陳綺雯Lilian - Homework 6 - U1587 - Fantastic 6

The meaning of Christmas to me

I know more or less about the meaning of Christmas. I am not a Christian myself but I had studied in two Catholic schools for 14 years. I had attended the Christmas Eve mid-night masses and joined the Christmas tea parties in school during those years.

Christmas is the celebration of birth of Christ who brought love and the message of God to us. He sacrificed for our sins. We should remember his sacrifice by doing good deeds and share our love and happiness with others on this day.

As Christmas is now celebrated worldwide among Christians and people of different religious beliefs and even atheists, its true meaning is almost lost. Nowadays when one hears the word Christmas, one tends to visualize Santa Claus and presents and shopping and extravagant Christmas dinners and parties etc. It is now almost totally commercialized and is the occasion for businesses make money out of our savings.

For me, I think Christmas is a time of joy, a time of peace and a time for sharing our gifts we have. I used to write Christmas cards and sent out Christmas presents to my friends in the past and I think they will be delighted when receiving them. I think Christmas is worth celebrating. On this day you will see people and enjoying the festival with their families like I did for so many years when I was living with my Dad, Mom and my brother in Macau.

Anyway, though it was a bit late, I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year^^ Really miss Macau and my family these days…

陳綺雯Lilian - Homework - u1587 - Fantastic 6

In my opinion, Albert Einstein was one of the greatest men who was very special if not creative in the human history. Wasn't it amazing that he came up with the Relativity Theory and was awarded Nobel Prize for Physics, considering he could not speak clearly even at the age of nine. Looking at his early development, nobody would have suggested he would grow up to become a genius. When asked what profession Einstein should follow, his school principal replied, "It doesn't matter; he'll never make a success of anything."

During his high school years, he studied in a typical German school (he was a German) and at that time, German school were harshly disciplinarian. There he development a deep suspicion of authority and a skepticism that encouraged him to question and doubt. Those qualities I think made him a great scientist.

At the age of 26, he published a paper explaining the photoelectric effect via the quantum theory. Since then our concepts of space and time were radically changed. No one would disagree that he was the greatest physicist of our age.

Although I am not studying to become a scientist, I am inspired by Einstein life in the sense that he became such a great man even though he was less than ordinary when he was young. With dedication and hard work, shouldn't we university students, growing up in this IT era with a normal IQ, be confident enough to achieve whatever goal we aim for?

陳綺雯Lilian - Homework 4 - u1587 - Fantastic 6

Part I About the Bluemen performance
A. Transcribe the complete text.
YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE
THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING EARTH AS YOUR PLANETARY VEHICLE
WE HOPE YOU ENJOY THE MANY WONDERFUL FEATURES OF THIS PLANET
AS YOU HURTLE THROUGH THE COSMOS
PLEASE NOTE
HOWEVER
THAT IN THE EVENT OF CONTINUED INACTION
IN THE FACE OF GLOBAL WARMING
YOUR SEAT CUSHION CAN BE USED AS A FLOTATION DEVICE
ALSO
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO LOCATE THIS PLANET'S EMERGENCY EXITS
AS YOU CAN SEE
THERE AREN'T ANY

EARTH TO AMERICA!
CAN YOU HEAR?
SENDING OUT A MESSAGE
LOUD AND CLEAR

CAN YOU HEAR?

B. What do you think of this performance?
Up to now, many countries including America, the most powerful and richest country on Earth, do not take the global warming seriously. Our planet is sick and dying. If we do not take the Bluemen's warning seriously and take drastic action now, it might be too late to save the planet Earth. The Bluemen's performance, with its video clips and sound effect, gives the viewers a very deep impression of the present dire situation of our planet and a sense of urgency to act and save it NOW.

Part II About global citizenship
A. In what ways do you think you are already a global citizen?
I think I am already a global citizen because I am linked to the world socially by telecommunication and media. Although I am studying in Taiwan now, I still have close contact with my friends all over the world through internet. And I know what is happening at the other side of the world through newspapers and television. I share the same planet and the same environment with everyone else. If any thing happens to the world I will be affected one way or another.

B. How can you become a better global citizen?
To be a better global citizen, I think I should know how to appreciate others cultures and respect and value diversity. I should have a better understanding of the way the world works. I should act and live responsibly to make the world a more sustainable place.

陳綺雯Lilian - Homework 3 - u1587 - Fantastic 6

Revise my Comprehensible English Enhancement Plan

1. I have gone through the Common European Framework and I think I stand between B1 and B2 for both my listening and reading. I think my present English standard is not as good as when I was in Form 4 and Form 5, as I got much less chance to speak and use English in Taiwan.
Actually I got a PASS in the London Test of English Level 5, which is the proficient level and scored 'A' Grade in O Level GCE English Language. However, I am now doing less well than before. Therefore, I am going to work hard to brush up my English in the coming future.

2. My goals are:

• ---Learn at least 100 new words. (Adjustable)
• ---Make friends with people of different countries and share my experience of learning English with them.
• ---Write a short novel or some film critiques.

3. What I am doing:

• -- Keeping a little notebook where new words that I come across will be recorded. There are already about 30 words in it at present.
• -- Reading 'Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince', which I think I will finish this week, and I am going to watch the movie "Persuit of Happyness" this week and I will write a film critique about it next week.
• -- Trying to squeeze out some spare time to go to the English Corner with my roomate(classmate), Miq, in order to improve my speaking and listening skill.

4. I think my biggest problem is insufficient TIME. Homeworks and quizzes occupied my mind every single day. I have to manage my time well so that I can have time learning and improving my English. I need improvement most in my writing and speaking skills, that's why I would like to write film critiques or short novel and watch more English movies or listen to English songs.

Addendum to Homework 3

• A. I am now learning English through attending English lectures at NTPU. I think I can learn more by getting myself well prepared beforehand for every English lecture and by doing extended reading and listening to English programmes in tv or radio .
• B. I intend to visit the BBC Learning English web site(http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/). This web site contains a variety of English learning materials.

陳綺雯-My Comprehensive English Enhancement Plan

My Comprehensive English Enhancement Plan for 2007-2008 School Year

My goals are:
---To learn at least 100 new words. (Adjustable)
---Make friends with different people and share my experiences with them.
---To write a short novel or some film critiques.

In order to achieve these goals, I will...
1. Pay more attention during the class and participate in more activities.
2. Make a little notebook for recording new words and bring it along wherever I go.
3. Listen to more English songs and put in extra effort in finding the lyrics of the songs and write out my feelings towards them. I will also watch movies and write some film critiques.

The English classes I am taking:
---The other English class of NTPU (Sir Alan's Class -- Reading and Grammar)
---This one. (Listening and Conversation)