Test description of the English test on the 2009 SAT

The following is the test description of the English test on the 2009 SAT.

http://www.ceec.edu.tw/95課綱考試說明/02-95學測英文考試說明_定稿_.pdf

Match the subject and the verb

In today's class, some students don't understand a sentence in the Cloze on the review test.  Here is how I analyze it.   Here is the test items:

... For example, potato chips were invented because the chef George Crum got angry when a guest __27__ complained Crum's French fries were too thick refused to have them.  Crum then remade the fries very thin adn crispy so that teh guest would have trouble eating them with a fork.

___27. (A) which   (B) who   (C) X   (D) being

The answer is ________.

20th century's top 100 novels

This website offers a list of the 20th century's top 100 novels, which was compiled by the Radcliffe Publishing Course. For those avid readers, this list can be a good guide.

http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100rivallist.html

At the same website, two other lists can be found--one is about the best 100 novels and the other the best 100 nonfiction, which were compiled by America's Modern Library.

To Etta

Dear Etta,

You were surprised that my KTV experience came so late.  Well, in fact, I'm an idiot in many areas.  But with Steve Jobs's words "Stay hungry.  Stay foolish," I don't feel too bad about it.  At least, I still have so much to learn.   :)

A Special Experience

This noon I went to Class 316's reunion at Holiday KTV.  This is the first time I have been to a KTV!  I opened my eyes, ears, and heart to this experience.  Many of the songs they sang were new to me.  I don't know how they learned those songs in their hectic third year.  I felt happy for them.  By singing, they released their pressure from the preparation work for the SAT and the UEE

Randy Pausch's 2008 commencement speech

This is Randy Pausch's 2008 commencement speech at Carnegie-Mellon University, a version with Chinese subtitles.

Randy Pausch\'s Commencement Address at Carnegie-Mellon University

Brick walls in life

"Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things."

About going to college

This is the comments my friend Annie left on my blog. Part of the extending reading is about whether to choose a university or a department. Though it is late for this year's freshmen-to-be, it is still useful for those in the coming years.

為什麼要念大學？
天下影音
http://video.cw.com.tw//pages/public/movie/player/tv_player.jspx?id=40288124173953fa01173953fb43009e

Mister Pip

My student Yu-shu (謝雨書) recommended me a book Mister Pip.  Here is what she said on my old blog.

Ms Lee:
I started to read a book called''Mister pip'' recently.  My aunt recommended me to read it;she told me that she saw almost every passenger reading this book on the bus when she was in England.I'll share with you after I finish my reading.

Randy Pausch died on July 25

Randy Pausch, the author of The Last Lecture died on Friday, July 25, at the age of 47.  I posted an entry of his last lecture and its transcripts on my old blog on April 19, 2008.  The lecture was given on September 18, 2007, ten months before his death.  Though he has passed away, what he left is immortal.

http://www.tiec.tp.edu.tw/lifetype/post/1130/24725

 

A special visitor and a wonderful blog

A special visitor came across my old blog and left his comments on it--words of encouragement.  Then I clicked on the name and found a wonderful blog.  The title itself--快樂希望愛的分享家--is quite inspiring. 

http://blog.xuite.net/erickhera.tw/nomore

His name is Hsu Pei-kang (徐培剛), a promising and respectable young man.  You will find some inspiration and power in his blog.

 

 

A website for 97-->96 score conversion

This website is provided by Jianguo Senior High School. It helps students to convert their 97 UEE scores to not only 96 scores but also 95.

http://fudao.ck.tp.edu.tw/ceec/

A Special Bond

This morning, at the end of the fourth class, I saw Ben (吳代華) and Ya-han (曾雅韓) were outside the classroom.  I went up to open the door and found two more--Yu-ting (賀毓庭) and Miranda (萬修安).  Then I invited them each to say a sentence to Class 310.  They told the class to start working hard from this summer and listen to me.  Yu-ting asked them to follow my advice that they should read more. Ben handed me a card.  I was very touched.  Though I am not their homeroom teacher, there seems to be a special bond between them and me.  I love to hear them call me "Ms. Lee."

What do these students go to college for?

In today's United Daily News I read an article on college education.  Accroding to the author, a university professor, a quarter of his students got a zero as the final grade because they never showed up. 

http://udn.com/NEWS/OPINION/X1/4439753.shtml

I don't understand why these students go to college.   They are wasting their life, don't they?  Once a student told me that he didn't like to study at all.  Hearing this, I told him not to go to college.  In college, there is more for one to learn than in high school.   

What makes students lose their appetite for learning?

English ability

Are you worried that your English is poor?  According to a recent report, only 5% employees are confident in their English. 

http://tw.news.yahoo.com/article/url/d/a/080723/1/13r8f.html

To learn English well, the awareness of its importance is important.  Of course, passion always comes first.   Passion, practice, and perseverance are the three P's to pave the way to success in learning English.

To Try Is To Create Possibilities

This evening, I was told by a mechanic from Chunghwa Telecom that I could not get online tonight due to some connection problem.  So I was thinking about keeping my blog on Word.  Then I called a student to recommend to her the website provided by Chengkung University.   Told she could not get connected to the website, I thought to myself, "Why not give it a try?  Why do I have to wait until tomorrow without trying?"  Then I clicked the Explorer icon.  Surprisingly, I got connected to the Net.  Before I started writing this entry, I'd emailed some useful information to the student.

Another Helpful Website

Here is another helpful website, which is provided by National Cheng-kung University.

http://estat.ncku.edu.tw/

A useful website for your possibility of entering certain universities/departments

This website may help you in picking out the 100 university/department.  東海大學落點預測

http://pre.thu.edu.tw/#

97-96 Score Conversion Table

Since I found there is a connection problem in my first entry of today's blog, here is the score conversion table, which one of the handouts from NHSH provides.

分數轉換表

 

Modified forms for decision making about university/department

I simplified one of the handouts provided by NHSH Counseling Office so that students can download the forms and make A4 copies more easily.  

Modified forms for decision making about university/department

Two useful handouts for decision making about which school and department to go to

For those who are deciding which school and department to go to, here are two useful handouts our school's counseling office provides.

http://web.nhsh.tp.edu.tw/bulletin.do?opr=info

To Ben

Dear Ben,

I know how you felt when you saw the composition score on the UEE. In fact, the last few compositions you wrote before the UEE were very good. Not only were they rich in content but they were alos well-organized. You always remembered to put a topic sentence at the beginning of a paragraph.

The Result of the UEE

Today students got their result of the UEE.  Whether it is satisfactory or not, this is not the "period" of their life.   How they go after this is much more important than what they got today.

A Joke a Day Keeps the Doctor Away and a Reflection

Today, I met Class 310 for the second time.  So, I decided to tell them a joke to test their sense of humor.   This is the joke I told.

http://www.ahajokes.com/blo060.html

Yu-chi

This morning I called Yu-chi (林育綺).  She sounded very happy, saying she was in Miao-li working as a volunteer with some foreign friends.  They were sent by her church there and taught some elementary school graduates English.  It was a fantastic experience for her, which showed in her voice.  Those foreigners don't speak Chinese, so she had to talk to them in English all the time.  I'm so happy that she takes delight in helping others and has the ability to take the mission. 

An article on Leadership

Yesterday I read an article in the latest TIME.  The title is "Mandela: His 8 Lessons of Leadership."   For those who are interestd in leadership, this is a must-read article.  In San-min Textbook Book 5, the third lesson is "What It Takes to Be a Good Leader."  This TIME article may serve as a good supplementary material.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1821467,00.html

Annie's Summary of a Book on Efficient Learning

Annie wrote a summary of a good book she read--不可思議的成績進步法.  Every learner should spend a few minutes reading it and try the tips listed if they want to make progress in learning.  I highly recommend it.

http://blog.roodo.com/anniechan/archives/6502799.html

The first day of summer school

Today is the first day of summer school.  I met two of my new classes--Classes 310 and 314.  They are cute as my former students. 

Of course, I briefly introduced myself: my name, how long I have been teaching in this school, books to use in the third year, and my way of teaching.  Then I suggested to them some good ways to learn English, putting emphasis on speaking and reading.  After that I asked them to fill out a personal information card for me so that I can get to know more about them as individuals. 

Words from Steve Jobs

As I again looked through Steve Jobs' address "You've Got to Find What You Love," I reviewed some remarkable sentences:

"... you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.  So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.  You have to trust in something--your guts, destiny, life, karma, whatever. "

Jobs took a calligraphy class at Reed College after he dropped out.  When he did that, he didn't know it would contribute to Macintosh typography ten years later.  Looking back, he was thankful that he had taken that course. 

Do we, without knowing it, follow a natural course we are destined to go through?

Life is unpredictable

Today Mom told me while we were out together that a neighbor of hers fell from the ladder and died immediately a few days ago. My dad and mom saw her the day before the accident. My mom sighed and said, "We never know what will happen the next second."

Yes. Life is unpredictable. However, there are still some things that stay forever.

A wonderful dinner with Max

This evening, Max, my former student, treated me to dinner.  I met his girlfriend for the first time.  She's an amiable and sweet girl.  We had a wonderful time chatting a lot, talking about life, career, school, and even Max's cats. 

A short and powerful sentence

「把力量放在對的地方。」

What a powerful reminder!  I saw this sentence in today's reading; I forgot whether it was in the newspaper or a magazine, though.  It reminds me of Franklin's article "Too Dear for the Whistle" and Lincoln's words.  Lincoln once said that what we do in our free time decides what kind of person we are.

An entry in my old blog mentioned Franklin's inspiring article.
http://www.tiec.tp.edu.tw/lifetype/post/1130/25841

Annie: a wonderful friend

Annie (詹麗馨), who I have known for around 15 years, is a caring friend. She visits my blog almost every day to keep track of my life. She often shares with me what she reads, what she learns, and even some cute stuff. I remember once I got cystitis, or inflammation of the urinary bladder. Knowing one of the causes was not drinking enough water, she bought a water bottle for me so that I could carry it around and drink enough water. I was touched. It was really nice of her to do so. The water bottle is a token of a friend's love and care.

A missing entry

July 8, 2008

 

Since I cannot get my computer connected to the Internet today, I have to keep my blog on Word. 
Today Raymond went to Hsinchu for his internship.  Although he hasn’t taken much rest since the end of the semester, I still think it good to take the job.  He’ll learn a lot by doing.  To my astonishment, we couldn’t find any restaurant in the famous Hsinchu scientific park, not even a 7-Eleven.  People working there can only bring or order their lunch.  That must be a reason for that.  I guess it might be the pollution.

VOA: a good website for English learners

VOA (The Voice of America) is a good website for English learners.  It not only offers news to read and listen to but also has a section for English learners.  In the Learning English section, "Words and Their Stories" is smart.  You will be amazed at the way the author put those related words and phrases together in an article. 

http://www.voanews.com/english/portal.cfm

Which department and school to choose?

For those who are considering choosing their ideal departments and schools, this webpage is worth visiting.

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=134733

Students' performance in the English writing task on the 2008 UEE

This webpage shows college teachers' comments on students' performance in the Engish writing task on the UEE.

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=134818

Words

Yesterday the body of the missing banker Pai Wen-chen was found in Penghu.  He was believed to have committed suicide.  I was shocked by his death.  Yesterday morning, the newspaper said he was missing, and the evening paper ran the story of his death. 

"Ten Letters to New College Graduates"--6~10

The last five letters in this series.

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=133705

The 6th letter: 羅聯福：領薪水還能交朋友 你賺到了

The 7th letter: 宋耀明：讀通經典 就像打通任督二脈

The 8th letter: 紀惠容：眾人並肩努力 改變就有可能

The 9th letter: 管國霖：視野在哪 領導潛力就在哪

The 10th letter: 徐莉玲：「一技在身」 輸「一藝在身」

An article about ways to improve English

My friend Annie introduced this article in her comments on my July 1 entry.  The inspiration it gives might help learners to better their English.

http://blog.roodo.com/tailedu/archives/6254613.html

 

To succeed or to be happy?

I'm in Taichung today.  

Like me, my students must be having fun now.   Whether they did well on the UEE or not, it can't be changed.  What can be seized is this and the following moment.  I remember many years ago I heard a lecture made by Mr. Cheng (鄭石岩).  He said what parents should teach their children is not to succeed but to be happy.  On hearing that, I was surprised because most books and speeches taught people how to be a successful person.  I forgot how Mr. Cheng convinced us, but finally I realized why he said so.  Since we cannot control what happens to us, we'd better learn to accept it happily.  This is easy for me to understand, because I always believe that "Man proposes; God disposes." 

About the writing task on the UEE

This year's writing task on the UEE asked the test takers to write about an impressive ad, be it on TV, on a flyer or in the newspaper/magazine.  The first paragraph should be about what is in the ad, and the second why it is impressive.  This task is easy.  However, for a person like me, who doesn't watch TV and seldom read the ad in the newspaper, it would be difficult.    How about those who don't have a TV or can't afford to buy newspapers/magazines?  Maybe the only solution is to make up one. 

My students must have no problem writing on this topic.  From our daily conversation, I know they watch quite a lot of TV.  Haha!  Finally they find an advantage of watching TV.

2008 UEE English Test

2008 UEE English Test:

http://www.ceec.edu.tw/AppointExam/AppointExamPaper/97ApExamPaper/02-97drse.pdf

How He Got a 91.5 in English on the UEE

Today Diego (邱元亨) came to visit me. I told him a student once asked me how she could get over 90 in English on the UEE. Since Diego got a 91.5 on the UEE, I asked him to offer some advice. The following are his suggestions:

"You've Got to Find What You Love"

Dear Class 310, 313, and 314,

Read the speech "You've Got to Find What You Love." If you've lost your handout, you can visit
http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html

You can watch and listen to the speech by clicking
You've Got to Find What You Love--video