John Smith is an exchange student from New York. Here is a letter to his friend in his hometown.

How time flies! It’s been 3 months since I came to China. I’m having fun on my student exchange program here. I am used to life here and have known a lot about traditional Chinese culture. I will share some with you.

In China, there are many different kinds of traditional art forms, such as paper cutting, Chinese clay art, kite making and so on. Among them, the kite interests me most. The first ancient Chinese kite appeared more than 2,000 years ago. Then flying kites spread to Japan, Korea and Malaysia during the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty. Kites are regarded as the earliest craft(飞行器). They played an important role in the process of inventing the plane.

Tea culture is important in China. Tea was discovered as a kind of drink by accident about 5,000 years ago. It is believed that tea was brought to Korea and Japan during the 6th and 7th centuries. It didn’t appear in England until around 1,660. The tea trade from China to Western countries took place in the 19th century. Now tea has become one of the most popular drinks around the world.

Lastly, I’d like to tell you something about the Mid-Autumn Festival. Chinese people have been celebrating it and enjoying moon cakes for centuries.

If you’d like to know more about traditional Chinese culture, I will talk about it in the next letter.

Best wishes!

Yours,

John

Have you ever thought about what kind of job you would like to have when you grow up? Many people think that we can have only one job in our lifetime. We all know that this is not true, but quite a few people actually think this way. For example, when people choose a major (专业) in college, they think that the decisions they make now will decide their jobs for the rest of their lives. However, there are many examples where people became successful after changing their careers (职业) later in life.

J. K. Rowling, writer of the famous novel Harry Porter was actually a school teacher before she began writing books. In fact, she was out of work before the first Harry Potter book came out.

Former US President Ronald Reagan began as an actor when he was a young man. He later decided that he wanted to do political work. This kind of passion (激情) finally led him to become President of the United States.

The famous 19th century artist Vincent Van Gogh was not a painter from the beginning. He once worked as an art salesman mad later became a preacher. It was only 10 years before he died that he decided to become an artist.

Careers are always open to change. The important thing is to find what you are really good at or what you really want to do. Once you find that passion, it’s all a matter of how hard you try.

Mark Wellman began climbing mountains when he was 17 years old. He loved outdoor activities, and climbed most of mountains. Then in 1982, while going up a difficult mountain in North America, Mark fell 100 feet. He doesn’t remember much about the accident, except that it was cold and he couldn’t feel his leg.

As a result, Mark can no longer walk. To this day, however, he is still a mountain climber. He takes part in all the same activities he did before, and more besides. Nothing could stop him, not even losing his legs. Since the accident, he has climbed more than fifty high mountains around the world.

In addition to climbing, Mark has been on the United States disabled ski team. He has taken part in two Paralympics Games (残运会). He has made films about physically challenged (有挑战的) people enjoying outdoor sports, he has also written his own story in a book called Climbing Back. The book has given hope and courage (勇气) to thousands of people who are unable to walk.

Nowadays, Mark Wellman lives in California, where he runs a business called No Limits. He often travels around America and gives speeches about his experiences as a physically challenged person. He talks to all kinds of people. Mark tells his listeners that they can overcome any problem to realize their dreams.