Term 2 Week 4 (Weekend Assignment)

18 April 2011

Term 2 Week 4 (Weekend Assignment)

You have read about the nuclear crisis in Japan; you have also probably read about the nuclear crisis that happened in Chernobyl in 1985.

Does nuclear energy still have a part to play in the world?

Write a response of about 250 words in length. Post it on your blog.

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 Deadline: 18 April 2011 (Monday)

           

              

                Nuclear energy definitely has a part to play in this energy-based world. We mostly depend on fossil fuels for a majority of the earth’s energy. However, fossil fuel and coal is limited on our earth. If we continue to burn fossil fuels and coal, one day they would all run out. Though hydroelectric energy and solar energy is an alternate source for renewable energy, they are not constant unlike nuclear energy which has been for 40 years.

                With the recent incident in Japan in which the Fukushima Dai-Chi Power Plant exploded due to the earthquake and the tsunami definitely has once again started the debate whether nuclear energy is more harmful then good to the world that we are living in. In the case of the nuclear plant incident in Japan, radioactive substances such as radioactive iodine and cesium are being leaked all over the world. Though radioactive iodine those not last long in the environment, it may cause typhoid cancer if absorbed by typhoid gland.On the other hand, radioactive cesium will remain in our environment for a longer period of time.

                However in Chernobyl in the year 1986 the cause of the earthquake was due to a sudden surge in output which caused an explosion. The explosion caused released large quantities of radioactive contamination into the atmosphere, which spread over to Western Russia and Europe. The Chernobyl disaster was considered by many as the worst nuclear power plant accident in all history. The explosion cause the people living nearby to evacuated. An example of this incident is the city of Pripyat, after the evacuation, the town was left deserted till now.

In conclusion, I think that nuclear energy has its own advantages, however we should not bank on it as an alternate source unless we can have a fool-proof method of preventing any disastrous accidents. Therefore, I think that nuclear energy should not play a part in the current world due to its many risks, but I do not rule out the possibility of it becoming an alternate source in the future.            

               

Informal Letter

27 Sailor Road

4/4/11

Dear Mum,

How are you? As you may have known, I experienced an 8.9 earthquake in Japan recently. Please do not worry as I am fine living at a temporary shelter. On the day of the earthquake, I was coming home from school when the ground started to shake. Knowing that an earthquake was forthcoming, I quickly sprinted towards my hostel and crouched beneath a sturdy dining table.

A few of the people were already there. After an hour, the earthquake died down. My friend and I came up from underneath the table. Part of the hostel roof collapsed, but luckily none of us were injured.  As we gathered together to listened to the radio for further news, we found out that a tsunami has hit north-east of Tokyo.

After a couple of hours more, the authorities gave us the green light to come out of the buildings. When we came out, I saw buildings destroyed, and cars wrecked. We were then evacuated to a safe area where temporary houses were then set up. From there, we found out that the earthquake was not the worst disaster. The tsunami was the disaster that hit Japan the hardest. It almost hit the whole of Japan. From the short clip shown on the television, we show ships and boats being washed away as though they were nothing.

 I am now living with people who were also impacted by this disaster. Though the death rate increases every day, we are still living our lives without any theft or crime. I do not think that this would happen in other countries under the same type of situation. As we have little food and water, life has been very hard on us.  

Although we are still feeling the aftershock of the calamity, I am confident that the Japanese being a discipline group of people will be able to rebuild their beloved country in the very near future.

Your Son.

Comments Given

Comment on:

Wong Wei Cong's Blog:
http://wongweicong.blogspot.com/2011/02/characterisation-story-excerpt.html#comments
Daryl Ware's Blog:
http://daryls-aware.blogspot.com/2011/02/term-1-week-5-assignment.html#comments
Lua Jiong Wei's Blog:
http://2a116languagearts.blogspot.com/2011/02/characterization-story-excerpt.html#comment-form


Some printscreens to show:

The Hwa Chong Clock Tower. (T1 W5)

The clock tower stands high and mighty among all the other buildings around it, the clock tower remain untainted from anything that was happenng around it, the clock tower stood there as though it was from another universe, untouchable by anything around. This is the Hwa Chong Clock Tower.

The Hwa Chong Clock Tower is as pure as the water running down a mountian stream, it is as natural as an uncut diamond. The Hwa Chong Clock Tower is a place where all student come together to acknowledge the fact that they are fellow Hwa Chongian now regardless of their backgrounds. They were able to make it to this school shows something, they were all of the same characteristic, and have a bright future as leaders of future Singapore.

The Hwa Chong Clock Tower is like a magnet, attracting all the people who have the capabilities to make the cut and at the same time repel others who have not been able to do so. Hwa Chong Clock Tower is like a beacon of hope for all Hwa Chongian as a sign for a better future.

Experience, feeling and thoughts of the a new student and teahcer. (Dea Poets Society)

A new student:

This was my first year in this new school of mine. In order to welcome us to our new school, a ceremony was held for us. The ceremony was quite an experience for me. When the group of student blowing their bagpipes enter the hall, it was really exciting see them blow in such harmony. My experience in this new school of mine further heightened when the headmaster asked the student “What are the four pillars?” and we answered with pride, “Vision, discipline, honour and excellence.” After which, we bid farewell parents to welcome a new schooling year for me. I think that this year would truly be an excellent year for me.

Teacher:

Today marks a new teaching environment for me as I am start my new year with a change of environment. I would be teaching at my alma mater. Similarly to the past, a ceremony was held for the new teachers and students. Students were playing to the bagpipes to show the start of the ceremony. And like my time, we were asked the same question, “What are the four pillars?” and we would answer with pride, “Vision, discipline, honour and excellence.” This ceremony really brought back a lot of happy memories that I have in this school. I hope that this would be a memorable year.

My LA Lesson So Far. (T1 W7)

To me LA was a subject that I dreaded a lot when I was in Secondary one. This was because the way to write a good essay was hard, the way to analyse things were hard. I was not very good at it. However when it LA lessons were held this year, it was a lot more exciting than last year. We learnt how to characterise our main characters, we learnt how to write a good story in the correct order, we also learnt how to interpret the characteristics of the main character by reading through its descriptions. So far, the Language Arts programme is very enjoyable as it fuses exciting teaching methods from the teacher with important points to note to do well in the test. I hope that in the near future, we could be able to learnt LA outside the classroom or not be constraint by the classroom itself, I also hope that the use of laptop can be fully utilise by my LA teacher. So far, my favourite lesson is the one where we have to choose a celebrity to characterise in a short story excerpt. It was my favourite as I felt that finally I could put my skills into good use where I can decide what characteristics can the celebrity have and under what circumstances will that be shown. So far that was my favourite lesson but I know that under the current LA programme, many more of such activities will be given to us to do. Therefore, I hope that this year would be a year that LA becomes my favourite subject.

Characterisation: Story excerpt (Celebrity)

At this point of time, a woman entered the room. She was dressed in a red dress and very high heels. She looked very confident as she walked towards us. She walked steadily and swiftly . When she stop and looked at us, we were overwhelmed by her confident aura. We later knew that her name was Megan, and she was the daughter of the master who held this ball. Later it was time to dance and everyone was vying to be able to dance with Megan. She finally chose to dance with an average looking man. Throughout the dance he was mesmerised my Megan’s beauty and elegance. She stood out like a rose in the middle of a thorn bush. Every time she did an elegant move, the crowd wowed and cheer. It was as though they were witnessing a fairly gliding on the dance floor, out dancing anyone there. As the ball came to an end, she walked up the platform and spoke with great and elegance and fluency. After the ball came to an end, she was at the exit thanking her guest for their presence. Then again, she stood out as though she was the main event instead of the ball. This was truly a great experience for anyone who was there.