Paper 3 Oral : Picture Discussion (2009 Day 8)

This picture shows a handshake between the Chinese Family and the Malay family in a HDB flat.The handshake is a handshake of a Chinese father with a malay child.It looks like theres a chinese festival is going on. As there are decorations hanged and the Chinese family is giving red pockets or angpaos to the Malay family.

The chinese family consists of a father , a mother and 3 children. The Malay family consists of a mother and 2 children. They are wearing traditional malay clothes.Both family looks happy with smiles on their faces. The Chinese family is a rich family with the expensive furnitures on the background.

Probably before this incident,the chinese fmimly was inviting the malay family to visit their house for chinese new year as they are close neighbours. After this incident, the malay family will leave the house of the chinese family with a feeling of a big family as their relationship deepened from being mere neighbours.

Maybe what the photographer intention of taking this picture is that he or she wants to show a harmonious atmosphere between a chinese family and a malay family as Singapore is a multi racial society, harmony is one of the important aspect for singapore to stand as one.

News Report : Traffic Accident

Irresponsible drivers leads to the deaths of teenagers
by Fellix Utama

The hit-and-run incident involving the two teenagers who died because of it.
Mr Terry Lim Yi Shiong,18 and Mr Lee Soung Hyuk,18 at Woodlands Avenue 5 who were just finished their lessons at Republic Polytechnic about yesterday evening 6 pm.

It was a quiet friday afternoon, until a mysterious driver driving a silver Toyota Corola without a license who sped up when a police patrol car signalled him to stop and accelerated to the end of the road.

Unluckily, the two teenagers were hit by the car when the driver was intending to make a u-turn. Just as the police were starting to chase him, the driver sped up and escaped.

Ms Grace Chua, 43, a passer-by and a teacher said, "All I heard was a loud bang and screams. When I went to the spot,the police were there chasing the silver Toyota Corola car.However, it fled successfully and was out of sight."

Another witness,Mr Tang Ah Wei, 34 a businessman said ," I saw it from my window car, the victims were screaming at the moment the car bumped to their legs, there were bloods on them and the car escaped as fast as lightning."

The two of them suffered serious injuries and were taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital and died several minutes after.

The police were still continue to track down the culprit and the responsible sides. Meanwhile, Commander of Traffic Police, Supt Calvin Tan Lin Guat said "Hit and run offenders who disobey the laws for irresponsbile actions will never be forgiven.Such incidents are considered as very serious under the law. As the offender refused to offer the victims assistance. We will keep putting in effort to continue investigate and bring punishments for such irresponsible drivers. They will not get away from us."

EL Competition

This is a photo of our memorable class meeting.With our united hearts,we come and spend time together.Regardless of different religions ,cultures and countries we are from,all the fun we enjoyed as one,as a class.

21 April 2010

Mrs. Janice Ng

Principal

Chong Boon Secondary School

UNPLEASANT INCIDENTS IN THE SCHOOL LIBRARY

My friend and I have been going to the school library lately to do some self-study. However, we are unhappy about a few incidents which took place recently. I am writing to inform you about the incidents and I hope you will take actions against them.

Firstly, there was once group of students who were rude to the librarians. They talked loudly inside the library. They scolded vulgarities at the librarian when she asked them to keep their volume down. The librarian was angry and reported him to the Discipline Master of his attitude. However, the boy and his companion ignored it and continued to disturb. I seriously suggest that these group of ill-mannered students should be heavily punished for their behaviour towards the librarians.

Next, some students broke the library rules. They sneaked food in and spilled their drinks onto the table. The sweet drinks invited ants to come in and it made the table sticky. It made us hopeless to study there as the library was dirty. I personally think that library rules should be stricted and I hope to not witness these kind of issues in future.

There was also a boy who wore his PE attire into the library. He was soaked in perspiration. He should not have been allowed to come in as it was not healthy for him and for the sake of the rest of the users in library of causing bad odour. I think that students should change to their school uniform and ensure that they are not perspiring and sweating.

Another case, there was also another group of students playing games on the computers for a very long time. They played games for hours. The computers should be use regularly and not be misused. These kind of cases should be restricted for students.

I hope these issues will be handled seriously and the students involved should be caught and gave a lesson. We are also looking forward to the peace and a suitable environment in the library to continue our studies.

Yours sincerely,

Fellix

2E2

EL : P.E.E.L (Internet)

Internet is useful to people. With Internet, people can communicate easily on online chatting and e-mailing within seconds. We can also have an online shopping without the necessary to lift a leg from our comfortable home. People are now depending on Internet as a lifestyle for the useful technology that make their work easier and faster.

( 56 words)

International Friendship Day

Chong Boon Secondary School

Secondary 2 - Express

Questions :

1.What are the relationship that are important to you within the school context?

It is the relationship between the care for environment with myself. As Chong Boon is an environmentally friendly school , it is compulsory for us to take actions to take care of the greenery and cleanliness.

2.What do you know about the history of your school/CCA?

As I am a new student. I only know that the progress of the school started since 1993 which taking over Anderson Secondary School 's old building . As our school progressing with impression of pride which is our school current values . Perserverance , Respect , Integrity , Dedication and Exellence.

3.Share a story about your school/CCA . It can be funny ones , successful ones and difficult ones.

The first day i joined Red Cross Youth as my CCA , i find it tough to learn the commands at the first time . We faced hardships and happiness together , whenever we found happiness , we shared it together. Likewise, we helped each other of their difficulties and gave them help.

Together , one for all and all for one. There is one day when i was supposed to attend the training regularly but i was late. Thus , i received my punishment and did pumpings. I lightly injured my ankle but with my friend 's assistance , i was abled to go through. That time I learnt my lesson for punctuality.

4.Have the stories you heard from your classmates changed the way you view/feel about your school?

I do. I remembered one my friends told me that this is a gangster school and advised me to better not finding any trouble. However , even though my school maybe not as good as other school is , I still find it ok as it is my school.

Sports Fiesta 2010

It was one of the school important events , the Sport Fiesta Day. At 6 A.M. , I rushed over to the busstop and took a bus to the place where the day was going to be held , Serangoon Stadium.

As this was my first time going to the stadium , I had difficulty of going there. Thus , I often gave my friend messages of the direction and called them for the way. Unluckily , I was in the half way talk to my friend who was giving me the way but my phone went off. Then , I regretted myself of forgetting to charge my phone battery.

However, somehow i managed to get through the front gate. The moment I reached there , a lot of students with their respective house names and colours on their PE Shirt assembled on a large grass field . Happily chit - chatting while teachers were taking their attendence was what I witnessed of a lot of students , especially girls.

After singing the national anthem and pledgeging , all of the students went to their respective house area and sat with their "housemates" . As for me and those Red Cross cadets were ordered to stay at the base . In purpose , for the immediate action and stand by for the casuallities happened for the day.

As each cadets was told to patrol around the game field including me , it was to ensure that the casuallities happen through the game will be immediately settled at the spot with the first aid or decided to be carried to the base for further treatment.

As the days went smoothly , everyone was enjoying the triumph of winning. My own house , Terrus which was the lousiest house everyear had won the Captain's Ball. I was totally suprised and glad for my own house that at least they had something to be special of.

Casuality by casuality , i experienced more things of aid applying and the actions needed at the spot.

At the end of the day, the results of the house champion was announced. The house champion for the Sports Fiesta 2010 was Pyros, followed by Hydros, Aeros , Voltus and Terrus. Some were cheering triumphly and some were feeling disheartened and discontented. As for me , I would not blame my house to be in the last position . Well ,at least they had done their best for their performance and their willing to win , hadn't they?

I quite enjoyed myself for the day and hoped that Terrus would do better for the next Sports Fiesta. We may not be the best , but we considered of how much effort we had put in.

Annual Cross Country

It was the Annual Cross Country which was held in my school, Chong Boon Sec.

At that day , I was separated from my classmates because of my CCA duty , Red Cross Youth.

At 9 P.M. Sharp , everyone gathered at the big tree in MacRitchie Reservoir Park. After singing the national anthem , the red cross team and myself went to the location and began setting up the base.There, I learnt and had an experience of handling casualities and the way of applying first aid kit for simple injuries.

I recalled how fun it was.The alerntness of the people who carried their injured friend or strecher needed for serious injury. Although I was different from others of what i was doing, i was still proud of it.

I saw my classmates joined the race and some won the throphies. Visnu as the first runner and Jenarth as the tenth runner for lower secondary boys category. I was proud of their achievement and happy for them at the same time. In addition , we also had Xin Yi, the fourth runner for lower secondary girls category. I was happy for all of them. They had done a good job.

I was quite enjoying myself with the rest of the teammates that day. I still remembered when one of my friend tried to feed the monkeys and disturbed them which was quite foolish as it was not supposed to do. I also bought some drinks from the stall there which was also organized by other CCA , Concert Band. I heard they were selling drinks for donations.

Although this was my first time joining the Cross Country event. I would say it was fun and looking forward to it again.

After lioness, a cobra falls prey to heat at Vandalur

CHENNAI: An 18-year-old female Indian king cobra died a few days ago at the veterinary hospital in the zoo after being ill for more than a month. The 16-metre serpent was the longest female king cobra in captivity in the country. Zoo officials said that heat could be the reason for the death, suggesting that the air conditioning may have failed, due to power cuts. The death came barely a week after the demise of a 23-year-old lioness, Reena, in the zoo.

The average lifespan of a king cobra is 25 years. Besides the Snake Park at Guindy, Vandalur Zoo is the only other enclosure in the country to host the world's largest venomous snake, king cobra. In just a single bite, it can inject up to 6-7 ml of venom, enough to kill an elephant or 20 persons. The venom is also used to develop painkillers to treat arthritis in humans. The king cobra is worshipped by Hindus, especially during the festival of Nag Panchami.

At Vandalur, a pair of ophiophagus hannah (the zoological name of king cobra) was brought from a village called Vadanamalli near Mahabalipuram a decade ago. Since then, the two cobras have been kept in an air-conditioned glass box. The health of the female serpent started deteriorating a month ago, while the male king cobra, which is nearly 20 years old, is in good health. According to biologists, king cobras prefer rain forests and humid jungles, thick undergrowth, cool swamps and bamboo clusters . They avoid human habitation, and they are mainly found in cooler places such as Ooty and Kodaikanal

The power generator in the zoo was not in good condition . As a result, the serpents, which are sensitive to hot weather, had to spend long hours in the heat. This had deteriorated the health of the female serpent.

King cobras are found across south east Asia, from India through southern China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The longest king cobras can be found in peninsular Malaysia. Cobras can slide up trees and bushes and spend a significant amount of time above the ground, looking for prey.

URL:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Chennai/After_lioness_a_cobra_falls_prey_to_heat_at_Vandalur_/articleshow/3492114.cms

My Relfections :

People should have improved their system and security to take care of the poor snake. Its such a shame that a precoius animal had left the world.The snake should have been take care and observed in a protective environment. Especially the irresistable heat to the snake and cause an ill condition to it.It is a bad thing of humans would do.It is all of the bad condition of the power generator that should make the serpents spend a long time to stand the heat under the hot sun. This is the very cause that make the female snake to devastated to death. They should have improved the system of the zoo to prevent powercuts. Anyway it is also a shamful thing that the zookeeper had no responsibilites to take care of the serpents and treat them bad.

The Vanishing 'Kaliya'

The King Cobra is a snake respected above all others, and for good reason. It is by far the largest venomous snake in the world, packs enough venom to kill an Asian elephant with a single bite to the trunk, and possesses a rare intelligence that scientists are only beginning to understand now. The King Cobra features quite prominently as ‘Kala Nag’ or ‘Kaliya’ in the Hindu Mythology.

Though widespread, the king cobra is uncommon in every part of its range and is considered rare in India. Habitat loss is a major threat to its survival. Forests are disappearing at an alarming rate in many parts of its range, driving the shy snake into populated areas where it's often killed out of fear. The king cobra is also harvested for commercial purposes. Its meat, skin and bile are used in traditional Chinese medicines, and its venom is used to treat pain and illness.

The king cobra is revered as a deity in many parts of India and southeast Asia. Some believe that it controls the rain, thunder and fertility. In one Indian snake cult, a large king cobra is brought to the village in a basket. When the lid is open, the snake rises up and a priestess kisses it on the head, guaranteeing both human and crop fertility. Some believe that if this secretive snake is seen by 100 people, it will die. So, in accordance with this belief, the king cobra will enter a village when it's ready to pass on to the next life.

The king cobra belongs to the family Elapidae, which includes cobras, kraits and coral snakes — all highly venomous species that share the common trait of relatively short, fixed fangs. Once classified as a cobra (genus Naja), the king cobra was eventually moved to its own genus, Ophiophagus. The name "king cobra" is therefore a bit of a misnomer, as it's not a true cobra. Ophiophagus combines the Latin words for snake ("ophio") and eater ("phagus") — an accurate description of its habits. It is sometimes called the hamadryad, a Greek name for "wood nymph." The snake was first scientifically described by a British naturalist named Dr. Thomas Edward Cantor in 1836. The king cobra ranges far and wide throughout tropical Asia. It's found in India, southern China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, where it reaches record lengths. It prefers habitats with dense undergrowth and heavy rainfall, such as rain forests and mangrove swamps.

Uncanny Intelligence

The king cobra possesses a rare intelligence that scientists are only beginning to understand. Some snake experts have experienced a type of communication with the king cobra that is quite unlike any other snake species they've encountered. It has an awareness and alertness far beyond most other snakes; for instance, the male is very conscious of its territory and will chase other males away. In captivity, the king cobra is able to distinguish its care giver from strangers, and is said to be a faster learner than other snakes. The fact that it builds a nest — the only snake to do this — is another indication of its intelligence, according to experts.

Princes and Princesses

After a 60- to 90-day incubation period, the king cobra's eggs are ready to hatch. Just before they do, the mother departs; she's fasted for two to three months and might otherwise be tempted to eat her young, as king cobras feed almost exclusively on snakes. At birth, a king cobra hatchling is around 14 inches in length and 1/2 inch wide. It's glossy black with bright yellow bands, and its venom is as potent as an adult's. Even at birth the king cobra is very alert and will flare its hood if provoked. Ten days after birth, the hatchlings molt and are ready to begin hunting. They are vulnerable to civets, mongooses, giant centipedes and army ants for the first several months. The Cannibalistic Cobra The king cobra preys almost exclusively on snakes, and will even cannibalize smaller individuals of its own species. It mainly preys on non- venomous snakes, like small pythons and rat snakes, but will also eat cobras, kraits and other very venomous snakes. It will also eat the occasional monitor lizard. In captivity, the king cobra can be "taught" to eat warm-blooded prey by making the animal — often a mouse or rat — smell like a snake. A diurnal snake, the king cobra actively forages for prey during the day, using its sense of smell to locate prey and excellent eyesight to strike.

Lovestruck Snakes

Late in the dry season (January through March), the normally solitary king cobra goes looking for love. Shedding skin at the beginning of the breeding season causes the female to release hromones, which helps the male track her down in the thick underbrush. The male rubs his head on the female's body to announce his intentions. If she doesn't seem interested, the Casanova will butt and push her until she agrees to mate. If another male is on the scene, the cobras will wrestle, attempting to push their opponent's head to the ground. When the female is agreeable, the male will wrap his body around her, and the two will remain in this position for several hours. It is thought that male king cobras mate with the same female in successive seasons. The female can store the male's sperm for several years until she's ready to have offspring.

A Protective Parent

In April, May or June, the female king cobra lays a clutch of 20 to 50 eggs in a nest made of twigs, leaves and other vegetation, which she scrapes together into a pile with her coils. No other species of snake does this. The heat created by the rotting vegetation helps incubate the eggs. Once the eggs are deposited, the mother hollows out a second chamber for herself. There she sits for two to three months, guarding the eggs against monitor lizards and mongooses, which may eat them; elephants, which may trample them; wild boars, which may do both; and other predacious or "clumsy" animals. If necessary she will fiercely defend her clutch, but if sufficiently disturbed may abandon the eggs early.

URL : http://mohanpaiblogger.blogspot.com/2008/07/vanishing-species-king-cobra.html

My Perspectives

The fact that King Cobras are exist indeed a piece of a precious matter in this world. As mentioned , it is a belief of the ability from King Cobras to control the elemental such as Storm, Water , Wind , Fire and Earth. It could be say that the very truth of the fact is a unique characteristics of the King Cobra itself.It is including the ways of protecting and raising the eggs of the snakes. Another matter that make this species of snakes so unique is about the names. I mean , is there even such animals with the name given as either "King , or prince or princess?" . We , as humans are too selfish to just think about ourselves and not bothering the consequences.We destroyed their habitat , their hope and place to live , happily with their kids. It make us humans to be such sinful creatures. However, with our destruction of the environment , the have no choice but to attack townspeople and cities to have a living place. It is us who making them to raid us of what we did to them. Hunting,Poaching,Destroying,we should have understood them more. Even they are not humans , but they still have rights , have feelings.