FREE WRITING ACTIVITY

 

I am now sitting in front of a Mac computer, typing away on the keyboard as I ponder about what to write for my english activity.

 

Unable to think of an interesting yet memorable topic, I turn my thoughts towards the June holiday that had ended only just too soon. My recollections of that period are mostly those that include me seated in front of a desk in class, while my subject teacher drones on and on, speaking to himself and forgetting about us as he gets increasingly excited about a certain science formula. He scribbles unintelligible writing on the whiteboard with light blue ink that can barely be seen, and the marker that he uses screeches against the plastic board, perhaps screaming for help.

 

Certain that he would not notice me, I decided that perhaps my time should instead be devoted to recharging my brain cells, and put my head on the desk. It barely seemed a minute when suddenly, I noticed that something was wrong. Something... seemed to be missing.

 

Oh dear, where was the sound of the screeching marker?

 

I felt something looming over me, and I could feel its hot, smelly breath on my neck.

With a shriek, I sat up straight, and realised...

 

 

I had just been caught sleeping.

 

 

Comments:

 

I really enjoyed your captivating piece of writing. - Camarine

 

Yes, me too. It is a good piece of writing - engaging and humourous. Note your tenses though - you are skipping from one to another - Mr B Tan

 

 

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Homework

 

Courting Claudia

 

By Robyn DeHart

 

Taken from page 13

 

 

Claudia climbed into the carriage and released the breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. Gracious. Poppy had said she'd heard that Mr. Middleton was a dashing man. But good heavens. Dashing - that word seemed lackluster now that she'd met him. His presence was nothing short of mesmerizing.

 

 

Honestly. Thank goodness no one could hear her thoughts lest they think her straight from the schoolroom. Mr. Middleton was certainly handsome, sinfully handsome, but she had seen handsome men before.

 

 

Then again, his looks went beyond handsome. He wore his dark drown hair too long and had to keep pushing it out of his face. It gave him the look of a privateer. No, he would definitely be a pirate, not a privateer. His smile was easy, yet not one of great humor but more of secretive amusement - as if he alone knew the surprise of the joke.

 

 

But it was his eyes, Claudia decided, that made him so dashing. So brown they appeared black, framed with arching eyebrows that reflected his intelligence. Unlike most gentlemen, he had looked at her, really looked at her, eye to eye. Not terribly well-mannered, considering that they had just met, but necessary under the circumstances. And it had made her feel alive, noticed, important. As if he'd really seen her.

 

 

 

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Title: Running away

 

Introduction :

 

There was the sound again.

 

It sounded like a beeping that one would hear from a monitor in a hospital. It continued steadily, unchanging, as it measured the rate of her heartbeats. Michelle struggled to open her eyes; her eyelids fluttered a while before she managed to open them to look at her surroundings. The strength in the limbs came back slowly to her, and she pushed herself to sit upright. She surveyed the stark white surroundings with her eyes, and grimaced at the bolt of pain that shot through her as she jerked her head sharply when the door on the far right of the room opened.

 

Her brother walked in, a sad and sorry sight as the signs of too many sleepless nights showed their toll on him. "You're up, I see." He gave her a tight smile, and then put a tray of food on the bedside table. "Want something to eat?" He asked, and she shook her head. He nodded as if understanding her loss of appetite, and sat down on the side of the bed.

 

He reached out and held her hand, staring at it while he tried to join the words that would create a devastating sentence to his little sister. Sebastian held her hand a little longer, and then finally looked up with reluctance. He didn't want to be the one to break the news to her, but it had to be done.

 

 

"Michelle.." He paused for a while, wishing to prolong the news that would undoubtedly make her hazel brown eyes turn red.

 

"Yes...? Brother?" She looked so innocent, so trusting, and yet..

 

"Do you remember what happened during the crash?"

 

In less than a heartbeat, her eyes glazed over as though she was watching a replay of that day three weeks ago, hearing the laughter of her sister as they played catch together. She saw her father and mother sitting under the tree, watching them play in the park. The picnic basket that Maria had filled to the brim was beside them, and inside, there was a pink cake topped with red chocolate hearts.

 

It was her birthday today, and Father called out to her. She skipped her way over to the picnic mat, and sat down, folding her legs Indian style. For a split fraction, she remembered her brother and wished that he was here too, instead of serving the national service in some camp. Her father tenderly patted her head, and then as he passed her a velvet box, she forgot all about Sebastian as she felt her heart bubble with joy. She quickly opened it, and inside there was a golden heart-shaped locket. Michelle opened the locket, and saw the picture her family had taken just a few months ago. She grinned happily at the sight of the wide smiles from the subjects in the picture, and turned to her father to hug him in thanks. He enveloped her in a big bear hug, and she snuggled against his shirt, feeling safe and warm in the bosom of her family.

 

It was just after dark when they had finally decided to leave the park. Michelle was impatient; her favorite chinese drama was about to start and she wanted to reach home quickly so that she wouldn't miss it. She ran quickly to the car, her arms folded in irritation as she waited for them to catch up. Her parents chatted happily as they went along a pebbled path to the car park and got into the car. Her father reversed the car from the lot, and off they went.

 

The journey had been uneventful except for the occasional impatient request from Michelle to ask her father to hurry. It was only until they had reached the highway when things started to go wrong. It started to rain then, and the darkness of the night seemed to enclose the car in its grip despite the flashlights in the front of the car.

 

"Daddy, hurry up, I don't want to miss it." She grumbled yet again. The car accelerated and it was too late when her father noticed the truck hiding round the corner. With a slam on the brake in a desperate attempt not to hit the truck, the car screeched and swiveled as it rotated on the slippery road and then, smashed into a huge oak tree on the outskirts of a forest. Glass shattered and the engine hissed, a spiteful sound as though it had planned it. As the flash lights slowly faded away, the night fell around the wreckage like a black cloak.

 

Michelle moaned as she felt something wet trickle down the side of her head. She tried to lift her hand to wipe it away, but strangely, she felt weak, as though she had no strength. She panicked, remembering her family members were also in the car. She turned her head as much as she could before it hurt, and cried out in horror. Fear lent her strength, and she somehow managed to free herself from the seat belts with her trembling fingers. She reached her hand out to touch the blood that was steadily flowing from the gash in her sister's head. She jerked her head to look at her mother; it was the same with her as well and somehow, she knew that it would too, be the same with her father. By some twisted strand of fate, she had managed to survive the crash.

 

The horrifying finality that her family was gone, dead, leaving her alone crashed down on her, suffocating her as she struggled to breathe. She gasped for breath as the tears that glazed over her eyes threatened to erupt. But first, she knew she had to get out of here. In the movies, there would always be an explosion after a crash. Her family was dead, and the overwhelming pain she felt made her want to die with them too. But she was too afraid. Too afraid of the death that will bring her relief. She didn't have the courage to join them and she only knew she wanted to run. Run away from the awful explosion that would occur all too soon and cremate her family in their cold, metal coffin.

 

Michelle grasped the door handle and pushed open the door. Only her fear of death kept her up, as she stumbled half consciously through the trees, gazing all the time at the highway that might just keep her from Death's grip. She pushed on, desperately trying to run away as quickly as she could. Just a few more steps, she thought to herself, just a few more steps, Michelle. As she finally reached the highway, she collapsed on the rough ground as the explosion occurred, a deep boom reverberating throughout the forest. She looked at the top of the forests and saw a huge mushroom cloud rising above where the car had exploded. The tears finally made their way down her face, and as she slowly drifted into unconsciousness, she berated herself for running away, leaving her family alone with their fiery grave...

 

 

She came back to reality as her brother gently shook her out of her reverie. Tears were streaming down her face as she clutched to him for support. Her face contorted with raw emotion as she choked out the words that followed.

 

"Sebas.. It was.. It was all my fault and yet.. I ran away.. I should have died with them.. I ran away.."

 

 

Comments :

 

Very interesting so far and well-written. Now please complete your plan, which seems like an essay now, not that I mind.

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Note to self and readers:

I changed the plot halfway, keeping the part about the birthday and changed the story to a car crash instead of a retarded romance novel idea I had at first. >< Finally, as the last paragrahs were finished, I changed the first para to a hospital scene; a girl who had been injured in a crash didn't just appear in a dirty room out of nowhere. Where's the logic? Where's the healing? Then I edited the small parts to make it seem all fitting, and hopefully, you will enjoy this story.

 

If you are the type of sick people who takes joy in unhappiness, please watch this nice video on tragedy. It's my favourite song, and really, the simmified version is not bad either. ^_^

 

Here you go with,

 

When You're Gone (original version):

 

 

 

When You're Gone (simmified version):

 

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November 2003 Paper Two

 

Summary points:

 

China - sucessful?

-Simple metal coins

-(strung together thru hole)

-Recognised shape and design -

-Banknotes under authority of state, useful -

-Value equal to metal coins, but lighter

-Increase in trade, (use of coins flourished)

-Convienient -

 

Other countries

-Gold and silver mined, big quantity, thus high value -

-Its value was high -(reputation as money)

-People wanted it

-Successful trades because of it -

-(production in leading cities in eastern Europe)

 

cheap imitations, scrape off valuable metal

govts forced to melt and reissue cheaper/inferior)

but, value still guaranteed by govt

 

 

Current

-Foundations laid by Chinese and Europeans

-Use cheap metal coins and banknotes

-Cheap metal, not so expensive

-Official guarantee, official mark on it

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November 2004 Essay TYS

 

Question: Describe one of the large shopping malls in Singapore. Why does it attract so many customers?

 

Plan:

shopping mall - Causeway point

levels- 7

facilities- two food courts, 5th level and 7th level, many fast food centers like McDonalds, KFC, Yoshinoya, etc

movie, arcade, Popular, 2 music cd shops, Cold Storage-> big chain

restaurants->Sakae Sushi, oishi Jack's Place, Swensons

Shopping-> JohnLittle, Metro, small carts selling accessories.... etc...

normal weekday-> quite a number of people, mostly students, schools nearby, why there->it's directly next to MRT, bus interchange, accessible

busy weekend->crowds fill place to bursting point, normally JohnLittle bargains on sale, etc, people jostle one another, etc, restaurants all booked

why attract-> accessiblity, many HDBs around it, library also near it, design of escalators simple, so easy to get around, etc

 

 

Essay:

 

Set against a blue sky, a creamy white building stands out against the rest of the other high-rise buildings, like an oasis in a desert. Big blue words had been painted on the fifth level of the builiding, exclaiming the words, Causeway Point to commuters seated in the MRT, passing by it in a flash. Some of the commuters have gotten out of the train, and are now passing by the electronic ticket gate where they tap their EZ-link card on a reciever, and walk towards the entrance of Causeway Point, which is but a stone's throw away.

 

The entrance is guarded by two automatic sliding glass doors that are able to detect people walking towards it. Thousands of people stream through these doors daily, in search of entertainment, food, or shopping. At this moment, the majority of the crowds are secondary school students, who normally hang out at the major fast food chains like McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and MOS Burger; with housewives and maids doing their grocery shopping, forming part of the minority. The students will usually head straight for basement one, where these fast food chains are located at to grab a bite to eat, while others would go instead to a small CD shop located on the same level. They flick their eyes through the CDs, looking for something interesting to catch their eye. Some will be disappointed, while others wear a big grin as they pay for their cheap finds with their limited budget.

 

On this same level is also a major supermarket, Cold Storage. The housewives will bustle through the shopping aisles with a trolley and their shopping list in hand, as they search for their groceries, confident in the knowledge that Cold Storage will always deliver the best price to them. When they finish their shopping, they hurry over to the cashier, quickly changing queues when they see that the other one will allow them to pay for their items more quickly.

 

Situated next to Cold Storage is a Japanese restaurant, Ooishi. Although it is late in the afternoon on a weekday, the restaurant is rather packed with customers as they enjoy their bowl of hot soba noodles, which it is famed for. However, this is not the only Japanese restaurant in Causeway Point. Right at the top on the seventh level is Sakae Sushi, where it is more famed for its revolving trays of sushi plates, where customers can just pick any one of their choice and pay only a low price of $1.90.

 

The seventh level is also a favourite haunt for the many students in the neighbourhood; it houses Cathay Cineplex and often screens many of the blockbuster movies at a price lower than other cineplexes. Not only that, it also has a food court next to it. Inside the food court, there is a wide variety of food stalls, and many people often go to the food court to eat because it has great quality food that can be obtained for a low price.

 

Just one escalator down from the food court is the arcade, TimeMax. In the morning, it is rather quiet as most of their patrons, school students, are in school at the moment. As the day wears on, students will stream in from the two exits and go for the shooting or racing games. The boys will normally be seen around the "macho" games like Initial D or Time Crisis 4, while the girls will be playing the simpler but catchier games like Para Para, or Dance Mania!.

 

All these shops and facilities make Causeway Point a great place to be at; not to mention the fact that getting around the mall is easy, unlike other shopping malls, where they complicate the process of getting to the next level by adding useless artistic decorations. It is also easy to get to, being the regional bus interchange for Woodlands, and having a MRT station right at its doorstep. To make things seem even more wonderful, the regional library is just round the corner, and is a convienient getaway for many people who prefer quiet to activity. In the vicinity are three secondary schools, a polytechnic, a junior college, and a sports school! It is no wonder, then, that Causeway Point is such a popular place to meet up or be at; it is the iconic trademark of Woodlands that Singaporeans living in the area have recognised.

 

 

 

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Question 4.

Choosing a career is one of the most important decisions to made in life. What factors will affect your decision?

 

Choosing a career, is indeed one of the most important decisions to make in life as it may be a profession for lifetime. I believe there are several factors that will affect our choice. Mainly, they are: Interests, leadership and personality. It is important to choose a job that is suited to us, so as to avoid unhapiness later on in life.

 

When we choose a career, it is often said that for us to truly enjoy our work, it would be best if we chose one that works well with our interests. For example, if your interest is in music, a career in the music industry would be better as it is something that you are able to relate to. Or, for example, if you are interested in languages, becoming a translator in the future may be part of your career choices. The reason why we should choose something that interests us is such that we do not end up unhappy in ten to twenty years time, when we go to work just for the sake of it.

 

Leadership is another factor that we should consider. Do you see yourself working at the top of the ladder? Or do you prefer to work under someone else's instruction, prefering to do as it is ordered? If you see yourself leading your staff, your choice of career may be a manager or a department head, or, if you have a big ambition, the chief executive officer. However, if you prefer to work under instructions, your choice may be a normal staff worker, much lower at the ladder of success, but easier for you as you will not have responsibility.

 

I believe personality is also another factor that affects our decision. For a person who has a bubbling, creative personality, working in a by-the-rules company will make him/her unhappy as he/she is unable to let their true personality show. Instead, in that type of situation, their personality is suppressed, and they will be very unhappy. However, for a person who prefers to have a situation that does not change, working in a by-the-rules company will make them feel safe as they know there is not much changes.

 

 

All of these factors will allow us to choose a job that will make us happy, and will minimise the risk of regretting your choice in the future.

 

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Xin Min Secondary School Prelim Paper 2

 

1a.

It tells us that the rowers were using all of their strength to row the boat forward. (OK. Make it a good answer by adding the "why".)

 

1b.

The sunlight reflected off the surface of the ocean caused discomfort to their eyes, and they squinted to protect their eyes. (Right answer but SS)

 

1c.

The author wrote that the villagers were bobbing and weaving in the sand because they were extremely excited and they all wanted the best view to see the finish, so they were pushing one another. (Right answer but again SS)

 

2.

By having a judge from both of the village(s), disagreements can arise extremely quickly when there is a tie as both will support and declare their own village the winner. (Yes, so far you're the only one who got this right. Well done.)

 

3.

The consequences were that the two judges started quarrelling with one another and the two teams started fighting. (Right)

 

4a. ???

 

 

4b.

The whirlwind of sand was created when the elderly gentleman used the eku to throw sand at the rowers. (Partly correct - but does throwing sand cause a "whirlwind"? What image comes to mind?)

 

4c.

The centre of the fight was constantly changing and the gentleman could easily slip in as one of the brawlers. (Not quite right. Try again)

 

4d.

He used the eku to throw sand into the eyes and mouth of the fighters and this immediately stopped the fight as the sand in their eyes and mouth were extremely uncomfortable. (OK)

 

4e.

He could have used the wooden eku to injure and punish them, but he chose instead to throw sand at them, and it effectively stopped the fight just like the other method that would have done the same. (No. Try again)

 

5.

The eku caused a imprint in the sand as the older gentleman pressed it into the sand and is a symbolic action as it showed that it could hurt someone if needed to. It is trying to say that although practitioners of martial arts had the power and ability to injure and harm people, but should instead choose a more peaceful way.

 

6.

Martial artistes believe that the difference between martial arts and martial sports is the fact that martial artistes supposedly train for real life situations so that they will be able to deal with it, unlike martial sports which they believe is like a game with no usefulness and is ineffective(So what does martial sport do?)

 

7a.

Two ways martial arts students practise to avoid hurting one another is to pull their techniques before

 

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CHIJ TP Prelim Paper 2 2007

 

1.

The two surfaces were the walls of caves and beaten mulberry bark.

 

2.

Real paper was much cheaper to make and easier to mass produce comp

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