此刻你对友情的看法

假如你有5分钟的时间可以当一种动物,你会选择当:


A、狮


B、猫


C、马


D、鸽子

选A、狮:
A、狮——你总是渴望友情，能为友情做任何事，但你不会轻易付出。


选B、猫:
B、猫——你非常以自我为中心，认为友情对你是可以轻易得到和放弃的东西。


选C、马:
C、马——你不想被固定的关系绑住，你只想和每一个人都保持不错的关系。


选D、鸽子:
D、鸽子——你认为友情是两个人互相的承诺。

建设稀土厂

死不瞑目的婴儿尸体

1984年12月2日的夜晚，死神来到了印度的博帕尔夺取了大量的生命。一个储存45吨液态农药原料的气压罐，压力突然上升，而气压罐里头的农药原料是一种可以消灭害虫的剧毒药品。12月3日的凌晨，压力急速上升的情况下，气压罐终于都受不了压力而向外倾泻了。漏出来的毒气一路随风飘到工厂附近的贫民窟，接着是邻近的火车站，以飞快的速度布满了整个博帕尔。凌晨时分，很多居民都还没有醒来，可怕的是，他们再也没醒过来了。一些在浑浊空气中醒来的人，还不知道发生了什么事，他们还以为是大地震或原子弹爆炸。当他们得知毒气泄漏的消息时，仓皇逃出，但是逃跑的速度却没有毒气传播得快，很多人在半路上就已经中毒，出现双目失明、头昏脑胀、手脚疲软，甚至是窒息死亡现象。

热闹的都市，一夜间变成了人间地狱。散布在四处的腐烂尸体，混合着毒气，让一座灯火通明的城市失去了生气。毒气外泄事件震惊了全世界，事件造成了3000人死亡，上万人残疾，超过十万人留下后遗症。

马来西亚的红泥山事件，又有多少人知道？80年代，日本三菱集团联合本地企业在红泥山设立化学提炼厂，在锡矿废料中提取稀土原料。但在提炼的过程中，会散发出辐射性的尘埃和气体，而留下可以通过食物、水和空气被人体吸收的辐射性废料。事件造成3名死亡者、8名患上血癌的儿童、5名先天脑残者、孕妇流产等问题。

今天，澳洲 Lynas公司计划在关丹格宾工业区建厂，引起了众多的议论。难道 Lynas选择马来西亚的原因是因为这里人才济济、码头设施一流和水源充足吗？美国公司一开始就没有将博帕尔居民的安危放在心上，他们只是急于为自己的国家减少污染和危险。跨国公司一般都把更危险性的工厂建设在发展中国家，来逃避在国内必须遵守的严厉限制。

My Pre-U life by Danny Wong

You guys may wondering what type of Pre-U that I am taking, I am taking A-level (Advanced level) right now. Somebody may be don't know what is A-level. A-level is a type of Pre-U study. After Pre-U study, you can directly enter the 1st year degree if your Pre-U result is not too poor. A-level is also the same. The recognition of Cambridge international A-level examination is quite high especially recognized by University in UK, USA, Australia, Canada and so on. Cambridge international A-level examination also recognized by a lot of top universities. A-level is also recognized in Malaysia.

You guys may wonder why I choose A-level as my Pre-U study, that's because only A-level is the only way and also has the high opportunity to get what I want. Just let me simply explain what is A-level. We got different type of A-levels, Cambridge A-level is the one that I study right now.  Cambridge A-level is splited into two parts, which are Advanced Subsidiary level (AS level) and A-level (normally we call A2 level). Time interval which is needed to finish A-level is normally one and a half year.

I am taking A-level in science stream at the moment. The subjects that I take right now are Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry and Thinking Skills. You may wonder why I don't take Biology. First of all, I am very regret that I dropped Biology (if you want to know more detail about this, just ask me privately). You all may also wonder, what is thinking skills? Thinking skills it a subject that no need to study at home or no need to memorize anything. Thinking skills has divided into two parts which are Critical thinking and problem solving. Critical thinking just need to solve the problem critically, to become a critical thinker, you must think logically and critically.

"Problem solving" is just like mathematics. But they have very big differences, mathematics solve the problem by using the given formula while "problem solving" cannot solve the problem by using mathematics' formula, otherwise you will die in the examination. Your logic thinking must be very strong and you have to construct or derive a new formula yourself to solve the question. Besides, your English must be very strong in order to understand those "deep" words. Right now, thinking skills is the hardest subject I ever seen, because my English is very poor. Now I can go through Thinking skills in order to improve my English. For those who want to become a lawyer, your thinking skills must be very strong.

For Physics, Mathematics and Chemistry, I think you guys know them already. The only change of those subjects is becoming much more complicated than SPM or equivalent. For AS level, those subjects do not have much different, Chemistry is the exception. Chemistry has a very big gap between SPM and A-level. But don't worry, not that hard actually, you have to learn more detail things only. You may wonder how about A2 level? A2 level is much harder and harder than AS level, therefore must do a lot of works on A2 level. Final result is according to AS level's 50% and A2 level's 50% that add up together, and hence for AS, you must work very hard in order get a good result to counterbalance your A2 result, otherwise you will suffer on A2 level. By the way, Thinking skills is in AS level only, A2 does not have it because it is too hard, and do not have the lecturer to teach, so it becomes an optional subject. Since A2 does not need Thinking skill already, therefore my A2 just left 3 subjects (not including biology). So you can be more focusing on the rest of those subjects.

Let's talk about my college, Riam Institute of Technology (Riam Tech). Riam Tech is just beside Riam Road Secondary School (RRSS). The area is smaller than what I have expected but everything is inside there. All classrooms are air-conditioned even the canteen. Food at the canteen is not bad actually, but after a long time of consuming those food, you would feel a little bit "disgusting" too. Therefore, I always go outside the school for my meals because there are better food and a variety of choices to choose from.

So, that's the summary of my A-level. Now I am going to talk about my study life. It is better than my life in SPM I think. I become more hardworking and more mature since I have started my Pre-U life. I think the main reason is because I am getting older and older. Unlike the childhood and secondary school period, I always play computer games. During my Pre-U study, I learn about how to manage my time and schedule. It is important because nobody manage it for you and YOU yourself have to manage it properly.

I stay with my landlords which are two old people. Including me, there are 3 people staying in one house. Even though my room is not that big, it is enough for 2 people to sleep! My landlords are very kind to me. They always buy me or give me something to eat. I am so lucky to stay with them because the rent fee is cheaper than someone could expect and they treat me very nice.

Last thing, once you have chosen the road, then don't be regret. Think positive, otherwise you will find it very hard to survive. I think that's the end of it, actually nothing more to write about, I just write about what I know, and hopefully this can be an useful info or good reference for those who want to further study in A-level.

P/S : Sorry for my grammar mistake, and my vocabulary is very weak. I actually want to use Chinese to write my essay, but, I have to improve my English skill in order to get a good result in IELTS (International English Language Testing System).
                                             
  Danny Wong.
 2/12/2011

知识水平的凭证～学术水平与资格

一直以来，有不少学生询问有关升学的事，很多学生不太了解有关教育方面的资格和持有这些毕业证书的出路有哪些。
以下是一般教育制度中的各种教育资格和相应的价值，是根据一般情况将各种教育资格依序排列：

1/ 证书水平 Certificate Level

证书是在完成短期课程后所颁发的证明书。课程的修习时间可从短至数小时，也可能长达一或两年。这类课程通常是为了让学生学习某种特定的技能或知识，毕业后能执行某种特定的任务。也有一些证书课程主要是着重于提高学生的英文水平或电脑技能。

完成证书课程以后，学生可以选择继续修读大专课程，也可以持证书文凭直接进入职场。一般证书课程的内容都是属于技术范围的任务，所以通称持证书文凭者为“技术人员”(technician)。资深的技术人员被称为“头手”(foreman)。

申请证书课程的基本入学资格是 SPM 一科优等(credit，就是最低达到C)或其他同等资格。不过，不同的学校有各自的入学标准。


2/ 文凭水平 Diploma Level

比证书课程更为完整的半专业训练。文凭课程不但提供工作上所需的一切技术训练，也包括专业知识的学习。国立大学和 Politeknik的文凭课程通常为三年，而私立学院则是从两年至三年不等。

完成文凭课程以后，可以选择继续修读高级文凭课程(Advanced diploma)。对于想修读学士课程的，视不同学府的安排，或可直升第二学年的学习。另一方面，持文凭课程资格也可以直接进入职场。

申请文凭课程的基本入学资格是 SPM 三科优等(credit)或其他同等资格。不过，不同的学校和课程有各自的入学标准。


3/ 学士学位 Bachelor's degree

依照马来西亚的教育制度，只有大学才能颁发学位(degree)。国内有许多提供学士课程的学校其实是与国内或国外的大学合作。

学士课程比起文凭课程，是更加全面的高等教育。课程除了提供专业训练，也要求学生修读社会人文科目，对社会有一定的认识。另外，学士课程注重心智上的发展、培养分析和判断能力以及健全的人格。至于学习时间是介于三年至四年，而一些专业领域如医科则需五年或更长。
完成学士课程以后，可以选择就业，也可以选择继续后学士学习(Post-Graduate Studies)、硕士课程、甚至是博士课程。具有学士资格者，可出任责任较大的职位。雇主一般期望此层次的职员拥有独立作业、解决问题的能力和自动自发的精神。

申请学士课程的基本入学资格是须完成大学先修班 (STPM、大学预科、高中统考、A水平、CPU、SAM、AUSMAT、大学基础班或其他同等水平课程)或相关文凭课程。不过，不同的学校和课程有各自的入学标准。


4/ 后学士学位 Post-Graduate Studies

硕士学位和博士学位是考取学士学位后的延续教育。这些课程是着重于在某特定的领域或课题进行更深入的学习和研究。博士学位以研究为主，所以博士班的学生也被称为“研究生”。

硕士、博士学位的持有者被视为某个领域的专家。他们的学术水平，足以让他们出任高度专业的任务，也可出任大专学府里的教职或学术工作。

硕士课程的基本入学资格是拥有受承认的学士学位，主修理工者必须具有相关学士学位为基础，而主修文商者则不一定需要相关学士学位。另外，一些文商科硕士课程直接录取拥有充足的相关经验者。博士课程的基本入学资格是拥有受承认的硕士学位。此外，在学士课程考取优异成绩的学生可以申请直接修读博士课程。不过，不同的大专和课程有各自的入学标准。

对这些有兴趣？

【通往大学的key～大学先修班】，请按：http://smarter-tuition.blogspot.com/2012/03/key.html

【师范学院Institute Pendidikan Guru】，请按：http://smarter-tuition.blogspot.com/2012/03/institut-pendidikan-guru.html

【Politeknik工艺学院】，请按：http://smarter-tuition.blogspot.com/2012/03/politeknik.html

【海青班】，http://smarter-tuition.blogspot.com/2012/12/blog-post_30.html

塔地铁玩遍上海 （1）

近来，一些朋友向我说道，随旅行团到中国上海那一带去，在上海挺多逗留个2、3天就匆匆的到下一个城市去了。他们见我去了两次上海，就询问起背包式的自助旅行路线要怎么跑？就地铁吧～ 是的，乘塔地铁就足以在上海畅行无阻了！可是，有什么便宜机票是去上海的呢？目前，Airasia提供航班到杭州去，然后再坐大巴或动车（时速最快490 km/hr）到上海去，所以绝对是没有问题的，我买过从美里出发到KL，转机到杭州去，来回机票是RM1000而已。

塔地铁对于老年人来说会是一项负担，建议老一辈的还是随旅行团较好。自助旅行路线较适合年轻一代，尤其是背包一族，不过体力方面可是要加强了才去哦～

先谈谈上海：位于长江和黄浦江的交汇处。上海是中国第一大城市，世界第10大城市，人口超过两千万（和整个马来西亚的人口差不多了）。在上海使用普通话（我们称华语）是没有问题的，和马来西亚也没有时差。对于气候方面，全年平均气温约16度，四季分明，夏天最高可达35度以上，冬天最低大概在0度，但少有下雪，所以建议在10月底至11月初期间到上海游玩。钱币汇率：460～500马币可换1000人民币（视市场利率走向）。除了农历新年，每年最大的假期为5月与10月的第一周，或称“五一黄金周”和“十一黄金周”，避免在这些时段来上海，届时各景点的人数之众多，对于生活在马来西亚的我们来说绝对是很“恐怖”的！

去中国自助旅行，一定要带够钱，我是指人民币，因为那里的银行是不收马币的，除了美金。别以为带我们的银行卡去有“PLUS”标志就没有问题，因为中国的ATM是不一定能接受我们的银行卡！从马来西亚带过去的手机，可以换上中国的Sim card直接使用，而街边的摊位上都有贩售。要注意的一点：一般使用中国的Sim card是不能打电话回马来西亚的，但可以发SMS回来，假设对方的电话号码是016 888 8888，那就发至 +6016 888 8888。想在中国打长途电话回来？可以在摊位处询问打国际的长途卡，类似我们的iTalk卡，注意：长途卡只能在上海和周边城市使用，假设你已来到了另外一个省，那这张长途卡可能就无法使用了！另外一提的是，假设你的中国Sim card号码是021 8888 8888，从马来西亚这里打电话或发SMS给你分别是 0086 21 8888 8888以及 +86 21 8888 8888。

上海的治安情况良好，基本上无需担心。要特别注意的是扒手，特别是在人多的地方。在上海，背包要背在前面，要不然可能在人多的地方被“拉包”。上海的公共厕所，卫生条件都在水准之上（比起中国其他城市而言），可以在餐饮店、百货商场找到厕所。一些路段有收费的公共厕所，也有“投币”厕所，通常投币式厕所是计时的，3分钟后门会自动打开！注意：上海地铁站没有提供厕所服务。

上海饮食可说是包罗万象，口味与我们的相似，但偏甜。路上你会看到很多“兰州拉面”店，那是中国的Muslim开的，所以别进去说要吃babi！另外，路上也会看到很多“沙县小吃”店，嗬嗬，可别错过了，真的是便宜又好吃啊！

在中国，Taxi叫“出租车”，坐Taxi叫“打的”（念：打低）。在上海“打的”的价格不贵，可以使用『一卡通』来还钱。下车时，记得要“发票”（就是receipt），如果怀疑绕路了，可以凭着发票来申述。

发票

地铁是上海最方便的交通工具，目前有10条线投入营运。注意：上海地铁不是24小时运行的！在地铁站购票，必须使用自动售票机，如果零钱不够，可以到服务处去换硬币。在自动售票机，只能购买一票通，就是单程票，单次使用。可以考虑到服务处购买『一卡通』或『一日通』。『一卡通』是可以多次加值使用的，也可在Taxi和Bus上使用；『一日通』，是在一天内可以无限次使用地铁的单日票。

如果你要从上海出发到另一座城市去，可以塔乘火车，而档次可分为：硬座、软座、硬卧、软卧。火车类型则有：
Z ～ 直达特快列车
T ～ 特快列车
D ～ 动车
K ～ 快速列车
Y ～ 旅游列车
没有字母 ～ 普通列车

动车

建议你塔乘动车到上海的周边城市去。一方面是省时，另一方面是塔乘动车比较舒服。
紧急电话：
公安（警察）～ 110
救护 ～ 120
火警（消防）～ 119
电话号码查询 ～ 114

去中国之前，一定要先办理好签证（visa）。如果你现在身在KL、古晋或汶莱，你可以直接到中国大使馆去办理，手续简单，要求照片和复印文件。如果要图个方便，可以询问旅行社，大概花RM80至RM100就能为你办好（别忘了货比三家），时间大概需要一星期至十天不等，视旅行社而定。

下一期：塔地铁玩遍上海地标～

渔夫的幸福

一个渔夫躺在沙滩上晒太阳，这时一个富翁来到海边游玩。路过渔夫身边时，富翁就问渔夫：“天气这么好，你为什么不下海捕鱼呢？”
渔夫一边躺着一边说道：“我今天已经捕了一船了。”
富翁说道：“那你为什么不再捕一船呢？”
“为什么再捕一船，我今天捕的已经够维持家用了。”
富翁说道：“你可以多卖钱换条大船呀。”
“换条大船干什么？”
“可以捕更多的鱼，卖更多的钱，换更先进的船。那时候你可以雇人捕鱼了。”
“那么我干什么？”
富翁说道：“你可以坐在海边晒晒太阳。”
渔夫理直气壮地说道：“你看我现在在干什么呢，我现在就在晒太阳呀！”

Diary of Life in Korea 2011

My name is Owen McCaffrey and I have lived here in South Korea since September last year. I work as an English teacher in a University in a city in the southern part of the country called Jeonju city and my university's name is Chonbuk National University. I must clarify that although I came here in September last year, which means I have been here for just over one year so far, I have actually been to South Korea twice before: in 2000 and in 2005. Both of those previous times however I only stayed for short periods of time: in 2000 for 8 months, and in 2005 for just 6 months. Both of those times I came to teach English as a second language (ESL).

This time I have also come to South Korea to teach ESL however this time I intend to stay here for a long time and if possible make my home here. So what is different? Well, for one thing I am older: in 2000 when I came here I was just 19 years old and I was a university student, in 2005 I was 25 years old but this time I was 29 when I set foot in Korea. Older means more mature and wiser. I have had time over the last ten years to learn and experience many things in New Zealand and South Korea - good and bad experiences - which have helped me to decide what I want for my future. Now at 30 I know more about what I can and cannot do. For example, I tried ESL teaching when I was 19 and 25 and I enjoyed it but I had a difficult time living in South Korea. I also struggled at the job. So I thought that if I ever decided to do that job again I need to make my social life in Korea better and learn how to become a professional teacher. Also, in New Zealand I experienced other jobs such as accounting and banking and working on farms and in shops. After all of the jobs I decided that I like teaching most. So at the age of 27, I entered graduate school and trained to become an ESL teacher.

So that is why this time in South Korea might be different for me. Not just because I am older and more experienced but because I prepared myself and I purposefully chose this path for my life. I hope I can make a good life for myself here.

I will write another diary entry for you soon to tell you more about what I have been doing here recently including making friends, teaching, playing rugby, travelling, skiing, dancing, dating... It is pretty exciting! See you soon!


Owen McCaffrey