ZOO!!!

I’m quite sure that many of you went to the zoo and will focus, however, I still wanna share some of my experience with you.

First of all, I have to admit that I’ve chosen the most distant way went there. We took 33 to Queenstown, then took the green line to Outram Park, changed the purple line to Dhoby Ghaut, then changed the red line to Ang Mo Kio. It’s a bit frustrating, right? But that’s far away from our destination! We had to take bus 138, to the terminus, 17 stops in total! Can you imagine how long we spent on the way? Two hours! Alas, quite a waste of time. Hence, I strongly suggest you just take the green line to Jurong East, then take the red line to Choa Chu Kang and bus 927(I’m not very sure on the number), you will get to the zoo less than one hour.

Secondly please remember, Singapore has summer only. No matter it rains or not, the temperature is high all the time, especially when you have to be outside for almost a day. I made such a big mistake for I wore jeans that day to resist the powerful cold air on MRT and buses. But later I realized I would be die cold rather than die hot. I was sweated all over that seemed I had a fever! So please keep in mind: skirt, pants and enough water or at least a plastic bottle are necessary equipments. One fellow of my group were almost got heat stroke that day. How dangerous! Be careful, we you have fun, watch out for your health.

Thirdly, the zoo has many shows and they just performed on particular times. If you don’t wanna miss those wonderful shows, maybe you can follow my advice on routes: the Rainforest Fights Back show will begin at 10.30am at Shaw Foundation Amphitheatre, you can take the left path to it. After watching it, go straightly to the Splah Amphitheatre, it’s next to where you are just now. The show will begin at 11am. Then, go the Elephants of Asia, it next to SFA also and the Elephants At Work And Play show begins at 11.30am. I guess you’ll be very hungry and tired after watching these shows, then go and have lunch. I advise you go to the KFC immediately, the reasons are very simple: it’s the nearest, it’s cheap, it has air-condition, and the most important is, it’s near the last show—Animal Friends Show! But be clear that you’re familiar with the zoo map, otherwise you’ll get lost and miss the last show, just like us. What a pity!

Anyway, the zoo journey is quite fun. And what I wanna tell you last is don’t forget to visit the zoo shop at the entrance. It has a noctilucent shop, everything in it (especially white stuff) looks quit strange, amazing strange! Wearing white would be a great idea, believe me. At last, I wish all of you will have a lot of fun in the Singapore Zoo!

A Wuxia Story

Winds with smell of blood blew fiercely, and the yellow leaves flied over. The streets were all full of dead bodies, most of which were their enemies’. Their assignment tonight was to fight against their enemies. To their excitement, it seems that they were going to win soon.

At this point, she should disappear! As the leader, he felt very confused, because he again heard that somebody speculating that she was a spy. Actually, they all had said that she had a suspicious identity before, but he never believed them. However, tonight, it was very obvious indeed.

“Is she?”

During these years they were with each other, he had known her very well, he thought. He could remember many cases that she ignored her own safety to save his life during the battles. Now all those pictures appeared in his mind. And he felt ashamed to be suspicious about her identity just now. “How come she is a spy?”

War was so tough for a young girl like her. She seemed to forget that she was a young and pretty girl, and she had even turned a blind eye on blood and death. However, he felt that she liked to be with him and she was always reluctant to leave him, and, of course, it was the same with him. He had made up his mind that after winning this battle, he was going to elope with her to a peaceful place, letting his lord and the all the assignments go to hell. Whenever thought about her possible smile when told that he loved her, he smiled sweetly.

Suddenly words came that she was seized by enemies and was put into a sealed prison. “Yes, I know she cannot be a spy. She disappeared just because she was seized.” He turned around without any hesitation, leaving behind the battle and his underlings. He wanted to save her at any cost, any.

He found the prison. With the sword in his hand, he alone spared no effort to fight with the guards. He could not feel the pain of his bloody gashes any more, with the wish to save her. What he did was only to fight and kill. Ultimately, after scanning all the dead bodies of the guards, he walked into the prison, with difficulty.

He chopped her chains with the sword. Then she hugged him with her usual slight smile on her beautiful face. It was the first time they had hugged. “I would like to accompany you until we are old. Let’s leave these uproars and bloodiness far behind, will you?” She said to him slightly, still with her slight smile as usual.

Feeling that he was the happiest person in the world, he threw away his sword. He shut down his eyes happily, with her in his arms. All of a sudden, a dirk was thrust into his heart by her, who had her usual slight smile on her beautiful face. “Finally.” She said.

Movie Response

I have longed for watching the movie ‘Pride and Prejudice’ for a long time, and fortunately, my dream came true on Thursday. I think this is a very good film, and I would like to say something about how I think of the hero of the movie, Darcy.

“Sometimes the last person on earth you want to be with is the one person you can’t be without.” After finishing this movie, many people may have the same feeling as what this quotation says. That is true, just like Darcy, whom at first Elizabeth disliked, but at last fell in love with.

Darcy is the son of a wealthy, well-established family and has an opulent estate. Also, he looks really proud and indifferent at first, which is condemned by others, including Elizabeth. It is beyond that his high birth and wealth make him overly proud and overly conscious of his social status. Indeed, his haughtiness makes him initially bungle his courtship. When he proposed to Liz, he just focused on how he thought about the inferiority of her birth, comparing with his rank, which vividly showed his pride. Undoubtly, he only received Elizabeth’s rejection, however, this incident started to build a kind of humility in him. He gradually realized that to be a gentleman was not just to have a noble birth, and that he should have a kind and sensible heart, as well as humble and liberal attitudes toward others. Darcy demonstrated his continued devotion to Elizabeth, when he rescued Liz’s sister and the Bennet family from shame, and when he went against the wishes of his proud aunt, Lady Catherine, who looked like a witch on the scenes, by continuing to pursue Elizabeth. Darcy proved himself worthy of Elizabeth, and she ended up repenting her earlier, overly harsh judgment of him.

Obviously, Darcy is not good at expressing himself, which nearly destroyed his love. He is innately shy, and does not like to talk with strangers. Flash back to the ball at the beginning of the movie, when Elizabeth took initiative to invite him to dance, he just replied like this,“Not if I can help it”. Actually, he really wanted to dance with her, but he failed to express his true feelings. When he knew he was misunderstood by Elizabeth on Wickham’s issue, he did not explain too much, which worsened the impression of him by Liz.

Sometimes we may ask,“What if he does all of this correctly?” Maybe the story will not be that interesting and attractive, but it is really practical to our real life. It is far from enough with only continuous passion. When you are trying to do something, you should appropriately express yourself. Only if you do it well, can you avoid some unnecessary misunderstandings.

Visit to National Museum of Singapore

In the afternoon of March 25th, Xinghan,Wenchao, Yufeng and I were lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit National Museum of Singapore, accompany by Ms. Nora. We went to the museum by bus. By the time we arrived, Ms. Nora had already been waiting there, which was totally to my surprise. She was there with a Malay woman in the same kind of clothes. Ms. Nora did not introduce her to us, but according to our observation and our memory on her introduction of her family, she must be Ms. Nora’s sister. She did not smile at us, which confirmed our conclusion. Then, three students from Group 8 joined us.

In fact, I did wander whether the most ancient stuff in the museum would have a history longer than a broken vessel in my grandpa’s yard, and the museum was so small that it looked like a pub from the outside. It was natural that when it came to culture, we Chinese tended to be proud. However, the galleries did attract me as our visit went further and further, especially with the help of an electric portable guide. I would like to stop at each place and listen to the introduction that was precise and concise but for the time was so limited and Ms. Nora seemed in a hurry to finish the visit. So I decided to come another day and spend a whole day there since the ticket was free for students. Nonetheless, let me tell you something interesting in the museum


hawkers's equipment. hawkers are small mobile traders who sell food. Then. singapore government set Hawker Center to provide a place for hawkers to do business.(Thanks to Ms. Nora's explanation)


There were many secret groups in Singapore in the 1920s and 1930s,including the tiandihui even.




Two years after Sun Wen died, many people gathered in Niucheshui to mourn for him. A big chaos took place when more and more people got excited and angry.


This was the suit of Singapore Yiyongjun who fought against the Indian Policemen's rebellion.

As I mentioned in the former part,I would like to revisit the museum. If any of you feel like going there, I can accompany you.

Turbulence of My Mind <1>

These days I was trying to drag myself out of a disturbing personal issue which haunted me for nearly 5 months. Now I think I am fully recovered and readily embrace my new life in the new land.
To be honest, I was rushing on my homework recently and was at the edge of missing the deadlines of many assignments. Below are some examples:
On Tuesday morning I had not yet decided on my topic for the Oral Presentation on Wednesday. I started doing my PPT at 10 pm. (I had no idea where my time had gone! It was just when I settled down and set about on the PPT it was late in the evening!)My script had not been completed until 12pm. Furthermore, at 00:30 I was still unable to deliver it fluently!
The next day, I was already exhausted when it was finally my turn to present. And I finished it in a hurry. I was not satisfied with my performance and it was not at all the effect that I had expected. I felt a little bit disappointed with myself. However, I have no time to feel sorry, for the next day was Thursday which meant I had to prepare a newspaper article summary and deliver it to the whole class(This week it was my turn!)
Thus that Wednesday evening was only another nightmare. After return to Eton Hall at 5:20pm, I played 20minutes badminton for relaxation. At exactly 6:00pm, I and another three SM3 students hurried to the bus stop to catch the Bus no.33 for the French class beginning at 7:30 in the community club in Chinatown. We spent all the 35 minutes on the bus to do our French class’s simple assignment about French salutations. When I reached Eton Hall after the class, it was already 10 pm. After washing my clothes, taking a bath and some relaxations, I sat down to read the newspapers searching for a suitable article at 11pm. I went through several long articles and could not make up my mind until 11:40. After listing the new words in the chosen article (Prof. Ng requested that) and summarizing the main idea it was near 1:00pm. Unfortunately I had to carry on with my journal which was also due on Thursday!
Actually I had written out a draft last Thursday (the precise day when the assignment was hand out) I had thought it only need a minor adjustment which would take no more than 15 minutes. To my dismay, when I read what I had written 7 days before, I found it half-baked and need more time and effort to complete. It was not until 2:00am when I finally went to bed. What was worse, a reading comprehension test was to be held on Thursday!
I HAD ENOUGH OF IT!

Turbulence of My Mind <1>

These days I was trying to drag myself out of a disturbing personal issue which haunted me for nearly 5 months. Now I think I am fully recovered and readily embrace my new life in the new land.
To be honest, I was rushing on my homework recently and was at the edge of missing the deadlines of many assignments. Below are some examples:
On Tuesday morning I had not yet decided on my topic for the Oral Presentation on Wednesday. I started doing my PPT at 10 pm. (I had no idea where my time had gone! It was just when I settled down and set about on the PPT it was late in the evening!)My script had not been completed until 12pm. Furthermore, at 00:30 I was still unable to deliver it fluently!
The next day, I was already exhausted when it was finally my turn to present. And I finished it in a hurry. I was not satisfied with my performance and it was not at all the effect that I had expected. I felt a little bit disappointed with myself. However, I have no time to feel sorry, for the next day was Thursday which meant I had to prepare a newspaper article summary and deliver it to the whole class(This week it was my turn!)
Thus that Wednesday evening was only another nightmare. After return to Eton Hall at 5:20pm, I played 20minutes badminton for relaxation. At exactly 6:00pm, I and another three SM3 students hurried to the bus stop to catch the Bus no.33 for the French class beginning at 7:30 in the community club in Chinatown. We spent all the 35 minutes on the bus to do our French class’s simple assignment about French salutations. When I reached Eton Hall after the class, it was already 10 pm. After washing my clothes, taking a bath and some relaxations, I sat down to read the newspapers searching for a suitable article at 11pm. I went through several long articles and could not make up my mind until 11:40. After listing the new words in the chosen article (Prof. Ng requested that) and summarizing the main idea it was near 1:00pm. Unfortunately I had to carry on with my journal which was also due on Thursday!
Actually I had written out a draft last Thursday (the precise day when the assignment was hand out) I had thought it only need a minor adjustment which would take no more than 15 minutes. To my dismay, when I read what I had written 7 days before, I found it half-baked and need more time and effort to complete. It was not until 2:00am when I finally went to bed. What was worse, a reading comprehension test was to be held on Thursday!
I HAD ENOUGH OF IT!

Reflections

Approximately, we have been here for 3 months. And our intensive English course has been 2 months. I think it is time to do a reflection on my English learning progress before that recess week. This reflection is to review what I have done well and what I still need to keep accelerate.
Since there are four basic abilities in English, I would like to start with writing. Writing has long been my weakest point since I cam here. That is why I put most of my efforts on my writing. Anyway, it seems that anytime I put more effort, my grade will get lower. I want to know why. Maybe it is because I used too many complex sentences which I used wrongly and some impropriate words to express myself. I will keep focusing on writing and try me best to get rid of the habit of using long sentences.
Now, when it comes to reading, I believe this is the part in which I have made most improvement. When doing that pre-test, it was really tough for me to understand that long and difficult text. However, when I am doing the progress test and the reading comprehension, I find my self almost understand the whole text. Judging from this difference in reading, I think reading long paragraphs in Community of Readers is very useful.
I am always confident in my spoken English. Because I was in a foreign language school in China, we spent a large amount of time practicing oral English at class. When the first time I heard the so-called Singlish, I still get confused. Now it is getting better and better, at least more or less I can understand what they are saying and be able to respond punctually. I think there is still a long way to go before I can be like a real native English speaker.
As a matter of fact, Singaporeans speak English in a very fast path. So, listening is a challenge. I tried very hard to catch what the people around me are talking about when I am in MRT, school, shopping center. I think listening to teachers in the class is far from enough. That is to say listening to people talking in the real life is a better way to practice our listening skill.
Phase 1 is coming to an end. I am looking forward to phase 2, hoping I can improve more during the next 3 months. Anyway, I am going to work hard, especially for my writing skill, to make a great improvement. I believe the saying no pay, no gain.

Uncle

Even before we came to Singapore to stay in Eton Hall, we have already known this uncle’s outstanding reputation from our seniors. It said that he was a humorous, warm-hearted, easy going, pleasant, smart and glamorous man in Eton Hall. At first, in response to all this names entitled to the uncle, I hold some doubts about it. Nonetheless, when I came here and had some personal connection with this uncle, I was totally convinced by all the sayings about the uncle; in fact, there was a lot more good qualities in uncle than that.
Uncle is a mid-aged man, which he denied for he thought he was a young man, who worked in the kitchen. He always wear his black-dotted white shirts and colorful shorts as his working uniform. Every time you saw him, if not working in the kitchen, he must be walking around in the dining hall, greeting all the students he knew about. He joked about everyone he met and smiled to everyone he talked to. The only complexion he had was happiness.
I was quite curious about why a human could maintain his or her happiness in such a long time. One day, I asked the question to him, uncle, why you were always happy? Hearing what I asked, uncle grinned and turned to me, well, there were something which may not be what you expected, but life is not only consist of one thing, there are tens of thousands of things happening throughout your whole life, that is why you should not be entangled in one thing and could not drag yourself out. You should face everyday and everything with smile. If you were not satisfied with something, just ignored it. Life is supposed to be happy, wasn't it?
Interpreted what uncle said, I was drastically impressed. Bitterness in life was consecutive, no one could predict nor prevent. However, bitterness was not the essence of life; life was supposed to be enjoyable, colorful and pleasant. The best way to deal with bitterness was to ignore it. Because no matter what, life was going on. What artery to human body was what happiness to life, so face the life with your pleasure.
I think I have learnt a very significant thing from uncle, that is try your best to be happy at every moment in your life.

Liang Jian
In China, most of us know this TV series. But the TV just told us a part of the story. Actually, the author of the book “Liang Jian” has written the whole lifetime of Li Yunlong, so I want to tell you the rest of his story.
In 1993, the war in Korean broke out. However, Li Yunlong was not allowed to go to Korean to fight with the Americans. He was very angry, but he could do nothing about it. He was assigned to Fujian to prepare for the possible sudden assaults from Taiwan.
In 1995, when Li Yunlong was studying in a military school, he became a major general. He made a lot of trouble, but he did not care. When he knew he was the only lieutenant general among his friends, he was annoyed. He rushed to see the headmaster with great fury. The headmaster criticized him and regarded him as a defector. Li Yunlong was amazed and he said nothing and left.
After a few years, the Culture Revolution began. At that time, he was still in Fujian, defending the attack from Taiwan. Unfortunately, his wife was considered to betray communism and was forced to work in the fields. His good friend, Zhao Gang, along with Zhao’s wife, was announced to have right-deviation adventurism. Zhao Gang went mad during the so –called criticism assembly, and he committed suicide with his wife sometime later.
Hearing Zhao’s death, he was very sad, but he could do nothing. He was ordered to take control of a city in which there were two organizations fighting with each other. Both of them claimed that they were the only organization loyal to the great leader Mao Zedong, and they kept on fighting with guns to wipe out the other one. They asked help from Li Yunlong, but Li was neutral and did nothing to help them.
One day, one of the two organizations went out of bullets, which they got from the police stations by violence. They were unwilling to be defeated, but Li Yunlong would not help them. At last, the organization decided to rob one of the ammunition depots controlled by Li. After they did that, Li Yunlong was shocked and furious. He ordered his army to attack the organization, which resulted in some deaths.
China was amazed. The Communist Party remained silent for three days. Then, Li Yunlong was announced to be anti-communism. He suffered a lot, but he still thought that what he did was right. He was heavily beaten by the Red Guards. He did not give in. Finally, he died and his wife, Tian Yu, died one day later.
I think my summary is very boring, for I just list some important things that happen. The story is far more interesting. If you want to know more, you can read online.

Vampire

Leaving all the assignments aside, I watched the movie Twilight today. When the heroine, Bella, opened the book about the Cullen family’s history, these words “cold-skinned”, “speed”, “undead”, “immortal drank” rushed to her mind. Finally, the truth was open wide to her. Edward, a member of the Cullen family, turned out to be a vampire. Although the movie challenges the traditional interpretations on bloodsucker and unexpectedly tells us a love story between a girl and a vampire, it arouses my interest in the culture of vampire.

Vampire is a famous monster in the western world but it was in an embarrassing situation, because it is not a god, nor a devil, nor a man, it seems like a group which have been deserted by the God.

The opinions about the origin of vampire are widely varied. Here are the two main views:
1. Cain, he was cursed by the God for killing his brother;
2. Judas, he betrayed Jesus to the enemies and committed suicide due to his feeling of deep regret. It is said that God did not allow him to die and punished him with forever loneliness. That is why the vampire is always keeping secret and being lonely.

Vampire has its typical characteristics and abilities. According to the movies and information from literary sources, I have made a summary of the following points:
1. Vampires do not have shadow. It is because they are considered to be bodies without souls or spirits.
2. Vampires have fangs, which are used to drink blood. In ordinary circumstance, they will not bare their fangs.
3. Vampires can transform to not only bats but hares, mice or even frog. Wherever a vampire goes, it will be surrounded by the vampire bats. Indeed, vampire bats were only integrated into vampire folklore when they were discovered on the South African mainland in the 16th century.
4. Graveyard and coffins are the haunt of vampires. Vampires are generally considered to be fear of the light, so during daylight, they will hide themselves in the coffins or graves and become a corpse.
Vampire usually has its own castle and they are aristocrats themselves, and they are in black formal dress with pale skin, bright red lips, amazing speed and strength.

Recently I read a piece of news that Italian archaeologist found a female skeleton whose mouth is filled with a brick in Venice Tumulus. After a further research, it is concluded that the skeleton is a fascinating and horrifying “Vampire” corpse. What is more, the true worth of this discovery is demonstrated when the skeleton show a picture in the middle Ages. In 1576 when she was buried, the Black Plague ravaged Italy. During the 16th century, it was popularly believed that vampire was the route of infection. As a result, “vampire” suspect’s corpses would be filled with bricks and something inedible into their mouth to avoid them to rebirth. This discovery is a strong evidence to defend the report above.

One of my classmates chipped me about studying such lousy and disgusting things, but I do not care. On the contrary, I think this reflects a social problem. Most disadvantageous group is still subjected to discrimination. In fact, according to the scientific research, vampire is just an inherited disease and the patients suffer more than what we can imagine. However, the way we human treated them is dreadfully savage. Compare to vampires, sometimes human nature is crueler.

Who Controls the World?

Recently, I have finished reading a book called “Currency War” which was written by a Chinese economist, Song Hongbing. Currency War is just its direct English translation. The author raised a new point in his book that the world has been under control of a family, Rothschild. He believes that the Rothschild family has control the world since after French failure in Waterloo and politicians on the world’s stage who are the world’s focuses are only puppets controlled by the bankers. He even suspects that the murders of several American presidents were associated with the bankers in the background. It seems from his points that Rothschild family can do anything they want without any limit and they will initiate economy war to destroy the bank system in case of any resistance.
But I could not totally believe what he said in his book. Because the world is becoming more and more complex now and it is too difficult for only a family and its related banks to control the world. But the author insists that the bankers have rights to issue currency and if they control the currency, they can own everything. But I think it is not logical because currency is only pieces of paper without gold to support its value. Bankers also do not have the ability to control the army. So actually they do not have the basic forces to destroy a country. Frankly speaking, the whole book is full of nonsense.
In the end of his book, he holds his opinion that China is at risk of the attack of international financier. But I think it cannot be something serious. China is such a large country and it cannot be conquered by some financiers. So the world still belongs to all of us but not the financiers. We can still strive for our future through our effort.

We are not ourselves, we are the cards

Last Friday morning, I went to the central library as usual. I always do my homework and surf the Internet in the library. When I got there and just stood in front of the door, I suddenly realized that I had forgotten to take my student card. You know without the student card we cannot get into the library. But on Friday we have no classes and I didn’t know somewhere else I can go and do my own work. Then I braced myself and stepped to the reception counter. I asked the librarian whether I could go into the library. The librarian was very warm-hearted and he asked me to give him my student number so that he could check my profile on the computer. We know that the data on every student in NUS have been stored in the library. Then I thought that the ID account we use to log in the NUS network was exactly the same with the student number. But I was totally wrong. After I told him the wrong number, he began to suspect me. He spoke to me coldly, “The NUS student number contains one letter and six numbers, but what you told me contains seven numbers.” He scanned me with a suspicious look. Then I began to panic and felt at a loss. Finally his eyes fixed on my transparent file folder and the BLACK e-dictionary in it. Suddenly he burst out in a low voice nervously, “What is in your bag?” I was also be frightened by him and I explained immediately, “This is my e-dictionary.” Then I took it out and show it in front of his eyes. I guess that maybe he thought that I wanted to take a bomb or something dangerous into the library. Then we are all relaxed and he said softly, “You should show me any card that can confirm your identity, such as ID card, student card, passport and so on. Or you at least should give me your student number, passport number or any available number that is related to you. Then I can type it into the computer and check. Otherwise I cannot let you in.” But I forgot my passport number and I don’t have any number that is available. I just trudged out of the library sadly.
In modern world, we are not ourselves any more, we are the cards. Only the cards can evince and confirm your identity and existence.

Happy Birthday to Barbie！

This year, 2009, is Barbie’s 50th birthday. As a boy, I liked all kinds of toys when I was young. Transformers, cars, dinosaurs and toy bricks are all my favourites. But I didn’t like Barbie at all. I thought she looked more like an appealing movie star. And my mother always told me that a girl shouldn’t love beauty so much. I also believed in my mother. How childish I was! Now I understand that Barbie is a famous cultural icon. A large number of girls all around the world are Barbie fans. It is also a global grand, who earned a lot of money for the company. So in this blog, I want to invite all of you to say “Happy Birthday!” to Barbie, especially the girls.
First I have a question for you. When Barbie dolls went on sale in 1959, around 350,000 were sold in the first year. But now, can you guess how fast the Barbie dolls are sold all around the world on average? I will give you the answer at the end of my blog. The Barbie doll was first invented in 1959 by Ruth Handler, an American woman who ran a company making and selling doll house furniture together with her husband. Since its debut in 1959, Barbie has become an American icon. It is a steady outlet for girls’ dreams and a unique reflection of American society. Some people also doubt with Barbie’s figure. It is pointed out that if Barbie were a real person, her measurements would be 36-18-38, which is extremely thin and impossible!
For most girls, Barbie is attractive because of her uncountable beautiful clothes and toys. She has a beautiful house, glittering cars and numerous adornments. Almost every girl envies her but they still cannot stop loving her. Barbie is so cute and appealing. As I mentioned, she is an outlet of girls’ dreams. So Barbie realizes all the dreams for girls which cannot come true in reality.
Now I can give you the answer. Actually the Barbie dolls are sold at an amazing speed of 3 per second! She is still as popular as ever even after 50 years. Maybe much more attractive now. Thanks for reading my blog and I expect your comments.

How to make a good impression on people

    Most of us judge people by the first impression. Researcher Robert B. Lount Jr from Ohio University in America told us that if you left a bad impression on people at the beginning, it was difficult for you to get away from your bad image. Sometimes you cannot even change in your lifetime. Many people will not give you the opportunity. So the first impression is very important. How to make a good impression on people?  Here are some basic rules.

    1 Do not be make comments freely. At the first meeting with people, you should be good-natured and low-key. My father told me that he went to a party school for studying one day. Most of the classmates knew each other. One classmate whom they did not know made comments on this and on that. He was not the monitor. However, he liked to say something about almost everything in class, which made a bad impression on others.

    2 Try to memorize people’s names. You usually know who you are going to meet. So you should make it clear that you know their names. When meeting with them the first time, you can call their names. They will be glad that they are noticed. Thus you will make a good impression. At least, people know that you have a good memory.

    3 Smile. Maybe it is the simplest but most useful way to make a good impression. Your smiling from your heart will tell people that you are so friendly and kind that you would like to make friends with him or her. Smiling helps you to be closer to people who you do not know.

    4 Keep positive attitude. Your attitude has implications on the people around you. No one likes people who are in low spirits. Most of us have such experiences: When we talk with someone positive and enthusiastic, we will also feel delighted and confident.

   Of course, you also need to pay attention to other things, such as your appearance and punctuality. Everyone hopes that he can make a good impression on his first day of work and first time of meeting people, as it is important. So you had better try hard.

Get help from NUS network station

NUS home page
CELC home page

During the English course, we may face some difficulties in study. Some of them can be easily solved, but some troubles can really confuse us. Take the essay writing for instance, we studied English in china, so we are not quite aware how to write an essay in an English way. Someone may tell us to write more complexly, while another one want us to write more clearly; someone may tell us to write a long essay, while another one want us to write a short one. There are so many advices on English learning that really make us confused.
So, what should we do?
Get on-line resources and find out our own way to study English.
Then, where can we get them?
I know a simple answer: the websites of NUS. (You may have more network stations. If you don’t mind, share with us!)
Anyway, I will share some information about the websites of NUS today.
Let’s just take www.nus.edu.sg/celc/ (the website of CELC) for instance. After opening the page, you will see some push buttons (like “Home”, “about us” and so on) in a row. If you want to get some resources about English learning, just push the button “Resources”. Then you will see “useful links for English learning”. Choose what you want to know and push the words there. After seconds you will get some articles on the topic you just chose. You will never miss it!
I just got some resources there, like “add emphasis in writing”, “use and non-use of articles”, “6 elements of effective presentation” and so on. Some advices can be really helpful for me, personally. I think you can benefit from the resources, or at least, just as reading passages.
That is just an example; you can find many other resources (not only about English) and information (for instance, some activities like “Open House”) in the network station, and meanwhile, you get to know better about the university we are going to study in.

77 people died in the Shanxi mine explosion

    When  hearing  that  mine  explosion  happened  in  Shanxi  Province  again, my  heart  sank.  At  least  77  miners  died  in  the  accident.  One  person  has  not  been  found  until  now.  There  is  little  possibility  for  him  to  be  alive.  Several  people  who  were  responsible  for  the  safety  of  the  mine  were  dismissed  a  few  days  ago.  The  amount  of  the  compensation  is  totally  28,060,000  yuan.  The  company  has  received  the  money  from  the  Shanxi  social  security  department.  That  is  the  latest  development  of  the  event.

    According  to  the  preliminary  investigation, there  are  mainly  four  reasons  for  the  event:

    They  did  not  do  well  in  ventilating  the  mine.

    They  did  not  administer  the  use  of  the  gas  properly.

    The  people  who  were  in  charge  of  the  safety  of  the  workplace  were  not  so  responsible.

    The  safety  measures  were  not  put  into  use.

    In  fact, the  calamity  can  be  avoidable  if  only  the  related  people  had  paid  more  attention  to  the  safety  work.  Now  I  can  only  feel  pity  for  the  dead  people  and  their  families.  There  is  one  woman.  Her  father  and  husband  both  died  in  the  accident, which  pushed  her  into  the  hell.  She  was  so  shocked  that  she  even  forgot  crying  when  she  was  informed  of  their  deaths.

No  matter  how  much  money  is  given  to  her, the  trauma  she  suffered  can  not  be  healed.  Something  needs  to  be  done  to  prevent  such  events  from  happening  again.  China  has  vowed  for  years  to  improve  safety  at  its  mines, but  its  mining  industry  is  still  the  world’s  deadliest.   

    The  deeper  reason  is  that  the  government  privatizes  the  mining  concession.  To  earn  more  money, the  employers  do  not  invest  in  the  safety  devices.  They  do  not  respect  the  lives  of  the  miners  at  all.  They  would  rather  spend  money  on  keeping  the  deaths  back.  Of  course, some  officials  are  accessories.  So  mine  explosion  happens  in  Shanxi  Province  frequently.  At  the  same  time, the  development  of  industry  in  the  whole  country  relies  on  the  coal  produced  by  Shanxi.  There  is  no  choice  but  to  produce  more to  meet  the  need.  The  over  mining  for  coal  also  causes  the  explosion.

    I  have  to  say  that  every  time  I  see  the  coal, it  seems  that  I  see  blood.  Shanxi  sacrifices  too  much  for  the  development  of  China, not  only  recourse  but  also  lives.  As  I  am  from  Shanxi  Province, every  explosion  makes  me  so  sad.  Every  year, thousands  of  miners  die  from  that.  This  time  the  governor  of  Shanxi  Province WANG  JUN  made  an  apology  for  what  happened  with  tears.  I  sincerely  hope  that  government  can  do  something  about  that, not  only  tears.                   

   

      

Columbus used a kind of sailcloth which was coarse and tough when he found the new continent. This kind of sailcloth was produced in a small town called NIMES in France. So, this kind of sailcloth was named of Serge De Nimes in French which was called Denim for short. It is the cloth of jeans.

In 1850, miners didn’t have tough trousers until Levi Strauss came to San Francisco to sell his clothes including Denim. Strauss made trousers of the Denim helping miners protect their knees. Therefore, miners called this kind of trousers Levi’s.

In 1873, a man named Jacob Davis suggested Strauss to put copper nails on the corner of the pocket to improve the appearance and make the trousers tough. Strauss accepted the suggestion.

In 1887, Levi’s was famous for the durability. Strauss began to put the logo of double horses on the trousers. It means the trousers are so tough that two horses can not tear them. At the same time, he used double curves stitch. The both logos have been the symbol of Levi’s. Whenever people see these two logos, they can easily tell the trousers are Levi’s.
In 1996, Robert Haas who was the descendent of Levi Strauss was the leader of Levi’s. This MBA graduated from Harvard made a strategy of being a global clothes producer. As a result, Levi’s has been a famous producer not only in America, but also in the world.

Now there are many brands of jeans such as G-Star, Lee, E/sprit and so on. So, it is important to have its own character for Levi’s. It has already formed a particular style. It is modest but fashionable, and durable as hundreds years ago. As a result, Levi’s is representative in the field of jeans and popular with people.

Papa, mama, I love you

I remember there goes a saying: Birthday is not a day you observe your birth, but a day for you to memorize your mother’s suffering. So this week, in which my birthday drops, I think more of my parents.
I remember I got chickenpox when I was in senior 2. The doctor told mum that she’d better tie my arms together with a rope so that I would not scratch the poxes while I was asleep. Mum did what the doctor said, but she was still a little bit worried. So for three nights she just lay beside me and did not sleep so that when I was about to scratch the poxes she could stop me.
I remember how well dad looked after me during my three years in high school. Every weekday he got up at 6 to make breakfast for me. So when I got up, breakfast had already been well placed on the table: noodles, an egg and a soup. While I was eating, he would turn on the radiogram and searched for English broadcasts hoping to improve my listening, or he would read some Chinese articles to me. Before I left home for school he would check my purse to make sure there was enough money in it and put many snacks in my schoolbag in case that I got hungry before lunchtime.
I remember how they helped me step out of shadow of my failure in the college entrance examination and encourage me to be optimistic about my future. Back to the summer of 2008, it was really a hard time for me for I experienced the first but the ultimate frustration in life. Facing the poor result of the college entrance examination I was at a loss, feeling that all my hopes crumbled away. I could not accept the fact for I really had worked very hard and seldom misplayed in big examinations during my high school study. I knew mum and dad also felt bad if not worse than me. However, they hid their disappointment and distress and helped me get out off the shadow. They told me how people with more difficulties and suffered more frustrations became successful through their perseverance, taught me philosophies in life, tried to change my attitude towards failure and so on.
I won’t forget all the things they have done for me, even the minutia. I won’t forget that there was not a single night that I was woke up by the rings of telephone calls, because they would cut off phone line and switch off their cell phones when I came home at 10:30 . I won’t forget that once I mentioned something, the next day I would find a pile of papers with relative information on them. I knew it was dad who listened what I said carefully and searched about them on the Internet. I won’t forget that dad stuck cards with maxims or English words on to the mirror in washroom so that I could learn something while I was brushing my teeth and made full use of time. I won’t forget that every night dad walked to the bakery to buy some bread for me. I won’t forget the scene of mum opening the door for me when I came back home from school late at night.
After I finish this blog I think I shall make a call home and say “papa, mama, I love you!” I am sure that I will get in touch with them for they have never cut off the phone line since I left home for college……

Vae

Have you heard about Vae, whose real name is Xu Song? He is a young man of many talents, especially in music. I am eager to introduce him to you.

When he was in Anhui Medical University, a song named Fei E (means flying moth) was released in Sina Web, which proved to be a hit. Only in the first day, there were millions of people downloaded it. It was Vae who composed it. However, at that time, he was just an undergraduate in the university, not a professional singer, and he was not sponsored by any music corporation. He was praised as “the successor of Jay”.

However, he was a very modest person, and music was only his hobby, not career. His teachers and his classmates all said that he was not different at all with other students in his daily life. As all the undergraduates, he was quiet, gentle, and determined.

The words of his songs, the tune of his songs were all composed by himself. Even the records were done by himself. In modern times, the music compositions are more commercial and the discs are more industrial. In such times, Vae, a undergraduate, who never sighed any contract with any music corporation, seldom exposed himself to public, and composed his songs all by himself, was such a successful singer that if you baidu him casually, you would find he was very popular among the audiences. You cannot say that it was not a miracle. This shames some so-called singers, who are unknown even their corporations spare no effort to sponsor them.

Not only was he competent for music, but he was good at literature and computing. These were also beneficial to his music composing. He was able to write very beautiful lyric, and the skills of computer helped his composing a lot. They said, as long as gave him a computer and a microphone, he could make fascinating music.

Personally, I like his songs very much, and I desire to share them with you, such as Nei Xian (means spy, and this one like most), Chenshi Mei (means the beauty of earthliness), and Meiguihua de Zhangli (means the funeral of roses), Qian Chang (means sing softly), and so on. I hope you could enjoy his beautiful songs.

Untitled

After I passed the SM3 exam, I visited my high school teachers with Yingzi. On that day, one of my teachers shared his opinion about life with us. According to him, we don’t really have to be so wealthy, and happiness may also come from the freedom that we have and position in the society and respect from others. For instance, he once wanted to see a doctor in the HuaXi hospital which is the most popular hospital in the city. For normal persons, they had to wait in a long queue to register, to wait outside the doctor’s, and to do everything. However, as a teacher who had graduated students in this hospital, he could just call a student he taught, and they would be so glad to do all the arrangements for their teacher. Actually, being a teacher benefits him a lot because of the respect of others. He feels happy.
In fact, what I am trying to say is that, when we are in pursuit of happiness, we should figure out what will really make us happy. For example, for some of us, I mean in the future, we can get a higher salary, better health care, and better environment in Singapore, but we can have a higher status, a lot of old friends, relatives, and even better house to live in and better cars to drive. So returning to China after my bound is an attractive choice for me. Even if get less money, I will be happier. At least, I think that way now. Maybe you will think that I have no ambition as a male. I think it is true to some extent.
My mom is always asking me whether I am happy on the phone. Although she is one of the most ambitious women I ever know, she said that her greatest expectation on me is that I have a healthy and happy life. I know it is not that easy, but I will try hard to make myself happy.

How to live longer and healthier?

Prolong live is the dream of people from ancient to modern times, empires tried variety ways to keep them live longer, so do scientists nowadays. Recently, experts listed TEN secret ways to achieve the goal:

Enjoy yourself. The first rule published in the New Scientist magazine.

Marriage. The second rule is connecting with people. Happy marriage is necessary to keep fit. Studies have shown that successful ones can help women live two more years while men can live seven years longer.

There are places in the world considered “longevity”, such as Hawaii, Sardinia, Nova Scotia and Japan are amongst them. Therefore, where you live also has a huge effect on your health. You can benefit from the air, water and good environment.

Drink. The so-called bad habits such as wine, partying and chocolate can provide you an active brain. Many researches show that just a little of those can do good for your health rather than harm.

Work your brain. The fifth golden rule to live longer is using your brain as much as possible. Scientists of Cambridge University claimed that puzzles can help you defend some mental and physical diseases like depression and schizophrenia.

See the doctor. This rule is quite easy to understand. When you are sick, get treatment immediately.

Eat healthily. I guess the seventh rule is familiar to everyone. What you eat decide what you like. Scientists recommend that low-fat and high-fiber diet is a model for live healthy. Of course, have fruits and vegetables together with beans, breads and cereals are better. Small amounts of meat and fish are enough.

Take risks. The eighth rule helps us entertain ourselves. When you are taking an adventure, some hormones will be produced to keep you excited and awake which does good to your health.

Embrace technology. Learning new things can practice your brain and open your mind.

Be happy. If you don’t have joy in life, then long life is meaningless. The tenth and the most important rule is suggesting people smiling more and feel happier in life.

My "Big Trivia"

(The following are not related to each other)

You Are the Children of the Stars

True, the stars are beautiful, however, I never think of any connection or association between me, myself, and them. Not until last Saturday, did I realize that the fanciful chemistry elements of me were originally generated by the stars!! The lecturer was an old elegant English lady (Jocelyn Bell Burnell), who won the Nobel Prize as an astrophysicist. Through her vivid explanation, I went back to the Big Bang when H, He, O were created. So where did other elements like C, S, K, Ca and Na come from? The truth was and forever is, the rest were created inside the stars through certain reactions and made available to us through stars' dramatic death-- they raise their temperature and burnt themselves. If it was not for the stars, we would not be here-- we are intimately and ultimately children of the stars.

Thanks to Singapore's well-protected environment, the illumination of the stars always pours down at night. This time I am not only astonished at their brightness, but also feel grateful that in me, there is something that blazed at the same time...

Live vs. Studio

Recently I find that sometimes I prefer live music or songs to those recorded in studios. There is no doubt that songs born in studios are expectantly ideal. However, music, blended with the feelings of both the singer and the audience, sounds more like the actual voice of a human heart. Some singers even cry while singing. Even if this is not standard, this is the most touching thing. A sense and respect for what is real always develops in me when I listen to their true passion for music.

Alas

I borrowed my first book from the Central Library, hopefully and happily. However I was sure that I frowned when starting to read the first page. There were lines in yellow highlight and broken sentences written with pencil at the margin. I wondered why they ruined what they liked and created a negative ripple effect on other readers (take myself as an example, I really felt frustrated when reading the book). I suppose the crux of the matter lies in the lack of awareness of the public access to the books and responsibility for communion of knowledge. For me, I have made a decision or rather a promise to myself that I will never "hurt" a book since I have known that this may also hurt other future readers' feeling.

Interesting Records About Prisons

This is a place that no one wants to get into but most of us are always interested in. After watching the TV series “Prison Break”, do you want to get into a real prison to discover what they are exactly? In this blog, I will share the most interesting prisons in the world with you.

1. The most valuable prison: San Quentin in California.

The San Quentin which holds 3317 criminals today has a history of 150 years or so. The costly prison values about $80,000,000 to $100,000,000. Prisons are often built in a desolate place, but this prison was an exception. It is located in the most beautiful place in San Francisco, with water on three sides and the other side is a small hill, as you can see in the photo. What’s more, there is a marina for yachts just beside the prison.

2. the smallest prison: Sark in Guernsey in British.

Believe it or not, only two people can be put into the small prison which was built more than 150 years ago. It is indeed under usage now, but most of “prisoners” there usually stay only one or two days.

3. The safest prison: Adx Supemax in Florence in Colorado, United States.

What make this prison different are the high-tech equipments everywhere. Most of the prisoners there are the most violent and dangerous criminals over the country. They have no chance to know each other, because they are supposed to stay in a small house alone for 22 hours per day, let alone a jailbreak.

4. The strangest prison: San Pedro in Bolivia

The prison designed for 800 criminals is something more like a community or hostel instead of a jail. In this prison, prisoners should pay for the cells and everyone has a job to do, which may be the reason that a lot of them are willing to live in the “community” with the whole family. What’s more, visitors are allowed to get into the prison to have a so called “sightseeing”, but with a condition that there must be a prisoner (not a jailer) as a guide. Their reason is to insure the safety of the visitors.

5. The most beautiful prison: Leoben in Steiemark, Austria.

The prison is not a big one, and only 205 lucky men have the fortune to live there. Look at the nice picture! The last place I can imagine is a prison, but it indeed is. Why the government of Austria built a so nice prison? I don’t know, but if I were a vagrant in Steiemark, I will try to enter this jail to enjoy my life in the nice cell.

6. The most famous prison: Alcatraz in San Francisco, America

The Alcatraz Island used to be of great military importance. In 1934, for the perfect location of the small island, it became a federal prison where the most serious criminals over the US, such as Al Capone and Kelly, were jailed. During the history of this prison, five suicides, eight murders and fourteen prison breaks were recorded. However, no one was recorded to survive among the fourteen breaks and only five people were considered to be missing.

7. The most crowd prison: Kresty in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Kresty was designed for only 3000 prisoners, but there are 10000 prisoners there today. The per capita area is only 4 square meters, and a prisoner only have 15 minutes for bathing per week for average. How can so many people live in this crowed prison? I have no idea.