McGrawHill sample test

had our 1st CR mock test kinda thing today...uhhhh 2 exhausting hours...it was bad timing, from 2pm till 4pm coz most of us were obviously sleepy...lol...some started falling asleep in the middle of the test...it has been quite a while since i did CR in that kinda environment...vocabs seemed so foreign and i could hardly keep my eyes open...only managed to do 3 out of 4 sections...

the 1st section was sentence completion...i got 14 out of 18 which was considered good...for the 2nd section which was also sentence completion, i got 12 out of 18...hehe...it was considered marginal laa...not so good...lol...i realized that my main problem was vocab...i was stuck coz i didn't know the meaning of many words...was kinda expecting that laa but didn't know it will cost me so much marks... questions with 2 blanks to fill were more challenging...especially when i didn't know the meaning of most of the words...hehe...so i guess i gotta work on my vocab...

for section 5 which was grammar, i got 24 out of 34...hehe...nice number huh? it was considered good but i gotta improve on that...most of the mistakes were not coz i was careless, but i couldn't identify the mistake in the sentences...so should work on grammar as well laa...(^^)"

overall, it was a good experience coz i got to see where i stand...more of this kinda exercise will better prepare me for SAT i guess...

~tired laaa~

TOEFL- Barron

I find the Barron's TOEFL iBT reading section is much harder compared to those in Bruce Rogers and those in Mc Graw Hill(ETS). I would suggest to those who will be taking TOEFL to try out the Bruce and ETS first before trying out the Barron. The reason is that the passages in Barron are much more intricated.

Some of the passages were easy for me as I have a little knowledge about it beforehand and some of them are interesting. I remember there was a passage about symbiosis in the third test if I am not wrong. I am sure those who have taken Biology would be advantageous. Truthfully, I did not face any difficulty in the last question of this passage(summary).

I think some of the passages were convoluted especially those which relate to histories, American personalities and literatures. I made most of my mistakes in these kind of passages. One reason would be that these topics were not of my interest..hahaha. I spent most of my time in the summary and inference based questions as I need to grasp and understand the main idea and what the author is trying to convey. My advice would be, try to look forward to the content and do not detest it...just take it like any other passages.



Tips:

1. Before starting any test, make sure you are nonchalant.
2. Make sure your environment is conducive.
3. Keep focus all the time.
   
4. If you are a slow reader like me, then I would suggest you to read the question first.(it did help me to save time)
   
5. Remember what Yu Jin have taught you in class(especially those techniques-skim and scan)...hahaha

Don't quit

hey folks, 1st of all, let me state here that i don't use capital letters in my blogs... don't ask me why, coz there is no real answer that i can give you...maybe i find it unnecessary, or maybe i'm just plain lazy...whatever it is, this is how my writings are gonna look like...with lots of dots and lolz, so just get used to it...

so yeah, here goes my 1st post on this blog...thought of starting it with a breath of positive air...i'm gonna share with you guys a poem that has guided me through the years, inspired me during the darkest hours...you might have read it before, but no harm in reading it again i guess...hehe...here is a flame of hope that will lead you out of any loopholes...here is a a great poem to each and every soul out there that feels like giving up...yes, life is full of stumbling blocks...sometimes the walls might be too concrete for us to banish...but come whatever may, don't lose the flare in your eyes...coz it's your hopes that will cushion your fall...remember, the harder you fall, the higher you bounce...so let's face each slips as learning lessons, as they are just slips, not falls...this poem is dedicated to anyone out there who feels like giving up...just bear in mind that you are not alone...and no matter how bad it seems to be, there are people worse off than you...(^_^)

When things go wrong , as they sometimes will ,
When the road you’re trudging seems up hill ,
When the funds are low and the debts are high ,
And you want to smile , but you have to sigh ,
When care is pressing you down a bit ,
Rest , if you must – but don’t you quit.


Life is queer with its twists and turns ,
As every one of us sometimes learns ,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up , though the pace seems slow-
You might succeed with another blow.


Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man ,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor’s cup.
And he learned too late , when the night slipped down ,
How close he was to the golden crown.


Success is failure turned inside out-
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt-
And you never can tell how close you are ,
It may be near when it seems afar ;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit-
It’s when things seems worst that you mustn’t quit.


~building my positive bubble...hehe okayla, trying to do so~

Perspectives

A month back, I have just read a book 'Attitudes of Amazing Achievers' by Philip Baker. I think I did not make the wrong choice for reading it. This book has surely gave me an insight about what I need in order to make myself feel like I am an achiever and most importantly to be like an achiever!

Okay..I think I better get started already. Attitudes define our perspectives. This is true. There will always be sunshine and rain. Some of us(that inculdes me) might hate the rain as it gets us wet and it makes travelling much harder for the most of us. However, the farmers like the rain because it helps them to water their crops. Well, it is us who decide whether to like it or hate it. Eventually, it is us who determine whether rain is a bad or a good thing. If we look at things in others perspectives, we might feel a whole lot better!

Sometimes, we think that we might have wasted our time waiting for others. This book, however, made me think back of those times which I thought I have been wasting my time for others and now, I find that I really missed those little moments. Years back, I do not like waiting for my sister as she was slow in doing anything. Let it be, taking a bath in the washroom, getting ready for school and etc. However, I do not feel like that any longer. For instance, when my sister calls me, she will be talking about how is her life in Kedah-food, friends, studies and etc. I was listening to her for quite sometime without really paying attention to what she was talking about. Although I did not indulged myself in her stories, I felt that I did not wasted my time listening to her. I think that the fact that we are no longer together has certainly made us closer to one another and more importantly, to appreciate the times we had for each other. Sometimes, waiting does not matters the most but rather on recognizing the value of doing so. So, if you would have ask me whether I did achieve something, I would surely say that I did!

This book basically motivates the reader per se. It surely had helped me to gain more confidence and think more positively when I feel crappy about life and all. If you had a bad day, you might want to try to pick up any inspirational book.