Monday 22 October 2012

Webquest: Halloween

Activity 1
1. Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain
2. Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France
3. It was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.
4. Crops
5. Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.
6. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes.
7. They re-lit their hearth fires to help protect them during the coming winter
8. The Roman Empire
9. Feralia and a day to honour Pomona
10. All Souls' Day, a day to honour the dead
11. Big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels and devils
12.  All-hallows or All-hallowmas
13. All-hallows Eve, Halloween.

Activity 2
1.       A man nicknamed "Stingy Jack."
2.       He keeps the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, because the cross prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form.
3.       He would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul.
4.       Jack tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree's bark to prevent the devil coming down from the tree.
5.       Jack died
6.       His soul wasn’t accepted by both heaven and hell.
7.       Jack of the Lantern, simply "Jack O'Lantern."
8.       They began to make their own versions of Jack's lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placed them in their windows and doorways to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits.
9.       Pumpkins

Apple- bobbing
1.       Fill a tub or a large basin with water and put apples in the water. Then players try to catch one with their teeth.
2.       Because apples are less dense than water, they will float at the surface.
3.       Teeth
4.       Hands

Trick-or-treating
1.       Candy, sweets
2.       Trick or treat
3.       The trick is a treat to perform mischief on he homeowners or their property if no treat is given.
4.       Early 1950s
5.       They decorate their entrances. Some just leave the candy in bowls on the porch. Others might even ask an effort from the children in order to provide them with candy.
6.       Great Britain and Ireland
7.       Souling and Guising
8.       Children and poor people would sing and say prayers for the dead in return for cake in terms of Souling. For Guising, children ask for food and coins. For trick or treat, children just ask for candies.
9.        Skull

Monday 15 October 2012

Bus on fire!!

A L94 bus was on fire at Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, about 9.30am today. The actual fire was below the window at the back and started from inside.  There was a explosion, but what led the fire has not been found yet. Every one on the bus was panic, but forturnatly all the 30 passengers got off the bus without being injuryed.

Monday 8 October 2012

The Big Scan game - Who murdered Angela Spelling?

This is a game based on a crime story.
A woman named Angela Spelling was killed at 10:30 pm on 14th February 2002. She was found dead in the bathtub in room 22 in Sleaze Inn Hotel. According to clues that I found in this game, I found the hotel maid, Manuella Novella, was the murder. She found her husband, Don Juan Fiction, had an affair with Angela Spelling. She was so jealousy and couldn't stand what she had seen. Thus she planned all steps to kill Angela and made the crime scene to look like a suicide. First, the maid druged Angela with sleeping pills. When the drugs worked, Mannuella moved her to the bathtub and cut her wrists deeply. Angela was too weak to fight back. She only grabed a piece of fabric from Mannuella's uniform. Then, Mannuella wrote a message ' Sorry, it was all too much' on the mirror. Lastly, she cleaned the blood footprints left by herself on the flore and left. Finally, Angela died because of  loss of blood from cuts on her wrists.
I have been kept using scanning and skimming when I was playing the game. Usually the reading is boring. However, when the reading is combined with a game, the game makes the reading more interesting. I had a lot of fun; moreover, my reading skills are improved at the same time. It is a brilliant way to study English.

Monday 27 August 2012

Paralympic 2012

Paralympics is the major international competition event for athletes who have physical disabilities.

An international wheelchair game was held in 1948. It is the beginning of Paralympics. Twelve years later, the first official Paralympic was held in Rome, Italy in 1960. The reason for holding Paralympics is creating an elite sports competition for people with disabilities that would be equivalent to the Olympic Games.

The opening ceremony of 2012 Paralympic will be held in London at 8.30 BST 29 August 2012. There will be more than 2100 medals presented at this event. . The significant meaning of Paralympic games is to change the way people see disability.

The logo for 2012 Paralympic is below:
165 countries are involved in and Australia is sending 161 athletes to London to attend this Paralympic. Wheelchair rugby player Greg Smith has been chosen to carry Australia team flag at the London Paralympic Games opening ceremony. The Australian Wheelchair basketball team is known as the Rollers.

Kurt Fearnley is a male athlete of wheelchair sports presenting Australia in 2012 Paralympic. He has won the champions of marathon Man of wheelchair sports twice in Paralympics in 2008 and 2004. Moreover, he also won the champion of 5000m wheelchair sports in 2004 Athens Paralympic and a lot of silver and brown medal in Paralympics and other international competition events.


Monday 13 August 2012

Computer Health

There are 5 steps to use computer safely.
1. Place the keyboard in a position that allows the forearms to be close to the horizontal and the wrists to be straight.
2. Adjust the seat tilt so that you are comfortable when you are working on the keyboard.
3. Set the eye-to-screen distance at he ditance that permits you to most easily focus on the screen. Usually this will be within an arm's length.
4. Place the document holder close to the monitor screen in the position that causes the least twistiong or inclination of the head.
5. Adjust the height of the work surface and/or the height of the chair so that the work suiface allows your elbows to be bent at 90 degrees, forearms parallel with the floor, wrist straight, shoulder relax.