2012-11-29

"Everyone Pays the Price" by Hadley McGraw: A Summary and a Reaction

"Everyone Pays the Price" by Hadley McGraw:  
A Summary and a Reaction
Jamison Chung

Part 1: Summary
    The author Hadley's boyfriend, Martin, a gang member, has been in jail and is about to see the sunlight. He has spent nearly half of the time on correctional institutions in their relationship. Gang membership of a loved one affects everyone around that person. Martin's bad-boy image and carefree way of life make Hadley have a crush on him. However, they are from vastly different family: Hadley was born in a perfect family; on the contrary, Martin was from a broken home composed of gang members. In order to join Martin, Hadley left home and devastated all she had. Little did she know that Jail sentence made him closer to his gang but farther from her. It was not until Martin's cousin died before Hadley's very eyes one year ago that she had breaking point. Therefore, this last year she has been moving back to the right track, gotten sober, started college and then returned home. Nevertheless, she still lives each day in fear and grief, and prays Martin will go back to correct path.

Part 2: Reaction
    The leading role of this story, Hadley, is a girl who loves his boyfriend without any payment and regret at first. However, "Love is blind.", after countless wrongdoings and the occurrence of the death of Martin's cousin, she had a sharp warning and learned a painful lesson. Although she has went back to the right track, she still has nightmare about the horrible things she has seen and evil things she has done. Since she is in extreme distress and pain, why not leave her boyfriend unhesitatingly? Being willing to abandon everything she had and depart from everyone she loved for the sake of a man is exactly ridiculous and absurd. Though it seems beautiful and dramatic that a woman loves a man with selfless contribution and firm company, in this case this romantic epic is almost blind and insane. In addition, Hadley may not regret being together with Martin but muss absolutely regret breaking her parents' hearts and forsaking her friends, needless to say those wicked things such as dealing drugs and joining the battle between gangs.
    Besides, as a proverb goes, "A fox may grow gray, but never good." Martin was born in a broken home. His parents hated each other. His father was a heartless man, and his mother was a "flaky" drug addict. His parents did not give him a warm and well-education family. In such circumstance it was hard for him to grew up as happy as a normal children. Apart from his parents, most of his families were gang members. The instinct of violence and destruction is naturally in his blood from his birth. The unstable nature makes him difficult live in a peaceful and safe life. There is no doubt that the miracle that Martin trades his gun for Hadley, even gets an education is totally impossible to happen. Hadley is too innocent too see through the cruel fact that she can never change Martin. The stubbornness of staying with her boyfriend will definitely let her meet her doom in the near future.   
  

2012-11-22

The Practice of a Narration - A Valuable Lesson from a Quarrel


    It was my first time to have the most furious quarrel with my best friend when I was in the twelfth grade in senior high school. The exam was upcoming; every classmate was under huge pressure, including my friend and I. In the beginning, nothing seemed to be going to happen. We spent our time normally just as in the past, eating at the noon, chatting at the break and get together after school. However, as time passed, there seemed to be something the matter with her. She gradually had fewer and fewer words to me. At first, she just had few words to say and nodded to me when we were chatting and eating together. I thought maybe she just had nothing to say because the life of being an examinee is extremely monotonous wearisome. Therefore I do not mention my feeling to her. Little did I know that she would finally stay in her own seat, keep silent and then just study. I was too frustrated and enraged to say anything; hence I just had a cold shoulder with her. Three months had passed, one day afternoon she eventually came to talk to me, and apologized to me for her immature behavior. “I am sorry for my selfish behavior. I am under huge pressure but do not know how to release it, so somehow I give vent my temper on you. ” she embarrassedly said. Actually, I was very shocked at first, but after listening to her speaking, I also felt regretful to her. Consequently, I said “I am also sorry to you. I have fault, too. I am so childish and tender that I am not concerned for you but just want to make representations to you and treat back as same as you treated me.” Eventually, we both forgave each other’s faults and forgot the unhappy memory. “Forgive and forgot” – I have learned a valuable lesson from this experience.

2012-11-19

The Reflection of the Truman Show - (2)


 I have watched this movie when I was a seven-year-old child. Although my mother has explained the content of the film to me many times, I still could not realize the implied meaning behind the plot at that time. Recently, when I chatted with my senior high school Chinese teacher, we talked about the most impressive and attractive movie I had watched, then this situation reminds me of The Truman Show.
  The Truman Show is a 1998 American satirical comedy-drama film directed by Peter Weir and written by Andrew Niccol. The leading role is Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank. The film describes that a man called Truman Burbank is entirely unconscious that he is living in a peeping-Ton TV show which broadcast around the clock to billions of people around the world. Truman’s hometown, Seahaven, is a giant dome. Everything in the Seahaven is artificial, inclusive of the weather, the sun, his wife and his friends. The producer Christof attempts to capture Truman's real emotion, reflection and human behavior when puting Truman in every situations. Truman gradually notices that his near-prefect world has something extraordinary happen at the age of 30, such as his dead father appears on the street as a vagrant and there are the same people appearing in the same places at certain times everyday day. He begins to become aware of some subtle oddities in his daily life. In the end of the movie Truman escapes the unreal world and comes into the real world.
  After enjoying the film, there are three principal and different aspects that are worth deeply discussing and reviewing. The first aspect is from the viewpoint of the producer - Christof. He adopts Truman Burbank in the name of the movie company, and keeps paying attention on Truman from his childhood; moreover, he offers various obstacles to create dramatic and exaggerated effects, such as his fear of the water, the determination of the love affair and the obstructions on his adventure… From the perspective of human rights, all sorts of sufferings seem too merciless and inhumane. Nevertheless, all living creatures which exist in this world and on this planet, whether there is as well as a producer such as “God”, “fate” or probably even the known or not. It keeps breathing down our necks, but we are not conscious of it.
  The second aspect is from the viewpoint of the audience. All of the relatives, friends, neighbors, and passersby, which have played the parts in Truman’s journey of life, are merely actors and actresses. Only the lead - Truman is the “True Man” in the show, so the words he has said and the affection he has revealed are the sincereness and truth. Because of the realization of all Truman’s real emotions, the acting beyond truthfulness and the theatric, effective and impressive plots, the audience can not help but addict to the plot. On the other hand, the Truman Show undoubtedly gives the audience the pleasant sensation of peeping someone. Under billions of eyes, Truman’s life was totally recorded by five thousand spy cameras. However, in the meanwhile the audience accompanies Truman to grow up, to adventure and break down all the barriers in his 30-year life. That is the reason why when Truman crosses the artificial sea and opens the door of the tremendous film studio in the end of the show, the audience breaks into rapturous applause.
  The third aspect is from the outlook of Truman himself. When Truman realizes that the world where he has lived in is unreal, he asks a question: "Was nothing real?" Then the producer – Christof answers: "You were real. That's what made you so good to watch. There is no more truth out there than there is in the world I created for you. The same lies, the same deceit. But in my world, you have nothing to fear." Truman, after a moment's thought, delivers his trademark phrase - "In case I don't see you... good afternoon, good evening, and good night,"- bows to his audience, and steps through the door and into the real world. In fact, the words that Christof says imply a parabolic truth: if we human being would always live slothfully and easeful rather than approach our ideal, establish self-affirmation, we would gradually lose our ways day by day. Ultimately we end our lifespan in fooling around just like a tragedy. Truman eventually throws away the comfortable yet untrue life but choose to live to be himself instead. We should learn the way that Truman faces his real life, even if we know there are plenty of obstructions in the future. Besides, we should as well imitate Truman’s optimistic character and the spirit of facing challenges bravely. These noble personalities, which lead him to find out who he really is, are priceless treasure that will make us success and lead us to the truth.


2012-11-18

My Moon Festival - (2)


 Last Saturday was not only September 29th on the solar calendar but also August 14th in the lunar calendar. My parents decided to go back to our hometown - Changhua for the sake of celebrating the Moon Festival and having a family reunion. In order to avoid the inevitable traffic jam and arrive on time, we woke up at 8 o'clock and left for Changhua at 9 o'clock. Because we prepared plenty of food for the dinner and BBQ, we needed to spend much time moving the foodstuffs aboard. We did not even have any food until we arrived. After getting on the car, I gradually fell asleep. Little did I know that when I woke up, there was a heavy traffic jam on the freeway. With the time went by, there were 4 hours from our departure to then. Nevertheless, we still did not arrive. Consequently, we temporarily decided to visit my parents' old friends and simultaneously take a break...
  When we arrived, my parents' old friends welcomed us muchvery enthusiastically and amicably. As soon as they saw us visiting them, they entertained us with various delicious fruits, cookies and plenty of desserts and beverages right away. Their hospitality not only made us feel like at home but also relieved our tiredness and weariness. However, unfortunately we needed to reach our destination earlier, so we could not spend too much time staying. My parents promised that we must make a special trip to call on them next time in the near future. For the sake of appreciating their kindness and friendliness and furthermore apologizing for bothering them without informing them in advance, my mother decided to send them a box of pineapple cake to show our gratefulness and apology.
  Then we got aboard again. After one hour, eventually we reached our hometown-Shueiwei village. The first beauty that caught my eye areis the spacious, emerald, lovely farmland wherethere was had a few sparrows and scarecrows. There were numerous muddy crisscross paths on the farmlands. An old barefoot farmer was crossing the footpath. My old home was originally a three-walled courtyard residence; however, it was rebuilt few years ago. Nowadays it becomes two modern cottages. There was a wide and vacant land where we always bask the grains in the sun in front of the two cottages. That was the place where we were going to have a BBQ. My father and my uncles prepared the setting of the grills; on the other hand, my mother and my aunts prepared the foodstuffs. At the same time I took the responsibility for taking care of my four little lovely and lively nephews and nieces. I played with the children while waiting for the beginning of the sumptuous dinner.
  Around 5 o'clock, we started to BBQ. It was a bountiful feast; there were pork chop, mutton chop, fish platoon, roast chicken, grilled squid, sausages, vegetables and mushroom, etc on the BBQ. Everyone was greatly satisfied with the plentiful dinner.
  Because some days ago was one of my nephew's 10th birthday, my two sisters and I prepared a secret and surprise present for him. After having the BBQ, my aunt brought out a chocolate cake to celebrate my nephew's birthday. When everyone was singing the birthday song, my two sisters and I brought out the gift to send him. As soon as he saw the gift, he was just like on the cloud nine, and he's eyes were shining. When he opened the gift, he said "WOW!!!" right away. Because the present that he received was his coveted and favorite toy - TOY GUN! He was so delighted that he could not wait to play it immediately. Then the next two hours, we started a breathtaking, adventurous and entertaining battle. Although I had spared no efforts to defend, ultimately I still could not resist the violent and powerful attack and fall in battle.
  In order to avoid the traffic jam, we chose to come back to Taipei at night. We got up to return at 10 o'clock. After I and my nephews and nieces embraced each other, my family reluctantly left in their sight. It was quite fluent on the way home; hence we arrived home at near 2 o'clock. After taking a bath, I went to bed, ended a heart-felt, sweet, content and amazing Moon Festival.

2012-11-08

The Topic Sentence

Unit 1: Topic Sentence 

Example: The underlined sentence is the topic sentence. 
1. My mother is neither tall nor heavy, but she’s the biggest person in my life. There has been no other person with a greater influence on me. Most mothers feed, wash, and clothe their children, and my mother is no exception. But more than this, she made sure that I received the finest education possible. This education was not at expensive schools or famous universities, but at home, by her knee, patiently. My mother explained to me the difference between right and wrong; the virtues of generosity, honesty, and hard work; and the importance of family and social ties. From her I understood who I was, where I belonged, and how I should spend my energies. No matter how big I might grow to be, I hope to be as great as my mother. 


Exercises: Fill in each blank with the topic sentence. 

2. The members of the family should participate in the process of preparing the barbecue. The process of creating the barbecue is even more fun and important than the result. First, the family has to decide on matters such as exactly what kinds of food and in what quantities. Next, shopping is often done by two or more family members, while the others stay at home to prepare the grill, the table, and the tableware. When everyone is ready to start grilling, the smells from the roasting food and the sound of the crackling coals make everyone super hungry. A constant stream of people and dishes floods out from the kitchen onto the backyard table, just like ants finding and saving their food. Finally, when all the food is ready and the cold drinks have been poured, a barbecue symbolizes summer itself. 
3. Every entertainment in Taipei never sleeps. If you are a resident of Taipei and travel overseas, one of the first things you will notice is that during the evening hours, cities seem to close their doors before the night has even begun. Supermarkets, department stores, and drugstores close before 9:00 p.m. Movies stop playing and buses and subways stop running before midnight. The sidewalks are nearly empty, and few cars venture forth on the streets. In Taipei, however, one can play 24 hours every day. Movies run until the early hours of the morning, KTVs and MTVs operate 24 hours, and crowded discos and pubs play loud music to dancers and drinkers until dawn. In Taipei, the nights are as busy as the days. 
4. The reference books may be interesting and provide much knowledge beyond your image. We all know about looking up words in dictionaries, and perhaps finding cities in an atlas or a description of some fact in an encyclopedia, but few of us realize that these books can also be a source of pleasure. Dictionaries, for example, not only contain the meaning and pronunciation of words. They can also tell us where the words come from or how to distinguish similar words. Atlases, too, not only show maps of countries; they contain interesting information about race, language, history, and biology. Encyclopedias can be entertaining: just choose one, open it up, and start learning about something you never knew before! We too often use reference books in a hurry; we should realize that they can be as much fun as they are useful.
5. No matter how the transportation had improved nowadays, the irreplaceable existence of the train would never change. In this modern world with faster means of transportation available to more people, the train nevertheless continues to be popular. In most countries, train tickets are often sold out. Why do so many people want to take the train? Perhaps it is because they are reasonably priced--cheaper than an airplane--and have large windows from which we can comfortably view the passing world. Maybe trains are popular because they never get stuck in traffic jams, as cars and buses often do. Another reason may be that trains are older and sometimes seem a little romantic. For whatever reason, do not be surprised to see people preferring trains to other modes of transportation far into the future.
6. Are you usually confused by snack food, fast food and junk food? Actually, they are easy to distinguish. Snack food refers to any food which is eaten between the three primary meals of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Snack food can be any kind of food, such as leftovers, fruit, candy, and a sandwich. Junk food refers to any food which is not nutritious and may actually be bad for us, such as candy, deep-fried meat, and doughnuts. Finally, the term fast food is used for foods cooked at fast-food restaurants. Some fast food is also junk food, as it contains too much salt and oil. In short, when you want some snack food, don’t eat junk food or fast food!
7. There are many unbelievable and absurd hobbies in this world. The amount of attention devoted to the cartoon kitty from Japan is ridiculous. One day on the bus, I saw a young woman next to me reading a magazine. At least, I thought it was a magazine. Upon more careful inspection, I noticed that it was actually a Hello Kitty mail-order catalogue. There were at least a hundred pages of pictures of Hello Kitty clothing, pens, notebooks, furniture--anything you could imagine! The poor woman would no doubt order something from this catalogue, but after a year or two, this fad would be replaced by another. What a silly waste of money!
8. There are two sides of arguments about the dress code. Some people feel that having a dress code reduces students’ creativity. They say that by wearing the same clothes every day, students will never learn to dress themselves for work or social occasions. They also point out that student uniforms alone can not make all students look equal because students can wear expensive watches or hair styles instead. On the other hand, other people think that dress codes allow for easy identification of students and will reduce student crimes. These people also say that uniforms save both time and money when dressing in the morning. As we can see, there are good reasons to support each side’s argument. How do you feel about school uniforms?