Poem Answers 4 Sept 09

1a. What are the persona's feelings described in the first three stanzas of this poem? Explain how the poet described these feelings through the use of alliteration, metaphor and pun.

The persona of the poem feels confused and stressed out. He does not know what to do with his students. His students do not listen to him teach and pays no attention to him, even though he takes time to urge and pull them on. He is vexed at the fact that the students do not try and absorb everything he teaches. This can be inferred from “again on a quarry of knowledge they hate to hunt”.

The poet’s feelings can be shown through alliteration, metaphor and pun in this poem. Some metaphors used in the passage are quarry of knowledge and unruly hounds. These metaphors point to the information that the teacher gives to the students and the student’s attitude towards it. Alliteration gives the expression to the reader that the poet is trying to emphasize on something. The usage of “O” can be said to be alliteration as it appears on almost everything line in the stanza, for example, more, good and threescore. One of the puns found in the poem is quarry of knowledge. The literal meaning of quarry is a place where granite or rocks are blasted from the earth. The teacher in this case, refers to it as the granite being his knowledge, information and notes. The teacher does not like the fact that the students are going to chunk his notes aside and not read them. More puns include fuel of life.

1b. How is the tone of anger in this poem illustrated?

The tone of anger in this poem is illustrated through the choice of words like do not, will not, won’t and don’t. This shows his hatred towards the students. He also insults them with the fact that they do not know how to write a description of a dog. He hopes that their own misdoing will help them change and become a better person. He hates this job and the students that he wants to beat his own head against the wall. Or even better, beat the students head.

News Review

The article I am reviewing is called Cheat gets stiff sentence. It is found at the straits times section of the

About the article
The article is about a con man which cheats people of his money by creating charitable organization and pocketing all the money donated to the company. 3 of his organization were shut down when he was caught by the police. Investigation shows that he not only cheated the public but scammed his parents of their money.

The consequences
The embezzler has been put in jail and has a $70,000 bail out period of over 7 months. His parents and friends are trying to bail him out but they still have a long way to go. Charities Commissioner Mr Low Puk Yeong says that he hopes that this incident would deter people from committing the same mistake.

My feeling about the article
From this article, I feel deeply saddened for the people who got cheated. I could not believe he would cheat his own parents and friends. He should not be given a second chance when he gets released. In conclusion, I would like to say that honestly is the best policy and we should not do evil deeds.

My Favourite Food - Cheese Fries

Cheesy, “mayosey” and with the smell of freshly fried potatoes. My favourite food is… the cheese fries from KFC. Although it is a fast food, it is still enjoyed by many people. The business of KFC has increase throughout the year since cheese fries was introduced by the company.

Cheese fries became an interest to me when my father bought it for me. Since, fast food is unhealthy; I will try and maintain a balanced diet.

The simple ingredient of the KFC cheese fries includes:
 Melted Cheese with spices
 Normal Mayonnaise
 Deep fried potato shaped into fries
 Salt for seasoning
 Spring Onion placed above the fries

Because KFC formulas are always kept secret, literally – They keep their recipes in a vault at a cooperated company in the USA. No one has ever replicated the smell and taste of the KFC cheese fries.

Although I had tried to cook cheese fries, the results were disastrous and I ended up buying the real cheese fries from the nearby KFC.

All in all, the cheese fries of the KFC Company are a galore and I will continue eating it. NO ONE IS STOPPING ME. HAHA.

Home Learning Because of class suspension. English Question 3

3. Why is it important for students to keep up to date with the news? Share some tips on how students can keep up with what is happening around them and around the world.

Students cannot keep up to date with the news when he or she is on MC and requires time to recuperate at home. Because of this, the class is constantly improving whereas the person on MC is lagging behind. The individual is not keeping up with the latest news and thus, he or she would be less knowledge on a certain aspect.
To help the students improve together with the class, here are some tips to help the “lagger”:
 Create a website or use a discussion forum to keep in touch with the individual. Everyone that concerns the individual have to be actively participating.
 Give phone calls to the individual and provide encouraging words or speeches to cheer him/her up.
 Visit him in his home and have dinner with him.
 Visit him and help him with his work
 Help him collect his homework.

Here are the tips I created to help a friend who is lagging.

Home Learning Because of class suspension. English Question 2

2. What are some tips you would offer fellow students to stay healthy?

With the suspension of classes and even schools nowadays, the need for a increase of awareness is important. What do us aware about? Obviously the health of one individual. How can we keep ourselves healthy? If you ask me, the need for exercise is very important and is the most integral part of the whole healthy “chart”. Exercise that will make you sweat is greatly encouraged. For those who dislike exercise, there is a long but tasty way to get fit. Eat lots of food which are high in calcium etc to build up your anti bodies against virus. A saying from the past says that a natural thermometer is your sweat. So if you are having a fever, TRY and only TRY to exercise to sweat a little.

Home Learning Because of class suspension. English Question 1

1. What are your thoughts about home learning? Is it more effective than learning in school?

Home Learning is introduced whenever the school is closing or a class suspension. Teachers can use home learning to teach and assign work for the students to learning and complete, at the comfort of their own home. The home learning project can also allow students to manage their time properly and to train punctuality. Teacher and students alike have to wake up early in the morning to check on each other and complete their given assignments. For teachers, they have to post work and ensure the students complete it. The students on the other hand have to finish the task set. However advance the internet is, the availability of teachers hinders the working progress. Some times, teachers might not be there to check their mail and answer the questions of the students. This will allow the student’s work to cease. I believe the traditional way of teaching, the board and hard copy assignments, are the best way to learn and interact.

My Favourite Poet

James Mercer Langston Hughes is a well-known and well-respected person in America. He was born on the February 1, 1902. And died on the 22nd of May 1967was an established American poet, novelist, playwright, short story writer and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best-known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance
“I had been thinking about my father and his strange dislike of his own people. I didn't understand it, because I was a Negro, and I liked Negroes very much.” This was one of the phrases he said during his childhood. He had a bad father who mistreated and did not understand him. This caused him to try and suicide many times. His father also tried to plan his life by asking him to attend university and studying engineering but instead, he did six different odd jobs and after that went to abroad to study in Lincoln University, a renowned school for blacks.
I feel that he has a very strong will to pursue his own interest in poems and not be influenced by others to study other stuff. His determination is also admired by me. He “survived” through his childhood, enduring all the torture.
These are some poems which I adore:
1) I've known rivers:
I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the
Flow of human blood in human veins.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I danced in the Nile when I was old
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln
Went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy
Bosom turns all golden in the sunset.
I've known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

2) The younger Negro artists who create now intend to express
Our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame.
If white people are pleased we are glad. If they are not,
it doesn't matter. We know we are beautiful. And ugly, too.
The tom-tom cries and the tom-tom laughs. If colored people
Are pleased we are glad. If they are not, their displeasure
Doesn’t matter either. We build our temples for tomorrow,
strong as we know how, and we stand on top of the mountain
Free within ourselves.

3) The night is beautiful,
So the faces of my people.
The stars are beautiful,
So the eyes of my people
Beautiful, also, is the sun.
Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people.

Adapted from Wikipedia