Teen Vogue Magazine: Cruel Intentions

Sometimes people can bully one another by just saying mean words to the others. One of the victims, Bella, said " I know I'n not ugly, but when you hear it so many times, you start to believe it." In my opinion, no one should bully one another with words like ugly and fat. We do not have to right to judge people from the way they look. I hope everyone can treat othe people nice because it's sad to see someone suffers because of what people say to them.

Vocabulary:
dread (verb): be afraid
e.g. She dreads going to the dentist.

October 18 - Character Trait

Continuing On Anne Frank

I believe most of my classmates choose the main character for their presentation. However, I did not choose Anne Frank. Instead, I choose Mrs. Van Daan.
 
The reason why I chose her is not because she is nice. Contrarily, she is mean, awkward and self-centred. I chose to describe her because her name always appears on Anne's diary.

As I have mentioned, she doesn't have a good personality. That's why I do not admire her or emotionally connect with her. And I believe I am not similar to her because I would never flirt with Anne's Dad if I were her.
I think there are a lot of things about her should change, especially the way she treated Anne Frank. She should try to be nicer to Anne and her mom since they were living together; and there is simply no reason for her to be mean because Anne has done nothing bad to her.

Personally I do not hate her. However, I do not agree with what she did and I think she ought to change her attitude.

Newspaper Response 2

Nobel Prize Given To Jailed Chinese Dissident
To look at the news, press here

A. Summary

Liu Xiao Bo, an impassioned literary critic, political essayist and democracy advocate, won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of “his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China.”

However, what the Norwegian Nobel Committee did has aroused Beijing’s authoritarian leaders' attention. The senior Chinese official, which claimed giving the prize to Mr. Liu would seriously harm the relations between the US and China.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry reacted angrily to the news and the Chinese government summoned Norway’s ambassador to protest the award. Chinese government claimed that Liu Xiaobo is a criminal who has been sentenced by Chinese judicial departments for violating Chinese law.

B. Personal Response

At first, I believe people in China would know about Liu Xiao Bo. However, what I thought is simply not true. In Hong Kong, we have got more freedom even though HKSAR is a part of China. Therefore it is not surprising that people know about Liu Xiao Bo.

I didn't know it is different in China. Until I asked my classmates about Liu Xiao Bo. It is surprising to know that some of the people in China do not even know this man. In China, news about Liu Xiao Bo are prohibited. People in China hardly know about this man. Even though some of them know Liu, what they have learned about him may not be truth.

I think everyone has the right to know more about things surround them. Covering simply is not a good way for handling things. To become a better country, China still has a long way to go.

C. Vocabulary
1.commend (verb): get approval
e.g. The general commended the soldier for his bravery.

2. rebuke (verb): disprove
e.g. She often rebuked him for carelessness.

3. entail (verb): make someone to take responsibity
e.g. This job would entail your learning how to use a computer.

October 11 - Setting of your Novel

Are you keeping a diary? If not, did you ever write about your daily live or did you ever read someone else's diary? The book I chose is about a girl, Anne Frank.

Anne is a Jewish girl. Her life was not easy. During the World War II, she has to hide just to escape from the Nazis. She wrote down her story in her diary and this 13-year-old girl even named her diary as Kitty. As far as I read, she has fled her home in Amsterdam and moved to the "Secret Annexe", an old office building with her family. Every day they lived with fear because they were afraid that they might get caught and get killed. They spent most of the time in that Annexe and they were cut off from the outside world. This story feels so real to me. Unlike the other books, it is not based on imagination and someone's else opinion. It is a true story about lives with threat and anxiety.

I feel so sorry for Anne and her family because they have to live a life like this. But at the same time, I am glad to see that Anne is such a tough girl. And her story really inspires me a lot. Sometimes I feel sad for some really minor failures in my life; sometimes, I feel like I have got nothing. But the truth is that I am blessed. I have so many things that Anne didn't have. I have freedom. I can go out whenever I want and do whatever I like. I have got so many friends. Anne reminds me how lucky I am to have all of these.

Besides, I am really impressed by Anne. Even she was just a little girl, she had a mature mind and she thought like an adult. For example, she said, "mummy and daddy would never dream of shouting at each other. The cause was so trivial that the whole thing was a pure waste of breath." She seems to be so sophisticated. Often when I read her diary, I feel that I am even more infantile than her. Is she being too mature or it's me, who is being too childish?

Newspaper Response 1

Las Vegas Faces Its Deepest Slide Since the 1940s

By ADAM NAGOURNEY New York Times
Published: October 2, 2010

LAS VEGAS -- There are many cities across the country that are beginning to see the first glimpses of the end of the recession.


This is not one of them.


The nation's gambling capital is staggering under a confluence of economic forces that has sent Las Vegas into what officials describe as its deepest economic rut since casinos first began rising in the desert here in the 1940s... Press Here To Read More


A. Summary


The news is about the current economical situation of Las Vegas. Las Vegas is famous for gambling. However, the collapse of the construction industry creates a series of problems. For example, the decline of gambling and unemployment. People aren’t spending on gambling as they have in the past. And as we can see from the article "Unemployment in Nevada is now 14.4 percent, the highest in the nation and a stark contrast to the 3.8 percent unemployment rate here just 10 years ago; in Las Vegas, it is 14.7 percent. " Anyway, the sliding in economy may be just a temporary problem. Oscar B Goodman believes as soon as people feel secure in their financial position, then Las Vegas will come back stronger than ever.


B. Personal Response
I have always wanted to go to Las Vegas because it seems to be a place that is full of fun. And I could peobably see people proposing and getting married there because it allows people to be "authorized" husband and wife without complicated paper work. The main reason why I would like to go to Las Vegas isn't because there are many casinos where you can try your luck. The most interesting thing about it is how people can turn somewhere which is in the middle of a dessert into such a cosmopolitan city. In conclusion, I hope the economy decline for Las Vegas is just momentary. Otherwise there might be more poor homeless people, which is the last thing that I want to see.


C. Vocabulary
1. recession (noun): time when there is decline in economy
e.g. His factory closed down during the period of economic recession.

2. precipitous (adjective): steep
e.g. A precipitous path led down the cliff

3. stagnant (adjective): not moving, get stuck
e.g. During the summer, business is often stagnant

4. extravagant (adjective): too luxurious
e.g.Don't be so extravagant; spend your money more carefully.

Something About Me

Hi, my beloved teacher and classmates. I am Kathleen from Hong Kong. It's really nice to meet you all :)

I would like to tell you about my family at this very beginning. And of course, I should start with my parents. Sometimes I feel like my dad and mum are the best parents on this planet because they love me with their whole hearts and they have always given me the best. And maybe that's why I miss them badly after I came to Seattle. I don't have any sibling and because of that I sometimes feel very lonely. I have always wanted to have an elder brother. The reason is ridiculous. I think an elder brother can act as both my bodyguard and my best friend.

Besides taking the ESL courses, I also take Sociology this quarter. Although Sociology seems quite interesting to me but I still like Science subjects more. Therefore taking science courses is the main goal that I want to achieve now. And hopefully you would see me entering or leaving the Science building next quarter :D

I can speak Cantonese, Mandarin, English and some Korean. And I have always wanted to learn another new language like Spanish.

Most of the time I feel like I'm still a kid because I always do things that a little girl would do. I like sleeping with my dolls. I sometimes even kiss them goodnight. This is crazy, right? And like most of the kids, I like watching cartoon. Most of the disney characters are adorable to me. I like especially Alice, Minnie and Marie. However, my favourite cartoon is Hello Kitty. Have you ever seen me acting insane? If you want to know more about this side of me, just take me to a Hello Kitty store or buy me some Hello Kitty stuff. I swear you would see the craziest me. My host mom know I am obsessed with Hello Kitty and so she got me a pair of Hello Kitty slippers. I was so excited and delighted that i jumped up and down for a long while :D As you can see, I'm a mental person!!

I have quite a lot of interests. I like backpacking. Spending days in somewhere entirely new to you is definitely the best thing to do when you feel bored. Meeting new people, experiencing different curlture... All these sound so exciting, right?

As I have mentioned, I sometimes feel lonely because I’m an only child. Fortunately, I have got many sincere friends who can always fill the empty spaces in my heart. Therefore, like most of the people of my age, I like hanging out with my friends.

I also like watching old movies, especially Audrey Hepburn’s works. She has been my idol since I was twelve. Though her stunning beauty is impressing, this is not the main reason why I like her. I like her because of her kindness and the way she treated other people. She contributed to the charity work a lot. She saw the needs of poor people and she was willing to help them with real actions. Moreover, she is really a great actress. Roman Holiday is my favourite movie. I have watched it for not less than 10 times. Two people fell in love recklessly but fate set them apart eventually. The ending is sad but beautiful. But this is real life. Those fairy tales' happy endings just don't happen here all the time. That's why people say, "I would rather falling off a bridge than falling in love, it hurts less."

Other than watching old movie, I like reading. My favourite writers are Jane Austen and Nicholas Sparks. All the heroines in Jane’s works found their own prince charming and lived happily ever after. Elizabeth found her Mr. Darcy and Emma found her Mr. Knightley. However in real life, Jane was not that lucky. She never got married. She could not even be with the one she loved. Nowadays we can choose to be with anyone but Jane never had a choice. Nicholas Sparks is a good modern time writer. Lots of his works has been turned into movies. The Notebook is one of the good examples. I love both the movie and novel.

I have not thought of getting a certain job in the future. Lots of people think I should study nursing because I look like one.

My favourite website that helps me improve my English is google.com, I guess.

All in all, if you would like to keep in touch with me, feel free to reach me via mails, twitter or even facebook.