正坐在湖边的长椅上，一边吃零食，一边把零食包装往湖里扔。看到这种情况我非常生气。我认为他们的行为非常可耻。公园是一个提供公民欣赏美丽风景的地方，而不是一个他们可以随意扔垃圾的地方。我们每个人都应该采取行动去保护我们共同的环境，只有这样我们才能拥有一个干净美丽的世界。

转眼间，我从医院的手术室里诞生了，时间带着我跨过了学前班的懵懂无知，又即将带领我飞离小学六年的美好时光;转眼间我跟着时间那无声敏捷的步伐，进入了多梦的初中生活。猛然翻开抽屉里的相片，才发现有那么多张笑脸即将与我分别，“再见了，六年朝夕相处的朋友;再见了，六年辛勤教导的老师;再见了，我依旧不舍的小学生活……

用指尖轻轻滑过毕业照里每一个同学的脸庞。幼儿园，一张张笑脸如花儿般盛开在我心上。嘿，你还记得我吗?我就是哪个“小胖妞”啊!“蘑菇头”你现在在哪呢?回忆起当时学前班的甜蜜往事，我我即使不舍，也得放下。挥去这陈旧的一片，在它的背后时间如魔术师般又变出了一张。在小学六年的学习中，“小胖妞”变得不一样了，从前的两只麻花辫不知了去向，代替它的是干净利落的一条短短的马尾辫，在照片里我又找到了“蘑菇头”，她依旧和以前一样，只是比“小胖妞”高了半个头，在这张照片里，笑脸又增加了，一张两张三张四张在我心里开满了花。

毕业照里的我们，有笑的也有哭的，毕业照里有我不舍的死党，也有烦人的同学，但更多的是前者。毕业之际，时间你能否走慢点，停留在相机按下快门那一刻，停留在你追我赶的赛场上，停留在热火朝天的劳动中，停留在引人入胜的课堂中……

再见了朋友们，等等我时间。

It is known to all that Newton got the great inspiration from the falling

apple as he was walking pass a tree. This apple changed and promoted the social

civilization. Many people play the joke that if the apple hits on their heads,

maybe they can be the next Newton. Actually, apple is just the stimulation to

help Newton to figure out his thoughts. If it hits on other peoples heads, it

is just the ordinary incident and nothing special. The meaning of life is to

keep searching. Everyone can make a difference if they keep thinking, and

inspiration will come sooner or later. At that time, the success will be at

hand.

Everyone has his or her hobbies. My hobby is collecting stamps. I collect all kinds of stamps, mostly Chinese stamps. I started collecting stamps when I was in my elementary school. I enjoy collecting stamps because I can learn many things from these stamps. I hope my stamp collection will grow slowly to include foreign stamps. I plan to have many pen pals and exchange letters with them, so I can collect more stamps from letters.

每个人都有他或她的爱好。我的爱好是收集邮票。我收集各种邮票，大多是中国邮票。我在小学时开始集邮。我喜欢收集邮票，因为我可以从这些邮票中学习很多东西。我希望我的邮票收藏会慢慢的增长，包括外国邮票。我计划有许多笔友，并与他们交换信件，这样我就可以收集更多的邮票信件。

[我的爱好英语作文与翻译

An Activity

Someone said here Lei Feng comes in March and goes in April. I thought they were wrong. This afternoon the students of our class went to the bus stop to help the drivers clean the buses.

As soon as the bus stopped at the station, a group of students got on it. Some cleaned the windows, some swept the floor, and others cleaned the wall inside. We worked hard while talking and laughing. When we found some coins lying on the floor, we picked them up and gave them to the conductors or the drivers.They were very happy and said, "It is very nice of you."

When I got home, it was five o’clock. I felt a little tired, but I was very happy to have done a good deed.

[初中初二英语作文

It is important to know our good and bad points because this knowledge will

help us to improve ourself. We should examine ourselves and learn who we

are.

对于我们来说，正确地认识自身的优缺点是很重要的，因为这个认识有助于我们自身的提高。我们应该检查自己并学着(认识)我们是谁。

Above all, we should recognize our strengths and weaknesses. For example, I

am healthy and fit, so I can work hard. Im also optimistic, humble and polite.

These are my strengths. However, I also have weaknesses. For one thing, Im

stubborn and a little impatient. Im sometimes lazy as well and can spent a

whole day just watching TV and eating junk food. Im not ashamed to admit these

bad pints. Knowing what they are lets me focus on improving myself.

首先，我们应该认识自己的优点和缺点。举个例子来说，我是个身体健康的人，所以我可以很努力的工作。我也是一个乐观、谦逊和有礼貌的人。这些是我的优点。可是，我也有缺点。首先，我是一个倔强和有点没有耐心的人。有时候我也很懒惰的，(我)可以花整天的时间看电视和吃垃圾食品。我没有对允许这些缺点(出现)而感到羞愧。了解这些优缺点使我(的注意力)聚焦在提高自身方面。

I went to the Peoples Park with my family today. We had picnic in the

park. My mother and grandparents were preparing food, father was playing

badminton with his friend while I was reading under a tree.

今天我跟家人去公园。我们在公园野餐。我妈妈和爷爷奶奶准备吃的。爸爸跟朋友在打羽毛球，我在树下看书。

Therearesomephotosonthewall.They’reverybeautiful.

Inthemiddleoftheroom,thereismybed.It’snotsobig,butit’svery

comfortable.Everynight,Ilayonthebedandhaveagooddream.Ontherightofthebed,thereismydeskandchair.They’reinfrontofthewindow.Mycomputerisonthedesk.Thereisalamponthedesk,too.Icandomyhomeworkhereandplaycomputergames.

Mybookshelfisontheleftofthebed.Therearealotofstorybooksandpicturebooksintheshelf.Ilikethemverymuch.

Noteveryonehasabedroom.I’mverylucky,becauseIhaveaverybeautifulbedroom.I’lltrymybesttokeepitcleanandtidy.

1.OurSchool

Ourschoolisinthewestofthecity.Itisverybigwithatallteachingbuilding.Therearethirtyclassrooms,amodernlibrary,adinninghallandagym.Thereisabigplaygroundwhereweoftenhavesports.Therearelotsoftreesandflowersbesidetheplayground.Therearemorethanfivehundredstudentsandteachersinourschoolandweallworkhard.Ourschoolissobeautifulthatwealllikeitverymuch.

2.Howdidyouspendyoursummervacation

Ihadabusyandinterestingsummervacation.IdidmyhomeworkeverydaysoIfinisheddoingmyhomeworktendaysbeforethenewterm.Ialsoplayedtabletennisandbasketballwithmyfriendseveryday.Isometimeswent

moviesandwenttotheparkswithmyfriends.Isurfedtheinternet,readbooksandwatchedTVeveryevening.Ivisitedmygrandparentsandhelpedthemwiththehousework,too.Ihelpedmyparentscleantheroomandcookmeals.ThemostimportantwasthatmyparentsandIwenttoHannanIslandandspentaweekthere.

3..AhappyDay

Itwassunnyandveryhottoday.Igotupearlyandhelpedmyparentscookbreakfast.ThenIwashedthedishesandcleanedtheroom.AfterashortrestIdidmyhomeworkinthemorning.IntheafternoonIwentswimminginthe

nearestswimmingpoolwithmyfriends.Itwasreallycooltoswiminsuchahotday.Isurfedtheinternetandreadastorybookintheevening.Ireallyhadabusyandhappyday.今天天气晴朗比较热。我起得很早，帮父母做早饭。然后我洗碗打扫屋子。休息一会后我上午做作业。下午我和朋友去我家最近的游泳池游泳。在如此炎热的夏天游泳的确很棒。晚上我上网、看故事书。我今天很忙过得很快乐。

4.给笔友的一封信

DearLucy

Iamverygladtohearfromyou.Nowletmeintroducemyselftoyou.MynameisLiLei.Iamelevenyearsold.Iamtallwithapairofglasses.NowIam

studyingatYuyingPrimarySchool.IaminClassOne，Grade5.Ilikesingingandplayingthepianoverymuch.IamgoodatEnglishandChinese.很高兴收到你的来信。现在让我介绍我自己。我叫李雷。11岁。我高个子、带眼镜。我在育英小学。我在五年级一班。我非常喜欢唱歌和弹钢琴。我数学和语文学得都很好。

6。暑假打算

Iwillhaveabusysummervacation.Iamgoingtodomyhomeworkeveryday.Iamgoingtothelibrarytoborrowsomebooksandgototheshopstobuysomebooks.Iamgoingtodosportssuchasplayingtabletennis,swimmingandsoon.Iamgoingtovisitmygrandparentsandstaythereforaweek.Iamgoingtohelpmyparentsdosomehousework.我暑假会很忙。我每天要写作业。我打算去图书馆去借书、去商店买书。我要做运动，如：打乒乓球、游泳等。我要去看爷爷奶奶并在那住一周。我要帮父母做家务。

7.自我介绍

Hello,everyone.MynameisKelly.Iamfriendlyandhonest.IamgoodatEnglishandmaths.Ilikesurfingtheinternet,playingcomputergames,watchingTVandtraveling.IalsolikeplayingtabletennisandIamgoodatit,too.Ioftenplaytabletenniswithmyfriendsonweekends.AndIwanttobeafamoustabletennisplayerwhenIgrowup.WhatIlikemostistoseethe

seagullsflyingfreelyintheskysoIoftengototheseainsummer.MyfavouritecolouriswhitebecauseIthinkwhiteissymbolizepurity.大家好我的名字叫KELLY.我很友好、诚实。我擅长英语和数学。我爱上网、玩电脑网络游戏、看电视和旅游。我也喜欢打乒乓球。我经常和朋友们在周末打乒乓球，长大了我想当一个乒乓球运动员。最喜欢在海边看着海鸥自由自在的飞翔，因此在夏天我经常去海边。白色是我的最爱。因为我觉得白色是纯洁的象征。

8.海南之旅

wenttoHainanIslandwithmyparentsforaholidyandwestayedthereforaweek.IttookusonlymorethanthreehourstogettoHaikouairport.Weenjoyedthewarmsunshineandthesoftwind.Wewalkedonthebeachandpickedupthebeautifulshells.Wealsosufedonthewavesanditwasreallyexciting.Weplayedballgamesonthebeachaswell.IbelievedHainanwasreallyanattractivecitywithfamousbeachandmountains.WereallyenjoyedthebeautifulsceneryofHainan.

9.AniceSunday

ItisSundayanditisafinedaytoday.WecometothePeopleParkwithourEnglishteacherwhocamefromCanada.Look!Tomandotherfiveboysareplayingfootball.Cinaandsomegirlstudentsareflyingkites.AliceandIaretakingphotosnearthepark.Aliceandweareveryhappy.AlicehelpsusalotwithourEnglish.

今天是星期天，天气晴朗。我们和来自Canada的英语老师Alice来到人民公园。瞧，Tom和五个男同学在踢球；Cina和一些女同学在放风筝；我和Alice正在公园附近拍照。Alice和我们都非常高兴。Alice在英语方面帮助了我们很多。

10.Thismorning,Iwokeupwithastart:myclockwasalarming.Unwillinglyopenedmyeyes,Ifounditwas6:30already.Nevertheless,theroomwasverygloomy,foritwasrainingoutside.Whatacoldday!HowcomfortableitwouldbeifIcouldstayinbedforthewholeday,readingafavouritebookinthe

soundofrain.But,Ididhavetogotowork.Thoughitwasarushhour,ontheway,therewerefewerpeoplethanusual.Manypeoplearduouslyheldanumbrellawhichwasalwaysblowndownbyablastofwind.Fortunately,Iwasdressedinaraincoat.Severalyardsaway,apolicemanwasguidingthetrafficintherain.Iwasfilledwithdeepesteemforhisseriousness.Ikeptthinkingoftodaysplanforashortwhileand,then,Iwasinmyoffice.Abusydayisbeginning……

都是我怎么也保护不了的已经逝去的东西，都是三年来在我心中所留下的记忆与即将告别时想说而又不知从何说起的话题，它们在脑海中一幕幕浮现，又一幕幕很快地就要远去了……

后天就要离开这座相处了三年的建筑，离开我的初中生活。

中考前的最后一天，大家的心都失落落的，谁也无心学习，有的同学早早地就把书本搬回家了，我们相互赠言，情意绵绵。记得了三年前就是这么相互留言告别了六年的小学时代。大家虽然只是简简单单地写下几句话，没有说“再见”，于是大家就真的没有再见过面。三年后的今天，当一切又如原样发生时，大家不约而同地猜测，该不会又像三年前的那场告别一样，从此我们就真的不再见面了呢？

初一，倔强而单纯，每天老老实实地做老师心目中的好孩子，在老师的视线范围内捧着课本假装用功；初二，疯狂而自信，开始悄悄喜欢一些明星，开始注意那些长得帅气些的男生；初三，心事重重，多愁善感，开始写日记，也开始真正努力学习，偷偷地谋划将来上什么样的大学，并淡定地说以后一定去这儿那儿。

这么充实而精彩的三年，这么顽固而倔强的三年，这么温暖而难忘的三年，就这么过来了。

那些可贵的天真与单纯，我们都回不去了——那些躺在草地上仰望天空谈理想的日子，那些寻找阳光自己温暖自己的日子，那些冷得躲在被窝里发抖的日子，那些身在教室而心在校外只能满心无奈的日子，那些呆在一起就算天塌下来也得先疯一阵再说的日子，那些望着被窗户的边框勾勒出正方形天空生出无边幻想的日子，再也回不来了。

都是我怎么也保护不了的已经逝去的东西，都是三年来在我心中所留下的记忆与即将告别时想说而又不知从何说起的话题，它们在脑海中一幕幕浮现，又一幕幕很快地就要远去了。

现今，我已经不再是那一个性格偏激、脾气古怪得不近人情的小丫头；现今，我已经不再是明知有过逆反却始终不肯承认过错的小丫头；我早已长成一个明是非、有理想的中学生。三年来，所有的爱，所有的恨，所有的潮湿的日记，所有的眼泪与欢笑，所有的刻骨铭心的灼热年华，都在这一个繁盛而离散的日子，一起消失了。

再见，我的初中生涯！

Last week, my friends asked me to spend the weekend in the house that near

the lake. It is one of my friends’ house, where their families often spend the

holiday together. Though the house was not big, the environment around was

really beautiful. In the daytime, we walked around the lake and appreciated the

beauty of nature. At night, we made some food and barbecued. It was such a happy

time that we sung and danced. We talked about our future thoughts. Before we

went to bed, we watched movies together and discussed the plot. This is the most

wonderful moment for us. We share our happiness and have no annoyance.

I have a white cat. It is a present from my mother on my birthday. It’s very beautiful. I call it Mimi.

Mimi is very naughty. She likes to play with me. She often runs here and there and likes running after something. Mimi’s favourite game is playing with balls, ropes and stones. I love it very much. Sometimes, Mimi is very gentle. She likes to wash her face and doesn’t play with me. After lunch, Mimi often lies on the sofa to sleep. When I go home, Mimi often jumps onto my knees. I like to give a bath to Mimi.

Oh, my baby cat brings me much happiness. We are good friends. I love Mimi.

Everyone has their own parents, you are not in the heart often think the future will take care of filial piety, they would not let them suffer later after you do this to parents as well, but have you ever thought, your parents how much later? Too many uncertainties about the future is not it, if you really love your parents, then you use what you have more time now to spend time with them now, whether or not your ability, do your best strength to love them not waiting for the day after, because someday will not necessarily make sense, does not it?

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.

The news that Mr Cai had passed away was known, and I fell into great

sorrow. The sound of the rain knocking on the window was so mournful that it

deepened my distress.

My memory brought me back to the class when I saw him for the last

time.

That evening it was raining, too. We started our lesson as usual at a

quarter past six. I sat in the first row, and I saw Mr Cai press his stomach

with a hand from time to time, but I didn’t know the reason then. The two hours

passed quickly. When the lesson came to an end,Mr Cai told us that he had

possibly developed a stomach cancer, and would go to Beijing to see a doctor. If

there was nothing serious, he would continue to teach us after he came back. He

was very calm and his voice was steady. He still gave us some homework. He said

that he would mark the papers as soon as he came back.

Then I started to wait for his return. I had not thought that I would not

see him any more. The cancer had taken his life, even though he was still

young.

Mr Cai’s words are still ringing in my ears,“I hope you will be one of the

best students.” I think I should work hard at English and live up to his

expectation .

I have lost a good teacher. Tears will dry up in time, but the memory will

stay for ever.