I have a magic mirror, which is just like the one in white snow. Whenever I come up with a question, it can search the answer for me.
One day, confused about what kind of person I was, I opened my mouth to the mirror. “Mirror, mirror, what kind of person am I?”
Paused for a while, it answered me “Well, first, I think you are investigative.” At its words, reflected on the mirror was the scene when I was alone in the computer lab doing my programming tasks. At a very early age, when I entered junior high school, I began to learn Pascal, one of the almost outdated computer languages. At the very beginning, there were more than fifty students in the class. We sacrificed every Saturday to fulfill our interest. However, as time went on, the programming tasks became tougher and tougher. Sometimes, we had to spend a whole day sitting in front of a computer doing one exercise. Thus, learning turned boring and boring. One after another, some classmates dropped their classes and enjoyed their regained happy Saturday. Though as a youngster, I was fond of playing with peers too; as you may guess, it almost formed my habit to go to computer lab every Saturday. Though the process to work on a problem was bitter, the joy when a problem was finally solved grasped my heart tightly. Sometimes, I thought of quite as well, however, even though I forced myself not to go to computer lab occasionally, I could not help my brain running while sleeping, eating even talking. The more I try to leave it, the more I find I can not live without it. Therefore, after a year, only one classmate and I kept on going to computer lab regularly and learning Pascal by ourselves.
After mirror’s words, I closed my eye and pictured the old time, trying to pick up the lost feelings again. I found I really enjoy the feeling that a tough question keeps my brain working subconsciously. I like to solve challenging problems. That may be why mirror said I am investigative.
“Secondly,” the mirror continues, ‘you are curious.”
“New knowledge and new experiences are always attractive to you. It is you who followed teachers after class to their offices most frequently. It is you who were so happy when encountering a terrible flood in Yunnan Province. It seems that anything new can please you, no matter good or bad.”
Hearing mirror talking, I recalled those pieces in my life. If they were not mentioned by mirror, I almost forget them. Actually I did not really heed them until mirror emphasized them.
“Besides, you are also independent.”
“Remember three years ago, you went to Japan alone. And you could take good care of yourself. Remember you made your won decision to go to Singapore though your father prefer you to study in China.”
“Investigative, curious and independent. Though they are not the whole of you, I hope my words can give you a better understanding or yourself.”
The magic mirror really exists in my life. It is my twin sister, Wu Lingshuang. When I was confused about choosing my major and asked her what kind of person I was and which major I was fit for. She dissected my character as above. She is the person who knows me even better than myself. She is the person who is always there, getting ready to give me a hand. She really deserves my closest friend.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
A Book Review of Sophie's World
A Book review of Sophie’s World
Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder and published by HarpercollinsCanada is an instructive and interesting book. The reason that why this is so is because the book is trying to teach you the history of philosophy with description that is easy to be understood and attractive plot. The story is mainly about a girl named Sophie continuously received the letter which taught her the knowledge about philosophy. At the beginning of the book Sophie received a strange letter, which said: who are you and where are you from? At the same time she also got some strange presents and letters that should be sent to another girl named Hilde. Then she fell in love with philosophy and during the philosophy courses, she was trying to find out it was who that sent her the letters and what is the truth behind these mysterious letters. The turning point comes when Hilde’s father shown up. The story concludes with a unpredictable ending when we are informed that Sophie and her philosophy teacher live in a virtual world.
The book is set in 1990, Norway; during the period of the beginning of computers’ prevail. The author paints a vivid picture of that time period. This makes it easy for me to visualize the setting of the story. Examples of sentences that show the time are “The postmark was stamped 6/15/1990.” found on page 173.Another description “No, look…5/30/1990, it says.” found on page 171 reinforces the picture of routine. Hence, the book is set in a period very similar to us.
The main theme in the novel is the history of philosophy. The message the author seems to be trying to convey are we should try our best to find out something more important than triviality of everyday life, such as “Who we are, where are we from?” Children own this curious faculty, while the adults lose it and take everything for granted. The message is expressed in very obvious way. I tend to agree with the author’s view because in my own experience, I thought a lot of unimaginable things and thought a lot about just like the questions the philosophy teacher sets for Sophie, but as time goes on, I leave them behind and never think about them any more.
The most interesting character is the philosophy teacher Alberto. This is because Alberto teaches Sophie philosophy in a special way. Furthermore, he is very mysterious; we can just follow the book to know more about him. I can not help but nod in agreement every time the character answers the questions he sets to Sophie in a rational way. For example, on page 72, Alberto says, so that was Plato, Sophie. His astonishing theories have been discussed-and criticized-for more than two thousand years. The first man to do so was one of the pupils from his own Academy. His name is Aristotle, and he was the third great philosopher from Athens. Hence, showing how interesting and wisdom he is in term of the method he teaches Sophie.
This author writes in a style that is simple and clear. The words he uses are just right. Words like pillars, demonstrated, infinity, ripple, synagogue, perspective are familiar to me. The author uses literary language such as; all mortals are born at the very tip of the rabbit’s fine hair, where they are in a position to wonder at the impossibility of the trick. But as they grow older they work themselves ever deeper into the fur. These show how skilful Jostein Gaader is. The dialogue is used in the novel is realistic. For example, on page 80, Sophie and her mother are talking about how to celebrate Sophie’s 15 birthdays.
“Aren’t you going to invite anyone? I mean, don’t you want to have a party?”
“Maybe.”
This dialogue could have been a taped conversation between two people in family members, because Mum will arrange a birthday party for her daughter in reality. Hence, I like the writer’s style and would like to imitate his writing techniques.
I would recommend this novel to people who enjoy reading instructive and meaningful stories because it teaches you lot knowledge about philosophy and teaches you how to perceive the world around you. I simply could not put the book down and eagerly look forward to reading the next novel by this author.
Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder and published by HarpercollinsCanada is an instructive and interesting book. The reason that why this is so is because the book is trying to teach you the history of philosophy with description that is easy to be understood and attractive plot. The story is mainly about a girl named Sophie continuously received the letter which taught her the knowledge about philosophy. At the beginning of the book Sophie received a strange letter, which said: who are you and where are you from? At the same time she also got some strange presents and letters that should be sent to another girl named Hilde. Then she fell in love with philosophy and during the philosophy courses, she was trying to find out it was who that sent her the letters and what is the truth behind these mysterious letters. The turning point comes when Hilde’s father shown up. The story concludes with a unpredictable ending when we are informed that Sophie and her philosophy teacher live in a virtual world.
The book is set in 1990, Norway; during the period of the beginning of computers’ prevail. The author paints a vivid picture of that time period. This makes it easy for me to visualize the setting of the story. Examples of sentences that show the time are “The postmark was stamped 6/15/1990.” found on page 173.Another description “No, look…5/30/1990, it says.” found on page 171 reinforces the picture of routine. Hence, the book is set in a period very similar to us.
The main theme in the novel is the history of philosophy. The message the author seems to be trying to convey are we should try our best to find out something more important than triviality of everyday life, such as “Who we are, where are we from?” Children own this curious faculty, while the adults lose it and take everything for granted. The message is expressed in very obvious way. I tend to agree with the author’s view because in my own experience, I thought a lot of unimaginable things and thought a lot about just like the questions the philosophy teacher sets for Sophie, but as time goes on, I leave them behind and never think about them any more.
The most interesting character is the philosophy teacher Alberto. This is because Alberto teaches Sophie philosophy in a special way. Furthermore, he is very mysterious; we can just follow the book to know more about him. I can not help but nod in agreement every time the character answers the questions he sets to Sophie in a rational way. For example, on page 72, Alberto says, so that was Plato, Sophie. His astonishing theories have been discussed-and criticized-for more than two thousand years. The first man to do so was one of the pupils from his own Academy. His name is Aristotle, and he was the third great philosopher from Athens. Hence, showing how interesting and wisdom he is in term of the method he teaches Sophie.
This author writes in a style that is simple and clear. The words he uses are just right. Words like pillars, demonstrated, infinity, ripple, synagogue, perspective are familiar to me. The author uses literary language such as; all mortals are born at the very tip of the rabbit’s fine hair, where they are in a position to wonder at the impossibility of the trick. But as they grow older they work themselves ever deeper into the fur. These show how skilful Jostein Gaader is. The dialogue is used in the novel is realistic. For example, on page 80, Sophie and her mother are talking about how to celebrate Sophie’s 15 birthdays.
“Aren’t you going to invite anyone? I mean, don’t you want to have a party?”
“Maybe.”
This dialogue could have been a taped conversation between two people in family members, because Mum will arrange a birthday party for her daughter in reality. Hence, I like the writer’s style and would like to imitate his writing techniques.
I would recommend this novel to people who enjoy reading instructive and meaningful stories because it teaches you lot knowledge about philosophy and teaches you how to perceive the world around you. I simply could not put the book down and eagerly look forward to reading the next novel by this author.
Interesting thoughts on last week's lesson
Crimes in reality are quite different from crimes in novels. In a novel, the criminal usually has a careful plan before committing a crime. All the proof and witnesses tend to point to the criminal. A famous detective just needs to dig it up. Through his careful observation and logical thought, the detective discovers some clues or evidence that can put criminal into prison. Sometimes, when the truth is divulged, the criminal may fight against the detective but the law usually wins. While in real life solving a case is not a piece of cake for policemen. They need to investigate every lead and question every one involved in detail. At times, cases remain unsolved for years. Nevertheless, with advanced technology, they have help gathering evidence against criminals. For example, the lie detector , the fingerprint machine and forensic tests etc. However, in real life the solution is not found at the end of the novel which is quite challenging for the policemen.
Wealth does not mean happiness. At the same time, happiness does not mean wealth. To a certain extent, wealth and happiness does have some connection. We can say that wealth is one condition of happiness but not a necessary condition. It is true that when some people become richer they do become happier but in my opinion life is like a cup and wealth is the tea in the cup. When we enjoy drinking we actually do not need to drink a full cup each time. Enough is the limit. If our cup is full of tea then there is no other space to contain other glorious things. We need money our life. It is undeniable but too much money money may become our burden. Not only do we need money but also other things such as friendship and love and all these all things together can make a cup of real happiness.
Everyone pursues happiness, however, in reality there exist many people suffering form unhappiness. What on earth makes people feel happy? How do we keep happy in our hectic life? In order to find the answers to these two questions, it is necessary for us to look into the reasons of unhappiness. From my view, the impractical desires or expectations are the most common sources which trigger unhappiness. People tend to feel frustrated or disappointed when their desires cannot be met. However, sometimes their desires are just beyond their ability to reach them. So, they would feel happier if they should learn to be self-content and avoid demanding too much. It is also said that humans are born greedy. In most cases, what we desire to gain is not a requisite or the basic necessities of life. Why do we have to persist with these impractical desires; that is not to say we should not pursue the better life or improve ourselves. What I mean is that we should set practical goals for us and then strive for the goals. However, it is not necessary to be overwhelmed by negative emotions when you cannot accomplish your desires. After all, happiness is the most important priority in life. What makes people happy is not how much you have gained but how satisfied you are with all you have.
Wealth does not mean happiness. At the same time, happiness does not mean wealth. To a certain extent, wealth and happiness does have some connection. We can say that wealth is one condition of happiness but not a necessary condition. It is true that when some people become richer they do become happier but in my opinion life is like a cup and wealth is the tea in the cup. When we enjoy drinking we actually do not need to drink a full cup each time. Enough is the limit. If our cup is full of tea then there is no other space to contain other glorious things. We need money our life. It is undeniable but too much money money may become our burden. Not only do we need money but also other things such as friendship and love and all these all things together can make a cup of real happiness.
Everyone pursues happiness, however, in reality there exist many people suffering form unhappiness. What on earth makes people feel happy? How do we keep happy in our hectic life? In order to find the answers to these two questions, it is necessary for us to look into the reasons of unhappiness. From my view, the impractical desires or expectations are the most common sources which trigger unhappiness. People tend to feel frustrated or disappointed when their desires cannot be met. However, sometimes their desires are just beyond their ability to reach them. So, they would feel happier if they should learn to be self-content and avoid demanding too much. It is also said that humans are born greedy. In most cases, what we desire to gain is not a requisite or the basic necessities of life. Why do we have to persist with these impractical desires; that is not to say we should not pursue the better life or improve ourselves. What I mean is that we should set practical goals for us and then strive for the goals. However, it is not necessary to be overwhelmed by negative emotions when you cannot accomplish your desires. After all, happiness is the most important priority in life. What makes people happy is not how much you have gained but how satisfied you are with all you have.
Tasks
Task 1
Find about economics, money and finance on the Internet. Write a group essay on the topic. Post it on this blog.
Here are some sites to get you going.
http://www.wearewhatwedo.org/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2329479.stm
http://www.earth.columbia.edu/articles/view/1815
http://www.helium.com/knowledge/40974-why-we-cant-end-world-hunger
Task 2
Pick one of the following tasks
a) Look online and find a joke that you think will make the whole class laugh.
b) Look online and find as many online dictionaries as possible. Evaluate their usefulness. Introduce the best site to your class and post the information on this blog.
c) Look online and find as many online English learning sites as possible. Evaluate their usefulness. Introduce the best site to your class and post the information on this blog.
Find about economics, money and finance on the Internet. Write a group essay on the topic. Post it on this blog.
Here are some sites to get you going.
http://www.wearewhatwedo.org/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2329479.stm
http://www.earth.columbia.edu/articles/view/1815
http://www.helium.com/knowledge/40974-why-we-cant-end-world-hunger
Task 2
Pick one of the following tasks
a) Look online and find a joke that you think will make the whole class laugh.
b) Look online and find as many online dictionaries as possible. Evaluate their usefulness. Introduce the best site to your class and post the information on this blog.
c) Look online and find as many online English learning sites as possible. Evaluate their usefulness. Introduce the best site to your class and post the information on this blog.
WAR
My view upon war is always changing. Sometimes I think it is bloody and inhuman. We human are so stupid that we kill each other. But sometimes I persuade myself to look upon war calmly since war is inevitable and necessary. There is no substitute for war. Hence, my attitude towards war is swaying between to extremes.
Recently, I read the famous book Mao’s quotations. In his theory, with the developing of the society, there will be some barriers. We need to overcome these barriers through war and then we can develop again. I support his idea. Although it sound sad, but there are some issues that we can not resolve but using the power of war. Jimmy carter said that “War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good.” I can not imagine what will happen if we have another war in the future. it must be more horrible. Just as Einstein said, “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but world war four will be fought with sticks and stones.” There will be a disaster. However, chairman Mao once said, it is impossible to have nuclear war.
I hope so.
Recently, I read the famous book Mao’s quotations. In his theory, with the developing of the society, there will be some barriers. We need to overcome these barriers through war and then we can develop again. I support his idea. Although it sound sad, but there are some issues that we can not resolve but using the power of war. Jimmy carter said that “War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good.” I can not imagine what will happen if we have another war in the future. it must be more horrible. Just as Einstein said, “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but world war four will be fought with sticks and stones.” There will be a disaster. However, chairman Mao once said, it is impossible to have nuclear war.
I hope so.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
A blog forgot to publish
I watched the film “The purchase of happiness”. The hero in the movie is named Chris. He his job was to sell a new kind of machines to hospitals. However， the machines were a little more accurate but twice more expensive. Thus they were very difficult to be sold out. As a result Chris was hardly able to support his family. His wife left him for he was so poor. One day his came up with an idea that he wanted to be a broker. After seeking for a long time he finally found an opportunity of an internship which however had no salary. During the intern he went through a very tough time. He had to work very hard in the company which offered the intern in the daytime. After that he had to pick his son up. As he was too poor to rent a house he and his son had to live in a refuge. At the same time he had to spare some time to sell the machines so that he could get the money for his and his son’s food. On those days he spent only a little time for sleep. However he did not give up. Fortunately he managed to complete his internship and as he did very well in the intern he was employed by the company as a broker.
After watching this film I realized that to be successful we have to work hard and never give up. A successful man has to be able to put up with big obstacles in the way to success. We have to be confidant though all the others say that is impossible. We have to be strong that we dare to face difficulties and failures. We have to be single-minded so that we will never give up.
Find something for women
——Book review for “Pride and Prejudice”
“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”
Jane Austen chose a special background, the late 1700’s in England country of Hertfordshire which is nearly 50 miles outside of London, for the story “Pride and Prejudice”. The story illustrates the difficulty for women of that time, with little control over their own fortunes or fate. As eighteenth century English society placed a great deal of importance on social status and one’s own manners and accomplishments, women went to great lengths to attract husbands of good fortune. A good marriage almost means everything of a woman’s life.
Mr. Bennet and his wife with their five daughters: Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty and Lydia, live in Langbourn. This is a foolish family except Jane and Elizabeth. Jane is an amiable, beautiful young lady, while her sister Elizabeth, good-looking, but not as beautiful as her sister, is intelligent and proud of herself on observing others. Though Mr. Bennet has read many books and has a good knowledge, he is lack of respectability and thinks little about the family affairs. What’s more, he does not care about his young girls’ unguarded and imprudent manner at all. When it comes to Mrs. Bennet, she is no better than her husband. She is a foolish, chattering woman whose primary interest in life is finding wealthy husbands for her daughters. The three younger girls are rather foolish and dull like their mother, though Mary lacks the talent and beauty of the others.
One day, a handsome young man of good fortune, Mr. Charles Bingley, moves to Netherfield Park becoming the new neighbor of the Bennets. “Nothing could be more beautiful”! In the party, everyone likes Mr. Bingley, for he is quite young, wonderfully handsome and extremely agreeable. While Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, Mr. Bingley’s best friend, is not as popular as his friend after everyone finds him to be proud, to be above his company, and above being pleased, especially Elizabeth. Jane is such a shy girl that she does not show her love as Mr. Bingley does. It makes Mr. Darcy misunderstand that Jane does not love Charles and he tries his best to detach Mr. Bingley from Jane. Of course, Jane’s shyness is not the only reason. Little fortune and the family members’ unrespectable behavior almost make the marriage impossible. Well, no matter what happens, true love will finally beat everything. Jane becomes Mrs. Bingley in the end.
The love between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy is more difficult. Mr. Darcy is, at first, nothing but arrogant and disagreeable to Elizabeth, and she has very little respect for him. What is more, George Wickham, the son of the late Mr. Darcy’s property manager, says many things which are not true and brings Mr. Darcy a bad reputation. It makes Elizabeth treat Mr. Darcy as a cruel person. When they meet again in Pemburley, Mr. Darcy proves himself to be perfectly well behaved, polite and unassuming through his behavior and attitude towards Elizabeth’s uncle and aunt. Like many other stories, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth live happily ever after.
This story also has many things we have to face to. English law during that time declared that only male relatives would inherit property, so to find a good husband is the only choice for almost every girl. There is no doubt that Charlotte Lucas is the best represent. What she wants is just a husband and a comfortable life after marriage. There is such a sentence in the book “Charlotte’s kindness was only to secure a proposal of marriage for herself, as she looked to marriage as financial security, rather than a union of love.” When you get it, you will find it is not surprising that she marries Mr. Kolings. Certainly, she gets what she wants, but will her life be happy? It remains to be seen.
Find something for women! Today is a different day. Women should have their own powers. Every man can choose his life, so can the female, but there is still unfairness in many respects such as job-hunting, social reputation and so on. Everyone should do something to bring all the female a better life.
“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”
Jane Austen chose a special background, the late 1700’s in England country of Hertfordshire which is nearly 50 miles outside of London, for the story “Pride and Prejudice”. The story illustrates the difficulty for women of that time, with little control over their own fortunes or fate. As eighteenth century English society placed a great deal of importance on social status and one’s own manners and accomplishments, women went to great lengths to attract husbands of good fortune. A good marriage almost means everything of a woman’s life.
Mr. Bennet and his wife with their five daughters: Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty and Lydia, live in Langbourn. This is a foolish family except Jane and Elizabeth. Jane is an amiable, beautiful young lady, while her sister Elizabeth, good-looking, but not as beautiful as her sister, is intelligent and proud of herself on observing others. Though Mr. Bennet has read many books and has a good knowledge, he is lack of respectability and thinks little about the family affairs. What’s more, he does not care about his young girls’ unguarded and imprudent manner at all. When it comes to Mrs. Bennet, she is no better than her husband. She is a foolish, chattering woman whose primary interest in life is finding wealthy husbands for her daughters. The three younger girls are rather foolish and dull like their mother, though Mary lacks the talent and beauty of the others.
One day, a handsome young man of good fortune, Mr. Charles Bingley, moves to Netherfield Park becoming the new neighbor of the Bennets. “Nothing could be more beautiful”! In the party, everyone likes Mr. Bingley, for he is quite young, wonderfully handsome and extremely agreeable. While Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, Mr. Bingley’s best friend, is not as popular as his friend after everyone finds him to be proud, to be above his company, and above being pleased, especially Elizabeth. Jane is such a shy girl that she does not show her love as Mr. Bingley does. It makes Mr. Darcy misunderstand that Jane does not love Charles and he tries his best to detach Mr. Bingley from Jane. Of course, Jane’s shyness is not the only reason. Little fortune and the family members’ unrespectable behavior almost make the marriage impossible. Well, no matter what happens, true love will finally beat everything. Jane becomes Mrs. Bingley in the end.
The love between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy is more difficult. Mr. Darcy is, at first, nothing but arrogant and disagreeable to Elizabeth, and she has very little respect for him. What is more, George Wickham, the son of the late Mr. Darcy’s property manager, says many things which are not true and brings Mr. Darcy a bad reputation. It makes Elizabeth treat Mr. Darcy as a cruel person. When they meet again in Pemburley, Mr. Darcy proves himself to be perfectly well behaved, polite and unassuming through his behavior and attitude towards Elizabeth’s uncle and aunt. Like many other stories, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth live happily ever after.
This story also has many things we have to face to. English law during that time declared that only male relatives would inherit property, so to find a good husband is the only choice for almost every girl. There is no doubt that Charlotte Lucas is the best represent. What she wants is just a husband and a comfortable life after marriage. There is such a sentence in the book “Charlotte’s kindness was only to secure a proposal of marriage for herself, as she looked to marriage as financial security, rather than a union of love.” When you get it, you will find it is not surprising that she marries Mr. Kolings. Certainly, she gets what she wants, but will her life be happy? It remains to be seen.
Find something for women! Today is a different day. Women should have their own powers. Every man can choose his life, so can the female, but there is still unfairness in many respects such as job-hunting, social reputation and so on. Everyone should do something to bring all the female a better life.
Friday, May 29, 2009
After Oral Presentation
This Wednesday, we had our final oral presentation. It is really an exciting process. However, what's more exciting is that we took many photos during the break. You can see many students who are in proper suits make faces in front of the camera. It is quite interesting. Personally, I think it is more interesting than oral presentation it self. ~o(n_n)o~
Today when I log in Xiaonei.com, I found many photos we took that day. People writes interesting comments on the photos. I think it is quite a good way to memorize our bridging course. I really had a lot of fun getting along with my group members. I know that we can easily come across each other in a small country like Singapore, but maybe ,at that time, we will not have the same feeling with each other. I hope I can memorize all the happy moments spent together with my classmates. Thus when I recall these days in my later years, I know that these are the people that have kept me company at the particular time. I want to say thank you to all the group members as well as our tutors. Thank you for giving me so many precious memories as well as happy moments.
Although our bridging course is coming to the end, I believe our relationship will not come to the end. ^-^ At last, hope all of you have a good weekend. By the way, today the flyer(I don't know whether I called it correctly.) is providing a discount or something. It is said that it will only cost 10 dollars to enjoy it today. People who are interested in it can have a try. Catch it!
^-^
After I have seen AI…
I can’t remember how long ago, someone said to me that AI is a very good movie and worth watching. Due to some reasons, I didn’t watch it until last Sunday. It began with a meeting, during which someone came up with the idea to make a robot child who knows how to love. Immediately, someone raised up the problem of morality. If we make a robot child to love those who don’t have children, will there be some people who is willing to love them back? In fact, it is exactly what the film want to show to its audience.
Maybe only David can tell how selfish human beings are. We look for eternal love. In other words, to be more accurate, we want to be loved forever. Thus, when we cannot get satisfied by the love from human, we made robots like David to love us. However, we did not think about what that will bring to David. Since the morning Monica became his mother, David sets out a long journey to let his mother love him. At first, it seems that Monica has accepted him. However, he is not real. Her husband continuously reminds her that David is just like another robot toy. Actually, David himself also reminds Monica of the fact that he is not real. When Monica’s son-Martin- has recovered, it seems more clear that Monica don’t love or haven’t loved David. But for David, in order to let his mother accept him, he eats food, although he knows it will break him up. Pitifully, at last, Monica abandoned him. Leave him in a forest and never come back. Little David was desperate and entreated her to come back. However, all his efforts was in vain. He believed that it was because he is not real that his mother cannot accept him. Therefore, he went to find the Blue Fairy to turn him into a real boy. After trails and errors, he found a statue of Blue Fairy and he prayed to her for a long time…long enough for human beings to die out. At the last of the story, he managed to get his mother back for one day with the help of advanced artificial intelligence.
I do not think it is a happy ending. For one thing, in the end, David still cannot turn into a real boy. Furthermore, I felt disappointed by seeing how selfish and awful human are.
In a nutshell, I think it is a good movie for it can make people think a lot about the topic. It is worth watching.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Forever group 6!
Initially, I intended to end up the blog with a simple movie response, with thinking that I would be no longer confused by what topic to write on. However, when I was wondering how to start writing the final blog, I came across Li Bowen’s final blog, which was about our group 6. It moves me so much that all the past 147 days just appears in front of my eyes like a movie. Thus I change my mind and decide to conclude my English bridging course.
In the very beginning, I regarded the bridging course as an ideal module, through which an ABC guy could be turned into an excellent English master. However, after a period and several examines, I gradually realized how naïve I was. Compared with others, I could not perform well in oral reports because of my low vocabulary, lack of knowledge and poor delivery skills. In addition, I always felt nervous and I stood on the stage just like a wood. As for examines and essays, I have adjusted to low marks, and I just wondered how I became unable to express myself. I really appreciated others and wondered when I could be like them. But the fact was that I could not find any improvement of my English and I felt despaired again and again. My confidence faded away and I became more and more silent in class.
When it is phase 2, I become busy with my essays and research project. Gradually I find I also can come up with good ideas and contribute. I try to present my ideas more in class. I can finish my tasks in time. And I am more involved in the lessons and familiar with classmates. It is the friendship and the changes of my minds that make me active. Hence, I overcome my fear when doing oral report, and I am more careful and considerate when writing. Now I can say that I am confident and I am quite satisfied with my performance in OP2. And I no longer complain with my low marks because I can learn something and benefit from them indeed.
Now, only 1 more week remain for bridging course, it is the time to separate and we may seldom have class in the same room in the future. Academically, all of us have found proper ways to learn and some have become excellent English masters. For myself, I regain my confidence. Furthermore, I really enjoy the friendship between classmates and tutors. I’m really unwilling to end the bridging course. But the exciting college life is awaiting us and we have to say goodbye to the bridging course. In all, group 6 is forever, isn’t it?
In the very beginning, I regarded the bridging course as an ideal module, through which an ABC guy could be turned into an excellent English master. However, after a period and several examines, I gradually realized how naïve I was. Compared with others, I could not perform well in oral reports because of my low vocabulary, lack of knowledge and poor delivery skills. In addition, I always felt nervous and I stood on the stage just like a wood. As for examines and essays, I have adjusted to low marks, and I just wondered how I became unable to express myself. I really appreciated others and wondered when I could be like them. But the fact was that I could not find any improvement of my English and I felt despaired again and again. My confidence faded away and I became more and more silent in class.
When it is phase 2, I become busy with my essays and research project. Gradually I find I also can come up with good ideas and contribute. I try to present my ideas more in class. I can finish my tasks in time. And I am more involved in the lessons and familiar with classmates. It is the friendship and the changes of my minds that make me active. Hence, I overcome my fear when doing oral report, and I am more careful and considerate when writing. Now I can say that I am confident and I am quite satisfied with my performance in OP2. And I no longer complain with my low marks because I can learn something and benefit from them indeed.
Now, only 1 more week remain for bridging course, it is the time to separate and we may seldom have class in the same room in the future. Academically, all of us have found proper ways to learn and some have become excellent English masters. For myself, I regain my confidence. Furthermore, I really enjoy the friendship between classmates and tutors. I’m really unwilling to end the bridging course. But the exciting college life is awaiting us and we have to say goodbye to the bridging course. In all, group 6 is forever, isn’t it?
Dragon Boat Festival
Today is my first Dragon Boat Festival in Singapore.
After class, a friend from Malaysia invited me to have dinner with her. Though the dinner was only a small zongzi, I felt quite warm in heart. The zongzi was made by herself and her mother. It was well shaped. Meat, peanuts, mushrooms and beans were all contained in this small zongzi, which is quite interesting.
From ancient time on, zongzi became a symbol for Dragon Boat Festival. The original story is when Quyuan, a patriotic poet, was slandered by his enemy in politics, he jumped into Miluojiang. According to modern concept, he committed suicide, but in ancient time, he was considered to sacrifice for the country. Because of his bravery and patriotism, people threw zongzi into the river to keep fish from eating his body. They also set this special day to in honor of him.
Back in China, there is a one-day holiday for Dragon Boat Festival, which is quite a good rest for working people like my parents. However, some people say the holiday is set mainly because Chinese government wants to claim that Chinese people pay much attention to Dragon Boat Festival. Years ago, Korea registered Dragon Boat Festival as one of the traditional holidays of it. In response to this, this festival’s position is highly raised. But it is really a pity that we do not realize traditions’ importance only until it is too late.
That is all I experienced and thought about Dragon Boat Festival today. I enjoyed it.
After class, a friend from Malaysia invited me to have dinner with her. Though the dinner was only a small zongzi, I felt quite warm in heart. The zongzi was made by herself and her mother. It was well shaped. Meat, peanuts, mushrooms and beans were all contained in this small zongzi, which is quite interesting.
From ancient time on, zongzi became a symbol for Dragon Boat Festival. The original story is when Quyuan, a patriotic poet, was slandered by his enemy in politics, he jumped into Miluojiang. According to modern concept, he committed suicide, but in ancient time, he was considered to sacrifice for the country. Because of his bravery and patriotism, people threw zongzi into the river to keep fish from eating his body. They also set this special day to in honor of him.
Back in China, there is a one-day holiday for Dragon Boat Festival, which is quite a good rest for working people like my parents. However, some people say the holiday is set mainly because Chinese government wants to claim that Chinese people pay much attention to Dragon Boat Festival. Years ago, Korea registered Dragon Boat Festival as one of the traditional holidays of it. In response to this, this festival’s position is highly raised. But it is really a pity that we do not realize traditions’ importance only until it is too late.
That is all I experienced and thought about Dragon Boat Festival today. I enjoyed it.
Learning English
As I have learned English for more than 8 years, I have some reflections on English learning. To learn English, the key thing is how you regard English. If you regard English as a tool for communication, speaking and listening are the most important. If you regard English as a kind of culture, reading and writing will instead the upper two.
For those people who learn English just for communicate with the others, speaking and listening are both the most important parts. As a tool for communication, the first thing is to make you and the others understand each other. If your pronunciation is as horrible as Japanese, most English speaking people would misunderstand you and probably think you are speaking a language which comes from Mars. If you can’t even understand the English comes from president Obama, I don’t think there exists any difference between you and a person who has never known the difference between English and sandwich. To improve speaking and listening, you can follow the BBC or CNN broadcast, or watch English movies.
For those people who regard English as a kind of culture, reading and writing become the most important. To understand and be overwhelming with English culture, you need to read a large amount of English books. And you also need to write some essay to express your feeling. Vocabulary is the decisive part in reading and writing, which is also my weak point. As I’m trying to get better, I read a pile of English books and newspapers to improve my vocabulary.
English is interesting if you put your soul on the line for it.
Forever Group 6
After almost one another week, our English bridging course will come to an end. Though sometimes I get fed up with the courses, overall we do improve our English through the courses to some extent. For me, I think the most obvious progress is the reading ability. So far, what I have read in English is even far more than what I read in total when I was in my senior high school in China. As a result, my vocabulary has been much extended while the reading pace has been accelerated to a certain extent. However, what I regret is my poor oral presentation has not been much improved till now. I have to admit the responsibility of it completely lies on me. In fact, the teachers provide us with various chances to practice our spoken English during the classes. Somehow I just choose to keep silent all the time. I am so nervous to speak in front of people, especially when my eyes contact with the others’ eyes. I really hope that I would overcome the fear and be confident to voice my view in the future.
Every time I think about we will be apart from our tutors soon and we will not study in the same classroom any more, a sense of nostalgia would surge into my heart. I think our group is really full of dynamic and everyone gets along well with each other. The extraordinary characteristics of all my classmates have been deeply embedded into my memory. As for girls in my group, Wei Being, a lovely girl who seems to be excited everyday always makes us burst into laughter. Wu Bo, a happy girl always gets along well with everyone. Yuan Yi, a hard-working girl treats everything seriously and tries her best to improve her English especially the spoken English. Xi Xian, a pretty girl has a good understanding of how to enjoy life and has a great zest to life. Ling Xue, an energetic girl takes an active part in various activities and has a clear idea on her goals. Yang Xiao, a enthusiastic girl is very easy-going and treat everyone well. As for boys in my group, Du Fang, our monitor is a really pure and kind-hearted who would give a hand whenever you get into trouble. Ling Chao, a so-called beautiful boy is a controversial boy whose moral standard is always suspected. Wang Chao, a lovely boy is ready to help others and loves food so much. Jiang Haiyuan, a strong boy advocates body-building all the time in the class. Jing Yiping, a passionate boy is almost crazy about English whose English is pretty good on matter in terms of writing or oral. Zhang Haoqiang, a knowledgeable boy always come up with creative ideas and has a great interest in architecture. Xing Yu, a generous boy who treated all his group members a lunch in Macdonald’s after presentation has a great zest of basketball. Zhang Jiao, a handsome boy is so humorous and sometimes acts like a little naïve boy. Mi Yang, an easy-going boy is good at guitar and singing but seldom shows in front of us. Luan Bo, a so-called low-key boy seems happy everyday and also conveys his happiness to us every day. Zhao Kun, the youngest boy in our group is interested in the underground Chinese history stories and we are so amazed at his particular dance. Zhen Lei, also a handsome boy is helpful, pure and also good at basketball. Zhou Bing, a strange boy though he always looks serious, he has a kind heart and is glad to help others if needed. Qiang Liang, the idol of our girls is so tall and strong, but in fact he is very tender.
These are all my dear classmates. Hope everyone in group 6 will live a satisfying campus life in the future. We are group 6 forever, and Group 6 is our warm family forever.
Every time I think about we will be apart from our tutors soon and we will not study in the same classroom any more, a sense of nostalgia would surge into my heart. I think our group is really full of dynamic and everyone gets along well with each other. The extraordinary characteristics of all my classmates have been deeply embedded into my memory. As for girls in my group, Wei Being, a lovely girl who seems to be excited everyday always makes us burst into laughter. Wu Bo, a happy girl always gets along well with everyone. Yuan Yi, a hard-working girl treats everything seriously and tries her best to improve her English especially the spoken English. Xi Xian, a pretty girl has a good understanding of how to enjoy life and has a great zest to life. Ling Xue, an energetic girl takes an active part in various activities and has a clear idea on her goals. Yang Xiao, a enthusiastic girl is very easy-going and treat everyone well. As for boys in my group, Du Fang, our monitor is a really pure and kind-hearted who would give a hand whenever you get into trouble. Ling Chao, a so-called beautiful boy is a controversial boy whose moral standard is always suspected. Wang Chao, a lovely boy is ready to help others and loves food so much. Jiang Haiyuan, a strong boy advocates body-building all the time in the class. Jing Yiping, a passionate boy is almost crazy about English whose English is pretty good on matter in terms of writing or oral. Zhang Haoqiang, a knowledgeable boy always come up with creative ideas and has a great interest in architecture. Xing Yu, a generous boy who treated all his group members a lunch in Macdonald’s after presentation has a great zest of basketball. Zhang Jiao, a handsome boy is so humorous and sometimes acts like a little naïve boy. Mi Yang, an easy-going boy is good at guitar and singing but seldom shows in front of us. Luan Bo, a so-called low-key boy seems happy everyday and also conveys his happiness to us every day. Zhao Kun, the youngest boy in our group is interested in the underground Chinese history stories and we are so amazed at his particular dance. Zhen Lei, also a handsome boy is helpful, pure and also good at basketball. Zhou Bing, a strange boy though he always looks serious, he has a kind heart and is glad to help others if needed. Qiang Liang, the idol of our girls is so tall and strong, but in fact he is very tender.
These are all my dear classmates. Hope everyone in group 6 will live a satisfying campus life in the future. We are group 6 forever, and Group 6 is our warm family forever.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
The Movie Twilight
I really like to watch movies , especially movies about love story. Among all the movies that I have watched , I regard the movie twilight as my favorite.
It tells a love story about the beautiful girl and a handsome vampire. The heroine in the movie is very beautiful . however she always looks a bit depressed. But it really didn’t affect her beauty . And the depressed look just let here look more mysterious. She don’t have many words . Most of time she likes to stay quiet and do her own things .The hero in the movie is a very handsome guy. And I think I fall love in him at first sight.
At the beginning the movie is really a bit boring . However I still choose to watch it . Maybe the beautiful and handsome actors give me the desire to continue to watch it. In a way this is the main reason that why almost all the super stars are all beauties and handsome guys.
This movie is very famous in my dorm . From where I stand it is because it is not only different from the story about love but also different from the story about usual vampire movies. It is not horrible , scary movie at all. On the contrary , it is a movie full of harmony.
In former movies the vampires are always very scary , with long hair , hanging outside at midnight , killing people with their awful mouth, and drinking the blood of the people. However in the movie twiling it is quite different . The vampire is just living with all the human being . By appearance there is no differences between them and ordinary people .
In many people’s mind all the vampires are coldblooded . They don't know the meaning of love . In the movie the hero is kindhearted and what is the most important is that he understand the meaning of love . And he know he should try his best to give help to the girl he love. Below is the words which impressed me a lot.
“I don’t know why I like to watch you sleeping . However when I was watching you sleeping , I feel very happy . “
“I just want to protect you . I don’t want others to hurt you .”
“if the day comes that you are old , you are not beautiful at all . I will still love you no matter how old you are”
The movie twilight is so excellent .I still remember that I cried when I first watched it . Though I watch it twice I still have the thought that I should watch it for another time . If you really like love stories , the twilight is really a good choice. Wish you can really enjoy the movie
It tells a love story about the beautiful girl and a handsome vampire. The heroine in the movie is very beautiful . however she always looks a bit depressed. But it really didn’t affect her beauty . And the depressed look just let here look more mysterious. She don’t have many words . Most of time she likes to stay quiet and do her own things .The hero in the movie is a very handsome guy. And I think I fall love in him at first sight.
At the beginning the movie is really a bit boring . However I still choose to watch it . Maybe the beautiful and handsome actors give me the desire to continue to watch it. In a way this is the main reason that why almost all the super stars are all beauties and handsome guys.
This movie is very famous in my dorm . From where I stand it is because it is not only different from the story about love but also different from the story about usual vampire movies. It is not horrible , scary movie at all. On the contrary , it is a movie full of harmony.
In former movies the vampires are always very scary , with long hair , hanging outside at midnight , killing people with their awful mouth, and drinking the blood of the people. However in the movie twiling it is quite different . The vampire is just living with all the human being . By appearance there is no differences between them and ordinary people .
In many people’s mind all the vampires are coldblooded . They don't know the meaning of love . In the movie the hero is kindhearted and what is the most important is that he understand the meaning of love . And he know he should try his best to give help to the girl he love. Below is the words which impressed me a lot.
“I don’t know why I like to watch you sleeping . However when I was watching you sleeping , I feel very happy . “
“I just want to protect you . I don’t want others to hurt you .”
“if the day comes that you are old , you are not beautiful at all . I will still love you no matter how old you are”
The movie twilight is so excellent .I still remember that I cried when I first watched it . Though I watch it twice I still have the thought that I should watch it for another time . If you really like love stories , the twilight is really a good choice. Wish you can really enjoy the movie
The Give Programm
Although I was only given one chance to teach the students chinese. I really enjoyed it. And it was really an impressing experience for me.That time what I did was just to give an introduce about me and my hometown. Since that was the first time for me to stand in front of a lot of people and teach them knowledge , and I knew I always had stage fright . I was really a bit too afraid of my ability to control the situation.I was afraid they did not enjoy my speech. But actually it was really a pleasant thing to teach so clever students. They called me as “Miss Wang”and regarded me as their teacher. They listened to me carefully and asked me questions every now and then, which really let to enjoy the process of teaching them. I just standed in front of them . I looked at them . They were still so childish. They looked so cute and full of life .They were at the same age as my younger brother. At that moment , I recalled the words of chairman Mao “you are just like the sun at 8 am.” I really considered myself as an adult .Yeah , they were all so lively and so curious about what I was saying. Compared with me , they were really much better than me for they really had the desire of learning . What I really wanted to do at that moment was just to tell them as much as possible. I was only given 10 minutes to teach the students . But fortunally I had the chance to sit in the back of the classroom and experience how the lessons were taught in singapore. To my surprise , the Chinese of the students were so good. They can communicate in Chinese fluently . Sometimes they could even say some idioms . They were really bilingual . Both English and Chinese were so good. Time flied . Soon I finished what I should do and it was the time for me to leave . All my cute lovely students all waved goodbye to me . It took me about half an hour to get to NUS. Although it is really a busy Friday , in my mind it is a really perfect day.
The story about Anmy
There was a girl living in my hometown. She was really a cute and clever girl . Compared with other girls , she was very outstanding. She was loved by all her friends. Her friends always liked to share with her their favorite toys snacks and so on. With the company of her friends she really lived a happy life. At first she really treated her friends the same as they treated her. However day by day , 3 years later she changed . She had already regarded the help the love from her friends as a must. The pride began to grow in her mind.
After graduated from the senior high school ,all her friends leaved their hometown for further education. From that time the loneliness began to come to her. In the new environment , she was not as outstanding as before. Everyone in her university is as smart as her. To get a better grade she must study harder than before. She was not the NO 1 in her class.
She was really a bit too depressed . She was really accustomed to be surrounded by her friends , give orders to others and get help from others. Then she began to miss all her friends. At first they had a lot of words with each other. They talked about before, the senior high school , their teachers their classmates . However the day came that there was really no words between them . Their life became quite different. They went to the different places of the country. In their universities they all made new friends . Without any doubts , all her friends paid less attention to her . As for her, she still didn’t have a new friend. She was so lonely . In others’ eyes , she was odd and cool.
One day , she made an telephone call to her best friend. She really noticed that her best friend lost her patience . What her friend really wanted to do was just to hurry to the park to date. Then she held on the phone and made another call to her other friends. Unluckily it seemed that everyone had their own affairs.
The next day , a shocking news broke the peace of the campus. “A girl jumped down from the 8th floor.”
After graduated from the senior high school ,all her friends leaved their hometown for further education. From that time the loneliness began to come to her. In the new environment , she was not as outstanding as before. Everyone in her university is as smart as her. To get a better grade she must study harder than before. She was not the NO 1 in her class.
She was really a bit too depressed . She was really accustomed to be surrounded by her friends , give orders to others and get help from others. Then she began to miss all her friends. At first they had a lot of words with each other. They talked about before, the senior high school , their teachers their classmates . However the day came that there was really no words between them . Their life became quite different. They went to the different places of the country. In their universities they all made new friends . Without any doubts , all her friends paid less attention to her . As for her, she still didn’t have a new friend. She was so lonely . In others’ eyes , she was odd and cool.
One day , she made an telephone call to her best friend. She really noticed that her best friend lost her patience . What her friend really wanted to do was just to hurry to the park to date. Then she held on the phone and made another call to her other friends. Unluckily it seemed that everyone had their own affairs.
The next day , a shocking news broke the peace of the campus. “A girl jumped down from the 8th floor.”
New Year in Different Cultures by Lingxue
"Another fresh new year is here . . .
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
To love and laugh and give!
This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest . . .
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!
I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!”
This poem by William Arthur Ward speaks of the opportunities each new year brings. From its sentiment it is obvious why New Year celebrations are special for almost all cultures. For Chinese, Muslims and Indians, New Year has different meanings and they celebrate it in their own unique ways.
Firstly, Chinese New Year means the beginning in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. It is usually celebrated in January or February. On this special day, people wear new clothes from head to feet and have new hairstyles. They have smiles on their faces as they greet each other. The young visit to all their close relatives and bring best wishes; the old wait at home for visitors and distribute red packets to their beloved children. Actually, on the eve of the Chinese New Year, celebrations often have already begun. No matter how far family members are, they try to return home for the annual reunion dinner. At the reunion dinner, dumplings are a necessary part of the meal. After that the whole family would enjoy the Chinese New Year Eve’s TV Special, which lasts for more than four hours. This programmes keeps people awake from the old year to the new year. People call it “Shou Sui”. Usually the Chinese New Year period continues for fifteen days from the first day of lunar calendar and on the last day, Yuanxiao, a ball-shaped dessert is served. It is a rice ball that has a filling of peanut which marks the ending of the festival.
For Muslims, New Year is different. It is the first day in the Islamic calendar. New Year’s Day itself is typically used to remind the Muslims of the significance of the Prophet’s migration. On this day, people would gather in mosques, offer special prayers and listen to special readings form the Koran, a sacred book in Islam. An important part of the prayer service is the narration of the Hegira or the flight of Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina. Apart from that, Muslims almost have no other special celebrations for the New Year. However, recently a number of Muslims have started sending greeting cards to each other as a new trend.
When it comes to Indians, the topic becomes a little complicated as India is a country of great diversity. Since it is made up of numerous regional and cultural variations, festivals are celebrated at different times and in different ways. Though Hinduism is the religion that is followed by the largest percentage of people in India, even within Hindu community New Year is not celebrated at the same time. Neither is it done in same fashion. In the eastern part of India, New Year is celebrated in spring. Houses are decorated with colorful flowers in pink, red, purple and white. Women are in yellow which also stands for spring. Besides, southern people also eat small helpings of a salad made of neem leaves, raw mangoes and bananas. By eating this, the person is symbolically accepting everything bitter and sweet that is likely to come his way throughout the New Year. In Kerala, a southern part of India, on the night before New Year’s Day, mothers prepare a special tray consisting of special food, fruits, flowers and gifts. This tray is one of the first things one sees on New Year’s Day, so as soon as the children are awake, they are led with their eyes closed to the tray. In central India, orange flags are hoisted from buildings and homes. In Gujarat, in western India, New Year is, on the other hand, celebrated in the end of October, on the day that coincides with Dewalee, another important Hindu Festival. People would light little oil lamps on and gather around their houses to welcome Goddess of wealth.
With different backgrounds and different histories, the time and ways of celebrating New Year’s Day in these countries is completely different. Yet, regardless of tradition, people express their sentiment and best wishes for the coming year with similar sentiments as those expressed in the poem above..
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
To love and laugh and give!
This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest . . .
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!
I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!”
This poem by William Arthur Ward speaks of the opportunities each new year brings. From its sentiment it is obvious why New Year celebrations are special for almost all cultures. For Chinese, Muslims and Indians, New Year has different meanings and they celebrate it in their own unique ways.
Firstly, Chinese New Year means the beginning in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. It is usually celebrated in January or February. On this special day, people wear new clothes from head to feet and have new hairstyles. They have smiles on their faces as they greet each other. The young visit to all their close relatives and bring best wishes; the old wait at home for visitors and distribute red packets to their beloved children. Actually, on the eve of the Chinese New Year, celebrations often have already begun. No matter how far family members are, they try to return home for the annual reunion dinner. At the reunion dinner, dumplings are a necessary part of the meal. After that the whole family would enjoy the Chinese New Year Eve’s TV Special, which lasts for more than four hours. This programmes keeps people awake from the old year to the new year. People call it “Shou Sui”. Usually the Chinese New Year period continues for fifteen days from the first day of lunar calendar and on the last day, Yuanxiao, a ball-shaped dessert is served. It is a rice ball that has a filling of peanut which marks the ending of the festival.
For Muslims, New Year is different. It is the first day in the Islamic calendar. New Year’s Day itself is typically used to remind the Muslims of the significance of the Prophet’s migration. On this day, people would gather in mosques, offer special prayers and listen to special readings form the Koran, a sacred book in Islam. An important part of the prayer service is the narration of the Hegira or the flight of Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina. Apart from that, Muslims almost have no other special celebrations for the New Year. However, recently a number of Muslims have started sending greeting cards to each other as a new trend.
When it comes to Indians, the topic becomes a little complicated as India is a country of great diversity. Since it is made up of numerous regional and cultural variations, festivals are celebrated at different times and in different ways. Though Hinduism is the religion that is followed by the largest percentage of people in India, even within Hindu community New Year is not celebrated at the same time. Neither is it done in same fashion. In the eastern part of India, New Year is celebrated in spring. Houses are decorated with colorful flowers in pink, red, purple and white. Women are in yellow which also stands for spring. Besides, southern people also eat small helpings of a salad made of neem leaves, raw mangoes and bananas. By eating this, the person is symbolically accepting everything bitter and sweet that is likely to come his way throughout the New Year. In Kerala, a southern part of India, on the night before New Year’s Day, mothers prepare a special tray consisting of special food, fruits, flowers and gifts. This tray is one of the first things one sees on New Year’s Day, so as soon as the children are awake, they are led with their eyes closed to the tray. In central India, orange flags are hoisted from buildings and homes. In Gujarat, in western India, New Year is, on the other hand, celebrated in the end of October, on the day that coincides with Dewalee, another important Hindu Festival. People would light little oil lamps on and gather around their houses to welcome Goddess of wealth.
With different backgrounds and different histories, the time and ways of celebrating New Year’s Day in these countries is completely different. Yet, regardless of tradition, people express their sentiment and best wishes for the coming year with similar sentiments as those expressed in the poem above..
FREQUENTLY MISSPELLED WORDS:
Accommodation
Acquaintance
Acquire
Adherence
Advertisement
Aggression
A lot (2 words)
Archaeology
Athlete
Available
Awful
Britain
Business
College
Cannot (1 word)
Committee
Commitment
Conceited
Conscience
Conscientious
Conscious
Contemporary
Conveniently
Corporate
Curiosity
Correspondence
Deceive
Definitely
Deterrent
Develop
Development
Diarrhoea/Diarrhea
Disappear
Disappointed
Embarrassed
Entrepreneurial
Environment
Equipped
Ever since (2 words)
Even though (2 words)
Existent, Existence
Experience
Extremely
Fulfil
Gauge
Glamorous
Government
Hindrance
Humorous
Hygiene
Hypocrisy
In fact (2 words)
In front of (3words)
In spite of (3 words)
Independent
Irrelevant
Laid
Institutions
Millennium
Mischievous
Myopic
Modernised
Necessary
Occurrence
Pastime
Peculiar
Perseverance
Portray
Pre-marital
Privilege
Pronunciation
Received
Renown
Rhythm
Scissors
Separate
Sincerely
Skilful
Surprise
Tragedy
Unconscious
Undoubtedly
Unnecessarily
Vehicle
Vicious
Weird
Acquaintance
Acquire
Adherence
Advertisement
Aggression
A lot (2 words)
Archaeology
Athlete
Available
Awful
Britain
Business
College
Cannot (1 word)
Committee
Commitment
Conceited
Conscience
Conscientious
Conscious
Contemporary
Conveniently
Corporate
Curiosity
Correspondence
Deceive
Definitely
Deterrent
Develop
Development
Diarrhoea/Diarrhea
Disappear
Disappointed
Embarrassed
Entrepreneurial
Environment
Equipped
Ever since (2 words)
Even though (2 words)
Existent, Existence
Experience
Extremely
Fulfil
Gauge
Glamorous
Government
Hindrance
Humorous
Hygiene
Hypocrisy
In fact (2 words)
In front of (3words)
In spite of (3 words)
Independent
Irrelevant
Laid
Institutions
Millennium
Mischievous
Myopic
Modernised
Necessary
Occurrence
Pastime
Peculiar
Perseverance
Portray
Pre-marital
Privilege
Pronunciation
Received
Renown
Rhythm
Scissors
Separate
Sincerely
Skilful
Surprise
Tragedy
Unconscious
Undoubtedly
Unnecessarily
Vehicle
Vicious
Weird
Television is “an idiot box” and should be controlled. Do you agree?
Nowadays with the development of entertainment programs on television, more and more children are dedicated to television. They spend most of their leisure time glued to the television set. The underlying issue is above whether television is an idiot box and should be controlled. Advocates of this issue assert that television provides all kinds of information and enriches their lives. However, the quality of programmes on television is awful and meaningless.
Firstly, in order to reduce the hours people spend on watching television, family as a small social unit should have specific rules and set a time limit for the amount of television children are allowed to watch. They should plan more quality time to spend together doing some outdoor activities. For example, parents and children may create a schedule of activities. From 5pm to 6pm on weekdays children can watch cartoons; from 6pm to 7pm parents can watch the news. They can talk about books, have picnics, play badminton and other outdoor activities to relief boredom.
Secondly, some programs shown on television are really meaningless. In some shows are just for pure entertainment, movie stars take part in stupid games in order to attract their fans. Spending time on such meaningless even stupid shows is really a waste of time and life. In contrast to reading books, people absorb pictures without processing them properly. The passivity of the process is unlike reading, it diminishes the imagination and fails to provide people with the mental rigour that requires them to ingest the information.
Thirdly, health agencies should publicise how television is bad for the eyesight and the lack of physical activity leads to obesity. There also should be activities organised to encourage people to take part in community based activities.
Critics of this position feel that housewives are becoming a rare breed, mother do not have enough time to spend with their children, teaching them. In that way, the television helps a lot. It provides children with many educational programmes. However, often children watch television instead of doing their home work or having proper family dinners. Their eyes are glued to the television set and not actually conversing in a meaningful way.
With the unremitting efforts of all, from the creators of television programmes to children and adults who watch these shows, the challenge to fight against the television seems a losing battle. We can can minise the abuse of televison only by viewing each programme critically and insisting that the younger generation explore their physical environment. Turning our younger generation to the physical world in order to become more knowledgable and active will be a huge challenge in this electronic age.
Links on the same topic.
Yes, Idiot box
http://www.theage.com.au/news/science/the-idiot-box/2005/10/03/1128191629304.html
No, Lifeline
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/edu/2009/03/16/stories/2009031650820400.htm
Study linking aggression to television violence
http://faculty.palomar.edu/pjacoby/Television%20Viewing%20and%20Aggressive%20Behavior.pdf
Cultural effects of television
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/249068.stm
Firstly, in order to reduce the hours people spend on watching television, family as a small social unit should have specific rules and set a time limit for the amount of television children are allowed to watch. They should plan more quality time to spend together doing some outdoor activities. For example, parents and children may create a schedule of activities. From 5pm to 6pm on weekdays children can watch cartoons; from 6pm to 7pm parents can watch the news. They can talk about books, have picnics, play badminton and other outdoor activities to relief boredom.
Secondly, some programs shown on television are really meaningless. In some shows are just for pure entertainment, movie stars take part in stupid games in order to attract their fans. Spending time on such meaningless even stupid shows is really a waste of time and life. In contrast to reading books, people absorb pictures without processing them properly. The passivity of the process is unlike reading, it diminishes the imagination and fails to provide people with the mental rigour that requires them to ingest the information.
Thirdly, health agencies should publicise how television is bad for the eyesight and the lack of physical activity leads to obesity. There also should be activities organised to encourage people to take part in community based activities.
Critics of this position feel that housewives are becoming a rare breed, mother do not have enough time to spend with their children, teaching them. In that way, the television helps a lot. It provides children with many educational programmes. However, often children watch television instead of doing their home work or having proper family dinners. Their eyes are glued to the television set and not actually conversing in a meaningful way.
With the unremitting efforts of all, from the creators of television programmes to children and adults who watch these shows, the challenge to fight against the television seems a losing battle. We can can minise the abuse of televison only by viewing each programme critically and insisting that the younger generation explore their physical environment. Turning our younger generation to the physical world in order to become more knowledgable and active will be a huge challenge in this electronic age.
Links on the same topic.
Yes, Idiot box
http://www.theage.com.au/news/science/the-idiot-box/2005/10/03/1128191629304.html
No, Lifeline
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/edu/2009/03/16/stories/2009031650820400.htm
Study linking aggression to television violence
http://faculty.palomar.edu/pjacoby/Television%20Viewing%20and%20Aggressive%20Behavior.pdf
Cultural effects of television
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/249068.stm
Monday, May 25, 2009
Give me a roll of toilet paper, and I can move the earth
A friend of mine wrote in an article that his friend who was in Zimbabwe told him that the country was in inflation and the price of a bottle of Coca Cola rose to three million. He came up with a fantastic idea that really captured my attention. All we need is just a roll of toilet paper and a machine which can make toilet paper. Then we should go to Zimbabwe and sell this roll of toilet paper. Because of the inflation, we could get a large amount of money. How to deal with the money? We can turn some of it into rolls of toilet paper. Sell them and get more money. Repeat this and we will gain a lot of fortune in a short time without any cost. Well, this process will not last long, because a lot of paper money has been changed into toilet paper and our raw material is exhausted. Because of us and our toilet paper, the amount of paper money in circulation becomes smaller. It leads to the positive change of the money still in circulation. We become rich and the problem of inflation has been solved. The roll of toilet paper saves the economy of a whole country.
Of course, this is just a joke and a trick as well. Because the amount of money has not been changed, no matter what we sell, when it comes to the market, it makes no difference. The inflation still exists. Well, what interested me is the idea. Can we solve inflation problems with only a roll of toilet paper and rescue the economy of a whole country? It is a brave thought. At the same time, it shows the ambition of a person. What is more, it also makes me think about our attitudes towards new ideas.
Since we started to learn, we began to get a kind of so called normal education. The older we got, the more academic and less imaginative we became. We tend to consider too many things and in the process, lose many great ideas which seem to lack academic foundation. Let’s go back to the idea I mentioned above. Many people have read this article and there are also many comments. Some of them think it is ridiculous, just because it does not obey the academic foundation. Why should we always be that academic? Why not just be a little bit crazy? Many great thoughts were regarded crazy at the beginning, but later they proved to be quite useful and important. Copernicus and his heliocentric theory is a good example. Heliocentric theory was considered as a fallacy when the idea was initially introduced, but centuries have passed, and we realize that it is a constant truth. Copernicus who used to be treated as a lunatic became one of the greatest scientist ever since. Sometimes, what seems crazy is actually creativity.
At last, I want to say although this idea I mentioned may be wrong, but it did make me think a lot, not only about the idea itself, but also about our attitudes towards new ideas. Give me a roll of toilet paper, and I can move the earth.
Of course, this is just a joke and a trick as well. Because the amount of money has not been changed, no matter what we sell, when it comes to the market, it makes no difference. The inflation still exists. Well, what interested me is the idea. Can we solve inflation problems with only a roll of toilet paper and rescue the economy of a whole country? It is a brave thought. At the same time, it shows the ambition of a person. What is more, it also makes me think about our attitudes towards new ideas.
Since we started to learn, we began to get a kind of so called normal education. The older we got, the more academic and less imaginative we became. We tend to consider too many things and in the process, lose many great ideas which seem to lack academic foundation. Let’s go back to the idea I mentioned above. Many people have read this article and there are also many comments. Some of them think it is ridiculous, just because it does not obey the academic foundation. Why should we always be that academic? Why not just be a little bit crazy? Many great thoughts were regarded crazy at the beginning, but later they proved to be quite useful and important. Copernicus and his heliocentric theory is a good example. Heliocentric theory was considered as a fallacy when the idea was initially introduced, but centuries have passed, and we realize that it is a constant truth. Copernicus who used to be treated as a lunatic became one of the greatest scientist ever since. Sometimes, what seems crazy is actually creativity.
At last, I want to say although this idea I mentioned may be wrong, but it did make me think a lot, not only about the idea itself, but also about our attitudes towards new ideas. Give me a roll of toilet paper, and I can move the earth.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
HOW To Lose Weight
Girlls really want to lose weight. Many girls admire the slim ones. The pump girls are not popular among the boys. To be fat means that you can not wear the clothes you really like. Sometimes the fat girls are laughed at by the boys. Now I am also the one who was chasing for the slim. I try many ways to lose weight fast and healthily. So far I have already made a progress. And now I will share my experience to you . Hopefully it will be of help .
If now I tell you that you should exercise regularly and eat a balanced diet. In my own opinion I still believe it is too boring. It is the common sense. I want to tell you something different.
First, you should weigh your weight daily. By this way , eating less will be implanted in your mind deeply. Meanwhile , you can know your little progress immediately . then you will get more encouragement form the progress.
Second, set your goal. The more detailed the better. If you have your goal , you are more likely to take actual steps to lose weight.
Third, look at your figure in the mirror often. The imagine reflect in the mirror can help understand the importance of losing weight.
Forth, you should collect the pictures of the beautiful , hot stars. Put them in your stationary bags. When you are looking at the pictures , you will talk to your self” if I am as thin as them, then I will become more beautiful”. This behavior will help you to notice the big change when you are thinner.
Fifth, set a table about what you should eat every day. And follow it strictly . I give you an example below.
Breakfast :an egg, a cup of milk(250ml) two pieces of toast bread
Lunch : vegetable rice
Dinner: an apple, a pear, a cup of milk(250ml)
If you follow what I said, I am sure you can really become thinner. Hurry up , lazy girls, let us be thin together.
If now I tell you that you should exercise regularly and eat a balanced diet. In my own opinion I still believe it is too boring. It is the common sense. I want to tell you something different.
First, you should weigh your weight daily. By this way , eating less will be implanted in your mind deeply. Meanwhile , you can know your little progress immediately . then you will get more encouragement form the progress.
Second, set your goal. The more detailed the better. If you have your goal , you are more likely to take actual steps to lose weight.
Third, look at your figure in the mirror often. The imagine reflect in the mirror can help understand the importance of losing weight.
Forth, you should collect the pictures of the beautiful , hot stars. Put them in your stationary bags. When you are looking at the pictures , you will talk to your self” if I am as thin as them, then I will become more beautiful”. This behavior will help you to notice the big change when you are thinner.
Fifth, set a table about what you should eat every day. And follow it strictly . I give you an example below.
Breakfast :an egg, a cup of milk(250ml) two pieces of toast bread
Lunch : vegetable rice
Dinner: an apple, a pear, a cup of milk(250ml)
If you follow what I said, I am sure you can really become thinner. Hurry up , lazy girls, let us be thin together.
The use of Power point in an oral presentation
It only a few days left for us to present our research report to the judges. Are you prepared? I would like to share some of my experience of making PowerPoint slides and add some valuable ideas from the websites that Ms Goh and Ms Lim introduced.
First of all, why shall we need to use power point in a presentation. In my point of view, it’s for helping us to demonstrate our view clearer and easier for the audience to understand. On the other hand, it can help us remember our words and organizations. In other words it’s like the cloth of a presentation. The video chicken, chicken, chicken shows us a clear view of how this cloth could change our presentations. With the power point slides, the professor is not just repeating chicken at all. It’s a very interesting video. You can find it by clicking the link below. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL_-1d9OSdk
As soon as we know how power point benefits us, let’s come to the second step to make slides. According to Victor Chen’s worlds, power point slides should be big, consistent, clear, simple, and progressive. Keeping the slides big means one need to make everything in the slide big enough for everyone to see. Make it simple means put as little things as possible in each slides. And one should also try to avoid making sounds in the animation. Keep it clear means one should make the words in the slides easy to be understood by others. It’s also important to highlight the part you want to emphasize. Keep it progress means one need to make a complex thing shows step by step. Keep it consistent means one should avoid different kinds of signs because they distract people. The suggestions above are very helpful.
In my words, I would like to call these methods be considerate to the audience. It means when you are making a power point slide, you should stay in the position of audience. We shall always ask ourselves if I were the audience do I understand my words easily. In this way our power point can be much more efficient and clear. Here are some tips from Victor Chen.
• 3 slides per minute is the maximum
• Practice moving between slides.
• Be prepared for technical difficulties
• Avoid the use of flashy transitions.
• Communication is the key
• Text to support the communication
• Pictures to simplify complex concepts
• Animations for complex relationships
• Visuals to support, not to distract
• Sounds only when absolutely necessary
All in all it’s pretty easy to make a perfect power point slides. Here are some examples of Steve Jobs’ presentation at 2007 Mac world. Hope it’s useful to you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9RL6xKsU4E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXAcZyrF584
Haven’t watched any English cartoons?
Are still watching Japanese movies? Frankly speaking, it is not a good idea at all. Though some of them have meaningful themes, it would be a hard time for us to focus on both pictures and subtitles. As soon as we tried to concentrate on finding out what they are saying, we may lose details in the story. What’s worse, it would bring us many bad effects. For instance it may cause a sense of absent-minded because our eyes are not focusing on one part of the screen. As a result, why not try some cartoons in English? Some may argue that there are only Mickey mouse or Tom and Jerry which are too childish for them. Thus I would like to introduce one of the greatest English cartoons which I love the best. It has been popular among Americans for many years. Its name is The Simpsons.
The cartoon talks about a story of a typical middle class American lifestyle family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Maggie, Lisa, and Maggie. Homer Simpson is the father of the family. He works as safety inspector at the Springfield nuclear power plant. Homer is a careless, broad minded, self centred, timid and quite silly man. He could always do things wrongly and injured himself easily. However Homer has a sense of “luck” that he would do great thing to end the mass caused by himself and his family. Marge Simpson is his wife and stays at the position of both wise wife and good mother. She is clever and knowledgeable. They have three children. Bart who is the eldest son is a great trouble maker. He almost plays jokes on everyone and brings great numbers of troubles to his family. He stays at the position of bad but kind student. Lisa is the second eldest girl in the family. She is talented and extremely clever. She is the reflection of the greatest students in school. She is also very kind and cares of everyone, for example she always worries about the bad environment of Springfield. Maggie is a small and cute baby. They also own two pets Santa’s little helper the dog and snowball V the cat. They all live content and fulfilled in the fictional city Springfield.
You may know a lot about American culture from this cartoon. The humour in the carton covers all kinds of areas, from old to young and from literature to science. In this case everyone will be interested in it. Though is hard too find on both tudou and youcu, you can easily find them on the youtube. Here is a link to one the episodes. I hope you like it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aBaX9GPSaQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L2fsubA2-c
The process of our class movie
I’m very glad to announce that our class movie finally got on to the youtube. Now you can see it or even download it from youtube. The link is below. After some adjustment, it’s now 61.2 MB.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQyboA05C2c
The story began from the point we decided our movie scene to be the God father. We choose God father because it’s a famous movie and it has many characters in it. Unlike Sound of music or Forest Gum, most people know the name of god father but not too many of them have seen it. So we can draw most attention and expectations from our audience. As soon as we decide on the movie, I search for the script of it. With great luck, I found a fan of god father and he provided a whole script which used by the director. So we didn't waste any time on writing the script.
The next step is to choose actors and arrange works. First of all, I combined and separated the jobs of workers. The job of director was divided into three parts. The job to correct the emotions and gestures of the actors was given to Yangxiao, because she had read the whole novel and know each character very well. I named the job supervisor. The job of keeping time went to Lingxue and the job of putting the stage properties went to Bowen. Our stage properties were also bought by Bowen who was the purchaser of this play. Next, as for the actors, I chose from everyone’s appearance and speaking styles. So finally we got everyone acting.
Then we began to get familiar with the words and act together. You can find the videos about our rehearsal in the links below. After several nights of practise, we finally finished the recording in three days time. I believe that the process is known very well by us now, so I will not introduce more about it.
After I got the clips, I renamed each of them according to each characters scene. Then I tried to put them together by the movie maker. But the format was not accepted by the movie maker. So I had to convert it into the format for movie maker. As soon as I added it to movie maker, I found the pictures were twisted because the video is in 4:3 rates. In order to make the video larger on the screen, I need to cut the original video to 16:9 rates. Unfortunately this kind of conversion broke down my software and it could only convert 2 videos a time. So I convert the 50 clips for a long time. When everything it’s done I put these clips in order. Things never turn out to be easy. I found that there are many missing words in the beginning due to the slow reaction of the camera. So I had to cut the sound from the original movie. Now we can hear an original sound of Tatali and the sound of Xinyu hitting on the table clearly. The most different things to do were to synchronize our movie with the original movie. I cut ours and cut the original ones. Because of the limitation of the software, I didn't do a good job to these clips. Finally when I came to the step of finishing the movie, the software told me that there are too many clips to combine together. So I had to separate the movie into four small parts and use nearly an hour time to get the final movie. The last step was to put our movie and the original movie together. I used the Adobe primer pro to make. I made three copies and each cost more than an hour’s time. Unfortunately the movie is unclear and extremely large. However, I brought the movie to the rehearsal and the judges only wanted it brighter and having subtitles. So I make it brighter by movie maker and got another copy which is only 61.2MB large. As for the sub titles, I think that the variety show it’s to show our play to the audience. They should watch our play while listening, not reading the subtitles while looking at the pictures. It’s too distracted. In the end I didn't make it.
By making this class movie, I really learned a lot. First, I find out that everything needs a thorough preparation before it gets started. Second, think more about the methods before do anything. Or many things will cause troubles in the future and cost you a great many of time. I believe I can do a great job next time. After all, practise makes perfect.
The summary and process of our variety show
After weeks of working, we have finally finished our preparation for the variety show. Some may have already forgotten what had happened. So I would like to make a summary and show everyone what our efforts went to.
As soon as the small group was arranged by Ms Sonali, we discussed for a few minutes and get to four ideas. The first one was singing a song. But no one seems good at it and interested in it. So it was cancelled a week later. The second one was acting a role play. There is no doubt that we came to the difficulties of writing a script. However a new group led by Yiping and joined with Xixian, Zhenglei, Ningchao and Wangchao. They wrote a pretty clear script, but rejected by Ms Sonali. This is because the story was lacking of content and real humour. After two and half weeks of struggle, it was cancelled.
The third one is the choral reading. This word is told by Ms Goh. Choral reading is something like you read while making some proper movements at the same time. The group led by Yangxiao searched for many songs for us to read. Finally we choose the one named daffodils.
In order to make it funny and lively, I added movements for the seven of you who were going to perform in the front. For example if the poem said tree, than everyone would make a circle above their head and pretending to be a tree. This plan got rejected by most of the performers. They thought it was too childish and were not suitable to them. On the other hand no one could come up with a better idea. So we just leave it there. After we decided to make a movie, I found that we could replace the choral reading by sidelights. And so it does. The choral reading was cancelled too. The forth idea was a cross talk. Needless to say, no one was confident in it and again it was cancelled.
After the role play got rejected, we discussed on how about acting a famous movie. The idea was quite good and we tried to choose a movie that most students could be evolved. So Yiping came out with idea of acting god father. After talking to Ms Goh, she provided another great idea. She suggested us to make a video so that we don't need to waste much time on arranging stage property when we act. So I took the idea. In order to make every one speak in the font of the audience, I planed to record every one and out them at the end of the video. You can find the video in the address below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQyboA05C2c
For the money that Dufang collected. It was partly used for buying stage properties and partly used to buy each of the actors a gift. In other words, any one who participated in this movie will receive a gift in the end. All in all, we came across all kinds of difficulties during the process. But we can finally show a unique and interesting play on the variety show.
Large Living Gets Smaller
After years of living large, US households are finally learning what financial experts thought they never would: to live within their means.
“For many years, people on Wall Street have refused to believe that American consumers could ever change their spending habits,” said David Rosenberg, an economist at Merrill Lynch. “But it is happening. Frugality is in, extravagance is out.”
Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of the US economy. According to Rosenberg, 30 percent of that is discretionary spending-that is, buying stuff you can live without.
As a result of these spending habits, some American house buyers borrowed irrationally. Many low-income householders have been unable to meet their loan repayments. Now banks have to write off these so-called “sub-prime loans”. Sub-prime crisis is the reason of the economic crisis today.
That has caused a credit crunch-banks have not enough cash in reserve. As a result, the problem has spread and turned into a worldwide financial crisis.
The FCO offers successful applicants scholarships covering tuition fees of up to 12,000 pounds, flights to and from the UK and living expenses sufficient for a single student. Some scholars may receive contribution from partners and sponsors of FCO.
Nowadays, America was trapped in the serious economic crisis. Most of the citizens are afraid to fail their own consumption. So they dare not to live large and begin their small life.
“For many years, people on Wall Street have refused to believe that American consumers could ever change their spending habits,” said David Rosenberg, an economist at Merrill Lynch. “But it is happening. Frugality is in, extravagance is out.”
Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of the US economy. According to Rosenberg, 30 percent of that is discretionary spending-that is, buying stuff you can live without.
As a result of these spending habits, some American house buyers borrowed irrationally. Many low-income householders have been unable to meet their loan repayments. Now banks have to write off these so-called “sub-prime loans”. Sub-prime crisis is the reason of the economic crisis today.
That has caused a credit crunch-banks have not enough cash in reserve. As a result, the problem has spread and turned into a worldwide financial crisis.
The FCO offers successful applicants scholarships covering tuition fees of up to 12,000 pounds, flights to and from the UK and living expenses sufficient for a single student. Some scholars may receive contribution from partners and sponsors of FCO.
Nowadays, America was trapped in the serious economic crisis. Most of the citizens are afraid to fail their own consumption. So they dare not to live large and begin their small life.
Friday, May 22, 2009
What I value most
I can not understand why people do not keep their promise.
If I make a promise, I will try my best to fulfill them apart from some special cases. But to my surprise, I found most of the people did not keep their promises. They made promises, after a while, it was so easy for them to change their mind and just regard their promises as nothing and act as if nothing had happed, nothing they had promise to others.
Someone told me that you should not be sensitive with others' words . Sometimes people promise you something out of politeness or they say so just because of the need of social communication. For example, once a person told me he would buy a lot of happy nuts to me, at that time I believed him. But as many months went by, I did not even see the shadow of the happy nuts. Again, I asked a person a question, he told me he would answer me next time we met. I believed him again. But the same result came. He did not mention it at all. My heart hurt again. Firstly, he made the promise because of politeness. While in the second case, he ate his words and he made the promise again just because of the need of social communication. But I really can not accept such reasons. If we can not keep our promise, just do not make it.
As far as I am concerned, people do not keep their promise because they do not put the promises into their hearts (except the case that they really forget their promises). In other words, they do not care about you, so they do not care about what they promise to you. I know it is sad for us to accept it because that means people do not treat you as an important person.
In fact, breaking one’s promise is a version of lie. I admit I like to tell lies. For example, I tell someone my birthday is on the same day as his so that he can give me a present. Or I tell my friends to go out to look at the beautiful moon while in fact there is nothing in the sky. But I do not think that such white lies are wrong. They are just the same as we tell on April Fools’ Day. But another kind of lie is something that really hurt my heart. They tend to cover the truth, they seem to make beautiful promises to you while their do not keep.
I am really moved if someone tells me: I will keep my promise. I will put them into heart. Because it is what I really value most.
I hope if you can not keep your promise, do not make promise. People will be with the hope and wait for you to fulfill it. If you break your promise, it will let them down.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Life bEing messY, I juSt wanT tO sAy somEthing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEo5bjnJViA
What my life would be, if I don’t have a clear goal? Being a hedonist? No. I can’t. I am not supposed to waste my time. But what else can I be? I don’t know. Hence, to avoid the frustrating fact that I may be wasting time again, I might just pick up a book to read. Whatever books will do for I just want to find something to do. Study can be really a drudgery thing if I cannot find myself a motive.
Sorry? What are you writing about? Rubbish… No introduction. No background information. No main idea. No thesis sentence. What is your point? Er… this is rubbish…maybe you should rewrite it. Be more conscious about your content, organization, and language.
Sorry… I myself even do not know what I am writing about. I just want to say something about me, about my life, my goal, my motive to live on happily, my reasoning or…nothing. Sorry again for the misusing of the punctuation. Sorry for make it awkward to read and make sense, but, maybe, I do not expect anyone see this and understand me, simply because I am not making any sense. Sorry to have bother you to read this. Hopefully you are wasting your time. Or, maybe, you are just like me, wanting to find something to do, in case you may waste your time. However, sorry to tell you, you are still wasting your time.
Thus( or hence, as long as you do not use “so”, it will be perfectly fine. Somehow the teacher who mark the paper does not like it), I now finally figure out what I am doing. Haha… I am wasting my time. Maybe true. Maybe not. Rather than that, I am reasoning about something important, which seems much more necessary than grabbing something to read or getting some silly mathematic quiz to torture myself. Why? I must to this sort of things to improve my academic performance, to be more specific, a good cap. Yes! That’s it. But, again, why? a good cap may guarantee a good job. Again, why? A good job means more money, and more money means the capability to buy and own more stuff. Why? Why? Why?
Panic, haunted, irritated, provoked, furious, maniacal, crazy, mad, delirious… Ba… so happy to I have got some words at hand. Ba… I am a man with no goals, hopeless. Why do I must have goals? Er… maybe it will allow me to know where to go. What if I still do not know where to go with a goal since the goal might lead nowhere. Oh, please, stop it, don’t be so obnoxious ok? Haha… new phrase in practice again. Nihilistic? No!
Why not live life to its fullest? Since I am so lucky to come to this world. Super lottery win! one out of tens of thousands. The world is so big. Really! Though in this infinite universe, the earth is so small and alone, yet it is big enough to get you lost. Haha, even a red dot like Singapore is big enough to get me lost. But I am lost in somewhere else, not like anywhere I have been to. A place made of liquid. And once I get lost, the surrounding becomes denser and denser, and in the end, turns solid. Then I become something like an amber, sticking there, until I feel adjusted to the environment and begin to move again.
Hi, there. My name is Leon and I am pathetic.
It is miraculous that somehow I manage to spend 20 years doing all sorts of things without a reason. But I need a reason now! er… sounds like I am still in adolescence.
I will keep writing, though I do not know what to say.
I will live on, though I do not know what I am living for.
I do not have to be reasonable if the simple motive to write is just finding something to do.
I do not have to have clear goals in life if… if you just find it awfully hard to find one.
Rubbish again.
Yes? No? hey, wait a secod, man!
I do have goals! I mean I do have something to keep me going! To do better than everybody else is my goal. Just do better! So, what is better and why do I have to be better than others. What I am trying to prove? One day, I may become the empire of the universe. So what? I am ashamed.
……
……
All right. Before I drive myself mad, I had better be more realistic.
Yes.realistic…realistic…. realistic…realistic…
So, be real.
What am I doing? Typing in front of a laptop.
What is on my mind? Nothing.
The greatest invention of 21st century is personal computer utterly! Just because it has the amazing power to accelerate the speed of time. Time flies. Sometime I just wonder how people might feel if they find themselves 80 years old overnight. I will be really scared. That’s for sure.
To find the reason of life may be hard, but it will be much easier to find out the reason of the things you are doing right now. Me? Don’t know…
Ok. I am not happy today, because we or I fail in the inter class debate.
Haha, finally, I know what I am doing. Naive? Childish? Puerile? Silly ? yes, absolutely.. I want to cry,seriously.
Maybe, I should talk about something more pleasant.
Hope is a nice thing, so is dream.
“Paul, a mobile phone salesman from south wells, by day I sell mobile phones, my dream is to spend my life doing what I feel I was born to. I always wanted to sing as a career confidence is always sort of difficult thing for me …”
Every time I watch this, my tear would run dry. I don’t think I am too sentimental. Spontaneously, tears just build up in my eyes.
Suddenly, I don’t want to write anymore.
So, just stop here.
What my life would be, if I don’t have a clear goal? Being a hedonist? No. I can’t. I am not supposed to waste my time. But what else can I be? I don’t know. Hence, to avoid the frustrating fact that I may be wasting time again, I might just pick up a book to read. Whatever books will do for I just want to find something to do. Study can be really a drudgery thing if I cannot find myself a motive.
Sorry? What are you writing about? Rubbish… No introduction. No background information. No main idea. No thesis sentence. What is your point? Er… this is rubbish…maybe you should rewrite it. Be more conscious about your content, organization, and language.
Sorry… I myself even do not know what I am writing about. I just want to say something about me, about my life, my goal, my motive to live on happily, my reasoning or…nothing. Sorry again for the misusing of the punctuation. Sorry for make it awkward to read and make sense, but, maybe, I do not expect anyone see this and understand me, simply because I am not making any sense. Sorry to have bother you to read this. Hopefully you are wasting your time. Or, maybe, you are just like me, wanting to find something to do, in case you may waste your time. However, sorry to tell you, you are still wasting your time.
Thus( or hence, as long as you do not use “so”, it will be perfectly fine. Somehow the teacher who mark the paper does not like it), I now finally figure out what I am doing. Haha… I am wasting my time. Maybe true. Maybe not. Rather than that, I am reasoning about something important, which seems much more necessary than grabbing something to read or getting some silly mathematic quiz to torture myself. Why? I must to this sort of things to improve my academic performance, to be more specific, a good cap. Yes! That’s it. But, again, why? a good cap may guarantee a good job. Again, why? A good job means more money, and more money means the capability to buy and own more stuff. Why? Why? Why?
Panic, haunted, irritated, provoked, furious, maniacal, crazy, mad, delirious… Ba… so happy to I have got some words at hand. Ba… I am a man with no goals, hopeless. Why do I must have goals? Er… maybe it will allow me to know where to go. What if I still do not know where to go with a goal since the goal might lead nowhere. Oh, please, stop it, don’t be so obnoxious ok? Haha… new phrase in practice again. Nihilistic? No!
Why not live life to its fullest? Since I am so lucky to come to this world. Super lottery win! one out of tens of thousands. The world is so big. Really! Though in this infinite universe, the earth is so small and alone, yet it is big enough to get you lost. Haha, even a red dot like Singapore is big enough to get me lost. But I am lost in somewhere else, not like anywhere I have been to. A place made of liquid. And once I get lost, the surrounding becomes denser and denser, and in the end, turns solid. Then I become something like an amber, sticking there, until I feel adjusted to the environment and begin to move again.
Hi, there. My name is Leon and I am pathetic.
It is miraculous that somehow I manage to spend 20 years doing all sorts of things without a reason. But I need a reason now! er… sounds like I am still in adolescence.
I will keep writing, though I do not know what to say.
I will live on, though I do not know what I am living for.
I do not have to be reasonable if the simple motive to write is just finding something to do.
I do not have to have clear goals in life if… if you just find it awfully hard to find one.
Rubbish again.
Yes? No? hey, wait a secod, man!
I do have goals! I mean I do have something to keep me going! To do better than everybody else is my goal. Just do better! So, what is better and why do I have to be better than others. What I am trying to prove? One day, I may become the empire of the universe. So what? I am ashamed.
……
……
All right. Before I drive myself mad, I had better be more realistic.
Yes.realistic…realistic…. realistic…realistic…
So, be real.
What am I doing? Typing in front of a laptop.
What is on my mind? Nothing.
The greatest invention of 21st century is personal computer utterly! Just because it has the amazing power to accelerate the speed of time. Time flies. Sometime I just wonder how people might feel if they find themselves 80 years old overnight. I will be really scared. That’s for sure.
To find the reason of life may be hard, but it will be much easier to find out the reason of the things you are doing right now. Me? Don’t know…
Ok. I am not happy today, because we or I fail in the inter class debate.
Haha, finally, I know what I am doing. Naive? Childish? Puerile? Silly ? yes, absolutely.. I want to cry,seriously.
Maybe, I should talk about something more pleasant.
Hope is a nice thing, so is dream.
“Paul, a mobile phone salesman from south wells, by day I sell mobile phones, my dream is to spend my life doing what I feel I was born to. I always wanted to sing as a career confidence is always sort of difficult thing for me …”
Every time I watch this, my tear would run dry. I don’t think I am too sentimental. Spontaneously, tears just build up in my eyes.
Suddenly, I don’t want to write anymore.
So, just stop here.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Meals @ home
Several days ago, I took part in the activity “meals @ home” organized by MOE. And I went to one family which let us have a big meal and watch an exciting movie. I feel the difference between Chinese and Singaporean. Different culture has different habits and foods. After that meal, we got an e-mail from our host. They gave us some riddles which are very interesting. Here I want to share with our tutors and group members.
Thinking Outside the Box - Riddles
1. There is a man who lives on the top floor of a very tall building.
Everyday he gets the elevator down to the ground floor to leave the
building to go to work. Upon returning from work though, he can only
travel half way up in the lift and has to walk the rest of the way
unless it's raining!
Why?
2. A man and his son are in a car accident. The father dies on the
scene, but the child is rushed to the hospital. When he arrives the
surgeon says, "I can't operate on this boy, he is my son!” How can
this be?
3. A man is wearing black: black shoes, socks, trousers, jumper,
gloves and balaclava. He is walking down a black street with all the
street lamps off.
A black car is coming towards him with its light off but somehow
manages to stop in time. How did the driver see the man?
4. Why is it better to have round manhole covers than square ones?
5. A man walks into a restaurant and asks the waiter for a glass of
water. The waiter pulls out a gun and points it at the man. The man
says 'Thank you' and walks out. Why?
Do you know the answers? I will give them to you at the end of the blog. Actually, our host is very helpful. And they told us many profound words; here I want to share one, which is “Life is a journey not a process”. It is simple but meaningful. These are very helpful and let me think a lot about life.
(P.S. Solutions:
1. The man is very, very short and can only reach halfway up the
elevator buttons. However, if it is raining then he will have his
umbrella with him and can press the higher buttons with it.
2. The surgeon was his mother.
3. It was day time.
4. A square manhole cover can be turned and dropped down the diagonal of the manhole. A round manhole cannot be dropped down the manhole. So, for safety and practicality, all manhole covers should be round.
5. The man had hiccups. The waiter recognized this from his speech and drew the gun in order to give him a shock. It worked and cured the
hiccups-so the man no longer needed the water.)
Thinking Outside the Box - Riddles
1. There is a man who lives on the top floor of a very tall building.
Everyday he gets the elevator down to the ground floor to leave the
building to go to work. Upon returning from work though, he can only
travel half way up in the lift and has to walk the rest of the way
unless it's raining!
Why?
2. A man and his son are in a car accident. The father dies on the
scene, but the child is rushed to the hospital. When he arrives the
surgeon says, "I can't operate on this boy, he is my son!” How can
this be?
3. A man is wearing black: black shoes, socks, trousers, jumper,
gloves and balaclava. He is walking down a black street with all the
street lamps off.
A black car is coming towards him with its light off but somehow
manages to stop in time. How did the driver see the man?
4. Why is it better to have round manhole covers than square ones?
5. A man walks into a restaurant and asks the waiter for a glass of
water. The waiter pulls out a gun and points it at the man. The man
says 'Thank you' and walks out. Why?
Do you know the answers? I will give them to you at the end of the blog. Actually, our host is very helpful. And they told us many profound words; here I want to share one, which is “Life is a journey not a process”. It is simple but meaningful. These are very helpful and let me think a lot about life.
(P.S. Solutions:
1. The man is very, very short and can only reach halfway up the
elevator buttons. However, if it is raining then he will have his
umbrella with him and can press the higher buttons with it.
2. The surgeon was his mother.
3. It was day time.
4. A square manhole cover can be turned and dropped down the diagonal of the manhole. A round manhole cannot be dropped down the manhole. So, for safety and practicality, all manhole covers should be round.
5. The man had hiccups. The waiter recognized this from his speech and drew the gun in order to give him a shock. It worked and cured the
hiccups-so the man no longer needed the water.)
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