When do we become adults?

What I read

From “People don’t become ‘adults’ until their 30s, say scientists” (2019), Professor Peter Jones says that there is a path between childhood and adulthood. Many people think that they become an adult when they’re eighteen because they can vote, buy alcohol and are treated as an adult, which is wrong. Eighteen is the number that education, health and law systems use to make it easier by giving a definition, but it isn’t the exact age when people become adult. Brain scientists believe that people become adult at different ages; however, people become adult in their 30s when there is no change in their brain.

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My response 

I interested in this article because of its title. I've never thought that eighteen which is widely taught as an age when we become adult is wrong because when we are eighteen, we can vote, buy alcohol, smoke, and we are treated as an adult in a court, so many people including me think that we become adult when we're eighteen, but now I believe that we don't become adult when we're eighteen. I agree that we become an adult at different age, the reason maybe personality, environment, parents, friends and so on.

I agree with most of things written in the article, which seem to be reliable because they are scientists' words, but I don't totally believe that we become adult in our 30s when there is no change in our brain, I think that our brain change a bit slightly over time, for example, we can remember a thing that you have seen recently and after that you begin to forget it, it is a change of a brain, isn't it?  This leads me back to the question again. When do we become adult? 

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My question

I've mention an idea about "a change in a brain", and the article also mention this phrase. Then, what is your idea about this phrase.

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Reference

• People don't become 'adults' until their 30s, say scientists. (2019, March 19). Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-47622059  

Why were Facebook passwords exposed internally?

What I read

“Millions of Facebook passwords exposed internally ” (2019) says that millions of Facebook passwords were exposed internally by a security flaw that allowed storing passwords stored in plain text. An internal check found that most of the people affected were users of Facebook Lite in nations where net connections are sparse and slow. Facebook thought they would notify the users of Facebook Lite, Facebook and Instagram, but would force them to reset the password only if Facebook looked into the issue and uncovered abuse of login credentials.

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My response 

Facebook is one of social media that I use to chat with my friends, read interesting information and know current events. It is as useful and popular as Line, Twitter, Instagram. It is important to many people. So, I think that exposing of Facebook passwords is a big problem that shouldn't be overlooked.   

In my opinion, the Facebook passwords shouldn't have been exposed. Some people use one password in every accounts. It isn't safe for them, if someone know the password, they can know everything about password owner and can do anything in accounts. It is a big problem that Facebook must fix quickly otherwise there may be many problems and can be more difficult to fix.

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My question

How should we do to prevent our passwords from being known?

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Reference

• Millions of Facebook passwords exposed internally. (2019, March 21). Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-47653656 

Money apps

What I read

The article “Do money apps make us better or worse with our finances?” by Padraig  Belton says that money applications have been rapidly growing for many years in order to resolve problems about lack of tracking records for spending history that causes some people to run out of money.  In terms of benefits, these money applications aim to provide tracking on spending history and displaying debit and credit accounts in one place and also pointing out what customers spend the most on.  However, the author thinks that the money application might be not good at all  because it is easy to make a spending and withdrawal so this point of convenience may become dangerous.

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My response 

When I read the article "Do money apps make us better or worse with our finances?" at the first glance, it is really attractive to me, especially, the word "money apps".  This word makes me think about how to manage money effectively which is the popular topic for today's conversation.  Many companies try to bring more technologies to help people finding the way to manage their money and apps are one of the most solutions that we have right now.

Nothing in the world is perfect.  I totally do agree with the author that the money apps have both advantage and disadvantage.  The advantages do not just help to see the financial historical transaction but also we can use this data to predict the future budget for using in daily life.  However, the money apps still have some disadvantages and one of the good examples apart from article is the quality of security that is important for us to have a concern.   

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My question

Most people in the world have some concern on money and how to make more money or how to manage money effectively.  Nowadays, there are a lot of guru who try to provide the theory of their thought to help people understand how to make it happen but the success rate is only 5% so do you think why they cannot success? And if you are the guru, what's kind of method that you will suggest to other people?___________________________________ 

Reference

• Belton, P. (2019, February 5). Do money apps make us better or worse with our finances? Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47075429 

Facebook failed in keeping passwords.

What I read

The article “Millions of Facebook passwords exposed internally” (2019) says that millions of passwords on facebook were revealed and the oldest ones could date back to 2012. The researcher says that the cause of this failure came from the way the developer team keeps passwords, as user passwords must be protected by encoding, but they didn’t do it. Facebook said they found this problem in January, from a general reviewing of the security system, and they also found that the most affected is users of facebook lite. Facebook tells us that they will send a notification about this mistake to users of Facebook and another application users of the same company, but they will not make users change their password if there is no issue with login credentials.

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My response 

The reasons why I choose Millions of Facebook passwords exposed internally to summarize is Facebook is the application that very popular. It is clearly that a lot of people use it everyday, if we ask our friends for their Facebook account, we can assume that almost of them have it. This application became part of our life lately, not just for relax as it looks like in the first place but Facebook is now has an important role in today society. We use it for communication or work, also it has influence on our culture, politics and value. For that reason, I think it is a serious issue that the security system of the application like Facebook being harmed.

Another thing that come into my mind when I read this article is cyber crime is now starting to be a deadly problem in the same level as another crime. Technology like internet and computer run our society. Crime on the internet affect real life as same as online. As we can see from the article when it has problem on Facebook passwords, it causes effect in wide area. In my opinion, it is the issue that we can't ignore.

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My question

Have you ever got a problem about internet privacy? How was it?

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Reference

• Millions of Facebook passwords exposed internally. (2019, March 21). Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-47653656 

Does testosterone level indicate an athlete’s performance?

What I read

“Testosterone rules for female athletes 'unscientific'” reports scientists’ opinion on the IAFF’s rule about female athletes with high testosterone amount. South African runner, Caster Semenya was banned from the competition for nearly a year since she has higher testosterone amount than the limit for female athletes, and the rule states that this kind of female athlete must have hormone treatment. Scientists disagree with this rule and comment that the amount of testosterone produced by one’s body does not have that much effect on one’s performances in sports. The scientists from the universities explain that testosterone is not the only indicator for an athlete’s physical function and this rule is too personal for high-ranked athletes, so it should be reconsidered.

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My response 

This article interests me since it is about science and sport. I have heard the news about this South African runner before and I am not quite agree with this rule. Although testosterone is a male hormone, it can be found in both men and women in different amount. Men tend to have more testosterone than women whereas women tend to have more progesterone and estrogen than men. However, the gender of a person doesn't mainly based on the amount of sex hormones, it is based on whether that person has XX or XY chromosomes. Research shows that not every man in this world has the equal amount of testosterone, some men have more testosterone than usual whereas some men have less testosterone than usual. Some women don't have normal hormone amount too, it is not their fault, it's just some disfunctions of the organs in their bodies. Banning these kinds of athlete or taking them into hormone treatment is not fair, they have the right to compete fairly. 

A lot of factors are involved in an athlete's performance. It is not fair if the IAFF focus only on the amount of hormone inside the first place runner. If IAFF puts it this way, they should also ban a runner with higher height than average since they will be able to move faster per footstep. There are also a lot more factors which impact an athlete's body. I totally agree with the scientists' comments from the news source, this IAFF's is too personal and not scientific.

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My question

Do you agree with the rule which ban a female athlete with higher-than-average testosterone amount in her body from the competition?

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Reference

• Testosterone rules for female athletes 'unscientific'. (2019, March 21). Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/health-47640359   

The discovery of the great hope “Baby Grady”

What I read

The article “‘Baby Grady’ gives fertility hope to boys with cancer ”(2019) by James Gallagher reports that scientists have succeeded in giving birth to the monkey “Baby Grady” using sperm produced by cryopreserved testicular tissue, which is collected from removed immature testes of baby monkeys to be preserved before being engrafted under the skin of those monkeys having reached puberty. This might be a significant step in assisted reproductive technology for boys with cancer, who risk their reproductive ability as a result of cancer therapies. Despite the benefits, many experts suggested that it requires further research to confirm its safety before applying it to humans because there is a risk to those boys to have cancer again, if there are any cancer generators contaminated in the grafted tissue.

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My response 

One of scientist's duties is to find out a useful technology improving our life quality via doing a research. Many researches still isn't ready to be the technologies, while a few can reach a goal to solve any health problems and become innovations. This article reported the research, which attracted me at the first sight because it showed possibility to be a futuristic medical technology aiding many people who have a problem giving birth, but still want to have a complete family. Apart from that, the topic is very interesting for a biologist like me since I know well that it is too difficult and too dangerous for boys with cancer to have their children after cancer therapies, but through the result of this research, they are able to feel hopeful again about their future. These are reasons why I chose this wonderful topic to summarize.

Because safety always come first, I totally agree that this result is just a preliminary, which requires further experiments to support before being used in humans. Although it can be a great hope for those patients, any possible side effects need to be considered. As far as effects on the animal is concerned, we can see that experimented monkeys lost ability to have natural breeding since they had been removed testes. Apart from interfering genetic variation of those monkeys by conducted matching, another issue is some monkeys losing testes permanently can not produce sperm to inherit their heredity to their children even after the experiment, and can not continue their lineage anymore. This means the most important life goal of those animals, which is to produce offspring, is terminated by human's hand. Despite a few negative effects, this is still a valuable research.                  

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My question

Nowadays, it is widely accepted to use an animal as a sample in scientific research, do you think doing an experiment with the animal is morally wrong, or not?  

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Reference

• Gallagher, J. (2019, March 22). 'Baby Grady' gives fertility hope to boys with cancer. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/health-47631079  

Serving Sharks on Dinner

What I read

The BBC article “Shark on UK plates highlights trade in endangered species” (2019) by Helen Briggs reported the study by the University of Exeter that over 100 shark meat samples were sold on chip shops, supermarkets, and fishmonger shops in UK even though these samples is processed and impossible to identify the species from external characters. The researchers then decided to apply DNA barcoding to compare the similarity of DNA sequences in order to distinguish species, which turn out that two threatened shark species were included in these samples. In addition, global eating sharks and other cartilaginous fishes as a food increased by 42% in the past 10 years, although these fishes might not be a good choice for sustainable food and have high risk to be extinct.

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My response 

This article is shocking me by the popularity of eating and selling shark meat in UK. Eating sharks is very popular in Asian country, especially China, Vietnam and Thailand. A large number of sharks is hunted in Thai seas, and as in the article, the number of sharks in the ocean is hugely decreasing. As we have known, sharks play an important role in ocean food chain, as the top predator, or are called as keystone species. Decreasing number of the keystone species makes tremendous effects to ecosystem, for instance, the species that are used to be hunted by keystone species will increase and dominate lower species in a food chain, then harm to a balance of food web. Hunting sharks and other cartilaginous fishes usually happens directly from the ocean since they are difficult to farm and require huge time plus investment to produce them as food. By this reason, I do not quite agree with eating this kind of unsustainable food which also makes a huge effect to the ecosystem.

In addition, this research is quite similar to my thesis work during a bachelor degree. I apply DNA barcoding to create the database of edible jellyfish in Thailand and identify the species of processed edible jellyfish. I found that most of processed jellyfish in supermarkets, local markets, and restaurants mostly belong to only one species, but the price is range from 100 - 1,000 baht per kg. which depends on the 'label'. This article also mentioned a problem of label which usually misleads consumers by labelling shark meat as other higher price fish and making price higher. I thus totally agree with the utility of DNA application for identify these 'impossible to identify' processed meat.

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My question

Do you agree with eating sharks is usual and normal, and would you like to try if you have a chance?

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Reference

• Briggs, H. (2019, January 31). Shark on UK plates highlights trade in endangered species.  Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47044101

Magic of mushrooms

What I read

“The unexpected magic of mushrooms” by Richard Gray tells us that mushrooms and other organisms in the fungi kingdom have the unexpected magic that is very useful for our life, such as helping to cure cancer by protecting its DNA from damage, that and the compounds that come from fungi can destroy viruses like flu and polio. Fungi can also deal with other problems beside our health. It can break down plastic in a short amount of time when it normally take years to break down. People are trying to figure out ways to replace plastic with fungi so that our world and environment can become better.

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My response 

The unexpected magic of mushrooms seems to be an interest article for me. The reason that I chose to do this article is because its title when I saw the title it makes me want to know more about it. I never thought that mushrooms would have this much benefits. Mushrooms for me I think it is more safe than a medicine that have a chemical mixture because mushrooms come from nature and from what I have read the scientist are now having some medicine from mushroom that can cure some disease such as cancer. In the future I think that scientist will be able to produce more medicine that comes from nature to help more people that are suffering from health problems all around the world.

The thing that interest me in this article is about the "smart concrete" that can heal itself. I have heard some about this before that it is a concrete that can grows into any crack to repair the damage. I think it is a very good idea and if this really work well it can help us and all people around the world to save money from repairing the damage concrete. Another thing that also interest me is using fungi to replace plastic. It will help our world to prevent having too much waste problem and also global warming.

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My question

Have you ever used a medicine that have a mixture of a mushrooms? What is it?

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Reference

• Gray, R. (2019, March 15). The unexpected magic of mushrooms. Retrieved from  http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190314-the-unexpected-magic-of-mushrooms 

The best wolf comic of its kind

What I read

The article “How a bookshop wolf handles awkward customers” (2019), written by Dhruti Shah, talks about the popular comic on Instagram and Tumblr named Customer Service Wolf written by an Australian bookshop worker: Anne Barnetson got this idea from her friend’s speech related to one funny story where the retail workers who are predators eat their strange customers; also, since Ann and her friend’s nicknames are Flying Wolf and Black Wolf respectively, the main characters, then, are wolves. This comic given in a humorous tone is mainly about a customer service wolf that has to deal with many kinds of weird customers in various ways, and has consequently got really good feedback from the readers sharing their own experiences related to these stories via comments.

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My response 

Nowadays, people have to deal with the serious environment that each of them have to do many things to serve their living such as finding money leading people to compete with either themselves or others. In contrast, this comic on the social media is a kind of relaxing story, which make people relieve from stress including me. So this is a main reason why I feel interest in this article. At the time that I read this article, which was the last one in my list, in the last Saturday class, I absolutely knew that I would choose that topic to summarize, even I had three or four topic that I was interested before. I can remember when I read this article, I smiled and I felt that it is so funny that I cannot stop smiling.

Another important reason that this comic is attracted to plenty of people is most of the stories are related to the real scenarios in many service industries. When it is related to readers' life, even it is not direct experiences, it is exactly effect their feeling, and additionally, this story will easily generate a connection to all readers with those humorous tone, amusing mood and relative stories, which they all will understand what the author is talking about in a short period of time and do not require much knowledge and additional thought from readers.

Apart from that, the author has used social media to be a medium between her and readers, which is a good strategy to gather a community to their place, and people can also interact by sharing ideas with each story or other comments in almost realtime. Subsequently, it will proliferate the community leading to the huge popularity of this comic.

On the part of readers who have behaviors as customer side, they will see what other people think about them when they do such a bad thing to others or customer services when they read this comic, which is a mirror of them to see what they have done to other and the effects that could be happened. However, this is based on each personality that they will think about the effect of their behavior or not, which some people might just read it and have fun with it without concerning about the stories that the writer would like to express.

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My question

Do you think this comic should have some other kinds of stories? If so, please give an example.

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Reference

• Shah, D. (2019, March 22). How a bookshop wolf handles awkward customers. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47526605

Gremlins in the works

What I read

In “Venezuela power cuts: Blackouts hit Caracas and spread” (2019), we are told that both President Maduro, who has led the country since 2013 and who still has support from communist nations such as Russia and China, and opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who has the support of the US and other nations as interim leader, are blaming not only each other for a massive electricity failure that has hit Venezuala, but also small animals getting into substations and even the country’s nearness to the sun, because it’s near the equator. Despite being rich in oil, Venezuala has become an economic disaster under Maduro, with most of its electricity coming from a poorly maintained hydroelectric system, where the latest failure has closed workplaces, schools and the main airport. 

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My response 

The ongoing disaster in Venezuala seems to me a good example of the fact that socialism is doomed to failure. Before Maduro and his socialist predecessor had come to power, Venezuala's economy was growing well and living standards were improving. That all changed when it went more socialist than capitalist. The recent and ongoing power failures that are leaving people without light or other basic amenities powered by electricity, such as heating and refrigeration, are just one symptom of the harm that the socialist religion has forced on the Venezualans, many of whom have decided to flee to other countries in the hope of a better life for themselves and their families. The same thing happened on Mao in China: his policies forced by the law onto the entire nation plunged it into famines that killed tens of millions of Chinese in his "Great Leaps Forward," which were really leaps off a cliff, although  it was the ordinary people who were pushed over the cliff by the bad rule of law made up by the rulers. The communist leaders like Mao, perhaps even Stalin, might have believed they were doing the right thing, but they were wrong. By sticking to their morally bad policies and refusing to listen to dissenting opinions, I think that they proved themselves to be bad people, however good they might have thought themselves. But dictators are bad people. It is no accident that they always make up laws to punish people who think differently or who dare to criticise their favourite myths and heroes. 

I often have arguments about religion with one of my oldest friends, who thinks that religion makes people good, a claim that I don't think the facts, statistical and historical, support. He is especially keen to compare the killings committed by communists, who profess atheism, to the deeds of the religiously inspired, but they seem the same to me.  I think that communism, fascism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and so on are all exactly the same sorts of things. If you want to call Hinduism and Islam religions, then so too are communism, fascism and monarchism. Their important similarities are a belief in rituals, whether going to mass on Sundays, or gathering in Red Square, celebrating the birth of their god or their Marx, and so on. They also share magical beliefs about the world: that their god made everything, that communism makes everyone a true human, and they also think that they have the truth about what is right and wrong: that it is what their god says, or their prophet, or Stalin or Mao. But what all of these types of ideology have in common is that they are so certain that they are right and everyone else is wrong that they are willing to use force against people who might think differently. Hence, we see the Christians imprisoning, torturing and killing people of different religions or doing the same to scientists who say that the Earth is not the centre of the universe and that we are related to every other living thing on Earth because we all evolved from the same ancestor. Religions such as communism and Hinduism are especially confident that they are right about moral questions, so they say that gay people are bad, or that alcohol must be banned, or that people who change faith, for example changing to democracy or to Christianity, are bad people. But all such claims are false and harmful, whether the religion is socialism, Islam, fascism, Christianity, or one of the other ideologies that rejects reason and evidence in favour of blind, untested belief in its dogmas. 

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My question

Are religious ideologies, whether theistic or atheistic, more good or bad?

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Reference

• Venezuela power cuts: Blackouts hit Caracas and spread. (2019, March 8). Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-47492624

Participating in online discussion boards (SkRW3, p66, Study Skills)

What we read

The study skills page that follows Unit 6 of Bixby and Scanlon (2013, p. 66) gets us to think about and gives some tips for participating in online discussion boards, such as our class blog. Although you might not have done this before, it is a common part of reading and writing in a modern academic environment. For example, if you were looking for something more challenging to listen to, you might have checked out Harvard University professor Michael Sandel's lecture series Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? In several of his lectures, Sandel refers to the blog to which his students are expected to contribute regularly as a part of their course. And of course, we have been blogging since day one of this class.

I've already given some reasons why we move some of Skillful's discussion exercises to an online discussion board, and on page 66, Bixby and Scanlon's tips fill this out a bit more. 

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What Bixby and Scanlon do  

Following her two questions to get us reflecting on our previous experience and preferences, Cottrell suggests six tips to improve our use of blogs and similar tools in an academic context. 

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Bixby and Scanlon's questions

Getting started

First, think for a moment about the two "Getting Started" questions on page 66. 

• Have you ever used an online discussion  board? (Yes, you have, at least in this class.) How did you feel about it?
   
• Would you prefer a class discussion (which we have also done), or an online discussion? Why?

After you have thought about it for a minute, spend a few minutes writing your responses to these two question. Then publish your comment. 

Scenario

Read the scenario and think about what Fatima did right and what she might not have done so well. 

Consider it

Next, we will read the six tips in the "Consider It" section. As you read, which tips have I asked you to follow? Which have I revised a bit? 

Which of the six tips do you think the most useful for you? 

Over to you

Finally, think about the last two questions with which Bixby and Scanlon conclude their discussion on participating in online discussion boards. 

Create a new comment to share your response. 

• Why are academic writing skills important for an online discussion board? For example our discussion of the opening questions that Bixby and Scanlon give to each unit and some of their critical thinking questions.
   
• How do you think an online discussion board might improve  your learning in a course?
   
• This is  not one of Bixby and Scanlon's discussion questions, but do you agree with them participating in online discussions is helpful for academic reading and writing? 

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Reference

• Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing: Student's Book 3 (p. 66). London: Macmillan Education 

Getting into Unit 6 = Disease (SkR&W3, p57, Discussion point)

What we read

As usual, Bixby and Scanlon introduce "Disease" with a large photograph and some questions to get us thinking about the coming topic and ideas in Unit 6 of Skillful (2013, p. 57). 

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Bixby and Scanlon's questions

Discuss these questions in a comment. 

• How have medical technology and treatment changed since your grandparents were young? What about your parents? How have they changed in your own lifetime?
   
• What are some interesting or amazing uses of technology in modern medicine? Give as many examples as you can.
   
• What types of medical advances do you think, or hope (fear?), the future will bring? 

Write two or three paragraphs to address the questions in any order. Remember, it's response writing where we want your ideas written down in sentences as quickly as possible. Think for a minute or two, and then write. Then write your next idea, and the next one. And repeat. 

For clarity, write as though your readers have not seen the questions. Your writing should make sense as an independent piece of work. 

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Reference

• Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing: Student's Book 3. Oxford: Macmillan Education

Study skills: "Strategies for writing timed essays": (SkR&W3, p56)

What we read

We have now read and thought about Bixby and Scanlons (2013, p. 56) ideas and suggestions to enhance your success in timed exams, which most students have to do at some point in their academic careers. 

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Bixby and Scanlon's questions 

These are the three questions that Bixby and Scanlon ask us to discuss in their "Over to you" section, which concludes this study skills page.  

• What could you do to avoid feeling nervous in timed essay situations?
   
• Which tips are the most important to you?
   
• The next time you do timed writing, what will you do differently? 
• Which tips will you try?  

As usual, you can address the questions in any order. You can write one comment, or if you prefer, two comments. I thought that their second and third questions were the most important, so you might like to start with them; however, you are the writer, and that is a decision for you to make.   

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References

• Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful Reading &  Writing: Student's Book 3. Oxford: Macmillan Education

Disease: reading 1, "Long Distance Care" (B&S3, pp58-59, Before reading)

Before we read

Write a comment to share your thoughts on these questions that Bixby and Scanlon ask on page 58 (2013).

• In recent years, many types of jobs have become automated. What are the pros and cons of this increased reliance on robots?
  
  
  

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Reference

• Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing, Student's Book 3. Oxford: Macmillan Education 

Back to My Hometown

Someone said that people have more choices for living.  Some people are living with ambitious life while some people are selecting to live with slow-life, and nobody knows which one is correct.  For me, I feel that my life is a bit more complicated than the past since I have stayed in Bangkok.  Moreover, right now I am working so hard and need to burn the midnight oil every day in order to finish my tasks, of course, I do not have time to do other things that I want, for example, spend time to stay with family.  Actually I do not like this lifestyle but it seems like no more choices for me.   

When I have free time, I always think of my wonderful memory with my family when I was young.  At that moment, I was really naïve and loved to play the whole day.  Every day does not have serious situation and less sophisticated story, this made me feel happy.  Meanwhile, the place that I lived with my family when I was young is the land of sea and river that are attractive more people to walk around there.  There were a lot of birds were flying across the sea and river.  When I wanted to make myself relax, I always went there to sit on the shore for reading the book and seeing the birds.

Last year, in order to meet my family I was drawn back to my hometown.  Once I arrived there, the first thing that I did was cry because I felt like there was a lot of change in everything, for example, my parents became old and the natural environment was changed.  I was so upset with this change.  However, my parents tried to soothe me that everything in the world will be changed along the way and nobody can stop it, this is the nature.  After that I walked to the river that near my house in order to be alone and calm down, then started thinking.  Finally, I can find out that it is true that everything is going to be changed every time, this includes me as well.  Since the moment that I learnt to understand the nature, I have not upset anymore with the change.  Moreover, this situation has become one story of my memory. 

Shopping Mall

I was drawn back to Siam Discovery, one of the grand shopping malls located at the very center of Bangkok. It is a place where I have had a memorable experience with my close friends during my high school year. Just a couple of months ago, I walked by this mall on the way back home. It has been renovated with many large LCD screens. Before catching a bus, I decided to wander inside the mall to reminisce my teenage life.

I walk up an escalator to reach the floor where I spent most of my time studying with my friends. A tutorial school which was once operating here has gone. It is now replaced by a shop for hi-end products. Almost none of the kids wearing school uniforms appear. Many foreign tourists occupy this floor. In fact, they take up all the spaces to purchase for their goods.

After having soft-serve ice cream, I reached the ground floor. I used to buy cheap, tasty street food there. However, right now this area is paved with granite stone and it is in fact very clean. Although this scenery makes this shopping mall an attractive destination for tourists worldwide, I think it lacks the authenticity of Thai traditional way of life with street merchants with which I have grown up.

The exciting park

I was drawn back to first park that I visited when I was ten years old. At first, I was born in Bangkok which is the capital city in Thailand. As you know, Bangkok is not any border connected to ocean. One day, I heard slogan “ Siam Park, Ocean In Bangkok”. After I heard slogan, I wanted to go that place. Finally, my parents took me to that place. When I went there, they did not have any ocean in Siam park. But, they had the water park which had stimulator creating tidal waves in it and they divided water park into two zone -children zone and adults zone. At that moment, I did not feel sad anything because I liked playing in water park as common.

Siam park city did not have only water park but also amusement park, for example, Hurricane, Vikings ship, Skycoaters ect. My mother allowed me to play Vikings ship. I remembered that I had an extremely exciting moment about this Vikings ship. Before starting, I planed to sit the last row of viking because I thought it was less arousing. But, It was not what I expected. I was extremely excited and felt like my heart stopped for seconds. After playing, I vomited and feel dizziness. I took a rest for one hours and got back to normal.

When I looked back that time, I had a good moment with Siam park city ,especially Vinkings. However, I did not have any opportunity to go there again. I hope I will go back to Siam park city one day.

My old school's birthday

Last year,  I had been drawn back to Santa Cruz Suksa school that I studied from kindergarten to grade 6 on the school's birthday. I was surprised, for many things have changed, there are a new school building and a new school meeting room, but the playground that I often played with my friends was removed.

On my old school's birthday, I made an appointment with my friends: Nuch, Nuey, Friend and Biew, to went to our old school. I went to my old school almost 4 o'clock in the afternoon and then we did many activities in school, met many teachers, went to church which is a school church, around it, there were history of the school and the church and many activities too. Near a school church, there is a Kudi chin village which is the first place that bakes Khanom farang kudi chin. We were very enjoyed and tried, so we went to "Ma-noun-wan" where is a restaurant near my school and took some photos to collected good memories. Then, we went home.

In that time, I was very enjoyed and got a new experience. It was a good memory for me, and I hope to go back again in school events.

Changing place, the same person

I have been living in my current house since I was fourteen. I moved to this house because it was near my junior high school "Bodindecha 2 school." At the first time I was here, I just knew that a department store called " Fashion Island" which was the most famous here was located near my school. I, however, have never thought that it would become a memorable place reminding me of my close friends and guiding me to be there again after many years later.

After my bachelor's degree graduation, I moved back to my house. It was just another day in paradise. While I was home and lying down on my comfortable sofa, my close friend called me that we were going to have a reunion in the evening at Fashion Island. Because we usually came to Fashion Island after examinations in the school to do many relaxing activities together: watching a new movie, playing football games which commonly is FIFA and enjoying eating our favorite food such as a steak, this place is a source of my invaluable memories about my old friends. When I heard that name, I recognized suddenly and wondered how had it changed over time. I could not wait to be there, so I decided to take a look before meeting time.

I arrived there around one hour before meeting. Outside of the building seemed the same, but colors obviously became pale. A couple of minuets afterwards I could not believe eyes, when I got in. Every things had changed; banks, for example, now stood where restaurants use to exist, half of a cinema had been replaced by a new area of restaurants and almost all of priceless game center had been substituted by a rink which was built for families to enjoy skating on ice together. I became new here again because I got lost in the familiar place. However, I was glad to know that the only exception to all these changes was my favorite game shop, which had remained untouched. I really like a seller of the shop. He is so kind and often offer me a discount. Surprisingly, he remembered me as well. 

After my friend had come, we had a conversation about the changes. I told them I preferred the new one to the old because I had more choices in restaurants and everyone agreed with me. Then we had the reunion at one of them. Before we left Fashion Island, we had not forgotten to play arcade games together, which were left a few here.   



   

Int's childhood kindergarten school

The place that always remind me of my childhood is my kindergarten school. 3 years ago, when I was in year7, me and my friends started talking about their kindergarten school and it turns out that one of my friends went to the same kindergarten school with me.

It all start from my English teacher tell us to ask each other question so that we can get close to each other and I was very surprise when I find out that we went to the same kindergarten school. After that we started talking about it. The funny thing is that me and my friend can't remember each other when we were in this kindergarten. We started talking about what we have done in that school such as learning ballet and playing around in the school. I was very happy to be able to talk with my friend about what we have done when we was in this kindergarten school and it also reminds me of my childhood. This kindergarten school is called "Noddy" which I passed by it when ever I went out somewhere because it is near to my house. I remembered that I used to be singing and one time I ask my teacher for going to the toilet but when I'm done I just realize that I'm stuck in the toilet and can't go out but the hole between the lower door and the floor were big so I crawl out as if nothing has happened. I have many memory about this place and it makes me happy every time I think about it.

Although I haven't go back to this school since I got out and moved to the other school but all of the memory I made here with my friends will forever be on my mind and it will always remind me of my childhood every time I passed by this school.

Back to Mathkids

Back to the first time that I've studied math; it was before grade one that math interested me. In that tutoring school, solving math problem can be exchanged to point that its currency is the same as Baht ,but it is able to use only in the tutoring school to buy a prize. In addition, you can play with teachers if you finish your work. This place called "Mathkids"

In the first time, Mathkids is located at Khing's house. Khing who is the founder of Mathkids is named Ping, but his mother sold ginger, which is called Khing in Thailand. So, many people call him Khing. Then, It had a new branch near my school because many students in my school studied at Mathkids. When I was at Mathkids, I normally finished my work really fast in order to play games with Khing; we usually played card games. Once I graduated from my old school in grade six and also from Mathkids by completing all math problems, I moved to study in another school. From that time, I didn't go to Mathkids anymore.

Then, I was drawn back to Mathkids again in grade nine, and I met Khing again. We played card games like we usually did in the past time; we also exchanged some experience since I didn't moved to study in his old school. I heard Khing talking with his friend who teaching at Mathkids that the rent was going to raised, but I didn't think that this would happened.

Now, That branch of Mathkids was disappeared because he can't afford the rent. So, he decided to cancelled the rent and moved out, continue teaching at his house again. I don't know if  I can meet him again.

A place near and dear to my heart

Studying becomes harder and harder and my life is more and more sophisticated as I grow older. Secondary school is far more different than primary school and kindergarten. Once in a while, I fell like going back to the good old kindergarten days again.

I have realized for a long time that changing is not a bad thing after all, which makes me not trying to avoid changes in my life. As I am growing up, I am usually happy with the new things that come into my life. The major changes in my life since I was a kid would be moving to a new school. Especially, when moving from my old primary school to a new junior high school. That was a very hectic time of my life, since I had to move from an outskirt home to a house in the heart of Bangkok near my new school. I also had to make new friends and studied a lot harder with tons of homework and many projects to do. That time of my life was when I missed my kindergarten school the most.

I never got a chance to go into my kindergarten school since I was in primary school but I go to the tennis court which is near to it on Sundays. The school does not change much except for the new building which was constructed. Every time my life has a problem, I always think of my good memories there. Pictures of many activities I have done come into my mind and cure my sadness. My kindergarten school was very near to my house in Phutthamonthon area (an outskirt of Bangkok), it was only a 10-minute drive from my home. Studying in kindergarten was one of the best time of my life, I went to school around 9 A.M. to play and learn easy subjects. I also got to take a nap at 1 P.M.-2 P.M. everyday before my mom picked me up at 3 P.M. Homework in kindergarten was very very easy and only needed to be done once a week.

After one semester in Mathayom 1, I started to got used to my new school, even though I was not very happy with it because of many reasons. Later on, I worked very hard to try to get into Triam Udomsuksa school which is the school I am studying in at the presence. After I moved to this new high school, I am very happy with it.

Anyway, my kindergarten school is always a place near and dear to my heart.

Peter's childhood Mecca

In 1965 - just as I remember

I grew up on a farm in Australia, about 700 kilometres north of Sydney. The Catholic primary school I went to is still there in the small town of Woodburn, which was about 5 kilometres from our home. But there was also a much larger town that served the local farming area. Lismore was about 30 kilometres away, and a trip there was a special outing, perhaps once a month, when we needed something not available in Woodburn, such as a trip to the doctor, or to order some machinery for the farm. I loved the visits to Lismore because, although the population was only about 20,000, it seemed enormous to me, with streets crowded with people busy visiting the many shops. A special treat for me and my sisters when we were in early primary school was a visit to the Mecca Cafe, to which I was drawn back when I was in Australia last year.

In 1937 - when my parents were
children taken by their parents

Although I go back to see my family and friends every year at Songkran, those annual visits are short and the days are filled with meals at family homes, or eating out with family and friends. I usually leave it to my brothers and sisters to plan what we do when I'm there, as long as we get a chance to catch up over some good food. But before I went back last year, I had seen an article in the local newspaper about the history of the Mecca Cafe. I shouldn't have been, but it surprised me to learn that the cafe had been there for more than 85 years, since 1932. That was back when my own parents were still not ten years old. I guess that when they took us there, they were repeating a ritual that their own parents, my grandparents, had begun back when most people still used horses to get around, and when a trip into town really was special for the local farmers, and a chance to catch up with friends not often met, just like a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca is a special trip for Muslims. I had never thought of it before, but that was the reason why a cafe in an Australian country town had been named after a city sacred to Islam. And of course, a special trip into the big city was also a time to enjoy a special treat, such as the milkshakes, the pies, and the wonderful cakes that the Mecca Cafe sold. Having been reminded of it, I put a visit to the old Mecca Cafe on my list of things to do.

A mecca at the heart of Lismore
Click here for Google Map
My brother's home is at the bottom.

There was no need to figure out how to get there. I knew exactly where the cafe was, or at least what street it was on. So one morning, after my sister Frances picked up me up at my brothers home on his nearby farm, we drove into Lismore to do some grocery shopping. This was another bit of nostalgia that I always enjoy. My mother, brothers and sisters still go to the same supermarkets that we used to go to when I was in high school in Lismore, but the supermarkets came later than my primary school days. I probably hadn't thought of or been to the Mecca Cafe for more than 40 years, not since I finished high school and left for university in Sydney. Downtown Lismore has changed a lot in the last half century. It's no longer mainly a country town serving a farming community, but is now the centre of a busy tourist area with a university and colleges that serve a much wider area. The streets are full of cafes and restaurants serving a wide range of modern, cosmopolitan foods, so most of the old shops I remember are no longer there. Before we could go to the Mecca, we had to call in for coffee at Henry's, a new cafe in a building that used to be something I don't remember: Menswear? A toy store? A stationery shop? Memory fails me. One of my nieces works there, and we popped in to say, "Hi," to her over an espresso and fruit tart. We didn't really need anything at the Mecca, but Frances understood my desire to to revisit, so we walked down the street a bit more and there it was, one of the few shops that is still what it was almost a century ago. It had been redecorated, I guess a couple of times, but the sign still said "Mecca Cafe," and although they were different to the Chelsea buns, cream horns, bears paws and other delicious cakes we used to love as children, the glass displays were still full of inviting sweets, savoury pies, and the promise of full steak and veggie meals.

I haven't had a desire for a milkshake for many years, so didn't check whether they were still available, although I'm sure they are. It looks more open and better lit than I remembered, but it was still full of rich smells and cheerful chatter. I was happy to be back in a place that brought back so many happy memories of my childhood. However, we didn't sit down then for a plain, traditional Aussie style lunch; that's something I might do when I go back next month: a steak and kidney pie, with mashed potato, mushy peas, carrots, and lots of gravy, but perhaps a large black coffee instead of  a sweet milkshake. And do they now offer the kangaroo steaks that have become popular in the last decade? Maybe my mum would like to join me for lunch there and to reminisce about her visits 80 and more years ago.

Nook's Favorite Bookstore in Childhood

I'm a person who really loves to read a book. A bookstore is my favorite place that I enjoy spending my time to look for some books. Every time that I read an old book of mine, I'll think about beautiful memory when I've got those books. There is a bookstore, which is my favorite bookstore in my childhood, and the name of that bookstore is Bookstation.

Bookstation was located in my hometown called Roi Et, a small province in the northeast of Thailand. It was located near my tutoring school since I was a high school student. Whenever I had a break or finished the class, I would go to Bookstation to relax. The smell of new books was a smell that I love. It can reduce stress, and Bookstation was a perfect place for me to have a short break after the class. I loved to walk around a bookstore and found some books I've never read before.

A picture of Bookstation

I returned home last month, and when I saw my old books on the shelf, I was drawn back to Bookstation. One question had popped up in my mind, would Bookstation still be the same? I decided to visit the bookstore. Because I still remembered the route, it was not difficult to find my favorite bookstore. However, it was the truth that everything would be changed through time passed by. Bookstation was no longer there. The bookstore was turned into a travel accessories store. There was nothing the same, the logo's shop, the owner, and the book advertisement papers on the door, everything was disappeared. I felt unfamiliar and disappointed, so I didn't go inside the shop. I texted to one of my friends and asked her about Bookstation, she told me that the bookstore was closed since the late of 2018.

Although Bookstation has no longer existed, the wonderful memory still is existed in my mind. I remember which books I bought from the store. Every time I read all those old books of mine, I'll think about my childhood and Bookstation.

Teeter totter

It was my father’s birthday when I tried to get something for dinner. I decided to go for some places new. At first, I was lost in the middle of the way. I walked down the alley and then suddenly realized that it was the same direction that I used to take to go to my primary school. There were so many changes. The piano school with cozy-looking cafe in the front had disappeared. Instead, there were construction site, which seemed like it was going to be replaced by condominium. I finally got something for dinner from the street market nearby. After I finished buying food, I was drawn back to my primary school. Therefore, I started walking along the alley and then stopped in front of the school.

When I got in, there were so many unbelievable changes. My childhood school had became so much attractive. It was decorated with light-colored Christmas light all around, making it Christmas vibe. As I walked in, one thing that strike me the most was the nostalgic playground that I used to play when I was a kid. It was in the middle of the school. There were so many colorful playthings, such as bright red slider and cute little orange teeter totter. All the things there looked so much smaller. I felt like I was a giant who was as tall as the slider.

After I got out from the school, I returned home and all the nostalgias hit me so bad. I used to play with my friends in that playground. Consequently, I texted my childhood friends that I hadn’t talked for ages on Facebook and we started talking. I thought it was going to be hard for me to talk with them, because it had been a long time since we last talked. Surprisingly, our talk ran smoothly and we couldn’t stop. As a result, we managed to see each other at our old school. And I bet that it’s going to be great.

The old kindergarten school in Paeng's memory.

One place that always reminds me of my young age is my old kindergarten school. I learnt there since  I was 3 years old until 5 years old. Even it was a short period of time but my memory about that time is still clear.

The school is near my home. It take only 10-15 minutes to reach there but I remember that I was always late for school everyday. The school is in a middle size, which has nursery, kindergarten and elementary level. The memory that I like the most about this school is when all the student must took daytime sleepiness and I was kind of kid that don't like to sleep. I did like to tell a ghost story with my friend then we ends up being scolded by teachers. Moreover, the school contains a lot of memory of my childhood, both good and bad, happy and sad. I got my first close friend here. I also learnt from this school that not all teachers would be a kind person. I had one teacher who often rapped me about my hand writing. I never understand until today that what was she expect from 4-year-old girl's hand writing. 

All of this memories stay in my head even after the time had past for 17 years. I just didn't think of them much until one day I went out to bought roast duck with my dad and we eventually passed by the school. I suddenly realized that I strongly miss there although, I remember myself felt very happy when knew that I must moved to study in elementary level in another school. All the memories about there popped out in my mind like it just happens yesterday not 17 years ago. However, I still not get a chance to visit my old kindergarten school even I pass there very often. The reason is it is a long time since I study there. Teachers that use to teach me may already move to another place, also I don't keep in touch with any friends from my young age. I don't want to walk lonely into the school gate just to found that there have no one I know here. 

Anyway, I like the feeling of the past that come into my mind anytime I pass by the school or see the students in their uniform. The school reminds me of my young self, which I like the most from all of my age.

The park that I have never forgotten

Last two years, I was drawn back to a park that I often went when I was young, where there were a lot of my memories. It was a park near my old house before I moved to another place, which is located under the Rama IX bridge, and next to the Chaophraya River, which is the most beautiful river in Bangkok. It was Chaaloem Phrakiat Park.

One day, I had to meet one of my friend in a restaurant near that park. After the meal, while I was getting to my car, the park’s image in my memory had shown up in my mind. Then I suddenly made my decision to go straight to the park that I had never been there for a long time and I know I missed it. That time, the park had not been changed much since I was young, which I can remember that when I was around 13-14 years olds, I went there almost every day after school with my aunties, who brought me to know this place. Because the park is almost same as before, my entire memories about this place continuously came up to my head like my own film.

There are many facilities that people could get benefits from such as a library, small gym, Chaophraya viewpoint, and garden with many kinds of flowers. When I went inside that park, first thing that I saw was the bus library which is the library located in a bus with one big room, and small tables and chairs; it could contain around 6-7 people at the same time including librarian. This library was especially built for children, which we could see from colors and designs inside. I loved that place so much. Afterward, I walked along the way passed the garden to the gym, which was also the place that my aunties used to do yoga. which apparently looked very old. Inside the gym, I can see treadmills, dumbbell and many exercise equipments. After that, I walked out and went directly to the Chaophraya viewpoint, and took a deep breath along the trail; it was fresh and lively. Then I stopped at the viewpoint and sat there for maybe 30 minutes to take a good rest, and I also saw people do aerobics next to the river with the happy face and enthusiastic sound. It seems like I relieved all stress I had got previously and recharged myself for the next day before I went home.

After that time, I didn’t have any opportunity to go there again. However, based on this assignment, I have searched for the name of this place, which I forgot it at the first time, and unexpectedly found that this park was removed since there are another project of building another bridge on this area. I was really sad to hear this news. However, I hope that, after the building had finished, the government will bring the park back to Bangkok people.

Ploy's childhood memory

When I was a child, I have go to many places but the one place that still my mind is amusement park named Dream World. My family bring me to this place for twice a time, me and younger sisters had to take pictures together and when I see all photographs it reminds me about that day in the past. So, in last year I was drawn back to amusement park again after many years that I visited in the first time with my friends. This place was changed in many photo spot areas such as seven wonders of the world and the area which settings of fantasy movies and fairy tales. At first, I went to the giant's house where is everything around me is bigger than myself and there is still interested me since I was a child. But I went to the new area in this place for get new photos too. Moreover, when I saw the Cinderella's pumpkin car I was thought of my younger sisters that we were a princess are sitting in the pumpkin car and I also wasn't miss to take a photo. And the sword, which I have to try to pull the sword with my sister despite I already known it can't to do that. However, in the future I want to go there again with my younger sisters for being like a child, eliminate stress for a while and make our memories happen again in adult life.

What Sha sha reads

I like to read comic books and novel. My favorite novel is "Murder on the Orient Express". It is about in the Orient express it has murder at night and detectives in there must to find the killer because it might has new murder.

 

What Int reads

When I have free time I usually spend my time with books. I like to read novel and my favorite one is "the 39 steps". I first read this book when I was in year 10.

" The 39 steps " is a story about a man in London who is trying to help the secret agent but after the agent is killed, this man need to stop other spy which is trying to steal top secret information. So this story write about what this man need to faced with from trying to stop them and he also need to protect himself.

What Mind reads

Yesterday, I read a news about Venezuala's economic problems. Currently, the Venezuala faces a big problem about their recession and inflation. Many people throw the money away because their money has no value. The news shows that this problem was from the politic in this country. They manage the country in the wrong way, and even they changed many political leaders, it still not help but rather gain a lot more problems.

Since in the beginning of this month, this country don't have any electricity or water supply, which causes many people die. This is a really big problem for this country, which we cannot forget that this country used to be a flourish country. Moreover, this would happen on any countries that have leaders that is not good enough to drive the country. 

What Lily Reads

The Promised Neverland is a Japanese comic book that I've been reading. It has a very interesting plot. To begin with, there were children who lived in an orphanage with a babysitter called 'Mama'. Emily, a cheerful girl, lived in this place helping Mama to deal with the children. Everyone loved her. Along with the two boys, who were Emily's best friends, Norman and Ray, they were both very clever or you can say that they're the top of this orphanage.

However, there were something peculiar in this orphanage, Every month, one child had to be sent to live with the family who adopted them. Therefore, one night, Emily's curiosity startle her to follow Mama and the child who had to be sent in that day. soon after she caught those two, her heart was beating so faster. That child who should be sent that day became a disgusting-looking corpse.

What Keng reads

Reading books is one of my favorite hobbies. I loved reading cartoons when I was young. When I grow up, I read many different kinds of books. Apart from school books, there are hundreds of books on my shelves. However, I love historical books the most.

I love to read books about important events in the past such as World War II and also books about famous people's biography such as Steve Jobs. Reading about events in the past allows me to learn about interesting facts which took place in the world before I was born, it was very fun to do so. Reading about famous people is also very interesting, I learn a lot from doing that and I can apply the knowledge I get into my daily life.

What Paeng reads

One of my favorite book is The Lord of the Rings. It's kind of famous literature that became popular after Hollywood make it a movies. Anyway, it'n not everyone that are fan of The Lord of the Rings movies will have a chance to read books, because the book is, in my opinion, difficult to read.

The story in the book has something different from the movies, also has some more detail that they can't tell in the movies. I think even the book is so long and must take time to read but it's better to know original version of this epic story.

What Champ reads

I like reading comics and novels. My favorite book is "Ready Player One"; It is story about the future world that everyone go to school online at "Oasis" and you can play games at Oasis too. One day, the creator of Oasis died and he wanted to give Oasis to the one who can finds all of easter eggs that he hidden them in Oasis. So, many people are hunting for easter eggs but no one find it. Then, the story about easter eggs becomes joke and many people stop finding them until there is the first person who can find the bronze key which is one of the easter eggs. 

Now, this book is translated into Thai, English and so on. There is a movie that the story based on this book too, it also called "Ready Player One". In the movie, there are many easter eggs for example, some characters from other movies, some from video games.

What New reads

I always reads games manual of Dragonball Dokkan Battle after I have done my homework. The book is about how to be a professional player in this game. It describes every functions in the game and let you know a main idea of game play.

First of all, I have to go to a content and choose one that I would like to know: character lists, all special skills and data base of support items. Then I can go to a specific page that the index tell and start to read the information. The book also give me tips to be a pro-players such as how to arrange my team.

This is my favorite book because it make me easier to play without stress. Do you want to try this once? 

What Nook reads

What people do on their free time? Some people like to listen to music, while some like to watch movies. For me, I enjoy read a lot of books on my free time, for example, novels, fantasy fictions, and comics. Japanese comics, which is called manga, are the kind of books that I read the most.

I start to read manga since I was a kid. My favorite Japanese comics are Detective Conan, Haikyuu, and Kuroko no Basket. It provides more than funny and excited stories to me because it give me story about friendship and endeavor. If you wonder what books you should read on your free time, Japanese comics are good choice for you.

What Ploy reads

I've read about aircraft crash which it was a boeing 737 max 8 plane in Ethiopia. This is a worse situation that killed all passengers and crews. It makes an awareness to Thai lion airline which also have the same boeing that crashed in Ethiopia, so CEOs decided to cancel boeing 737 max for flying in every flights in Thailand because they concern about safety.

What Peter reads

Since I was in primary school, I've read a lot, although unlike then, I rarely read on paper these days. Almost everything I read today is online or on my Kindle app, which are far more convenient than paper for most things.

However, the material I read hasn't changed so much. Actually, now that I think about it, there have been some significant changes to the type of material, if not the quantity. When I was in high school and at university, I read a lot of fiction and science. These days i still read the fiction, although not so much recently, but my non-fiction reading is broader than before. I browse at least three newspapers every day, usually with my morning coffee, when I read the BBC News, the Bangkok Post, The New York Times, and usually also Australia's Sydney Morning Herald. Obviously I don't read every story in these publications. I quickly look at the front page, which usually has one or two stories I do want to read, and then I go to the sections that interest me, usually local politics, but also science, technology, and opinions.

Books? The most recent books I've read were not very serious: a John Grisham legal thriller, and the book versions of the NetFlix series Dexter, which was fun. In non-fiction, I've recently read the excellent series of three books by historian Yuval Noah Harari, who takes from 13.5 billion years ago into the possible futures of our likely short-lived species. And right now I'm reading a recent work on the weirdness of quantum mechanics.

Before reading "Invasive species you should know": (SkR&W3, p48)

Before we read

Click image
to enlarge

Before we read "Invasive Species You Should Know," the first reading in unit 5 of Skillful RW3, Bixby and Scanlon have a question to respond to.

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Bixby and Scanlon's question

Discuss this question in a comment below.

• What insects to you have in your area? What problems can they cause?

You have ten minutes to respond in a comment. I suggest you brainstorm on a scrap of paper for two minutes before writing for about eight minutes.

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Reference

• Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful reading & writing: Student's book 3. Oxford: Macmillan Education 

Getting into Unit 5 = Movement (SkR&W3, p47, Discussion point)

Click to view full size

What we read

Bixby and Scanlon introduce each unit with a discussion activity, that is, an opportunity for us to share our ideas on the topic of the unit in a way that relates it to our own lives, ideas and experiences. Unit 5 of book 3 (Bixby & Scanlon [=B&S3], 2013, p.47) does this.

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My response 

The research solidly shows that brainstorming or discussion activities for groups are more effective if participants start by working individually (O'Connell, 2010; Markman, 2017). In fact, experts at Harvard University's School of Management and elsewhere are sure that this can be very effectively done using online tools (Chamorro-Premuzic, 2015). Blogging is one effective way to do this, which is the reason I've turned Bixby and Scanlon's discussion exercise into a quick blogging discussion.

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Bixby and Scanlon's questions 

Discuss these questions in a comment.  

• Why do some birds migrate?
   
• What other animals migrate? 
• What animals migrate to or from your country?
   
• What human activities can disrupt of interfere with animal movement? 

For all of these, you should write full sentences. You will also need to write a few sentences for each of your ideas, giving explanation, examples and other details to clarify and develop your ideas. 

You can address the questions in any order. You can write one comment, or if you prefer, two comments, but not three. So that you don't worry about Bixby and Scanlon's numbers too much, I replaced them with bullets. We do not care about the numbers that Bixby and Scanlon gave their questions. 

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Useful tip 1

Jim: "Because it's hot." 

I expect that you have a problem with Jim's answer above. He assumes that we know what he's talking about, and this easily causes problems for readers and listeners. When you write your comments below, just as when we are talking in class, it is a useful communication strategy to imagine that your readers have not heard or read the question you are responding to. You need to write enough so that your comment makes sense for readers who have not read the above questions. 

Useful tip 2

You are not writing an academic essay here. This is a fluency activity where your aim is to communicate a series of ideas quickly. It's OK if you go off topic a bit, or even a lot. And unlike in academic work, you don't have to give solid support for everything you say, although it is still a good idea to give some supporting details, examples and explanation to help readers follow your ideas. Just turn your first idea into a sentence or a few, and then do the same for your next idea, and then the next one. And keep going. 

Now, open a new comment box and start writing. In your nine minutes, aim to write three paragraphs, that is, one paragraph for each of Bixby and Scanlon's main questions.  

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References

• Bixby, J. & Scanlon, J. (2013). Skillful Reading & Writing: Student's Book 3. Oxford: Macmillan Education
    
• Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2015, April 2). Why brainstorming works better online. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2015/04/why-brainstorming-works-better-online
   
• Markman, A. (2017, May 18). Your team is brainstorming all wrong. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2017/05/your-team-is-brainstorming-all-wrong
   
• O'Connell, A. (2010, February 4). Sometimes, it’s better to brainstorm alone. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2010/02/when-its-better-to-brainstorm