How to Help Haiti

Recently have you heard about the monstrous earthquake in Haiti and its heart-breaking consequences? This earthquake, one of the most terrible ever left behind: 200.000 people dead, 250.000 injured, 1.5 millions homeless. It destroyed everything on its way: hospitals, churches, schools, streets, companies, and prisons. It took away Haitian people’s happy lives, even the smallest things for them to survive. Before the earthquake, they had had families, money, and business, but after the earthquake everything ended in smoke; they lost all. Can they maintain their lives on the collapse? The Haitian people, indeed, need our supports. But what we should have now is an effective specific plan to help them through.

Firstly, it is essential to provide the survivors with food, water, medicine, and shelters. These are the vital things that bring them energy to continue their lives, to fight against the biggest enemies of human beings such as: hunger, epidemic diseases, and homelessness. To carry out this thing, we need the cooperation of many countries all over the world to create the strength of international solidarity in solving the contemporary difficulties that Haiti is coping with. Depending on ability of each country, we can donate more or less. For example, the rich countries may be responsible for delivering free medicine, medical equipment, and materials for setting up camps. With the developing countries, we can aid the Haitian people in overcoming hunger by supplying them with food. Besides, we need attract volunteers who are very necessary for transporting relief, building tents, solving sanitation problems, and doing medical relief in Haiti. The more volunteers there are, the more help they can get. Furthermore, we also pay attention to organize relief systematically so that the Haitian people are able to get the most timely and valuable one.

The next thing is to clear the collapse and rebuild the infrastructure in Haiti. As we know, after the devastating earthquake, rubble, blocks of collapsed buildings with dozens of the dead bodies are everywhere. Collecting and burying the dead bodies contribute to solving the environmental problems as well as prevent the spread of the epidemic diseases such as cholera. In addition, clearing rubble on the streets creates better conditions for relief transportation, getting help much more easily. To do it, we need a large number of people of military forces not only in Haiti but also from other countries. We can help Haiti now, but we can’t help it forever, so we should help the Haitian people reconstruct infrastructure as the basic foundation for them to recover and develop their country by themselves in the future. According to a report, to rebuild, Haiti needs about 11.5 billions US dollars. It’s an enormous amount of money; therfore, raising funds and appealing donors to deal with financial problems are very important for Haiti. The attempt of the Haitian people and the help from other countries will create the internal motivation and external motivation to accelerate process of reconstructing Haiti.

The earthquake broke the order and security of society in Haiti, and our duty is to associate with Haitian government and organizations such as the international Red Cross, Interpol to restructure it. The fact that there are many criminals who take advantages of disorder to escape from the prisons, many bad people pretend fostering children to buy and sell children illegally. We have to have methods, policies to interfere and prevent the spread of social evils. This thing aims to build up the Haitian people’s belief in the Haitian government in keeping safe for them and their future.

In general, if we know how to help Haiti, we can quickly solve the complicated problems that Haiti is confronting and get the expected results. I do believe that hopes will blossom in Haiti. We will see smiles on the Haitian people’s faces instead of sadness and drops of tear. Small donation will bring big changes, and our supports will be a miracle to contribute to transformation of Haiti.

Pressures to Get Good Grades

Without a doubt, most students try their best to have good certificates when graduating, thus it is good to put pressure on students in order to motivate them to get good grades. However, more and more students are being stressed day after day, even some cheat on exams to achieve good results, or some realize that they lack necessary soft skills because of focusing too much on learning all the time without any outdoor activities. These problems are the effects of increasing pressure on students to get good grades. Why do they have to suffer from too much pressure? There are at least three causes: to meet their parents’ expectations, to be able to attend in higher and better classes, and to get desired jobs with excellent learning results.

First of all, the pressure to get good grades is caused by parents and teachers who want the students to get the best results or the scholarships. Sometimes these students believe that they must do everything right in order not to hurt their parents’ pride as well as their teachers’ expectations. These pressures which are thought to be good for students turn out overbearing. In order to meet their parents’ expectations, students keep learning even without relaxing. Some are stressed seriously by the “duty” of achieving top scores, and then they are exhausted with headaches, stomach pains, back pains, and dizziness. Some of them even have to take medicine to cope with the stress.

Not only the expectations but also the request to attend in higher and better classes leads to negative effects on the students’ lives. Even though students receive numerous pressures in schools, all schools require them to learn as much as possible, and their levels will be upgraded to higher ones. Obviously there are always certain standards or degrees which students have to achieve. However, not all of these standards are easy to overcome. This is really a big problem to students because not all of them are good enough to get the required grades. As a result, students may cheat on exams or even plagiarize class assignments to be able to get better scores. It is how the pressure that students receive from schools affects them negatively.

Last but not least, future job is one of the pressures on students to get good grades. To be sure, a student who has better grades than others’ is more likely to be recruited in a job interview. That’s why most students just focus totally on improving their majors but not attending any social activities. Nevertheless, having good grades doesn’t mean getting good jobs at all. The pressure of concentrating on theory subjects in schools prevents students from taking part in outdoor activities. Therefore, some of them have neither soft skills nor social knowledge. These ones can not apply for jobs that require communication or teamwork skill.

In short, the three causes of pressure on students to have good grades come from expectations, higher levels, and future jobs. However, grades are the one thing but not the only thing that students need to have successful school years, and good lives after schools. Thus, students should learn how to reduce the pressure on grades to balance their learning. In addition, they should always try their best and make sure of taking advantage of the education that they get from both schools and the society out there.

University Life Makes Me Become An Utter Strange Person!

Can you imagine how the university life affects me? In the past, I used to be a model pupil who never knew what is playing truant, an obedient daughter who always obeyed my parents, helped them do the housework, never dared to answer them back, a daughter often asked for mother’s advice in choosing clothes. Now; however, I become another person, not being myself any longer. University life has changed me a lot for the worse, not for the better.

First of all, university life has changed my characteristics. It makes me become a professional liar. I often cheat my mother to have more money. I ask her for money to pay the school fee, to pay the rent, or to buy referent books, but actually, I use all the money to buy clothes, shoes, to go shopping. Also, I often tell lies when I want to cut classes. I have so many excuses. For example, I got stuck in traffic jam, had personal affairs, or even was seriously ill just to hang around. I am, in fact, rarely present in class. I just go to school when teachers check attendance. Besides, university life makes me become an undisciplined person. I think that I reach adulthood; moreover, my parents are not by my side, so I can do everything I want. I usually come back home late. Sometimes, I come back home very late at night when my roommates have slept already. I also break the school regulations very often such as: being late for school and never wearing uniform. University life makes me not recognize who I am now.

Furthermore, my learning style has been changed a lot. I have no interest in studying. From now on, there will be no one forcing me to study; no one can control my study. I study just to deal with teachers, to make my parents pleased. When working in group, I often let my classmates solve the problems by themselves. I rarely go over lessons at home, just review them as the examinations are coming. I even do not prepare for the new lessons before going to school. I think it is a waste of time, and playing games is much more interesting than doing homework. When the examinations are coming, I borrow my classmates’ notebooks to make photocopies, or search information about my subjects on the internet so that I do not have to go to class every day. From an outstanding pupil at high school, now I become a normal, even sub-normal student learning for nothing.

Last but not least, university life has worsened my living style. I become lazier than ever. I am now living in a big city which is far from home, far from my mother. Consequently, I never cook, just going out for meals. I also rarely tidy my room, and clean the floor. My clothes litter every where on the floor; my books are all over my desk; my left-over food is here and there on the table. Everything is so dirty that my friends just shake their heads and sigh whenever they enter my room. Terribly, I turn into a crazy follower of fashion. I want to be a person who keeps up with others, want to have anything which others have. That is the reason why I spend the money my parents give on clothes and things I like without paying attention to their prices. From a girl treasuring money, I am now a careless waster.

In brief, university life brought me many negative changes in not just characteristics, but learning and living style as well. When sitting alone in my room, and recall my memories, I feel regretful because of everything I have done since I was a freshman. I do not want to be a person like this any more. I would like to be myself in the past right now, and I know it is never too late to change as long as I try.

Lessons from My Life

Getting confused with my writing assignment: the most influential person in your life, I don’t know what to do because of the fact that I haven’t been influenced by anyone up to now. Perhaps no one believes that, but it took me more than one week to think of any influence I got from people around me, and the result is no one. My family, my teachers, even my best friend, none of them appears in my influential people list. Someone said “the greatest teacher is your life”, and I totally agree with that point of view. All of my experience, my changes, and even my wounds come from my life. Twenty years living this complex life, I have learned the way to be stronger, I have known how to accept unacceptable things, and also I have been taught how to enjoy such a complex life.

As being mature enough, the first thing I realize is that I must be stronger and stronger to gain whatever I want. There is a certain unwritten law that the stronger person will be the winner. Years ago, as a little girl, I was “a girl of tears”. It means that whenever I encountered any unhappy thing, the only way I chose to respond was crying all time. I cried to clear away all sadness, to show to everyone that I was in a bad mood in order to call for care from them. Actually, I did the wrong thing, totally. The only thing I received was their indifference. They just pitied me as a sensitive girl, but no one asked me what happened. Since then, I have found out that no one but I could pull me out of these messes. I force myself to stand high in front of any obstacles; also never I give up until I can’t try any more. Hesitating at nothing, I just simply do what I want. Maybe the result won’t be as good as I expected, but at least I won’t regret any missed opportunities. As a result, a strong-minded girl becomes my image whenever someone talks about me.

However, it’s not a pink life to everyone, and I’m not a kind of lucky person who always succeeds. Like others, I have to learn how to accept unacceptable failures although I tried my best to change the situation. Formerly, I couldn’t stand any failures even nearly went mad when it was out of my control to ameliorate the problems. Nevertheless, I soon recognize that it’s really just a waste of time to sit there and keep blaming myself for these failures. My best friend said that “if your life kicks you, don’t let that break you down but forward”. Moreover, I’m just a human being, and no one is perfect. Thus, whenever doing something, I always do my best in order not to regret if the result is a failure. That failure will be my motivation for me to go on with new plans and gain new successes then. It’s the way how my life taught me to accept unavoidable failures.

Last but not least, it’s no one but my life that taught me how to enjoy such a complex life. Since I was a child, simply I just thought that there was nothing more interesting than lessons in schools. I used to spend all of my time learning without games, music, or extra activities. Consequently, I soon got tired with my busy schedule. I was so bored that I just wanted to give up all. No one could help me until the day I look back upon my life and realized that I didn’t have time for myself. Since then, I have changed my life for a better one. I learned how to balance between learning and playing. Additionally, I took part in more social activities to find pleasure form the world outside. I had more time to take care of myself as well as everyone around me. My former life has taught me that it’s necessary to have a positive attitude towards everything. And now, I am really satisfied because I finally find the best way to enjoy myself.

In short, I am pleased with my current image: a strong – minded, positive, and relaxed girl. All of my changes come from no one but my life. It’s my life that taught me so many lessons to become better and better. It’s my life that brought me lots of experience to make me more and more mature.

Orange Festival, a Festival of Spectacular Orange Masterpieces

At anytime of the year, a lot of festivals are celebrated all over the world. They bring participants many different feelings such as funny with Cheese Rolling in England, a little bit dirty but exciting with Mud Festival in South Korea or enthusiastic with Tomato Battle in Spain. However, you will surely be surprised if you have a chance to pay a visit to the Orange Festival in Netherlands, a festival of spectacular orange masterpieces.

After more than fifty years, the Orange Festival, now, becomes one of the most famous annual festivals in Dutch. Each year, it attracts over 700 thousand visitors worldwide, especially European visitors. The festival which is also known as the Queen’s day is originally celebrated to commemorate the national unity in Netherlands. Nowadays, the festival often falls on 30th April, the birthday of late Queen Juliana. In festival’s time, Amsterdam city where the festival takes place is covered with the bright orange color. Amsterdam, indeed, becomes a joyful party area bursting particularly around Dam, Rokin and Damrak.

Although, the festival is just in a day’s time, its preparation starts a month before. During this time, a large number of the best oranges are shipped in from neighboring countries like Spain, France, etc and the islands in the Mediterranean. Then numerous talented artists everywhere in Holland are invited to come and make extraordinary works of art, such as: giant castles, magnificent windmill houses, famous cartoons, local charming farmers, etc in different sizes and colors of fresh fruits. All of them are marvelously displayed throughout Amsterdam city and wait for the amazing moment of the party.

In the festival day, a lot of activities occur around the city. However, the celebrating has actually begun the night before (the Queen’s night). Clubs and bars are opened for playing, drinking, and dancing until morning. In the next day, the first impression is that everything is radiant with the orange color. The local people as well as foreign visitors wear orange clothes, the symbol of Royal family. They heartily dance and sing traditional Dutch songs. Visitors can take pictures of impressive orange sculptures, drink cold tasty orange juice served freely.

Banners and flags are flown with the same color, even some of fountains have a pigment added to the water. As time goes by, the crowded on the street makes the atmosphere more likely and enjoyable. For the bargain shoppers, a free market is also held for trading something you no longer need for. The stalls are filled up with a huge variety of antiques like clocks, vases, pictures, even swords.

After immersing into these exhilarating activities, it will be a miss not to not join the breathtaking outdoor rock concert in late morning. The strong voices together with jubilant melodies will leave you an unforgettable experience.

In fact, the concern is not only a farewell but also an invitation for the next year festival. If you are the one of the people who considers Amsterdam as one of Europe’s best party cities, then the Orange Festival, April 30th, will help you to confirm your ideas.

Welcome to England's official tourism website.

How much spare time do we really have? We have the minimum of 20 days annual leave. We have 8 bank holidays, 104 weekend days, 233 evenings and hundreds of spare hours in our busy schedules... but only if you make them spare.

Diwali, the Festival of Light

Last autumn I was in India during Diwali, the "Festival of Lights" which takes place every year to celebrate the victory of good over evil. This festival lasts for five days and is held at the end of October or in the first week of November.

Preparations began weeks before the event. People cleaned their homes and painted wonderful designs called rangolis on the walls and floors. They bought beautiful new clothes and jewellery to wear during the festival, and women made delicious sweets which were better than any others I have ever tasted.

During the five days of Diwali, every home and temple was decorated, inside and outside, with lovely clay lamps and colourful candles. After dark, the whole neighbourhood glittered with thousands of tiny lights, as though in a fairy tale. Excited children set off firecrackers, and at first I was frightened by the loud bangs, but the spectacular display was so fascinating that I soon joined in the spirit of the celebration.

 Diwali is a deeply moving festival. I am very grateful I had the chance to share in this celebration of peace and harmony. I have fond memories of the experience, and in particular I will never forget how friendly and generous the people were.

That is interesting, the Neptune Festival by Victoria

When I turned 15, I was sent for the whole summer to my grandmother’s place, a small village on the shore of the Black Sea.

“It’ll be so much fun,” my cousin said, meeting me at the railway station. “We are planning Neptune Festival this year,” she added with pride.

“Wow!” I replied, without any idea what she was talking about.

On the way, I collected some of the information about the mysterious festival, and took her word to let me participate in its organization. That was the beginning of my summer ritual. “If July 12th is officially booked for the Neptune festival, July 11th will be the day of its preparation,” I thought.

I woke up excited. All day I asked everyone if I could help. The day was gone, but nobody asked. I went to sleep, angry at my cousin for not keeping her promises.

But, at midnight, she knocked at my window and said, “Let’s go!” It turned out that the festival had to be a surprise for visitors to the village.

In the silence of the night, people, mostly young, were decorating their house's facades with colourful hardboard figures of underwater inhabitants. I was responsible for hanging multicoloured lanterns on trees beside the houses. We did mostly the main road, which the visitors were using to get to the beach. Exhausted, we went to sleep at daybreak.

The next day, we admired the picture we’d created. Water-nymphs were sitting on fences with a cold dangerous, but alluring, smile. Friendly-looking dolphins were diving into the rose’s bushes as if they were sea waves. A plastic octopus conquered my heart with its bright pink head and a big TOOTHY smile. Exotic types of fish, organized in schools on fences, were directing visitors to the beach. Tourists were giggling and taking pictures beside figures. Little shops were offering various costumes: necklaces with seashells, cloth-seaweeds, mermaid wigs with diadems, and crab-claw mittens. Laughter was heard from every corner of the village.

Following people to the beach, I awaited the peak of the festival. On the beach, people were awaited by many locals dressed up as pirates. Pirates, without warning, were dumping people into the sea. People were screaming and laughing, trying to escape. Villagers had a surprise for those who managed to escape. The rest of the participants were waiting beyond the beach with baskets filled with water.


After two to three hours of dipping people into the water, the Neptune Tsar came from the sea. A man, with a long green beard, wore seaweed rugs brought on shore by a catamaran. He waved in a friendly way to everyone after he landed. His maids had baskets full of “sea gifts.” They gave every soaked person a gift: seashells, polished rocks, fresh crawfish, pictures of the village, and lots of useless but cute stuff.

Nobody wanted to leave the beach. Until late at night, people were dancing and laughing on the coast. I couldn’t stay late because of my age, but I promised myself that, when I grew up, I’d stay and have fun along with everybody at the most amazing summer ritual I’ve ever experienced.

That is interesting, the Neptune Festival by by Victoria

When I turned 15, I was sent for the whole summer to my grandmother’s place, a small village on the shore of the Black Sea.

“It’ll be so much fun,” my cousin said, meeting me at the railway station. “We are planning Neptune Festival this year,” she added with pride.

“Wow!” I replied, without any idea what she was talking about.

On the way, I collected some of the information about the mysterious festival, and took her word to let me participate in its organization. That was the beginning of my summer ritual. “If July 12th is officially booked for the Neptune festival, July 11th will be the day of its preparation,” I thought.

I woke up excited. All day I asked everyone if I could help. The day was gone, but nobody asked. I went to sleep, angry at my cousin for not keeping her promises.

But, at midnight, she knocked at my window and said, “Let’s go!” It turned out that the festival had to be a surprise for visitors to the village.

In the silence of the night, people, mostly young, were decorating their house's facades with colourful hardboard figures of underwater inhabitants. I was responsible for hanging multicoloured lanterns on trees beside the houses. We did mostly the main road, which the visitors were using to get to the beach. Exhausted, we went to sleep at daybreak.

The next day, we admired the picture we’d created. Water-nymphs were sitting on fences with a cold dangerous, but alluring, smile. Friendly-looking dolphins were diving into the rose’s bushes as if they were sea waves. A plastic octopus conquered my heart with its bright pink head and a big TOOTHY smile. Exotic types of fish, organized in schools on fences, were directing visitors to the beach. Tourists were giggling and taking pictures beside figures. Little shops were offering various costumes: necklaces with seashells, cloth-seaweeds, mermaid wigs with diadems, and crab-claw mittens. Laughter was heard from every corner of the village.

Following people to the beach, I awaited the peak of the festival. On the beach, people were awaited by many locals dressed up as pirates. Pirates, without warning, were dumping people into the sea. People were screaming and laughing, trying to escape. Villagers had a surprise for those who managed to escape. The rest of the participants were waiting beyond the beach with baskets filled with water.


After two to three hours of dipping people into the water, the Neptune Tsar came from the sea. A man, with a long green beard, wore seaweed rugs brought on shore by a catamaran. He waved in a friendly way to everyone after he landed. His maids had baskets full of “sea gifts.” They gave every soaked person a gift: seashells, polished rocks, fresh crawfish, pictures of the village, and lots of useless but cute stuff.

Nobody wanted to leave the beach. Until late at night, people were dancing and laughing on the coast. I couldn’t stay late because of my age, but I promised myself that, when I grew up, I’d stay and have fun along with everybody at the most amazing summer ritual I’ve ever experienced.

A Family Celebrates the Vietnamese New Year

Read how one Vietnamese family celebrates New Year's in a uniquely Vietnamese way—preparing and eating traditional foods, observing special traditions, watching fireworks and a dragon dance, and sharing good times with family members.
 
Spring is coming, the period of time to which I always aspire. It means that the New Year is also coming soon. That's the first day of lunar calendar, around the end of January and the beginning of February in Solar calendar. 

Regardless of age, society class, or living conditions, every Vietnamese family celebrates the New Year in the same traditional way. It's considered to be the most important and wonderful holiday in my country, since that is the time for people to leave their haplessness in the back and get their fortune for the New Year. 

Similar to other houses, my family has always bustled in preparing and greeting for the New Year.
That was the preceding day of the New Year, and it was also the busiest day in my house. My mother went to the supermarket early in the morning and came back with a bunch of food. From then, the clatter of dishes and pans and the sizzle of food that has been fried were far resounding incessantly until late evening. 

At any place of the house, you could even hear the noisy boil on the stove or the scrunching of my mother's spoon scratched on the pan. You could also smell the burn of coconut jam, which was being made by my sister.

"Why do you always burn it?" I shouted.
"That's the way I like," she said and laughed at me.

I loved her jam so much, but she was always burning it until the white coconut jam became the yellow jam. It was terrible! At noon, the puff of smoke and the mixed scent from various kinds of food started spreading over my house. 

After that, certainly, there were my father's footsteps clattering on the floor. He left his half-painted walls in the living room to go into the kitchen and grumble to my Mom. "Your smoke is disturbing me." 

In fact, he just wanted to look around the kitchen room with many kinds of food on the table. Then he smiled contentedly when seeing my mother cooking next to the tiny crackles of burnt firewood in the stove and the bright red fire, which were blazing up the kitchen. 

At the end of the day, when everything was done, my house became brilliant with the colorful balloons, ribbons, and flowers. However, you shouldn't sit next to the walls in the living room because the layer of new paint was still sticky and would adhere on your clothes. Moreover, the smell of paint was very strong at the end of this day.

At 12:00 a.m. the next day, which was called the New Year Eve, everybody was almost ready to celebrate the New Year. My father would appear first in the living room, look around the room the last time, and arrange the glasses and cups on the table, although they were organized perfectly.
Traditional food was quickly laid on the altar in order to be observed as an ancestor cult by my parents. Right after the white trails of smoke from incense spreading out the air in mild smell, we knew that the New Year had started.

"Yeah! Let's go!" my two brothers exclaimed and ran out into the front yard immediately with lighters in their hands. The yard was soon dazzling with the fire flecks of the firecrackers. The crackers boomed and banged for a while. My sister and I had to close up our ears by hand in order to be away from the strong cracker sound. My brothers used to guffaw and laugh at us. My father passionately looked at the flecks and laughed heartily.

My mother reappeared timely at the door, smiled with all of us and mildly knitted her eyebrow soon after that because of that sound.

Once the sound and fire stopped, we continued walking out of the house to see and hear the burnt firecrackers from the neighbors around us. In the dark sky, you would see the flakes of fire everywhere, so it looked like you were traveling close to the star planets.

Soon after that, the red-yellow dragon appeared at the corner of the street with the cheerful sound of the drum to be ready for a dragon dancing. We entirely believed that this activity could pick up the luckiness for a whole year. The dragon started dancing vigorously in the spirited sound of drum and crackers.

At the end of the dragon dance, which lasted almost an hour and attracted an extreme huge crowd around it, we came back home, wished a Happy New Year to each other, and took a rest to be ready for the morning.

The first day of New Year began at 8:00 a.m. with traditional activities. My Dad woke up early and was usually the first member in the hall. Impatiently waiting for the rising sun, I just could sleep with one eye and get up early, too. From the upstairs, while dressing, I could hear the voices of people downstairs It increased, increased with the loud voice of my fifth uncle and his family, and then sixth uncle's family finally became noisy.

"Happy New Year!"
"Happy New Year!"

Everybody was greeting together and made a chaos tic sound that was not able to be distinguished. When I came to the hall, I saw a jubilant view of people and food, the color of new clothes, the brightness in the eyes, and happy faces. 

The table was attractive with the yellow of Vietnamese New Year traditional flowers, the red of watermelon, the green and yellow of rice cake, the colorful pickled bean sprouts and many kinds of jam. You also could smell combinations of delicious food of pork, fish, and eggs. All of these traditional foods were our first meal in New Year. 

The sound became nosier while children were getting in line to receive lucky money from adults. However, after a few minutes, the line was broken and became a beehive of people. Children were running around the hall, shouting, and laughing with their money in hand. At the dinner table, the roar of laughter from the men, the chortle from the ladies, the cheering sound, and the music from CD player were so animated. The party was continued all day at any time. 

Next, the gambling was started at noon and dragged on until night. That's the time when people are looking forward to the luck and happiness for whole year. This sound only decreased gradually around 9:00 p.m. since guests were leaving randomly. 

Finally, the house was empty and became quiet again, but the dishes and cups were found thrown in different places, on the table, on the chairs, even on the floor. "Are they our present tonight?" my sister and I wondered happily.

The silent night ended the first New Year day. After two days of joining in many activities, everybody was exhausted and quickly fell asleep with beautiful dreams of crackers, money, food, and drink. Sometimes there were some slight cracker sounds far away, the rare horn on the street, or mild music from somewhere. The main days of preparing and celebrating New Year by my family had been complete.

Written by Uyen Thanh from Vietnam

Red Cross December Blood Drive

The Red Cross would like to thank its regular donors for all their contributions. Without your help, we could not continue with our good work. Every pint of blood that you donate allows us to help people in need. Your blood saves lives. Our next blood drive will be held on December 22^nd, from g a.m. to 7 p.m. It will be held at the Red Cross Hall on Lion Street. We are staying open later than usual so that working people can drop by after work. If you have donated before, please bring your registration card to save time. First time donors are also more than welcome. Please encourage your friends and family members to come along, too. Giving up less than one hour of their time could give many more years of life to another person.

the importance of stretching before and after exercise

It is important to stretch both before and after exercising. Many fitness experts say that stretching after you exercise is actually more important than before. However, many people do not bother stretching after their workout. They say that they are too tired, or they just forget. Stretching has many benefits. For example, it helps you avoid painful cramps in your muscles. If you don't stretch, you could have tight and sore muscles the next day. It helps to improve your flexibility. If you stretch after every workout, it will be easy to touch your toes. You might be surprised to know how many people        can not reach their toes. Finally, it is also a good way to relax and wind down after strenuous exercise. So be sure to include ten minutes of stretching as part of the start and end of your exercise routine.

Medical letter

Mr. Albert Di Beni,  

333 Spring Road Penshurst Kent 

Dear Mr. Di Beni,

The Penshurst Medical Practice invites you to make an appointment for a medical examination. After the age of forty, we recommend that you have a full physical every year. Our records show that you recently have celebrated your fiftieth birthday. However, it is over seven years since your last appointment with our clinic. If you contact the Penshurst Medical Practice before September I5^,h, you will be able to take advantage of a free check up. In this medical, we will check blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and blood sugar. For a small extra charge, it is possible to have a more detailed examination. If you are interested in this offer, please call the Medical Practice at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely,

Penshurst Medical Practice

modal verbs

1. I must go to the post office this morning.

2. I don't think it will rain. However, if it does rain, turn off the machine.

3. Ken should have studied harder; he failed the test again.

4. The black leather jacket can not be Harley's.

5. I would like to see his daughter right now.

6. I'm broke. Would you lend me some money?

7. I'd rather go shopping tomorrow.

8. Losing interest in her business, Kimberly has retired recently.

9. Madeline must be very tired; she is lying on the sofa.

10. Here's the application form you should fill out.

11. You had better not tell a lie.

12. When he was young, he would sit under this tree.

13. Before she died, the old man used to take a walk with his wife daily.

14. My sister hopes that you will accept her invitation.

15. What did he tell her to do this morning?