10.28.2015
Vocab Chapter4-9 / blog 5
Write the word, part of speech, the sentence it comes from in the book, and the definition of the word the way it is used in the book.
Chapter 4:
melancholy (adj.)
I felt melancholy after reading Mother's letter.
Definition: a feeling of thoughtful sadness.
imposing (v. present continuous)
I knew how Mother hated imposing on her children.
Definition: to force something (force someone's idea to others, etc)
Chapter 5:
stroll (n.)
I drew in a deep breath of the deliciously fragrant air, picturing my stroll along the stream with Sarah and Jimmy.
Definition: a short leisure walk
transformed(v. past continuous)
The note said: "What a grand surprise to see our neglected greenhouse transformed into a lovely little garden.
Definition:make a thorough change in appearance, form or character
greenhouse(n.)
The note said: "What a grand surprise to see our neglected greenhouse transformed into a lovely little garden.
Definition: a glass building that protects plants from winter
neglected(adj.)
The note said: "What a grand surprise to see our neglected greenhouse transformed into a lovely little garden.
Definition: fail to care properly
Chapter 6:
mixer(n.)
I pictured myself all dressed up, walking with them in a leisurely way, and chatting about the last mixer.
Definition: a social gathering where people make friends
invigorated (adj.)
I was shocked to hear Marci say these things, but strangely invigorated.
Definition: give strength or energy to
oddball(n.)
I feel like an oddball wherever I am.
Definition: a strange or eccentric person
pretentious(adj.)
She had once told me she thought the dress code and the formality were "ridiculously pretentious" and a waste of time.
Definition: attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc
Chapter 7:
fulfilling(adj)
My sister does find her work fulfilling; she teaches children, and she helps so many people.
Definition: making someone happy because of fully developing their characters or abilities
rambled(v. past tense)
It's so pretty," Ellen rambled, "and I want to show you off."
Definition:talk or write at length in a confused or a consequential way
frankly(adv.)
I think it is because your culture encourages people to speak openly and frankly."
Definition: honestly
Chapter 8:
horrified(adj.)
I was horrified.
Definition: fill with horror; shock greatly
demerit(n.)
I had never gotten a single demerit before!
Definition: a mark awarded against someone for a fault or an offense
humility(n.)
Here, they do not place so much emphasis on patience, humility, family harmony, and silence as we do in Korea.
Definition: humbleness
harmony(n.)
Here, they do not place so much emphasis on patience, humility, family harmony, and silence as we do in Korea.
Definition: goes along with each other
Chapter 9:
ambassador(n.)
You have become quite an excellent ambassador for your country, and have made lots of friends, I hear."
Definition: a diplomat that's sent to the other countries
farmhouse(n.)
The next day, Ellen and I took the train to her parents' farmhouse in New Jersey.
Definition: a farm attached to a farm
acres(n.)
We have sixteen acres here.
Definition: a unit of land area
10.27.2015
Informal Writing- compare your experience with Sookan's when first arrive America / blog 4
It was the summer of 2013, I went on a summer camp to America with my school; the people attending were two teachers, who could speak fluent English, and fourteen students, whose ability varies. We were living at St. Georges School in Rhode Island, which was one of the best school there. The language policy was really strict there; our teacher did not allow us to speak in Chinese, and if we did, they will put a marble into a cup which had our names on it. The person who gets the most marbles would be punished, and the person who gets the least marbles would be awarded. In the first few days, I tried my best not to speak Chinese, even when I couldn't express something with my words, I would gesticulate to make people understand. My English improved a lot during these days; but it was so differet later on. I saw other people playing around with the language policy; some people spoke Chinese whenever the teacher was not around. They didn't get marbles, some of them were even awarded. I started speaking in Chinese by a little bit everyday; and the percentage of Chinese speaking grew and grew. At the last few days my English did not improve as much as the first few days, and I feel really regretful when I look back.
Comparing to Sookan, even if there is no language policy for her, she still can not speak Korean in her daily life because Sookan is possibly the only Kroean in her College, so she has nobody to speak Korean to. She has to study English both for her scholarship and learning because her family is poor and they need her to earn money for maintaining the family's income in the future. Unlike Sookan, I was born in a well-off family; I don't have to worry about any financial issues, and I even have plenty to spend every month. These may probably be the differences of us.
10.21.2015
5 Discussion Questions for Chapter 3&4 / blog 3
1.When Sookan starts studying aboard, how do her family and neighbors feel?
2.What are some differences between Marci and Sookan?
3.What do the teachers think about Sookan?(Sister Casey, Sister Reed, Miss Mullen, Professor Bennett)
4. How is Sookan's mother different from other mothers?
5.What is the relationship between Marci and her sister?
Partner: Marinda
10.14.2015
Author of "Gathering of Pearls" / blog 2
The author of the book, Choi Sook Nyul, was born in the war. She was a refugee from North Korea, who experienced the brutal Japanese Occupation. She emigrated to MA, the United States for study when she became older. She said that she now has two countries, Korea and the America.
Of Reading And Writing / blog 1
Jiaqi Xu
Mrs Guarino
English II
Oct 13th, 2015
I love to read books in both fictions and non-fictions, for example romantic, historical, adventure, and survival. I only read romantic and historical books in Chinese, because comparing to English ones, contemporary Chinese romance novels are more euphemistic and consist of more connotations, and I can understand historical articles in my mother tongue better. But because it is too figurative, many famous and good books are translated poorly from Chinese to other languages. I used to read a lot when I was in middle school, I almost finished all the books at home which filled about four to five huge bookshelves; but when I grew up, I spent more time on socializing and hanging out with friends, which had stolen a lot of my time for reading. Chinese books are easy for me to read because it is my native language that I used to speak, read and write in everyday; but for some English books it is really hard to read, because English grammar is completely different from Chinese grammar, the use of figurative language is also different, and to fully understand a novel written in English, an understanding of an enormous vocabulary is required. Many books written in English are even hard for native speakers. I started reading English novels since I was in middle school, and probably in sixth grade. My favorite novel for english class is called Hatchet, because I was reading this novel for three years and I was told to finish this book for three times in three different leveled English classes. The first time of reading this book is in sixth grade, when I was taking EAL II. I found it really hard for me because of the lack of vocabulary and my poor understanding; but when I grew up, I eventually becoming easier to understand.
Pretty different from reading, I feel like writing is a more suffering thing for me to do in both my first and second language. Reading is a way to receive information and emotions, but reading is a way to express the thoughts and emotions. It is easier to read and understand than to actually write and express your complex thoughts, because it is hard to express how exactly you feel about something; for example, even the feeling of itchiness can even be different. My writing had a great improvement in my middle school. When I first came to the school, everyone can speak perfect English and write long and complicated essays; I felt like I was the only one who cannot speak and write in fluent English, which made me harder making friends and made my life harder. I couldn't express what I wanted to my teacher if I cannot speak or write fluently. Then in more practices, my English had great improvements; I started in the lowest level class in sixth grade, but graduated in the highest level class in eighth grade. I actually liked writing, but it is really suffering for me to read my own writing because I would have found my writing to be very silly and found a lot of does-not-make-any-sense sentences, and would have to correct them. And for many times I was just repeating the same idea using different words and sentence structures, which made my reading kind of boring and annoying. In the writing class last year, many of my problems were reduced, for example repeating ideas. Now I am writing more with my brain and less for the word count.
Reading and writing never ends in our lives. It continues going and always has space for improvements, and just like researching in science, we will never find out anything unless we put our effort into it and to really think about it. Reading and Writing are all about the experience thing; the more you read, the more you understand, and the more you write, the better you will get.
Mrs Guarino
English II
Oct 13th, 2015
Of Reading And Writing
Reading is a meaningful thing for all humans in the world, and for me, it is one of the most important thing that I am doing everyday in my life. We read in every second while we are awake and breathing. We can be reading toilet signs, reading maps, reading people's emotions and thoughts, and even our own thoughts; or in the academic aspect, we can be reading fictions, non-fictions, newspapers and comics. Writing is connected to reading in many ways, but it is also very different from reading. If we compare reading to an input, then writing is an output; we read to get information from the outer world, and we write to give out information from our brains.I love to read books in both fictions and non-fictions, for example romantic, historical, adventure, and survival. I only read romantic and historical books in Chinese, because comparing to English ones, contemporary Chinese romance novels are more euphemistic and consist of more connotations, and I can understand historical articles in my mother tongue better. But because it is too figurative, many famous and good books are translated poorly from Chinese to other languages. I used to read a lot when I was in middle school, I almost finished all the books at home which filled about four to five huge bookshelves; but when I grew up, I spent more time on socializing and hanging out with friends, which had stolen a lot of my time for reading. Chinese books are easy for me to read because it is my native language that I used to speak, read and write in everyday; but for some English books it is really hard to read, because English grammar is completely different from Chinese grammar, the use of figurative language is also different, and to fully understand a novel written in English, an understanding of an enormous vocabulary is required. Many books written in English are even hard for native speakers. I started reading English novels since I was in middle school, and probably in sixth grade. My favorite novel for english class is called Hatchet, because I was reading this novel for three years and I was told to finish this book for three times in three different leveled English classes. The first time of reading this book is in sixth grade, when I was taking EAL II. I found it really hard for me because of the lack of vocabulary and my poor understanding; but when I grew up, I eventually becoming easier to understand.
Pretty different from reading, I feel like writing is a more suffering thing for me to do in both my first and second language. Reading is a way to receive information and emotions, but reading is a way to express the thoughts and emotions. It is easier to read and understand than to actually write and express your complex thoughts, because it is hard to express how exactly you feel about something; for example, even the feeling of itchiness can even be different. My writing had a great improvement in my middle school. When I first came to the school, everyone can speak perfect English and write long and complicated essays; I felt like I was the only one who cannot speak and write in fluent English, which made me harder making friends and made my life harder. I couldn't express what I wanted to my teacher if I cannot speak or write fluently. Then in more practices, my English had great improvements; I started in the lowest level class in sixth grade, but graduated in the highest level class in eighth grade. I actually liked writing, but it is really suffering for me to read my own writing because I would have found my writing to be very silly and found a lot of does-not-make-any-sense sentences, and would have to correct them. And for many times I was just repeating the same idea using different words and sentence structures, which made my reading kind of boring and annoying. In the writing class last year, many of my problems were reduced, for example repeating ideas. Now I am writing more with my brain and less for the word count.
Reading and writing never ends in our lives. It continues going and always has space for improvements, and just like researching in science, we will never find out anything unless we put our effort into it and to really think about it. Reading and Writing are all about the experience thing; the more you read, the more you understand, and the more you write, the better you will get.
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