Book name: Treading on Dreams : Stories of Ireland ( Retold by Clare West )


1.new words learnt:
(1)   aubergine - a long vegetable with dark purple skin
(2)   billiard room - a place where people plays billiards (using long sticks to hit the balls against each other and into pockets at the edge of a long table )
(3)   blush - to become red in the face
(4)   bollocks - someone of bad charactors; also, a rude word meaning 'nonsense!'
(5)   breeches - short trousers fastened just below the knee
(6)   buckles - pieces of metal used for fastening shoes
(7)   dartboard - a round board with numbers on it, used in the game of darts; the bulls-eye is the centre of the dartboard
(8)   drag - to pull something along with difficult
(9)   eejit - Irish English, an idiot, a very stupid person
(10) exaggerate - to make something seem larger, better, worse, or more important that it really is
(11) eyelids - the pieces of skin that move to cover your eyes
(12) fiddle - a stringed musical instrument usually called a violin
(13) the Garden of Eden - (in the Bible) the beautiful garden where Adam and Eve lived; a place of happiness and innocence
(14) giggle - to laugh in a silly way
(15) gin - a strong, colourless alcoholic drink
(16) guilty party - (in a divorce) the person who takes the blame for breaking up the marriage
(17) interrupt - to say or do something that makes somebody stop what they are saying or doing
(18) missus - used when speaking to a women
(19) Oedipus complex - a boy's feeling of love for his mother and of jealousy towards his father
(20) pawn - to leave an object with a person who lends money because of this (the object is given back if the money is repaid)
(21) pillar - a stone column that supports a wall
(21) raffle - the sale of numbered tickets, one of which wins a price
(22) reel - a fast Irish, Scottish, or American dance, foe two or four couples
(23) sober - not drunk, not affected by alcohol


2.about this book:
On the windswept west coast of Ireland a boy and his grandmother welcome a stranger; in a Dublin bar two man dicuss a women. A mother struggles to live the pain of a child dead; a failed musician drowns his sorrows in whiskey in New York. Then there is the fisherman who caught no fish; a small boy who get cross with his father; and a girl with long black hair, cycling down the mountain road to her first party, with hope in her heart. And the wish in all their hearts might be, in the words of the poet W.B. Yeats, 'Tread softly because you tread on my dreams'.


3.my comments:
This is a story from Ireland. Irish writter have long been famous for short stories and there is a rich variety in this volume. This book talks about treading on dreams, there are many people in this world that had dream, even though it is not important. I belive that every people in this world have dream. This is very important to have a dream on yourself. This is a very intresting and good book. People who have dream should read this book so you will know how to treading on yous and other peoples dream. There are also some exercise for us to do before and after reading. This will make us know and understant what the writter wanted to tell us trought the story more easilly.

Book name : The Red Pony (written by John Steinbeck , retold by Nancy Taylor)


1.new words learnt :
(1)bunk house
(2)poch
(3)edges
(4)saddle
(5)schoolhouse
(6)crypress


2.about this book....
The Red Pony tells the story of a young boy name Jody Tiflin, who growing up on a small ranch in California early in the twentieth century. Jody knows very little about the world outside his valley, but he dreams of something more something out there.
   In four stories in The Red Pony, Steinback shows Jody as a thoughtful , lonely boy. He doesn't have any brothers or sisters, and there are no neighbors close to the family ranch. Jody is often alone.
   Jody watches people and listens to their conversations, and he begins to grow up. He loves the people around him very much, but he doesn't always understand the things that they do. He thinks about what is right and wrong and learns some difficult lessons about life and death, about families and about getting old.
   Jody also feels strongly about animals and the natural around him. His love for the red pony, Gabilan, changes his life completely. The grat mountains also excite and scare Jody. Ther are almost alive to him. He becomes wiser, but also sadder, as he tries to understand some of mysteries os life.


3.my comments & though:
This book are very intresting and easy to read. It also have very good introduce of this book and its auther.  So, we can know what what the auther wanted to tell us and know the story more well. This book also have some excercise at the last of the book. This is another way to let us know the story book more well. T think I will  introduce this book to my class becuse it is suitable to us!!! 

Book name: The Meaning of Gifts : Stories from Turkey (written byTricia Hedge ,retold b Jennifer Bassett )


1.new words learnt :
(1)  blond - a very light yellow colour
(2)  bury - to put a dead person in the ground
(3)  chador - a long garment worn onver the head and body by muslim women when they go outside
(4)  colourless - without colour or (in this story) showing no feeling
(5)  Efendi - a polite Turkish word when you speak to a man
(6)  grave - a hole in the ground for a dead person
(7)  hose - somebody who has guest in their house
(8)  imambayildi - a cooked vegetable dish of aubergine ,onions ,and tomatoes
(9)  mate -  an animal or bird that is the 'husband' or 'wife' of another
(10)measles - an illness with small red sports on the skin
(11)parchment - a special kind of 'paper' made from animal skins
(12)raki - a strong alcoholicin Turkey
(13)religious - believing in God and doing the right things for your religion
(14)symbol - something which is a sign or mark for another thing
(15)strange - unusual or suprising ;that you don't know
(16)heart - your heart pushes the blood round your body
(17)imagine - to have some picture in your head
(18)government - th e people who control a country or a city
(19)frozen - (adj) : very , very cold and hard like ice
(20)forgive - to show that you are not angry with someone any more

2.about this book....
Life is full of things that make you smile ,and things to make you cry. And they are all here in these stories. In the first story, we see how difficult it is, in a small house, to have guests who stay a long time.......
Then we meet Guldiken, who is telling his mother about his day at school, but how can she understand? City life is very different from life in village......In the next story, Unal must stay in bed because he has meales, but across the road is a wonderful toy shop.....And when the little hunters at the lake shoot their first bird, they are very excited - until they learn what kind of bird it is........

3.my comment & thought.....
This is a very good and meaningful book. It tells us the meaning of gifts and let us know that, how the other people they treat their life. There are also some excercise at the back of the book. This could let us understand and know what the writter wanted to tell us through the story more easily. The vocabulary that used in this book is also very easy, we can study and understand it easily. 

Foon Yew High School JB
Senior Middle One
1st Half Year Unified Test 2
13th April 2011

A.     Comprehension (20%)
        (5 Subjective Questions)

B.     Vocabulary (20%)
        (Top 1 Standard: Unit 3 --pg32&33)

C.     Literature Component (20%)
        (Poem: 'He Had Such Quiet Eyes' -- 5 True/False Statements
                                                              5 Subjective Questions)

D.     Verb Forms (10%)
         1. The Simple: Past, Present, Future (Active & Passive)
          2. The Continuous: Past, Present, Future (Active & Passive)
          3. The Prefect: Past, Present
          4. The Perfect Continuous: Past, Present
          5. The Conditionals
          6. Gerund
          7. The Infinitives: Bare, To-infinitive

E.     Formation of Words (10%)
        Practice Session 5 & 7

F.     Rewriting Sentences (10%)
        Exercise B

G.     Grammar (10%)
          1. Countable and Uncountable Nouns (Top 1: pg16-17)
          2. Prepositions (Top 1: pg61-62)
          3. Subject and Verb Agreement

A wonderful trip

I had a wonderful trip to Beijing with my family at the holiday that has just passed. We went there for eight days.We had many beautiful memory in this trip, but my frien had lost her camera in this trip. She was very sad because there are a lot of picture inside. I also left my wallet in the hotel. So, my parents scolded me and wanted me to be more careful next time.

We had go many place in Beijing such as summer palace, the Place, great wall and many more. There are many his to ry there. Haha, it is very intresting. I think I will want to go there for one more time.



2008 Olympic held in - Olympic Bird's Nest Stadium






A place that the empror pray in the past



 This is the day we go off to Beijing, in Changi Airport

My Teacher

           There are many teachers that help me in my lives before. Most of them are very strict but also very kind. They always help their students when we are in difficult. Teacher is described as a candle, they burned themselves to brighten students’ lives.

          The teacher that I remembered and  admired the most is my Junior Middle Three form teacher. She is the best teacher I have seen. She was very strict to us and wanted us to do everything perfectly. Until now, only I knew that she treated us so strict is to make sure that all od us have good attitude.

          Althought she was very fierce when she was teaching, but she also could  play with us happily after class. Sha gave us a lot of good advice and take care of us a lot. She will put all her effort to help us when we have difficult. We have learned many things and moral value under her taughts.  

          She also helped our class to cook delicious food in the school anneversery. Junior Middle Three is the most beautiful and best memory in my life because of her.All the students in our class became more union is also because of her. She gave that whole class a good memory because she had a lot of activities with us.

          I think I will not forget such a good teacher. She is the one who let me become more responsible .

1. imperative : (n) - of the nature of or expressing a command
    e.g. :It is an imperative that we help defend friendly nations.

2. tosses : (v) - to speak or express in a sudden offhand manner
    e.g. :He tossed jokes into their serious discussion.

3. exhilaration : (n) - to make cheerful or merry ,happiness and excitement
    e.g. :Free-wheeling down a hill on a bycicle exhilarates me!

4. conducting : (v) - the act of conducting; guidance

    e.g. :The curator's conduct through the museum was informative.

5. attachment : (n) - something attached, as a document added to a letter.
    e.g. :A small geometric or floral pattern produced by this attachment.

6. enclosure : (n) - closed-up area ,something that is enclosed, as a paper sent in a letter
    e.g. :A wild life in enclosured

7. scrutinising : (v) - a close and searching look.
    e.g. :She leaned forward to scruntinize their faces.

8. crucial : (n) - of the form of a cross, momentous, vital, essential, significant.
    e.g. :The next few weeks are going to be crucial.

9.disabilities : (n) - a physical or mental handicap
   e.g. :He qualifies for help on the grounds of disability.

10. dyslexic : (adj) - a person which has any of various reading disorders associated with impairment of the
                               ability to interpret spatial relationships or to integrate auditory and visual information.
      e.g. :She writes courses for dyslexics.

11. burdened : (v) - that which is carried; load
      e.g. :This difficult problem had burdened her for few years already.

12.endeavours : (n) - efforts ,to exert oneself to do or effect something
     e.g. :We must constantly endeavor if we are to succeed.

13.fidgety : (adj) - restless; impatient; uneasy ,unable to remail still or quiet
    e.g. :The children get fidgety if they have nothing to do.

14. imparting : (adj) - to make known; tell; relate; disclose ,giving
      e.g. :Imparting your pleasure and enthusiasm for the stories you share will go a long way toward
              making your grandkids readers for life.

15.threatened : (v) - to offer (a punishment, injury, etc.) by way of a threat
     e.g. :He threatened the boy with a beating.

16. suicide : (adv) - the intentional taking of one's own life
      e.g. :He was trying to commit suicide.

17. run-in : (pv) - a quarrel; argument
      e.g. :He had just a run-in with his father.

18. counsel : (n) - advice; opinion or instruction given in directing the judgment or conduct of another
      e.g. :He counseled patience during the crisis.

19 .implore : (v) - beg urgently or piteously, as for aid or mercy , beg
     e.g. :They old mother is imploring her son not to leave her alone.

20. pursuing : (v) - to carry on or continue
      e.g. :Police pursued the car at high speed.

Book Name : OUCH! (written by Steve Cole)


1.new words learnt :
ragged               windmilling
sprawling           hinged
applause            stuntman
led                     mayhem
typically              
ransacking
gleefully
widened
   
                                                          
2.idionmatic & expressive sentences/expressions:
(i) Sam Innocent laughed and led the class in a ragged round of applause.
(ii) His arms started windmilling as the chair toppled backwards and he fell sprawling into the tower of textbooks.
(iii) Slowly , stealthily , Sam led Fido through a flower bed towards Steen's classroom.
(iv) He felt a bit like a commando--albeit a slightly rubbish commando with no special skilla who didn't have a clue how he would complete his mission.
(v) Still rubbing at the cramp in his arms and legs and plucking at the seat of his trousers , he was in a right mood.
(vi) Sam reckoned they should go out to the crash mats and face up to whoever had left the threatening notes.
(vii) Suddenly she turned and bolted for the back of the drama studio in a blind panic.
(viii) So blind , in fact , that she didn't seem to see that her pupils were in her path!


3.my comments & though:

 This book is suitable for student that not very good in English . The vocabulary in this book are not very hard , and i understand it easily . The story of this book is so intresting and i am very like it . I will introduce it to my friend , and I think they will like it . I also learnt a lot of new words and beautiful sentences from this book . I hope that i could find more good books from our school library and read it to improve my English.