Animal: Humpback Whales

I have been a shark and whale lover since I was 2 and could paint a very realistic whale at the same age of 3. I still remember very vividly that my teacher didn't believe that I drew such a picture and requested to see my mum. My mum told my 3 teachers and the principal, who were there to interrogate me, that I really drew it. They didn't believe me and would only let me go if I could paint one more right on the spot. At last, my mum and I walked out of the school with a gift toy car of my choice after painting a picture of a whale right in front of them.

And so the anecdote ends here, but my passion for whales and sharks continues.

Recently, there was a humperback whale in the Hong Kong waters and I really wanted to go and see it!!! However, as you all know that this whale should have been left alone so that she could find her way back to the deep, I only took the effort to chase her on the news. (picture source: Discovery News)

Humpback whale is one of my favourite whales because it is a singer whale and it sings the best whale songs.

Click on the movie below and listen for yourself.

Don't you think they are just amazing?

The humpback whales are also really nice dancers. Their dances express their joy and their superior artistic minds. When they are jumping out of the water, or breaching, you can see the movements of their fins like they are really dancing ballet!

From this clip above you can see the bond between the mother and the cub, the cub was so attached to the mother and the mother was ever more protective. Aren't they behaving just like human beings? I absolutely think that these amazing animals should be well-conserved and at the same time, kept in distance from any man's activities. Man has already done enough of disturbance and created too much pollution in their natural habitat, it's high time for man to make some compensations.

Whale meat is considered as one of the most prestigious delicacies in the Japanese society. Their fondness for dolphin and whale meats have led to the large decline in the number of whale populations. Pictures can be easily found abundantly in any search engines by typing "whale meat".

Quoting from Wikipedia, "In 1982, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) voted on a moratorium on commercial whaling to go into force in 1986. Japan has maintained its interest in the resumption of commercial whaling, but has not succeeded in persuading the IWC to lift the ban." Nonetheless, from what I have read from the news, every once in a while the Green Peace will have to hold tough fights to stop illegal "data-collection" of the Japanese whalers.

Resourceful encyclopedia Wikipedia has a list of whale songs sung by different types of whales, you can listen to them from the following link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_whale_songs


If you still want to hear these lovely whale songs, or if you want your next generation to have a chance to hear and see these awesomely beautiful mammals, you can help Green Peace or WWF by making some donations whenever you feel like it. I personally do that every now and then.




Lastly, thanks to those of you who have read my entries and even more thanks to those of you who left comments and tried the exercises.

I really appreciate your effort and passion. Hope you can continue to learn with me. Next time I will talk about sharks. Well, after a few other different entries first.



Answers for the previous entry:

1. What is the meaning of ‘plus’ in the second paragraph? (and)
2. In paragraph 3, can you list a few examples of each tea type? (I'm sure you can find)
3. Why did I use double-quotes for the word “fermented”?
(it is not a true fermentation: it is not caused by micro-organisms, and is not an anaerobic process)
4. In paragraph 4, what is the range on pH scale that shows acidity? (below 7)
5. What is the name of the book that China’s Lu Yu wrote? Which dynasty did he live in? (Cha Jing or the Classic of Tea; Tang)
6. Who said “Tea is the ultimate mental and medical remedy and has the ability to make one’s life more full and complete”? (famous Zen priest Eisai)
7. In paragraph 9, I used 4 different verbs to show my preference for different types of tea, can you list them? (love, fancy, have enjoyed, like)

Health and Fitness: 'English' Tea

Do you drink tea?

I went to the dentist to have my scaled and polished last Saturday and the doctor told me not to drink anymore tea because tea marks stains on the teeth. If you do go to the dentist twice a year, you won’t care much about the stain, will you? Plus, tea is such a healthy drink!

The sense of coolness while drinking tea is what I like best about tea. No matter I’m drinking Japanese green tea or the English milk tea, I always feel relieved and mellow.

There are five types of tea which are most commonly found in Hong Kong, they are the black tea (or red tea), green tea, white tea, Oolong tea and flower tea. They are of different colours due to different ways they were processed, or “fermented”.

Tea bushes generally prefer acidic soils and the high-quality tea plants are normally grown on high land, up to some 1500 metres.

China is among the most famous countries in terms of consuming tea, as well as the earliest, but not to forget the likes of Indian, Sri Lanka, Japan and the United Kingdom.

Recently, in the movie ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, the main protagonist Jamal was a chai boy before he went on the show ‘Who wants to be a millionaire?’ The word isn’t so difficult for us to understand because it is another variation of the word ‘cha’. Different countries will have different ways of calling it, but they all resemble to the words, ‘tea’ or ‘cha’.

Tea forms a very important part of many cultures, and almost every country has their unique version of ‘tea’. The studies, the wisdoms, the rituals, the beliefs, can be all seen through the ways they enjoy this wholesome drink.

Personally, I love Jasmine tea the best because of its elegance, purity and the slight fragrance of flower. For the sweet tea, I fancy lemongrass tea alone or with jasmine because it offers an extra scent of ‘mint’ and the cooling aftertaste. As for milk tea, I have always enjoyed simple Sri Lankan Ceylon (from Marks & Spencer) with a small tablespoon of sugar and higher-fat-content milk. It is not exactly the milk tea of the English, as the English either prefer Earl Grey for breakfast or milk tea with a lower fat content, but I like the richness of milk together with the smoothness of the tea, without the dryness of course.

Finally, I strongly recommend green tea, or Matcha in Japanese, for the ultimate relaxation, best served with the presence of greens and quiet lakes accompanied by a cool breeze, and brown-rice tea, or Genmaicha, for the perfect drink to be served with sushi and sashimi – nothing goes better than this tea with raw Japanese delicacy.

Oishi desu!!!!”

Information taken from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_tea#Japanese_green_teas

Pictures from:

http://todaysseniorsnetwork.com/tea,%20herbal%20tea,%20green%20tea.jpg

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/10/14/travel/14tea.01.jpg

http://www.kajiasostudio.com/webroot/images/holding-tea.jpg

Questions for readers (research is needed):
1. What is the meaning of ‘plus’ in the second paragraph?
2. In paragraph 3, can you list a few examples of each tea type?
3. Why did I use double-quotes for the word “fermented”?
4. In paragraph 4, what is the range on pH scale that shows acidity?
5. What is the name of the book that China’s Lu Yu wrote? Which dynasty did he live in?
6. Who said “Tea is the ultimate mental and medical remedy and has the ability to make one’s life more full and complete”?
7. In paragraph 9, I used 4 different verbs to show my preference for different types of tea, can you list them?

Comics: Online English Manga (free)

Hi guys! This time I have found something really special to share. It is a comic (or Manga from Japanese) that is FREE to read online!!!! And it is in English!!! For those of you who are sick or scared to read books, here is something that might make a difference.

It is called Mega Tokyo, details can be found in the following website:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mega_tokyo

Image source from http://unhealthyobsession.com/

And the comic can be found here,
http://www.megatokyo.com/archive.php#1192

Personally, I haven't read more than 2 pages of the comic, so I don't really know if it is good for learning English or not, but quoting from Wikipedia,

"Megatokyo originally emphasized humor, with continuity of the story a subsidiary concern. Over time, it focused more on developing a complex plot and the personalities of its characters...Megatokyo has received praise from such sources as The New York Times"

I guess it is a decent comic to read and it shouldn't have anything sexual or too violent inside. It's FREE anyway! Worth a try!

Let me know if it is any good!

Enjoy!!!

Movie: Tropic Thunder (For Advanced level)

Well, it's Friday again, while you are enjoying your weekend, I'm working my head off giving lessons. Haha! But don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining! I love it! Enjoying it!

Time to introduce my favourite of the favourite movie so that you can get it sooner and watch it over the weekend.

Warning!! Lots of unwanted language in this movie!! (and food for mind for deep-thinkers)

The movie they think they're making... isn't a movie anymore.

"I know who I am! I'm a dude playing a dude disgused as another dude! "

Official Trailer

Never have I watched a movie that has so many funny and catchy quotes,never have I seen a movie with such great comedians and action starts together, never have I had Tom Cruise swearing so much and so badly in a movie, and this movie just blew my mind!!! The best part is, you don't even see Tom Cruise's name in this movie and they want you to find out after watching the entire movie!

Right, did I spoil your mood? Actually, no, because there are so many other aspects of this movie that is worthy appreciating.

Let's hear from the great actors giving you the movie review themselves!

First, I totally admire the perseverance of Ben Stiller because he worked very hard in every one of his movies in the past, yet the success was never really big. I started watching his movie since "There's something about Mary", and then it was already "Meet the Parents" and "Meet the Fockers". I watched "The Night at the Museum", and it was pretty good, but it was "Tropic Thunder" that really showed me how one's hard work finally paid off.

The most impressive of all are his hilarious quotes! Almost every line of the movie was written intelligently and it would not be possible without painstaking effort and the death of many brain cells (Ben Stiller was the director, one of the writers and producers of this movie).

The cast couldn't get any better than talented Jack Black and "Ironman" Robert Downing Jr.

Jack Black has always been hilarious and gifted in his musical talents, which was no hiding in his movies "The School of Rock" and "The Holiday". Robert Downing Jr, on the contrary, was totally unknown to me until I saw his perfect imitation of a black American Sergeant Lincoln Osiris! He was the one who gave me the feeling that Hollywood really has great talents!

If you are looking for something innovative and extraordinary, some of the catchiest lines of the century, great acting skills, and the best value-for-money-and-stars deal in town, go and grab this DVD or Blueray.

The only thing that you need to be careful is the abundant slang used in this movie, get your urbandictionary.com ready.

Tropic Thunder official website:
http://www.tropicthunder.com/

Funny Quotes:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0942385/quotes


They even have websites for the actor's characters in this movie!!!
http://www.tuggspeedman.com/
http://www.kirklazarus.com/
http://www.jeffportnoy.com/
http://www.alpa-chino.com/

And some spin-off websites:
http://www.pandarelocationfoundation.org/ http://www.makeprettyskinclinic.com/

Investment: (1886) Huiyuan Juice

Have been busying filling in application forms for my Master’s degree, so I couldn’t find time to update this blog. Sorry about that. Well, I’m back now.

Today, I would like to share a little bit about my poor views on investment, with emphasis on the English words you can learn.

Most of the time, I do not pay enough attention to the most updated news, and so I usually miss the boat to buy low. Nonetheless, on the 3rd September, I saw Huiyuan Juice going up 173% from $4.14 to $11.28 right from the day it resumed trading. From that moment, I already know, earning money from stocks or maybe any kind of investment, is a lot on timing and fate.

If I had visited the price of this stock before Coca Cola announced the proposal, or if I had always kept an eye on this stock, or if I hadn’t put so much focus on other stocks, or if I had always liked orange juice, if just anyone of these happened, I might have bought some Huiyuan shares, and then sold it at high price, but who doesn’t know it is easier said than done?

And since was so close to the proposed price of purchase, I did not buy it, and the price never reached $11.28 again. I was lucky, or was I?

Actually, when I first heard this news, I did think the price would come close to the premium price, but I was also quite sure that China wouldn’t want a foreign-based company to grow too big in China, particularly when they are talking about buying the entire juice maker, the largest in China.

And then of course, bad news followed.

DJ MARKET TALK: Huiyuan Set To Tumble; Coca-Cola Bid Rejected
2009-3-18 03:26:00 p.m. (Extracted from Dow Jones & Company, Inc., published 2 days ago.)
Huiyuan Juice (1886.HK) set to dive when resuming trade (company hasn't indicated when), possibly visiting HK$4.00-HK$5.00 range, after Chinese government rejects Coca-Cola's (KO) US$2.4 billion bid to buy out China' leading juice maker.

Xinhua reports Ministry of Commerce says deal would hurt small local juice companies, could have pushed up juice market prices, limited consumers' choices. Rejection would mark huge disappointment for investors chasing shares higher on hopes of deal getting approval, with Coca-Cola offer at HK$12.20/share; stock likely to get knee-jerk selling on trade resumption.

Huiyuan shares pay price for failed deal
(03-19 11:43) (Extracted from the Standard.com.hk, published 1 day ago)

Shares in Hong Kong-listed Huiyuan Juice tumbled sharply this morning on resumption of trading following a suspension, at one point losing half their value, after Beijing rejected a plan by Coca-Cola to acquire the mainland's top juice maker.

Huiyuan's shares were down 44.9 percent at HK$4.57, after falling up to 53 percent in early trade, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

Trading in the stock was suspended yesterday, when the Commerce Ministry announced that it was blocking the high-profile acquisition over fears that it would hurt competition.

The rejection has raised concerns among foreign investors that China is becoming increasingly protectionist.

Analysts said the sharp fall was expected as the price had doubled since early September, when Coca-Cola offered HK$12.20 for each share.

JPMorgan analyst Selina Sia said she is concerned about the outlook for Huiyuan because of weakening juice consumption in China.

''Slower juice sales seemed to be a sector-wide issue in 2008,'' Sia told Dow Jones Newswires.
''Huiyuan's business performance in 2009 could deteriorate further if consumption sentiment becomes worse,'' she added.

(The focused words are already in bold.)

From the two articles, dive and tumble sharply have the same meaning -- to drop quickly and by large amount, and the reason for this is the high premium – the extra sum paid by the buyer for the purchase, that Coca-Cola offered in the acquisition -- the purchase, and the investors’ chase of shares. As the deal is rejected, investors lost confidence and the price really did get knee-jerk selling. And it was a disaster selling!

knee-jerk /ˈniːdʒɜːk/
adjective DISAPPROVING
knee-jerk reaction/response, etc. an immediate reaction that does not allow you time to consider something carefully

Maybe not all of you are interested in finance or stocks, but the terms and vocabulary used, as you may have noticed, are words that you will probably use if you are part of the working group.
And like I have said over and over again, the Standard is an ‘educational’ newspaper which offers appropriate amount of new words in each article for fresh English learners, so do make sure you at least read 5 articles a day, one from each section.

The remaining words I will leave it for your homework (guess first and then look them up), but do not just focus on the meanings, remember the pay attention to word partners, IPAs, and the writing style of the 2 extracts.

Happy Learning!

Quotation: Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett

Due to the work load in the secondary school now, I guess I will have less time this month, but don’t get me wrong! I will continue to update almost every day!

"In terms of learning, there is never a pause, because there is always something to learn around you." – Locky



I think a lot of people admire the wit and insight of Warren Buffett, that includes me as well, but I am most impressed by his teaching to the world's investors, and he definitely is one of the greatest teachers of all time.

His quotes, like many others I adore, were sharp, wise and to the point. Many of them have been published so widely that almost every investor has a few in their pockets.

"I don't look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over."

"If a business does well, the stock eventually follows."

"In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield."

Apart from his investment wisdom, his philosophy in life is also where I find enlightenment.

"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently. "

"It's better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you'll drift in that direction."

"Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing."

"If you don't know jewelry, know the jeweler."


For those of you who have read my notes, you know I like to use quotes from famous people. Now, I guess you understand why.

"Quotations are the fruits of the Greats’ Wisdom Tree". – Locky

Aren't they just beautiful?

Sometimes, when you come across a famous person you admire, do a little research and you will find the colourful experience and lifelong lessons of him condensed in these short yet deep and brilliant statements.

Mr Buffett has been one of the most influential teachers of my life. I believe you can also find something worth learning from him apart from investment.