背景是大概1850年的时候，澳大利亚Gold Rush的时候。很多国家的人为了找金子，来到澳大利亚。很多中国人。这封信是我，当时求Ballarat的某个学校收留我（不是我愿意，是作业要求，当时是这样，因为那个学校给你住宿、食物，长大了还给你一个工作）。
慢慢看，英文的。可能不是很好的，因为时间有限，但是希望你们喜欢。
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Dear Headmaster,
Please do let me in the school. My name is Liqi Zhang, I am 11 years old; I have a sister named Yun, she’s 16. My mother’s name is Qiong, my dad’s is Zili.
Our family came to Australia in 1853. But my home country is China. Life is difficult in China, we always starve, we didn’t have much to eat. Dad went out everyday to look for food while Mum, Yun and I stayed home. We don’t have anything proper to wear either, materials for clothing are very rare over where I live. And even if there are some merchants walking past with rough materials, no one could afford it. We didn’t have money. We were pretty wealthy at first when dad owned a company. But the company broke-down. We do have some money saved, but we do not dare spend it. It’s too precious. We lived in 2 tents, they’re very small, when all the little furniture came in, we didn’t have any room to sleep at all. During the really hard times, my Mum and Yun decided to beg for money and food, but it was no use. The territory that my family lived in was filled with poor people, how could they spare some money or food when they don’t even have enough? So Dad had to go to look for food, sometimes he had to fight with other men.
After a while, the other people begin to disappear. Dad found out that they’ ere going to the goldfields in Australia. It was said that, many people who went there to dig for gold became rich. Dad thought about it, and decided with his friends. The next day he told us that we have to pack to leave for Australia, his other two friends coming with us.
We packed lots and lots of soap and a bucket, our rags for clothes and a pot. That’s all we brought with us.
We spent almost all our money to buy 4 tickets to Australia, and the others said it would take months to get there, and the conditions are horrible. But Dad couldn’t care less. Money, houses and comfortable life was more that anything to him, and to us.
Although life on the ship was terrible, but we managed to get through. It wasn’t as lucky for Weng, my Dad’s friend, his wife was pregnant then ,and she died on the ship with her baby. Dad’s other friend. Chan, was more unlucky, he fell in the sea by accident. We didn’t have enough water on the ship, we had to cook our food with sea water. It tasted awful, but the thought of the gold that we’ll found at Australia rose my family’s and my hope.
It was, I think when we’re about to arrive in Australia, that the captain of this ship told us that because of some problems, every person on the ship has to pay 10 pounds to land in Victoria, the only way to get to Victoria was to land in South Australia and walk there. People muttered and sounded unpleased, but all agreed in going to South Australia.
No one on the ship had thought that the walk to Victoria could be so hard and unpleasant and miserable. The land was dry and none of us had much water. Most of the people that died was because of water, some others are because of wild animals. A lot of other people that survived said that my family was really lucky, none of our members have died, although we thought we would.
When we’re at the diggings we had to buy all the supplies we need to dig for gold with the rest of our money. The things are so expensive, but we managed. Dad made friends quickly with the other Chinese diggers. Then one day, troopers came and check for ‘Miners License’. Dad didn’t have one, but the other diggers played a trick and fooled the troopers. One of the Chinese diggers – Lin Wu said that you must have one of those if you want to dig for gold, or else you’ll be in jail. Dad use all the money we’ve left to buy the ‘Miners License’.
First, I’d help out on digging gold with mum, but then we realized that we didn’t have much to eat. So that’s when we heard of the Ballarat Benevolent Asylum Ragged School. Dad decided to send here. Now Yun is helping mum with panning for gold, dad is a miner.
I would really like to be a bonnet maker when it’s the right time. I always fancied the ribbons and laces.
Please, please do let me in the school. I’ll be really really good.
Yours Sincerely
Liqi Zhang
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