LANGUAGE ERRORS IN MALAYSIAN WORKBOOK DUE TO DIRECT TRANSLATION FROM MALAY?
PETALING JAYA, Malaysia - While school exercise books are supposed to
improve students' mastery of Mathematics and Science, errors in the books'
English-language portions might be giving children the wrong impression about
the language.
A check by The Star at several major bookstores found some
UPSR-level exercise books with language errors in their questions.
Examples include:
- What can be done by a farmer to prevent the fish from being rotting.
- Recently it is raining season. Joanne's mother realises that the clothes are difficult to be dried up. What is the reason that causes this?
- What is the best conclusion about the animals (in the diagram)? A. Animal feed their youngs.
- What is the meaning of human reproduction? D. Remove the faeces from the body.
Most of the errors spotted appeared to be the result of
direct translation from Bahasa Malaysia, with minor grammatical mistakes seen
throughout the books, especially in the multiple-choice question sections.
Even English exercise books are not free from errors in the
language. One idiomatic mistake: "I was just pulling your legs", when
the correct phrase should be pulling somebody's "leg".
One of the books claims to publish copies of past UPSR
papers, with permission from the Malaysian Examinations Syndicate.
However, on average, based on the check on UPSR exercise
books, most books released by major publishers and available in popular
bookstores are error-free.
bookstores are error-free.
Source: Agency
AT LEAST 18 DEAD AS CARGO SHIP HITS EGYPT PARTY BOAT
CAIRO, Egypt - A cargo ship collided with a boat on the Nile
carrying people celebrating an engagement, leaving at least 18 dead, Egyptian
police said Thursday as divers searched for missing passengers.
The captain of the cargo boat and his assistants were
arrested following the accident late Wednesday in the Warraq district north of
Cairo, the authorities said.
A police general on the scene told AFP that 18 corpses had
been retrieved. Police and medics had earlier said 21 people were killed.
Five survivors were plucked from the river but an unknown
number were still missing, the police general said.
At least two children drowned, according to medical and
security sources.
Source: AFP
MALAYSIAN ACTIVISTS QUESTION ROLE OF MUSLIM FASHION POLICE?
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Women in Malaysia, long seen as a moderate
Islamic nation, have been denied entry to government buildings on the grounds
their skirts were too revealing, fanning fears of growing conservatism in a
country with large non-Muslim minorities.
Prime Minister Najib Razak’s reluctance to intervene on the
sudden enforcement of a dress code, analysts say, shows the liberal-minded
leader is unwilling to stand up to conservatives at a time when he is battling
allegations of corruption.
Ethnic sensitivities can often trigger dispute in Malaysia,
particularly as none of those criticized for their clothes was from the Muslim
Malay community that forms two-thirds of a population of about 30 million.
Ethnic Chinese number 25 percent, and Indians about 7 percent.
The dress code, which bars revealing clothes for women in
government buildings, had not been strictly followed.
- So the tougher enforcement over garments seen as showing too much leg came as a shock to many Malaysians.
- The incidents went viral on social media, with activists saying they highlighted an expansion of powers for minor officials, who can now judge, and correct, women’s attire.
Source: Reuters...More...
SINGAPORE GET FIRST FEMALE PRIME MINISTER?
SINGAPORE – Singapore is getting its first female Prime
Minister – albeit in a model parliament setting.
M. Premikha, 20, who is starting classes at the National
University of Singapore (NUS) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine next month, took
on the role of prime minister at the 4th Singapore Model Parliament, which
kicked off on Monday morning at The Arts House.
Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob(photo) officiated at the
opening of the event, which aims to introduce youth to the fundamentals of Singapore’s
parliamentary process.
Students from universities and polytechnics here take on the
roles of Members of Parliament from the ruling and opposition parties and
debate issues.
- It is the first time that the event has featured a female prime minister. Another new feature is having students take on the role of journalists from local and international press agencies.
- The three-day event, attended by about 90 students, was jointly organised by NUS youth ambassadors of the government feedback unit Reach, NUS Political Science Society and the Pro Bono Office of the NUS Faculty of Law.
- Mr Chris Chia, 24, president of the NUS Political Science Society, pointed out that the role of the prime minister in the event as a “challenging” one, which involved guiding other members in the model parliament.
- He said: “Premikha exhibited a clearing understanding in assessing the abilities of her bench members, and also displayed keen leadership quality.”
Source:– Straits times
MALAYSIA NATIONAL ZOO TO BUILD 2,000-BAY CAR PARK
The National Zoo is building a multi-storey car park next
year to accommodate the growing number of visitors.
Malaysian Zoological Society deputy director Rosly@Rahmat
Ahmat Lana said the car park would be able to accommodate 2,000 vehicles at any
one time, compared with the 600-vehicle capacity of the existing car park.
“The lack of parking space is especially felt during public
holidays, such as during the Aidilfitri period, which results in traffic
congestion,” he said.
“The lack of parking space is especially felt during public
holidays, such as during the Aidilfitri period, which results in traffic
congestion,” he said.
Rosly said the multi-storey car park would also to establish
Zoo Negara as a world-class zoo.
A visitor who wished to be known as Mekla said it was good
of the zoo to make the effort to improve its facilities for the visitors’
comfort.
“Construction of the proposed car park should start
immediately to accommodate the zoo’s visitors," she said.
Opened on November 14, 1963, the National Zoo is home to
5,137 specimens of 476 species of mammals,birds,reptiles,amphibians
and fish.
and fish.
- A pair of giant pandas from China, Xing Xing and Liang Liang, are the zoo’s latest attraction.
Source: Bernama
A BRAZILIAN WOMAN STREET CLEANER BECOMING AN UNLIKELY INTERNET SENSATION?
RIO DE JANERIO, Brazil – A Brazilian street cleaner is considering giving up
her day-job after becoming an unlikely internet sensation.
Rita Mattos was inundated with adoring fans after photos of
her cleaning the streets of Rio de Janeiro began to spread on Whatsapp.
The 23-year-old, dubbed ‘Sweeper Babe’ by her fans,
initially rejected the newfound attention, accusing her new followers of
negative stereotyping.
She told Brazil’s Extra newspaper: “People are surprised
when they see a pretty girl working as a street cleaner. They say that I could
find a better job than sweeping and weeding.
“But why should street cleaners, necessarily, be ugly? There
is a prejudice against them.”
But after learning that her viral fame could lead to a
better job, Rita has softened her attitude towards the exposure.
She said: “At first I thought it was all a joke in bad
taste, that people were criticising me. But later I saw that the comments were
positive, praising my beauty.
- “So I’m now taking it well, and hoping that all this will bring me a good opportunity to find modelling work.”
Source: Agency
WHAT CONSPIRACY? EVERYONE KNOWS I WANT MALAYSIAN PM OUT- DR MAHATHIR
PETALING JAYA, Malaysia - Despite what “certain people” were saying
about a plan to overthrow Najib Razak, Dr Mahathir Mohamad said that far from
it being a covert operation requiring detectives and special agents to
investigate, it was “open campaigning” for the prime minister to quit.
In a blog posting yesterday, the former prime minister said,
“What we do know now is that I had openly called for his stepping down. No
conspiracy. Just open declaration to the whole nation that I would like to see
Najib cease to be prime minister.”
He also commented on the “funny statements” coming out of
the country’s mainstream media, in particular Utusan Malaysia, that he said was
all too happy to proclaim that Najib had “taken action” against The Wall Street
Journal (WSJ) for alleging that USD700 million of 1Malaysia Development Berhad
(1MDB) funds had been deposited into his private bank accounts.
Mocking it as far from “legal action or suing for
defamation” on Najib’s part, Mahathir said it was more a case of the PM’s
lawyers “politely asking” the business daily why they published the article in
the first place.
“Is there a need to ask that silly question? Isn’t it
obvious that as a newspaper the information obtained by Wall Street Journal was
sensational? Any newspaper, convinced of the authenticity of the information
would have printed it,” he said, except from local mainstream papers who preferred
to “ingratiate” themselves with the PM.
He also remarked at how there has been no denial issued by
the PM thus far that the funds had actually been deposited in his private
banking accounts.
“The explanation to Umno is that it was for the elections.
Umno seems satisfied. Don’t they know that Government money cannot be used to
help a political party to win elections? But the money was from donation.Who
donated 2 billion
Ringgit? No answer.”
Ringgit? No answer.”
- Mahathir also slammed the argument that since Najib was elected
by the people, he could not be told to step down.
“How short is their memory. Don’t they remember Abdullah Badawi(photo) who was also elected being asked by Najib to step down. And he did.
And I myself, also an elected PM, did step down in 2003,” he said, bringing
attention to the fact that Abdullah Badawi won more seats in 2008 than Najib
did in 2013.
- He also said, “If Abdullah was prepared to step down, Najib after his poor performance in the general election should not even offer to be the PM. He should resign from being President of Umno and head of BN and let somebody else lead and become PM.”
Source: The Malaysian Chronicle
MASSIVE EARTHQUAKES AND TSUNAMIS NOW CONFIRMED SOON TO DESTROY U.S. PACIFIC NORTHWEST?
When the quake does occur, its severe effects and the
impacts of the following tsunami (“It will look like the whole ocean, elevated,
overtaking land”) will be felt all the way from Canada to Sacramento, in
densely populated cities like Seattle and Portland.
Everyone has been prophesying this for a while! But now Fox
News, The New Yorker, The Weather Channel, and more have just reported that it
is coming! What? THE BIG ONE! A
mega-quake monster that will destroy the U.S. Pacific Northwest, followed by
even more massive tsunamis.
The New Yorker reported that FEMA calculations show these
types of earthquakes happen at regular intervals in this specific part of the
world, roughly every 240 years.
Michio Kaku, a physicist and professor at City College of New York, told Fox News that the troubling article doesn’t overstate the danger.
“The Cascadia fault is an earthquake waiting to happen,” Kaku stated.
“We know it’s going to happen with an energy 30 times the
maximum energy of the San Andreas fault.”
Michio Kaku, a physicist and professor at City College of New York, told Fox News that the troubling article doesn’t overstate the danger.
“The Cascadia fault is an earthquake waiting to happen,” Kaku stated.
“We know it’s going to happen with an energy 30 times the
maximum energy of the San Andreas fault.”
He added that before the mega-quake actually hits, there is
a compression wave that is detected by animals.
“Animals start to act very strange. We’ve seen that happen before earthquakes,” Kaku said. “And then, a minute,two minutes
later, boom!”
“Animals start to act very strange. We’ve seen that happen before earthquakes,” Kaku said. “And then, a minute,two minutes
later, boom!”
And, here is the video done months ago! People have been warning about this for a while now. Will you finally listen? Will you prepare?
Alarming New Information-USA About To Shake and Bake-Experts Warning To Prepare!
Source: Agency
MICROPLASTICS AT ALARMING LEVELS IN CANADIAN LAKES AND RIVERS
Tiny plastic pellets called microbeads have gotten a lot of
attention as a major water pollutant, but less-discussed microplastics are
equally concerning, according to new research being done in Canada.
"In recent years, they've been detected in a growing
number of lakes and rivers worldwide. They're everywhere, and often in alarming
levels," said Anthony Ricciardi, a professor at the McGill School of the
Environment, who is working on a study about microplastics.
Microplastics are small particles of plastic less than five
millimetres in size that are often found in bodies of water near large urban
populations. Microbeads, which are used in toothpastes, makeup and body
cleansers, are one part of the broader category of microplastics.
Microbeads are "getting all the attention, but they're
only one component to this," Ricciardi said. "As time goes on, people
are going to realize the importance of the other pieces, too."
A 2014 study of the U.S. Great Lakes by the 5 Gyres
Institute found an average of 43,000 microplastic particles per square
kilometre. Near cities, the number jumped to 466,000.
The plastic particles in the Great Lakes include microbeads, but also come from other sources, such as bits of polymer that detach from clothing when it is washed,
as well as granules from industrial abrasives.
The plastic particles in the Great Lakes include microbeads, but also come from other sources, such as bits of polymer that detach from clothing when it is washed,
as well as granules from industrial abrasives.
Source: CBC...More...
