You may have heard of portmanteau words. What are they? Actually a portmanteau word is a word which fuses two or more words or parts of words to give a combined meaning. Here are a few examples:
1) Motel: motor and hotel (a hotel for motorists, with space for parking cars near the rooms.)
2) Brunch: breakfast and lunch (late morning meal eaten instead of breakfast and lunch.)
3) Animatronics: animation and electronics (technique of making and operating lifelike robots)
4) Cyborg: cybernetic organism
5) Chortle: snort and chuckle (loud chuckle of pleasure or amusement)
6) Smog: smoke and fog
7) Cremains: cremated and remains (cremated remains)
8) Alphabet: alpha and beta (set of letters or symbols in a fixed order, used when writing a language.)
9) Edutainment: entertainment and education (printed or otherwise publicly available material intended to entertain as well as to educate and inform.)
10) Electrocute: electricity and execute (kill a person or an animal by means of an electric current.)
- DarkAbyssXx
4:01 PM
The Chinese composition examination was pretty hard. I had to choose Question 2, the picture story. There was nothing much to write about. The picture was about some students cleaning the school. Two mischievous boys played with the hose in the toilet and got scolded by their teacher. I chose this Question because my teacher encouraged me to write a picture story during the Normal Chinese Composition Examination. You will never write out of point. Most people chose the picture story too.
For the English composition, I also chose the picture story instead of the Continuous one. There was a suspicious man at an MRT station. He seemed to be a thief, trying to steal some valuables from a bag. I did my best. Actually, Mrs Lim hinted my score to me. I'm not revealing it, sorry. :P
This is not the end. There is still the Higher Chinese Composition Examination. This is just the beginning.
- DarkAbyssXx
3:39 PM
Okay. Today was the Mathematical Olympiad. It was DAMN hard. Nothing else to say. I only managed to answer 13 questions out of 30! I did not want to guess the answers that I don't know. Zhan Peng, Eng Chuan, Matthew, Snowden and some other people went along to Hwa Chong Institution (The Chinese High) to take the test. A few people attempted a lot of questions. (Actually, they guessed most of the answers.) Matthew said it was easy. He said that he only skipped about 5 questions. Is he a math whiz or what?
A certificate will be issued to all the participants. That's the only good thing. I got to see the school perimetre. It was huge and spacious. There were multiple halls for mass gatherings. Every hall was twice the size of our hall! (The one in Woodlands Ring Primary School.) Maybe that's your choice school. It was indeed a meaningful experience.
- DarkAbyssXx
6:44 PM
Today's the NAPFA test.(5 Stations) My weakest item is the Standing Broad Jump. So, in order to improve, Wei Kang and I practised every recess one week before the test. I did quite badly for all the items except for Sit and Reach and the Sit ups. I did 44 cm for Sit and Reach and 42 for Sit Ups. Chin Aik was my partner during the Sit Up. Halfway through, I slowed down. He did not hear whether the teacher said stop and he let go. I keep asking him not to do that. Finally, after a long wait, I resumed the process. So in the end the result is 42. At least it's enough to get an 'A'. Okay, for the Standing Broad Jump, my result is a pathetic 159 cm. Crap. My best record was 175 cm. (But that was during practice.) So much for all my hard work!
I felt that the test was quite unfair in certain areas. For example, Joel,when doing the SBJ, jumped 160+ at first. Mr Hoe was testing him. But he was called to be tested by another teacher. From what I heard, the other teacher measured the front of his leg instead of the back of his leg! In the end, he got 192 cm! Fortunate for Joel but unfair to all of us. Secondly, when some people like Wei Heng were doing the Inclined Pull-ups, the metal bar dropped onto the mat and the teacher asked him to stop doing. But he/she still recorded the number that he was at before the bar dropped!
Oh, and I almost forgotten to mention, Benjamin was unable to attend the test. Before the test started, he practised his SBJ a few times and got muscle cramps. If Benjamin was reading this, he would say, "OH CRAP!" The reason was that he did not even practised this before! Poor Ben!
If you did not have any problems during the test, count yourself lucky. Not everybody is as fortunate as you. X(
Oh, this post has not ended yet. I was extremely unlucky today. After the test, I went to search for my school shoes but they were gone! I had put them into a pink plastic bag next to my bag. Oh Crap. In addition, the NAPFA test clashes with my Higher Mother Tongue lesson. So my chinese teacher had to call of the class. Moreover, I knew I did very badly for the Science Practical.
Haiz~ It's just not my day...
- DarkAbyssXx
3:16 PM
Hate long medical terms in English? Hate short forms their full words? Then skip this post. The following words are collection of acronyms and abbreviations. Don't worry, some of them are really simple.
1) AIDS: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
2) SARS: Severe acute respiratory syndrome
3) Flu: Influenza
4) Html: HyperText Markup Language
5) Http: Hypertext Transfer Protocol
6) RAM: Random access memory
7) LASER: Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation
8) RADAR: Radio Detection and Ranging
9) PS: Postscript
10) CFC: Chlorofluorocarbon
11) TNT: Trinitrotoluene
12) CPR: Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
13) P.S.: Postscript
14) E.g.: Exempli Gratia
15) ie: Id Est
16) P.M.: Post Meridiem
17) A.M.: Ante Meridiem
- DarkAbyssXx
8:45 PM
Weird and Wonderful Facts
This section of the blog has been relocated to this link to make the blog look tidier. This link can also be found on the sidebar of the blog. Do check for updates often! :D
- DarkAbyssXx
8:09 PM
Oh no! The SA1 Science Practical Examination was damn hard! Unlike the previous years, this year there are only 2 stations. 10 minutes are given to complete the tests in each station. I started with Station 2 first. Well, it was a breeze. No problem! But when I studied the other station, my hopes fell. It was typical. Every year, there was a station about fruits. (Similarities and Differences) But this time, the questions were extremely tricky. I can't really identify and differences in the fruit samples. So, I just gave a wrong answer. And for the second part of the station, the table doesn't really make sense to me. All the options seems so confusing!
If, by any chance, Mr Hoe is reading this post, you are laughing evilly. Yes, you are right, Mr Hoe was the setter of this difficult paper. To Mr Hoe: You have done quite a good job demoralizing us! (No offence!) Oh well, let's hope that the other examinations will not be so tough!
- DarkAbyssXx
3:04 PM
I went to Mediacorp for the Spell Cast competition on 14/04/2007. It was a TV recording. With 8 supporters with me, including Fauzan, the competition started. Okay, the format was the same except for the last part. (Refer to previous post.) This time, round 3 was a Tic-Tac-Toe round. There are 16 squares and in order to win, you need to get three in a row. Okay, here's the disappointing news, I did not even make it past the second round. Oh well, I was prepared for that anyway. It was because of 1 word. As you may know, round 1 is a multiple choice round. The third question was Entrepreneur. There were 3 options. Only 5 seconds.
Option A was out, I did not even look at it much. It was B or C. 50/50 chance. I immediately pressed B first as I must at least key in the answer. Then I analysed the two choices. Hmm... Option C looks quite correct: Entrepreneur. How about B? Oh my god! It's Entreprenuer! (THAT'S WRONG!!!) Oh. Too late. The time is up. Oh crap.
Well, nothing much to say. It was expected. I am competing with one of the BEST people in the WHOLE of Singapore. You think it was so easy to win? Anyway, catch the series in June 2007. Oh, and look out for Fauzan and me!
- DarkAbyssXx
6:29 PM
Oh my god! The SA1 Chinese Oral Examination was so hard. The reading passage was hard and some parts of the pictures were very hard to describe. I did not recognize some of the words in the passage too. Haiz~ So much for good luck...
But anyway, the good news is that I scored FULL MARKS for my English Oral Examination. Yes! Full Marks! 30/30. I'm ecstatic when I heard the news! Oh well, for the Chinese, maybe I didn't do as bad as I thought I did. Only time will tell. Anyway, this is only SA1. PSLE is much more important.
For all examinations, to get full marks by hard work is not a 100% guarantee. It takes 98% hard work and 2% luck!
- DarkAbyssXx
5:16 PM
The "Tough Words" section can be found in the blog division, "Splash Of Fun".
- DarkAbyssXx
7:21 PM
Monday, 9/4/2007. I just had my SA1 English Oral Examination. And I think I did quite OKAY. The teacher said she was impressed with my performance. ^_^ What a relief! But during the reading passage, she kept asking me to read softer. (By the way, she was Mrs Joyce Lim.) Why can't I read aloud? Because the oral examination is arranged in the PSLE format. We are not tested during school hours. We need to stay back after school and be assigned to different classrooms for testing. Two teachers and students can use one class at a time. So, she asked me not to read so loudly to prevent the other people from hearing what I say. Haha...
Well, that's all for the SA1 English Oral. Tomorrow is the Chinese Oral Examination. Hope I can do well for it. Oh, and wish everyone good luck!
- DarkAbyssXx
4:25 PM
Finer Points of Algebra
POINT 1
Okay, okay I know. You saw the post title and started to get bored. Oh come on, here are some tips on Algebra that you should know. I hope you had learnt something from the previous post on this topic. I know you may hate it but the deeper understanding of Algebra you have, the better you can tackle it, so let's go!
Question: If y=6, what number is 2y²?
Is it:
a) 144
b) 72
c) None of the above.
d) I dunno.
Answer: If you chose a), you are RIGHT... in a wrong way. (That means your answer is incorrect, if you are confused...) If your answer is c) or d), you are not there. So the answer is b)!
Solution: Why, you may ask, is the answer not 144? Okay, here's the explanation. You got 144 through this calculation:
2y²= 12 x 12
= 144
This calculation, unfortuantely, is WRONG. Actually, you should do it like this:
2y²= 2 x (6x6)
= 72
You should multiply y² first, then multiply the product by two instead of getting the value of 2y first then multiplying it by two.
You still there? Are you asleep. Oh. How dumb. You can't possibly say yes. Haha...
POINT 2
Okay. I'm moving on to the next important point. Don't worry, this one will be easier to understand. (I hope!) *Gulp* Here's the question:
Question: If y=4, what is the value of y² + y + 12 - 7 ?
Is your answer:
a) 25
b) 69
c) 26
d) 79 (No more "I dunnoes", that's too easy!)
Answer: If your answer is b), you are WRONG. (Okay, I'm telling you straightaway.) If your answer is c) or d), I'm going to ask you one question, "How in the world did you get that???" Well, the answer is a), 25.
Solution: If you got 69, your calculations may be like this:
(2y)² + 5 = (8)² + 5 = 69
The correct way to do this is as follows:
y2 + y + 5 = 16 + 4 + 5
= 25
You cannot put the two 'y's together and add them. That is impossible. Why? Because they are entirely two different units. For example: You cannot add 1cm + 2cm² + 3cm³ all together! Their units of measurement are all different. Same deal for this problem.
POINT 3
Final Point. (What a relief! Tiring, isn't it!) This one, I can assure you, is the EASIEST of them all. (And I mean it!) Here's what you need to know:
2a and a² are totally different. 2a is actually 2 x a, while a² is a x a!
That's All Folks!
- DarkAbyssXx
6:58 PM
Something Funny!
I saw a small part of the show 'Frontline', a chinese show reporting news and recent events. I happen to heard something hilarious. Have you seen the advertisement on smoking?(English/Chinese) It shows a short picture and speech made by a smoker. Her lips were rotting and her teeth were very yellowish. It was rotting too. Her whole mouth was disgusting. And it was smoking that caused all that. The purpose of the advertisement is to warn future smokers or current smokers not to smoke as it can lead to disastrous results. Okay, here's what I heard on the show:
A mother of a young daughter speaking in chinese: The advertisement causes my daughter to have nightmares!
Is this funny or what? Lolz...
- DarkAbyssXx
10:11 PM
Overview of Algebra
1) Algebra sums do not seem to be hard. Not much working required, right? Wrong. The difficult part of Algebra is the way you express (write) your answer.
2) How to tackle the above problem? The best thing is to do a lot of sums. The more Algebra sums you are exposed to, the better you know how to use the algebraic expressions. Make it your own method!
3) All mathematical question changes. The number changes. The question style and format changes. But remember this, the concept NEVER changes!
- DarkAbyssXx
4:57 PM
Maths Topic: ALGEBRA
Okay. Mr Chua, my maths teacher, has started a new topic: algebra. You may think Algebra is simple, don't you? Just add, subtract, multiply, divide and get the answer. No need for much working and mental calculation. The sums may also seem extremely easy, right?
Wrong. Okay, I don't deny the part that Algebra does not require a lot of working BUT what makes the whole topic difficult is the method of expressing your answers. That's right, its not as easy as it seems. I mean, how can there be a topic that is so easy that you can get the answer correctly 100% of the time? That would be a giveaway, wouldn't it?
Confused? Okay, here's an example of what I mean:
Example 1: 16+4k-6-k
Here's a concept on Algebra. But before I tell you the concept, solve this problem. (Remember, number minus number, letter minus letter!) Done? Okay, what's your answer? Is it:
a) 3k-10 OR 10-3k
b)3k+10 OR 10+3k
c) Other answers
Here is the real answer. If you chose option a), you are there...but not there...! If you chose option c), it is wrong. So, the only answer left is b). That's right, if you choose b), you are absolutely, positively correct!
Okay, here's the solution. First, you take 16-6. The answer is 10. Next, take 4k-k. The answer is 3k. (Duh!) So, the answer is 3k+10 OR 10+3k!
Okay, okay. I know what you are confused about. When do we use '+' (Plus) or '-' (Minus) when we write our answer??? Now this is the concept I am going to elaborate on.
In Algebra, most plus and minus signs are 'imposters'. When you look at them, you think they mean addition and subtraction respectively, right? Wrong. The '+' in the above answer actually means Positive 3k/10. You are confused again? Okay, okay... Relax...
This is secondary school work. A Positive (+) number means that it is a normal number. For example: 18462094 - 163484 = 18298610 Oh. sorry *Ahem* For example: 100-50=50
Simple? Let's move on. Now, 16382-..... Okay, okay. No more jokes. 10(Simple enough?) 10-20 = -10 Now that is a negative number. So the negative number after 1 is -1...-2...-3...-4... and so on and so forth.
Let's get to the point. So 16-6=10 (Positive) Now do you see why the plus sign and minus signs are imposters? Moreover, now you understand when to use '+' and '-' ! Algebra is not as simple as you think, isn't it?
- DarkAbyssXx
4:27 PM
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