HKCEE 2006 Essay Topic 2

 2. Recently, a TV presenter helped you arrange a special birthday event for one of your parents without his or her knowing about it. The preparations for the event and what happened on the day were filmed as part of a very popular TV show called Surprise of Your Life.

Write a letter to your sister in Canada describing what sort of surprise event you choose and why, how it was organized and how your parent felt about it being shown on TV.

Begin your letter 'Dear Shelley,' and sign it 'Nicky.' Do not write an address.

 

Dear Shelley,

Okay, sis. I have gotten three emails from you, but I have been so busy with school I didn't have time to give you a blow-by-blow account of the surprise party. But I'll tell you now.

Well, it all started two weeks ago. I was going back home, mulling about the Fs in my mock exams. That was when I saw the poster advertising the television show --- “Surprise of your Life” -- for those who wanted to organize surprise events for their loved ones. The thought of having a nice surprise party for dad's 60^th birthday came to me, so I decided to make it happen.

It only took five minutes to fill out the application, but a whole week of waiting and wondering. Imagine my surprise when I got a call from Chan Mai Fei, the TV producer, wanting to discuss details about the show! Then I figured, “How about a nice dinner at a fancy Chinese restaurant?” So we picked On Gok Lau as the location for the filming. I would compile a guest list and make sure dad would show up at six on Thursday. The TV crew would take care of the rest.

Everything went as planned, or so I thought. As soon as we arrived, my uncles, aunts and cousins chanted, “Surprise! Happy birthday!” Dad and mom then saw the TV camera, and tried their best to stay away from it. But we wouldn't let them. We told dad to forget the camera's existence and enjoy the party.

As usual, converation shifted to school and grades. Uncle Chan mentioned how his son was getting straight As in his mock HKCEE exams. Then dad remembered about the one thing I had been dreading. “Sai Wing, did you get your exam grades back?” Oh, how I wish I could smash the camera into pieces. I looked away from the camera and everyone. “I did, but I...failed...five subjects. I'm sorry.”

A minute passed before dad's voice came. “Well, at least you know what you need to work on. Just try harder and get some help from your cousin.” He padded my back and changed the conversation.

Could you believe it? After giving dad the nastiest surprise of his life, I got one of the nicest ones back – my dad's faith in me.

So there you have it. I need to study as hard as I can now. Will call you when I need to practise English.

Love,

Nicky