Tampilkan postingan dengan label Reading. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Reading. Tampilkan semua postingan

Senin, 20 Oktober 2014

Belajar Bahasa Inggris dengan menggunakan Puzzle

Variasi belajar bahasa Inggris tidak hanya speaking, reading, listening and writing. Banyak variasi lain yang bisa BBM Friends lakukan untuk menambah semangat dalam belajar bahasa Inggris, seperti belajar bahasa inggris melalui lagu, puisi, scrabble, atau dengan puzzle seperti pada film The Hobbit Unexpected Journey ketika Bilbo dan Gollum saling bertukar teka-teki.
Silakan BBIY Friends pikirkan dan jawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan puzzle di bawah ini :
1. What occurs twice in a lifetime, but once in every year. Twice in a week but never in a day? Answer : The letter E2. Mr and Mrs Haines have three daughters and each daughter has two brothers. How many children do Mr and Mrs Haines have? Answer : three daughters and two sons.3. Which word, if pronounced right, is wrong, but if pronounced wrong is right? Answer : Wrong4. Everything Mr Red owns is red, he lives in a red bungalow and his chairs are red, his tables are red. His ceiling, walls and floor are all red. All of this clothes are red, his shoes are red, even his carpet, television and phone are red. What colour are his stairs? Answer : He doesn't have any stairs because he lives in a bungalow!5. A farmer is standing on one side of the river and with him are a wolf, a goat and a box with cabbages. In the river there is a small boat. The farmer wants to cross the river with all the three items who are with him. There are no bridges and in the boat there is only room for the farmer and one item. But if he leaves the goat with the cabbages alone on one side of the river the goat will eat the cabbages. If he leaves the wolf and the goat on one side the wolf will eat the goat. Only the farmer can seperate the wolf from the goat and the goat from the cabbage.
How can the farmer cross the river with all three items, without one eating the other ? Answer : First the farmer takes the goat across the river. He goes back to pick up the wolf. When he is across he leaves the wolf and takes back the goat. Back on the other side he leaves the goat and takes the cabbages with him. Then he picks up the goat and all three items are on the other side.6. Many years ago, befor modern educashun in the new millenium, one problem in skools was baseic speeling and grammer. To conbat this and rays acheivement, teechers were adviced to start at the very begining, at the yungest age. Once they had managed to breath new life into leessons, progres came quickly - sucess was then garanteed. How many speeling errors would modern skolars identify in this paragraph? Answer : kalau BBIY Friends teliti pasti bisa :)7. Can you find something which has keys that open no locks, with space but no room, and allows you to enter but not to go in ? Answer : A keyboard
lt;br />yle="display: inline-block; height: 60px; width: window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
Diposting oleh di Tidak ada komentar:
Label: ,

Kamis, 14 Agustus 2014

Reading and Listening : The Tea Master and The Swordsman

BBIY Friends, bacaan dan video berikut ini adalah sebuah kisah inspirasi tentang seorang ahli teh dan seorang ahli pedang dari Jepang. Kisah inspirasi ini cukup menarik untuk kita renungkan dan akan memberikan kita sebuah pemahaman tentang arti ketekunan dan fokus.
Bangsa Jepang yang menjadi latar blakang dalam kisah ini merupakan bangsa yang mempunyai kebiasaan untuk mendalami suatu bidang dengan fokus sangat luar biasa. Nanti BBIY Friends bisa melihat bagaimana profesi sebagai seorang penyaji teh bisa memberikan sebuah nilai kehidupan yang sangat luar biasa bila dilakukan dengan sepenuh hati dan totalitas yang sempurna. Setiap keahlian dan profesi bisa mencapai tingkat seorang master bila dilakukan dengan tekun dan sepenuh hati dengan tingkat konsentrasi yang luar biasa apapun bidangnya. Dan setiap keahlian dalam sebuah bidang akan berlaku sama pada bidang yang lain. Apa yang dikatakan oleh Malcolm Gladwell tentang kaidah 10.000 jam menjadi relevan dalam kisah ini.
Pertama-tama yang BBIY Friends lakukan adalah coba membaca kisah ini beberapa kali dan coba renungkan maknanya.
One who has attained mastery of an art reveals it in every action.
The famous story of the tea master and the ronin sheds some interesting insight into this concept:
At the insistence of Lord Yamanouchi the daimyo of Tosa Province, a reluctant tea master was taken to Yedo (Yedo is the feudal name for the modern city of Tokyo.) on an official trip attired in samurai garb, including the two traditional swords of the warrior class. While running an errand for his master in the city, the tea master was accosted by a ronin (A ronin is a masterless samurai, literally a wave man (one who is tossed about like the waves on the sea). Lacking a benefactor, many ronin took up criminal endeavors to support themselves.). Since he was by himself and dressed beyond his station, this was exactly the thing the tea master feared might happen.
At first, he was so scared that he was unable to speak, yet was finally able to admit that he was not really a samurai. Upon discovering that his opponent was merely a tea master and not a fearsome warrior, the ronin was more determined than ever to take his money. The ronin declared that it would be an insult to the tea master’s province if he did not defend his honor. The tea master replied, “If you so insist, we will try out our skills, but first I must finish my master’s errand. Then I will return tomorrow morning for a duel.”
The ronin agreed and the tea master rushed to complete his errand so that he could talk with the master of a local dojo before his fateful meeting with the ronin. He intended to ask the sword master how he might die in the manner befitting a samurai. The sword master was taken aback by the question, saying, “You are unique. Most students come ask me how to use a sword. You come to me asking how to die. Before I teach you the art of dying, please serve me a cup of tea.”
Forgetting about his impending catastrophe, the tea master prepared tea in the manner he always did—as if there were nothing else in the world that mattered except for serving the tea. Deeply moved by the tea master’s intense, but natural concentration, the sword master exclaimed, “That’s it! That very state of mind is what you will need tomorrow when you go to meet the ronin. First think of serving tea to an honored guest and act accordingly. Draw your sword and close your eyes. When you hear his kiai (spirit shout), strike him with your sword. The contest will probably end with a mutual slaying.”
The tea master thanked the sword master and went on about his business. The next morning when he went to meet the ronin, he followed the sword master’s advice to the letter. The tea master boldly stood before his opponent, the embodiment of concentration. The ronin, who had previously seen a coward, now faced the personification of bravery. Instead of advancing to attack, the ronin retreated. Cowed with fear inspired by the superior concentration of his adversary, he turned and fled. After standing a while and hearing no shout, the tea master opened his eyes to gaze upon an empty street. 
Sumber 
Setelah membaca dan mengerti isi dari kisah di atas selanjutnya BBIY Friends simak dan dengarkan video berikut ini :
Untuk teks silakan klik logo bertanda kotak surat, klik "aktifkan". Teks yang tertera tidak tampil sempurna, misal narasi video berbunyi :the tea master, tapi di teks tertulis "The tea Astana". Atau the art, tertulis the opt. Jadi BBIY Friends coba dengarkan dengan sungguh-sungguh supaya tidak salah pemahaman.
Narasi pada video di atas berbeda dengan narasi pada teks kutipan, tapi maknanya sama. 
Setelah mendengarkan narasi pada video di atas, dan mampu menangkap kata-kata yang terdapat pada dialog, silakan simak video lengkapnya di sini : The Tea Master and The Swordman 
Kesimpulan dari kisah di atas adalah kata-kata berikut ini : 
Selamat belajar dan temukan keahlianmu 
//-->iptBBIY/>
Diposting oleh di Tidak ada komentar:
Label: , ,

Selasa, 13 Mei 2014

Reading And Listening : A Horseman in the sky

Pada latihan membaca (reading) kali ini akan dilengkapi dengan latihan listening. BBIY Friends bisa memulainya dengan membaca keseluruhan cerita di bawah ini. Temukan kata-kata yang belum dimengerti dan kemudian catat.
Setelah membaca, download atau dengarkan secara online sambil membaca teksnya. Setelah itu tutup teks dan hanya dengarkan rekaman mp3 nya. Dengarkan dengan baik dan coba berhenti di tiap kata yang tidak bisa BBIY Friends dengarkan dengan jelas. Latihan seperti ini akan meningkatkan kemampuan listening kita dalam bahasa inggris.
Our story today is called, "A Horseman in the Sky." It was written by Ambrose Bierce. Here is Roy Depew with the story.
Narrator: Carter Druse was born in Virginia. He loved his parents, his home and the south. But he loved his country, too. And in the autumn of eighteen sixty-one, when the United States was divided by a terrible civil war, Carter Druse, a southerner, decided to join the Union Army of the north.
He told his father about his decision one morning at breakfast.
The older man looked at his only son for a moment, too shocked to speak. Then he said, "As of this moment you are a traitor to the south. Please dont tell your mother about your decision. She is sick, and we both know she has only a few weeks to live."
Carters father paused, again looking deep into his sons eyes. "Carter," he said, "No matter what happens -- be sure you always do what you think is your duty."
Both Carter Druse and his father left the table that morning with broken hearts. And Carter soon left his home, and everyone he loved to wear the blue uniform of the Union soldier.
One sunny afternoon, a few weeks later, Carter Druse lay with his face in the dirt by the side of a road. He was on his stomach, his arms still holding his gun. Carter would not receive a medal for his actions. In fact, if his commanding officer were to see him, he would order Carter shot immediately.
For Carter was not dead or wounded. He was sleeping while on duty. Fortunately, no one could see him. He was hidden by some bushes, growing by the side of the road.
The road Carter Druse had been sent to guard was only a few miles from his fathers house.
It began in a forest, down in the valley, and climbed up the side of a huge rock. Anyone standing on the top of this high rock would be able to see down into the valley. And that person would feel very dizzy, looking down. If he dropped a stone from the edge of this cliff, it would fall for six hundred meters before disappearing into the forest in the valley below.
Giant cliffs, like the one Carter lay on, surrounded the valley.
Hidden in the valleys forest were five union regiments -- thousands of Carters fellow soldiers. They had marched for thirty-six hours. Now they were resting. But at midnight they would climb that road up the rocky cliff.
Their plan was to attack by surprise an army of southerners, camped on the other side of the cliff. But if their enemy learned about the Union Army hiding in the forest, the soldiers would find themselves in a trap with no escape. That was why Carter Druse had been sent to guard the road.
It was his duty to be sure that no enemy soldier, dressed in gray, spied on the valley, where the union army was hiding.
But Carter Druse had fallen asleep. Suddenly, as if a messenger of fate came to touch him on the shoulder, the young man opened his eyes. As he lifted his head, he saw a man on horseback standing on the huge rocky cliff that looked down into the valley.
The rider and his horse stood so still that they seemed made of stone. The mans gray uniform blended with the blue sky and the white clouds behind him. He held a gun in his right hand, and the horses reins in the other.
Carter could not see the mans face, because the rider was looking down into the valley. But the man and his horse seemed to be of heroic, almost gigantic size, standing there motionless against the sky. Carter discovered he was very much afraid, even though he knew the enemy soldier could not see him hiding in the bushes.
Suddenly the horse moved, pulling back its head from the edge of the cliff. Carter was completely awake now. He raised his gun, pushing its barrel through the bushes. And he aimed for the horsemans heart. A small squeeze of the trigger, and Carter Druse would have done his duty.
At that instant, the horseman turned his head and looked in Carters direction. He seemed to look at Carters face, into his eyes, and deep into his brave, generous heart.
Carters face became very white. His entire body began shaking. His mind began to race, and in his fantasy, the horse and rider became black figures, rising and falling in slow circles against a fiery red sky.
Carter did not pull the trigger. Instead, he let go of his gun and slowly dropped his face until it rested again in the dirt.
Brave and strong as he was, Carter almost fainted from the shock of what he had seen.
Is it so terrible to kill an enemy who might kill you and your friends? Carter knew that this man must be shot from ambush -- without warning. This man must die without a moment to prepare his soul; without even the chance to say a silent prayer.
Slowly, a hope began to form in Carter Druses mind. Perhaps the southern soldier had not seen the northern troops.
Perhaps he was only admiring the view. Perhaps he would now turn and ride carelessly away.
Then Carter looked down into the valley so far below. He saw a line of men in blue uniforms and their horses, slowly leaving the protection of the forest. A foolish Union officer had permitted his soldiers to bring their horses to drink at a small stream near the forest. And there they were -- in plain sight!
Carter Druse looked back to the man and horse standing there against the sky. Again he took aim. But this time he pointed his gun at the horse. Words rang in his head -- the last words his father ever spoke to him: "No matter what happens, be sure you always do what you think is your duty."
Carter Druse was calm as he pulled the trigger of his gun.
At that moment, a Union officer happened to look up from his hiding place near the edge of the forest. His eyes climbed to the top of the cliff that looked over the valley. Just looking at the top of the gigantic rock, so far above him, made the soldier feel dizzy.
And then the officer saw something that filled his heart with horror. A man on a horse was riding down into the valley through the air!
The rider sat straight in his saddle. His hair streamed back, waving in the wind. His left hand held his horses reins while his right hand was hidden in the cloud of the horses mane. The horse looked as if it were galloping across the earth. Its body was proud and noble.
As the frightened Union officer watched this horseman in the sky, he almost believed he was witnessing a messenger from heaven. A messenger who had come to announce the end of the world. The officers legs grew weak, and he fell. At almost the same instant, he heard a crashing sound in the trees. The sound died without an echo. And all was silent.
The officer got to his feet, still shaking. He went back to his camp. But he didnt tell anyone what he had seen. He knew no one would ever believe him.
Soon after firing his gun, Carter Druse was joined by a Union sergeant. Carter did not turn his head as the sergeant kneeled beside him.
"Did you fire?" The sergeant whispered.
"Yes."
"At what?"
"A horse. It was on that rock. Its not there now. It went over the cliff." Carters face was white. But he showed no other sign of emotion. The sergeant did not understand.
"See here, Druse," he said, after a moments silence. "Why are you making this into a mystery. I order you to report. Was there anyone on the horse?"
"Yes."
"Who? "
"My father."
Announcer: You have heard the story called, "A Horseman in the Sky." It was written by Ambrose Bierce, and adapted for Special English by Dona de Sanctis. Your storyteller was Roy Depew.
Source : http://www.manythings.orgDengarkan narasi secara online : klik di siniDownload mp3 narasi : klik di sinilt;br />iptBBIY/>
Diposting oleh di Tidak ada komentar:
Label: , ,

Rabu, 01 Mei 2013

Reading and writing 1 : This Is Me Now by Natasha Benita

Hari ini saya memutuskan untuk menambah satu lagi pokok bahasan selain pelajaran tentang grammar, conversation, vocabulary, tips belajar bahasa inggris dan serba-serbi bahasa inggris di blog ini dengan satu pokok bahasan baru yaitu Reading and Writing. Reading and writing akan menampilkan tulisan berbahasa Inggris yang menarik dari berbagai sumber, dan tentunya akan lebih baik bila Anda para pembaca blog ini yang mengirimkan hasil karyanya untuk dimuat di blog ini. Jika anda punya tulisan yang menarik dalam bahasa inggris segera hubungi saya. Pada posting reading and writing 1 ini, saya akan menampilkan sebuah tulisan bagus dari blog natashabenita.blogspot.com saya sudah meminta ijin untuk mempostingkan secara utuh hasil tulisannya di posting blog hari ini.
This is Me Now 
How it felt  when Nobody stood there to see you in person and listened, when everybody said they would catch your back.
Oh yeah people say that technology overcome all the distance. Yeah..you say.
Would it help you to understand?
You wouldn’t understand every single tear that dropped ‘cause i missed the ones that i loved
You wouldn’t understand the moments when i didn’t want to talk about anything, but i just need someone to sit next to me. Just sit and accompany me.
You wouldn't understand how my days are packed up in suitcases , and move from a place to place
You wouldn't understand the times as I got to my room, my door closed right behind my back, and in a sudden all I know that i'm alone. 
You wouldn’t understand the minute i’m staring blankly just because i have no clue about what to do or what to feel.
You wouldn’t understand the sadness inside when i’m remembering the good times
You wouldn’t understand how i miss to get home soon, right after office hour without dealing with the crazy traffic.
You wouldn’t understand the second i just closed my eyes and wished it would last just for a while and then i’d be home.
You wouldn’t understand how many times i said to myself , “if only i was there with them”.
You wouldn’t understand how it felt when i’m drowned into things to do, and i needed a space to break.
You wouldn’t understand how everthing just coming, but didn’t have anyone to talk to in person, pat me on the back and saying “it’s gonna be okay”.
You wouldn’t understand the fear inside when it comes to weekend, and i just spend my weekend in vain at home just because i have no one to go with
You wouldn’t understand how i missed to awake every morning and know that i’m home, with all the routines every morning, then my lousy and lazy dogs are barking to anyone who’s passing by .
You wouldn’t understand the fear i feel inside everytime my phone rings, and it shows numbers from hometown. The fear of feeling vulnerable just because i know that everytime i pick-up the phone, i will be longing for coming home.
You wouldn’t know how it feels to imagine my dreams, but then I realized I can’t carry along all I’ve had, so i just had to start let things go one by one. Slip through my fingers just like grains of sand, when all i wanted to do was to hold it in my hands tightly.
And Yes.. you wouldn’t understand how i try to manage myself to survive and adapting.
When someone saying “you’ve changed!”
You can’t expect  to be fine..you can’t expect me to face the day like nothing has changed.
Being misunderstood is just a small part of what i’ve been struggling for.
At last..as i said before in my Bio...I’m flawed... I made mistake..and I’m sorry. I can’t be perfect for everyone, but at least i’m trying to bring out the best in me. This is me now.
Source : This is me NowEveryone who live their life is a writer, all of U have a story and that story must be unique and special. The difference perception of one's point of view about life and experience is a gift for this beautiful life. We can inspire each other by share our tought, idea and perception. So keep thinking, keep feeling, keep reading, and keep writing.
iptBBIY/>
Diposting oleh di Tidak ada komentar:
Label: ,

Kamis, 15 Desember 2011

WE ALL NEED TO LIVE IN PEACE WITH EACH OTHER


WE ALL NEED TO LIVE IN PEACE WITH EACH OTHER
We all need to live in peace with each other
For outside us beyond us
Are vast vast worlds –
We are alone here on our own small planet
And we do not know how far we can get
And what there is outside our world –We need to be alright with ourselves
So that when we confront the terrors of the distance
We will not destroy ourselves-
We must live in peace with each other
We must try to do the best we can
In a universe of ultimate uncertainty-
Perhaps somewhere along the way
We will vanish
Perhaps God will save us
We don’t know-
But we need to live in peace with each other
Not destroy ourselves
So we can face in the best way possible
The uncertainty of the unknown distant future.
Shalom Freedman
Diposting oleh di Tidak ada komentar:
Label: ,

Senin, 21 Juni 2010

Short Story (1500 vocabulary)

The Winepress

by Josef Essberger"You don't have to be French to enjoy a decent red wine," Charles Jousselin de Gruse used to tell his foreign guests whenever he entertained them in Paris. "But you do have to be French to recognize one," he would add with a laugh.
After a lifetime in the French diplomatic corps, the Count de Gruse lived with his wife in an elegant townhouse on Quai Voltaire. He was a likeable man, cultivated of course, with a well deserved reputation as a generous host and an amusing raconteur.
This evening's guests were all European and all equally convinced that immigration was at the root of Europe's problems. Charles de Gruse said nothing. He had always concealed his contempt for such ideas. And, in any case, he had never much cared for these particular guests.
The first of the red Bordeaux was being served with the veal, and one of the guests turned to de Gruse.
"Come on, Charles, it's simple arithmetic. Nothing to do with race or colour. You must've had bags of experience of this sort of thing. What d'you say?"
"Yes, General. Bags!"
Without another word, de Gruse picked up his glass and introduced his bulbous, winey nose. After a moment he looked up with watery eyes.
"A truly full-bodied Bordeaux," he said warmly, "a wine among wines."
The four guests held their glasses to the light and studied their blood-red contents. They all agreed that it was the best wine they had ever tasted.
One by one the little white lights along the Seine were coming on, and from the first-floor windows you could see the brightly lit bateaux-mouches passing through the arches of the Pont du Carrousel. The party moved on to a dish of game served with a more vigorous claret.
"Can you imagine," asked de Gruse, as the claret was poured, "that there are people who actually serve wines they know nothing about?"
"Really?" said one of the guests, a German politician.
"Personally, before I uncork a bottle I like to know what's in it."
"But how? How can anyone be sure?"
"I like to hunt around the vineyards. Take this place I used to visit in Bordeaux. I got to know the winegrower there personally. That's the way to know what you're drinking."
"A matter of pedigree, Charles," said the other politician.
"This fellow," continued de Gruse as though the Dutchman had not spoken, "always gave you the story behind his wines. One of them was the most extraordinary story I ever heard. We were tasting, in his winery, and we came to a cask that made him frown. He asked if I agreed with him that red Bordeaux was the best wine in the world. Of course, I agreed. Then he made the strangest statement.
"'The wine in this cask,' he said, and there were tears in his eyes, 'is the best vintage in the world. But it started its life far from the country where it was grown.'"
De Gruse paused to check that his guests were being served.
"Well?" said the Dutchman.
De Gruse and his wife exchanged glances.
"Do tell them, mon chéri," she said.
De Gruse leaned forwards, took another sip of wine, and dabbed his lips with the corner of his napkin. This is the story he told them.
At the age of twenty-one, Pierre - that was the name he gave the winegrower - had been sent by his father to spend some time with his uncle in Madagascar. Within two weeks he had fallen for a local girl called Faniry, or "Desire" in Malagasy. You could not blame him. At seventeen she was ravishing. In the Malagasy sunlight her skin was golden. Her black, waist-length hair, which hung straight beside her cheeks, framed large, fathomless eyes. It was a genuine coup de foudre, for both of them. Within five months they were married. Faniry had no family, but Pierre's parents came out from France for the wedding, even though they did not strictly approve of it, and for three years the young couple lived very happily on the island of Madagascar. Then, one day, a telegram came from France. Pierre's parents and his only brother had been killed in a car crash. Pierre took the next flight home to attend the funeral and manage the vineyard left by his father.
Faniry followed two weeks later. Pierre was grief-stricken, but with Faniry he settled down to running the vineyard. His family, and the lazy, idyllic days under a tropical sun, were gone forever. But he was very happily married, and he was very well-off. Perhaps, he reasoned, life in Bordeaux would not be so bad.
But he was wrong. It soon became obvious that Faniry was jealous. In Madagascar she had no match. In France she was jealous of everyone. Of the maids. Of the secretary. Even of the peasant girls who picked the grapes and giggled at her funny accent. She convinced herself that Pierre made love to each of them in turn.
She started with insinuations, simple, artless ones that Pierre hardly even recognized. Then she tried blunt accusation in the privacy of their bedroom. When he denied that, she resorted to violent, humiliating denouncements in the kitchens, the winery, the plantations. The angel that Pierre had married in Madagascar had become a termagant, blinded by jealousy. Nothing he did or said could help. Often, she would refuse to speak for a week or more, and when at last she spoke it would only be to scream yet more abuse or swear again her intention to leave him. By the third vine-harvest it was obvious to everyone that they loathed each other.
One Friday evening, Pierre was down in the winery, working on a new electric winepress. He was alone. The grape-pickers had left. Suddenly the door opened and Faniry entered, excessively made up. She walked straight up to Pierre, flung her arms around his neck, and pressed herself against him. Even above the fumes from the pressed grapes he could smell that she had been drinking.
"Darling," she sighed, "what shall we do?"
He badly wanted her, but all the past insults and humiliating scenes welled up inside him. He pushed her away.
"But, darling, I'm going to have a baby."
"Don't be absurd. Go to bed! You're drunk. And take that paint off. It makes you look like a tart."
Faniry's face blackened, and she threw herself at him with new accusations. He had never cared for her. He cared only about sex. He was obsessed with it. And with white women. But the women in France, the white women, they were the tarts, and he was welcome to them. She snatched a knife from the wall and lunged at him with it. She was in tears, but it took all his strength to keep the knife from his throat. Eventually he pushed her off, and she stumbled towards the winepress. Pierre stood, breathing heavily, as the screw of the press caught at her hair and dragged her in. She screamed, struggling to free herself. The screw bit slowly into her shoulder and she screamed again. Then she fainted, though whether from the pain or the fumes he was not sure. He looked away until a sickening sound told him it was over. Then he raised his arm and switched the current off.
The guests shuddered visibly and de Gruse paused in his story.
"Well, I won't go into the details at table," he said. "Pierre fed the rest of the body into the press and tidied up. Then he went up to the house, had a bath, ate a meal, and went to bed. The next day, he told everyone Faniry had finally left him and gone back to Madagascar. No-one was surprised."
He paused again. His guests sat motionless, their eyes turned towards him.
"Of course," he continued, "Sixty-five was a bad year for red Bordeaux. Except for Pierre's. That was the extraordinary thing. It won award after award, and nobody could understand why."
The general's wife cleared her throat.
"But, surely," she said, "you didn't taste it?"
"No, I didn't taste it, though Pierre did assure me his wife had lent the wine an incomparable aroma."
"And you didn't, er, buy any?" asked the general.
"How could I refuse? It isn't every day that one finds such a pedigree."
There was a long silence. The Dutchman shifted awkwardly in his seat, his glass poised midway between the table and his open lips. The other guests looked around uneasily at each other. They did not understand.
"But look here, Gruse," said the general at last, "you don't mean to tell me we're drinking this damned woman now, d'you?"
De Gruse gazed impassively at the Englishman.
"Heaven forbid, General," he said slowly. "Everyone knows that the best vintage should always come first."
Diposting oleh di Tidak ada komentar:
Label:

Senin, 16 November 2009

Poem

A Process in the weather of the Heart
A process in the weather of the heart
Turns damp to dry; the golden shot
Storms in the freezing tomb.
A weather in the quarter of the veins
Turns night to day; blood in their suns
Lights up the living worm.
A process in the eye forwarns
The bones of blindness; and the womb
Drives in a death as life leaks out.
A darkness in the weather of the eye
Is half its light; the fathomed sea
Breaks on unangled land.
The seed that makes a forest of the loin
Forks half its fruit; and half drops down,
Slow in a sleeping wind.
A weather in the flesh and bone
Is damp and dry; the quick and dead
Move like two ghosts before the eye.
A process in the weather of the world
Turns ghost to ghost; each mothered child
Sits in their double shade.
A process blows the moon into the sun,
Pulls down the shabby curtains of the skin;
And the heart gives up its dead.
Dylan Thomas
Diposting oleh di Tidak ada komentar:
Label: ,

Selasa, 07 April 2009

Memperhatikan hal yang tidak diperhatikan

Sebagian besar dari kita tentu tahu dan sering menjumpai tulisan di bawah ini, tapi seberapa banyak dari kita pernah membacanya sampai tuntas dan memahami isinya dan semua istilah di dalamnya? Sebagai pembelajar BAHASA INGGRIS, memperhatikan hal-hal yang tidak diperhatikan akan memperkaya kosa kata dan pemahaman bahasa inggris kita.
The page cannot be displayed
The page you are looking for is currently unavailable. The Web site might be experiencing technical difficulties, or you may need to adjust your browser settings.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please try the following:
Click the Refresh button, or try again later.
If you typed the page address in the Address bar, make sure that it is spelled correctly.
To check your connection settings, click the Tools menu, and then click Internet Options. On the Connections tab, click Settings. The settings should match those provided by your local area network (LAN) administrator or Internet service provider (ISP).
See if your Internet connection settings are being detected. You can set Microsoft Windows to examine your network and automatically discover network connection settings (if your network administrator has enabled this setting).
Click the Tools menu, and then click Internet Options.
On the Connections tab, click LAN Settings.
Select Automatically detect settings, and then click OK.
Some sites require 128-bit connection security. Click the Help menu and then click About Internet Explorer to determine what strength security you have installed.
If you are trying to reach a secure site, make sure your Security settings can support it. Click the Tools menu, and then click Internet Options. On the Advanced tab, scroll to the Security section and check settings for SSL 2.0, SSL 3.0, TLS 1.0, PCT 1.0.
Click the Back button to try another link.
Cannot find server or DNS Error
Internet Explorer
Selain mencoba memahami setiap kata dan kalimat, cobalah inventarisasi istilah-istilah yang tidak dipahami dan cari tahu artinya. Inilah cara mempelajari sesuatu, dan kita lihat pengetahuan kita akan semakin bertambah dari hari ke hari.
Diposting oleh di Tidak ada komentar:
Label: , ,

Sabtu, 04 April 2009

The Chicago Police Department

The Chicago Police DepartmentIn an effort to determine the top crime fighting agency in the country, the president narrowed the field to three finalist, the CIA, the FBI, and the Chicago Police.
The three remaining contenders were given the task of catching a rabbit which was released into the forest.
The CIA went into the forest. They placed animal informants throughout. They questioned all plant and mineral witnesses. After three months of extensive investigation they concluded that rabbits do not exist.
The FBI went into the forest. After two weeks without a capture, they burned the forest killing everything in it, including the rabbit. They made no apologies. The rabbit deserved it.
The CPD went into the forest. They came out two hours later with a badly beaten bear.
The bear was yelling "Okay, Okay, I'm a rabbit, I'm a rabbit".
Diposting oleh di Tidak ada komentar:
Label:

Funny strory

Berikut ini beberapa cerita lucu sebagai bahan bacaan dan belajar.
The Business MeetingA business woman named Cindy was in the airport VIP lounge on her way to Los Angeles. While in the VIP lounge, she noticed Donald Trump sitting on the sofa enjoying a brandy. As luck would have it, Cindy was meeting with a very important client who was running somewhat late.
Being a bold business woman, Cindy decided to go ahead and approach Mr. Trump, and introduced herself. Much to her surprise Mr. Trump turned out to be very nice. Encouraged by this she explained to "the Donald" that she was about to close a very important business deal and that she would be very grateful if he could say a quick "hello Cindy" to her when she was with her client. Mr. Trump consented to do just that.
Ten minutes later while Cindy was speaking with her client, she felt a rap on her shoulder. It was Donald Trump. Cindy turned about and looked at him as Trump said.
"Hi Cindy, what's going on?"
To which Cindy glibly replied, "Not now, Donald, can't you see I'm in a meeting!"
***********************************************************************************
Medical ProblemAn old woman came into her doctor's office and confessed to an embarrassing problem. "I do that all the time, Doctor Johnson, but they're soundless, and they have no odor. In fact, since I've been here, I did it no less than twenty times. What can I do?"
"Here's a prescription, Mrs. Harris. Take these pills three times a day for seven days and come back and see me in a week."
Next week an upset Mrs. Harris marched into Dr. Johnson's office. "Doctor, I don't know what was in those pills, but the problem is worse! I'm doing it just as much, but now it smells terrible! What do you have to say for yourself?"
"Calm down, Mrs. Harris," said the doctor soothingly. "Now that we've fixed your sinuses, we'll work on your hearing!!!"
Diposting oleh di Tidak ada komentar:
Label: ,

Jumat, 09 Januari 2009

Motivational Poem

A Motivational PoemIt Isn't Costly Poet: Edgar Guest Does the grouch get richer quicker than the
friendly sort of man?
Can the grumbler labor better than the cheerful
fellow can?
Is the mean and churlish neighbor any cleverer
than the one
Who shouts a glad "good morning," and then
smiling passes on?Just stop and think about it. Have you ever
known or seen
A mean man who succeeded, just because he
was so mean?
When you find a grouch with honors and with
money in his pouch,
You can bet he didn't win them just because
he was a grouch.
Oh, you'll not be any poorer if you smile along
your way,
And your lot will not be harder for the kindly
things you say.
Don't imagine you are wasting time for others
that you spend:
You can rise to wealth and glory and still pause
to be a friend.
Diposting oleh di Tidak ada komentar:
Label: , ,

Kamis, 18 Desember 2008

The Garden of love (puisi abad 18)

The Garden of love
I went to the Garden of Love,
And saw what I never had seen:
A Chapel was built in the midst,
Where I used to play on the green.
And the gates of this Chapel were shut,
And "Thou shalt not" writ over the door;
So I turned to the Garden of Love,
That so many sweet flowers bore;
And I saw it was filled with graves,
And tombstones where flowers should be;
And Priests in black gowns were walking their rounds,
And binding with briers my joys and desires.
Poem by William Blake
Diposting oleh di Tidak ada komentar:
Label: , ,

Senin, 01 Desember 2008

Reading


The Princess and the Pea Once upon a time there was a prince who wanted to marry a princess; but she would have to be a real princess. He travelled all over the world to find one, but nowhere could he get what he wanted. There were princesses enough, but it was difficult to find out whether they were real ones. There was always something about them that was not as it should be. So he came home again and was sad, for he would have liked very much to have a real princess. One evening a terrible storm came on; there was thunder and lightning, and the rain poured down in torrents. Suddenly a knocking was heard at the city gate, and the old king went to open it.
It was a princess standing out there in front of the gate. But, good gracious! what a sight the rain and the wind had made her look. The water ran down from her hair and clothes; it ran down into the toes of her shoes and out again at the heels. And yet she said that she was a real princess.
Well, we'll soon find that out, thought the old queen. But she said nothing, went into the bed-room, took all the bedding off the bedstead, and laid a pea on the bottom; then she took twenty mattresses and laid them on the pea, and then twenty eider-down beds on top of the mattresses.
On this the princess had to lie all night. In the morning she was asked how she had slept.
"Oh, very badly!" said she. "I have scarcely closed my eyes all night. Heaven only knows what was in the bed, but I was lying on something hard, so that I am black and blue all over my body. It's horrible!"
Now they knew that she was a real princess because she had felt the pea right through the twenty mattresses and the twenty eider-down beds.
Nobody but a real princess could be as sensitive as that.
So the prince took her for his wife, for now he knew that he had a real princess; and the pea was put in the museum, where it may still be seen, if no one has stolen it.
There, that is a true story.
Coba baca cerita di atas sedikitnya 20 kali, jangan pedulikan artinya dulu , tapi paksakan untuk membacanya berkali-kali, dan lihat tingkat kesulitan yang makin lama makin menurun ketika anda sudah membacanya lebih dari 20 kali. Setelah itu garis bawahi kata-kata yang belum anda mengerti , dan coba untuk mencarinya di KAMUS. Selanjutnya baca lagi sampai anda mengerti maksud cerita di atas.
Diposting oleh di Tidak ada komentar:
Label: ,
Langganan: Postingan (Atom)