17a                              MUM: LORNA LOOKED LIKE A MONSTER

Lorna Spinks was granny’s golden girl but the drug Ecstasy turned the 19-year-old university student into someone who resembled a monster on her deathbed.

The gruesome picture, which showed tubes in her nose and mouth, was published by the media at the request of her distraught parents, who hoped that it might frighten youngsters to stay off drugs.

Lorna was suspected of having taken exceptionally strong Ecstasy and her demise has again raised   concern because an estimated one million tablets are taken every weekend in Britain.
 

(Adapted from  STAR)
 

        WORD LIST
 
 
English 
Malay
1.   monster makhluk yang hodoh
2.   resembled   mirip kepada
3.   deathbed  saat-saat penghabisan hayat
4.   tubes   tiub-tiub
5.   nose  hidung
6.   mouth    mulut
7.   request   permintaan
8.   youngsters  remaja
9.   stay off  menjauhi
10. suspected  disyaki
11. raised   membangkitkan
12. concern   kerisauan / kebimbangan
13. estimated   dianggarkan
14. tablets pil-pil
15. taken  dimakan
 
ENRICHMENT LIST
 
1.   granny  nenek
2.   golden girl   anak manja
3.   gruesome yang menakutkan
4.   distraught    sangat terganggu disebabkan kesedihan
5.   demise  kematian
 

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17b                             NURSING RIVERS BACK TO HEALTH
 

Rivers in Asia are the most revered, feared and abusednatural resource.

The Yellow River is known as China’s sorrow because when it floods the riverbanks, it means disaster to millions.

The River Ganges causes havoc as it meets the ocean.

In Malaysia, most of the rivers, especially those in the Klang Valley, have been declared dead because of heavy pollution.

The pollution problem is so bad that the cleaning up would be a gigantic  task  involving time, money, and more importantly, public co-operation.  Left neglected and abused by irresponsible parties, these rivers are not only an eye-sore but also carriers of diseases.

(Adapted from Star)
 

       WORD LIST
 
 
English
Malay
1.   feared ditakuti
2.   abused  disalahgunakan
3.   disaster  malapetaka
4.   havoc kerosakan besar
5.   meets  menemui
6.   ocean lautan
7.   declared diisytiharkan
8.   pollution  pencemaran
9.   bad  dahsyat
10. cleaning up  pembersihan
11. gigantic  sangat besar
12. task  tugas
13. involving  melibatkan
14. neglected  diabaikan
15. irresponsible  tidak bertanggungjawab
 
ENRICHMENT LIST
 
1.   nursing   memulih
2.   revered   dihormati
3.   sorrow   kesedihan
4.   an eye-sore  sesuatu yang menyakitkan mata
5.   carriers   pembawa-pembawa

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17c                                          SMART   MOVES

The Immigration Department has introduced two new measures for smoother and faster clearance.  It will do away with stamping of “smart” or machine readable passports and it has also removedabbreviations in names of holders.

Previously, smart passport holders had the option of having their documents stamped at immigration counters or passing through the autogate where no stamping is required.

The department will also remove the abbreviations a/l, a/p, a/k, s/o, and others from the name of passport holders to the observation page.

Home Ministry secretary-general Datuk Aseh Che Mat said the move is to save time and streamline the usage of the high tech passports.

He added that the ordinary passport holders were, however, required to have their documents examined and stamped.  “We advise them to change their passports if they want faster immigration clearance.”

(Adapted from  STAR)
 

       WORD LIST
 
 
 English
Malay
1.   smart   bijak
2.   moves   tindakan-tindakan
3.   measures   langkah-langkah
4.   smoother lebih mudah
5.   clearance  pelepasan
6.   stamping   mencap
7.   removed   dikeluarkan
8.   holders pemegang-pemegang
9.   previously   dahulu
10. option  pilihan
11. autogate  pintu otomatik
12. Home Ministry   Kementerian Dalam Negeri
13. ordinary  biasa
14. examined  memeriksa
15. change menukar
  
       ENRICHMENT LIST
 
1.  machine readable  dapat dibaca oleh mesin
2.   abbreviations    singkatan-singkatan
3.   secretary-general  ketua setiausaha
4.   streamline  merapikan
5.   high tech teknologi canggih
 

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17d                         SITI NURHALIZA READS FOR THE BLIND
 

Doing her bit to help the visually-impaired, top Malay artiste Siti Nurhaliza read for the blind at the Malaysia Association for the Blind (MAB) here yesterday.

Siti Nurhaliza, 22, read a book entitled ‘The Monkey and the Crocodile’ for one hour at MAB’s audio room.  The recording is part of the Reading for the Blind project jointly carried out by the recently formed Puteri UMNO and the party’s Civil Action Bureau.

Siti Nurhaliza is the third public figure to read for the blind after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and beauty queen turned actress / singer Erra Fazira.

Librarian Othman Isa said the concept is to encourage volunteers to read for the blind while getting to know them.  Stories ranged from those for children to adults.  Some of them bring their own books while others read from something in the library.

There are two ways volunteers could go about reading for the blind.  One was by recording their voices in a cassette while the other was reading out to transcribers.  Those reading out to transcribers will have their stories typed in Braille which will be used by those who use the library.

MAB currently has 50 active volunteers.
 

(Adapted from STAR)
 

       WORD LIST
 
 
English
Malay
1.   reads    membaca
2.   artiste artis
3.   association persatuan
4.   monkey  monyet
5.   jointly   bersama
6.   formed  ditubuhkan
7.   beauty queen  ratu cantik
8.   actress pelakon wanita
9.   librarian  pustakawan
10. volunteers sukarelawan-sukarelawan
11. stories cerita-cerita
12. ranged from  berbeza-beza antara
13. go about menjalankan
14. typed ditaip
15. currently   kini
 
       ENRICHMENT LIST
 
1.   visually-impaired cacat penglihatan
2.   civil action  tindakan awam
3.   public figure  tokoh terkemuka
4.   transcribers orang yang menyalin semula sesuatu
5.   Braille sistem membaca dan menulis untuk orang buta

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17e            FIGHT AGAINST ILLEGAL CYBER GAMBLING STILL ON
 

The government  is committed to eradicating illegal video horse racing and other cyber gambling activities, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said yesterday.

He issued the warning to the operators of such illegal games and that the fight against cyber gambling is still a national priority.

“There is no slowdown.  We are just as committed now in closing down the illegal video arcade centres as last year when Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi championed the war against this vice.  Enforcement officers from the relevant government agencies should be resolute in closing down these illegal operators,” he said yesterday.

The minister was asked to comment on the concern highlighted by Selangor MCA leaders who are disturbed by the fact that illegal cyber gambling activities were resurfacing after a successful clampdown late last year.
 

    (Adapted from STAR)
 

       WORD LIST
 
 
English
Malay
1.   illegal  haram
2.   gambling  perjudian
3.   committed  berjanji
4.   eradicating  menghapuskan
5.   horse racing   lumba kuda
6.   issued   mengeluarkan
7.   operators pengusaha-pengusaha
8.   slowdown pengurangan
9.   closing down  menutup untuk selama-lama
10. vice  maksiat
11. relevant  berkaitan
12. comment on komen tentang
13. highlighted   diketengahkan
14. disturbed    bimbang
15. clampdown  tindakan keras
 
       ENRICHMENT LIST
 
1.   Housing and Local  Government Minister Menteri Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan
2.   priority  keutamaan
3.   championed  memperjuangkan
4.   resolute  tegas
5.   resurfacing  timbul semula
     

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