1) State Title and Author of book
Artemis Fowl; The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer.
2) A short Summary of the Plot but no spoiler alerts.
It started when Artemis Fowl Senior, went on a ship to Russia, The Mafiyas, sank the ship and captured Artemis Fowl Senior. They requested a ransom of $5,000,000 from Artemis Fowl. At the same time, below the ground, the LEP are tackling the B'wa Kell. It is a group of Goblins (Not very smart people they are), trying to destroy LEP. It was soon found out that one of the objects were "Made In Germany". The LEP thinks that it must be Artemis Fowl again, trying to capture the under-world. So, Holly Short was assigned to capture him and bring him back. They soon agreed on a deal: LEP get me my father (Artemis Fowl Senior) and I will help them get rid of the B'wa Kell. Opal Koboi, one of the cleverest fairy in under-world, was actually funding and supporting the B'wa Kell. Cudgeon, a double agent for Koboi Labs, helped her in the quest to conquer LEP. Because of the hatred between the goblins and LEP, they helped Opal Koboi too. Soon, they hatched a plan. However, the plan did not work (Thanks to the goblin's intelligence). Commander Root later found Mulch Diggums, an old convict, to help them in their mission. The mission was a great success and Cudgeon was found out that he was neither loyal to LEP or Koboi. In return, Captain Holly Short & Commander Root rescued Artemis Fowl Senior and all was back as it was.
3) what you have learnt or notice from the writer of the book about characterisations.
I have noticed that personality(Character) of the characters in the story are showed by their action, speech and thoughts.
a) Main Characters: Artemis Fowl, Butler, Captain Holly Short, Commander Root, Opal Koboi, Briar Cudgeon, Foaly.
b) Personalities of main characters : Artemis Fowl: Extremely intelligent; A criminal mastermind.
Butler: Strong, brave, valiant, helpful and considerate.
Captain Holly Short: Witty, Very loyal, Strong sense of right & wrong.
Commander Root: Short-tempered, impatient.
Opal Koboi: Extremely intelligent, Cunning, Greedy, Demoralised.
Briar Cudgeon: Argumentive, Power-hungry and ambitious.
Foaly: Extremely intelligent, vain, paranoid, kind and geeky.
c) How did the personalities play out in the story to make the story more alive and interesting? Give examples quoted from the books.
The personality of Artemis and Holly Short always get them into arguments, it made the story more alive & interesting.
e.g
The unlikely allies took the goblin shuttle up E37. Holly was none too pleased. First of all, she was being ordered to work with public-enemy number 1, Artemis Fowl. And secondly......
d) What did you learn from this author about building interesting characters?
I have learnt that you can directly or indirectly "expose" the characters' personality.
5) Give recommendation advice. Use star rating for entertainment and learning. Maximum 5 stars each.
Entertainment: 5 stars
Learning: 4.5 stars
My verdict: This is one book that you must read!! Unlike some sh*tty book like the "Kite Rider", This one keeps you in suspense and literally grips like an electromagnet until the last word.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
My book review
1) State Title and Author of book:
Title: The Kite Rider; By Geraldine McCaughrean
2) A short Summary of the Plot but no spoiler alerts.
Haoyou's father was killed by Di Chou when he & his father were testing the wind. Di Chou wanted to marry Qing An', Haoyou's mother. Haoyou was fumed when he knows all of that. That is when hatred started to build up. Mipeng & Haoyou soon found out a way to remove him. Di Chou was about to marry Qing An' the day after. But, he was seen drinking liqour and Mipeng bought more bottles of wine, he became drunk and the duo sent him aboard Namchi. He was sent to Shanghai temporary. Haoyou & Mipeng knew they would sooner or later die because of the dalayed wedding. Just then, Miao Jie, a circus man from Jade Circus came to invite Haoyou to the circus. Haoyou & Mipeng ; Mipeng knew that the Circus will move to another city. They agreed to join them and moved to another city. Being a professional kite-rider, Haoyou was recruited to perform in that section. Soon, they went all over China and Mongolia. They even performed to Kublai Khan! BUT....Miao Jie has something else in his mind.........
3) What you have learnt or notice from the writer of the book about characterisations.
I have noticed that the writer tries to let us infer the personalities of the characters, rather than exposing it directly.
a) Main Characters: Haoyou, Mipeng, Great-Uncle Bo, Miao Jie and Di Chou.
b) Personalities of main characters : Haoyou: Ambitious, quick-witted and smart
Mipeng: Calm and faithful
Great-Uncle Bo: Grouchy and selfish
Miao Jie: Sly, knows how to please others so as to get what he wants.
Di Chou: Cunning, always seeking opportunites to marry Haoyou's mother Qing An'
c) How did the personalities play out in the story to make the story more alive and interesting? Give examples quoted from the books.
The personality of Haoyou always "gets into" Di Chou and their 'Personality Clash' tends to get them into trouble.
e.g:
The young woman looked at him out of the side of her sloe-black eyes. And all at once, Haoyou knew. There had been no trance. She had made it all up.
"Di Chou won't be pleased if you do that," she said...........
d) What did you learn from this author about building interesting characters?
I have learnt that when we "characterize" our story, we can make it more interesting by creating 2 or more characters whose personalities always get them into trouble & arguments.
5) Give recommendation advice. Use star rating for entertainment and learning. Maximum 5 stars each
Entertainment: 1 star
Learning: 3.5789543582 stars
My verdict: What a bloody boring book! Quite educational, though. You will definitely feel cheated after you buy this 6 pounds book. Just like buying a Ferrari, you feel very cheated after seeing you had spent $400, 000+ on some cars with cheap-o interior and a rubish gearbox. Get yourself the "Artemis Fowl", This will definitely make your 6 pounds worth it.
Title: The Kite Rider; By Geraldine McCaughrean
2) A short Summary of the Plot but no spoiler alerts.
Haoyou's father was killed by Di Chou when he & his father were testing the wind. Di Chou wanted to marry Qing An', Haoyou's mother. Haoyou was fumed when he knows all of that. That is when hatred started to build up. Mipeng & Haoyou soon found out a way to remove him. Di Chou was about to marry Qing An' the day after. But, he was seen drinking liqour and Mipeng bought more bottles of wine, he became drunk and the duo sent him aboard Namchi. He was sent to Shanghai temporary. Haoyou & Mipeng knew they would sooner or later die because of the dalayed wedding. Just then, Miao Jie, a circus man from Jade Circus came to invite Haoyou to the circus. Haoyou & Mipeng ; Mipeng knew that the Circus will move to another city. They agreed to join them and moved to another city. Being a professional kite-rider, Haoyou was recruited to perform in that section. Soon, they went all over China and Mongolia. They even performed to Kublai Khan! BUT....Miao Jie has something else in his mind.........
3) What you have learnt or notice from the writer of the book about characterisations.
I have noticed that the writer tries to let us infer the personalities of the characters, rather than exposing it directly.
a) Main Characters: Haoyou, Mipeng, Great-Uncle Bo, Miao Jie and Di Chou.
b) Personalities of main characters : Haoyou: Ambitious, quick-witted and smart
Mipeng: Calm and faithful
Great-Uncle Bo: Grouchy and selfish
Miao Jie: Sly, knows how to please others so as to get what he wants.
Di Chou: Cunning, always seeking opportunites to marry Haoyou's mother Qing An'
c) How did the personalities play out in the story to make the story more alive and interesting? Give examples quoted from the books.
The personality of Haoyou always "gets into" Di Chou and their 'Personality Clash' tends to get them into trouble.
e.g:
The young woman looked at him out of the side of her sloe-black eyes. And all at once, Haoyou knew. There had been no trance. She had made it all up.
"Di Chou won't be pleased if you do that," she said...........
d) What did you learn from this author about building interesting characters?
I have learnt that when we "characterize" our story, we can make it more interesting by creating 2 or more characters whose personalities always get them into trouble & arguments.
5) Give recommendation advice. Use star rating for entertainment and learning. Maximum 5 stars each
Entertainment: 1 star
Learning: 3.5789543582 stars
My verdict: What a bloody boring book! Quite educational, though. You will definitely feel cheated after you buy this 6 pounds book. Just like buying a Ferrari, you feel very cheated after seeing you had spent $400, 000+ on some cars with cheap-o interior and a rubish gearbox. Get yourself the "Artemis Fowl", This will definitely make your 6 pounds worth it.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Thoughts of the day...
Just yesterday, after my dentist appointment, I left the school without further ado and headed back home. My journey will last me around 20 mins. On my way, just passing the PIE expressway. A new mk6 Golf GTi came zooming pass me at around 105 km/h (estimated), its turbocharger screaming as the driver of the car slammed hard on the accelerator and much to my horror, the 130, 000 quid performance car slammed into the steel barrier, but with not much force. The car's shiny metalic axle and tyres came off and the car spun off a further few tens of meters, and the traffic following behing the GTi all braked hard but a few of them slammed into the GTi. The GTi by then was mingled and destroyed entirely! The honeycomb grille.... The double exhaust... But fortunately, the driver was still alive, he came out of the car limping slightly just to be showered with shouts of vulgarties and immoral gesture from the drivers of the other cars who slammed into the GTi.
I think that the driver was not giving a damn about his life and people whom he endangered. That man may be rich, but his wealth couldn't buy absolutely everything. He was ignoring the signs of ' Speeding kills ' that Singapore government spent millions of dollars investing. That man was extremely lucky to have escaped with his head still intact after the ordeal, and ought to be punished in a way that he would remember to be more thoughtful before carrying out actions.
As many know, Singapore have extremely strict rules on speeding and "drink and drive", but apparently, complacent Singaporeans just don't take things seriously. The last time, when I was exploring Bishan, A Honda Civic Type R nearly ended up with the same fate. The car kissed the kerb and the driver immediately swiveled the driving wheel. The car then skidded into a temporary taxi stand. No one was injured, but the car was scratched, and had a big 'bruise' on it. This showed how Singapore's reckless drivers tend to easily put their safety and the pedestrians' safety out of the topic. Could be worse.... A "bendy" bus actually crashed into a bus stop! This happened at somewhere around Bukit Panjang. The driver was later found out that he had been talking on the phone whilst driving. In other countries, well, I would have to admit that none of the countries that I know had so few amounts of car or bus accidents. Based on many E.U countries, almost 60% are of "road kills" accident. The remainder contains others accidents (Drink and drive, etc.), while Singapore has almost 85% car accidents are of reckless driving, speeding and drink and drive, etc. So, in the end, Singapore still have a higher percentage of reckless-driving-caused accidents.
I am not trying to rant about Singapore's way of life. I have to agree that Singapore's millions of dollars invested on reducing automobile-related accidents is very well spent, I am just saying it is not entirely the government's fault that automobile-related accidents are still getting more and more here in Singapore. The blame should go into the reckless drivers. If you took a ride from the east region of Singapore to the west. You will find that almost everywhere; from gas station to expressway exits, there are always signs on SPEEDING KILLS...DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE, the reckless drivers would definitely see these signs, but just to ignore them and slam on the accelerator. I am rather sad to see those things happening in our dear Singapore and these people should really learn the lesson the hard way as they never seem to change or turn over a new leaf.
Overall, I think that Singapore is still an "okay" place. As many know, there is no rose without a thorn, I believe that it is inevitable that drivers will meet up with an accident, but I do think reckless driving is a very bad habit and it can be prevented in many ways.
I think that the driver was not giving a damn about his life and people whom he endangered. That man may be rich, but his wealth couldn't buy absolutely everything. He was ignoring the signs of ' Speeding kills ' that Singapore government spent millions of dollars investing. That man was extremely lucky to have escaped with his head still intact after the ordeal, and ought to be punished in a way that he would remember to be more thoughtful before carrying out actions.
As many know, Singapore have extremely strict rules on speeding and "drink and drive", but apparently, complacent Singaporeans just don't take things seriously. The last time, when I was exploring Bishan, A Honda Civic Type R nearly ended up with the same fate. The car kissed the kerb and the driver immediately swiveled the driving wheel. The car then skidded into a temporary taxi stand. No one was injured, but the car was scratched, and had a big 'bruise' on it. This showed how Singapore's reckless drivers tend to easily put their safety and the pedestrians' safety out of the topic. Could be worse.... A "bendy" bus actually crashed into a bus stop! This happened at somewhere around Bukit Panjang. The driver was later found out that he had been talking on the phone whilst driving. In other countries, well, I would have to admit that none of the countries that I know had so few amounts of car or bus accidents. Based on many E.U countries, almost 60% are of "road kills" accident. The remainder contains others accidents (Drink and drive, etc.), while Singapore has almost 85% car accidents are of reckless driving, speeding and drink and drive, etc. So, in the end, Singapore still have a higher percentage of reckless-driving-caused accidents.
I am not trying to rant about Singapore's way of life. I have to agree that Singapore's millions of dollars invested on reducing automobile-related accidents is very well spent, I am just saying it is not entirely the government's fault that automobile-related accidents are still getting more and more here in Singapore. The blame should go into the reckless drivers. If you took a ride from the east region of Singapore to the west. You will find that almost everywhere; from gas station to expressway exits, there are always signs on SPEEDING KILLS...DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE, the reckless drivers would definitely see these signs, but just to ignore them and slam on the accelerator. I am rather sad to see those things happening in our dear Singapore and these people should really learn the lesson the hard way as they never seem to change or turn over a new leaf.
Overall, I think that Singapore is still an "okay" place. As many know, there is no rose without a thorn, I believe that it is inevitable that drivers will meet up with an accident, but I do think reckless driving is a very bad habit and it can be prevented in many ways.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Reflection
Today, Ms Chia has taught us about an essay that is able to captivate people's minds and yet, is approved by all teachers who read them, regardless of their likes and dislikes (A.K.A: Sure-win composition).
The sure-win composition is a very simple, but hard in a way that it is not easy to follow the procedure exactly. My first steps of composing the sure-win essay is to roughly plot the plan with the pyramid structure, then, summon your list of "sophisticated" words and try to add them to your essay, and after that think of some "secondary" problems to just spice up the essay a bit. Finally, we end the story with solutions that solve all of the problems and try not to write about things that maybe very sensitive to teachers and others reading and grading it (e.g, Sad, love endings, etc.).
I think this is a very good way of writing an essay that any teacher who reads it will like it, although I think it is a bit.....Well.... You know what it is, right?
The sure-win composition is a very simple, but hard in a way that it is not easy to follow the procedure exactly. My first steps of composing the sure-win essay is to roughly plot the plan with the pyramid structure, then, summon your list of "sophisticated" words and try to add them to your essay, and after that think of some "secondary" problems to just spice up the essay a bit. Finally, we end the story with solutions that solve all of the problems and try not to write about things that maybe very sensitive to teachers and others reading and grading it (e.g, Sad, love endings, etc.).
I think this is a very good way of writing an essay that any teacher who reads it will like it, although I think it is a bit.....Well.... You know what it is, right?
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