CHUSEOK

Chuseok, also called Han-Ga-Wi (from archaic Korean for “great Middle”), is a major three day holiday in Korean. It is a celebration of the good harvest. Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns and share a feast of Korean traditional food.

It is celebrated on the 15^th day of the 8^th month of the Lunar Korean calendar. The celebration started on one day before and after. Therefore, it is a three days celebration.

A variety of folk games are played on Chuseok, but these vary from region to region. A lion dance is performed in the north-west, a tug of war in Jeolla and Gyeongsang provinces. Other regions hold Wrestling and archery contests. For all games, in all regions, a Nongak band performs.

In modern South Korea, on Chuseok there is a mass of exodus of Koreans returning their home towns to pray respected to the spirits of one’s ancestor. People perform ancestral worship rituals early in the morning. They often visit the tomb of their immediate ancestor to trim plants, clean area around the tomb, and offer food and drink, and crops to their ancestors. Harvest crops are attribute to the blessing of ancestor.

Taken from: Interlanguage English for senior high school      

PARIS

The city Paris is the capital of France. It is very old and is built either side of the river seine. Paris is named after a Celtic tribe called the Parisii who lived on an island in the river. Paris is famous for its museums, galleries and is a leader of fashion in the world. At the centre of the city is an island called lle’ de’ la cite’, crowned by the cathedral of Notre Dame. Many nobles were imprisoned on the island palais de justice during the French revolution.

The oldest bridge in Paris is called Pont Neuf (New Bride) although it is over 400 hundred year old. The River Seine Divides Paris into a right bank and left bank. Much of city was rebuilt to a new plan in the 1800s.

On the hill behind the Louvre is the white Crunch of Sacre Coeur and the artist’s quarter of the Montmarter. On the left bank are the older, narrower streets of the student or Latin Quarter and the Sorbonne University. Further down the river is the Eiffel Tower on Champs de Mars. 

The louver was once a royal palace. Since the revolution it has been a Museum. A huge glass prism stands in on courtyard. The Monalisa is a famous painting in the Louvre. People say she has a mysterious smile.

Another famous landmark is the Arc de Triomphe, which was built to celebrate Napoleon’s Victories. Twelve avenues lead from it in a star shape.

Taken fron: LKS Bahasa Inggris SMA (Gemilang)

WHAT IS TORNADO?

Tornadoes are known as one of the most damaging natural disaster. What is the description of a tornado? A tornado is a very powerful column of wind which spirals around a center of low atmospheric pressure. A tornado will look like a large black funnel which hangs down from a storm cloud.

The name “Tornado” drives from Latin “tonare”, it means “to thunder”. While the Spanish development the world into “tornear” which means “to turn or twist”. This is way a tornado is sometimes called twister or cyclone.

The wind inside a twister can spin around at speeds up to 500 miles an hour, but it usually travels at roughly 300 miles an hour. This speed twisting makes tornado the most dangerous storm.

The average tornado has a diameter of about 200 to 300 yards. The smaller tornadoes are known as satellite tornadoes. These small offspring, about yards across, can be very fierce and do lots of damage.

The formation of a tornado can be very quick. Sometimes it can form in a minute or less. A tornado can travel across the ground at high speed, and then it can suddenly vanish. Most tornado last less than twenty minutes and travel less than 15 miles. However, the super storms sometimes travel over 100 miles before they are exhausted.

Taken From: Rangkuman Bahasa Inggris SMA

SINGAPORE

Singapore is a small island country in southeast Asia. The country lies at the southern end of Malay Peninsula that is separated from island of Sumatra in Indonesia by the Strait of Malacca.  

The bustling, crowded city of Singapore, on the southern end of the Island, is the heart of the country. Most of the people live there, and the country’s thriving economy is based on the city’s business. Singapore city is a business and banking center, and one of the world’s busiest ports. Ship from many countries stop there to load and unload Cargo. Many Asia countries and copra, lumber, rubber, spices, and other goods to Singapore to be sorted, graded, and packed. Ships then carry the goods to other countries.

TOKYO

Tokyo is the political, economic, and cultural centre Japan. It is the capital of Japan, located at the head of Tokyo Bay. The mean annual temperature for central Tokyo is about 140^o C. the hottest month of August, has a mean temperature of about 26.4^o C, while the coldest month, January, ahs a mean temperature of about 3.3^o C. Tokyo is claimed to be the most populous city in the world. The population of the city is 8,901,341, and the population around Tokyo city is 10,348,975. It is also one of the world’s most modern cities, having been repeatedly rebuilt after destruction by fires, earthquake, and World War II raids. Tokyo is served by an efficient net of subway, buses, electric cars, and electric or diesel trains, it become the cultural leader of Japan because a concentration of universities, libraries, and museum. Tokyo has many museum of Japanese, world art, and science such as the Tokyo National museum, the National Museum of modern art, folk craft museum, communication museum, and eclectic science   museum.

Taken from: encyclopedia American 

VENICE

Venice is the largest port in Italy. It is located on a cluster of small on mud islands at the head of the Adriatic Sea. About 120 small islands make up the city of Venice in a sheltered lagoon off the northeastern coast of Italy. Venice has canals for streets, and has gondolas, or flat-bottomed boats, for taxicab. Venice handles a great amount of trade. Goods of all kinds are received at Venice. Venice is known for its beautiful glass, brocades, tapestries, wood carvings, bronze statue and art objects, and jewelry.

Taken from: the world book encyclopedia

THANKS GIVING DAY

A traditional thanks Giving dinner takes place yearly at the white house and in many American homes.  Roast Turkey and pumpkin pie are among the symbols of this festival. An ancient harvest symbol, the cornucopia, or ‘horn of plenty,” has also been attached to thanks giving. School and business close for this day of family reunion and national, rather than individual, giving of thanks.  

Thanks giving day is a historical, national, and religious holiday that began with the pilgrims. After the survival of their first colony through a bitter winter, and the gathering of the harvest, Gov-William Bradford of Plymouth Colony issued thank giving proclamation in the autumn of 1621. During the three-day thanks giving, the pilgrims feasted on wild Turkey and venison with their Native American guest.

DROUGHT

Droughts are extreme water shortages that last for a long time. Drought occurs when the average rainfall drop below what is expected for an area and stays there for an extended time. What would be normal rainfall in Alice Springs would be a drought is Sydney.

There are more droughts in the drier interior areas o Australia that in the coastal areas. The inland areas have more dramatic changes in rainfall.

Droughts from the past can be seen in the rings made on tress as they grow wood each year. In wet years the layer of wood is thick. In dry years of wood is thin.

Taken from: Gemilang

REPORT TEXT

A report text tries to present information about an entire class of thing or animal.

Examples:

·         Mammals,

·         Transport, and

·         Document.

Generic Structure:

1.      General classification (introducing the thing that will be described/often definition)

2.      Description (sequence facts the about various aspect of the class of thing or animal such as part, habit, and behavior)

PLATYPUS

Many people call the platypus as duckbill because this animal has a bill like a duck’s bill. Platypus is a native in Tasmania And also southern and eastern Australia.

Platypus has a flat tail and webbed feet. Its body length is 30 to 40 cm and covered thick and woolly layer of fur. Its bill is used to detect prey and stir up mud. The platypus’ eyes and head are small. It has no ears but has the ability to sense sound and light.

Platypus lives in streams, rivers and lakes. Female platypus usually digs burrows in the streams or river banks. The burrows are blocked with soil to protect it from intruders and flooding. On the other hand, male platypus does need any burrow to stay in.

Taken fom: Rangkuman Bahasa Inggris SMA

PELICAN

The white pelican is one of the most successful fish-eating birds. The success is in largely due to its command hunting behavior. A group, perhaps to dozen birds, will gather in a curved arc some distance offshore. The bird than begin to move forward towards to shore, beating the water furiously with their wings, driving the fish before them.

When the water is shallow enough for the birds to reach the fish, the formation breaks up as each birds dips its bill into the water to scoop up its meal. As the bird lifts its head, the water drains from its bill leaving the fish which are then swallowed.  

Pelicans are among the oldest group of the birds. Fossils of this genus have been found dating back 40 million years.

Taken from: Rangkuman Bahasa Inggris SMA.