哎呀，俺这个水平太低，实在是惭愧！恭敬不如从命！献丑了：）
学校领导的评语：
To Our Readers
In this year’s edition of Our Stories, twenty HCLS Project Literacy students offer us exciting glimpses
into their lives and minds. Although these students are still learning English—and making heroic
efforts to do so—their wisdom and experience shine through the words and pages of this review like
the rising sun through the morning mist. For example, in “My Journey to a High School Diploma” (page
2), Bianca Bouknight (USA) wisely reminds us—with an effective use of repetition—“Never, never give
up on your dreams!” Dhara Kalaria (India/USA), in her illuminating article about living in the Pandemic
(page 4), gives us a crucial piece of perennial wisdom: “The simple truth is that we cannot copy
anyone, as God gives us all a different question, and all answers are different from person to person.”
Writing about the book Reminisce, The 25th Anniversary Collection, Kiwon Yu (South Korea/USA)
edifies us with the profound (and beautifully composed) insight that “love is the greatest grace from
the living God” (page 9). Using metaphor and repetition in her prose poem about the Autumn months
(page 10-11), Natasha Udovichenko (Crimea, Russia) pierces through the language barrier with
astonishing eloquence: “When we were kids, we threw [fallen leaves] up in the air, threw ourselves
into huge heaps of leaves, as if into the depths of the sea.” In another part of her poem, Udovichenko
observes what so many people never seem to notice: “This incredibly beautiful and picturesque time
is also a source of impressions, feelings, and inspirations.” Zongling Yang (China), while telling the tale
of his time as an ESL student in the United States, subtly enriches our minds with two concise,
axiomatic truths: “hard work brings a good harvest,” and “the ocean of knowledge is endless” (page
13). As brilliant as they are, Bouknight, Kalaria, Yu, Udovichenko, and Yang are not the only students
in this latest edition of Our Stories who have valuable thoughts and feelings to share. Indeed, every
page of this edition contains at least one gem of wisdom and beauty. And so—without further ado—
I encourage you to read all of the stories, essays, and poems presented below. You will be moved,
and—perhaps like me—you will even be enlightened.
Joel Wesley Kilpatrick
Editor/HCLS Project Literacy
我的拙文： Studying English in America
At the end of last year, I registered for English
Classes online at Howard County library’s Project
Literacy program.
Over the past year, I have participated in four
semesters of conversation and three semesters of
Reading/Speaking/Listening. The four teachers
who have taught me English are Flora, Kim, Emilie,
and Melanie. I have been immersed in an
interesting English-learning atmosphere. Our Stories 13
I have almost forgotten the English I learned
decades ago. When I lived in China, I used to take
part in the classes at Shanghai University for
Elderly People. The textbooks were the older
Family Album and New Concept English. Now that
I have studied in America, I can compare several
interesting characteristics of the classes I have
taken at Project Literacy, with the classes I took in
China.
First, the students at Project Literacy come
from all over the world, like a small United
Nations. Besides China, my classmates come from
South Korea, Iran, Egypt, Russia, and Honduras—
and they are very mobile. Only two or three of
them have been studying in the same class with
me from the Winter semester until now.
Second, there are more opportunities for
interaction between students and teachers
because classes are smaller. Compared with the 30
or 40 students per class in China, there are only
about ten students in each Project Literacy class,
so as long as we actively raise our hands, we will
have sufficient opportunities to ask and answer
questions. Teachers often separate us into several
groups to discuss specific topics so that we can
learn to express our thoughts through dialogue.
This type of activity is especially popular with
students. Everyone can communicate freely, even
though students come from different countries
and have different cultures.
Third, the teachers are very dedicated, and
they prepare fully for every class. There are
preview assignments before class and homework
assignments after class. In addition to teaching us
new words and phrases, they include both
American polite expressions and slang. A few
minutes before and after each class, teachers
encourage us to talk about various extracurricular
topics.
Even though I am an older student, and my
memory may have deteriorated somewhat, I
always try my best to be an active student and
hope to make progress every day. I have never
missed a class over the last four semesters.
According to Project Literacy regulations,
students should take a test after completing 40
hours of study. I took a test two weeks ago and
was very happy that my score rose by 12 points
compared with my June test. I have reached level
6, which is three levels higher than my pre-entry
test last January. I think that hard work brings a
good harvest.
Even so, I realize my progress is so
insignificant and the ocean of knowledge is
endless. Still, I intend to study and try hard in my
classes. Only by perseverance in learning can my
life under the pandemic be more colorful.
Zonglin Yang
China
