June Holidays Book Review 1

My book review 1 is about an adventure book called The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. In this book, there is a main character named Tom Sawyer. There are many incidents inside the book which most of them, Tom is up to mischief. There was once in this story Tom's aunt wanted him to paint a fence. He was there painting but soon got bored. Then, a few of Tom's friends saw him painting the fence and they were very curious so they decided to try it out. In the end, cunning Tom was sitting there, resting and waiting for his job to be done, getting lots of items traded from his friends just for painting the fence. After that, when Tom's aunt went to see how Tom was doing but was very surprised when she saw the fence painted beautifully and completely. Then, she rewarded Tom a big apple for the work done. This incident shows that Tom is actually a very smart boy and quick thinking. He knows how to turn disadvantages around into advantages. Another incident was when Tom and two of his friends, Joe and Huck, went to camping. But they left without telling their parents and aunts. In the end, their families got very worried and still after a week, there were no news of them. Eventually, they gave up looking and planned for their funerals. Tom heard the news when crept home silently so he went to tell his friends the surprise. They got very excited and waited for the day which they will be attending their own funerals. This incident once again shows Tom's mischievious acts. I realised that some funny and horror incidents in this book are components which made the book interesting.

HBL Task 2

Rainbow DeathAmerica did not foreseeGreen, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!Expecting others to pay a high price.Now thinking twice?Toll on the innocent and unborn.Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.All the deceit continues to spread.Nefariously America led astray -Generations untold WILL pay -Execrable effects of agent orange spray!Point of view: This poem is written by Hubert Wilson, who was actually a Vietnam War veteran. He was greatly involved in this war and completely disapprove of this gruesome war. But in the end, through tough battling in the war, he finally manage to see the horrors of having a war.Situation and Setting: The situation was very serious and uncontrollable back then as many soldiers including allies were killed innocently due to Agent Orange. This was unexpected and something that America did not manage to foresee. However, the situation worsen when America wanted to make the enemies pay but they do not know that what they are doing are actually wrong. This will only kill more innocent people. There will be more revenge to be taken and more sufferings going on but many more are going to die because of the excreable effects of Agent Orange. Language and Diction: Hubert Wilson used many solemn words such as deceit, nefariously, mourn to enhance the mood of the poem by making the poem sound more sad and solemn. This is to let the readers have an emphathy towards the innocent soldiers who have lost their lives in the war and disapprove what America has actually done.Personal Response: I feel that wars are cruel. Wars take away lives  and make people homeless. War caused unccessary bloodshed. From this poem, I learnt a lot about modern warfare and how technology have improved over the years such as Agent Orange but this unexpected warfare is going to take away lives when used in the war. Thus, I feel that everyone should live peacefully instead of having fights and wars to disrupt the peace.

HBL Task 1

Poem Analysis of Rainbow Death:
Background: This small poem is about a modern day ingredient of warfare that has caused appalling death and suffering – not only to its intended victims, the Vietnamese people, but also the service personnel that used or even just came into contact with “Agent Orange”. In fact, it is everyone that is involved in the war that get infected.

Wikipedia reports, “Agent Orange is the code name for a herbicide and defoliant—contaminated with TCDD—used by the U.S. military in its Herbicidal Warfare program during the Vietnam War.

According to Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange, resulting in 400,000 deaths and disabilities, and 500,000 children born with birth defects. This is a very serious matter and it is explained in "Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead" in the poem.

From 1962 to 1971, Agent Orange was by far the most widely used of the so-called "Rainbow Herbicides" employed in the herbicidal warfare program. During the production of Agent Orange (as well as Agents Purple, Pink, and Green) dioxins were produced as a contaminant, which have caused numerous health problems for the millions of people who have been exposed.

Sources: http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/2010warpoetry.html

War - A Personal Response

War – A Personal Response

This war will never end. Most of the soldiers have sacrificed their lives in this war. Bullets from guns were all around the place. The rattling of the machine guns was audible in every minute. Soldiers were focused on the war in order to win and defeat the enemies that were killing their friends. Dead and injured bodies were all over the ground. Guns were also lying around on the ground. Bombs were occasionally heard. This was an unbearable sight. Two soldiers were attending to another soldier that was lying on the ground.

He was bleeding profusely but still semi-conscious. He was right in front of a detached house but the house was destroyed in the battle. The injured soldier was moaning and whining for help. It was a painful one but he felt that it was right to serve and sacrifice his life for the country. One of the soldiers was shocked to see his friend to be in this state. He rushed over with pieces of paper to try to stop the bleeding. The other soldier was keeping a lookout to ensure there were no enemies up ahead.

The soldier tried to be meticulous in bandaging the wound so as to minimize the pain of the injured soldier. Bright red blood gushed out from his nose and trickled down his face. It was also a very solemn sight to see the injured soldier in this terrible state. But in wars, deaths are definitely inevitable.

Recipe to making banana split sundae

How to make a banana split sundae

Making a banana split sundae is not as difficult as you think. You will need of course, a ripe banana, if you want it to be nice. You will also need good quality ice cream and the flavours do not matter. Here are some suggested toppings: two to three tablespoons of raspberry toppings, caramel or hot fudge sauce. You may need some lightly sweetened cream, chocolate sprinkles and also a cherry or two. Now, you are able to start making your banana split sundae!

Firstly, rinse and dry your banana before you proceed into peeling it. Split the banana into half. Then, place them in each side of the serving bowl. After that, place three scoops in a row, between the banana halves. You may top each scoop of ice cream with your toppings.

Next, you will need to garnish your banana split with the lightly sweetened cream so that it will taste sweet. However, you are recommended not to put too much cream over the toppings as you will cover the pretty effects of the toppings. After that, sprinkle the chocolate sprinkles onto the cream. Then, you may choose to top the ice cream with the cherry or two. Then, your banana split sundae is completed! Now, you can serve immediately!

Informal letter of encouragement to Japan

BLK 57 Compassvale Bow,

The Quartz,

#10-14 S(123456)

30 March 2011

  Dear Mr Nick Jones,

                                      I am Darryl Ling from Hwa Chong Institution in Singapore. I have read the events and news about the Japan earthquakes and tsunami for the past few days. I happened to read through your article and I was touched by your speeches.

  I really sympathise with the incidents that happened in Japan. Our school has been collecting funds to help Japan and we are also trying our best to benefit the people of Japan to overcome these disaster crisis and economy crisis. I have learnt a lot of the damage that the disasters had done to the big city of Japan, the destruction of buildings, nuclear plants and reactors.

   I also know that the radiation levels are now Japan’s main concern. I heard that the radiation levels are still on the rise and could cause death. I am here to encourage you that the survival of Japan is not over yet. I believe that Japan could recover completely from these crises. Although many had lost their lives in the disasters, we should live in depression.

  We should be more optimistic about life instead of having negative thoughts. You should thankful and grateful for the fact that you and your family survive the Japan earthquakes and tsunami. I felt sorry for you and your family as the place you are living in is very dangerous and this forced you to move to other places. Nevertheless, we should always think positively, forget those unhappy memories in the past and look forward to the future.

Regards,

Darryl



Final draft of my short story

My short story

  ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.’ However, this boy was the complete opposite. The only thing that played on his mind were computer games. He did not even pay any attention to the teachers when in school. The only things that he would succeed in beside computer games were not handing in homework on time, infuriating the teacher and playing truant just to stay at home to play computer games. As a result, his results dropped terribly and he was perpetually punished by his parents.

  Soon, it was the Primary 6 mid-year examination. Even though the examination was just the day after, he did not prepare for the test and continued to play computer games. “Stop playing!” His mother’s loud voice echoed in the air. “Not again!” He thought to himself. He immediately slammed the door shut in his mother’s face and went back to his usual routine…

 It was the time to give out the report card. The report card was slowly placed on the boy’s table. He had prepared for the worst. And, his fear came true. On the report card, there was big and red ‘F’ word. But the unexpected thing was that his report card came with a slip of paper while the others did not. He carefully opened the slip of paper and was shocked to see the words ‘I want to see your mother or father today. Please bring him/her to my office.’ followed by the principal’s signature.

  After school, as usual his mother came to fetch him from school. He slowly walked to the gate, heart pounding rapidly. The question of whether to tell his mother or not, kept popping out in his mind. Once his mother saw his anxious face, he knew that something had happened. “Give me your report card.” His mother requested. The boy tried to act foolish and pretended nothing had happened. However his was shocked out of his mind when she said, “Now!”

  The report card with the paper was handed over. She paused for a while, looking at the trouble and mess that he had got himself into. She dragged the boy and proceeded to the principal’s. In the office, the mother pleaded to give him another chance. However, the principal seemed reluctant and said, “He will only bring down our school reputation. We don’t want notorious pupils.” She had no choice but to use the last resort. In front of her son and principal, she went down on her knees and pleaded pitifully. Still, the principal did not react.

  With the anger building inside, she gave a tight slap on his face in front of the principal. The principal was stunned to see this. He immediately said, “We can give him a chance.” As a result, the mother thanked the principal profusely. The boy knew that when they get home, he had to face up to the dine. From then on, the boy decided to turn over a new leaf and for the better.

  He worked very hard in the remaining few months and promised to himself that he would score better marks in the end of year examination, PSLE. Since then, he did not even touch the computer for one second. He did his homework on time and revised his notes whenever he went home. Time passed very quickly. It was the release of the PSLE results. It was the day that he could truly prove to everyone that he had really worked hard.

  The principal went up on the stage and announced the results. He paused before announcing the top scorer for the school. He told the school that this score and improvement was an unexpected one. Everyone, including the parents was anxious to know who the unexpected student was. The name was displayed on the screen. To the school’s surprise, the most familiar, notorious student went up onto the stage. There were chatters among the students, “Why… is he up there?” Everyone was astonished. The student who was previously infamous for playing truancy had managed to get the best result among the students.

  There was a moment of silence, and then followed by loud applause by the parents and students. The hard work had finally paid off. He had finally proved to everyone that he could overcome the obstacles. Now, he could finally reassure his parents that in the future, he will not repeat his past mistakes again.