2019年

創作比賽

Let’s Share the Joy of Reading

Let’s Share the Joy of Reading

Let’s Share the Joy of Reading香港 Hong K

ong

Reading is like jumping into different people’s heads. Sometimes it is like looking through the glasses of a 90-year-old woman, sometimes it is like judging in the helmet of a young astronaut, sometimes it is like analysing through the telescope of a secondary school science teacher. Reading is so exciting that it has always been an adventure to every reader, including me. It is like eating a box of chocolate beans with different flavours, always full of surprises. And just as every author has its own way of seeing and processing things from his view, every book has its own soul. It teaches you things in ways that you cannot possibly imagine, in its own special way. It is like having the best teacher you can ever have. And through reading, anyone, anything can be one’s teacher. It is as if looking at what others have once seen, experiencing what others have been through before and, to feel the emotions that others have once felt. When reading a biography of Malala, your fingers are burnt by the fire in the woman’s heart without even embracing her. When reading a crime fiction, you hear the tremble in the voice of the murderer without even listening to him in person. When reading a press release, you see the confidence in the police officer’s eyes when he was presenting on stage without even being there. Reading is opening up oneself to another world. A world that is composed totally based on the author's and your own imagination. A world that you can escape into when you are sitting on the couch at the corner in the school library. And while reading has always been an incredible experience to me, there are three things that I have learnt most memorably in my journey of reading.

The first thing that I have learnt from reading is that there is a reason behind everything, so do not be discouraged when facing difficulties. In “The Woman in White” by Wilkie Collins, the situation sounded unreasonable and desperate. Laura was imprisoned by his insane husband, Marian was effortless in contacting and getting help from the outside, Walter could do nothing in his power to help the doomed sisters, the only person who knew the truth is even dead. And while they had nothing to fight back, their enemy has everything to make them disappear from earth. It is like what we sometimes are dealing with in life’s tangles. Many times we think that the world will end, and nothing can be worse than what has or will happened. We get discouraged and the thought of giving up may even flash through our mind. And this is when “The Woman in White” taught me a lesson. The reason we face challenges is to grow from facing challenges and difficulties itself. It is not only about being able to learn to find a way to deal with it, but more about to learn to be more courageous when facing it. The more we are willing to encounter it head to head, the stronger and bigger we grow in front of the enemy. Just like Marian and Walter in the “The Woman in White”, the more they are willing to strike against the court, the more power they seize.

The second thing that I have learnt from reading is that we must face our own faults, instead of trying to run away from it. Faults can be as small as breaking plates in the kitchen or as big as stealing jewelry from the shop. The book that inspired me is “Crime and punishment” by Fyodor Dostoevsky. I used

to be a person who sleeps through problems and pretends that it has never happened. But as I read more about the internal battles of Raskolnikov, I have learnt that no one is flawless. Everyone has once composed their own trouble to be dealt with. Even though not everyone will commit something as awful as murder like what the Raskolnikov does in the book, everyone makes mistakes occasionally. At first, Raskolnikov tries to escape from the fact that he kills someone. Yet, the more he tries to hide it, the more he suffers. Whenever someone asks him about the case, his body shakes till his mind is shattered to pieces. It is like being in a living hell with burning flame boiling your body every day, instead flame is the guilt from lying and your body was your rationality that is slowly disappearing from your head. It is exactly what it is like when we pretend that we did not commit the wrongdoings that we did due to our sudden mindlessness. After a long period of struggling, when Raskolnikov finally confesses his sins, it is the relief from his struggle. After reading this, I have realised that it will only do us no good if we try to escape the things we have done wrong. It can actually be good, since we can at least learn a lesson from it and avoid doing it again next time. “Crime and Punishment” has taught me that you either do not commit it in the first place, or be ready and have the guts to face the consequences. Never try to run away from it.

And there is the ultimate lesson from reading of all times, there is love in everything. There is love in every single book I read. There is the love for rebellion and freedom in “1984” by George Orwell. There is the love for youth and purity in Kiera Cass’s “The Selection”. There is the love for revealing truth in “Classic Locked-Room Mysteries” edited by David Stuart Davies. There is love in the horrifying “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe, the love for the lost ones. There is the love for being alive in “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed. And of course, there is love for internal strength in my all-time favourite “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” by Stieg Larsson. We know that love is all around us, we indeed feel it. But we seldom remember its presence. In fact, we often forget about it entirely. Through reading, we are reminded of the love behind all actions and words, all thoughts and emotions. We are taught through reading that love is the biggest composition of us, of what makes us unique. We read from stories and issues that love gives us motivation, gives us power to dare to live better and better every day. I am not trying to sound impractical, but life is just a dream and novels that we like are indeed just fantasies. The main difference is that the ups and downs in reality are way tougher than in books. And sometimes, reading will just happen to be at the exact right time to remind you that there is love in life. Most importantly, through reading, we can share our thoughts with people we love.

CHAN Stephanie SheenaJockey Club Ti-I College

Topic One's Journey in Reading

‧ Well-structured and logical discussion

Comments

作品排名不分先後，以獲獎者姓名排序。Works arranged in the order of the winner’s names.

支持機構 Supporting Organisations教育局 Education Bureau香港閱讀學會 Hong Kong Reading Association香港學校圖書館主任協會 Hong Kong Teacher-Librarians’ Association

高中組中四 (S4

) 　中六 (S6)

Senior Secondary

When was the last time you have ever read a book, or a very substantial feature article? If you are one of those people where your daily reading habits are composed of centering around Instagram posts, Facebook feeds, or Snapchat posts... You might be missing out on the joy of reading.

For most of my time, and most of the teenagers that exist in the current world, life can be really suffocating... A stack load of homework has to be completed, an endless surge of examinations has to be revised, and an array of extra-curricular activities has to be joined on a daily basis. The march of the present moment across the horizon can be disheartening for us. And so, by the end of the day, I always try to yearn for a moment that can soothe my tensions and strains - and that is reading literature.

To me, reading has a very exceptional value in my life. It has helped me temporarily lose consciousness of the ferocious and harsh experience of life, it has inspired me for directions, it has also given me joy and laughter from the wicked minds of the authors. There are a million reasons out there on how reading will benefit your life. Some may apply to you and some may not. The following are a few reasons I believe that reading has paid significant importance to my life.

To begin with, literature has given me inspirations for life. Reading books - especially novels, allows me to delve myself into the perspective and thrilling adventures of other people. Novels are not merely opinions of book authors, they contain fictional lives of other people, who may be or may not be relatable to the situations in our lives. You might wonder why we should be in another perspective when we have our own. For me, the reason is simply that it makes us adjust with tougher times, inspires us with a wider landscape of thoughts, and entitles us with more tactics to solve real-life problems in a gentle approach. I have been an enormous fan to the “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” series - a fantasy-themed fiction that centers around the world of Greek mythology and immortal human beings. The theme is about an immortal boy named Percy Jackson, where his father is Poseidon – the god of the sea. Taking one of the books in the series as an example – “The Lightning Thief”, reading Percy’s adventure of going on a quest to return the god of the sky Zeus’s master bolt has put me right into the action of the battle between demons and gods. By looking into the perspective of the main character, I got to have a hunch in his fears and emotions during the due course of his adventure. By reading his adventure, I got inspirations on how to stay motivated and engaged for the upcoming challenges in my life. Without reading, I would not be able to get indications and directions when I face barriers in the march of my life.

Apart from giving inspirations for my life, reading has excelled my articulation and writing ability. The more we are exposed to literature, the more words will inevitably make their way into our pool of vocabulary. For me, reading books has allowed me to gain exposure to other styles, get ideas from other voices, and get revelations from other forms of expressions. Most important of all, reading has allowed me to be exposed to writings that are better and sophisticated than my own, which has really helped me to improve.

I believe that a keen reader has a greater strength in language than those who rarely read, not only because they have a bigger pool of diction, but also they have the ability to recognize the nuances of language and distinguish the disparity between gritty and superior pieces of writing. In fact, there are numerous researches out there that have proved reading really promotes language skill. For instance, the website “testyourvocab.com” analyzed millions of its test-takers for vocabulary sizes and discovered that people who have a habit of reading - especially fictional literature, were significantly more likely to have a larger vocabulary. The research stated that books like fiction, which uses a greater variety of words and sentence structures, can increase the exposure of language to readers. And so, it is very apparent that reading books help ameliorate your writing fluency.

Furthermore, literature has broadened my horizons and expanded the borders of my imagination. To me, reading is just like an exercise for the brain. As important as physical fitness, our brain has to work out frequently in order to stay “fit”. However, for most people, they tend not to make time to exercise their brain, but immerse themselves into the virtual world of video games, read mindless social media posts, or watch television. By sparing some time every day for reading, it makes us comprehend ideas, uses our imagination, and fantasize the inner world of book authors. Eventually, reading consistently will help us better ditch distractions and be more focused when we have to operate our brain in the future. Our brain will also be more efficient in coming up with new ideas and solutions because our brain is consistently trained for using imagination and exposed to new knowledge through books and novels. It is because of that, reading has sharpened my thinking and imagination power, which gave me a great lift in handling problems, as the knowledge and ideas I have inspired through reading aided me in modifying my existing situation to tackle the problem.

I could never stop telling you how beneficial reading is. There are a billion of reasons why you should have a habit of reading literature. These reasons can include improving your language ability; enhancing your mental health; broadening your base of knowledge; or even just making you a happier person that you already are! If you are not so sure on how to get started in reading, I suggest you have a walk in the public library or a bookstore and explore something that can capture your interest- this can range from a silly comic book, to a knowledgeful encyclopedia. There is a reading genre for everyone on the planet, and whether your preference lies in classical literature, romance, cuisine, or fashion... I am sure there is something out there that can capture your curiosity. Reading has really improved my life and a lot of people’s lives. Step away from your computer for a little while, crack open a book, and replenish your soul. I am sure reading can improve your life too!

KONG Siu ChunThe ELCHK Yuen Long Lutheran Secondary School

Topic The Rewarding Experience Reading Has Brought to Me

‧ Well-structured and logical discussion

‧ Clear structure with good transition between ideas.

Comments

2019年

創作比賽

Let’s Share the Joy of Reading

Let’s Share the Joy of Reading

Let’s Share the Joy of Reading

香港 Hong Kong

作品排名不分先後，以獲獎者姓名排序。Works arranged in the order of the winner’s names.

支持機構 Supporting Organisations教育局 Education Bureau香港閱讀學會 Hong Kong Reading Association香港學校圖書館主任協會 Hong Kong Teacher-Librarians’ Association

高中組中四 (S4

) 　中六 (S6)

Senior Secondary

Life. It is such a simple thing yet so hard to grasp. In case you have not known, life is unfair. That is the just way of life. I thought my life was hard before I read this book, boy, was I wrong?!

Meet Santiago. He is a simple man from Havana Cuba - fishing, catching baseball news, teaching his apprentice how to fish, every night with the same dream of lions playing at an African beach are the things he does on a daily basis. He is a good man, yet is cursed with saleo, the worst kind of luck, because he could not catch any fish in eighty-five days continuously. Nonetheless, he had faith. Faith is a quality very hard to acquire. It is easy to have faith when you have luck on your side but I doubt it will stay once you have saleo. However, in such a case, Santiago had such a strong faith when he was catching a giant fish despite his advanced age, and as we all know, advanced age comes with a weaker health. But did he let his faith waver when he clung to the fish for three days, not letting it go? No. Did he lose faith when his harpoon (a long spear used for fishing) broke? No. Instead of letting it defeat him, he made a new one. What a strong unshakeable faith!

At that point, I had thought that Santiago must have got the fish back to the village, got rich and famous, was praised as the best fisherman of all Cuba. Well, I was very disappointed to read that none of those things above had come true. Even though he fought long and hard to get the marlin (the big fish), he still did not have it. I had never ever in my life read something like this. Ernest Hemmingway had created such a character that is so real and vivid to the readers then he just completely shattered us readers. I guess this is life. Writers often try to create an escape for readers from the cruel and unjust society but Ernest Hemmingway did the exact opposite, he told us the unwanted truth. The truth that haunts us unknowingly. The truth that no one wants to face. With such a simple story, he depicted the real situation in our lives that we may not be able to acquire what we deserve to because sometimes life is just like that. Wrong time, wrong place. Simple as that.

However, some critics have said that the author should not feed these thoughts to the society, saying Santiago is foolish to pursue something he knew he could never get. Well, I disagree. I think the author is trying to give us a lesson in life, a lesson no one wants. “Man can win a battle but might not get the prize.” Just like studying, we can only try our very best, but it does not mean you can get your expected result or sometimes, even a pass. It is frustrating for me especially because no matter how hard I try, I just cannot get a pass in Chinese. But what can you do except to try harder every time? Life will always find ways to beat you down but Ernest Hemmingway made the struggles in life worth it. He showed that sometimes, it is not the result that matters, it is the process of trying, the process of exploring new ways to succeed.

Nonetheless, this book showed that we cannot lose faith. You can keep trying and no one can stop you if you had the faith of Santiago. Life is like a race, everyone wants to get the prize but only a few can actually get it. With this thought in mind, some may give up. Others cheat to get it. But the true winners are the ones who try their best and have faith that they may succeed, even though sometimes they do not.

I chose to write about this book because it depicts the reality as I had discussed before. It is not some fantastical novel about wizards going to a school of magic, nor is it about romance stories during the 18th century, it is just a story about an old man’s tale of him fishing but he is not a great fisherman. Heck, he did not even succeed in capturing the marlin. But he was a man of faith. He showed that life may kick you down in ways impossible to imagine, it may be a real bully. However, it is you that decides if you will let it continue to bully you. It showed me that once you hit rock bottom, the only way to go is up. I absolutely loved this book, of course, I enjoy reading high fantasy books and adventurous books. But this book showed me how reading can widen your horizon and give you endless knowledge.

When you read a good book, you enter this new world, you become the characters. You will cry along with them and laugh at their jokes. You will love whom they love and hate whom they hate. You feel pity, even feel the pain firsthand, when they get hurt. You get such a feeling that is indescribable when you reach the last page and realize that you will never read their stories again. However, they will always stay in your heart. That is how you tell it is a good book. That is how I felt when I read The Old Man and the Sea. I was just so immersed into the story. I felt real pain when I read that Santiago had lost the marlin but I received the true message that the author wanted to send when he wrote it.

Life is hard but it does not mean that we can just give in. Sometimes, even after you have tried, you may not get what you want. Just as the book said, “a man can be destroyed but not defeated.” Don’t give up! Have faith! And you can have happiness in life.

TSANG Fabiola AlvarezOur Lady's College

Topic Life

• The message of the book is presented reasonably clear.

Comments

• It is an engaging piece, but the last part did not really blend with the rest.

The essay is consistently focused and contains ample ideas and examples. The organization is appropriate and the sequencing of ideas is logical.

Varied transitions are used. The language and tone of the essay enhance the persuasive purpose. Word choice is appropriate. Sentences are varied.

Comments

Reading is an endless journey of pursuit. It’s like a never-ending roller coaster ride with exciting thrills, unexpected inversions, sudden stops and long straightaways. A good book always opened portals for me to escape into an imaginary realm of my own, filled with magic spells, talking animals and high school proms. Apart from that, books play a big role in my life as a teacher. They expose me to knowledge I never knew and places I’ve never been before in the most fun and authentic ways.

“Mum, what’s my favourite book when I was a baby?” The present me asked.

“There’s no doubt about it,” my mother giggled. “It has to be ‘The Lion King’. It was the first book I read to you and you were always chuckling every time I raised you up like how Zazu lifted Simba for all of Pride Rock to see. That brings back lots of wonderful memories.” She sighed dreamily. “Did you know that you used to always imitate sounds of animals? You responded with a ‘Roar!’ when I mentioned Mufasa. You were also laughing hysterically when we got to the part about the nasty hyenas.”

“Oh mum, stop it. It’s embarrassing!” My face flushed while I let out a little laugh.

My reading journey began with one of my Disney favourites, “The Lion King”. And from then on came the ABCs and 123s. My roller coaster of pursuit started its journey, heading up towards the peak of knowledge.

During my primary school phase, I was introduced to a larger variety of books with diverse genres. My favourites, when studying in junior primary mainly belonged in the category of fantasy, especially Geronimo Stilton and the Rainbow Magic series. From the hilarious stories of Geronimo Stilton, despite his rotten luck which always drives him into crazy situations like falling into a tank full of melted chocolate chips in a cheesecake factory, his friends always come and cheer him up at the end. The funny types of fonts in the book also greatly piqued my interest while reading. It felt as if I was able to experience what the silly rodent was going through in his many adventures. I was obsessed with the Rainbow Magic series to the extent that I could fill a massive bookshelf with the many books I’d bought! I loved how Rachel Walker and Kirsty Tate joined hand-in-hand to help the little magical girls in Fairyland to defeat the evil Jack Frost with the magic of friendship.

Apart from bringing me into the world of make-believe, these two series of books taught me that friendship is a treasure and that things will always turn out fine when we have friends to rely on. The characters in the books gave me great advice like reminding me not to make a fool out of myself and to believe in my friends.

Buds of romance were beginning to sprout from our curious minds starting from my senior primary years. Back then, my friend lent me one of the books from the series of Dork Diaries by Rachel Renée Russell and I instantly fell in love with the dorky, goofy journal entries of the diary’s owner, Nikki Maxwell. The series was everything to me. Since the first book I read from the series, I kept looking forward to new ones and bought them just to see how love blossoms between Nikki and her crush Brandon. Squeee! This series gave me an idea of how complicated love was, unlike the princesses who always get their happily ever afters in fairy tales. It also opened me up to cases of bullying at school through the diary stealing and rumour spreading actions of Mackenzie Hollister, the story’s antagonist.

In time, different types of subjects appeared out of thin air and I further developed my interest towards non-fiction books. Cookbooks, science-themed comic books, encyclopedias... My roller coaster took its turn in pursuit of interest and the view from there was magnificent. Through all those twist and turns I could explore wonderlands with fluffy raspberry meringues drifting over

trees of broccoli and lakes made out of irresistibly scrumptious clam chowder, rainforests inhabited by creepy chameleons and tropical birds and go on a journey to the past, staring in awe at majestic dinosaurs roaming the Earth and how human civilization came to be.

The roller coaster slowly went downhill and continued to travel through a long straightaway that never seemed to end. Before I could even realise, a mystic fog swooped in and covered the tracks as well as the picturesque view I was enjoying. I desperately tried to fan away the blurry mist wrapped around me, but no matter how hard I tried, the thick, white veil wouldn’t disappear. Along with the coaster tracks, it distracted me from books and novels and slowly shrouded my passion towards reading. I was overwhelmed by floods of studying and homework that I could seldom find time of my own to read. I was scared not knowing what to expect and where my roller coaster might take me beyond the mysterious fog. “I want to read! I want to see the view on the other side so badly! When can I go on exciting adventures like I used to?”

It had been a year since the roller coaster headed straight into the fog and it still seemed to be an endless, boring journey. Suddenly, I heard a faint shout coming from the sky and it seemed to get louder and louder. “Ahhhhh...Oomph!” A girl with a large backpack just fell out of nowhere and landed right next to me!

“Oh gosh! Are you okay? It’s got to be scary falling from such great heights.” I exclaimed as I helped strap on her seatbelt.

“Nevermind me, I’m perfectly fine, you see? Anyway, I’m Lucy Pevensie, and what’s with this ride? It’s dreadfully boring. Lemme help you spice it up a bit. Let’s see,” she said, reaching inside her massive backpack. “Here’s the one! Ever heard of The Chronicles of Narnia?”

“No, not really.” I shook my head.

“Then we must take a look. It’s a great read! Let’s begin with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”

The moment she began reading, the fog started to clear away. And right before us stood an enormous wardrobe with open doors. The train began to accelerate as cold, strong winds blew towards us, revealing a realm of snow I’ve never seen in a long time. The tingling sensation of the icy-cold weather brought me feelings of delight.

“Feels good to read right? The girl grinned, smiling ear to ear while the roller coaster slanted upwards, slowly entering a tunnel of pitch black.”

“It sure does.” My voice echoed. I raised my hands above my head, closed my eyes and let out a giggle of anticipation as I got myself ready for the exciting drop ahead of me.

“You know what Dr. Seuss once said? ‘You can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax. All you need is a book.’”

WONG JennyGood Hope School

Topic One's Journey in Reading

2019年

創作比賽

Let’s Share the Joy of Reading

Let’s Share the Joy of Reading

Let’s Share the Joy of Reading香港 Hong K

ong

作品排名不分先後，以獲獎者姓名排序。Works arranged in the order of the winner’s names.

支持機構 Supporting Organisations教育局 Education Bureau香港閱讀學會 Hong Kong Reading Association香港學校圖書館主任協會 Hong Kong Teacher-Librarians’ Association

高中組中四 (S4

) 　中六 (S6)

Senior Secondary

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies ... The man who never reads lives only one.” --- well said by George R.R. Martin! In the 21st century, everybody is overwhelmed by the digital world. Whatsapping, googling and instagramming make our days busy yet dull and empty. However, to me, no matter how overloaded with my studies and stressed I am, I must spare some leisure time reading. Reading is a joyous experience, whether I am diving headfirst into a brand new book or rereading an old favorite. I firmly believe that “a book is a dream that I hold in my hand” (Neil Gaiman). And that is where the beauty and joy of reading lies.

Recently, I have read several books which have a profound impact on me. During the journey of reading, I have an enjoyable experience in which I have learnt a lot. One of the series that I have found truly insightful is Chicken Soup for the Soul. All the stories are meaningful to me. While drinking the soup, I taste happiness, inspiration and hope. Sometimes, I taste bitterness, sadness and frustration too. Yet, the aftertaste of it makes my life feel richer and stronger. Another masterpiece that I would highly recommend to all book lovers is The Alchemist, which tells the captivating story of an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who goes for his wonderful journey to the pyramids of Egypt, after having a recurring dream of finding a treasure there. In this book, I have witnessed how the young shepherd pursues his dreams disregarding all challenges and difficulties encountered.

Driven by the desire to explore the world, the young shepherd Santiago decided to leave his comfort zone in the monastery and followed his dreams. During the journey, he met people from all walks of life. For instance, the king of Salem who advised him to sell his sheep so as to travel to Egypt. He once worked for a crystal merchant for the sake of making enough money to fulfil his personal legend and go to the pyramids. Through the unique encounters with the individuals, gradually he improved himself and thus grew stronger and more mature. In the end, a wise alchemist came into Santiago’s life and he taught the young to realize his true self. During the valuable experiences, the shepherd mastered a lot of new skills such as speaking Spanish and making crystals. Overcoming all difficulties and challenges in life, Santiago gained much confidence and a great sense of satisfaction and fulfillment.

Reading is power! As a reader, I can experience the intriguing journey to the pyramids with Santiago. In the past, I always lacked confidence and worried too much. I thought I was the inferior one who could never compete with others. I was too scared to take my leap to pursue my dreams as I did not believe in myself. I thought I was incapable of archieving my goals. After reading the success story of the young shepherd, I began to understand that realizing one’s destiny is a person’s obligation. With courage and perseverance, one can easily conquer all difficulties and hardship. We, human beings, are different from animals because we have dreams. We are eager to find the meaning of existence. Like the shepherd boy in the book, we should just let go of everything and bravely start our own journey. Therefore, in order not to regret myself, after reading this book I have promised myself to start to pursue my dreams. Now, gaining power and faith from Santiago, I am no longer afraid of facing any challenges. I know that whether or not I succeed is not of prime importance. What matters is my willingness and attempt to try and how I live my life to the fullest.

Thanks to The Alchemist, I have adopted a new motto: “don’t forget to appreciate the scenery along the way and the beauty around you.” Often, we love to compare with others. We tend not to be content with what we already have. We neglect all the appreciation and support we gain from our family and friends. However, the rich man in the book shared with the young shepherd the secret of happiness. The key to happiness is simple, i.e. seeing all the marvels of the world. The rich man also told the young boy that he should never forget the oil in the spoon. He compared the oil in the spoon to the ideals and goals of a person. When people fully concentrate on their own goals, it is easy for them to overlook all the good things around them, or ignore their friends and beloved ones. Indeed, without our secret angels, we may not be able to succeed and survive in all those bad times alone. As advised by the book, “the secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil in the spoon.”

In addition, to prepare for achieving my dreams, I understand that I must better-equip myself and gain more power and strength. Santiago in The Alchemist is a living proof. Before continuing his tough journey, the shepherd boy stayed in a crystal shop. During that period, he learned Spanish for better communication in the future. He understood that he might not succeed solely with enthusiasm and courage. I reflect on my own situation: dreaming to be an accountant, I must master the subject knowledge well and equip myself with essentials skills such as analytical skills and problem-solving skills. Instead of sheerly dreaming a dream, I have to pay great effort and be fully committed in order to realise it.

According to a recent survey by the Gallup International Association, Hong Kong ranked the fifth most pessimistic place on Earth. Among the poll of 51 countries and regions around the globe, Hong Kong people are almost as gloomy and despaired as the underprivileged people in South Korea and regions at war like Lebanon. If you are lost in this city, pick a book of your interest and read. When you are depressed and frustrated, learn to read to relax. In the world of reading, you will be able to find the elixir to stress relief and positivity. The Alchemist says “wherever your heart is, that is where you’ll find your treasure.” J.K. Rowling reminds us “if you don't like to read, you haven’t found the right book.” Now, I believe you know where to launch the great start to your new reading journey. Bon voyage!

YU Ting TingConcordia Lutheran School -

North PointTopic Bon Voyage-My Journey in Reading

• Ideas are closely knitted with the illustration of application in the writer's own life.

• The essay is fully focused and contains a wealth of ideas and examples. The organization of ideas supports the writer's focus. The writer utilizes carefully crafted phrases to create a

sustained tone and an authoritative voice. Word choice reflects an advanced vocabulary.

Comments