Favourite Piece Of Chinglish

One of my favourite piece of Chinglish is when Chinese people say "cock" instead of coke. It's quite common since Chinese people can't pronounce coke properly. They don't know that the "e" at the end makes the "o" sound like the "o" in "note", and just saids something that sounds like "cock". It's really funny and it's really common, making it one of my favourite piece of Chinglish.

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My Favorite Piece of Chinglish

"Aim straight and keep toilet seat fresh"
I saw this hilarious Chinglish phrase in action in a restroom stall in the Taiwanese airport. The original Chinese sign post original meaning wanted to notify the toilet users that they should it on the toilet seat rather than squat over it to prevent the toilet seat clean. The mistake in this particular translation happened when the Chinese term for "fresh" (which has two meanings--the first one being "clean", and the second being "recently added", just like in English) was translated directly into its second definition without regards to the context the word is being used in. This causes an awkward, but at the same time, amusing, glitch in the English translation of Chinese text. Personally, I found it really funny because in Mainland China, toilet seats always have urine all over them because people do not "aim straight" into the toilet bowl; and as I have only ever seen this sign in an airport, it was entertaining to see the extents the Taiwanese would go to to prevent people from affecting the public facilities of this clean region due to the habits and culture they've developed in the environment they grew up in.

Favorite piece of Chinglish

1. I saw this sign when I was visiting Beijing last year during Easter break with my family. I was in a food court and I ordered some soup, so when I went to pick up the soup, the sign said where the soup is picked up in Chinese, but in English, it said, 'Liquid up.' 

2. I found it really funny because this sign 'liquid up' makes absolutely no sense, although I do see how the translation went. No foreigner would go anywhere else to pick the soup up, but it would give them a good laugh.

3. I think that through the translation, soup may have turned into liquid and picking up turned to up, but I have no idea where the 'area' or 'place' went. 

Chinglish Piece

'Deformed Man End Place'

This is seen on the bathroom sign for disabled people on the highway of China. I saw this sign when I was traveling from Xiamen to Putian. I found this sign interesting and funny because it is suppose to be written as reserved toilet for the disabled. By using the words 'deformed' and 'end' are really impolite but funny at the same time as we can make out what it is trying to say and we know that it is incorrect. It grammatically doesn't make sense and has a dark  humor to it. The word disabled in Chinese means that a part of someone is not normal physically and in English, deformed means the same. It is just the directed translation word by word mistake. Therefore, it is a mistranslation.

Favourite Poem - Funeral Blues by W.H. Auden

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,

Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,

Silence the pianos and with muffled drum

Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead

Scribbling on the sky the message “He is Dead”.

Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,

Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,

My working week and my Sunday rest,

My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;

I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,

Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,

Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;

For nothing now can ever come to any good.

 Funeral Blues is one of the poems I really enjoyed, which expressed the profound grief and loss that the poet experienced upon the death of his lover. Throughout the poem it is evident that the poet felt as if he has lost everything meaningful in his life, and that they whole world should mourn for his lover's death. "He was my North, my South, my East and West, My working week and my Sunday rest." Even though not stated directly, the immense amount of grief is shown by the fact that his lover meant the whole world to him, and that there is no way that his world would go on without his lover. The fact that the poem consists of 4 stanzas, each consisting of 4 lines could symbolise death, as 4 represents death in some cultures. I was really touched by his outpour of emotion through vivid imagery, which I think is what made this poem unique.

Do not go gentle into that good night - Dylan Thomas [1914 - 1953]

"Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

“Do not go gentle into that good night” is considered one of the most well-known and appreciated poems of all time. Dylan Thomas uses a style of poetry typically written in French, and manages to perfectly translate it into a well constructed english poem. This  villanelles is a proper 19 lined poem with 5 stanzas by three and a final stanza with four lines. With only two rhymes, Thomas manages to effectively portray epic emotions as he argues with the death of a loved one. Effectively using the night as a metaphor for death, it is simple to see through the use of repetition, that Dylan is going through an emotional time, as he prays for his father. The two repeated lines end up concluded the poem, as a villanelles should; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. 

  I really enjoy this poem as it shows such strong defiance and agony against death. I feel as though it shows the true passionate pain felt through losing someone you love, Thomas’ simple repetition and rhymes overflow with emotions so well that readers feel an entirely new perspective on death. Through the wise men, the good men, the wild men and the grave men, he teaches us the fight and fear we all hold towards the “good night”. I do actually consider it to be one of the greatest pieces of all time, perfectly composed and precisely crafted.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

  Alexander Solzhenitsyn effectively tells us the story of Stalin's mandatory labour camps, in which prisoners were welcomed with harsh conditions and endless sentences. Not a single person has tasted freedom upon the first day they entered the camp, not a single person has ever left. The book describes a single day of Ivan, a normal citizen who just so happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Through Ivan's eyes, you learn the struggle of the people, the ' of the Soviet Gulag system, and the peril which occurred throughout Stalin's rule. 

  Although incomprehensible,  Solzhenitsyn somehow manages to make you understand the struggle prisoners face, constantly struggling daily to maintain their sanity, hold their dignity, while laying low with the hope you might get out alive. Through this short tale, many questions relevant to the functions of Russia's systems are answered, as the informative pieces gives you greater understanding. I highly recommend the book, and although boring and long at times, the book has become a staple piece of literature that informs and reminds us of the boring, long, brutal yet important time of 1951.

Favorite Poem

A Life-lesson 

By James Whitcomb Riley

There! little girl; don't cry!

They have broken your doll, I know;

And your tea-set blue,

And your play-house, too,

Are things of the long ago;

But childish troubles will soon pass by. --

There! little girl; don't cry!

There! little girl; don't cry!

They have broken your slate, I know;

And the glad, wild ways

Of your schoolgirl days

Are things of the long ago;

But life and love will soon come by. --

There! little girl; don't cry!

There! little girl; don't cry!

They have broken your heart I know;

And the rainbow gleams

Of your youthful dreams

Are things of the long ago;

But Heaven holds all for which you sigh. --

There! little girl; don't cry!

I really enjoy this poem because it can be easily related to any girls' lives, from their childhood troubles to the wild ways of the teenage years, and finally when the girls reach their stage before womanhood where they are trying to find their true self and figuring what they are going to do when they grow up before going to college. The way Riley repeated 'There! little girl; don't cry!' almost seems like a chant, like he is trying to convince the girl not to cry instead of comforting her. I grew up with play-houses, tea sets and dolls and I have experienced ups and downs within friends and family and I am still trying to find out what career I should pursue in the near future, therefore I can relate really well to this poem.

Caged Bird By Maya Angelou

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

BY MAYA ANGELOU 

A free bird leaps

on the back of the wind   

and floats downstream   

till the current ends

and dips his wing

in the orange sun rays

and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks

down his narrow cage

can seldom see through

his bars of rage

his wings are clipped and   

his feet are tied

so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings   

with a fearful trill   

of things unknown   

but longed for still   

and his tune is heard   

on the distant hill   

for the caged bird   

sings of freedom.

The free bird thinks of another breeze

and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees

and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn

and he names the sky his own

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams   

his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream   

his wings are clipped and his feet are tied   

so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings   

with a fearful trill   

of things unknown   

but longed for still   

and his tune is heard   

on the distant hill   

for the caged bird   

sings of freedom.

This is one of my favorite poems. It expresses the freedom of birds through descriptions and comparisons. It compares the lives of a free bird and a caged bird. It expresses the importance of freedom and the cruelty of restrictions. The title of the poem shows the desire and hope of the caged bird as well as relating it to reality. This poem is deep and meaningful. I really enjoyed reading this poem. It makes me think a lot through the extreme in the difference of the comparisons. 

"Diving Board" by Shel Silverstein

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I really like this particular poem by Shel Silverstein, because it reflects on how people react when they are assigned with a task that is completely foreign to them, or just a really "professional procrastinator". It gives a visual image of a kid, overcome with anxiety, being extremely paranoid about hurting himself because of a dive into a pool, or just too lazy to finish up the activity. We can imagine him overdoing the preparations, but never approach the edge of the diving block because he is either wary of the outcome, or not bothered to tie the "wrapping bow" to this venture. Just like Mr Murphy said (or at least along the lines of what he said), "a task half done is not a task not done at all." Always achieve a goal that you've set out for yourself!

One Day In the life of Ivan Denisovich

The story sets in a prison camp in 1951, telling the story of a day in the life of Ivan Denisovich. The story starts with him feeling sick in bed and got punishment because he woke up late. Afterwards, he rushes to breakfast with his gang and then to the nurse. However, the nurse told him that he is not sick and he has to go back to work. The day continues with his gang, 104 and him, working outside in the freezing, snowy day as they got assigned to the power station. In the evening, they lined up for roll call but a prison went missing and the gang headed back late. Ivan Denisovich gets a package for an inmate and gets extra meal for reward. Finally, he goes to bed and thinking that it was a good day. This story is insightful and informative. It tells an extraordinary day of a prisoner. I found this story kind of boring but overall, it was ok.

A short review on Black Swan Green

The book Black Swan Green by David Mitchell follow's Jason Taylor in the year that he transitions from a child to a teenager. The book is periodical and talks about one month of Jason's life in each chapter and focuses on his coming of age. Because it is a coming of age novel talks about many of the issues affecting him such as bullying, his parents marital woes, his stutter and even the devastating Falkland wars. 

Overall I would rate this a nine out of ten for readability as it is quite an easy read. This book would receive a seven out of ten for entertainment because I didn't think it was that exciting the whole way through. For thought-provoking I would think that Black Swan Green deserves an eight, as the text did get thinking about how a child is personally affected by their parents failed marriage and how it may affect their confidence and trust in others/themselves.

Readability:9
Entertainment:7
Thought-provoking:8



"Family Fight Stock Photo 118302697." Thinkstock. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Jan. 2015.

Black Swan Green Review

Black Swan Green is a novel written by the famous author of Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell. This book highlights the life of a young teenager named Jason Taylor, written from his perspective. After reading this book, I was very fascinated by how much he has encountered throughout the flow of this book and how descriptive these events were written. Same thing applies to the characters he has encountered throughout the book. These factors contribute to the reason why I was quite entertained while I was reading this book. 

This book was not too difficult to read and understand, but the language that Jason uses in his narration is so contrasting and informal to other types of writing language I read before, that it took me a little bit more time to fully understand what he was trying to say. There were times where I had to reread the parts I did not understand several times. Other than that, there was not too much of a problem for me to read this book. 

After reading this book, it left me with a lot of thought and made me think a lot about the story, especially about Jason, as his personality and how he coped these events in the story (paricularly his stammer and "Hangman"). This novel also made think a lot about the course of these very interesting events that happened in Black Swan Green.

Readability:  8/10

Entertainment: 8/10

Thought provoking: 9/10

Review of 'Black Swan Green'

'Black Swan Green' by David Mitchell, highlights a year in the life of the main character, Jason Taylor. The book is written in the perspective of a 13 year old and each new chapter corresponds with a new month in that year. The episodic structure allows Jason to introduce new characters and events that have occurred during each particular month. The characters in the book are well developed and each of them have clear personalities and characteristics that can be identified through their behavior, despite the fact that their behavior might not be suitable for their age group. Jason records the things that he experiences in his social, school and personal life; in the book, Jason is of a low social status at school and suffers from stammering (a speech disorder) of which he personifies as 'hangman' and he also goes through phases of being the victim of bullying at school. Overall, the book is an accurate depiction of an eventful teenage life, even though 13 might be too young for some of the events that have happened. 

Readability: 9/10

Entertainment: 6/10

Thought-Provoking: 7/10

Overall: 22/30

Jennifer Allardice - Black Swan Green review

Entertainment: 6/10

Readability: 9/10

Thought-Provoking: 4/10

  David Michel's Black Swan Green covers Jason Taylor's 13th year, in an episodic manner which highlights events of each month. The 13 chapter book can be said to be on the shorter side of stories, with highly eventful months within a seemingly ordinary community. The book takes you through Jason's troublesome adolescence, as he deals with the issue of his parents divorce, his love of writing poems, and his speech deficiency. Throughout the story he meets a range of interesting characters, such as the extravagant Mrs.Crommylink, the enticing Dawn-Madden, and her cruel boyfriend, Ross Wilcox, as well as his snob of a cousin, Hugo, who convinces Jason to try his first cigarette. Although Mitchell introduces a diverse and interesting range of characters, I find that fails to develop any of them to a reasonably deep level, excluding the main character, Jason, who's perspective the book is based off.

  Apart from the characters, the stories which revolve around them seem to be fairly disparate and too eventful for the young life of a 13 year old boy. The story starts off with realistic happenings, such as witnessing a scrap between boys, trying to impress his schoolmates, spraining his ankle and accidentally breaking his most valuable possession, passed down to him by his father as a sign of trust of responsibility. However, as the story progresses, more exaggerated stories begin to show. For example, he meets a crazy, extravagant, old lady, who acts as a guru who tries to teach him how to write, and cope with his parent's divorce. Followed by stumbling across a band of gypsies who basically send the entire town into chaos, as they begin to panic about them taking over their jobs and lands. Although the stories might seem a bit too bold, David Mitchell's style of writing still manages to engage the reader throughout the story.

  

Black Swan Green Review

Readibility: 8/10
Thought provokingness: 4/10
Entertainment: 3/10

Black Swan Green by David Mitchell was quite an easy read but I did not find it intriguing to read and think about. This book was not entirely satisfying to read either because of it's use of local slang, which I could not grasp onto the most of the meanings, which was quite frustrating. It's use of characters within the story was however interesting and made me want to further understand them and their circumstances. Despite the simple dialogue and language used in the book, the plot was very dull and I did not see the point to the story. I understood that the author tries to portray the ordinary life of a normal teenage boy, but the events that occurred were either too boring or unrealistic, this made me uninterested in the plot. Therefore entertainment wise, I did not give it a high rating. As the plot and characters themselves were reasonably typical, the plot itself was too. I did not put much thought into the book as I was reading it, mainly because the events and dialogue were all too plain to see. Overall the character portrayal was done excellently but in my opinion it was it was a mediocre read, and I would not read it for enjoyment unless I have to. 

Black Swan Green Review

Genre: Fiction

Author: David Mitchell

Black Swan Green tracks a year in the life of Jason Taylor, a thirteen year old living in the town of Black Swan Green. Each chapter represents one month in his life, from January 1982 to January 1983. The book is written from Jason's point of view, and some of the areas being discussed include his struggles to overcome his stammer problem, and how his relationship with his family and friends.

The words were pretty straightforward. Being written in colloquial language, the book was pretty easy to read. It was quite entertaining as well, especially towards the end. Some of the parts were quite relatable, especially the parts where Jason talks about the various problems he faced. I think I would have enjoyed the book more had it not written in episodic structure, where all the chapters seemed to be disconnected. Overall I quite enjoyed this book.

Readability: 8/10

Entertainment: 8/10
Thought-provoking: 7/10
Overall: 23 / 30

Black Swan Green Review

Written by David Mitchell, 'Black Swan Green' is a novel following a year in Jason Taylor's life. There are thirteen chapters, which in turn follow a month of the year. Jason is introduced as a 13 year old boy, with a stammer. We see the change from Jason in the first chapter, to what he has become as a result of influence from certain events throughout the book. Another element we see in this, is how he struggles with his stammer (which he personifies as 'hangman'), and how he deals with it or seeks help about it.

Mitchell accurately uses realistic interaction between characters to portray Jason and most of the other characters, however at times there are a few characters which seem to be absolutely unbelievable. However, Jason is the only main character and majority of the other characters are recurring or only minor. Also, the book is quite episodic, as what happens between chapters is not described, nor even briefly mentioned, so we are left unknown with what happens to him between the chapters.

Readability-5
Entertainment-5
Thought-provoking-7

This image depicts how one is influence by others, through the actions and thoughts of others. Jason would be the red cogwheel, and the other white cogwheels would be controlling Jason, influencing him.









                                                                            (Haha)

Black Swan Green Review

The book Black Swan Green is about a young boy Jason Taylor, and he narrates one story of his life in chapters. I thought that the book was enjoyable in most of the parts, but some bits of the books was a little bit hard to read on because the beginning was a little bit boring to continue at first. The structure of the chapters is episodic as it does not flow together to make a smooth transition from one chapter to the other. There are a little bit too many characters in the book, so it was a little hard to remember all of the characters as the majority of them only show up in one or two of the chapters. I think that the language is easy to understand because the author is talking in a thirteen year old boys language.

Readability: 9/10

Entertainment: 7/10

Thought-Provoking: 7/10

Overall: 23/30

Review of Black Swan Green

Black Swan Green is a novel by David Mitchell about a thirteen year old boy named Jason growing up in the town Black Swan Green. Every chapter of the story describes a different event that occurred in a certain month, allowing the whole book to be around one year of the boy's life. Since every chapter illustrates a different month, the book structure is very episodic, which makes the story a bit confusing at the start. However, it does get easier to transition between the chapters but the episodic structure of the book does not change. Therefore, the readability of this book is around 7. For entertainment, every chapter includes a variety of stories that are vivid and interesting, therefore the score is 8. As this book is about a young adolescent boy's life, the big story arcs of this novel are the bullies and the parents' constant quarrels, which ultimately lead to finding out about the father's affair and a divorce. Though this book does not directly highlight any themes, it does allow the reader to ponder about how easily a thirteen year old boy's life can change. Thus, the thought-provoking score is 7. Overall, Black Swan Green was quite a satisfying book.

Readability: 7

Entertainment: 8

Thought-provoking: 7

Black Swan Green, a novel.

Black Swan Green Review

Black Swan Green is basically a collection of events in the one-year life of 13-year-old Jason Taylor. This book is slightly unsatisfying in the sense that questions are raised in each chapter but are never answered because the focus on that particular new character has shifted to another one. Since it is written in the point of view of a teenage boy, the story incorporates a load of slang that is not especially necessary, and eventually becomes quite a tedious read. Additionally, the book introduces obstacles for Jason that are not really relatable, for instance his struggle with speech delivery, and also the fighting between his parents at home. However, because the story is a narration, we always know what Jason is thinking; and sometimes, after describing an event, he would come up with a question and leave it unanswered for his readers to ponder on.

Readability: 9
Entertainment: 6
Thought-Provoking: 7

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2844QKMzcV4L2MZODoOJ-zKLwT1XfcbVh25QcHWevf77adWsDMjaZ-sHis5cLN_VLnGErz_pQon_yoa4B2_EdwmLOz7HIYLxduOQoRG-Oun1S064xHme0WVeOBBM0ay7goonvG8kItq5/s1600/IMG_4741.JPG
I chose this picture because it reminds me of the house by the woods where the sour aunt lived (although I imagined it to be bigger), and how it appears at the beginning of the story and the end. In a way, it represents Jason's development as a character, as he returns to this place and looks at it differently as compared as the first time he sees it. The difference is that he goes from fearing the old woman, to appreciating her help and wanting to go visit and thank her for a last time before he leaves the town.

Black Swan Green Review

Black Swan Green tells a year of the life of the teenage boy, Jason, who stutters and stammers as well as getting bullied in school . Each chapter tells a new event of a new month of the year. Each of the stories and characters are well-developed and explains Jason's personality. Slang is used in this book so that the readers are able to know that the book is written in the perspective of a teenager. I found some of the events in the book quite boring but some of them were really interesting such as a chapter named 'Hangman'. Overall, it was a good book.

Entertainment: 6/10
Thought-provoking: 7/10
Readability: 8/10
Overall: 21/30

Black Swan Green Book Review

Black Swan Green is a book set during the Falklands war. The main character and narrator of the story is a boy named Jason Taylor who is thirteen years old. The book goes through a year in his life and the everyday problems he faces like his stutter and bullies at school namely Ross Wilcox and his friends. At some points in the book it can get quite confusing however if you just read on everything will become apparent. I gave it the scores below because the story can get quite interesting and curious sometimes as his father is always disappearing late at night and Ross Wilcox's conflictions with his father.

Readability= 7.5/10

Thought Provoking= 7/10

Entertainment= 8.5/10

Review of Black Swan Green

Black Swan Green
I found this book a little boring at the beginning, but more and more interesting towards the end. It is very easy to read, seldom with complicated words because this story is told by a teenager. A lot of characters interest me, such as Mrs Crommelynck, an old lady that is extravagant and quite odd. I also am very curious about the aunt that lives in the woods that appears to be dying. Although I did not find the events that happen throughout the book quite realistic, it was entertaining and intriguing. I wonder all the time about the reason behind Jason Taylor's father having an affair. Overall, I found this book to be quite satisfying.

Readability: 9/10
Entertainment: 8/10
Thought-provoking: 8/10

'The Old Man And The Sea' Review

The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway is a book about an old fisherman who goes on a fishing voyage. His luck is terrible and hasn't caught a fish in eighty-five days. He usually fishes with a boy, but the boy's parents stopped him from fishing with the old man, so he had to sail alone for three days on a tiny boat. At the end of the trip, he did not achieve his ultimate goal of selling his fish, but his bravery and perseverance won him the respect of his village and the boy is willing to fish with the old man again.

This book is simple and easy to understand, but there are deeper meanings behind the words, so the readability score is 9. The book is not super interesting and full of adventure, but it does has some entertaining elements like when the old man fights off the sharks, so the entertainment score is 6. Even though the book is easy to read, it is not as simple as it looks. It talks about many problems we face and how to overcome them with optimism and resiliency, so the thought-provoking score is 8. I think it's a great book, and I recommend it to everyone who wants a quick easy read that is also quite insightful.

Readability: 9
Entertainment: 6
Thought-provoking: 8