Reading & Writing Task 4

Review of 5 newspaper articles from “The Straits Times” or “Today” and talk about what you have learnt.

The first newspaper article that I read was from ‘The Straits Times’, and it is titled, ‘Girl, 9, gets to be a scientist for a day’. This article is about Losheni Meenakshi Sundaram, who has end-stage kidney failure. The Make-A-Wish Foundation, granted Losheni with its first ever ‘scientist for a day’ wish in Singapore. Losheni even received her very own lab coat, with her name embroidered on it in pink. Research scientist, Leong Meng Fatt, said that Losheni ‘asked very good questions’.  On Dec 26, Losheni will be getting a new kidney from her mother. I feel that Losheni is a very brave girl, who will go on to achieve great things in life. I also feel that her love for science, and her inquisitiveness are qualities that would help her be a great scientist in the future. This article teaches us not to take anything for granted and to treasure and appreciate what we do have.

The second newspaper article that I read, also from ‘The Straits Times’ is titled ‘Running gave him second wind’. This article is about 101 year old, Fauja Singh, who is a marathon runner. He started running marathons after the death of his fifth child, whom he was the closest to. He ran his first marathon in 2001 at the age of 89. Since then, he has done nine marathons. He achieved his fastest time at the age of 92 – 5 hours and 40 minutes. He will be running his last 10 km race in Hong Kong in February next year. I think that he is very inspirational, as he can run marathons despite being this old. Many people around the age of 70 and above have wheelchairs. I think that his willpower is also admirable because it should be very physically and mentally tiring to do marathons, especially at such an old age.

My third article, take from ‘The Straits Times’ is entitled ‘Radio Prank gone Wrong’. It is about two Australian radio hosts, who pretended to be Prince Charles and the Queen in a call to the hospital to get information on the pregnant Duchess who was hospitalized for a severe form of morning sickness. The nurse who first answered the call, Ms Jacintha Saldanha, died in a suspected suicide. Ms Jacintha, had passed the call to a colleague, who divulged the details of the Duchess of Cambridge’s acute morning sickness. Ms. Jacintha leaves behind a son, Jumal, 16, and a daughter, Lisha, 14. I feel very sad and I feel that the radio hosts should have not done such a prank. I hope that this incident will serve as a warning to others who may think that immature, childish pranks, such as these, would not have serious implications.

My fourth report, from ‘The Straits Times’ is titled ‘Students told they failed English test – a year late’. This article is about 34 foreign students who were told that they had failed an English proficiency test they had taken a year ago. They had forked out about $16 000 each to join an MBA programme and were already midway through the course. They assumed they had passed because they were made to pay $16 000 in fees before pursing their MBA. I feel that this is very unfair and it is not right to do, especially since they have spent so much money on fees, and living expenses. I also feel that those who are not allowed to continue their studies after failing the course a second time, should be given a refund of the money they had wasted.

My fifth report, from “The Straits Times’ is ‘S’pore pupils top tests, score higher in reasoning’. The test results reveal that weaker students are also doing better in two global benchmarking studies. The way Singapore students approached the questions in the most recent tests indicates that they are moving away from rote learning and applying higher-order thinking skills. I feel that this is good, and the government should continue to change their methods of teaching to ensure that all students improve.