Q5 林琦鎮

"Friends" Quiz 4 (01/16)                                         Episode 6 : 25 The One with the Proposal                                                  Name: Arthur  Group: FLAG A.    Chandler was going to propose to Monica! However, his plan to give her a surprise while dining was ruined due to the presence of Monica's ex-boyfriend, Richard. What's more, Richard even asked Monica to marry him.    Rachael, Phoebe, and Joe went to a silence auction for charity. Accidentally, Joe mistook the auction as a "price-guessing"activity. He bid a boat and got it. Without so much money, Rachael helped Joe to find the "second-high" bidder and tried to convince him to buy the boat. Surprisingly, as Joe heard all the convincing words, he decided to keep the boat because it's cool to own a boat or even to be a captain. In the meanwhile, Ross was going to invite Elizabathe to a play. Nevertheless, when he was inviting her, he was bothered because Elizabathe was having a water balloon fight with her friends. He then felt the huge age gap between them and the immaturity of Elizabathe. Break-up occurred.   After Chandler found Richard's preceding proposal, Chandler argued with him, and Richard surrendered. Consequently, Chandler proposed to Monica, and they got engaged.   B.   Rachael is my favorite character since she is really beautiful, sexy, and clever. In some episodes, she responded cleverly in dangerous situations, such as when Ross and Elizabathe dated at Elizabathe's home, Rachael covered them from being found (immediately) by Paul. I appreciate her humor, too. I like to watch her performances.   Phoebe is the one I like the least. She is somewhat unpredictable and unreasonable. Sometimes, she even made some crazy things, such as backing up Ross and Joe at the same time. Her jokes sometimes were also hard to understand.   C.   Watching "Friends" is full of fun and I think it made me to be more accustomed to the speed of English foreigners speak. With subtitles on the screen and transcripts on the Internet, I can check the words I heard and those I missed one more time. I don't really know how much I improved. But I think throughout this semester, I may some day discover the improvements in listening comprehension contributed by "Friends".

Reading Journal 6 林琦鎮

49777010 FLAG 林琦鎮 Reading journal 12/19~01/01 Book: Fear Street – The Perfect Date Author: R.L. Stine Illustrator: No Publishing Company: Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster, Inc.) Year of Publishing: 2005 (First Simon Pulse edition) Word Level: Unidentified Number of Pages: 147 The fear is catching. Deeply-sunk in the creepy atmosphere produced by the author, I had such a great time. In a chilly winter, Brady and his girlfriend, Sharon, went to skiing.. Brady compelled her to slide down an extremely steep slope, and unfortunately, she crashed into a big tree and lay motionless. After Sharon's gruesome death one year ago, Brady was finally ready to get on with his life. He had a new girlfriend named Allie, but a goddess-like girl, Rosha, stole his heart and he's fallen hard. But terrible accidents seemed to happen whenever Rosha's around. In addition, a strange figure with a scarred face was following Brady everywhere he went and warned him against staying with Rosha. To my surprise, Rosha's body was actually occupied by Sharon's spirit, which was planning to take revenge on Brady. When Brady was almost killed by Rosha, the girl with a scarred face, who was found to be real Rosha, saved him. Then, the two girls started a fierce fight with the attempt to attain "Rosha's body". They tore down each other's arms, legs, and heads, and whirled through the snow with twisted necks. In the last chapter, Brady walked back to Allie to apologize for being a two-timer. When Allie was about to accept him again, he suddenly hugged her and revealed that he was dead actually, and pulled her to bury herself along with him……. The story is perfect, I think. The whole story is narrated in an easily understood form. Though there are many unexplainable points and some segments were not given good accounts for, it had successfully created a vivid scene of the story. The weirdest point I eager to figure out was how did Brady die? Did he die of coldness (because Rosha almost killed him in a blizzard)? I just don't understand why he went to Allie's place and told her that he was dead. There are so many episodes in "Fear Street" series, and I would like to read them all in my winter vacation. This time, I shared the story with my little sister, but she seemed to be braver than me. She asked for more terrifying stories. I think I should try to be more dauntless. Through all the extensive readings this semester, I think there are some improvements in my reading ability. To me, the more frightful the story is, the faster I can read. An interest in a book really decides how fast one can read it.

Reading Journal 5林琦鎮

49777010 FLAG 林琦鎮 Reading journal 12/05~12/18 Book: The diary of a young girl — Anne Frank Author: Anne Frank (edited by Otto H. Frank and Mirjam Pressler) Illustrator: No Publishing Company: Pearson Education Limited Year of Publishing: 1999 (New Edition) Word Level: Intermediate (1700 words) Number of Pages: 57 I have spotted Julia's journal after reading the book, and it touched off my wonderful memory while reading it. Therefore, I decided to reread the book I first fell in love with when I was little. In 1942, Holland was invaded by Germans, and they then massacred Jews. All Jewish people were frightened because they might be caught or killed and struggled to avoid genocide. Thus, Frank family decided to hide. With the help of their friends, they hid in a garret and started a life full of danger, inconvenience, and love. Though life was hazardous, they hoped for the best. Unfortunately, they were discovered and captured. In the end, only Anne Frank's dad came back alive, and presented the diary Anne kept to the world. It is my sixth time to read the book (four times in Chinese, two in English). It was recommended by my dear aunt and only after a quick browse, I then felt it matched me. Though hiding in a garret was a poor circumstance to Anne, however, it's wonderful to me. Living in a secret place without schoolwork, complicated relationship with other people and all those hustle and bustle is really appealing. I love to sink into my own dream and be alone sometimes, so I think staying in that cramped room isn't totally bad. What makes me frightened is the massacre implemented by Germans, who were really inhumane. It was unfair to kill Jews because they were good at merchandising or just wanted ethnic cleansing. And the question I have about the book is who turned informer on them. As I read the book for so many times, it's no doubt I read it efficiently and very quickly, due to my fondness and passion for it. I have shared my insights and reflections to the book with my friends for so many times, and if I have some new ideas to tell, I'll bring it to them. My next book has been chosen, and I have read one third of it in short time. I expect it to be worth-reading.

Reading Journal 4林琦鎮

49777010林琦鎮 Reading journal 11/21~12/04 Book: Brind and the Dogs of War Author: Christopher Russell Illustrator: No Publishing Company: Penguin Group (Puffin) Year of Publishing: 2005 Word Level: Unidentified Number of Pages: 198 Finally, I have finished the book with such a great effort. The content of the story is really different from its title since it concerned with the wars between humans rather than dogs (dogs are only subordinate roles). (Please refer to RJ3 for the former part of the story.) When the girl recognized it was her father's brooch, Brind's master also recognized him but called him as a traitor. Maybe that's because he ran away from the battlefield even though he was actually trying to save his mastiff. The story turned out that Brind found his mastiff, and through a lot of tribulations (murder, conflagration, shipwreck) and the instigation of one disloyal servant, they went back to their hometown black and blue, but reunited and lived happily ever after. "Be nice but alert." The story provoked my awareness of being cautious, and taught me that the one you most acquainted with may be the biggest enemy. I also honored Brind's master that even though Brind was only a servant to him, he treated him whole-heartedly. Surviving in a world full of wars is really not easy. It required strength, wisdom, and friends, especially the latter. I love the book because it emphasized much on the importance of friendship. After reading two books, I really have questions about names used in the books. These books contain different kinds of names from various languages, and many vocabularies that are unrecorded in English-Chinese dictionaries. Where can I look them up? This time, I think I am more effective than ever since I read 124 pages. It really took me a lot of time to finish reading, but I am filled with joy. I got sense of accomplishment by completing such a task (though sometimes I feel tired of keeping reading). I am going to share the book to my friend who loves to research on war topics instead of my aunt since the part of dogs are too rare. (I intended to introduce it to my aunt before because she loves dogs very much.) My next book has not decided yet, but I think a book relates to detective and murder or supernatural may invoke my interest most. A story that narrates realistic incidents is not what I like.

HW2林琦鎮

49777010 FLAG 林琦鎮 In these twelve methods, I have been using four of them. "Plan my days" was the first method I learned to making one day arranged well. It helped me a lot when I was confused about what I should do everyday. It made my day plan simple and easy to carry out. "Chip away at big jobs" was definitely useful in dealing with big tasks. The benefits from using the method were most apparent when coping with reports. It cut the complicated course into pieces, and by doing the reports little by little, it may be done with less efforts, and less pressure on time. "Read for understanding" was the method that I used to read "Advanced". It's really helpful especially when I was confused about the meanings in one paragraph. I read it more times, and with the passage of time and meditation, I usually could get it. "Keep a journal" is what we were asked to do twice a week. It also included the notes and what we learned in the class. I have done it since this month. Though, not knowing it may be helpful to my study or not, I think at least I can leave both some memories in the books I read and knowledge I got in class. As far as I know, the methods arranged in the paper were nice. In my daily lives, these often appeared as liberators since they may solve many problems. I agreed with most parts of what the author recommended. "Capture insights" and "Study efficiently" are the ones I would like to try most. The former could help me to record some vital things or great ideas occur to me temporary. The latter would help me efficiently organize me day and give me sense of achievement. I will always take a little notebook with me to record daily unexpected ideas or important appointments and study at night to midnight, my most energetic time. Is "Listen actively" really practicable? I've tried many times since I was in senior high school. It often doesn't work too much since I sometimes fall asleep or feel boring about it. Is there any way to focus on the lecturer and make myself find interest in it? Moreover, "Turn these strategies into habits" do need lots of time. Are there any shortcuts to achieve the goal?

Reading Journal 3 林琦鎮

49777010 FLAG 林琦鎮 Reading journal 11/07~11/20 Book: Brind and the Dogs of War Author: Christopher Russell Illustrator: No Publishing Company: Penguin Group (Puffin) Year of Publishing: 2005 Word Level: Unidentified Number of Pages: 198 In my Extensive Free Reading this time, I chose a novel about dogs due to my fondness for them. In the beginning of the story, Brind was chased after a pack of dogs and I was immediately led into the world of them, a world that was filled with challenges and dangers. Because I have only finished one-third of the story, what I can tell is limited. Brind is a slave who lived with some dog trainers (they are also knights who serve for England) and mastiffs. He understands dogs, communicates with them, and behaves more dog than human. One day, when his masters brought them to attend a war between England and France by sea, they rushed into a shipwreck. They then got apart from one another, and Brind bumped into a girl who was trying to find the defeated army belonged to her mother country, France. However, after Brind and the girl decided to travel together, she unexpectedly found that one of Brind's masters held a precious brooch, which belonged to her father. (To be continued.) I think the book I choose this time is a little bit long-winded. Though I have read one-third of it, I still didn't see some spectacular parts. I thought the story I was going to see was a boy that was discarded and raised by some dogs and was doing something mighty. However, it turned out to be a story that depicted the interaction between them and their experience of some tribulations. In the end of the story, I hope I can see something more active and heroic. Compared with the book I read last time, this one is more difficult. Under its tale-like cover, nevertheless, there are some narratives concerned with historical incidents that I have questions with. To understand it more, I will try to inquire about them on the Internet or by library resources. Because of the mid-term exams in other subjects last week, I had less time to read the book. Therefore, I made up my mind to make it up in this week by reading it longer each time and daily. I think I get little improvements in my reading ability through the five-week reading, and I will be more concentrated to read it efficiently. As soon as I finish this one, I will share it to my aunt since she loves dogs very much and eager to know more about them.

Reading Journal 2林琦鎮

Reading journal 10/24~11/07 Book: Two Strange Tales Author: Eliade, Mircea Illustrator: Joe Maloni Publishing Company: Shambhala Publication, Inc. Year of Publishing: Unidentified Word Level: Unidentified Number of Pages: 130 This time, I have finished the second tale of the book which probed into some kind of religious meditation. A scholar well-informed of the Orient and Rumania investigated a respectable Rumanian who vanished suddenly without leaving a message. The disappearance of the Rumanian was after his experimenting with yogic techniques in search for an invisible world called Shambhala. After the scholar have found the records of some ways to have access to Shambhala and try to tell the Rumanian's wife the whole course, the place where the Rumanian's wife lived suddenly became totally different and nobody could recognized the scholar anymore. The story was a little bit hard in its vocabularies and sentence structures, so I spent more time than expected to finish this one. It is also a weird story that I indulge myself in brainstorming what the result might be as I read the book. It inspired my imagination. Though the story was a fabrication, yogic techniques made me feel interested in meditation since it may occur something magical that always delights me. While the story also soaked me into it, the ending was complicated to comprehend. I was wondering how a magic could not only make a person invisible also change the environment and one's memory. I have finished my first English novel in university and found that I progressed a lot compared to my reading ability in high school life. Reading a novel with great concentration may improve my efficiency. I am trying hard to keep a long time reading and accelerate my reading speed. I believe that throughout this semester, I will definitely have a big progress in my English ability. Sharing the content with my friends is interesting. Since my novel is creeping and wizardly, my friends are also appealed to it. I am going to choose a new book well-known and somewhat magical or historical. With the former, I can soar in the imaginative world with great interest. With the latter, I can get more knowledge about the past world than before. 49777010林琦鎮

Reading Journal 1

Reading journal 10/17~10/23 Book: Two Strange Tales Author: Eliade, Mircea Illustrator: Joe Maloni Publishing Company: Shambhala Publication, Inc. Year of Publishing: Unidentified Word Level: Unidentified Number of Pages: 130 I have finished reading the first tale of the book with a nervous mood since it is a little creeping. It talked about three scholars involved into a magical time inversion to witness a murder, and then strayed in the forest before they bumped into an old family that only existed in the 18th century. While they finally got out of the strange forest, their friends who lived with them confirmed that the scholars were drunk since they have never stepped out of the hotel in these days. Then they stretched out a series of actions to reveal the reality of the mystery. In the end, they finally figured out it was the supernatural power that brought them back to the past and, to my surprise and embarrassment, it turned out to be a dream of one of the scholars. I love to read stories with mystery or magic, such as detective novels and ghost or magic stories. This book is to my taste. It made me feel that I was also involved in that circumstance to experience such strange things. Though it was not a detective story for me to infer the truth, it also stimulated me to think what on earth the truth might be. Reading a book like this is interesting even though the outcome is perfunctory because it explained the whole story by indicating that it was only a dream. Good stories may give people a responsible answer no matter it was rational or not. The biggest question in the book was that it should give us some explanation, not just posing a lot of weird and unexplainable things to us without answers. Though I did not read many books, all those I chose were appealing. I used to read books when I was free, not on a daily basis. This time, I am trying to read novels daily, and I think I can do much better after a few weeks, with more reading time, more books. Next time when I choose a new book, I will look for a book more famous and meaningful. I will compel myself to read 30 minutes daily to form a good habit. I will tell my friends about the story I have read, and if they have read it, too, I would like to discuss with them. I think these might help me to enjoy the exercise more. 49777010林琦鎮

Two Questions “ About Language Learning ＆ Acquisition”

1. Writing is a significant part in our English ability. Instead of using transitional words to make our sentences more fluent, thinking about novel ideas to refresh the article, what else can we do to make an article better? 2. Speaking English fluently may be the most important part in our future career life. Should we speak spontaneously with easy words or try to use abstruse (professional) words to communicate with others (customers) in order to improve our speaking ability simultaneously in the future? 49777010 林琦鎮

Some questions about English class(u1354)(林琦鎮)

Dear professor tsao, I am one of your students in u1354 class. The problem I am facing was that I am a little confused about what to do before our next class. Reading Advanced magazine, extracurricular reading and thinking questions about INCONVENIENT TRUTH are the works we have to do in these two weeks. Should we post our questions and reading journals before our next class or just bring our questions to class for discussion and post our reading journals after you have checked what book we chose? Thanks for your reply in advance. Sincerely yours, Arthur

(This blog can not be used as an email to answer to your question, please directly email to her address. --- Editor)