Are Singaporeans gracious? How gracious are we when compared to other countries?

In Singapore, there are quite a number of both gracious and ungracious people. Being gracious meaning courteous, polite and kind towards other people. On the other hand, being ungracious means being unpolite and uncouth or acting like a hooligan. Some people say that Singaporeans are ungracious. I, however, think that it is unfair to say that in general. There are indeed a number of singaporeans who are gracious towards other people and it is very unfair for them to be classified under the category of “ungracious”.

I have personally witnessed some gracious acts demonstrated by some singaporeans. For example, once I got onto a bus together with another old lady who was carrying a small trolley filled with groceries. Some people was totally ignoring the old lady and I, some were busy ‘sleeping’ and some were engrossed in reading. Nobody bothered about the old lady. At that time, the bus travelled quite fast and was shaky. The old lady almost lost her balance. Immediately, a young man immediately stood up and gave up his seat to the old lady.

There are also some ungracious acts demonstrated by singaporeans. One example that I saw was two young students, both female. When they boarded the bus, they sat on the seats which were reserved for needy people like old people or pregnant women. They totally ignored the sign above the seats and chatted loudly. That is definitely an ungracious act. Another example, on the bus, some people choose to seat on the outer seat and place their belongings like bags etc on the inner seat, thinking that they can occupy both seats at once, which was why there were insufficent seats for all commuters.

The government has also encouraged people to be gracious singaporeans so that they would not leave a bad impression on the tourists coming to visit singapore. They do not want singapore’s reputation to go bad because of these acts. To encourage people to be more gracious, the government has filmed and broadcasted a video showing some gracious acts. The short video can now be watched on youtube and it shows phua chu kang telling people to be gracious on public transport such as buses or MRTs. To some people, they may feel shameful because this means singaporeans can only be gracious when the government asks them to.

Hygiene is also another problem in Singapore. People just litter and spit anywhere they like it. Liter can be found in most of the places despite the fact that dustbins can be found almost everywhere. There have been reports that after huge performances like National Day, there are huge amounts of litter found left behind. How are we going to uphold our reputation as the “Clean and Green Singapore”?

5. After you, my dear Alphonse: Would you have treated Boyd or someone who is not of the same race or nationality as you differently? Why or why not?

I think I would not treat someone of a different race differently. However, I feel that under some circumstances, it would be quite difficult. For example, if most of my classmates starts treating the indians in class differently, sooner or later other classmares, even I, would submit to peer pressure and start treating the indians differently. Another situation would be when that person of a different race does something which everyone dislikes and thus resulting in the people around him picking on him like criticising on his skin colour etc.

Racism or racial discrimination is when a person treats another person of a different race differently and negatively. For example, a person criticises an indian as a "blackie" due to his skin colour. In"After you, my dear Alphonse", the mother was not treating Boyd negatively and differently directly, but she had a mindset that black people are poor, would eat anything and would not hold high positions in companies. She is looking down on the blacks, which is also a form of racism.

Currently, racism is quite common in today's society. When I am talking to a friend who is of a different race such as a Malay or an Indian, I would try to avoid saying things that would offend them like mentioning their skin colour. I would also try not to gossip behind their backs and say anything racist about them, like " look, that 'blackie' is here again". I have experienced times when one of my friends said something racist and hurtful straight in the face of an indian friend of ours. In the end, my friend was sent to see our form teacher. I think that one way to reduce racism is that people of different races should maybe be separated for some time. This way, they would not see each other and would not think of those hurtful racism remarks. Another way is that they learn the importance of a multi-racial society and work together.

Book review 2

Book read: The Da Vinci Code


Application
Q1What would the main character be likely to do if s/he visited your classroom?


This time, when Mr Robert Langdon visits our classroom, he is going to do different things from the last time he visited my classroom. This time, he is going to talk to us about the origins of some symbols which we often see in our lives and the story behind them. He is also going to explain and give a presentation on how important is symbols are in our lives. He is also going to share with us about his fantastic adventure he had when he was in Paris which was what exactly happened in The Da Vinci Code. He would share with us the story behind his adventure like the Priory of Sion and some of its famous grandmasters like Leonardo Da Vinci and Sir Issac Newton, the Holy Grail and its legend. He is also going to advertise to us about his new book which is going to be published soon. Finally, he is going to encourage us to take up symbology when we grow up.


Analysis
Q2:Compare two of the characters in your book
The two characters that I have chosen from the book are Robert Langdon and Sir Leigh Teabing.

Robert Langdon, a very knowledgeable person who is an expert of symbology in Harvard University. He is a highly respected and intelligent professor in Harvard University. Although he can be strict, he is regarded as a great teacher. He is unselfish and a nice person. He has claustrophobia when he was seven years old as he fell into a well. He is always willing to help and would not resort to kill to achieve his goal.


Leigh Teabing, on the other hand, is a British royal historian and a Grail expert. He once studied in Oxford. He is an old friend of Robert. He lives outside Paris with his faithful butler, Remy. At some point in his life, he contracted polio. However, he still flies back to Great Britian to seek medical treatment as he does not trust French doctors. He is a cunning and ruthless person whom faked his identity as the Teacher to establish contact with Bishop Manuel Aringarosa and Silas so that they can help him get the Grail and win support over the Vatican. Actually, he just wants the Grail for himself so that he could tell the whole world about the truth of the Holy Grail. He is also a ruthless person who would not hesitate to kill in order to achieve his goals.




Synthesis
Q3: Radio Announcement
Hey there, are u a fan of Robert Langdon? Do you love mystery and thrillers? Buy the Da Vinci Code now and uncover the secret truth so devastating that you would remember it for your life. Get it at any bookstores nearby.

Evaluation
Q4: Is the title a good one or a poor one? Why?
To me, I feel that this title, The Da Vinci Code, is a good title for this book. Firstly, this book is filled with codes that the main characters need to solve such that they can uncover the real truth which one of the protagonists', Sophie Neveu, grandfather had left behind for them to solve. Secondly, the clues which they got to solve the clue comes from Da Vinci paintings like the Last Supper, the Mona Lisa etc. The title is not to corny and it is easy to remember.

IT Home Learning: Lesson 5

1) The casino being built in Singapore is supposed to be a money-maker and job creator. However, many people have spoken against it. Talk to a parent or adult and get their view on the casino. Listen to the NPR and YouTube offerings and choose one that substantiates your viewpoint and include a quote from it as well. Your blog entry has to be at least 200 words and you must either support the casino or condemn its construction and ultimately the hardships it will cause in Singapore.

To me, I would condemn the building of the casino in Singapore. Although the building of the casino in Singapore would create many jobs and make more money for Singapore's economy and help to tide over the economic crisis, it would lead to many problems for gamblers and their families.

Some problems that would result in are serious addiction to gambling, bankruptcy, heavy debts and many family problems.

Many people started gambling for fun with a small amount of money. When they started winning, they get this huge feeling of happiness which would cause them to be addicted to gambling as they think that their luck is with them and if they continue, they would be able to win more money and relax for the rest of their lives. This would result in their depleted savings, lost of trust just to borrow more money to gamble and the hardships the families need to go through.

Many people often say " When u gamble, you lose more than you win". This saying is very true. Gambling is purely by luck and chance and not on the amount of knowledge you have for gambling. Gambling requires no skill and the rewards are high, but you have to spend a higher amount such that you are able to succeed. Many people want to strike rich with no effort needed and turn to gambling.

In conclusion, if the building of the casino is needed, the gamblers must have strong self-control and self-restrain so that they would not be addicted to gambling.

IT Home Learning: Lesson 2

My favourite poet is Robert Frost.He has been reviewed by many critics over the years, including by another poet Daniel described his early work as"the Puritan ethic turned astonishingly lyrical and enabled to say out loud the sources of its own delight in the world." He even commented on his career as the American Bard and he said,"He became a national celebrity, our nearly official Poet Laureate, and a great performer in the tradition of that earlier master of the literary vernacular, Mark Twain."Even the American President, John F.Kennedy had even described him as" a body of imperishable verse from which Americans will forever gain joy and understanding." His work is principally associated with the life and landscape of New England and his work is often infused with layers of ambiguity and irony. This means he is a creative person who is able to write poems this way, which is why I like him.

Robert Frost's Background:

Robert Frost was born in San Francisco on March 26, 1874. He moved to New England at the age of eleven and became interested in reading and writing poetry during his high school years in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He was enrolled at Dartmouth College in 1892, and later at Harvard, but he never earned a formal degree.

Frost drifted through a string of occupations after leaving school, working as a teacher, cobbler, and editor of the Lawrence Sentinel.

His first professional poem, "My Butterfly," was published on November 8, 1894, in the New York newspaper The Independent.

In the year 1895, he married Elinor Miriam White, who became a major inspiration to all of his poetry until her death in the year 1938.The couple moved to England in 1912, after their New Hampshire farm failed, and it was abroad that Frost met and was influenced by such contemporary British poets as Edward Thomas, Rupert Brooke, and Robert Graves. While in England, Frost also established a friendship with the poet Ezra Pound, who helped to promote and publish his work.

When Robert Frost returned to the United States of America in the year 1915,he had published two full-length collections, A Boy's Will and North of Boston, and his reputation was established. By the nineteen-twenties, he was the most celebrated poet in America, and with each new book—including New Hampshire (1923), A Further Range (1936), Steeple Bush (1947), and In the Clearing (1962)—his fame and honors (including four Pulitzer Prizes) increased.

Robert Frost lived and taught for many years in Massachusetts and Vermont, and died in Boston on January 29, 1963.

Some examples of his poems:

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

The Lockless Door

It went many years,
But at last came a knock,
And I though of the door
With no lock to lock.
I blew out the light,
I tip-toed the floor,
And raised both hands
In prayer to the door.
But the knock came again.
My window was wide;
I climbed on the sill
And descended outside.
Back over the sillI bade a 'Come in'
To whatever the knock
At the door may have been.
So at a knockI emptied my cage
To hide in the world
And alter with age.

http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/
poets.org

IT Home Learning: Lesson 1

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Q1)The figurative language used in this poem is simile, hyperbole and symbolism. The words used for simile are " as just as fair" ,the words used for hyperbole are "ages and ages" as a hyperbole is an exaggeration and the words used for symbolism are "Two roads diverged".

The poet chose to use hyperbole as by using hyperbole, it is an exaggeration and unrealistic. The poet chose to use symbolism as it symbolises the difficulty to choose his decisions during life and his desire to make a decision in life. The poet chose to use simile as he is trying to make a comparision.

Q2) I like this poem as this is a description of what he wanted to happen and not what really happened, a bit of fiction. In the last stanza, the word "sigh" can be used to express a regret or relief which makes me wonder which is it and the word "difference" makes us think is it a positive or negative difference in life did the poet make. "I took the one less travelled by" This makes me wonder if this particular decision he made was a decision that made a positive or negative impact on his life. Another reason I like this poem as it creates a kind of mysterious feeling, making you wanting to ask more questions.

Book review 1

Book read: Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

Application
Q1:What would the main character be likely to do if s/he visited your classroom?

Firstly, the main character of this book,Angels and Demons,is a Harvard professor named Robert Langdon. He is a professor of religious iconology and symbology at Harvard University. He has actually written over a dozen books, all about religious iconology and symbology. Examples are The Art of Illuminati, The Symbology of Secret Sects, The Lost Language of Ideograms and the renowned textbook, Religious Iconology.

According to the book, he can be seen discussing computer graphics and religious history with his students on weekends or lecturing at museum openings.

If Mr Robert Langdon really visited my classroom, he would most likely discuss with all of us about religious iconology and symbology. But first, I am sure he is clear that we are only secondary school students who know nothing about these two subjects.

So, this is the sequence of things he is going to do are:
1) Briefly introduce to us what is symbology about
2) Discuss with us about simple symbology
3) Share with us about his experience with symbology
4) Lastly, encourage us to take up symbology and give us our best wishes

Analysis
Q2:If your story occured long ago, compare that time with today in a good paragraph.If it was a modern story, compare it with a long time ago and tell what would be different

Angels and Demons is a modern story. In comparison with a long time ago, somethings indeed would be different.Firstly, in the story, the illuminati used an antimatter canister to threaten to wipe out the Vatican. Once the antimatter comes in contact with the matter, it would explode. Such advanced technology would not be possible to be found long time ago. The terrorists would most probably use normal bombs to wipe out the Vatican. Secondly, professors at that time did not know that much information as information was not that easily able to obtain. So, professional help may not be able to be obtained. Lastly, at that time, the Vatican archives were not yet open to the public, no one, except important people like the pope, was allowed to enter. Therefore, the quest to find the churches would not be able to solve.

Synthesis
Q3 :Make a radio announcement to advertise the book
Love to read thrillers? Are you a fan of Dan Brown's books and Robert Langdon? Then you got to read "Angels and Demons". It is a Robert Langdon thriller that will leave you at the edge of your seat. Buy it now at any bookstore nearby.

Evaluation
Q4:What did you think was the most interesting part of the book? Why?
To me, I think the most interesting part of the book is when Robert Langdon tries to figure out the next church so that he can, together with the police, to catch the abductor and murderer of the cardinals that were kidnapped. I find this part most interesting as it gives the reader a little mystery to solve before Robert Langdon solves and find the church. Much information about the history of these church and symbols comes in which makes the story more interesting. IT makes the reader wanting to know more.