It really annoys me when IELTS is repeated in my conversation with Chinese fellows.  
      When I went to Liverpool, the Chinese boys sitting near my seat talked about IELTS over the journey. Today I joined a group of people for a trip to Castleton. A Chinese girl said to me “Angela said you got 7.5 in IELTS. How did you do that? Tell me!” Two Chinese boys from Engineering Department said “Oh, you must get high score in IELTS!”  when we introduced to each other and I said I am doing MA in Journalism Department.
      For me, that exam is in the past tense. Just as the score of college entrance exam is useless once you start college life, there is no need to talk about a silly exam only qualifying one to meet the requirement in the  application process.
      The exam-oriented culture is deeply rooted in Chinese education system, so it will no doubt affect the way that many Chinese people judge a student’s ability. 7.5 sounds a high score. But still it’s not that extremely high. And even one got 7.5 in the  exam, it doesn’t secure you as good as a native English speaker. How can you know the Yorkshire dialect when you take the New-oriental training classes for IELTS? How can you undertand the British jokes even if you got full mark in IELTS? Are you confident enough for bar talk provided that you got 8 in IELTS? Do you manage the language well enough to carry out a clear and elegant prose? Does high score qualify one carrying on everything well in a new  environment? Definitely no.
      Why not talk about their lives in Sheffield and interesting experience in studying the subjects they chose? Why not discuss culture differences and share with each other skills for life? Why not exchange information more useful for the present rather than those out of date?
      I am fed up with IELTS. Tell me something fresh please!

    Christmas Eve means nothing for me, or at most another excuse for shopping and going out with friends if I were in China. I tried to make something special tonight, only to remind me today is a special day.
    But yes, a little bit lonely, since many people are celebrating with their families.I stayed in my flat. Not alone, Davies is here. We had dinner together, but it was like any other dinner we had had together. I know it is harder for him in Christmas Eve, as he used to be with his family. We talked a lot about religion, culture and languages. The conversation was also like any other conversation we had before.  
    No big dinner, no present, no carol, no midnight mass, no crazy party. Maybe years after I would miss this peaceful and quiet Christmas in a simple flat of Sheffield with a future philosophy professor.
    Ha！

    我在一家为智障成人服务的机构做义工，顺便作为自己的采访任务之一。
    虽然最后我没有把她写进普通新闻事件，然而K的故事一直萦绕我心。我到S组织的第一天，她就问我要喝茶还是咖啡，我说要喝茶，不加糖和牛奶。她为我捧上一杯热茶，我看到，每一次，不管是谁来她都会问。
    K普通得不能再普通，可是每次她对那些智障成员说话时，眼中洋溢着一种完全不同的光彩。
    这种光彩与其他工作人员完全不同，比如C和R，他们都非常耐心和认真，然而他们的耐心和认真是因为喜欢这份工作，以及要给予这些人作为人能够被平等相待的那种责任感。
    K是截然不同的。她的女儿T是智障，一年前她们一起来到S组织。K每天早上6点都会来到S组织的活动地点，打扫卫生，整理材料，做电话记录——完全义务。T的父亲在家经常打T，K知道，却无能为力，因为她的伴侣也经常对她采取暴力。直到八年前，她先来到谢菲尔德，后来T也一起来了，T加入了S组织，过去她在另一家支持机构住。
    T在S找到了真正的快乐，她是newsletter小组的编辑，她在management committee里有一份工作，她能够帮助工作人员打印复印文稿，她变得自信，她能够勇敢说出自己的想法，S让她找到了自己的价值所在。。
    K对成员们心灵的感受超越了任何一个工作人员。J会走到她身后给她揉肩膀，她笑着道谢与他打趣，L不开心的时候她会坐在她身边数落那些冷遇L的人，每一次，她蓝眼睛里有着对T一样的母亲般的爱怜——那是一种人间至极的美丽。
    成功者的光环也许是令人艳羡的。
    但是这样一个平凡女人身上的光环，是让我铭记一辈子的。