The 15th Day of the Chinese New Year

The fifteenth day of the Chinese New Year. I spent most of the time doing the proofreading I started yesterday. Having finished it, I feel quite relieved now.

The 14th Day of the Chinese New Year

The fourteenth day of the Chinese New Year. In the morning, I meandered around the Dabi Lake (大埤湖). It's been a long time since I last visited it. Walking with my arms swinging back and forth, I took in the peaceful sight while exercising.

The 13th Day of the Chinese New Year

The thirteenth day of the Chinese New Year. A great day! Two guest speakers talked to my two classes in the morning: Max (呂元鐘) and Mingkun (李明錕) .

Max visited my homeroom class 214 this morning around 9am. He gave a talk to my students for 2 hours.

The 12th day of the Chinese New Year

The twelfth day of the Chinese New Year. I had a special guest in the afternoon. Eric (李鎮宇), a student who graduated around 7 years ago, showed up in my office. He told me he was admitted to the graduate school at National Yangming University and is going to major in bio-informatics (生物醫學資訊).

The 11th Day of the Chinese New Year

The eleventh day of the Chinese New Year. We had a morning assembly, in which our principal Mr. Wu (吳正東校長) read to the juniors the 20 commandments on the wall at Harvard University. I missed the first few but was glad that I heard at least a very good sentence: "If you don't walk today, you will need to run tomorrow." This sentence is related to what we are learning in Unit One, "Putting Things Off."

The 10th Day of the Chinese New Year

(The photos were taken and put on this entry on Feb. 28.)

The 10th Day of the Chinese New Year. I saw both my classes today and gave each student a bookmark I made, with the song "The Rose" and the poem "The Oak." It seems that today's lesson was taken from nature. "The Rose" conveyed the idea that everyone is the seed of love, or rather, the seed of anything. I told Class 209 that even if they didn't feel love, they can start to love someone. The poem "The Oak" was written by Alfred Tennyson, a famous English poet. Chris introduced it to me the other day and I fell for it right away. The poem goes like this:

The 9th Day of the Chinese New Year

The ninth day of the Chinese New Year. School starts. I was so glad to see my students. At the morning assembly, I cast a long look at each of my homeroom students. Cute, I told myself. We were destined to meet each other. I love them.

The 8th Day of the Chinese New Year

The eighth day of the Chinese New Year. I'm still working on my assignment. Besides, I have to get prepared for tomorrow, the first day of the new semester. How I wish I could go out strolling and beaming in the sun on this last day of the winter vacation! It was recalling the last staza of the poem by Robert Frost that kept me stuck on my chair:

The 7th Day of the Chinese New Year

The seventh day of the Chinese New Year. I spent almost the whole day at home, doing an assignment. For lunch I ate only a tzongtze.

With a time keeper, I got the idea of how much time I spent on each unit. The answer is: about 8-10 minutes. I love to use the time keeper. It helped me work more efficiently. And it reminded me to take a 15-minute break every 50 minutes.

The 6th Day of the Chinese New Year

The sixth day of the Chinese New Year. At noon, I had lunch with Losan (羅珊老師), a former colleague now retired, Chris (林詠梅老師), and Melody (陳美麗老師). Losan called me yesterday and proposed this gathering three days before school starts. We had a wonderful time, chatting about everything. Most of the time we talked about the importance of the influence parents have on their children. What children need most is love and proper guidance from their parents. If parents don't put them on the right course, they would easily go astray.

Family education should start at a very early age, period.

The 5th Day of the Chinese New Year

The Fifth day of the Chinese New Year. Thinking my mom-in-law might be tired of staying at home for three days in a row and need fresh air, George and I decided to take her out. It was cold and raining, not a good day for admiring cherry blossoms or having a picnic, so we decided to go to the department stores in Xinyi District. My sister-in-law and niece Bambi went with us.

The 4th Day of the Chinese New Year

The fourth day of the Chinese New Year. I stayed at my mom-in-law's house from 10am to 8pm. The whole family were there, spending almost the whole day together, which usually only happens during the Chinese New Year. In the morning, we chatted with two guests. In the afternoon, some of the family played mahjong, some watched TV, some played Wii, and I spent some time doing my "homework." Though indulged in different activities, everyone was immersed in the festive atmosphere.

The 3rd Day of the Chinese New Year

The third day of the Chinese New Year. I finished a mission--proofreading--at my mom-in-law's home while the famiy were chatting with their guests. This reminds me of a line in the song "If": If a man could be two places at one time." Very often, when I have missions to do and also want to keep my parents or mom-in-law company, I do wish I could be two places at one time. However, today I did both at one time without having to splitting myself into two. Good!

The 2nd Day of the Chinese New Year

The 2nd day of the Chinese New Year. A day for married daughters to go back to their maiden home for a reunion.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! Wish everyone happiness, health, and love.

And today is also Valentine's Day. Happy Valentien's Day!

Chinese New Year's Eve

It's Chinese New Year's Eve.

Happy New Year, everyone.

Who Knows What Life Is?--a Comment on Previous Comments about NTU Students

http://udn.com/NEWS/OPINION/OPI4/

王正方：誰懂得人生？

【聯合報╱王正方】

2010.02.12 01:40 pm

What a Contrast!

In the morning, I read about the professional baseball match-fixing scandal. Now, in the evening, I am watching the ceremony which marks the move-in of the 88 flood victims into their new houses built by Tzu Chi supported by the government. Those involve in the baseball scandal loved themselves too much. They were confined to the self.  In contrast, those who contributed to helping the victims loved others more than themselves. They transcended the self.

Listen

http://udn.com/NEWS/OPINION/OPI4/5418662.shtml

林中斌：缺乏聆聽教育的國民

【聯合報╱林中斌】

2010.02.10 03:22 am

Difference Between Academic English Presentation and General English Speech--英文研究論文發表》學術英文口語報告與一般演說的差異

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=235048

英文研究論文發表》學術英文口語報告與一般演說的差異

【作者／廖柏森，本文選自眾文圖書之《英文研究論文發表─口語報告指引》】 2010/02/09

English for Special Purpose--廖柏森︰大學應加強研究生英文學術口語訓練

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=234927

英文研究論文發表》廖柏森︰大學應加強研究生英文學術口語訓練

【本文選自眾文圖書之《英文研究論文發表─口語報告指引》】2010/02/08

314 Class Reunion

This noon I attended the class reunion of 314, who graduated last summer. Four teachers and about 20 students were present. The moment we saw each other, we hugged. In fact, I have seen most of them once or twice during the half year since they left school. However, a reunion brings everyone together, giving a feeling of family.

About 2010 SAT English Composition

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=233962

解析／英文作文 多數寫「拾金不昧」

【聯合晚報╱記者王彩鸝╱台北報導】2010/02/02

A Creative Ending: on 2010 SAT English Writing

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=233865

解析／英文作文 黃玟君：創意結局 閱卷老師青睞

【聯合新聞網／文／黃玟君（台科大應用外語系助理教授）】 2010/02/02

Discipline and Strength

I highly recommend this article. It's not only good for parents but also for chidlren to read.

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=234461

李偉文：守紀律 心靈才有力量

【聯合報╱記者薛荷玉】2010/02/05

An Intriguing Speech--JK Rowling's 2008 Harvard Commencement Speech: the Fringe Benefits of Failure

Late yesterday night, when I checked if there was something good at the Website TED, I came across JK Rowling's 2008 Harvard Commencement Speech. Listening to it for around 20 minutes, I was deeply attracted to her enlightening words.

Then I found this website at which you can listen to and read the speech at the same time. My suggestion is that you first listen to the speech without looking at the script, trying to jot down some important points. Then for the second time, you read the script as you listen.

http://harvardmagazine.com/commencement/the-fringe-benefits-failure-the-importance-imagination

On Vocabulary Learning--一生必學的英文單字(十六)

In today's UDN vocabulary learning column, Mr. Chen mentions learning vocabulary for specific life situations, for example, words we need at the bank. Besides, he reminds us to pay attention to English words around us. I remember Mr. Chang Chieh-ying mentioned in his book that he once learned around 500 English words at a single visit to an exhibition. Wow!

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=234019

一生必學的英文單字(十六)

【聯合報╱本報訊】 2010/02/03

A Model Student--大考過後 滿地傳單…

This high school student set a good example.

http://udn.com/NEWS/OPINION/X1/5399496.shtml

大考過後 滿地傳單…

【聯合報╱廖紋敏／高中生（雲縣西螺）】

2010.02.01 02:20 am

On the 2010 SAT Chinese Writing Task

The following is a video of some interviews about one of this year's Chinese writing tasks.   The examinees were asked to write on the topic "A Monologue of a Floating Log."    The topic is quite philosophical.  Lovely!

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=233803

國文作文「漂流木的獨白」 試考生如何下筆？

 

【記者王彩鸝／製作報導】  2010/02/01

99年大學學測作文題目是「漂流木的獨白」，兩位試考生台大電機系學生馬惟九及法律系學生張簡映庭，談他們如何發揮這個題目，北一女國文老師唐慧文則說這個題目深淺自如，任何程度的考生都容易發揮。