March 13,1999

Dear Eriko,

　Hello! How are you? Thank you for the photo of those pink flowers. I've never seen such beautiful flowers. My father told me that they are cherry blossoms. He saw some in Washingtoton, D.C. The cherry blossoms in Washington D.C. are very famous. You wrote that your mother took me the photo. I think she's very good at taking pictures!
　Last Saturday, I went hiking in the mountains with my parents and my little sister, Ann. My mother and I made sandwiches for lunch. Ann wore her new hiking shoes. My father loves taking pictures, so he took his camera. We usually go to the top of our favorite mountain by car. But that day, my father wanted to walk to the top. He said it would be good for our health!
　We started early, and walked and walked. We got to the top of the mountain at about 1:00. We were tired and very hungry, so we had lunch. It was delicious! After lunch, my father wanted to take some pictures. We chose a good place and smiled at the camera. But when my father tried to take a picture, nothing happened. He forgot to put film in the camera!
　So I can't send you any pictures. Maybe next time! By the way, I'm starting piano lessons next week. Next weekend, I'll write and tell you about my first lesson.

Love,

Jane

Cheerleading

　If you watch American football or basketball games on TV, you can see some of the best cheerlearders in America. The cheerleaders are the people who cheer for their teams by singing songs, and shouting. By doing this, they help their teams to win.
　Cheerleading may look easy, but it is really quite difficult. Today's cheerleaders must be able to sing, dance, and do gymnastics. Sometimes, cheerleaders at American football games have to sing and dance for more than four hours! So they must be very healthy and strong.
　Cheerleading first became popular in the United States early in the 1950s. Nowadays, most American junior high schools high schools, and colleges have cheerleading teams. Every year, thousands of girls practice for a long time to become cheerleaders. Many of them practice every day after school, but only a few of them can become team members. After becoming cheerleaders, the girls have to practice even more. Of course, they have to go to all the games and work hard. But they also have a lot of fun.
　In 1972, one of the most famous professional football teams, from Texas, started the first professional cheerleading team. Sports fans really liked them, so teams around the country quickly began their own professional cheerleading teams. Now, cheerleaders are an important part of every game.