Dear Karen,

As you probably know, it's my sister Suzie's 16th birthday in a week. We're planning a surprise party for her. Julie's going to pick her up from school as usual on Friday but she's not taking her home. She's bringing her to the Palace Hotel, the big modern one near the station. We're having a meal there and we've also hired (租用) the ballroom (舞厅) for a party in the evening. I hope you can come!

    All her friends from school are coming and quite a few of the people from our village, too. Of course, Mum and Dad are coming up from England and I've managed to persuade (说服) our other sister, Marie, to come over from Australia. She's bringing her kids with her, too.

    After the party we're going to have another one on Saturday! Well, not really a party. We're inviting the family and close friends (that includes you) for a meal at the house. If the weather is nice, we'd like to have a barbecue in the garden. Julie's going to make a special cake for Suzie.

    Anyway, we hope to make it a really special weekend for Suzie. On Sunday we're all going for a walk in the country. You know how she loves walking and we're all going to need a bit of exercise after all that lovely food. We're hoping to go up to the lake. Marie said she wanted her kids to feed the ducks just like Suzie and she did when they were very young. I'm sure Suzie will love that too.

    It would be great if you could come over for the weekend. We would all love to see you. Let me know as soon as you can.

Best,

David