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我的老家是河北省的一个小城。二十七岁以前，姐姐没有去过河北省以外的地方。那时候，姐姐的假期很少，只有春节才能连着休息六七天。可是，春节是全家团圆的日子，她哪儿也不能去。
1997年，我大学毕业，留在北京一家公司当推销员，能够全国各地到处跑，姐姐很羡慕：“我上学的时候没有钱，工作以后又没有时间。要是能有一个长假期，我一定要跑遍中国。”
没想到，姐姐的这个愿望很快就实现了。1999年，政府开始实行“黄金周”休假制度：每年的春节、“五一”和“十一”，全国放假三天，加上周末，有整整一周的时间！对辛苦工作的人来说，有这么一个长长的假期，真是太难得了。
黄金周还没到，姐姐就开始做旅行的准备工作，一方面决定去什么地方，另一方面再联系好旅行社，只等休假开始，马上就出发。几年过去，姐姐已经去过了很多地方：去海边晒过太阳，去草原骑过大马，看过黄河，游过长江……
“外面的世界真精彩！”每次旅行回来，姐姐都会开心地说这么一句。
现在她已经制订了一个大计划：一个省一个省地看，一个地方一个地方地走，直到走遍中国，老得走不动了才停。
我的姐姐，一个普通的青年人，因为有这样一个长假期，生活变得越来越丰富。我愿她身体健康，跑遍中国以后，再去外国看一看。
My hometown is a small city in Hebei Province. Before she was twenty-seven, my older sister had never been anywhere outside Hebei Province. At that time, she had very little vacation time. Only during the Spring Festival could she take six or seven days off in a row. But the Spring Festival is a time for the whole family to reunite, so she could not go anywhere.
In 1997, I graduated from university and stayed in Beijing to work as a salesperson at a company. I was able to travel all over the country, and my sister was very envious. She said, “When I was in school, I had no money. After I started working, I had no time. If I could have a long vacation, I would definitely travel all over China.”
Unexpectedly, my sister’s wish soon came true. In 1999, the government began implementing the “Golden Week” holiday system: every year during the Spring Festival, May Day, and National Day, the whole country would have three days off. Together with the weekend, there would be a full week of vacation! For people who worked hard, having such a long holiday was truly rare and precious.
Before Golden Week even arrived, my sister would begin preparing for her trip. On the one hand, she would decide where to go; on the other hand, she would contact a travel agency. Then, as soon as the holiday began, she would set off immediately. After several years, my sister had already been to many places: she had sunbathed by the sea, ridden horses on the grasslands, seen the Yellow River, and traveled along the Yangtze River…
“The outside world is truly wonderful!” Every time she came back from a trip, my sister would happily say this.
Now she has already made a big plan: to visit each province one by one, and travel from place to place, until she has traveled all over China. She will only stop when she is too old to walk.
My sister is an ordinary young person, but because of this kind of long vacation, her life has become richer and richer. I hope she stays healthy, and after traveling all over China, goes abroad to have a look too.
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