1.
Friends
There are many qualities that a good friend should have. The qualities may differ from
relationship to relationship. The need for the qualities will also change from person to
person. Whatever the qualities are, a good friend is someone that is not easy to come by
every day.
One of the important qualities of a good friend is honesty. In order to achieve this, you as a
good friend must always listen to your friend and tell him or her what you really feel.
Another quality is to be reliable. A good friend is always able to be there when you need him
on her most. For example, if you are ever in trouble, you are most likely going to phone your
friend to get you out of the situation.
Friends must be able to trust one another. To trust your friend you must believe and have
confidence in that person. Friends as good confidantes have the ability to keep secrets. Part
of being a good friend is being prepared to make sacrifices of your time and energy in order
to help out your friends.
If a friend needs help with an unpleasant chore or if he or she just needs a shoulder to cry
on.
It is important that you choose your friends wisely. As you befriend more people, you might
find that some are easier to get along with than others. While you should always give people
the benefit of the doubt, sometimes you realise that certain friendships are unhealthy such
as if the person is introducing dangers or threats into your life. That being the case, ease
your way out of the friendship as gracefully as possible.
These are some steps to meet new people and form strong, lasting friendships. Spend more
time around people. Friends do not come knocking on your door while you sit at home. Join
a club with people who have common interests. Or you can join a sports team. A common
misconception about this is that you have to be really good at playing a particular sport in
order to make friends with others on the team. This should not be the case. Not all teams
are so competitive. As long as you enjoy the sport and support your teammates, joining a
local team could be a great way to make new friends.
The Internet is a great place to make friends. It can also help you find other people around
the world who share your interests even if you live in an isolated place. However, you have
to be cautious because not every person you meet online is who they say they are.
Seeking friends especially good ones is a good investment. They make your life happy and
meaningful. Good friendship usually lasts a lifetime.
‘Do not judge a book by its cover’. Describe an experience when this was true for you.
I live in a five-storey walk-up flat. Since it is nut a self-contained area, I used to go to the
supermarket every Saturday to get all my provisions for a week. As my Proton Wira was just
slightly over two months old. I would wait until late in the evening when the rush-hour
traffic would dwindle. Then, driving along the roads and highways would actually be a
pleasure.
It way on one of these Saturday evenings while I was cruising along the Federal Highway,
that I found my car suddenly veering to the left. I pulled over by the side of the road to
inspect my vehicle. I discovered that I had a flat tyre. I did not have the slightest idea of how
to change a punctured tyre. Gosh, I am stranded, I thought. 1 felt vulnerable and terribly
alone. I had been fed with all kinds of facts and fiction about what an unsafe place the city
was, with all sorts of shady characters wailing to prey and pounce on isolated targets
especially ladies.
A number of vehicles whizzed past me, nobody stopped to find out if I needed any help.
Night was creeping in. All of a sudden, a grey jalopy pulled over just behind my car. A heavy-
set man in overalls alighted from the car. I took in his shabby appearance – stained overalls,
unkempt hair and his stubble of grey and white.
‘What’s wrong?’ he asked. ‘A flat tyre.’ was the only retort I could manage. He asked me to
step aside, while he went about remedying matters. I was terrified and I did not dare take
my eyes off what he was doing. Was he going to rob me of my cash and jewelry or was he
going to drive off in my brand new car? I occasionally stole surreptitious glances at what he
was doing. With deft movements, he changed the punctured tyre.
‘O.K. Madam, here’s your car. Have a nice journey,’ he said with a big grin. He fished out a
handkerchief from his pocket and started to wipe out the grime and dirt from his hands. I
thanked him profusely. He just nodded and sauntered past me. As I turned the key in the
ignition, I saw him looking over his shoulder to make sure that everything was all right. As I
made my way to my destination. I told myself that I will never again judge a book by its
cover.
A Holiday I Would Never Forget
Holidays, a time everyone gets hyped up over, parents planning activities for the family to
spend quality time with and school children ( as well as teachers) jumping for joy. Hello,
waking up late, celebrating, goin for tuition and best of all, vacations! In myy case, a holiday
I would never forget is a fruitful one I expereinced five years ago, where my family I spent
six days in the land of K-Pop and ' kimchi '- Korea.
Finally, after ages of waiting, our family arrived in beautiful Korea. Stepping out of the
plane, we could feel the chilly weather to our bones. Never experiencing that kind of
weather, my siblings and I were totally excited. Passing through immigration and baggage
claim, we were talking animatedly about our new surroundings. Since we went with tour
group, we knew we were in good hands.
Incident number one. We were supposed to take a bus to check in at the hotel, as
instructed. I guessed I was overeager and without thinking. I ran to a random bus and
knocked on the door. The young bus driver opened the door and looked at me with a
puzzled expression. He started asking me something in Korean, which of course I did not
understand. I tried to reply in English, but before I could make the attempt, my father
quickly apologized to the driver and walked me back to the tour group who was watching
from afar, shaking with laughter. It turned out that the bus I was running to was not the bus
we were supposed to take. I dismissed my burning cheeks. I was glad I could be the butt of
everyone's jokes on my first day in a foreign country.
It was a bit past lunch time when we were done checking in our hotel. Not doubt,
everybody's stomachs were grumbling. Thank God after checking in, we were going to have
our lunch and do a bit of sightseeing. While waiting for the others outside the hotel, we
walked around nearby. There was a row of vending machines that sold various snacks and
beverages, including Haagen Dazs ice-cream , and instant noodles. My mother had a craving
for Nescafe, so she spent her first Korrean money on that.
At the restaurant, a delicious meal was already spread out for us. That was the first time
we all tried kimchi, a spicy and sour vegetable side dish.I did not think it was horrible, buut
I preferred the fish kimchi much better. We all ate using chopsticks, so that was kind or
awkward for me and my siblings, as we were not skilled at using them yet. Being
Malaysians, we were used to rice, so it was a good thing that the Korean meal included rice
and a few other side dish, eaten from a Bento box. It was weird though, the rice was stickier
compared to the rice we eat at home, mainly to make it easier to eat using chopsticks.
There was also hot and scumptious miso soup together with the meal. Since my sister and
my brother did not like it much, I finshed up theirs. I gulped the warm soup down my throat-
a nice connntrast from the shivering weather outside.
One of the highlights of our activities that we did in Korea was skiling. Everybody from
the tour group was looking forward to that, even the 52-year old couple traveling with us.
Since it was'nt fully snownig yet, the hill was coverred with artificial snow. After grobbing
our ski gear, we listen to a briefing by the instructor. He was very help ful, especially with us
kids annd the elderly couple.
Feeling jumpy and hyperactive, me and my sister made our way to the cable car and
successfully skied down a slope. I thought, " We're natural at this," and my sister could not
agree more. When we came to see how our parents and brother were doing, my brother
started to throw a snowball towards me and my sister. It hit me, and we started having a
small snowball fight of our own, just like in the movies! I guessed we got a bit out of hand
and my sister accidentally hit a woman's back. when she turned around, she had this angry
look on her face and started to walk towards us.I hurried my siblings to continue skiing with
our parents,and we ran away before she cold catch us. Breathless, we giggled innaivety as
we recapped the moment.
In a way, skiing is like swimming. Why do I say so? Well, when swimming ,you do not
feel tired , but you would see the effect when you get ravenous and eat more after a session
or when you aintend to tke a nap, but it is extended to long hours. The same goes to skiing.
When we arrived at the hotel after skiing, we were drained out and starving. Instant noodles
saved the day! We all ate curry-flavoured Maggi together, savouring the memontary
pleasure. We also dozed off quite early that night , right after going for a walk to enjoy the
amazing night view of th mountains, and breathing the cool, fresh winter air.
Shopping in Korea was also different compared to Malaysia. Its malls were packed with
small shops or stalla on every floor. Big boutiques were not seen as much as the quaint
kiosks. Nevertheless, I found shopping at their markets more enjoyable, especially because
you could haggle the price. Their specialities were crystals, fabrics and outerwear. Apart
form that, I also liked their wet markets , mainly because they were very clean and they did
not have that fishy smell. I remembered a shocking incident when walking through the stalls
of the wet market. A large fish jumped out its aquarium and onto the floor. I stared at it
and suddenly, I saw a huge cutting knife slicing through the fish's neck! It was the owner of
the stall's doing. Then, the owner left the fish flapping around lifelessly without a head.
There was also a treasure trove among the stalls of the wet market- a tiny shoop which
served grilled seafood. My family stepped into the shop and ordered some grilled fish and
cockles.
After saying our prayers, we devoured our mouth-watering find of the day. Dripped in a
type of souce, the seafood was the best I had ever eaten, as you could taste the freshness.
Or maybe I was just hungry after a full day of activities.
If it was up to me, there were so many things to write on my memorabe trip to Korean.
Not onli we got to spend quality time together as a family, but we also learnt countless new
things and even discovered hidden talents. My father always said we should travel with an
open mind and an open heart. This is when you get to see your capability to adapt to
changes. Just enjoy the simple things in life and be thankful of what you have. So, do just
that. Who knows you might discover a part of yourself you never know existed?
My Mother (Descriptive Essay)
About seventeen years ago, a beautiful young woman, named Kari, was trying to adjust and
understand the purpose of her life. She was a typical adolescent, making mistakes and
hoping each lesson would guide her in the right direction of life. At this time, she was living
in Germany, occupied in the US Army, on and off with a boyfriend, and fighting to keep a
relationship with her family, through letters. It may not seem like an ideal situation, but
everything in life has a purpose, the challenge is discovering it. Unlike most adolescents, her
life was put into perspective very quickly. At the age of nineteen, Kari received results from
a test, which changed her life forever. She was pregnant.
In January 1995, at the age of twenty years old, Kari gave birth to a baby girl. Her life now
revolved around her child, Alexis. She got out of her relationship, got a job, and found a safe
place for the two of them. Now living with her mom and step dad, working as a papergirl
(newspaper delivery person), and fighting for divorce, Kari was struggling. It didn’t matter
though; she made the best of it.
When Alexis was two, Kari married her husband, Mike. Together, they got a town home.
Now, with a home and family, it may seem like times were great, but there was still a lot of
life to be learned from. Mike was constantly traveling; in fact, he was in Utah for two years
after they got married. Kari was now raising Alexis, working seven days a week, and working
to keep her marriage healthy. As with everything in her life, Kari took sacrifices and made it
work.
Fourteen years later, looking at this 36 year old, you would never realize the struggles she
has faced in life. She is a beautiful, young, and caring, mother, friend and wife. She lives in a
nice house, takes care of kids, home-schools Alexis and, her husband is home almost every
night. She has many great qualities, but I think the characteristic that makes her the most
unique and genuine person, is her love and creativity. She was, and is, able to take anything
normal and make it enjoyable.
By now you have probably realized, I am Alexis, her daughter. I have a great relationship
with my mom, something many girls, my age, are lacking. In some ways, it’s like we grew up
together (although twenty years apart), best friends. She has always provided the loving,
but strict mother figure, which I can rely on, in my life. Her creativity brought me lots of fun
times, and cherished memories, throughout my adolescents. Her strong words and lectures,
many she has learned from in the past, bring me wisdom and guidance for the rest of my
life. And her open and loving heart, gives me a safe place to share my emotions. I never
could ask for a better person to spend my memories with, for they wouldn’t be the
memories they are, without her.
My Most Embarrassing Situation
Everyone has been embarrassed at one time or another. It is that moment in time when
you wish the earth would open up and swallow you. The anxiety and discomfort felt during
that time which may only last a few seconds feels like time has stood still.
I remember so well when I had my most embarrassing moment. I was in Form 4 and it
was during the school recess. The minute the bell rang for recess, I rushed to the toilet
because I had been controlling my urges since class started. I didn’t want to miss class
because the lesson taught that morning was to include tips for the forthcoming
examination.
Without realising, I had rushed to the girls’ toilet. The prolonged control and an upset
stomach made worse by two glasses of cold milk in the morning made me grunt and groan
in what I thought in what I thought was the privacy of the cubicle. I thought I heard giggling
outside and wondered why the giggles sounded unusually near. A few minutes later I came
out the cubicle and discovered my horror that I had entered the girls’ toilet. To make
matters worse, the few girls standing outside didn’t even turn away when I came out.
Instead they looked down at me, then only they turned quickly away. Horror of horrors, I
had forgotten to zip up! No beetroot could have matched the colour of my face at this point
in time!
They news of my predicament spread like wild fire throughout school. I was truly the
talk of the town. I felt like I could either walk around feeling perpetually self-conscious and
embarrassed or I could turn the situation round, perhaps even to my advantage. I
remembered my mother’s words that ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’. So I decided to
make fun of myself, to laugh at myself too. It works. Everyone got bored after a while and
nobody teased me after that.
It was indeed an eye-opening experience for me. I have learnt that when people
laugh at you, you should laugh along. You must not take yourself seriously. Learn to look at
yourself through other people’s eyes and you will realise that most of the time when they
laugh at you, they just want to have some fun. They mean no harm. If you can make people
laugh, it’s like bringing sunshine into their lives and as someone said, ‘those who bring
sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.’
UNFORGETABLE INCIDENT /HORROR STORY/ TRAGIC STORY
I opened the door, to my horror, a few skeletons lay there, chained on the wall.
Okay, time to recap. I and my friends, Jack and Peter, were playing around an old,
abandoned mansion. We were told that no one was allowed to enter. However, curiosity
overcame us and we picked the lock, granting us entrance into the sacred lair of the
unknown.
At the sight of the skeletons, the three of us were completely stunned. Our jaw hung wide
open for a few minutes before we came back to our senses. My sixth sense told me that
something was about to go wrong, so I urged the other two to back out of the mansion.
“Don’t be such a chicken,” said Jack, with a shaky voice.
“Aren’t you scared too?” I challenged him.
“Yes, but we might never get the chance to explore here again if we leave now.”
“…All right, but we leave as soon as the first sign of danger shows.”
We ventured deeper into the mansion. The design looked like some sort of torture room, or
a prison. Even though I was afraid, I was eager to discover more. Throughout the lair, we did
not lose sight of skeletons or spider webs. These were at every corner, at every turn. The
occasional howls from a distance made the hair on our backs stand up straight. We finally
arrived at a long hallway. Jack picked up a piece of wood and lighted it up with his lighter.
The flame seared at first, but after it simmered down, I was able to see the walls clearly.
There were ancient writings, the kind we usually see in an Egyptian grave robber movie. As
the expert in history, Jack tried his best to decipher the carvings. Meanwhile, Peter leaned
towards the wall to catch his breath. At that very moment, a cold chill went down my spine.
“Watch out!” I shouted.
Before he could react, that portion of the wall he was leaning against flipped, trapping him
on the other side. All he could let out was a loud shriek and he vanished behind the walls. I
pounded against the wall, shouting his name. Only then did I know what real terror felt like.
However, the chance of rescuing him was bleak. I sank to the ground, desolated and
hopeless.
“Let’s get out of here, we have to inform the adults!” suggested Jack.
I got to my feet swiftly and both of us sped through the building. My heart was racing. I
knew that danger may be waiting at the next corner. I could hear blood pounding in my
ears. Wait, was that a creak I heard? “Uh-oh,” I thought to myself. The ceiling began to
crumble. My sub-consciousness took over. I sprang forward and tackled Jack. Both of us fell
to the ground. Just as I thought that trouble was out of the way, the burning piece of wood
slipped out of his hand and landed in a pile of grease. Fire started spreading like mad. I
struggled to get up.
“Come on, there’s not much time left!” I screamed as I turned towards the exit.
“Aahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
In a split second, my head turned 180 degrees. A gigantic marble pillar fell on Jack. I
mustered all the strength from every single cell in my body, trying to lift it up, to no avail.
My eyes were watery. I was completely out of ideas.
“Save yourself, leave me, please,” muttered Jack, with a weak tone.
This was certainly a tough decision for me. All the moments we had spent together flashed
through my mind. How could I leave him now? As the fire was close to sealing my only exit, I
knew that I had to be rational. I dived for my escape route.
Tears rolled down my cheeks as the mansion erupted into flames behind me.
Questions :
Describe what makes you happy and explain why
Describe an important family celebration and how you felt
about it
Favourite holiday destination
An Unforgettable experience
How I spent my holidays
A holiday I would never forget
Holidays, a time everyone gets hyped up over, parents planning activities
for the family to spend quality time with and school children ( as well as
teachers) jumping for joy. Hello, waking up late, celebrating, goin for
tuition and best of all, vacations! In myy case, a holiday I would never
forget is a fruitful one I expereinced five years ago, where my family I
spent six days in the land of K-Pop and ‘ kimchi ‘- Korea.
Finally, after ages of waiting, our family arrived in beautiful Korea.
Stepping out of the plane, we could feel the chilly weather to our bones.
Never experiencing that kind of weather, my siblings and I were totally
excited. Passing through immigration and baggage claim, we were
talking animatedly about our new surroundings. Since we went with tour
group, we knew we were in good hands.
Incident number one. We were supposed to take a bus to check in at the
hotel, as instructed. I guessed I was overeager and without thinking. I
ran to a random bus and knocked on the door. The young bus driver
opened the door and looked at me with a puzzled expression. He started
asking me something in Korean, which of course I did not understand. I
tried to reply in English, but before I could make the attempt, my father
quickly apologized to the driver and walked me back to the tour group
who was watching from afar, shaking with laughter. It turned out that
the bus I was running to was not the bus we were supposed to take. I
dismissed my burning cheeks. I was glad I could be the butt of everyone’s
jokes on my first day in a foreign country.
It was a bit past lunch time when we were done checking in our hotel.
Not doubt, everybody’s stomachs were grumbling. Thank God after
checking in, we were going to have our lunch and do a bit of sightseeing.
While waiting for the others outside the hotel, we walked around nearby.
There was a row of vending machines that sold various snacks and
beverages, including Haagen Dazs ice-cream , and instant noodles. My
mother had a craving for Nescafe, so she spent her first Korrean money
on that.
At the restaurant, a delicious meal was already spread out for us. That
was the first time we all tried kimchi, a spicy and sour vegetable side
dish.I did not think it was horrible, buut I preferred the fish kimchi much
better. We all ate using chopsticks, so that was kind or awkward for me
and my siblings, as we were not skilled at using them yet. Being
Malaysians, we were used to rice, so it was a good thing that the Korean
meal included rice and a few other side dish, eaten from a Bento box. It
was weird though, the rice was stickier compared to the rice we eat at
home, mainly to make it easier to eat using chopsticks. There was also
hot and scumptious miso soup together with the meal. Since my sister
and my brother did not like it much, I finshed up theirs. I gulped the
warm soup down my throat- a nice connntrast from the shivering weather
outside.
One of the highlights of our activities that we did in Korea was skiling.
Everybody from the tour group was looking forward to that, even the 52-
year old couple traveling with us. Since it was’nt fully snownig yet, the
hill was coverred with artificial snow. After grobbing our ski gear, we
listen to a briefing by the instructor. He was very help ful, especially with
us kids annd the elderly couple.
Feeling jumpy and hyperactive, me and my sister made our way to the
cable car and successfully skied down a slope. I thought, ” We’re natural
at this,” and my sister could not agree more. When we came to see how
our parents and brother were doing, my brother started to throw a
snowball towards me and my sister. It hit me, and we started having a
small snowball fight of our own, just like in the movies! I guessed we got
a bit out of hand and my sister accidentally hit a woman’s back. when she
turned around, she had this angry look on her face and started to walk
towards us.I hurried my siblings to continue skiing with our parents,and
we ran away before she cold catch us. Breathless, we giggled innaivety
as we recapped the moment.
In a way, skiing is like swimming. Why do I say so? Well, when swimming
,you do not feel tired , but you would see the effect when you get
ravenous and eat more after a session or when you aintend to tke a nap,
but it is extended to long hours. The same goes to skiing. When we
arrived at the hotel after skiing, we were drained out and starving.
Instant noodles saved the day! We all ate curry-flavoured Maggi
together, savouring the memontary pleasure. We also dozed off quite
early that night , right after going for a walk to enjoy the amazing night
view of th mountains, and breathing the cool, fresh winter air.
Shopping in Korea was also different compared to Malaysia. Its malls
were packed with small shops or stalla on every floor. Big boutiques were
not seen as much as the quaint kiosks. Nevertheless, I found shopping at
their markets more enjoyable, especially because you could haggle the
price. Their specialities were crystals, fabrics and outerwear. Apart
form that, I also liked their wet markets , mainly because they were very
clean and they did not have that fishy smell. I remembered a shocking
incident when walking through the stalls of the wet market. A large fish
jumped out its aquarium and onto the floor. I stared at it and suddenly, I
saw a huge cutting knife slicing through the fish’s neck! It was the owner
of the stall’s doing. Then, the owner left the fish flapping around lifelessly
without a head.
There was also a treasure trove among the stalls of the wet market- a
tiny shoop which served grilled seafood. My family stepped into the shop
and ordered some grilled fish and cockles.
