Group12 - Animal Adoptions

Group12's theme is about animal adoptions. I like this video very much, especially the pattern, which a little dog on hands, and the last one background music, which made me feel hopeful. In Taiwan, many people like to keep pets, but they always free those pets when they are tired of it. Then the 'free' pets will be caught and get mercy killing. I think this video can convince people to adopt those poor pets.

Group11 - Handicapped Help

Handicapped help is group11's topic. They really did a good job. The pictures and video, all the materials were made by them. They shoot the pictures in school, presenting that there were still some problems of handicapped help in our school. I really want to know where did they find the wheelchair! By the way, the background music was good, too. Plus, they put the posters in the end to replace putting the connection, this idea was special and good.

Group10 - Carpooling

Link to video: http://iam-leaf.blogspot.com/2009/06/we-are-group-10.html

Our group's theme is about carpooling. As our slogan, we think carpooling is a good way for everybody to save time and money. Our project was not very good, Aiden pointed out some problems. The voice was too soft. It could not be heard clearly with the background music. Also, in the end, the connection between the two backbround was not be made perfectly. We should use fade in or fade out. In poster part, there are some defects of the slogan. '...stock in the traffic'. It should be '...stuck in the traffic'. The other one was a grammar mistake. We should say 'With carpooling, YOU share cars, save time'. In my opinion, I like the music we chose, and our posters very much. With Aiden's suggestions, I think we can improve in next projects.

Group9 - Vandalism

Group9's topic is vandalism. I like they pointed out the main problem straight in the beginning. They used many vandalism pictures, and each picture is a strong warning. I like the pictures they used because those pictures show a real situation which connects to our society. However, the voice in some parts were not loud enough, it sounded a little strange. In posters side, I think their slogan was a little hard to know what they wanted to explain. It needed some inmagination to figure out the theme.

Group8 - Sportsmanship

Group8's topic is sportsmanship. I like the way they presented this video, esecially the part after the sportsmen's fight. They used the rewind part, I love the effect, and it shows that we do not need to fight at first. Their slogan also shows we have to respect one another with sportsmanship. In poster side, their design was simple but straight, and this was a good presentation.

Group7 - Animal Abuse

Animal abuse is group7's topic. They used a lot of terrible pictures to show how cruel the animals were treated. I was shocked when I saw a picture, and the dog was killed in a horrible way. I felt painful during watching this video. I like their slogan 'Amuse them better abuse them'. They used the words 'amuse' and 'abuse'. The spelling of the two words are a little different, but the meanings are totally diffenent. This is a great idea. However, the words of the connections were too small in the video. In poster side, every picture was well selected and the slogans were good. If they could erase the word 'recently', I think that would be better.

Group6 - Exercise

http://www.archive.org/details/PSA-Exercising_227

Poster1 : https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimttTWFdd3EXhEkaAQqrt5Oa8gSzwK9tSaCzQlxWKpLF1RHWrI5CzX1lGzwerkHVDXu69k2Zj35MHYj-3nd5GyVTfU2Z_lA7OAqwUqUhhJBBPJl0LCJdUH1Fpc-gcv9S3HNfVwBq5Yph7d/s1600-h/14-2.jpg
Poster2 : https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH1v918Hw12qbhYLXAm5Pt8DBh75M9Iu5mQ3yPWeBqCukOrAqM7yHDY9kWkWzZSOL7Rood-Vl4LQ2mPiUSqUHOn2cS2hp17AXQvkgQVCqNQyz634GA7rQpB39tNpI7yhh4Oo6ZPJ5UWkaU/s1600-h/13-2.jpg

Exercise is group6's topic, finally, there was a positive ad. I like the music they chose, it was very cheerful. When you hear it, you really want to move, and that is fit for exercise. They use many sport pictures to attract audience, to show the advantages of exercise. On poster side, I like their slogan. It is powerful, and can let people feel the positive side. Also, the pictures of two posters can show the passions of exercise.

Group5 - Child Abuse

Poster1 : https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4RkjB3vPfsRwCp0qf5rHRzJBR4bD4gbFeeA4w_g1Qw3a7kEn5VQGtX78_jUCv6F1F36ig_E4IDGVRfTQjIxxy7nzzEtqK-I7T9O3lN8zZu9oDmNK455EgwFV1gCKa9e9KBSnq255UZI0/s1600-h/ad1.jpg
Poster2 : https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiilDlkonUsn0PhPgliGA4vc1U5-nTIR13T_28gCAp0m7q7fkGLcNvLi3B7BDmId7WF3ABT7Smbd7DrJOM8TTGBxkq-hNZU-DnZ3YR-IhyphenhyphenNeMJklFr3d57Jp0OY8Rdzz6y22UVMTyVHYnc/s1600-h/ad2.jpg
Storyboard : http://docs.google.com/View?revision=_latest&docid=dfn94p2_0g2sxzdg7&hl=en

Group5's topic is 'child abuse'. I think group5 did a good job. Their pictures were well chosen, and they appealed people what a child needs is complete family and love, they also offered the connections, I like the procedure they did. Plus, their posters are great! The slogan are fit for the theme, and the using of effects are pretty good.

Group 4 - Pet Care

Poster1 : https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_XeJa3qHnTxXbjJjl1dx8EblKzVhCyAStMmJBfHFInMOOzpU1n3-mnTWL8hQzRD6D9P2kxhwMUhwD3pHzVi94JvEF9fvilK-LiPBxKGaXpoLu1hzr8zphXV4qqw4_pKuh4NQWU6hkvfA/s1600-h/完美海å
Poster2 : https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqEyaWcM20CtMiD1tPcmXHagJ9mwnx0dwnL6eWn1a9Z0CXkB_2ak9lPwibInciqMtzhJIL1mhIX9-FBRlbqRpS5TgQH9VAJl4E5XlTEQMq6Ch5IY8aFntj1BT2kGcG1vgv59rRkAFH34Q/s1600-h/pet+careæµ·å

Pet care is group4's topic. I very love their story in the video, it guides people to know what they want to say. And the pictures they choose are good, too. The pets are very very cute! The slogan 'He is not your toy, he's your family' is fit for the theme. However, they did not post the connection of the organization. Their posters are good, but subhead seems too be a little too many words. Anyway the pictures are well chosen.

Group 3 - Littering

See posters: http://vincent520-wahaha.blogspot.com/2009/06/httpwww.html

Littering is the theme of group3. I think their video is good, they appeal us not to throw garbage randomly to anywhere. We need to protect the environment for animals. And they offer the connections of the organization, that's good. However, they do not need to post the resource websites on the video, they can put it at other document. Plus, their poster are good, the slogan can match to the theme,too.

Group 2 - Homeless

Homeless is group2's theme. I think they can add more effect to let people aware of those words, like in 2007.......to 2008......., I think they do not need to type all the words on the video. In their video, they said "the government should ...." However they did not note who want the government to do this, who did this video. Moreover, I think their posters are not well done, especially they did not note which organization it was.

Group 1 - Teenage Suicide

The theme of group1's topic is 'teenage suicide'. This is a society problem nowadays and they also pointed out the question: Can suicide really ease your pain? They used many pictures and matched well. I love the poem they offered, I think that really can let us think more if we want to commit suicide. Plus, the slogan of the posters are good, and related to the video's theme.

Pixton: The Lover

One day, Mark's lover was gone, and he asked the God for help. When the God was telling him the method to find his love, Mark suddenly ran forward. Why? Well, he finally found his 'lover'!

Susan Boyle Webquest

Susan Boyle, who comes from a village in Blackburn, West Lothian, Scotland. On 11 April 2009, when she was 47 years old, she attended the third series of 'Britain's Got Talent', a British TV show that searches for talented people. When she was on the stage at the first audition, all the audiences, even the judges thought: "Can she sings well? " because of her unpolished appearance. She did not has a slender shape and pretty dress, she has bushy eyebrows and frizzy hair, well, she was not a charming woman. However, after she sang, she got a standing ovation. Every one were surprised by her beautiful voice ....See Susan Boyle's first round audition

After Susan's first show was posted on the youtube, it has been over 67,000,000 people that viewed the video. That was an amazing number! She broke the record of Paul Potts (the champion of first series). She became famous by 'I dreamed a dream' , the song from Les Misérables ( a novel by French author, Victor Hugo, and has been performed as opera), and she also sang other songs like 'Cry me a river' , 'Killing me softly' and 'Memory' from Cats, the song which was sung by her idol, Elaine Page (a famous British singer who has performed many operas, and always be the prima role).

Because of Susan Boyle became more and more popular, she was interviewed by ABC News, STV (Scottish Television), CBS, BBC, and NBC, she even interviewed by the American talk show host, Larry King Click here . Moreover, there were many media has reported Susan's story in Taiwan, of course, those news all said Susan Boyle was a miracle, and has a pretty, touching voice. Susan also has some famous fans like the actress Demi Moore. Demi Moore said that she was cring when she saw Susan sing 'I dreamed a dream'. Plus, I found a poem video for Susan on youtube, and it was written by John (musound). Click here

Susan Boyle is a downtown woman, she lives with her beloved cat with a humdrum life in a small village. However, with the popularity, Susan Boyle started to change her appearance to be more beautiful, and more attractive. She wore make-up and her dressing became fashionable as well. Some people hope that Susan could keep her original appearance, but some people like her new change. For me, I like the expression Susan gave me in the beginning so I hope she could be herself. She did not need to change her outside look because of others' judgements. But, no matter what appearance she is, I believe that her attitude is always the same.

By the way, there are many famous singers come from 'Britain's Got Talent'. For example, Paul Potts. He was a common mobile phone seller until he won the championship at 'Britain's Got Talent' in 2007. He became very famous all over the world and published his albums. He even had the honour to perform at the Royal Variety Performance in front of Queen Elizabeth II.

See Paul Potts' first audition

The other one is the cute child singer, Connie Talbot. She is one of my favorite singer. (I bought her albums! >0< ) She was only 6 years old when she attended the audition, and she was in the same series with Paul Potts and she won the second place in the competition. She and Paul are very popular after they attended the show. Connie also came to Taiwan to publicize her first album 'Over The Rainbow' in 2008.

Obamamania

It's been described by its publishers as a huge hit in Japan - a compilation of the speeches of Barak Obama has sold well over 400.000 copies, and students at an English class in Tokyo are even memorising the new President's words to improve their own pronunciation and understanding.

Barak Obama's message of change has been well received in Japan where politics is often characterised by grey figrres and backroom deals. The clear language of the speeches makes them an obvious choice for teaching material. But the new President's words are said to hold particular appeal.

And so, in shops across Japan the face of the new American President is a fixture on the bookshelves, as well as on the nesstands. And for students, the question of whether they'll succeed in improving their English can be answered - 'Yes we can'.



1. a huge hit → it means sth. popular, sth. happended successfully
e.g: IPod has been a huge hit in recent years.

2. a compilation → it means sth. was compiled, gathered together
e.g: This book is a compilation of poetry.

3. addressing → it means to announce a speech to the public
e.g: Sarah is going to address the meeting in this afternoon.

4. convention → it means a meeting or convocation, an event that lots of people attend
e.g: I need to attend the convention at 3 p.m.

5. grey figures → it means the money that no one knows where it is
e.g: Does he really know where the grey figures is?

6. backroom deals → it means that do sth. secretly
e.g: He won the game by the backroom deals.

7. to hold particular appeal → to support a special event
e.g: The councilor did a lot of thing to hold particular appeal.

8. perseverance → keep working hard, never give up
e.g: Laura won the dancing championship because of her perseverance.

Group 5 Self-evaluation

The topic of our group is talking about 'does being slender stand for beauty'? Well, I think our topic issue is good, and it is really happened around us. Nowadays, people, especially young girls, all want to be as thin as models. However, being to slender will hurt your health, and it does not mean beauty, just like what we mentioned in the video.

We decided our topic at the second meeting, and we also distributed everyone's job. We tried to let everyone can finish the job singly because it was difficult to match up with semester sister's time. We searched a lot of information that can support to our topic. We had thought that there must be lots of videos about our topic on the Internet, however, we wrong. Tara (was in charge of finding video) got in trouble finding the videos. She only could find a relative news on the youtube. Fortunately, it was pretty fit to our issue.

In order to show our idea, we shot a video. We bought lots of food and we were very full up on that day (XD). We needed to notice our gestures, tones and memorize the scripts. Semester sister worked hard on this because her scripts were a lot! Sometimes she laughed during the shoot, it was very funny! By the way, it was a pity that we could not share the NG parts to the classmates.

After we all got the information, one of us need to gather these information together. The finished video was not pretty good. Therefore, there were some problems we have to improve. First, the volume of the video was not loud equally. Some parts were not loud enough, other parts were too aloud. Plus, when it went to the part we explain how slender does not mean beauty and it showed some very slim models' pictures, it was too monotonic. We should use more relative photos and add some background music to make the video more vivid.

Though our video has some defects, we have tried our best to do it. I really learned some experience from this project.

A Picture's Worth

This photo was taken by one of my junior high school teacher's daughter. We had a class reunion on Feb. 1, 2008. We had not met one another for almost one year. Last class reunion, we were still senior high school students, but now we are college students. Most of us were changed, the shape, the dressing style..., and so on, but there was one thing that would never change: our good friendships!

When we were junior high school classmates, we studied, played, joined the competitions and races, did a lot of things together. We were all happy at that time, though we shared the tears sometimes. We were good friends. We all had a nickname to one another, and so did our teachers. We also had good relationships with all of our teachers, we can even played a trick on one another! It was really a joyful time.

On Feb. 1, 2008, we got together. However, some of my classmates could not join this reunion, it was a pity! We went to a hot pot restaurant to have lunch. We ate and chat a lot, we also played a "traditional game." We played a game like "paper, scissors, rock," the person who lost the game supposed to be punished. The punishment was very ... disgusting! The loser should drink the hot soup which was composed by many people's different food and drinks! Oh! It was really yuck, but it was our "tradition." God bless the person!

After the impress lunch, some of us went to my classmate, Da Shiue's home. We made some cookies by ourselves and bake them. The cookies were delicious, and it was a special experience to bake cookies. We also drank the milk tea that made by Da Shiue. He was good at cooking, and his dream was to be a cook! In the end of the reunion, we took this picture at Da Shiue's home. I would miss those guys after this reunion again. I did expect for the next reunion.

No matter what we be in the future, we will keep in touch with one another and have reunions. Maybe the reunions would be decreased, but we still can communicate by convenient tools. I hope those people who haven't kept in touch with the past good classmates could try to get into contact with the classmates. The memories in school were unforgettable, we should remember the wonderful times and cherish the friendships with our friends.

A Picture's Worth - Childhood Past

http://1000words.net/99-childhood-past

1.When was this photo taken?
May 22, 1978.

2.Who took the photo?
It was not mentioned. It may be a photographer or a passerby.

3.Where was this photo taken?
Phillipines.

4.Why was this photo taken?
It was the Henry's mother's birthday, they might celebrate.

5.Why is this photo meaningful for the writer?
This was the only one picture he had after their house in Phillipines burned down.

6.What is the story behind this photo?
Though he and his other two siblings (not including Mercy) were a family, he was not familiar to them. This was the only one photo of his childhood that he had. He cannot refresh his childhood memories by the photographs he lost. He was sad about that.

7.Who are the character in the story?
The writer, Henry, and his father, mother, and his elder sister, Mercy, and the other two siblings.

8.Where is the setting?
It was in Phillipines.

9.What are the series of Events?
Why they took this picture → relations with his family → the fire accident and the only one survived photo → the importances of keeping photographs

10.What is the 'tension' generated in the story?
The fire accident of their house in Phillipines.

11.What is the climax in the story?
Most of the things they had were gone, and the photo was the only one they had after the house burned down.

12.What is the resolution?
He treasured the only one photo very much.

13.What is the message behind the story?
We should keep our photographs carefully. It is important for us because it can refresh the memories that happened in the past and why we take the pictures.

Poetry - "M-O-T-H-E-R"

Hello everyone. I am Angela, today, I'm going to share a poetry with you. It's written by Howard Johnson.


M-O-T-H-E-R by Howard Johnson

"M" is for the million things she gave me,
"O" means only that she's growing old,
"T" is for the tears she shed to save me,
"H" is for her heart of purest gold,
"E" is for her eyes, with love-light shining,
"R" means right, and right she'll always be,
Put them all together, they spell "MOTHER,"
A word that means the world to me.

Why I choose this poetry is because I think "mother" is important to me, and I'm wanna thank her by this poetry. When mothers gave birth to us, they felt painful. Mothers raise us up, mothers take care of us. They teach us, protect us, and love us. When we are sick, sad, and happy, mothers always accompany us. I hope the children who take mothers' love for granted could understand mothers' toils. I love my mom very much, and how about you? Have you said "I love you" to your mom today yet? Just go and say it, and hug her tightly.

My Fake Biography

Hi~everybody! My appearance looks like a normal people. But...I have a big secret... I am a WITCH! Frankly, I have lived in this world for a long long time.... I experienced a lot of things....you may know these things, but you do NOT know that I was in those events!

You know, the great wizard Merlin, who helped the King Arthur, is my best friend. Look at this photo, in order to help him, the people at that time wanted to catch me! Hahaha, I am a WITCH, how could they catch me? Using fire to kill me? Ha! By the way, I am not a wizard, foolish people!

I adventured with Peter Pan, at that time, my name was Tinker Bell. We fought against the Captain Hook and other bad guys. I also made friends with Wendy and lost children. Many people knew this story, and Disney even shot it to be a film.

Sometime, I go to the Minimoys' world to have a tea with the princess, Selenia, she is my friend, too. I also met a cute guy, Arthur, he likes Selenia very much. Hahaha!

Yaya~I voyaged with the captain, Jack Sparrow!! That was a funny, exciting and dangerous voyage! Nice!!

Oh~see!! These two kitties are so cute! I'm wanna hug them tightly!!! Cats are witches' good companions. When they saw me on TV, they knew that I was a witch, so they kept staring at me and sitting there. However, their master just thought that her kitties knew how to watch TV. Ha!

About a few years ago, I acted in an American cable television series, Sex in the City. This was an famous series in America. Therefore, I became a celebrity.

Because of the series, the famous designer, Giorgio Armani, he invited me to be the spokesman of their company! I was happy to do this!

The fashion magazine, Glamour, also invited me to be shot for the cover of the magazine.

Now, I live with my best partner, Garfield. She is my favorite kitty. She is famous, too. she acted some movies and many children loved her. I am so lucky to meet her, and we are happy everyday!

Tell your story

Interviewer : Angela
Interviewee : Tara

"The fair-weather friend is different from the real friend....."

Listen to an American Story

How to tell if someone likes you

Love is in the air

VOCABULARY POWER
Vocabulary
Martyred : (V.) to kill somebody because of their religious or political beliefs

Recorded : (V.) to write sth down to keep the evidence

Imprisoned : (V.) to put sb in the prison

Solace : (V.) to comfort sb who is sad or unhappy

Confinement : (n.) the state of being confined

Equivalent : (n.) a thing, amount, word , ect, that is the same

Customary : (adj.) people usually do in a particular place or situation

Commiserate with : (V. ) to show the sympathy for sb who is upset

E-cards : (n.) electronic cards are used on the Internet

Wary : (adj.) being careful when dealing with sb or sth

Viruses : (n.) instructions that are hidden within a computer program and are designed to cause faults or destroy data

Spyware : (n.) a computer software that is installed surreptitiously on a personal computer to intercept or take partial control over the user's interaction with the computer, without the user's informed consent

Warrant : (n.) a legal document that is signed by a judge and gives the police authority to do sth

Idiomatic Phrases

public displays of affection: showing the feelings of liking or love to sb in public

forked out: forced to spend a lot of money on sth

hidden in the mists of time: something is too old for anyone to remember

sought solace: try to find comfort when sb feels upset

all the rage: something was very popular or fashionable in the past

malicious hackers: someone who tries to steal information from others' computer systems

Group 10 - Taiwan's TV Programs (Socially relevant or pure garbage)

The main message of group 10's issue is about the TV programs in Taiwan. I enjoyed their show very much, I like it. It was not ony interesting but also related to the topic. The voice of the host and the guests were very clear and loud enough. The pacing of the delivery was not too fast. Though they did not use many background music and sound effects, the show was still great. I like they shot part of the film in "The Bird Dad's Shop," it was quite funny, I heard that they taught the shopkeeper for a long time to let him know how to say"What happened?" It was very kind of the shopkeeper that promised to play the role. I also like the part of the film the "King of Adventure" and the way they gave the examples like "Super Idol" and "Have you been a college student."

TV programs are very variety. Some could be useful and good, others could be useless and bad. For example, on socially relevant side, I think the "King of Adventure," "Super Star Avenue" and the "公視表演廳" are good programs. In the "King of Adventure," we can learn a lot of knowledge of foreign countries. Every time I watch this program, I can know more about the life style or culture of a country, and I want to visit the country very much! I also like the" Super Star Avenue" because I can hear some good songs and know stories of the competitors and support to them. This program also let me understand more about how to admire a song. I can watch a lot of art performances on"公視表演廳." It plays ballet or modern dances, the performances of musical groups and operas...etc. I love this programs very much! On purely garbage side, I think the TV programs which are talking about ghosts are unnecessary. It means nothing but scares audiences. For instance, the shows "玫瑰瞳鈴眼" and "藍色蜘蛛網" play the films that someone killed somebody then saw the ghost.... The shows"模範棒棒堂" and "我愛黑澀會" are useless. They play games which has no meaningfulness. I do not know what can I learn form thier games, competitions and meaningless conversation. In my opinion, those programs are purely garbage shows.



1.One part of the"King of Adventure" in Finland
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=kIGLVgBPUNs


2.One of the competitor 梁文音's performance on the "Super Star Avenue"
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=zgmeT3YOP5I


3.One part of the performance of Prokofiev Piano Concerto on "公視表演廳"
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=E2JSNv7w1ZM

4.One part of film of "模範棒棒堂"
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=EKJj6t_TX8o

5.One part of film of "我愛黑澀會"

http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=ttzyeLpllKc

Group 9 - Taiwan News Media (Quality of news reporting)

The news is very necessary for public. We need to know what happen to our country and the world, so the news media is very important. News media in Taiwan is group 9's topic. I think the quality of group 9's podcast was great. The voice of the hosts and guests were clear and loud enough, and the pacing of the delivery was good, not too fast or slow. There were some background music and effects, it was really effective,and there was no noise. The music they used was good, especially the song that when they welcame the doctor, but if they can use the fade effect on the music, it would be better.

Nowadays,there are many kinds of news media,such as newspaper, television news channels and so on. Therefore, they compete intensely with one another in order to exist. This situation caused a new type of journalism - "Yellow journalism." This kind of news always uses scare headlines in huge print to catch audiences' attention. They try everything to get audiences' notice. They love sensationalism and exaggerations. The main messages may not conform to the headlines, even the news may not be reported entirely on fact.
(Know more about it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_journalism)

In my opinion, the news media in Taiwan is tend to yellow journalism. They are too free to report news. In order to present more sensationalized news to the audiences, they will keep on chasing and asking questions to the party concerned. For example, the paparazzi love to trace the entertainers. They always trespass on their secrets and liberty. Sometimes, they just have meals with others (just they two) or the bebavior is closer to other people, they MUST report that they have a amorous affair. They only report what they see, not by the truth. People always be attracted by this headline,like"XXX betray his/her boy/girlfriend, go to do.....with XXX!" Who knows the truth? But people love to read this type of news!

This is an link to one of yellow journalism news that the headline seems to be about amorous affairs, but the real content is about the person's new album.

http://tw.news.yahoo.com/article/url/d/a/090109/78/1cogn.html