Thursday, May 14, 2009

Words do have enormous power

When having the class on Wednesday, I came across a sentence going like this, words do have enormous power. To some extent, I think it is true and strongly agree with it, so I want to talk something about this topic.
Words can refer to both spoken words and written words. When it comes to the written words, I would like to take books for example. It really can benefit the readers a lot. Just as a famous saying goes, reading books is just like talking with the spirit of a great man. The words in books really have such power that these can make people fall into deep thought. It can give the readers courage, improve their mood, change their attitudes, and even may change their future lives. On the other hand, the words also have enormous power that provides a way for the writers to express their feelings. Generally speaking, most of the people prefer to write something to release their feelings or to encourage themselves whenever they are in trouble or face some problems.
Just as the written words, spoken words also have considerable power. When I was a little child, I have ever heard of a Chinese story which can exactly prove this phenomenon. Once upon the time, there was a young man who was famous for his honesty and integrity. All the villagers admired him a lot. One day, one of his neighbors came to his home. He told his old mother that her son stole other’s properties and it’s better for them to run away from this village. His mother trusted her own son and did not believe in it at first. However, after several villagers came to tell her about it, she began to hesitate and believed in it. In the end, his old mother committed a suicide because she felt ashamed for her son’s behaviors. In fact, it was just a rumor, but the power of it is so considerate that it leads to the miserable result. Just like a famous Chinese proverb, what we see is true but what we hear may be false. As the highly developed technology, we can get information through many ways. However, it is important for us to think carefully about whether the information is believable or not.
In daily lives, words are also very important. What we said may have great impact on others. In old days, the sensitive words about religions or politics may lead to death. Even nowadays, through careless words, we may hurt others unconsciously. Since the words have enormous power, I think it is better for us to think before speak which means paying more attention to the words one has said. Maybe it is the reason why the wiser people speak slower that ordinary people. (Chinese proverb)

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Hope----learn from the movie SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION

Andy Dufresne, a smart banker, was accused of murdering his wife and her lover at the beginning of the film. Although he was nonsense in fact, all the evidences are disadvantaged to him. At last, he was sentenced to deserve to be imprisoned and was sent to the jail named Shawshank. The things happened so quickly that the whole career and future had been ruined for this young genius. I can hardly imagine how he could get through that time. However, he did it at last. Step by step, he planned to escape from the jail and never gave up. He made the most of his talents to rebuild the library in prison and help the prisoners to study. In addition, he successfully dug a tunnel in less than twenty years, while it may take other people about 600 years to do it.
“Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever does.” “I hope I can make to cross the border. I hope to see my friends and shake his hand. I hope the pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope…” (Shawshank redemption). It really touches me a lot when I heard these sincere words. Facing the unfair judgment, he did not give up. Being humiliated by other prisoners and the warders, he never gave up. The behaviors and his indomitable spirits make me think of the life in reality.
Do not be afraid of seeing the end of the road, you may see a beautiful scene after making a turn. Do not be afraid that your body will be fettered by the pressure in the society; your spirit can also enjoy the freedom if you really want to. Do not be afraid of the uncertain future, you can grasp and make full use of the present. Do not afraid of the problems you faced, you can solve them with the help of the perseverance… Hope is a good thing. Hope is a kind of inner feeling that cannot be easily touched.“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”(Helen Keller, three days to see). Remember: Never forget this inner feeling and never give up the hope.

this is friendship

Having left home for about four months, I always cannot help wondering what the real friendship is. To tell the truth, friends are so important in my life that I really treasure the friendship with them very much. However, the distance and the time make it difficult for me to stay and communicate with them. The lives of them have never been familiar to me since the day I left my hometown. The only way that I can keep track with them is through the internet. Perhaps somebody believes that it is more important to get on well with and treasure the friends we have now. Of course, it is really very necessary and important to some extent, but we also should not forget our old friends who accompanied us in the old days. I kept feeling disappointed until I saw the words from many friends to encourage me a few days ago. It was exactly from that moment that I came to realize what a really friend is.
When many people are concerned about the height of your flying, only a few people are concerned if you are tired or not. This is friendship.
Maybe you have not call him for a long time, but you will think of him whenever you are in trouble. This is friendship.
Maybe you have not seen him for a long time or even have no idea about his life recently, but you always think of him and are concerned about him. This is friendship.
Maybe he is not among the people who are around you when you succeed, but you can always find him encouraging and accompanying you whenever you get into troubles. This is friendship.
The friend will not always mention the friendship between you and him or request something, but make all his effort to help you.
The friend will not only share happiness with you but also share pain with you.
The friend will forgive your mistakes but will never cheat you.
The friend will…
Friendship is one of the most important aspects of our lives. The life without friends is just like a cup of coffee without sugar which makes it bitter and tasteless. Friendship is a wisp of cloud in the blue sky which makes you feel carefree and leisurely. Friendship is a breath of wind which makes you feel comfortable and enjoy the ease of mind. Friendship is drop of water in drought which brings hope to you and makes you come to life. This is friendship which should be treasured forever. No matter where you are, thank you, my friends, and thank you for giving me so many beautiful memories.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Qing Ming festival

Qing Ming festival
The fourth of April 2009 was Qing Ming festival. In china, it is a time for people to sweep their ancestors graves to show their respect and love on this day. As the time went on, it was really a pity that many young people pay much attention to the western festivals and do not know much about their own traditional festivals, including me. All these years, china has made much effort to change this situation, such as making these festivals as public holidays. In this way, people began to trace their roots and pay more attention to their own heritages. Thinking of this situation in china, I want to introduce something about the Qing Ming festival which may make people learn more about it.
Qing Ming which is one of the twenty forth divisions of the solar year in the traditional Chinese calendar is also one of the most important traditional holidays in china. No one knows exactly when this holiday began. It was said that the origin of Qing Ming festival is Zhou dynasty. What is sure is that this festival was created by famers. People still celebrate it today which has had a history about two thousand and five hundred years. There are many customs to celebrate Qing Ming festival. In old days, people not only swept the graves but also did some athletic sports including having a picnic, playing polo planting trees kiting and swinging. People want to be healthier and get rid of the diseases through these activities.
Usually, the weather becomes wet and humid during the Qing Ming festival. It rains a lot which creates a sad atmosphere. Many poets’ famous poetries are based on this holiday to express their feelings and have been passed from generation to generation. The description is vivid and it seems that we can see and feel it whenever we read this kind of poetries. To some extent, I would rather not to translate them into English for it may affect the meaning and atmosphere of the original ones. In my opinion, even the most the skilled translator cannot understand and present it to the fullest.
Combining showing respect to the ancestors with having fun through the athletic activities, Qing Ming festival is very special among others. With more and more knowledge about it, I think that this traditional festival will become more popular and widespread not only in china but also in the world.

Monday, April 6, 2009

the valuable experience about the rsearch project

The valuable experience about the research project
Time has flown since the bridging course began and we have stepped into the second semester which concentrates on the academic writing. One of the most important aspects of academic writing is doing the research project. In my opinion, the purpose of doing this kind of report is to develop our learning skills and critical thinking which play an important role in our future study.
Because of the limited time, all of us began to prepare it as soon as possible. Full of curiosity and confidence, I jointed the discussion. It seems that things went quite well and we came up with ten topics quickly. After careful comparison and discussion, the best one is immediately selected, which is the most challenging one. We all agree that we need to improve ourselves through this project and this will become a valuable experience in our future life. Full of interests and hopes, we chose this without hesitation. There is an old saying that the most difficult part of everything is the beginning. For we have successfully chose the topic, I am sure the next few steps will be more smooth.
However, the thing is not it seems to be. We came across some difficulties when we talked about the details. Some practical problems appeared. The way we developed the topic and questionnaires, the suggestions we can made, the specific purpose and some other things that we need to face and solve. Through various ways, we tried our best to improve it. Although the process is a little hard, we made it at last and really learned a lot from it.
This is just a beginning of our research project. In order to make our project perfect, there is still a long way for us to go. It is exactly through the various difficulties that our skills and minds developed. Just like Helen Keller’s words, “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthen, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” Through the effort and corporation of us all, I am sure that we can achieve our goals.