Holiday..Jolly..Day

 How did you spend your last holiday?

                                                                           

         Last school holiday, my family and I went back to our home town, the eagerly-awaited holidays bring a respite from homework, lessons, extracurricular activities and exams. For me, spending a holiday at home is equally unbearable.

         0n the last day of school,  I  eagerly waited for the bell to ring at 1:10 p.m.. Then, I felt like a caged bird hat has just been set free. I slang my bag over my shoulder and make a beeline for the bust station. My hometown!

        We started our journey early in the morning. When we arrived, we had a quick lunch. I make a short exchange and headed for my favourite spot here- a secluded corner of my grandfather durian orchards. There under a shady spot, I sat down a surveyed the surroundings.

          Here, far away from claustrophobic classrooms, rushing crowds, busy sidewalks and congested streets, I enjoyed the solitude of nature. As I took my seat on a flimsy woody bench, and looked around me, I can see a flurry of activities. Birds flew gracefully and noiselessly above me while bees traveled flirtatiously from tree to tree, colourfulbutterflies flit about here and there flapping their fragile wings and ants scurry in a single file carrying bits of food on their tiny backs.

            A soft cool breeze blowed. I can hear the soft rustle of leaves. The air is heavy with the scent of shrubs and grasses coupled with the scent of ripe durians.

            I lied on my back with my hand clasped behind my head and watched streaks of sunlight filtering through the canopy of leaves. Soon I fall into short but deep slumber. When I woke up, I can see the sun slowly descending behind a row of far hills. Although I would love to linger for a little longer, I moved away reluctantly and leaved knowing that Opah would be waiting for me. 

By,
Safiah
                                                    
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Facebook Celebrates 5th Birthday

Mark Zuckerberg - Facebook founder

Facebook, the world’s biggest social networking site, is celebrating its fifth birthday. In a blog post, the site’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, states that Facebook will continue to work as hard as it has in the last five years in order to stay the web’s number one communication site.

The company started in a dorm room in 2004. Today it has 150 million active users, more than the 130 million of rival MySpace.

Facebook is different from other social networking sites because you can communicate with people you really know and trust. Before, most people didn’t want to share their real identities online. Facebook has given people a safe and trusted environment for people to interact online. It has changed the way people view the world. A friend from any country is only a few clicks away.

It was back in February 2004 when Zuckerberg started “The facebook” from a Harvard student’s room. The aim was to help students get in touch with each other over the Internet. Within 24 hours over a thousand students had signed up and soon after that the network spread out to other universities.

By 2005 a research study showed that about 85% of the students in the network had a Facebook account. Another survey showed that Facebook was almost as important as an iPod.

At the end of 2005 Facebook came to the U.K. and up to today the site has been translated into 35 languages.

Five years after its start Facebook has escaped the universities and colleges. More than half of its users are not at college any more and the fastest growing group are the 30 to 40 year old. Every day 15 million users update their profiles to tell their friends and the world what’s happening to them. They also share photos, upload videos, chat, make friends, join groups – and simply have fun.

Words Power

• aim = something you want to do
• blog = a webpage that has information on a certain subject; the newest articles are at the top
• celebrate =to do something nice and have fun at a special event
• dorm room = a room where students sleep
• environment = the world around us
• founder = a person who started something
• interact = to talk to each other and work together
• research study = if you look at a topic in a serious way and try to find out more about it
• share =to use together
• sign up = to join , become a member
• social network = Internet platform where people can become a member and find friends all over the world
• spread out =here: to move to
• state = say
• survey = questions that you ask people in order to find out what they think about something
• translate = to write something in a different language
• trust =to believe that someone is good to you and won't do anything bad
• update = to add new information about something

GREASE The Musical :D

Audition starts on 19 February 2013. BE THERE :D

The Great Sphinx of Giza by Chan Hwa Seng, 4 Faraday

If I had a chance to a very famous place, I will go to the Great Sphinx of Giza, Egypt. The Great Sphinx of Giza is also desiphered as Abu al Hul by the Arabians. Which means “the terrifying one.” The sphinx is a statue made out of limestone. The statue symbolizes a mythical creature with a lion’s body and a human head. The Sphinx is believed to be built by one of the earliest ancient civilization of Egypt. It is built during the reign of Pharaoh Khafra which is 2558BC – 2532BC.

In Greek tradition, the Sphinx is mythicized as treacherous and merciless. Those who cannot answer her riddle will suffer a fate typical in such mythological stories, as they are killed and eaten by ravenous monster. Unlike greek sphinx which was a woman, the Egyptian sphinx is androsphinx (a man). In addition, the Egyptian Sphinx was viewed as a benevolent guardian that protects the temples or tombs. As for how it was built and how long did it take to complete this statue remains a mystery until now. Another mystery behind this monument is ‘ How could the ancient civilization design such a complicating infrastructure?’

Many scientist believes that there were extraterrestrial beings guiding and helping the Egyptian to build the Great Sphinx of Giza. However, why a Sphinx? Why not build a statue of these extraterrestrial being? Moreover, if there were these beings guiding the Egyptians, why didn’t they refer to them as gods? Instead, the Egyptians belong to a politeism race that believes in Horus the god of sun, the god of moon and also the guardian of the wind. Therefore, the idea of the sphinx being built by the beings other than human is not ideal and not scientifically proved.

I would love to visit the Sphinx because this gigantic monolith is a place full of unraveled mysteries. This place has an immense aura as well as pressure. Many people believed that the sphinx is a cursed structure and darkness still lurks around there. Similarly to TutanKhamen’s tomb that was cursed, which was excavated by Howard Carter. The tomb is cursed to bring death by swift wings to anyone whom dare disturb the tomb and a few months after the excavation Howard died due to an insect bite. Coincident? I think so too. The Sphinx itself is still haunted by those preserved under the mummy bandages.

The Egyptians believes that there is life afterdeath. Therefore they mummify themselves along with their belonging when they die. For royal families, the mummies will be buried with golds and expensive belongings. The priests will also place a curse on the tombs to seal the sarcophagus. This is very similar to the emperor Ching of China that buried himself with his army of terracotta warriors. To protect the temples and tombs , the Egyptians worship and pray to the Great Sphinx. The Great Sphinx will then protect the bodies of the mummies so that they can live in a place afterdeath for eternity without any disturbance.

In conclusion, I really want to visit the Sphinx when I grow up one day. However, I will not go alone. This place gives me goosebumps. It is a very mystical and holy place but yet a famous tourism attraction. I hope that I will be one of the people in this world to make a big discovery when I visit it one day. Who knows I might be able to unravel the mystery of The Great Sphinx of Giza.

The Most Magical Place on Earth by Sophie Thong, 4Faraday

   Out of all the famous places in the world, the place that I want to visit the most is the Walt Disney Resort World, or as it is more commonly and informally known, Disney World.  It is located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida and it sits on 30, 080 acres of land. It houses four theme parks, two water parks, twenty-four themed resorts, two spas, five golf courses and other recreational venues. The theme parks of this most- visited entertainment resort are Epcot, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and of course, the most popular of all, Magic Kingdom. The parks that appeal the most to me are Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

   Magic Kingdom is what seems to be (as the say) the most magical place on Earth. From Cinderella’s Castle to the Haunted Mansion and to rides like Pirates of the Caribbean and Space Mountain, every single aspect of the park, in its own whimsical way, fills you up with the excitement and joy like that of a child on their birthday. The elaborate architecture and detailing of all its sets, buildings and rides are unbelievably stunning. Peter Pan’s Flight, for example, is a ride where guests board a colourful galleon and begin a high- flying adventure; passing through many scenes from the Disney film, Peter Pan. As it journeys through the night-time sky from the Darling children’s’ nursery to Neverland (where Peter Pan is in a swashbuckling duel with Captain Hook amongst fiery volcanoes and sparkling waterfalls), the genuine feeling of sailing through the sky overwhelms you.

  Besides the rides and glorious architecture of the Magic Kingdom, the live shows that they have such as spirited parades and fireworks extravaganzas are unforgettable. One of the most mesmerizing parades held would be the Main Street Electrical Parade. This parade starts off with Tinker Bell lighting the way with a wave of her wand. Then, half a million shimmering lights of the floats which are synchronized perfectly to a soundtrack light up and create a magical musical spectacle. Another enchanting sight would be the lighting of Cinderella’s Castle. This takes place during Christmas season and the sequence of the lighting makes it appear as though magic is coating the castle with a glittering, icy layer.

  The next park which I am also highly eager to visit would be the Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Movie magic truly does come alive at the theme park with all its vibrancy of an actual movie set. The atmosphere and settings of its locations can legitimately make you fell as though you were transported into a film. One of the theme park’s areas (Echo Lake) includes attractions from movies like Star Wars and Indiana Jones. The only ride out of said attractions would be Star Tours: The Adventure Continues. This is a 3D, motion- simulated space flight that launches guests into a galaxy far, far away. This ‘flight’ has over 50 combinations which allows you to experience a unique adventure almost every time. For example, the flight which begins with C-3PO and R2- D2 taking off can lead to anywhere from the Death Star where you might encounter Darth Vader to the desert planet of Tatooine, Luke Skywalker’s home.  Another well- known ride from this theme park is the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.

  This theme park offers parades, live stunt shows and many attractions that give you an idea on animation and how special effects in films are done, take the Magic of Disney Animation and the Studios Backlot Tour respectively. The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! Is a live stunt performance with blazing special effects to demonstrate movie-making magic. The storyline revolves around the first Indiana Jones film, Raiders of the Lost Ark and it involves a few supporting characters too. As for parades, the most exclusive one would be the Star Wars character parade, which only occurs during Star Wars Weekends which normally takes place between late May and early June. There is also a Festival of the Lion King which involves intricately crafted costumes, pageantry and puppetry flooding the stage like a dazzling kaleidoscope of colours in the most joyous way possible.

  The general air of joy and serenity yet excitement that surrounds theme parks which fills you up with uncontainable happiness is why I chose Walt Disney Resort World as the place that I would visit, if I ever had the chance. And also, of course, because it is really is the most magical place on Earth. 

Tips to Write Awesome Articles ;D

1. Create an outline for your article
Your article should include a headline, introduction, body and conclusion.

Headline - make this as catchy as possible because your reader will read this first then decide if he or she will continue reading the rest of the article. i.e.
"7 Highly Effective Ways to Boost Your Self-Confidence"

Introduction - introduce the topic / problem you will be discussing in your article or write a short story of your experience with the problem.

Body - discuss all the solutions to the problem you outlined in the introduction. Break up each point into separate paragraphs and keep them to about 5 lines. You may want to create a sub-heading for each point. This makes it easier to read as most people will scan your article when reading.

Conclusion - this should include a brief summary of your article and a call for the reader to take action. i.e. "learn to love all your strengths and weaknesses and start challenging yourself for that self- confidence you desire"

p/s: Write with style - write in an informal style, like you would explain your topic to a friend. Don't worry too much about correcting mistakes or how it sounds. This may interrupt the flow of thoughts you want to write about. You can always correct them later.

2. Take a break

After you have written the article, come back to it after several hours, a day or several days. This will enable you to take a fresh look at it, find new mistakes or even want to rewrite a paragraph or two to make it flow better.

3. Check your article

After writing your article, run it through a spell checker first, then read it through a few times to check for spelling mistakes the spell checker may have missed and to correct the grammar and punctuation. Make sure it  flows well by clearly identifying the problem, providing a solution and concluding with an action step or steps. Get someone else to read it over. Often they will find the mistakes that you missed.

<3,
Pn Azura AA :D

Descriptive Writing: A Famous Place

Instruction: Describe a famous place you wish to visit.

Stonehenge

If I had a chance to go to a very famous place, I would gladly choose to go to Stonehenge, one of the most mysterious and famous sites in the world. I have always wanted to visit Stonehenge ever since I read about it in my Horrible Histories book.

Stonehenge is located in the English county and at the centre of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds. An UNESCO World Heritage Site, Stonehenge was produced by a culture that left no written records. Many aspects of Stonehenge remain subject to debate. This multiplicity of theories, some of them very colourful, are often called the "mystery of Stonehenge".

The word “Stonehenge” is derived from the words Old English words stān meaning "stone", and either hencg meaning "hinge" (because the stone lintels hinge on the upright stones) or hen(c)en meaning "hang" or "gallows" or "instrument of torture". In other words, Stonehenge means stone gallows. I feel it adds to uneasy, macabre of the place.

What I admire most about Stonehenge is the mystery surrounding the place. Why was Stonehenge built? How was Stonehenge built? Who built Stonehenge? What built Stonehenge? These questions have baffled researchers and professors around the world for decades. This is mainly due to the little evidence for the construction techniques used by the Stonehenge builders.

I believe that Stonehenge was a domain of the dead, a place to celebrate past ancestors and the recently deceased. Many graves and burials were found in that area. Stonehenge was probably very famous in the past as well- people from far away were found in graves.

I would very much love to visit Stonehenge because like the Catacombs of Paris, the place has a very distinct aura of menace. And Stonehenge also boasts a very macabre past, which adds to the strange, guilty feeling I have in gullet when I go to places with horrible pasts. It is a joy visiting a place with such significance, knowing people who lived a thousand years ago probably reached the very climax of the lives in this circle of rocks. 

This joy, added with the guilt and the knowledge of its troubled yet vague past, definitely makes this a place I truly would love to visit. I will probably have a chance to visit it on my next trip to the UK (missed it the last time I visited the UK) as Stonehenge is definitely worth the visit. 

Azura Abdul Aziz