Back to my blog again!

I opened this blog for my esl class last year, but after that i did use it anymore.

nd now i decided to use it again.
no more things abt esl. lol. hope it will b fine~

the Last Journal

How time flies! There is already near the end of the semester, which is also the end of my freshman year. Everyone seems like suffering the last midterm these days and so do I. This week is like the hardest week for me. First, three midterms comes. On Monday, I had a midterm of economics statistics. On Wednesday calculus comes and macroeconomics on the coming Thursday. Moreover, I have to finish my five pages research paper, which is the longest English paper I have written in my entire life! Also, like most of the student, I have to choose the classes for my next semester. I feel so stressful and feel that the time is so limited for me. However, I believe I can get over it.

This is the last journal for ESL114, so I want to talk about my opinions to this course so far. I still remember the first class of this course. Everyone, who from different countries and have different backgrounds, was getting together for reaching the same goal, which is to improve the skills of English. At first, I think this course will be boring, but when I walked into the classroom and said hello to the teacher, I realized that maybe I was wrong. The teacher is so cute and interesting. She also is a pretty nice person. She likes smiling and is so patient when waiting for some slow speakers reading in class with a really heavy accent. Sometimes, she brings us tasty cookies as energy and has classes outside on the quad. However, she is leaving this summer for her PhD degree in UCLA, if I remember that right. I think I will miss her and also congratulations to her.

Honestly, I get so much from this course, not only from the teacher, but also from the classmates. First of all, I learn a lot of writing skills. Like how to organize my ideas before writing a paper, how to make an outline and also the format of the research paper. These are all so helpful for my future study. Second, I make a lot of friends there. Now, we are not just saying “hi”. Instead of this, we always hang out together and give others advices on study and even on everyday life.

To sum up, I really enjoy this class the whole semester. It is really helpful for improving English skills. Moreover, the most important point is that I make so many friends in this class and really enjoy every time when we all getting together.

Ruler and minister

In Confucius’s view, a good ruler and a good minister should do what are right for the people and be chosen in the right way. Ruler and ministers are at the top of the hierarchy. What they do affects the society and the people. It is very important for them to be good in order to achieve harmony in society.

The Ruler, who is the son of heaven, has absolute power over everyone in the country. His actions and policies will affect the lives of everyone. A good ruler should not abuse his power. A good ruler leads people by virtue and restrains them with ritual.  The people will develop a sense of shame and a sense of participation. A good ruler is praised and supported by the people. He should not overwork the peasants; instead, he should give out tasks that are reasonable. The minister, who is a high government official, should not treat the people harshly. He should tolerate people’s actions, be generous to the poor and act fairly. Under the rule of a good ruler and good minister, the people should be happy and society should flourish and be peaceful. The world should be set to order.                                                         

Even though a ruler cannot be chosen by the public, the public still has the power to decide whether he is fit to rule. The public don’t have to follow a bad ruler. Under the rule of a good ruler, the people are happy and want to serve the ruler. A good minister should be chosen by knowledge of rites and music instead of being chosen by blood and royalty. A good understanding of knowledge of rites and music allows the minister to be resolute, sagacious and talented.                                                                    

Confucius views a good ruler and good minister as someone who keep people happy and society in order. They should behave in a way that they want their citizens to act. When this is done, they can win the heard of the people. A good ruler is someone that people want to follow. A good minister is someone chosen by knowledge of rites and music instead of blood and royalty. A ruler or minister that does what is right for the people and was chosen the right way is someone that Confucius consider good.  

GM food, saving the poor

Many third world countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America have problems feeding people. People from these countries don’t have access to all the necessary food to keep them healthy. The majority of them are unhealthy because there are not enough fresh vegetables to give them enough nutrients. A solution to the problem of hunger in the third world is the genetically modified food.

Genetically modified food, also called GM food, is genetically modified to grow in bad conditions and also to provide more nutrients. One example of genetically modified food is the golden rice. Golden rice is a kind of rice that is genetically engineered to provide beta-carotene, which is vitamin A. By giving third world countries the ability to grow golden rice, it would not only feed the population but also provide them with more nutrients. A license is made so that farmers making under $10,000 a year would be able to plant golden rice for free. This really benefits the farmers in the poor developing countries because they don’t have that much money to begin with. Some vegetables can also be grown in dry and cold places. This means that farmers don’t need as much water to grow these GM vegetables compared to normal vegetables. Even if the country has a drought, they should still be able to grow some GM vegetables to feed the population.

Another advantage of genetically modified food is that most of them are pesticide resistant. Examples are soybeans, corn, sugar cane and rapeseed. Genes are added or transferred to them so that pesticides won’t harm them. In places where there are lots of bugs, farmers will spray a lot of pesticides and insecticides. These will kill all the bugs but will also harm the normal food. When a person eats this food, they might get really sick and develop diseases. By using GM food, the pesticides won’t cause damage to the vegetable or plant because the GM food is resistant to it. People eating GM food can be sure that they are safe from the dangerous pesticides and insecticides.

All of these advantages of GM food should give a good reason for third world countries to grow it. It would be better for those people because GM food is easier to grow and provide them with the necessary nutrition. 

Movie at home

Nowadays, more and more people in all ages love watching movies. Some may go to the movie theater once a week or watching movie at home on every weekend. People may say that watching movie in the movie theater is so impressive. But even so, I usually watching movie at home. And there are some reasons that why I love watching movies at home than watching movies in the movie theater.

First, watching movie at home is so cozy. At home, one can watch movies in bed or even lie on a couch. And it is so sweet to sprawl out on a couch with a loved one, watching movie together. Also, people can eat whatever they like when watching at home, but in theater are not. For me, I often have a pint of strawberry ice cream, a bag of chocolate popcorn, some M&Ms and a glass of milk. That’s much better than the butter flavor popcorn with coke in theater. Moreover, in the theater, seats are uncomfortable. And sometimes when the good seats are taken by others, people can hardly find a prefect seat. I remember last month I went to see Avatar when it was right released, there was so many people waiting in front of the box office and I had spent a lot of time on finding a parking space. Due to this, I showed up late. So I did not get the best seat in the middle area. Instead, I end up with seating in the first row for nearly 3 hours, suffering the neck pain.

Second, there are no interruptions when watching movie at home. And in contrast, people may have lot interruptions in theater, because people will sit in a large room, with a large amount of people sitting besides. They may talk, eat with noise, or even answer the phone. While at home, people can go rewind the favorite part. For example, one will not interrupt by the phone calls while watching movie at home. Because if the phone rings, the movie will goes on pause and waits dutifully for he or she return. So, there is no need to worry about the missing parts.

Third, watching movie at home spends less than watching movie in theater. On the one hand, movie at home is convenient. People can watch movie whenever they want. And no need to go out. However, if one goes to the theater, it may cost a lot of time on the traffic, with suffering the bad weather. On the other hand, watching movie at home is much cheaper than watching movie in the movie theater. People can watch movie for free at home if they watch it online.

All in all, for these reasons, I really enjoy watching movie at home.

Censorship of films

Opinion: we should have censorship of films
Support 1: we already have censorship of films. (fact)
Support 2: censorship of films can avoid children watch the pornographic films and volent films, which could give them bad effects. (opinion)
Support 3: directors shouldn't be allowed to put every thing they want in the films, which have bad effects to society or have bad influences (opinion)

Home vs. Theater

There are many differences between watching movie at home and in theater.

1.      Watching movie at home is cozy. One can watch in bed or sprawl out on a couch with a loved one. While in theater, the seats are uncomfortable. And if someone shows up late, he or she may not get the best seat. Instead, he or she may end up with seating in the first row for nearly 2 hours, suffering the neck pain.

2.      The speaker in theater is really good. Also it has a big screen and all dark around, so people can really enjoy the special effects of the movie. Now, many theaters have imax and can play 3D movies, which is so impressive. But at home people just can watch movie through a small screen.

3.      People can eat whatever they like at home, but in theater are not.

4.      At home, there are no interruptions when watching movie. Also, people can go rewind the favorite part. And if the phone rings when someone watching movie at home, the movie will goes on pause and waits dutifully for he or she return. So, there is no need to worry about the missing part. In contrast, people may have lot interruptions in theater. Because people will sit in a large room, with a large amount of people. They may talk, eat with noise, or even answer the phone.

5.      Watching movie at home is more convenient than in theater. People can watch movie whenever they want. And no need to go out. It save a lot of time. However, if one goes to the theater, it may cost a lot of time on the traffic, also may suffering the bad weather.

6.      Watching movie at home is much cheaper than watching movie in the movie theater.

The movie in theater is new. But the movie at home is not. Because people cannot rent the new movies on DVD or VHS.