Sunday, July 12, 2009

Life in The Boarding School

As most of my friends should know, I am one of the 28 Malaysian scholars staying in the boarding school. I came here by exceling in a maths competition and through an interview by some of the school staffs. Many people stay in the boarding school, some of them came from China and some of them are my Malaysian seniors.

Although life in the boarding school are not as easy as at home, we make many friends from different countries and we got along quite well. Every morning, we have breakfast and will reach school in about 5 minutes time. After school, we will have lunch at school and walk back to the boarding school or have extra lessons before heading back.

In the boarding school, lunch is only provided during weekends so we have to eat at the school canteen after our lessons. During weekends, we will go out together to buy things or even have meals outside the boarding school.

I hope that I can make more friends in the boarding school in the future. Having the chance to be independant here will be a memorable experience to us.

Monday, June 29, 2009

IT Home Learning Lesson 2

My favorite poet is William Shakespeare, an outstanding poet among others.

For all his fame and celebration, William Shakespeare remains a mysterious figure with regards to personal history. There are just two primary sources for information on the Bard: his works, and various legal and church documents that have survived from Elizabethan times. Naturally, there are many gaps in this body of information, which tells us little about Shakespeare the man.

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, allegedly on April 23, 1564. Church records from Holy Trinity Church indicate that he was baptized there on April 26, 1564. Young William was born of John Shakespeare, a glover and leather merchant, and Mary Arden, a landed heiress. William, according to the church register, was the third of eight children in the Shakespeare household—three of whom died in childhood. John Shakespeare had a remarkable run of success as a merchant, and later as an alderman and high bailiff of Stratford, during William's early childhood. His fortunes declined, however, in the 1570s.

Some of William's poems are:

A Fairy Song

Over hill, over dale,
Thorough bush, thorough brier,
Over park, over pale,
Thorough flood, thorough fire!
I do wander everywhere,
Swifter than the moon's sphere;
And I serve the Fairy Queen,
To dew her orbs upon the green;
The cowslips tall her pensioners be;
In their gold coats spots you see;
Those be rubies, fairy favours;
In those freckles live their savours;
I must go seek some dewdrops here,
And hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear.
Fidele



FEAR no more the heat o' the sun,
Nor the furious winter's rages;
Thou thy worldly task hast done,
Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages:
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.

Fear no more the frown o' the great,
Thou art past the tyrant's stroke;
Care no more to clothe and eat;
To thee the reed is as the oak:
The sceptre, learning, physic, must
All follow this, and come to dust.

Fear no more the lightning-flash,
Nor the all-dreaded thunder-stone;
Fear not slander, censure rash;
Thou hast finish'd joy and moan:
All lovers young, all lovers must
Consign to thee, and come to dust.

No exorciser harm thee!
Nor no witchcraft charm thee!
Ghost unlaid forbear thee!
Nothing ill come near thee!
Quiet consummation have;
And renowned be thy grave!

It was a Lover and his Lass



IT was a lover and his lass,
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,
That o'er the green corn-field did pass,
In the spring time, the only pretty ring time,
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding;
Sweet lovers love the spring.

Between the acres of the rye,
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,
These pretty country folks would lie,
In the spring time, the only pretty ring time,
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding;
Sweet lovers love the spring.

This carol they began that hour,
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,
How that life was but a flower
In the spring time, the only pretty ring time,
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding;
Sweet lovers love the spring.

And, therefore, take the present time
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,
For love is crown`d with the prime
In the spring time, the only pretty ring time,
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding;
Sweet lovers love the spring.

There is great conjecture about Shakespeare's childhood years, especially regarding his education. It is surmised by scholars that Shakespeare attended the free grammar school in Stratford, which at the time had a reputation to rival Eton. While there are no records extant to prove this claim, Shakespeare's knowledge of Latin and Classical Greek would tend to support this theory. In addition, Shakespeare's first biographer, Nicholas Rowe, wrote that John Shakespeare had placed William "for some time in a free school." John Shakespeare, as a Stratford official, would have been granted a waiver of tuition for his son. As the records do not exist, we do not know how long William attended the school, but certainly the literary quality of his works suggest a solid education. What is certain is that William Shakespeare never proceeded to university schooling, which has stirred some of the debate concerning the authorship of his works.

William Shakespeare's legacy is a body of work that will never again be equaled in Western civilization. His words have endured for 400 years, and still reach across the centuries as powerfully as ever. Even in death, he leaves a final piece of verse as his epitaph.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

T3W1 Language Arts IT Lesson 1


The Perfect Father
















The Perfect Father
who accepts you
the perfect father
who protects you

The perfect father
what will you do?
but believe in him
and accept Him too

The perfect Father
who gave His life
The perfect Father
is found in Jesus Christ

The perfect Father
who knows your name
The perfect father
who will remain

The perfect Father
who lovingly guides
who wants to lead you
like a shepherd
and walk
by your side

The perfect Father
who listens and holds
The perfect Father
who gently consoles

The perfect Father
who changes you
by his Love and his kindness
and acceptance too

The perfect Father
who understands
This perfect Father
became a man

So that you could come
to personally know Him
and know there is a Father
who is out there my friend

There is a Father
who exist, your not dreaming

He's looking for you
while your searching for Him

He's found in Jesus Christ


Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life
no one comes to the father except through me'
(The Holy Bible) John 14: 6

Debbie Bennett









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I like this poem because it shows that the poet is actually explaining that Jesus Christ is somehow 'a perfect father'. He uses examples of father's love to express his ideas, making the poem more interesting and easier to understand.

He reveals his wonderful style by explaining his unusual and unique themes and writing with techniques like another poet. I like this poem because he uses short simple phrases in the stanza to express his feelings. It is somewhat detailed.

The meaning of this poem is--In the world, Jesus is the 'father of life'. He is the perfect father in the world. He cares and loves the people in the world. There is a perfect father that exists. The poem reflects the love of a father, using the characteristics of a father to express most of his ideas.



Is Progress Necessarily Benefical for Society?

In my opinion, I do not think that progress is always beneficial for society. This is because if the country progresses too slow does not progress at all, it will not progress and will be easily overtaken. On the other hand, if the country progresses too fast, adaptation may be another problem.

Firstly,if the country progresses too fast, the citizens might have difficulties in adapting. For example, if the countryside happened to be a building site for a factory, the people will take a long time to adapt themselves to this new progress. Thus confusing them thoroughly.


Other than that, I will also be discussing about the advantages about countries that are progressing. As it can be seen in the book Village by the Sea, if the villagers do not progress and continue to spend their life catching fish, they would not be able to make a living easily. But if they progress and have factories, their income could be higher, and they also need not risk their lives in the sea.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

My Favourite Character in Village by the Sea

My favourite character in Village by the Sea is Hari,the main character of the story. He takes on the strong responsibility in supporting his family. He quitted school to work in the fields when his father was addicted to toddy and did not want to work.

One day, Hari thought that if he went to the city, Bombay, he would earn more money than he would in Thul. Eventually he went there to find work. He found a work in Jagu's restaurant and begin to earn money there.

He also had the will to learn new skills. When he was in Bombay, he learned how to mend watches from a watchmender working in a shop beside the restaurant he works in.

Hari was also a very caring person. One day, Mr. Panwallah, the watchmender, fell ill. Hari took an afternoon of to visit him and had a talk with him.

He also tried his best to save money for his family. He spent as little as possible while he was in Bombay.When he returned, he had a lot of money for his family.

Hari is an independent and hardworking person. This is why he is my favourite character in Village by the Sea.

Monday, June 22, 2009

The part I like best in the novel Village by the Sea

The part I like the most in the novel is when Hari went to Bombay because this part shows how independent and caring he was for his family.

When Hari made his decision to make a fortune in the city, he thought of his poverty-driven family that needed the money. His ill mother needed treatment and Hari needed the money to support his family. Besides that, his father did not work and thus leading Hari to work instead of this father.

In Bombay, Hari worked very hard and he was determined to earn a living for his family. He worked hard at Jagu's restaurant even his days were very hard there. When he returned to Thul, he gave his family a better living as he promised.

Those are the reasons I like this part of the story.






Sunday, June 21, 2009

City rat or country cat?

I'm sure almost everybody will know about this story. Well, I prefer being a city rat rather than a country rat. Why?

Being a 'city rat' ensures a better life. This is because the city has more job opportunities than the countryside. Besides, the city has more modern technology and a better standard of living. Communication between people is more convenient as cell phones and the Internet are available in the city. Although most parts of the city is polluted, the city cannot be denied a better place to live in.

On the other hand, the countryside has less pollution than the city. The facilities are not modern and simple. Communication is less convenient as the people living in the countryside are not very rich. Besides that, the education standard there is low and public transport is not common.

As a conclusion, both the city and the countryside has benefits. However, I prefer living in the city than the country.