Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Journal Entry #14 My experience at Universal Studios

Write about your experience at Universal Studios! (please post pictures too)

My experience at Universal Studios

It was a good weather . Besides, when we took bus to Universal Studios, there was no traffic jam. What a wonderful day! And my boyfriend and his classmate, Stanford, were also there. Before we entered Universal Studios, my Taiwan's classmates and I took some pictures at entrance where there was a huge hollow ball which was a famous sight. In front of the sight, there is a long red carpet. When I walked on the red carpet, I felt like a superstar. Then we entered Universal Studios. At first, we chose universal's house of horrors as our first station. I was so scared, so I grabbed my boyfriend's clothes and walked behind him. Indeed, I heard some people scream, and I did, too. Moreover, I saw a girl fall down when a monster wanted to seized her. Also, I saw a girl keep crying when I walked outside. According to these, I thought maybe I was a brave girl. Then, we went to see the animal show, and it was really funny. Also, we went to see "Terminator 2" which was a 3D cyber adventure. It was amazing. At noon, we ate lunch at a fast food restaurant. After that, we went downstairs. At the beginning of lower lot, we went to "Jurassic Park". The ride, a treacherous plunge straight down an 84-foot vertical drop waterfall, is so exciting. And I found my facial expression of the picture on th computer is very ugly. Later, we arrived "Revenge of the Mummy". We took the ride and screamed through the darkness. To my surprise, it moved not only forwards, but also backwards. It marvelled us all. The two rides took us two hours. Despite the livelong time, we thought they were worth riding. Between these activities, we also saw some shows. Finally, we went to "Water World", a tidal wave of explosive action. Before the show started, all the audience and three actors had an interesting interaction. We played a game together and the actors made all the audience excite and laugh. Also, it was a thrilling adventure show. We enjoyed it. After the show, my friends and I were soaked, because we sat on the third roll of middle seat. Thus, we really had a fun at Universal Studios! But I regretted that we didn't take "The Legendary Studio Tour". Maybe next time I'll come here and I'll not miss the tour again.


Journal Entry #13 There are several reasons to eat fruits and vegetables

Write an academic paragraph. Try your best to give three reasons supporting the topic sentence. Don't forget to give examples and write a concluding sentence.

There are several reasons to eat fruits and vegetables.

Health is more important than anything else in the world. Most people know how to stay healthy. They keep healthy by food. But they often ignore the importance of fruits and vegetables. There are three reasons to eat fruits and vegetables. In fact, fruits and vegetables are essential to people. They play an important role for resistance, for nutrition and for excreta.
First of all, eating fruits and vegetables can strengthen our resistance. There is a adage "An apple a day keeps the doctor away". It is not really tell us to eat an apple a day. It means people should eat fruits and vegetables everyday. So we can protect ourselves from sickness. Second, eating fruits and vegetables is also important for nutrition. We know that the food is classified into five kinds of nutrition which are carbohydrate, lipid, protein, mineral and vitamin. They are necessary for life. And fruits and vegetables are the main source of vitamin. That is the reason why we must eat fruits and vegetables. Finally, another importance of eating fruits and vegetables is for excreta. Experts said that eating fruits and vegetables can prevent constipation. Now it is clear that eating fruits and vegetables is so important. It is good for our health. In other words, a healthy diet should include fruits and vegetables. We can't ignore the importance of them.

Journal Entry #12 My Bedroom

Describe your bedroom using spatial order signals. Look at page 62.

My Bedroom

When you come to my bedroom at first sight, you'll see a white door with a silver knob. Then open the door. On the right side of the doorway, you'll see a floor lamp. It is 8" taller than me. At the top of the lamp, it is a white lampshade, and its lamplight is light yellow. Therefore every evening I switched the light on, I feel warm. Also, next to the floor lamp, there is a television on a bookshelf. The television is 20", and the bookshelf is made of wood with one adjustable shelve. Indeed, I put some books and notebooks on the shelve. Then you keep walking straight, you'll see a black desk on your right side. It is big enough for me to lie on the desk. Also, there are writing materials, textbooks, desk lamp, laptop, headphone, webcam, and cup on my desk. It looks a little messy. Because I put these things in haphazard order. Besides, there is an office chair and an electric fan next to the desk. In back of my chair, there is a bookshelf with four shelves. It is also made of wooden. It is just a little taller than me. And in front of the bookshelf, you'll see my full-size bed. My sheet's color is green, and my comforter's color is pink. They are very soft and smooth. So every time I lie down, I feel comfortable and sleepy. On the bed, there are a pillow, a teddybear, and a green cushion. The pillow which shape is a monkey face. It looks really funny and makes me feel happy. And every night I hold the teddybear in the arms to sleep. Between the bed and the floor lamp, there is a white table. At the top of the table, my cosmetics, mirror,and clock was put in disorder. Also, there is a window in my bathroom. The length of the window is twice long as my arm. When I see outside, I can see some of my neighbors' windows and their backyards. Sometimes I saw my neighbor water the grass and play with his cat. These are all you can see in my bedroom.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Journal Entry #11 Weddings in My Country

Practice freewriting. Freewriting is when you write quickly without stopping to think or organize your thoughts. Don't worry about grammar or spelling. Just write as much as you can in 10-15 minutes. Check your textbook if you don't remember what freewriting is.

Weddings in My Country
The weddings in my country are many steps. Most people have betrothals. There is a women matchmaker. She almost stay with the bride all day and tell her what and how to do in the wedding day. Also there is a wedding party. All the guests coming to the party bring red envelopes. Red envelope is our custom. It is a cash gift to bless bride and groom. In the party, there are some people like bride's and groom's parents, their boss, their classmates, etc. who say something to the couple. During the party the bride wear total three wedding dresses. At the beginning of the party, the bride wear white wedding dress. Then when she start to drink a toast to guests, she wear the other dress. At last, she wear the final one to see the guests out.
The guests all drank a toast to the bride and groom during the party.

Journal Entry #10 How does the legal system work in your country?



Today, I was selected as a possible juror (someone who performs jury duty). However, the court decided that they already had enough jurors. Part of me wishes that I could have participated in the case to see what it is like in the courtroom. However, part of me is glad that I don't have to miss class (because of my wonderful students and also the money).

In America, the legal system includes lawyers, judges, and jurors. How does the legal system work in your country? Who decides whether a person is innocent or guilty?

In our country, there are judge, secretary, lawyer, prosecutor, and bailiff in the court. The judge is open. It meas the court's door is open, so you can go in anytime and be a hearer. But in some special cases like privacy, indecent assault, etc., the judge think it can't be heard for protecting someone, so the door is closed. Also, the judge decides whether a person is innocent or guilty. If the result is not accetpable to the defendant, it can be appealed to a higher court. If the result is still not accetpable to the defendant, it can be appealed to a highest court. And it is the final one.

Journal Entry #9 What Is a Friend?

What is a friend? Please write one paragraph using three main points/ideas.
What Is a Friend?
What is a friend? In my opinion, there are three main ideas to explain it. First, I think a friend is the person to whom you can share everything. No matter what happened to you, you can tell him/her. Even it is a secret. Second, a friend is the person who will be with you when you need his/her help. For example, you broke up with your boyfriend and felt sad, so a friend should do something that make you happy. Finally, a friend should give you real advices. He/she should tell you the truth, not the lies. Also he/she can help you to see the fact, not pander to you. Thus, all of the above are my ideas about what a friend is.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Journal Entry #8 My dream vacation



Tell me about your dream vacation. Where would you like to go and why? What sort of things would you like to see and do?

My dream vacation is Las Vegas. There are several reasons why I want to go to Las Vegas. First, it is close to LA and easy to go there. Second, I heard from my friends there are a lot of amazing buildings, like Venetian, Paris, and New York New York. And it will be the most romantic experience to see the whole scene at night. Third, shows are everywhere. It will be worth watching some famous show, such O’ show, blue man, and Phantom. I can’t wait to watch these show. Last thing you must do is to gambling. What I want to do is to sleep until noon and go to buffet then go to gambling and finally watch show at night and gambling again. Put everything in my real life totally out of my mind, and just enjoy my temporary life in Las Vegas.


Journal Entry #7 My weekend

Are you going to the Concert Under the Stars? Are you going on the Los Angeles City Tour? I hope you go to at least one of these events. First, attend the event. Next, write a paragraph summarizing your experience. If you do not attend either event, please write about what you did over the weekend.

Last Friday noon, I started to clean my house including my room, the kitchen, and the restroom. Because my roommate and I have a deal that we have to clean our house every three weeks. After finishing cleaning my house, I was almost exhausted. So in Friday evening, my friend, Elson, and I had a dinner at Tea Station. It served lots of Taiwanese style meals. And it tasted so wonderful, especially when I was so tired. Then we went to campus to see firework. It was so fantastic. On Saturday, my boyfriend cam to pick me up and we went to a plaza. There were a lot of Korean’s restaurants, Korean’s stores and a supermarket, Zion. It was our first time to shop in a Korean’s supermarket. I liked this supermarket due to that it was a little similar to Taiwan’s market. I bought some fruits and cookies. It was almost 6 pm by that time, and we had an appointment at 8 pm with my friends to celebrate my friend, Jodie’s, birthday. It took more than one hours to drive there. It was a little tired for us. But we had a lot of fun and enjoyed our celebration in the restaurant Red Lobster. End of that day, my friend made a wish and share the birthday cake. On Sunday, my boyfriend and I decided to go to library. And we stayed at library all day until 6 pm. After having a dinner, my boyfriend drove me back my home. I was so happy to have so great weekend with my friends.

Journal Entry #6 an unforgettable experience

Write a narrative paragraph about an unforgettable experience in your life. This could be an earthquake like in the story on page 24 or it could be something different like your first dating experience. Be sure to use time order signals.
Valentine's Day!
An unforgettable experience in my life was Valentine's Day in 2007. In the morning of that day, my boyfriend helped me move a bed mattress to my apartment. After that, I said something wrong, so my boyfriend got angry at me. He didn't talk to me and I felt bad. After a while, I thought it's my fault and I said sorry to him. But he didn't accept my apology. Later, we went to his house and cooked our lunch. I tried to break the deadlock, but he still felt angry. At last, I gave up and felt unhappy. We didn't talk to each other until he drove me home. When we arrived my home, he just said goodbye and left. At that moment, I cried and felt disappointed. Because it's my first Valentine's Day with my boyfriend. At that night, I couldn't sleep very well. After that day, he apologized to me for his behavior and asked me to forgive him. Finally, he promised he won't do that again and begged my pardon. Then I decided to forgive him.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Journal Entry #5 My Favorite Season

What is your favorite season? Write a paragraph.

My Favorite Season is Winter
There are four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter.And my favorite season is winter. There are three reasons. First, winter is a cold season. When winter is coming, the weather is not hot. I feel comfortable. I can wear long sleeve、jeans、jackboot and all kinds of coats and jackets. I like wear long sleeve more than short sleeve. Besides, it is convenient for me to do everything with wearing jeans. And when I wear good-looking coats or jackets, I am in a good mood all day. Second, there is snowing somewhere in winter, and everything becomes white. I think that's a beautiful scene. Also, I can make snowman and play snowball with my friends or my family. It's a lot of fun. Finally, there is Chinese New Year's Day in winter. During the day, I can eat a lot of candy、chocolates and cookies. Furthermore, my mom cooks many delicious dishes.Then My family sit together and enjoy the food. So they are the reasons why my favorite season is winter.

Journal Entry #4 write an imaginary letter to change the class schedules

If you don't feel there is enough time for lunch, write an imaginary letter to the dean to persuade him to change the class schedules.

Hello, I am Hsiao, Fang-Nung. I study level 4c in ALP. Now I have a problem and I hope you can help me to deal with that. The problem is that the ALP fun lunch has a time conflict with my grammar class. I am very interested in ALP fun lunch. I want to communicate with some people who come from different countries. So I can improve my English ability and know other culture. Therefore, is it possible to change the grammar class to a compatible time?

Thank you!!!

Journal Entry #3 A Person Who Has Made a Difference : Confucius

Write a paragraph about a person who has made a difference.

A Person Who Has Made a Difference : Confucius


A person who has made a difference is Confucius. He is Chinese. He born in 551 B.C. Spring and Autumn Period.Confucius was an educator and named the first model of teachers. He helped his students in two ways. First, he taught a variety of students no matter whether the student is rich or poor. Second, how he taught students depended on students' abilities and personalities. For example, student A and student B asked him the same question, but he gave them different answers. In that way, it was easier for students to understand the meaning. Moreover, Confucius's answer depended on the students' personalities. He helped students to reach their own limitation. For example, he had about 3000 students and divided some of them into four groups: morality, language, politics and literature. Then he gave them different goals to accomplish. Now, Confucius deeply influences the way of the teaching. Many teachers follow his thoughts. He was named the greatest teacher in the world. To sum up, Confucius’s teaching styles has an important effect on education.