Ask Sifu: THE FRUITCAKE SPECIAL

Sunday, September 16, 2012

THE FRUITCAKE SPECIAL

My review( copied from SPMenglish.blogspot.com.... TQ);

When I first read this short story, I could not help laughing. A perfume can have such a great impact on someone.This story reminds me of some kind of oil used by the traditional Shaman in Malaysia to cast a spell on someone so that he or she will fall in love with the one who casts the spell.(I am not sure whether it is still in practice in modern time.However,this practice is definitely forbidden in Islam and by many religions.)

Well, I can't help but admire Anna who works as a chemist at Amos Cosmetics.As she was making an experiment, she adds a bit of the fruitcake which her Aunt Emma gave into her mixture of perfume. She then tests the perfume on herself.The consequence of her action causes her a serious problem. Her boss,Mr Amos who smells the scent of the perfume on her suddenly finds her exceptionally beautiful.
Anna however does not believe him. She is a confident person who knows her real self. There is no way a flamboyant like Mr Amos will like a plain girl like her.

When Mr Amos asks her out,she has no choice but to go because he is her boss.When she sprays on some Amos perfume, Mr Amos seems want to shun away from her and is embarrassed to be seen with her.On the other hand, when she puts on her fruitcake special,she is surprised by a sudden attention and love declaration from her boss and a waiter at the restaurant where she and her boss are having dinner. She realises then,that her boss's wierd reaction towards her is all due to the fruitcake perfume she made.A fight between her boss and the waiter over her occured right in front of her boss's girlfriend.

So when Mr Amos and his dead gorgeous girlfriend mock her two days after the incidence at the restaurant, she sprinkles all the fruitcake special on the girl's dress. She wants them to experience what she has gone through.She imagines how many men will fall madly in love with her boss's girlfriend because of the fruitcake special.All these men will give troubles to her wicked boss and his girlfriend.

Finally, she finds her love right under her nose. It is a young delivery boy who has fallen in love with her for so long but can only express his feeling after he is successful to own a pizza shop.

No comments:

DEAR MR. KILMER (FORM 5)

Main Character

Richard Knight

Courageous

-send card to Hannah and having fight with Abner and Harry

Diligent and Helpful

-He always help Pa in farm and Angie in the kitchen doing the house chores.

Selfless

-turn down the role after Hannah

Sensitive

-Could not kill the buck even having a chance to do it.

Mature,Open Minded

-not sided with people who disturb Hannah

Poetic

-borrow book from Mrs Hansen

-write poems and keep it in drawer

Quiet

-Love being alone and not like to toal to much.

Hannah Schermers

Patient

-still strong even her tavern had been vandelised

Intelligent

-always helping Richard with good ideas and suggestion to complete his poem.

Appriciative

-thanked Richard for sending her the sympathy card

Generous and Kind Hearted

-She bakes cookies for Mr Kilmer

-Invited Richard for supper

Secretive

-Pa didnt told his children about his brother Roland.

Understanding

-He didnt angry and ask Richard the reason why he didnt kill the buck

Responsible

-He took care of Gus,Angie and Richard alone after her wife died.

Loving

-He dont let his son Gus to joined the army training

Minor Character

Gus

Adventurous

-desperately want to join the war without disscussing with Pa because he didnt like do farming

-like to go for hunting

Impatient

-cannot wait to join the army training

Stubborn

-disobey Pa because he want to join the war.

Brotherly

-asked Richard to fit in with the community so he will not be isolated by them.

Boastfull

-always tease Richard and tell him his awesomeness

Mr Kilmer

Understanding

-he understands Richard feelings and feel not awkward when communicating by the way of writing letter.

Helpful

-give Richard advice and motivation through letter

Patriotic

-joined the war eventhough he is a famous poet.

Poetic

-write numerous of poet.One of his famous poet is tree.

Mrs Hansen

Patriotic

-put up a sale and play to finance the war

Supportive

-urges Richard to read his poem in front of the class.

Tolerant

-do not angry when Hannah and Richard turned down the role

Creative

-support Hannah with giving a sympathy card.

Angie

Hardworking

-doing all the housechores by himself without complaining

Loving

-continueing her mother role after her mother death and she realising that no one will taking care of his family

Mr Schermers and Mrs Schermers

Mr Kilmer is an optimist while his wife opposite

Intelligence and Cultured

Themes

Fillial Love
-Gus love Richard his brother,he advises him to fitting in with community so he will not be isolated by them
-Pa still cant forget his brother Roland after the war with Spain in Cuba
-Richard loves Angie by helping her doing the housechores like washing the dishes at the kitchen

Patriotic Spirits
-Mr Kilmer joined the war even he is a famous poet because he hope that he can end the war so the next generation will not involved with this unnecessary war.
-Mrs Hansen doing many programme by selling the Liberty Bond to finance the war.
-The Schermers rationing their food by eating small pieces of meat as a symbolic of symphathy for allies that fighting in the war.

SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

Basic Principle: Singular subjects need singular verbs; plural subjects need plural verbs. My brother is a nutritionist. My sisters are mathematicians.

See the section on Plurals for additional help with subject-verb agreement.

The indefinite pronouns anyone, everyone, someone, no one, nobody are always singular and, therefore, require singular verbs.
Everyone has done his or her homework.
Somebody has left her purse.

Some indefinite pronouns — such as all, some — are singular or plural depending on what they're referring to. (Is the thing referred to countable or not?) Be careful choosing a verb to accompany such pronouns.
Some of the beads are missing.
Some of the water is gone.

On the other hand, there is one indefinite pronoun, none, that can be either singular or plural; it often doesn't matter whether you use a singular or a plural verb — unless something else in the sentence determines its number. (Writers generally think of none as meaning not any and will choose a plural verb, as in "None of the engines are working," but when something else makes us regard none as meaning not one, we want a singular verb, as in "None of the food is fresh.")
None of you claims responsibility for this incident?
None of you claim responsibility for this incident?
None of the students have done their homework. (In this last example, the word their precludes the use of the singular verb.

Some indefinite pronouns are particularly troublesome Everyone and everybody (listed above, also) certainly feel like more than one person and, therefore, students are sometimes tempted to use a plural verb with them. They are always singular, though. Each is often followed by a prepositional phrase ending in a plural word (Each of the cars), thus confusing the verb choice. Each, too, is always singular and requires a singular verb.
Everyone has finished his or her homework.

You would always say, "Everybody is here." This means that the word is singular and nothing will change that.
Each of the students is responsible for doing his or her work in the library.

Don't let the word "students" confuse you; the subject is each and each is always singular — Each is responsible.

Phrases such as together with, as well as, and along with are not the same as and. The phrase introduced by as well as or along with will modify the earlier word (mayor in this case), but it does not compound the subjects (as the word and would do).
The mayor as well as his brothers is going to prison.
The mayor and his brothers are going to jail.

The pronouns neither and either are singular and require singular verbs even though they seem to be referring, in a sense, to two things.
Neither of the two traffic lights is working.
Which shirt do you want for Christmas?
Either is fine with me.

In informal writing, neither and either sometimes take a plural verb when these pronouns are followed by a prepositional phrase beginning with of. This is particularly true of interrogative constructions: "Have either of you two clowns read the assignment?" "Are either of you taking this seriously?" Burchfield calls this "a clash between notional and actual agreement."*

The conjunction or does not conjoin (as and does): when nor or or is used the subject closer to the verb determines the number of the verb. Whether the subject comes before or after the verb doesn't matter; the proximity determines the number.
Either my father or my brothers are going to sell the house.
Neither my brothers nor my father is going to sell the house.
Are either my brothers or my father responsible?
Is either my father or my brothers responsible?

Because a sentence like "Neither my brothers nor my father is going to sell the house" sounds peculiar, it is probably a good idea to put the plural subject closer to the verb whenever that is possible.

The words there and here are never subjects.
There are two reasons [plural subject] for this.
There is no reason for this.
Here are two apples.

With these constructions (called expletive constructions), the subject follows the verb but still determines the number of the verb.

Verbs in the present tense for third-person, singular subjects (he, she, it and anything those words can stand for) have s-endings. Other verbs do not add s-endings.
He loves and she loves and they love_ and . . . .

Sometimes modifiers will get betwen a subject and its verb, but these modifiers must not confuse the agreement between the subject and its verb.
The mayor, who has been convicted along with his four brothers on four counts of various crimes but who also seems, like a cat, to have several political lives, is finally going to jail.

Sometimes nouns take weird forms and can fool us into thinking they're plural when they're really singular and vice-versa. Consult the section on the Plural Forms of Nouns and the section on Collective Nouns for additional help. Words such as glasses, pants, pliers, and scissors are regarded as plural (and require plural verbs) unless they're preceded the phrase pair of (in which case the word pair becomes the subject).
My glasses were on the bed.
My pants were torn.
A pair of plaid trousers is in the closet.

Some words end in -s and appear to be plural but are really singular and require singular verbs.
The news from the front is bad.
Measles is a dangerous disease for pregnant women.

On the other hand, some words ending in -s refer to a single thing but are nonetheless plural and require a plural verb.
My assets were wiped out in the depression.
The average worker's earnings have gone up dramatically.
Our thanks go to the workers who supported the union.

The names of sports teams that do not end in "s" will take a plural verb: the Miami Heat have been looking … , The Connecticut Sun are hoping that new talent … . See the section on plurals for help with this problem.

Fractional expressions such as half of, a part of, a percentage of, a majority of are sometimes singular and sometimes plural, depending on the meaning. (The same is true, of course, when all, any, more, most and some act as subjects.) Sums and products of mathematical processes are expressed as singular and require singular verbs. The expression "more than one" (oddly enough) takes a singular verb: "More than one student has tried this."
Some of the voters are still angry.
A large percentage of the older population is voting against her.
Two-fifths of the troops were lost in the battle.
Two-fifths of the vineyard was destroyed by fire.
Forty percent of the students are in favor of changing the policy.
Forty percent of the student body is in favor of changing the policy.
Two and two is four.
Four times four divided by two is eight.

If your sentence compounds a positive and a negative subject and one is plural, the other singular, the verb should agree with the positive subject.
The department members but not the chair have decided not to teach on Valentine's Day.
It is not the faculty members but the president who decides this issue.
It was the speaker, not his ideas, that has provoked the students to riot.

SHORT STORY - LEAVING

by M G Vassanji

SHORT

Ramai yg nak note untuk poem,short stories and drama nih..so wani buat la blog ni...nah bacelah tapi jngan lupa follow blog eh >_<...

Synopsis

The story,Leaving is set in Tanzania.A woman raises her five children alone after the early death of her husband.After the two elder girls get married and the eldest son acquires a job,the mother focuses on the two younger ones,Aloo and the youngest daughter(the narrator).Aloo is in his final year in school and the girl is in university.She pins all her hopes on them that they will have a better education.She winds up their store and moves them to a quieter part of town,Upanga.The place is quieter and provides a better environment for them to study.The return of Mr Datoo,a former teacher inspires Aloo to think of furthering his education overseas in medicine in America.He starts writing to American universities to get the necessary information.He is not keen on studying agriculture in a local university.He is offered a place with a scholarship in the California Institute of Technology.However,his mother would not allow him to accept the offer,citing finances and fear of losing him as the reasons.Finally,on the advice of a school officer,the mother relents and accepts the idea of allowing Aloo to leave home for a different sky.The narrator,for the first time,sees her mother as a person and not just as her mother-someone who has always thought only of the children's welfare.Aloo's first letter was a graphic enthusiastic account of London but to the mother,she is uncertain of his return.

Character and character traits

Aloo

-youngest child in the family-doing his final year in school.

-a good student who does well in school examinations,straight As.

-is inspired by a former teacher who returns from America for a visit to think to furthering his education overseas in America.

-not keen on studying agriculture at a local university

-diligent-writes to universities to get necessary information for further studies

-ambitious-wants to study medicine

-extremely happy when offered a scholarship to study in California Institute of Technology

-spirited and courageous-willing to do part-time work while studying

-tries to convince other that he will definitely return to his homeland after his studies

-obedient-willing to accept mother's decision

-does not speak about overseas education and prepares to study agriculture locally

-could not suppress his excitement when mother finally allows him to go overseas

-writes from London to mother-letter so full of excitement

-creates doubts in mother's mind about the future.

Mother

-mother of the five children and runs a store in Uhuru Street-single-handedly raises five children after early death of husband

-Aloo's mother became a widow at thirty-three and had refused ever since to marry for fear that the next husband would ask her to take her children to the 'boarding'

-thinks of the children's future-willing to sacrifice for them -closes down the store and moves family to a quieter part of town-better environment for studying-a big change for her

-ambitious about her children's education-wants them to do well

afraid to let youngest son go for overseas education-afraid he might not return home,take a European wife or forget his roots

at the same time wise or understanding about situation-children have to grow up and leave home one day-but hopes to hold on to them as long as possible

-loving and caring-take steps to ensure youngest son leave for further studies with a happy frame of mind

after receiving letter from Aloo who writes letter from London-feels unsure that Aloo will return to hometown in Tanzania

Minor characters

Aloo's sibling (narrator)

-second youngest in family and studying in a local university

-supportive of and understands Aloo's needs to study overseas and not in local university

loving and caring of mother and understands mother's refusal to allow Aloo to study overseas

-observant-observes mother's face and sees her as a person and not just as their mother-recalls mother's worried unsmiling face looking after them in her own

Sunday, September 16, 2012

THE FRUITCAKE SPECIAL

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