Suggested ACE for war poetry

Poem 1

This poem was probably based on the war in Afghanistan or Pakistan, as seen from the presence of the Hindu Kush in the poem, which stretches between central Afghanistan and Northern Pakistan. The entire poem may actually be about America's war in Afghanistan against the Al Qaeda terrorist group which had their base in Afghanistan, in response to the September 11 attacks on America. The fight started in October 7 2001, and American officials claimed that they would pull all American forces out of the war by 2014, with tension between Afghanistan and America increased, and with wide-spread protests against the war. 1648 Americans died while 13 011 were injured in the conflict.
-Wikipedia

(1) The poem was written in the point of view of an American soldier, who is involved in the war in Afghanistan.

(2) The setting is in Afghanistan and apparently the poet has been fighting the war for quite some time in Afghanistan, and he seems to be describing his experiences in the war.

(3)Use of language is very strong, and gives an image of the scene in Afghanistan. The first few lines did not have anything special, and were all simple languages. However, starting from line 10 the poet started to make use of the diction and language of the poem. There was repetition and long phrases used in lines 14, 17 and 18, to show the tension in the atmosphere and possibly to show his exhaustion (by saying everything in one breath).

In the second page, he began to use conflicting things like hell and heaven, beauty and terror. This is possibly to show the mixed feelings in a war, the contrast between a war-torn world and a peaceful world in heaven. In this case, the Hindu Kush was used to relate to heaven. There is also a sense that the poet had lost hope in himself at the end of the poem as seen from his disbelief in phrases like "blood is thicker than water" by saying "lead is thicker than blood", he is giving the impression that war can tear relationships apart (lose one's kin in a war). He also wrote that brothers are not born but are earned, which is in contrast to the previous statement as this statement now states that people can in fact grow closer through their experiences in a war.
He ended the poem with a statement that war (or Earth?) is hell.

(4) I liked the use of how the poet managed to cleverly picture the scene of the war - the tension and insecurity as seen from soldiers sleeping with their boots on. The confusion and strong feelings at the end of the war to say how it is hell, and how lives are ruined in the event of a war.

How much more are Hwa Chongians likely to touch the lives of others

In general, Hwa Chongians are very privileged - They are given the gift of being smarter than average people, receive much better education, and are also constantly exposed to different things like the arts. The reason for these activities is very simple - Hwa Chong strives to groom Hwa Chongians into future leaders of the nation. As such, Hwa Chongians are given a huge responsibility for their actions, for they are responsible for the future of the country in future. As such, Hwa Chongians are quite likely to touch the lives of others, as the decisions that they make can potentially affect themselves and the people around them. Keeping in mind that Hwa Chongians may lead the country in future, their future decisions in running the nation can also have an impact on their fellow countrymen.

Even at present, when Hwa Chongians are still students, they are given opportunities to interact with others around the world. For example, the projects day competition allows Hwa Chongians to come up with various ideas which can help others in future, especially projects like service learning, where the main aim is to actually improve the lives of the needy or under-privileged people in the society. As such, Hwa Chongians are given ample opportunities to touch the lives of others.

However, it also depends on the individual himself. If the individual is not bothered about others and does not make an effort to connect with the lives of others, then he will not be able to help others, let alone make an impact. There are indeed such people in Hwa Chong, taking up space which could have been better spent on other people more passionate about touching the lives of others. So, Hwa Chongians are given the chance and opportunities to touch the lives of others, but it is whether they want to make an effort in doing that matters.

Steve Job's speech

There have been 3 stories discussed in Steve Job's speech, and there were also various lessons and morals taught in his speech. However, there were two of them which have a deep impact on me.

Firstly, find passion in whatever you do, and if you know you like doing something, then you should go out all the way to do it. This is like in Steve Job's life, where his passion of creating and making computers eventually led to him founding the Apple company. Even when he is kicked out of his own company, he did not give up and continued to do the one thing that he liked most - making computers. This single act enabled him to continue to have a motivation and aim in life, which eventually allowed him to succeed very well and become CEO of Apple. Having passion in doing a particular thing enables us to put our hearts and minds into doing it, as we really like it. This helps to unleash our full potential and allow us to succeed well in the thing that we like doing. In fact, we will put in more effort in doing things we like than in doing things we do not find as appealing.

Secondly, sometimes life throws various setbacks at us, but we should always persevere and always find a way around it, as it could actually be a blessing in disguise. This is like in Steve Job's life, whether it is his dropping out of school or him being kicked out of his own company, there is no telling whether it is actually a good thing. In fact, this events helped to improve Steve Job's lives by an unexpected twist of fate in the later parts of his life. He said that looking back, he was glad that life had thrown all these painful experiences and decisions to him, as it helped to make him the successful person he is now. Life is never a bed of roses, but it is how we make use of it that determines whether we can indeed create a bed of roses for ourselves, or just dig a deep pit.

Osama- Should he be given a fair trial?

Osama, the world's most wanted terrorist and the head of the Al Qaeda terrorist group, was finally shot and killed on 21 May 2011. This event has been a major achievement in the United State's fight against terrorism. On that day, Americans ran amok on the streets in victorious celebration - justice was finally served for the innocents who died during the 9/11 incident. However, there have been mixed feelings about this incident, as human rights groups questioned whether Osama should have been arrested and be given a fair trial instead of being brutally cut down by bullets. However, Osama should not be given a fair trial, and it was most likely the best thing to do for the American forces to have shot him dead.

Firstly, Osama is a highly dangerous man. Osama could have fled or be given the chance to retaliate if the American soldiers tried to arrest him instead of killing him. Even if they successfully arrested him at the scene, he may break out of prison or escape later, and maybe even receive help from his followers to break him out of jail. In addition, if he is kept alive, he will still be given the chance to continue influencing others to join in his beliefs and join the Al Qaeda group. If he were to be killed there and then, there would not be any risk letting him escape or allow his to continue influencing others in his captivity. In fact, the terrorist network would be dealt a very severe blow.

Secondly, Osama would have received the same fate anyway. For his crimes of murdering thousands over the last few years, he would definitely be given the death sentence. However, this would deal a great blow to America's image of being a strong and powerful nation. The man that dares to challenge the nation, receiving a fair trial and a fair punishment, does not seem feasible at all to America. They want to defend their pride and honour and do not want it taken away from them by a mere "challenger" who only serves to terrorize the nation.

Lastly, Osama did not show any mercy to innocent victims in the first place, so he does not rightfully deserve any mercy in return. He have killed thousands of people over the last decade, most of them innocent people who were leading perfectly normal lives until disaster struck. In fact, he have cause much suffering to victims who suffered under his wrath. He have caused much distraught to countless people who suffered the lost of friends and relatives, or those who suffered mental and physical harm in terrorist acts.

As such, Osama should not have been given too fair a trial. We should not risk giving him the chance to deal even more damage to the society with the little time still given to him.

Money- curse or gift

Money. It helps us to give value to certain things, and also helps to make sure the economy of the world remains healthy and strong. It is a very efficient way of trade, and is used as currency in our society. Money comes in different shape and sizes, from the American quarter to the Singaporean hundred dollar note. Beneficial it may be, it is also the source of much evil and unhappiness to the society today. Often, there have been cases of theft, robbery, kidnap and even suicides because of monetary problems. Money is the root of all evil, and only serves to fill up the pockets and feed the appetites of greedy people. Too much money will bring harm, and too little money will not allow us to survive. This brings us to the ultimate question - is money really helpful or detrimental to our society?

It can be argued that money is indeed beneficial to the human society. Money serves as a median for exchange and allows humans to efficiently trade various goods, and also helps to give the value of various items. It can be used as a very effective form of currency, and is used for payment for almost everything. This keeps the human economy strong and healthy, and gives room for countries to develop and ensures that the lives of the citizens can improve.

However, it can also be the source of much frustrations and unhappiness in the society. The lack of money or sometimes rather the greed for money will cause people to carry out unscrupulous actions just to satisfy themselves, like robbery, kidnap and theft. It is very uncivilized for one to carry out such acts, especially for minor things like money. Sometimes, people even get killed in the process. Thus money is actually indirectly harming countless people, and robbing them of their rightful gains, while only serving to bring more harm to the innocents.

If one has too little money, the individual would also have to suffer as he or she would not be able to afford various items, and even necessities needed to survive. People also encounter much frustrations when they have monetary problems and the results can be very dire: it can actually ruin relationships, affects the mental and physical well-being of the individual, and can even lead to suicides. For example, a total of 477 people committed suicide in Dubai due to financial problems in 2008. If money can indirectly bring so much harm to the society, why should it even be created in the first place.

However, we have the face the facts at the end. The world cannot operate without money: take away money, and people would just replace it with another form of currency no different from money. If we look at things from a long-term perspective, money will be here to stay, and it is much needed for us to run the society, and build up the economy. For now, money is here to stay.

Conserving our environment

Earth-it is our only home, and the only known planet in the world to contain any presence of life, and yet we humans still do not cherish it. The words "global warming", "pollution" and "conserving our environment" constantly cycle through the minds of those in our current society, and yet they still do not bother about this. There are always excuses as to why one does not do his or her part for the environment: "The economical cost is too high, why care for the environment when we can make money?""The Earth is going to die on its own sooner or later anyway, what we are doing is no big deal.""What can we even do?"

What can we even do? Every individual in the world can start taking measures to protect our environment - taking public transport, do not waste water, save electricity, Reduce Reuse Recycle. If this keeps up, water consumption will drop, waste production will decrease, there will be less pollution to the environment. multiply this by 6.5 billion people, this is what we can do! Recycle papers and save more trees, switch off the lights so less carbon needs to be burned to produce electricity, take more cars so that release of carbon dioxide in the air will be minimised, make an effort to do all these everyday, and this is what we really can do!

It is really a headache, an heartbreaking to see people so lazy, so indifferent to the implication of their actions, not giving a care about the environment and only strive to make more gains. Factories, industries created everyday, while feeding the pockets of the workers, will also pollute the environment one way or another. Whether it is the smoke from manufacturing products, the waste materials conveniently dumped at unsuitable locations, the release of toxic chemicals into the environment, our environment would be the one that suffers the most. However, we would eventually still be the biggest losers, as we depend on nature for survival, we depend on Earth for survival. If we fail to protect Earth, we are failing to protect our chances of survival. We are indirectly killing ourselves.

So why be so foolish? Why not make the effort today? Convenience or money does not make the world go round, it merely fuels our never-ending greed for the best things in life. However, we are neglecting the most important thing possible - life itself. Pollute the environment, and you kill thousands of wildlife. Constantly strip the land of resources, and you will eventually find that there is nothing left for us to survive. Constantly tear apart the planet we all call home, and we will only bring ourselves closer to impending doom.

It is never too late? Yes, it is not for now. However, if pollution and the rate of global warming continues to rise by the same amount over the next few years, scientists have found that we would enter a state of "no return" where-by there will no longer be any methods to preserve life on Earth, and humans will die-out very quickly. So we should wise up and start to protect the environment and protect ourselves now, before it is too late. Conserve the environment, and you are saving yourselves. Continue to neglect it, and you will soon regret it.

Book report: Street of the small night market

What lesson did you learn from the story?
Nothing is impossible in life. As long as one has determination and try his or her best in life, the person will eventually succeed. This can be seen in the story, where a poor boy's motivation to work hard allowed him to eventually find his own business and strike it rich. Despite the various setbacks and challenges he faced, he had the courage and willpower to continue fighting for a better future for his family. So, as long as one is able to work hard in life, he will eventually be rewarded, no matter how long later that would be.

If your story occurred long ago, compare that time with today in a good paragraph. If it was a modern story, compare it with a long time ago and tell what would be different.
The story occurred in Singapore somewhere during the mid 20th Century. Back then, Singapore only had a small police force and the area was still left in ruins after World War 2. During that time, many suffered from poverty, being barely able to even afford a place to live. Those days were filled with hardship as everyone struggled to make a living, and the high crime rates and poor living conditions did not make things any better. However, the situation is now much better in the current Singapore, where the country is able to prosper and its citizens are now richer and have much higher standards of living. The defense force of Singapore is also clearly built up, and crime rates are much lower thanks to strict laws and a strong police force. The Singapore of today seems like paradise compared to the Singapore in the past.

Choose an interesting character from your book. Think of what his/her dislikes are; then think of a gift you would like to give him/her. Design a greeting card to go along with the gift in which you explain why you gave that gift.
The most interesting character of the book is actually the main character himself, Ah Ong, who manages to survive from the perils and disasters in his life and was finally able to overcome them despite all odds. He is not only able to support his own family, but was able to set up his own business and escape from poverty at the end of the story. Because he lived in poverty previously, he became somewhat money-minded, always thinking of how to strike it rich, so a good gift that he may like is actually some extra cash. The cash will not only be able to serve as some extra savings for him, it can also be used to help support his business and eventually let him prosper even more.

Is the title a good one or a poor one and why?
The title is definitely a good one. The street of the small night market is where everything in the book takes place, whether it is the friendship between the neighbours and hawkers, the rise against the drug lords in the area, or the story of how Ah Ong eventually founded his business through an unexpected twist of fate. It gives the background of the story, while giving us an early hint of the atmosphere in the settings. It also sets the introduction of the story, and the end of the story is also returned to the joyful mood of the small night market, the harmony, peace, and merry-making of those living in the area.