Search the Website(journal 2)

When searching the website of the owl at purdue, I get much information of writing skills. I can find many kind of writing ways in the website so that it’s a good way to improve my composition when using it. Even, it introduce the grammar and mechanics because I often make a mistake there. I am glad to discover the website how great is. If I work hard, I believe I can be better in writing. The more I practice, the better I am.

Introduce Myself(journal 1)

Hello, my name is Tracy. I come from PingTung. I study in the second year of the culture university. My major is English so I must work hard in speaking, listeniting, reading and writing. My hobby is playing basketball and listening to pop music and making friends. I have been a college student for one year. I hope the second year I will improve my English ability and become better gradually. I want to let myself feel different. After all, I am a college student so that I need to decide what the life I want to lead.

A Blessing of Bags and Bears

More than 35,000 foster children have found hope and encouragement, thanks to the kindness of one teenage girl.

Fourteen-year-old Makenzie Snyder gives duffel bags and teddy bears to foster children in America. These children have few possessions and are often shuffled between temporary homes. Makenzie also includes a personal note with each bag to encourage the kids.

When she was 7 years old, Makenzie met two foster children who kept all their belongings in a trash bag. This experience inspired her to start colletcing stuffed animals and duffel bags to send to foster children.

In 1998, Makenzie founded the organization Children to Children with the help of her older brother and parents. She soon received a $15,000 grant and raised over $50,0000 in other donations. She then created a Web site and set up an office for her organization. Money, bags, and teddy bears have been pouring in ever since.

Makenzie's story has inspired thousands of people. She's even collcted donations of stuffed animals from famous personalities like former President Bill Cliton and Oprah Winfrey.

Makenize's organization makes it easy for anyone to help. People can send donations directly to Makenzie. Or they can collect the bags and stuffed animals themselves. They can then contact their local social services office, which will distribute the donations to foster kids.

Over 530,000 children in America live in foster care. Makenzie hopes to send a duffle bag and stuffed animal to every single one of them. She often receives feedback on her Web site from other kids who want to help,too.

"You have a great heart" one young fan recently wrote to her. "You're the same age as me, but probably 50 times older in the heart!"

Makenzie is also an accomplished baton twirler who participates in national competitions. Somehow she finds time to practice her baton twirling for up to three hours a day! According to her mom, Makenzie is an excellent time manager.

Whether she's collecting stuffed animals or twiriling her baton, Makenzie gives her best. She is an inspiration to people who want to make a difference in their community.

never seen words:

1.duffel 2.foster 3.shuffle 4. belongings 5.twrirl

useful words:

1.social service 2.accomplished 3.pour in 4.distrubute 5.personality

summary:

Makenzie is a girl who has a kind heart. She concerns about the foster children that can't take their toys between temporary homes. She realizes how poor the children are. Therefore, she establishes the organization where helps the foster children to own their duffel bags and teddy bears. She has an important effect on the community.

thinking:

I admire Makenize very much. She is only 14 years old. However, she has a kind heart to help the children. She collects many bags and teddy bears to give them. How kind she is. She even established a organization. She inspired many people to donate their toys for foster children. I am moved deeply by the article. People should often aid people who need to help. I want to follow the girl to donate my toys.

Importing Chinese Culture

Many Chinese youth listen to hip-hop and Western pop songs. They drink Cocacola, eat at McDonalds, and watch Hollywood's latest movies. Western popular culture has definitely established roots in Asia. In the same way, some parts of Chinese culture have become trendy in the West. Westerners have always appreciated delicious Chinese cooking. But the current interest in Chinese culture extends beyond the food. Some of today's latest trends among Westerners have been imported from China. Here are some Chinese fads that have made their West.

Bubble tea

Starbucks coffee is trendy in Asia, but bubble tea is the new popular drink in North America. Bubble tea has been popping up in coffee shops and teahouses all over the U.S. and Canada. Although this Asian drink started out as simple iced tea that's shaken to produce bubbles, the name" bubble tea" can now mean a variety of Asian tea beverages. The most famous kind has the distinctive feature of chewy tapioca shaken with the tea. Although this Asian drink started out as simple iced tea that's shaken to produce bubbles, the name "bubble tea" can now mean a variety of Asian tea beverages. The most famous kind has the distinctive feature of chewy tapioca shaken with the tea. Although Americans traditionally associated tapioca with dessert ingredients, more and more people are willing to sample their tea with tapioca.

Chinese characters

Most Westerners can't read Chinese characters. But today Chinese characters are quite trendy among Western youth. Characters can be seen on T-shirts, baseball caps, jewelry and many other other items. Many Westerners think Chinese characters look cool, even if they don't know what they mean. This blind admiration sometimes creates amusing results. One American man had his name translated into Chinese and then carved on to a chop. He was embarrassed when a Chinese friend later explained that the name on the chop was actually a girl's name.

Tofu

Until recently, Westerners considered tofu an exotic Asian food. But as its health benefits have become better known in the West, tofu has quickly found its many Western kitchens. Western cooks now use the versatitle food in ways that Chinese cooks probably never dreamed of. They've transformed tofu into burgers, cheese, ice cream and other Western foods. Even McDonalds has begun selling a tofu burger called the McVeggie. So the next time you eat at McDonalds, remember that "real" American burgers are now sometimes made with Asia's most common tofu.

never seen words:

1.fad 2.distinctive 3.versatile

useful words:

1.admiration 2. character

summary:

When the foreginers bump into the Chinese food, what happened to them? At first, the foreginers can't accept the flavor about Chinese food; however, they fall in love the flavor such as bubble tea, tofu etc.

thinking:

To this day, many kids love French fries, chicken and hamburger etc. The western food has an important effect on our life. So, the Chinese food have the same reason. Today,American know the tofu is a health food and mix with hamburgers and taste delicious. As long as, we are able to try the different culture food and many food have special flavor.

Learning Language at Any Age

As the world gets smaller, billingual skills are becoming ever more important. People with bilingual skills have more travel, educational and career opportunities. And parents know a bilingual child has great potential in today's world. But when should a person begin learning a second language? Many experts believe in a "critical period" from birth to 5 years. They say that language learning is easiest and most effective at this time. Actually, success stories can come at any age. Still, each age group has its own characteristics that are important to consider.



Blessed bilingual babies(birth-2years)



Babies become bilingual naturally when their parents are fluent in more than one language. Children who learn two language from birth have many advantages. Their language "class" is full-time and their "teachers" are doing parents who give them plenty of attention. These lucky learners usually achieve flawless pronunciation in both languages.



Tiny talkers(3-5years)



Young children have flexible tongues, light schedules and fearless attitude toward learning new languages. Bilingual preschoolers pick up their first language from their parents. Then they are introduced to another language at a preschool or childcare center. They mantain their first language because it is spoken at home. And they acquire the new language through songs, stories and other enjoyable activities at school. Young children need to have their first language supported to learn the new language successfully. Equal exposure to both languages will get tiny students talking!



Challenges for school-age language learners (6-13years)



On the surface, school- age learners may be better equipped to learn a second language. Study habits improve as students mature. And research shows olders children can perform better on language tests. Unfortunately, children learning a second language in the classroom often fail to gain life-long proficiency. Their exposure to the new language may be limited to a few hours each week. Pressure from parents and tests also makes language learning less enjoyable and less successful. After age 6, children's learning enviorments will affect fluency far more than their age.



Hope for mature learners(14 years and up)



Older learners face severals difficulities. Their busy schedules make it difficult to squeeze in language classes. Their tongues refuse to cooperate to produce new sounds. And their pride prevent them from practicing with native speakers. On the bright side, older students have many language strategies available to them. To gain proficiency later in life, try making the following techniques part of your daily routine. These techniques do not involve embarrassing activities or lengthy classes. In fact, you'll probably find these exercises relaxing and enjoyable.



Reniew your day. Think in your second language about your actions, experiences and observations from each day.



Eavesdrop. Pay special attention to the sounds native speakers make when they talk. By emphasizing sounds and phrases as you learn, you are more likely to master the pronunciation and grammar.



To improve your writing skills, read what really interests you, even if it's challenging.



Talk to youself ! Imagine what you would say in different situations. Do it consistently and you can increase your chances of becoming bilingual at any age.



summary:

Bilingual skills are becoming important. If we can learn a second language, we can get the chance to find work and help us more in the future. Maybe, different age learning language has different. Language learning is easiest and most effective at this time. when we learn language in different age , we can have different effective.



you have never seen words:

1.bilingual 2.flawless 3.eavesdrop 4.dote



useful words:

1.characteristic 2.acquire 3.equip 4. consistently



thinking
In fact, the children learning are so fast. What subject they also realize fast, learning language is special. In different steps children they have their special abilities. These are infant ability. For example, if they who 0~2 years old, their parents are also their teachers. They can have good pronuciation. Language is like a bridge that can connect with sides each other. If we are good at languages, we can make more friends and broden our horizon. In the competition in the society heavily, our parents have desplined children since they were very young.

The man and the opportunity

The lack of opportunity is ever the excuse of weak, vacillating mind. Opportunities! Every life is full of them.


Every lesson in school or college is an opportunity. Every examination is a chance in life. Every business transaction is an opportumity---an opportunity to be polite, an opportunity to be manily, an opportunity to be honest, an opportunity to make friends. Every proof of confidence in you is a great opportunity. Every responsibility thrust upon you strength and your honor is priceless. Existence is the privilege of effort, and when that privilege is met a man, opportunities to succeed along the line of your aptitude will come faster than you can use them.



Young men and women, why do you stand here all the day idle? Was the land all occupied before you were born? Has the earth ceased to yield its increase? Are the seats all taken? The position all field? The chances all gone? Are the resources of your country fully developed? Are the secrets of nature all mastered? Is there no way in which you can utilize these passing moments to improve yourself or benefit another?



Don't wait for your opportunity. Make it, as Napoleon made his in a hundred "impossible" situations. Make it, as all leaders of men, in war and in peace, have made their chances of success. Make it, as every man must, who would accomplish anything worth the effort. Golden opportunities are nothing to laziness, but industry makes the commonest chances golden.

you have never seen words:
1.vacillating 2.transaction 3.priceless 4.yeild 5.thrust

useful words:
1.opportunity 2.responsibility 3.examination

summary:
we need to catch the opportunity in time, or it disappear fast. If people usually have no confidence in the event, they could lose opportunity easily. However, the opportunity is special we need to have confidence to catch them and prepare uor ability for our future.when it comes, we can catch them stedily.

thinking:
I think opportunity dosen't wait for people. Everyone also hopes to own their opportunity such as an opportunity to be honest, an opportunity to make friends etc. I dosen't stand there to wait for the chance:however, I need to pursuit the opportunity. I want to be positive to come true my dream. If I have an oppportunity, I will be well-prepared to use it.

Pixar: Designing Digital Delight

The first thing viewers of Rataouille will notice is how subtle the animation is. Despite the realistic appearance, everything from our lovable rodent hero to the shiny pots and pans of the gourmet kitchen is computer-generated. It could only be the work of one company: Pixar Studios, the leader in digital animation.

Pixar began as a division of LucasFilm, owned by George Lucas, the director of Star Wars. During the 1980s, Pixar's designers spent thousands of hours in the studio, breaking new ground for digital animation. They worked on special effects for movies such as Star Trek and Young Sherlock Holmes. The creative genius behind Pixar has been director and animator John Lasseter.From day one, Lasseter focused on quality, hiring only the best animators and shooting for nothing short of perfection. Apple founder Steve Jobs believed in Pixar's potential and purchased the company in 1986.

Originally, Jobs wanted to steer the company in the direction of graphics handware development. When this attempt failed, Pixar found itself on the brink of bankruptcy and had to rely on its a animation department to pay the bills. After years of making animated commercials for LiveSavers, Tropicana and Listerine, Pixar's big break finally arrived.

Pixar's commercials caught the eye of Disney, which teamped up with the small company to create the full-length animated film Toy Story. Pixar's years of research and knowledge were finally put to the test, and the result were amazing. The film was a huge hit worldwide. Pixar followed this up by releasing seven additional films, including Finding Nemo and The Incredibles, both of which received critical acclaim and box office success.

One of the tradmarks of a Pixar film is its meticulous attention to detail. Lesseter believes that "Every movement in an animated scene must have a reason for being" For example, the team at Pixar spent mouths observing sea life before they began drawing the rough sketches for Finding Nemo.

Pixar also knows that fancy animation alone is not enough to create a great movie. Lasseter thinks the growth of the main characters is equally important. In Cars, for example, we watch the hero, Lightning McQueen, change from an arrogant rookie race car into a compassionate hero who cares for others.

Pixar's future looks bright. There are already plans in the works for Pixar's next release, a story about a robot named Wall-E. With its innovative graphics technology and superb attention to story development and details, Pixar is sure to take us into many more previously unimaginable fantasy worlds.

words:

1.rodent 2. gourmet 3.graphics 4. meticulous 5.rookie

useful words:

1.digital 2.steer 3.bankruptcy 4.arrogant 5.critical 6. innovative 7.trademark

summary:

Pixar's animation is great so that many kids like to see their movies. Pixar not only designs the beautiful animation but imagines what the story need to act. He concentrates on their work. His ability has been admired by many movies. Therefore, many people like his film very much. However, he works hard to make the animation and combine with the story. It's really important to get together between the story and the animation. Because Pixar's work hard to make people see the terrific movie.

thinking:

I like Rotatouille very much. The story said a rat which can cook very well. It helps a boy who work on a tasty restaurant. Therefore, the boy who was teached by a rat cooked very well. I admire the Pixar who can make the animation beautiful. When I finished his movie, I always have a nice day. I suggest people to see his movie. You can find how special the animation is.