Dear Mike, 
I'm sorry to know that you are having trouble with the study of Chinese calligraphy. In fact, you are not alone. As it is demanding, even many Chinese feel it hard to write with a writing brush.
Despite this, it is very important to learn the artistic handwriting of Chinese characters. Learning Chinese calligraphy plays an important role in learning about Chinese culture and history. No matter who you are, if you want to be a master, first you have to be patient. And second, stick to practice, by which you will make progress. The more you practice, the better your calligraphy will be.
I hope you'll find my suggestions helpful.
Best wishes! 
Yours,
Li Hua 

Dear Peter, 
I'm glad to receive your letter asking for my advice on how to learn Chinese well. 
Here are a few suggestions. First, it is important to take a Chinese course. Then, it also helps to watch TV and read books, newspapers and magazines in Chinese whenever possible. Besides, it is a good idea to learn and sing Chinese songs, because by doing so you'll learn and remember Chinese words more easily. You can also make more Chinese friends. They will tell you a lot about China and help you learn Chinese.
Try to write me in Chinese next time.
Best wishes! 
Yours,
Li Hua 

Diane Ray was completely self-centred and very spoilt(宠坏的). Her parents gave her everything that she wanted, knowing that she would throw a tantrum(耍脾气) if they did not satisfy her desire. She would scream(尖叫) and lie on the floor drumming her heels. Finally her parents always gave in.
That was why she was alone on the beach, wearing an expensive swimsuit. It had taken a big tantrum to get her parents to buy it for her. They were back at the beach house, recovering from the tantrum she had thrown when they told her that it was too dangerous to go diving alone. “Dangerous? ” she had said. “You just don't want me to have fun. I'm going and if you try to stop me, I'll scream.”
“What are you doing?” a voice asked. Diane jumped and looked around. She did not know that the man was there until he spoke.
“I'm going to dive,” she answered coldly.
“You shouldn't swim today,” the man advised. “There is a storm(暴风雨) coming up.”
“You should mind your own business!” Diane replied and walked into the gentle waves.
“If you go out there you'll be sorry,” the man called after her. But she did not want to reply.
Diane slipped into the water and dived happily until white waves began rolling and it became harder to swim against the current(水流). Sea water hit against her face, making it difficult to breathe. “Oh, why did I not listen to the advice?”Diane regretted.

Paragraph 1:
Frightened, she began to scream. And she felt that she would slip beneath the surface, and extreme fear enveloped her. Then, she heard a calm voice, “Hold on! I'm coming.” With relief, she saw the man rowing a boat towards her. “I hope you've learned a lesson.You put us both in danger,” he shouted angrily, as he dragged her into the boat. Gratefully, Diane thanked him and ran towards the beach house.
Paragraph 2:
After Diane closed her bedroom's door, she was lost in thought. The pictures of her throwing a tantrum appeared in her mind. Feeling ashamed, she went out and walked to her mother. She made an apology to her mother for her bad behavior. She said, “I'm sorry, Mum. You and Dad who have given your selfless love to me have cared about me a lot. But I didn't cherish it. Even worse, I hurt you deeply. I promise I will listen to your words later.” With tears in eyes, they hugged tightly.

Jack and his wife Tonya were sailing around Africa with their friends Max and Sasha. One day they saw a big fishing boat. It was moving fast. “Hello!” they shouted. The men on the boat looked at them angrily. Max looked carefully at the boat.
“Something's wrong with their fishing net,”he said. They got nearer to the net. “What's that?” said Tonya. “There is something in the net. It's alive.” Very slowly, they moved nearer.
“I can see it now,” said Tonya. “It's a killer whale—it's hurt. There's blood in the water. How can we help it?” “I can see it too. It's a baby but we must be careful,” said Max.
Jack jumped into the water. “I can get the net off its fin,” he said.
Jack got the net off the baby killer whale. There was a big cut on its fin. It swam away. Suddenly there were other killer whales near the boat.
“Jack!Get in quickly,” shouted Tonya.
Jack swam to the boat as fast as a fish. “I'm going to call that baby killer whale Lucky,” he said.
As they moved away, it began to rain harder and harder.
Jack said, “We must get away from the wind. I can see a town over there. Let's go.”
The town got nearer but the waves got bigger. Suddenly a very big wave hit the boat.
“Is everyone OK?” shouted Jack. “Tonya?... She's not in the boat,” said Sasha. “She's in the water.”
They looked into the cold, dark water for hours. “Tonya! Say something, Tonya. Where are you?” shouted Max.
The wind got stronger and the boat was full of water. Another big wave hit the boat. “Jack, do you want us all to die?” said Max. “We can't do any more. Tonya is wearing a life jacket and she can swim very well. Let's sail to the town.”
Moments later the boat hit a beach. They went out. Max and Sasha slept on the beach. Jack sat near the water, looking at the sea and thinking about Tonya.

Paragraph 1:
At that time, Tonya was five hundred meters away out in the sea. Surrounded by the cold water, she was so frightened and she just shouted crazily for help. Suddenly, Tonya found herself rising out of the sea. Surprisingly, she was on the back of a big killer whale and there were some killer whales around her. Among them, Tonya saw a small one, which was saved by Jack a few moments ago—Lucky. They set off to catch the boat.
Paragraph 2:
Jack was walking along the beach and suddenly he saw someone waving to him. Later, he found that it was Tonya! As soon as Tonya set foot on the beach, Jack ran towards her and hugged her tightly. Tonya smiled, “Don't worry. I'm fine. I think we should thank the killer whales who saved my life. Look, the small one is Lucky!” Jack walked towards Lucky and stroked its fin, saying sincerely, “Thank you, Lucky!” Lucky shook its fin and then the crowd of killer whales swam away into the vast sea.