Blog - Writing Prompt #12 - Beverages

     Caffeine has harmful effects on the body. Caffeine is a drug and when purified, it produces an intensely biter white powder that provides a distinctive taste in soft drink. Caffeine intake affects our fluid balance. In a study, 12 caffeine consumers were told to abstain from caffeine for five days and were then given 642mg of caffeine in the form of coffee. Their urine output increased when given the caffeine. When one's fluid balance is disturbed, it might cause illness to the body. Therefore, I think that caffeine causes harmful effects on the body and should be avoided.

Expansion of "Do we still need heroes?"

           Do we still need heroes? Yes. Heroes help the world from being a corrupted place and make the world a better place. People with superhuman powers can be heroes; they help in protecting the world. People with strong moral values are heroes too. They help in building justice.  Lastly, people who do kind deeds, are heroes too, they spread love around the world.

        Heroes can also be people with superhuman power, such as flying, huge strength and some other abilities that normal humans cannot do. The world is now quite safe from terrorists and crimes. However, it does not mean that there are no crimes in the world. Posters show "Low crimes doesn't mean no crime." This showed that although there is little crime, there are still some crimes in the world, some of them hard to crack. Therefore, I think that heroes are still needed in the world. Heroes, as the name suggest, are better at tackling these crimes. With heroes, these "low crimes" will soon become "no crime". When this happens, although there are no crimes, heroes will still be needed to defend the world in case that people starts to commit crimes again. Therefore, it is important to have heroes to defend the world from evil acts.

          Heroes can also be people with strong moral values. They can help to uphold justice, whether by having such a career, such as a lawyer, or standing up against a bully. For example, from “To Kill A Mockingbird”, Atticus defended Tom Robinson in court for being accused of raping a White. Although Tom is a Negro, and it would be hard to defend a Negro, as the jury, a White, would be prejudiced against Tom. Also, the people of Maycomb changed their thinking of Atticus, calling him names like “nigger-lover”. However, despite all of these, Atticus did not sway from the right track even once and tried his best at defending Tom. Even though at the end, the jury declared Tom guilty of rape, I think that Attcicus had tried his best and try to uphold justice for the Tom, who was innocent; therefore he deserves to be called a hero.

           Lastly, heroes can be people who do kind deeds. Kind deeds, no matter how big or how small, is useful in turning our world into a kind and caring place. Big deeds such as donating huge amounts to the charity can help the unfortunate ones; this will influence others to donate too. Young people giving up their seats to the elderly, pregnant ladies, people with small child and injured people can make these people feel happy, they make in turn assist others. This cycle can go on and on, and the world will be a caring place. By making the world so wonderful, I think that people who spread the kindness can be called heroes.          

           In conclusion, I feel that heroes need not be people with superhuman powers, like in the Greek mythology. Humans that are kind-hearted, caring and have a sense of justice can be called hero too. There can also help to make the world a better place to live in. 

Blog-Writing Prompt #7 - Prejudice leading to war

     Prejudice had led to war, such as the Civil War in America. Different mindset and thinking of whether slavery of the African Americans were allowed had caused the war. The Southerners felt that slavery should not be ended, while the Northerners wanted an end in slavery. This resulted in the Civil War, which killed 8% of all White males aged from 13 to 43, including 6% in the North an 18% in the South. About 56,000 soldiers died in prison during the Civil War.
      This showed that prejudice could lead to war, and could be a very severe one.

Blog-Writing Prompt #9 - English-Language Fiction Book

       Recently,  I read a English Fiction book called "Ranger's Apprentice: The Emperor of Nihon-Ja". This is Book 10 of  John Flanagan's Ranger Apprentice books.  It is about the main characters, Will, Halt, Alyss and Evanlyn on a mission to find Horace, who had departed for Nihon-Ja on a vital mission months ago but his friends received no communication from him. They finally found Horace helping to protect the the Emperor of Nihon-Ja from the Senji warriors trying to overthrow the Emperor. The suspense and the strategies the friends had made me enjoy the story. The characters had to overcome many challenges and despite being pressed for time, they were able to defeat the Senji warriors to allow the Emperor to remain as the Emperor.
        I think that we can all learn from the characters, their flexibility in thinking, their friendship and their resilience, which helped them throughout the journey to victory. I would recommend this book to my friends, to encourage them and also to those who always give up halfway, so that they can learn from the characters.


Link on Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7592279-the-emperor-of-nihon-ja

Racial slurs should be illegal - Yes or No?

    I strongly believe that Racial slurs should be illegal. This is as racial slurs insult the race group. Imagine how we will feel if others call us by using racial slurs. That would be hurting! Also, insulting these race group because of their skin colours using racial slurs is very rude and it shows how ill-mannered one could be. It thus reflects one's integrity and behaviour, and if we do not want to be shown as a rude and unkind person, then we should not use racial slurs. Lastly, it will show the education of one. It also shows whether one's school is a good or bad one, and this might affect the school's reputation. If one comes from a good school, and uses racial slurs. Such will be ill-mannered, and people might think that the school is teaching us such things! Thus, it will affect our school's reputation.

    Reflection:

     I had witnessed people using racial slurs to make fun of the race group. I had also read books where people use racial slurs, such as "To Kill A Mockingbird". I think that it is very rude to use racial slurs. It shows how uneducated one can be, and I think that no race groups should be made fun of just because they have some differences with other peoples. Therefore, I dislike the use of the racial slurs and is disgusted at the frequent use of racial slurs by people.

Rewriting "Jack and Jill" into different versions of text

1st version:  Recount

   It was a horrible incident. I could never forget what happened to both Jill and I. Jill was more fortunate, but I was injured badly. This was what I got for playing on the hill.

   Jill and I went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. However, when we were halfway up, I asked Jill whether she wanted to play hide and seek. She agreed and I hid behind a tree.

   "Boo!!!" She crept up on me, and scared the hell out of me. I tripped and fell, and pulled her along with me! 

   "Bang, Boom Bakoom!" My head was bleeding badly when we reached the foot of the hill. All I could see was some patches of reds, and nothing!

   Before it went black, I saw Jill running for our home. Help's coming! Then, it was pitch dark as I fell into a deep slumber.

   When I finally woke up, I saw my head, wrapped with a brown paper soaked in vinegar! My bleeding was stopped and virus was killed! 

   What a terrible and horrible experience it was! How lucky I was to escape with only a head injury! I learnt a important lesson this day - Never to play on a hill! 

2nd Version: Persuasive

    
        Playing on a hill should be avoided. There are much more fun activities for children that they will enjoy more than playing on a hill.
        Jill and Jack went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. However, they started playing halfway on the hill. As they played, Jack accidentally tripped over a rock. He rolled and rolled and rolled down the hill. Finally, he came to a stop at the foot of the hill. Jill dashed down the hill for Jack.
       Jack was in a terrible condition and Jill rushed as fast as she could to their home to ask their parents to come. Finally, Jack was treated with his head wrapped with a brown paper soaked in vinegar to stop the bleeding and kill viruses.
       It was a disaster and a horrendous experience for both Jack and Jill. Jack escaped death but he might not be so lucky the next time. He might kill himself if he were to play on the hill again. Therefore, I urge everyone to not play on a hill as it is very dangerous and you might be injured. The consequences are too serious to risk playing on a hill.

Blog - Writing Prompt #10 - Do we still need heroes?

       The world is now quite safe from terrorists and crimes. However, it does not mean that there are no crimes in the world. Posters show "Low crimes doesn't mean no crime." This showed that although there is little crime, there are still some crimes in the world, some of them hard to crack. Therefore, I think that heroes are still needed in the world. Heroes are better at tackling these crimes. With heroes, these "low crimes" will soon become "no crime". When this happens, although there are no crimes, heroes will still be needed to defend the world in case that people starts to commit crimes again. Therefore, it is important to have heroes to defend the world from evil acts.

Blog-Writing Prompt #8 - Most important or significant thing learnt so far from completing R&R Exercises

     I think that the most important thing learn so far from completing the Reading and Reasoning Exercise is that I learnt how to better understand "To Kill a Mockingbird". As the questions sometimes ask some questions that requires contextual knowledge. This will cause me to think back, and this sometimes allow me to know about what Ia m reading in "To Kill a Mockingbird". Such includes why Atticus tells his children that he would not be able to "hold his head up" and tell Jem and Scout what to do if he does not take up Tom Robinson's case. After reading the passage and reading the page on "To Kill a Mockingbird", I understood why. Therefore, I think that the Reading and Reasoning Exercise helped me in understanding "To Kill a Mockingbird".

In-Class online lesson - UBIQ

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Step 4:

       A topic I am interested in - Xiangqi

    Website visited - http://www.clubxiangqi.com/rules/

     I feel that this source is credible and accurate. In the website, it tells us the basic movement of the chess pieces, and this is shown in the wiki page, under the subtitle "Play". Both states the same thing, that the "advisers" move only one space at a time diagonally, and that the "elephants" move two spaces at a time diagonally. Also, both tells us why a certain piece cannot move under the circumstances, such as a "horse" cannot move if there is a piece next to the horse in the horizontal (vertical) direction. This is because the horse is 'blocked' and thus, the move is not allowed.

     However, a difference between the two websites is that the wiki had included the Indian name "king" for this piece was changed to "general"because the China's ruler objected to their royal title "king" or "emperor" being given to a game-piece. However, this information was not present in the source and the "general" was called a "king". This showed that the wiki page did not just take all the information from one source, but from other sources too, so that the wiki page can minimise error that the creator of the source could had made. This is a great way of giving information to us readers. 

Reflections:

   

    I had learnt that we need proper citation and we have to get our information from more than just one source. This is because the source might have some errors, such as the information changing over time, and human errors during the creation of the source. Also, we need to be careful in looking for our source. If we do not do so, we might end up with  misinformation. This shows that information on the Internet might not be the best, and it is sometimes necessary for us to grab a reference book from the library or bookshop, since books are great ways to gain information.  

Blog Prompt #5 - News story read last week or this week

   A recent news that I read was about the Japan Earthquake, which measured to 9.0. This largest earthquake struck Japan on Friday, 11 March. According to the news, the hypocenter of the earthquake was located about 130km off the Pacific coast of Tohoku region, from Iwate to Ibaraki Prefectures.

   I think that the story reported was quite effective, as it contained specific content, such as the earthquake raising from 8.9 magnitude to 9.0. However, the content, although specific, was quite insufficient for me. I wanted to know how long it will take - estimated, for the cities affected to be rebuilt. Also, I wanted to know which are the countries affected by the earthquake and how severe it was in these different cities. 

   Therefore, in conclusion, I feel that the story is quite effective in drawing people's attention, but is not specific enough to let readers know the story.

http://hken.ibtimes.com/articles/122096/20110313/japan-earthquake.htm