Feeling guilty again!

Never had thought that 9 days would slink away so fast that could barely plan to do something,until it really did so.Now I realise that it is absolutely true that" If you are not planning, you are plannging to fail!".And wasting a 9-day holiday is already to costly a price to pay! So I hope you can understand what I am saying now. Actually, I am driven by the strong sense of guilt to write these stuff here, and I think it is a time for me make a difference from now on.
It is so pathetic to be always feeling guilty while you have never commited a crime or done something indecent. You just find it so hard to make youself happy, while you know why you are frustrating and the resourses of your frustration, but you just leave it there.Just like you watch your house being burnt down bit by bit, standing by a well filled with water, with barrels in your hand, but you just kind of get enchanted and just stand still! How horrible!
However weak it seems to be to lack a power to force yourself to do the right thing, now I am determined and nothing can dent my resolution!I will try to act like a machine which do what my mind tells me, following every instruction, every detail, without being lazy. Yes! I hope this is the last time you guys see me behave so girlish!

Why I would not suicide

Someone once asked me would I ever commit suicide. My answer is never. In fact, if the whole world is drowned in despair, I would still be sticking around.

In some days, I may seem depressed or extremely serious. That is when the unpredictable heaviness strikes me. I couldn’t control it, so I just left it erupt by itself. But deep inside my heart stands the faith that it will always cool down. You may ask what if it can not cool down automatically, just like an active volcano.

I am delighted to tell you that even at that time, I still have my life straw to keep my head above the water. No matter how hard life seems to me, truth is that the beauty can never be concealed.
A piece of music has more power than you could ever expect. At different phases in my life, I may like different music. But if I try hard, I would always find the music written specially for me. To listen again and again brings me face to face with the composer. I would strongly believe that he understands how I feel at that very moment. I came to acknowledge that in the long river of time some one does care about me. The lonely soul of mine is saved.

My life was once in total mess. After the big exam, lied ahead a long black summer. I felt I was like a train running down hill, once started, could never slow down. While others were enjoying themselves in whatever way they would think of, I just studied and studied. I went extra miles to torture myself physically and mentally. The dignity and honor were all gone. I didn’t know how to face my parents, my teachers and especially myself. I nurtured my dream with great care, and suddenly, it was broken. Not even a wreck was left for me to mourn for. But every thing is destined to happen. I came across the movie “scent of a woman”. It had waited 15 years for me to watch. And it came to me just at the moment I needed it most. “All tangle up, just tango down”, the knot in my heart is unfastened. Yes, we are just floating around. Sometimes we should do nothing but let it go. So many burdens on my shoulder can only worsen the problem. If I can not help, I will just be hopeful and wait for it to be solved.

I could no understand why people should end up their lives while there is still so much beauty and hope in the world. If I should suicide, I will wait until I have listened to all the music I should listen to and until I have watched all the movies I should watch. Then I would make a yawn, stretch my limbs and told myself: It is my time. Only after that can I “fall asleep” without feeling regret. But unfortunately, I’m afraid this process will take up a long long time!

some thoughts

I have seen a movie called “slum dog millionaire”. Although this movie has a happy ending I still feel very sad after I finish it. It makes me think of my homeland—China and I begin to think about this film and a kind of relationship between India and China.
This story happens in India. A boy who was born in a slum becomes millionaire through a show called “who want to be a millionaire”. After I finished watching it for the first time, I started to feel familiar with the topic of this film but still did not know why. So I watch it for a second time. Then I understand gradually. It is because from this Indian film I can see a kind of China. India is so similar to China. They are both developing countries with huge population. They are both facing same kinds of problems.
I think the first problem is poverty. The dirty crowded and noisy life in the slum the huge rubbish hill with lots of buzzing flies flying around they are just like what we have seen in the poor areas in some parts of China. People who live there are really poor but they have no chance to change their living conditions. They live quite tough life. Both of India and China are facing this awkward problem, as developing countries they have such a huge gap between the rich and the poor. The poor’s health safety and food cannot be guaranteed by the government.
The second is inveigling children to work for them as a beggar. Some people both in India and China steal infants or give food to some vagrant children and take them together then they control these children and make them to ask for money from the passers-by. These children are often be beaten and made as disabled persons by some of chemical reagents to gain sympathy from the passers-by so that they can ask for more money from them. I have met children like that many times in my city. So I really understand what kind of life they are living.
China says it is the biggest socialism but corruption still generally exist in the government and the Communist Party, different classes still oppose each other. Just like the problems which are reflected by the film and really happen in the India society.
In the film I can also see the economy is quickly developing in India just what is happening in China. So many religion clashes make many people die in both India and China.
India and China, these two neighbour countries have so many similarities in different aspects. After watching the film and thinking about these two countries. I have a directly feeling about the sentence “India magnifies all the social problems which exist in China society”.

Just Put Up Your Hand

Sometimes, we just need a little more courage. And tonight I did it. I was so happy that I put up my hand bravely and decisively.
On this very night, we held our last Toastmaster meeting. For I did my first project yesterday, I didn’t apply for today’s prepared speech. However, that didn’t mean I could do nothing in this meeting. One of an equally fantastic part with prepared speech is the table topic part, in which a challenger comes up to the stage, picks one topic randomly and gives a brief unprepared speech between 2 and 3 minutes. I always think it’s the most challenging task in Toastmaster, for one must be courageous enough to go to the stage and his or her mind must be sharp enough to arrange the speech in such a limited time.
Still remember when I first went to challenge table topics, my mind ran totally blank when I stood on stage. I lowered my head and thought deeply what I should say but could only waited time to pass by quietly. Tonight, however, not only did I put up my hand firstly, which meant I was the first volunteer in table topic section, I also felt I was much easier than before. I greeted to the audience and began my speech by repeating my topic. Then I used an example to demonstrate that I agreed with the topic. After that, I draw a conclusion and thanked the audience. The whole speech was much smoother than several times ago. Though my voice was still a little low and I still lacked eye contact and interaction with audience, I feel I was more confident and could manage my speech better. I was really proud of myself to be so brave and nimble to be first to put up my hand. I know only by practice can I make further improvement. And I really did it.
Just put up your hand, and give yourself a chance. You will always do better than you think. At least you overcome your own timidity. That’s what I learnt from tonight’s meeting. I want to share with you all and wish myself to carry on and go further.

why do we like to tease others?

Long long time ago,I found a strange phenomenon .People always want to tease others. Treating the people much stronger than them they would like to conform them.However dealing with the people weaker than them they would like to despise them.
Is this the nature?Maybe .Since in my senior high school I found this.Most of my classmates respect the people who studied well.However referring to the students who were very diligent but still got poor marks they usually regard them as idiots. Maybe they believe they are much more smarter than them. Smart or foolish brain is given to you when you came to the world . Everyone has the reason why she (or he) come to the world. Learning is not his speciality .Study is only one part of our life it is important for it may affect our life .But it does not mean if you do not have a certificate you will never become a great man. Am I right? Currently I found the beauty is the widely used in our life.Do you like beauty ? Yes I am sure I like the beauty.In some way I really want to judge the appearance of others.But I really do not regard the girls who are not beautiful don’t have the chance of making up dressing up.Everyone want to be attractive .Sometimes I really do not know why people say they are vomiting while coming across a not beautiful girl wearing a colorful dress. Beauty or ugliness is also the same.Maybe you are popular because of your beauty. But this is not the reason of you teasing at others. One day your beauty will fade as the time goes on. Can you imagine the scenario that the young beauty laugh at your winkled face?
Now I still remember the words that my former English teacher told me” Everyone has own characters, you have not right to judge others.”Until now I still think over the meaning of the words. You are the only one in the world ,no one can replace your position.Do what you really want and mind your own business . Let the crowd chirps .(the Chinese slang)

The Four（part one）

Emperor Han Wu, Liu Che, is one of the most well known Emperors in Chinese history as he suppressed the Hsiung-nu in the north; meanwhile, his empresses are also the most well known as their legends.
The first empress of Liu Che was A Jiao who was the leading role in a famous proverb “Hide A Jiao in a golden house” .As we know, Liu Che was not the first crown prince of his father Emperor Han Jing, however, a incident made Emperor Han Jing abandoned the first one. In the mean time, every prince strove for the place. Such a smart woman like Mrs. Wang, Liu che’s mother, would never lose a chance like this. She decided to marry her son to the daughter of the elder princess who was Emperor Han Jing’s elder sister, to get the support from elder prince and even the mother of Emperor Han Jing, while the daughter’s name was A Jiao. Fortunately, with the help of elder princess, Liu Che successfully took his father’s place to be the fourth emperor of Han dynasty, which made A Jiao the empress of China. However, their marriage didn’t last long. Since A Jiao, an extreme rude and unreasonable girl, was not Liu Che’s style, what is even worse, A Jiao couldn’t give birth to a baby. When Liu Che steadied his power, he decided to have some change.
Liu Che had a sister, Princess Ping Yang, who always wanted to ingratiate herself with his brother; therefore, she prepared some beauties for him. One day, Liu Che dropped in, Ping Yang showed out these girls to dance. Accidently, Liu Che loved the leading role, Wei Zifu, an offspring of slaves and brought her into the palace. A Jiao couldn’t stand that, she asked some wizards to curse Wei Zifu. Unfortunately, it was found by Liu Che, with great anger, he decided to abolish the empress at once. Since then, A Jiao had been abandoned forever. At the same time, Liu Che made Wei Zifu the second empress of him.
Wei Zifu was a smart and kind-hearted girl so that she had been the empress for decades; however, it was not the end……

The First Step

As a saying goes, a good start is half of the success. However, many times, we may feel it is really difficult to make the first step. Tonight, I am happy that I have made my first step in public speaking. Although, it is not as good as I thought, I hope it will lead me to further improvements.
A month ago, I joined Toastmaster Club in NUS, hoping to improve my public speaking skills. In modern society, only having knowledge is no longer enough. The more important thing is to convey our ideas efficiently. During one months’ time, I managed to come to every meeting and tried table topics several times. Though most of times, I really did terribly, the fellow toastmaster members never laughed at me. They just encourage me constantly, point out what I do well and give precious advice on how to improve my speech. Without their help, I wouldn’t be brave enough to always march forward.
Tonight is new members’ night, an event held for all new members to give their first prepared speeches. At this very special night, I made my mind to give my first speech as well.
A couple of days before the very night, I had already begun to prepare for it. I carefully chose my speech title and selected three points to support the whole speech. And I rehearsed several times alone. I knew the better I prepared the more confident I would be.
And finally, the time came. Fortunately or not, I was chosen as the first speaker tonight. I still remember when I sat on my chair and waited for my name to be called, all inside me was nothing but calmness. Thanks to the innocence about what happened next, I wasn’t nervous at all. Then I was introduced by the toastmaster. After my name was called, I stood up and walked onto the stage. At that moment, I was still not sure what happened. Until I faced the audience, I realized I should start my speech right now. Without any more waiting, I opened my mouth and greeted to all the audience. And just as rehearsed, I gave my speech. I thought I wasn’t nervous on stage for I could remember everything I wanted to say. And since I have put much effort on it, I shall not be regretful.
Though the preparation took a couple of hours and the rehearsals had been made several times, my real speech only took 4 minutes 55 seconds. What a short time. After speech, I walked back to my own seat, evaluating myself in heart. My speech content was not so well organized thus it was unbalanced and could be further enhanced and elaborated. I didn’t make full use of the stage for I didn’t move a lot, only standing in one place. I wasn’t as humorous as other speakers. And I should put on more smiles. Other than these, I also get many more comments from my evaluator, Michelle Choo. She told me that I should make better eye contact with audience, not just focusing on one or two, but looking at everyone. I remember during one of Dr. Zhu’s class, each of us gave a short speech in class and he also pointed out that I hadn’t got enough eye contact, which will definitely be my next working point. Besides, I was encouraged to use more gestures and vocal variety in future speeches. Only after I know my weakness can I get better improvement. I am really grateful to Michelle.
And I should also say many thanks to Yiping, Yuanyi and Chenglong(from another group). You all gave me some priceless advice, such as to raise my voice, to be more confident and to be more powerful in control of the atmosphere, etc. Your words will do me a great favor.
At the end, I shall congratulate to Yiping. You really did a good job and deserved tonight’s best prepared speaker. Hope to see your further improvements as well.Tomorrow will be the last meeting in this semester. I am satisfied that I got started tonight. After all I didn’t lose many opportunities. And I do hope that in next semester, I will perform better and be more and more capable in public speaking.

Different things of recess week

Last week, we SM3 students had a recess week, if you want to know what I did in this wee, let me tell you!
Two weeks ago, I had a bright plan of the recess week, first, finish the math tutorials and preview some lessons in the future one month. Second, collect all the words I have seen into my notebook from my e-dictionary. Third, watch prison break and some famous movies that I haven’t finished before. And last, have a good rest and sleep enough to fulfill my desire to have a nice week.
But when the recess week really came, everything changed.
On the first two days, there were some basketball match in Eton Hall, though I didn’t play well, I liked to have a look, so nearly two afternoons were wasted by me. Considering my getting up late, nearly two mornings were wasted, so I only have two nights, but at night, my roommates tended to go out and play basketball or billar ball, and after going back we chatted, talked about something we were interested in, so the first two days disappeared. The next two days went away quietly. On Wednesday, our group and all our tutors went to the Rice Table to have a buffet, we didn’t go back until 3 p.m. And that night I played cards and planned Tuesday’s barbecue with my roommates. All the things happened without planning. On Tuesday, maybe this was the only thing I had planned, go to seaside to hold a barbecue and we played very happily and played when the sky was absolutely dark, oh, another day passed. Friday, we went to NUS to go to science class, and after class, I read Harry Potter written in English the whole night. The last two days, I went to NUS to listen to a lecture held by huasing and studied in my dormitory, but Saturday and Sunday were not included in the recess week, so I wanted to conclude that I had done nothing important in the recess week.
Why did I do all this instead of what I had planned, why I changed my mind so easily, why, why ,why, although I did learn something, maybe more useful than the plan, but, but the plan was made by me, why I broke it so easily, it was not my style!
But to complain too much is also useful, so I must try my best to expiar myself, I must do what I have already planned for now on!

The Review on Recess

As time slips by, our recess comes to the end. The recess is really much shorter than it seems to be. It has ended even before I completely relished the relaxation of the vacation. Many things planned to be done during the recess have not been accomplished yet, the responsibility of which totally lies with my laziness. During the recess, when I get up in the late morning, the first idea coming to my mind is where to go and eat. The consequence is all my roommates said I have become fatter only after a recess. What upsets me more is when I made visual conversation on-line with my grandparents, the first sentence they said was “you looked much fatter now.” It seems that I should make my mind to lose weight right now, and take action in the earnest this time, or else they will not be able to recognize me after I go home. Nowadays every time referring to losing weight, I feel so stressful and upset. It is too difficult for me to defend the lure of the tasty food. However, there are so many kinds of food coming from different countries here waiting me to explore. What can I do? Maybe I should book the ticket to go home as soon as possible, so that I will have an incentive to lose weight. As for going back home after the bridging course, I still have some concerns about whether we will encounter much trouble after we come back to Singapore again. However, every time I think of the happy scene that all the family members reunite and the delicious food I have missed all the time, I determine to go home right after the QET test. No matter what consequence is in store for me, it is worth taking the risk to going home.
The next session of the bridging course begins now; I think it will be much more meaningful and interesting. We will do our own project in a group which will last for the whole session. I think it a good way to build the team-work spirit and have a deeper interaction with the team members. I really expect the project activity in this session. Apart from this, we will choose our major soon. It is rather complex to choose a major fit me. It seems that the more information we get about the majors, the more confuse we are. The life in NUS seem not as easy as I think before, instead it seems far more stressful than it is in China, since the education principle here is so different from that in China. No matter the CCA system or the cores system is so complicated to manage. However, I still look forward to moving into NUS in this summer. I believe we will have a wonderful university life in NUS.
So just be expectant to the coming days. It will not be long that we can go home; it will not be long that we can enjoy the real university life; it will not be long that we can embrace the promising future.

my recess week

This week we have our first recess week. I have planted a lot for this week. When it comes things change a lot. I plant to study on the first two days,then go shopping on Wednesday and have BBQ on Thursday. On Monday I woke up at about half past 7 then had breakfast at our canteen. After that I went to NUS, got out of the bus at NUH then take A1 to the Centural Laburary I studied for about 3 hours then surfed the internet for about 5 hours. On Tuesday I woke up very late then studied math for a while then I began to watch movies. After dinner my roonmates and I went to Fire Price to buy something to eat I bought many packs of black soy milk, green soy milk and a big pack of milk apples and oranges. I like them so much. Then we went back happily with these foods. Wenesday I got up early and watched a movie called “slumdog millionaire” it is really a wonderful movie, I enjoyed it very much. It cost me two hours to finish it. After I finished it I found it was half past 10. Our monitor had told us that we would get together at half past 10. So I rushed down stair, it seemed I was the last one. I felt really sorry. Then we walked to bus stop to take 123 to Orchard Road. I had a wonderful meal there. Then I went to shopping with libowen. On Thursday I went to see shore to have a BBQ with the students who come from Dalian University of Technology. The boys bought lots of things we had a happy day and came back at about 9:30pm. I felt so tired that day. We were toled we should go to LT31 to have since on Friday so I went to sleep very early that night. On Friday we staied in LT31 from 11am to 6pm, we had such a boring day on Friday. These were what I did during our recess week.

How to get to your destination in Singapore

Last week we had a delicious lunch with our tutors at Orchard road. However, did you wonder how to get to the place before you join the class group? Now I would like to share one of the most convenient ways to find your way in Singapore.

At the beginning, you need two important tools. They are Street Directory and Bus guide & Bus stop Directory. Both of them can be found in bookstores in Singapore. The larger one cost $12.90 while the smaller one cost $3.90. Though they are not cheap, you’ll find it worthy as soon as you make full use of them. The Street Directory shows the details of the city in map type and the Bus guide & Bus stop Directory shows the bus routines in table ways. What’s more, use them together can be very powerful.

Now let’s take Orchard road International building as an example. We know we are going to the International building and we can find it on the Street Directory by searching the names of buildings along orchard road. We can easily find the Int’l bldg near the end of Orchard road on map 109D. Then we can see a symbol B18 which refers to the bus stop in front of the international building. Next, take out your Bus guide & Bus stop Directory and use the bus directory to find Orchard road on page 71. As soon as you find the list of bus stop on Orchard road, scan B18 and find the buses which stop there. Then find the bus number, especially the one you’re familiar with. So we can find No.111 which stops at Queens town MRT station and No.123 which stops at Queensway shopping center. Locate these bus stops nearby and find out which one you would like to go. As a result, we choose No.123 bus to go to International building and get off at B18 stop called Royal Thai embassy.

Before we get on the bus, there is still one important thing for us to do, which is where we shall get off. As Singapore is not big at all, we can try our way out on the map. When you scan the way you’re going, you can always find some typical characters near your destination. For example, when we get to the Tanglin road, the road would turn to a one way street because we can only find bus stops in the north side of the road. This interesting character will be the same until you get off. So when we are on the bus, just enjoy your view and get off at the third stop when you find the one way street. Quite easy, isn’t it?

Though it’s not convenient to take a bus without telling you each stop’s name, the surroundings can always remind you where you should get off. So next time you can try it yourself and enjoy the view outside the window.

So much for my recess week

                      So much for my recess week

What a pity. I believed I would write down this summary with pleasure when the recess week came, but things are not going like that. Everyone knows how they themselves expect it but also I think finally they themselves know how disappointed they are.

  Initially, I consider the recess week a beautiful time to relax totally from head to feet also with free time to calm down and do something you really like. Actually, I didn’t expect that I could give entire loose to myself to play, eat, watch movies and do other things from the bottom of my heart. I just want to have a quiet week to summarize the life since getting here and relax my mind and then decide my major……

  At the beginning of the week, I had a quiet birthday. I enjoyed it so much. Without birthday cake with candles, without song of happy birthday, I had such a clam and quiet birthday which I had expected so long. Let me just turn it over, I don’t wanna refer my birthday here. Then, three basketball matches on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, all won. Maybe that’s what made me relief a little. We came out to semifinal as the first team in our group with result of 3-0. Many friends said that we played well but in fact, I think we have lots of weakness, since the series matches hasn’t end yet so I can’t let it out. But also thank my great teammates, they are so good and I enjoy fighting with them, especially the “guard” in my team who can do well in the low area (haha). Good luck to us here. Moreover I had three buffet in three days. You can hardly believe how much we ate. Tuesday we went to Seoul Garden. We like that restaurant(maybe only from Monday to Thursday…) the ice cream there is so delicious, of course the main food there is roast meat. Here I recommend you go there on from Monday to Tuesday. When I got to Eton Hall, the match had started, I got on the court just wanted to build up the privity with that “guard”. Though I found that I could hardly jump after getting on the court, we won easily. Then Wednesday, group lunch. I should say that some Malaysian and Indonesian food is really good. Apparently, full to death again. In the end, we ate hot pot on Thursday. A new restaurant called golden chopsticks, we spent 3 hours there so you may guess how much we enjoyed. I ate most on that day then I had a stomachache on Friday. Since they are all buffet, there is no reason why we don’t eat to can’t move… Friday was science class, Saturday was a meeting( I got up at 12 o’clock on Saturday which broke my record). Sunday I acted the referee in the SM2 final basketball match, then went to supermarket in the afternoon and became a wet ghost. After dinner I went to swim. In fact, we had plan to relax in Changi beach to swim, picnic and poker all day. What a shinning dream. Just break down soon. So you may find that only on Monday I had a whole free day, luckily, I did something I owed to so many my friends, I sent photos here to xiaonei… I didn’t put any pictures here on the internet and my friends were angry with that. So I thought I could face the wonderful recess week without press. How fool I was. I know my words are messy, that’s only  because the dark week is messy.

  What the hell I have done this week? The truth is that I didn’t study English at all, not a bit. I didn’t relax as I expected, didn’t study as expect either. I wanna regulate myself to a good state, obviously I failed. In addition, the fucking major. QF or ISE…

  I should emphasize here that my writing ability couldn’t afford my depress.

   But, Maybe what I should put into my memory in this week is the smiling faces when we roommates in buffet, chatting and eating all the time. I like them, my friends.

 So much for my recess week……

Tomorrow we will get on the school bus. Tomorrow is a new week. Tomorrow is a new start. Goodbye, my crazy recess week. That’s what I wanna say most and where I don’t wanna say any more.

 

The "98 event"

These days I was immersed in the bad feelings and even frightened to walk in the streets.
Some days ago When I opened my E-mail, A strange E-mail came into my eyes. It is said that there are something that we can not forget forever.In 1998, in indonesia,a cruel thing happened,it was focusing on killing all of the Chinese in Indonisia. you can not imagine how scare and cruel it is.there are many information and pictures revealing rescently. They did something very cruel even horrible things to the Chinese, even women and children. After that I searched on the internet, to my surprise, there were many events that aiming at killed all of the Chinese in history.You can not describe them as human beings who did such things. I think what they did can compare with deed that Japanese did in "Nanjing Events". What they did shows that they lose the humanity.
I think it is not only history, I really can not understand why they did such things. I can not stand it. who can tell me the reason why they should did such things ?

Training to be a public speaker

Ever since the first time I stood on the stage, I would rock when speaking in front of a group of people. My line prepared again and again before the speech would suddenly vanish. All the logic that has been elaborately developed twists like a coil of wool. The butterfly in my stomach begins to swoop vigorously and I have nothing to do with it.
Experience like this strikes me again and again. With every single failure of public speaking, my fear for it worsens. The OP and OR just couldn’t help much. I was almost desperate when I noticed the advertisement for Toastmasters Workshop. The title was “worrying for your next big presentation? Toastmasters can help.” In fact, I was indeed deadly worrying about the coming presentation. So I joined the workshop without any hesitation.
I still remember how astonished I was when I saw the speakers speak on the stage with great confidence. It was not only a presentation, it is a show! Then I was called up to introduce myself in front of the audience. The terrible feeling overpowered me again. I was so nervous that I forgot what to say right on the stage. The speaker taught me to visualize my strongest image in my mind while I was speaking. I tried again. Only slightly better, but I received a round applaud.
Magically I began to love the feeling of public speaking. Every time, I would still be nervous. But I gradually gain control of my nervousness. The truth is that, nervousness, if you don’t show it, nobody will know. Instead of thinking how I could cope if I fail, I started to pay attention to the quality of my presentation. I trained my voice, posture and gesture separately. In the Toastmasters Meetings, I learnt from the best speakers and challenged myself to present my idea in public.
My presentation 1 turned out to be successful. I was more confident than I wished. And next Monday, I will present my project 1 in Toastmasters New Members’ Night. I told myself: I am ready! With sufficient preparation and all the skills to cook a perfect presentation, what am I waiting for?

The Four（part one）

Emperor Han Wu, Liu Che, is one of the most well known Emperors in Chinese history as he suppressed the Hsiung-nu in the north; meanwhile, his empresses are also the most well known as their legends.
The first empress of Liu Che was A Jiao who was the leading role in a famous proverb “Hide A Jiao in a golden house” .As we know, Liu Che was not the first crown prince of his father Emperor Han Jing, however, a incident made Emperor Han Jing abandoned the first one. In the mean time, every prince strove for the place. Such a smart woman like Mrs. Wang, Liu che’s mother, would never lose a chance like this. She decided to marry her son to the daughter of the elder princess who was Emperor Han Jing’s elder sister, to get the support from elder prince and even the mother of Emperor Han Jing, while the daughter’s name was A Jiao. Fortunately, with the help of elder princess, Liu Che successfully took his father’s place to be the fourth emperor of Han dynasty, which made A Jiao the empress of China. However, their marriage didn’t last long. Since A Jiao, an extreme rude and unreasonable girl, was not Liu Che’s style, what is even worse, A Jiao couldn’t give birth to a baby. When Liu Che steadied his power, he decided to have some change.
Liu Che had a sister, Princess Ping Yang, who always wanted to ingratiate herself with his brother; therefore, she prepared some beauties for him. One day, Liu Che dropped in, Ping Yang showed out these girls to dance. Accidently, Liu Che loved the leading role, Wei Zifu, an offspring of slaves and brought her into the palace. A Jiao couldn’t stand that, she asked some wizards to curse Wei Zifu. Unfortunately, it was found by Liu Che, with great anger, he decided to abolish the empress at once. Since then, A Jiao had been abandoned forever. At the same time, Liu Che made Wei Zifu the second empress of him.
Wei Zifu was a smart and kind-hearted girl so that she had been the empress for decades; however, it was not the end……

Forward in Fight

“The human history is a history of war.” I heard this term when I was a kid who just started to be interested in military. And I do believe in it.
Tens of thousands of years ago, our ancestors have already started a war against the monsters. They fought for food, they fought for survival...... Then, they found the amazing use of stones and fire, which we offspring regard as an enormous progress of human evolution.
Thousands of years later, with the growth of the population, the savanna in the east Africa became more and more crowded. The war between different groups came out. We can still find the similar situation in Africa----different groups of chimpanzees can be very aggressive when they come across in the jungle. Sometimes such an encounter can even lead to death. Though it is brutal, the result is that the stronger groups are able to survive and breed. And slowly, the whole species become more adaptable in the tough environment.
When the advent of the civilization came, with the rise of tribes and nations, the war became organized and sweeping. As a result, almost every aspect of the achievement in our civilization involved, both in science and arts.
In science, warfare is a vital motivation of the development.
3400years ago, there was a strong empire in west Asia called Hittite. Their prosperity was based on their formidable army, whose trump card was the iron weapons. They were the first in the world found the way of smelting iron from ore. When the empire went to perdition, the skilled blacksmiths went to the open world with their secret. Then, the whole world started to learn to make iron stuffs.
When the dawn of the 20th century came upon us, Wright brother sent us a wonderful gift in the winter in Kitty Hawk: the Flyer. The dream of fly was realized by passion, but it was the need of war that raised the aerospace industry. With the support from army, the aircrafts are able to go on a way to being faster higher and stronger; with the threat of the cold war, space technology developed in an unbelievable speed. Maybe, without those efforts, we could only take a propeller engine plane nor could we watch NBA live for there was no satellite in the space!
Nowadays, many people own computers, some even highly depend on them. When we are enjoying the benefit computers bring us, probably no one can imagine a world without computers. But have you ever considered why scientists invented such a machine? Here is the answer: it was initially invented to study ballistics, in other words, for the sake of military use.
During World War Two, Hitler started the research in nuclear weapon secretly in order to destroy every obstacle on his way to conquer. Meanwhile, American also started their famous Manhattan Project. The result was not just simply two big bombs dropped in Japan. The whole technology in nuclear physics tremendously improved. And now, the nuclear power can be both released momentarily as a bomb and continuously as a nuclear power plant.
In arts, culture, and religion as well, war also plays an important role. In the war, different cultures have to face a strong impact from their foe. Such an impact can be much deeper than the influence in peaceful time. For instance, when Manchu army entered middle of China through the Shanhai Pass in 1644, they forced Han people to follow the Manchu convention. But things changed later, when Kangxi was the emperor, he had to change the policy, for Han’s cultural influence was so strong that he could hardly against it. For hundreds of years, Manchu changed little. But 300years after the foundation of Qing dynasty, now, we could hardly tell them apart from Han people. So, in some way, war can bring integration among races.
From these facts we can draw a conclusion that war has a great influence in our civilization, for it forces us to be stronger to survive in the tough world.

Your music task

Your task this holiday is to listen to English songs or singers or a musical form. Pick one and get ready to present information about it on the 13th April. We will do this instead of oral presentations on Mondays in Phase 2. Please continue your normal oral presentations on other days. Try to find a link for the song on Youtube or a copy of the song/ singer/ music to play.

Songlist for different genres of music
Here are some songs that you might like to listen to from each category. There are heaps and heaps of really cool songs out there but this is just a sample of songs that I kinda of like for the moment.
Please add to the list under comments or suggest alternatives
Official List of categories and winners http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Grammy_Award_categories

Rock
A genre of popular music originating in the 1950s; a blend of black rhythm-and-blues with white country-and-western; "rock is a generic term for the range of styles that evolved out of rock'n'roll." The sound of rock often revolves around the electric guitar or acoustic guitar, and it uses a strong back beat laid down by a rhythm section of electric bass guitar, drums, and keyboard instruments such as organ, piano, or, since the 1970s, synthesizers. Along with the guitar or keyboards, saxophone and blues-style harmonica are sometimes used as soloing instruments. In its "purest form", it "has three chords, a strong, insistent back beat, and a catchy melody."

The heart of the matter by Eagles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnlD2t2AL0E
Stand by me by Oasis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2AYeBrt920
With or without you by U2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ye8GLPUVsM&feature=related

Rhythm and Blues
A style of music developed by African Americans that combines blues and jazz, characterized by a strong backbeat and repeated variations on syncopated instrumental phrases.

Be Here Now by Ray Le Montague
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVhWBiXG_iQ&feature=related
Ordinary People by John Legend
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfzMVULx4TE&feature=related
It's so Hard to say Goodbye to Yesterday by Boyz II Men and Brian McKnight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT50b3BzULU&feature=related

Folk
Music originating among the common people of a nation or region and spread about or passed down orally, often with considerable variation. Contemporary music in the style of traditional folk music

Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcrEqIpi6sg&feature=related
Luka by Suszanne Vegan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZyxYL753w4
I'm my own grandpa by Steve Goodman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qtHZDPoRdU&feature=related

Pop
Music of general and wide appeal to teenagers; a bland watered-down version of rock'n'roll with more rhythm and harmony and an emphasis on romantic love.

Flying without wings by Westlife
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1LEISP6e9c
Another Day in Paradise by Phil Collins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svR8YA-DXCg
Born to Try by Delta Goodrem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nA-plUPT7wM

Indie/ Alternative music
In popular music, independent music, often abbreviated as indie, is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels and an autonomous, do-it-yourself approach to recording and publishing. Independent Labels have been known to strive for minimal influence on the artist they represent, avoiding the artist-cultivating behavior of many major labels. Artists represented by Indie labels have been known to be focused more on producing music than becoming wealthy and/or well known.(In America, this is known as alternative music)

Hey There Delilah by Plain White T's
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_m-BjrxmgI
Viva La Vida (Death and all his friends) by Coldplay
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvgZkm1xWPE
Under the Bridge by Red Hot Chilli Peppers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKOc2S1AkjE

Opera
A drama set to music is an opera. Opera consists of singing with orchestral accompaniment and an orchestral overture and interludes.

All I Ask of You by The Three Tenors.
The trio consists of Spanish vocalists Plácido Domingo and José Carreras and the Italian singer Luciano Pavarotti
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCidmH82UF8&feature=related
The Prayer by Charlotte Church and Josh Groban
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqBv9-yz9g4
Because we believe by Andrew Bocelli and Marco Borsato
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW74L4qNEqY&feature=related

Raggae
It is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s.While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady. Reggae is based on a rhythmic style characterized by regular beats on the off-beat, known as the skank. Reggae is normally slower than skank, and usually has accents on the first and third beat in each bar. Reggae song lyrics deal with many subjects, including religion, love, sexuality, peace, relationships, poverty, injustice and other social and political issues.

I'm Yours by Jason Marz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYhrYHmUPn0&feature=related
Three Little Birds by Bob Marleyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY_NQZyBc3g&feature=related
My time with you by David Choi and Kina Grannis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmetbTknAUk

Blues
Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on the use of the blues chord progressions and the blue notes. Though several blues forms exist, the 12-bar blues chord progressions are the most frequently encountered. Blue notes are sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of the major scale for expressive purposes. Blues emerged as an accessible form of self-expression in African-American communities of the United States from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads. The use of blue notes and the prominence of call-and-response patterns in the music and lyrics are indicative of African influences.

Heart of Life by John Mayer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS8NvoMudy8&feature=PlayList&p=437A70221B64A068&playnext=1&index=2
Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AscPOozwYA8
Mercy by Duffy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoQwliMAZC8&feature=related

Jazz
Travis Jackson has also proposed a broader definition of jazz which is able to encompass all of the radically different eras: he states that it is music that includes qualities such as "swinging', improvising, group interaction, developing an 'individual voice', and being 'open' to different musical possibilities". In Jazz, the skilled performer will interpret a tune in very individual ways, never playing the same composition exactly the same way twice. Depending upon the performer's mood and personal experience, interactions with fellow musicians, or even members of the audience, a jazz musician/performer may alter melodies, harmonies or time signature at will.

What a difference a day makes by Jamie Cullum
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1r6GcPqFSo
Stormy weather by Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teXOPAFMOp0&feature=related
What a wonderful world by Louis Armstrong
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5IIXeR5OUI&feature=related

Country
A simple style of folk music heard mostly in the southern United States; usually played on stringed instruments.

It's your love by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXeBQmfDmjc&feature=related
Anyway by Martina McBride
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE3S7VcyOPU&feature=related
Stairway to Heaven by Dolly Parton
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_35F8jLFjW0

Hip hop/ Rap
It developed in New York City during the 1970s primarily among African Americans and Latino Americans. Hip hop's four main elements are rapping, DJing, graffiti writing, and b-boying. Other elements include beatboxing, hip hop fashion, hip hop slang, and recently VJing. Since first emerging in the Bronx and Harlem, the lifestyle of hip hop culture has spread around the world. When hip hop music began to emerge, it was based around DJs who created rhythmic beats by looping breaks (smalls portions of songs emphasizing a percussive pattern) on two turntables. This was later accompanied by "rapping" (a rhythmic style of chanting). An original form of dancing, and particular styles of dress, arose among followers of this new music.

Triumph by Wu Tang
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isumZjs3dKA
Just the two of us by Will Smith
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdFlrABPVw0
Classic by Kanye West with Rakim, Nas and KRS One
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDCDrcZK4NE

Soul
A type of music, descended from American Negro gospel songs, which has great emotion. Soul music is a combination of R&B and gospel, and began in the late 1950s in the United States. Soul differentiates from R&B because of Soul's use of gospel-music devices, its greater emphasis on vocalists and its merging of religious and secular themes. Soul traces its roots to four different sources: racial, geographical, historical and economical factors. The 1950s recordings of Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and James Brown are commonly considered the beginnings of soul music.

I try by Marcy Gray
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4kk8PMT2Sk
Sorry seems to be hardest word by Mary J Blige
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeCaH-SHBZk&feature=related
You've got a friend by Carole King, Celine Dion, Gloria Estefan and Shania Twain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6r1175w_lM&feature=related

Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music (EDM)that emerged in Detroit, Michigan, USA during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988.Many styles of techno now exist, but Detroit techno is seen as the foundation upon which a number of subgenres have been built. In general it is any of various styles of dance music characterized by electronic sounds and a high-energy, rhythmic beat.

Chocolate Rain by Tay Zonday
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NattlyH0IeM
Time by David Guetta
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MB2RjW5rB0I&feature=related
Time of our lives by Paul Van Dyk and Vega 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQZy9BOWWGE&feature=channel

Child singers
Tell me why by Declan Galbraith
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhK36tIJqsY&feature=PlayList&p=D786124ECF5ABD9D&index=9
Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Connie Talbot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cnRXmMn2Ag&feature=related
Stand by me and Beautiful girls by The Choir
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQxHxloG854&feature=related

Still Choosing?

I believe that these days we are all baffled by the major, since we have a chance to rechoose our majors, it seems that we each value this opportunity.

  Someone have decided, someone still choosing……

  Since major maybe leads what future you will have, it is responsible to us to take it sincerely. I think some of us wanna change a major different with what they take in China, maybe that’s mainly because you find you’re not interested in this field after learning several months, so it’s good to think it over again. Now we have been in this island for three months, having one month to decide it finally. There are so many different majors to choose and we are limited to choose some major someone like, that’s the problem. Actually, we have attended several conferences introducing majors, including the open house. But what I wanna say is the more and further we know different majors, the more confused we become. One is that we have a general understanding of each major, we find that most of them attract us but have no ideas which major we are most interested in and suitable to us. Once decided it, but we shake after another introduction. In fact, we are suffering from it now and there will be another speech of majors this Saturday…… So I strongly suggest we decide according the first willing after listening a whole major introduction, maybe that’s the exactly right major for you because you are really appealed and the first feeling is always right.

  For me, actually I wanted study ISE before coming to Singapore. In retrospect, the first time I touched the major like ISE was when I applied to Hong Kong University long before the college entrance examination. I read the information about it carefully, finally I chose it as my first choice. (I think Hong Kong University has two major in this field. I chose the inner one.) How I wish we can enter majors by the results of a exam after bridging course. I know I can choose common engine first in order to enter ISE, in fact, I have read so much information about majors on the Internet written by seniors, I can say that I have a very precise knowing about majors. But then QF attracted me so much, I know it’s quite hard, but I have much confidence on it.( I think those who really know me know it) I hesitate is not because the financial crisis, I believe it will pass when I graduate. That’s because I’m serious about it, thus the future.

  So Science or ISE, still choosing, but I have preferred one.

  At last, different people choose it by different aspects, someone consider the chance to further study most, someone consider the salary most, someone consider whether it’s hard or not most…… My advice is that choose it all by yourself from your inner heart, what you will do is not decided by your major absolutely, choose what you really like, choose what you will have continuous passion on, that’s the best choice.

  Best wishes to us, hope we all have a content ending.

  PS:I was so disappointed with the dragonball which I've expected so long. Ley me just wait for the Transformers this summer......

Crisis from the Sea

Danger! Danger! Danger!
All Chinese! Be alert! Our motherland is in danger! Our country is besieged by aggression!
From north to south, no where is peaceful!
In the north, at longitude 125 ° 10'45 ", latitude 32 ° 7'42". There is a reef always below the water even at low tide. This reef is called “Suyan Reef”. According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, such a reef doesn’t count an island nor can Korean demand an exclusive economic zone based on it. As a result, South Korea built an artificial concrete “island” so that they could have an excuse to snatch the abundant resources in the Yellow Sea.
To the northeast of Taiwan Island, there is an archipelago called Diaoyu Islands where a high potential of conflict is lurking.
Actually, even the Okinawa Islands, which was called “Liuqiu” before, belonged to China. Brigadier Perry report to the congress in 1852 also proved the fact. In 1879, Liuqiu was ceded due to the failure in the war against Japan. Then, Taiwan, after another failure in 1985. in this term, Liuqiu should be in the same position as Taiwan, let alone the Diaoyu islands. After the world war two, U.S. Army started to occupy the Liuqiu, including Diaoyu islands. At that time, the Diaoyu islands was just a shooting range of the U.S.A.F. Japan’s demand came out in the 1970s, when American “return” Liuqiu to Japan on purpose, and after the abundant oil and gas resource was found in the East Sea. It is obvious that Japanese are focusing on “sharing” the resource which belong to China. Nowadays, because of the financial crisis and Japan’s political crisis, Japanese politicians are trying to change the public’s focus, like what they liked to do before. Then, Diaoyu Islands became their ideal target.
In the south, hundreds of islands are lying on the South China Sea. Among 50 biggest islands, only 9 islands are governed by ourselves. In the rest, 28 islands are occupied by Vietnam, 7 by Philippines, 3 by Malaysia, 2 by Indonesia, even 1 occupied by Brunei. In recent years, billons of dollars of oil is mined every year, but none of the offshore oil drilling platform belongs to China. So called “Shelving disputes and joint development” only makes the countries become more and more emboldened. Now, they are even building their military bases on our land!
No matter where the conflict is, we can always see a shadow, a shadow of the U.S. What would those tiny countries react without America’s support? Can Taiwan be so complicated an issue without America? Do you know that according to the “Cairo Declaration” and “Postan Peace Treaty”, American should have given back Okinawa islands to China in 1970, instead of Japan...
Several days before, U.S. Navy sent a ship quite neat Hainan Island to monitor China’s new nuclear submarines. They said it was legal and blameless. But how they reacted when our ship just voyaged on west Pacific Ocean? Imagine what they would do if our warships are wandering in Gulf of Mexico
No matter how much we strive, these ignoble countries are always regarding us as a threat. The only way to let them stop those bullshit and behave themselves is to strengthen ourselves and be a real threat, then they will definitely shut up and crawl back to where they belong!
All these things remind me that our Chairman Mao once said “Imperialism will never stop trying to make us perish.”
Let us be alert! Let us be united! Let us be stronger! Let us find back our ancestors’ prosperity and glory!

Patterns of Organization

A THOUSAND YEARS LATER? NOW!

“Because a thousand years later, I have passed away long, I cannot hold your hands and kiss on your forehead deeply any more…”
This song is “A thousand years later” by JJ Lim, which is a bit out of fashion now, but currently I pick it up and listen again and again without feeling bored. It is all because of the scientific article I happened to see one day about The End of the World. It says that ancient Mayas have accurately predicted the four calamities for civilization of human beings. And the fifth calamity is coming in several years in which human beings will die out in the similar way they were in. Its description is quite realistic and rather horrible to me. After that I went out and wandered, I fell into silence for quite a long while just wondering what I shall do or what I can do if it were true.
I think sometimes we human beings are quite weak to fight against the nature. Just like the huge earthquake happened in Sichuan last year; thousands of people lost their lives in it, what is worse, many people who survived haven’t or they will never come out of the great pain of losing their loved ones. It is too late before they can express out their love to their loved ones, and then their loved ones have gone forever. How sad it is!
Fortunately at the end of the song, JJ Lim tells us to never wait until 1000 years later, for you are forgotten by the whole world and you are forever alone then. So do it now!
So I phoned my parents, my grandma, my friends and told them how much I love them after that. Because I want to treasure every second now and make every single second a quality second!

Continue Qiao's Topic

The background is QiaoLiang gave us an oral report whose main point of view was that we should open our minds to accept other cultures from other countries and get along with people who came from other country. I had discussed a similar topic with Mr.Zhu before and I want to speak out my point of view.
He mentioned that “country” this word was a bad word.
I did not know why he told us this. Does the original meaning of a word is not good means the thing this word refers to is also bad?
He mentioned that we were educated to sacrifice to our country, to dedicate ourselves to our country and in his opinion these behaviors were selfish. Why not we dedicate ourselves to this world rather than only a country?
(to be continued)

The NUS open house

Last weekend NUS held an open house to provide an opportunity to let students know the university thoroughly. Almost every one of us has gone there in the weekends. Some got few advertisements and listened to a lot of the introductions, while others harvest a lot of gifts. Though some one was not interested in gifts at all, there were still someone who wanted to get something but find nothing to take. That’s what I would like to share with you: One sentence may get you more.

                            

Now there is a beautiful and well designed electronic clock on my desk. It’s a souvenir from the Eusoff Hall. The first time I saw this clock was in front of the TV of the Eusoff Hall’s show table. I never thought about having it because there were only five of them lied on the table. To my surprise SunYangxiao who came to the open house with me asked a question to the student who worked at the show table.

“Is this a souvenir?”

How dare he ask such a question!

However the student said yes to the question without hesitation. As we were about to take the clock on the table, the student took out some new clocks for us. Finally each of us got an electronic clock from Eusoff Hall.

Sometime we lose or miss opportunities only because we were lazy or shy to ask one more question. So next time when you came across with something you really wanted, just ask more. The chance is always in your hand.

WRITING IS A GOOD MEDICINE

I don’t like to write a lot .maybe it is because I am a perfectionist. Every time before I start to write something, I think a lot about how to start, how to end, which frame to choose .but I think if I really want to write out an article, though it is difficult to finish, it is pretty good, just in my opinion.
But I am trying to change my style now, because everyone tends to write casually without thinking deeply. At least many blogs belong to this style.
When I write something, I care a lot about responses of readers，so I do not want to show my opinion, like what is my favorite and what I hate most. The food you want to vomit at maybe is the favorite food of some people. When I have these thoughts, I think the best way is keep silent, so I stop writing then.
Another reason why I do not want to write a lot is because I think it make no sense to write sometime, and it seems like a waste of time when one write some feeling about daily life. They usually make a fuss upon bad weather or terrible food. I strongly believe that “what one write is for people to use”（文以致用）. That is also the reason why my articles are always simple without useless details. So I think it is not necessary to write my own experiences.
However, actually my thoughts above are wrong. Whenever one speak out one’s opinion, it is wrong in some extent, but as a people in a society, it is not realistic to say nothing and always keep quiet. So I should just speak out my personal opinion, let readers to criticize.
As for my second thought, I think I can not say articles about life are useless; they are also useful, if you think from another way. They can guide readers’ ways to live. They can make literature more colorful.
So I want to write in the future, and I will always remember, writing is a good medicine to keep one’s body and mind healthy.

EVERYONE IS A MILLIONAIRE

He hasn’t been well educated but he knows all the answers and gets the 20 million rupiah awards. How? A. He cheated B. He’s lucky C. He’s a genius D. It is written. The answer is D; all the coincidences happen on him and he achieves it by his experiences full of blood, darkness, as well as hope.
Poor boy Jamal is arranged a life in slumdog. He has an elder brother Salim who grows up with him together. But the two boys’ lives are absolutely different. Salim is easily involved in the society even it is dark and full of greed and profits indeed. He is smart to use his power and ambition to get what he longs for. But Jamal refuses that. He never abandons any partner; he can try all his efforts to look for the missing Latika who is trapped in the underworld after a narrow escape. He loves one person no matter when it is and how environment changes. He doesn’t have any great movements or proud words but just persists to the end. But just this ordinary boy shocks others so much. After he wins the awards he sits at the corner, what matters to him is not the money he gets but the gathering between he and his loved Latika which comes all by his efforts.
The moment he wins the huge awards, the whole nation cheers up for him, are they cheering for the great awards? No, it is the fairy tales made by Jamal in such a cruel world.
I think everyone of us is the “Jamal”, we come to this world with naivety, what we are likely to be depends on the experience arranged by God but more on the minds inside us. Maybe your dream is to find your loved one, if your dare dream you can really meet your “Latika”! Dream of your dream and chase it! Then everyone is a millionaire!

The Time I Spent in BeiHang

I really like the time I spent in my home university, which is called Beihang University. Every day I was full of energy and not sleepy at all. My routine was planed fully and I was busy but not tired. My mind was full of hope and optimism. Although there were many setbacks and false starts, I told myself not to complain too much but to make my university life colorful, meaningful and enjoyable.
So I took an active part in activities I interested in. I applied many departments of student union and had interviews of them. Eventually I passed some interviews and I chose one department preparing to dedicate my time to it.
I also applied for joining in some student societies. I wanted to use my spare time to develop my hobbies in these societies.
I made a lot of friends and I was willing to communicate with peoples.
I got up early in the morning and did some exercise like jogging so that I had a high pace in every day. no matter what I was doing, I did it efficiently.
I tried to help others and I kept taking hot water for my roommates from the hot water room to my dormitory every day.
But the most important thing is still studying. Whenever I had time, I would go to library or study room to broaden my horizon and knowledge.
When I heard of this program which now I am in, I prepared for the exam and at the same time I went to have lecture and did homework. The night before the exam, I went to watch a national hip hop dance which held in our school and I had the exam on the next day. And I passed, of course.
But alas, now I am so weary and weak without any goal or ambition. I am wondering , wondering about everything.

My Horrible Experience on Saturday

Yesterday was such a busy day. In the morning, my roommate from group 7 and I went to the NUS Open House. At first, we did spend quite a little time to find the place.
The NUS Open House is a two-day activity which opens to all the whole country introducing the academic life and the students’ activities in NUS. A lot of local students and their parents took part in the show, as well as us Sm3 and Sm2 scholars. In the Open House, we can find any information we what from the seniors and the professors. The seniors were really enthusiastic. They talked with us and introduced the information about the Hall life to us. The professors there were also very enthusiastic. They solved our problems with great patience. What was more, we also got a lot of gifts from the show, such as notebooks, bags and even a bottle of shower cream. That is quite interesting.
In the afternoon, we went to the IT show near the city hall. It was really a frustrating journey. I cannot imagine why there were so many people. At one time I felt as if I were back in China. It seems as if IT show takes place every ten years. As soon as we came out of the MRT station, we could not walk fast any more. What we could do was just following the person right front of us. The things sold in the show were not that cheap as we thought, but we did find the things we wanted. I bought a netbook made by ASUS. I was really excited about that.
Anyway, it was a busy but happy Saturday.

The Review of First Oral Presentation

Our first Oral Presentation had taken place last Wednesday morning. It was really exciting morning. All the friends showed their PowerPoint and gave wonderful speeches to Dr. Zhu and all the classmates.
Our monitor, Du Fang’s topic was a little similar with mine, love. I really love the pictures in his PowerPoint. They really showed the deep friendship among Du Fang and his friends. It was quite interesting that Xin Yu and Hao Qiang both showed something about the founder of the Apple Company. They two were from the same former University, Jilin University and the two persons they shared with us were partners at the beginning of their careers. It was no surprised at all that Hai Yuan talked something about bodybuilding. To tell the truth, it would be strange, if he did not choose that topic, but in my own opinion, I do not like bodybuilding at all, as well as the bodybuilders. Yi Ping talked about really an abstruse philosophy just like usual. Sometimes, we may find that these philosophies are really useful and helpful for us to reach our dreams. Lin Xue also gave us some new knowledge about culture during her Presentation. Many friends shared something about food to us. Bo Wen chose chocolate. The beautiful really made my mouth water, so did the northeast food shared by Luan Bo. If I get a chance to go to the northeast part of China, I hope I can try everything showed on the pictures. Zhang Jiao talked about vegetarianism, but he is not a vegetarian. That is quite interesting. Wei Bin’s topic was about snacks. What I want to say is that she did make progress in her spoken English and her pronunciation has improved a lot. I really do not want to make any comment about Wang Chao’s Oral Presentation. He shared something about food safety. The pictures showed in the PowerPoint did make me uncomfortable, so I chose to eat only vegetables that noon. Xi Xian talked something triggered by the movie we watched together. She was really calm that day and really did a good job. Wu Bo talked about learning strategies. She was quite cute that she stood straight and put her arms behind her back just like a pupil. Zhen Lei really loves his hometown. He had already shared a lot about Shanghai in his Oral Report. In his Oral Presentation, he let us know more about the coming EXPO in Shanghai, 2010. I cannot agree more at Mi Yang’s topic. A person having a lot of friends sometimes can be much wealthier than a person have a lot of money. I am not fond of computing, but Ning Chao’s presentation really made me want to try that software and know the feeling of shutting off my computer without getting up from my bed. Zhou Bin was really tricky. His story almost made me burst into tears, but suddenly the beloved one turned a dog. Oh, my God. Zhao Kun, the youngest guy in group, is really a good lecturer. He had passion and he was also very relaxed just like Obama. Yuan Yi shared something about dogs with us. Everyone knows that I love dogs and I was quite excited when I saw her topic. She said her favorite dog was Chihuahua, while my favorite dog is Chow Chow. Qiao Liang’s topic was the one I most interested in. He shares her sister’s wedding ceremony with us. Qiao Liang really has a beautiful sister and a happy family.
For me, I did feel nervous that morning, especially when Ling Xue was giving her presentation in front of us, because I was the very next person. Fortunately, I felt relaxed as soon as I stood in front of the screen and saw everyone was looking at me. When heard Dr. Zhu said, “very good”, I was really inspired. The whole weekend spent in the library was not wasted. In addition, I really appreciated the attention and reaction I got from all the classmates. Thank you very much.
I know that we will have our second Oral Presentation in Phase Two. I wish everyone will do a better job!

My Most Unlucky Period

These days I seemed always come across something unlucky.I have this feeling that the bad things happened one after another.Though I tried my best to avoid the things ,I did all the things as carefully as I can ,it still did not work.
First ,my English is so weak what’s more I knew I really did not like to study English .Though the English classes is very interesting I still felt sleepy.I did not know why.Maybe it is a bad habit which I picked up in my senior high school.I never slept in the classes and I knew the English was very important .In my mind I had tried my best to study however the result was not as bright as I imagined .Sometimes I did not know what the tutor was saying.Sometimes it took me a long time to understand the words.I t really let me down when I found that the words which I remembered before were still not in my brain.You can not imagine my feeling.In the senior high school I never concentrated on my study though I still got high grades.Now all the things changed .I am not the good students in the class.Most of the time I really do not know what to do next.The days go away so quickly.We have already stayed in Singapore for 3 months.But I do not know what is my advantages among all my classmates.
Second ,I lost 50 dollars .One day I went out to buy some fruits .Because I am so careless so I really did not know where I put my money.I looked for it for long time but it was still missing.In this case I must save the money to survive.Now it is long time since I drank sour milk.How bad!
Third ,I did not understand the science classes.In the science classes I always did know what the teacher was saying.Maybe the teacher’s accent was too strong meanwhile my listening skill was so poor.My mathematics was still staying at the level as a senior high school students.Before I liked to study science now I am bored with it. And I bored with all the study.
Now my situation is not good enough.I know English is never my favorite subject since I studied English 8 years ago .I am forced to study it.I know it always took me long time to adapt into a new environment .From now I will try.try and try.

Life Span

Maybe you are enjoying your life at the present time. Maybe you have never paid attention to your life span. Even more, you have never calculated how many days left in your future life!
If you try to estimate your life time left, you may have another opinion about your present life. We may suppose the average life span of the whole human beings is 75. That is a relatively accurate number from the research of the scientists. We students now are almost 19 years old. Try to think that our whole life has passed over a quarter. That may sound horrible for us, because we all think that we are just the new power of the world and have not contribute to our society.
On hearing the conclusion you may have a sence that you have wasted your life for over a quarter of your life. That is just a stable fact that can not be changed any more. However, if you lose your heart in the fact, that is not worthwhile. I just remind you about the fact. What you need to do id that you must keep your energy from now on to do something rewarding and do not kill the time any more.
There is another important fact that you parents' life has passed over half. However, they have got their respective careers and have a family. But do remember that means your life together your dear parents has lessened every day. They are waiting for your success and getting-together. As you know, every parents always want their children to have a successful career with together life. Their passion is futher than us children.
In short, time is more treasured than the gold; you can buy anything except the time. Treasure your life! Treasure your time!

Harry Potter

Harry Potter is known to all of us, his stories are legends, and are the favorites of the children all over the world. I have seen some of the movies; they are very stimulating and prove the truth once more: Evil can’t defeat righteousness.
In the movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, everyone thought Professor Snape was the one who had something to do with Voldemort. But in fact, the poor, stuttering Professor Quirrell was the malefactor. From this event we know that we can’t judge a person only by his /her appearance, the surface will conceal the truth sometimes. Some people tend to judge a person by the first impression. But as far as I am concerned, the first impression is the least authentic behavior one acts. Sometimes we do so because we want to have a good fortune in the future. For example, when we hunt for a job or in an interview, we usually highlighted ourselves and act more positive and vigorous. This is good, but some guys will take advantage of this psychological weakness and gain others favorable impression. So we should pay heed when we make friends and contact with others.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is also a very good film. This time our Harry met Tom Marvolo Riddle, a memory that preserved in a diary for 50 years. What interesting is that when we rearrange the order of his name, we can get this: I am Lord Voldemort. It is very ingenious and exciting. Voldemort led another person to continue his “noble work”. Certainly, our Harry Potter succeeded again and defeated the basilisk. In this movie, memory is an important word. Memory is like a mirror, it reflects your past, present and future. Positive memory can bring you a good feeling and mood while negative one may lead you to sorrow or irritation. When you are alone, memory can be your best friend; it stuffs the blank of your time, and makes you think of some issues that have been neglected.
Harry Potter is a good series of films and it can teach us much knowledge. We learn from movies, and movies draw the materials from our daily life. All in all, I love the movie Harry Potter and I recommend it to you, it is a really good one.

The Coming Recess

The recess week is just around the corner now, which means half of our bridging course is coming to the end soon. Time flies, we have been here for more than three months. It is time for us to make a summary for the last three months. For me, I think these three months is really meaningful. I have learned much both on study and other aspects. Personally I perceive that I have grown up much in this short period.
Though the bridging course seems a bit boring sometimes, you can really gain much new knowledge if you dedicate enough time in studying. I think all my classmates have made great progress in their English, some of them have expand their vocabulary, some of them can speak English much better than they used to. For me, I think maybe the listening ability and writing ability has been improved during this period. As for spoken English, I think I still feel a little shy and nervous especially when I speak English to crowd. Besides English, we also learn math and C programming. So far, the math has been easy, what we are learning has been taught in China. However, C programming seems a big challenge for me, because I do not even have the basic knowledge of computer. Computer for me is only a tool for entertainment before. Generally speaking, the life can be quite easy if you do not aim at chasing too much from the bridging course. However, we cannot be too decadent; more or less we should gain something from the course. Sometimes I really feel guilty when I waste time.
Apart from study, I experience another type of life in Singapore. I have learned to be independent, learn to live without parents. At the beginning, I cannot get used to this and I always suffer from homesickness. However, the support from my parents and friends encourages me to try my best to accommodate to the new life. And basically I make call to my parents every day. Now I have felt much better. In NUS we have gotten acquainted with a lot of seniors. They helped us much during this period. They showed us around Singapore, they treated us to hotpot; they organized us to celebrate the Spring Festival. We are really grateful to most of them. Besides, I learn much from some seniors.
After recess, we will enter the next session of bridging course; there are still many things in store for us. We will choose the majors, we will learn economics, and we will take many examinations. So the life will be busy and diverse. What is more, the day to go back home is near step by step. What we need do next is to balance study and entertainment, and enjoy everything new to you.

Open House Experience

Today, I go to the open house for some advice on the major that we are going to choose in the near future.
Today is very hot, but the weather didn’t discourage us from asking the advice, for it is very important to our future life in NUS.
At first, we went to Hall 1 to listen to a lecture given by the Science faculty. Although I don’t want to enter the science faculty, I listened for a while to know some things about it. And after finishing the lecture, I make up my mind that I won’t choose Science as my major.
The next lecture is about the engineering. And I listened to the lecture very carefully, because I most probably choose engineering as my major. The lecture was not very long, but it left a very deep impression on me. As a boy, it is better for me to choose engineering because it is more logical and practical, and it is also a big challenge for me.
When the science and engineering lecture was over, we didn’t stay there for the next lecture for it was about administration, and of course we can’t choose it as a SM3 student, so we went to the second floor to ask for advice on different majors. Through the conversation, I knew different engineering majors in more detail, and different programs and opportunities offered in respective majors. By the way, the conversation also practiced my oral English, so it was really a precious experience.
In the near future, or maybe in just three weeks’ time, we are going to decide our own future prospect. So I wish that every one could make their dreams come true.

Common Sense of Bodybuilding

What should man look like? As thin as monkey or as strong as Arnold Schwarzenegger, it is easy to find out the answer. If you hanker after a body as powerful as the terminator, finish this article is your best choice.
The first thing you should know is that human’s muscle has been divided into four groups. Chest muscle group includes chest, biceps, fore arms, and fore deltoid; back muscle group includes the latissimus dorsi, back deltoid and triceps; legs group including quads, glutes, hams and calves and abs group.
Having known those muscle groups, you also need to know the reason why muscle grows. When someone reaches 18 years old, the number of muscle cells won’t grow up any more. So you must be curious about how muscle become bigger, that’s on account of the size----the size of each muscle cells. Every time your muscle is trained, it is destroyed, depending on the extent of your training, the extent of breakage varies. Only if you didn’t train your muscle overmuch, you muscle cell will recover and become bigger than ever in the next a few days. Therefore, don’t train the same piece of muscle in 48 hours or your muscle will be trained overmuch and become weaker and weaker. My suggestion is to train chest on Monday, back on Tuesday, legs on Wednesday, shoulders on Thursday and arms on Friday; also don’t forget to have a good rest on weekend. The strongest man in the world, twice Mr. Olympia, Jay Cutler said that to gain a strong body is very simple----train right, eat smart, sleep 10 hours a day.
Of cause don’t forget nutrition which is the other key part in the path to be strong. Muscle is made up of protein; it means that you must get more protein to help your muscle recover. Every time after training, you need to take 40 gram of protein immediately, along with 60 gram to 100 gram of carbohydrate that is also important to provide energy for body.
Having known those common sense of bodybuilding, I hope you will start your training tomorrow.

The legend of arum

  Once upon a time, a little princess live  beside a beautiful sea , a place with white sands on the beach as well as jumping dolphins . The only pity is that there isn’t arum. Little princess cried for such a long time, hoping to have  a mass of arum  grew there. However, dressing in white with long smooth hair and  clear blue eyes, she didn’t notice that she is the most beautiful arum and no other arum can be compared with her. Inside her heart, she is  always lonely, keeping her heart close and waiting for a prince to open it slightly. Until  one day, she came across a boy, who was as joyful as dolphins. She couldn’t help loving him deeply. From then on, the place was full of her silvery giggle. She often recalled her dream-to have a mass of arum grew there. It used to be her biggest dream before he came ;but no more important if  he’ll always be there with her. Nevertheless, one day, the boy told little princess that he would leave there to find the most beautiful and pure arum for her. When he was about to leave, she said nothing but crying. She believed that he would come back some day. So, every day and night, she kept waiting for him. However, he still hadn’t back. Ten years passed by; then twenty years…she just kept waiting until her last day. That day, she stood straight on the white beach with tear sliding down her cheek ,still dressing in white. The next day, her body disappeared , leaving a mass of arum grew on the beach. Some people said that the arum was left by the princess to wait for the boy after her death. Others said that the boy’s spirit came back and took away her, just leaving a mass of arum. Before long, it got a beautiful name-The Garden of Arum.

One Piece---A cartoon that shouldn’t be ignored

Today I’ll have the 392 episode of the One piece. One piece is a famous Japanese cartoon which was show weekly ever since 1998. Produced by Toei Animation, the One Piece anime series debuted in Japan on Fuji TV on October 20, 1999, where it continues to air today.

The story is about a boy named Monkey D. Luffy, inspired by his childhood hero "Red-Haired" Shanks, and sets out on a journey to find the legendary One Piece, and to become the new King of the Pirates. To accomplish this goal, he must reach the end of the most deadly and dangerous ocean: The Grand Line. So he formed the Straw Hat Pirates which finally went through the sea of East Blue and then through the Grand Line. He follows the path of the deceased Pirate King, Gold Roger, from island to island on his way to the great treasure One Piece.

On his way his crew grows to have a swordsman who wants to be the strongest man in the world, a navigator who wants to draw a map of the world, a sniper, a cook who wants to find the all blue, a doctor, an archaeologist who wants to find the original script if the history, a ship builder, and a musician. During the course of the story, the crews contend with both other less moral pirate crews and the Navy. The background of the cartoon is always the sea. The clear blue color and the endless edge of the sea makes you feel relaxed and comfortable. What’s more it also teaches you how to treat friends, how to reach your goal, how to live your life and so on.

According to some of the fans, One piece has special meaning which shows some of the main ideas of the whole story. Though some of them has been repeated for many times, they make you like it every time you watch it.

“O” stands for overcoming yourself.

“N” stands for navigating the reticent companion.

“E” stands for the eager for the historical fact.

“P” stands for pursuing the dreams.

“I” stands for insisting on promise.

“E” stands for entertaining a belief.

“C” stands for confronting the life.

“E” stands for embracing emotion.

I’m sure you’ll fall in love with it after you watch two or three episodes.