"Watching Taipei 101 fireworks from scenic spots" from the Taipei Times

Today is the last day of the year 2011. Crowds of people will flock to watch the Taipei 101 fireworks display. I just found an article on the Bilingual Page of the Taipei Times suggesting some good spots for fireworks goers.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2011/12/31/2003522009

Reminders from the CEEC for SAT Test Takers

The SAT is 17 days away. The CEEC provided some reminders. Whoever is going to take the exam should read them carefully.

http://www.ceec.edu.tw/101SAT/101Sat考生應考注意事項/101學應考注意事項(簡要版).pdf

大學入學考試中心101學年度學科能力測驗考生應注意事項考生應注意事項（簡要版）

Doing What You Love Optimizes Your Life--非念熱門科系 陳弱水、曾俊元國家講座得獎

http://udn.com/NEWS/NATIONAL/NAT5/6808983.shtml

非念熱門科系 陳弱水、曾俊元國家講座得獎
【聯合報╱記者陳智華／台北報導】
2011.12.28 02:42 am

One More Writing Sample for the 3rd Mock Exam

This morning while I was reading the mock exam compositions by Class 303, I found one of the stories so intriguing that I couldn't wait to share it with all the three classes. Then I decided to make some modifications to it and post it on my blog.

"The Christmas Shoes"--A Touching Song

Though Christmas Day has bid adieu, it's still Christmas season. The song "The Christmas Shoes" reminds us again of what Christmas really means. To me, it's about love and giving.

Annie (詹麗馨老師) told me about this song this evening. It's touching! If the boy in the song were before me in a line, I would not only pay for the shoes for her mother, but also buy him new warm clothes. Thank you, Annie, for introducing such a heartfelt song.

More Writing Samples for the 3rd Mock Exam

Here are three more English writing samples for the 3rd mock exam.

Season's Greetings

 Merry Christmas, everyone!

 --a famous sentence from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

A Conversion Table of the Scores for the English Tests on the Past SATs

Since many students asked me what score they have to get if they want to reach a certain standard on SAT, here I'd like to post a conversion table I compiled based on the information from the CEEC . The table shows not only the conversion between the real score and the ranking score but also the five standards.

Gifts from Teachers--Online Article: "10 Priceless Gifts Teachers Can Give Their Students"

The other day I caught a glimpse of the title and the link of the article on the FB mentioned by my good friend Annie: "10 Priceless Gifts Teachers Can Give Their Students." I didn't have time to get linked then, but have since been curious about what the gifts are. Finally I got time to visit the webpage and found the answer.

http://www.teachhub.com/10-priceless-student-gifts-from-teachers

10 Priceless Gifts Teachers Can Give Their Students

By: Lisa Mims

A Picture Story--a Writing Sample for the 3rd Mock Exam

The following is an English essay written for the 3rd mock exam. I gave it a 17. If you haven't seen the four pictures on the test, you can try reproducing the first three pictures after reading the essay, leaving the fourth frame blank with a quetion mark inside. Quite a challenge!

To Learn, or To Win?--廖玉蕙：精英特訓的語文競賽

http://udn.com/NEWS/OPINION/OPI4/6797131.shtml

廖玉蕙：精英特訓的語文競賽

2011.12.22 02:27 am

【聯合報╱廖玉蕙】

Key to the 3rd Mock Exam English Translation

Today is the 2nd day of the 3rd mock exam. Students had two tests: English and Science.

English is not difficult. The topics for reading comprehension include the banning of shark finning, Japan's cherry blossom festival, garage sales, and the different functions of the two hemispheres of the human brain. The passages for the other two parts are about Lady Godiva, Stephenie Meyer, who authored Twilight, Tibatans, and teleconferencing.

The writing section includes translating two sentences into English and writing a picture story.

The following are the two sentences students were asked to translate into English

1. 研究顯示，灣人傾向以服用各式各樣維他命來保持健康。

2. 事實上，均衡飲食和規律運動才是保持精力充沛的關鍵。

ICRT & News about Jin Yong Receiving an Honorary Doctoral Degree

On my drive home this evening, I heard an ICRT report on Jin Yong, a renowned martial arts novelist, receiving an honorary doctoral degree from National Ching-Hua University. It's a pity that I was driving. Had I been home, I would have recorded it for my students to listen.

Good Writing Samples for the 2009 SAT English

 Last week, I had my three classes write an essay describing only ONE picture. This type of writing task has been given only on the 2009 SAT. For the other SATs, three or four pictures were given, with the fourth only presenting a question mark in recent years. I checked my old blog entries and found that I didn't put the good writing samples for the 2009 SAT offered by CEEC on my blog. Click on the link and you can read not only 13 good essays in English but also 12 in Chinese. 

http://www.ceec.edu.tw/GoodWritingPieces/98SatGoodWritingPieces/98%E5%AD%B8%E6%B8%AC%E5%9C%8B%E8%8B%B1%E4%BD%B3%E4%BD%9C.htm

English Corner in School--外籍教師駐花女 全英文練口語

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=361240

外籍教師駐花女 全英文練口語

【聯合報╱記者范振和／花蓮報導】2011/12/18 

Follow the Instructions

When it comes to writing an English essay on SAT, the most important thing is following the instructions. For example, on Wednesday, I had the three classes write a picture story, a writing task given by 2010 Meow-meow Practice Test. The students were shown only one picture instead of four. In the picture is a man standing in the middle of the road by his car. He seems to get stuck in the middle of nowhere and be talking on the cellphone. The instructions are as follows:

提示:

人生有時會發生一些難以預料的事,遇到了就要設法去解 決,請寫一篇約120字左右的作文,第一段說明圖中的主角發生了什麼事,第二段則敘述他正在做什麼或打算如何處理這件事

It's Easy to Be Happy--洪蘭：快樂的小事 幸福的能量

http://udn.com/NEWS/OPINION/OPI4/6784944.shtml

洪蘭：快樂的小事 幸福的能量

【聯合報╱洪蘭】 2011.12.16 01:42 am

The 2nd High School English Listening Test

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=360404

高中英聽測驗 16日開始報名

【聯合報╱記者沈育如／台北報導】2011/12/14

Tips on Preparation for Biology and Earth Science on the SAT--生物、地科得分 圖表是重點

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=360636

生物、地科得分 圖表是重點

【聯合報╱本報記者陳智華】2011/12/15

Tips on Preparation for Physics and Chemistry--理化／「綠色能源」 出題重點

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=360408

理化／「綠色能源」 出題重點

【聯合報╱本報記者蔡永彬】2011/12/14

"Proud of You"--a Lovely Song

Today I had Classes 301 and 311 listen to a lovely song "Proud of You" at the beginning of the class. While listening, they were asked to write in English anything that came into their mind. When the song was over, they handed in their paper.

Tips on Preparation for SAT Civics--公民與社會篇／注意冤獄、歐債等時事

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_MAIN_ID=12&f_SUB_ID=611&f_ART_ID=360201

公民與社會篇／注意冤獄、歐債等時事

【聯合報╱本報記者陳智華】2011/12/12

"From the Textbook to Critical Thinking"--A Speech

This afternoon we English teachers listened to a speech by Prof. Pei-Chun Che (車蓓群教授), a professor at National Chengchi University. The topic is "From the Textbook to Critical Thinking (從課本看思考性教學)"

Preparing for 101 SAT English--101年學測考前趨勢分析-英文科

The following article from the UDN website provides very useful tips for taking the English test on the SAT.  My comments are in italics.

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=357700

101年學測考前趨勢分析-英文科

【聯合線上企劃╱齊斌老師(執筆)】 2011/12/01

Tips on Preparation for History and Geography on the SAT--史地注意時事 熟做考古題

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_MAIN_ID=12&f_SUB_ID=27&f_ART_ID=359794

史地注意時事 熟做考古題

【聯合報╱本報記者陳幸萱】2011/12/11

Tips on Preparation for the SAT Math--學測數學／要拿高分 熟練有鑑別度章節

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=359648

學測數學／要拿高分 熟練有鑑別度章節

【聯合報╱記者蔡永彬】2011/12/10

Tips on Preparation for the SAT English--英文出題廣 留意重要時事、關鍵字

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=359342

英文出題廣 留意重要時事、關鍵字

【聯合報╱本報記者 沈育如】2011/12/09

Tips on SAT English Composition--英文作文／寫前先擬大綱 別用台式英文

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=359128

英文作文／寫前先擬大綱 別用台式英文

【聯合報╱本報記者 沈育如、鄭語謙】 2011/12/08

Tips on Preparing for Chinese on the SAT--掌握國文基本分 熟讀A級選文

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_MAIN_ID=12&f_SUB_ID=611&f_ART_ID=358829

掌握國文基本分 熟讀A級選文

【聯合報╱本報記者／鄭語謙】2011/12/07

Tips on Preparing for the Chinese Test on the 2012 SAT--學測作文題 考時事、國片機率高

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=358641

學測作文題 考時事、國片機率高

【聯合報╱本報記者 鄭語謙】2011/12/06

Observation of Ting-tze's Teaching

This morning, I was invited to Class 110 to observe a student teacher Ting-tze's teaching. What she taught today was the last two paragraphs of "The Phantom of the Opera" in Book One.

Face Difficulties Head-on--a True Story

Yesterday I got a mail from my colleague Candice (李淑慧老師), with a story attached to it. It's a true story. I don't usually have time to read every story emailed to me, but the first two lines caught my eye. Then I saw the picture right below. I couldn't believe my eyes! I knew there were many physically challenged people, but this man's physical condition was one among the worst I'd ever seen. I decided to read on. While reading the story, I felt my eyes wet with respectful tears. I felt an urge to tell Mr. Liu, "I salute you from the bottom of my heart!"

Candice, thank you for sharing such an inspirational story. I believe anyone who reads the story will find their troubles in life dwarfed.

很值得看的一個真人真事! 

「遇到困難時，我就想辦法解決，而不是被打倒！」

Fourth Anniversary

Today is the fourth anniversay of my blogging. Hurrah!

It all started 4 years ago. On Dec. 3, 2007, I went to Jingmei Senior High School to attened a blogging workshop, which I, out of curiosity, registered a few days before.

Learn English with Your Ears and Mouth--放棄眼睛，用耳跟嘴學英文！

Though the following article was written about 10 years ago, the theory is never outdated.

http://english.tw/space-13999-do-blog-id-12771.html

放棄眼睛，用耳跟嘴學英文！

※作者 / 張嘉倩 (英文榜首) / 2001-12-14

Laughter, the Best Medicine

Yesterday in Class 301, when we came to the vocabulary word "microphone" in Unit 9, I invited the students to give me more words with the prefix "micro-." They shouted out their answers: "microscope," "microwave," "Microsoft"...