Aini XII/5 English Lintas Minat

‘Laskar Pelangi’: The Audacity of Hope

This is a movie adapted from a best-selling Indonesian novel. It took 40 days of filming on Belitung Island, Bangka-Belitung province. Involving 12 local actors, it reportedly cost Rp8 billion. With all the efforts of transforming Laskar Pelangi (Rainbow Warrior) into a moving picture, will it satisfy readers’ imaginations?

Laskar Pelangi, the novel, was written by Andrea Hirata in 2005, based on his own experiences. It is about an inspiring teacher and her 10 students in the poverty-stricken Kampung Gantong in Belitung. The poor condition of their school building does not dampen their high spirits and hopes for a better future.

What is the main idea of the second paragraph?

• ‘Laskar Pelangi’ is the story of poor people at the Bangka Belitung province

• ‘Laskar Pelangi’ is the story of poor school children of the Belitung Island

• ‘Laskar Pelangi’ is about poverty in Kampung Gantong in Bangka Belitung

• ‘Laskar Pelangi’ is about an inspiring story towards a better life

• ‘Laskar Pelangi’ is about Andrea Hirata

My family of three went to see an early screening of the new Disney movie, ”Brave” yesterday, so I thought I would write a quick “mommy” review of the movie.

Disney definitely breaks the standard “Disney Princess” mold with this movie as Princess Merida is a fun, outgoing and wild girl that for once is not in search for the love of a prince. The characters in the movie are entertaining and I loved the way that the Scottish culture comes out in the movie. I found myself wishing for more music though, which is one of the things that I truly love about past Disney movies. I would compare this movie more with “Shrek” than a movie like “Tangled”.

As to the age of the kids that would like this movie I would have to say maybe 5 years old and up. The movie is not quite engaging enough for very young viewers, which was a little disappointing for our three years old. There were parts of the movie that our daughter enjoyed, but it is engaging enough for younger viewers in the audience and made them cry, so be forewarned of this if you are bringing children under the age of five years old.

I’ve always been a big fan Disney movies so on a 5-star scale I would rate this 4-star movie. It’s definitely not a favourite, but I give it four star for the relationship that build between Merida and her mother. I think this offers a great lesson to appreciate your family and truly listen to each others need and concerns.



What does the writer think of the music in “Brave”?

• Too much

• Too little

• Will enough

• Demonstrative

• Very beautiful

It is probably one of the most important books I’ve ever read. Not for its heavy philosophy, practical instructions, or memorable quotes; but for its simple message of how wonderful life can be when viewed through the eyes of an innocent child.

Each story is only a page or two, a delightful narrative of how Totto-chan views the world, and how Mr. Kuroyanagi inspires the children to explore, learn, feel, and have joy. There are several charcoal drawings that capture the tenderness of the stories, making us feel a part of Totto-chan’s world.

One of my favorite vignettes is the story of losing her hat in the septic tank at the school and proceeds to dig it out. The headmaster walks by, and after a few question to satisfy his curiosity, and hearing her earnest explanations, he lets her continue with the simple instruction,”make sure you put it all back!”

Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the window is a celebration of childhood, learning and caring. We’ve enjoyed reading one or two stories for bedtime off-and-on for a couple of years, and almost don’t want to finish the book because it will mean there are no more stories. Totto-chan seems so real and loveable, and her headmaster is a role model for parents and teachers.

The book is written by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi and translated by Dorothy Britton.

What is the text about?

• A summary of children biography

• The novel of Totto-chan

• Children’s activities

• A description of Mr. Kuroyanagi

• The headmaster and teachers

My family of three went to see an early screening of the new Disney movie, ”Brave” yesterday, so I thought I would write a quick “mommy” review of the movie.

Disney definitely breaks the standard “Disney Princess” mold with this movie as Princess Merida is a fun, outgoing and wild girl that for once is not in search for the love of a prince. The characters in the movie are entertaining and I loved the way that the Scottish culture comes out in the movie. I found myself wishing for more music though, which is one of the things that I truly love about past Disney movies. I would compare this movie more with “Shrek” than a movie like “Tangled”.

As to the age of the kids that would like this movie I would have to say maybe 5 years old and up. The movie is not quite engaging enough for very young viewers, which was a little disappointing for our three years old. There were parts of the movie that our daughter enjoyed, but it is engaging enough for younger viewers in the audience and made them cry, so be forewarned of this if you are bringing children under the age of five years old.

I’ve always been a big fan Disney movies so on a 5-star scale I would rate this 4-star movie. It’s definitely not a favourite, but I give it four star for the relationship that build between Merida and her mother. I think this offers a great lesson to appreciate your family and truly listen to each others need and concerns.



What does the reviewer think of the movie?

• It is definitely not the favourite

• It has a good music composition

• It is the same as the other Disney movies

• It does not have any lesson for the children

• It gives a bad impression of a mom and a daughter

A Beautiful Mind is a biographical movie about John Forbes Nash Junior, mathematical genius with hard fate. At the beginning of this carrier he has made enormous contribution in the field of Game Theory, which was a revolution in this mathematical area and almost brought international fame to the author. The movie was filmed in 2001 by Ron Howard and today it is called modern classics: a true drama, making you think and evoking emotions.

Such movie, telling us about the life of a famous person, are always difficult to assess, because any such creations somehow pretend to be biographical ones. But in fact they are just a glance of one particular producer on the life of another individual. Of course, much depends on the actor who will perform the role of the protagonist and after watching A Beautiful Mind I will agree with this once again.

Why is ‘Beautiful Mind’ is regarded as modern classics?

• It revolutionizes the mathematical area

• It tells about the life of current famous person

• It makes the audience think and feel emotions

• It tells the story about the role of the protagonist

• It conveys Ron Howard’s feeling about his creation

Should performance enhancing drugs be accepted in sports?

The issue of using drugs to enhance athlete’s performance is controversial. Those who agree to the use of drugs in enhancing performance say that most top players in all sports take drugs to train harder and feel no pain during play. The trainers, sports doctors, nutritionists, physiotherapists, and managers of the big names make sure banned substances are taken at the safest and most efficient levels. The main effect of banning such substances has turned performers and their coaches into liars and cheaters.

On the other hand, some still believe that performance enhancing drugs in sport should be banned. Performance enhancing drugs are not only prohibited because they violate the spirit of sport but because they can damage the health of athletes.

I think the idea of allowing them in sports could lead to a situation whereby sportsmen and women are used as human guinea pigs for a constant flow of new, unregulated substances.

What argument is given by those who disagree with the use of performance enhancing drugs?

• Athletes health is badly affected

• Guinea pigs are awfully needed

• Athletes consume more drugs

• Athletes obey the rules

• Athletes perform better

Should performance enhancing drugs be accepted in sports?

The issue of using drugs to enhance athlete’s performance is controversial. Those who agree to the use of drugs in enhancing performance say that most top players in all sports take drugs to train harder and feel no pain during play. The trainers, sports doctors, nutritionists, physiotherapists, and managers of the big names make sure banned substances are taken at the safest and most efficient levels. The main effect of banning such substances has turned performers and their coaches into liars and cheaters.

On the other hand, some still believe that performance enhancing drugs in sport should be banned. Performance enhancing drugs are not only prohibited because they violate the spirit of sport but because they can damage the health of athletes.

I think the idea of allowing them in sports could lead to a situation whereby sportsmen and women are used as human guinea pigs for a constant fl ow of new, unregulated substances.

According to the proponents of performance enhancing drugs, the effect of banning them is that performers become ....

• Losers

• Winners

• Cheaters

• Hooligans

• Supporters

Will solar energy ever be a main source of energy for industrial societies? The solar energy is cheaper than any fossil fuell because we can get the abundant source of energy from the sun.

In sunny deserts, the sun’s radiation that reaches the ground can be used to produce electricity for industries and homes. In one of experiment, solar ponds can produce hot water to drive generators.

Unfortunately, we can’t power our homes entirely on sunlight. Solar energy can only be exploited in bright light. Its great potential, therefore, is in countries that have clear skies for most of the year. Most houses, however, are not in the sunniest part of the world. In addition to convert sunlight directly into electricity, solar cells are needed. Although they are very cheap to turn, relatively they are expensive to buy and many people can’t afford them.

Which of the following statements does not agree with the text?

• Solar energy can only be harnessed in bright sunlight

• The solar energy is cheaper than any other fossil fuel

• Solar energy is non-polluted

• Solar ponds produce hot water to drive generators

• The main important device to harness the solar energy is cheap

There is a lot of research on both humans and animals on the effects of caffeine, and there is often thought that too much is bad for us. There is no conclusive evidence to implicate caffeine consumption as being significantly harmful to health, but there still is controversy with this , as there as still some negative effects associated with caffeine consumption. Having some caffeine daily is okay, but using food and exercise strategies listed below will certainly help in reducing fatigue and avoiding caffeine addiction.

Caffeine is a central nervous stimulant and can have some positive effects on the humans body. Caffeine in low dosed is thought to be associated with an improvement in sporting performance, increased alertness and reduction in fatigue potentially lifting a person’s mood. Coffee and tea also contain some antioxidants which have positive effects on heart health.

However, increased amounts of caffeine lead to dependency due to increased tolerance and hence the need for greater amount to gain the same stimulatory benefits. Heavy users who gave to go without can axperience withdrawal symptoms such as headaches and fatigue. Too much caffeine can produce relentlessness, nausea and cardiac.

What is the writer’s opinion about the text?

• Consuming too much coffee is not good for our health

• Caffeine consumption is significantly harmful to health

• Drinking coffee everyday makes us addicted to it

• Daily coffee consumption leads to hearth attack

• Caffeine can stimulate user’s mood and energy

Internet has been the most outstanding invention in the history of mankind. With internet, out earth has become a global village. Yet, like many other human made technologies, it has its own advantages and disadvantages.

There are plenty of software that can entertain us or help us to communicate with our beloved ones. In a mere second, we can chat for hours with a person who is sitting at the other parts of the world, read our e-mail in our smart phone or listen to our favorite radio broadcast by streaming it on our table.

The main idea of paragraph 2 is ....

• The use of internet can be very fatal

• Internet has some advantages

• People should not use internet

• Internet can make us lazy

• Internet brings more harm than good