Saturday, February 20, 2010

daily log

Today, my family and I go to Marina Cove for a family day. It was organised by JAIP...... I'll be here until tomorrow...

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

winter (snowy season)

Meteorological winter is the season having the shortest days and the lowest average temperatures, which have the coldest weather. This corresponds to the months of December, January and February in the Northern Hemisphere, and June, July and August in the Southern Hemisphere. The coldest average temperatures of the season are typically experienced in January in the Northern hemisphere and in June or July in the Southern hemisphere. Nighttime predominates the winter season, and in some regions it has the highest rate of precipitation as well as prolonged dampness because of permanent snow cover or high precipitation rates coupled with low temperatures, precluding evaporation. Blizzards often develop and cause many transportation delays. A rare meteorological phenomenon encountered during winter is ice fog, which comprises ice crystals suspended in the air; it occurs only at very low temperatures, below about −30°C (−22°F)[1].
Accumulations of snow and ice are mostly associated with winter in the Northern Hemisphere, due to the large land masses there. In the Southern Hemisphere, the more maritime climate and the relative lack of land south of 40°S makes the winters milder; thus, snow and ice are less common in inhabited regions of the Southern Hemisphere. In this region, snow occurs every year in elevated regions such as the Andes, the Great Dividing Range in Australia, and the mountains of New Zealand, and also occurs in the southerly Patagonia region of South America. Snow occurs year-round in Antarcti

Period

The road from Dornbirn, Austria to the mountain village of Ebnit in winter.
Astronomically, the winter solstice, being the day of the year which has fewest hours of daylight, ought to be the middle of the season, but temperature lag means that the coldest period normally follows the solstice, so the season is sometimes regarded (in the USA and England) as beginning at the solstice and ending on the following equinox[1][2]. In the Northern Hemisphere, depending on the year, this corresponds to the period between 21 or 22 December and 20 or 21 March. Meteorologists in the UK consider winter to be the three coldest months of December, January and February[3]. In Scandinavia, winter traditionally begins on 14 October and ends on the last day of February.[4] In many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, including Australia [5][6], New Zealand and South Africa, winter begins on 1 June and ends on 31 August. In Celtic nations such as Ireland (using the Irish calendar) and in Scandinavia, the winter solstice is traditionally considered as midwinter, with the winter season beginning 1 November, on All Hallows, or Samhain. Winter ends and spring begins on Imbolc, or Candlemas, which is 1 or 2 February. This system of seasons is based on the length of days exclusively. (The three-month period of the shortest days and weakest solar radiation occurs during November, December, and January in the Northern Hemisphere and May through July in the Southern Hemisphere.)
Also, many mainland European countries tend to recognize Martinmas, St. Martin's day (11 November), as the first calendar day of winter. The day falls at midpoint between the old Julian equinox and solstice dates. Also, Valentine's Day (14 February) is recognized by some countries as heralding the first rites of spring, such as flowers blooming.
In Chinese astronomy and other East Asian calendars, winter is taken to commence on or around 7 November, with the Jiéqì (known as 立冬 dōng—literally, "establishment of winter").
The three-month period associated with the coldest average temperatures typically begins somewhere in late November or early December in the Northern Hemisphere and lasts through late February or early March. This "thermological winter" is earlier than the solstice delimited definition, but later than the daylight (Celtic) definition. Depending on seasonal lag, this period will vary between climatic regions.
Cultural influences such as Christmas creep may have led to the winter season being perceived as beginning earlier in recent years

Causes

Snow frozen onto a tree in Germany.
See also: Effect of sun angle on climate
The tilt of the Earth's axis relative to its orbital plane has a dramatic effect on the weather. The Earth is tilted at an angle of 23.44° to the plane of its orbit, and this causes different latitudes on the Earth to directly face the Sun as the Earth moves through its orbit. It is this variation that primarily brings about the seasons. When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, the Southern Hemisphere faces the Sun more directly and thus experiences warmer temperatures than the Northern Hemisphere. Conversely, winter in the Southern Hemisphere occurs when the Northern hemisphere is tilted more toward the Sun. From the perspective of an observer on the Earth, the winter Sun has a lower maximum altitude in the sky than the summer Sun.
During winter in either hemisphere, the lower altitude of the Sun in winter causes the sunlight to hit that hemisphere at an oblique angle. In regions experiencing winter, the same amount of solar radiation is spread out over a larger area. This effect is compounded by the larger distance that the light must travel through the atmosphere, allowing the atmosphere to dissipate more heat. Compared with these effects, the changes in the distance of the earth from the sun are negligible.

Exceptionally cold winters

1684, when the Thames was frozen solid, hosting one of many River Thames frost fairs, and the sea froze up to two miles out around the coast.
Year Without a Summer was the name for the summer of 1816, because the weather was so cold that it reminded people of winter all year.
In Europe, the winters of 1947,[7] 1962–63, 1981–82 and 2009-10[citation needed] were considered abnormally cold.

Ecology

The snowshoe hare is one animal that changes color in winter.
To survive the harshness of winter, many animals have developed different behavioral and morphological adaptations for overwintering:
Migration is a common effect of winter upon animals, notably birds. However, the majority of birds do not migrate—the cardinal and European Robin, for example. Some butterflies also migrate seasonally.
Hibernation is a state of reduced metabolic activity during the winter. Some animals "sleep" during winter and only come out when the warm weather returns; e.g., gophers, frogs, snakes, and bats.
Some animals store food for the winter and live on it instead of hibernating completely. This is the case for squirrels, beavers, skunks, badgers, and raccoons.
Resistance is observed when an animal endures winter but changes in ways such as color and musculature. The color of the fur or plumage changes to white (in order to be confused with snow) and thus retains its cryptic coloration year-round. Examples are the ptarmigan, arctic fox, weasel, white-tailed jackrabbit, and mountain hare.
Some fur-coated mammals grow a heavier coat during the winter; this improves the heat-retention qualities of the fur. The coat is then shed following the winter season to allow better cooling. The heavier coat in winter made it a favorite season for trappers, who sought more profitable skins.
Snow also affects the ways animals behave; many take advantage of the insulating properties of snow by burrowing in it. Mice and voles typically live under the snow layer.
Some Annual plants never survive the winter. Other annual plants require winter cold to complete their life cycle, this is known as vernalization. As for perennials, many small ones profit from the insulating effects of snow by being buried in it. Larger plants, particularly deciduous trees, usually let their upper part go dormant, but their roots are still protected by the snow layer. Few plants bloom in the winter, one exception being the flowering plum, which flowers in time for Chinese New Year. The process by which plants become acclimated to cold weather is called hardening.

Activities

Snowboarder in the halfpipe.
Main article: Winter sport
[edit] Snow activities
Many winter activities involve the use of snow in some form (which sometimes is man-made, using snow cannons):
Bobsledding — a winter sport in which teams make timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, purpose-built ice-covered tracks in a steerable sled.
Skiing — the activity of gliding over snow using fiberglass planks called skis that are strapped to the skiers' feet with ski bindings.
Sledding — a gravity-powered activity using a sled to glide downhill.
Snow castle building — for example, constructions such as the SnowCastle of Kemi, the largest in the world.
Snowball fight — a physical game in which snowballs are thrown with the intention of hitting someone else.
Snowboarding — an increasingly common sport in which participants strap a composite board to their feet and slide down a snow-covered mountain.
Snowman building — creating a manlike model out of snow.
Snowmobiling — driving snowmobiles in snow, across frozen lakes, on public trails, or around mountains.
Snowshoeing — a means of travel on top of the snow by increasing the surface area of the feet by wearing snowshoes.

Ice activities

Bandy, an early form of ice hockey.
Many other winter activities and sports focus on ice, which may be contained in an ice rink.
Curling — a team sport using brooms and stones. The object of the game is to slide your stones in a bullseye and get your opponent's stones out of it.
Ice biking — the continuation of regular cycling activities in the winter and cold weather.
Ice boating — a means of travel in a specialized boat similar in appearance to a sailboat but fitted with skis or runners (skates) and designed to run over ice instead of (liquid) water.
Ice climbing — the recreational activity of climbing ice formations such as icefalls and frozen waterfalls.
Ice diving — a type of penetration diving where the dive takes place under ice.
Ice fishing — the sport of catching fish with lines and hooks through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water.
Ice hockey — a team sport played on the ice with skates, sticks, and a puck. The goal is to send the puck into the opposing team's net.
Ice racing — automobile racing on ice surfaces.
Ice sculpture — elaborate sculptures are carved out of blocks of ice.
Ice skating — a means of traveling on ice with skates, narrow (and sometimes parabolic) bladelike devices molded into special boots.

Monday, February 15, 2010

The Importance Of Reading Skills For School Success

The importance of reading skills for a child’s success cannot be emphasized enough. As a teacher who has worked extensively with children within the 5-11 year old age group, I have personally witnessed the importance of reading skills on a daily basis in the following areas:
• Language Arts
• Social Studies
• Science
• Mathematics
• Social Skills

As you can see, the importance of reading skills filters into all aspects of school.
If you are like many parents, you probably think the importance of reading skills is only evident in language arts. This couldn’t be further from the truth! Of course, your child does need to have adequate reading skills to do well in language arts, but the importance of reading skills is noticeable in other subject areas, as well.

Let’s take a look at social studies, for example. Whether your child is learning about his neighborhood in kindergarten, or learning about other countries in the sixth grade, he needs to be able to read in order to have a rich learning experience. Even basics of social studies, such as map reading, emphasize the importance of reading. To further illustrate the importance of reading in social studies, let’s look at a real life situation. Let’s say Mrs. Smith has just introduced the state of Maine to the class. Your child has never heard of this state. Mrs. Smith then asks the class to locate the state of Maine on a labeled map of the United States. If your child does not have basic sound-symbol recognition skills, he will have a terrible time finding Maine. If, however, your child does have these skills, he will know that the state he is looking for starts with the letter M and has the letters A and N in it.

Now, he has a far greater chance of locating the state successfully.Rather than searching frantically for the state of Maine on a map, and likely becoming frustrated, your child can locate the state and pay attention to the rest of Mrs. Smith’s lesson. Having just basic reading skills has helped your child be more successful in Mrs. Smith’s social studies class.The importance of reading skills is also obvious is science. Scientific exploration and discovery are at the core of learning this subject. The hands-on nature of science often makes it a favorite subject of children ages 5-11. But, the ability to follow lab procedures correctly is important in science. Often, the procedures are very precise. If they are not followed correctly, the experiment will not work.If your child has solid reading skills, she will be able to successfully follow lab procedures. If she doesn’t, she is likely to be unsuccessful at completing science experiments. This will be both frustrating and disappointing for your child. It can even result your child disliking science, because she sees it as a subject in which she can’t be successful. Most parents don’t think the importance of reading is illustrated in math. But, poor reading skills can be a huge obstacle for students in math. As a teacher, I have witnessed students who excel in mathematical concepts fail because of poor reading skills.Most parents of children who are 5-11 years old remember math as just a number crunching subject. This is no longer the case. Nowadays, more emphasis is being place on the problem solving aspect of math. Therefore, math now includes many story problems, which require reading skills.A student with a strong math mind, but poor reading skills, can’t possibly do well in today’s math classes. The importance of reading skills is so high now that it is nearly impossible to pass a math class without being able to read.In addition, students are more and more being asked to review math material on their own. If your child has poor reading skills, he is unlikely to be able to review math material successfully.Believe it or not, the importance of reading is also shown in social skills. For example, many teachers at younger grade levels select reading material that teaches social skills. If your child can’t read these stories and participate in these discussions, she is likely to miss out on important social skills.Less obviously, the importance of reading in socialization is seen in the self-esteem of your child. A child who goes to school every day, unable to read, will experience self-esteem problems. It is human nature to compare ourselves to others. If your child can’t read, but everyone else around her can, she will begin to see herself as less adequate.Furthermore, a child who struggles with reading often develops a poor attitude about school – and understandably so. To illustrate this point, let’s pretend you had to go to a school where everyone speaks and reads only German. Let’s further pretend you are supposed to take social studies, science, and math at this German-speaking school. And, you need to try to make friends here, too. After doing this for a couple of months, you are likely to want to give up. If your child can’t read, he feels this way, too.The importance of reading skills for school success is immense. To give your child the best chance of excelling in school, be sure to provide him with a strong reading basis and to encourage reading at home.

daily log

I woke up early this morning... Maybe because I feeling not well today... There's many things that I want to do today... This evening, I want to play badminton with my cousin and this night my father want to take my mother and me to a restaurant....

Saturday, February 13, 2010

daily log

hello, i'm so tired today... but, at the same time i'm very happy because last nigth, my mother' family were having a barbeque at my cousin's home... my mom with all my aunt were busy at the kitchen preparing food, desert and many more... while my father and my other uncle were busy grilling seafoods, chicken and meets... my job is being a cameragirl... since all my cousin is still children, absolutely they are the really excited persons... thats for today.... i hope during this chinese new year holiday, there are many precious moments with my family and friends...

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Homework

1.Daily Log
have done @ plan to do

2. Reflection
~personal thoughts

3. Interesting reading list
~ Article/ newspaper

Give personal comment

Monday, February 8, 2010

Robinson Crusoe - The novel’s protagonist and narrator. Crusoe begins the novel as a young middle-class man in York in search of a career. He father recommends the law, but Crusoe yearns for a life at sea, and his subsequent rebellion and decision to become a merchant is the starting point for the whole adventure that follows. His vague but recurring feelings of guilt over his disobedience color the first part of the first half of the story and show us how deep Crusoe’s religious fear is. Crusoe is steady and plodding in everything he does, and his perseverance ensures his survival through storms, enslavement, and a twenty-eight-year isolation on a desert island.
Read an in-depth analysis of Robinson Crusoe.

Friday - A twenty-six-year-old Caribbean native and cannibal who converts to Protestantism under Crusoe’s tutelage. Friday becomes Crusoe’s servant after Crusoe saves his life when Friday is about to be eaten by other cannibals. Friday never appears to resist or resent his new servitude, and he may sincerely view it as appropriate compensation for having his life saved. But whatever Friday’s response may be, his servitude has become a symbol of imperialist oppression throughout the modern world. Friday’s overall charisma works against the emotional deadness that many readers find in Crusoe.
Read an in-depth analysis of Friday.

The Portuguese captain - The sea captain who picks up Crusoe and the slave boy Xury from their boat after they escape from their Moorish captors and float down the African coast. The Portuguese captain takes Crusoe to Brazil and thus inaugurates Crusoe’s new life as plantation owner. The Portuguese captain is never named—unlike Xury, for example—and his anonymity suggests a certain uninteresting blandness in his role in the novel. He is polite, personable, and extremely generous to Crusoe, buying the animal skins and the slave boy from Crusoe at well over market value. He is loyal as well, taking care of Crusoe’s Brazilian investments even after a twenty-eight-year absence. His role in Crusoe’s life is crucial, since he both arranges for Crusoe’s new career as a plantation owner and helps Crusoe cash in on the profits later.

The Spaniard - One of the men from the Spanish ship that is wrecked off Crusoe’s island, and whose crew is rescued by the cannibals and taken to a neighboring island. The Spaniard is doomed to be eaten as a ritual victim of the cannibals when Crusoe saves him. In exchange, he becomes a new “subject” in Crusoe’s “kingdom,” at least according to Crusoe. The Spaniard is never fleshed out much as a character in Crusoe’s narrative, an example of the odd impersonal attitude often notable in Crusoe.

Xury - A nonwhite (Arab or black) slave boy only briefly introduced during the period of Crusoe’s enslavement in Sallee. When Crusoe escapes with two other slaves in a boat, he forces one to swim to shore but keeps Xury on board, showing a certain trust toward the boy. Xury never betrays that trust. Nevertheless, when the Portuguese captain eventually picks them up, Crusoe sells Xury to the captain. Xury’s sale shows us the racist double standards sometimes apparent in Crusoe’s behavior.

The widow - Appearing briefly, but on two separate occasions in the novel, the widow keeps Crusoe’s 200 pounds safe in England throughout all his thirty-five years of journeying. She returns it loyally to Crusoe upon his return to England and, like the Portuguese captain and Friday, reminds us of the goodwill and trustworthiness of which humans can be capable, whether European or not.
source : from here http://www.sparknotes.com › ... › › ... ›

Monday, February 1, 2010

what do I learn today?

I learned to add some of my friends' blog. I also learned to copy an article from others blog and paste it to my blog. I hope I can learn more things from days to days...

synopsis of robinson crusoe

Robinson Crusoe is about a young Englishman who goes to sea without his parents’ blessing. He has many adventures on both land and sea, and learns many new things like trading, navigation, mathematics and fishing. A storm at sea leaves his shipwrecked and alone on a deserted island. The resourceful Crusoe manages to build himself a home on the island.
As years go by, he builds two more homes and, makes furniture and pottery for his own use. He also rears goats, plants rice and corn and collects fruit for food.
One day, he rescues a victim of a cannibal attack, who becomes his companion and friend for life. He names his new friend, Friday, because he rescued him on a Friday. Later, they save Friday’s father and a Spaniard for savages. Much later, they rescue mutineers on board a ship. Te captain takes Crusoe back to England and married a woman and had three children. After his wife death , he visits his island, and finds the English and the Spaniard living in harmony. Crusoe stays for a while, then continues to travel the seas.