2008 - A Bad Year for China

There has been a lot of bad news in China since the beginning of the year. The bad news includes:
1. a severe snowstorm in January and February,
2. a breakout of Tibet riots in March,
3. a protest against the China government by the pro-Tibetan supporters to extinguish Olympic torch in March and April, and
4. a horrible earthquake in Sichuan in May.

To better learn English, I was told to learn English by taking the following steps:
1. to engage in learning tasks
2. to explore the newly learnt words, information, or ideas
3. to express or talk with others about the topic
4. to evaluate how much I have learnt.

I will try to make these steps of learning a habit in my daily life.

Phonics and Reading

Today, I read the story, "French Adventures - Part I". It took me 45 minutes to read the whole book. I can understand the story and I like the story. Although there are a number of new words I can't pronounce them correctly, I can understand them from the context.

Terri then explained to me, I can improve my pronunciation by learning phonics. She taught me ten vowel sounds. The five short vowel sounds, a, e, i, o, and u; and the five long vowel sounds, ae, ee, ie, oe, and ue. These are ten basic sounds of English.

1. short a; such as racks, advanture
2. short e;
3. short i;
4. short o;
5. short u;
6. long ae;
7. long ee;
8. long ie;
9. long oe;
10. long ue;

Comprehension Skills

I've found my comprehension skill is weak. I read very slowly. Whenever there are new words in the passage, I slow down to guess the meaning. Most of the time I cannot get the meaning, I feel very frustrated.Today, I think I learn to improve my reading by doing three different things.

Firstly, I learn I can read something that I can easily understand and I am interested in. Reading ESLite newspaper is a good start. I think I can spend at least five minutes a day on it.

Secondly, I learn to time myself when I read. So, it helps increase my speed of reading. One of the problems is what to do with the unknown words in reading. I should just skip the words by saying bah bah according to the number of syllables.

Lastly, I learn that I can repeat reading anything that is an interest to me. I can read the passages that I learn in school or story books that I like.

To conclude, I must learn to understand and remember what I read. This helps improve my comprehension skill and learn new words. To make sure I can remember what I read and I can read faster, I should re-read as much as I can.

Answer the questions below.
1.Why does the author think his comprehension skill is weak?

2.What does he think he can do to improve his reading skill?

3. Why does the author help himself to remember what he reads?

My Views on Early Admission to University

The Early Admission Scheme (EAS) started last year. I think it is a good news. Top students can enter university one year ealier. I support the EAS due to the following reasons.


EAS is a reward to students who work hard. The EAS gives students more freedom to study what they are really interested in. They do not need to study for the A level exam.


To conclude, EAS is a good scheme to Hong Kong students.

M-o-t-h-e-r Poem

Mum, it is the Mother's Day today.
Oh, Mother's Day is a festival for you.
The festival reminds me to love you.
How many Mother's Days we have spent together?
Every Mother's Day I wish I will bring you some surprise.
Really I hope everyday is a Mother's Day!

Early Admission to University

More than 400 students with excellent results in the HKCEE were admitted to university under the Early Admission Scheme (EAS) last year. The top 420 HKCEE scorers will be allowed to skip Form Seven and start their university courses in September this year.

I would rather study one more year without skipping Form Seven at secondary school. I don't want to miss out the study that I will do in Form Seven with my school classmates. The study, I believe, will equip me with more basic knowledge for my future university study.

Comprehension Skill

I've found my comprehension skill is weak. I read very slowly. Whenever there are new words in the passage, I slow down to guess the meaning. And if I can't, I just leave it.

Today, I think I've learnt to improve my reading by doing three different things. Firstly, I learn I can read something that fits my English level. Secondly, I learn to time myself when I read. So, it helps increase my speed of reading. Thirdly, I learn that I can repeat reading anything that is an interest to me.

To conclude, I must learn to understand and remember when I read. This helps improve my comphrehension skill and learn new words. To make sure I can remember what I read and I can read faster, I should re-read as much as I can.