Word Power 1

WORD POWER 1

Crambazzled (adjective)

- prematurely aged by drinking

Origin : Yorkshire slang. 19^th century English.

Example:  Keith Richards looked crambazzled after a lifetime of rock ‘n’ roll.

Ostrobogulous (adjective)

-bizarre

Origin : Unknown

Example : Her whimsical book contained many ostrobogulous drawings.

Fornale (verb)

- spend money before you’ve earned it

Origin: 15^th century English

Example: When the ship docked, the sailors fornaled two days before payday.

Cagg (noun)

- vow not to get drunk

Origin: Military slang. 19^th century English

Example:

Macrology (noun)

- tedious and empty talk

Origin: Greek macros (long) and logos (word)

Example: The party was rich in macrology.

Accidie (noun)

-apathy

Origin: Latin accidia (listlessness)

Example: His accidie deepened as he waited on Platform 8.

 Quidnunc (noun)

- someone desperate to know what’s going on

Origin: Latin quid nunc (what now?)

Example:

Dudgeon (noun)

- resentful anger

Origin: Old English (the wood used to make dagger hilts)

Example: He stormed off the American Idol set in high dudgeon.

Deipnosophist (noun)

- brilliant dining companion

Origin: Greek deipnon (dinner) and sophos (wise)

Example: The deipnosophist made up for the salmon mousse.

Cachinnate (verb)

- laugh loudly

Origin: Latin chachinnare (laugh loudly)

Example:

Dundrearies (noun)

- long side-whiskers

Origin: Victorian English(Lord Dundreary in the 1858 play our American Cousin)

Example:

Godwottery (noun)

- pretentious use of old language

Origin: 19^th century English exclamation, ‘God wot!’

Example: Stephen Fry likes to mock godwottery on television.

Philtrum (noun)

- groove below the nose

Origin: Latin philtrum

Example: There was a thin moustache nestling on his philtrum.

Smidsy (noun)

- a motorbike accident

Origin: 20^th century acronym (Sorry Mate, I Didn’t See You)\

Example: The greasy road surface led to a boom in smidsies.

Brendice (noun)

- cup used to drink to another’s health

Origin: 17^th century English

Example: We raised a brendice to absent friends.

 Taken from : Reader's Digest April 2011

                

Horses

1. To get off/on your high horse (also to climb off/on your high horse)

                To stop/put on a superior or arrogant manner

                Seated high up on a horse, you automatically have to look down to talk to people who are walking. Whether you mean it or not, those looking up can easily assume you are talking down to them in a rather snooty manner.

                Another factor is that horses have always been expensive and therefore the province of the rich – a group not universally noted for their humility.

Example: I wish that politician would get off his high horse and deal with real people and real problems.

2. To change horses (in) mid-stream

                To change your ideas, focus in the middle of a project, race or other venture.

               

                The appealing image of trying to swap horses without getting soaked has undoubtedly kept this phrase in the public eye.

Example: The company is stuck with this software because it’s too tough to change horses in midstream.

3. To flog a dead horse

                To try and revive interest in a subject that nobody cares about OR to talk about something that has been discussed at great deal.

                Imagine in your mind this horrible image of beating a dead horse in order to make it work.

Example: Whether you like it or not, Kim has been promoted. So stop flogging a dead horse, will you?

4. To be on your hobby horse

                To talk about a favourite subject – usually one that bores everyone else because you’ve talked about it too much!

Example: Warn Syed not to mention car race or we’ll have Grandpa on his hobby horse again.

5. Horses for courses

                Something you say to mean that what is easy for some, is difficult for others.

                Trainers test a horse for its stamina, speed and other attributes and then decide what sort of races they think the horse will do well at. Many people also believe that certain horses do better at particular tracks.

Example: You can’t switch from accounts to customer service because our CEO believes in horses for courses.

6. To pony up

                To pay. Usually used in the sense of paying an outstanding bill or debt.

                This expression is linked to the late 1790s where a pony was slang for 25 guineas, an English gold coin.

Example: It’s George’s turn to pony up for this round.

7. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth

                It is unwise to be ungrateful for a gift. Also a warning that it is rude to evaluate a gift.

                Based on the fact that equestrians can tell how old (and therefore how valuable) a horse is by looking at its teeth.

Example: When Salina got a whopping great Hari Raya bonus she didn’t look a gift horse in the mouth and suggest they have overpaid her.

 Adapted from: Mind Our English, Star2, Wednesday 27 July 2011

Essay Writing Competition (20 June-31 October 2012)

Write on one of the titles below:
Essay:
Esei:
Category A (13 – 17 years old)
Kategori A (13-17 tahun)

Choose one of the following titles:
Pilih salah satu daripada tajuk-tajuk berikut:

What being a responsible Malaysian citizen means to me
Pandangan saya berkenaan ertinya menjadi rakyat Malaysia yang bertanggungjawab.
How can Malaysian schools promote responsible citizenship?
Bagaimanakah caranya sekolah-sekolah di Malaysia boleh menggalakkan kerakyatan bertanggungjawab?
Category B (18 – 25 years old)
Kategori B (18-25 tahun)

Choose one of the following titles:
Pilih salah satu daripada tajuk-tajuk berikut:

How has the Internet changed or affected citizen engagement and empowerment in Malaysia?
Bagaimanakah Internet telah mengubah atau memberi kesan kepada keterlibatan dan pemerkasaan rakyat di Malaysia?
It has been said that the era of Government-Knows-Best is over. What do you think are the implications of this?
Telah dikatakan bahawa era “Government-Knows-Best” telah berlalu. Apakah implikasi-implikasi pernyataan tersebut?

Blogpost:
Blogpost:

Category A (13 – 17 years old)
Kategori A (13-17 tahun)

Write an open letter addressed to your friends and schoolmates on the role they can play as young citizens and what they can do – now – to shape a better future for Malaysia.
Tuliskan sepucuk surat terbuka yang ditujukan kepada kawan-kawan dan rakan-rakan sekolah berkenaan peranan yang boleh mereka mainkan sebagai warganegara muda dan apa yang boleh mereka lakukan – sekarang – bagi membentuk masa hadapan Malaysia yang lebih cemerlang.

Category B (18 – 25 years old)
Kategori B (18-25 tahun)

If you were given the funding and resources to set up a new youth-based civil society action group to influence public policy on a pressing issue affecting youth, what organisation would you set up and which cause would it champion?
Jika anda diberikan dana dan sumber-sumber untuk menubuhkan sebuah kumpulan bertindak belia masyarakat sivil yang baru, bagi mempengaruhi dasar awam yang menyentuh isu-isu mendesak berkaitan belia, organisasi apakah akan anda tubuhkan dan tujuan apakah yang akan ia perjuangkan?

http://www.perdana.org.my/essaycompetition/to-participate/terms-conditions/

This competition is open to Malaysian citizens only.
The competition is open to all Malaysians between the ages 13 to 25 as of 31 December 2012.
Malaysian students studying abroad may enter but their institutions are not eligible for any of the institution prizes.
Submissions will be accepted until 31 October 2012.
Each participant may submit more than one entry, but each winning Participant will be entitled to only one (1) prize. The prize will be awarded to a winning Participant for the Participant’s highest-scoring Competition Entry.
Submissions can be made online or via e-mail, in English and Bahasa Malaysia.
Each participant must fill in a submission form to accompany each entry on the Essay website.
Essays are accepted in the .doc, .docx or .pdf format.
All submissions will be blind reviewed. References to specific individuals, firms, or schools, which might reveal the author’s identity, are discouraged. It is not allowed to indicate your name anywhere on your work.Quotes and references must be clearly marked throughout the essay and properly cited.
All submissions must be original. No previously published material will be accepted. Any form of plagiarism will result in automatic disqualification. Please note that all essays will be screened with specialised software to verify plagiarism.

The contest is open to all young Malaysians, students and non-students, aged between 13 and 25, as of 31 October 2012.
Employees of Perdana Leadership Foundation (“PLF”), MAYBANK FOUNDATION and MPH and their immediate families are not eligible to participate in the competition.



Please note: Malaysian students studying abroad may enter the competition but their institutions are not eligible for any of the institution prizes. Non-student participants will also not be eligible for any of the institution prizes.

Titles for Narrative Writing

Write a story that ends with:
...If only I had listened to his/her advice

Write a story ending with:
...We had never laughed so much in our lives.

Write a story ending with:
...If only I had been more careful, that wouldn’t have happened.

Write a story beginning with:
I was nervous when the door opened...

Write a story ending with:
...We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways

Write a story beginning with:
It had been raining all day...

Write a story ending with:
...I shall never forget this day for the rest of my life.

Write a story beginning with:
I could not believe my eyes...

Write a story beginning with:
The lights suddenly went out...

Write a story ending with:
...She is a different person now and it shows.

Write a story ending with:
...They looked at each other and smiled.

Write a story beginning with:
I wish he would give me a second chance...

Write a story ending with:
...Finally I have achieved my greatest triumph

Write a story beginning with:
I didn’t know what happiness what until...

Write a story ending with:
...I realised that every word she said was true

Write a story ending with:
...I learnt my lesson.

Write a story beginning with:
The crowd had not dwindled...

Write a story ending with:
...We wished we could have stayed there a few days more

Write a story beginning with:
It was Sunday morning...

Write a story beginning with:
In my haste, I disregarded everything else...

Write a story ending with:
...We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly that day

Write a story beginning with:
It was a dark and stormy night...

Write a story beginning with:
It was a bitter cold morning...

Write a story beginning with:
I did not expect this to happen...

Write a story beginning with:
When I opened my eyes, I realised that...

Write a story beginning with:
I could tell that my friend was excited...

Write a story beginning with:
I approached the young man with a smile...

Write a story ending with:
...I wished that I had never said those words

Write a story beginning with:
Our last day on the island was...

Write a story beginning with:
There were screams all around me...

Write a story beginning with:
My heart was beating very fast when I...

Write a story beginning with:
As I walked along the beach, I saw something shiny...

Write a story ending with:
...I miss my family

Write a story ending with:
...The incident had made me wiser

Write a story beginning with:
Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away...

'I did not know what happiness was until...'

I didn’t know what happiness was until the unfortunate mishap. I have never been disappointed by the beauty of mother nature. It has taught me a lot about appreciating God’s gifts.

The story began on a bright Friday morning. I packed my bags and was ready to take on the adventure of camping in the jungle. At first, I was reluctant to go but after being cajoled by my persistent friends, I finally gave in. It was a trip for sheer relaxation and nature learning. All six of us – Ainul, Dayang, Farah, Suhaila, Yus and I finally agreed to meet up at the school’s bus stop before embarking on our journey into the virgin forest.

As I was half way walking towards the school, it suddenly started raining. I hastened my steps to the school’s bus stand. Luckily for me, it started pouring when I arrived near the school. Only then, I realized that I was 10 minutes late for the meeting.

“Where have you been? We promised to be here at exactly 11 a.m.,” Ainul barked out.

“Sorry, I had to run some errands for my mom and there was a storm out there,” I explained. “Anyway, we’re all here. So, let’s not waste anymore time. Let’s go,” I quickly added so that Ainul would not dwell on the subject.

Thankfully, the rain lasted for five minutes only. We hopped onto a bus heading towards Indah Park. I was not sure if we were ready for a steep and winding climb up the hill in this wet condition. We arrived at the hillside alas and began to hike up about a mile of the Gagak trail.

It was a harsh climb as we were carrying heavy 10 kilo bag packs complete with sleeping bags, canned food and bottles of mineral water. I was the only one bringing the tent as the others did not possess one. Along the climb we stopped to rest for at least three times. At one place, we encountered a huge snake hissing at us from a bush about 10 metres away. We were lucky not to be bitten by it. We caught glimpse of the beautiful hornbills, bluebirds and a Rufous Collared Kingfisher. After approximately forty minutes of walking, we finally arrived at our destination, in the middle of an open forest quite near to the breathtaking Indah Waterfall.

“Now, let’s start pitching the tent,” Yus ordered. We loyally obeyed her command as we were the ones who chose her to be the group leader, being the oldest among us. It was already noon and we took out cans of sardines and loaves of bread for lunch before doing more exciting activities of discovering nature. Yus and Suhaila went to fetch some water, Farah and Ainul prepared the meal, Dayang laid out a mat for us to enjoy the moment of leisure in the forest. I was instructed to search for firewoods.

“Don’t go too far out,” Yus reminded.

Happily I went on my way gathering as many branches and twigs as I came across on my path. “This should be enough for at least two days,” I thought to myself as I had collected a bundle of them. As I turned around, I suddenly tripped over a branch and fell down flat on my leg. “Ouch! My ankle,” I moaned. I could not lift myself up as the pain on my twisted ankle was excruciating. I did not realize I was too far away from the tent. Moreover, I left my mobile with Yus. “How can I ask for help?” I wonder. At moment like this, all I could think of was my teacher’s advice. ‘If you are lost in the forest, you need to sit quietly at that particular spot until someone finds you. This will ease the searching work’. I did exactly that. Sit and wait.

Staring at the sky, it had grown darker. The dark grey cloud was pregnant with rain. I prayed hard that someone in my group would notice that I was missing.

Tick…tick…tick. The sound of water dropping onto the leaves. I gathered all my strength, lifted my hips and tried to move to a big tree nearby. Before I could even blink my eyes, the rain started pouring cats and dogs. I sat myself under the huge tree, holding the bundle of firewood to my chest. All kinds of thoughts came to my mind.

“I shouldn’t have come. There have been too many obstacles. It’s afternoon and it does not look like it,” I whined. Did I make the wrong decision? I questioned myself.

I must have dozed off. When I opened my eyes, the thick lianas hanging and gripping onto the hundred- foot-tall trees greeted me. I could hear the sound of the creatures of the forest. Insects chirping, the geckos in the hide calling. It was strangely soothing. I felt at peace as the symphony continued to play in my ears.

“Sheeda! Where are you?” Ainul’s call came piercing into my ears.

“Hey! I’m over here,” I shouted back in relief. I saw my friends running towards me. I told them what had happened. Dayang and Suhaila kindly helped me up while Ainul and Yus got into the motion of snapping pictures of the nature.

In the end, we spent the three-day break enjoying the beauty of mother nature. I realized that I had made the right decision.

By: Nursheeda (Form 5S1, 2010)
Taken from: http://smkmbi.blogspot.com/2011/02/continuous-writing-sample-narrative.html

'I did not know what happiness was until...'

I did not know what happiness was until my aunt’s caring words sank into me on my graduation day. There she was sitting on the front pew, looking at me with loving eyes, proudly as I stood on the stage giving a speech. She was my angel. She protected me and cared for me since the demise of my parents.

As an orphan, it was not easy for me to get acquainted to strangers. I had built a wall over the years to protect myself from being hurt. The fatal incident of a robbery left me broken and shattered. I could vividly remember the bloody tragedy. After my tuition class on Friday night, I came home in my friend’s car. When I arrived, I felt strange as mom and dad did not lock the door and left the gate wide open. Quietly and suspiciously, I walked into the house sensing something terrible might have happened. In front of the doorstep, to my horror were my parents and twin brothers sprawling right across the carpet. I was paralyzed with fear. Blood was oozing. Mom and dad were lying on their stomachs holding each other’s hands. My twin brothers were heavily injured with slashes of knife cuts on their heads and back.

“Wh-what’s going on?” I asked with a quivering voice. “Mom, dad, Habil, Qabil …please wake up,” I pleaded but they were motionless. It was a very horrifying scene. I found myself screaming and howling hysterically. My neighbours who came to help. The ambulance and police arrived within minutes but they were too late. I was so shaken that I could not stop crying. Not even the paramedic could calm me down. I was escorted to the hospital. Somehow, they managed to contact my aunt. Her hug and consoling words relaxed me a little. I was given a sedative jab and I fell asleep instantaneously. When I woke up, she was right there by my bedside. I felt safe and secured in her presence.

The police came to interview me. My aunt was with me all the while. I was kept away from the press and television for weeks for fear of my recurring hysteria. The doctor-in-charge put me in a psychiatric ward for half a year, under close observation to help me cope with the terribly haunting tragedy.

After six months in the psychiatry unit, I was finally discharged and reported as being in a stable condition. I went back to the house where the killing took place. It was a very emotional experience. Tears kept rolling down my eyes. I could not stop it. However, I was quiet and not hysterical anymore. My aunt was there holding my hands and rubbing my back, giving me all the moral support and love she could. I packed my belongings, took the family pictures hanging on the wall and put them in my bag. I was put under my aunt’s custody.

My parents and siblings were brutally killed in a home robbery. The prime suspects were two middled aged man. My parents were shot whereas my twin brothers were stabbed to death. It was reported that about RM20,000.00 worth of money and jewellery were stolen. They were finally arrested, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Despite that, the life of my loved ones could not be returned.

“Hawa you must let go off the past. Don’t keep that hatred in your heart. Do not disappoint your late parents. You have a bright future ahead of you. Stay focused in your studies, pass with flying colours and live your life to the fullest. Realize your dreams of joining a forensic team. Make your parents and siblings proud of you. It’s not the end of the world. I’m still here for you,” she advised and encouraged me.

“…but I can’t forget them. Why me? Why my family?” I asked knowing that there was no answer to that.

“Who said that you must forget them? God loves them and that is why He took them in His care. You should be grateful that He still wants you to live their legacy, to care for the unfortunate. They would be sad if you keep wasting your youth away,” she rationalized with me and gave me a big hug to comfort me and take my doubts away.

Fortunately, her caring words and actions awakened me. I picked myself up from feeling worthless and hopeless. I was only fifteen then. However I strived hard and I succeeded.

Today, I am celebrating freedom. Freedom from the bondage of anger and hatred. And I am celebrating this new joy, this new me with my loving aunt. Without her support, I would not have made it.

By: Ainul (Form 5S1, 2010)
Taken from: http://smkmbi.blogspot.com/2011/02/continuous-writing-sample-narrative.html

“... En. Nizam was grateful he had such good neighbours.”

Not even in his wildest dream did En. Nizam think he would lose so much in such a short time. It had been a trying period. When he got word that his father was on his death bed, En. Nizam’s family rushed to his hometown. Even before the funeral rites were over, he received a call from his immediate neighbour that his house was partly destroyed by fire and that the cause of the fire was believed to be arson.
Members of En. Nizam’s immediate family and his relatives were in state of disarray. First, it was the death of an elder member of a family, then this misfortune. Although En. Nizam was worried, deep in his heart he knew that he had very good neighbours, friends who would stand by him in good times and bad.
Sure enough, the minute he set foot in the compound of his house, he knew he was right. His neighbours, Mr. Subra and En. Majid, were there taking a close watch on the house. He learnt from them that the neighbours had been taking turns to keep an all-day vigil on the house. He thanked them from the bottom of his heart.
After inspecting the damage caused by the fire, En. Majid handed donations collected by the residents living in the area. His neighbours had passed the hat around and the donations came up to a significant amount. Although, the donations was still short of the amount required to repair the damages, en. Nazim was grateful.
The next day, En. Nazim was even more overwhelmed by the care and concern shown by his neighbours. They were there to extend their condolences and to show their support. Donations came pouring in. The women folk were busy preparing all the meals for the family.
With the help of his neighbours, En. Nizam got a building contractor to repair the damaged sections of the house. The repair and renovations took almost a week to complete. When the house was ready, the neighbour turned up in full force to congratulate him.
Tears welled up in E. Nizam’s eyes. He was at a loss for words. En. Nizam was grateful he had such good neighbours.

(367 words)
Taken from : http://englishforallsmkbenut.blogspot.com/p/spm-sample-of-essays-continuous-writing.html