Last day at Carringtons

GRADUATION

Text Blog Entry - Book Review

Summary of C.K. Steads 'Sister Hollywood'

I have red this book by the well known New Zealand author C.K. Stead for my elective course in New Zealand Literature. The plot is about Edie Harper who starts a Hollywood career and her younger brother Bill Harper back home in New Zealand. She disappeared without a word many years ago and the family is quite concerned about her wellbeing. Then she suddenly appears on the cinema screen and Bill knows he has a sister in Hollywood. The story jumps between these two, the career of Edie and the life of Bill who decides to look after his sister.
The book is semi autobiographical, so it is full of information about the author and his family. His style of writing is easy to understand and very vivid at the same time. The story gives also a good insight in the movie business during the McCarthy era and the craft of movie making in general.

Oral Blog Entry Three - Film Review

Summary of the film ’Pans Labyrinth’

Pans Labyrinth is a wonderful dark fairy tale, located in Spain during the civil war between 1936 and 1939. Protagonist of this story is the young Ofelia, a girl full of dreams and the characters in books. She travels with her pregnant mother Carmen into a secluded forest to meet her stepfather Capitan Vidal who chases Franctireurs (spanish revolutionaries) in the hills. He is a cruel man and doesn’t hesitate to use brutal torture to reach his aims. Ofelia seems to be imprisoned in this dark world without hope and even her mother faints because of complications with her pregnancy. But suddenly a strange fairy appears to lead Ofelia through an old forgotten labyrinth to Pan, an ancient mythical creature. He calls her 'princess' and promises her a 'kingdom', waiting in the realm of legends. But she has to pass three challenges to prove her pure soul. Though the Story is old it is told in strong, often scary colours with a background of Spanish history which makes this film a unique and fascinating experience.

Oral Blog Post Entry Seven: Diploma Lecture 2

Last Tuesday Rohan Stace from the Police of New Zealand visited us. He talked about the Police in New Zealand, its general role, responsibilities and what kind of crimes seems to happen most often.

For foreigners there is often the issue of communication difficulties because of language barriers. In case of an accident the language could become even worse because of anxiety and shock. In these situations you should always ask the police officer for the ‘Language Line’ where you can be connected with someone who is able to translate for you. You are expected to call as soon as possible after the accident happened and you should give as much information as you can provide. You should also ensure that the person on the other side of the line understands you clearly and mention if you need other services like for example an ambulance.

To avoid being robbed or attacked it is advised by the police to walk in crowded places, never be alone at night or at least in well lit areas. Trust your instincts about other people, carry a cell phone with you and do not carry too many valuable things on the body.

Text Blog Entry Eight - An article about my country in the international newspaper

Knut is a big star in Germany, all the kids love him and people are waiting in long queues to visit Knut every day. He is maybe the most popular Polar Bear in the world. He is well known in many countries and subject of a huge merchandise wave. 'The Guardian' boosted this popularity by its article from may 13th.
He lives in a zoo in Berlin and there are shows every day for the crowds to watch Knut and his caretaker in action. The director of the zoo is aware of the big success of his little habitant and says: "Knut has become a medium of communication..." Proposals from USA, Japan, China and Taiwan have been offered for getting licences on the new brand called Knut.
However, the director wants to use Knuts influence just for environmental dialogue. The bear is mascot of environment conferences and inspires people all over the world but there are others too who want to harm the little Knut and even sent a threat to the zoo, on April.

Oral Blog Entry Six - Picture Comparison 2

The following exercise shall compare these two pictures : picture 1, picture 2

Both pictures describe the learning situation in primary schools although there are many differences between them. In the first picture you can see the children learning from books but in the other picture they are using computers to learn. They are working on their own in the first picture in contrast to the second one where they are working in groups of five persons and they also wear uniforms unlike the other picture.

In my opinion the use of computers for learning can be more effective but also more complicated. Computers can help children to learn if they use them for their investigation about different questions or for presentations. Besides they can work on exercises without buying books or wasting paper in addition teachers can benefit, because it is easier to mark assessments at the computer. On the other side computers can sidetrack the students and it can be difficult for teachers to control a whole class when they are online, of this and many other reasons, the schools should have a balanced education, a mix of both of these pictures.

Text Blog Entry 7 - Diploma Trip

Last week we had a wonderful Diploma Trip to the beach. We were afraid it would be raining because the weather the day before had been very dirty. But it fortunately changed for our trip and it became a lovely day. My raincoat I brought with me became useless but I didn't complain. Ron took Miah, Amman, Hani and me in his big van with him to the cafe La Vinci. We had a coffee there and a short conversation before we went on to the Huia Point. The road to Huia Point was windy and went through a very nice landscape. We enjoyed the nice view at Huia point and waited for the others who lost Ron because of his fast -formula one- driving style. Here is a picture from the view:



When the others finally arrived at Huia Point and had a look around we drove to Cornwallis Beach. I liked this beach very much with its fine sand and lush green coastline.





Miah, Amman and me had a little walk along the beach and were lucky to talk about something different than school. When we came back we realized we were hungry and so we could benefit from what everyone had brought to the shared lunch. The tables were packed with food and I couldn't even try from every meal. But especially a shrimp and a chicken salad will be in good memory forever. I also tried a delicious mandarin cake and a Chinese speciality called Wo Kok. All of it was really good. There were so many other cakes, biscuits, fruits and even a tart. At the end I was stuffed like a goose on Christmas day. This was a really good trip.

Text Blog Entry 6: Climate Panel goes for nuclear option

The article is about the discussion between different partys and their proposals to fight the global warming. This discussion was raised at the the third United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The scientists think it is possiple to stabilize the economic situation but the people all over the world would have to change their way of life and disclaim bad habits or luxurys which causes damage to our planet. Especially India and China as development countries would be needed to work into this direction. Nevertheless there is a big issue about whether to use nuclear technology or geneticly grown crops as energy source for the future. However, critics are complaining that the IPCC was insufficient in its support of problematic technology.

I counted 32 active and 7 passive forms in the text.

the passive forms:
1. "...genetically modified crops..." - simple present passive
2. "...measures needed to save..." - future passive
3. "...are prepared..." - simple present passive
4. "...modified biofuels..." - simple present passive
5. "...changes were needed..." - simple past passive
6. "...fertilizers used to grow..." - simple past passive
7. "...than envisaged by..." - simple past passive

Oral Blog Entry 5 Domestic News Headlines

I heard the story on the record of the Morning Report from National Radio on Monday April 30th

"The paper also reports that climate change experts and environmentalists will clash over proposals to fight global warming."

Here are three pronunciation features which I noticed.
1. consonant to vowel linking - "...and_environmentalists..."
2. weak pronunciation - "...clash over proposals..."
3. weak pronunciation - "...to fight global warming."

Text Blog Post Entry Five - My Break

Vivian and I decided to spend some time exploring the northern island of New Zealand this holiday. We bought a bus ticket which enabled us to use the intercity buses and any national ferry for thirty hours so we were free to go to wherever we want to go. The first days were rainy and we didn't feel like leaving the motels at Te Kuiti and National Park but we made an expedition to find the falls of National Park. Unfortunately we returned with wet and muddy clothes without having seen the falls.
Whanganui, our next stop, was also full of dark clouds but fortunately without any rain and we could go for a long walk in order to look at the west coast with its black sand. The next day we visited Wellington and took the ferry to Picton with its green mountains and small islands.
We didn't spend more than one day per village. This was a pity in the case of Wellington where I would like to have stayed longer and visit some more cafes and bookshops. The last stop of our trip was Taupo. We knew that many people go bungee jumping there and had some discussions whether we should try it or not. After walking nervously around the area and watching other people jump I decided to jump too so though I was very afraid of the looong distance from the top to the ground. After the jump I felt like a newborn and was very euphoric to show off to my friends and relatives at Germany.
I enjoyed our trip and hope that I can explore the south island next time.