English Journals(:

Oral Practice -- Day 10

2009-07-06T02:44:00.000-07:00

PICTURE DISCUSSION:
This picture depicts a scene in an old folk's home. The well-dressed man seems standing in the middle of the picture seems to be teaching some exercises to the old folks so that they could have a chance to stretch their muscles. Most of the old folks are following what the young man was doing and this shows that the old folks are pretty interested in the activity. The young man must have undergone trainings which teaches him to interact with the elderly and how to get them to participate in the activities that he's going to plan for them in future.

CONVERSATION 2:
Yes, I do agree that some people just worry too much about certain things. While worrying shows your care about a certain issue, however, over-worrying about something can only increase your stress level and make you feel miserable. The sorts of stuff that worry me would include my studies, family and friends as these three things hold great importance in my life. One way of stopping yourself from worrying too much would be getting yourself occupied so that you would not have anytime to start worrying about something or another way would be to learn how to let go. We worry because we care too much about something and by learning how to let go a little, we could probably allow ourselves to worry less.

Oral Practice -- Day 8

2009-07-06T02:00:00.000-07:00

PICTURE DISCUSSION:
This picture depicts a scene at a playground yard in a kindergarten. It is probably play time for the kids and they are playing some outdoor activities in the spacious playground yard the kindergarten had. A well-dressed woman, who seemed to be one of the teachers in the kindergarten, is having much fun the kids, judging from the big, wide smile on her face. A line of children hid behind her, where she will protect the children from the little boy with a neat haircut and wearing striped shorts standing opposite to her. In the background, there is another group of kids together with another kindergarten teacher, playing the same type of game. I am sure that everyone in the picture is having lots of fun, especially the girl in the foreground, who is wearing a flowery dress and a hairband as she was beaming widely. At the end of the activity, the kids would probably go for a water break and go for a afternoon nap after a long play.

CONVERSATION 2:
When a woman wishes to pursue a career and at the same time have a family, the main difficulty she would face would be that she might not be able to balance with both her work and family. Having to take care of the family with regards to their meals, sending kids to school and doing the household chores all by herself at the same time, there just isn't any time for a woman who have just knocked off from work to rest! Thus it could be especially difficult for women to balance both work and family well with suffering from stress and fatigue. Well, I suggest that the employers could add some flexibility to their working time as sometimes there may be some urgent matters at home which would need them to stay at home for long hours. The employers could also allow them to bring their work home and by doing so, these women could better monitor their kids at home while completing their work at home instead of in the office and this is one advantage of working at home. However, the disadvantage would be that without good time management, parents may not be able to finish their work on time or they may tend to spend more time with their kids and family since they are at home. Also, their communications with their colleagues may also be affected in a negative way unless an effort is made to meet with the problem.

Oral Practice -- Day 6

2009-07-05T23:00:00.000-07:00

PICTURE DISCUSSION:
This picture depicts a scene at a stadium. A group of girls wearing school uniform are cheering loudly on the grass patch of the stadium. In the background, there are rows of boys sitting on the running track of the stadium who seemed to be the athletes who are either preparing for the next race or they have just finished running the previous race. They are probably watching a race, together with the girls in the foreground, which their schoolmates are participating in and there are cheering for their schoolmates, hoping that they could win the race. Judging from the excitement on the girls faces, their schoolmates have probably won the race and they are cheering happily for their victory.

CONVERSATION 2:
Yes I think that everyone can learn to be good at sport. As long as there is interest and determination, anyone can be good at a particular sport or even many sports. Some people may be gifted and play better in a certain sport however if one is willing to train hard in the sport, then he or she can definitely play as well as a gifted kid in sports or even better. Like what people had always said practice makes perfect. It is never fair to say that men are better at sport than women as we also have women participating in sport events and come out as champion. We also have women participating in the Olympic games and from this we can deduce that women could play as well as men in sports. Thus to play well in a sport, the key factor can only be sufficient practice.

Oral Practice -- Day 4

2009-07-05T20:02:00.000-07:00

PICTURE DISCUSSION:
This picture depicts a scene of a wheel-bounded man trying out a new launch which allows people in wheelchairs to board public buses more easily. The people in the background, I believe are the staff members of the public bus company as they are all wearing the same logo shirt. The Malay women beside the wheel-bounded man seems to be the supervisor of the staff members. A man wearing t-shirt and sneakers is pushing the wheel-bounded man up a ramp connecting the ground to the bus. Mean time at the door of the bus, a dark-coloured skin man, who seems to be the bus driver, is reaching his hand out to the wheel-bounded man so as to help him into the bus. I suppose that the people in he background would be very glad that now the wheel-bounded people can have another convenience whenever they would like to travel around in a public bus. I think that after the wheel-bounded man have boarded the bus, the wheel-bounded woman would be the next to board the bus. The wide smile on her face showed her excitement in boarding a bus and I think after she has boarded the bus more of the other wheel-bounded people that were with her but not in the picture, would also board the bus and all of them can go for an outing together.

CONVERSATION 1:
I remember visiting a well-known tropical rainforest in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last December. The rainforest was indeed a natural beauty. It is such a miracle to see a rainforest in a developed city like K.L. As I walked along the rutted lane of the rainforest, the richness of the soil immediately filled my nose. The trees here were like large pillars of almost a hundred feet tall and the thick canopy above my head provided a wonderful shade. The cool breeze that blew past my cheeks made me feel refreshed. This rainforest is the most beautiful place I've ever been. I feel very relaxed when I was in there like all my worries had been gone with the cool breeze and time really flies when I got there. I would definitely recommend my friends and others as it is really a rare experience that we people who have always been living in a city full of tall buildings and concrete floors. This place would surely be a different and and unforgettable experience for anyone of us.

CONVERSATION 2:
I feel that we each have a responsibility in protecting natural habitats and looking after wildlife. In my opinion, we are destroying the nature in a large extent. Over the years, human activities such as deforestation and poaching have caused much negative impacts to the natural habitats of wildlife, causing these animals to lose their homeland and worse to come, face extinction. We humans have only thought of ourselves all along and through the clearing of lands and disturbing the ecosystems in the forest to build new buildings and shopping centres. It is important to develop cities. Without the development of cities, income of such cities would have been a problem and this would pose as a threat to we humans. However, the conservation of our natural habitats should also be taken note of. We could think of ways to minimize the negative impacts our activities could have for the natural habitat and the wildlife such as replacing a natural habitat of wildlife somewhere else when we have destroyed one.

Oral Practice -- Day 2

2009-07-05T19:14:00.000-07:00

PICTURE DISCUSSION:
This picture depicts a scene of a workshop of trainee hairdressers. It could seen that these women here are trainees because they are all practising their hairdressing techniques on models instead of real people. These women does not seem to be locals. They had probably came from the same place as a group of friends to pick up a new skill in hairdressing. They must be very happy to be able to learn together at the workshop there and maybe if there's a chance, they may even manage to get a job in the same hair salon. The woman wearing a white spaghetti top and her hair tied in a bun, together with two of her friends on her left, one with long curly hair and the other wearing a black blouse are smiling happily. One of them must have told a funny joke or something. It is good to know how to have fun while working on a task but still, the three trainee hairdressers have bear in mind that there are times where they have to be serious especially when serving customers in future. If I were a customer being served by a hairdresser who seems not to be serious in his work, I'd sure ask to be served by another hairdresser. Back to the picture, the woman wearing a sleeveless white top and a necklace, and the woman wearing a striped top both looked serious. This has somehow showed part of their character that they put in full commitment and concentration in whatever they do. Judging from the bottle of conditioner placed on the table, I think that the next activity for the trainees could be learning how wash the hair of the models.

CONVERSATION 1:
A wavy curl hairstyle has always been my favourite. Not only is this type of hairstyle easy to manage but they are also easy to create. Wavy curls gives one her elegant look and this hairstyle is almost suitable for any occasions and dark brown hair with highlights would be the best hair colour to go with wavy curls. I like to visit a hairdresser especially when he or she could give me a new refreshing look after my haircut or she her friendliness can keep me from falling asleep during the haircut after a long day in school. In my opinion, hairstyles are very important. A hairstyle can affect how one looks like and sometimes also a person's character. A wrong or unsuitable hairstyle would make one look weird or not as beautiful or handsome as he or she could have been. On the other hand, the correct hairstyle would give one a refreshing look and this would sure give one a lot more confidence when he or she walks on the street.

CONVERSATION 2:
CCTV and security cameras in public areas have been a wonderful device invented to ensure security and prevent crimes in public areas, especially business areas. Such devices are necessary as they can be of a great help to the police investigating on crimes where they can capture the look of the robber or thief from their so-called "hideout" without the thief knowing that he has been caught on camera. However, some people had used such devices in a wrong way. For instance, a pervert would have CCTV situated in changing rooms or even the toilet. The misuse of CCTV have increased over the years and this has been a concern of the public. Also, one disadvantage of CCTV and security cameras would be that people would feel uncomfortable in their presence as they would always have the feeling that they are being watched or spied on. This causes people to be less relaxed and this may affect their moods in shopping for shoppers or dining for the case of diners of a restaurant.

"Stickman Murder Mystery"

2009-03-15T21:25:00.000-07:00

I played the detective game "Stickman Murder Mystery" today. It was pretty interesting at first but when I solved the case in just a while without much effort, the whole game turned out to be pretty dull and not as challenging as I've expected it to be. It was very obvious that the man with a "Z" shape tear on his green shirt was the murderer and since the case was somehow linked to the bank, the motive of the murderer must have something to do with money.

Journal Week 10

2009-03-15T09:27:00.000-07:00

Josie's lugubrious tear-stained face was a heart wrenching sight. She had been reviled by her stepmother again and this time, it is for resulting in her baby stepbrother's arm fracture. She was wrongly indicted of course, however being only a stepchild, she never had the right to voice out her feelings. It was really pesky for me to see her in this state, always being treated unfairly by her stepmother and not saying a word about it. However, I was still glad to see her voicing her heart out to me and deep in my heart, I wished she could stay strong to overcome such vicissitudes in life...

Journal Week 9

2009-03-08T21:28:00.000-07:00

Sarah lead the life that most women had dreamt for. She lives with her charming husband, John and his family in a sumptuous palace. She lead a luxurious life. Her father-in-law's business was making big money and the family never encountered any pecuniary problems. However, despite all these, Sarah was never happy, especially with her marriage. She often wondered what had came over her when she agreed to the marriage with her profligate husband. His megalomania annoyed her most and his mendacious claims about his infidelity made her left the house.

Journal Week 8

2009-02-28T21:28:00.000-08:00

We often have myriad craves for the best of all and this is actually an inherent greed that every human being is deemed to have. Some of us might not seem so as this greed had remained latent for many many years or simply because we hadn't realise it.

Journal Week 7

2009-02-22T21:28:00.000-08:00

Life is like walking through a labyrinth -- too unpredictable. You would never know when you would make the wrong turn or choose the wrong route till the consequences came. Neither would you be able to find out who has been concocting an evil plan of his to harm you till you are being pushed into the dark, murky waters of truth. You could have a sense of exultation at this moment and at the very next minute, you might just fall for an elaborate hoax.

Journal Week 6

2009-02-15T21:29:00.000-08:00

Alex was charming and one of the progeny of the local millionaires. He was well-known for his virtuosity and was always the spotlight among the other men. Rosie was the antithesis of Dylan. She was not really the gregarions type, but she had her own coterie of friends where they would hang out together during weekends. Alex and Rosie. They seemed to be living in two totally differents worlds, yet they were the most loving couple that anyone else could have seen.

Journal Week 5

2009-02-08T21:29:00.000-08:00

Paul Saunders was found guilty of complicity in the liquidation of an eighteen year old girl seven years ago. He hadn't killed the girl of course, but was paid with an attractive sum of money to get rid of her body. He took he offer without any hesitation being in the state of going bankrupt soon. The body was eventually found and the murderer was arrested. He was arrested too, on the very next day and brought back for questioning. He declaimed being an accomplice of the murder but just someone paid to get rid of the body. He was sentenced to jail for seven years and these years he lived with guilt and regret. Today, was the day he can finally see the world and lead the nomadic life he had always wanted to.

Journal Week 4

2009-01-26T03:07:00.000-08:00

Since young, Suzie had aspired to be a famous photographer. However, her wealthy parents had never acknowledged her interest in photography, only assuming that it was just a singular hobby of hers. She took up the courses her parents wanted to and when she graduated from university, her parents got her a sinecure in a finance company which they had made mammoth investments in. Suzie accepted the job without any objections. Her life was like the one of a puppet, always controlled by someone else. She hoped that she would have the valor to escape from the control of her parents but it was simply too big a step for her to take.

Journal Week 3

2009-01-25T20:42:00.000-08:00

My heart was pounding fast. I've never felt so nervous and afraid about anything in my life before. Inchoate plans filled my mind and none of them were viable. Time was running out. I was well sure that whatever I'm going to do next might jeopardize my life but I gave myself no choice. Acting on the premise that the armed burglar was not on his guard, I made use of the propitious moment, came out from behind the couch and crashed the vase on his head.

Can one improve his or her English skills?

2009-01-24T06:55:00.000-08:00

I'm absolutely positive that one would be able to improve his or her English skills as long as the strong determination to learn and improve is in him or her. There might be many difficulties along the way but in my opinion, that should not be the excuse of giving up to improve.

Ways of improving one's English skills include reading widely so as to expose yourself to different styles of writing and expressions, and also to increase your creative writing skills. Another way worth considering would be strenghthening your grammar and vocabularly through watching or reading the news. This would sure be be very useful in writing your essays and even the understanding of comprehension text. In addition, by watching the news, we can also improve our pronounciation which would surely be of great help to our oral examinations.

Since there are so many ways of improving our English skills, I don't see why peolple who are willing to put in effort to improve are unable to succeed in doing so.

Journal Week 2

2009-01-18T06:19:00.000-08:00

I was walking down the streets and came to a stop when I saw a placard with a picture of an overly-dressed woman, who had turned out to be Mrs. Drake, and her missing Siamese cat. She was dressed in a flamboyant outfit and she wore the thickest make-up I've ever seen. I've never liked her much due to her fractious character. It seemed that she had lost her cat and was willing to give a remuneration of $20,000 for anyone who can bring her darling back to her. I wasn't the ilk who would be so helpful to look for some pet whom had lost its way home, especially the one owned by someone I've detested much, but I was soon placed in a dilemma when I saw a unusually familiar Siamese cat walked past me...

Journal Week 1

2009-01-10T05:46:00.000-08:00

At times, I had really admired those who are able to surpress their sadness and disappointments to appear to be the cheerful and zealous kind of a person. Knowing how to hide your feelings is actually a skill. If you are lax, then others who are meticulous enough would see through you immediately. However, if you are careful, mastering the skill would not be much of a difficulty to you. I had tried fruitless attempts to hide away my feelings but I soon found out that I was never the one who would coerce herself in keeping her true inner feelings to herself.