Noteworthy

Summary 

Pen or computer? 

The BBC article "When the best way to take notes is by hand" reports that, because they are more likely to compress it into their own words rather than copying exactly, students who write notes by hand rather than by typing on a computer gain a deeper understanding of the concepts in lectures, although there is no particular benefit either way when it comes to taking notes to record simple factual material. Other research reported suggests that it does not matter whether a lecture is recorded to watch again later, which apparently frees students to concentrate more deeply, although a surprizing result was that knowing the lecture was being recorded actually correlates with more note taking than usual.

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Response 

When I saw the article on the BBC website as I was having my morning coffee a few days ago, it immediately interested me because taking notes is an important skill for both the reading and writing parts of the IELTS test. That relevance to what we do when we write a summary in addition to the summarizing questions that often occur in the reading part of the test also suggested the title I chose for this blog post. And if you are a student, you probably have to take notes all the time. Note taking is also a useful skill in meetings and elsewhere. In the notes on the summarizing process that I prepared, that is also why I emphasize step 2 — be sure you understand your chosen source, in which taking notes is an important part. I was not surprised that the study showed that making the effort to take notes in your own words improved understanding of the concepts in the lecture or other material much more than simply copying exact words. Anyone can copy words without understanding them, but if you have to express ideas in your own words, you must also understand them well. 

But when I got to the end of the article, I was a little disappointed that it had not mentioned my favourtie note taking tool: Microsoft's OneNote, which I use all the time, both typing and writing with a pen on my laptop or tablet, and which seems to me to offer the best of both pen and computer. Except for a few situations in class, I don't normally write on paper there days, but I do like to write with a pen on my laptop and tablet, and less often on my phone. I usually do my brainstorming on a computer these days. That seems to me to have all the benefits of a pen on paper, with added advantages such as not losing bits of paper, being able to easily mix hand-written notes with typed text, and also paste in images if I want to. I can even add sound files and things, although I don't often do that. I would like to have seen a study comparing the results of taking notes by hand on paper and on a computer using a program like OneNote. 

Unfortunately, my handwriting has deteriorated a bit over the years as I write less and less, and type more and more, which might sometimes annoy my students when I scribble to on the whiteboard. 
 

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Question

When do you take few notes and many notes?  

brain over brawn

Summary 

three little pigs,by James Halliwell-Phillipps,is a story about three little pigs and a crafty wolf.It all started when the pigs mother send the little pigs to live their lives.The first pig built a straw house.The second pig built a stick house.The third pig buit a brick house while he was building the brick house the other two brothers laughed the big brother shrugged and said"We'll see who will be laughing".The next day the crafty wolf blew away the stick and straw house the two pigs were freighten and ran to the big brother house.The wolf try blowing it but it was no use so the wolf gave up and walked away.

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Response 

I choose this story because it was my first stories i read myself.I like how smart and patient the oldest brother pig is and he proved he brothers wrong.I like how the author James Halliwell-Phillipps hides a lot of meaningful quotes in this story such as action speaks louder then words this quote was hid in the part where the first and second brother said that they want to live a long life but they decided to build fragile house.

It was very difficult to write a summary with only 120 words this story has a lot to offer you.You should experience what this story has to offer.You may think this story is for kids,but your wrong it's for all ages i would recommend this story to all my friends and family.

In my opinion i think the first and second brother are hypocrite because they told their mother they wold live a safe and smart life but they build a fragile house so they could have more time to play but in the opposite their biggest brother kept the promise that he me with his mom that he will not let her down and i see this action as a very loyal and grateful life.Lets talk about the author who wrote this excellent storie,his name is James Halliwell-Phillipps he was an English Shakespearean scholar, antiquarian, and a collector of English nursery rhymes and fairy tales and wrote 51 books.
 

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Question

Would you recommend this story to a friend? 

By the Rule of Law

Summary 

Marlon Brando in the film 
version of The Godfather

The Godfather tells the story of how Michael, the youngest son of powerful mafia leader Vito Corleone, moves from seeking to escape his family's business to becoming its head in a bloody end, when he kills his family's enemies. The film opens at the wedding of Michael's sister Connie; while the guests are celebrating, the FBI watches outside, and Vito does business inside, arranging to bash the rich white boys who raped a "friend's" daughter. In the garden, Micheal, who is just back from World War II, tells his girlfriend about his bloody family. After his father is shot, Michael kills the shooters; then escapes to Italy before returning to head the family business after his oldest brother is killed.

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Response 

I think that The Godfather is one of the greatest movies ever made. The book it's based on is also a powerful story, but the film version of the story is even better. It's a long film, at almost three hours, but the time goes very quickly, and like all great art, it gets better with each viewing. I don't remember when I first saw it, but my parents certainly didn't let me go when it first opened in cinema's in 1972: it is full of violence, swearing, sex, crime and all the other things that have been a natural part of human life for the past two-hundred thousand years or more. 

Apart from having lots of action from the opening scene, with Don Vito Corleone plotting to deliver justice to a baker because the corrupt US legal system had not, the film explores controversial issues with a fresh perspective. One thing I like about it is that it shows how laws against personal drug use by adults greatly benefits mafia gangs and corrupt government officials, especially police. The mafia, as the film accurately shows, only gained so much wealth and power in the US because bad law made alcohol illegal, so of course the sensible businessmen supplied the popular drug that millions of good American citizens wanted to enjoy. Everyone was happy, except that the mafia and corrupt officials inluficted a heavy cost on society thanks to the unjust laws against the sale and use of alcohol. Exactly the same was true of laws against prostitution and gambling, and then against other popular drugs such as mairjuana, heroin, cocaince and so on. Sadly, the politicians in many countries still make their nations suffer greater drug harms by following the same morally bad laws that encourage mafia gangs and enrich corrupt police, judges and politicians. 

You would think that by now that politiicans would not be able to persuade so many people to support bad laws to profit mafia and corruption at great cost to society. More people need to watch that great Hollywood classic The Godfather to learn the lessons that should have been learned decades ago. 
 

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Question

Who do your country's drug laws help more: mafia gangs and corrupt officials, or society?  

The true love of the orphan girl

Summary 

Daddy long legs tells the story of an orphan girl name Judy Abbott who was adopted by wealthy man the man that she had only seen his shadow that has very long legs so she calls him “daddy long legs”.Judy always gets help from him whether scholarships and luxury clothes, which make Judy love him so much. The way that she contacts him is to write a letter. Judy has met with him whereas she doesn’t know who is he but when she got to know him better it make she fall in love with him. But when she knows the truth who is he and he is sick it makes she decided to marry him as his request.

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Response 

I choose this story because the story is romantic and the story runs uninterrupted, that I can watch or read continuously. My favourite version is the Japanese animation version because the cartoon characters have beautiful lines with cute and bright characters. Therefore, when I am watching the animation it can relieve my stress. And the reason why I got to know the daddy long legs novels is because most of the time, during the semester break, I spend time watching various cartoons, animations, and various Japanese anime until I come across with the anime name daddy long legs that adapted from a novel written by Jean Webster With the Nippon animation studio is the creator And after I watched the animation I have a chance to read the story from the novel so I was fascinated by the romance story of this novel.

    What I have learned from reading and praising daddy long legs is useful English vocabulary and idioms, including allowing me conscious of the difficulties and struggles Of orphans in the society. Therefore, daddy longlegs is one of the novels that I recommend for readers and those who like romance as a stress reliever and to inspire life.

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Question

What do you think the orphans have to face in society?

The fortune-teller

Summary 

Flesh & Blood tells the story of a boy named Kaito Togo who accidentally fell into a wormhole and time-traveled to the 16th century in England. Then he joined Jeffrey -who is a pirate captain- and his crew as a fortune-teller to survive the war between England and Spain and became friends with them. But the more he saw the more he realized that many things are different from the history he had learned from books. Just when the war between England and Spain is about to start, Kaito got infected with Tuberculosis and has to find the way back to the 21st century so he can get medical treatment before going back to the 16th century to help his friends.

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Response 

I chose this story because it is one of the stories I like and re-read when I am bored. What captured my interest is how Kaito, the protagonist, grows up and learned from what he has done in the story. As I said in the summary, he joined the pirate crew as a fortune-teller, but before he met the crew he had met a spy from Spain called Vicente and Kaito had decided to tell the truth that he came from the future and told Vicente what is a cause of his death afterward to support his fact which, of course, Vicente did not believe it and almost kill him after he heard that Spain will be defeated, despite the clothes and things Kaito had on him. So when Kaito met Jeffrey, he changed his plan and made up his background story, used his knowledge and the language skills he has to pursue Jeffrey and his commander to accept him as a fortune-teller to make sure that he secured his safety.

In my opinion, Kaito is a smart seventeen years old boy, but what he decided to do is like a double-edged sword that can hurt himself if he does not be careful enough. For example, I think, making up himself as a powerful fortune-teller who has his words become true for 100% is risky. Even though he can secure his safety for he knew that Jeffrey and his commander will do anything to protect him because they think he will help them win over Spain, he is drawing many people who an ill-intent into him at the same time. But after he had learned about that, he tended to do fortune-telling only when it is needed, especially after he found out that many things are different from what he had learned at school and from books he had read before, which is impressive for me because I do not think I could handle the situation well enough to survive tough time as much as he did. When I was seventeen years old, I did many same mistakes and still have no intention to learn from it, such as reading books without sleeping until the next morning comes and ends up going to work with my eyes almost closed just because I wanted to know the ending of the story. I did that many times since I was a high-schooler and I still do. It is a bad habit that might never be cured.

Sadly, Flesh & Blood does not complete yet and I am waiting for the next book to be released but there is still no sign of it to be published for 4 years already. I hope the author will release the next book before I completely forget this story because I do not think I can finish reading 24 books plus a new one in just one night.

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Question

If you accidentally time-traveled to 16th century England, how would you handle the situation? 

Perfectly worn and tattered

Summary 

One of my tattered
old paper editions

Pride and Prejudice, by Jana Austen, tells the story of how the desperate search for husbands dominates the lives of the five daughters and their mother, in addition to their untalkative but concerned father, of the Bennet family in late 18th century England. In the end, both Jane and Lizzie marry rich men they truly love, thereby saving their upper-middle-class family from poverty at a time when daughters could not normally inherit family wealth. Along the way, the proud Lizzie discovers that she was not insightful but foolishly prejudiced when she first mocked the extremely rich, also proud and prejudiced,  Mr. Darcy, with whom she is surprised to find herself deeply in love, which is a happy accident for all.

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Response 

After I began buying books in high school, I had collected a few thousand, and they took up a lot of space on bookshelves on my home in Sydney and they in Australia. This began to change when I started buying digital books, which all fit comfortably on all of my devices. My first Kindle from Amazon was very simple compared to the devices I use today, but it was cool to have so many books available on such a convenient tool. I don't think I've bought a single paper book for more than five years now, and a few years ago, I decided to get rid of most of my paper books. I gave most of the paperbacks away to friends in Bangkok, and the more impressive looking ones I shipped back to my brother in Australia. He doesn't read them, but they look great on the shelves in his home, and I have a lot more space in my small home here in Bangkok. But I kept a few that have sentimental value for me, and this includes four copies of Jane Austen's brilliant novel Pride and Prejudice. I've got four copies because after reading and rereading them multiple times, they become so worn that the pages fall out and generally get very tattered. My first edition goes back to the 1970s, more than 40 years ago, and the others are spaced at about ten year intervals since then. I'm not sure how many times I've read this novel, but every time I read it, I like it even more than before. I think that's a good sign that it's a truly great story, and Austen tells it in language that is clear, fun and thrilling from the first sentence to the very last some 400 pages later. 

As usual, it was very difficult for me to stay within the 120 word limit for the summary. The one above took me four revisions to get right, and I know the story extremely well, as will become apparent when I write the rest of my response. You must know your chosen piece of work well before you can summarize it. My summary paragraph above is exactly 120 words as counted by Google, which counts words exactly the same way that IELTS does: every set of one or more letters or numbers surrounded by spaces is a word. 

From my summary, you might have got the idea that the story is a bit boring, and I agree: the story of an upper-middle-class family desperate to marry off its five daughters doesn't sound that dramatic, but Austen's genius turns this story of ordinary life in an English village into a gripping analysis of human nature and social norms. She never says it directly, but her characters show how difficult life was for women and the poor in England 200 years ago, when men were in charge of everything because everyone thought, and religion taught, that that was natural. And in the most polite language, Austen talks about prostitution, lies, fraud, teenage rebellion, and learning to be a more mature human being. And it's fun. Even the most shocking events, such as Lizzie running away with the wicked Mr. Wickham, mix the serious with humour. I can't think of any work, fictional or non-fictional, that has taught me so much about life in England a couple of centuries ago, and how awful it was in those bad old days of much worse personal and social morals than today. 

I have a digital edition now that will never get tattered, torn or lost, but I still like to see my paper copies and remember how my own life has changed over the decades that I've been enjoying this great story again and again and again.  
 

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Question

Is your culture morally better or worse than it was 200 years ago?  

Hoodie for politicians

Hoodie for politicians

According to "Hoodie gets Quebec politician thrown out of legislature"  the Quebec politician  Catherine Dorion caused disputes about a government's dress code. She came to the provincial legislature in jeans and a hoodie sweatshirt, and after complaints from her colleagues she decided to leave. Therefore she gave occasion to the all political society to discuss acceptable clothes for government`s workers. Many people, especially women, supported Ms Dorion in her choice to wear casual clothes at work. Others considered that a hoodie is not respectable for an office attire. As The National Assembly has only the guidance about members' attire but not the official dress code, disputes about acceptable politician`s clothes are still open.

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Response: What is your opinion?

I prefer to wear comfortable and casual clothes in my usual life. When I worked in an office I also wore quite casual style of clothes because we had not a strict dress code. I could wear classic jeans with a blouse, for example, but not a hoodie! It was considered too casual and sporty style for a work. Our clients came to the sales office and we had meetings with them so we had to be good looking always. I think that a hoodie is not acceptable part of  an office attire. Hoodie is very comfortable for sure and it is a good choice for a walking with a dog, a picnic or a housework. But if you have a serious job, hold an important position, meet with top managers and directors, you should be responsible in everything including your outfit and appearance. Especially these recommendations are relevant for politicians and workers of governments.

A free dress code makes people more relaxed and dispersed. Bright colors attract our attention and may provoke somebody. Many men focus on short skirt and deep decollete of women. Such addiction disturbs a work between people of the opposite sex. From the other side neutral colors and classic designs help people to concentrate only on a work process.

I presume governments should to set an acceptable official dress code for their politicians. It may be a different office attire in an every country because it depends on climate, religions, traditions and etc. Probably a sleeveless top will not be prohibited in a future for majority of governments. We do not know how a fashion and rules could be transformed. Now I can advise the National Assembly of Canada to revise and change description of  the official dress code for his workers. If they determine uniform rules for everybody it helps to avoid such situations and disputes in a future.

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Question for your classmates

What is your opinion about wearing casual clothes like jeans and a hoodie at work in an office? Is this acceptable in your country?

No more violence

Introduction and summary

According to "Hong Kong protests: China condemns 'appalling' attack on official in UK", the sequential anti-government protest in Hong Kong has been expanded to foreign countries. In north London, the UK, a Hong Kong’s justice secretary surrounded and attached by a group of protesters, and she injured her arm. The video shows when she was walking towards the institutions of Arbitrators, someone shouted to her “murderer” and shows what happened and how she injured. The Chinese government criticized this violence protest and need the UK government to arrest the protesters and make sure the safety of Chinese people in the UK. The Hong Kong government also condemned them.

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Response: What is your opinion?

The protest has been continuing for over 7 months even though the extradition bill was withdrawn in September. Moreover, the horrible protest has happened in the UK. It’s very sad news, and that distresses a lot of people in the world. 

Hongkongners need full democracy now. In China, there is no Democracy. So that, The Chinese don't know the actual meaning of Democracy and they are unable to imagine what a frighten thing it is for Hongkongers to harm democracy. However, we should not use violent actions for any reasons. In this point, I support the Chinese and the Hong Kong government. 

If I ware Hongkonger, I would not be at home, definitely. I would try to come up with several kinds of nonviolent actions such as the umbrella movement in 2004, which I was so touched. I could join a protest action at an airport to lead many flights being cancelled as Hongkongers did or I would join strikes and boycotts or I could create an alternative media against the government. Democracy has developed against violence in our history. If we face a situation, which we have to recover Democracy, we should not take violence actions again; we should improve nonviolence action to solve conflicts.

Hongkongers political awareness is very high regardless age or sex. They are always thinking about domestic political affairs and external relationship. Hongkongers should determine Hong Kong’s future. I hope they win and gain a fare election system without any violence actions in the near future and I believe it would be a good role model in the world. ____________________________________ 

Question for your classmates

Write one (not two) question for your classmates to comment on in response to your blog post. Write a question that needs more than a single sentence for a strong answer. Delete these instructions. 

Murder by law

Introduction and summary

In addition to the thousands killed,
hundreds of thousands of drug suspects
have been imprisoned.

According to "Philippines drug war: Do we know how many have died?" there is enormous controversy not only over how many thousands of suspected drug users and dealers have been killed illegally by police in the Philippines under the drug war launched President Rodrigo Duterte after his election in 2016, but also whether drug use and dealing should even be a criminal matter. The vice-president of the Philippines, who is elected independently of the president, and human rights groups argue that drug use is a health issue not a criminal matter, which makes the president's drug war morally wrong in principle.

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Response: What is your opinion?

Duterte, like Thaksin Shinawatra and
other politcal populists, wants to
kill dealers of drugs he does not like

I chose this article, which reminded me of the equally ugly war on drugs led by Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra from 2003, because it seems to me a powerful example of how the law can be used to commit a well-intentioned act that is morally bad. The article only hints at it, but President Duterte's war against drugs in the Philippines is also very popular, as was Thaksin Shinawatra's war against drugs in Thailand. Similarly, American Presidents from Nixon on have proposed popular wars agaisnt drugs to win votes, and the truly sad thing is that they are popular with the voters.  Of course, they only want to kill people who use some drugs: the most harmful drug to society is alcohol, which is far worse even than heroin, but these same populist politicians are happy to allow and to use the drug alcohol.

These wars against drugs are a great wrong, and show why democracy must be much more than a majority deciding the rule of law for a nation by voting. First, the Philippines' vice-president is right that Duterte's war on drugs is a failure. Thaksin's war on drugs was also a failure that killed thousands of Thai citizens, many of whom might have been entirely innocent of the drug crimes that the killers, typically police, said they were guilty of. Their guilt is not known because instead of being proved in a court of law, they were shot. There is no evidence that wars on drugs reduce drug use. Drug use continues high in the Philippines. Drug use continued high in Thailand under Thaksin. Drug use continued high in China when opium was banned. Alcohol use continued high in the US when it was made illegal. When the sale and use of anything very popular, and drugs are popular, is made illegal, it means that the national economy loses because taxes cannot be collected. And the police, prisons and so on are very expensive as well as useless. And the health harms to society are worse because the drug users cannot get help. And the prices of drugs are higher, so crime increases when the drugs are made illegal. All of these bad effects on society are shown around the world when a popular drug is made illegal.

But criminalizing popular drugs does help two groups in society: it is very good for mafia gangs and for corrupt officials who are paid very well to help the mafia gangs make money. These are the only two groups who benefit when a popular drug, whether yaa baa, or marijuana, or alcohol, or heroin or whatever is made illegal. I cannot understand why so many people are so eager to help mafia gangs and corrupt officials to get rich by banning drugs that adults want to use for fun.

We also have to ask what justifies any legal ban. I agree with the moral philosopher John Stuart Mill that the only just reason to ban anything for adults is to protect other people from harm. This means that alcohol must be legal because although alcohol is a very harmful drug of addiction, if it only harms the user who drinks wine, whisky or beer, that is their business. But if they drive a car, then they threaten other people, so drinking and driving should be illegal. The same is true of every other popular drug, almost all of which are in fact less harmful than alcohol. It is only harm to others that can justly be made illegal, and even if a majority vote for something, that does not make it right. It just means that the majority is morally wrong. This is why a democracy needs a strong constitution to stop the majority committing a great moral wrong that is popular.

I think this is controversial and that makes it an interesting topic to discuss. I look forward to seeing whether you agree with me and the Philippines' vice-president or with Thaksin and Duterte.

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Question for your classmates

Should the sale and use of any drugs be legal or illegal for adults? 

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My summary is 101 words. It took me a four revisions to get it right. 
The response is 667 words and was much easier to write. 

South Korean river turns to the blood color.

Introduction and summary

In  "South Korean river turns red after being polluted with pigs blood," we learn that

A tributary of the Imjin River in South Korea becomes red. Due to the 47000 pigs had been eliminated by the South Korean authorities for controlling the spread of African swine fever (ASF). While the slaughter was carried out on a weekend and the carcasses had been left in the trucks at a burial side near the inter-Korean border. Because of heavy rain, the water blows blood from the pig carcasses into the river. ASF was recorded first time in North Korea. It's a severe contagious disease with no chance to survive in the infected pigs however, it isn't impact to the people. 

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Response: What is your opinion?

African swine fever is a serious communicable disease although it is not dangerous for human but it can spread widely in short time. I think this event isn’t the first time that they culling a lot of pigs for halting the spreading of ASF. I think it’s true that culling is an effective method and save time but on the other hand it has a lot of environmental impact as you can see from the above news. When the river becomes polluted or contaminated with the pig’s blood, living creatures like fishes, aquatic plant in the water may be affected or the other animal that drink water in the river like birds and finally it can lead to health problems in human.

I think it would be better if we have other method to stop the outbreak instead of culling example give them the vaccine to help the immune system develop protection before infection, develop medicine for treatment. However, when the problem had occurred Korean government should have some measures to remedy this problem and develop quality of the water immediately such as adding oxygen to the water etc.

According from the news the event took place at the Korea border, so I think it would be great and effective if both North Korea and South Korea cooperate to prevent the disease from spreading.


 

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Question for your classmates

Do you agree that culling the pigs is the most effective method to halt the spread of ASF?

Introduction and summary

In "Why being kind could help you live longer"we learn that the positive impact of kindness on life and health.

according to "Why being kind could help you live longer" reports if being kind to others, considering how to be kind to others can lower blood pressure, help the immune system, help people live longer and live better, and have many benefits for treating depression and anxiety. Getting along with good people can get a lot of positive energy and also  pass this energy to others.and Physical and mental health are all closely linked. If you are too stressed, you may not be able to face challenges. Stress can make people unable to do anything in a challenging situation. If we with mindfulness training, such as a smile every day, These are will help us reduce stress and gain a positive attitude. This is the secret of longevity.the thoughts, feelings and beliefs associated with actions intending to benefit others, where benefiting others is an end in itself, not a means to an end.

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Response: What is your opinion?

    I think kindness has many benefits including increased happiness and a healthy heart. It slows down the aging process and improves relationships and connections, which indirectly boosts our health.Kindness is not something that demands hard work. It originates from the simple act of doing no harm to others.
    Kindness is not just a habit that is good for others, it also has important benefits for us.Good thoughts are great happiness boosters. Stopping complaints and anger makes our life so easy, because no one or thing would irritate us at that time. Of course, when things that are not good for us happen, we will be angry and hope that people will succumb to our wishes. At this time we need to know our emotions and change it. Of course, this is not easy to do, so we need to remind ourselves every day like eating.In fact, each of us knows what is good and evil. It is no means a new thing.
     However, the interesting point is that the more people are anonymous, the easier it is to show aggressiveness and not care about others' feelings.But why we should choose kindness, because it is a path that can lead to happiness and inner peace. Love, wisdom, and kindness are important factors in life. When we embody love, kindness, and forgiveness, happiness and health will follow.
In Dalai Lama XIV's words: “My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.” kindness brings life while anger and hate convey sickness and death.
      When you shift your thoughts from negative to positive, from hate to love, from war to peace, you achieve the same results in your life. You will go to sleep with a clear heart and mind, awaken feeling rested and energized, and will be happier and more productive. Others will be drawn to you and you will have the capacity to change the world.
      To be kind, this is what I want to say.

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jean's bbc article

Introduction and summary

In "Pakistan pollution: Teens fight to save Lahore from toxic air",it reports that teenagers in Paskistan come and speak out for their rights,they should able to live with the fresh air in their home becase in Paskistan have a problem of air pollution.Pakistan being ranked second worst for air quality in the world back in 2018.However Pakistan's goverment still blamed India for Lahore's pollution.But in the other hand the teenagers believe that Pakistan's transportation, poor fuel quality, industrial emissions and agriculture have placed they in a state of smog emergency.

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Response: What is your opinion?

This article remind me to the news for WHO that said air pollution is causing more deaths.Many people still think that only industrial factories are cause of air pollution but in fact there are more than industrail factoies that make air pollution such as private cars,waste incinerations.What should we do next ? the answer for this question it is simple but it takes much time to see what we do it like for every people,we should care about enviroment more than we do now-exsamples if private cars are season,we can use public transport such as bus and metro.

Caring envoriment,is it enough for better air,No it isn't,the government should do something too because it is their job for make their people live in better place.If the government can't then why we vote them to be ours government ?What should the government do? they can pass new environmental legislation-exsample not allow to use old cars(10years up) or use rationing system.

How ever the important thing the government should do for better air is tell people about bad things that come with air pollution because many people don't know about it,such as in contryside sitll have waste incineration,the goverment have to tell them that waste incineration make pollution and air pollution has serious effects on human health.

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Question for your classmates

Write one (not two) question for your classmates to comment on in response to your blog post. Write a question that needs more than a single sentence for a strong answer. Delete these instructions. 

Can AQ guarantee your bright future?

Introduction and summary

According to, "Is 'AQ' more important than intelligence?", it was believed that IQ is used to estimate a possibility to succeed in career path, and use EQ to see a chance of being successful in many parts of life. And now, AQ is considered as another important ability that might be able to guarantee your successful future. The writer said it is being searched from candidates more and more now in the hiring process to estimate their ability and capacity to learn new things, to be adaptable and to do troubleshooting because nowadays technology has changed processes in many jobs rapidly and if we aren't willing to learn what algorithm can't do, we will lose jobs to automation.

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Response: What is your opinion?

I think this article is very interesting, despite how hard to summarize it within 120 words, and I am very thankful to the writer of BBC for publishing this article that gave me an answer to my curiosity about a promotion after the evaluation period in my company, and this is enough for me to nod my head to agree with. In the article, it said Adaptability Quotient or AQ is not only an ability to absorb new information but also included a willingness to learn, to change, to challenge and get through the hard time of solving many problems, which is hard to see in some people even though they are adult to is working to live. 

The reason why I am thinking like that is, every time, when my boss gives the staff an order to change process in their works, some of them will ask back directly "Can't we do with the same process as we did before?", it is not "Why did you decide to change the process to this one?". Some of you might disagree with me and think that they are not that different because it gave an impression of disagreement with the order. In my opinion, these two questions are not the same question, because one indirectly shows that they show that they don't want to know what is the reason behind the change, there is none of the curiosity, no sign of the will to learn new things and change. But another one shows that they might not want to change, but they are still opening their mind to consider the reason behind the new process was chosen, which mean there is a possibility to change their mind and try. And of course, their evaluation's result which was reflected from their performance is totally different even though we are working in the same office. Because they consider how you questioning and how you state your opinion too, and if your opinion or your question did not show your ability of adaptation to increase your knowledge, it can give negative-impression which affect the result of the evaluation, and close the door from getting promotion to a higher level too.

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Question for your classmates

Which quotient do you think is more important to assure you that your career future will be successful, IQ or AQ?

A path to a more sunny future?

Introduction and summary

Working within five years?
One of the private enterprise efforts

According to "Nuclear fusion is 'a question of when, not if'," scientists remain optimistic that efforts by international and national government groups, along with those of innovative private companies, are making progress towards solving the substantial technical difficulties that have previously prevented the development of cost effective fusion energy. Although great progress has been made in renewable energy sources, it is reported that fusion, which combines hydrogen atoms in the type of atomic reaction that powers the sun, would still play a role in reducing human reliance on polluting fuels that contribute to global warming while at the same time avoiding the radiation and other dangers of nuclear energy that works by splitting uranium atoms.

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Response: What is your opinion?

Fusion - bringing solar
power to Earth

In my own lifetime, science has made enourmous progress in not only understanding the world around us, but in giving us the tools to control it. Of course, this has led to problems, since it is such things as our growing knowledge of how to turn oil into useful energy since the industrial revolution that has created the global warming that now poses a serious threat to human life as we known it, although it won't harm the planet, which will carry on happily whether human beings exist or not. Also contributing to global warming are the scientific advances that have boosted the population of the planet to almost seven billion, more than three times what it was only a century ago. All those scientific advances in medicine, in food production, and so on are also now adding to the pressure on our planet, not least because we love to kill animals for their tasty muscles, which is also disastrous for the environment. 

I remember when I was in high school reading about nuclear fission and nuclear fusion. By then nuclear fission was already a reality, with atomic bombs having been used to bring peace to the world, but the excitment was that fusion could solve our energy problems forever. Sadly, that never happened. But the scientists and engineers have continued to work on it, and if the article is right, it might be a reality within the next five to ten years, which I think is exciting. Atomic bombs stopped  lot o wars because they were such an extreme threat to human existence, and if we can make fusion work, there would be so much energy available, so much clean energy, that we would be able to do pretty much anything we wanted to without any harm to the environment. In fact, I think we would have the energy to fix a lot of the harm we have already done. 

Because it offers so much, I think that the money spent on it should be greatly increased. If I were a national leader, I would pour not mere hundred of millions of dollars into it, but billions of dollars to get it working as soon as possible. It would light the way to a brighter future for humanity, where we did not have to go to war over oil or other resources because there would be an abundance of clean energy available for everyone, everywhere, at every time. 

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Question for your classmates

How do you think that world might change if effectively limitless energy became available through successful nuclear fusion?  

Next's BBC article

Introduction and summary

In '' Pro-Beijing lawmaker stabbed by 'fake supporter' in Hong Kong" Junius Ho the pro-Beijing lawmaker was born in 4 June 2505, now he is 57 years old. There are no any bodyguards or protectors just only him and one women. In footage posted online, a man is seen approaching
Junius Ho with flowers before reaching into his bag-saying he wants picture-but instead lunging at Mr. Ho with knife.Mr. Ho who was wounded, and others then wrestle him to the ground. Now stabbing is the latest in a series of attacks people on either side of the Hong Kong protests. Afterwards, Mr.Ho reportedly said the attackers were "defending their home and people",but denied any involvement.

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Response: What is your opinion?

 I think that the protests in Hong Kong is deadly dangerous. Some of the protesters have adopted the motto:" Five demands, not one less!"these are for the protests not to be characterised as a "riot", amnesty for arrested protesters, an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality, implementation of complete universal suffrage and the fifth demand, the withdrawal of the bill, has already been met. There are a lot of citizens and police that got hurt during the protests in Hong Kong. Many people try to attacks famous lawmaker or politician and also police that protecting them. People are not only attacks but they also trying to kill them such as Mr.Ho got stabbed by fake supporter this is the case of a solo killer and the another case is the 5 protesters with hammer attacked Jimmy Sham in the last month. Now the protests in Hong Kong is getting more serious and more deadly so police decided to use a gun and tear gases to stop the people from attacking them. But people wouldn't stop they still attacking them and there's is noway to stop those crazy people who don't scare to die. They also closed the transportation way such as road, MRT , BTS, and train and airlines. 


All of these come from a small problem by a couple from Hong Kong traveled to Taiwan then he killed his girlfriend and then traveled back to Hong Kong but it made very big problem to the government. This shouldn't happens if he didn't killed his girlfriend. This case teach us that very small problem can cause a very huge problem. 

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Question for your classmates

Write one (not two) question for your classmates to comment on in response to your blog post. Write a question that needs more than a single sentence for a strong answer. Delete these instructions. 

jean's BBC news article

Introduction and summary

According to " Who was Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi? " Baghdadi real name is Ibrahim al-Bari,he was born in 1971 in central city of Samarra. He gained bachelor's,master's degrees and PhD at Islamic University. In early 2004 baghdadi was detained by US army while in detention he taught religious classes and sometimes asked to mediate in disputes by the prison's US administrator. He was released after 10 months.In 2010 he becomes leader of ISI after the old leader Abu Umar al-Baghadadi was died.He believe that he going to lose but with help from Saddam-era military,he gradually rebuilt ISI and continue the war. 

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Response: What is your opinion?

What is Abu Bakr al Baghdadi feels after his command kill thousand of life? Is he follow the real doctrine? This questions come to my mind.Killing people who not believe in the same religion it is very unreasonable.I used to believe everybody have their own reason but now maybe I was wrong,he doesn't have reason for all the things he did.Perhaps it is true like Mr. Trump said "the world is now a much safer place" when he died.

"Unbeliever" looks like this word make people destroy peace in this world, people hate other just what they believe not because what they do.In my opinion religions teach everybody to be a good man and forgiveness.But now a day people might not understand the same way or change doctrine of religion for their own benefit and when it comes to about religion it will be untouchable because if someone tell or advice,it mean unbeliever and make it more hard to communicate each other with reason.

War always took much more than it gives and why people don't learn from the past? I think because we want more and more never enough,people always want something that not belong to-example ISI they want land for muslim and they want to use Islam law and why they have to do this? Possible they think doctrine teach them to make the world have only muslim,how ever I hope one day they realize this world is beautiful because we respect other thoughts and we learn to live with different faith,it make people better then animals.After the war between ISI and Unbeliever(in ISI opinion) begin,Iran and Syria were beautiful cites full of great architecture and now those cities become memory and it very hard to bring it back to the way their were.Not just cities that the war take from ours but also the happiness and life too.

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Question for your classmates

How can we live with people who believe in other faith?

Yings BBC Article

In the article "UFC 244: Nate Diaz cleared over dopingtest" we are informed that despite testing positive for small quantities of LGD-4033 he has been cleared and the main event fight of UFC 244 will go ahead as planned. LGD-4033 is a substance which can be used to increase testosterone however the UFC said that the sample was "roughly 10,000 times lower than one LGD-4033 therapeutic dose. USADA proceeded to confirm that no sanction or provisional suspension will be handed down.

The events of Nate Diaz’s blood test results and everything that followed is an interesting thing to look at in the broad terms of illicit substances in sports. One aspect to look at is that USADA (who ran the tests) were able to detect trace amounts of the illicit substance LGD-4033 and in turn clear the fighter due to tainted supplements. This shows us that the drug detection in sports is getting better and results are achieved faster. This is important for providing a fair playing field in all sports.

Another interesting way to look at this is to consider the amount of pressure that is placed upon athletes not only in MMA but in all sports. That they would be willing to risk everything to gain an edge in competition speaks very much about what they go through, the pressure and the mindset that they might have in their chosen sport. As technology grows it is important we continue to grow the drug testing technology to meet the latest in performance enhancing substances and make all sports a fair competition.

One of the important things to take from this article is that it is always important for professional athletes to be careful with supplements and what they put into their body. Mistakes can be made, particularly as Nate Diaz learnt when he was flagged for illicit substances despite an all natural, vegan diet and supplements.

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Fire destroyed Shuri Castle: the world heritage

Introduction and summary

"Shuri Castle: Fire destroys 500-year-old world heritage site in Japan" reports that a fire has destroyed all the main structure of Shuri Castle, which is on Japan's southern island of Okinawa. Firefighters had struggled to extinguish the fire for more than 10 hours due to strong winds. Cause of them is still unclear. Fortunately, No injuries have been reported. The castle burned down three times during the Ryukyu Dynasty and was almost completely destroyed during World War two. The current structure is a reconstruction. The castle was a campus for Okinawa's largest public university until the 1970s. It has been a tourist attraction since. Moreover, The castle had been schedule as a stop on the 2020 Olympic torch relay route.

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Response: What is your opinion?

After I read this article I feel very sorry for the incident. Thinking of the Unesco world heritage had been destroyed was tragic. Japanese's sorrow is beyond imagination. The incident not only impact Japanese's emotion but also people in other nationalities all over the world. Many tourist, both local and foreigner, who used to visit the castle have expressed their condolence for the loss on their twitter.

Shuri Castle, which was the palace of Ryukyu kingdom, is a symbol of identity for Okinawa people. It is currently the largest building in Okinawa. It had architectural influences from China and Japan. It is rich with history and culture. It has been there through everything from war to peace. After the war, it had been reconstructed based on history records, photographs, memory. Because the castle is a tourist attraction, I think this loss may cause a decreasing of tourists in Okinawa until the reconstruction has been finished. The governor said it will be rebuilt again. However, i don't know it will be the same as the old one or not. If it is not, it will cause negative effect in tourism. Nevertheless, I think there will be some people who still want to visit the castle to see how the Unesco world heritage of Japan is.

Fire is the most terrifying thing in the world that can destroy everything to ashes in a short time. It can damage the construction remaining its structure, change forest into charred wood and kill innumerable people. The fire incidents happened several times and damage many important places in the world this year, for instance, Amazon rainforest, Notre-Dame de Paris, and Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. It is always hard to find the actual cause of fire. In addition, it is much more difficult to prevent.

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Question for your classmates

How can we prevent fire incidents? 

Stand up for Netflix: Roll the variable-speed playback out!

Introduction and summary

According to "Netflix angers film-makers with 'insulting' speed-up function", film-makers are angered because they think that a new feature on Netflix, which allows users to watch movies and TV series at various speeds, are destroying their works even though it is still in the testing period. Netflix argues that such a feature has been long available already in DVD player or YouTube and has been frequently requested from members. Although they may be planning to launch this function, they have been concerned about creators and says that it depends on the feedback they receive. 

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Response: What is your opinion?

As a Netflix member, I have been waiting for this feature for age. Some of the efficiency experts even advise us to watch videos at a faster speed to make the most of our time wisely. For me, I found that the function that can adjust the speed is quite useful because it makes my life more efficient. I have a habit of watching videos and films at a faster speed. I started doing this two years ago and discovered that acceleration makes viewing more pleasurable. The faster pace makes it easier to enjoy the flow of the plot and the scene. 

As I consume all the videos on my computer or my phone, I’ve developed other habits too. Sometimes I speed-up. Sometimes I slow down. I don’t watch them at normal speed anymore. I accepted that these viewing techniques have done something strange to me, but that is because I was trying to understand the structure of the story and pay attention to where I needed.

One of the most common thoughts which go against this function is that it ruins the cinematic experience. They said that this kind of feature is destroying filmmakers' works. However, I think that technology nowadays allows us to appreciate the contents in new ways while using our time manipulatively. Although not everybody may do the “speed-watching” as I do, they have the right to watch all content in their own ways.

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Question for your classmates

What do you think about Netflix adding adjustable playback speed? Do you think it wastes the contents or not? 

Mod's BBC article

Introduction and summary

According to "How protests pushed Hong Kong to the recession brink, " After the protests in Hong Kong as a result of the extradition law, Hong Kong's GDP decreased by 3.2% and causing damages in various areas including tourism, such as the number of tourists travelling to Hong Kong decreased by 50% from last year. In terms of economic uncertainty in the business, whether it is the aviation business such as the Cathay Pacific airline business or many retail stores in Hong Kong ,as well as the lack of confidence investment in Hong Kong, which is a long-term impact. The government has resolved the economic slowdown by compressing over 20 billion Hong Kong dollars into the Hong Kong economic system.

Response: What is your opinion?

For me, the protest in Hong Kong is an event that shouldn't have happened because there are many people who are seriously injured in this event and what follows from this protest is the economic downturn and the lack of  Believe in the safety of many countries, which takes a long time to resolve. So we can see that protests are not the most way to solve the problem. In this event, I think it should be discussions and compromises of both government and citizens to finding conclusions.

   And In my opinion, there are 3 main reasons that make this protest happen are 1.the Chinese people who have moved to Hong Kong are Afraid that they would be charged by the Chinese government and taken to prosecute  2. Hong Kong just gaining independence from China in 1997, therefore Hong Kong is considered a new country that has not experienced to solve any major problems before 3. Hong Kong people do not have confidence in the leadership that chosen by some Hong Kong people and this selection was interfered by the Chinese government as well. therefore, this extradition bill may have benefit for China to interfere with Hong Kong, in some way so it causing Hong Kong citizens to worry.

As a result of the protest in Hong Kong, it is a case study for countries around the world to be cautious in drafting laws that may not be accepted by the people. For me, this event can be a case study in political science, in the fields of law and political details.

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Question for your classmates

Do you think the extradition law should happen in Hong Kong?

The effects of wildfire on koala

Introduction and summary

According to "Australian Wildfire: Hundreds of koalas feared dead",  many people are afraid that a very large bushfire that burnt through 20 square kilometers of genetically diverse koalas breeding ground near Port Macquarie in New South Wales might kill many koalas there. The koala rescuers also said this blaze might make the koala population decrease, which is a tragedy because there are only around 43,000 koalas left in the wild and listed as "vulnerable species". But the staff from Port Macquire Koala Hospital said that there is a possibility of koalas to survive if the wildfire passes through the tree fast enough to not kill but only leave a burnt on their fur. 

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Response: What is your opinion?

I felt unpleasantly surprised that koala was listed as "Vulnerable" by Australia's Environment Ministry and wildfire is pushing them to decrease more than a hundred each time it happens. The reason why I thought this way maybe because there is not much bushfire happens in Thailand, at least not as much as in Australia, so when I read that there were hundreds of bushfires in the past months, it sounded terrifying. 

In the article, they said that they blamed for habitat loss, disease, dog attacks, and climate change that is pushing koala to be declined, but I think most of those reasons are somehow related to bushfire. It is because, even though the blaze didn't make koalas permanently lose the forest they stayed, they are forced to seek new forests to live, and this makes koala has to survive from being killed by dogs or by cars. Also, we can't deny that the wildfire effect on the ecosystem since it burns all both adult trees and undergrowths, and when the ecosystem is ruined, it can affect climate change to worsen indirectly. And the climate change in the present is bad enough to kill koalas, especially in Australia's Summer when heat waves and dehydration can kill both humans and wildlife. 

As far as I knew, the female koala will generally have only one offspring per year and not all female koala breeds every year which might be a main reason why it's hard to increase the koala's population. And this made me started thinking that it will be very difficult for those people who want to breed and taking care of all species of koalas in order to protect them from listed as "endangered species" in the future.

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Question for your classmates

What do you think about the effects of bushfire on wildlife? 

It's complicated: Where our ancestors came from

Introduction and summary

The area in Botswana today -
definitely not fertile

In "Origin of modern humans 'traced to Botswana'," researchers claim to have determined where we modern humans first evolved in Africa 200,000 years ago before spreading to the rest of Africa and then to the rest of the world starting around 130,000 years ago. They argue that analyses of the distribution in modern Africa of a type of DNA passed only from mothers to children shows that the original home of our species was an area in modern Botswana, which would then have been very fertile, unlike the barren salt pan area it is today. However, other scientists remain unsure that the DNA analyses is enough to support this claim about our complex evolution.

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Response: What is your opinion?

Modern science continually amazes me. Today, we know more about our origins than any other humans in history have ever known, and unlike the stories told by religions, the creation stories of physics, chemistry, biology and other sciences are solidly founded on verifiable facts and sound reasoning. I had already known that Mitochondrial Eve, the last common female ancestor of every human being alive today, lived around 150,000 years ago, and I had already been amazed that anthropoligists had been able to narrow the area down to Africa after decades of careful work. If we look at other sciences, we now know more about the universe around us, including that it's almost 14 billion years old, than anyone would have imagined possible when I was born last century, and the rate of new discoveries keeps accelerating, as my ever smarter smart phones demonstrate. What might we know tomorrow?

But as I read and thought about the article, I was also reminded how the mathematical tools used to recreate evolutionary histories from modern DNA can be applied in very different areas. Last term in one of my classes we read an article about how these statitical analyses can be used to trace fairy tales back through evolving human languages for thousands of years as groups split like species do to create new languages and new cultures, a process that is still going on in every living language and the culture it encodes. 

In fact, if I had to pick just one scientific discovery, I might choose Darwin's theory of evolution, which he published in 1859, as the most important ever. Evolution is not so deep as the theories of modern physics, or so Earth shattering as the Copernican revolution that moved us humans from the centre of the universe, but by connecting us to every other living thing through the mindless operation of perfectly blind natural processes, it showed us our place in nature and finally helped us get over the need for stories of gods and other supernatural things to explain the living wonder of the world we inhabit. 

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Question for your classmates

Why do scientists and others want to understand where we humans began?  

The taste of good morals

Introduction and summary

Foie gras: delicacy or cruelty?

According to "Foie gras ban: New York restaurateurs enraged by 'unjust and unfair' measure," a vote to ban foie gras, which is traditionally made by force feeding ducks or geese to enlarge their livers, has opposed animal rights activists, who are happy that a tradition they see as "cruel and inhumane" will end, and those working in the farms and restaurants that produce and serve the delicacy. If the ban, which was passed 42 votes to six, is signed into law by New York's mayor, the city will join other states and countries where foie gras is illegal, but the affected industries say they will take legal action to overturn the ban before it begins in 2022.

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Response: What is your opinion?

Duck lunch by my brother –
I got the liver! 

Food is important to most of us: it's something we socialize over, talk about, and share on Facebook. And first off, I have to confess that I'm a foie gras lover. I grew up on a farm, and among other animals, we raised ducks both for sale and for ourselves. Our ducks led very happy, free range lives until they were killed; and they were never force fed, merely provided with as much grain, fresh grass, organic worms and other yummy foods as they could eat. They certainly grew plump and delicious, and their livers, while not recognized as foie gras by the snobby French, were a favourite at the dinner table. In fact, on my annual visits to see my family, the livers are still very popular at the duck dinners my brother now produces from his free range ducks. 

The article suggests the foie gras can be created without cruelty to animals, but does not say how this is done. It merely quotes the New York duck farmers as saying this, so I'm not sure whether it is true or not. My own experience of our ducks is that although they are easily tempted to eat a lot and get deliciously fat as they enjoy stuffing themselves, the resulting livers are deliciously rich, but not the same as foie gras produced by force feeding. 

But the issue that really interested me is whether, and when, it is OK to make non-human animals suffer or be killed so that we can enjoy eating them. And is force feeding a duck any worse than keeping them in cramped pens like to so many chickens and pigs are for their entire miserable lives are cut short when they are killed? The meat industries seem to me to not only kill a lot of animals every day, but they do cause a lot of suffering. It also seems to me that the animal rights activists are right to point out that when we buy meat in a shop or order it in a restaurant, we are effectively paying someone else to kill and torture for us, which makes us like a mafia godfather who does not kill himself, but is still responsible for the killing and suffering that comes from his orders to paid servants. 

I think that there is also a much deeper set of moral issues raised by the way we human animals treat our non-human relatives, but this is enough for now. 

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Question for your classmates

Is it morally acceptable to pay other people to kill animals and cause them suffering for no better reason than to enjoy the taste of their killed bodies?