October 30, 2010

FINAL QUIZ ON ‘THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA’


1
1.   Work on the Opera House started in 1861. How many years did it take to complete?
a)       about 8 years
b)       about 10 years
c)       about 14 years
d)       about 15 years

2.       The Phantom of the Opera has three main players. They are:
a)       Eric,Raul and Christine Daae
b)       Erik, Raoul and Christine Daae
c)       Eric, Raoul and Firman
d)       Erika,Raol and Christine Daae

3.       The Opera House has ………floors.
a)       seventeen
b)       fifteen
c)       twelve
d)       ten

4.       The Opera  Ghost was not described as
a)       A ghost
b)       A phantom
c)       A man in black clothes
d)       A yellow devil

5.       Who apparently saw the Opera Ghost in the Opening Scene?
a)       Meg Giry
b)       Annie Sorelli
c)       Christine Daae
d)       The Persian

6.       What is the name of the play in which Christine sang?
a)       Margarita
b)       Faust
c)       Fluvio
d)       Dazenga

7.       What song is sang by the female lead in the play?
a)       Bambino
b)       Margarita
c)       Simpatico
d)       Nina Rota

8.       Who is the Opera house confidante of the Opera Ghost?
a)       Madame Sorelli
b)       Madame Giry
c)       Madame Berganza
d)       Madame Firman

9.       What were the names of the two Opera Directors?
a)       Armand Munchamin and Fairman Richards
b)       Armand Richard and Armand Domano
c)       Armand Moncharmin and Firmin Richard
d)       Ahmad Mocharmin and Firmin Rrichard

10.    What was the song sang by Christine’s predecessor?
a)       Margaret
b)       Margarita
c)       Flamingo
d)       Mamachita

11.    How does the Opera Ghost describe the voice of the original singer of Margarita?
a)       like a frog
b)       like a toad
c)       like a bird
d)       like a cricket

12.    Raoul first met Christine in
a)       Britain
b)       Brittany
c)       Britannica
d)       Britannia

13.    What was the room of torture called?
a)       Mirror Room of Death
b)        Closet Room of Mirrors
c)       Torture Room of Mirrors
d)       Room of Mirrors

14.    What is the number of the box that The Phantom uses?
a)       Three
b)       Four
c)       Five
d)       Ten

15.    Who was hung by the Phantom for speaking about him?
a)       Jose Buquet
b)       Joseph Buquet
c)       Josef Buquet
d)       Joseph Buguette

16.    Who saw the face of the Opera Ghost?
a)       Madame Giry
b)       Annie Sorelli
c)       Christine Daae
d)       Armand Moncharmin

17.    How much money did the Phantom demanded from the directors?
a)       ten thousand francs
b)       fifteen thousand francs
c)       twenty thousand francs
d)       twenty-five thousand francs

18.    How do you know that the Phantom likes a worker in the Opera House?
a)       He leaves flowers for her in a viewing gallery box
b)       He writes private letters to her every week
c)       He leaves some money for her after the play
d)       He thanked her with embroidered cards 

19.    Where did Christine meet up with Raoul to tell him about the Opera Ghost?
a)       Garden of Passion
b)       The Tuileries Garden
c)       The Perfume Garden
d)       The Galleries Garden

20.    What is the name of the original singer of the opera song?
a)       Le Carlotta
b)       La Carletta
c)       La Charlota
d)       La Carlotta

21.    What is the title used by Raoul?
a)       The Count of De Chagny
b)       The Comte De Chagny
c)       The Vicomte De Chagny
d)       The Viscount  De Chagny

22.    Why was Raoul unhappy after visiting Christine’s dressing room?
a)       He was chased out of the room by the attending doctor
b)       He heard a male voice and suspected it was her lover
c)       He was not recognized by Christine at all
d)       He felt disrespected because of his position and rank

23.    When did the lights in the Opera House suddenly go out?
a)       When Christine started singing her song
b)       When the audience gave Christine a standing ovation
c)       When the huge chandelier came down
d)       When the play started

24.    How many people were killed in the falling chandelier incident?
a)       one man
b)       one woman
c)       12 persons
d)       2 women

25.    Who told Madame Giry that the Opera Ghost was dead?
a)       Christine Daae
b)       The Comte De Chagney
c)       The Constabulary
d)       The Persian

26.    What is the name of the Comte?
a)       Philip
b)       Philippe
c)       Phillippe
d)       Felipe

27.    Why the Comte discouraged his young brother from getting involved with Christine?
a)       She was too old for his brother
b)       She was only an opera singer from Norway
c)       He had a girl to introduce to his brother
d)       She was only a performers’s daughter

28.    What did Christine promised the Opera ghost so that Raoul and the Persian could live?
a)       Marry the Opera Ghost
b)       Promised to sing for him forever
c)       Leave France as his  companion
d)       Give all her earnings to him.

29.    Where was the residence of the Persian?
a)       In Rivoli Gardens
b)       In the Ritz Gardens
c)       In the Tivoli Gardens
d)       In the Iranian Gardens

30.    What evidence can you adduce from the book that The Phantom is dead?
a)       Madame Giry saw his dead body
b)       The Persian saw his dead body
c)       The Driectors saw his dead body
d)       The Comte De Chagny saw his dead body










THE LITERATURE COMPONENT FOR ENGLISH




Below is the list of the literary texts without the novels:

Form 1:

Poems 

1. The River -Valerie Bloom
2. Mr Nobody - author unknown 

Short Stories 

1. Flipping Fantastic -Jane Langford 

Form 2: 

Poems 

1. I Wonder - Jeannie Kirby
2. Heir Conditioning - M. Shanmughalingam 

Short Stories 

1. One is One and All Alone - Nicholas Fisk 

Play 

1. Rumpelstiltskin -Angela Lanyon 

Form 3: 

Poems 

1. A Fighter's Line- Marzuki Ali
2. Leisure - Willian Henry Davies

 Form 4

Poems 

1. In the Midst of Hardship -Latiff Mohidin
2. He Had such Quiet Eyes -Bibsy Soenharjo 

Short Stories 

1. QWERTYUIOP -Vivian Alcock
2. The Fruitcake Special -Frank Brennan 

Play 

1. Gulp and Gasp- John Townsend 

Form 5

Poems 

1. Nature -H.D. Carberry
2. Are you Still Playing Your Flute -Zurinah Hassan

The 3 novels for 2011 for F5 are:
1) The Curse by Lee Su Ann
2) Step by Wicked Step by Anne Fine
3) Catch Us If You Can by Catherine MacPhail
[It depends what books will be allocated by states.]



The River-An Exercise


THE RIVER-VALERIE BLOOM

 

Fill in the blanks and you will see how the  river has been personified.

The river’s a …..……, a ……...….., a ………..…..
He doesn't choose any one place to set up his camp.

The river’s a ……….…., through valley and hill.
He twists and he turns, he just cannot be still.

The river’s a ………….… and he buries down deep
Those little treasures that he wants to keep.

The river’s a ……….., he gurgles and hums
And sounds like he’s happily sucking his thumbs.

The river’s a ……….…, as he dances along
The countryside echoes the notes of his song.

The river’s a ……….…., hungry and vexed
He’s gobbled up trees and he’ll swallow you next.



hoarder,singer,baby, monster, winder, tramp, wanderer,nomad,

October 28, 2010

Out by 75 or Gone by 80

Yes, watch those numbers if you are an employee contributing to the Employment Provident fund (EPF)!

According to an official spokesperson, no contribution would be accepted upon contributors reaching the age of 75 and no dividend would be paid on their savings from then on.

On reaching 80, those savings will henceforth be transferred to the Registrar of Unclaimed Monies

This is because no contribution would be accepted upon contributors reaching that age and no

So, you better watch out for your savings,comprende?

October 23, 2010

Setia City is Launched


On both sides of the highway exiting the tol plaza at Setia Alam, there is a frenzy of development.

Yes, SP Setia  Bhd seems to have everything in top form collecting top dollar by bringing in investors to invest in their units by just paying 5% of the value through a bank-loan. Ingenious marketing! The balance need be paid only when you get your completed units withing 24 months.

The more recent completed phases have super more value to the secondary market with medium size terraced units going on the market beyond RM550,000. You can just skim off a RM100K profit by off-lifting your unit to the next desperate buyer. Not a bad job for a 5% investment into a property with such a handsome return.

So what are the current landmarks currently around the vicinity apart from super bungalows, an international school, 2 supermarkets with the likes of TESCO and GIANT and fast food joints ranging from Pizza Hut, KFC to McDonald?

On your right side as you drive north on the Meru Highway, there is a huge development you just cannot miss. It is the building of a RM5 billion city.

SP Setia is planning to have some 40 corporate office buildings here in this 96ha integrated green commercial hub to be called Setia City. It will be fully completed in 10 to 15 years.

Many companies have indicated that they will shift their corporate headquarters to the coprporate hub here. The fore-runners includes  Top Glove  and Khind Holdings. The corporate hub will comprise office towers, hotels, service apartments and a retail mall.

SP Setia is also constructing its own corporate building here at Setia City. It is a  nine-storey block with a four-storey annexed building connected to the mall via a bridge.The construction of its headquarters is expected to start by the first quarter of next year and to be completed by end of 2012.

On the drawing board is the next phase of On Setia City’s future development. What is planned is two blocks of serviced apartment and a SoHo to be launched next year. Also in the works is a three or four stars hotel.


SP Setia also plans to build a medical centre and a private university here in Setia City.

At the fast pace of property development seen here, it is little wonder that residential values are being pushed off the roof because of the potential rental markets when more companies  as well as people re-locate here from outside of over-crowded Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur!

Batty About BAT

British American Tobacco (BAT) is really hurting from the new government ruling prohibiting packs below 20 sticks from being sold in the market place.

Although BAT reported better on-year results, its quarter-on-quarter performance moved sideways with new government regulations banning the sale of packets containing fewer than 20 cigarettes.

“The group’s revenue remained flat versus the previous quarter as gains from volume increase was offset by unfavourable pack size mix,” BAT said in its announcement to the local bourse.

“Consequently, profit before taxation in the current quarter was lower... compared to the preceding quarter.”

The company also said the government’s decision to raise the excise tax of three sen per cigarette on October 1 will fuel the growth of cigarette smuggling in the country.

Thomson I/B/E/S estimates BAT’s net profit for the full year ending December 31 to come in at RM726.74 million. BAT’s RM573.9 million for the nine months ended September 30 puts the company solidly on track to meet estimates.

Analysts do not provide quarterly estimates for Malaysian companies.

BAT shareholders will get another interim dividend of 64 sen to be paid out in November soon.

October 19, 2010

Budget 2011- A Tactical Blunder?

It was sad that the 2011 Budget hardly address any of the more serious issues as discussed in the New Economic Model (NEM) and its subsequent flagship programmes.

As such it comes as no surprise that the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) continues to maintain Malaysia's economic growth forecast of 6.5 per cent for this year (2010) despite the government's revised GDP projection from 6x to 7 per cent.

Additionally, MIER  was also unhappy with the smaller than expected reduction in the budget deficit projected for next year and particularly, the lack of measures to tackle high levels of household debt which it described as “unhealthy” and one of the highest in Asia.

MIER opines that the global economy will slowdown in the second half of the year given weaker global trade conditions and the ongoing sovereign debt problem in the Eurozone and that developing Asia will continue to lead global growth because of resilient domestic demand.

"There are downside risks to growth and we have based this on slowing exports and weaker sentiment in our business conditions survey," it said.

MIER also maintained its growth forecast of 5.2 per cent for next year (2011), roughly in line with the government’s projections of between 5-6 per cent.

The think tank added that if the economy slows down, borrowers could face difficulty in servicing their households loans, especially housing loans which make up the bulk of the household debt and said more loans should be channelled to productive businesses instead.

The research organisation’s Business Conditions Index (BCI) fell sharply to 104.9 in the third quarter which it noted more than offset the surge in its Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI) to 115.8.

“Other indices also painted a similar gloomy environment ahead,” said MIER.

In terms of interest rates, the institute saw no increase this year but said it would rise to 3.25 per cent to help combat inflation which it projected to be 2.2 per cent in 2010 and 2.5 per cent in 2011.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said in his budget speech that the government had revised this year’s growth forecast upwards from six to seven per cent due to positive developments such as export growth of 22 per cent in the first eight months of this year and imports of capital goods which grew 18 per cent.

Najib also said that the budget deficit is expected to decline to 5.4 per cent next year from 5.6 this year, a minor reduction which some analysts said was insufficient and could affect the nation’s credit rating while others said was reasonable given the forecast of stronger economic headwinds.


Anyway,so much for a great NEM side show and veiled crystal-balling.