Elevation

     Author: Stephen King

  There was a knock on Dr Bob Ellis's door. He was  retired doctor. Turns out, it was his friend Scott. He had a weird weight loss syndrome. Every day, he started to lose weight more and more. He looked like he weighed 240 pounds, but in reality, he had dropped to 210 pounds in a few weeks. When he took of his clothes and weighed himself, he also weighed the same.

      Dr Ellis was surprised at this s it was impossible for someone to weigh the same when they were naked and when they were dressed. Problems aside, there was now an annual race competition at their town. Normally, Scott coudn't run fast as he was 240 pounds, but when the race came, he had dropped to 160 pounds. Well, another weird thing was that Scott didn't feel symptoms. He could eat like a horse and felt like he was in the best moment of his life, and never felt like he had lost any weight.

  Surprisingly, Scott could finish running the whole 12km marathon. He definitely felt tired, but he was surprised that he could still complete it. Although he still does not know why he keeps losing weight, but he is sure to spend his last few months or days to live to the fullest of his life.

The Singapore Story - Chapter 5

 Title: The Singapore Story - Memories of Lee Kuan Yew (Chapter 5)

Author: Lee Kuan Yew

Chapter Review: My Cambridge days

  Lee Kuan Yew was on a ship called The Britannic. He was on his way to the London university. At 3 October 1946, he arrived in London. While attending the university, he decided that he had to look for somewhere to live, and found himself a room at 8 fitzjohn's avenue. The only problem was that Lee Kuan Yew was suffering from culture shock, as the clothes, food, people and many other things were different.

  The price of the apartment for a week was quite costly for someone who had stopped earning. Although that included gas fire and retractable gas ring, it was expensive when Lee Kuan Yew ate at restaurants without coupons. After asking around, Lee Kuan Yew finally knew where to buy meat, and without a refrigerator, how to keep milk cold.

  One day, after his law tutorials at the London university, Lee Kuan Yew approached the lecturer, Glanville L. Williams, who was from Cambridge, how it was there. After knowing more about cambridge, Lee Kuan Yew decided to pay a visit there. After visiting, he was interested in joining cambridge.

  After asking the censor of fitzwilliam, Billy Thatcher, Billy Thatcher took a liking to Lee Kuan Yew and decided to let him join cambridge. After quitting the London university,  he enrolled in cambridge university and was more used to cambridge and could adapt better. He would not have to worry about food and daily neccssities. 

At about June 1947, Kwa Geok Choo finally got the queen's scholarship, but could not find a suitable university to join. After pleading Billy Thatcher, he finally agreed to let Choo join the cambridge university.

Shortly after Choo arrived, she was also in for culture shock. She was not accustomed to food, clothes and many other things. But after a few weeks of hectic adjustments, she finally got a little used to the environment.

  After a few more days, Lee Kuan Yew and Kwa Geok Choo decided to get married quietly and in secret. After they got married, Lee Kuan Yew bought Choo a platinum wedding ring, which she wore on a chain around her neck.

The next few years passed by like the blink of an eye and soon it was graduation. Lee Kuan Yew and his friends (his brother dennis, maurice baker, toh chin chye, choo and many more) all had a party together before going their separate ways.

  Soon, Kwa Geok Choo and Lee Kuan Yew sailed home to Singapore. Choo went to her house in Pasir Panjang and Lee Kuan Yew went back to his home in Oxley road while keeping his marriage a secret.

Questions:

1.     Why did Lee and Kwa get married in secret?

Answer: They did not want Kwa's parents to know that she got married or they would have been upset, and the university and the censor would not have approved if he knew they got married.

Vocabulary List

1. accomodation - a room, group of rooms, or building in which someone may live or stay.

2. Masqueraded - pretending to be someone

3. canvassing - 1. cover with canvas. 2. question (someone) in order to ascertain their opinion.3. propose (an idea or plan) for discussion.

4. shillings - 1. the basic monetary unit in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, equal to 100 cents.

2. a former British coin and monetary unit equal to one twentieth of a pound or twelve pence.

5. forestry - the science or practice of planting, managing, and caring for forests.

2. 
   

The Singapore Story - Chapter 4

Title: The Singapore Story - Memories of Lee Kuan Yew (Chapter 4)

Author: Lee Kuan Yew

Chapter Review: After The Liberation (Pg 84 to Pg 99)

Summary: What happened after the Japanese Occupation

  After the surrender ceremony of the Japanese had come to an end, everyone thought that the good times were about to return, but by early 1946, the people realised that there was no return to the good old times. One reason was because there were british soldiers who filled the newly opened cafes, bars and many other places. Another reason was because ship arrivals were infrequent and goods were scarce not only in Singapore, but also in Britain itself.

  There were also many things that were broken and needed repair, such as the road filled with potholes and old telephones that were beyond repair. Also, there was another problem.

 

  Aside from the about only 10 percent of people that were loyal to the british in Singapore, the remaining 90 percent of people recently arrived in Singapore and would converse in chinese instead of malay or english. Most of their loyalty was to China, not Britain.

  Some of those people would go around blackmailing businessman for their past collaboration with the enemy not dressed as a normal person, but dressed as soldiers. Luckily, after the british offered every so called soldier that if they turned in their weapons, they would get $350. Thankfully, most of them, about 6500 turned in.

  Before that happened, however, the soldiers would always be seen almost everywhere. Shops would be closed down in an act of fear and those people who turned up for work would get beaten up.

  With the japanese aside, many houses were left vacant. Lee Kuan Yew and his family decided to find another place to leave. They rented a house with 5 bedrooms for $80 a month. Lee kuan Yew's father continued to work at the shell depot in Pasir Panjang.

  During this time, Lee Kuan Yew and Kwa Geok Choo had grown closer and Lee Kuan Yew began to like her. At about October - November 1945, he got her a job as a librarian in Raffles Library. After thinking, Lee Kuan Yew decided to not attend Raffles College and instead study law in England. At about March, Lee Kuan Yew was told that he would be accepted to the London Economics College if he could present himself there.

  Therefore, Lee Kuan Yew spoke to the army officer. After hearing about his predicament, the army officer agreed as he was sympathetic. Before Lee Kuan Yew left for England, his mother made sure that he would leave Singapore commited to a chinese girl. After telling his mother about Kwa Geok Choo, Lee Kuan Yew's mother agreed after shrewd judgement.

  Choo had been educated at Methodist Girls' School and was only 19 when she went to Raffles College. Before Lee Kuan Yew left, Choo and him spent a lot of time together. They were young and in love, anxious to record that last moment of their lives.

  When Lee Kuan Yew left Singapore on his 23rd birthday, 16 September 1946, he waved goodbye to all his relatives and his family with a tearful look in his eyes.

The Singapore Story - Chapter 3

Title: The Singapore Story - Memories Of Lee Kuan Yew (Chapter 3)

Author: Lee Kuan Yew

Chapter Review - The Japanese Invaders (Pg 44 to Pg 84)

Summary: How Japanese troops invaded Singapore

  Lee Kuan Yew was asleep in E block of Raffles College when he was woken up to by the sound of exploding bombs. The war with japan had begun. The bombs killed 60 people and wounding 130 others, leading to many casualties.

  After that fatal accident, Lee Kuan Yew volunteered for the Medical Auxiliary services and would cycle from his home to his post to the college which was 3 miles away. The war did not go well. A few days later, the Japanese started to bomb Singapore, day and night on 31 January. The siege of Singapore had just begun.

  In the middle of January, the schools were closed. After the Japanese took over the college on 10 February, the MAS unit had to disband. At 15 February, it turned out that the British had surrendered and the Japanese had swept on towards the town. In turn, some bold people began looting houses, department stores and other places which contained items of value.

  

The japanese caught a few of these looters and beheaded them to strike fear into the people. As a result, many people were fleeing from Singapore and hospitals, public utilities and other services were unmanned and Lee Kuan Yew was shocked at their cowardly behaviour just to save their skins.

  One day, when Lee Kuan Yew went to visit his aunt, he walked past a group of japanese soldiers. After being kicked to the ground, Lee Kuan Yew was told to go back the way he had come. Soon after, he was shocked to find several japanese soldiers come into the house and decided it was a suitable billet for a platoon. The beginning of a nightmare had started.

  Since the occupation started, Lee Kuan Yew's father had no work, he had no college, and his siblings had no school. Deciding to learn chinese, Lee Kuan Yew headed to get Mandarin Made Easy, a thin booklet that taught basic chinese characters and how to read them. After Lee Kuan Yew's father died in Japan, Lee Kuan Yew looked up his grandfather's Japanese friend, Mr Shimoda, and ended up working in his company as a clerk for a year.

  After that, he worked as an editor in the cathay building for 15 months until the end of 1944.

  

  Since the end of 1943, food has been getting scarcer and scarcer. Lee Kuan Yew would eat shoots of sweet potato, tapioca and vegetables that were barely palatable almost everyday.

  Soon, Lee Kuan Yew and his friend, Yong Nyuk Lin, decided to start a business by making gum, which was scarce, but Nyuk Lin had the ingredients that were cheap to make it. The gum turned a decent profit, and the location of making it was in Nyuk Lin's house, where he was helped with his wife her younger sister, Kwa Geok Choo, the girl who beat him in Raffles College.

  The gum making business lasted for six to seven months until late 1944. By that time, war was going badly for the japanese and they were losing to other countries. After that, Lee Kuan Yew's family sold the house they had in Norfolk Road for $60000 in banana notes.

  

  To prevent from starving, Lee Kuan Yew continued to operate on the black market as a broker for everything tradeable. In May, Germany was defeated by Japanese, now, it was only a matter of time before japan would be defeated as the war effort would be turned against them.

  On 15 August, the japanese emperor announced the surrender of japan. Finally, the war was over!

  

  After a few months, the British arrived and finally, the Japanese occupation was over!

  In 1992, the japanese prime minister, morihiro hosokawa, gave an unqualified aoplogy.

The Singapore Story - Chapter 2

 Title: The Singapore Story - Memories Of Lee Kuan Yew (Chapter 2)

Author: Lee Kuan Yew

Chapter Review - Growing Up (Pg 25 to Pg 44)

Summary: Stories Of Lee Kuan Yew as he was growing up

  Lee Kuan Yew was born in Singapore on 16 September 1923. His father was a storekeeper and growing up, Lee Kuan Yew had to abide by strict rules. When Lee Kuan Yew was 6, he joined the fishermen's children school nearby, but in that school, he barely understood what the teacher said. After complaining to his parents, his grandmother insisted that he would still receive some education.

  In January 1930, Lee Kuan Yew joined Telok Kurau English school under the agreement of his grandmother. Finlly, Lee Kuan Yew understood what the teachers were saying and made progress with little effort.

  After putting in tons of effort, Lee Kuan Yew won a place in a prestigious school - Raffles Institution. Lee Kuan Yew entered Raffles Institution in 1936 together with about 150 top students. After getting help from an Englishman, A.T. Greive, Lee Kuan Yew came in first in school in the Junior Cambridge examinations.

  After graduating from Raffles Institution, Lee Kuan Yew headed off to Raffles College. In Raffles College, each student had to take 3 subjects. Lee Kuan Yew took English, mathematics and Economics. He was the top student in mathematics, but to his shock, for English and Economics, he was in second place behind miss Kwa Geok Choo. It was at that time when he realised he would have stiff competition for the queen's scholarship.

  In the 1950s, Lee Kuan Yew started his career as a lawyer, which was a occupation he had aspired to be.

Questions

1. Who is Lee Kuan Yew's father?

2. Who is Lee Kuan Yew's paternal grandfather??

3. Who is Lee Kuan Yew's maternal grandfather

Answers

1. Lee Kuan Yew's father is Lee Chin Koon. He graduated from st. Joseph's institution. He works as a storekeeper.

2. Lee Kuan Yew's paternal grandfather is Lee Hoon Leong. He was born in 1871. He was educated in Raffles Institution and became a pursuer on board steamer. He brought his wife and Lee Kuan Yew's father back to Singapore after Lee Kuan Yew's father's birth.

3. Lee Kuan Yew's maternal grandfather is Chua Kim Teng, a wealthy businessman. He invested in rubber estates and had speculated on the rubber market and had gone into property as well.

Vocabulary Section 

1. matriarch - A woman who is the head of the family.

2. Allegations - a claim or assertion that someone has done something illegal or wrong.

3. Verandas -   A roofed platform along the outside of a house.

4. impartially - In a way that treats all rivals or disputants equally.

5. pictorial - a newspaper or periodical with pictures as a main feature.

The Singapore Story - Pros and Cons of the separation of Singapore and Malaysia

Title: The Singapore Story - Memories of Lee Kuan Yew (Chapter 1)

Author: Lee Kuan Yew

Chapter Review - Suddenly, Independence (Pg13 to Pg24)

Summary: Singapore separated from Malaysia

 On 9 August 1965 (at about 10am in the morning), when pop tunes on radios were cut off abruptly, Mr Lee Kuan Yew announced the separation of Singapore and Malaysia and that Singapore would be an independent country.

Q1: What are the Pros and Cons of the separation of Singapore from Malaysia?

Pros Of Separation:

1.  There would be no Malay Hegemony as Singapore is a multi - national country - everyone is treated fairly

Cons of seperation:

1. Singapore is left undefended as we do not have soldiers to fight for us.

2. No trading of items with Malaysia, so may not have enough supplies.

3. Lee Kuan Yew had left his allies to fend for themselves, which includes party leaders from various states of Malaysia.

Vocabulary Section 

1. hegemony - Leadership or Dominance over a certain area (state)

2. Oblique - Something that is said not very clearly and is hard to understand

3. demeanour - Ones's outward behaviour or bearing

4. recrimination - an accusation in response to another false accusation

5. Polyglot - Someone who knows many different languages

The Life Of Chuck

Book title: The Life Of Chuck   

Author: Stephen King

The author of this story is an adult named Marty. Recently, the internet has been experiencing a shutdown, along with Netflix. When Marty opened Netflix, he was expecting the screen to black out. Indeed it had, but there was a short image of a man - Chuck (Charles) Kranz. It said: 39 GREAT YEARS OF SERVICE - THANK YOU CHUCK!

  Yes, Indeed, Chuck was now taking his last few breaths at the hospital. Suddenly, Marty's phone rang. It was his ex-wife, Felicia. She worked as a nurse in the hospital. Recently, there have been a lot of people commiting suicide there, probably because of the internet problems. Felicia seemed to have some sense of reassurance when she heard his voice. After talking for a long time, they ended the call. The next day, Marty decided to visit Felicia, but since the hospital she worked at was far, he decided to cycle there.

  But after realising that Felicia had gone back home, he decided to cycle again to her house. It was night by that time. Suddenly, the streetlamps damped and there was a blackout! After making his way through the darkness, Marty knocked on Felicia's door. Upon seeing him, Felicia felt relieved and two of them decided to go to her balcony to glance at the stars, that were brighter than ever......

  Now lets move on to Chuck.

  Chuck was lying on his bed, taking his last few breaths, while his relatives watched him while crying.

  Now lets move on to what happened to Chuck when he was just a child - all about his life.

  Chuck was just six when his parents died, so his grandparents took the responsibility of taking care of him. His grandfather now retired and he always made wood figures in the attic. One would think that the attic is a dreadful place, but to Chuck, it was not. It was full of bright lights, even in the day. His grandmother was what you can call a housewife. At the age of eleven, his grandmother passed away peacefully - one would describe her death as a peaceful death, without her feeling pain. Chuck's grandmother died while eating.

  After getting over the death of his grandmother, Chuck found out that he had a knack for dancing. At the school prom day, he moonwalked in front of everyone and everyone was impressed. When he was practicing outside, however, he accidentally banged his hand on the outer wall, his hand was bleeding, which led to the star crescent shape scar that was on his hand today.

 After his grandfather passed away, Chuck was already old enough to take care of himself. He was given the house and everything. Since young, his grandfather had forbid him from entering a room in the house and he stated that it was haunted, but when Chuck opened the door, he found that it was an ordinary room, with a great view of the city, and there was nothing in that room. Feeling happy with himself, Chuck closed the room door and walked away.

  Now, Chuck has a wife and a son.

  Back to the present.

  The heart machine beeped as Chuck's heart stopped beating......