Page 421 - updated on July

Yu Jihui: “A Stinking Old Ninth – A Tale of the Coal Capital” (updated on July 2020)

I flushed. I had only written my plan on a note

book and my handwriting was sloppy. But I showed

her the plan. She read it and said,

“You are a young man of ambition. English is

useless at the moment, but it will be useful in the

future. It is very important. I’m sure soon the whole

country will see its importance. You’ll have scope

for displaying your ability. English is a beautiful

language. Can you read some part of the text for me

to listen to?”

I was very happy with her request. I just wanted

to show off my beautiful pronunciation. My

pronunciation was considered excellent. I wanted to

make a good impression on her. So I said, “No

problem!”

To demonstrate my beautiful voice, I cleared my

throat three times and then began to read. I chose a

long paragraph from a text that I was most familiar

418