As we doing our research project, I notice that many SM3 students like watching movies when they are free. Then I flash back thinking what I was doing in the free time, only finding that I spent much time watching movies as well. For almost every time, I watched the English movie with the Chinese subtitle, and I notice it was the same with my roommates and some other friends.
If we think over the phenomena, When we watching English movies with Chinese subtitle, it may help to practice our listening, but sometimes we may focus fully on the subtitle to know more clearly what is going on in the movie. In this scene, we are practising Chinese instead of English. Take me for example, when I was watching save private recently, I just involved in the story, getting information from the subtitle, taking in the sound from left ear and then let it out through right ear. The movie is really enjoyable, but little had left in my brain in terms of language pitifully.
I never thought watching a Chinese movie with an English subtitle until I watched a movie component occasionally one day in the bus. However, I found perhaps it would do us a favour for English studying.
When we are watching Chinese movie with English subtitle, we can have some attention on the subtitle, as it is so easy for us to get what is going on in the movie. Then, perhaps we can get some ideas about how to translate daily thoughts form Chinese to English. As time going on, they may do us a favour in forming English thoughts.
How about English movie without any subtitle? I had a try yesterday, finding that I could get the general story except some unimportant details, partly because the voice is quite clear in the movie. Actually, this kind of movies is the closest to the daily communication, as no subtitle is there when we are talking to someone. To me, I think English movie without subtitle is more helpful to our English than English movie with Chinese subtitle and Chinese movie with English subtitle.
Of course, the most helpful movies are the English ones with English subtitle, as we can both hear and see what is going on in the story.
So, just watch some Chinese movies with English subtitle to see if it is helpful to your English, and if it is hard to get English movies with English subtitle, just watch the ones without subtitle. I hope CELC can provide some interesting or latest English movies with English subtitle for our juniors to borrow.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
English movie with Chinese subtitle?
As we doing our research project, I notice that many SM3 students like watching movies when they are free. Then I flash back thinking what I was doing in the free time, only finding that I spent much time watching movies as well. For almost every time, I watched the English movie with the Chinese subtitle, and I notice it was the same with my roommates and some other friends.
If we think over the phenomena, When we watching English movies with Chinese subtitle, it may help to practice our listening, but sometimes we may focus fully on the subtitle to know more clearly what is going on in the movie. In this scene, we are practising Chinese instead of English. Take me for example, when I was watching save private recently, I just involved in the story, getting information from the subtitle, taking in the sound from left ear and then let it out through right ear. The movie is really enjoyable, but little had left in my brain in terms of language pitifully.
I never thought watching a Chinese movie with an English subtitle until I watched a movie component occasionally one day in the bus. However, I found perhaps it would do us a favour for English studying.
When we are watching Chinese movie with English subtitle, we can have some attention on the subtitle, as it is so easy for us to get what is going on in the movie. Then, perhaps we can get some ideas about how to translate daily thoughts form Chinese to English. As time going on, they may do us a favour in forming English thoughts.
How about English movie without any subtitle? I had a try yesterday, finding that I could get the general story except some unimportant details, partly because the voice is quite clear in the movie. Actually, this kind of movies is the closest to the daily communication, as no subtitle is there when we are talking to someone. To me, I think English movie without subtitle is more helpful to our English than English movie with Chinese subtitle and Chinese movie with English subtitle.
Of course, the most helpful movies are the English ones with English subtitle, as we can both hear and see what is going on in the story.
So, just watch some Chinese movies with English subtitle to see if it is helpful to your English, and if it is hard to get English movies with English subtitle, just watch the ones without subtitle. I hope CELC can provide some interesting or latest English movies with English subtitle for our juniors to borrow.
If we think over the phenomena, When we watching English movies with Chinese subtitle, it may help to practice our listening, but sometimes we may focus fully on the subtitle to know more clearly what is going on in the movie. In this scene, we are practising Chinese instead of English. Take me for example, when I was watching save private recently, I just involved in the story, getting information from the subtitle, taking in the sound from left ear and then let it out through right ear. The movie is really enjoyable, but little had left in my brain in terms of language pitifully.
I never thought watching a Chinese movie with an English subtitle until I watched a movie component occasionally one day in the bus. However, I found perhaps it would do us a favour for English studying.
When we are watching Chinese movie with English subtitle, we can have some attention on the subtitle, as it is so easy for us to get what is going on in the movie. Then, perhaps we can get some ideas about how to translate daily thoughts form Chinese to English. As time going on, they may do us a favour in forming English thoughts.
How about English movie without any subtitle? I had a try yesterday, finding that I could get the general story except some unimportant details, partly because the voice is quite clear in the movie. Actually, this kind of movies is the closest to the daily communication, as no subtitle is there when we are talking to someone. To me, I think English movie without subtitle is more helpful to our English than English movie with Chinese subtitle and Chinese movie with English subtitle.
Of course, the most helpful movies are the English ones with English subtitle, as we can both hear and see what is going on in the story.
So, just watch some Chinese movies with English subtitle to see if it is helpful to your English, and if it is hard to get English movies with English subtitle, just watch the ones without subtitle. I hope CELC can provide some interesting or latest English movies with English subtitle for our juniors to borrow.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Why Get Married?
Since our last week’s topic is family and marriage, I would like to share my point of view on marriage. And the most significant question is “Why should we get married?” As for me, there are only four rational reasons to get married.
1. To have babies. Only marriage can legalize giving birth to a baby. As a result, according to law in China, I have to get married before a baby’s coming. However, if I do not want a baby then or I migrate to a country where you needn’t get married to get a baby, I do not have to get married.
2. To get benefits from policies. As is known to all, the government or corporations always give benefits to married couples, such as reducing the tax, privileges when distributing houses. However, if I have enough money, and do not care about the tiny benefits, I do not have to get married.
3. To get the girl’s money. If I get married to a wealthy girl, I might get a sum of money when we divorce just because we were husband and wife before. This may be the quickest way to make money. However, this is so immoral to me and it is hard to find such a wealthy girl to get married. And what if I have more money than her? I will be her target. Therefore, I do not have to get married.
4. To have a wedding. Wedding is almost every girl’s dream, and it is also a way to make money (by receiving red bags) in China. If either of the couple’s parents is somebody in the town, this couple can even earn an apartment just by holding a wedding. This reason sounds delicious. However, I am not a sociable person, and I hate meeting a number of strangers, so I can give up the red bags.
Oops, I do not have to get married.
1. To have babies. Only marriage can legalize giving birth to a baby. As a result, according to law in China, I have to get married before a baby’s coming. However, if I do not want a baby then or I migrate to a country where you needn’t get married to get a baby, I do not have to get married.
2. To get benefits from policies. As is known to all, the government or corporations always give benefits to married couples, such as reducing the tax, privileges when distributing houses. However, if I have enough money, and do not care about the tiny benefits, I do not have to get married.
3. To get the girl’s money. If I get married to a wealthy girl, I might get a sum of money when we divorce just because we were husband and wife before. This may be the quickest way to make money. However, this is so immoral to me and it is hard to find such a wealthy girl to get married. And what if I have more money than her? I will be her target. Therefore, I do not have to get married.
4. To have a wedding. Wedding is almost every girl’s dream, and it is also a way to make money (by receiving red bags) in China. If either of the couple’s parents is somebody in the town, this couple can even earn an apartment just by holding a wedding. This reason sounds delicious. However, I am not a sociable person, and I hate meeting a number of strangers, so I can give up the red bags.
Oops, I do not have to get married.
We are a happy family---mingle with Singaporean students
This Saturday I was invited to participate in a BBQ meeting held in Riverlife Church by a Singaporean friend. His name is Alan. We came to know each other one month ago when Ms Jenny took us to visit the Riverlife Church. After that Alan always kept in touch with me through SMS or Facebook. He is a really kind-hearted guy and is enthusiastic to make friends with students from China. He is also an NUS student. If you want to know him, you can just ask me and I will invite you as his friend on Facebook. He is very easygoing and if you have some questions about Singapore and its people or your own life in Singapore, you can just go and ask him without any hesitation.
After I got there, I found that they had already begun to prepare the BBQ food. Then a lot of Singaporean students came towards me, consisting undergraduates in NUS and those who are going to NUS together with us in August. They showed kind hospitality and introduced themselves enthusiastically. After that we began to play some interesting games and enjoy the BBQ at the same time. Almost everyone of them talked with me and asked something about China and my life in Singapore. When I just stood in front of them and made a brief report about myself during the game time, everyone was listening with great concentration and cheered for me now and then. But in terms of oral reports in our class, we often get silence, ignoring or even booing. I was deeply impressed by their kindness and hospitality. Frankly speaking, however, I was struck by a sense of regret at that time. I really felt it a pity that we didn’t show the same excitement and kindness to them before. Every time they invited us to join their activity, we just accept them without showing any gratitude or excitement. And we never invited them to join our entertainments. It seems that we tend to stay in the group of students from China and enjoy ourselves on our own. And we always take Singapore friends’ kindness and hospitality for granted.
In my opinion, we should show enough excitement and willingness to mingle with Singapore friends. Most of them are of the same race as us and we almost share the same ancestors. It is very easy to get along with them and find the same interests. I met a Singaporean girl at the BBQ meeting and actually she is my senior because she is studying Chemical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering or NUS. She told me that she had come across a lot of SM2 or SM3 students in Chemical Engineering. But she said that it is really a big pity that all of them are willing to stay within their own group and seldom spend time together with Singaporean students. Students from China occupy a large portion in Engineering and they always want to stay together with their homecountry friends. But I think that we should get more familiar between each other with Singapore students and that is the initial purpose of us coming to Singapore. We come here not only for different education, but also to know more about this country and its people. And if we don’t mingle with its people, how can we assimilate ourselves into the society here and lead a better life in the near future?
Singapore friends really showed us genuine friendliness and we should do the same in return. Although they are hosts and we are guests, only through mutual friendliness can we make a harmonious atmosphere and build a happy family. We should be well-behaved guests. Please go out and make friends with Singaporean students and you will soon find that the friendship with locals can make your life in Singapore much more extraordinary.
After I got there, I found that they had already begun to prepare the BBQ food. Then a lot of Singaporean students came towards me, consisting undergraduates in NUS and those who are going to NUS together with us in August. They showed kind hospitality and introduced themselves enthusiastically. After that we began to play some interesting games and enjoy the BBQ at the same time. Almost everyone of them talked with me and asked something about China and my life in Singapore. When I just stood in front of them and made a brief report about myself during the game time, everyone was listening with great concentration and cheered for me now and then. But in terms of oral reports in our class, we often get silence, ignoring or even booing. I was deeply impressed by their kindness and hospitality. Frankly speaking, however, I was struck by a sense of regret at that time. I really felt it a pity that we didn’t show the same excitement and kindness to them before. Every time they invited us to join their activity, we just accept them without showing any gratitude or excitement. And we never invited them to join our entertainments. It seems that we tend to stay in the group of students from China and enjoy ourselves on our own. And we always take Singapore friends’ kindness and hospitality for granted.
In my opinion, we should show enough excitement and willingness to mingle with Singapore friends. Most of them are of the same race as us and we almost share the same ancestors. It is very easy to get along with them and find the same interests. I met a Singaporean girl at the BBQ meeting and actually she is my senior because she is studying Chemical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering or NUS. She told me that she had come across a lot of SM2 or SM3 students in Chemical Engineering. But she said that it is really a big pity that all of them are willing to stay within their own group and seldom spend time together with Singaporean students. Students from China occupy a large portion in Engineering and they always want to stay together with their homecountry friends. But I think that we should get more familiar between each other with Singapore students and that is the initial purpose of us coming to Singapore. We come here not only for different education, but also to know more about this country and its people. And if we don’t mingle with its people, how can we assimilate ourselves into the society here and lead a better life in the near future?
Singapore friends really showed us genuine friendliness and we should do the same in return. Although they are hosts and we are guests, only through mutual friendliness can we make a harmonious atmosphere and build a happy family. We should be well-behaved guests. Please go out and make friends with Singaporean students and you will soon find that the friendship with locals can make your life in Singapore much more extraordinary.
Friday, May 15, 2009
New Moon
Last Sunday, I spent the whole day lying on my precarious bunk bed reading New Moon, the second installment of the tetralogy. I was so absorbed in the book that I forgot the concept of time. Thanks to my dear bed, I had to lie still there like a statue for almost 12 hours to avoid making any unpleasant noise. If I were a vampire, I would definitely bite my bed to death! In case someone may wonder what happened to Bella and Edward after twilight, I would like to give a very brief account of the story.
After Edward saved Bella from the evil vampire James, Bella did not convert and continued her happy life with a vampire around for quite some time. As I have expected, it was not a full stop but a comma. On Bella’s birthday, Bella cut her finger accidentally. And the irresistible scent of her blood drove Jasper, namely Edward’s brother and the newest vampire in the Cullens, into frenzy. Bella’s arm was badly hurt in this accident and that was just a start of her next few gloomy months.
The Cullens decided to move out of the Forks and left Bella alone, because Edward thought it was the best way to drive away the danger to Bella. Edward’s curt words and unexpected departure left Bella in despair. Bella felt there was a hole in her chest and her soul was already taken away by Edward. It seemed that the raw edge would never heal and she felt a real wrench whenever she thought about Edward. In the next four months, she protected herself by living in a state of complete emptiness. She became withdrawn and buried herself in the boring calculus textbook. Bella was nothing but a lifeless walking body. （this part is really fantastic! It describes the lifelessness so thoroughly that I even lost interest of living for several hours. However, I decided to continue my life anyway because I had not finished the whole story then! Lol!）
To be continued.......
After Edward saved Bella from the evil vampire James, Bella did not convert and continued her happy life with a vampire around for quite some time. As I have expected, it was not a full stop but a comma. On Bella’s birthday, Bella cut her finger accidentally. And the irresistible scent of her blood drove Jasper, namely Edward’s brother and the newest vampire in the Cullens, into frenzy. Bella’s arm was badly hurt in this accident and that was just a start of her next few gloomy months.
The Cullens decided to move out of the Forks and left Bella alone, because Edward thought it was the best way to drive away the danger to Bella. Edward’s curt words and unexpected departure left Bella in despair. Bella felt there was a hole in her chest and her soul was already taken away by Edward. It seemed that the raw edge would never heal and she felt a real wrench whenever she thought about Edward. In the next four months, she protected herself by living in a state of complete emptiness. She became withdrawn and buried herself in the boring calculus textbook. Bella was nothing but a lifeless walking body. （this part is really fantastic! It describes the lifelessness so thoroughly that I even lost interest of living for several hours. However, I decided to continue my life anyway because I had not finished the whole story then! Lol!）
To be continued.......
My feelings
The bridging course will end in 3 more weeks. We have been in Singapore for half a year. During these 6 months I have learnt a lot of things and have some feelings.
First, I have adapted to the life in Singapore including the weather, food, people and so on. Comparing with the feeling that I have when I came to Singapore, I am not that exciting, that happy. The happiness and excitement can make me forget homesick and loneliness temporarily.
However, I have studied lived in Singapore for half a year. I live the same life every day. I think I am a little tired of this kind of life. So, I always hoped that I can study in NUS instead of only studying English every day. I will try my best to calm down and study hard during the next 3 weeks.
Secondly, actually, I am not good at English and a bit tired of English. I think the main reason is that my high school English teacher was boring and made lose interest in English. As a result, I am not as good as the others at present. I realized this problem and have some pressure. I force myself to study English harder on writings, vocabulary and readings. In my opinion, I have made some progress, but not enough. Of course, I have to stick on, because I have to be used to using English.
Thirdly, we are not with our parents, so we should be self-reliant and learn to take care of ourselves. I observe some students cannot take care of themselves well, because they don’t have good habits nor have no idea about how to keep healthy. Now, we must learn all these things so that we can live a good life in Singapore for about 10 years.
I hope that all the students can choose their favourite major and graduate smoothly. Best wishes to all the SM3 students.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Good Friends
In one of the article we have learnt from “A Community of Readers”, the author said that: “for women, as for girls, intimacy is the fabric of relationships, and talk is the thread from which it is woven. Little girls create and maintain friendships by exchanging secrets…” It seems that it is a viewpoint accepted by most of my female friends. Though knowing the fact, I still cannot build my intimate friendship by sharing secrets.
In my opinion, telling secrets to a friend is just a way of making the friend believe that you trust him/her deeply. Having such a friend is of course pretty good. However intimate friends are not just persons who we share secrets with, they should be the ones who can listen to our complains about mundane things that happened in our life, who can help us release our stresses of studying, who can comfort us when we feel frustrated and who can count on when we are in need of help. So it is not only in telling secrets, but also in many trivial things we do and the ways we do them that show our trust in our friends and let our friends feel our friendliness and concern.
I used to fear that my notion as distinctive from friends around me may make me hard to find very close and intimate friends. I am friendly and sincere to my friends. I give them a hand when they are in trouble. We help each other in studies. However when we are free and sit together, we do not have much to talk about. The silence between us makes me feel that friendships are so flimsy that I will easily lose them if the silence goes on. However I later found out though my friends were in favor of sharing secrets, they still understood and accepted my way of making friends. So they try to contact with me in the way I do. In fact, many things they do really make me feel how concerned and considerate they are. I remember when I sprained my ankle; one of my friends went a long way to see me and bought dinner for me. I remember when I failed in exams; my friends would stay with me and comfort me. I never forget when I took a nap after lunch in the classroom, my friend who sat beside me would try to avoid any noise, even the minute sound that was caused when writing on papers. I never forget my friend who seldom calls me, called me from China to wish me a happy birthday.
Though no secrets being shared, those tiny but moving things still build our friendships firm. I think I will go on lasting my friendships like this, creating things that can strength the friendships and enjoying colorful memories they will bring me.
In my opinion, telling secrets to a friend is just a way of making the friend believe that you trust him/her deeply. Having such a friend is of course pretty good. However intimate friends are not just persons who we share secrets with, they should be the ones who can listen to our complains about mundane things that happened in our life, who can help us release our stresses of studying, who can comfort us when we feel frustrated and who can count on when we are in need of help. So it is not only in telling secrets, but also in many trivial things we do and the ways we do them that show our trust in our friends and let our friends feel our friendliness and concern.
I used to fear that my notion as distinctive from friends around me may make me hard to find very close and intimate friends. I am friendly and sincere to my friends. I give them a hand when they are in trouble. We help each other in studies. However when we are free and sit together, we do not have much to talk about. The silence between us makes me feel that friendships are so flimsy that I will easily lose them if the silence goes on. However I later found out though my friends were in favor of sharing secrets, they still understood and accepted my way of making friends. So they try to contact with me in the way I do. In fact, many things they do really make me feel how concerned and considerate they are. I remember when I sprained my ankle; one of my friends went a long way to see me and bought dinner for me. I remember when I failed in exams; my friends would stay with me and comfort me. I never forget when I took a nap after lunch in the classroom, my friend who sat beside me would try to avoid any noise, even the minute sound that was caused when writing on papers. I never forget my friend who seldom calls me, called me from China to wish me a happy birthday.
Though no secrets being shared, those tiny but moving things still build our friendships firm. I think I will go on lasting my friendships like this, creating things that can strength the friendships and enjoying colorful memories they will bring me.
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