水自流 » English

星期五 – Apr 23, 2010

玖伍贰柒 — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 16:15:44 +0000

鲁宾逊将他的土著同伴取名为星期五的原因是，估计没人能够想得到：只有星期五是以F开头的，作者是借此来代表鲁宾逊被困在荒岛上的愤怒和随之而来的无力感。有时候，事情就是这么简单。

回归正题。英语角已经重新开始，这个星期是第三次。由于需要参加S哥所在的周五羽毛球“进阶班”，只在第一次回到J&C家里，跟老朋友们一起讨论故事和听纯正的英文。虽然在狮城论坛上也发布了帖子，不过已经不像上次那样“招到”新朋友；尽管如此，还是可以维持小型的英语角。不排除没有及时更新和顶自己的帖子，以至于没有获得足够的关注。关于羽毛球，完全是个初学者，握球拍的手势也不对，然后击球的角度和力度也是业余水平。在休息间隙，朋友们很耐心的提醒注意事项和相关技巧，比如重心放到右脚，握球拍的手势跟握手时差不多，球拍的边缘方向对着自己，靠身体的侧向来利用整个肩膀的力量来击球，击球时前一瞬间用手腕用力去扣球等等。开始时，会觉得记住这些技巧会阻碍了灵活性，但得认真体会和消化到动作当中去，要不然，打下去仍然是业余入门级。

昨天在QQ上收到要注意酸雨的群发留言，狼来了喊多啦也就不会注意。而且，下意识的认为冰岛火山爆发的灰尘跟大陆相隔还是蛮远的，应该不会造成什么影响。刚才看到新闻写到要小心哗啦哗啦的酸雨，TLT说昨天下了很大雨，不过她也没有特别提到酸雨这个字眼。打完球，去勿洛坊那家星期五“固定”古早味餐馆吃饭时被告知他们将在这个周末结束营业，租金6500对他们来说太贵了，其实也就是国内普通大排档的规模，店铺已经给隔壁的生意超好的茶餐厅老板租下来。然后我该睡觉了。

注：其实，鲁宾逊从食人族手中救下这个土著的那天是星期五，因而给该土著人命名为「星期五」。看，事情真的很简单。

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后闻人上来 – Nov 05, 2009

玖伍贰柒 — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 13:17:46 +0000

“哎呀，冇睇到天气预报。” — 阿公

星期一晚上从Donna和Alvin手中接过Pentax K200D没有什么太多的感觉，因为是菜鸟还没有入门，因此跟我任何型号的也区别不出各自的功能。当时连要拍出第一张照片都困难，这个状况维持到当天睡觉。于是第二天就开始读手册，然后就知道那个转盘是做什么用的，光圈对焦感光度快门等等才有比较基础的认识，囧。所以就有了前两天的“先见楼梯响”。刚拿到的相机快门在8300+，不算新也不算旧的相机，据来自菲律宾的D和A说，是在家乡买的，不到一年的时间。随机没有什么附送，所谓随机附送的一排区区600mAh的电池还给一起来的充电器给充坏了，无语中。机身还是有些灰尘，看来并没有很好的保存。连手册和光盘也没有，给了个三脚架，而保修卡是“不知道塞到哪里去了，房间很乱”的情况，找到后会给我。所以550新币的价钱还是贵了一点点，但仍算合理，除了今天清理镜头是发现似乎上面有个点，怎么弄都不掉，还好有个UV镜，要不然在他俩的手上不敢想象。网上看了一通，发现三洋的eneloop 2000mAh充电器口爆碑不错，得，再要花几乎90新币才弄了个充电器和八个电池，比国内贵了一倍吧。

下面是清单：

- Pentax K200D
- Pentax K200D Kit Lens 18-55mm
- Pentax remote control
- Kengo UV filter
- Pentax Neck Strap
- Kingston 2GB SDHC
- USB Cable to PC + Cable to TV
- Pentax Bag
- Tripod
- 1 x Battery + Battery charger

选择宾得没有什么理由，自己不是哪一个牌子的死忠，差点买了Seb的Nikon D60，他说新手不妨试试宾得的K10D，所以才转到宾得，发现二手的价钱比较低，所以才淘到这款K200D。机子来的时候一开机就是有振动，询问过Farish后才知道这是自己除尘功能，他建议要默认开着，要不然到时候送去清理机身更加破费。遇到的这两位“机友”都不错，虽然没有见面。那句“要他破产，就让他玩单反”确实印证在我身上，现在在寻找18-200+的镜头，估计要等下个月粮出了才真正有点入手的可能性。现在水平的认知就是希望弄个“全焦段”的镜头和一个适合拍人像的定焦大光圈镜头，比如说小痰盂。

English Corner at James & Carole’s

Aug 28, 2009
Bruce and the Spider

A long time ago there lived a King of Scotland named Robert Bruce. He was a greatly troubled man because his country was at war with England and the English were winning. In battle after battle they drove back the Scottish army until at last the King himself had to retreat to the mountains to save his life.

Wandering desperately through the mountain forests, could and hungry and exhausted, at last the King found a miserable little wooden hut empty and deserted. Glad of any kind of shelter, he lay down on the floor of the hut in deep despair.

‘There is no use in going on,’ he thought. ‘The enemy has thrown back our armies six times. We can never repulse them. I have failed my people. I might as well give up.’

At that moment the King noticed a little gay spider spinning a long thread from one of the rafters. The spider swung along on the thread in an effort to attach the other end to another rafter so he could start spinning his web. But the thread broke and the spider fell to the floor of the hut.

A little dazed perhaps, but with no hesitation at all, the spider climbed up the wall and began spinning again. He kept patiently at it until the thread was long enough. Then he again swung himself to the end of it and tried once more to attach it to the rafter across the corner. But again the spider fell to the floor.

And once more he climbed up and began again.

Six times the spider’s thread broke. Six times he fell to the ground. Six times he began. Six times he failed.

Robert Bruce, the King of Scotland, watched in fascination. He became so absorbed in the little spider’s efforts that for a time he forgot his own troubles.

The spider did not give up even when he failed for the sixth time. He just tried again, and this time, on the seventh try, he was successful. The end of the thread held! The spider attached it to the far rafter and began spinning this web.

Robert Bruce arose and bowed low to the tiny gray creature. ‘O little spider!’ he cried.

‘You have taught me a wonderful lesson in patience and persistence. You were not ready to give up, as I was. No matter how often you failed, you were always willing to try again. Perhaps I too shall win if I keep on trying.’

And so, though he was still cold and hungry and weary, he was no longer disheartened. Watching the spider had given him new strength and courage. He buckled on his sword, gathered together his scattered armies and, with the example of the courageous spider to inspire him, King Robert Bruce led his men, on the seventh try, to victory.

For discussion:
1. Can any worthwhile goal ever be achieved without patience? Give an example of a goal that obviously needs patience to achieve.
2. Give an example of patient & impatient behavior in the following situations: waiting for the bus, dealing with a difficult customer, teaching a student who is a slow learner.
3. Think of some of the advantages of being patient. What are some disadvantages to being impatient?
4. Can you think of a situation where you showed patience and your patience was rewarded? Now try to think of a situation where impatience led you to trouble or difficulty.
5. Think about how patience is helpful in the following areas of life: schooling, raising children, working at your job. Give examples.
6. Would you rather be friends with a patient or an impatient person?

Beyond – 海阔天空

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No Tags – Nov 10, 2009

玖伍贰柒 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:53:55 +0000

上图是一些朋友给我的评价，QQ上的这个功能真是好玩，有些言词代表了过去的一段段历程，有些则是溢词。是以为记。

周五James & Carole家的英语角如期进行，GF不惜“现身”送DY来观摩，难为他工作后的疲惫了。GF的意思是这样的讨论用处不大，主要的是要说，用最普通的对白将各自的意思说出来，能够在日常生活中交流即可。

Nov 06, 2009
Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

A wolf, once upon a time, found it so hard to get close enough to attack a flock of sleep that he often went hungry. For a long time the shepherd had guarded his lambs and sheep so carefully that the wolf was becoming desperate.

One night the wolf found a sheepskin that had been thrown away and forgotten. The wolf resolved to disguise himself and so gain an easy living. Quickly he slipped the sheepskin over his own hide and next morning strolled into the pasture with the grazing sheep as if he were one of them.

Soon the lamb that had belonged to the sheep whose skin the wolf was wearing began to follow the wolf. Leading her a little distance apart from the rest of the flock, the wolf in sheep’s clothing made a good meal of her. For a while he succeeded in deceiving the other sheep and enjoying hearty meals.

Even the shepherd was fooled by the wolf in disguise, for when evening came, the wolf in sheep’s clothing was shut up with the sheep in their fold.

But it happened that the shepherd had a longing for mutton broth for his supper that night. Picking up a knife, he went to the fold, and reaching in, seized the first animal he came to. Mistaking the wolf for a sheep, the shepherd killed him on the spot.

For discussion:
1. Why was the wolf successful in getting food when he put on the sheepskin?
2. We have a saying in English “a wolf in sheep’s clothing”. If used to describe a person, what does the phase mean?
3. When you meet someone, how can you know if he or she is sincere? What should you look for?
4. Why is it important that our friends are sincere?
5. What problems can happen if your friends are insincere?

话刚落音，DY就在牛车水的Kreta Ayer CC订了星期六上午10点半开始的两个小时羽毛球场地。“熬”到周六，用牙签将眼皮撑开，跑半个新加坡岛迟到半个小时赶到。当时没有意识到就算不会打，那么自己也应该“敬业”的打球，谢谢DY和GF的陪伴。说实话，现在大腿上仍有些许酸痛，身体素质不是一般的差。打完球，按约定的那样在珍珠坊门口买了些鸭脖子、猪耳朵、重庆酸辣粉、重庆凉粉作为午餐，可能鸭脖子不够辣的原因，还是觉得猪耳朵好吃，yummy，yummy。之后他俩要到小印度附近的教堂参加一些活动，居于体力问题我就没有掺和了。吃饭过程中，DY跟我说她所认为的上帝是一个过程，倒是一个很新颖的说法。当然我还是用上帝是整个宇宙说明了一下，但是却对这个提法的来龙去脉没有说清楚；原因吗，就用上帝是不可知以及不可言说来糊弄你们了，哈哈。约好周日去听福海禅寺的佛家讲座，最后因为不可奉告的理由睡到了下午才起来损失掉了那个缘分。另外感触较大的是当天出门之前，TCH跟我提起家人的重要性，他也在身体力行地实践这个原则，可以看到，我将会在他身上学到许多如何跟家人相处等等合适的方法和态度。今天晚餐时，说起同事的一些事情，而这些都是我没有注意到的。他说，要善于观察周围的人，比如说动物就很注意周围的环境，虽然不必把每件事记在心中，但提炼相关的信息却是必要的。Be prepared.

周六和周日晚上将新的Heroes和一些电影赶玩，Heroes已经是看那些熟悉的面孔晃来晃去就很满足了。对着电脑，在那些电影名字前面犹豫再三要不要点开它们，可能很怕看到烂片，可是犹豫的时候已经可以看完一部烂片了，比如楼上的外星人。昨天将所有的空余时间利用朋友已经看过的电影列表选出自己已经看过的，然后打上星级和标签，当然是在豆瓣上，它推出了一个电台，里面的歌曲还不错，可能是根据所喜欢的专辑来随机推出个人的音乐台。而今天将所有的空余时间看darrensun的游记，虽然只是东南亚，这种义工加旅行以及gap year的想法很吸引人。期待金龟换酒的gap year。

明天太阳下山后就是巴哈欧拉的生日了。

P.S. TLT姑姑给的男孩‘配方’希望能够奏效。这不属于祈祷的范围，我想。

附上之前没有贴出来的英语角话题：

Aug 21, 2009
How to make jiaozi (dumplings)

Jiaozi is a type of Chinese dumpling made with minced meat and chopped vegetables wrapped in a piece of thin dough. It can be boiled, fried or steamed. When fried, it is called a pot-sticker. This traditional cuisine can be found in the north of China. On Chinese New Year’s (Spring Festival) eve, making and eating Jiaozi is a tradition in the north of China. At this time, all members of the family will get together to make and enjoy them. Making this special food is quick and simple, and is a wonderful way to bring a family together.

Instructions:
1. First make a simple oil and flour dough, then and roll the dough into small thin circles. This will be the Jiaozi wrapper.
2. Place a full teaspoon of filling onto a Jiaozi wrapper.
3. Use a finger to dap the edges of the Jiaozi wrapper with water.
4. Form the Jiaozi wrapper into a crescent moon by folding the cover in half.
5. Press the edges to seal the dumpling.
6. Crimp the edges to make sure the edges are tightly sealed. To cook the Jiaozi, bring a pot of water to a boil. Gently drop the Jiaozi into the boiling water and keep stirring with a pair of chopsticks to prevent them from sticking to one another and to the bottom of the pot.When the water comes back to a boil, add in half a cup of cold water. This is to prevent the dumpling form breaking up due to the over rolling boil. When the water comes back to a boil, the dumplings will float to the top. They are now ready to enjoy.

Cucumber and pork fillings
Ingredients:
250g lean ground pork
250 cucumber
Bruised ginger
Scallions
Black fungus
Garlic
Seasoning:
Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
Vegetable oil
Sesame oil
Finely diced garlic
To make:
Mince the pork and cucumbers. Steep the black fungus dice finely. Add the seasonings and mix well.

The Beatles — Yellow Submarine

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English Corner – Oct 30, 2009

玖伍贰柒 — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:08:07 +0000

首先得谢谢CHM的支持和坚持，从这个角度上可以说使英语角在风雨交加的昨晚得以继续下去。我已经两个星期没有参加了，上个星期也因为人数不够，CHM只得放弃，其实她可自个去参加。很喜欢当时的感觉，只有James, Carole, CHM, Jane 还有我，小型的聚会可以更加深入的讨论相关的主题，以及有跟多的机会去练习自己的发音和发表看法。到了这里，有一种自私的念头在盘旋，是否要再发出“征集令”来扩充这个聚会，因为先前的朋友因为住址或工作变换的关系不能够来参加。如果能够维持昨晚类似的规模，那么对参入者来说是很有益处的，人数多了那么机会就没有那么多了，也显得嘈杂，比如中国。

Oct 09, 2009
The Thief of Cathay – A Chinese Folk Tale

Once an honored man was having a birthday celebration. His sons and servants were busy receiving guests and messengers bearing gifts and congratulations. A thief, knowing that there would be valuable items among the gifts, slipped into the house and hid himself by lying face down on a beam in the roof of the hall where a great banquet was to be held in honor of the man. From this vantage point the thief could look down over the guests and see all the parcels of silks and jade and jewels that were being offered. He made a note of where these were put and planned to steal them after the guests had departed and the family gone to sleep.

Later that evening, the host lingered over his presents. He was very happy. As he leaned over them to take a final look, he turned his back to the thief hiding on the beam. The thief took a chance to look at the layout of the room so that he would be able to find his way once the lights were put out. As he hung his head over the beam he cast a shadow on the floor.

The host betrayed no sign of having seen the shadow, but he called for his servant and asked him to lay a table for one guest. Then he brought the best food and drink in the house. Turning towards the beam on which the thief lay, and bowing low, he said, ‘Will the gentleman who is on the roof-beam now come down and partake of refreshments?’

There was nothing the thief could do but comply. He was led to the table and his host fed him well. When he had eaten his fill, his host gave him a bag of silver coins and begged him to make good use of them. Then the host saw the thief out courteously.

Ten years passed, and again the honored man held a big birthday celebration. Many visitors came to wish him well and to bring him presents. The man was very old by now and could not greet everyone who called. His grandson met the visitors at the door and invited them to dine with his grandfather in the evening. He then took the gifts in for the old man to see.

Towards the end of the day a stranger came, bearing handsome gifts of gold and jewels. He would not give his name, but insisted that he see the honored man.

The stranger was admitted to the old man’s room, where he was overjoyed to see his host looking so well. The host did not recognize his guest, and, excusing himself by a plea of failing eyesight, inquired his name.

The stranger smiled and sad, ‘I am an honest man. I have learned to live a righteous life. But it was not always so. Do you not recall how you once asked me to come down from the roof-beam and partake of refreshment?’

The host was astonished, but he grew even more so when he heard how his own kindness to the thief had changed the thief’s life to one of righteousness and honor. The coins he had given the thief had been used to begin a small business which had prospered and given work to many. The guest was invited to stay for the banquet, and this time he did not eat alone.

Questions for discussion:
1. Were you surprised that the host fed the thief and gave him money rather than punishing him? Do you think the thief was surprised?
2. Why did the host act the way he did? Do you think he was right or wrong to do that?
3. Why did thief come back after 10 years to give the King a gift? Why did the host’s action 10 years earlier change the thief’s life for the better?
4. Why is it easy to do bad things and sometimes hard to do good things?
5. Can you think of a situation where you had to decide to do either right or wrong? What decision did you make? How did you feel about it afterward?
6. How can we decide what is right and what is wrong?

Oct 30, 2009
The Talking Tortoise

A talking tortoise lived high up the slopes of the Himalayan Mountains. Two wild geese occasionally came to his part of the forest and they became friends. Once when the geese came to visit the tortoise, they spoke about a beautiful place, a golden cave, where everyone lived happily together.

‘It sounds like a wonderful place,’ sighted the tortoise, ‘I should love to visit it. I’m afraid everyone here is tired of my chatter. I’d like to meet some more people and see the golden cave. How can I go there? Can I walk?’

The geese laughed. ‘Of course not. You can only fly there, and you don’t have wings!’

The tortoise looked so sad that the two geese felt sorry for him. ‘All right,’ they said, ‘we’ll take you. Bite hold of this stick and we’ll hold it in our beaks and fly you to the golden cave — but whatever you do, don’t open your mouth!’

Off they flew with tortoise hanging onto the stick. As they flew over a village, some men called out, ‘Look at that silly tortoise!’

The tortoise wanted to say ‘What’s so silly?’ but he remembered the golden cave and he remained silent. However, when some children laughed rudely and pointed at him, the tortoise became very angry. He opened his mouth to say, ‘What’s so funny?’ and…fell with a splash into a lake below. So he never saw the golden cave, nor got to talk to any more friends.

Questions for discussion:
1. What is the personality of the tortoise? How is it related to his talking?
2. When should we observe silence? (ex: when we study, when we are told to ‘Be quite’, etc.)
3. What can we gain from being silent? How can it help us grow us humans?
4. Can you think of times when we should not be silent?
5. There is a saying in English: ‘an empty drum makes the loudest noise.’ What does this mean?
6. How is observing silence related to other virtues (ex: humility, compassion, etc.)

P.S. 通过Google Blog Search发现了这个巴哈伊教学个人主页，这篇文章提到通过不同方法学习能够掌握该材料的不同比例：

如何去学习是今天巴哈伊感兴趣的内容，慢慢将巴哈伊社团建成为一个学习的社团。社团的增长毫无疑问是这样学习带来的结果。巴哈伊通过实践来学习，儒僖课程中循序渐进的目标就是这样服务精神。成为巴哈伊就是要服务他人。下面摘自一个学习小组的课本内容，巴哈伊社团的核心内容。巴哈伊通过实践教学来学习信仰。
请参考原文。

Bic Runga – Listening to the Weather

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灯火阑珊处 – Sep 04, 2009

玖伍贰柒 — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 12:28:24 +0000

01.
拟定标题之前，心中已经回响了多次要在近期进行植树造林活动，此树非彼树也。这个回响的频率似乎表明了是为了这样才生存下来。偶然拾回过去的时光，加深了在树洞的深度，也形成了线性化的冲动要表露出来。但是，这里并不是自己的心灵私家花园，每敲下一个字都是脚后跟与地面碰撞后的结果，而不能自由自在的飞翔。在进行了一些计划后，似乎又是被不同的活动打碎，如玻璃碎片般在地上闪闪发亮，正如人生路旁的风景，被吸引着去追随一个个看似有用却是五彩的泡沫。少了两个色彩，那是好奇心和耐心。阿博都巴哈说：“。。。个人的幸福和伟大、级别和地位、喜悦和安宁从来都不取决于他人的财富的多寡，而在于他出众的性格、坚定的毅力、渊博的知识和他解决问题的能力。”回首，更多的是灯火不能辐射到的地方，有多少未决之事，有多少遗憾之事，有多少可恨之事只能让自己聚焦在那火苗上，纵然失去光明也不愿离开半寸。

02.
It’s Saturday already, and I believe my colleague who missed his flight is finally on the way home now after two years in Singapore. It was lucky that the travel agent willing to renew his flight tickets. E.T. says, home, with his figure pointing to the sky. LQ is at Kuala Lumpur now, it was nice with Teck Cheng and David saw her take off. And thanks from deep heart for Teck Cheng’s wonderful dinner. Beside this, I feel guilty when I realize that she and Margaret trying to “pull me back” from time to time. I wish I can, I couldn’t make it at this moment. There are more evidences prove that I have a weak memory ability, I hope I can solve this problem by reschedule my life style and doing more exercise etc. And the timetable for this rescheduling is still on the schedule.

03.
到中國去。Melic如愿以償踏上了蘭州的土地，而且看起來很快就適應了那邊的生活。迎接他的除了巴哈伊教友，還有條件舒適的居所和學校周圍星羅棋布的餐館。下次見到他時應該會變得胖些和白些。當初就因為留下一個郵件地址，讓我認識了這么好心腸和耐心的人和其他具有上帝屬性的朋友。生命的河流在那個時間點，稍微轉了一個方向。雖然仍在這個方向上徘徊，至少多了一個可能性。儒僖課程已經停下來，不過看到兵哥和GF大哥“接過”研習課程，當然不能作為借口的借口。希望Melic在中國撒下的種子能夠長出參天大樹。無論點樣，唔該噻。

04.
It’s 01:02 a.m. It’s better to get some sleep.

05.
凌晨两点。离床的距离只有零点零零叁公里，而周公却在眼皮底下。TLT姑姑啊，未来不能描绘，或许都明白这一点。面包和黄油并非同时都能够获得，因为很多人还是蛮喜欢用椰浆凑着吃，更不要说油条加豆浆了。向打造本站有史以来最长日志的目标前进到一半，明天继续。将会有很多滥竽充数的图片，而文字会蜻蜓点水般穿插其中。睡觉先。

06.
If I’m not wrong, I’d absented two English Corner held by James & Carole. Because of lack of management of my own paper, I can’t figure out the date when we discussed the following topics:

The Happy Cure **

A foolish king lay dying. At least, that’s what he said. Yes, he said he was at death’s door. But the truth was this: the king was suffering from having nothing to do. He was being bored to death.

Of course, the king would not admit this. He groaned and moaned and complained of sharp stabs in every muscle and sticking pains in every bone. Doctors came from far and wide. They examined the king carefully but could find nothing wrong. ‘The doctors are idiots,’ cried the king in a rage. ‘the next one who examines me and finds nothing wrong will have his ears cut off and his nose shortened.’ But still the doctors came and still they found nothing wrong.

Finally a simple old woman came to see the king. She peered into the king’s face for a long time. Then she said, ‘Your Majesty, you are suffering from a strange and rare disease. So rare and strange, that no name exits for it.’ ‘There I knew it,’ cried the king in glee. ‘I kept telling all of them, the fools, that I’m a sick man.’ ‘A very sick man,’ said the old woman.

The king leaned back among his silken pillows and closed his eyes and wrinkled his brow as if he were in pain. ‘And is there no cure for me?’ he asked. ‘Oh, yes, your Majesty. You need to sleep but one night in the shirt of a happy man and you will be cured instantly.’ said the old woman.

The king summoned the captain of his guard and his bravest and best soldiers and swiftest messengers. ‘Start off at once, ‘ he commanded them, ‘and bring me back the shirt of a happy man. And don’t return without it,’ he said. They traveled far and wide; to the east, west, north and south but nowhere could they find a happy man. They sent long reports to the king and this is what they said:

The people in the east might be happy if your Majesty didn’t tax them so heavily.
And: The people in the west might be happy if they didn’t have to work so long and hard, so they might have time to enjoy singing and dancing.
And: The people in the north might be happy if sometimes they could see you and felt you were interested in them.
And: The people in the south might be happy if your Majesty would notice their industry and faithfulness and would reward them.

The king flung the reports away. But as time passed and no messenger returned he began to read the reports more carefully. More and more reports also came to him with the same message.

One day a little boy was walking on the palace grounds and came upon a man sitting under a tree. He was singing lustily. ‘Good afternoon,’ said the little boy politely. ‘What makes you sing so merrily?’ ‘I sing from joy,’ said the stranger. ‘I love my fellow men. I own but little and want less. I am a happy man and I sing.’ ‘A happy man!’ cried the little boy. ‘Oh, do you not know that the whole kingdom is looking for you? Do you not know that the king is very ill and only if he can sleep one night in the shirt of happy man can he be cured? Quick, quick, take off your shirt and give in to me.’

The man burst into laughter. ‘My shirt,’ he gasped, ‘Why, you silly boy, I don’t have a shirt.’ and jumping to his feet, he gathered his tattered coat and walked off.

The little boy rushed to the palace. ‘Oh, your Majesty,’ he cried. ‘The cure was right here all the time. I found him on the palace grounds. He said he loved his fellow men, owned but little and wanted less. But… but… I’m afraid he didn’t have a shirt.’

The king hung his head ashamed. ‘Yes, the cure has been here all the time,’ he murmured. ‘Only I can cure my own folly.’ And he resolved then and there to be a good king, to help his people, to rule wisely and well. He never fancied himself ill again for he became too busy for such folly, and so he lived to a ripe old age.

For discussion:
1. What does it mean to be healthy? What are some different kinds of health?
2. How is cleanliness associated with good health?
3. Do fear, anger, worry have an effect on health? If so, what about hope, love, and joy?
4. How can we assist in the healing of others?
5. There is a saying in English “Health is Wealth”. What does it mean?
6. Can being sick ever be good for someone?
7. Do diet and exercise have any connection with health? How?
8. Someone who is healthy but always things he is sick is called a “hypochondriac”. Do you know any such people? Do you ever fee sick when you are not really sick?
9. How often do you get sick? When do you decide to see a doctor? What advice do you have for people to keep healthy?

** Adapted from Irene Taafaki, Thoughts: Education for Peace and One World (Oxford; George Ronald, Publishers, 1986)

07.
農歷七月。中元節。新加坡所處的地理位置據稱對應的是鬼門關，因此也有朋友說到七月十五晚上盡量不要再外面閑逛，畢竟那個時候是他們的“專場”。下班時分，到處都是煙幕彌漫，為神靈，為祖先，為分管不同事物的神仙奉獻上大把大把的銀錢。這時間上有個分歧，有人說要到夜幕降臨至少太陽下山后才適宜燒紙錢，因為那時候他們才會出來，才會重游舊地；而有的人則說，什么時候燒都是無所謂的。我以為，兩種都是可信的。可以想象另一邊應該有銀行業務，他們不能白天出來領取，那么自然有“法力”高強的機構可以代替保管著。除了自家供奉神靈外，各種聯合體也會大擺宴席宴請各界人士進行各種文娛活動，也就有人抱怨唱歌聽的姐們穿的太暴露了。

08.
I will be home in two weeks time. I need to attend my classmate’s wedding was the main reason to go home at September. It’s better to review their names right now. It’s been five years after graduated. I’m sure it will be a pleasure trip to be there. And it’s the second time I visit Ningbo, the man visited 7 years ago is still no difference. According to the pie chart as below, I felt surprised I can spend so much per month. Please wake up, what you need to do is not cut your cost.

Monthly Expense Report 2009.07.24-2009.08.23

Totally 54.21% from that month’s income.

09.
受CASL的双引号蛊惑双引号也去报名学驾船逗号课程包括两堂理论课和一堂实践课句号我们选择的授课地点是位于西海岸的RSYC逗号离第一次试工的西海岸蔬菜批发中心不远句号理论课每堂课只有四个小时而理论上实践课是一整天逗号关于理论课的情况在这里暂且不表逗号因为双引号船长双引号只是带着大家将讲义上的内容重复一遍再加上自己的一些经历和某些注意事项句号上个星期天轮到我跟Dol去练习如何泊船和如何营救落水童鞋逗号不过天公不作美逗号一大早就下起倾瓢大雨然后真正的下起了倾盘大雨句号因此逗号鉴于老天爷这么给面子的情况下在前台大厅等候了几乎两个小时然后才在毛毛下雨中开始了操作练习句号说实话逗号学习驾船比学习驾车容易多了逗号只要你能保持恰当的速度和抄书的准确性逗号那么你能够拿到驾照的成功率不会太低句号本来以为会写很多在小船上的心路历程又或者会描写同船童鞋的驾驶技术在或者叙述在那个餐厅等待食物时无话题的尴尬先来个逗号但是因为时间双引号久远双引号逗号当时心所经历的皱褶经过这么多天的读写操作已不可还原句号现在就等着去做眼力测试报名考试即可Full空格Stop

10.
It’s not fair to key in the topics that we used in English corner if I’m going to build this longest post. As for ‘traditional’ reason, it’s all right to do so. I feel exhausted daily, it suppost to be some problem inside my body system. I’d rather not to mention in here. One of the reason might be we need to sleep well:

Jul 10, 2009
10 Tips for Better Sleep

Have you been feeling crabby lately? It could be you aren’t getting enough sleep. Work, household responsibilities and child care can make sleeping difficult. If you include other unexpected challenges such as financial worries, layoffs, relationship issues or an illness, quality sleep may be even more elusive.

You may not be able to control or eliminate all of the factors that interfere with your sleep, but you can create an environment and adopt habits that encourage a more restful night. Try these suggestions if you have trouble falling sleep or staying asleep:

Go to bed and get up at about the same time every day, even on the weekends. Sticking to a schedule helps reinforce your body’s sleep-wake cycle and can help you fall asleep better at night.

Don’t eat or drink large amounts before bedtime. Eat a light dinner about two hours before sleeping. If you’re prone to heartburn, avoid spicy or fatty foods, which can make your heartburn flare and prevent a restful sleep. Also, limit how much you drink before bed. Too much liquid can cause you to wake up repeatedly during the night for trips to the bathroom.

Avoid nicotine, caffeine and alcohol in the evening. These are stimulants that can keep you awake. Smokers often experience withdrawal symptoms at night, and smoking in bed is dangerous. Avoid caffeine for eight hours before your planned bedtime. Your body doesn’t store caffeine, but it takes many hours to eliminate the stimulant and its effects. And although often believed to be a sedative, alcohol actually disrupts sleep.

Exercise regularly. Regular physical activity, especially aerobic exercise, can help you fall asleep faster and make your sleep more restful. Don’t exercise within three hours of your bedtime, however. Exercising right before bed may make getting to sleep more difficult.

Make your bedroom cool, dark, quiet and comfortable. Create a room that’s ideal for sleeping. Adjust the lighting, temperature, humidity and noise level to your preferences. Use blackout curtains, eye covers, earplugs, extra blankets, a fan, or other devices to create an environment that suits your needs.

Sleep primarily at night. Daytime naps may steal hours from nighttime slumber. Limit daytime sleep to about a half-hour and make it during mid-afternoon. If you work nights, keep your window coverings closed so that sunlight, which adjusts the body’s internal clock, doesn’t interrupt your sleep. If you have a day job and sleep at night, but still have trouble waking up, leave the window coverings open and let the sunlight help wake you up.

Choose a comfortable mattress and pillow. Features of a good bed are subjective and differ for each person. But make sure you have a bed that’s comfortable. If you share your bed, make sure there’s enough room for two. Children and pets are often disruptive, so you may need to set limits on how often they sleep in bed with you.

Start a relaxing bedtime routine. Do the same things each night to tell your body it’s time to wind down. This may include taking a warm bath or shower, reading a book, or listening to soothing music. Relaxing activities done with lowered lights can help ease the transition between wakefulness and sleepiness.

Go to bed when you’re tired and turn out the lights. If you don’t fall asleep within 15 to 20 minutes, get up and do something else. Go back to bed when you’re tired. Don’t agonize over falling sleep. The stress will only prevent sleep.

Use sleeping pills only as a last resort. Check with your doctor before taking any sleep medications. He or she can make sure the pills won’t interact with your other medications or with an existing medical condition. Your doctor can also help you determine the best dosage. If you do take a sleep medication, reduce the dosage gradually when you want to quit, and never mix alcohol and sleeping pills. If you feel sleepy or dizzy during the day, talk to your doctor about changing the dosage or discounting the pills.

If you’re having problems sleeping more than three times a week for a month’s time, see your doctor. You could have a sleep disorder, such as obstructive sleep apnea or restless legs syndrome. Identifying and treating the cause of your sleep disturbance can help get you back on the road to a good night’s sleep.

Questions for Discussion:
1. How many hours do you sleep every night? What time do you usually go to bed?
2. Do you consider yourself to be a “night owl” or an “early bird”? Explain.
3. What activities do you like to do during the day? At night?
4. Do you ever have trouble going to sleep at night? If so, what do you do about it?
5. Do you like to take naps during day? Is it a common practice in your home country? In Singapore?
6. Is it possible to sleep too much? What will be the effect of doing that?
7. Have you ever worked night shift? Explain your lifestyle when you did.
8. What will happen to someone who does not get enough sleep for a long time?
9. Do you dream when you sleep? Tell about a dream you have had. Can you think of a traditional way from your culture to make yourself sleepy?

11.
將域名轉移到name.com上來了，因為這樣續款比較容易。如果不是之前的域名代理商不支持paypal，也不愿意麻煩的轉出來，因為要快遞身份證復印件以及申請書，另外加10塊錢手續費。很滿意之前代理商的服務，如果不想麻煩的考慮匯率又或者你的網站很偉光正，那么不妨去中國網格（cnwg.cn）看看，還不錯的公司。現在更新地址幾乎不用延時，管理更加方便，不像以前還要跳轉到新網的管理后臺。

12.
I’ve almost forget to mention my god sister who is my cousin. Congratulation to her that she become Zijin Middle school’s student. And she become our god sister last Chinese New Year. I try to make it as routine to call home every week, it’s bad manner when you need to be reminded that it’s time to make a home call. I’m also wondering whether it is a good idea to spend the time with them at home at least these years. For God’s sake, you know I can’t make it.

Aug 07, 2009
Coyote and Woodpecker

In the forest, there was a great old hollow tree, and Woodpecker and his family lived there. One day, as Coyote was walking, he met Woodpecker.

‘How are you today, my friend?’ said Coyote.
‘Very well, thank you,’ replied Woodpecker. ‘And how are you?’
They talked together for a while. Then Coyote said, ‘Friend Woodpecker, bring your wife and children tonight and join my family for supper.’
‘Thank you, friend Coyote,’ said Woodpecker, ‘We will gladly come.’

That evening, Woodpecker and his family went to the coyotes’ home. They fluttered to the ground and then, as they always do after flying, the woodpeckers stretched themselves. As they lifted their wings, the coyotes could see their pretty red and yellow feathers underneath. And as the woodpeckers ate supper, whenever they raised their wings, their bright feathers could be seen.

After the Woodpeckers had eaten, they thanked their host politely. ‘Please come to our house tomorrow for supper, friend Coyote,’ said Woodpecker. And Coyote said yes, he and his family certainly would.

After the Woodpeckers left, Coyote turned to his family and said, ‘Did you see how those woodpeckers showed off their bright red and yellow feathers? No doubt they think they are more beautiful than we are, and they want to be sure we know it. Well, we will show them that Coyotes are just as beautiful as Woodpeckers.’

The next day, Coyote made all his family work hard gathering many loads of fire wood. When evening came, he built a big fire and called his family there. He tied a burning stick to each of them, under their arms, so that the burning end pointed forward. Then he did the same to himself. ‘Now we coyotes will show those woodpeckers who has beautiful colors!’ he told his family. ‘and don’t you forget to raise your arms often, to be sure they see we are just as good as they are!’ Then the coyotes went to the woodpeckers’ house.

When they came to the hollow tree, Woodpecker welcomed them and invited them in very politely. Together, the woodpecker family and coyote family sat down to supper. As the ate, the coyotes kept raising their arms to show the bright fire underneath. But suddenly one of Coyote’s sons yelled, ‘Ayee! My fire is burning me, papa!’
‘Hush!’ said Coyote, ‘Don’t give us away.
‘Ah!’ sighed one of Coyote’s daughters, ‘My fire is out!’ This was too much for Coyote, and he scolded her.

Then Woodpecker spoke. ‘Tell me, Friend Coyote,’ he said, ‘why is it that your colors are bright red and yellow at first but later become ash gray?’
‘Oh, that,’ said Coyote, smiling pleasantly although he was very angry inside. ‘That is the best thing about our colors, for they do not stay the same – as other people’s do – but turn many shades.’ Coyote made an excuse so that he and his family could leave, for they were all smarting from their burns.

After they left, Woodpecker gathered his family around and said, ‘Now, my children, you have seen that Coyote has tried to do. Never pretend to be what you are not. Always be just what you really are, and never try to act better than another, and you will never need to put on false colors.’

Questions for discussion:
1. Do you think Coyote really felt happier at the end of the story?
2. Why do you think some people try to pretend to be something they aren’t? Do you think they really believe they are better than other people?
3. Have you ever heard of the expression ‘keeping up with the Jones’s'? What does it mean? Do you know anyone who acts like that?
4. Some people buy branded goods or expensive items in order to show off to others. Can you think of any examples?

13.
这段时间看了一些电影和电视剧。上上个周末花了两天将[24]第七季看完，情节还是那么丝丝入扣，但是矛盾方面一直缠绕在是否应该逼供这个点上。Jack Bauer还是那么帅，而且看到CTU的原班人马更加热血沸腾，不过没有看应该是CTU被袭击的第六季。另外追了几集笑来老师推荐的[绝命毒师(Breaking Bad)]，暂时没有什么感觉，不好不坏。

最后推荐一首歌，来自[狮子王]的Be Prepared:

On Sun, Jul 12, 2009
> 7:38 PM There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come. via Victor-Marie Hugo
> 9:26 PM 家乡的事情知道的甚少
2009/7/13
> 8:10 AM “香港立法会议员梁国雄曾多次到澳门抗议澳门通过23条立法，最后被澳门当局拒绝入境。” 中國有跨省追捕，現在有跨省拒絕入境了。
2009/7/14
> 10:13 PM 得知一个消息，竟然下意识地想是不是缘由不是所说的那样。现在想的是“这样的下意识”是不是自己已经变质或者跟之前的那个我不一样了
2009/7/15
> 11:00 AM 域名轉移完成。。。不過域名備案就放在那里吧
> 3:11 PM Firefox崩溃了一次，然后Gmail进不去了，幸亏当初的搜狐邮箱还有维护，很快就重设密码，冷汗一大把
On Thu, Jul 16, 2009
> 7:04 PM My voice in the recorder was so different compare to the voice usually capture from my ear.
2009/7/18
> 9:05 AM 为什么不多加点前买个靠前的位置？
> 10:40 AM Duplicity中的男女主人翁还能够在一起算是有福分了。不过情节真的很烂
> 1:21 PM Just ‘Knowing’ is not enough. And it might be true if there is no aliens and then that’s the end of the day for everyone else.
> 3:36 PM “我以为粤语长篇才会发生这种事，携款私逃！” via 金钱帝国
On Sun, Jul 19, 2009
> 12:33 AM Super Band is not so super
> 11:11 PM 今晚这个case我用了几天做research，但是值得。 via 头七
On Tue, Jul 21, 2009
> 11:41 AM Powered Pleasure Cruise Driving License, oh yeah
> 2:46 PM 王婆强调了西门庆的富有，也强调了西门庆勾结官府，与知县也有来往的权势。虽然媒婆子的话如同《人民日报》社论一样不靠谱，但是也不是空穴来风。 via 我看《金瓶梅》2，西门庆的崛起
On Wed, Jul 22, 2009
> 11:50 AM I’d reset the password of Gmail account twice this week. The Firefox 3.5.x version’s problem?
2009/7/23
> 10:17 AM CY’s GF的“怀孕门”事件证实是虚惊一场；要不然可能要提前回国啦，条例好像有规定
> 10:20 AM “把自己所拥有的有限才能，专注到必要的一点的能力，如果没有这个，什麽重要事情都无法达成。”接着是持续力，“就算能做到一天三四个小时，集中精神认真执笔，但持续一个星期就累垮，那也没办法写长篇作品”。村上春树说：“写文章本身或许属于头脑的劳动，但是要写完一本完整的书，不如说更接近体力劳动……坐在书桌前面，精神集中在镭射光的一点之上，从虚无的地平线上升起想像力，生出故事，一一选出正确的用语，所有的流势全部保持在该有的位置上，这样的作业，比一般所想像的需要更大的能量，且必须长期持续。”
> 11:59 AM About Singaporean: http://sgi316.blog.163.com/blog/static/4139690200952111127803/
On Sat, Jul 25, 2009
> 12:00 PM How to prepare everything in 5 minutes in the morning: http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/sEEuv3F36wU
2009/7/25
> 3:54 PM 第一：找不到话题；第二：你是木头；第三：爱理不理；第四：喜新厌旧；第五：自以为是；第六：书呆子一个，之乎者也；第七：包黑炭，阴沉着一张脸的人；第八：一定不是个好老公好爸爸的。
2009/7/26
> 12:44 AM 阿公对我说：要存钱娶老婆啊
> 11:49 AM Learn Totoal Commander: http://xbeta.info/studytc/ Yes, sir.
> 11:55 AM Health Lecture: http://jiaren.org/2008/10/23/health-lecture-qiguoli-professor/
2009/7/27
> 9:42 PM 伟光正当局的拿手好戏，一旦出事，有两大招式，一是推给境外“敌对势力”的煽动，二是推给“不明真相”的群众；总之，“敌人”是恶毒的，群众是愚昧的，惟独自己是永远伟大、光荣、正确的。因此，武力鎮壓是必要的，秋后算帐是必然的。 via http://www.china-week.com/html/5203.htm
2009/7/28
> 10:27 PM Ghost恢复2007年保存的系统，用上了紫光拼音，时光如流水一般倒流
On Sun, Aug 2, 2009
> 12:46 AM http://www.google.com/history is very useful, but you should be careful not using your account for search some adult AV, 囧
> 2:08 AM 嗯，在女朋友面前深夜打电话骚扰别人，肯定是发骚了
> 2:11 AM DBS的存款利率调低了，唯一的好消息是买的基金赚了3块钱，天啊，3块啊
> 2:14 AM 为什么夜这么悬崖万丈还不睡？因为又要进行一次“透过苹果看视窗”这类劳动强度大，利润低的附加值为零的工作
> 2:19 AM “窃听风云” (Overheard) 不能说是个能够成为经典的电影，虽然在看前大部分时浑身在发抖，有可能是冷气太足的原因，三位主角的面谱化，不值得再看一遍。其实值得再看一遍的电影不多，日本的AV除外
On Mon, Aug 3, 2009
> 12:49 PM “你都和我们每个人一样，肚子里装着一泡屎。” via http://blog.tianya.cn/blogger/post_show.asp?BlogID=1051811&PostID=18346835&idWriter=0&Key=0
> 9:39 PM さようなら, OSH
2009/8/6
> 3:56 PM 发烧咳嗽，不会是H1N1吧 x-(
> 8:46 PM Yes, we can: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgrg4q87_34cfrdmxct
2009/8/7
> 9:29 AM 只是小感冒而已，请大家稍安毋躁。。。哈哈，谢谢CCL，谢谢STC
> 12:35 PM 持续感动中。。。
> 12:36 PM Avuth asked me whether I will go the summer school or not.
2009/8/9
> 12:43 PM “他目前的劳动是每天给十几个人打水，胡佳把它看做锻炼臂力的机会，以待将来回家好能抱我们可爱的女儿。” via http://zengjinyan.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!A90AAE8909DEE107!3889.entry
> 2:48 PM http://tieba.news.ifeng.com/zhiqing/
On Wed, Aug 12, 2009
> 8:07 PM “Site Temporarily Unavailable, We apologize for the inconvenience. Please contact the webmaster/ tech support immediately to have them rectify this: error id: “bad_httpd_conf” ”
> 8:08 PM Well, dreamhost changed the IP of the website and don’t know why. Just update the DNS domain information, then solved this problem.
> 8:09 PM If the IP address didn’t change, maybe you need to follow this tips: “going to Domains -> Manage Domains -> Edit then clicking Change fully hosted settings now! without actually making any changes. This causes the Apache conf file to be rebuilt.”
2009/8/15
> 8:26 PM 翻译？多练练吧
2009/8/18
> 11:45 AM “仁慈的言语乃是人心得慈石，它是精神之食粮，它使文字有了内涵，它是智慧和理解之光的泉源。”
> 4:15 PM “被自杀”、“被自愿”、“被就业”、“被增长”、“被和谐”，“被失踪”，“被恋爱”，后面这个是我加的
> 11:50 PM 作为正当人家的父母，我是肯定不希望白雪公主将来跟人家未婚产子的，除非她成为麦当娜或Miuccia Prada，如果那样的话，无论她干什么，我都会跟她说：Honey, I am so proud of you!（不好意思，这么肉麻的话只好上英文了）… via 白雪公主后妈
2009/8/19
> 8:10 PM TCH考虑回去了咧，虽然短时间内还看不到这个情况发生，不管怎样，一路顺风，
2009/8/21
> 7:56 PM Uncle Melic終于快要踏上中國的旅途，預祝平平安安
On Sat, Aug 22, 2009
> 3:01 PM “I’m on my way, Chloe.”
> 5:16 PM THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 11:00 A.M. AND 12:00 P.M.
2009/8/27
> 12:49 AM http://nlp.cn/ceshi/NLPql/ 你的成绩：情商7段；你的爱情EQ，超出了100部琼瑶爱情电视的总和，你对爱情的见解就是居委会婚姻关系协调的大妈也觉得汗颜。恩，幸福的的爱情总是那么相似，不幸的爱情各有不同，如果大家的爱情EQ如同你一般，整个宇宙都河蟹了。
2009/8/30
> 10:06 PM 明知山有虎，偏向虎山行。自行車又丟了。在地點上我將會撒一個謊，畢竟是在同一個地方跌倒兩次，太沒有面子了。如果面子能夠轉換為面條比較劃算。
> 10:08 PM 這次陰溝里面翻船是因為自己太大意，也心不在焉，同時LTA在那里設置什么一個新的停靠自行車位置卻不對安全保障太TMD的像做到一半就早泄了。
> 10:11 PM 關于表示高清電視不會購買二手贓車是因為還能夠承受一輛自行車的價格，如果超過了預期水平，就會降低分辨率啦。上帝啊，原諒我小小的心靈吧
2009/9/2
> 10:56 PM 因为你没有准备好，错过了许多美好的事物
2009/9/3
> 5:10 PM “是什么让我泪眼婆娑？是因为想起你，不知道你的身边还是否有我这样的兄弟，陪你喝酒到天明。”五年班级“小聚”宣言，太煽情了吧。
On Fri, Sep 4, 2009
> 12:02 AM Melic’s big smile in Lanzhou
2009/9/5
> 1:06 AM 心痛的時候難免會想，如果。。。就會怎樣。。。，如果。。。就會這樣。。。，如果。。。就會那樣。。。最后，還是來盤乳鴿。

确定这是最长的？Whatever.

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English Corner – Jun 20, 2009

玖伍贰柒 — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 10:09:43 +0000

昨晚跟Teck Cheng以及新朋友WXM一起去James & Carole家参加他们里礼拜五晚上的聚会，J&C的家小巧玲珑，一目了然，布局科学没有一丝多余的设施，纯白色的风格让人感觉放松和整洁。话题不停转换，期间提到J&C在厦门大学任教时在他们家里举办英语角的往事，他们也怀念在中国的日子，现在只是要照顾家人不能离开新加坡。J&C主动提出要在现在这个新家举办英语角的想法，因为想多认识来自中国的朋友，希望我以及WXM能够带朋友来参加。我暗自思量，“手头”上没有合适的人选，在“为此消得人憔悴”之前想到是否可以在论坛上发发帖子，看是否有这方面需求的朋友，因此就有了“征集令：东部英语角招募成员”这个砖头贴。到目前为止，反应还算喜人，由于日程安排的原因要到七月第一个周末才有可能开始。也因此跟HXY见了个小面，不管是否她能够留下来，在这里祝一路顺风。

Melic分享了一个链接，Elika Mahomy和Lily合唱的Rose of Love，歌词取自隐言经下卷的第三段：

隐言经 – 下卷
3. 朋友啊！
在你的心田里，
只种爱的玫瑰。
别让友爱与渴望之夜莺，
从你手中高飞。
珍视与正直者交谊，
切勿与邪恶者暧昧。

Hidden Words – Part II
3. O Friend!
In the garden of thy heart plant naught but the rose of love, and from the nightingale of affection and desire loosen not thy hold. Treasure the companionship of the righteous and eschew all fellowship with the ungodly.

2009/6/7
> 11:49 PM 24中的Bob在Stand by Me中很年轻咧
> 12:07 AM 愿学弟学妹考上适合自己人生道路的专业
> 10:38 PM 《停车》拍的不错，独特的视觉，独特的安排，我在他要吃鱼头的时候笑得肚子疼，不是笑的厉害，而是前一天跑步过量的后遗症
> 10:51 PM 一旦发生什么天灾人祸，领导总是晚一步，但总会占据新闻的最重要的位置。 via 这新闻写的
2009/6/8
> 8:30 AM “在中国这样一个人治国家，腐败国家，高考是唯一的一个比较公正，做得像模像样的一种考试。也许只有目前这种严格的、笔试的、闭卷的这样一种高考考试方式，才能减少腐败。” via 北京理工教授胡星斗
> 2:01 PM The International Association of Master Penmen, Engrossers and Teachers of Handwriting
On Tue, Jun 9, 2009
> 1:08 PM Tan Kin Lian’s Magazine
> 11:44 PM TLT的声音通过网络和电话到底这一端感觉完全不一样，可能是记忆中将声音揉合了
On Wed, Jun 10, 2009
> 1:20 PM ZY跑到淘宝去做前端开发，淘宝耶，我的乖乖，牛啊
> 1:29 PM China has defended the use of new screening software that has to be installed on all computers. via BBC news. 每台电脑都装？没有这个软件不能连接网络，我想这是他们的方法
> 11:12 PM 还是再等6个月试试吧，反正也没有办法的了
> 11:17 PM 纳兰容若以自然之眼观物，以自然之舌言情。此初入中原未染汉人风气，故能真切如此，北宋以来，一人而已。 —— 王国维 via 封面 of 《纳兰词典评》 by 苏樱
2009/6/11
> 8:36 AM 木兰花令
> 人生若只如初见，何事秋风悲画扇？等闲变却故人心，却道故人心易变。 via 纳兰若容
> 8:39 AM 不管身在何处，一个人能够达到的位置相差不大，quite sad，isn’t it?
On Fri, Jun 12, 2009
> 11:18 PM http://guolvba.com/，花季护航，我唠，人民的4179币啊，政府怎么二逼啊，人民的币养的是逼啊
> 12:05 AM http://digitalyouth.ischool.berkeley.edu/report Digital Youth Research
> 8:36 AM A: 看到天空你想起的第一个人是谁? B: 飞行员。因为看到飞机飞过去。 via LQ’s FAQ
> 5:10 PM 这几天车行很静啊
2009/6/13
> 12:15 AM 移动硬盘的一个区提示“文件或目录损坏”，那200G的文件啊，一个晚上都花在上面了，跑步回来还是没有办法
> 1:10 PM 吃饭怎样才没有声音？
> 5:44 PM Melic从Tampines骑自行车来workshop
> 6:20 PM 恢复数据中，以后不要把文件名起的那么长啊
2009/6/14
> 6:35 AM 请勿跨省追捕
> 8:11 AM http://www.docstoc.com/docs/7141301/Annas-Presentation-Chinese
> 11:10 AM 若以佛事喻诗词，李杜当属大乘般若一脉，胸怀兼济之情，词多绚烂之笔；李商隐如同三论宗，词章一出，美到极至，也模棱到极至，待要说，却说不出，正是不生亦不灭，不常亦不断，不一亦不异，不来亦不出；姜夔一身兼天台与律宗两门，先是一个园字，圆融三谛，有大包容之相，兼之法度森严，绵密细致，钻之弥深；辛弃疾如同唯识宗，义理深邃、论说谨严，理常在情之侧，情不在理之上；至于容若，却如禅宗，他的词句每有直指人心、见性成佛的力量，让人在第一眼相识处，便骤生顿悟之心。 via 苏缨《纳兰词典评》
> 11:11 AM 这个苏缨是个男的，请见http://cache.tianya.cn/publicforum/content/no05/1/120698.shtml，给那个“苏州小红楼”给迷惑了，作者功力不浅
> 12:58 PM 屎特！！！数据丢失了大概20G，大部分是有用的软件以及小电影啊~~~~~~
> 1:16 PM 屎特！！该移动硬盘的Ubuntu系统不能进去了，出来一个”missing operation system”
2009/6/16
> 10:03 AM 孔子在《论语》中讲了一句我以为是伟大而震撼人心的话，‘天下有道，丘不与易也’。同学们，作为天下人，应该以天下事为己任，勇敢地承担起来。 via 温家宝
> 1:19 PM 前天早上走路上班的时候，抬头看看了蓝蓝的天，发现近来虽然会抬头看看天，但是也只到这个程度而已，天外面的星体已经很久没有触及了
2009/6/17
> 8:36 AM 听人说话时，要放下手头上的活
> 8:16 PM How could I make a man out of you?
2009/6/18
> 10:04 PM 期待”The Time Traveler’s Wife”中
> 10:36 PM Opera比较牛B啊：http://unite.opera.com/
> 11:26 PM ddkk3000 和虫儿都很久没更新了
2009/6/19
> 11:04 AM ddkk3000 的文章为什么不发表呢？谢谢他的分享
> 1:17 PM 社会主义初级阶段的主要矛盾是人民群众日益增长的智商与各级官员不断下降的道德之间的矛盾。 via https://twitter.com/zikay/status/2219464909
> 11:19 PM shit, 关于boobs的网站一下子就记住了，看来以后记东西要与激素相结合
2009/6/20
> 12:50 AM 在狮城华人网为英语角”招募成员“有了第一个回应，nice shoot
> 9:50 AM Bahai Community的Newsletter要好好拜读才是，这样才有进步
> 4:31 PM Gnucash只是起到记账的作用，对我在那些方面要花以及要节省的提醒功能没有用处，关于后面这个是要靠自己控制的

昨天去大使馆去更换护照，8点55分赶到，9点开门，然后将资料上交上去，9点24分离开那里，速度之快让我大感惊异。一方面是因为之前准备好所有的资料，连申请表都是从网上打印填好；另一方面，人数少是一个主要原因。在上班时间之前，在大使馆外面排了一队不算短的人龙，我在后面跟上时不免感觉人在外面没有受到照顾，如果是下雨的话，就惨了，说到底，当初设计以及现在都没有为办理证件的公民提供必要的协助。另外一点就是，拿号还是手工的阶段，根本没有什么电子设备，让人觉得很土。

© 玖伍贰柒 for 水自流, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Baha'i, Elika Mahony, English, Hidden Words

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Learning English – May 17, 2008

水自流 — Sat, 17 May 2008 05:05:07 +0000

Listening

BBC Learning English (Watch and Listen)
Watch and listen to TV and radio programmes

British Council LearnEnglish in Listening
Listen to stories, articles and poems, all with audio scripts

Listening tips

Listen to the radio news or watch a television news programme at the same time every day. How many stories are there? Note down what each story is about (think: when, where, who, what).

If you can, record the programme and listen to/watch it again to check details from the first time. You cannot do this in “real life” but it is very useful practice and it means you find out what you got right the first time and this will boost your confidence.

Alternatively, record a news programme without listening to/watching it. Then play only the headlines. Stop the tape and predict what the stories will be about. Then listen to check your predictions. Use one of the stories as a dictation text. Listen several times and write down what you hear.

Don’t force yourself to listen for too long. Set yourself realistic goals. For example, when listening to the weather forecast, just listen for the temperature and weather conditions for your city/area for the next day. Don’t worry about information which won’t affect you.

If there are similar programmes in your language and in English, compare them. Is the content exactly the same? Are the opinions given similar? What are the differences?

Native listeners don’t often listen to or understand 100% of what they hear. Non-native listeners shouldn’t try to either. Work on strategies to find out what people are talking about – listen for clues about the topic, the speakers’ opinions/feelings and the type of relationship they have (eg boss and employee, colleagues, wife and husband). Practise on the bus by eavesdropping on (secretly listening to) other people’s conversations. Or, try to work out what a tv/radio programme is about when you’ve missed the beginning.

If you are watching an English-language film with subtitles in your language, listen to check if the subtitles are accurate. Are they a direct translation or just a summary of what is said? If you hear a bilingual announcement, is the grammar exactly the same? Notice the differences and the similarities.

Watch a television soap opera every day so you get to know the story and characters. Knowing the background and context makes listening easier.

Enjoy listening. Use an English-language workout video and “kill two birds with one stone”. Listen to songs in English and learn your favourite lyrics.

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Speaking and Pronunciation

BBC Learning English (Watch and Listen)
Pronunciation advice and practice

British Council LearnEnglish in Listening
Listen to a pronunciation poem

Speaking tips

Become aware of how native speakers behave and copy them.
Watch a native English speaker’s mouth on television. Note what shapes they make and try to copy them. Listen out for characteristic “English” sounds and copy them too. What noises do they make when they are thinking? How do they take turns to speak? What happens to their voices when they get angry or embarrassed? Do they only smile in certain situations or with certain people? All these things are just as important as the words they use.

Ask a native speaker you know to help you with English you don’t understand.
Keep your questions simple and don’t expect your friend to know their English grammar as well as you do.

Talk to yourself in the mirror
Sing your favourite songs in English to copy the native speaker sounds. Have a set of general topics to choose from and take a new one each day.

Try to think in English
Ask yourself: How would I say that in English? How could I explain that idea to an English speaker?

Set up a conversation group
Meet regularly to talk in English. If you are preparing for an oral exam/interview, ask one friend to practise the interview with you and another to listen and give you constructive feedback on your performance. Then swap roles. Keep your conversations on topics you are familiar with. If you don’t know what to say, change the subject or keep quiet until you feel you can contribute easily again.

Write familiar conversation topics on cards.
Take a card and speak about the topic for two minutes. Record yourself and then listen, checking for things you could improve. Next time you take the same card, can you speak more confidently?

Learn some English: sentences which you need again and again.
Practise so that you can say them in conversation without having to worry.

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Vocabulary

BBC Learning English
Understand words in news stories

British Council LearnEnglish
Magazine articles to read.

Vocabulary tips

Learn five words a day.
Note them in a small diary, five words for each day. In this way you quickly build up a large set of vocabulary. If you keep the diary in your pocket, it is easy to review it on the bus or in a queue.

Create a personal dictionary.
Use a notebook to organise your vocabulary. Decide how you want to sort out the words:

parts of speech (eg all the adjectives together)
topic area (eg food, crime)
function of the language (eg suggesting, complaining)

If you use an address book with A-Z dividers, you could make an alphabetical sequence.

Keep a scrapbook of headlines, articles and advertisements
Include vocabulary that interests or amuses you. Write down phrases you hear on television or read and note the context they were in.

Use pictures to record idioms
Draw a cartoon picture to make each expression more memorable: eg “a storm in a teacup”.
Use the idioms to label a poster of your favourite singer or actor. Put “He pulled her leg” next to the leg, “She has no heart!” next to the heart, “She didn’t believe her eyes” next to the eyes, and so on. This may help you remember them better.

Make vocabulary cards
Write the English word on one side and the translation in your language on the other. Prepare the cards with new vocabulary and then use the cards to test yourself. Look at the English word and try to remember the translation.

You could also try to explain the meaning of the word (How would a dictionary define it?) or think of a sentence including the word. This is another activity which is easy to do when you have a few minutes of free time if you keep the cards in your pocket or bag.

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Reading

BBC Learning English in the news
Choose a topic and click on Reading

British Council LearnEnglish in reading
Read magazine articles on many different topics

Reading tips

Remember that there are different ways of reading
Think about the process of reading. When you skim read, you just get a general idea about the content. If you are looking for something particular, for example the name of your team on the sports pages, you scan the text for more detail.

Read actively
When you do any reading, predict what the text is going to be about from the title or the pictures. After you have read the text, do something with the new information you have, think about these questions:

Who is the article about?
Where and when is the article talking about?
What are the main points of the article?
What kind of people would find the article interesting to read?
What is your opinion of/reaction to the article?
Share your understanding
If someone you know has read the same article, talk about it with them. What do they think? Do you agree with them?

Read the same material in English as you would in your language
If you enjoy reading about fashion in your language, read about fashion in English too. You will already understand some of the vocabulary and ideas and have a good background knowledge. Conversely, if you hate films and never go to the cinema, reading an English-language film review will probably not be a useful exercise for you because you won’t enjoy it.

If you have access to the same material in your language and in English, compare the two versions. How has the translator expressed the same idea in the new language? Is it a good translation? What would you change? Are the texts exactly the same?

Set yourself a reading target
Reading one article every day is better than reading a whole paper only once a fortnight. Ask your teacher to recommend suitable materials.

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Writing

BBC Learning English Message Board
Write messages to other learners of English
British Council LearnEnglish in writing
Grammar games to help your writing
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Grammar

BBC Learning English (Learn it)
Answers to your grammar questions

British Council LearnEnglish in Grammar
Grammar Games

Grammar tips

Read & listen to English every day
Reading and listening to natural English will expose you to a lot of new grammar in a natural context. Find magazines that interest you, watch films in English and read simplified readers with tapes, or do the crossword in the newspaper.

Try to work rules out for yourself
Try and work out rules for yourself before checking in a reference book. If you try to work things out for yourself first, this will help you remember it better. It’s also good practice as you won’t have a reference book with you all the time, so you’ll often have to guess the meaning of unknown words.

Keep a notebook
Have a separate notebook for grammar. When you come across sentences or paragraphs with good, clear examples of structure and grammar, write them in your notebook. Grammar rules need good examples to help you to better understand. Don’t just learn the translation. Practise using the grammar and vocabulary in the right context in written and spoken sentences.

As well as writing in a notebook, try to stick what you’ve learned in a place where you often see it. For example, you could stick it next to your mirror in the bathroom. While you’re brushing your teeth, read through the list and try to remember them. You could stick words on the walls or beside your computer.

Learn words in groups or phrases
There are many words in English that go together. Try to learn words together with their partners and not words on their own, e.g. phrases (brush up your English), adjectives or verbs with prepositions (interested in, listen to, verb and noun collocations – do your homework).

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Most of these links and tips are copied from British Council‘s learning website. Please contact the webmaster for any copyright issues.

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English language – Mar 10, 2008

水自流 — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:45:48 +0000

昨天跟Melic说我在这里对方向感一点都没有是因为在客家话里面一般去市区都是“上”的方向词在前面，而现在我住的地方去乌节路其实在地图上是往下走，因此就弄混了，另外一个这里道路方向在左跟国内相反也是一个因素。刚才收到他的一封邮件，就在下面。另外前天还有一封主题是storytime的邮件，我还没有开始看呢：http://www.fln.vcu.edu/struwwel/bubeng.html。之所以这么快将这个内容贴出来是因为可以在my dame room上网了，不过不知道是不是临时的，刚才只是check了一下，竟然有一个可以连上（update: 事实证明，只高兴了一会，正奸商）。OK，废话不说先，请enjoy：

An interesting piece on the English language!

(1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

(2) The farm was used to produce produce.

(3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

(4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

(5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

(6) The soldier decided to desert his desert in the desert.

(7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

(8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

(9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

(10) I did not object to the object.

(11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

(12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

(13) They were too close to the door to close it.

(14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

(15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

(16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

(17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

(18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

(19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

(20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Let’s face it – English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren’t invented in England or French fries in France . Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce and hammers don’t ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn’t the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers taught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

You lovers of the English language might enjoy this

There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is “UP.”

It’s easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?

We call UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special.

And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.

We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don’t give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP.

When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP.

When it doesn’t rain for awhile, things dry UP.

One could go on and on, but I’ll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP, so………. it is time to shut UP …..!

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BC: Extra Free Class Day 5 – Jan 21, 2008

水自流 — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 04:11:35 +0000

Let’s look at this video first, it’s title is ‘Bank Robberry in Downtown in Los Angles’:

What I learned in this class was ‘I saw/heard somebody do/doing something’. Examples:

A1. I saw them come in. (the action completed)
A2. I heard them switch on the TV.
B1. I saw some people coming towards the house. (not the whole action, part of that)
B2. I could hear them talking in wispers.

Here is the story:

As I passed the door, I stopped. A woman was crying. I tiptoed to the door and listened. A man said, ‘Give me the keys.’ I bent down and looked through the key hole. A man was kneeling in front of an open safe. Suddenly, the woman pulled a gun from her handbang and pointed it at the man. A shot rang out, and the man fell to the floor.

What did the person see and hear? So you can tell the story to the police like this:

As I passed the door, I stopped. I heard a woman crying. I tiptoed to the door and stopped. I heard a man say, ‘Give me the keys.’ I bent down and looked through the keyhole. I saw a man kneeling in front of an open safe. Suddenly, I saw the woman pull a gun from her handbag. I saw her point it at the man. I heard a shot ring out and I saw the man fall to the floor.

Now you can use the following phrases to decribe the things what’ve happened in tee video:
rushed out/into/up…
screeched to a halt
dashed into/up/out…
drove away
puzzled
ignored
eyewitness
You already knew this robber action were not a true story, right? Maybe just a part of movie.

Beside that, there was a short practising on the ‘Emphasising the point’. I think we can use the phrass to express our feeling: enjoy, really difficult, surprised you, annoyed you.

What/The thing(that) + I enjoy/I admire/I can’t stand/I find difficult/surprise me/annoys me/fascinate me + about…/is….

Examples:

I really enjoy reading the Sunday papers in bed.
The thing I really enjoy is reading the Sunday papers in bed.
I find phasal verbs really difficult.
What I find really difficult is phrasal verbs.
In New York the shops stay open all night. That really surprised me.
The thing really surprised me about New York was that the shops open all night.
He never answered my letters — that really annoyed me.
The thing that really annoyed me is that he never answered my letters.

At last, I would like to introduce a blog which owner is Wangpei, that’s a learning english blog which name is PiEnglish.

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