I am a freshman of English major. Lately I encountered many problems concerning English learning.

     When I were in Middle School, I thought I were fairly good at English. That's why I decided to choose English as my major. However, when I became an English major student, I suddenly find my English is so poor that I can't understand what my teacher is saying and can't answer questions accurately in class. I did badly in dictation as well. Things shouldn't be like this, so I started to recite words, phrases and sentence structures just as what I did in Middle School, and I also recited texts from my books. Unfortunately, it helped little.

     I am wondering if I'm really suitable for English major, if I'm right to take English as my major.

     I would feel very happy if  you could give me some advice on how to study English based on your English learning experience. I am really confused now.

     Look forward to your reply.

                                                                      Yours,

                                                                       Gao Jun

     Hello! I am Xiaoxiao and I have been reading English Weekly since my high school. I really appreciate your effort to help us with English learning. This time, I am writing to ask for your help.

     I come from a small county and now I am studying in a university in Beijing. Recently I noticed that one of my friends, on one hand, always borrowed money from others, but on the other hand, she always came back to our apartment with lots of new clothes. I felt very curious about this and I asked her what happened.

    "I like shopping very much and I like to buy brands a lot. However, I am short of money these days, so I have to borrow to shop," she said. I replied, "You are living beyond your means. You need to have more self-control.""My idea of consumption is to spend money on brands no matter how expensive it is. So that I can look much pretty and elegant."

     Actually, my consumption idea is to only buy necessary things．As for clothes, I like to buy those suitable for me, not necessarily being brands. Young people should begin to save money, but her arguement is that one can only live for decades and one should enjoy every day. Money is not a problem compared with enjoyment. Wow...No wonder there are more and more "card slaves" now. They are spending tomorrow's money, right?

     Can you tell which idea of consumption is better for youngsters? And what is your consumption idea.

     Looking forward to your reply.

     Best wishes!

                                                                       Yours,

                                                                          Xiaoxiao

Recently there has been a hot discussion concerning a terrible accident. A bus with air-conditioning in Chengdu burned, which caused 27 dead and 76 hurt(including 8 still in danger of losing their life). The government's quick response gave us some confidence, but later they began to find excuses for themselves. First, they found hammers. Second, they said it was all due to a person who carried petrol with him or her. More funny, the one who carried petrol died in the accident. Then, Shenyang's Communications Bureau released one regulation: no buses with air-conditioning any more and people with liquid-like things cannot get onto buses.

      In fact, we can see that from the moment the accident happened, the government hasn't seen any problem in the public security. Instead, they focused on how to find excuses to explain the accident.

      I bet all of you have read relative comments on the accident. What do you think of this accident? Let's share our opinions.

     I am a freshman of Shanxi University. I feel very excited to become a college student because I have much free time to do what I like. I just can enjoy my college life freely, no more hard work like in senior high school.

     One day, one of my roommates talked with me about her plan in college. She aimed to go abroad after graduation, so she planed to study her profession courses even harder and spend more time on English. In her spare time, she planed to visit foreign universities'exhibitions as many as possible. She planed to have a full and meaningful college life.

     I am confused a little bit now. What should I do? Should I make a plan as well in order to have a bright future? Should I just enjoy myself in college?

     Looking forward to your answers.

     Best wishes.

                                                                         Yours,

                                                                            Tangtang

 如果你有想说的观点或对生活、学习、爱情……有任何问题，欢迎你把想法变成文字，发E-mail到这个电子信箱中：myfriendhugaoli@163.com。我们会选取其中一封来信，放入《英语周报》的博客，让网友点评信中提到的问题，中英文皆可。然后，请特聘的外教和国内的英语专家从中外两个角度参与讨论，回答问题。最后，我们的读者来信、专家回复和网友评论将一起刊登在报纸上。

                                                                           ——编者

During May Day vacation, I went home from Beijing to Taiyuan to

see my parents. On the train, I talked with two boys seated

opposite to me. They just purchased some small decorations, like

clock, music box, bracelets etc. from a famous wholesale market

in Beijing where I am studing. Now they are back to Taiyuan where

my hometown is. After communication, I know they have opened a

chain shop in their college campus. They just purchased

merchandise for their shop during this vacation. One of the boy

is the manager of the shop. They are both junior at a technical

college in Taiyuan. I asked them whether they have energy to

operate their shop with heavy study. Both of them answered yes.

And the success of the business gains them both money and

confidence.  They even planed to open another shop out of their

campus.
I admired them much! They have experienced so much before

graduation. I am thinking to run a business like them at my

college, what do you think?

如果21天不抱怨,你的人生将会改变,相信吗?

Are ya kidding me?! No complaints for 21 days!

We all complain, right? It’s just human nature. But nowadays a no-complaints campaign spread abround the globe. Will Bowen, the pastor of a Kansas City church and the author of a book entitled A Complaint Free World told people in his congregation he wanted them to break the habit of complaint. People who join in are issued little purple bracelets as a reminder of their pledge. If they catch themselves complaining, they’re supposed to take off the bracelet, switch it to the opposite wrist and start counting the days from scratch till 21 days. And now the campaign has mushroomed.

But I don't agree, if we don't complain, we just accept whatever we confronted, then how the society could improve. You know, the world changed and improved to be more advanced and perfect just because we are not satisfied with the current situation. We want to change. But the campaign asks people not to compain but to accept.

And some experts also disagree about whether suppressing complaints is good for one’s mental health. “If people don’t need to complain, don’t want to, then great,” said Barbara Held, a psychologist and author of the book, “Stop Smiling, Start Kvetching.” “But if they do, there are ways to do it more productively and more beneficially and what’s wrong with that?”

I agree with her. What's your opinion?

信息爆炸的今天,我们的学子却掀起了新一轮的读书无用论,因为家贫,因为工作难找,因为前路迷茫...,你呢?

I am a college student. My girlfriend always complains that I didn't love her much. She said I am stingy. I know what she means.

I am living in a poor family. My parents have spent all what they have to support my college life. I cannot ask more money from them for my girlfriend. She complains that we share the bills when watching movies and having meals. Why should the boy pay the bill every time? Everybody is indepentant, and we should support ourselves. If this is the rule to measure whether we love or not, I think that's wrong. That isn't love.

Go dutch! I like this way!

AA制是独立与平等的表现，让我们AA制吧！

I am a junior. Last week, one of my classmates, my friend Jenny was just married. I asked her why she married so early. Jenny said, she and her boyfriend have decided to marry now. After graduation, she will give birth; when their bady is one year later, she will go to work.

Jenny said, by then it's easier to find a job because the employer has no concerns about her delivering time. And she can also avoid having the conflict someday between giving birth and keep working! If she chose giving birth, maybe her position which she strived hard for several years will be replaced. I am puzzled. I think I will face the same problem one day, should I marry my boyfriend too like Jenny?

Alice

同学结婚了,我问她干吗这么早,她说上学时结婚,毕业后生子,孩子一岁了再开始找工作就好找了。那时候用人单位也不用担心她会休产假影响工作，自己也不用担心因为生孩子工作保不住，或者职位降了。我觉得她说的很有道理，你们说呢？

 “Oh, my God, that can’t be true. This will be a nightmare.” That was my first reaction after hearing the news.

  This change has triggered a heated discussion. According to a survey by student union, about 90% of the respondents claim that they object to the new rule.

  Now we have little free time. The free time is only spent in taking a bath, writing letters or washing clothes. As a result, there is no “available free time,” especially for seniors.

Let’s take a closer look at it. Knowledge is acquired not only from books but also from practical experiences. In a sense, I think practical experiences are probably more important for seniors.

  Dear friends, do you agree with what I said?

                                                                              Yours,

                                                                              Salina  

    很奇怪，这学期我们学校要求我们参加自习课。很难相信，每个人都必须参加。

    “噢，我的上帝，这不是真的。这一定是噩梦。”这是我听到这个消息的第一反应。

    这个变化引起了热烈的讨论。根据学生会的数据显示，90%的参与调查的人都说反对现在的政策。

现在，我们没有空闲时间了。仅有的一点时间只能用来洗澡，写信或者洗衣服。基本上没有可自由支配的时间，尤其对大四学生来说，更是如此。

    让我们来进一步看这个问题，知识的获得不仅是从书本，更是从实践中。从某种意义上说，我认为实际经验对大四学生来说更重要。

    朋友们，你们同意我的说法吗？

                                                                               赛利娜

    如果你有想说的观点或对生活、学习、爱情……有任何问题，欢迎你把想法变成文字，发E-mail到这个电子信箱中：dxbzhmm@ew.com.cn。我们会选取其中一封来信，放入《英语周报》的博客，让网友点评信中提到的问题，中英文皆可。然后，请特聘的外教和国内的英语专家从中外两个角度参与讨论，回答问题。最后，我们的读者来信、专家回复和网友评论将一起刊登在报纸上。

                                                                              ——编者

                                                                                                                                                                               Danny

    今天这有一条关于贝克汉姆的消息。AC米兰足球俱乐部放弃了从美国洛杉矶足球俱乐部“买”贝克汉姆，因为两个俱乐部就价格不能达成统一。非常遗憾，伟大的球员不能加入伟大的俱乐部。贝克汉姆是一个杰出的运动员。同时，他工作努力、有很强的敬业精神，是一名称职的运动员。特别是，他能创造很高的经济价值，这在他加入皇家马德里足球俱乐部时，已得到了证实。这就是为什么皇马花大价钱“买”他的原因。但是今天，贝克汉姆的身价却掉了一半。为什么AC米兰足球俱乐部不再多花些钱去买这么物有所值的贝克汉姆？真正的原因就是贝克汉姆的年龄吗？你怎么看？

                                                                                 丹尼  

    如果你有想说的观点或对生活、学习、爱情……有任何问题，欢迎你把想法变成文字，发E-mail到这个电子信箱中：dxbzhmm@ew.com.cn。我们会选取其中一封来信，放入《英语周报》的博客，让网友点评信中提到的问题，中英文皆可。然后，请特聘的外教和国内的英语专家从中外两个角度参与讨论，回答问题。最后，我们的读者来信、专家回复和网友评论将一起刊登在报纸上。

                                                                              ——编者

  However, in my opinion, I think the new customs and habits can make people’s communication more efficient, and they allow people to communicate with each other in an equal, natural and simple manner. And the old customs has a lot of bad effects, except visiting other persons during Festival time, the customs of giving lucky money lays a heavy economic burden on people, and setting off firecrackers has brought much greater loss than pleasure because it has caused a lot of fire and so on.

What is your opinion? Thanks!

                                                                              Han Meimei

    随着春节的结束，我听到了很多抱怨，特别是老一代人对习惯和传统的抱怨。举例而言，他们说过去在春节期间，人们总是直接去拜访他们的朋友和亲人，但是现在，人们只是发短信或者打个电话而已。他们认为现代人之间的关系越来越隔绝而且越来越冷漠，所以他们反对改变太多的习惯和习俗。

    然而，在我看来，新的习俗和习惯使人们的沟通更加有效，他们让人们能以一种平等、自然和简单的方式进行交流。同时，旧习俗有很多不好的地方，除了春节时去拜访别人，给红包让很多人都有了很大的经济负担，而放炮带来的麻烦远大于快乐，比如：会引起火灾等。

    您怎么看？谢谢！

                                                                               韩梅梅

    如果你有想说的观点或对生活、学习、爱情……有任何问题，欢迎你把想法变成文字，发E-mail到这个电子信箱中：dxbzhmm@ew.com.cn。我们会选取其中一封来信，放入《英语周报》的博客，让网友点评信中提到的问题，中英文皆可。然后，请特聘的外教和国内的英语专家从中外两个角度参与讨论，回答问题。最后，我们的读者来信、专家回复和网友评论将一起刊登在报纸上。

                                                                              ——编者

  Next time, when I encounter something like this, should I think more of myself and just ignore it? Please give me some ideas, thank you so much!

   Yours,

                                                                                       Wei Jia

    我是一名大四学生。昨天，我下课自己回家。突然，我发现一个女孩儿后面跟着一个男人，这个男人正把手伸进那个女孩儿的包里！于是我大喊：“你在做什么？”那个男的一下子就收回了手，但是直冲我就过来了。让我很惊讶的是，那个女孩儿只是查了查她的手提包然后赶快走了，只留下我一个人在那儿。我试图找人帮忙，但是没有人理我，所有人似乎都聋了……我很害怕。幸运地是，那个男的最后离开了。虽然我安全了，但我觉得非常失望。为什么那个女孩儿有那种反应？为什么其他人要那样对我？

    下一次，当我再遇到这种情况时，我是否应该多考虑考虑我自己，也装作没看见？请给我一些建议，非常感谢！

                                                                                   卫迦

    如果你有想说的观点或对生活、学习、爱情……有任何问题，欢迎你把想法变成文字，发E-mail到这个电子信箱中：dxbzhmm@ew.com.cn。我们会选取其中一封来信，放入《英语周报》的博客，让网友点评信中提到的问题，中英文皆可。然后，请特聘的外教和国内的英语专家从中外两个角度参与讨论，回答问题。最后，我们的读者来信、专家回复和网友评论将一起刊登在报纸上。

                                                                                  ——编者

  There are many activities on our campus. Surely I take an active part in them. Although I was one of them, they don’t accept me and I also consider myself as a failure. Now I am at a loss and feel that my college life is a failure. Maybe I am a little pessimistic. But what can I do to become a optimistic person and to make my life full of sunshine? Dear friend, what should I do,can you help me?

                                                                              Lily

    我是一名经济系的新生。一上大学，我就非常的不开心。因为我来自农村，害怕做错事被嘲笑，我甚至不知道该如何去解决这些事情。我们都知道，现代社会是一个竞争的社会，所以我们必须具备完善的知识和特殊的技能，否则就会被淘汰。所以只要我想到这些事情，我就觉得很难过、很无助。我觉得没有我的立足之地。我常常想大声哭泣，但是我不能。因为我不想让别人知道我是一个懦弱的女孩。

    学校里有很多活动。我当然积极地参与其中。虽然我是他们中的一员，但他们并不承认我，我也认为自己是一个失败者。现在我很困惑，觉得大学生活是失败的。可能我有点悲观，但我怎样才能变得积极并让我的生活充满阳光呢？亲爱的朋友，我该怎么做，你能帮助我吗？

                                                                            莉莉

    如果你有想说的观点或对生活、学习、爱情……有任何问题，欢迎你把想法变成文字，发E-mail到这个电子信箱中：dxbzhmm@ew.com.cn。我们会选取其中一封来信，放入《英语周报》的博客，让网友点评信中提到的问题，中英文皆可。然后，请特聘的外教和国内的英语专家从中外两个角度参与讨论，回答问题。最后，我们的读者来信、专家回复和网友评论将一起刊登在报纸上。

                                                                         ——编者

  However, several days ago, there was news that our courtyard house will be pulled down to make room for high-rise office buildings. I have become depressed. I know in the course of urban development, we often find ourselves confronted with the problem of old building. Some people might think we should pull down the old houses and buildings in the way, but in my opinion, it is very rash decision to tear them down without full consideration, because it is a symbol of the city’s ancient civilization and present glory. As to me, it is also a treasure for my memory. What is your opinion? Thanks!

                                                                             Yours,

                                                                             Alley

    我是一个北京女孩儿，和我的爸爸妈妈、祖父祖母、叔叔婶婶和表弟一起住在一个四合院里。在那里，我有很多的回忆。我永远都忘不了每年站在胡同口卖糖葫芦的小贩的叫卖声。我永远都忘不了从离我家不远的北京剧院传来的悠长的韵律。我永远也难忘年少时和伙伴们在院里嬉戏的场景。我永远也难忘胡同口遛鸟的老人……

    然而，不久前，我听到一则消息，据说我们的四合院就要被拆了，这里将要盖起一座高层写字楼。我非常难过。我知道在城市化进程中，我们常常会面对老式建筑物的问题。一些人也许认为我们应该推倒挡道的房子。但是在我看来，未经审慎考虑就毁坏旧的房屋是一种鲁莽地决定，因为这是一个城市文化和光辉的象征。至于我来说，这对我更是一种记忆的珍宝。你怎么看？谢谢！

                                                                            艾丽

    如果你有想说的观点或对生活、学习、爱情……有任何问题，欢迎你把想法变成文字，发E-mail到这个电子信箱中：dxbzhmm@ew.com.cn。我们会选取其中一封来信，放入《英语周报》的博客，让网友点评信中提到的问题，中英文皆可。然后，请特聘的外教和国内的英语专家从中外两个角度参与讨论，回答问题。最后，我们的读者来信、专家回复和网友评论将一起刊登在报纸上。

                                                                           ——编者

  Finally I have became a college student of Qingdao University. Everything here is really good, but maybe because I'm from Yunnan province, which is so far from Qingdao, Shandong province, I miss my home deeply.

I try my best to reduce the feeling of homesick, I entered a few clubs, went to library to read some books, and did some shopping, but the homesick always occurs to me.

  Sometimes, I think I have already forgetten it, because our classmates and roommates are concerned for me. However, when seeing the students who can go home once a week, I can't help myself from missing my home again.

  Every time, I remind myself that I must grow up, must learn how to be self-confident, how to deal with everything you faced, but it doesn't work. So I write this letter to you asking for some advices, thanks.

                                                               Sincerely,

                                                               Wang Hongcui

    我终于成为了青岛大学的一名学生。这里什么都好，只是可能因为我来自云南省（那儿离山东省的青岛太远了），我非常想家。

    为了减少想家的感觉，我加入了一些俱乐部、去图书馆看书、买东西，但是想家的情绪仍然挥之不去。

    我的同学和室友都很关心我，我常常觉得我已经不那么想家了。但是，当看到其他同学每周都可以回一次家，思乡之情再次涌上心头。

    每次，我都提醒自己：我必须长大了，必须学会自信，学会怎样解决碰到的各种事情，但并不起作用。所以我写了这封信想得到一些建议。

                                                          王红翠（音译）

    如果你有想说的观点或对生活、学习、爱情……有任何问题，欢迎你把想法变成文字，发E-mail到这个电子信箱中：dxbzhmm@ew.com.cn。我们会选取其中一封来信，放入《英语周报》的博客，让网友点评信中提到的问题，中英文皆可。然后，请特聘的外教和国内的英语专家从中外两个角度参与讨论，回答问题。最后，我们的读者来信、专家回复和网友评论将一起刊登在报纸上。

                                                                   ——编者

  What do you think?

                                                                           Jack

    我是一名主修计算机的大学生。这学期我的大部分同学都在外面做兼职，所以我也想去找一份。几周后，我找到一个很轻松的工作，游戏测试员。因为我学计算机，并且业余时间喜欢玩儿游戏，所以我是这个职位的最佳人选。游戏测试员的工作包括测试新的游戏，找到任何在改进中会出现的问题并为游戏做评论。这确实是一份轻松的工作。我每周去那个公司三次，每次至少花四个小时测试游戏。目前为止，我已经工作了一个月，并且赚了不少钱。但是我的父母不喜欢这份工作，他们认为我应该专注于学习然后找一份真正的工作。但是，我喜欢这份工作，我觉得这和我的学习和职业生涯没什么关系。

    你怎么看？

                                                                           杰克

    如果你有想说的观点或对生活、学习、爱情……有任何问题，欢迎你把想法变成文字，发E-mail到这个电子信箱中：dxbzhmm@ew.com.cn。我们会选取其中一封来信，放入《英语周报》的博客，让网友点评信中提到的问题，中英文皆可。然后，请特聘的外教和国内的英语专家从中外两个角度参与讨论，回答问题。最后，我们的读者来信、专家回复和网友评论将一起刊登在报纸上。

                                                                         ——编者

  I love this school which had a high reputation. Certainly, I met a lot of new friends and teachers who were so friendly. All these made me adapt to the environment quickly. However, as a freshman, I don't have a lot of lessons every day, so there is plenty of time which I don't know how to tackle. To kill time, I sometimes surf the Internet, sometimes go to play outside. Thus, I think I'm committing a crime because I waste too much precious time but gain no knowledge. As a result, I feel depressed and frustrated. I can't help recalling my happy life in high school during which I used every minute to the fullest. But now I have no idea of how to take advantage of the extra time .

  Can you give me some advice so as to let me go through the next four years without any regret? I'm looking forward to your reply.

                                                                          Yours,

                                                                          Tuantuan

    最后，2008年9月4日终于来了，那是我期待已久的日子。我非常兴奋，因为我就要上河北师范大学了，见到新的老师和同学，然后开始新的生活。我对于即将开始的大学生活充满向往。

    我爱这所美名远扬的学校。当然，我遇到了很多友好的新朋友和老师。然而，作为一个新生，我每天并没有太多的课程，因而大量的时间我不知道该如何度过。为了消磨时间，我常常在网上冲浪，常常在外面玩儿。因为我浪费了太多的时间但没有学到任何知识，这样使我有一种罪恶感。结果是，我觉得很沮丧也很失败。我总是忍不住想起高中时的快乐时光，那时我的每一天都非常充实。但是现在我不知道该怎样利用我的业余时间。

    你能给我一些建议，我该怎样没有遗憾地度过我的大学生活嘛？期待你的回复。

                                                                                团团

    如果你有想说的观点或对生活、学习、爱情……有任何问题，欢迎你把想法变成文字，发E-mail到这个电子信箱中：dxbzhmm@ew.com.cn。我们会选取其中一封来信，放入《英语周报》的博客，让网友点评信中提到的问题，中英文皆可。然后，请特聘的外教和国内的英语专家从中外两个角度参与讨论，回答问题。最后，我们的读者来信、专家回复和网友评论将一起刊登在报纸上。

                                                                           ——编者