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Scarlet Sails
By Jessie Wang



A huge white ship with splendid scarlet sails appears at the distant horizon, sailing directly toward the seashore, carrying a handsome and brave prince whom Assol has been dreaming about and has waited for since her childhood ...

This is the ending of the Russian film "Scarlet Sails". This amazing scene impressed me so much that it has become one of the most unforgettable scenes in my memories.

The film is adapted from the novel by Alexander Grin, one of the most popular Russian writers, under the same title. The novel moved me deeply with its romantic style and poetic descriptions when I first read it during my university years.

It is the very beautiful and legendary story of Assol, a young girl living in a small fishing village. She grows up poor and lonely, often despised by the villagers. One day she meets a wizard who predicts that when she grows up, a handsome young prince on a huge ship with scarlet sails will come and take her away. She sincerely believes in it and often goes to the seashore to wait for her prince.



Captain Gray, a brave sea-hardened sailor, learns about this prediction when he occasionally passes by the village and sees beautiful Assol sleeping in the forest. He makes a great decision after he gets back -- decorating his ship "The Secret" with two thousand yards of scarlet silk! In the brilliant rays of the morning sun and with delightful music by an orchestra, Gray raises the scarlet sails ...

It was so easy for me to sympathize with Assol. Not just because almost all girls cherish the same dream, but because her yearning for happiness and persistence has encouraged me a lot and lifted up my spirits.

Time flies. When I came across this small book again, I was already a 13-year-old boy's mother. My dream, almost perfectly, came true, but my youth has gone. Years may wrinkle my face, but never wrinkle my soul, because Assol's beautiful story rejuvenates me. Those dreams and hopes, courage and power, passion and optimism have never vanished, just like the scarlet sails always rising high in my heart.



No man is an island
By Lilian Chen



I was almost worried along the process until the film reached the last part of it. It is one of the British-style comedies, being neither romantic nor amusing from my point of view (probably because I don't have the capability to appreciate British humor). However, with the story went on, something charming grew up.

Directed by Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz, About A Boy tells a typical story. It begins with the monologue of a man and a boy. The man, Will, is a single, child-free, trendy, 38-year-old Londoner, who has never had a job thanks to a ubiquitous Christmas song written by his dad and recorded by everyone from Elvis to the Muppets. The credo he holds is that all men are islands. The boy, Marcus, son of Fiona, is a good boy who just wants his mom, an eccentric, single hippie, to be happy.

Will finds himself becoming less self-obsessed. That's when he meets Rachel, a bright, beautiful single mom with a 12-year-old son of her own, Will finds himself falling in love for the very first time in his life. It's almost more than Will can bear, especially when he realizes how much he cares about Rachel, Marcus, even wacky Fiona. In the end, it's a shock to discover that Will has saved not only Marcus and Fiona, but himself.

It seems to me that in modern times, everyone tends to be independent. Independence is well itself, but when it comes to selfishness, it is a real tragedy. I used to hold the opinion that I could manage to be completely independent. But now I've changed a lot and I learned to be more open to others, to be ready to help and to enjoy the happiness of love. The older I get the more I become aware that nobody on earth can isolate himself from the world.

After watching the film, a scene left on my mind is when all the single parents stood in a circle, hand in hand, and sang "Single parents, alone together; Single parents, alone together; All for one and one for all." I think that's also true for everyone. After all, no man is an island.

Cascades



Cascades(瀑布合唱团), 是来自加利福尼亚州圣地亚哥的一个五重唱组合. 对于这个多人组合, 中国的听众也许不是太熟悉, 但说到"Rhythm of the rain"这首歌曲, 相信会有许多人听过并熟知.

"听那细雨淅沥淅沥下不停, 好像在笑我太痴情, 我惟一的心上人儿离开了我, 随身带走我的心, 我失去了心儿怎能再去爱别的人. "风雨中的等待, 浪漫得让人心碎.

虽然这首歌在1963年一上榜, 只获得第三名的成绩, 但却永远活在人们的回忆中, 多年来不断有人翻唱, 甚至在我国被改编成国语歌曲"雨的旋律". 根据BMI的统计, 它已在美国广电媒体创下超过六百万次的播唱纪录, 成为有史以来一百首最受喜爱西洋歌曲的第九首.

Rhythm of the Rain
Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain
Telling me just what a fool I've been
I wish that it would go and let me cry in vain
And let me be alone again

The only girl I care about has gone away
Looking for a brand new start
But little does she know that when she left that day
Along with her she took my heart

Rain, please tell me now does that seem fair
For her to steal my heart away when she don't care
I can't love another when my heart's somewhere far away

(Repeat the 2nd and then the 1st paragraphs)
Rain, won't you tell her that I love her so
Please ask the sun to set her heart aglow
Rain in her heart and let the love we knew start to grow
Oh, listen to the falling rain- pitter-patter...

Vocabulary
prediction 预言
wizard 巫师
yearn 渴望
rejuvenate 使变年轻
ubiquitous 无处不在的
credo 信条