Saturday, November 15, 2008

Hot off the press!!!

Sometimes, I wonder... is life that worthless??? Or did this guy want to create a HUGE bang before he leaves this world??!!! I think I'm more horrified by the fact that a tiger can actually claw/ pound a person to death. I would never have imagined their viciousness, as the only form I have ever witnessed were these, which were caged up in the zoo. So yah, tigers in captivity kills too - it's their natural instinct. I forgot, they are not Alex, the dancing tiger in the New York Zoo in Madagascar, the movie. Anyway, the news had me dumbfounded for a while. Any thoughts from your side?

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The Straits Times
14 November 2008, Friday
Cleaner killed by zoo tigers
By Khushwant Singh

A CLEANER at the Singapore Zoo who jumped into the white tiger enclosure yesterday was killed by the animals as a horrified crowd looked on helplessly.

Malaysian Nordin Montong, 32, was set upon by two of the three big cats in the enclosure at around noon.

According to eyewitnesses, Mr Nordin, who was seen shouting and flinging items about shortly before the incident, vaulted a low wall and landed in a moat in the enclosure, four metres below.
Carrying a yellow pail and a broom, he then crossed the 1.75m-deep moat, walked up to a rocky ledge near where the animals were and began agitating them by swinging the broom.

As two of the tigers approached him, he covered his head with the pail, lay down on the ground, and curled himself into a foetal position, two eyewitnesses, an Australian couple, told police. Their identities were withheld pending investigations.

In a flash, two of the extremely rare white tigers were on him. One took a swipe at him with its paw - which is about the size of a softball glove - and he began screaming in pain, said another eyewitness, Dutch tourist W. R. de Boer.

He said many in the crowd of 30 or so onlookers at the enclosure initially thought the intrusion was part of a show.

But when Mr Nordin began screaming, they reacted with horror.

'Some were screaming: 'Go away' to the tigers and others were shouting to scare the tigers,' he said.

The cries alerted zoo staff, and the alarm was raised.

About 20 keepers arrived within minutes. Some tried to prevent the attack from continuing by throwing brooms and dustbin covers, while the rest ushered the shocked onlookers away.

Also deployed were two zookeepers armed with rifles and live ammunition, but these were not used, said the zoo's assistant director of zoology, Mr Biswajit Guha.

Despite the efforts of the keepers, one tiger continued attacking Mr Nordin for several minutes, the zoo said in a statement yesterday.

It only relented after a door to the tigers' feeding area was opened. The animals retreated to it, leaving the cleaner motionless on the ground.

Once the tigers were in the feeding area, the door separating it from the rest of the enclosure was closed, and keepers were able to reach the cleaner.

It was too late, however. Mr Nordin, who hails from Sarawak, had been bitten on the neck and suffered a fractured skull. He died before police arrived.

His colleagues later told zoo staff that the contract worker, who had been working at the zoo for about 41/2 months, had been behaving strangely minutes before the incident.

He had thrown his cutters and meal coupons about before telling them in Malay: 'Goodbye, you won't be seeing me again.'

He then rode off on his bicycle.

The Australian tourists also said they saw him shouting and throwing some things as he walked by the crocodile exhibit, just 10 minutes from the tiger enclosure.

Yesterday's incident was the first time a person had been killed by an animal at the zoo since it opened in 1973.

Before this, the most serious incident occurred in 2001, when Chawang, a bull elephant, gored his keeper of 18 years, Mr Gopal Krishnan.

The keeper suffered fractured ribs and a punctured lung, and was in hospital for close to two months before he eventually recovered.

The zoo, which had to stop the tram ride and prevent visitors from entering during the incident, said yesterday that it would close the white tiger exhibit temporarily as a precautionary measure. It did not say how long the closure would last.

It said the tigers, which are nine years old and were brought in from Sumatra in 2001, would not be put down as they had acted naturally.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

A word a day.

soiree \swah-RAY\, noun:
an evening party or social gathering

Rose was reminiscing at a soiree I hosted on a recent sultry evening on Chicago's North Side.-- Laura Washington, World still watching -- but now it's a love fest, Chicago Sun-Times, August 10, 2004

The couple will be honoured guests at this week's soiree and the evening's success will matter more to them than anyone.-- Someone is saving your bacon, Daily Telegraph, April 5, 1998

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

A word a day.

resplendent \rih-SPLEN-duhnt\, adjective:

very bright or shining; splendid

A green and gold locomotive, resplendent with nickel-plated cylinder heads and carrying a brass plate reading "The Flying Yankee" at her front, will, some time this week, add to the distinctiveness of the Boston & Maine Railroad's crack, non-stop express as it races through Massachusetts.

-- 'Flying Yankee,' Resplendent in Green and Gold Colors, Ready for Business, Christian Science Monitor, June 29, 1926

All around the Pope glittered the gorgeous papal court, resplendent in a variety of colors.

-- Arnaldo Cortesi, 300,000 Hail Pope at Easter Service, New York Times, April 16, 1929

Queen Elizabeth II, amid the resplendent banners and bejeweled miters of ecclesiastical pageantry, came to Westminster Abbey today on its 900th anniversary and laid a bouquet of red roses at the shrine of its founder, Edward the Confessor.

-- Clyde H. Farnsworth, Queen Honors Westminster Abbey, 900 Years Old, New York Times, December 28, 1961

The Straits Times

Nov 11, 2008
Failed robbery attempt
Man in disguise tried to rob the United Overseas Bank (UOB) branch in City Plaza on Geylang Road, but failed.
By Esther Tan

AT FIRST, bank teller Ow Soon Hock thought he had one of those pesky customers when the woman walked past the queue of waiting people and approached his counter.
He told her to get back in line. But the tudung-clad customer, who had on a coat and gloves, placed a green paper bag on the counter and told him there was a bomb in it.
Despite the lipstick, the voice was clearly that of a man's.
He ordered Mr Ow to fill up a plastic bag with cash in three minutes, or he would activate the bomb with his cellphone.
In the tense 25 minutes which followed yesterday, gutsy staff at the United Overseas Bank (UOB) branch in City Plaza on Geylang Road overpowered the would-be bank robber, and held him down until the police arrived.
A man in his mid-40s was arrested for attempted robbery.
Mr Ow recalled that moment in an otherwise ordinary afternoon: 'He told me: 'Don't be a hero, I'm desperate'.'
The bank's Certis Cisco officer, Mr Rosli Mohamad Sa'ad, 45, came up beside the man, as the small crowd slowly began to realise what was happening.
'I followed him the moment he came in. He looked suspicious wearing a black tudung, black gloves and a long coat,' said Mr Rosli, who has 20 years of experience as a security officer.
Mr Ow, who was barely four months into his job, got up and went to the back room to tell the branch manager what was happening.
'I had to stay calm. If not the other staff might panic and all would be chaos,' said the 46-year-old teller.
While he was gone, the man again warned the security officer not to be a hero.
'We stared at each other, then he showed me his watch and told me one minute had gone by,' said Mr Rosli.
The guard got his chance to act when the man looked away for a moment to fumble with his cellphone.
Mr Rosli hit him on the arm and wrestled him to the ground. Five UOB male employees, including Mr Ow, helped pin him down until the police arrived.
While this was happening, the customers in the bank retreated into a corner to watch.
Outside the bank, security guards were cordoning off the area to secure it.
'While we were holding him down, he shouted that he was in pain and asked us to let go of him,' said Mr Rosli.
The police said they received a call for help at about 3.40pm, and arrived 10 minutes later. They would not disclose the contents of the bag while investigations are going on.
Mr Ow said: 'I didn't fear for my life at that time. Everything happened so fast there was no time to be scared.'
In 2004, there was an attempted robbery on a Maybank branch in Upper Bukit Timah. The suspect was seriously injured after being shot by a Cisco officer but survived.
In 2003, an attempt was made to rob the Hong Leong Finance branch in Holland Drive. The masked robber was nabbed later the same day.

Results

To my students getting your report books tomorrow...

GOOD LUCK PEOPLE!!! Whatever the results, take it in your stride. If you think you have not performed as well as expected, then you have to work harder next year. If you are satisfied with your results, then I definitely happy for you.

Whatever the case, after this week, have a good rest and recharge during the holidays, and get ready to start work next year, because we have a REAL short time frame to work with!!!


cheers
Ms Q

What are most diamonds used for?

Only about 20 percent of diamonds are made into jewels. Because they are so hard, most diamonds are used to make tools such as dental drills and metal cutters.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa

Do you know that watching movies can help improve your English too??!!! Well, you gotta pay attention to what the story is about & understand what the characters are saying, of course.

Anyway, this movie is hilarious and definitely worth you spending your limited allowance on! Go catch Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa soon!!!

Proverbs

God knows where you people learn your proverbs from. But it's definitely not from the EL teachers!!!
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A Singaporean first grade school teacher had twenty-six students in her class. She presented each child in her classroom the first half of a well-known proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb. It's hard to believe these were actually done by first graders. Their insight may surprise you. While reading, keep in mind that these are first graders (6-year-olds) because the last one is a classic!

No First half of proverb Answer of first grader
1 Don't change horses until they stop running.
2 Strike while the bug is close.
3 It's always darkest before Daylight Saving Time.
4 Never underestimate the power of termites.
5 You can lead a horse to water but how?
6 Don't bite the hand that looks dirty.
7 No news is impossible.
8 A miss is as good as a Mr.
9 You can't teach an old dog new math.
10 If you lie down with dogs, you'll stink in the morning.
11 Love all, trust me.
12 The pen is mightier than the pigs.
13 An idle mind is the best way to relax.
14 Where there's smoke there's pollution.
15 Happy the bride who gets all the presents.
16 A penny saved is not much.
17 Two's company, three's the Musketeers.
18 Don't put off till tomorrow what you put on to go to bed.
19 Laugh and the whole world you have to blow your nose.
laughs with you, cry and
20 There are none so blind as Stevie Wonder.
21 Children should be seen and not spanked or grounded.
22 If at first you don't succeed get new batteries.
23 You get out of something see in the picture on the box.
only what you
24 When the blind lead the blind get out of the way.
25 A bird in the hand is going to poop on you.
26 Better late than pregnant.

A word a day.

intimation \in-tuh-MAY-shuhn\, noun:
an indirect or slight suggestion; hint

She had always had an intimation of her destiny: all her senses would go on the alert, as if bracing her for a blow-a terrible, crushing, powerful blow-of luck, whether good or bad.-- Nina Berberova, Cape of Storms (translated by Marian Schwartz)

As it drew nearer he recognized it as a police car and some intimation of drama touched him, the prelude to some story, and he seated himself to watch.-- William Gay, The Long Home

Jake Hersh, like Mordecai Richler himself a Canadian, is a television and film director living in London and struggling against that awful time in life when possibilities suddenly close and a dire intimation of finality sets in.-- Jonathan Yardley, review of St. Urbain's Horseman, by Mordecai Richler, New York Times, June 26, 1967

Sunday, November 9, 2008

A word a day.

olfactory \ol-FAK-tuh-ree; -tree; ohl-\, adjective:
of smell; having to do with smelling

What stirred this olfactory reminiscence was the confession of a Philadelphia newsman that the situation in his home town was "stinking."-- Stinking, Time, October 26, 1937

Mr. Lichter's visitor inhaled the rich sour aroma of the establishement and remarked upon its olfactory munificence.-- Richard F. Shepard, Pickles, Peppers and Other Puckery Palate-Pleasers, New York Times, March 30, 1971