Life is like a tree map, every one has to make decision when he faces crossroad. And sometimes, for those crucial issues, we may only have one chance to make a choice which will lead to different results of our lives.

I will graduate in July this year, so recently I am trying to find a job. Since I will get a master’s degree in English, I have to make a choice among different careers. To become an English teacher just as most of my classmates do? Or find a job which may relate to business or translation in some company?Or try to become a civil servant?

These  choices will lead to totally different lives. Teacher is a stable and comparatively comfortable job, but it seems a little bit flat. We can predict what kind of life will be for a teacher. If I go to the company, I can have more opportunities to improve my all-round abilities and may possess a colorful life at the cost of facing more challenges, risks and hardship.

On this issue, Lisa gave me lots of advices and encouragement which I really appreciated. And I agree with her opinion that choice is more important than hard work. Yes, a choice may decide the road of rest of my life.

Anyway, I have confidence to do a great job whatever I choose. Wish all graduates and I can get satisfactory jobs before our graduation.

There is no doubt the opening ceremony dazzled the world by blending the Chinese unique elements with the modern high-tech performing patterns, including expressing one of the Games’ themes “harmony” by using the Chinese character “和”.

Visitors were keen on Chinese, according to the Beijing Evening News, just in the first week of the Games, over 500 foreign athletes and coaches have come to the popular Chinese Learning Center in the Olympic Athletes’ Village to learn Chinese and get their Chinese names. The most frequently used words were: 谢谢(thanks), 你好(hello), 再见(goodbye).

Teachers also assisted with Olympic-related vocabulary and conversation, like “祝贺你获得金牌(congratulations on your gold medal)”.

Hope more people will like Chinese and learn it! 

Can't you stand the hot summer day?

Then...how about having a trip in a remote wonderland, being far from the madding crowd.

Last week I went to Mt. Lushan to have a short holiday. Lushan is one of China’s key attractions and scenic spots, claiming to have the “peculiar and beautiful mountain under heaven”. It was listed as the World Heritage in 1996 and was approved as National Geological Park in 2001, also was approved as one of the first “World Geopark” by UNESCO in 2004.

Because the average temperature of year is 16-17℃, Lushan is a famous summer resort. It is located in the northern part of Jiangxi Province and the southern part of Jiujiang City.

Since 1895, thousands of villas had been built on Lushan by people from about 20 countries. Lushan played an indispensable role in the Chinese history. The Chinese first Chairman Mao Zedong presided over three conferences of the Communist Party on Lushan.

Historic celebrities gathered here. Chinese remarkable poets and great writers such as Tao Yuanming of the Jin Dynasty, Li Bai, Bai Juyi, Zhu Xi, Su Shi of the Song Dynasty and so on, all of whom once traveled and lived here, leaving lots of widely praised poems and inscriptions.

Besides famous tourist spots fairy Cave, Jinxiu (charm and beauty) Valley, Hanpo Mouth, Wulao (five-elders) Ridge, Huajing(flower pathway), Lushan gathers other beauties such as deep and secluded gutters, valleys, ridges, cliffs, waterfalls, odd holes and stones.

The most enchanting natural landscape is Sandie Waterfall, which drops 120 meters. It’s upper part likes flying snowflakes, the middle section likes sparking broken jade and the lowest part likes a silver dragon plunging into a pool.

Travel tips:

1. It is convenient to get Mt. Lushan because it just located in the suburb of Jiujiang City. People can first arrive in Jiujiang City by air, by train or by bus. There are special buses in Jiujiang which can sent you to the Kuling Town on Mt. Lushan.
2. There is a middle-sized town called Kuling Town on Lushan. Hotels can be easily found there. Or you can live in the Villa District near the town, at here lots of the villas work as hotels.

There is only 20 days to go for the great Olympic Games in Beijing! I believe many of you may have already heard the popular Olympic song "Welcome to Beijing". Now, I've translated the lyric into English. Now let me share this with you all:

迎接另一个晨曦 带来全新空气 （正阳门箭楼）
Greet the first sun raying in the morning, feel the fresh air coming with it.

气息改变情味不变 茶香飘满情谊 （国家体育场“鸟巢”）
Friendship persists with the change of flavor. Fragrance of the tea transmits our affection

我家大门常打开 开放怀抱等你 （德胜门箭楼）.
The Chinese door is always open, we open arms and wait for you

拥抱过就有了默契 你会爱上这里 （北海公园白塔）
Cuddle together, know each other. You are sure to love here.

不管远近都是客人 请不用客气 （普渡寺）
You are our most beloved guest no matter you live near or far away. Please make Beijing as your home.

相约好了再一起 我们欢迎你 （中华世纪坛、书法）
We promised to be together, you are welcome

我家种着万年青 开放每段传奇 （北京大学未名湖畔博雅塔）
We plant an evergreen. Every blossom tells a Chinese legend story

为传统的土壤播种 为你留下回忆 （太庙）
Sow for this amazing land. Gain you unforgettable memory

陌生熟悉都是客人 请不用拘礼 （国子监琉璃牌坊）
You are our most beloved guest no matter you are familiar or strange to us. Please enjoy your stay here

第几次来没关系 有太多话题 （老北京四合院、皮影戏）
It makes no difference how many times you came to Beijing. We have too much to share

北京欢迎你 为你开天辟地 （八达岭长城）
We hope to see you all in Beijing. A brand-new world is set up for you.

流动中的魅力充满着朝气 （琉璃厂北京画店、窗花、折扇）
Sport's charm bursts with dynamic spirit.

北京欢迎你 在太阳下分享呼吸 （奥林匹克水上公园）
We hope to see you all in Beijing. Share the mood in the sunshine.

在黄土地刷新成绩 （国家大剧院）
Hope for making new records on this amazing land.

我家大门常打开 开怀容纳天地 （国家跳水中心“水立方”）
The Chinese door is always open. At here heave touches earth

岁月绽放青春笑容 迎接这个日期 （糊风筝）
Time reflects the age of youth and joy, files towards this special date

天大地大都是朋友 请不用客气 （奥林匹克水上公园）
We are all friends in this bid world. You are welcome

画意诗情带笑意 只为等待你 （画京剧脸谱）
Everything is ready. Just wait for you

北京欢迎你 像音乐感动你 （古观象台）
We hope to see you all in Beijing. May the melody touches your soul.

让我们都加油去超越自己 （社稷坛(中山公园)五色土）
Come on. Let's exceed our limits.

北京欢迎你 有梦想谁都了不起 （四合院模型）
We hope to see you all in Beijing. One will be great if he has a dream.

有勇气就会有奇迹 （天坛坛门）
Wonders never cease if there exists courage.

    hard work＝8＋1＋18＋4＋23＋15＋18＋11＝98%；

    knowledge＝11＋14＋15＋23＋12＋5＋4＋7＋5＝96%；

    love＝12＋15＋22＋5＝54%；

    luck＝12＋21＋3＋11＝47%；

Maybe some of us used to think hard work, knowledge, love or luck were most important for making our life perfect. But from the equations, we learnt that the answer is no.

  Then, how about money？No！money＝13＋15＋14＋5＋25＝72%；

  How about leadership？No！leadership＝12＋5＋1＋4＋5＋18＋19＋8＋9＋16＝97%；

  So, what makes life perfect?

 attitude＝1＋20＋20＋9＋20＋21＋4＋5＝100%。

It is the attitude we hold towards work, study, life and people around us that can help us make our life perfect.

The Bible says, “A merry heart doeth like a good medicine but a brittle spirit drieth the bones.” “As you sow so shall you reap.”Things rarely contaminate us, but attitudes do! It is the one thing that will bring about all the things we desire, or keep us from getting any of them.

A person with a positive, optimistic attitude takes risks and sees only opportunities. A person with negative, pessimistic attitude focuses only on the risk becoming unable to see the opportunity. 

What’s your perspective now ?

Hi, this is Celia, coming from Wuhan. It's exciting for me to begin my adventure in this amazing "online family"—a paradise for English lovers. I am a postgraduate student and major in English Linguistics. I focus my academic interest on translation, stylistcis and cognitive linguistics. Hope I can make more friends here. 

Tomorrow is Lantern Festival, a time for the reunion of families and to play with lanterns. I remember when I was a little girl, I always played outside with a paper lantern in my hand. Candles were fixed inside the lanterns to light the road. Besides, plastic lanterns were also very popular among children, since they varied in shapes and sizes and most of them were multicolored. Now I think those experiences are a little bit funny and a little bit silly. I wonder how the nowadays children celebrate this festival. 

On the other hand, Lantern Festival marks the end of the Chinese Lunar New Year. So, everyone, make full use of this precious day and don't forget to eat Yuan Xiao :)