After all these experiences, I learned a lot and began to grow up. One autumn night, when my parents and I returned from my uncle’s house, my mother said that we might leave for Australia soon. I was crying on the bus, and some people were turning around to look at me. I could not stop the thought of never hearing the morning radio programmes in school again.

I do not remember myself crying forthis reasonagain. In fact, I think I cried very little when I was saying goodbye to my friends and relatives. When we were leaving, I couldn’t wait to think about all the places I was going to see— the strange and magical places I had known only from books and pictures. The country I was leaving was hardly in my head then.

The following years taught me to think all was going to turn out well, but the idea did not come to me at once. For the first two years, I was really lost—having to study in three schools as a result of family moves. I did not know very clearly what I was or what I should be. Father died and Mother then married again… and things became even more complex（复杂）. More than two years passed, my stepfather and I got used to each other at last. I was often sad, and saw no end to“the hard times.”

My responsibilities in the family increased since I knew English better than everyone else at home. I wrote letters, taught my mother to fill out forms, translated at interviews with immigration officers（移民局官员），took my grandparents to the doctor and translated there…

I have learned that all common troubles go away at last if we don’t give up. My life will turn out all right, even though it will be so hard.

My favorite Chinese book is To Live. It is a masterpiece（杰作）by Chinese writer Yu Hua. 【小题1】 At the time, I didn’t quite understand what the title（书名）of the novel meant.

【小题2】 The story includes（包含）many of the important events in China’s recent history—the War of Liberation, the land reform（土地改革）in the 1950s, and the “cultural revolution”（1966—76）.

I was able to learn what Chinese society（社会）was like before the founding（建立）of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. It took me on a journey as if I were the main character traveling through time, seeing all these important events. 【小题3】 Before, he was the spoiled（宠坏的）son of a landlord（地主）, and after, he becomes a peasant. I felt sad for Fugui. Over time, he loses his friends, family and loved ones. He has to face all of these things by himself. 【小题4】

I find Chinese or Eastern literature to be very different from Western literature. 【小题5】 For example, Western writers often take a lot of time to describe characters’ feelings. Stories in Eastern novels, however, often feature characters working as a team.

However, I still have a strong passion（热情）toward Chinese literature and culture.

This morning I got an email from Roy. It seems that my boy really enjoys his new life at Harvard University.

The email made me think of the first day when we moved into this house.

Little Roy ran around the new house with great excitement and tried to move his own things into the house such as his toys, books and clothes. Suddenly his little hand knocked over a bottle of paint on the shelf. The paint made the tidy floor and white wall a terrible mess. “Oh, my God!” My wife rushed in angrily. I looked at my son, and his small face was filled with fear.

I smiled and held his hand, “Take it easy, Roy. Now let’s do something to make it look nice.” I took out a brush. “You see, Dad is a magician. I can change it into a big tree.”

His mother soon joined us and helped paint some flowers on the wall.

We spent the whole afternoon painting and laughing. The wall became a beautiful forest with plants, birds and small animals. Blue sky and white clouds were also painted by Roy. On that day, everyone in the house knew something special happened.

The night before Roy left for Harvard, he asked me if I still remembered the day when he had knocked over the paint. “Since then I’ve never worried about making mistakes,” he continued, “I believe I can always find out ways to solve the problems.”

That’s for sure. Mistakes are unavoidable. Making mistakes is part of life. When we make a mistake, what we shouldn’t do is to run away from it. The mistake can be valuable if we can make full use of it. In fact, our attitudes (态度) towards them may make a difference.