P.S. I love you.

Holly Kennedy (Hilary Swank) is beautiful, smart, and married to the love of her life—a passionate, funny and impetuous Irishman named Gerry (Gerard Butler). So when Gerry’s life is taken by an illness, it takes the life out of Holly. The only one who can help her is the person who is no longer there. Nobody knows Holly better than Gerry. So it’s a good thing he planned ahead.

Quote from: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/psiloveyou/

Yesterday I saw P.S. I love you and actually I had seen this movie last year. It’s maybe because of the romance story touched me a lot and just let me want to see this movie again. I love this movie so much and the chief actor, Gerry, is such a sweet man. He planed to send 10 letters to his wife before he died. Holly got her first letter at her 30 birthday party. Here is the first letter, it’s so simple and you can feel that Gerry loves Holly so deep from the words he used. Every letter has its plan and Holly has to do what the letters mention. You will see how well Gerry understood Holly otherwise he can’t plan everything so perfect. This film made me cry several times all the words in the movie is so great. The screenplay is based on the 2004 novel of the same name by Cecelia Ahern. I plan to find the novel and read it.

My Darling Holly,

I don't know where you are or when exactly you are reading this. I just hope that my letter has found you safe and healthy. You whispered to me nor long ago that you couldn't go on alone. You can, Holly.

You are strong and brave and you can get through this. We share some beautiful times together and you made my life... you made my life. I have no regrets. But I am just a chapter in your life, there will be many more. Remember our wonderful memories, but please don't be afraid to make some more.

Thank you for doing me the honor of being my wife. For everything, I am eternally grateful. Whenever you need me, know that I am with you.

Love forever,

Your husband and best friend,
Gerry

PS, I promised a list, so here it is. The following envelopes must be opened exactly when labeled and must be obeyed. And remember, I'm looking out for you, so I will konw.....

Save yourself the bruises and buy yourself a bedside lamp !

PS, I love you...

Home Remedy from My Family

Since long time ago, people have been showing an interest in using their own remedies for treating illnesses. Some people may not believe it but the truth is that all of us have used some at one time. This kind of medicine is often called a “home remedy”. Home remedies are always natural and made at home and they are from natural ingredients such as fruits, vegetables, and herbs. They are easy to make. They are side-effect free, chemicals-free, and inexpensive. There are many kinds of home remedies; furthermore, these different kinds usually vary form culture to culture or family to family.

For natural home remedies, the kitchen is a great place to start. There are almost all the medicines you would possible find at the kitchen. My family has a very special home remedy for burn and it’s from my grandmother. There are total two cans for this burn medicine, one is oil and another one is the secret orange powder. Why I said it’s the secret powder? It’s because we didn’t know the correct ingredients since my grandmother died. The color of the power is just like brick and close to orange. It smells bad and very stinking when you mixed the oil with this powder.

Once we get burned my grandmother will take these two special cans. First, prepare a bowl and spoon. Second, pour out some oil from the fist can into the bowl and also add some orange powder. Then, mix them together very well and at the same time you will smell the bad stink filled around you. After that they will become very smooth and just like the cream soup. Finally, apply the mixed cream on the burned skin evenly before you have to make sure your skin is dry. Be noticed that the cream you apply must over the size of the wound because it’s to avoid the air come into and infect the burned skin. You have to apply it twice a day at least and DO NOT let the wound to touch the water at any time. If the burn is not so serious, it will be cured within two to three days. If your burn is very bad, it may take a week or the whole month. The most miraculous thing is your scar will be removed and then disappear after all.

In short, some people may not believe the home remedy but I do believe nature medicines continue to help people fight age-old illnesses and diseases, for instance, common cold, headache and stomach pain. Home remedies are always natural and made from natural ingredients and they are easy, no side effects and no chemicals. It’s simple and safe for people to use and the most important is you will feel pleasure of being able to cure yourself.

Salt

Evelyn Salt, a trusted and loyal CIA operative, goes on the run when a Russian defector convinces her superiors that she’s a double agent sent to assassinate the President of the United States. As the intense manhunt heats up, Salt uses all her skills as a covert operative to elude capture and uncovers a secret so powerful it could change the course of world history. Angelina Jolie stars in this action-packed thriller that will keep you guessing until the end.

Quote from http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/salt/

It’s an action and detective movie. The initial actor was designed for Tom Cruise but he didn’t have time so the producer asked Angelina Jolie to play this film. So some actions were very exaggerated for a actress to do and you can see some pictures from the movie reminding you of “Mission Impossible”. For example, she jumped from a fuel tank car to another car, climbed down a ten story elevator, and killed about a hundred people by her bare hands. Don’t you think Salt just likes James bond in the movie. It touches me the most is her husband has been killed just in front of her. You can read her internal feeling is extremely sad and depressed by her high-speed heartbeat dub. After a few seconds, her heartbeat became slowly and she had to hide her emotion and hold tears behind her eyes. She can’t let anyone know she is upset after her husband died. She is a great actress and her performance is so excellent. She holds this movie together with cool intensity that would rival any actor.

Although I don’t know what’s going on about the Cold War, you can smell the spy business has become more complicated than ever from the film. The plot is all over the movie and it’s hard to guess why Salt did so. There are too many things happening in the movie that are too convenient and even impossible. Still it didn't keep me from enjoying this movie. It even managed to thrill me to suspect her next step. Jolie does an excellent job as the action heroine. This is pure entertainment if you won’t too picky about the story of this movie.

Close to you

This song sang by Karen Carpenter and she is the best female voice ever. In my opinion this is the best song I have ever heard and I think the most of you will be agreed with me. Otherwise you will be NOT hearing and read this as well. I can hear this song still in one time again and again. It is such an incredible song of the times and ages. The best singer of the world and it is sad that she dieted to death. It’s really pity we lost her.

Here is the MV:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87XQKCXfFjQ

Here is the lyrics:

Close To You

Why do birds suddenly appear? 鳥兒們為何突然出現？
Every time you are near每一次你靠近時
Just like me就像我一樣
They long to be他們早就想接近你
Close to you

Why do stars fall down from the sky? 星星為何從天上墜落？
Every time you walk by每一次當你走來
Just like me就像我一樣
They long to be他們早就想接近你

Close to you

(*) On the day that you were born在你誕生的那一天
The angels got together and decided to create a dream - come true
天使們聚在一起決定創造出一個成真的美夢
So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair --of gold starlight in your eyes --of blue 於是，祂們在你的金髮灑上月塵,在你的藍眼珠裡灑上星光

(**) That is why all the girls in town這就是為何城裡所有的女孩
Follow you all around到處都跟隨著你
Just like me就像我一樣
They long to be她們早就想接近你

Close to you
Repeat (*)
Repeat (**)

Just like me
They long to be
Close to you
Wahhhhhhhhhhh, close to you.
Wahhhhhhhhhhh, close to you.
Hahhhhhhhhhhh, close to you.
Lahhhhhhhhhhh, close to you.

Alternative Energy Source - Solar Energy

The sun is a totally renewable and easily obtainable energy source. The government encourages people to install solar panels on their houses and also subsidize people for that. My parents had installed the panels on the house about 10 years ago and we could use hot water anytime as we wish. It’s all free without using any gas or electricity. The only cost was for the initial installation. My friend owns a beauty salon in Taoyuan and she had installed the panels on the top of the building. She said these solar panels can help her to save lots of money on the hot water. She spent about 2 years to recover the cost that she invested in the panels. Now she didn’t need to count the cost of gas or electricity and she can make more money. Although the scientists don’t find the technology to lower the cost of solar panels yet, I still believe solar energy is the best alternative energy source in the world. Solar power energy will be more widely used in the near future.

The Feeling about Being Deceived

I just awared that I have been deceived for several months. This feeling is really terrible and I still can’t let bygones be bygones so far. I felt like a total outsider between our relationship. I still don’t understand why she doesn’t want to tell me what’s going on. She can just let me know and I understand she did so just for living. Am I not one of her good friends? I think I do give a lot of suggestions and supports when she was in trouble. I think she is my friend and I try to do anything I can to assist her. And look what I got now apart from being kept in the dark. Just tell me how you will feel if you were me. I feel I was a fool and I trust her too much. I just don’t know why she keeps this secret until now. Why she never wonders I will be aware of it one day. No secret can be kept forever. I really felt awful and it is because I think she is my good friend. From now on, I will consider that she is just a normal friend of mine. And she doesn’t deserve my friendliness after all.

Monga

Recently I saw some movies. Monga is the movie that I always want to see but I don’t have time to do so. After Ethan Juan, 阮經天, win the best leading actor at the golden horse award. I think it’s time to take a look at this movie. Although some people said this movie is very common and too popularize and I still think is a good movie. At least it is understandable than some Taiwanese movies. Compare with Cape No. 7. I think Monga is much deeper into humanity and teenagers’ impression and opinion.  

“MONGA” is an action drama that tells a story of youth days with background of gangster. It’s about teenage kids’ friendship in the old time. The whole story is just from a chicken leg. I do recommend you to see this movie.

I excerpt some interesting lines from this movie.

Together, we stepped into the world of grown-ups and there was no returning back.我們一起走進大人的世界---沒有回頭路

You have to fight them first, or they’ll fight you!
今天你要是不弄死他們，明天你就會被他們弄死！

Here is the 《MONGA》Official Trailer (English Subtitles)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztSLNCNCmM0&feature=player_embedded

Translate a Chinese Song - 水調歌頭

It's really fun to translate this Chinese song in English.
Especially it's not easy and hard to short Chinese words in a few English words.

水調歌頭 Missing you　蘇軾Translate by Ching
明月幾時有 When will the full moon appear
把酒問青天Asking the blue sky

不知天上宮闕 I don’t know what time it is
今夕是何年 in the heaven.
我欲乘風歸去 I’d like to go home by wind
又恐瓊樓玉宇 I’m afraid the jade palace would be
高處不勝寒 too high and too cold for me
起舞弄清影 Dancing with my shadow
何似在人間 doesn’t like being in the world
轉朱閣 Moonlight shines on the red house,
低綺戶 the window
照無眠 and sleepless me
不應有恨 Moon, do you feel regret.
何事長向別時圓Why do you always turn to round when people separate
人有悲歡離合People may have vicissitudes of life
月有陰晴圓缺The moon may be dim or bright
此事古難全 Nothing is perfect
但願人長久 wish us till to the end
千裡共嬋娟 sharing the beauty of the moon

New Year’s Resolution-2011

My New Year’s resolution is to visit Japan with my family next year. But right now the first priority is to graduate from university next summer. I love Japan very much, especially their 3C products and clothes. Japan is a clean and beautiful country and their transportation is very convenient for taking an individual trip. I had got experience to Kyushu with my older daughter 3 years ago. At that time, my daughter had lots of fun there because of Hello Kitty amusement park and we always talk about visiting Japan again. So I plan to visit Osaka with my husband and two lovely daughters during the summer vacation.

I can search a lot of information about Japan from www.backpacker.com and we are going to visit Osaka by ourselves. There are lots of useful information on the website regarding the accommodations, transportation, seasonal affairs and travel tips. Also I can get some suggestions from other travelers who used to travel there by themselves or the person who live there. It’s really a great website for anyone who wants to take an individual trip.

I told my family about this plan and they are looking forward to visiting Japan. We think we will see many interesting things and nice view in Osaka. We believe we will have a good time there.

The Blind Side

This movie is based on the true story of Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy who accept a homeless black teenage, Michael Oher "Big Mike". Michael has no idea who his father is and his mother is a drug addict. Michael never had formal education and Leigh Anne, Mrs. Tuohy, soon takes over it. Her nature believes that the young man has every opportunity to succeed. They not only provide him a home with love, but hire a tutor to help him improve his grades to get the point. Finally, Michael Oher studied at the university and became a famous football player.

I just saw The Blind Side last night. If you are not a football fan, you'll like this movie. I am not a football fan but I loved it!!! There are so many great performances by the actors. It’s also a charming story with laughs and tears. I admire Mrs. Tuohy for her frankness and kindness. I believe won’t do so if I was her. How nice to have a positive movie this time of the year especially. Everybody MUST see this movie. Quinton Aaron does a fantastic job of playing Michael Oher. In the beginning of the movie, he has no dialog but he expresses so much just with eyes and facial expressions. Jae Head is charming as the young "brother" S.J. Sandra Bullock as I have seen her some movies before and she does a wonderful job. It’s so different that the other roles she has had in the past. It’s really a great and energetic movie for all ages.

Home Remedy from My Family

     Since long time ago, people have been showing an interest in using their own remedies for treating illnesses. Some people may not believe it but the truth is that all of us have used some at one time. This kind of medicine is often called a “home remedy”. Home remedies are always natural and made at home and they are from natural ingredients such as fruits, vegetables, and herbs. They are easy to make. They are side-effect free, chemicals-free, and inexpensive. There are many kinds of home remedies; furthermore, these different kinds usually vary form culture to culture or family to family.

For natural home remedies, the kitchen is a great place to start. There are almost all the medicines you would possible find at the kitchen. My family has a very special home remedy for burn and it’s from my grandmother. There are total two cans for this burn medicine, one is oil and another one is the secret orange powder. Why I said it’s the secret powder? It’s because we didn’t know the correct ingredients since my grandmother died. The color of the power is just like brick and close to orange. It smells bad and very stinking when you mixed the oil with this powder.

Once we get burned my grandmother will take these two special cans. First, prepare a bowl and spoon. Second, pour out some oil from the fist can into the bowl and also add some orange powder. Then, mix them together very well and at the same time you will smell the bad stink filled around you. After that they will become very smooth and just like the cream soup. Finally, apply the mixed cream on the burned skin evenly before you have to make sure your skin is dry. Be noticed that the cream you apply must over the size of the wound because it’s to avoid the air come into and infect the burned skin. You have to apply it twice a day at least and DO NOT let the wound to touch the water at any time. If the burn is not so serious, it will be cured within two to three days. If your burn is very bad, it may take a week or the whole month. The most miraculous thing is your scar will be removed and then disappear after all.
In short, some people may not believe the home remedy but I do believe nature medicines continue to help people fight age-old illnesses and diseases, for instance, common cold, headache and stomach pain. Home remedies are always natural and made from natural ingredients and they are easy, no side effects and no chemicals. It’s simple and safe for people to use and the most important is you will feel pleasure of being able to cure yourself.

Last Stop – The Big Apple

Since we decided to leave Chicago we had to buy a ticket from Chicago to our last stop “New York.” I didn’t have too much time in NY for my boyfriend asked me to go home right away otherwise he would brake up with me. The extremely awful thing was no space for me to return home. So I have to stand by and slept at the airport sometimes. Another bad thing was no locker at the terminal which I should board a plane. There were several terminals in JFK International Airport and the terminal with locker was 10 miles away. I needed to carry two big luggage and one hand carry bag with me and I had to put my baggage from locker to the boarding terminal. If lucky I would take the shuttle bus, if not I had to walk by myself. One more terrible thing is the locker will be closed at 11 pm and my flight time is 10:50 pm. This meant I don’t have too much time to pick up my luggage from locker to boarding terminal after I had been notified that I got on waiting list. What a tragedy!! Three days later, I got in the plane and I can go home eventually.

Work in Chicago

After we left Texas we took aircraft to Chicago because there is a job opportunity their. A Taiwanese president that I knew from my previous job offered us a job at his factory in Chicago. I didn’t remember how much the wage he provided but it’s really a special working experience. We supposed we can’t work in America because we don’t have working permit and we have to work undercover. The president rented a hostel with kitchen for us so we can cook at our room. We did save some money for seldom eating out. We also visited some place around Chicago, such as, the best hot dog in Chicago, automobile race and famous Jazz bar. We did enjoy the city and we planed to stay there for 3 months. Unfortunately, my head got hurt during working and the president’s sister brought me to the hospital immediately. It’s not a big deal but of the injury but let me felt home sick again. Finally, we decided to leave this job and moved to next stop “New York”. Although it’s not a very good experience and I did thanks to the boss and we did earn some money for next stop. Actually we almost ran out all the money we carried from Taiwan due to the long trip in U.S.A.

South of America

After we finished our trip in west of America we took the airplane to Dallas and rented a small car at airport. We have been visited Dallas, Houston (NASA), San Antonio, Austin, New Orleans, Miami and Walt Disney World. Walt Disney World is my favorite and unforgettable place that I have never been before. It’s an excellent place for young and old, big and small people. I believed it's the happiest place on earth! They have several parks in different style that’s why I mentioned earlier that it’s a biggest playground in the world. I personally recommend the incredible fireworks display and the biggest, brightest fireworks extravaganza in Magic Kingdom theme park history. The show was so immeasurable and significant that you can’t miss it. You must visit their once throughout your life and you won’t disappoint.

Our First Stop

Our first stop is to drive our rental car and went to Universal Studios Hollywood. I still remember the most popular games are Jurassic Park, Return to the Future and Water World at that time. We had lots of fun their and join many exciting games at the Universal Studios. We decided not to visit Disneyland California because we preferred to visit the biggest amusement in Florida. Then, we went north and visited lots of cities, such as, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and Seattle and so on. We also went to some famous attraction, for instance, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Yellow Stone National Park, Stanford University, Napa Valley, Fisherman’s Wharf, University of California Berkeley and etc…. When we finished our trip to northwest of America we went back to Katie’s place after 3 weeks. Next we started to visit southwest of America, for example, Yosemite National Park, San Jose, San Diego, Long Beach…and so on. We spent about a month to stay west side of America and we did have a great time their.

After Arriving America

When we first arrived at the L.A. International Airport our friend, Katie, picked us up and told us some special rules in America and we stayed at her house. She also showed us the direction how to drive to the supermarket and Chinatown. Next day, we rented a big Ford car and began to explore this beautiful country. We planed to start from west side of America and it took one month at least. We felt extreme exciting about this trip and I still remembered the excitement now.

The Reason to Visit U.S.A.

It all started from a bid for air ticket in March. My best friend, Coco, wind a bid for two air tickets to America. Each ticket cost NTD 25,000 only and we can choose any three destinations that we preferred to stay in U.S.A. The bad thing is we had to make a decision and paid all the expense in three days otherwise we had to waive. We both felt exciting and confirmed to go in a day. Then Coco and I planed to resign our job and thought about the whole schedule. We planed to visit all the famous cities in 6 months and began from Los Angeles. Next stop was Dallas and the last stop was New York.

The Dreams

Do you think one person’s decision can make a difference? People said that each person must do what she or he thinks right, and maybe in the end each person can make a difference. After working for three years and my English is really poor at that time. I decided to explore a country that spoke English I had never been. On May 20, 2000, I have an independent trip with my best friend in U.S.A. and we went to lots of famous places and took some special adventures during that time.

Saving Money

A man has been waiting for the bus at the bus stops.
After a few minutes, the bus arrives but didn't stop at the bus stop.
The man thought it will stop if he start running after the bus

Unfortunately, the bus never stops and keeps running.
The man keeps following the bus until he realizes that he has arrived home already.

The man is ver happy that he can save a litte money today.
He told his wife "Honey, you know, today I ran after the bus until arriving home.
I don't have to pay the bus fee.

"Stupid" the wife complains to her husband.
"Do you know how much you can save, if yiou ran after a taxi!!"

This joke was from google and I made some amendment.

My Family

There are four members in my family, my husband, two daughters, and myself. I got married when I was 24, at that time, most of my friends are still single. So I became just like a consultant now and once my friends have problems to feed or bring up kids. My husband is 40 years old and works in a private company as a director. He is a responsible person and he has a good manner. He has worked in this company for over 10 years. His job is very busy and he works very hard so he always works overtime every day. The main reason why I married him is because he is a responsible person and we both love to enjoy the delicious food. My big girl called Molly and she is 9 years old now. She is a smart, lovely and pretty girl just like me. My little girl, Iren, she is five years old. She is a sweet girl and loves to enjoy the food just like us. Family is the most important for me. I wish my daughters can grow up smoothly and healthily. I hope they can feel happiness and live in love all the time.

My Little Proud - Iren

Iren is my little girl and she has learned playing piano since this April. I have to say she is not the smart one but she always insists on practicing piano. Once she has time she will sit before the piano and play for a while. At beginning she can play only by right hand and after five months she can play by two hands. Now she can sing and play the composition in the same time. Although she just play and sing the little bee I still feel proud of her. Here is the video that I took last Sunday.

Summarized the Gist

Let’s take a look at the first slide, from this graph you can see the red line is the reading quantity in Taiwan.

As you can see here, the numbers of reading quantity stayed the same between 2 million in the first 3 years. The number had risen to 6 million since 2008. And by the end of 2010 the reading quantity will reach over 7 million.

The reading quantity became higher and higher recently so how to read effectively is very important.

Summarized the Gist-Opening

Do you know reading is very important for your life?
Do you know how to use reading strategy when you read?
In order to let you know more about it.
I’m going to show you how to read effectively as well as the mistakes we normally taken when we use “Summarize the gist”
My today’s presentation is divided into four main points.
As the quantity of reading has been increased year by year the first part of my speech will be focusing on the graph and it’s about reading situation in Taiwan.
Followed by the what usually happens? when we summarize, that you may find some common mistakes we taken.
As you may still don’t know how to do to summarize
What should we do is therefore the number three focal point I would love to talk about.
Conclusion will be introduced in the last part of my presentation.
The whole presentation will take about 5 mins, and there will be a Q&A session in the end of my speech.

New Year Festival

The first day of the New Year Festival, people have ritual to respect their ancestors. They wear new clothes and visit the temples to worship and pray for good luck. They also visit friends, neighbors and relatives to exchange good wishes of “gong xi fa cai” which means “congratulations and prosperity.” The second day of the New Year Festival is the day that married daughters return to their parents’ home. Her husband must accompany her and bring gifts to visit the family. On the fourth day, it is time to welcome the Kitchen God back to the world and people prepare offerings of food to thank the gods. Day five almost brings the New Year Festivities to a close. All offerings are removed from the altars and life returns to normal so many stores and businesses open their door for the first time. Finally, on the ninth day, numerous offerings are set out in the forecourt or central courtyard of temples to celebrate the birthday of the Jade Emperor.

Though the festivities held on Chinese New Year have been handed down for millennia, they still retain the significance today. Indeed, no matter what changes may occur over time, the idea of getting together with the family will always lie at the heart of Lunar New Year celebrations.

Lunar New Year’s Eve

On Lunar New Year’s Eve, family members who are no longer living at home make a special effort to return home and share in a sumptuous meal. At that time, family members hand out hong bao, lucky money, in red envelopes to elders and children. They also try to stay up all night to welcome the New Year as they believed doing this on New Year’s Eve that their parents would live a longer life. Thus, lights are kept on the entire night. It’s not only to keep Nian away but also to make the most of the family to get together. In addition, some families even hold religious ceremonies after midnight to welcome the God of the New Year into their homes. It’s a ritual often ended with a huge quantity of firecrackers.

Chinese New Year

Beginning in mid-December, families start preparing for Chinese New Year, the Lunar New Year, and creating an atmosphere of joy and renewal. It is a very special occasion because it is the time when people take a break from work to get together with family and friends. The origin of the Lunar New Year Festival can be traced back thousands of years and it involves a lot of colorful legends and traditions. One of the most famous legends is Nian, a cruel beast, that the ancients believed would eat people on New Year’s Eve. To keep Nian away, red-paper couplets are pasted on doors, torches are lit, and firecrackers are set off throughout the night because Nian is said to fear the color red, the light of fire, and loud noises. The next morning people feel the victory and renewal fill the air and they believe to keep Nian away successfully. Then, gong xi, congratulations, is the most popular greeting that people greet with cheers.

The Effects of Cooperative Reading Strategy-5

This reading program did affect me very much in facilitating my English proficiency. Gregory taught us the phonetics in the beginning of the class and this enhanced and improved me a lot on pronunciation. I learn not only useful reading strategies from this course but also I can use some of them to help reading myself. I can guess the meaning by using context clues when I don’t recognize the word. In addition, the quantity of vocabulary that I keep in mind is much more. Thanks to our teacher, Gregory, he always keeps pushing us on studying English. And it has a great impact on me and it’s my pressure to be one of Gregory’s students.

The Effects of Cooperative Reading Strategy-4

The effects of Cooperative Strategy-based Instruction on my attitudes towards reading are inspirited me a lot and made me feel more confident. It also strengthens and enhances me on learning motive and emotion. One thing I had done is I try to speak English as much as I can even when I talk to my children.

The Effects of Cooperative Reading Strategy-3

Regarding the effect of cooperative learning, it’s really a great idea while reading. First, we can divide the homework or report into three to four main parts and team work will save our time because we all have daytime job. Second, we will have the interaction one another when we discuss any issues. Sometimes our member will correct me that I never knew I was wrong. The best part is we can think and learn more from different viewer because we have 10 groups in this class. Then each group can share his experience and the matters he has learnt.

The Effects of Cooperative Reading Strategy-2

The difficulties I encounter while I am using strategies are: First of all, vocabulary I knew is not enough. Also, the pronunciation for some words is hard for me to read especially the longer words. These two difficulties are influenced each other and when I don’t understand the meaning of a vocabulary it is hard to realize and pronounce. Next, my English grammar is not good enough. So when the sentence is too long it’s not easy to know what’s the actual meaning that writer wish to express.

The Effects of Cooperative Reading Strategy-1

There are several reading strategies, for instance, applying text structure, summarizing the gist, using context clues, using visualization and so on. You can use any of them but I think we should not just use one single reading strategy while reading. Moreover, how to choose the reading strategy I suggest it is depend on which kind of theme, essay or the structure of text. I prefer to use summarizing the gist and combine using context clues normally. Sometimes I will also use visualization to imagine and guess what the author wants to tell us.

What I did to reduce our own carbon footprint?

1. Separate the garbage and recycle paper, plastic bag, plastic can….

2. Eat at home: Try to cook at home and bring lunch box to office

3. Eat out: Bring our own tableware, like chopsticks and spoon

4. Go to work by riding bicycle when the weather is nice.

5. Usually bring my daughter to school by walk and sometimes by bike.

6. Don’t drive car to Taipei City instead of taking train and MRT.

7. Set the temperature of air conditioner at 27-28 degree C.

What are people doing to reduce carbon emissions?

Government and some environmental groups pass leaflets or take films to let people understand the world is changing now. Everyone has to do something to protect our environment and it’s not for you only good it’s all for everybody who live in the earth.
Government ask citizens to “ keep trash off the ground” the garbage separated, recycling program..
We have to buy garbage bag to pack our trash
These policies are all for reducing the quantity of garbage.
Some people don’t drive car or ride motorcycle to go to work instead of taking MRT or train.
If the distance is not too far they will ride bicycle or work to the office.

Global Warming

We have read a lot of articles and papers about global warming. It is really happening and whether we like it or not we are part of it. We might be just an ordinary citizen, but we can do something about it. There are many environmental issues attributed to global warming like climate changed. There is so many the increased in frequency of extreme weather events. The temperature becomes higher and higher and climate changes year by year.
Ex: We don’t have cold weather in winter.
However, sometimes the temperature is extreme cool in spring and summer.
The weather is very unusual during these years.
EX: Tsunami in Southeast Asia;
Hurricane Katrina in America;
Earthquake in China
Volcano eruption in Iceland

Morning People / Night People

There are two types of people in this world, morning people and night people. Both people’s sleep needs and preferences seem to vary quite a bit. For example, morning people need a lot of sleep, while night people seem to get along fine on five or six hours a night. Furthermore, morning people follow the maxim of “early to bed, early to rise”. Night people often called “night owls” because they prefer to stay up late. These night people feel that they function better at night and are often very productive during the evening hours. In other words, a night people is often tried at the breakfast table, while a morning people is ready to face the day. In the evening, a morning people will be ready to get to sleep. At that time a night people starts to feel energetic. People said an hour in the morning is worth two in the evening. To sum up, I recommend being the morning people personally. While night people still sleep in the morning and early risers can get ready from the beginning of the day. Don’t you think so?

Conclusion of Summarizing the Gist

A good summary gives only the most important events or ideas in a story.
Summarizing is vital to reading understanding.
It serves as a way to make sure you understood what you have read.
Summarizing can teach us to be better and more attentive.
Summarizing can teach us to write and think clearly.
Summarizing is a very useful skill.
Thank you all for listening.

What Should We Do When We Summarize?

Pull out main ideas
Focus on key detail
Use key words and phrases
Break down the larger ideas
Write only enough to express the gist
Take simple but complete notes

First step:
Get a “Sum it up” sheet
Read the selection (chapter, article, handout, primary source …)
Underline the key words and main ideas
List the main idea words and write these in the blank area below
At the bottom of the sheet, write just one sentence to summarize the articles.
Using as many main idea words as you can

Second step:
Imagine you only have NTD 20.-
Each word you use will cost you 1 dollar
See if you can “sum it up” in 20 words!
Finally, you will “sum it up” in 20 words.

Opening for Summarize the Gist

Good morning, everyone.
I’m glad that most of you could make it today.
I know that you all have tight schedules,
so it’s our pleasure to welcome you here.
We’re team no. 8, I’m Ching.
Here are our super team member, Yiyi, Peggy, Katie.

In order to let you know more about reading strategy,
we’re going to give you an overview about it.
What we want to do today is to present “Summarize the Gist”.

Our presentation is divided into four main points.

The first part of our speech will be focusing on “What is Reading?”
Peggy will take care of it.

Followed by Yiyi, she’ll let you know “What is Reading Strategy?”

As you may also want to know “What is Summarizing?”
So Katie will share you “What are we doing when we summarize?”
What kinds of mistakes usually happen when we summarize.

After that, I will show you “What should we do to summarize?”

Conclusion will be the last part of my speech.

So let’s welcome Peggy to tell you “What is Reading?”

Entertainment in Las Vegas

Good afternoon, everyone. I'm glad that most of you could make it today.
I know that you all have tight schedules,
so it's my pleasure to welcome you here.
As most of you have known that I am Ching.

Have you ever been to Las Vegas before?

Do you want to visit there on your next vacation?

In order to let you know more about Las Vegas.
I’m going to give you an overview of the city as well as the entertainment facilities over there.

My today’s presentation is divided into four main points.

As Las Vegas is famous for its gambling industry,
the first part of my speech will be focusing on Casinos in Las Vegas;
followed by the shows and concerts that you may find them of interest to join.
As you may also want to buy some souvenirs, or luxurious designer brands especially after you have hit the jackpot, shopping in Las Vegas is therefore the number three focal point

I would love to talk about.
In addition to gambling, culture events, and shopping, you cannot miss local delicacies in Las Vegas, which will be introduced in the last part of my presentation.

The whole presentation will take about 30 mins, and there will be a Q&A session in the end of my speech.

How to Get the Job of Your Dreams

In the economy that we are in, it is hard to find a job. You can get the job of your dreams in a very short time by following these steps. First of all, you have to focus on your job search by using the keywords that best explain your interests and the location you would like to work. Next, it's also important to type resumes that show your qualifications meet the position that you are applying for. Remember don’t use a single resume for every job you apply. After that, make a list of companies that you would like to work for and send your resume to them. When you have found a job and they are willing to interview you, in the meanwhile, it is time to research the company’s background before you attend the meeting. Make sure that you dress appropriately and get ready for the interview. Then you can practice answering questions that the manager may ask you and you have to make sure you make your skills very clear to the manager. Practice saying your skills and how you will help them on the job and it is also very important to show the loyal when you tell the interviewer you will follow up with the employer. Finally, thank him for giving you a chance and the time to interview, and remind him why you are a great candidate for the job. If you follow up above steps, I believe you will get the job of your dreams at last.

Las Vegas

I have visited Las Vegas three times. I went with my parents when I was 21 years old. It was also the first time to visit Las Vegas. But I haven’t spent too much time to visit this city because we join the tour package. At that time I told myself that I must visit this city again. After two years I went again with my best friend, Coco, and we spent a whole week there. There are some major tourist attractions in Las Vegas and you can’t miss it.

As Las Vegas is famous of its gambling industry and the first part will be Casinos. All the casinos open for 24 hours and you can gamble anytime and anywhere even in 7-11.

Then, lots of wonderful shows and concerts and you may find them of interest to join. Such as, magic show, the famous singer’s concert…and so on. You can just choose any of them to spend your time there.

Next, Las Vegas is definitely the most convenient place for shopping. You may also want to buy some souvenirs, or luxurious designer brands especially after you hit the jackpot. Most of brands have stores there and the fabulous shipping locales and over 200 well-known shops in Las Vegas.

Finally, when you are hungry and you don’t know what to eat in Las Vegas. You can choose all you can eat buffet or any kind of food around the world, for example, Japanese, Italian, Mexican, and so on.

So how about go to Las Vegas in you next trip.

Qualities of a Good Employee

A good employee has four qualities. First of all, you must be a self-starter and also have a willingness to learn and grow up with the company. A good employee should work spontaneously from natural impulse once you see someone whom needs help or something needs to be done. Second, you must have integrity. Good credit make employee more confident to work with. If you don’t have honesty how can you build trust with the employer and take more responsibilities? Next, patience is one of essential factor to a good employee. It will prevent you from doing wrong things. A patient person will be untiring in labor and working hard. Finally, you should have great organization skills and have an ability to communicate effectively both orally and written. Nowadays, company prefers to hire well-organized employee and which means organization skill is a basic skillfulness. To sum up, if you have four qualities mentioned above. I believe many employers will hire you immediately and reuse you on an important position in each company.

Opening a Presentation

Regarding the mid-term, I would like to share some ideas I had learnt from Mr. Lin.

1. Greeting audiences and introduce yourself:
e.g: Good morning / evening / afternoon, everyone. I'm glad that most of you could make it today. I know that you all have tight schedules, so it's a pleasure to welcome you here. My name is (........).

2. Saying what your topic is:
There are four ways to say your topic and you can choose one or two of them.
a. ask question
b. tell a story
c. share experience
d. quote

3. Explaining your topic:
e.g. My today’s presentation is divided into three main points.
First of all, …..
Next, ….
The last point is….
Finally, the whole presentation will take about 30 minutes, and there will be a Q&A session in the end of my speech.

Reasons for Owning a Cell Phone

There are several reasons for owning a cell phone. The first reason is you can call 110 or 119 when you are in danger or have an accident. For example, if you see someone has a car accident you can just call 119 for helping him or her. The second reason, it’s easy for people to contact each other. When you miss your friends you can jus call them if you have a cell phone. The third reason, you don’t have to spend too much to own a cell phone. You can buy a cell phone just cost NT one dollar from the shop if don’t care about the appearance of the phone. The forth reason, the rate is very low and it’s about $0.1 per second. If you choose the same telecom company as your friends you may not to pay any cost when you talk. To sum up, there are so many reasons for owning a cell phone why don’t you buy it.

Structuring a Presentation

The transition practice:

I'd like to talk you today about the movie "The talented Mr. Ripley".
I'll focus on three main areas.
First of all, I will start by introducing the characters in the movie.
Secondly, I'll focus on the structure of story.
Finally, we can discuss about what is the main point the movie want to tell us.
That's all.

The movie about "The Talented Mr. Riply"

It's a opening presentation:

Good afternoon, everyone.
I'm happy that so many of you could make it today.
I know that you all have tight schedules, so it's my pleasure to welcome you here.
My name is Ching.
I would like to share a movie with you which is "The Talented Mr. Riply".
I think most of you saw this movie last week during the class.
My topic is very important for you becasue all of you have to prepare a simple report for Jenny.
I would like to talk more about it and I believe by the end of my talk you will know more about this movie.
That's all.

A MRT Station at Rush Hour - Revised!

Revised on March 20, 2010
A MRT station is full of people at rush hour. You can see people running, people hurrying, and hear the loudspeaker from the time to time announcing when MRT is coming to arrival the platform. The crowds are crowded and noisy, even the waiting line during that time it’s hard to find. Meanwhile you can hear the sound of whistling by MRT people they try to ask people to line up. Once the train arrive the crowds will disappear in a few second, but people will soon appear suddenly. Then you will see the crowds are crowded again just like that goes round and round.

Some Key Points for Presentation in English

There are some key points about how to presentation in English properly. I would like to share some tips that I learned from our teacher, Mr. Lin, with you.

First, you have to greet audiences and introduce yourself. E.g: Good morning / evening / afternoon, everyone. I'm glad that most of you could make it today. I know that you all have tight schedules, so it's a pleasure to welcome you here. My name is (........). In my talk I'll tell you about (…your topic ). As you may know it ….and I would like to talk more about it. I believe by the end of my presentation you will know more about (…your topic ).

Second, you have to get everyone’s attention and then preview the topic you would like to talk. You can ask questions, share experience, tell a story, or quote regarding the topic. Also you can sort your subject into 3-4 points by order. E.g. time order, space order and so on.

Third, then we can go to talk about the "body" and it’s kind of like English writing. Using 3 W and 1 H: what, why, when, and how that will help you to get more ideas about the presentation you are going to tell. You can draw some pictures or write down the key words to remind yourself, too.

Forth, before starting the conclusion you can say again about the things that you have talked in short sentences. That will make your audiences to integrate the heading easily.

Finally, in the conclusion you can summarize all the key points you have said and make a perfect ending.

Hope these tips can help you to make your presentation successfully.

The Talented Mr. Ripley

What is this movie about?

The movie is about Tom Ripley killed a wealthy man Dickie Greenleaf and took Dickie's identity. To live off his new identity he has to murder some people to protect himself. But he cannot solve this dilemma by murdering his friends, and the end of movie Ripley sits alone in his dark cabin.

Who was tricked?
Dickie, Dickie's father, Herbert Greenleaf, Dickie's girl friend, Marge, Dickie's friend, Freddie Miles, the police in Italy and Meredith

How did the person get tricked?
Dickie's father believed Tom to be an actual graduate of the university and a friend of his son. Tom lay Dicke that they studied at the same school when they met in Italy. Then they became friends and lived together. This is the start that Tom tricked people.

Was anyone hurt because of the fraud? Why or Why not?
I think every one who knew Dickie well all got hurt because of the fraud. Especially the innocent people that killed by Tom. I think Peter is the most innocent one. He loved Tom the most but finally Tom still killed him just because of a wealthy woman, Meredith.

The President's murderer

The President's murderer is a easy book for me to read due to the author used plain and simple English. It is pity the young inspector, Felix, once doubt the running prisoner, Dinon, was innocent but he didn’t try to find the truth. The people in the city all tried to help Dinon to run away but finally he got shot and died. Although Felix wants to find the real murderer in the end but I think it’s too late to do this after Dinon’s death. Dinon’s family and friends must feel very sorrowful.

A MRT Station at Rush Hour

A MRT station is full of people at rush hour. You can see people running, people hurrying, and the loudspeaker from the time to time announcing when MRT is coming to arrival the platform. The crowds are crowded and noisy, even the waiting line during that time it’s hard to find. Meanwhile you can hear the whistling sound by MRT people they try to ask people to line up. Once MRT arrive the crowds will disappear in a few second, but people will soon appear suddenly. Then you will see the crowds are crowded again just like that goes round and round.

Gulliver's Travels

At beginning of the eighteenth century, books about travel to unknown places were of great interest to the reading public in Britain. Jonathan Swift didn’t want to make his readers believe that the impossible lands in Gulliver’s Travels were true or real. But he did want to make them think. Gulliver’s travels is satire. Readers find themselves looking at their own world, its beliefs and customs, with new eyes. Lemuel Gulliver describes the different places and their inhabitants in a simple style. He gives us facts and figures, not options, about them. And so we don’t just laugh at them. We put ourselves in the place of the Lilliputians and others. And we see ourselves as they would see us. We laugh at ourselves, and more foolish or unpleasant ways. Because the style is so simple, and because Swift makes us enjoy his story, Gulliver’s Travels has been a favorite children’s book for a long time. Remember we all read the story when we were at elementary school. But is would be a mistake to see it as just a children’s story; Swift wanted his readers to think seriously about the world they live in.

Alice in Wonderland

Alice’s exciting adventure begins when she follows a white rabbit down his rabbit hole into a strange dream world where people suddenly grow larger and smaller, where mice swim, cats smile and nothing is quite as it seems. The strange story, full of inventiveness and humor has delighted children and adults alike for over 100 years. After reading Alice in Wonderland, I don’t understand what the purpose about the book is. I think the story is not complete and it’s totally different with other fairy tales for children. Before I read this book I though it will be an interesting and funny story but after reading I don’t understand what the real meaning is. Maybe it is because I didn’t read it hardly, I think I should find some time to read it again.

Pride and Prejudice

It’s all about love and I had seen the movies about this. At that time I didn’t realize very well about the film and now I read the novel and I knew the detail about the story. The novel is talking about a young woman of the late 18th century must deal with the efforts of her matchmaking mother as well as a bachelor who elicits conflicting emotions within her. We may feel strange why they do so but remember how our parents met and most of them were met by matchmaker not by themselves. In 18th century parents will overly worried about running out of money and/or having to support their daughters, Mrs. Bennet is headstrong about getting them married, including Elizabeth who she tries to pressure into marrying Mr. Collins. Mrs. Bennet says she won't talk to Elizabeth again if she refuses. Mr. Bennet says he won't talk to Elizabeth if she agrees, so the matter is settled. Elizabeth did have a good father who cares about her marriage otherwise she has to marry someone she doesn’t like. Although it’s an old fashion love story but it’s worth to read again. To date, the book has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and made several films in different movies and TV shows. That means people still like to see and read this kind of love story and it’s always popular world wide.

The Tips to Help You Protect Your Identity

The following tips in this section will help you protect your identity and prevent criminals from committing fraud in your name.

1. Keep your personal information secure.
Your identity and personal information are valuable assets. Keep them safe and secure.

2. Keep all your credit cards safe
If your plastic cards are lost or stolen, cancel them immediately. Keep a note of the emergency numbers you should call.
When giving your card details or personal information over the phone, Internet or in a shop, make sure other people cannot hear or see your personal information.
Never carry documents or credit cards unnecessarily. When not in use keep them in a safe place.

3. Keep your documents safe
Keep your personal documents in a safe place, preferably in a lockable cabinet at home. Consider storing valuable financial documents.
If your passport or ID has been lost or stolen contact the issuing organization immediately.
Don't throw away entire bills, receipts, credit card slips, bank statements or even unwanted post in your name. Destroy unwanted documents, preferably by using a shredder.
Check statements as soon as they arrive. If any unfamiliar transactions are listed, contact the company concerned immediately.