Vivian

toc =**QUARTER 3**=

//__Happy old year__//
2010 was great because there were big changes and I had a new understanding for friendship. A lot of things happened during last year. For summer holiday, I went to San Francisco for summer school and visited LA. I had a pleasant stay and adore the weather there. We also went back to Toronto to visit some of our old friends. The trip not only improved my English but also brought me valuable memories. Then in November I attended the SSAT test since it was required for the SAS admission enrollment. I had to go to Hong Kong to take the test so I had an excuse to go shopping for the rest of the day. It was pretty unforgettable because I met a classmate from one of my old schools who I hadn’t met for a quite long time and, surprisingly, her seat was right next to me. One frustrating thing about the test was that my topic for the writing section was hard and I hardly understood the title. I think it was “Does intuition often saves us from disaster”. When I heard from the people sitting around me say that their topics were all pretty simple, I had to admit that I had bad luck and wasn’t well-prepared enough. Nevertheless, I learned a lot of new vocabulary from the test and some of the sample tests. Christmas was the best memory from last year, especially Christmas Eve. All of my friends knew that I would be leaving soon and we were able to hang out for the night. We gathered together on the top of a building called ‘Book City’. Someone brought a small speaker with great sound effects and we played great songs all along. (well, not all night long) Some of my friends sang along loudly and some were just dancing. We spent a great time that night and we all felt that time was passing by too fast. Two of my friends cried because they really didn’t want me to leave. I was moved and that night made me realize how important friendship was. Changes are always inevitable but friendship will last a lifetime.



//__Background research:__//
From my background research, I learned that a lot of students nowadays prefer looking up information online instead of using library resources. In fact, a lot of libraries now tend to lean to that direction.

**//__survey questions:__//**
1.Do you actually use the library for the purpose of borrowing books? 2.If yes, what time do you usually to go to the library? 3.If no, what is the main reason that prevents you from going to the library? 4.Are you truly studying in the library? 5.How much free time do you have on average at school every day? 6.Do you think lunch should be longer at a cost f a longer school day..? Reason?

**//__Interview questions:__//**
1.How many books were checked out this week? 2.How many people checked out books this week? 3.According to your observation, about what percentage of students that come to the library are actually studying? 4.What do students do in the library besides studying? 5.Do you think students are using the library well enough?

6.Do you think there is anything we should do to prevent the students from getting distracted in the library? 7.Is there anything else you would want to say about the library use of students

//__Eng. speech__//
Have you ever heard of dihydrogen monoxide, which is also known as DHMO? It’s a component of many lethal substances and can be lethal itself. It is said that symptoms of DHMO ingestion can include excessive sweating and urination, and possibly a bloated feeling, nausea, vomiting and body imbalance. For those who have become dependent, DHMO withdrawal means death. People who knew this would then get riled up and sign a petition to ban it. Now you may be wondering why I started talking about DHMO. Well this is just a good example of how easy it is to mislead people who don’t have the right knowledge in a certain area. The truth is that dihydrogen monoxide is actually a rarely used scientific name for water. Adolf Hitler once said, ‘what luck for rulers that men do not think’. What does this mean? It means that a population that doesn't know enough to question the decisions of its rulers is easy to control, and therefore the ruler stays in power no matter what atrocities he commits. Unfortunately, this is true. what luck for rulers that men do not think’ My first example is from Animal Farm, the pigs are always using the other animals ignorance and their own propaganda to mislead them. For example, when Boxer fell to the ground and couldn’t get up, Squealer tried to convince the animals with all his nonsense to believe that Boxer was actually sent to the hospital. Yet the animals believed him. As we all know, one of Boxer’s maxims is ‘Napolean’s always right’. Is this true? Is this right? Is he really what the animals think he is? Of course not! Bystanders are always clear-minded. As a reader, I’m sure it’s all crystal clear to us that Napolean has been corrupted by power and wealth. But does the animals know that? No, they don’t. This shows how the animals trust too much in their rulers and never doubt if their ruler is doing the right thing. what luck for rulers that men do not think’ I’m sure we’re all familiar with Mao Zedong. Without a doubt, he has made great contributions to China’s development. - Nevertheless, after 1949, he drew up the two five-year plans, focusing on heavy industry, intending to develop China’s economy. - But meanwhile, leaving almost no one growing food or in charge of the fields. This led to serious famine. - He not only made the people work day and night and starve from famine, but also told his people what to think. He sent people to ‘thought reform’ which was basically just to let the people learn contents of the Little Red Book and think that he is a great leader, doing what he tells them to do is always right. - Afterwards from 1962, Mao launched the Cultural Revolution which destroyed many precious data, literature and items. Many officials were humiliated and gotten rid of. However, the people idolizes Mao and no one realized what they were actually doing. What luck for Mao that the people did not think.

 this is the Chinese translation of ‘what luck for rulers that men do not think’  those of you who understands Chinese would know that what I just said meant “This sentence is to confuse all of you” Now it’s obvious that it’s easy to mislead people when they don’t have knowledge in a certain area. WHAT LUCK FOR RULERS THAT MEN DO NOT THINK

__//Reflection//__
//Do I think my speech was successful?// I think mt speech went pretty well. First of all, I spend a lot of time on the research for information that could be used in the speech, such as the __Animal Farm__ examples and examples of Mao Zedong. Secondly, I spoke loudly and I remembered most of my speech. Thirdly, I think the beginning of my speech was pretty creative. Last but not least, I used some rhetorical devices in my speech. For example, rhetorical questions, alliteration and rule of three, which made my speech sound more effective and easier to understand.

//How could have I improved?// I think I should make more eye contact with the audience and speak more emotionally. Also, I should practice more for the speech to be more fluent.

__Analyze paragraph__
The 1911 revolution led the peasants to hardship. The hardship of the peasants are mainly because the struggle of leadership. The struggle of leadership also led to a period of economic difficulty and discontent because China was very unstable at that time with constant wars. The wars had a great loss of soldiers and innocent peasants. The armies destroyed a lot of villages and leaves the peasants to clean up for them. The leaders are concentrating on gaining power for themselves which allowed corrupted officials to steal from the government. After Yuan Shikai’s death, the warlords controlled different parts of China. There were hundreds of warlords, and most of them were only interested in their own power and wealth. They imposed high taxes, enlisted peasants into their armies, and governed with great severity. The strictness of the warlords had a harsh effect on the peasants. For example, a French journalist saw two heads, still dripping with blood, swaying in a fisherman’s net by the door of a theatre during an interview with Marshal Zhang Zuolin. Conditions were even worst when the warlords fought each other to get control of each other’s provinces. In these wars, both sides fought with great ferocity and cruelty. For example, the British Consul in the city described an attack by Yunnanese soldiers on Chengdu in 1920. It was said that seven hundred Yunnan men stripped, armed with knives and revolvers they rushed the Sichuan camp of 16,000 men at the foot of the hills. About ten of these heroes were captured and, naked as they were, kept in the streets on show in cold drenching rain before being murdered. Two were killed and cut up in the streets, and their hearts and livers showed up in the cook shop.

__Fourth Quarter goals__
• Reading: Read more books > eg. one book per month • Writing: put more effort on vocabulary and try to use more complex sentences (English essays, Asian History, practice underlining vocab.) • be more well-organized with both homework and time (check in during flex) • do NOT save all the homework to the last minute

__Book Review__
The book Chinese Cinderella is an autobiography of the author, Adeline Yen Mah, who is a Chinese American author and physician. She grew up in Tianjin, Shanghai and Hong Kong with an older sister, three older brothers, a younger half brother and a younger half sister. The book tells the story of her struggling and miserable childhood of an unwanted daughter in China before the Cultural Revolution. Ever since Adeline’s mother died giving birth to Adeline, she became a symbol of bad luck to her family. Not long after her mother died, her father married a beautiful and rich half French half Chinese woman who loathes Adeline and treats her with great inequality compared to her own children. Even though Adeline was born in a wealthy family, she grew up unloved, unwanted and ignored by her father, going to school and reading became the only way she could escape from her family. She had perfect grades since she was in kindergarten and was an outstanding student. Adeline’s aunt Baba was the only one who always loved her, she once told Adeline the story of the original Chinese Cinderella which kept Adeline hoping that her dream would come true one day too. By winning first prize in a worldwide play-writing competition, Adeline’s father finally felt proud of her for the first time and agreed to send her to an England university to study. The main message of this book is that one should never give up their hope and dreams no matter what difficulties they face because when it comes to the day they shine, it would all be worth it. I really like this book because it doesn’t have really complicated sentences but it gives the reader deep feelings and shows the reader what it was like at that very time period in China. The miserable and painful childhood of Adeline really moves me but it is her fortitude towards life and firmness that she will one day achieve her dreams that really impresses me. I would recommend people to read this book because it’s a book that will give people hope when they think life is all going wrong and messed up. It’s also a good book for people who are interested in how life of an unwanted daughter was before the Cultural Revolution in China.