The mad woman

I walk a kilometre or so to school every morning. Sometimes I come across a mad woman dressed in a dark dirt:, sari. She probably had not had a bath for years. Her hair is matted, teeth stained red with betel-nut and eyes blood-shot with the look of madness. I always keep my distance from her for my own safety for I cannot be sure what she will do flex: Also she smells terrible up close.

It is never pleasant when I see her standing by the roadside. She is by no means violent but she has the nasty habit of following people who pass by. Normally when I see her I cross over to the other side of the road just to avoid her Usually that works. Sometimes she crosses the road too. So run. Fortunately she cannot run very fast and gives up after while.

One morning, as I crossed the road to avoid her, she tried to cross too. I started to run. She started to run too but. tripped on her sari. She fell down hard on the road and lay there in a heap. I wanted to keep running but I saw that she was in great danger of being run over by a car. So I ran over her to pull her to the roadside.

As much as I disliked it, I had to help her. The other passers-by did not seem to bother. So I held my breath as I pull her by her arms towards the roadside. By now people and cars had stopped to watch. No one helped but at last I managed to drag her to safety.

She opened her eyes and gave me a smile. I could only stare at her dumbly. Then I turned and hurried to school to wash my hands.

Nowadays I cycle to school. It is much faster this way. Also I do not have to contend with the mad woman again

The haunted house

Everyone says that the old house at the end of the road is haunted. It used to be the residence of a rich family but now none of them would stay there. So the house is vacant and not cared for. The compound is filled with overgrown weed and grass.

My friend Jack and I decided to find out once and for all if what people said about the house was true. So one evening, we bravely entered the house and prepared to spend the night there. We brought along a powerful torch-light, two sleeping-bags, some food and drinks, and a portable stereo set.

The early part of the night was no trouble at all. We sat on our sleeping-bags and listened to our favourite music.

Twelve midnight came. We felt a bit sleepy. So we switched off the stereo set and crawled into our sleeping-bags. However sleep was impossible. There seemed to be a heavy atmosphere hanging around us. The darkness was oppressive and there was a strange soft whining noise coming from upstairs.

We dared not go up to investigate the noise. So we lay quietly in our sleeping-bags and hoped that the noise would go away. But it would not go away.

Actually it got louder and louder. Then it sounded like someone moaning. Jack hurried out of his sleeping-bags and switched on the torch-light. We could see nothing except the walls of the empty living-room we were in.

Suddenly there was a loud crash from upstairs and the moans turned to screams. We screamed too and ran out of the house as fast as we could, leaving behind everything that we had brought. The hair on the back of my head stood on end for hours afterwards.

We never dared to go back into the house, not even in the daytime. My uncle had to go and retrieve the things we had left behind there.

So, is the house haunted? All I can say is that if you want to know, go and find out for yourself.

A visit to the market

I accompanied my mother to the central market to buy some groceries that she needed for the coming New Year.

When we arrived at the market we could not find a place to park the car. So we waited patiently for about ten minutes before someone vacated a parking space and we moved in.

Coming to the market just before a festive season was not a pleasant experience. The whole town seemed to be there. Everyone had things to buy. So the prices of things shot up. Worst of all, we had to struggle to get these things.

So we made our way carefully through the various sections buying vegetables, meat, fish, noodles, spices and other food stuffs. We had wanted to buy some prawns too but they were all sold out, despite their sky-high price.

The bags got heavier and heavier. The crowd got thicker and thicker. The noise and heat were overwhelming. As we had nearly done all the shopping, I told my mother that I would wait for her at the car. I could not stand being among hundreds of aggressive shoppers any longer.

I lugged the bags wearily to the car and breathed a sigh of relief when I reached it. The air smelled sweet and cool. I was glad to be outside.

Fifteen minutes later my mother emerged from the market. She looked exhausted. We put the groceries in the boot, got into the car and drove off with the air-conditioner at full blast.

What changes would you like to see in your school in the new millennium?

A new millennium a new beginning a bright new future That is what I see for my school, my alma mater. As a student, I am proud to be a part of the small community here. As the old century quietly waves goodbye, past mistakes are reflected upon, new challenges are made to lay a foundation for a better tomorrow.

A millennium one thousand years much can be achieved. I can see a new, computerized teachingsystem where students are taught based on their own understanding and learning method. Each studentwould have a mini laptop which would be linked to different sites, via the Internet. Computers would notcompletely take over the role of teachers, but instead, be teaching-aids, each designed to specially suit theneeds of individual students. One might ask: Wouldn't specially-programmed robots be good teachers? No! Students learn best through love and understanding, qualities of a good teacher which could never be replaced by a lump of metal with a microchip.

Lessons would not be exam-oriented, but instead, would be focused on moulding a new generation,ready to face whatever the future holds. Moral values would be stressed upon, the seeds of humanity sownthrough hard labour, love and example. A bountiful harvest would be reaped when the students each venture outside the walls of education, with the light of goodwill and trust lighting the way to success. Then, my schoolwould truly have achieved its goal.

Nowadays, gangsterism in school is rampant. Cases of vandalism, gang-fights and public confrontationagainst teachers have increased rapidly. I hope that my school would adopt a more transparent attitude inwhich the students would be sure of finding someone who would willingly lend an ear or a shoulder to cry on, a mentor to guide them back to the path of Ruth from which they have strayed. I envision my school providinglove and protection from the dark, cruel world outside. Teachers could be the vital link to prevent students frombeing swept into the bounds of evil. Sometimes, I think that all we, the students, need is someone to hold uswhen things go wrong and tell us that everything is going to be alright.

I also wish that my school would organize more projects involving everyone, not just a handful of people. For instance, on 'Green Day', everyone could lend a hand and beautify the school. More trees and flowers could be planted. Murals could be painted all over the school, portraying different achievements of the school. The students, in turn, should give a good response and help in every way they can. "Green and clean", that should be the motto in the school compound.

Beside that, the facilities in the school should be improved upon, based on the needs of the growingnumber of students. In my fantasy world, I can see a new cafeteria, big enough to house all the students and at the same time able to provide nourishing food for the students. And the library would be like a grand hall, with shelves and shelves of books from the past and present. There would be a swimming pool; tenniscourts...different places for different games. All these can be achieved with a little hard work and perseverance.

In the new millennium, my school would achieve new height and be a benchmark in the world ofeducation. Besides being the house of education, my school would also be a shelter of love and compassion,encouraging the students to reach out for the stars.

Vocabulary
Vandalism :intentional and needless damage of public property 破坏公物
benchmark ：the examination of a rival company’s product in order to establish a standard 基准制定

Dark and stormy night

It was a dark and stormy night when she came to find me. I was sitting at my work desk, writing my daily report of the day's work when my ears caught a soft knocking at the front door, timid but distinct against the fury of the tempest.

Who could it possibly be at this hour and in this kind of night, I mused as I pushed back my chair irritably to answer the door. As I was about to slip back the latch, a small, seldom heard voice in the back of my head, which only spoke in times of danger, cautioned me to be careful. My hand hovered over the latch hesitantly. Could the stranger on the other side be a dangerous person? Even in the middle of a night like this, the very notion of a dangerous person wanting to take the trouble to harm a plain Jane like me seemed absurd. I peered out through the glass peephole in the centre of the door, but it was so dark outside that all I could see was a dark silhouette.

"Who's there?" I called out.

"Maze, its me." A woman's voice rang out on the other side, a voice so old and familiar that it was unmistakable even in the thundering rain.

All thoughts of burglars and stalkers fled from my mind as I slipped back the last latch and flung open the door. There she stood, a lone and forlorn figure on the doorstep. The torrential rain had drenched her from head to toe, the rivulets of rainwater gleaming in the dim light of the hallway down her back and formed a puddle at her feet. She had changed much, yet I could still recognize her as the dear friend from my school years. Her business suit was wet and hung limply from her tall frame, but it was obviously of an expensive cut. She held a small briefcase tightly in one hand. Even in my state of semi-shock, I could see that she was unusually nervous, for she gripped the handle so tightly I could see her knuckles shining white in the dim light. Her eyes, those fiery, piercing eyes which always seemed to dance with laughter during our school days were not dancing now as she gazed back at me. I do not know how long we stood there simply staring at each other, but it was Ling who broke the spell.

"May I come in?" she inquired tentatively.

I started. What was I thinking of, letting an old friend stand out there dripping wet and not inviting her in. But then, even old friends do not pop up at one's front door in the middle of the night, do they? Indeed it had been 7 years since I last saw Ling. As I led her into the sitting room and helped her out of her wet coat, all the old memories came flooding back to me. We had been childhood friends since the first year of kindergarten. We grew up together and shared everything between us until the year when brilliant Ling received and accepted a scholarship offer to study in the United State of America. Ever since that fateful year, we were never as close as we used to be again. Ling did try to keep in touch through letters, but there was always an intangible gap between us, I could sense her change even in those hurried letters scribbled between classes in her hectic university schedule. Maybe she could sense a difference in myreplies too. We slowly drifted apart. One year after she had left the country, our letters stopped.

Ling went on to fulfil her life long ambition of becoming a scientist. She specialized in genetic engineering and became a very capable and renowned name in her field. This I did not learn through her as we had lost all contact. Instead, I read about her progress in the various science journals. She was a brilliant engineer and received much praise in the articles on the progress of her career. In fact, Ling was one of the scientists in the team which succeeded in cloning the sheep, Dolly, I had not expected to see Ling again. How could a successful sought-after scientist like her find the time to associate herself with a humble, unemployed researcher like me?

As she sat on the sofa, she began to speak. I sat down opposite her. She had refused all offers of fresh clothes and heat coffee.

"I will not keep you long. My time is nearly up. I must be short and precise about my purpose in coming here." Her voice was low but clear. Lightning flashed outside and lit up the haggard lines on her face. She had obviously been through many struggles in the past 7 years.

"You must have read about my most recent project in the news."

I nodded. The proposal to clone an actual human had sparked a flurry of debates, protests and controversy. Ling had been working for the company who made the bold announcement. Gossip and rumours about the cloning project was splashed all over the newspapers.

"I ran away from the team," she stated simply. "I am ambitious, yes, I admit. But I do not want to defy God."

Again I started, this was strange and abrupt. I stared incomprehensibly at her, a hundred questions on the verge of my tongue unspoken.

"Yes, I stole our latest work. The data is in a diskette inside my case, and I ran away." She looked at me, hopefully.

"I'm dying, Maze. And I know you have no obligations to help me but what I'm asking of you now is not only for old time's sake, it's for the entire human race."

"You never believed in human cloning, did you? You never did approve of the idea, not even as a student...all those interviews where you spoke against your own work..." I whispered.

Ling closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "You're right. I never did. So now I'm going to put a stop to it before I leave this world. Take the diskette and keep it safe, Maze. Destroy it if the need arises. I leave the decision in your hands. Our word is not ready for such a discovery."

She got up from the sofa. "I missed you very much all these 7 years, Maze. I'm glad I got to see you one last time before I " She paused, never finishing the sentence.

That was the last time I saw her - the visitor in the middle of the dark and stormy night.

A happy day in my life

Outside the surgery room, my family and I were waiting anxiously. Today was the day my grandmother would be operated on by some skillful surgeons. My grandmother had always had a weak heart. Not wanting to see her suffer any more, my parents decided to let her have the surgery as recommended by our family doctor.

My mother was pacing anxiously in front of me. What could possibly go wrong? I asked myself. But still I could not see my heart at ease. The seconds ticked by. I could feel myself getting more and more anxious.

As the ordeal dragged on, I could not help but think back of the times my grandmother and I had spent together. I had always been the apple of my grandmother's eye. She would give me everything I wanted. When I was little, she used to tell me stories, but as she grew older, she often suffered from chest pains and became too weak to tell me all her dear stories.

Lost in thoughts, I did not notice a doctor and several nurses coming out of the operating theatre. It took me several seconds to return to reality. Immediately, I leaped up from my seat, and rushed forward. My heart pounded heavily in my chest. I felt as if I would explode!

My heart sank as I noticed the grim expression on the chief surgeon's face. Then, his stem face broke into a smile. He informed us that the surgery was a success. My heart swelled with happiness. "My dear'Por Por' is alive!" Out of the corner of my eyes as tears ran down my cheeks, I saw my parents thanking the surgeon profusely.

That day was no doubt the happiest day in my life. It was such a relief to know that my grandmother would no longer have to suffer in agony from her chest pains and that we both could be together a little longer.

Vocabulary
grim : causing great fear or anxiety 令人害怕的，
profusely：generous in giving thanks 一再道谢
agony ：very great pain 极大痛苦的

My hobbies

I currently have two hobbies. They are collecting stamps and swimming. Collecting stamps is my indoor hobby while swimming takes me outside to experience the fresh air. I find that they provide a nice balance of going out and staying in during my free time.

Since I began collecting stamps two years ago, I have met many others who shared the same interest. Itstarted when my aunty gave me some very beautiful and interesting stamps from her letters from England. I had a liking for the various stamps immediately and began collecting them. Now, whenever my relatives have stamps I will beg them to give them to me. Today, I already have three full stamp albums.

My interest in swimming, however, grew differently. I started it a year ago, when I went to Maldives for aholiday, I was in primary three then. All my relatives could swim except me. When I came back to Malaysia, I begged my father to teach me to swim. At first, I found it hard to breathe in water. After a week of practice in the pool in the Chinese Swimming Club, I began to acquire the skill in swimming.

My two hobbies are important to me because they help me to relax from studying too much. I make sure that I do my homework before I even think about my stamp collection or swimming.

My ambition

I may be very young, yet I already have an ambition. I would like to be a doctor when I grow up.

My parents prefer me to be an accountant or a lawyer, but I wish to be neither. I just want to be a doctor.

First of all, I know that I must study very hard to pass many examinations in order to become a doctor. I am prepared to do so.

When I become a doctor, I must be kind, hardworking and very careful because many sick people are depending on me. I shall try my best to treat the sick and save lives.

I hope that my ambition to be a doctor will come true.

My birthday party

Yesterday was my 11th birthday. My mother promised to give me a birthday party.

Early in the morning, my mother, my sister and I woke up to prepare for the party. My mother baked a bigcake and prepared some delicious food while my sister and I decorated the house.

At two in the afternoon, my friends arrived. They brought many presents for me and wished me HappyBirthday. We played "Pass the parcel" and enjoyed ourselves very much.

After that, we ate the delicious food on the table. When we had finished eating, my friends sang the "Happy Birthday" song and I cut the cake. Then, I opened all the presents. The presents were simply wonderful. There were toys, board games, pencil boxes and a camera.

For the rest of the afternoon, we continued playing games like blindman's bluff, balloon fight and a few more. Prizes were given to the winners of each game

A stormy night

It was a stormy night. I was alone watching television. My parents had gone out for a dinner party. I was told not to open the doors to any strangers.

After my parents left, there was a knock on the door. I was frightened. The soft knocking continued. When I opened the door, I saw an old lady with two little boys and a baby in her arms. They looked cold and hungry. The old lady begged me to let them in. Although I pitied them, I remembered my parents' instructions. I shook my head and was about to close the door when the children started crying.

I felt sorry for them so I let them in. I shared my dinner with them. They were still hungry. So I gave them some bread and biscuits. They ate hungrily. When the rains stopped. they left after thanking me.

I knew that when my parents found out, they would be very angry with me. In spite of that, I felt happy that I had done a good deed.

I have not told my parents. Am I wrong? I wonder

A trip to the beach

One Sunday afternoon, my parents and I went to the beach. After packing some food and drinks, we set off.

When we reached the beach, it was very crowded. The light breeze felt good as it brushed against our cheeks. We found a place under a shady tree to put our things. After changing into our swimming suits, we had a swim in the crystal clear water. A short while later, out stomachs were grumbling. so we changed into dry clothes and had a snack.

My sister and I went picking seashells after that. We then built a sand castle with the fine, while doing that, we saw beautiful small crabs walking on the sand.

Our family watched the sun set before we went home. Although tired, we were happy because we had a great time at the beach.

The brave fisherman

Pak All is a fisherman. He is about fifty two years old. He has one wife and two children. They live in awooden house near the beach.

Every day, Pak All goes out to sea in a small boat to catch fish. One day, he went out to sea as usual.Pak All was very happy as he had caught a lot of fish. As he was coming back to shore, he heard the sound of someone shouting on the beach. She was shouting because her son was drowning.

Without any hesitation, Pak All quickly dived into the sea. The drowning boy was just about four metres away from him. He was shouting for help. The currents were very strong at that time. The people at the beach were worried about Pak Ali's safety as the waves were strong. Pak All swam as fast as he could to reach the drowning boy. After some time, the people saw Pak All returning. They were extremely glad. They clapped their hands and cheered when Pak Ali came to the shore with the boy. The boy had fainted because he had drunk too much water. After that, Pak All applied artificial respiration and the boy was well again.

The boy's mother was very thankful to Pak Ali. She tried to reward Pak Ali with some cash. While Pak Allaccepted her thanks, he turned down her reward with a smile. The world will be a happier place with more Pak Alis.

My favourite animal

I like dogs best. Dogs are mammals. They are mostly kept as pets in houses. They make goodcompanions for both children and adults. Dogs are faithful and loyal to their masters.

Dogs come in all shapes and sizes. Some are small such as Miniature Pinshers and Chihuahuas.Some are decorative like Cocker Spaniels, Yorkshire Terriers and Pekingnese. Some dogs are very fierceand they are kept as guard dogs. Rott Weilers and German Shepherds are examples of such dogs.

Some dogs are trained for special functions like taking care of blind people. They are the eyes of thesehandicapped people. Some dogs such as Alsatians are also trained to help policeman catch criminals.

There are dogs which are trained to rescue people who are buried in the rubble after a flood or earthquake. Some dogs like the Collies are trained to help in farms guarding sheep and cattle. Dobermans make very fierce guard dogs and they are used by security firms in their work.

As dogs are so useful and helpful to men, they are often called "man's best friend."