A Snap And A Pop And It Was Over

To love something so much and to be so good at it, but then have it stripped away from you when you least expect it is tragic. Soccer has been the sport of my choice since I have been three ½ years old. It was the love of my life. I loved everything about it from the sweet smell of the grass to the most exhilarating feeling of scoring a goal. The sport of soccer was what motivated me to do better in everything I did, but that soon changed in a split second when I tore my Anterior Cruciated Ligament and my Meniscus Cartilage in 5 places. I grew up in a family that lived, breathed, and played soccer. My Dad coached soccer and both of my older brothers played soccer through High School, so when it came to me I had no choice but to play. I started playing when I was only 3 ½. I was a little terror on the field. I loved to score right from the beginning. When you are at that age you play “bunch ball”, so what my father told me to do was to stand outside the bunch and wait till the ball squirted out. This plan worked brilliantly, I scored goal after goal with this method. As I continued to play and move through the ranks of soccer I began to enjoy it more with every game I played. I went to tournaments all across California and even some out of state. I was having the time of my life playing the world-renowned game of soccer. When I reached Jr. High I played on the school’s soccer team. I started as a 7th grader, but didn’t really do anything special until my 8th grade year. During my 8th grade year of soccer I lit up the stats’ in goals and assist’s scoring 16 goals and having 12 assists. My biggest moment came in the championship game. My team was down 2 – 1 when I got a break down the side lines, I took the ball towards the goal and slid it into the side netting, tying the game 2 – 2 with three minutes to play. The game went into penalty kicks where I made a crucial shot that helped lead us to victory. I led my team in goals, assists and points; with these stats I was named MVP of my team. High School started as quickly as Jr. High ended and I was back playing soccer again. I tried out for the High School soccer team, which I made and earned a starting position on the Varsity squad. I thought I was the coolest person a alive because I was playing with all the big boys on the varsity soccer squad, but the seniors were quick to let me know that I was still a freshmen, by taping me to a block of ice and setting me in the middle of gym during the 1st pep rally of the school year, and pushing me around anytime they saw me in the hall way. I went on to start every game that year. It wasn’t my best year I only had a few goals and assists, but not bad for a freshmen. After High School soccer was done for the year I continued to play club soccer. When summer came around I joined an indoor team, which was so much fun, but the start of all my troubles. My team was half way through the season and we were still undefeated. We had just got done finishing a game, which we had won, when the teams after us never showed up for their game. So we decided to play another game against the team we had just beaten since the indoor field was free for us to use. During the game I was feeling it, my touch was down and my moves were on. I received a pass from my teammate and then did a spin move that split the defenders giving me some open space to shoot. I planted my left foot to crack a shot when I felt my knee shoot out to the left. I dropped to the ground in extreme pain, with visions running through my head of when my brother tour his ACL in his knee. I was carried off the field and packed down with ice to keep the swelling down. I went to the knee doctor the next day. He said that I just pulled a ligament in my knee and that I should stay off of it for three weeks. After waiting patiently for three weeks I went back to the soccer field and picked up were I left off, but I was a little nervous to go into tackles. My knee seemed to hold up just fine, during a Reno tournament and San Francisco Tournament. After the Reno tournament I had High School tryouts. I was in the best shape of my life. The morning sessions were all conditioning and the afternoons were scrimmaging. During the conditioning no one could keep up with me, I felt so quick. My coach could not believe how much I improved from my freshmen year. He started talking to me about major Universities and that if I kept my skill and speed I could play for one. After our morning conditioning for the day was over I was pumped to go into the scrimmaging. I just new I was going to tear things up. The teams were picked and the scrimmaging began. I was doing all right, but not quite as well as I hoped for. Then all of a sudden I got a break away. I took off towards the goal, but the keeper came out and grabbed the ball. I couldn’t stop in time so I just jumped over him and when I did, I heard four or five pops in my knee. I fell to the ground, but not in too much pain, it was weird feeling. When I went to get up and my foot touched the ground and I could feel pain racing up and down my leg. I was helped off the field to the bleachers, where I sat down and straightened my leg out. When I did this I saw my knee snap back into place and it gave a loud pop. My knee then became really loose and any movement would cause my knee to slide in and out of place. I went to the doctor’s a few days later to find out what the problem was this time. The doctor told me that I needed an MRI so he could see exactly what was wrong with my knee. I went to the Hospital and got an MRI done on my left knee. I then had to wait a week for the results. That was the worst week of my life. Just the fact of not knowing what was wrong with my knee ate at my soul. The week went by and I went back to the doctor’s office to find out the results. The results were not good, I had torn my ACL completely and my Meniscus Cartilage in 5 places. After that day at the doctor office I fell apart; I cried and cried. I did not know what to do with myself. Soccer was all I had. At the time that this occurred I was on three different soccer teams. All I could do was cry about everything that I was leaving behind; I thought my life was over. I never would of thought of it at the time, but everything with my knee turned out to be a blessing in disguise. If I had never hurt my knee I never would of known anything else, but soccer. That’s all I thought there was to life. But this situation slowed me down and showed me that there are all kinds of other thing to do in life. I believe it was Gods way of slowing me down and showing me that He was apart of my life to. I loved soccer and everything about and I still do, but now there are so many other things I enjoy doing also, I am no longer one-dimensional. To love something so much and to be so good at it, but then have it stripped away from you when you least expect it is tragic. Soccer has been the sport of my choice since I have been three ½ years old. It was the love of my life. I loved everything about it from the sweet smell of the grass to the most exhilarating feeling of scoring a goal. The sport of soccer was what motivated me to do better in everything I did, but that soon changed in a split second when I tore my Anterior Cruciated Ligament and my Meniscus Cartilage in 5 places. I grew up in a family that lived, breathed, and played soccer. My Dad coached soccer and both of my older brothers played soccer through High School, so when it came to me I had no choice but to play. I started playing when I was only 3 ½. I was a little terror on the field. I loved to score right from the beginning. When you are at that age you play “bunch ball”, so what my father told me to do was to stand outside the bunch and wait till the ball squirted out. This plan worked brilliantly, I scored goal after goal with this method. As I continued to play and move through the ranks of soccer I began to enjoy it more with every game I played. I went to tournaments all across California and even some out of state. I was having the time of my life playing the world-renowned game of soccer. When I reached Jr. High I played on the school’s soccer team. I started as a 7th grader, but didn’t really do anything special until my 8th grade year. During my 8th grade year of soccer I lit up the stats’ in goals and assist’s scoring 16 goals and having 12 assists. My biggest moment came in the championship game. My team was down 2 – 1 when I got a break down the side lines, I took the ball towards the goal and slid it into the side netting, tying the game 2 – 2 with three minutes to play. The game went into penalty kicks where I made a crucial shot that helped lead us to victory. I led my team in goals, assists and points; with these stats I was named MVP of my team. High School started as quickly as Jr. High ended and I was back playing soccer again. I tried out for the High School soccer team, which I made and earned a starting position on the Varsity squad. I thought I was the coolest person a alive because I was playing with all the big boys on the varsity soccer squad, but the seniors were quick to let me know that I was still a freshmen, by taping me to a block of ice and setting me in the middle of gym during the 1st pep rally of the school year, and pushing me around anytime they saw me in the hall way. I went on to start every game that year. It wasn’t my best year I only had a few goals and assists, but not bad for a freshmen. After High School soccer was done for the year I continued to play club soccer. When summer came around I joined an indoor team, which was so much fun, but the start of all my troubles. My team was half way through the season and we were still undefeated. We had just got done finishing a game, which we had won, when the teams after us never showed up for their game. So we decided to play another game against the team we had just beaten since the indoor field was free for us to use. During the game I was feeling it, my touch was down and my moves were on. I received a pass from my teammate and then did a spin move that split the defenders giving me some open space to shoot. I planted my left foot to crack a shot when I felt my knee shoot out to the left. I dropped to the ground in extreme pain, with visions running through my head of when my brother tour his ACL in his knee. I was carried off the field and packed down with ice to keep the swelling down. I went to the knee doctor the next day. He said that I just pulled a ligament in my knee and that I should stay off of it for three weeks. After waiting patiently for three weeks I went back to the soccer field and picked up were I left off, but I was a little nervous to go into tackles. My knee seemed to hold up just fine, during a Reno tournament and San Francisco Tournament. After the Reno tournament I had High School tryouts. I was in the best shape of my life. The morning sessions were all conditioning and the afternoons were scrimmaging. During the conditioning no one could keep up with me, I felt so quick. My coach could not believe how much I improved from my freshmen year. He started talking to me about major Universities and that if I kept my skill and speed I could play for one. After our morning conditioning for the day was over I was pumped to go into the scrimmaging. I just new I was going to tear things up. The teams were picked and the scrimmaging began. I was doing all right, but not quite as well as I hoped for. Then all of a sudden I got a break away. I took off towards the goal, but the keeper came out and grabbed the ball. I couldn’t stop in time so I just jumped over him and when I did, I heard four or five pops in my knee. I fell to the ground, but not in too much pain, it was weird feeling. When I went to get up and my foot touched the ground and I could feel pain racing up and down my leg. I was helped off the field to the bleachers, where I sat down and straightened my leg out. When I did this I saw my knee snap back into place and it gave a loud pop. My knee then became really loose and any movement would cause my knee to slide in and out of place. I went to the doctor’s a few days later to find out what the problem was this time. The doctor told me that I needed an MRI so he could see exactly what was wrong with my knee. I went to the Hospital and got an MRI done on my left knee. I then had to wait a week for the results. That was the worst we

Essay topic: Describe a science center.

The Singapore Science Centre is located on a six-hectare site in Jurong. At the centre, we can discover the wonders of science and technology in a fun way. Clap your hands and colorful bulbs will light up. Start a wheel spinning and it will set off a fan churning. It is a place to answer our curiosity and capture our imagination.The centre features over four hundred exhibits covering topics like solar radiation, communication, electronics, mathematics, nuclear energy and evolution. It aims to arouse interest in science and technology among us and the general public. The centre is the first science one to be established in South East Asia. It was opened in 1977 and it now receives an average of one thousand, two hundred visitors a day. The exhibits can be found in four exhibition galleries. They are the Lobby, Physical Sciences, Life Sciences and Aviation. These exhibits are renewed annually so as to encourage visitors to make return visits to the centre.Instead of the usual “Hands off” notices found in exhibition halls, visitors are invited to touch and feel the exhibits, push the buttons, turn the cranks or pedals. This is an interesting way to learn science even if you hate the subject. A Discovery Centre was built for children between the ages of three and twelve. This new exhibition gallery was completed in 1985. Lately this year a stone-age exhibit was built. It shows us about the animals and people which are extinct.

Essay topic: My favorite TV programs

As a senior high school student, I am very busy with my studies. Although I am very fond of watching television, I can only spend an hour after dinner on my hobby. Of all the TV programs, I like the news and documentaries best.The news programs shown on all TV channels at 7:00 p.m. help me to know almost everything about different places in our country and important events happening all over the world. Through these programs, I can also know about the main national and international sporting events.The documentary programs at weekends are my favorites. By watching them, I can learn a great deal about human civilizations, the wonders of nature and the amazing inventions and discoveries of great people in the world.Watching television is my hobby. I cannot imagine a day in my life without watching it.

Topic: What do you think of football scholarship?

Giving football scholarships is really just a wise investment on the part of the university. What the university really needs, wants if money in the form of football ticket sales, contributions, and endowments from alumni, and allotments and grants from the state legislature. By giving football scholarships, many smaller, struggling universities, Notre Dame, for example, can attract talented, sought-after football players. These players build a winning football team and the university builds are reputation. The university’s football games may be on television and the team may be asked to play in a bowl game. With this publicity, fans and alumni are eager to attend the games, thus boosting ticket sakes. Rich alumni, who are proud of their school, give endowments and grants. And for state schools, the congressmen and representatives at the state capital pleased with the publicity the school, and thus the state, receives. As a result, the state’s coffers are a little more open and the money flows, enabling the university to pay its faculty, build new building, and keep up the quality of its teaching. Yes, the football scholarship is a small investment from which the university hopes to reap big gains.

Essay topic: The type of stories I like to read

My father has always encouraged me to read. So, I read a lot of story books. But the type of stories that I enjoy most is detective stories.I love detective stories because they deal with crimes and criminals. Crimes are interesting to read because they show human behavior in all sorts of situations. Men commit crimes for various reasons. So, a great deal of information about human conduct can be obtained from such stories.Again, detective stories also show how criminals are caught and punished. The part played by detectives is very interesting to read. The courage that detectives show in arresting criminals is really great. They not only put themselves in danger but also their families when they deal with hardened criminals. The way they do their duty to protect society from criminals is therefore very interesting to study.Also interesting to study is the ways criminals hide themselves from the law. They run about desperately but in the end they are all caught and punished.For all these reasons, I enjoy reading such stories.

Topic: Give an account of a visit to a book exhibition

Last Saturday our teacher, Cikgu Hamid, took our class to town to visit a book exhibition that was being in the town hall.We left our school in a chartered bus and arrived at the town hall at about 9:15 a.m. There were thirty of us including Cikgu Hamid and we were among the first visitors to the exhibition that morning.As we entered, I was taken aback by the sheer number of books on display. I have never seen so many books all together in one place before in my life. I felt thrilled to have the opportunity to take a look at these books on display. I was sure my classmates were equally thrilled.Cikgu Hamid told us that we had two and a half hours to browse among the books. We were not to fool around and if we wanted to buy any book we were to give it to him so that he could get a better discount. We all promised to behave. Next we plunged among the bookshelves and started to do what we had come for.There were so many books on display. There were books on hobbies computers, art and craft, machines and others of general interests. I was especially fascinated by the books on nature. So I was more or less glued to this section browsing over the beautifully illustrated books of animal and plants. Never had I seen such vast amounts of information concerning our precious planet.Before I knew it, one and a half hour had passed. My goodness, I thought I had only an hour left to go over the rest of the exhibition. So I promptly got about doing it.I next came upon computers on display. There was a sizable crowd gathered but I managed to get in front to have a look. A man was demonstrating the capabilities of a computer. I was astonished at what the computer could do. So for a good hour I was stuck there, eyes glued to the video display.Finally I decided that it was time I had a breath of fresh air and a cool drink. The crowd in the hall had swelled and the air was getting a bit stifling. So I left the hall for a moment to do the things.After a refreshing drink I returned to the hall to meet the rest of my classmates. Cikgu Hamid was already waiting for us. One by one my classmates appeared. After all of us had assembled and Cikgu Hamid had purchased the books, we headed out of the hall and into the bus.The bus started and we were on our way home. It had been a pleasant morning at the exhibition.

Essay topic: The advantages and disadvantages of television

Nowadays many people all over the world spent most of their free time watching television; but since its appearance, television has brought to man many advantages as well as disadvantages.First, television plays an important role in our daily activities: it keeps us informed of all current affairs in the world. Events through television are more vivid than those through books and magazines.Second, television helps us enrich our spiritual lives. Our knowledge is broadened in many ways. Through language teaching programs, we can learn the language we like such as: English, French, German, Chinese, Japanese and so on. We can become skilful and clever at doing jobs, making cakes or arranging flowers through practical courses taught on television.Finally, television is a source of recreation. Humorous stories and funny films bring us minutes of relaxation after a hard day’s work. For me, sitting comfortably in an arm-chair to watch an international football match on television is more interesting than having to queue for tickets at a crowded stadium.Apart from its advantages, however, television also brings lots of disadvantages to viewers too.First, television viewers gradually become passive in their action. Television may be a splendid media of communication, but it prevents us from communicating with each other or with the outer world. The world seen through television is only the restricted one: It separates us from the real world.Second, television, with its fascinating power, makes people of all ages sink into oblivion: whole generations are growing up addicted to the telly. Pupils and students are so absorbed in television that they neglect their school activities. Food is left uneaten, homework undone and lessons unprepared. Housewives are so keen on watching television that they neglect their duties toward their husbands and their children. Instead of watching television, we may use the time for a real family hour. Without the distraction of television, we may sit around together after dinner and actually talk to one another to know and like each other better.Finally, the evil influence of television on the young generation is inevitable; it encourages them to commit crimes. Spectacles of sadism and violence on television lead them to robbery, theft, rape and murder.In a nutshell, television is useful to us when we know how to use it: Be careful not to overindulge ourselves in it and use it in a discerning manner.

Almost everybody has some kind of hobby. My hobbies are listening to music and watching television.

The zoo is an artificial forest created by man. Though there are few trees compared with the natural forest, the animals, birds and other creatures found in the zoo must always remind us of the forest. It is indeed an interesting place to visit.Even in the natural forest such a variety of animals, birds and other creatures cannot be found as in a big zoo. Animals which are not found in the forests of one country are caught in other parts or the world and brought to the zoo. The lion, for example, is not found in Malaysia; but one may see an African lion in the zoo at Johore Bahru.Until I visited the zoo at Johore Bahru a few months ago, I had no idea how informative a visit to a zoo might be. Though the zoo at Johore Bahru is not big, I found many kinds of interesting animals and other creatures there. Lions, tigers and other animals were moving about lazily in their cages. Some of the animals appeared to be bored, and they took little interest in the visitors. The monkeys, however, showed their natural agility. Whenever they saw a visitor, they ran towards him and begged for something to eat. I was indeed amused at their behavior. Most of them were caught in Malaysia and their variety was amazing.Some of the birds too were very interesting to see. Their beautiful feathers fascinated me. Birds are indeed one of the loveliest creations of god. A few birds are larger than many animals.The lions and the tigers in this zoo were so docile that I could not but treat them as domestic animals like the dog and the cat. I went very close to them, but they showed little interest in me. I then began to think of how the animal or even human spirit could be broken by confinement. Confined to their cages, these animals had become spiritless. Even the sight of food did not see to excite them much.Then, there was the crocodile with its usual pretence of innocence. It refused to be disturbed. Heaven knows how it might have reacted if a child had fallen into its pit. However, my visit to the zoo had increased my knowledge of animals.

Essay topic: My hobbies

Almost everybody has some kind of hobby. My hobbies are listening to music and watching television.I am very fond of music. When I am free, I often listen to my favorite songs from an old cassette recorder. At weekends, I usually go to music shops in the downtown areas to buy good CDs. Of the famous pop singers, I prefer Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Madona and Paul MC Cartney.I also spend an hour after dinner watching news and documentary programmes. I particularly enjoy the program "The World Here and There" because it broadens my knowledge of nature and human civilizations.I think that my hobbies are very useful. They widen my knowledge, relax my mind, and make me feel better about myself.

Topic: Tell about your hobby in free time.

My hobby is stamp colleting. When I was still only a baby, my mother began to collect for me. Of course, she did not let me touch the stamps until I was old enough not to spoil them. I remember that it was on my fifteenth birthday that she first put them into my hands. They were in four fat books, but since that time I have added three more, so that now I have a bigger collection than any of my friends.
How do I get my stamps? I have never bought a single one from a shop -- so my collection has really cost me nothing. My father, who works in a big office, sometimes brings me home stamps from many countries of the world. And I have friends both here and in other lands who send me stamps in return for ones which I send to them.Now that I am working for my living, I do not have as much time as before to spend on my stamps. But in the evenings, what can be better than to sit down at a table with my precious books, arranging new stamps in them, writing in the names of countries, or, if I am too tired, only looking through the stamps already in the books? Each stamp has a story to tell me of far countries and strange peoples. I see pictures of men and women, birds and animals that I have never seen. Kings and presidents pass before my eyes, and I can follow the history of nations -- I can see Hitler's Germany spreading over Europe and then suddenly breaking into pieces; Pakistan is born before my eyes; countries rise and countries fall - and the whole time I remain comfortably in my armchair at home.But my stamp collection does not make me think only of the past. Just as my mother collected for me, so I, too, am collecting for my future child. What better way will there be of interesting him in history, geography and languages, and of making these subjects live for him instead of being only things in school books? If I pass my hobby on to him, he will bless me for it as I have blessed my mother for her wise action.

Essay topic:Give your opinion about instinct and reason

Instinct is, properly, the innate and inherited aptitude which drives living creatures to do certain things which seem to be quite natural, without any conscious design. More precisely, “It is a natural spontaneous tendency or impulse in the lower animals or in men, moving them without reasoning towards action essential to their existence, preservation, or development; as the instinct of self-preservation.Take a few examples of instinct Bees make six-sided cells for storing their honey. They always make them the same size and the same shape (mathematically perfect hexagons). Yet they never learn to make them; for the young worker-bees, as soon as they are born, set to make these cells as perfectly as the old experienced bees. Apparently, they do it spontaneously and have no conscious purpose in doing this.In the same way, young birds have never seen a nest built, and have had no lessons in the art of nest-building; yet when the nesting time comes round, they know exactly how to do it. And a bird of one species will never build the type of nest as that of another species, sparrows never make nest as swallows do, not swallows like those of bees.We cannot explain these actions of insects and birds. As they are naturally done without reasoning or conscious design, but are due to some blind inner impulse, we say they are due to “instinct”. And we can sum up the characteristics of instinct as the following:1. instinct is adaptive, that is, directed to some end;2. that end is somehow connected with the welfare of the species or the individual;3. the action is immediately perfect;4. it is natural or inherited and not learnedBy reason we mean the power of drawing certain logical conclusions from given premises: the power of thinking of choosing to do certain things because we consider them wise or advantageous, and of doing things with a conscious end in view. For example, men do not build houses as birds build nests. They have a clear idea in their minds what kind of house they want, and of what material they need to make it. The architect, after much thought, draws a plan; and the builders calculate how many bricks and how much mortar needed. At every step, there exists deliberate thought and conscious design and choice. So reason is quite different from instinct.Instinct is merely a natural ability to do something. Reason, on the contrary, can afford us much knowledge in every field of endeavor. Instinct does not make any progress, but reason always does. Instinct has no consciousness in action, but reason has.It is commonly said that animals act on instinct and men on reason. But some higher animals, such as dogs, horses and elephants have a certain amount of reason, and we call them intelligent; and there is a lot of instinct in men. On the whole, however, reason is a characteristic of men, and instinct of animals, such as bees, ants, spiders, birds etc…

Essay topic: Your favorite hobby

Everybody has his or her own hobby. For me, my favorite hobby is reading books.My father was not only a writer but a researcher as well. He had a great collection of books on many fields: literature, science, art, fiction and non-fiction. After his death, I inherited the most valuable treasure which has been preserved carefully up to now.As I have a large collection of books of my own now, I usually spend hours reading and thinking about facts described in each kind of books. Sitting comfortably in an arm-chair in the library with a book open on my knee, I recall my father who was absorbed in his reading, perusing the poems of John Keats, William Words Worth, Chateaubriand and Lamartine. I still hear his sonorous voice reciting rhythmical lines of poems in Kim Van Kieu’s story while his face was radiant with ecstasy and raptures.Through books I see many countries rise and fall. Kings and Presidents pass before my eyes and I can follow the history of nations. Each book has a story to tell me of remote countries and strange people.I am greatly indebted to books indeed. For me a good book is not only a true companion but also a well-experienced teacher guiding me through my life. It has the miracle to relieve my suffering and my hardship and reveal to me strange and new horizons.Reading books broadens my mind and improves my knowledge. Instead of indulging myself in futile entertainments, I am often keen on reading books which are always a source of comfort and relief to me and I am determined to preserve my father’s valuable treasure for my posterity.In a few words, the reading of books contributes to the moral and intellectual formation of a man’s personality.

Essay topic: Talk about your favorite sport (Essay 2)

I like swimming. It is my favorite sport, for I know that it is healthy as well as a good chance for a person to exercise his or her body.Last Sunday morning, as the weather was fine, I went to Vung Tau with my family. It took us about two hours by car to arrive at our destination, and I felt very excited about it.When our car reached the top of the cliff overlooking the Bay, I admired the golden sand of the long beach, the blue sky and water, and the splendid country surroundings which looked like an artist’s painting.We put on our bathing-suits and ran into the water. It was a very happy swim for me. We played ball, challenged each other in swimming a certain distance. Of course, I was always beaten by my bigger brothers but I was satisfied with my good effort. When we felt tired, we lay down on the beach to rest and to have some sunbath. At about noon, we returned to our tent and had lunch.About 3 p.m. we went once more into the water and swam till 5 p.m. Finally, we got ready to start for home. Everyone was delighted to have spent such a wonderful swim. I really enjoyed swimming very much that day.

Essay topic: My favorite game/sport (Essay 1)

Football is such a popular game that it is played even in the most remote corner of my country. People walk long distances to watch a football match. Even old people enjoy watching this game.To play this most interesting, I go to the field near my house where my friends wait for me every late afternoon. My friends also love this game very much. We play until dark.But it is a very hard game. It requires a lot of strength to kick the ball. They must also be skillful in controlling the ball. All this makes the game a difficult game indeed. Playing football however help us healthy and active.I shall always love this game.

Essay topic: Mountaineering

Man basically has a challenging nature. He feels great when he accepts challenges and achieving of his targets. Mountains have always challenged the spirit of man and man has always accepted the challenge. The loftier the mountain, the greater has been the desire of man to conquer it and climb to the highest peak to enjoy the thrill of victory. The persistence and perseverance of the man has driven him to conquer all the mountains of this world.Mount Everest, the world’s tallest peak first conquered by Sir Edmund Hillary and sherpa Tensing is very much vulnerable to man. Several expeditions by the British, Swiss, American, Indian and Japanese have scaled that peak successfully. Life offers a variety of challenges. Some adventurers are fascinated by these dangerous enterprises. Dangers and adventures are basic to their lives. Mountaineering is a dangerous sport and no one can deny it.The mountaineer has to start his venture with numerous apparatus like spike shoes, ice pick axes, oxygen tanks, tents, sleeping apparatus with canned food. The climber finds it really hazardous during climbing because at any moment he may stumble or slip and crash. They are often overtaken by storms and glacier blizzards. The cold will be so severe that the climbers’ feet, toes and fingers are liable to frostbite.Mountain climbing requires special knowledge, skills and equipments. The climber must be in good physical condition and have good sense of judgment. They should have through knowledge about how to read maps and compasses. They should use ropes to tie themselves when scaling steep rocks and plodding over snowfields and glaciers.The climber is a real sports man who often walks on the edge death but will succeed with courage and determination.

Topic: Give one of the activities you like to do in your spare time

Watching television is one of the activities I like to do in my spare time. I enjoy watching cartoons on Saturday mornings and sports programs on Sunday afternoons. I also watch television during the week after I have finished all my school work. At night, I especially like to watch movies and situation comedies. If I have a lot of homework, I try to arrange my schedule so that I can watch at least one of my favorite shows. Watching television is not the only activity that I do in my spare time. My other favorite activities are making paper flowers and going shopping with my friends. However, when I have spare time, I spend more time watching television than any other activities. Watching television can help me not only relax but also build me a huge knowledge of the open world.

Topic: Talk about the film you like best.

The film “Journey to the West” always fascinates me though I have seen it many times. It is a fairy story about the long journey make by four people to the place of Buddha. They have overcome eighty-one challenges and beaten many wicked people to get true Buddhism books for saving mankind from fighting each other aggressively. Above all, it leads us to the realization of human individual desertions and our long life self-training process to get rid of the selfishness to perfect ourselves.The combination of the East’s body of folklores and the book of the same title written by Wu Cheng'en makes the plot of “Journey to the West”. It is considered a great work of Chinese filmmakers, gathering over a hundred actors and beautiful actresses. Among them is the talented Liu Xiao Ling Tong who plays the active and faithful monkeyman Sun Wukong, the hero of the film besides the exemplary monk - Xuanzang, the pigman - Zhu Bajie and monsterman - Sha Wujing. The film’s background is set in the year BC with the scences of paradise, hell, the waterworld and man from other majestic holylands. This famous film shows the good preparation and good imagination of human beings.In short, besides its success in art, the film, in fact, advises man to live a nicer life.

Topic: An interesting program which you heard on the radio

I always look forward to Sunday afternoons because there are some interesting programs on the radio. School children take part in the children’s program. There will be sound track of popular film hit. Very often this is the program which we all wait anxiously at home. Lat week, there was a very good program of a famous play.The story is simply this. There were two friends. They loved the same girl without being aware. The girl loved only one of them. As the story progressed, the lovers found out that the girl he loved was also loved by his friend and that the girl also loved his friend. So he sacrificed his love, for the sake of his friend. Thereafter he looked upon the girl as his own sister.
The play was a dramatic expression in music terms. The “sacrifice” was described on effective words, which conveyed a sense of reality so much that the characters seemed to emerge as real people. The emotional discords in my mind were removed by the power of harmony in the play and established a sense of tranquility and peace. Such programs will certainly enliven the daily routine of the average man with a much-needed break. It was a heart warming program.The choreography has been provided by some famous cine artists of Malaysia. The dialogue had been written by a famous director. The tempo of the theme was kept up. The light music had been entertaining. One could enjoy the play very well without seeing it on film. The one hour entertainment was soon over, but its magic spell remained.

Essay Topic: Give an account of a visit to a book exhibition

Last Saturday our teacher, Cikgu Hamid, took our class to town to visit a book exhibition that was being in the town hall.We left our school in a chartered bus and arrived at the town hall at about 9:15 a.m. There were thirty of us including Cikgu Hamid and we were among the first visitors to the exhibition that morning.As we entered, I was taken aback by the sheer number of books on display. I have never seen so many books all together in one place before in my life. I felt thrilled to have the opportunity to take a look at these books on display. I was sure my classmates were equally thrilled.Cikgu Hamid told us that we had two and a half hours to browse among the books. We were not to fool around and if we wanted to buy any book we were to give it to him so that he could get a better discount. We all promised to behave. Next we plunged among the bookshelves and started to do what we had come for.There were so many books on display. There were books on hobbies computers, art and craft, machines and others of general interests. I was especially fascinated by the books on nature. So I was more or less glued to this section browsing over the beautifully illustrated books of animal and plants. Never had I seen such vast amounts of information concerning our precious planet.Before I knew it, one and a half hour had passed. My goodness, I thought I had only an hour left to go over the rest of the exhibition. So I promptly got about doing it.I next came upon computers on display. There was a sizable crowd gathered but I managed to get in front to have a look. A man was demonstrating the capabilities of a computer. I was astonished at what the computer could do. So for a good hour I was stuck there, eyes glued to the video display.Finally I decided that it was time I had a breath of fresh air and a cool drink. The crowd in the hall had swelled and the air was getting a bit stifling. So I left the hall for a moment to do the things.After a refreshing drink I returned to the hall to meet the rest of my classmates. Cikgu Hamid was already waiting for us. One by one my classmates appeared. After all of us had assembled and Cikgu Hamid had purchased the books, we headed out of the hall and into the bus.The bus started and we were on our way home. It had been a pleasant morning at the exhibition.