My mother Everyone must have a source of inspiration and encouragement in their lives .

Their idols can be of famous singers and actors such as Jay Chou and Tom Cruise . As for me , my source of inspiration is none other than my mother . My mothers name is Magdelene Lee . She is not a well-known politician or a famous performer . She is just a plain working mother / a full- time housewife who devotes all her time and attention to me and that is what makes her so special in my life . My mother is of average height and plump . Whit her long , flowing black tresses and porcelain smooth complexion , she does not look above thirty . In reality , she is forty-two . She has double eyelids and two beautiful dimples in her checks when she smiles . There are fine wrinkles around her eyes . Although her hair is starting to grey , she never fails to wear a radiant smile that is able to lighten up the room she walks in . My mother plays a big role in my life . She is not only a provider of material goods , but also gives me emotional support whenever feel depressed , anxious or am faced with a difficult decision I have to make . My mother is my pillar of strength . No matter that obstacles may come my way , my mother is always by my side and has always been a shoulder to cry on . She takes good care of me since I was in her womb . She has brought me up / nurtured me to be a well-mannered and well-educated person / a morally upright person . My mother is one of the most important assets in my life as she always encourages me to study hard and make sure I have a good education so that I can succeed in life . She has been very patient with me and supports me in everythings I do . She has done a lot to boost my self-confidence and self-esteem . She does not scold / give me a tongue-lashing whenever I fail in something , instead she will console / pacify me and make me feel better by telling me stories about her own failures and achievements throughout life . My mother works very hard day and night to ensure that my sister , brother and I live a good and comfortable life . She also makes all kinds of sacrifices , big and small for the sake of her children . That makes her a gem which is very rare and hard to find . Here , I would like to thank God for creating such a wonderful and loving person for all the kids in the whole wide world called Mum . I know that I would feel like someone has cut off my right arm if anyone should take her away from me . No amount of money could repay all her kindness and love towards me . I will endeavour to do my mother proud by being a filial and obedient daughter / son to her . I will always cherish the sweet memories of my mother as long as I live .

Advantages and disadvantages of homework Nowadays , homework is becoming a daily food for many students . In several schools , the teachers give homework to their students almost every day . However , only a few of students are able to accomplish their homework and submit it to the teacher on time , and the rest are not . Most of students think that homework is not necessary for them . They wonder why their teachers often give them homework . Most of them choose to do things such as make a group and study together outside the classroom or others things except doing homework . Some of them will skip the class just because they have not finished the homework yet . There are some advantages of giving homework to the students . These are three of these advantages . First , homework builds up an initiative for students . They will initiate to study if they have homework from teachers and indirectly they will be accustomed in studying regularly . Moreover , there is a sense of responsibility associated when completing their homework . Why ?Because when they have a duty or obligation , they will realize that they have to do it because it is their own responsibility . Gradually , they will learn how to accomplish and to be responsible for something that becomes their obligation . Second , homework helps students to develop time management . They start to manage their time when to study and when to play , and learning to finish their tasks or other assignments on time . In addition , they will learn how to do things on their own and manage their time to complete their time independently . Third , homework can encourage self-discipline for students . When their teacher gives them some homework and asks them to submit it in the certain time , they will do it and try to finish it before the deadline / due date . This will bring and plant a good habit to their behavior . Hence , they will be more respect in doing anything , not only homework but also any other things . On the other hand , homework also has disadvantages for students . First , homework is often viewed as a busy work . The matter is that homework can spend lots of spare time and occasionally stressful for some students . Why stressful ? Because teachers often give an exercise amount of homework to their students that can make them feel bored to finish it , especially when each teacher gives homework in the same time period . That is not effective for them to do so many homework in the same time , especially when their teachers give them homework on the weekend or on holiday . This makes students feel distressed because holiday is time for them to refresh their mind and to do anything else that can relax them such as recreation , doing sports or watching movie , not time to do thing such as homework . Second , homework can only make students to be lazier person .This is because when they have homework almost every day , they will feel tired and bored to do it over and over again . It makes them to ignore it and they will try to do other things such as playing or just sleeping rather than to do their homework that burdensome for them . As we all know that there are many students that often skip the class or absent without any excuse . They want to come to the class actually , but because of that unfinished homework , they will take an alternative way such

as skipping the class or absent without any permission . However , it brings them to be an irresponsible person because they are always running from their responsibility . The conclusion is that both of teachers and students should consider about these advantages and disadvantages of homework , especially for teachers who often give the big amount of homework that can burden their students . They should think twice when they want to give a lot of homework , because not all of their students will be able to finish it on time and also most of them will dislike teacher who always give them many homework to do . Therefore , in the classroom teachers have to acknowledge that there are diverse students and maybe they should consider that some of their students will benefit from homework and others will not .

Raja James 22 ,Jalan Mulia , Taman Indah , 60000 Indah Baru , Selangor . The Chairman Indah Baru Town Council , 60000 Indah Baru , Selangor . Dear Sir , The Hazardous Condition of Jalan Indah

16 SEPTEMBER 2011 .

I am a student at SMK Indah and I am writing this letter to highlight the problems concerning the stretch of road in front of my school . This road , Jalan Indah is a danger to the students using it daily and lately , there has been a spate of accidents along this road involving students . 2. Firstly , there are many untended potholes on Jalan Indah for the past five years . These potholes pose a threat to motorcyclists and students who walk to and fro from school . The situation is made worse during the rainy season since the puddles of water can cause accidents to occur along this road . Immediate action needs to be taken to patch these potholes . 3. Next , the council does not trim the trees regularly . The trees have grown across the electric cables and I am afraid that on a lines . I shudder to think of what might happen to passers by who walk by at that fateful moment ! The branches need to be trimmed as soon as possible to avert any untoward incidents . As the saying goes , prevention is better than cure. 4. Also , I do not see any rubbish bins within the area in front of my school . There are plastic bags of rubbish strewn all over the place . I hope the council can provide a dump site for the residents to discard their household garbage properly . 5. Another problem is that there are more than then faulty street lights along this road . Students who come to school before 7 a.m. and student who return home after evening classes are afraid to walk along this dark and scary road . I hope that the street lights can be fixed immediately to ensure the safety of the students and other road users . 6. Finally , there have been numerous snatch theft cases in front of my school . Students have complained that their laptops , mobile phones ,and their cash have been taken by snatch thieves on motorbikes !I fervently hope that the police can patrol this stretch of road before and after school hours so that students do not become victims of snatch thieves . I truly hope that the town council would organize a dialogue with the relevant authorities and the police to make Jalan Indah a better and safer road .

Yours faithfully , Raja (Raja James)

A terrible mistake You know I have no choice but to leave you here , Ben whispered sixteen -year-old Sarah as she gazed sadly at the new born baby cradled in her arms . Then , Sarah lay gently the little bundle on the seat at the bus stop , uncontrollable tears streaming down her face as she kissed the baby goodbye for the last time . He looked so vulnerable lying there still fast asleep . An hour later , baby Ben finally roused from his slumber . Miraculously , he had not come to any harm in the one hour since his young mother had deserted him . It was only when he had attracted the attention of stunned passers-by who all crowded in amazement around him that Ben started bawling his eyes out and crying at the top of his lungs . The police were finally notified the Baby Ben s presence and he was whisked off to the General Hospital . The next day , an article was published in the newspapers about Baby Ben s situation and the public were urged to come forward with any relevant information about the matter . As Sarah read the article and softly touched by the printed photograph of Baby Ben , the guiltiness overwhelmed her , she knew that she would never be able to live with herself , knowing that she had abandoned her own flesh and blood . She turned to seventeen-year-old David , her boyfriend , and the father of baby Ben and said calmly, Im going to keep our baby . Sarah then approached her totally unsuspecting parents and related to them in detail everything that had happened for the past 10 months . As Sarahs father and her mother had left Singapore seven months ago for a business trip overseas and had only returned the day before , therefore they had been totally unaware of Sarah s pregnancy and were stunned and speechless over the shocking turn of events . When they had finally regained their composure , the hugged Sarah with tears in their eyes , told her that everything was going to be fine ad they would bring baby Ben home immediately . Sarah cried in relief and happiness as she thought about how supportive her parents were and that they had forgiven her . Sarahs parents called the hospital and arranged for baby Ben to be brought home . As David and Sarah were still studying in school , and were practically children themselves , they decided to continue with their studies and they would get married as soon as they were of a legal age to do so . Sarah knew how fortunate she was to have such understanding parents and she thanked God that she had not lost her baby forever and made the biggest mistake of her life .

School Consumer Club , SMK BBSL , Jalan Sg long , 43000 Kajang . The Manager , Yum Yum Chocolate Factory , 134 , Jalan Perwiral , Taman Perindustrian Subang , 47100 Subang Jaya , Selangor Darul Ehsan . Dear Sir , Permission To visit The Yum Yum Chocolate Factory On behalf of the president of School Consumer Club of SMK BBSL , I would like to request permission for us to visit your factory . 2. The objectives of the visit are to expose our members to the process involved in making chocolate and provide them with information about careers in the food production industry . There are forty students in the visiting party accompanied by two teachers . We hope to visit your factory on Saturday , 24 April 2013 from 10.00 a.m. . 3. It would definitely be beneficial for us to see how chocolate is made from bean to bar . We hope that you can designate one of your staff to give us a guided tour of the premises so thst we can see the process through to the finish . We truly appreciate the opportunity to buy your chocolate at discounted prices and get free information packs . In addition , we would like to take up the offer of attending the lectures and video presentation that you have available to increase our knowledge and enhance our experience . 4. It would be helpful if you enlighten us on the time allocation for each activity involved . We further request permission to take some photographs of the activity for our school magazine .If the proposed date is not convenient , please suggest an alternative . We are prepared to make the necessary changes . 5. We hope that you will give our request due consideration . We look forward to a reply at your earliest convenience . Thank you . Yours faithfully , Lim Ah Kau (LIM AH KAU)

1 APRIL 2013 .

President of School Consumer Club , SMK BBSL .

Senders address

The Editor , The Star , 88-90 , ss 8/4 , 48000 Bandar Sunway , Selangor . Dear Sir , Ban Smoking in Public Places

1 APRIL 2013.

I am a concerned citizen who would like to express my views concerning smoking in public places . In my opinion , it would e banned . 2. Everyone agrees that smoking is bad for health . First and foremost ,as we know smoking in crowded places is harmful not only to person who carries cigarette . All people who are standing around that person breathe in contaminant smoke . For example , there is always a lot of people at the bus stop . When one individual decides to light up the cigarette , everyone around him has to breathe in nicotine from the air . 3. It cannot be denied that those who smoke suffer from several health problems ,such as lung cancer , heart disease , bronchitis and so on . we ,as innocent bystanders , are in a greater health risk as the smoke we take in is not filtered . The worst victims are the children . 4. I would like to propose that smoking should be banned in all public places including restaurants and government offices . This is because it is uncomfortable for non-smoking people to get into a restaurant where cigarette smoke wafts . Besides , the government should impose a total ban on smoking in all places where there are children , for example , the public playgrounds . Any caught smoking in these places should be fined . 5. Ban smoking in public places will bring about only advantages . I hope that the authority will take immediate action to solve this problem . I hope that my letter will be published and the public will be more aware of the hazards of smoking in public . Thank you . Yours faithfully , Emily Chan (EMILY CHAN)