Sam is doing an English project on the topic of happiness. What makes people happy? When are they happy? Are people really happy when they say they are? As part of his project, he asked three different people if they were looking forward to anything, what this was and how happy it made them.
Female: Hello. I’m Jenny, Sam’s girlfriend. There are a couple of things I’m really looking forward to at the moment. Next week, my cousin from England is flying over to stay with us for two weeks. We haven’t seen each other since we were kids. She is going to university at the beginning of October, and is coming to Hong Kong for a break before she starts. I hope we get on. It’s exciting to think we’ll all be meeting her after such a long time. And I’m looking forward to going to the movies with friends next week to see a film I’ve been looking forward to for ages. ‘Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children’. I’ve read the book and really loved it. It’s very weird. I hope they haven’t made a mess of the movie. The director is a guy called Tim Burton and I usually like his films. He has a weird outlook and he should be the perfect person to turn ‘Miss Peregrine’ into a film. Fingers crossed!
Male: Hi, I’m Max, Sam’s tennis coach. What am I looking forward to? I don’t even have to think about that. I’m looking forward to the new sports centre opening near my home. It’s going to be amazing. There will be a pool, tennis courts, an indoor football pitch, basketball courts and also there will be facilities for sports that aren’t very common. A lot of thought has gone into this place. One of the areas can be converted into a croquet course. There is even artificial grass that can be laid down because croquet should be played outdoors on a lawn. It’s a game of great skill that involves hitting a wooden ball with a mallet through strategically placed hoops. It’s a really old game, and I’m looking forward to playing it. I’m all in favour of minority sports like croquet becoming more popular.
Ms Tan: Hello, I’m Ms Tan, Sam’s maths teacher. I’m already looking forward to next year’s summer holidays. I know they’re a long way off, but that doesn’t matter. Why am I so excited about something so far off? Well, my husband and I will have been married ten years next August and we’re planning a very special trip. We’re going away for a month, and are going to take the train right across America from the west coast to the east. It will be the trip of a lifetime. I’m already looking forward to it because we have already begun to plan our itinerary. We are leaving nothing to chance. We’re researching hotels and train timetables. My husband studied American Studies at university, and me, well, I just love to travel. We have only just got back to school after this year’s long summer break, and I am already looking forward to the next. But for a very special reason, don’t you think?