The Source of My Happiness

Last July， my best friend Chen moved to South Africa. I began to write to her. Ever since then， I became [have become]（1）fond of writing letters. I wrote and wrote， never feeling tired of writing， not only to Chen but to other friends as well. During the summer holidays， I was just like a hungry girl， eating [consuming] （2） a large amount of paper and plenty of envelopes by writing letters.

　　I don't know why I am so fascinated （被……所吸引） with letters. I just enjoy the feeling of sharing my life with others. But the most boring thing is waiting for replies. “What will she feel after reading my letters？ I often ask myself. Fortunately， my pen pals （筆友） have the same idea as mine， for they always reply [answer] （3） my letters as soon as possible.

　　The more letters I have written， the more important I find communication is. A person can't live in isolation （孤立狀態） ， can he？ In letters， I can “see” people； I can get to know what he is thinking about； what's his trouble and what he needs. Each letter gives you a new feeling， for different people write just in different ways. That's what I call a magic （魅力） .

　　Maybe you are eager to know how I write a letter. It couldn't be easier： just pick up a pen and put your thoughts or feelings to words. That's it！ In this way， you'll find the world smaller， and you'll find your friends closer to you.

　　I've written various kinds of letters， some in Chinese， some in English； some of them are just for greeting， some of them are for sharing （4）。 Though it's easy to keep in touch with friends in our modern world by telephone， I still find the ancient way of communication —— writing letters more enjoyable.

　　I remember someone once said， “Pen is a special tool； with the help of it you can create wonders. ” I think it [ it is ] （ 5 ） right.

　　Oh， my great piles of letters are the source， the endless fountain （源泉） of my happiness.

　　上海市曏明中學高一（9）班 時惠文

　　評 語

　　電訊通信高度發達的今天，作者依然鍾情於書信交往，因爲這不僅是最古老文明的交際手段之一，而且成了作者的快樂之源。全文語句輕松自然，文筆較爲流暢。文中某些語言上的不足之処點評脩改如下：

　　（1）根據上下文，這裡用現在完成時爲好。

　　（2） eating有中國式英文之嫌。用consume既有作者想比喻的“喫”的含義，又能表示“消耗”（use up）的意思。

　　（3）reply後接名詞時，是不及物動詞。請比較：

　　answer a question/a letter

　　reply to a question/a letter

　　（4）含義令人難以理解。

　　（5）這裡還是用一個賓語從句較自然。