Task No.4 - Reading Task… (12/2/07)

Schools to teach Net safety lessons

After reading this article, I felt warmhearted and something related to me. It is very meaningful and close to me in a way that I was once an addicted online gamer and would surf the net for at least 3-4 hours daily. As a student myself, I know that the pressure in school is great, thus we as students will find a way to de-stress on the net or by playing online games. This eventually leads to the addiction to the net or the online gaming. By the end of the week, we would accumulate our school work and will not able to focus in our studies. I personally think that an addicted gamer will only waste his money and time on his/her games. Eventually, they will get sick of the games and desolate them and what they get from gaming is only the experience. Although there are cases of earning profits from MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games), the chances are very slim. About out of the 100 who played, only 3 could earn profits from MMORPG. The actions taken by the MOE will certainly cut down the time spent on the net and prevent innocent students to get cheated. What I think is that cyberspace safety is very vital. As the cases of cyberspace incidents are numerous, the need of cyberspace safety is there. With the help of VWO (Fei Yue Community), the students could now be counseled by them. I feel that there is a need for parents to be able to control their children usage on the net. But firstly, parents must be able to use the computer and the internet. In a nutshell, I am pleased to see Singapore government is working hard on the next generation and I wish to see a brand new cyberspace.

Task No.1 (What’s it about?) - Reading Task… (06/02/07)

Passenger on train roof electrocuted

Q: What is this accident all about?
A: The passengers on a train roof were electrocuted and there are at least 11 deaths and more than 40 injured.

Q: Where did this accident occur?
A: It occurred near the town of Sukkur in Pakistan’s southern Sidh province.

Q: What occasion is it actually?
A: It is the annual mourning festival of Ashoura

Q: Why did the passengers have to be situated at the train roof?
A: It was a religious meeting and the population of the town is high as well as there was a lack of public transport, thus it was very crowded during the ride causing some of the passengers to be on the train roof. It is a common practice of the locals.

Q: What caused the deaths and injuries?
A: The victims were either electrocuted or tossed off the top of the moving train after being hit by the power line. Some were carrying the religious flags and other symbols that apparently struck the overhead electricity cable, electrocuting and throwing them off the train. While others were swept off the moving train or jumped off in panic.

Q: Why is the power line so fatal?
A: It is a high-voltage power line of 1,100 KV that had snapped and was dangling over the railway.

Q: What did the locals do after the accident happen?
A: They rushed the victims to the nearest hospital.

Q: How did the police respond after this accident?
A: The police say that they would try to draw lessons from this and there would be more police deployed at railway stations to deny the locals from occupying the roof space.

Reflection
Some thoughts come through my mind when I first saw this article. Firstly, I want to comment that this accident happened due to the wrong mindset of the locals in the town. As there is very little public transport, the locals think that it is right to squeeze themselves and get onto the dangerous roof of the train. As the government did not give out strong policies on the safety of the transports, it leads to a miscommunication. And also the local police are supposed to guide the locals to get into the train safely but they failed to do that. The control station staff should also warn the locals not to get onto the roofs as well as arrange more train timing in order to transport more locals. In other words, the government of Pakistan should focus more on the problem of lacking in public transports. Together with the locals and the working staff, such accidents can be prevented.