What are Sea-Monkeys ?

Okay, today's post features the most commercial and demanding product by fellow children, probably worldwide (depends on the productions) . Sea-Monkeys. What are they ? I mean, is it really a Monkey ? the "oouh-oouh, aah-ahh" kind that lives in a sea ? IS IT ? lol i bet gazzillion people who are exposed to this product pose the similar question. the answer is....... NO. sadly, we've been fooled. :( hahaha. okay, take that aside. you see, how does the name have anything to do with it ? Literally.

The resemblance of the animal's tail to Monkey and live in a salt water environment explained the ideas. Therefore, Sea-Monkeys are born. how weird. FYI, it's commercially introduced due to a high number of ant farm "breeders" back then. well, it's just business, nothing personal. ain't it ?

Okay, even by my own thoughts. My sister once owned these creatures. I only knew the name but never seen one before with my bare eyes. So, a direct thought would be Sea-Monkey = Monkeys live in water. LOL. No ain't what it is. I got frustrated when i saw the real thing. like "HEY! why aren't they look like a monkey?!" what i can read in my mind further is just "BUNCH OF LIARS!" lol. such a promising name but sigh. Okay, i must admit. It's still cute, though. but the thing is... i got disguised by their weird looks and the way they move. like OMG, EWW -.-" damn it. Like most people would say, though, is that... THE MAJOR SETBACK OF SEA-MONKEYS are.... They don't possess the similarity in them despite the name, the mascot and wtv it is told. The life span are just SO BRIEF. now you see it, now you don't. After finished the foods or wtv.. they'll die or idk. cuz i just can't recall what happened back there. all i wondered was "where the hell it went?" and oh, it's transparent and the feet moves super fast. so, that's the a little bit of ooouuwh/ewww. haha B-)

Okay, it's time to discover and uncover the truth.

• The real name for this species is Artemia a.k.a Brine Shrimp which is a genus of Aquatic Crustaceans.
• The total length is usually about 8 millimetres (0.31 in)-10 millimetres (0.39 in) for the adult male and 10 millimetres (0.39 in)-12 millimetres (0.47 in) for the female, but the width of both sexes, including the legs, is about 4 millimetres (0.16 in)
• Harold von Braunhut first invented and introduced these Sea-Monkeys based on Brine Shrimp in 1957.
• It does not feed but consume their own energy reserves stored in the cyst while wild Brine Shrimps eats microscopic Planktonic-Algae.
• Cultured Brine Shrimps can also be fed particulate foods including yeast, wheat flour, soybean powder or egg yolk.
• These creatures undergo Cryptobiosis ( an ametabolic state of life entered by an organism in response to adverse environmental conditions such as desiccation, freezing, and oxygen deficiency) – often sold in hatching kits as novelty aquarium pets.
• All metabolic procedures stop, preventing reproduction, development, and repair during this period. An organism in a Cryptobiotic state can essentially live indefinitely until environmental conditions return to being hospitable. When this occurs, the organism will return to its metabolic state of life as it was prior to the Cryptobiosis.
• While in Cryptobiosis, Brine Shrimp eggs can survive temperatures of liquid air (−190 °C or −310.0 °F) and a small percentage can survive above boiling temperature (105 °C or 221 °F) for up to two hours. Once placed in briny (salt) water (>5‰), the eggs hatch within a few hours. The nauplii, or larvae, are less than 0.4 mm in length when they first hatch. Brine Shrimps has a biological life cycle of one year.

Okay, so... NOW.... YOU KNOW. hahhaha. not to hypnotize/brainwashing you to not buy these things. Just for information. Knowledge is very important to a person. It reflects the personality of his/her. Yes, they are cute in figure but might not be a fortune worth wasting for unless you just love these things and not to worry of paying a sum of money continuously to keep them as pets. Rather buy a real pet like cats, dogs, birds, iguana or wtv it is than this. love and care them better. though, it's not so expensive... it's just can be considered as wasteful and un-useful item to keep. well, i'm not the judge here. i'm just here to give information. I, personally don't have a problem in keeping them. quite easy but might think twice about the regular costs. lol :D

Review: Secretariat

a very elevating and touching story on how a housewife decided to take over a family business on horse breeding after the passing of her mother and how she managed to claim the glory in her by a horse named Secretariat a.k.a Big Red. A movie worth watching and recommended for movie lovers and of course, horse lovers as well. It's just full of emotions in it. Happy, sad, dramatic, pumped. Well, you name it.. it's all in it. Okay, to add a little bit more spice.. It's a true story and she, Penny, the owner of Secretariat.. Lived to tell the tale. how brilliant and wonderful it is. Such amazing thing done by her and the horse too.

Verdict: 4.5/5

It claimed the rating by it's own ways of the story. this is not another frustrating, turned down or failed movie reached out to the box office. It's a movie with love, care and happiness in self, family and life. A round of applause. :)

Marathon

okay, currently i have nothing to do. so i decided to start a marathon. CSI: Miami marathon. lol. i'm using Astro Beyond PVR, so i'm able to record stuffs. The best thing i ever have. Turns out it's better than Astro Max. though, the design and control is better in Astro Max.. the feature of the PVR, you can make a simultanious recording. two at a time. but the setback, you have to watch either one of it live. but there's always a trick. you could just watch a recorded programme then. :D whee. so, i kept this CSI since it started. idk whether the season ended yet or not but currently catching up to the mid season already. haha. well, i got more.. Camelot, Justified, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Throne and more series & movies. i just love it. record, watch later. (Sounded like promoting Astro =__= duhh) hahha. wtv.

okay, so since last night till today, i'm watching CSI: Miami. since no more box office movies to watch, dvds are absolutely cleaned, i mean finished all. lol. i decided to watch this. actually, tired of waiting for my dad to watch this together. hahaha. xD though, Camelot, Boardwalk Empire & Game of Throne is still in list. that, i can wait. More hype. oh, yeah. this season. quite interesting twist. new songs on list, nice view nice story & plot. awesome :D

what to do ?

it's funny, SPM hasn't yet started.. i already began to think of thing that i'm planning to do. oh what to do, what to do.. ? should i get a job or should i stay home, slacking ? if i get a job, i'll get money. things can be bought. aim: PS3. lol. okay, a point over there. but, second thoughts came in. i always have problem and complains of going school by saying it's boring, have to wake up early and stuff and the most importantly, rather stay home watch tv, play game and sleep. lol. that's the problem. stay home ? i can do what ever i want. watch this and that, play this and that, blog here and there, chill out somewhere outside with my friends and stuffs. but the thing is... i won't get money. i always planned of having a PS3. just can't take my eyes of it. ahahha. 3 months+ free time. okay, my new idea is to chill out first, for a month +. then work part time .. by the time i get the result, i'll resign. how's that sound ? blekh. wait till SPM is over first. hahaha. though, a lot of events are coming up after exam. and many places are planned to be visited. should i or should i not ? lalala. twists my mind thinking. fucking whatever --"

T-Minus 19

okay, here's the thing. SPM is very, very close. 19 days gap. pejam celik, dah dekat. whoa. really, i do feel the heat slowly. though, i seem so calm. even my friends are like," hey, aren't you scared or nervous or something ? cuz you seem so relaxed, berani mati kind wei.." lol that's what they said. why ? yeah, at school.. in my class, only my group would still play decks, walk around, joking here and there. haha not to say that i don't act like im sitting for one but idk, maybe the more i think about it, the higher the chance for me to get unsteady. sangkut wei, seriously. especially when they started posting stuffs like peruncingan shits.. wow, feels like fucking monster in my stomach. damn. oh, i still having a hard time to study. idk why. yes, at school, a lot of papers like trials and form 4 stuffs all over the country are being used for exercises. i did that but not reading. i want to but idk, guess it's still early. my starting point maybe like end of this week or the next. i bet it'll stick in my mind better when it's closer. have to admit that memory isn't on my side lately. too much to think of.

currently, i used up my time online.. chatting and watch tv. new movies, new series and etc. unconsciously my way of losing the heat. i remember last time during UPSR, i had fever. PMR, i crave stuffs. things like chocolates especially. only managed to notice it right after the last paper. lol i call these The Exam disease. the symptoms are quite clear and very different to each person. try asking other people who are sitting for one of these three exams, you'll know. or maybe if you just observe and you'll definitely notice a few weird things done  by them. hahaa. calm down, daniel. it's just another test. RIGHT =__=" yes, i have to put up my game soon enough. 2 weeks + left. that's all. then 9 days for all of my subjects and i'll be done by Nov 30th. Freedom is in way. yeah. haha.

till next post. gahh ! ><

How To Unblock Sites .

Okay, particularly majority of internet users in Malaysia are pissed off with the move made by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) which was by BLOCKING a few sites due to data  theft/piracy prevention scheme, which are :

warez-bb.org
thepiratebay.org
movie2k.to
megavideo.com
putlocker.com
depositfiles.com
duckload.com
fileserve.com
filestube.com
megaupload.com

This is the official black & white.

Okay, how brilliant can more internet be ? lol okay, i figured out a simple step to "blind" the blockage. hahhaha super happy cuz you don't have to struggle to download stuffs anymore. say hello to Google DNS ;D hahaha just follow the steps precisely and you'll be good to continue. B-)

okay, last word.... IN YOUR FACE, Rais Yatim ! MCMC too ! 

TROLOLOLOLOL

New Home For The Red Warriors

New Stadium Design.

The State Government will commence the construction of a new stadium at Bukit Merbau,Pasir Puteh in early March next year with a unique concept of the stadium with the mosque.

Chairman of the Economic Planning, Finance and the Welfare State, Datuk Husam Musa said, the main committee in the construction of sports complexes and stadiums selecteddeveloper will be appointed at the end of December. "In early March next year, preparatory work will be initiated at the state-owned land to avoid land acquisition costs. Some of the sports complex project for and partly for commercial purposes to cover the cost of building the new stadium.

"The State Government intends to use the 49.2 hectares of land in Bukit Merbau inspired by chief minister's own design ideas," he said when replying to Ahmad Baihaqi Atiqulah (PAS-Pasir Tumboh) to ask questions the date of the first phase of the new Stadium began. Husam said the concept of the stadium along with the mosque was a favorite of sports and religious consolidation that line.

Prior to this, Chief Minister, Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, as he announced the construction of the stadium, said the proposed sports complex is open to any developer to send the proposal on the basis of BOT construction, operation and transfer.

Blackberry Empathy: CONCEPT DESIGN.

The new smartphone designed by Kiki Tang & Daniel Yoon which displays a very high-end touch to it with a mood detector by switching colours according to the user's moods. The new BB does explains a very different shape, size and finishing touches to a very futuristic look. Looks very modern to me. a fierce approach to iPhone, in terms of competition ? Probably. stay tuned. :)

my guess is that it would definitely be a nice phone. though, it's up to the company's brains whether to include a very good way to get more attention among people and how to get closer to the competitor, Apple iPhone. with iPhone 5 is on the verge of birth soon enough, it would be a good time for Blackberry to introduce a brand new close up model to the public. As we all know, Blackberry has been a hit to the people today, but with a new touch.. i think it would catch the eyes of iPhone lovers too, especially with this kind of design. A very elegance model indeed comparing to the previous ones. because to me, the normal BBs' are just too simple to be called smartphone. but with this one, YES. Yes, i might fall for this phone too in case it does come out in the near future. It'll be a very hard call to decide which one's the one. we'll see soon enough, aye ? B-)

2012: LEGOLAND MALAYSIA

Legoland Malaysia is set to open by early 2012 in Johor Bahru at Nusajaya, Iskandar Malaysia Economic Region. This will also be the first Legoland Theme Park in Asia and sixth in the world after Denmark, Britain, California, Florida and Germany. The massive 76-acre (31 hectare) project is brought together by IDR Resorts and UK based Merlin Entertainment costing a whopping RM750 million. The good news for those across the border is that is it will only be a 20 minute drive from the Tuas Second Link to Medini in Nusajaya which is one of five flagship zones of Iskandar Malaysia. This will be the biggest family entertainment project in Johor which will attract tourist from locally, Indonesia and also Singapore.

  

Among the attractions at Legoland Malaysia, there will be a gigantic replica of the Petronas Twin Towers, all built using Lego bricks and it will be the tallest Lego structure in the world. Replicas of famous landmarks from around the world such as India’s Taj Mahal, Beijing Bird’s Nest Stadium, Cambodia’s Angkor Wat and Singapore’s Merlion statue will also be featured, all made from Lego bricks. All the main structures will be located at Legoland’s Miniland. The theme park would also have famous buildings in Johor Baru, such as the Royal Museum, Sultan Abu Bakar Mosque and the Dataran Bandaraya clock tower. A total of 50 interactive rides will be available while an amazing amount of 30 million Lego Bricks are used throughout the park for building structures. The current completion date for the park has been set for early 2012 so stay tuned for news announcements. For further details on tickets and information, please read the end of this article.

Above: Perdana Putra - The Prime Minister's office, Replica of shoplots at Jalan Wong Ah Fook in Johor, Local shops at night in Johor; All made from Lego.

 One thing I foresee is that many will capitalize on Travel and Tour Packages to Legoland Malaysia. Tour companies will take the opportunity to include this package for Malaysians, Singaporeans and Indonesians making the Southern region a worthy visit for holiday makers. Imagine spending 4-5 days around here where you get a chance to visit Singapore's Universal Studios, Sentosa Island and Legoland Johor in one visit where everything is just a drive away.

Legoland Location: Nusajaya, Johor

Ticket Prices: To be announced 

Opening Times: To be announced

Attractions: Main Theme Park, 4D Theater, Kids Driving School, Legoland Hotel, Lifestyle Mall

For future updates, please visit the official Legoland Malaysia Website.

If you are looking for a job career in Legoland Malaysia, please email: career.legoland@my-iib.com

Ticket prices for Legoland have yet to be confirmed but the word out there is that it will be very affordable for a family of six people. The ticket price for an adult in Legoland California is around US$69 (RM210) per day so there are a lot of guesses on how it will be priced here in Malaysia. I am pretty sure that for the opening, there will be Family Package Tickets and promotional prices. The park is also targeting about 1.5 million visitors annually.

For family theme parks, there is also KidZania Kuala Lumpur at The Curve NX which is opening in December 2011. So there are a number of kids and family interactive theme parks in Malaysia now. I am hoping that this park opens in the first quarter of 2012 without any delays so that I can pay a visit here to fulfill a childhood bucket list. I am pretty sure that most of you would have had some experience playing with Lego in your younger days. I clearly remember my uncle from the UK who brought a massive Lego Box Set as a gift when I was about seven years old. That alone kept me busy for many years so you can imagine the thrill of visiting an entire park filled with these little colourful bricks. Till 2012, see you all at Legoland Malaysia.

Who Said English is Easy ?

LOL :D

Review: Nasi Lemak 2.0 & Bini2ku Gangster.

Okay, started of with Nasi Lemak 2.0. It's a chinese movie of course. directed by Namewee. if you are Malaysian, so..you know who he is. i just watch it, to know what are his message to the nation. okay, some things are still the same. Namewee will always be Namewee. just like how any other people would be. sticking to himself and his opinions. what we can see, it only possess a small number of professionalism as he made it more like a fan made youtube video. sorry, not that i don't like him, it's just because that the movie is not worth to consider as a movie. the jokes are there but it's more like an amateur comedy. what more can i say about the movie ? urm well, yes. the multi-racialism is at the birth as the movie goes on as he discovers what is the true meaning behind the dish of Nasi Lemak.

Verdict: 2/5

not really good but not that bad. it only made it better with a bunch of wonderful actors and actresses. but it's okay for you people to watch. :)

okay, this movie is about how a commitment goes by as the married couple living in life where the wife is a gangster and the husband is a good office boy. how they manage the life moves on to the story itself. quite funny but boring sometimes. okay laaa. well, i have nothing much to say.

Verdict: 3/5

if you like fighting, gangsterism type of movie, this is the one you should watch. though with a slight twist of love and commitment in it. enjoyy :)

Men In Heaven

When everybody on earth was dead and waiting to enter Heaven, God appeared and said, "I want the men to make two lines. One line for the men who were true heads of their household, and the other line for the men who were dominated by their women. And I want all the women to report to St. Peter."

Soon, the women were gone, and there were two lines of men. The line of the men who were dominated by their wives was 1,000 miles long, and in the line of men who truly were heads of their household, there was only one man.

God said to the long line, "You men should be ashamed of yourselves. I created you to be the head of your household! You have been disobedient and have not fulfilled your purpose! Of all of you, only one obeyed. Learn from him."

God turned to the one man, "How did you manage to be the only one in this line?"

The man replied, "My wife told me to stand here."

Halo Moon Phenomenon

i wonder what this phenomenon would tell. yes scientifically, it's a beauty formed by the reflection or whatever it is between the Sun, Moon and Earth. just like eclipse but in a whole different way. I don't know what does it translate to but i heard, some say that these things tells that something bad will come. well, god knows. it could just be another rumor by someone. but that's what i heard. any ideas guys ? what could've been ? eager to know. :)

oh, it's currently like this here now in Malaysia. various pictures and status comments flooding the Facebook wall right now about this thing. interesting, beautiful, scary, weird or maybe curious for some. all they want is just an answer. but who knows what it is. :B

Election .

okay, today's post is more towards current issue. i guess all of us here in Malaysia know that GE's coming soon enough. it's the 13th, fyi. so general election basically gone through for some time, can say smoothly with the government getting 2/3 seating as usual. though, a shock came in during the last GE where the government, Barisan Nasional had a setback where the opposition, Pakatan Rakyat which consist of DAP, PKR & PAS altogether gain the people's choice by winning 1/3 of the seating in the Parliament. that just shook the people. obviously, the govt did something wrong there. they didn't focus on what the people wants and needs. it was the Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's reigning era where there he had to step down as a result of the people's choices. then came Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as a replacement, bringing in a whole new set of ideas and ways on how to tackle the people's hearts. 1 Malaysia was introduced and few other transformation plans to replace/rebuild the mistakes or what the govt didn't see.

okay, let's just skip the intro. my idea for this post today is about the election. as we all know, the only way you could gain the rights to actually vote for either the govt or the oppo, 21 years old is the age. currently. the reason i brought this up is because as we all know, sometimes we could actually debate on the right age to vote. yes, the main concern is that some might think that no, the age is correct. perfect timing in terms of mind set. you are matured enough to think, to act and to know what's right and what's wrong by observing and implementing your rights and beliefs. as time passes by, with all the technologies and knowledge we currently have. by far in my point of view, it is time for the age to be put lower. those days, the people don't have enough mediums to learn from or to observe from. television, internet, desktop/laptop, mobile phones and school are not by far a necessity to all. maybe the total income and job opportunities aren't as much and as high as today. no, what i mean is that some don't get what others have those days. but you see today as instance, majority of Malaysian citizen owns at least a laptop/desktop, a television and access to internet and cable tv (Astro). hardly these days we see a common household do not own either one of these. these, ladies & gentlemen are making us think forward, learn further and more mature in terms of mind set. yes, undeniable that some are still struggling to proceed to the right standard but what i see in Malaysian today is that we've grown. 53 years of independence taught us a lot. we learnt a lot. 

i personally think that it's time the government to think about making a few changes about the election. let's look on the bright side, we become more mature. we will think deeper on our rights and by choosing the right person to lead is important. together as well, declining the ideas of politics are lame and boring. youths today do need a jump start. make us think further. make us choose the right decision.who knows, from here we could find a future good leader somewhere among the youths that could lead our country further and beyond one day ? we will further understand the meaning and the importance of election, politics and having the right person leading for the sake of our future, the youths and yes, to the future generations as well. off record, the number of votes will be increased by the escalating number of voters if this is implemented. that will make them feel better, don't they ? lol. okay, fine by that. the thing is, people like me do think about this often. i continuously follow on to the news and things spoken by the politicians. i don't suggest 17 years old should vote but then, at least the age should be lowered. it's up to the parliament's discussion about this matter. if you ask me, i'll put a rage between 18 to 20. 21 is just too long, too far. let's make them excited to vote. just like how blood donation campaign are approached to youths. i myself contributed, twice so far this year. how about that ? i'm just opening the eyes of the people that someone do care about the country. about what's good for a change according to the timeline. it's 2011, people. a decade passed in the new millennium. think about it. 

with that, i rest my case. thank you. :)

Pitbull Live in Malaysia 2011

Mr. 305, Pitbull, is headed to Malaysia so go get your hotel, motel, Holiday Inn booked as the embodiment of Latino Heat plays the Surf Beach at Sunway Lagoon. Promoting his latest studio album, ‘Planet Pit’, Pitbull will be backed up by Joe Maz, Chew Fu, and of course, the omnipresent Mizz Nina. Ready to rock?

When & Where: 1st December 2011, Surf Beach, Sunway Lagoon Theme Park, Sunway, Subang Jaya

Cover: RM298, RM198, RM138

Info: Visit www.ticketpro.com.my or www.airasiaredtix.com for more info

R.I.P Steve Jobs.

Jobs resigned as the company's chief exec in August after being on medical leave since January 17 for an undisclosed condition. The unveiling of the iPhone 4S on Tuesday was the first time he had not been at a key product launch. Jobs died as Walt Disney Co.'s largest shareholder after he sold Toy Story makers Pixar to them. Comparisons were drawn between Jobs and some of history's most celebrated minds.

There is no other business more closely linked to the man in charge. It will be a huge challenge for Apple to retain its dominance without his drive and determination. STEVE Jobs WAS Apple. He came back to the company he founded when it was struggling in the 90s and made it a world-beater. Apple products are among the world's most sought-after. It's fitting that in his last weeks, Apple — which almost went BUST before the dot.com boom — became the most valuable in the world. Great man, great vision and one hell of a legacy.

Movie director Steven Spielberg, one of the founders of Pixar rival DreamWorks Animation, said: "Steve Jobs was the greatest inventor since Thomas Edison. He put the world at our fingertips." The CEO Jobs hand-picked to replace him, Tim Cook, addressed Apple staff in an email. Daniel Ek, the founder of digital music service Spotify, said: "My hat off to our time's Da Vinci." He wrote: "Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. "Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple."

MUET SPEAKING TEST TIPS

heyy whaddup. so, next week's the time where the MUET Speaking test will begin nationwide. I'm part of it, so it's my duty to study the contents and get prepared for it a.s.a.p. yes, i'm still in Form 5, but i guess it would be a good chance for me to take it earlier than others. not to say i'm being so "over-confidence" or bragging to people to show that i'm good in English. but the thing is i guess it'll give me a boost on further studies if let say i'll have an interview before proceeding to a tertiary level education somewhere, i can say that "hey, i've done my MUET test and i had achieved Band ? now". 

so, wouldn't it be better ? in case i flunk or unhappy with my result.. i could just repeat it when i'm there. so, it should be a good try for me. i said it to myself, WHY NOT ? even my family did. it all came to a point during my debating competition was held. during training, one of my teacher brought up the news. first thought.. "er, let me think first. and oh, isn't it for Form 6 students and above ?" i'm shocked to know that even Form 5 can take it too. so, awesome. now, here. the speaking test.. mine's on the 13th October. next Thursday. I myself quite blurred by the ideas of like how the hell am i suppose to get myself prepared ? i don't go for MUET classes and i have to focus on my SPM as well. so, internet helps. therefore, let me share this. Good luck and all the best to all candidates. :)

Candidate A

Instructions to candidates:

Task A: Individual presentation

• Study the stimulus or topic given.
• You are given two minutes to prepare your responses.
• You are given two minutes to present.
• Listen to the others while they are making their presentations and take down notes for the group discussion in Task B.

Task B: Group discussion

• You are given two minutes to prepare points to support or oppose the other candidates’ views.
• After you have listened to everyone, try to come to a decision as to which of the four suggestions is the best.
• Your group is given ten minutes for the discussion.

Task A and Task B will be carried out consecutively.

Situation

Your brother has been given the opportunity to study in England on a government scholarship. You and your family are very proud of him. Decide on a special gift for him to prepare for his trip abroad.

Task A: Suggest that they give him cash. Say why.

Task B: Discuss which of the following would be most useful.

i. cash

ii. a computer

iii. some suitable clothing

iv. some Malaysian foodstuff

Candidate A

Task A: Suggest that they give him cash. Say why.

Good morning to the examiners and my fellow friends. I’m very happy that my brother has just received a scholarship to study in England. My relatives and I would like to give him a special gift. We all think that the best gift is money because it will be very useful for him.

The first reason is with cash he can buy the things that he needs when he gets there. There will me a lot of things that he will need like new books, stationery, clothes and food. He will also need to pay for transportation like taking the bus or train to go to the university campus. As we know, it is very expensive in England so any money we give him will be very useful.

Secondly, my brother can use the money to buy a mobile phone when he gets toEngland. I think this is very important in case of emergencies so we can contact him easily. Furthermore, he can sms us and keep us updated with his progress in his studies there. Hence, if we really miss him we can just give him a call.

Finally, I also think giving him money is the best choice because it is light and doesn’t take up a lot of space. If we were to give him a computer, books or winter clothes it will be very heavy and bulky for him to bring to England. Therefore, I think that it is much easier to bring money and buy those things when he gets there.

In conclusion, these are some of the reasons why I think giving him cash is the best choice. To me, it is the most useful gift we can give him. Thank you.

Candidate B

Task A: You suggest that they give him a computer. Say why.

A very good morning I bid to one and all. My relatives and I are very proud of my brother. He has just received a scholarship to study in England and so we would like to give him a special gift. We believe that the best present for him is a laptop computer.

Firstly, as a university student, my brother will have to do many assignments. If he has a laptop computer he can bring it everywhere and consequently, do his work anytime and anywhere. Thus, he will not have to share the computers at the computer room with other students and he will be able to do his work more quickly and efficiently.

Another point is that when he boards the plane from KLIA to London, he will be able to bring the laptop with him easily because it is compact and light compared to a desktop computer. Hence, it will not be too much trouble to transport it to England.

Last but not least, if he has a laptop he will be able to connect to the internet. This has two main advantages as firstly, he can do a lot of research online. The world wide web is a fountain of information so it will be very useful for him to make full use of this technology. Furthermore, he can keep in touch with friends and family here in Malaysia by e-mail.

In short, a laptop computer will prove to be very useful to my brother. He can do his assignments, research for information and keep in touch with us using it therefore it will make the best gift. Thank you for listening.

Candidate C

Task A: You suggest that they give him some suitable clothing. Say why.

To the examiners and my fellow candidates, a wonderful morning I bid you. My brother was lucky enough to receive a scholarship to study overseas. We want to send him off with a nice gift so we have decided to buy him some suitable clothing.

The main purpose for buying him some suitable clothing is because the weather in England is very different from the weather in our country. There are four seasons there so he will need to have different clothes for different situations. For example, we can buy him some sweaters, cardigans, scarves, snowcaps, thick socks and gloves and many more. These will definitely keep him warm in winter.

The second reason is we think that he should have clothes that reflect our Malaysian identity. This is because he will be a young ambassador for our country so if he has a few sets of traditional clothing like the Baju Melayu or formal Batik shirts, I am sure he will not only look good but promote our culture overseas.

Lastly, neat clothes make a good impression. For instance, if we buy him some everyday clothes like jeans and trousers with nice shirts and matching ties, this will give him a good feeling about himself so he will walk a bit straighter and talk a bit wiser. Moreover, people will look at him and have a good impression about Malaysian students.

To conclude, I think that the best present to give him is some suitable clothing because it will be very useful and will reflect positively on him. Thank you very much.

Candidate D

Task A: You suggest that they give him some Malaysian foodstuff. Say why.

I would like to wish everyone here a very good morning. As we all know, my brother has won a scholarship to study in England. Therefore, some relatives and I have decided to give him some Malaysian foodstuff as a going away present.

First and foremost, one of the main problems Malaysians face when studying overseas is that it is hard to find Halal food. We feel it is a good idea to give him some Malaysian foodstuff because it will take time for him to get used to the place and find out where to buy Halal food. Thus, in the meantime he can enjoy the Malaysian foodstuff that we have given to him.

The next reason is because some of the foodstuff we are used to having here in Malaysia is quite hard to find in UK. Most students studying overseas really enjoy eating Maggi Mee andsambal belacan. For instance, it is also hard to find the right spices for curry and rendangand so on so if we supply him with enough Malaysian foodstuff, he can eat it whenever he misses home.

The final point I have is that he can use the Malaysian foodstuff we give him and cook it for the Westerners there. Sometimes, universities organise events like Malaysian Night and so he and his friends can cook some Malaysian specialities for them to taste a bit of our way of life. Hence, the Malaysian foodstuff will be very useful to promote our culture.

In a nutshell, giving my brother Malaysian foodstuff to take with him to England is a good idea. This is because he will have some familiar food to eat when he misses home and he can also share it with his new friends. Thank you for listening to my opinion.

Task B: Discuss which of the following would be most useful.

i. Cash

ii. A computer

iii. Some suitable clothing

iv. Some Malaysian foodstuff

* Work together in your respective groups and complete the following discussion.

A: Good morning once again to everyone. We are here to focus on the issue at hand which is __________________________________________________________. I would like to invite anyone of you to kickstart this discussion by giving us your point of view.

B: Allow me to begin. First of all, I’m happy that our brother has won the scholarship to study in England. Therefore, we must decide what would be the most useful gift for him. In my opinion, I strongly believe that _______________ _________________________________________________________________. This is because I think he can _________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

For example, ______________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

C: I see your point but how about getting him ______________________________. In this way, he can use it to ___________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

D: I don’t quite agree with you because ____________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. I think it would be more useful if we bought _______________________ for him. Does anyone agree with me?

A: Yes, I agree with you. To add to your point, I feel that ______________________ _________________________________________________________________.

This is so he will ___________________________________________________.

C: I’m afraid I don’t see eye to eye with both of you. Buying that as a present for him is not the most useful gift because __________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

Moreover, ________________________________________________________.

Can you all understand what I’m trying to say?

B: Indeed, I do see your point of view but I still feel that the most useful gift is __________________ because it can ___________________________________. Another reason is ___________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. For instance, _______________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

D: That’s an interesting perspective and I agree with you that ___________________ _________________________________________________________________. However, I think we should consider other points. We should also think about buying him _______________________________________________________.

If he gets this as a present, he can ______________________________________ and ____________________________________________. Wouldn’t you agree?

A: I’m not sure I understand what you are saying. Can you explain it again, please.

D: What I mean is we should buy him _____________________________________ because it will me more useful for him when he is studying in England. This is because ___________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

A: Aaah… I see. Yes, I think it would be a very useful gift too. This way, he can _________________________________________________________________.

C: That’s a good point, but don’t you think if we gave him _____________________ it will be the most useful for him as a student. I still believe that this is the most useful because _____________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

Remember, we need to think of the best and most useful choice.

B: I agree with you, Candidate C. In addition, he can use this gift to _____________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________. So candidates A & D, what do you guys think?

D: Now that you’ve explained it like that, I also agree that it will be the most useful. In fact, he could also use it to _________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

A: As for me, I feel that it is also the most useful. When he arrives at his university in England, he will be able to ____________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.

C: That’s right. Well, after listening to all the points on the four choices we have, I think it is time to make a conclusion.

D: Yes, I think so too. Does everyone agree that we should give our brother _______________________________________ as a special going away present?

All: Yes, I agree.

B: In a nutshell, we all agree that _______________________________ is the best choice because firstly, he can _________________________________________, secondly, __________________________________________­­­­­­­______ and finally ____________________________________________________­­_____________.

Thank you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The End~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What to conclude if after 10 minutes of discussion….

A) AGREE = 3, DISAGREE = 1

Conclusion: To conclude, MOST OF US agree that ______________________

is the best choice because ________________________________.

___________________________________________. Thank you.

B) AGREE = 2, DISAGREE = 2

Conclusion: In conclusion, we were unable to make a solid decision because

SOME OF US stongly believe that the best choice is __________ because _______________________________________________ whileTHE REST OF US think that giving him _______________ is the most useful because _________________

___________________________________________. Thank you.

C) ALL DISAGREE

Conclusion: In a nutshell, we were unable to come to an agreement on which of the four options is the best choice. It seems ALL OF US strongly believe in our own points so as we have run out of time, we think that we should each buy him a gift individually. Thank you.

MORE DETAILS HERE .