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Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Creative Poem of my primary school days (written by me, Yi Kuishuai)

My school badge has three words
And that’s Strive to Excel
We are forced to Strive our best
In order to Excel

School’s a daily routine for us
As we must reach by seven sharp
Everyone thinks that school is boring
But that is not for me

School’s a paradise to me
And that is really true
School dismiss at one ‘o clock
And we have no homework!

And the food there really rock
As it is very cheap
You should try our Western Stall
As no one could resist!

And our teachers also rock
As they are kind to us
They gave us high marks in class tests
And never scold me thrice

The students here are also very good
They often treat me canteen food
They often give a helping hand
To those of other creed or race

The Hall is humongous and large
The field is humongous
Everything that’s in this place
Is extraordinary large

I love my school compound
I love the people there
I love anything that is in my school
And now what about you?

Monday, May 24, 2010

Favorite poem

My favorite poem

I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud by William Wordsworth
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

How are the figurative language used in the poem? Give the specific word(s), explain what type of figurative language it is and why the poet chose to use this figurative language?

The figurative language is used in the poem to express and let the reader to “feel” how the poet really is. “I gazed—and gazed—”this is a hyperbole. This shows how happy the poet is. “The waves beside them danced” is a personification. This gives the reader a more clear idea of how the waves are like. “I wandered lonely as a cloud” is a metaphor. This allows the reader to understand the poet’s feeling more clearly than to use normal words. So, the poet chose these three out of five figurative language to let the readers understand his mood and the surrounding he sees better.


Tell us why you like this poem in no less than 100 words.

I like this poem as I could clearly understand the poet’s feelings and his surrounding that he sees. I could also clearly understand or “see” the change of feelings of the poet and the reason why. The poet (or poem) is very creative as the poet uses different things like clouds to express his feelings and he also described his surroundings like a “human nature”. For example, he described the waves dancing. The poet described the surrounding so well that I could imagine it myself. It almost seems like paradise and I would surely want to go to visit it! I could also completely understand why the feelings of the poet would change so much. Thus, I like this poem. (120 words)

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Difference between urban and rural life:

Urban life:
Urban relates to the area surrounding cities and well populated areas. Urban life is city life, the modern way of living.

Rural life:
Rural relates to a sparsely populated areas, usually farmland or country-side areas. Rural life is an old-fashioned way of life. Such lifestyles can be found in most villages.

Comparison

Urban:
1. Mainly in the city
2. People use much modern technology
3. There are many high-rise buildings
4. People could live a stable and comfortable life
5. Places are very crowded, especially roads
6. There is much pollution (noise, air, water etc)
7. People wore fashionable clothing
8. Children mainly/must go to school
9. People are pretty safe
10. People usually are pretty rich

Rural:
1. Mainly in the country-side
2. People seldom use modern technology
3. There are very little high-rise buildings (mostly are houses with only one to two storey)
4. People might not live a stable and comfortable life as most of them are farmers and they have to work long hours earning very little salary.
5. Places, especially roads, are not crowded. There is much space
6. There is very little pollution
7. People seldom wore fashionable clothing, usually wore traditional clothing
8. Children seldom went to school
9. People are not very safe as there are many wild animals in the country-side
10. People usually are not very rich

Alice in wonderland

Difference between Alice in wonderland book and movie:

1. Alice was only a small girl in the book but she was a 19 years old lady in the movie and was about to be married.
2. In the book the land discovered by Alice is known as Wonderland while in the movie, the place that Alice falls into is known as Underland.
3. In the book Alice falls down the rabbit hole after straying from her sister's side while in the movie, she falls down the rabbit hole after escaping from some sort of a “wedding” party for her.
4. In the book, Alice is repulsed and perplexed by majority of the characters she encounters in Wonderland, as they are all illogical while in the movie, Alice returns to Underland to find her "friends" waiting for her, and they all unite against The Red Queen.
5. In the book, the loud Queen of Hearts rules Wonderland with the King of Hearts while in the movie, the evil Red Queen, rules a desolate Underland, which she has seized from her sister, the good White Queen.
6. In the book, Alice had no clear mission while in the movie, she has to slay The Red Queen’s Jabberwock on "Frabjous Day" so the White Queen will regain her crown and take back control of Underland.
7. In the movie, there is a prophecy that Alice would slay the Jabberwock but in the book, there is no such thing.
8. In the movie, Alice was on the Queen of Hearts' trial for making her lose her temper. But in the book, it was a Knave of Hearts who was on trial because he stole some tarts from the Queen.
9. In the movie, the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, and the Dormouse were celebrating an unbirthday party. While in the book, there was no unbirthday party as they were having a never ending tea party all because the Mad Hatter had a quarrel with Time.
10. The Doorknob from the movie isn't mentioned in the book.

Movie plot of Alice in Wonderland:

Alice is a 19-year-old teen. She is betrothed to a dunce of an English nobleman. At her engagement party, she escapes the crowd to consider whether to go through with the marriage and falls down a hole in the garden after spotting an unusual rabbit “running around”. The rabbit went into a hole and Alice, being curious, followed it. The hole was very deep and Alice fell into it. After reaching the bottom of the hole, she arrived in a strange place called "Underland". And she finds herself in a world that resembles the nightmares she had as a child, filled with talking and weird animals, villainous queens and knights, and frumious bandersnatches. Alice met many “friends”. They are the dormouse, the Dodo, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, and several talking flowers. She discovers that she had a prophecy of slaying the horrific Jabberwocky of the Red Queen. Then, Alice is then being taken to the Hatter, who was later caught by the red queen and became mad. Alice finds her way to the red queen's palace, where she retrieved the sword which was stolen from the white queen (The Red Queen’s sister and the kind queen). She takes the sword back to the white queen, who makes Alice the champion. Then, on Frabjous Day, a great war broke out between the two queens and Alice also challenged the Jabberwocky. In the end, the white queen won and Alice also slayed the Jabberwocky. Alice drank the beast's blood, which transports her back to her home and she learnt how to take charge of her life.

Village by the sea-Biju

My role:
I am Biju. I am the richest fisherman in Thul. I am the first fisherman in Thul to buy a motorized boat with a deep freeze installed to it. I am also the first person in Thul to own a television set. My fellow friends all hated me but I also have helped them in one way or another.

How I helped the fishermen:
It was in the monsoon season. I was as usual, sitting in the comfortable sofa in my home, reading books. Suddenly, I looked out of the window and saw a few fishermen on their boats, preparing to go to sea. I know that things had been harsh for many fishermen as they could not fish during the monsoon season and had to eat lesser and lesser. So, some decided to go out to sea to fish for food. I know that their fishing boats would be broken easily in the sea during the monsoon. So, I went out to persuade them to stop doing this. But they were stubborn and refused to listen to me. Later at night, there was a big storm. It lasted for many days! I became more and more worried about the fishermen’s whereabouts. So, when I heard that there was a search party in Alibagh, I volunteered and found the “fishing fleet” using my “advanced boat”. Three of the fishermen had drowned!

My reflection:
I think that those fishermen should listen to my advice. The whole world is changing and we have to keep up with it. The fishermen should save enough money and buy boats like mine in the future instead of those “traditional” sail boats.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

The comparison between cinderella and the village by the sea

Cinderella:

The protagonist is Cinderalla. And the unhappy situation is that Cinderella's mother died and her father married a widow with two daughters and her stepmother did not like her at all. Her stepmother treated her like a maid. Cinderella’s stepmother gave her nothing and still made her to do housework every day, unlike her sisters who got almost everything, dresses, make-up and do not need to do any housework. They also treated her badly by not allowing her to go out of the house and often scolded her.

The situation worsened when there was a ball held at the court and Cinderella's stepsisters were getting ready to go for the ball as they would get to meet the handsome prince. Cinderella wanted to go too but her stepmother ordered her to stay at home to do all the housework like washing dishes and making the beds.

Help appeared when a fairy appeared in front of her and said that she would help Cinderella to go to the ball as the fairy pitied Cinderella suddenly. The fairy transformed the rags she was dressed in and the clogs she wore into the loveliest dress ever seen in the realm and dainty little slippers. The fairy transformed a huge pumpkin into a sparkling coach and also transformed seven mice into six pure white horses and a coachman. The fairy told her that she must leave the ball at midnight because the fairy's spell would end at midnight and she would return to her normal clothing.

Cinderella had a great time at the ball and she danced with the prince that she seemed to lose her sense of time. (She fell in love with the prince and the prince also fell in love with her) Suddenly, the clock stroke twelve. Cinderella quickly ran away leaving only a slipper behind. The prince picked up her slipper and ordered the ministers to find the girl whose foot the slipper fits in the country until they found the correct girl. In the end, the ministers found Cinderella and they asked her to go to the Prince who was waiting for her. The Prince and Cinderella married and lived happily ever after.

The village by the sea:

The protagonists are Hari and Lila. They came from a very bad family setting, a run-down hut to live in, a very sick mother, a drunkard father who wakes up to drink more and more toddy (he also owned many people debts)and poverty.

The situation worsened when a fertilizer complex would be built in Thul and the villagers were forced to sell their land to the government. They would also not be able to fish in the seas. Hari and Lila's mother was very ill due to malnutrition and was growing weaker and weaker by the day. Lila's dog, Pinto was poisoned by the three Khanerkar brothers as their father did not repay their debts. In the end, Hari became so frustrated with his family that he escaped from Thul to Bombay with a group of protestors to escape his family problems.

Help came from when Hari reached Bombay and could not find job as the de Silvas had gone to Thul for their vacation. But, a watchman at the seabird (the place where the de Silvas lived), Hira Lal, pitied Hari and brought him to his friend Jagu who is the proprietor of the Sri Khrishna Eating House. Jage hired Hari and paid him one rupee per day. Mr Panwallah, the watch-mender next of Sri Khrishna Eating House, took Har as his apprentice and taught him watch-mending. (In this way, Hari learnt a new skill and could find a job easily in the future) In Thul, Lila got a job in the de Silvas home as they came to Thul for their vacation. Mr de Silva took her mother to the hospital in Alibagh when he heard that her mother was very ill. He also paid for the medical/medicine bills.

Hari saved enough money and he returned to Thul on the eve of Diwali. He was reunited with his sisters and he told them about his plan for plans for a poultry farm and staring a watch-mending shop when the factories are built and the workers came to Thul to live and work. He went to Alibagh to bring his mother home. His family was united again as they are not poor, the father had given up drinking toddy, the mother was well again and they have many plans for future. (They lived happily ever after)

Why is the village by the sea different from a fairytale?

Village by the Sea does not follow the fairytale pattern. Hira and Lila did not receive help of magical nature. Instead, they received help from humans like Mr Panwalla, the de Silvas, Jagu, the watchman... And these are not magical persons.

The adventure story pattern:

The protagonist is Hari. The problem is that his family is very poor, with a total of 6 people (plus one dog) to feed. His mother is so sick that she could hardly move. His father is also a drunkard who drank toddy everyday and owned people much debts. In the end, Hari's father sold his fishing boat and alot of things to pay his debts.

The solution is that Hira went to Bombay to find a job so that he could earn money and bring it back to his family so that they could live a better life. (He also did this to excape from his family problems and he wanted to start a new) A good chance came when a group of "villager protestors" went to Bombay to protest about the construction of fertiliser factories in Thul and Hari took this chance to get a free ride to Bombay as he had not much money with him.

There were many obstacles Hari met when he was in Bombay. When he went to the de Silvas' home to look for a job like washing cars, he discovered that the de Silvas had gone to Thul for their holiday. And he could not find many jobs as nobody would hire a village boy who was not educated. Hari met his first benefactor,Hira Lal,watchman of the Seabird(the place where the de Silvas lived). Hira Lal pitied Hari and took him to his second benefactor, Jagu, the proprietor of the Sri Khrishna Eating House. Jagu hired him as a helper in his kitchen and provided him food and shelter. While working at the eating house, Hari met his third benefactor,Mr Panwallah, who is a watch-mender. Mr Panwallah pitied Hari and took him on as an apprentice in watch-mending. Mr Panwallah taught Hari a new skill and also told him how he could make a living when the fertiliser complex was built.

Hari finally solves the problem by earning and saving a lot of money. After saving enough money, Hari went back to Thul on the eve of the Diwali. He reunited with his family (his mother was healed and his father stopped drinking toddy) and had plans for the future.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Lifestyle research of the Amish

Lifestyle of the Amish:
A faith that dictates foregoing modern amenities, including electricity, automobiles and telephones, guides the Amish. The Amish dress simply with only basic ornamentation. Men’s trousers use buttons rather than zippers. Amish women sew their family’s clothing from solid- colour fabric, often in shades of blue. A lot of sewing is done in August, getting clothes together for the children to go to school. The women/housewife makes her coverings and bonnet, dresses and aprons to go over the dress as well as capes. Young girls can wear pastel-colored dresses and, like Amish women, wear bonnets. Adult men can grow beards, but no moustaches. The boys go to school but are only educated to eighth-grade. After that, Amish boys begin an apprenticeship to learn a trade, while the girls learn the skills necessary to maintain a home. The Amish are adept farmers and the majority of Northern Indiana’s Amish live on farms. Today, however, few Amish men are full-time farmers. To support their large families, most work in factories, artisan workshops or cottage businesses. Adolescent Amish girls and women often work in retail businesses or restaurants. The home is the centre of Amish life. Amish families host every event and gathering in their homes, from church services to funerals and weddings. Generally, Amish homes are uncluttered and furnished simply. Amish women take pride in their housekeeping, cooking and providing clothes and the staples of everyday life for their families. Many Amish homes include additions or small detached dwellings called dawdy houses, where family members such as grandparents live. In summer and fall, bountiful vegetable and flower gardens add splashes of colour to the usually white buildings on Amish farmsteads. While Amish families often try alternative treatments, they will seek the services of doctors and modern hospitals
when necessary.

This is the typical life of a man and a woman.
(For the men/ husband) He would get up about five a.m., go to the barn and feed the animals, milk the cows and process the milk to the cans for truck delivery to the local dairy. He would then join the family for prayer and breakfast. Depending on the season, he would work in the fields, preparing the fields for planting (late winter), planting the crops in the spring or harvesting the crops in late summer or fall. He usually works from sunup to sunset in the fields for planting and harvesting with a break for lunch. In the evening, the cows would need to be milked again.(For the woman/ wife) She would also get up about five a.m., help with the milking, prepare breakfast, and if laundry day (usually on Monday) get the gasoline motor started on her wringer washing machine do the laundry, hanging them out on the line to dry. She would work in the kitchen garden, preparing it for planting (with help from her husband), or harvesting vegetables for meals. If there are children, she would also get them ready for school, including packing lunch boxes, etc.

The advantages of the Amish lifestyle:
The Amish people lived a peaceful lifestyle. Thus they would not have much stress and they would not have bad influences from the city people. They sow their own clothes and they wear simple ornaments. This can help to save money. The Amish farm and work, and this can keep their expenses low because they can save money by eating what they planted. The Amish also could eat fresh food, drink fresh milk, fresh cheese, and butter every day. They do not believe in divorce, therefore there are not a lot of broken, split up homes. The children benefit greatly. The children grow up on a farm and learn at an early age how to sew, cook, operate tractors and equipment, and manage a farm and home. A 12 year old Amish will understand many basics about life and self sufficiency that an old person in the city never heard of in 70 years. The food is healthy, without all the chemicals, and good. If catastrophe happens, like a blackout, the Amish keep living the same because they have buggies, horses, lanterns, windmills, hand water pumps, candles, and they are not dependent on the fragile system. They do not have the bad influences of TV (thus they maintained a very good eyesight), and save a lot of time to do productive things. They also don’t own electronics like PSPs, hand phones, computers etc and thus they will be very glad with what they own.

The disadvantages of the Amish lifestyle:
Since the Amish do not use modern technology like the computer and Internet, they cannot interact with the rest of the world except going out into the society. They also cannot keep up with the rest of the world. The Amish children might not want to live without modern technology because of all the games, information and fun stuff they could see on the Internet. They are also only educated to eighth-grade and cannot get a good job in the city and only can be farmers/tailors etc. The Amish are also expected to be farmers. And they will always live a “routine” life, like harvesting and planting at the same time of the year and do nothing else. (They will feel that life is very boring) They also don’t have electricity and cannot see properly in the night as they used candles instead of lights. They also wear simple clothes with simple ornaments and not like the fashionable clothes that most people wear. Thus, they would not be able to fit into the crowd and may feel very “special” and “old fashioned”. They also don’t know the basic hygiene and may get sick easily. Since the Amish families often try alternative treatments and only seek the services of doctors and modern hospitals when necessary, they could make what was a small flu into a big disease. Thus, many may die unexpectantly.

My opinion:
In my opinion, I think the Amish should not stick to the way their ancestors have lived as the world is changing very fast and they should keep up with technology. If they still keep this lifestyle, other people may sneer at them for being old fashioned. They also cannot enjoy the benefits that modern people enjoys, and thus would be “jealous” of us. They also keep to their “yearly routine” with almost no change in their “timetable” and will feel that life is very boring. (Like sowing in April and harvesting in September etc) With modern technology, “normal” people can do a lot of things conveniently (or the easy way). But the “not normal” or “old fashion” people like the Amish who almost do not use modern technology, things will not be so easy for them (or the hard way). With these reasons, the Amish would be longing to change their lifestyle and to fit into the crowd. Thus, I think the Amish lifestyle cannot be sustained and they should not stick to their ancestors’ way of life.