大象传媒

Caroline has kept chickens in China and England

I have had these four chickens quite a while now.

I like them as if they were always in my life, and they recognize and follow me as if they had always belonged to me.

Every time they see or hear me walk into the conservatory 暖房,温室, they run towards me and scamper 蹦蹦跳跳,奔跑 along the other side of the fence, attempting to reach whatever food I bring to them.

As far as I can remember I had quite a few memories related to chickens. In my parents’ countryside house we used to keep chickens.

As we couldn’t afford meat very often, my mother used to cook eggs laid by our own chickens on a regular basis, to enrich 使丰富 our diet.

Then if there were any guests coming to visit us, my father would grab a rooster from the chicken house for a feast 盛宴 in honour of the guest. We kids all longed 渴望 for days like this.

Fun  Raising chickens can be fun and it is actually fun. My chickens and I love the company of one another.   Caroline

Not only could we get presents from the guest, our stomachs could have some as well.

At that time I didn’t have much affection towards the chickens. Because my parents let the chickens run wild around the village in the daytime, in the twilight after finishing school, we had to look around for them.

It was supposed to be fun rambling 闲逛,漫步 in the village, but not after it became a routine.

Then there was the stinky aspect of it. In summer we three children had to clean the chicken houses in turn. The procedure was: First you had to go and pump 用泵抽出(或压入) lots of water into the barrel 桶,圆桶; second you poured the water onto the chicken house floor; and then you used a bamboo broom 扫帚 to try to clean the floor; after that you repeated the process all over again until the floor was clean, and the chickens were happy.

Happy together

Raising chickens can be fun and it is actually fun. My chickens and I love the company of one another.

Whenever I go to the garden it is them who greet and follow me all the time. And when I am standing on the grass and doing something, one or two of them always try to peck 啄 the grass by my feet in order to attract my attention.

And when I am eating apple, some of them try to jump up and have a share of it. They are always hungry, but they are also ever so faithful 忠诚的. They will take whatever I offer them. For that I feel obliged to give them as balanced a diet as possible.

But having said all this I never had the intention of treating them as my pets.

Instead I want them to live what life they were supposed to live if they were given a choice, and give them attention but not too much as if they were my little pets.

And I think this moderate attentiveness 适当的关怀 can be reflected in life as well. As it is said, in some way what we do and how we treat others, be they animals or people, tells others what’s within us.

Your Comments 你的评论 and Caroline's Replies 作者的回复

Hi Caroline,
This is the first time I write to you, I know live in a foreign country can encounter many difficulties in life ,I hope you can have a happy life there. I am a student in china. At the end of this year I will join the CET-4 exam. I know the listening and reading are very important, so I read the book 'Crazy English' and listen to the programmes of 大象传媒 almost everyday, I like the programmes like 'Real English' and 'Take Away English' very much. But I don't like this to the CET-4 is whether useful. I'll be glad if you can give me some suggestions, what should I do to prepare for it ,to read crazily, to recite the dictionary or to make more exercises?
In the end wish you have a good mood everyday
lihaoran716, China

To lihaoran716,
Personally I don’t have a high regard for Crazy English. I was a TA (teacher assistant) of Crazy English training center at one point, and I found that Crazy English was only morally encouraging. I learnt English mostly by extensively reading. In terms of listening, CRI( China International Radio) was what accompanied me in my school days. Train yourself regularly in terms of reading, listening, writing, and speaking; and various materials always help. Good luck.
Caroline

Dear Caroline:
How do you do? It's nice to see you and your articles again. I enjoying reading your words. I think your life in England must be wonderful, athough it may also be full of obstacles. I am also looking forward to Europe as travelling or living abroad for some time may boarden one's horizon. How do you think of that. Well, today you are talking about Chinese food. I always feel so pride of that Chinese food has a great reputation in the world. And I extremely enjoy eating food of my hometown——Guangdong Province. I can't tell how amazing it is! And there is a saying that: Eat in Guangzhou have you heard that? And about tea——I also like tea so much The brown tea and milk tea are the most famous in England, aren't they? but I prefer green tea. And flower tea usually has a charming odour. Well, so much for today's reply. I wanna write more, but is too late. Good night and wish your happy!
Vivienne, Guangzhou

Dear Vivienne,
Thanks a lot for your comments. In terms of Chinese cuisine in England, I think you will be glad to hear that the so-called Chinese cuisine here is largely Cantonese cuisine, sweet and sour ribs, bean shoot spring rolls, to name a few. In terms of tea, I don’t have any preference. The variety here is what I like the best.
Caroline

Hey Caroline,
I think you should continue your selling, everything is very hard at the beginning, and only the people who do it persistently can reach their goal .We can not decide a person’s ability by his looks.
Chai, Kunming

Dear Chai,
Thanks for your concern. I actually have decided to stop market trading. I enjoyed the selling but had to close it down due to the practicalities. But of course I still haven’t given up my dream yet. I will keep you informed if possible.
Caroline

Caroline,
I would like to study aboard alone, however it is hard to plan and make decisions . Have you any suggestions for me? I admire the fact you have courage and have the help of your friend. Is it difficult to find a part-time job here? Would you intend to emigrate to England and leave your country?
Sarah, Hong Kong

Dear Sarah,
Why not just go for it if you’d like to study abroad? In the UK most schools help students find part-time jobs, if I am not mistaken. I came here with my friend, who doesn’t intend to go back to China soon. So I should imagine I will remain here a while.
Caroline

Great blog, BRAVO! It helps me improve my learning English, thanks bbc and Caroline.
Mike, Shanghai

Dear Mike,
I am glad that you have benefited from my blog. I wish I had had something of a similar kind, instead of boring textbooks, to read when I learnt my English.
Caroline

I'm a Chinese worker in a factory . First of all, I admire your work in the UK very much and I appreciate you for being such a strong girl. Please give my best wishes to you and your boyfriend.
Cloud, Jiangsu

Dear Cloud,
I give my best wishes to you as well. My university was in Suzhou, and I spent four years there. It was a beautiful city and I enjoyed the local specialty very much. I wonder if you agree with me.
Caroline

Hello Caroline!
I'm an A-Level student. This is my first-term but my English not very good ,so I can't always understand what teachers' say. I feel very worried. Can you tell me how to improve my listening? THANKS!
A-level student

Hi,
I used to spend one or two hours every day by a tape recorder in order to improve my listening ability. Later in order to polish it, I was a faithful listener of VOA and 大象传媒 news programs, which I downloaded off the Internet. I wonder if you could do the same. Good luck.
Caroline

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请填写上面的问题反馈表或发邮件给我们 chinaelt@bbc.co.uk

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