Dear 2C1, even though we didn't start well when we first met, I am glad we end well. It's a real pleasure when I came to know your class better because you are such good kids when I encounter you outside class individually, with really personable natures. The last few lessons with you were especially enjoyable for me. It is nice to hear you laugh as a class. You should do that more often. It's a pity if you do not get to know each other well after a year together. My wish for you is that you will cohere in spirit as a class and make learning an enjoyable, supportive experience. Continue to read and enjoy literature in your own time. Who know... we may see each other again, and I'll get to teach you in a completely different setting. (in other words, come to ACJC!) :)
I wish you all the best for your mid year exams. Be happy in life!
Friday, May 7, 2010
Romeo and Juliet Extract 2
1) A pilgrim is a person who travels to a holy place as an act of devotion. Romeo calls his lips "two blushing pilgrims" because he wants to kiss Juliet whose hand he calls a "holy shrine".
2) "devotion", "saints", "holy"
These words are playing with the religious language Romeo is using.
3) "palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss"
Juliet suggests that pilgrims kiss when they shake hands - that is, when their palms touch, as a sign of intimacy between two holy persons.
4) Romeo is getting bolder as he wants to kiss Juliet on the lips. If Juliet says that pilgrims kiss when their hands touch, Romeo is urging Juliet to let their lips do the same.
5) "Faith" refers to Romeo's love for Juliet which he describes as equivalent to a religious devotion and "despair" refers to the extreme state of dejection he will fall into should Juliet not reciprocate his love.
(This dejection is of an extreme magnitude - think what it does to a believer if he is told that God does not exist. The world becomes meaningless and hopeless, and that is how Romeo will feel if Juliet doesn't love him back.)
2) "devotion", "saints", "holy"
These words are playing with the religious language Romeo is using.
3) "palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss"
Juliet suggests that pilgrims kiss when they shake hands - that is, when their palms touch, as a sign of intimacy between two holy persons.
4) Romeo is getting bolder as he wants to kiss Juliet on the lips. If Juliet says that pilgrims kiss when their hands touch, Romeo is urging Juliet to let their lips do the same.
5) "Faith" refers to Romeo's love for Juliet which he describes as equivalent to a religious devotion and "despair" refers to the extreme state of dejection he will fall into should Juliet not reciprocate his love.
(This dejection is of an extreme magnitude - think what it does to a believer if he is told that God does not exist. The world becomes meaningless and hopeless, and that is how Romeo will feel if Juliet doesn't love him back.)
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Romeo and Juliet Worksheet 2 (Answers)
Extract 1
1) She means that Romeo is an enemy only because he is born as a Montague and this familial name puts him at the opposite end of the Capulet as a familial rival.
2) "that which we call a rose/ By any other name would smell as sweet"
3) Juliet wants Romeo to "retain that dear perfection", referring to his unique, good personality, a fact his "title" (as a Montague) can never change. She is in love with the person Romeo really is.
4) Romeo's familial name is the very barrier that prevents them from loving one another, so she is considering how this barrier can be removed.
5) "baptized"
1) She means that Romeo is an enemy only because he is born as a Montague and this familial name puts him at the opposite end of the Capulet as a familial rival.
2) "that which we call a rose/ By any other name would smell as sweet"
3) Juliet wants Romeo to "retain that dear perfection", referring to his unique, good personality, a fact his "title" (as a Montague) can never change. She is in love with the person Romeo really is.
4) Romeo's familial name is the very barrier that prevents them from loving one another, so she is considering how this barrier can be removed.
5) "baptized"
Answers to SWORDS handout 3
Extract 1 & 2
1) I feel that he is a cruel and dangerous man because Lee Shan calls him a "bloody butcher". I will not trust a promise by Lu Bu because Lee Shan says that "he is the kind that eats up his own mother the minute he is born", which means that he is a very ungrateful person. If he can be cruel to his own mother, I don't think he will hesitate to be cruel to anyone, lest to say keep a promise.
2) "how the demon often wears an angelic mask" or "don't let his young, handsome face deceive you"
You will not think badly of Lu Bu if you meet him in the streets for the first time because his appearance shows no sign of the cruelty within.
3) They call him a "bloody butcher", "wolk" and "demon" that "gobbles down anything edible". The language of 'devouring' is used. Cicada's fate is in the hands of the PM and he is about to sacrifice her to Lu Bu's appetite.
Extract 3
1) No/yes (depending on your point of view).
Lu Bu is not only ungrateful, cruel and greedy, he is also a womanizer with unrefined manners. He "stares" at Cicada without any sense of propriety or decorum.
2) (many possible answers) Lu Bu only sees Cicada as a gift meant for "political alliance" and not a person in her own right.
3) (again, many possible answers) Yes, Lu Bu is a coarse, unrefined soldier because he is unable to finish his sentence or find the appropriate word to praise Cicada's beauty, and when that happens, he switches the conversation, asking when he might marry Cicada, showing that he is only concerned with possessing her.
1) I feel that he is a cruel and dangerous man because Lee Shan calls him a "bloody butcher". I will not trust a promise by Lu Bu because Lee Shan says that "he is the kind that eats up his own mother the minute he is born", which means that he is a very ungrateful person. If he can be cruel to his own mother, I don't think he will hesitate to be cruel to anyone, lest to say keep a promise.
2) "how the demon often wears an angelic mask" or "don't let his young, handsome face deceive you"
You will not think badly of Lu Bu if you meet him in the streets for the first time because his appearance shows no sign of the cruelty within.
3) They call him a "bloody butcher", "wolk" and "demon" that "gobbles down anything edible". The language of 'devouring' is used. Cicada's fate is in the hands of the PM and he is about to sacrifice her to Lu Bu's appetite.
Extract 3
1) No/yes (depending on your point of view).
Lu Bu is not only ungrateful, cruel and greedy, he is also a womanizer with unrefined manners. He "stares" at Cicada without any sense of propriety or decorum.
2) (many possible answers) Lu Bu only sees Cicada as a gift meant for "political alliance" and not a person in her own right.
3) (again, many possible answers) Yes, Lu Bu is a coarse, unrefined soldier because he is unable to finish his sentence or find the appropriate word to praise Cicada's beauty, and when that happens, he switches the conversation, asking when he might marry Cicada, showing that he is only concerned with possessing her.
Answers to SWORDS handout 4
1) poison, lotus, weapon
2) The PM wanted Cicada to seduce both Lu Bu and Dong Zhuo, in the process sowing seeds of discord between them, hoping that that will cause them to fall out.
3) Cicada is unwilling. You can see this from her stammering response when the PM suggested the plot to her. She will lose her chastity if she abides by the PM's plan.
4) Cicada is torn between saving her country and protecting her chastity. If she agrees to the PM's plan, she will have to sacrifice her chastity which she treasures highly. If she refuses the PM's plan, she will have to live her life in guilt, knowing that she did not do her part to save her countrymen from suffering in the hands of two tyrants.
5) The PM is referring to the fact that Cicada had killed a man in order to protect her chastity and now she has to sacrifice it to the era's two worst villains.
His "noble aims" are ironic because noble as it is for the PM to take on the responsibility of ridding the country of the two worst villains in order to remove his countrymen's suffering, it also involves an ignoble scheme that requires a girl to sacrifice her chastity against a will, something a true gentleman would not have allowed to happen.
2) The PM wanted Cicada to seduce both Lu Bu and Dong Zhuo, in the process sowing seeds of discord between them, hoping that that will cause them to fall out.
3) Cicada is unwilling. You can see this from her stammering response when the PM suggested the plot to her. She will lose her chastity if she abides by the PM's plan.
4) Cicada is torn between saving her country and protecting her chastity. If she agrees to the PM's plan, she will have to sacrifice her chastity which she treasures highly. If she refuses the PM's plan, she will have to live her life in guilt, knowing that she did not do her part to save her countrymen from suffering in the hands of two tyrants.
5) The PM is referring to the fact that Cicada had killed a man in order to protect her chastity and now she has to sacrifice it to the era's two worst villains.
His "noble aims" are ironic because noble as it is for the PM to take on the responsibility of ridding the country of the two worst villains in order to remove his countrymen's suffering, it also involves an ignoble scheme that requires a girl to sacrifice her chastity against a will, something a true gentleman would not have allowed to happen.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
From Today's Slides
Some of you requested I put information from my slides here. So here it is...
Water Margin
•the novel details the trials and tribulations of 108 outlaws during the mid Song dynasty (AD 960-1279)
•Most famous of all is the story of Wu Song
•killed the tiger with his bare hands
Journey to the West
•published anonymously in the 1590s during the Ming dynasty (AD 1368-1644)
•depicts the story of a Buddhist monk’s journey to India to obtain the sutras
•he is accompanied by three disciples: the Monkey god, the Pig man, a fallen general from heaven and the dragon prince in the form of a horse
Dream of the Red Chamber
•written between 1749-59 during the Qing dynasty (AD1644-1911) by Cao Xueqin
•two family clans in the capital of China, one of them fell out of favor with the emperor
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
•written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century
•based upon events in the turbulent years near the end of the Han dynasty and the three kingdoms era of China
•mainly historical, 120 chapters
The Three Kingdoms Period (AD 220-280)
•an era of disunity
•Wei, Shu, Wu
•romanticised in the cultures of China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam
•celebrated and popularised in operas, folk stories, novels, films, TV serials and video games
Water Margin
•the novel details the trials and tribulations of 108 outlaws during the mid Song dynasty (AD 960-1279)
•Most famous of all is the story of Wu Song
•killed the tiger with his bare hands
Journey to the West
•published anonymously in the 1590s during the Ming dynasty (AD 1368-1644)
•depicts the story of a Buddhist monk’s journey to India to obtain the sutras
•he is accompanied by three disciples: the Monkey god, the Pig man, a fallen general from heaven and the dragon prince in the form of a horse
Dream of the Red Chamber
•written between 1749-59 during the Qing dynasty (AD1644-1911) by Cao Xueqin
•two family clans in the capital of China, one of them fell out of favor with the emperor
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
•written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century
•based upon events in the turbulent years near the end of the Han dynasty and the three kingdoms era of China
•mainly historical, 120 chapters
The Three Kingdoms Period (AD 220-280)
•an era of disunity
•Wei, Shu, Wu
•romanticised in the cultures of China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam
•celebrated and popularised in operas, folk stories, novels, films, TV serials and video games
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Instructions
Please read the instructions carefully lest you research in vain!
1) You are only required to write a summary between 200-300 words.
2) Do not cut and paste from other sources. That is plagiarism. And the penalty is academic death!
3) You may choose any of the topics that interest you. Research on that topic. Summarize what interest you most when you were doing research on it and share it with your friends by posting a comment.
4) You must include your name and class.
5) No cyberbullying. The consequence is severe. I am not joking. The school will take action against anyone who victimizes anyone through rude and defaming comments.
6) Keep your language civil.
***7) If you find any of your friend's comment interesting, you may wish to reply to that comment instead of doing your own research. The same criteria (word limit, etc) apply.
8) Feel free to include a picture or video if you like. If you can't post it as a comment, send it to me at mr.xie.calvin@gmail.com and I will post it on your behalf.
Have fun with your research! :)
1) You are only required to write a summary between 200-300 words.
2) Do not cut and paste from other sources. That is plagiarism. And the penalty is academic death!
3) You may choose any of the topics that interest you. Research on that topic. Summarize what interest you most when you were doing research on it and share it with your friends by posting a comment.
4) You must include your name and class.
5) No cyberbullying. The consequence is severe. I am not joking. The school will take action against anyone who victimizes anyone through rude and defaming comments.
6) Keep your language civil.
***7) If you find any of your friend's comment interesting, you may wish to reply to that comment instead of doing your own research. The same criteria (word limit, etc) apply.
8) Feel free to include a picture or video if you like. If you can't post it as a comment, send it to me at mr.xie.calvin@gmail.com and I will post it on your behalf.
Have fun with your research! :)
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