This essay is in the style of narration. I use the flashback to narrate the earthquake happened in the year 2008, in Sichuan. There were many descriptions about the surrounding and my own mentality. The flashback begins from paragraph3 to paragraph8. The first two paragraphs are mainly describing my mood, a positive attitude towards life. In paragraph9, current life of the survivors is described in brief, which is the key to the transition of my life attitude in the last paragraph.
Life is moving on
1. Dragging the two reluctant legs, I was slowly heading on the exit of the library, the head thrown down and the mind busily wandering. If the gate approaching was hundreds of miles afar, I would not expose myself to the burning sun; if the time stopped running, I would not hurry to finish so annoying a paper. Why life could be such a mess? Why…
2. All of a sudden, a sharp continuous sound, rushing into my listless ears, pulled me out of that wandering travel. How mournful it was! How familiar it was! Is it…. Turned around swiftly, on the spot where my eyes rest I saw the time, 2:28 pm. And today was… May 12, 2011!
3. The burning sun was hanging in the cloudless sky, the hot air was as sleepy as the guys inside---Some of my classmates were prone on the desk with the half-opened book flipped over occasionally; others were persistently struggling against the intensive tiredness with their heads buried in piles of books. Poorly the pen in my hand was wavering to kiss the test paper and all those cubic characters were becoming smaller and smaller. That was how we had been living, a group of people who had to meet the so-called most essential business in our life. The glaring number on the blackboard never forgot to remind us of the days left. And now it was 24, only 24! My world was teemed with anxiety and fear, so as the whole class. Where was the so-called great bright future in our honored teachers‟ description? How I wished the life was melt at that moment, so peaceful and so silent.
4. However, the sleeping campus opened its eyes suddenly. An incredible piece
of news swept every corner of our school, our province, and our country--- an unprecedented terrible earthquake stoke Sichuan province, as well as its neighboring regions at 2:28 pm, just 2 minutes ago. Our teacher appeared in front of us confirming such a surprising news, his lips stumbled and his face turned pale. It was said that the magnitude reached 8.0; it was said that almost all buildings collapsed, no matter towering or low; it was said hundreds of millions of people were buried in the ruins. All happened just within several seconds. Just in a blank time, our “land of abundance” turned into a hell where shouts, groans, cries, blood, death, horror were uncontrollably prevailing. How could we believe it? The fact was that our unfinished work was still lying on the desk, the sun was still loyally on his duty, the bustling cars were still hurrying fro and to… everything here was in order, despite that this summer afternoon was extremely hot and we were pretty weary. How could we imagine some places in our country were going through great pains?
5. In the following days when numerous relevant reports flooded through all kinds of media---TV, newspapers, internet, radio, I had to believe that it was a fact, a real fact, while the destructive consequences were exactly beyond me. All those pictures and shots were filled with suffocating sorrow and despair, where the figures in green camouflage clothing were the only warmth. Just as the Chinese saying goes, it is only when we are on the edge of death that we know about the meaning of life indeed. Having not experienced such a mournful disaster in person, only standing in front of the TV did I feel the helplessness and scare, so what about them?
6. Several seconds before, they might have been indulged in a beautiful dream with a peaceful smile on the lip; they might have been conducting an important operation on the badly sick with all their concentration on the body; they might have been on the way to pick up someone in the airport with a bouquet of lovely flowers in the carriage; they might have been swimming in an ocean of exercise, just like us. A marvelous picture seemed more and more vivid---entering the grand gate of the desirable colleges, where all various community activities, excellent romance, a handful of free time were waving to them so nicely. What a wonderful world it was! It was just there, ten meters, seven meters, five meters, four… suddenly, everything stopped here; their world did unexpectedly collapse, totally, completely!
7. Merely several seconds later, many people closed eyes forever, leaving their beloved with broken hearts; many, though were rescued from stacks of rubbles, lost a sound body forever. There was a sweet girl Liyue who was very good at dancing and drawing and always dreaming of being an excellent ballet dancer someday. Though the nine-year-old girl won the fighting against death, the cost she paid was a leg, a significant premise of her dream. Then how would the dream continue? And how would their life continue?
8. After astonish, mourning, we, the lucky dogs, had just returned to our normal life and start all the suspended. Time slipped away silently. Without the sound horn, I would not have remembered this special day. Now I was a junior student of the college I had been looking forward to, not the one stuck in worry of the entrance examination any more; I was surrounded by dozens of bosom friends, not the one accustomed to walking in isolated world any more; I was capable of handling troubles
on my own, not the one in need of my parents‟ comprehensive protection any more. It was the three years that cast me as a confident, warm girl. Then how were they?
9. Standing in front of the big screen, I could feel relieved happy tears in my eyes. There they were! They were in a new sweet marriage with lovely kids, gracious parents, dear siblings around; they were chatting with each other in the newly-built beautiful yard with roses blooming lushly; they were laboring on the farmland where the golden harvests were around the corner… A sweet girl abruptly drew my attention. Immersed in the soft light, she was dancing, elegantly, slowly and calmly. Three years later, that helpless girl had stepped on the shining stage, on the way of approaching her beautiful dream, so as the others. Was there any scenery more attractive than the sincere smiles on their lips, in their eyes?
10. No one would forget the deadly pains they went through on that hot summer afternoon. But Instead of being drowned in the sorrowful past, they chose to wipe out tears and look forward, since life was moving on.
11. Turned around, I ran towards the exit, decidedly, with a smile on my lips…
A good try with the technique of „flashback‟. The flashbacks are well integrated into the narration of the story.
Score: 9.5
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