Knowing Malaysia

Malaysia, our own country, consisted by 3 main races ( Malay, Chinese and Indian).

We have a total 13 states and 3 federal territories. 

Since 1957 of Independent of Malaya, we have 6 prime ministers.

1. TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN PUTRA AL HAJ

(From Aug 28, 1957 to Sept 21, 1970)

2. TUN ABDUL RAZAK HUSSEIN

(From Sept 22, 1970 to Jan 14, 1976)

3. TUN HUSSEIN ONN

(From Jan 15, 1976 to July 16, 1981)

4. TUN DR MAHATHIR MOHAMAD

(From July 16, 1981 to Oct 31, 2003)

5.TUN ABDULLAH AHMAD BADAWI

(From Oct 31, 2003 to April 3, 2009)

6. DATUK SERI NAJIB RAZAK

(From April 3, 2009 - )

Holiday tips

Holiday is around the corner. Have you plan some activities with families, kids and friends? Personally think that holiday should have relax and rest for further journeys. However, doing some worthy activities or programs during long holiday is a good plan.

I have listed a few activities that I think we can do during my holiday:

1. Participating intensive-sport training     Exercise is needed for those who used to stay in the house. Participating sport training not only beneficial for one health, it also cultivate strong personalities, such as self-motivation, courage, determination, tolerance, leadership and respect. As sport activities often involve groups of people and authorities such as coach, which will improve interpersonal relationships too. 
2. Participating motivation camp              Often, for kids, camp is the best way to know new friends from different schools or places. Kids therefore can learn to be independent and self-control in earlier age of time, without parents' care of their daily activities such as washing clothes, meals intake and time management. 
3. Participating volunteer program     Why not spending spare time for helping people who needed helps? Yes, indeed, volunteer program is a worthwhile activity. 
4. Learn a new language (example: French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese)     As statistical shows, learn a new language can stimulate brain development, and evidences show that people who know more than 3 languages are having better brain development than people who know less than 3 languages. We are lucky, as a Malaysian, we basically can speak more than 2 languages (Bahasa Melayu and English); and even know more ethnics' languages - dialects. Malaysian Chinese know Chinese language, Malaysian Indian know Hindu language. Basically, Malaysia is known as a "language-dominant" country. I, personally, know more than 5 languages (Bahasa Melayu, English, Chinese, and two own dialects). 
5. Learn an instrument (example: guitar, piano)     Music, best mechanism to express feeling and emotion. Learn a instrument can stimulate brain development as well. Besides, playing instrument can decrease stressful/depress, it can also build up self-esteem and confident.  

All these suggestion suit for everyone, kids, teenagers and adults. Feel free to share your plan of this 2012 holiday. Have a good holiday! 

Antonym & Synonym

A synonym is a word that means the same, or almost the same, as another word.
An antonym is a word that is the opposite meaning of another.

Here is a list of adjectives and their synonyms that are commonly used to describe people.

• Beautiful: Attractive, Pretty, Lovely, Stunning
• Fair: Just, Objective, Impartial, Unbiased
• Funny: Humorous, Comical, Hilarious, Hysterical
• Happy: Content, Joyful, Mirthful, Upbeat
• Hardworking: Diligent, Determined, Industrious, Enterprising
• Honest: Honorable, Fair, Sincere, Trustworthy
• Intelligent: Smart, Bright, Brilliant, Sharp
• Introverted: Shy, Bashful, Quiet, Withdrawn
• Kind:Thoughtful, Considerate, Amiable, Gracious
• Lazy: Idle, Lackadaisical, Lethargic, Indolent
• Mean: Unfriendly, Unpleasant, Bad-tempered, Difficult
• Outgoing: Friendly, Sociable, Warm, Extroverted
• Rich: Affluent, Wealthy, Well-off, Well-to-do
• Strong: Stable, Secure, Solid, Tough
• Unhappy: Sad, Depressed, Melancholy, Miserable
• Lucky: Auspicious, Fortunate
• Positive: Optimistic, Cheerful, Starry-eyed, Sanguine
• Bossy: Controlling, Tyrannical

There are three categories of antonyms:

Graded antonyms deal with levels of the meaning of the words, like if something is not “good”, is may still not be “bad.” There is a scale involved with some words, and besides good and bad there can be average, fair, excellent, terrible, poor, or satisfactory.

Examples include:

• Fat and skinny
• Young and old
• Happy and sad
• Hard and soft
• Last and first
• Foolish and wise
• Fast and slow
• Warm and cool
• Wide and narrow
• Abundant and scarce
• Joy and grief
• Dark and light
• Dangerous and safe
• Clever and foolish
• Early and late
• Empty and full
• Smart and dumb
• Risky and safe
• Bad and good
• Pretty and ugly
• Best and worst
• Simple and challenging
• Soft and hard
• Worried and calm
• Sane and crazy
• Rich and poor
• Cool and hot
• Wet and dry
• Late and early
• Ignorant and educated
• Big and small
• Optimistic and pessimistic
• Excited and bored
• Dull and interesting

Complementary antonyms have a relationship where there is no middle ground. There are only two possibilities, either one or the other.

Examples include:

• Man and woman
• Push and pull
• Dead and alive
• Off and on
• Day and night
• Absent and present
• Exit and entrance
• Sink or float
• True or false
• Pass and fail
• Former and latter
• Input and output
• Interior and exterior
• Exhale and inhale
• Input and output
• Occupied and vacant
• Leave and arrive
• Pre and post
• Question and answer
• Single and married
• Hired and fired
• Brother and sister
• Before and after
• Crooked and straight
• Identical and different
• Natural or artificial
• Silence or noise
• Identical or different
• Yes and no
• Wet and dry
• Sharp and dull
• Raise and lower
• Fantasy and reality

Relational antonyms are sometimes considered a subcategory of complementary antonyms. With these pairs, for there to be a relationship, both must exist.

Examples are:

• Husband and wife
• Doctor and patient
• Buy and sell
• Predator and prey
• Above and below
• Give and receive
• Teach and learn
• Instructor and pupil
• Servant and master
• Borrow and lend
• Come and go
• Toward and away
• Divisor and dividend
• Parent and child
• East and west
• North and south
• Seller and buyer
• Mother and daughter
• Slave and master
• Floor and ceiling
• Front and back
• Up and down
• Win and lose
• Part and whole
• Offense and defense
• Behind and ahead
• Before and after
• On or off
• Trap and release
• Lost and found
• Left and right
• Give and get
• Employer employee

Meaningful

I found English is a meaningful language. So many words we used to say in our daily lives, but we don't actually know what do the words really mean.

This is the typically one:

That's the reason I say English is the most beautiful language among all. So, why don't you tell your father and mother how much you love them? Do it and speak in English.

5Ws and 1H

Question Words

We use question words to ask certain types of questions. We often refer to them as WH words because they include the letters WH (for example Why, How).

Question Word	Function	Example
what	asking for information about something	What is your name?
	asking for repetition or confirmation	What? I can't hear you. You did what?
what...for	asking for a reason, asking why	What did you do that for?
when	asking about time	When did he leave?
where	asking in or at what place or position	Where do they live?
which	asking about choice	Which colour do you want?
who	asking what or which person or people(subject)	Who opened the door?
whom	asking what or which person or people (object)	Whom did you see?
whose	asking about ownership	Whose are these keys? Whose turn is it?
why	asking for reason, asking what...for	Why do you say that?
why don't	making a suggestion	Why don't I help you?
how	asking about manner	How does this work?
	asking about condition or quality	How was your exam?
how + adj/adv	asking about extent or degree	see examples below
how far	distance	How far is Pattaya from Bangkok?
how long	length (time or space)	How long will it take?
how many	quantity (countable)	How many cars are there?
how much	quantity (uncountable)	How much money do you have?
how old	age	How old are you?
how come (informal)	asking for reason, asking why	How come I can't see her?

Express your day!

Objective of the day - express your day in English.

"How is the weather over there your hometown?"

Then I guess you will know how to answer after you learned the following new vocabulary.

Theme of today: Weather

Word Part of speech	Meaning	Example Sentence
airconditioner/ airconditioning noun	an appliance that cools down the air in a home or building	The airconditioner keeps the office nice and comfortable even when it's very hot outside.
avalanche noun	a dangerous slide of snow down a mountain	The skiers were warned about a possible avalanche.
below freezing preposition/ adjective	temperature less than 0 degrees Celsius/(32F)	It's supposed to go below freezing before the weekend.
blizzard noun	a storm with lots of snow and wind	The airplane couldn't take-off because of the blizzard.
boiling hot adjective + noun	common expression for describing a very hot day	It was boiling hot, so we all jumped into the lake.
breeze noun	light wind	Don't bother with a hat. There is always a breeze near the ocean.
Celsius noun	measurement of temperature (0 degrees is freezing/100 is boiling)	In the summer, the average temperature here is 20 degreesCelsius.
chilly adjective	cold	It's a bit chilly today, so I think you should wear a coat.
clear adjective	when the sky is blue because no clouds are blocking the sun	On a clear night you can see a lot of stars.
cloud/cloudy noun/adjective	water in the sky that appears as a white or grey mass	It may look cloudy in the morning, but the sun always comes out by afternoon.
cold spell adjective + noun	a period of colder than average weather	They're calling for a cold spell, so we put off our camping trip.
cool adjective	temperature in between warm and cold	The days were boiling hot, but the nights were cool and comfortable for sleeping.
degrees noun	measurement for temperature	I don't feel the heat until it's about forty degrees Celsius outside.
drizzling continuous verb	raining slightly	I think I'll take the dog for a walk. It's only drizzling now.
drought noun	a long period with no rainfall	Forest fires are a serious danger during a drought.
Fahrenheit noun	measurement of temperature (32 degrees is freezing/212 is boiling)	It was 100 degrees Fahrenheitwhen we got to San Francisco.
flood noun	overflow of rain water	The flood was so bad, our basement was full of water.
flurries noun	very light snowfall	There are a few flurries but the snow isn't sticking to the roads.
fog/foggy noun/adjective	thick water vapor that blocks one's vision	We couldn't see the bridge because there was too muchfog.
forecast noun/verb	the expected weather for the future	According to the 5 day forecast, it's going to rain on our wedding day.
freezing cold adjective + noun	common expression used to describe a very cold day	It was a freezing cold day for the Santa Claus parade.
frost noun	ice crystals on a frozen surface	Some flowers are so strong they can withstand frost.
frostbite noun	a skin condition caused by over exposure to the cold (typically reddish skin with white spots)	I lost my hat while I was skiing, and I ended up with frostbite on my ears.
hail noun	small pieces of ice that fall during a storm	There was so much hail that some of the trailer homes were destroyed.
heat stroke noun	a flu-like condition one can acquire after spending too long in the sun	Bring lots of water and wear a hat to avoid heat stroke in this weather.
heat-wave noun	extremely hot weather that is much higher than average--usually lasts a short time	During the heat-wave we cooled our beds down with ice packs.
humid/humidity adjective/noun	moisture in the air	It feels a lot hotter than it actually is because of thehumidity.
hurricane noun	a tropical storm with very strong wind and rain	Half of the buildings on the island were flattened by the hurricane.
icy adjective	slippery because of ice	The roads are icy so please avoid driving down any hills.
lightning noun	electrical discharge and flash between a cloud and the ground	The outdoor pool always closes when the lifeguards thinklightning is coming.
mild adjective	temperature that is warmer than average(in a cold season)	It's quite mild out so I didn't bother with a hat or mittens.
meteorologist noun	a person who studies weather patterns	The meteorologist predicted that the cold spell would be over by now.
minus/negative adjective	indicates that a temperature is below zero	It was minus twenty degrees at the top of the skil hill.
overcast adjective	no sun is visible	The sky is overcast this morning, but the sun is supposed to come out by late afternoon.
partly cloudy adverb + adjective	term often used in a weather forecast to indicate that the skies are sunny and cloudy at the same time	Tomorrow's forecast is partly cloudy with clear skies by nightfall.
precipitation noun	rain or snow that falls on an area	There is very little precipitationin the desert.
puddle noun	collection of rain water	Children love to splash inpuddles when they are wearing rubber boots.
rain/raining/ rainy noun/continuous verb/adjective	water that falls to earth	My hair is all wet and messy from the rain.
raindrop noun	a single measurement of rain	I love catching raindrops on my tongue.
rainbow noun	a band of colours found in the sky after a rainfall	According to legend you can find a pot of gold at the end of arainbow.
raining cats and dogs idiom	raining heavily	They cancelled the football game because it was raining cats and dogs.
scorching/        a scorcher adjective/noun	extremely hot temperature/a very hot day	It was a scorcher, so the whole family slept in the cool basement.
season noun	time of year characterized by certain weather Winter,Spring,Summer,Fall (or Autumn)	My favorite season is Fall, because I love to watch the leaves changing colours.
shower noun	quick/light rainstorm	They've been calling for showersall week, but so far it's been dry.
sleet(similar to hail) noun	rain that freezes as it falls	All-weather-tires are best if you have to drive in sleet.
slush/slushy noun/adjective	snow on the ground that has been rained on	The snow turned to slush as soon as it started to rain.
smog noun	heavy,dark cloud cover caused by pollution	You really notice the smogdowntown in this type of humidity.
snow/snowy/ snowing noun/adjective/ continuous verb	frozen water that warms slightly as it falls to earth	It is already snowing up in the mountains, so the ski season should be great this year.
snowstorm noun	large amounts of wind and snow	All of the schools were closed because of the snowstorm.
sun/sunshine/ sunny noun/ noun/adjective	the gassy star that warms the earth	We hope to have sunshine on the day of the beach picnic.
sunburn noun	painful red/pink skin caused by being in the sun too long	The bald man got a sunburn on his head.
sunglasses/ shades noun	dark eyewear that protects you from the sun	I forgot my shades and I was driving right into the sun.
suntan/tanned noun(also verb)/adjective (also verb)	brown/golden skin caused by long periods of sun exposure	I got a suntan on the cruise, but it has already faded away.
sunscreen/ suntan lotion noun	cream that protects your skin from sun damage	Don't forget to reapply yoursunscreen when you get out of the lake.
temperature noun	how warm or cold the air is	Can you check the temperaturebefore we get dressed for our walk?
thermometer noun	instrument for measuring the temperature of the air	When I checked the temperature this morning, the thermometersaid it was already thirty degrees Celsius.
thunder/thunderstorm noun	thunder is a loud noise after lightning, caused by rapid expansion of air superheated by the lightning	Let's close all of the windows. It looks like a thunderstorm is coming.
tornado/cyclone noun	violently spinning windstorm	The tornado picked up everything in its path, including animals and cars.
umbrella noun	held over one's head and body for rain protection	I always keep an umbrella in my car in case of rain.
UV (ultra violet) rays noun	the damaging rays from the sun	Ultra violet rays can cause skin cancer if you don't wear sunscreen.
wind/windy noun/adjective	blowing air outside	It's too windy to play golf today.
wind chill factor noun	when the wind makes the air feel colder than the actual temperature	It's minus two, but with the wind chill factor it's minus fifteen.