Junior english essays TUYỂN tập 150 bài LUẬN TIẾNG ANH HAY

Further down the road is a family whose radio is switched on most of the time, except late at night.. This is the time of the day when the playing fields, parks and other recreational ar

Junior English essays TUYỂN TẬP 150 BÀI LUẬN TIẾNG ANH HAY

Junior English essays – Những Bài Luận Tiếng Anh Hay

Road safety

Everyday many people are involved in road accidents Some are killed Many more are injured or maimed So it is important for us to learn to use the roads properly and safely No sane person would like to be involved in an accident

As the roads are very busy nowadays, we should be very careful when crossing one It is safer to use a pedestrian crossing or an overhead bridge whenever one is available Never cross a road by dashing across it That is inviting trouble If there are no crossings, then we must look carefully right and left and cross only when it is safe to do so

Some of us take the bus to school It is important that we do not try to get on or off a bus while it is still moving I tried to get on a moving bus once It dragged me a short distance and nearly ran over me I was lucky to escape with only some scratches on my legs Also we must not fool around while in the bus A suddenly lurch can send us knocking our heads against something hard

Using a bicycle can be dangerous too We must pay attention on the road and never cycle too far out to the middle of the road We must obey all traffic rules Also we must make sure our bicycles are in good condition with working brakes, lights etc

These are some things we can do to avoid accidents However there is no guarantee that

we will never be involved in one The important thing is to stay alert at all times while using the roads We must know what is happening around us In that way we can take necessary action to avoid danger whenever we see one Road safety is very much up to how we use the roads Use them carefully and we may be able to use them for a long time Use them carelessly and we may never be able to use them again

lurch to move in an irregular way, especially making sudden

movements backwards or forwards or from side to side

My first day at school

My mother accompanied me to school on the first day Other parents accompanied their children

as well We all waited in front of the school office

Soon a teacher came and led us to some classrooms There we were put into four separate

classes This was when some children began to cry as the parents were not allowed into the classrooms I did not cry because I had been to kindergarten before Actually my mother went home soon after for she knew I would be all right

It was an enjoyable time for me as I got to know my new classmates The teacher was very busy writing down our particulars so we had plenty of time to ourselves

Meantime some children continued to sob while their parents looked in anxiously through the windows

Soon recess came Some of us headed for the tuck-shop while the rest headed for their parents I bought a drink with the money my mother gave me Getting to know my new friends had made

me thirsty

After recess we went back to out classroom and my new friends and I managed to coax two boys

to stop crying In fact, soon we were laughing and playing together Once in a while the teacher had to tell us to keep quiet as we were making too much noise

Still some parents looked in anxiously through the windows

Finally the bell rang for us to go home Some of us were very relieved to be reunited with our parents I too was glad to see my mother waiting for me at the school gate I had made many friends It had been a wonderful first day at school

A visit to the dentist

My tooth hurt through the night I had to take a painkiller to lessen the pain Worst of all I

did not get a wink of sleep the whole night through

The next morning I told my mother about my toothache It was obvious I could not go to school

So instead she took me to the dentist I was horrified, but I had no choice

At nine o'clock we waited outside the dentist's office The nurse came and opened the door I was the first patient She wrote down my particulars and told me to wait a moment The dentist had not arrived yet Meanwhile the tooth still ached like mad

The burly dentist arrived and I was ushered to the dentist's chair Normally I would run away from the frightening surgery with all its horrible drills and pliers, but I did not I had to get the offending tooth out

So I sat down on the reclining chair while the dentist kept saying some reassuring words I relaxed somewhat He asked me to open my mouth I did so He said that the tooth had to come out I nodded dumbly in reply

I felt a slight prick of pain when he gave me an injection, but that was nothing compared to the toothache Soon, miraculously, all pain disappeared Theanaesthetic definitely worked very quickly Then before I knew it, the dentist told me that I could go I looked at him quizzedly and

he told me he had already pull the tooth out What wonder, I did not even feel it

The dentist put a wad of cotton over the wound and he told me to keep my mouth shut for a while I nodded, smiled and went out into the waiting room where my mother was waiting for

me The visit to the dentist was not too bad after all

anaesthetic a drug which is used to make you unconscious when you have

an operation so that you do not feel any pain

Caught in a storm

Black clouds gathered above us, but we were too intent on playing football We hoped that the clouds would go away so that we could continue playing

Our hopes were dashed when suddenly heavy rain began to pour In a few seconds we were all soaked to the skin To make matters worst, lightning flashed dangerously close to us The

deafening thunder and howling wind did not help either

We ran towards a large tree under which we had parked our bicycles The tree provided some shelter from the rain and we were tempted to remain under it However we knew that it was dangerous to stay under a tree during a thunderstorm So we got on our bicycles and pedalled off There was no other shelter available nearby So I, for one, decided to go home Since I was already completely wet, I might was well to go home instead to seeking shelter

It was just about the fiercest storm I had ever been in The driving rain made cycling difficult as I could not see more that a couple of metres in front of me A car flashed past me It was too close for comfort Perhaps the driver did not even see me So I thought it was better to stop somewhere before I got hit by another car

Luckily I found a bus-stop with a roof I hurried gladly under the roof even though I had to share

it with a dozen other people who were also soaked to the skin It was a bit of a squeeze but no one complained

For an hour the storm lashed everything around us We were silent spectators to an awesome display of power by nature I felt very small and vulnerable, even afraid; but I could do nothing but watch

Finally the rain slowed down to a drizzle and the wind died down I could still hear distant thunder but the worst of the storm was over So happily I got on my bicycle and pedalled home

An unforgettable experience

Carrying a passenger on a bicycle is an offence punishable by law Everyone knows that but still some of us do it

I had done it many times before until something happened to teach me never to do it again It was not the police Rather it was an unforgettable, and unpleasant, experience

It happened one evening when my friend Segaran and I wanted to go and visit another friend who lived some distance away I had a bicycle Segaran did not So, as usual, he sat side-saddle

on the horizontal bar of the bicycle while I pedalled We had done it many times before, so it should not be any problem

Near my friend's house, we got onto a gravel path made slippery by the recent rain Still we managed to wobble along, thoroughly enjoying the rough ride

As we passed by a stream, I made the mistake of going too near the bank The rain had softened the soil and it could not hold our combined weight One moment we were going along merrily, the next we were tumbling head over heels into the stream as the bank gave way beneath us

Splash! Splash! Splash! We plunged into the river bicycle first, followed by Segaran, then me Normally the stream is only a few centimetres deep with clear water When we fell in, it was a metre deep with foul black water The water prevented us from getting badly injured but we also had to pay the price of gulping some of it It tasted horrible Segaran got the worst of it for being sandwiched between the bicycle and me, but it was not too bad We had only a few cuts and bruises Our pride was far more hurt

We retrieved ourselves and the bicycle from the stream We were both dirty and soaking wet Obviously we were in no condition to visit anyone So we decided to go home

We walked all the way home I had to push the bicycle because its front wheel was bent out of shape From that moment I vowed never to carry anyone on a bicycle again Never again do I want to be dirty and wet with cuts and bruises all over my body Once was enough

My Classmates

We are a noisy lot, that is what our teachers say about us This is largely due to Ah Keong He is the noisiest of us all His voice is like that of a bull frog but volumes louder It seems that he cannot talk softly Actually he does not talk, he shouts Perhaps his living with his family of ten children has something to do with it

In this noisy bunch lives a boy who hardly ever opens his mouth This is Padma, the boy who sits next to me He is such a gentle and soft creature that one would think that he is a sissy This is not so No one dares call him one for he is a member of the school's Karate Club

Then there is Doris, our class monitor She sits right in front of the teacher's table She is such a model student that all the teachers love her We all love her for she does not boss us around She has given up doing that long ago All she does is to make sure that the teachers have

sufficient chalk and that the classroom is clean

Right at the back of the class sits our class sleepy-head Mat seems to need more sleep than others He catches cat-naps in between lessons The astounding thing is that he can fall asleep almost instantly The moment the teacher leaves after a lesson, Mat's snores start up and we know he is at it again Remarkably he wakes up when the next teacher arrives

Every class has a clown Our class has Jack, otherwise known as "Jacko The Clown" He is always up to some prank or other, putting tails on the boys' pants, frogs in the girls' desks and powdered chalk on the teacher's chair So when we hear a girl scream or see men-teachers

strolling around with chalk on the seat of their pants, we know that Jacko has struck again

The other classmates too have their own unique personalities Each contributes his or her part to our class All in all we are a group of young children who perhaps are a bit noisy at times, but on the whole are well-behaved and pleasant to be with

sissy

a boy who other boys dislike and laugh at because they think he

is weak or interested in activities girls usually like, or a person who is weak and cowardly

My neighbours

Many of us live in housing estates I live in one myself The one thing about living in a housing estate is that we have many neighbours

Next to my house on the right lives a family whose parents seem to be always scolding the children I do not know them very well because they always appear angry Never a day passes without hearing the children crying and the parents shouting at the top of their voices

On the other side of my house, however, lives a very quiet and polite family Mr Verghese is a quiet man who seems to manage his family very well Though he has four children, which is one more than the other family, I never hear him scold his children So his children never cry What a wonderful family they are

Further down the road is a family whose radio is switched on most of the time, except late at night His immediate neighbours must have a tough time putting up with the noise of the radio Then there is a family whose members seem to live in a world of their own Many times we have met along the road and not once has any of them even nod his or her head in acknowledgement They are not blind or deaf Yet they can walk straight past as if I am not there at all I would not say that they are unfriendly I guess they are simply not interested in knowing their neighbours

On the opposite side of the road live Mr Lim and his family Mr Lim is a bird-collector So everyday a dozen or more birds sing melodious tunes right beneath his front porch It is

preferable to the blare of the other neighbour's radio However the bird droppings can give off an awful stench

These are some of the neighbours living near me There are others that I have yet to meet

However I am careful not to intrude on their privacy The friendly ones smile or raise their hands The not-so-friendly ones look away I have to live among them, friendly or not

My favourite time of the day

My favourite time of the day is between 5 p.m and 7 p.m This is the time when the sun is setting and the air is cooling down At this time I either go for a stroll, play some games or sit quietly watching the activities around me

Sitting quietly doing nothing in particular is what I like most

The compound surrounding my house is a fairly large one So my father has planted many trees

in it Birds of all sorts come to the trees in the evening to sing their sweet songs I just sit under

my favourite rambutan tree and listen to these lovely songs

However I cannot just sit quietly all the time My parents sometimes ask me tomow the lawn or help them in some gardening tasks These I do gladly for the air is nice and cool Working under

a hot sun is one thing I do not like In the evening the sun is soft and gentle It is pleasant

to potter around the garden then

Other times I might go out for a stroll or play games with my friends

Again it is pleasant to stroll around or play games when the sun is not hot in the evening In fact many people come out of their houses to breathe in the cool evening air and to relax a bit, unless

it is raining This is the time of the day when the playing fields, parks and other recreational areas are filled with people I guess it is not only my favourite time of the day It is many

people's favourite time as well

A Journey by Car

My father bought a new car one day We were all very excited He promised to take us to Melaka

to visit my grandparents the coming Sunday

Sunday morning was bright and breezy We hopped into the brand new car and soon we were heading out of Petaling Jaya towards the expressway My mother sat in the front passenger seat while my father drove I sat behind with my younger sister

As it was Sunday the roads were not very busy Soon we were on the expressway travelling at a leisurely pace My father is a careful driver and he does not drive too fast or dangerously This proved to be good for there was a speed-trap manned by the police along the expressway I saw some cars stopped by the police They had obviously been speeding

Driving along the expressway tend to be monotonous I actually fell asleep once we passed Seremban

When I awoke, we were already at the Ayer Keroh toll gate My father paid the toll and steered the car towards Melaka Town On the way we passed many interesting sights My father

promised to stop by on our way home We had to visit our grandparents first

We left Ayer Keroh and all its factories behind as we journeyed into the town itself Like all towns, there were many cars and other vehicles Also there were many tourists Melaka has many places of historical interest and thus this was not surprising

Finally we arrived at my grandparents' house in Klebang Besar The journey had taken about two hours We stepped out of the car My grandparents greeted us happily

A Picnic by the Sea

Teluk Kemang is about 12 kilometres from Port Dickson town in Negeri Sembilan It is a

popular beach where many people go to and relax on

It was on one of the days of the Chinese New Year holidays that we had a picnic at Teluk

Kemang I went there with my uncle and his family There were five of us, my uncle, his wife, their two young children and me My uncle drove us there in his car

We arrived there at about ten in the morning The beach was already crowded with other

holiday-makers Anyhow we managed to get a place in the shade of a large tree and we put our things there My aunt laid out a mat for us to sit on

In double-quick time we were enjoying ourselves in the sea, except my aunt She just sat on the mat watching us

The water was cool and refreshing and I loved splashing it on my cousins However the hot sun above can be quite uncomfortable So after about an hour or so, my uncle told us to sit in the shade for a while The sun was getting increasingly hot So we reluctantly came out of the sea

In the shade of some trees we built some sandcastles

Time passed so quickly Soon we heard my aunt calling us to have lunch We ran to her and helped ourselves to the delicious curry she had brought Then we had several glasses of ice-cold drink from the Thermos flask

After lunch we played a while more in the sea The sun was just too hot So we walked over to one of the hotels nearby and washed ourselves with clean freshwater

When we returned, my aunt had already packed everything in the car So all of us got into the car and my uncle drove us back home to Seremban

After some searching I entered a darkened room and saw a figure sleeping on a bed As I got nearer the figure suddenly threw away the blanket, got up and stared at me It was an ugly old woman with shiny golden teeth She raised her claw-like fingers and walked towards me

I wanted to run but was unable to I tried to scream but found that I could not In horror I

struggled and struggled to get away from the frightful woman

The next moment I gave a muffled yell and found myself panting on my bed My goodness, what a horrible nightmare it was! For a minute or so I lay on my bed not daring to close my eyes for fear of falling asleep again and continuing the nightmare Then I sat up on my bed until the horrible feeling passed From then on I never eat just before going to sleep

The Mad Woman

I walk a kilometre or so to school every morning Sometimes I come across a mad woman

dressed in a dark dirty sari She probably has not had a bath for years Her hair is matted, teeth stained red with betel-nut and eyes blood-shot with the look of madness I always keep my distance from her for my own safety for I cannot be sure what she will do next Also she smells terrible up close

It is never pleasant when I see her standing by the roadside She is by no means violent but she has the nasty habit of following people who pass by Normally when I see her I cross over to the other side of the road just to avoid her Usually that works Sometimes she crosses the road too

So I run Fortunately she cannot run very fast and gives up after a while

One morning, as I crossed the road to avoid her, she tried to cross too I started to run She started to run too but tripped on her sari She fell down hard on the road and lay there in a heap I wanted to keep running but I saw that she was in great danger of being run over by a car So I ran over to her to pull her to the roadside

As much as I disliked it, I had to help her The other passers-by did not seem to bother So I held

my breath and pull her by her arms towards the roadside By now people and cars had stopped to watch No one helped but at last I managed to drag her to safety

She opened her eyes and gave me a smile I could only stare at her dumbly Then I turned and hurried to school to wash my hands

I am going to get a bicycle to cycle to school It is much faster this way Also I will not have

to contend with the mad woman again

Reading enables me to learn about so many things that I would otherwise not know I learned about how people lived in bygone days of magic and mystery I learned about the wonders of the world, space travel, human achievements, gigantic whales, tiny viruses and other fascinating things of our world

The wonderful thing about reading is that I do not have to learn things the hard way For

example, I do not have to catch a disease to know that it can kill me I know the danger so I can avoid it Also I do not have to go deep into the jungle to learn about the tiger I can read all about

it in a book

Books provide the reader with so much information and facts They have certainly helped me in

my daily life I am better equipped to cope with living Otherwise I would go about ignorantly learning things the hard way

So I continue to read Besides being more informed about the world, I also spend my time

profitably It is indeed a good hobby

A birthday party

Fiona is my neighbor She turned twelve recently and her parents held a birthday party for her I was one of those invited

The party began at about three in the afternoon There were about twenty of us children gathered

in Fiona's house We were all dressed in our best clothes Everyone, especially Fiona, wore a

We helped ourselves to slices of the delicious cake Then we continued our games

Finally at about six in the evening the party came to an end We were all tired but happy The parents of the other children came to collect them I helped Fiona and her mother clean up the mess we made After that I walked home which was only two doors away

My favorite TV cartoon characters

My favorite cartoon character is Dishonest John, or DJ, for short Dressed in black and uttering his famous "Nyak, ah, ah" laugh he makes life difficult for all those around him However, as always, he will be outwitted and all his deviousplans will fail So every week I watch him go about his antics only to lose in the end He is such a character that many of my friends have even adopted his laugh

Another favorite character of mine is Big Baby Huey in the show "Casper The Friendly Ghost" Huey is such a overgrown lumbering but innocent baby duck who goes around happily

defeating the bad guys without really trying to He is quite a sight to watch as he sucks on his milk bottle and then knocks the lights out of the sly fox who tries to take advantage of him It is bad luck for anyone with bad intention, for soon Huey will show him that it does not pay to do bad things

There is one more character who is my favorite He is Yogi Bear who lives in Jellystone National Park This lovable rascal and his little buddy Boo Boo Bear always seem to be getting into trouble with the park ranger Yogi's favorite pastime is pinching food from the park's visitors The ranger's unending task is to stop Yogi from doing it

All in all, cartoon characters are great fun They show us what people can get up to I am sure all

of us who watch these shows are entertained by them

Things I like to do

I like playing the guitar Though I am not very good at it and am still learning, I can play some tunes I spend quite a lot of time playing the guitar so much so I get scolded sometimes by my mother I suppose I do tend to spend a bit too much time with it Anyhow, playing the guitar is very enjoyable

I also like taking evening walks around my neighborhood In the evening the air is cool and refreshing The children are busy playing and the neighbors are friendlier So I take

leisurely strolls, sometimes stopping to play with other children and sometimes stopping to chat with the neighbors

Another thing that I like doing is getting up late in the morning During weekdays I have to get

up early or I will not get to school on time On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, it is so

pleasurable to just lie in bed in the morning without having to get up and hurry to school Again I tend to lie too long in bed and my mother has to come and tell me to get up

Listening to the radio and watching television are also things I like to do Of course I do not listen and watch everything I only tune in to my favorite programmes and enjoy myself while seated on my favorite chair

There are other things that I enjoy doing too but there seems to be not enough time to do them all So I generally just stick to doing those I mentioned plus any others that I have time for

Fruits of Malaysia

Malaysia lies in the tropics and is blessed with plenty of rain and sunshine Many types of trees and plants grow here Among them are those that bear delicious fruits

The "King of Fruits" is without doubt the durian It is an oval-shaped fruit about the size of a rugby ball Its skin is green or yellow and covered with many sharp thorns Inside, however, the yellow flesh is soft and sweet Its smell is very strong The locals love the durian, but foreigners find the smell hard to bear

The durian is a seasonal fruit It normally is in season twice a year So are other fruits like the mangosteen, langsat, duku, rambutan and mango We consume these fruits in great quantities Other fruits like the papaya, pineapple, banana and star fruit are not seasonal They are

obtainable at all times Again we consume these fruits in large quantities In a hot country like Malaysia, fruits provide us with much needed water and other nutrients that are vital for health Often the fruit-stalls are crowded with people waiting to buy a slice of papaya, pineapple or watermelon to quench their thirst

We are lucky to have such a huge variety of fruits In addition to that we get imported fruits like apples and grapes, but they are usually more expensive So we spend our money mainly on local fruits I would say that it is money well-spent

An Accident

The road in front of my school is a narrow one It is also very busy Every afternoon when school

is dismissed the road becomes almost impassable as children, bicycles, cars and buses jostle and struggle to use it Sometimes a policeman is there to help things out, but generally chaos reigns and we have to be careful not to get involved in an accident

A few accidents had already occurred I was a witness to one

If happened just after school As usual the road was an utter mad house Children were running across the road to get to their cars and buses Cars and buses honked angrily at them

Just then I saw a young boy make a dash across the road There was a loud blare of horn, a squeal of brakes and I saw a car knock into the boy He fell as though his feet were swept from under him

Fortunately the car was not moving very fast and the driver managed to stop the car before a wheel could run over the fallen boy

All traffic stopped I ran over to the boy and saw blood on the road He was bleeding from a cut

on his head A man came and examined the boy Then he lifted the boy and carried him to a car They sped off, presumably to the hospital

Many people surrounded the driver who looked dazed and bewildered A policeman came to calm things down

As there was nothing I could do, I turned and walked down the road carefully It was terrible to witness an accident I certainly would not like to be involved in one

The fire rose to about twenty metres and it lit up the whole area even though the sky was already dark The firemen desperately sprayed streams of water into the fire to control it Now and then explosions can be heard as gas cylinders blew up in the intense heat

For more than an hour the fire raged I could see anxious people trying to get near the workshops only to be held back by the police They were obviously the shop-owners trying to save their shops Actually they could do nothing but wait for the fire to be extinguished

Finally the blaze died down and darkness enveloped us The workshops were totally razed Only red-hot embers remained where they once stood The crowd thinned and I too got onto my bicycle and cycled home

cordone off

If people in authority, such as the police, cordon off a building or area, they put something around it in order to stop people from entering it

A Robbery

Sam helps his uncle look after the latter's sundry shop Business is brisk and Sam is kept busy most of the time

One evening at about 8 p.m., just as Sam's uncle was about to close for the day, two men on a motorcycle stopped outside They got off and walked into the shop Sam thought that it was odd that they should be wearing dark glasses at night Anyway who was he to question what another should wear?

Sam was about to ask the men what they wanted when both of them drew pistols from their pockets One pointed a pistol at Sam and the other at Sam's uncle Sam froze and stared at the pistol pointed at him He could not believe his eyes These two were robbers wearing dark

glasses to conceal their identities!

The next moment Sam and his uncle were made to lie face-down on the floor Sam heard the cash register ring and the drawer open Then he heard a shuffling of feet, the roar of a motorcycle starting up and suddenly all was quiet

Sam looked up The robbers were gone Sam shook his uncle who was stillprostrate on the floor They got up Sam's uncle ran to the cash register The robbers had taken every cent from it The robbery had happened so quickly It took less than a minute for the robbers to come and vanish with the day's takings

Sam's uncle shook his head At least the robbers did not harm them The only thing left to do was

to inform the police and let them handle the case As for Sam, he learned to be wary of strangers who wore dark glasses at night

A Busy Street

Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur has got to be one of the busiest street, if not the busiest, in Malaysia To be in it just once is to know the meaning of the word "busy"

I happened to be in it a few days before the Chinese New Year On both sides of the street were hawkers with all sorts of goods for sale Fruits, cakes, fireworks, food and other things were displayed openly for people to come and buy The five-foot ways were not big enough, so the hawkers and their customers actually spilled into the narrow street itself making it

a hazardous place for drivers and motorcyclists Every few seconds a horn sounded as the vehicles crawled cautiously among the throng

There were so many people there that if I had not been with my father I would probably have got lost My father knew his way around So I held on tightly to his hand as he led me through the crowd A number of times I nearly knocked into someone, or rather, someone nearly knocked into me Everyone seemed to be in a rush and nobody seemed to care whether they trampled on another

We were there to buy some cakes for the New Year At the shop we had to wait a long time before we could pay for what we wanted The shop was crowded with other shoppers

After our purchase, we made our way carefully out of the street Once outside, the air felt so much fresher Though we had to walk some distance to our car, it was so much more pleasant than walking among the crowd of frenzied shoppers along the busy street

My favorite subject in school

My favorite subject in school is Mathematics It is my favorite because I never have difficulty with it and always get good marks in tests

I suppose I am lucky to be born with a clear-thinking brain So ever since

young,manipulating numbers and figures came easy to me

The wonderful thing about Mathematics is that, besides some formulae, there is nothing else to remember Every step in solving a problem is done logically Other subjects like History and Geography require a lot of memory work Remembering dates and other facts is hard work compared with the ease and simplicity of mathematical reasoning

While Mathematics is simple to me, some of my friends have great difficulty with it I do not really understand why They get stuck with simple problems and often give up So I help them out when I can

The one advantage I have in being good in Mathematics is that I do not have to spend a lot of time on it Homework and tests are a breeze So I have plenty of time left over to study other subjects Sometimes I feel sorry for my less fortunate classmates who get scolded in class for not completing their Mathematics homework

Anyhow I have come to realize that human beings can be so different in their abilities while they look similar otherwise Some of us are lucky to be good in some things Others may not be so lucky

The haunted house

Everyone says that the old house at the end of the road is haunted It used to be the residence of a rich family but now none of them would stay there So the house is vacant and uncared for The compound is filled with over-grown weed and grass

My friend Jack and I decided to find out once and for all if what people said was true So one evening, we bravely entered the house and prepared to spend the night there We brought along a powerful torchlight, two sleeping-bags, some food and drinks, and a portable stereo set

The early part of the night was no trouble at all We sat on our sleeping-bags and listened to our favourite music

Twelve midnight came We felt a bit sleepy So we switched off the stereo set and crawled into our sleeping-bags However sleep was impossible There seemed to be a heavy atmosphere hanging around us The darkness was oppressive and there was a strange soft whining noise coming from upstairs

We dared not go up to investigate the noise So we lay quietly in our sleeping-bags and hoped that the noise would go away But it would not go away

Actually it got louder and louder Then it sounded like someone moaning Jack hurried out of his sleeping-bags and switched on the torchlight We could see nothing except the walls of the empty living room we were in

Suddenly there was a loud crash from upstairs and the moans turned to screams We screamed too and ran out of the house as fast as we could, leaving behind everything that we had brought The hair on the back of my head stood on endfor hours afterwards

We never dared to go back into the house, not even in the daytime My uncle had to go

and retrieve the things we had left behind there

So, is the house haunted ? All I can say is that if you want to know, go and find out for yourself

My First Ride on a Ferry

The first time I ever rode on a ferry was when I took one to cross from Butterworth to Penang Island My family and I had gone to Penang for a holiday

We arrived at the Ferry Terminal just as the sun was setting My father paid the fare at one of the toll-booths and we were ushered into a lane We had to stop behind a row of cars to await the arrival of the next ferry

Presently a light yellow ferry arrived Cars and motorcycles sped out of it Then the green light came for us to board My father carefully drove the car onto the lower deck of the ferry It was an exciting new experience for me I noticed the words "Pulau Undan" on a wall of the ferry

As soon as the ferry was filled with cars and motorcycles on the lower deck, it left the terminal and proceeded towards the island I stood at the front end of the ferry and watched the

water churn and twirl as the ferry cut through it

I could see the island a short distance ahead of us To our left spanned the Penang Bridge The setting sun cast a red glow on the whole scene and I must say that it was beautiful

My sister and I climbed up the stairs to the upper deck It was filled with passengers who either sat on the seats there or loitered around the area

Soon the short ride ended We hurried back down to the lower deck and got into our car when we saw Penang Island loom closer and closer

Finally the ferry docked and my father followed the row of cars out of the ferry The car bumped

a bit on the uneven ramp but soon we were on Penang itself My first ferry ride was over

The day I won a prize

I was never a great athlete but I managed to win a prize once

It happened on a School Sports Day when I was asked to represent my house in the Long Jump There were no other suitable ones, and I, being the tallest of my friends, was promptly sent to the Long Jump pit My house-master reckoned I might have a chance to win

He was right I did win, but not first prize I only managed second place, coming behind

someone who was at least five centimeters shorter than me

We were each given three jumps There were about ten of us competing for the prizes When my turn came I ran down the lane as fast as I could and took off at the board I thought I jumped very well but it was a foul jump So I waited for my next jump

I saw the other competitors leap like gazelles into the sand-pit One particular boy, the eventual winner, was built like a tank He was not tall, but his legs were muscular and strong So when I saw him make his jump, I knew that no one else would be able to beat him

No one did I managed my best jump of 3.65 meters and that was nowhere close to his best The other competitors did much worse

I was delighted to collect my little plastic prize from the Headmaster It was the first time I had ever won anything My house-master patted me on my back I smiled happily as I went home to show the prize to my parents

The day I lost my wallet

When I was seven years old, I was given a small wallet to keep my pocket-money in It made me feel grown up and I carried it proudly in my hip pocket

One day, during recess in school, I discovered that my wallet was missing I searched all my pockets but could not find it There were a couple of ringgit or so in the wallet and without it I could not buy anything to eat

I was close to tears It was not so much because of losing my precious wallet but because I might get a scolding from my parents Anyhow I went hungry that day

After recess I was in no mood to study at all I kept thinking about how I lost my wallet and what

my parents would do to me How was I going to explain the loss? I did not know whether

someone had pinched it from my pocket or it had merely fallen out I prayed that someone would find it and return it to me

My prayers came to nought Fortunately I did not have to pay to get on my school bus My fare was paid for monthly

When I told my mother about my loss, she was clearly angry I received a long lecture about my carelessness When my father came home, I received another lecture Also I was told that there would not be any more wallets for me until I got older

So for the rest of the year and two years following, I carried my pocket-money (which became only a ringgit) in my pocket, without any wallet I am glad to say I never lost any money again I had learned to be more careful It is not pleasant to lose something and then get scolded for losing it

An autobiography of a motocycle

I was made in a factory in Penang I was one of a number of 100 c.c motorcycles that was sent down to Kuala Lumpur to be sold So I found myself waiting patiently in a shop for someone to buy me

A few weeks later, a man came and bought me for his son The boy was barely seventeen but his father was rich and could afford to buy me I was chosen mainly because of my beautiful red colour and that I could go quite fast

My young owner was a reckless rider He rode me carelessly all over town, putting me in grew danger Many times I thought for sure that it was the end but somehow he managed to escape However, he tried one stunt too many On that fateful day my owner took me out on a reckless ride His object was to overtake every vehicle in front of him After a few near misses he finally made a mistake and he slammed head-first into the back of a lorry I slid uncontrollably under the lorry

That was the end of him

I was salvaged from under the lorry, repaired and sold again to a middle-aged man who delivered newspapers for a living So for the next five years I was made to run thousands of kilometres carrying loads of newspapers

The hard work took its toll on me, and despite several repairs, my owner decided that it was time to retire me I was too worn-out to be of any use anymore So I was sold to a motorcycle shop where the owner stripped me of my parts

Today I am nothing but a bare frame without any wheels I await the day when I will be sold for scrap That would be the end of me

take its toll

If something takes its toll, it causes suffering, deaths or damage

scrap old cars and machines or pieces of metal

The Newspaperman

The newspaperman delivers newspapers to us and many other houses in the neighborhood I hear his motorcycle every morning when he comes to deliver the daily paper He comes promptly at 6.30 a.m every morning, rain or shine, unless something extraordinary prevents him from doing

He never smiles He merely gives me the change, put the "PAID" chop on the bill and goes off to the next house It appears that his regular, almostregimental, rounds of newspaper delivery has made him behave like a robot He is very efficient, very prompt and does not smile That is certainly very robot-like

Nevertheless, I appreciate his reliable service For one thing, I am never without the daily paper Some of my friends complain that their newspapermen are very unreliable Not so with mine, he

A day in the life of a bus driver

The alarm rings It is six o'clock Maniam gets up wearily It is the start of another day ferrying school kids to and from school

At six-thirty, after a hurried bath, Maniam starts his old 22-seater bus and moves off He goes along a regular route picking up children to send to various schools By seven, all the regular children, except one who is ill, is on the bus Maniam drives carefully through the busy roads

He stops at four different schools, dropping off some children at each He plans his drive

carefully so as to reach the last school by seven-thirty Otherwise some children will be late for school and he gets the blame

At seven-thirty two, his bus is empty and the roads are magically less congested Most of the children are in the classrooms Maniam stops by at a stall to have his breakfast

Come eleven-thirty, he picks up other school children for the afternoon session By twelve-thirty

he has sent all the children to the schools safely

At one o'clock he collects his first batch of children from a school Then he proceeds to three other schools to collect the others After collecting the children he sends them home

Maniam has lunch at home and takes a nap At three o'clock he cleans up the bus

At six in the evening, Maniam goes on his last round of collecting the children from the schools

He safely sends them home by seven thirty Then Maniam goes home, takes a bath, has dinner and watches television for a while before retiring to bed Thus end yet another day in the life of a bus driver

Danger at home

Our home is usually our favorite place to spend time in However many accidents occur at home There are dangerous things in the house and we should be aware of them Thus we can avoid unnecessary pain or injury

Electricity runs many of our home appliances It is a very useful thing It is also a very dangerous thing if used carelessly, for it can kill Electrical sockets and power points are to be handled with utmost care Young children should never be allowed to go near them Unless we are very sure

of what we are doing, repairs should only be done by a competent electrician It is only too easy

to getelectrocuted Old or faulty appliances should be discarded If used, they are likely to start a fire somewhere or kill someone who touches it

The kitchen has many dangerous things Sharp knives can draw blood, mishandled gas-cylinders can explode, hot water can scald and stoves can cause nasty burns Flies and rats can

contaminate food Thus the kitchen is not a place to be careless in If we are careful and know how to handle things there, then the chance of an accident occurring is lessened

The biggest danger in a bathroom is when the floor is slippery with water or soap I have heard

of many incidents of people, especially old folks, falling in the bathroom Sometimes the fall is fatal Often it leaves the victim bedridden Utmost care is needed here

Finally the medicine cabinet should be inaccessible to young children Dangerous drugs and pills can look like sweets to these young ones If taken, the consequences can be disastrous

Other dangers do exist It is up to us to watch out for them

The importance of physical exercise

Each of us has a physical body made of muscles, blood, bones and various other living tissue When any of these are injured or not working properly then we get ill Nobody likes to be ill So

it is important that we keep our body healthy

Exercising the body is one way of keeping it healthy If we do not exercise then our muscles become weaker and we are less able to do things properly Also the bones can become weaker and thus break easily

There are many types of exercises that we may participate in We may play badminton, football, netball or whatever games that we prefer We may also jog, walk, swim or climb a mountain Older folks prefer less strenuous exercises like Tai Chi, Yoga or a leisurely stroll in the park For the really fit young people, there are rock-climbing, gymnastics and other physically

demanding activities

We exercise to keep the body healthy However there are some who overdo things and end up injuring themselves It is fine to jog for a few kilometres It is madness to jog until we are exhausted Also they are people who become addicted to their exercises They become unhappy when they are unable to exercise or when they lose to someone in a competition

Exercise is important No exercise may result in a weak body Too much exercise may result in injury Neither extremes are good It is up to us to besensible in exercising

A visit to the market

So we made our way carefully through the various sections buying vegetables, meat, fish,

noodles, spices and other food stuffs We had wanted to buy some prawns too but they were all sold out, despite their sky-high price

The bags got heavier and heavier The crowd got thicker and thicker The noise and heat

was overwhelming As we had nearly done all the shopping, I told my mother that I would wait for her at the car I could not stand being among hundreds of aggressive shoppers anymore

I lugged the bags wearily to the car and breathed a sigh of relief when I reached it The air

smelled sweet and cool I was glad to be outside

Fifteen minutes later my mother emerged from the market She looked exhausted We put the groceries in the boot, got into the car and drove off with the air-conditioner at full blast.

Power failure

One evening just as I was getting ready to watch a cartoon show on television, there was a power failure The television set just went blank, the lights went offand the fan slowed down and stopped As it was getting dark, I hoped that the power would be restored soon but it was not to

be so

Soon darkness enveloped the neighborhood We hastily lit candles so that we could find our way around the house As we had only three candles, my mother sent me to the sundry shop nearby to buy more

"Sorry, no more candles", was what the shopkeeper told me The neighbors had bought up all the candles At home my father managed to dig out two kerosene lamps We lit these too and kept the darkness out

Without the fan running, it was oppressively warm Furthermore there was nothing to do but wait for the power to come on again All of us sat quietly in the living- room We had grown so dependent on electricity Without it we felt so uncomfortable I used a book to fan myself

Finally it was time for bed and still there was no power Nevertheless I groped my way to my room, changed and lay quietly in the darkness It felt so strange without the familiar lights

around me Anyhow I fell asleep after a while

The power came back on only at dawn By then we did not need it anymore

Water supply disruption

We did not feel the pinch until evening when the water tank above the bathroom ran dry My mother had a small tank of water stored in the kitchen, but that was only for cooking purposes

So none of us could have a bath or even wash our hands Whatever little water we had in various little containers was used sparingly We began to be careful not to waste water

That evening a water-tanker from the waterworks arrived to supply us with water We ran out gratefully with our buckets to collect as much water as we could Soon all our buckets were full

At least we could wash ourselves that night

We were very careful when we used the water we collected We could not afford to waste any The next morning, there was still no water from the taps So again we used the limited water frugally

Finally the water supply was restored at about four in the evening It was wonderful to see coloured water gushing out of the taps It took a while for the water to become clear Anyhow

rust-we rust-were glad that rust-we had normal water supply again

take sth for granted

to believe something to be the truth without even thinking about it

Visiting a durian orchard

Around the house, about 5 acres of it, was the orchard

There were hundreds of durian trees all over the orchard Clusters of durians hung on the branches There must be thousands of these spiny fruits

Suddenly a loud crash sounded from a distance I was startled However my cousin said that it was only a ripe durian dropping from a tree I breathed a sigh of relief Then I followed him to where the sound came from To my delight I found the fruit among the undergrowth I picked it

up and carried it back to the house

There were dozens of other durians piled up at the back of the house My cousin had collected them earlier They were for a buyer who was coming later Anyway my cousin opened a couple

of them and I enjoyed eating the delicious flesh inside

So I spent the morning picking up fallen durians It was a great time for me Only the

mosquitoes, which kept attacking me, spoiled the fun somewhat

At about noon, I bade farewell to my cousin after thanking him for the wonderful experience in the orchard I then cycled home

Grandma is 88 years old Her hair is snowy-white, skin wrinkled and teeth all but gone She is also quite deaf Otherwise she is strong and active, often arguing with my mother over who should mop the floor

The doctor said she has Alzheimer's disease In other words, she is senile It is a sad fact but true

The one glaring symptom of her disease is that her memory is very bad She cannot remember things or gets them all mixed up So she forgets where she has kept things and often will

frantically search for them Then she forgets what she is searching for, which adds to her

frustration When she misplaces her spectacles, she will don someone else's pair and happily go about the house How she manages to see with the wrong spectacles baffles me

As much as she cannot remember recent things, she can recall her younger days vividly

She rattles off the names of people she knew then and get my name and other family members' wrong She cannot remember whether she just had dinner but can remember an event that

happened fifty years ago Sometimes she can be very difficult Her being almost deaf does not help matters either We have to speak loudly for her to hear

Sometimes she says we are scolding her We shout to say we are not scolding her, which makes things worse We got her a hearing-aid She would not wear it

In between bouts of crankiness, she sometimes seems normal But this seems to get lesser as her disease progresses So we do our best to keep her out of harm's way We lock the medicine cabinet and doors and hide dangerous things from her It would be disastrous if she swallowed a bottle of pills or got lost while wandering in the streets The latter has happened before A kind neighbour brought her home

It is unfortunate the last years of her life has to be like this, but it is so We can do nothing but to help her along as much as we can

rattle off to say or read aloud very quickly a list of names or items

An unpleasant experience

The evening was very pleasant as we strolled to the "Glutton's Square" where we intended to have our dinner The sun was setting and the air was cool

John, Aileen and I sat down at a table The stall-owner came and we ordered some fried mee

Soon the large plate of piping-hot mee arrived and we happily put some into our bowls and began eating

It was delicious

John, the talkative one, still managed to say an unintelligible word or two between gulps of food

Suddenly John winced as his teeth came against something unchewable Cursing, he spat out the contents of his mouth onto the table "What the heck!" he cursed again

Much to my disgust, John ran a finger through the half-chewed food Then, uttering a cry of triumph, he picked up a staple from the food

Aileen and I immediately stopped chewing and expelled the food from our mouths The thought

of eating staples was revulsive I wondered if I had already swallowed some staples

With a fork, Aileen searched through the rest of the mee on the plate She found two more staples and a short length of raffia string!

Goodness, I thought, what other rubbish was there in the food?

We summoned the stall-owner to our table His smile vanished when we showed him the staples and string Then he apologized for the matter, said that we did not have to pay and furthermore would make a fresh plate of mee for us, free of charge

We got up, showed him our sour faces and walked off I, for one, seemed to have lost my

revulsive A sudden strong change or reaction in feeling, especially a

feeling of violent disgust or loathing

Confined to the house

She took me to the doctor's to make sure The doctor said that what I needed was rest He gave

me a two- week medical certificate and some pills to keep down the fever

Two weeks! I had to stay in the house for two weeks

Very quickly more blisters appeared all over my body I even had some in the throat, which made swallowing difficult To make matters worse, I began to getbouts of fever At times when the fever was raging, I seemed to drift into a kind of limbo Things became hazy and I was not sure whether I was dreaming or awake

I had a look in the mirror and saw that my face was grotesque Red blisters covered the whole face I wondered if I would be scarred permanently

So I stayed in the house and did nothing It was not too unpleasant except for the fever and the extra care I had to take not to break the blisters accidentally Nobody came to visit me I was forbidden to visit others It was customary to remain out of sight when one had chicken- pox I had no choice but to comply

The days passed Slowly the blisters dried into dark scabs which flaked off after a while, leaving behind little red scars The flakes fell on the floor, on the bed and among my clothes

For two weeks I remained confined to the house At the end of the period, my appearance had improved enough for me to go back to school The little scars remained there for a few more months but I was glad my enforced stay in the house was over