PERSONAL RESPONSE
Just like the first poem, I have never heard of the poem nor the poet. You can try googling but I think there's nothing much there, so don't bother. She is an Indonesian writer and looking at it positively, I think that this is a good idea. But I really hope that MoE has asked for permission to use her poem because we don't want another conflict to arise (got my point?). Okay, enough rambling, let's start...
Dealing with the obvious first, let's look at the RHYMING SCHEME: a,a,a,a... yes, the rhyming scheme is uniformed throughout the whole poem. This is IMHO the strong point of this poem. This would be an x-factor that could attract students to this poem. Especially, in my case where nurturing the love towards the beauty of literature is quite challenging with poems with the like of Monsoon History (no offence, it's a good poem... but you got my point right?). For beginner-intermediate students who are still struggling with simple vocabularies, asking them to love such poems is almost like forcing a 0.7mm pencil lead into the 0.5 mechanical pencil :) This poem is different though. It's meaning is not entirely simple. Yet, it is verbally beautiful. The uniformed rhymes gives life to the poem. A lot of while reading activities can be crafted into interesting lesson when teaching this poem. Just by reading aloud, even without instruction, the poem would still sound interesting. And this is very important for beginner students. This poem is not unlike song lyrics, thus, I think you got my idea.
CHARACTER ANALYSES
Minor Characters
David Amos
David Amos is a young,handsome,and rich man who is the owner of Amos Cosmetics,where Anna works.He has an expert nose for perfumes and is often seen in the company of pretty young models.Nevertheless he is a poor judge of character who is unable to see the inner beauty of a person.
· Proud and Arrogant
David Amos is endowed with good looks and riches.He is the owner of Amos Cosmetics.He is also a proud man who prefes “to be with pretty young models who liked appearance and money”.David does not speak to or take notice of ordinary looking people.When he speaks to the chemist in the company,David Amos is “ usually complaining about something”.Under the influenceof the fruitcake perfume his behaviour is the total opposite.When the effects of the perfume wear off,he becomes his normal proud and arrogant self.He thinks only of himself ang gives no due consideration to Ann’s feelings.He uses money to get himself out of troubles like he did with the press and even tries to pay Anna off for any disappointments that she may have experienced.
· Status Concious
David is a symbol of success.As the successful owner of Amos Cosmetics,he is affluent and coupled with good looks ;he is defenitely a man with status.David Amos indulges in golf,a game equated with status .Because of his achievements .David is status conscious. He even prefers the company of beautiful models who will alleviate his status in public functions.
· Self-centred
David Amos thinks only of himself.He has a little consideration for other people’s feelings.When he speak to the chemists,he is usually complaining about something.He is a good looking man;therefore,he wants to be seen only with pretty looking girls.When he asks Anna out, he does so only because of the effect of thre fruitcake perfume.On the evening of the date, he change his mind and tells Anna only to think of the evening out as a reward for her hard work.David Amos does not even consider Anna’s feelings.She thinks that David Amos asks her out because he find her attractive.His words make her very upset.After the incident at the French restaurant,he thinks that he can use money to make a person feel better.He decided to gives Anna “a bit of money to make for any diappoiments” that he has caused.His actions show that he is a self-centred man.
· Superficial person
David is a person who only thinks of himself and likes to keep the company of the young pretty models as they “likes his appearance and his money”. Likewise he too only wants to dates beautiful models and fails to see beyond the outward beuty.He is poor judge of the character who fails to see the beauty.
SABINA
Sabina is a beautiful young model and David’s latest girlfriend. Sabina is rather possessive of David Amos and does not understand how he can fall in love with an ordinary looking girl like Anna.
· Proud and Arrogant
Her speech and actions reflect her pride and arrogance. At French restaurant ,Sabina extends her hand to Anna and expect her to kiss it.Anna does not comply with her arrogant ways.When both both David and the waiter express their love for the Anna under the influence of the fruitcake perfume,Sabina shocked .She cannot believe that Anna can get so many attention when she, the beauty ,is amongst them. After the incident at the French restaurant , Sabina stands next to David Amos and proudly explains to Anna that David will never be interested in an ordinary looking girl like her. Moreover, Sabina insults Anna when she says that David will compensate some money for the disappointments that she has gone through. Her speech and actions cause Anna to lose her patience. Consequently, Anna reaches for something to throw at Sabina. She ends up pouring the remainder of the Fruitcake Special all over Sabina’s dress and walks out of her career at Amos Cosmetics. Sabina’s arrogance spoils her beauty.
· Possessive and jealous
Sabina is possessive of David Amos. She makes her appearance at the French restaurant where David takes Anna out for a date. When Anna goes back to her table after after taking leave to the ladies’ room,she finds that David is joined by Sabina , a beautiful young model who is his latest girlfriend. Sabina calls out Anna’s name ‘’as if it were a dirty word.’’ She is jealous of Anna at this point. The situation is heightened when David says that ‘’’Anna is the woman I love’’. She is green with envy and finally hits’’David in the face’’. In David’s office, Sabina stands next to him and has ‘’her arms around his shoulders’’. She is not pleased at all to see Anna . Sabina proceeds to explain on David’s behalf that he ‘’could not possibly fall in love with a nobody like you(Anna) when he has a beautiful girl like me(Sabina)”.
Water pollution
Water pollution has become increasingly troubling in the last few decades. Even though many new laws have been enacted to try to protect the water sources there is still much work to be done to keep the water systems of the world clean and pollution free. One way that information can be spread about the problems regarding water pollution is by writing water pollution articles. Water pollution articles are very helpful ways to get out information about the causes of water pollution as well as the devastating affects of it. When water pollution articles are distributed to the general public it raises the awareness of the problem which help to change public opinion. If no one knows that water pollution is a problem than nothing can be done to fix it. By writing informative and well written water pollution articles a lot of good can be done for the environment.
Some water pollution articles highlight the sources of water pollution. Much pollution is dumped into the rivers, lakes, and streams as a result of poor farming practices and poor industrial management. There are not enough checks and balances and many industries are slipping below the radar in regards to waste removal. Water pollution articles that are written to expose the sources of much of the pollution can cause a public outcry and result in a change of policy. Water pollution articles also can tell of the damage that is done by contaminants being dumped into the water. In India millions of children have dies as a result of drinking contaminated water. The polluted waters cause diarrhea which leads to dehydration and eventually causes death. Polluted waters are also breeding grounds for vermin and mosquitoes which carry diseases and cause serious sicknesses. Some waters have an unhealthy level of nitrates in them as a result of large farms and feed lots. Waters that have high levels of nitrates are very dangerous to humans and have been known to cause blue baby syndrome which causes the death of infants.
Water pollution articles that address how to end pollution are especially beneficial. These articles help people make better decisions about how to use the water they have to prevent further pollution. These types of water pollution articles also give practical advice on how to properly dispose of potential pollutants to ensure that they don’t end up in the rivers, lakes and streams. Water pollution articles are imperative to ending the problem of water pollution and helping to educate the public about the crisis so that new laws can be made to better protect the waters for the future.
| | Most tap water polluted by dirty municipal infrastructure Thursday, January 25, 2007 by: Beau Hodai, citizen journalist |
(NaturalNews) As the United States becomes a nation of 300 million, the country’s older cities face the reality of overpopulation, crumbling infrastructures, and the health concerns raised by both, especially those related to the availability of fresh water.
Eric Goldstein, a spokesman for the Natural Resources Defense Council, has stated that the water distribution systems of cities such as Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia and New York are in urgent need of repair.
The antiquated water delivery systems in these cities are comprised of nearly 1 million miles of piping, mostly made of iron. As the iron pipes corrode, clean water flowing through them becomes contaminated with rust. Over time the pipes also rupture, causing not only water loss, but the introduction of pollutants and diseases from the ground.
“Investigations conducted in the last five years suggest that a substantial proportion of waterborne disease outbreaks, both microbial and chemical, are attributable to problems within distribution systems,” said the National Research Council in a report released in December for the Environmental Protection Agency.
There are 170,000 public water distribution systems at work nationwide, and municipalities spend more than $50 million each year to supply clean drinking water in accordance with the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974.
“If you clean up water and then put it into a dirty pipe, there’s not much point,” said Montana State University microbiologist and water research scientist, Timothy Ford. “I consider the distribution system to be the highest risk and the greatest problem we are going to be facing in the future,” said Ford.
Jack Hossbuhr, executive director of the American Water Works Association, estimates that the cost of replacing existing pipelines over the next 20 to 30 years is going to cost water utility companies some $250 to $350 billion.
Some critics of current water delivery techniques feel that replacing the infrastructure is not a total solution.
“I advise everyone to avoid drinking water from the tap, no matter how clean the city claims it to be,” said consumer health advocate Mike Adams. “Even when cities claim their water is clean, they may still add toxic fluoride chemicals and chlorine, which we know promotes bladder cancer. Filtering your water is crucial for protecting your health.”
| Paralympic Games |
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The Paralympic Games are a major international multi-sport event where athletes with a physical disability compete; this includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and Cerebral Palsy. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which are held immediately following their respective Olympic Games. All Paralympic Games are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
The Paralympics have grown from a small gathering of British World War II veterans in 1948 to become one of the largest international sport events by the early 21st century. Paralympians strive for equal treatment with able-bodied Olympic athletes, but there is a large funding gap between Olympic and Paralympic athletes. There are also sports, such as track and field athletics, that are resistant to Paralympians who wish to compete equally with able-bodied athletes, though there have been Paralympians who have participated in the Olympic Games.
The Paralympic Games include athletes with physical disabilities, and are run in parallel with the Olympic Games, while the IOC recognized Special Olympics World Games include athletes with intellectual disabilities, and the Deaflympics include deaf athletes.[1][2]
The present formal explanation for the name "Paralympic" is that it derives from the Greek preposition παρά, pará ("beside" or "alongside") and thus refers to a competition held in parallel with the Olympic Games.[3] The Summer Games of 1988 held in Seoul was the first time the term "Paralympic" came into official use.
Given the wide variety of disabilities that paralympic athletes have, there are several categories in which the athletes compete. The allowable disabilities are broken down into six broad categories. The categories are amputee, Cerebral Palsy, intellectual disability, wheelchair, visually impaired, and Les Autres (literally "The Others", which are athletes with disabilities that don't fall into the other five categories; these include dwarfism, multiple sclerosis, and congenital deformities). These categories are further broken down into classifications, which vary from sport to sport. The classification system has led to cheating controversies revolving around athletes who over-stated their disabilities in addition to the use of performance-enhancing drugs seen in other events.
