Topic 86 A time and a place in the past. The topic makes me recollect (заставляет меня вспомнить) my childhood, the happiest time that I had in my hometown

The topic makes me recollect (заставляет меня вспомнить) my childhood, the happiest time that I had in my hometown. It is a remote village on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau full of imagination and intrigue. My childhood there was cheerful and unforgettable (веселым и незабываемым).

It used to be a very small village, surrounded with high mountains; the melted (талый) snow water from the top of the mountains formed many clear brooks (чистых ручьёв) and went through the village. The crystal water moistened (увлажненный) the grass and crops in the village and also provided the village people with all sorts of fish and shrimps (рыб и креветок). The appearance of the mountain sides varied as the seasons change - yellow in spring, green in summer, red in autumn and white in winter. The top of the mountains was always covered with snow, shining under the sun. When you were in the village, you would feel you were touching the sky and you will feel a sense of holiness (чувство святости) around your body.

My childhood friends and I enjoyed our life in the village so much. We liked to swim in the water freely and catch the fish on fine days. We grazed (пасли) the animals in the grassland (на пастбище) after school. The sheeps on the grassland are like stars on a vast velvet green carpet (огромный ковер зеленого бархата). We played games in the pasture (на пастбище), we sang folk songs on the hill, and we climbed trees in the forests. We were always so happy that we often forgot to go home or go to school. I boast it was the most beautiful place in the world, although full of impoverishment (полное обеднение, обнищание). The villagers were so poor and they barely have enough food at that time, but they were so optimistic. They kept working hard with little return without any hesitation or complain. It was since childhood that I learned how to face hardships and failures in my life.

My childhood days were innocent (простой, простодушный, наивный) and worry free. I left my hometown for a better educational opportunity when I grew up, but I always miss that wonderful homeland. I take every opportunity to visit it. The pictures of the place and the life there will always live in my mind.