Yichen

In the previous semester, i finished doing individual. Although there are mistakes I made during the oral such as speaking too fast, this is a good news. It means that now I can fully prepare myself ready for the coming paper 1. I also finished the studying of Odyssey. The problem with the book is that there is little connection between the ethics of ancient Romans with the world today, making it hard to be analyzed.

This year, I will incorporate my knowledge learned in Chinese language and literature class into my studying in English lan and lit and use it as a way to improve my paper 1 skill.

One interesting but small event happened on internet would be the boycotting of a Japanese actress and her Chinese viewers because she claimed Taiwan as an independent country. This is particularly worth investigating because, as I observed, the attitude of the viewers to the actress experienced a paradigm shift. Many of them dedicated their leisure time to advertising for the actress without getting pay. The fundamental contradiction between them and actresses from Japan was that the demand for services (video clips, live recorded media content, recordings) provided by Japanese actresses of Chinese viewers remains high while Japanese actress, in contrast, holds a Confirmation bias different from Chinese viewers in which does not care about such diplomatic consequences. Usually, to consume such services, Chinese viewers were likely to compromise and purposely ignore some mild diplomatic offense towards China made by the producer. However, because this time, the Japanese actress’s claim was a deliberate speech such that it cannot be ignored as a violation to the moral principle holds by Chinese people, as criticism from society came, it became impossible for Chinese viewers to enjoy services provided by the actress, leaving no room for egoism. As a result, to Chinese viewers, the fundamental contradiction disappeared as demand for service no more exists, meaning that they can follow their duty ethical knowledge, patriotism, without worrying about consequences of cannot enjoy the services as this option is eliminated by the speech made by the actress in the first time. Therefore, through this process of reason, they accepted the claim that they should boycott the Japanese actress. Going back to the title, accepting knowledge claims does not always involve an element of trust.

I disdain the writer Hua Qianfang’s view that “English is useless for most Chinese”, and I even think it is a misleading for young people’s education. English still occupies a very important position in today’s society. It is a truly international language. If you do not learn English, you will inevitably take a little more detours in your life experience later than those who have learned English.

In this, I speak English as an international language, and I am not admiring foreigners. I personally hate the idea of ​​”everything in China must be opposed”. This will make people misunderstand when viewing events and is not good for life. But we must recognize the right to speak English in the world. To put it bluntly, the right to speak is closely related to the size of the country. As your country becomes stronger, your language will naturally be accepted by most people in the world. The two most well-known English-speaking countries in the world today are the United Kingdom and the United States. Historically speaking, the United Kingdom has occupied the world’s largest colony for more than two hundred years. The colonies spread all over the world. Fell on their heads. If you use a browser like bing or Google, which is used by most people in the world, most search results are in Chinese than in English. Or for example, if you go abroad, most people who speak Chinese can’t understand it, but there will definitely be people who understand English. This is the best example of the right to speak.

So many people will ask “I can’t go abroad, what English ability do I need?”. In this way, our country is still further deepening reform and opening up, and there will only be more and more international-related things around us. Whoever understands English better at this time will gain more advantages in future life. For example, people who can speak English at work will be more efficient at work than those who do not, and they will be more able to make friends and get a guarantee in later life. For our students, we must first admit that according to the current trend of human society, people will become more and more tired. This is because the demand for personal standards in social positions is increasing. Developed countries have accumulated wealth a few hundred years earlier, and the elite education resources in developed countries are still more and better than ours. If conditions are available, in theory, it is still a gain to go to a capable university overseas. A better method of personal knowledge level.

What I have listed above has one thing in common, that is, the need for excellent English. Under the current international conditions, learning English is always conducive to personal improvement and provides more advantages for future life.

Regarding the matter of freedom of thought, there is a big principle that must be observed, that is, whether freedom of thought is needed or not-nonsense is of course necessary! What is the difference between the absence of freedom of thought and the people kidnapped by Nazi public opinion? How do new ideas arise? How can society progress? The mind must of course be emancipated. The Renaissance is the best example of the emancipation of the mind. Although on the surface the reason for this movement is “the development of productive forces, the emerging bourgeoisie is dissatisfied with the church’s control of the spiritual world.” Both the reason and the result have prompted the Europeans to transition from being God-centered to human-centered in their thinking. It was after all this that Europe had those technological revolutions and commercial prosperity.

So the question is, what kind of freedom of thought is the most suitable way for our development? We have been discussing this topic, but have not given an answer. The scope of freedom of thought is too large, and no one can guarantee whether this scope will bring progress like the literary restoration or will be used like the Arab Spring. When analyzing events, one of the main principles is to “remember to punish the heart”, that is, you must not speculate on other people’s motives, which is the psychological starting point when doing things. You can’t assume that everyone is rational, because then we would have entered the ultimate stage of socialism. So no one dares to let public opinion develop naturally, because the results that will be brought about will be unpredictable and devastating.

Since it is impossible to predict the people’s thoughts, it is enough to control the flow of public opinion from the source as much as possible, and then the control of public opinion will emerge. A unified public opinion is the foundation of a unified country. When the country, the big ship, adjusts its direction, there are bound to be many different voices. At this time, a strong and powerful voice is needed to guide other different voices. This is why the state controls public opinion, keeping it within a reasonable and controllable space with maximum freedom.

In modern society, because of the existence of the Internet, people receive an unprecedented amount of information. However, the network also has its drawbacks, that is, it is an amplifier in itself. After a little operation on the network, it may become a common concern of the entire society, which also causes management difficulties. In this general environment, we may have become a part of public opinion unconsciously, and every piece of information you observe will change your thinking. For example, many emoticons and internet buzzwords are implanted in your life before you realize it. In this case, our best choice is to look at the problem as rationally as possible. An upright three-view will help you to look at the problem more accurately, follow the direction of the country, and carry out reasonable dissemination of ideas within the general direction. Receive, this is what we should do.

The movie “Wandering Earth” can be said to be a phenomenon-level movie at the beginning of its release. Facts have also proved that this movie has not failed the expectations of the people. With a box office of 4.618 billion, it sits firmly in the third place in the total box office. With its bold imagination and narrative techniques full of Chinese characteristics, this film showed the world what contemporary China should be and won applause from home and abroad.

Relying on more than 7,000 outstanding and dedicated film and television producers, “The Wandering Earth”, which has spent more than 4 years planning, proves that Chinese films are no longer only about male love and female love. We already have the ability to compete with Hollywood on the same stage. Behind these glorious facts is the industrialization of the entire film industry, and every filmmaker contributes to the film; the test is not just the mere actor’s quality but the film’s production ability and picture performance. “Wandering Earth” seems to have suddenly emerged, but in fact it has accumulated thick and thin hair. The soil that nurtures the success of this film lies in the rise of China’s comprehensive strength and the rapid development of science and technology, from the Long March series to Chang’e 4, from one poor and two whites to 2025 made in China. It is these feats that have made the progress of Chinese science fiction literature and science fiction movies.

Accompanied by the novel plot and superb special effects, there are also the family and country feelings, heroic spirit, and international cooperation concepts that reflect Chinese characteristics in the film. The movie is different from Hollywood or Marvel’s “Heroes Save the World” theme. Instead, it uses “Human Destiny Community” as the keynote, showing the evocative story of human civilization letting go of prejudices in the face of catastrophes and working together to save itself. The film boldly imagined and thought about China’s unique ideological values. The concept of “generational spacecraft” mentioned in the movie is not a new product. As early as the last century, the West has discussed it in the works, and now it has a clear definition, that is, it can accommodate a small society and maintain the development of several generations. The spacecraft that thrives and thrives and finally passes through generations of flying to reach the final destination. But before wandering the earth, no one has ever imagined that the earth itself will become a huge spacecraft for generations to carry everyone to the destination. People living on the earth will unite in the face of great difficulties and move towards hope with the spirit of a foolish man. As the movie said, “I have a son, and my son will have a son… One day, Lake Baikal will turn into water.”

Perhaps it is because the historical precipitation of the United States is not enough to imagine a social structure that can last for thousands of years without breaking down, or it is possible that the historical inertia of Christianity has led the West to preconceived a “Noah’s Ark” that only carried a few elites to flee. Imagine, no matter what, we do inject a new blood into the world’s science fiction art through movies, and show the world the unique core values ​​belonging to China. We also believe that with China’s increasing national power and economic prosperity, such values ​​can bring more surprises and beauty to the world.

The game “Genshin” has been on the cusp of public opinion since its birth. Some people believe that “Genshin” copied the game Zelda, and the announcement of Zelda’s touch porcelain marketing in the early stage of the closed beta also led to the current criticism of “Genshin”. The author believes that it is true that “Genshin” is similar to Zelda in terms of rendering, style, and in-game objects. But evaluating whether a game is plagiarism depends on whether the game plot is the same, and the plot of “Genshin” does not have much in common with Zelda. Although from the player’s point of view, “Genshin” is a shameless plagiarism of Zelda, but from a legal perspective, there is indeed room for maneuvering, and it cannot be said with certainty that “”Genshin” copied Zelda.”

Of course, irrespective of whether the game is plagiarized or not, “Genshin” itself is worthy of recognition. Although it has been criticized by many people, everyone admits that “Genshin is a console game that can be played on mobile phones. It is well known that mobile phones are inherently inferior to game consoles in terms of operating capabilities. The ability to develop a mobile game with a quality similar to that of console games has proved Mihayo’s technical prowess. According to market research firm Niko Partners’ research report on the Chinese game console market in 2019, among the 685 million players of all types, only 11 million are console players, of which less than 5 million are active players and as many as 630 million mobile game users. For most game players in China, it is a luxury to have complete time and sufficient funds to purchase and consume console games. Let’s calculate an account. A standard configuration of PS4 (single console and single handle without games) Taobao is priced at 1700. If you want to buy a game, you have to add 300 to 500 yuan on this basis. Considering that the console itself cannot be used as a means of production like mobile phones or computers, combined with China’s current median income is only 2028 yuan/month, it is a very luxurious behavior to be able to consume console games. Secondly, for most gamers in China, they need to worry about work, family, and life. The game process of a 3A masterpiece may last up to several hours, which is unimaginable for them. What Chinese players need is a game that can quickly end the game process before taking a takeaway after work, on the way to pay shit, or commuting on the subway for ten or twenty minutes Fast-moving games. This was demonstrated very well in the game planning of “Genshin”. An ordinary task takes 3 to 5 minutes on average, and a large task responsible for promoting the main line of the game only takes about 20 minutes. This kind of game flow perfectly meets the needs of most gamers in China, giving them the opportunity to experience the fun of console games through mobile phones, which was unimaginable in the past.

In summary, the author believes that although “Genshin” copied Zelda to a certain extent in terms of game quality, the services it provides are far from being able to provide. It can be said that “Yuan Shen” has surpassed some console games in its contribution to Chinese players.

2018 August 19

Due to the precipitation brought by tropical storm Rumbia, the residents of Shouguang could finally celebrate the long-awaited opening of the east Shouguang water park near the Yangtze River.

“The whole east city will merge with the river lane into a gigantic water park!” says one resident, whose preparing his swimwear, consisting of life vests, torches, and emergency food.

“I can’t wait for the opening; it is truly a once in a lifetime experience!”

According to the official data, the east Shouguang water park will be the largest in the world. Adding another glorious landmark for China. Sadly, it only lasts for 14 days.

“This water park is organized by us,” says the water resource department officer. “preparing this cost us 9.2billion RMB, it’s crazy! But honorable.”

“My job here is to count up all the raindrops that fall into this reservoir.” A worker at one of the dams said. “We have a large workforce that made sure the water level is maintained precisely. Not a single drop of water is allowed to overflow before the opening, and not a single drop of water will be missing at the opening. We made this water park possible” he said proudly. “We made sure that the amount of water is maximized, for maximum fun possible, for the downstream residents.”

Experts of hydrology and entertainment department revealed that the dams have been holding up water for the last few months. Tropical storm Rumbia is the final push to opening. As water levels reach optimum for all the dams on today morning, the opening is finally happening. Million tons of water flowing down toward Shouguang at every second, the opening is set on course toward success.

Right now, already 13 visitors have been sent to the hospital due to having too much fun in the waterpark. The party will continue till the 24th until the water runs out and East Shouguang turns back to boring old residential areas and farmlands.

1. Title of the short story – what is its possible significance?

“Private”: secluded from other people with the same religion

1. “Secret”
2. “Deconstruction of stereotypes” : emphasize individuals. Break generalisation in religion.
3. Literal meaning that “everyone has a private experience”. These experiences are often not understood by other people. In the story, the woman crying when praying is portrayed as “a private experience”.
4. [Page 51. Line 8] The woman’s crying in private, as though she is carrying out a necessary ritual that involves no one else …
5. [Page 52. Line 5] She knows the woman is on her knees, facing Mecca, but she does not look. It is like the woman’s tears, a private experience, and she wishes that she could leave the store. Or that she, too, could pray, could believe in a god, see an omniscient presence in the stale air of the store.
6. “Private” serves as a double entendrein the title of a short story in Adichie’s book. Private in its literal definition means to belong to a particular person only. At the same time, Adichie’s ‘private’ means to distinguish oneself between the individual who belongs to a society and the individual who has his/her own belief.
7. Setting
8. General Abacha was the Nigerian head of state from 1993-1998, which places the events of the short story somewhere within this time period; Kano is located in the north of the country, and the majority of inhabitants are members of the Hausa tribe and practice Islam (Chika is visiting her aunt but she is from Lagos; she is Igbo and has been raised a Christian, though she is unsure of her beliefs)
9. The point of view of the short story (third person narrative)
10. Creates an effect where the readers know what to do with the woman, but the protagonist (Chita) does not know. Creates a frustrating situation and emphasizes the necessity/significance of empathizing people from different religion.
11. [Page 51. Italicized] “Hold me and comfort me because I cannot deal with this alone.” The readers know that all she needs an emotion support, such as a hug, but Chita does not know what to do. “The woman’s crying is private, as though she is carrying out a necessary ritual that involves no one else.” (perspective of Chita)
12. I think the 3^rdperson point of view is an effective to highlight the contrast in emotions between the two figures. If this story was written in first person point of view, for instance from Chita’s point of view, the readers would find it very difficult to read how the woman feels and what she needs. In 3^rd person point of view, it is very clear for the reader to catch the conflicts and difference in thinking between the two figures.
13. Third person point-of-view creates a distance between the narrator and the protagonist – leaves the protagonist’s thoughts mysterious and unattainable. Thus, the readers also do not know the mind of the protagonist and can contemplate the story with an objective
14. How is Chika characterized? how is her sister Nnedi characterized? how is the Hausa woman that she shares this experience with characterized? are they more different or more the same?
15. Chika: heard something about riot from her sister Nnedi’s talks about political science but was never experienced such things like this before. She and the woman have different background and this difference is shown throughout the text. Chika holds some degree of arrogance to the Hausa Muslim woman such that was impressed by her consciousness. “Chika averts her gaze quickly so that the woman will not see the surprise.” “Chika listens for sarcasm or reproach in the tone”
16. the woman: obviously experiences such riots a lot and allows her to conceptualize the riot in a more plainly way that is connected with her daily life that differs from the academic political knowledge Nnedi holds. Holds a kind heart for all people no matter their religion “”Allah keep your sister and Halima in safe place”.
17. Nnedi: see the riot from pure academic perspective such that ignored the things that would leave normal people with deep impression in the riot.
18. Chika: ignorant(“Chika wonders if the woman even knows what going to university means “(48), “Chika listens for sarcasm or reproach in the tone”(48) after the woman states she works as a trader, caring for her sister Nnedi (she mainly talks about her sister’s disappearance, (“She would have participated in that rally if her sister Nnedi had not been one of the organizers who had gone from hostel to hostel …”(44))
19. Nnedi – through the narration of Chika: innovative(“She would have participated in that rally if her sister Nnedi had not been one of the organizers who had gone from hostel to hostel …”(44)), wise/knowledgeable (“Nnedi is safe somewhere, probably making one of her political arguments” (47))

5. chi (page 55 in our text) refers to the Igbo belief in a personal spirit that determines an individual’s destiny
6. consider the use of flashback and flashforward in the short story, and their effects on the reader
7. Chika uses flashbacks to portray the tensions between the Hausa Muslims and Igbo Christians: For example, in the first flashback on page 44-45, the readers can comprehend the background story without the need for the narrator to tell it directly when he/she includes effective flashbacks into the narration, providing a deeper insight onto the personality of a character.

2. Flashforwards make readers more connected to the characters. Flash-forward enables a writer to give logical explanations to the actions of the characters in a narrative. The character’s actions make more sense to the readers after having developed a greater understanding of the character and the his or her personality. This shows the level of experience of the Hausa woman.

7. consider the possible symbolism of the window, which also contributes to the structure of the short story
8. Window is a door to the place where the story begins and ends. The first line of the story and the last line of the story mentions the door.
9. (Line 1. Page 43) Chika climbs in through the store window first and then holds the shutter as the woman climbs in after her.
10. (Page 55) The window is shut tight; the air is stuffy, and the dust, thick and gritty, crawls up her noes. … Finally she hears the woman get up and open the window, letting in the dull blue of early dawn.
11. Window isolates the setting (serves as a boundary which creates contrast) from the outside. It also serves as a peak hole for two figures to realise what is happening on the streets.
12. (Page 45. In the middle) “Close the window” – isolating the setting from the outside. Solely focuses on the two figures.
13. In the store, the environment is quiet, dark, rusty, makes Chita and the woman feels safe.
14. On the street (in contrast with the store), there are dead bodies, smoke, fire, and violence.
15. Windows and doors are different.
16. When Chita and the woman goes back and forth between the store and outside, they use the window, not the door.
17. My interpretation: Going through the window to enter the store makes the setting a special (secret) place for Chita and the woman. Since people do not usually go through windows, they wouldn’t think of going through it. This means that Chita and the woman are the only ones in the store. This could also mean that the store is not an open for everyone to come in.
18. consider the use of imagery (appeals to the sense of sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch) in the story, particularly in relation to the dead bodies
19. An appeal to the sight: “The streets are silent. The sun is falling, and in the evening dimness Chika looks around, unsure which way to go. ‚ … she sees the body.” “She will look at only one of the corpses, naked, stiff, facedown, and it will strike her that she cannot tell if the partially burned man is Igbo or Hausa, Christian or Muslim, from looking at that charred flesh.” – adjectives such as “naked”, “stiff”, and “facedown” is vivid imagery that allows the readers to clearly imagine the dead bodies. It dramatizes the cruelty of the riot and violence. Chita is a medical student who has an experience in taking care of patients at a hospital. I think the author intentionally established Chita to be a medical student because the vivid imagery of dead bodies would make her more painful. Killing, violence, and riots are things that contradicts directly with her value, which is to save people. Knowing that she is a pre-doctor, readers get to better understand her emotions of how she is in pain to face the reality.
20. An appeal to the touch: “She almost doesn’t see it, walks so close to it that she feels its heat”
21. An appeal to the smell: [Page 53] “The smell is sickening, of roasted flesh, unlike that of any she has ever smelled.” I think this smell also contradicts from what she has felt in the hospital. The word choices such as “sickening” and “roasted flesh” enhances the emotion suffrage for Chita.
22. consider the author’s choice to leave what happens to Nnedi a mystery, similar to the first short story that we studied, “Cell One”
23. Similar to the narrator in “Cell One”, Nnedi is the foil character who helps the narrator to characterize the protagonist in the story. Therefore, there might be two reasons: utilizing open-ended style of ending (allowing the readers to imagine) and shifting the focus of the story to accentuate the moral of the story.
24. consider the story’s theme and the possible significance of the references to the BBC and The Guardian
25. Adichie’s reference accentuates the exaggeration of the usual Western stereotypes regarding the Muslim and other religions; therefore, this assertion represents the author’s desire to distinguish between individuals in a society.
26. BBC and The Guardianoriginating from the UK take perspective as the bystanders of the Hausa riot incident. As the narrator states her predictions, “She will listen to BBC radio and hear the accounts of the deaths and the riots— ‘religious with undertones of ethnic tension'” and “Chika will read in The Guardian that ‘the reactionary Hausa-speaking Muslims in the North have a history of violence against non-Muslims’,” Western newspapers inclusively account the riot as everyone in the particular religion. In other words, these news websites create stereotypes regarding religious.
27. The BBC and The Guardian acts as a voice outside the frame. Its effect is similar to Nnedi that creates a perspective that is more logic but lack of basic caring for individuals who was dead or injured in the riot. It creates a sense of seclusion echoes with the title “a private experience” as the media cannot empathy with what the narrator has experienced.

11. Why didn’t the author reveal the woman’s name?
12. The author did not provide the woman’s name to include a possibility that there could be more Muslims who are friendly and not sensitive to religious conflict like “the woman”. If the woman was given a name, some readers may think that it is the character’s distinctive personality or identity for showing hospitality. As “the woman” is not given a name, the figure seems relatively less significant than the Chita, and the author may intend to deliver that there could be other random people like her. This could be seen as the author’s intention to deconstruct stereotypes that all Muslims participate in the riot and are violent.