Celebration for end of term of 07 - 08 from CCKTC

Data for WenChuan earthquake

Public Speaking Success: Five Ways to Turn a Boring Talk into an Interesting Talk

When we need to give a speech, we put so much time and effort into preparing for our preparation that the last thing we want is to put the audience to sleep with a boring talk. Boring talks are can be caused by both the content of the speech or the speaker’s presentation style – and often, both are to blame. So we’ll cover some easy ways to perk up your audience and make your speech more interesting.
1: Be excited about your speech.
People who are excited and passionate about their speech (as well as the subject of their speech) have an easier time connecting with the audience. Excitement and passion are both contagious and if people aren’t interested in your topic, your enthusiasm will often pique their interests enough for them to want to learn why they should be interested in your topic.
2: Interact with the audience.
Making the audience a part of your presentation will get them interested. Having them repeat back key points and phrases will help them retain what they’ve learned and if people aren’t paying attention, it’ll encourage them to do so. Plus it’s fun to have some audience involvement. Whenever I give a motivational speech, I get the audience out of their seats and have them move around. Tony Robbins has a great quote about this – “Emotion is created by motion.”
3: Use props.
Props are a great way to get your audience interested in your speech. They add visual impact and break up the monotony of an otherwise uneventful talk. Props can be used to demonstrate a point you’re trying to make, get the audience to laugh or to save you from having to describe an unfamiliar object in great detail. For example, if you’re telling a story about rock climbing and are talking about a carabiner, it’s easier to show one to the audience than having to spend two minutes describing it.
However, props can sometimes be a double edged sword because it’s easy to get carried away and use too many props. A good rule of thumb is to use no more than one prop per two minutes of your speech. Only use relevant props and if you find yourself trying to work a prop into your speech, then chances are that you should leave it out.
4: Vary your voice.
Speaking in a monotonous voice is an easy way to put your audience to sleep. Let your emotions show through in your speech. There is so much you can do with your voice:
• Speak faster to convey excitement and slow down when you want your audience to mull over a point you made.
• Pause to give the audience time to reflect on a thought.
• Imitate other people when quoting them.
• Vary your volume when appropriate.
Like props, be cautioned that there can be too much of a good thing and many speakers make the mistake of varying their voice too much – to the point where it sounds fake and/or obnoxious. Just be natural and don’t try to force it.
5: Make sure your speech is a good match for your audience.
Every speech is not appropriate for every audience. Make sure that your audience has the background to understand your speech (especially if there’s technical information in it) otherwise you’ll lose them immediately. Giving a speech about retirement planning to high school students would fall on deaf ears because few of them would understand payroll deductions, 401k plans and annuities.
You also want to ensure that your audience has an interest in learning more about your topic (note that this is different from being interested in your topic, although that would certainly help). If you’re selling a product that helps small businesses run more effectively, it wouldn’t make sense to give your presentation to people who work for large companies.


Post from: Overnight Sensation

推荐的学习英文网站

Phonetics: http://www.fonetiks.org
Words and Spelling: http://www.sentex.net/~mmcadams/spelling.html
　　
Exercises online: http://www.uefap.co.uk/accuracy/accfram.htm http://www.better-english.com/exerciselist.html
　　
Practice your Listening: http://www.ukans.edu/
　　
Enhance your listening: http://www.one-voice.co.uk/england/index.htm http://www.moviesoundscentral.com/
　　
Grammar online: http://www.grammarbook.com/Default.htm (very good) http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/grammar.html http://www.bartleby.com/116/index.html
　　
Writing: http://members.tripod.com/~lklivingston/essay/ http://www.ruthvilmi.net/hut/LangHelp/Writing/index.html
　　
Test yourself: http://www.churchillhouse.com/tests/index.html
　　
online radio: http://www.world-english.org/listening.htm
　　
Bussiness English Websites: http://www.wfi.fr/volterre/businessenglish.html
　　
Entertainment: http://www.script-o-rama.com/filmtranscripts.shtml (Film scripts)

错过了一时,却错过了一生

生活有時陰差陽錯，你錯過了一時，就似乎錯過了一生。 　　

有個男孩，在學校的新生聯歡會上認識了一個女孩。女孩笑如春花，聰明活潑，男孩對她幾乎是一見鍾情，卻沒有表露。因爲男孩剛經過高中階段循規蹈矩式的教育，對男女感情小心翼翼得令人難以置信，他想：“再等等吧，等一切成熟些，再向她說。” 　　

一年多後的一個夜晚，男孩終於鼓足勇氣約女孩出來，向她表達了心中的愛意？沒想到，平時伶俐的女孩結結巴巴地說：“我……我想我不能接受……你的好意，一個星期以前……我已經……接受了另一個……男孩……我真的……不知道你……會喜歡我……”女孩說完就跑掉了，沒有讓男孩看到她濕潤的眼。 　　

後來，有人看到男孩同學校的“校花”經常出雙入對，大家都以爲他看中了“校花”的美貌，誰也沒有注意，“校花”有著和女孩一樣的春花般的笑容，非常相似，所以誰都沒有發現男孩的苦心。但是沒過多久，男孩與“校花”的愛情就以分手告吹。 　　
大學生活很快就結束了。畢業後，女孩披上了嫁衣成了別人的新娘，而男孩再沒有戀愛過。因爲他清楚，只有這個女孩才是他今生唯一的至愛。 　　

男孩從朋友那裏輾轉打聽到女孩的生日和地址，每到女孩生日時，他就會叫人送去九朵郁金香（他不知道女孩最喜歡什麽花，他自已最喜歡郁金香）。男孩知道女孩已爲人婦，所以他從來不在卡片裏留下姓名和聯繫號碼，他不想因爲自已的感情而影響女孩的生活。 　　

幾年時間轉眼就過去了，男孩依然是形隻影單，依然記得每年都送花給女孩。就在女孩生日的前兩天，男孩參加了一個同學聚會，他聽說女孩在這幾年裏經歷了兩次離婚，如今也是獨身，心裏又是心疼又高興？他爲女孩遭遇了感情的不幸而心疼，又爲自已再次有了機會而高興…… 　　

終於等到了女孩的生日！男孩興奮得難以言狀！他想這次一定要親自把花送去，再向她表白。爲此，他幾乎逛遍了所有的花店，最後挑選了最美的花朵郁金香。 　　當小姐把花包紮好的刹那，男孩在卡片裏寫下幾個字：你知道我在愛你嗎？！男孩英俊的臉上灑滿了笑意與渴望，逕直向街心走去…… 　　

就在那時，一輛逆行貨車撞倒了他…… 　　女孩在收到郁金香的同時也收到了男孩的死訊。 　　

女孩明白了一切，她把自已鎖在了房間裏哭了整整一夜。她回想起多年前的那個夜晚，男孩對她的表白？她一直不知道　，這近10年來，男孩是如此執著而癡迷地愛著她！想到這裏，她就哭得更傷心，奔瀉的淚水將郁金香浸染得無限淒美。女孩知道，她失去了今生難遇難求的至愛。 　　

然而，長眠的男孩肯定也不知道，女孩最喜歡的，正是郁金香啊……

中国的小学生作文：吓死老师惊动教育部

一篇小学生作文：吓死老师，惊动教育部——
　　今天，老师带领我们到烈士纪念馆参观，使我很受感动。那些革命烈士，为了革命，不怕严刑拷打，不怕枪林弹雨，为了穷人的解放，献出了自己宝贵的生命。我要向他们学习，做革命的接班人，长大为人民服务。
　　
　 我热爱那些为了穷人打天下的烈士，我痛恨那些资本家反动派。听爷爷说，刚解放那会，日子虽然苦，但那时当官的一心为老百姓，不像现在，到处是贪污犯。我对爷爷说，我长大了就专门抓贪官，给他们灌辣椒水，上老虎凳，叫他们把贪污的钱交出来，分给穷人。我们家也是穷人，爸爸妈妈都下岗了。爸爸每天去蹬三轮车，还经常被城管队赶来赶去，有一次被城管队没收了车，爸爸整整哭了一夜。我劝爸爸说，等我长大了，就号召我们班同学专门打城管队，吊在树上打，拿皮带抽，看他们还敢猖狂不？妈妈对我最好了，她身体不好，没钱治病，却什么好吃的都留给我，我让她吃，她总是说不饿。　　　　
　　
　　 我小时候最喜欢在姥姥家玩，那里有一个小院子，虽然很破旧，但邻里关系很好，那些爷爷奶奶都喜欢我，说我又调皮又聪明，长大能当一个将军。院子里有一棵枣树，每到秋天，我就上去够枣吃。可是，前年，那里拆迁，房子全推倒了，姥爷姥姥还有其他的爷爷奶奶，很多买不起郊区的大房子，只好租一间小房子住。那里盖起了高楼，成了繁华的商场，挣了很多钱。我不明白，为什么姥姥要住小房子，他们却能挣大钱。我不喜欢那个高楼，我心里对姥姥说，我长大了，要学本•拉登，开个飞机把他撞翻，重新给您盖个四合院，载上枣树、石榴树。　　
　　
　　
　　 老师经常教育我们要好好学习，我一定听老师的话，把学习搞好，长大当一个发明家。我要发明一种武器，能认出好人坏人，发射的子弹能一直追着坏人打，把他的屁股打个洞。　　
　　
　　
　　 我喜欢枪，我最喜欢的枪是AK47，我长大了，就用这种枪去打敌人，我一定不怕牺牲，我一定能胜利的，那些烈士就是我的榜样。

SJTU received AMBA and EQUIS accreditions

It is a really good news from sjtu, its business school received AMBA and EQUIS qualification, based on this, sjtu is first business school in china who received double accreditions. No wonder it ranks 41st in the world based on FT2008 MBA ranking.
Well done.
www.sjtu.edu.cn/newsnet/shownews.php?id=16938

Joined CCKTC 2 months ago

《历史的伤口》- 4th June 89

《历史的伤口》http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr4jQYv7JiM

蒙上眼睛就以为看不见，
捂上耳朵就以为听不到；
而真理在心中，创痛在胸口，
还要忍多久，还要沉默多久。
如果热泪可以洗净尘埃，
如果热血可以换来自由，
让明天能记得今天的怒吼，
让世界都看到，历史的伤口。

马英九发表六四感言

马总统「六四感言」全文如下：

自从1989年「六四」事件发生以来，每年届时我都会参加纪念活动或发表文章。我对「六四」的关心，主要在於关心大陆同胞能否享有自由民主的生活。

今年「六四」跟往年最大的不同，就是在三周前，四川发生了大地震，灾区广达十馀万平方公里，死伤超过四十万人，至少五百万人无家可归。从大陆官方抢救灾民的迅速、大陆首长对灾民的关怀、灾难及抗争新闻报道的开放、大陆人民捐输的踊跃、到对外国救援团队的欢迎，对台湾救援团队的友善，与1976年唐山大地震时期的表现已大大不同，国际媒体亦迭有佳评，显示中国大陆改革开放叁十年，已有一定的成果。

我在5月20日就职演说中，曾经表示：「我们真诚关心大陆十叁亿同胞的福祉，由衷盼望中国大陆能继续走向自由民主均富的大道，为两岸关系长远的和平发展，创造双赢的历史条件。」今天我们关心「六四」真正的意义，也就在此。

Same product, but much more different price because of different maker

Product from Shanghai - S$16;
Product from Hongkong - S$24;
put them together for sale in ShengSiong Supermarket, looks a bit funny, but it worth to think more... Maybe 60 years ago, they were under one roof in Shanghai.

Key words from Denny Swee

B.D.: burning desire
Motivation & enthusiasm
Building a successful business: sales; marketing; leadership
5 stages of marketing: a research stage; a strategic stage; a tactical stage; an implementation stage; an evaluation stage;
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Basics of marketing: know your customers & competitors; find your target market & positioning; develop a good marketing plan; how to create a great brand; pricing your products / service; internet; advertisement and promotion; grow your business;
7 realities of business & leadership: speed; market; grow customers; economic freedom; internet; commodity syndrome; change;
FEAR – false evidence appears real

中国工科名校的源流与变迁

高等工程教育在中国诞生已历百年。在中国的文化传统中，工艺之学是不登大雅之堂的。时至今日，还有人供奉“实用的知识都是微不足道的”这种两个世纪前洋人先哲的高论，认为工科大学不足以称之为大学。这使得首开我国高等工程教育先河的前人们的远见和胆识更令人钦佩。这里只是想简单的勾画一下主要工科学校变迁的大致轮廓, 不当之处欢迎指正.
中国的高等工程教育起源于1895年建校的北洋西学学堂, 该校创建伊始就开设了采矿，机械，土木等工程学科；紧随其后于1896年建校的山海关铁路学堂在20世纪初发展为唐山路矿学堂，铁路和采矿也颇具实力。
同样创建于1896年的南洋公学在清末民初逐步完成了工程学科的建设，以铁路科为起点，扩展到机械和电机，首开中国电机教育之先河.
本世纪的前20年，北洋，南洋和唐山是工科教育最有成效的学府。中国培养的第一代工程与工程教育大师, 凌鸿勋, 茅以升, 王宠佑, 孙越崎, 支秉渊, 罗忠忱等都曾在这三所学校接受过工学教育.
20年代是中国高等教育剧烈变迁的时代，对工程教育而言，最重要的事件无过于由南洋，唐山和北京邮专等三校合并组成交通大学。实力雄厚的交通大学无疑成为工科第一豪门，北洋次之，归属屡次变化的东南(中央)大学工科和河海工科大学也是当时众多工科学校中较有影响的一所。
1930年到抗战爆发是中国教育的一个平稳发展的时期。工科的口碑仍然是南洋, 北洋。上海交大(南洋)成为交大的绝对龙头，进入极盛时期，有东方mit之说；北洋则兴办了电机和航空等系科，并首先开始工科研究生教育。一个异军突起的力量是新兴的清华大学工学院。梅贻琦校长的苦心经营下，挟清华学校的传统声誉和庚款的雄厚支持，在航空，化工等领域后来居上，在电，机等学科也有和老牌学校分庭抗礼之势，开始形成鼎立局面。交大唐山工学院仍以土木工程雄踞一方。另外隐然成型的是中央大学工学院，她宏大的规模和投入都预示着又一个工学名门即将问世。
抗战期间是中国教育的一个特殊阶段，各校虽均受重创, 仍有不俗表现, 为新中国成立后大规模的经济建设培养了骨干人才. 以清华大学工学院为主, 包括北大南开部分师资的西南联大工学院几执工科牛耳。留沪的南洋和南迁的交大诸部各领风骚，总体实力不在西联之下。中央大学地处陪都重庆，规模号称第一，其羽翼已丰的工学院实力次于联大交大。以流亡陕甘地区的北洋为主体组建的西北工学院偏处一隅, 略逊一筹。
抗战胜利到新中国成立初期，工科基本格局变化不大，工学院仍以综合大学中的清华，中大工学院和号称南北工程最高学府的交大北洋最强。就实力而言，交大清华更为翘楚，中央发展平稳,北洋实力有所回升。
这一时期还有一些比较重要的工学院，比如浙大，北大，同济，武大, 南开等校的工学院都实力不俗。
50年代院系调整引起的轩然大波一直荡漾到60年代初期。交大失血之余被一分为二；北洋改名天大并剥离了约半数的工程系科；中大工学院独立成为南工，也分离出不少系科。清华的工科有失有得。
60年代初期的格局是清华一马当先，哈工，西交，上交，天大等校组成第二集团，侧重土木的同济和南工为首的四大工学院与第二集团各校实力接近，同样引人瞩目的是以北航，北钢，北工等校为代表的强劲的专业工科学院。另一个人工巨人是哈军工，这所学校后来的瓦解留下了两个重要的遗产，一是建立了国防科大，二是加强了西北工大。
80年代以来是建国后最重要的发展时期，工程教育方面比较显著的变化包括浙大的稳步上升，上海交大的迅猛复兴，和华中理工闯入第二集团。综合近年来的各种大学排行结果，清华大学仍处领先地位，浙大和上交居2，3位，哈工，西交，天大和华工在各个排名中互有胜负。国家对部份高校的重点建设，也可能对大学工科的未来分野产生重要影响。率先列入重点建设名单的工科学校包括清华，上海交大，西安交大，浙大和哈工大等五所，随后陆续列入的有北京理工，天大，华科大和东南等，这个还在继续加长的名单相当程度上反映了政府立场。鉴于经济建设在今后相当长的一个时期内仍然是主旋律，高等工程教育也将继续在中国教育中保持举足轻重的地位。

Jurong Island becomes more and more important for Singapore

For the past a few years, investment in oil & gas sector in Singapore are significantly increasing. Quite a number of big players came to Singapore to set up their new plants or announced for ambitious expansion plan. As I knew, the new plant for Ciba, Lucite already in progress, a integrated investment package worth US$3 b including a new cracker in Bukom & jurong island by Shell also already started last year, and recently ExxonMobil announced at least US$4 b (most probably more than that amount) for a new steam cracker (SPT), another big US$2b investment for Singapore aromatics complex… then what will happen now and later

1. Shortage of manpower. Almost all the contractors are busy for whole year, and a lot of project within hands, most of them are scraping for supervisor or engineers, most of them from Malaysia, china, India or other countries, local people don’t like it;
2. Need to bring in a lot of construction workers from outside, maybe from Malaysia, India, Philippines, or others. It is easy to bring in, but challenging to manage, a lot of rules & regulation related to this industry in Singapore.
3. Jurong Island is expanding by continuous reclaiming from sea, and also raised a lot of concerns from neighboring countries like Malaysia and Indonesia. Cost of land is increasing because of its scarcity in Singapore and checkpoint is heavily congested during weekday morning.
4. Safety is extremely important for oil & gas industry, it is not only inside island, outside resident also concern the impact if there is anything happen, e.g. toxic gas leaks, chemical reactor or boiler explosion;
5. Traffic jam at checkpoint every morning…

Big investment in Singapore in y2007

Small country with big ambition!


Exxonmobil’s new petrochemical plant in Jurong Island – S$5.8b
Shell eastern’s petrochemical plant – S$4.4b
Renewable energy corp’s solar plant in Tuas – S$6.3b
World’s largest biodiesel complex by Neste oil - S$1.1b
Novartis’ cutting-edge drug facility in Tuas – S$1b
Singapore-led group’s Jurong petrochem facility – S$ 2.9b
Qimonda’s wafer fab in Tampines –S$ 4b

There are also a lot of other companies invested last year which is below S$1b, not listed here, for example, Lucite, Ciba Singapore, Tate & Lyle, Lereno Chemical, Nikko, Mitsui Chemical, 3M, Lanxess…