English Vocabulary Words! (Part 2)

Prenicious - deadly; hurtful
Reverently - deeply respectful
Repose - at rest; calm
Deceit - trick
Remonstrated - to say or plead in protest or disapproval
Triumphantly - having victory or success

- Looked at her sympathetically
- Deep-rimmed brown
- A cluster of lavender velvet roses
- Steep, sloping roof
- Clopped and clanged
- Relief and comfort flooded me and I took the last tired steps in a bound
- A deep dramatic intake us all look up
- A tumbler of thick brown liquid
- Each word bristling with suspicion
- Glared into it with righteous zeal (passion, desire)
- Rimless spectacles
- Wondered idly (not working, active)

To be continued...

English Vocabulary Words!

Vocabulary Individual Words

Regurgitate - swallowed food (bring up)
Calamity - disaster
Anguish - suffering
Prudent - acting with, showing care of
Avail - an opportunity; available resource
Contention - heated disagreement
Miniature - small
Rudimentary - involving; limited to basic principles
Jeopardized - risk
Meager - inadequate
Vacillating - indecisive; swaying
Shorn - cut; remove
Wizen - dry up; wither
Itinerant - traveling place to place (wandering)
Resplendent - gleaming; splendid
Gaily - merrily, cheerfully; showiness
Ponderous - great weight; awkward
Bawl - cry, wail
Reprove - criticize; correct (disapprove strongly)
Deluged - anything that overwhelms like flood

Vocabulary Phrases

- Neck craned to see
- Square of pale pearl sky
- Tipsy old wardrobe
- Plunged down the steep twisting stairway
- Enormously wealthy customer
- Lingered in the streets
- Elaborate set piece
- Sour faced, scowling (gloomy) individual
- Blue eyes behind the thick round spectacles were as mild and merry as ever
- Gazed from one of us to the other with frank delight
- Notable (praiseworthy) quality
- Steady stream of guest
- Dutiful mother
- Glanced out of one wide-set eye
- Throngs of strollers (crowd)
- Wearing the nearest thing to a smile that her perpetually down drawn lips would permit
- A chill of silence fell over the table and spread swiftly around the room
- Typical broad brimmed black hat
- Raw and gaping wound
- Sat down stiffly on the edge of a chair

English Speech Writing

Dear fellow classmates,

Regarding the one week's course in the December vacation for our level, I prefer the Personal Finance Management Course to Personal Fitness Training and First Aid Course. It will provide us with innumerable useful instructions on what to do and how to manage our money sensibly.

First of all, the reason that I chose this course is due to the fact that we still have about four months of leisure time before the release of the O' Level results. I believe that the majority of the cohort will find a part-time job to occupy their time and earn extra allowance for them. Some parents might stop giving their child allowance as they think that they will have their meals at home. When we start earning money, we may splurge on branded goods to satisfy our cravings and boast about it; hence we need to have some lessons to learn to deal with our personal finances. If we do not now how to manage our finances, we will not kick the habit of spending money extravagantly.

Secondly, money is essential to our future, and if we do not have proper financial management, we will have difficulty in our future. Money is needed to further one's education and eventually to start and and sustain a family. In other words, money is relevant to whatever we will be doing down the road of our life. Consequently, we have to learn skills to manage our money consciously.

I do not agree with the First Aid and Personal Fitness Training Course. Even though first-aid skills are useful to save a life, it is rare that an emergency will happen around us frequently. About the Personal fitness Training Course, it is not necessary for us as it is of no use even if we know the exercises and techniques, but do not put it into action. It requires self-discipline and resistance to keep up with the fitness training, and these qualities cannot be learnt from the training course. Besides, teenagers nowadays are more concerned over money matters; hence I believe that the course is more applicable to us.

I hope that all of you agree to this discussion to have a course in financial management as it is very substantial to all of us.

Thank you.

VOCABULARY TIME!

POWER English Vocabulary Words (1-20)

1. Felicitous - of only ordinary or moderate quality; neither good nor bad
- He led a felicitous life.

2. Doleful - sad
- He led a doleful life.

3. Fluster - embarrassed
- They flustered me by telling everyone my secret.

4. Preclude – make impossible
- The insufficiency of the evidence precludes a conviction.

5. Dither – procrastinate
- Stop Dithering and do something!

6. Poverish – poor
- Poverish people cannot afford luxuries.

7. Chivalrous – polite
- Mary is very chivalrous.

8. Endorse – permit
- We do not endorse smoking in the house.

9. Pallid – pale
- Tom has a pallid face.

10. Condone – overlook
- We condoned his wrongdoing.

11. Conspicuous – outstanding (easily seen)
- He is a conspicuous dancer.

12. Amiable – nice/ kind
- You are an amiable person.

13. Clamorous – noisy
- This is a clamorous class of children!

14. Reticent – modest
- Ernest is reticent about his success.

15. Phenomenal – marvelous
- I made a phenomenal discovery.

16. Agile – lively
- This is definitely an agile party.

17. Insolent – insulting
- Do you know that what you had just said was insolent?

18. Impotent – useless
- Jack felt impotent to help.

19. Hospitable – sociable
- Jon is a hospitable guy.

20. Concede – agree
- I concede to pay my share.

English Discursive Writing

Dreams

Everyone has wishful dreams, some even have highly ornamental dreams. Some examples of dreams like being a multi-millionaire before their mid-twenties, dreams of striking lottery and dreams of out-doing the greatest inventor of light, Albert Einstein. These are common but desirable dreams that most people wish they could come true, but do they really come true? Without the willingness to achieve it and work towards it, it is impossible. I feel that dreams should be kept simple and achievable, something that is attainable but not something impossible.

Currently, I have three dreams. The first and most important dream is to send more time with my family and develop deeper feelings for them to improve our relationships. I have yet to achieve this as my parents are often busy with their work, while my sister and I are preoccupied with our studies. In order to achieve this, I think that we should take at least a day off our work and studies to spend quality time with one another. As a family, we can make use of the time together to get to know more about each other, and to pour all our troubles and secrets that had been kept in our hearts for a period of time. I have often recalled with fondness the times I had with my beloved family at a family day outing. We went to Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve to watch a diversity of migratory birds breeding, feeding as well as flying high in the sky. We spotted a group of four birds, two big and two small. I assume that they are one family. Looking at them is just like my family which consists of my parents and my sister. We bonded positively and found out our common interest - enjoying the pleasant scenery.

My second dream is to score a single digit for my O' Level Examination at the end of this year. This requires a lot of hard work and good time management, but with self-discipline and perseverance, I am sure I can achieve this dream. I remember the times when my graduated seniors collected their O' Level result slips. Those who scored and aggregate of ten and below got the opportunity to stand up proudly, to let the school recognize the effort that they had put in. That was my motivation and source of this dream.

My last dream is to be a successful Geography researcher and teacher. I want to be a researcher to gain more knowledge on Geography, then become a teacher to be of service to contribute to the society as well as to inspire and nurture students. If they do well, I will feel a sense of satisfaction. I can benefit a lot of teaching as it will stimulate my brain, allow me to continue learning, brainstorming and increase my knowledge. I am also able to learn patience from handling noisy and mischievous students.

Once a person has a dream, he should strive for his best to reach for it. Although dreams are chiefly hopes and desires that the brain experiences, I have reports that explain that dreams are interlinked to what we believe in. Dreams such as getting good grades are something between the two areas which the human brain would long for. Therefore, with sheer grit and determination, achieving dreams are definitely possible.

English Narrative Essay

A Strange Coincidence

"Come on Julia, it's your birthday party. Why aren't you in a joyous mood? Don't be so busy, we'll pack up for you later on! You've invited us to your house, so come on and have some fun!" my childhood friend, Shanice persuaded. I have an uncomfortable feeling. My eyes had been twitching since I woke up. I do not know if it is a pleasant, or an unpleasant thing that is going to happen.

Today is my twenty-first birthday celebration. I had invited all my University friends as well as my best friends to enjoy this special day of mine.

It is five-thirty. I asked my sister to help me purchase some packet drinks for the party an hour ago, but she was not back yet. Out of the blue, I heard the blaring door bell. My heart was relieved from all the worries I had. I flung the door open, anxious to see my sister coming home safely. A familiar fat figure stood in front of me, looking doubtful.

"May I see Chai Lim?" She asked.

"I'm sorry, I think you've got the wrong door." I replied. Then, I shut the door, with mixed feelings. "Who is she?" I thought, "she looks rather familiar." I did not really care as I was busy attending to my guests and laying out the table for my birthday dinner.

Within minutes, my sister holding onto plastic bags of sugared drinks came home. She was panting heavily when she reached home. She handed over the bulky bags and headed straight to the room to finish up her online project so that she can join us for the party. She was browsing through the internet server and she came across a picture of my primary school class photo. She was starring at the picture for quite awhile and tried to spot me.

All of a sudden, she yelled, "Jie! Jie! Is she your form teacher in primary three?"

I walked into the room and saw the picture and replied, "Yes! She's the teacher I have always admired and I'd always take her as my role model." I gaped at the picture for awhile and thoughts flashed through my mind, "Isn't she..." I murmured. I dashed out of the house immediately and everyone was appalled. They did not know what I was doing. I was frantically searching for the person who knocked on the door previously.

Finally, I spotted her at the void deck. I saw her back view and at second thoughts, I thought it was not the person in the picture. She turned around and I hit like ton of bricks. "It's her! Why has she become so thin! She was a plump as a hippotamus fifteen years ago!" I thought. I ran towards her and told her everything. She explained to me that she wanted to find her long lost sister, and it was such a strange coincidence that we would get to see each other after a long time.

We reminisced our past and chatted for awhile. I invited her to my birthday party and she was as happy as a lark. This is definitely the best and astounding gift I have received on my birthday.

English Report Writing

Mr. Ang Chee Siong
Principal
Queenstown Secondary School

21 February 2009

Choe Tze Yi Charlene
Chairperson
Committee of Students

Report on Choice of Ideas for Primary School Students to Settle Down Quickly (underline)

I am writing this report on behalf of the committee of students. We have chosen the best idea to help the primary school students who will soon be joining our secondary school to settle down quickly and happily. I have chosen Lily’s idea of holding an Open House in out school. The prefects could show the primary school students and their parents around the school and explain to them what our school culture is like. This enables both students and parents to have a better understanding of the facilities provided and environment of the school. Staffs and students will be ready to respond to the questions raised by the pupils and the parents.

I did not choose Chee Keong, Ahmad and Sushila's idea as they are inferior compared to Lily’s idea. Chee Keong's idea of designing posters and producing booklets of information and pictures in several languages is not really efficient as students will get to know only what is printed on them. They will not have a clearer picture of the school’s environment which is an important factor to help them settle down quickly. Ahmad's idea of producing a short video will be very costly. We might not have the resources to produce the video, thus it is not suitable. Sushila's idea of holding a talk in various primary schools would cause all of us, as well as the primary school students to miss lessons.

We can further improve on Lily’s idea of holding an Open House. We can hold it on Saturday morning from 9am to 4pm as many parents do not work during weekends, hence are able to visit the school with their children. Prefects will be assigned for duty on that day. Some of them will introduce the various booths and the others will escort the family around. Light refreshments and small goodies bags will be given to them as welcome gift to enable them to feel welcomed.

I hope you will accept our suggestions.

Thank you.

English Discursive Writing

Career Choice

Choosing a career is one of the most important decisions to be made in life. I fully agree with this factor as once one chooses a career, it will affect his future. If one picks a career that does not suit his character, he will not only dread it, but it will also cause him to lost interest in life. On the contrary, it could be a mental torture to face something he detests daily! If one selects a job he likes, he will progress more swiftly. Therefore, there are several points that must be taken into consideration before determining which career to take up.

The first factor should be the demands of the job. As the world's economy is constantly evolving, and job scopes are always changing, hence it is very important to choose our career wisely. Currently, tourism is the main focus of Singapore to compete with its neighboring countries to improve on its economy. By 2012, Integrated Resorts will be built; therefore Singapore requires a large number of workers to ensure the smooth running of the resorts. With the high demand of this kind of jobs, it is easier to secure a job in this area.

The second factor is my interest and what I am capable of doing. If I choose something that I like to do, I will always look forward to go to work daily, excited at whatever tasks I am assigned to, but if I have a job that I do not have interest in, I may dread going to work. Unless I pick a job that I am capable of doing, I will have a hard time finishing and completing the work I am supposed to do.

The last factor to consider is the job is long term or short term. An example is teaching. As many societies constantly require teachers to educate the younger generation, teaching is the most important and most stable job now. Unlike performers at bars like magicians, whose job is always short term as entertainment is not a necessity.

In conclusion, we should always consider these points before selecting which job we would like to take up No matter what career we choose, as long as we have a passion for it, money should not be a hindrance to the success of our lives. We should enjoy what we are doing, instead of caring about money even though it is the essence of life.

English Narrative Essay

Write about someone who failed to live up to his or her reputation.

My Model Father

My name is Danny. I have a father who is well-respected by many people, whether young or old. He is a model father whom everyone looks up to, and whenever anyone has a problem, he would be the first to lend a helping hand. Although my mother has passed away about four years ago, my father remains strong.

He is the sole-bread winner in the family. He feeds my two younger sisters and me, as well as my grandparents. However, he is a technician, and he does not earn a lot of money to provide for us. Despite the fact that we face financial problems occasionally, he has always faced them courageously and tried his best to settle all the bills. Therefore, everyone called him a model father, who lived up to his reputation.

However, something unexpected occurred. As my father is an experienced technician, he is the least like to be retrenched by the company even though the economy was suffering from recession. One day, his boss broke the tragic news to the entire company - the company went bankrupt. Everyone dropped their jaws, dumbfounded. This would mean that all of them who are working for the company would be jobless.

In order not to cause any undue worries, my father kept the news to himself, not letting the cat out of the bag. He remained imperturbable, not expressing the slightest expression of being down and under. He faced many predictable problems like cash flow problems as well as how to spill the beans to us. He had to be pretentious every morning, acting as if he was going to work.

As times passed quickly, he still could not find a suitable job. He had spent all his savings and borrowed much from his fiends. At last, he was desperate. In his mind, there was only one word spinning around his head, which is "gamble". He felt very reluctant to do so, but the thought of "investing" his money and gaining more income through it tempted him to do so.

"Hey David! Michael here. Remember the gambling den I told you about? I heard that there are many winnings this week in there. Interested to pop by within these few days?" asked Michael on the phone.

"Oh... Okay... Make it tomorrow morning? My kids will be in school and no one will find out about me being jobless." My father answered discreetly, grinning from ear to ear.

I happened to walk pass the room and overheard the conversation between Michael and him. I stood rooted to the ground, but stayed silent. I did not tattle the secret.

As weeks passed like a flash of lightning, I realized that my father visited the gambling den numerous times. "He seemed addicted to it", I muttered. I wanted to stop him from choosing the wrong path in his desperation to try to sustain the family, but was clueless on what to do to solve the problem. Whenever he went to gamble, he always lost, henceforth creating a heavier debt for himself and the family. He would try to gamble more through borrowing from loan sharks to try to recoup his losses, but to no avail. Sometimes, loan sharks would come knocking on the door to claim for the money my father borrowed.

Out of the blue, I discovered that a lot of people found out that he had been visiting Gamden Road, which is a street known for illegal gambling dens. Many of his friends started to avoid him whenever they saw him lest he borrowed from them. They started gossiping about this matter.

I have really no idea why my father behaves like this ever since he lost his job. Even if he wants to continue to support the family, he could have strived harder to find another occupation. If he failed to do, he could have taken up a part-time job and discuss this problem with us so that we can help him. I am really very disappointed with him. He did not live up to his reputation as a model father he used to be.

English Argumentative Essay

"The best things in life are free." How far do you agree with this statement?

To a great extent, most things in the modern world today require money, but there are some things in life that do not need cash. I believe that most of the best things in life cannot be bought; it requires perseverance to get them. Different people have different cravings in life, for example, some yearn to have bountiful number of branded accessories and some wish to have an experience that they will never ever get in their lives. Most people take things for granted as they are wealthy, but there are some things these people would not be able to have, just like how values and happiness cannot be bought with money.

Firstly, experiences are one of the most valuable lessons in life, and they cannot be bought. Some of these experiences are a chance to perform during the National Day Parade, Friendship, Relationship as well as the joy of nature. Nature mesmerizes human beings, especially the beauty of a rainbow, sunset and sun rise. The cool breeze of the night caressing one’s face, having a leisurely stroll along the meadows or rivers and the spiritual aspects in one’s life, are all exposures that money cannot be purchased. I had a personal once-in-a life time encounter in Germany, the Eagle’s Nest. When I was up on the mountain of snow, I was able to see the ranges of the Alps Mountain. It was a panoramic and breath-taking sight. I had never seen such beautiful scenery before, and I think that this is something that my money cannot bring.

Secondly, the best thing in life also depends on the partiality of an individual. Different individual have contradictory perceptions. A night out at a club might be some people’s interest, whereas doing voluntary work in third world countries might be another’s happiness. To the volunteer worker, to see the smile on an orphans or a sickly patient’s face is the satisfaction money cannot buy. Even though doing voluntary work requires cash, the contentment is beyond monetary means. During my Vietnam National Education trip, the children at the orphanage definitely taught us priceless lessons in life. Through them, we learnt that money is not everything, and we must treasure the love from everyone. They certainly uplifted our spirits.

Last but not least, values learnt cannot be achieved by means of money. Dedication, integrity, self-discipline and cooperation can only be gained through life involvement. In the recent Singapore Youth Festival Competition for choir, although we got a bronze for our participation, all of us grasped the meaning of mutual effort, companionship and a better appreciation of choral singing. The joy and energy exhibited on each of our faces as we perform is invaluable.

However, many things in life requires money. Medical treatment, education abroad, bringing up a family, having food on the table, all are not free. Some might argue that money is a necessity in order to attain the best things in life. Money can buy material wealth, and the tangibles, branded goods, holidays and big houses. Although this material wealth can bring a certain amount of happiness, it is transient. Wealth can be wiped out during an economic crisis.

In my opinion, the things that are preeminent need no money. The intangibles in life such as love, friends, faith, trust and pleasures of nature are gifts. To be surrounded by loved ones and having a hearty laugh is a blessing. Henceforth, the best things in life are free.

Expository Essay

Transportation is an important factor in our daily lives, but the rise in transport vehicles leads to the increase in transport problems, especially in densely populated countries like Singapore. There, an efficient transport system will cause lesser transport problems. Problems of transport system are like traffic congestions, air pollution, increase in transportation cost and over-crowdedness, and these scenes are commonly seen during the rush hour. Hence, all of us should do our part to solve transport system.

Whenever any of the traffic lights turn faulty, transportation will be a problem. The government should ensure constant maintenance of the traffic light, if not consequences like confusion between drivers and pedestrians, accidents and delay in delivery goods will occur. With regular maintenance of the traffic lights, hit-and-run accidents and disruption of goods will decrease, thus making sure of smooth traffic flow, solving a transport problem.

Problems like over-crowding in public transport like Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and bus occur during peak hours, but there are solutions to solve this problem. The MRT management could increase the frequency of the train arrivals, for example, from five minutes to three minutes during peak hours. This can decrease congestions in the cabin as well as provide a more comfortable ride for restless and weary commuters.

Some Singaporeans think that cost of transport is escalating for the past two years, especially taxi fares. After the increase of taxi fares, many of them avoided having taxi rides because of the huge hike; as a result, taxi drivers had a great loss in income. Practically they are driving empty taxis most of the time, and many of them had given up taxi licenses. This problem can be settled if they find an optimum and reasonable taxi fare that will benefit both taxi drivers and passengers. This would not only allow taxi drivers to earn enough remuneration to support their family, and allow passengers to enjoy the ride instead of worrying about the taxi fares.

Different variations of transport system like cars and trucks often emit harmful and toxic gases, for example carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen. These exhausts are bad for the human body, and also cause air pollution to the Earth that result in global warming. Instead of using diesel or petrol, they can use palm oil as an alternative. Research has shown that palm oil can replace petrol for vehicles, and it gives out less noxious gasses, therefore causing minimal effects to the environment and living things. Even though it is proven that efficiency of palm oil is less than that of petrol, research and development can be done to improve the efficiency of it.

To conclude, transport system can reduce stress and make life easier for everyone. Improving transport system should be an ongoing process as an efficient transport system will cause lesser transport problems. In Singapore, the Land Transport Authority is always implementing solutions to for a more competent transport system.