Shibing+Ren


 * Final final exam topic:** **Based on consensus reached by the EN 1313 class members, we have decided to read an article on the Wiki (copies were distributed on Thursday) and write a detailed summar to present in class on the final examination!**

Final Examination Review for EN 1313 Your final exam is on December 6th (Tuesday) 1. You will be asked to read an essay and answer a few questions based on your reading of the essay 2. You will be aksed to write an essay on one of the rhetorical modes/patterns that we discussed in class throughout the semester 3. You must bring your final research essay to class 4. You are required to bring the portfolio to class as well 5. Please also bring any extra credit assigments to class (If you attended an interview with Prof. Dunitru's students, please write a paragraph on your experinec and post the same on the wiki. YOu will get 5 points extera credit foe reading your stories at the "Historias de la Vida Kahani"
 * Please bring your research essay and the book on "Evaluating Research" to class tomorrow and Thursday**

** Shibing Ren ** EN 1313 **Iyengar ****08/30/11 **

The driver said: “Occasionally the light seems like a strong, straight beam, and other times it’s very faded and drifty…There’s a whole mood, the way light is” (p. 15).

I think these sentences can be applied into our real lives. One has a firm and strong belief seems to be more powerful, confident and even energetic. However, once you lose your faith or pursuit, you become mentally weaker because you lose sight of your goal. You will be easily depressed, lose your confidence, and become more unsure when confronting frustrations.

“We just hope. We have ideas. And we think we’re wise, but we’re not. We just want to be. The world is not your oyster,” said the driver (p. 15). We are not fully aware of our merits and weaknesses.

**Way to Go**
Peace Pilgrim has walked across the whole United States many times. I do not believe that a woman can be able to do this without firm and strong beliefs. Similarly, there is definitely a way that is suitable for you to live fully among various occupations. All we need to do is to believe and insist what we think is right. Just as Peace Pilgrim said: “Live the way you believe, do meaningful work, and find your own inner peace so you can work for world peace." (p. 22).

In the last part of this chapter, the writer talked about what she should do when a taxi is coming. This is just like a life trip. We meet kinds of people during the whole life. Some of them can be your most intimate friends and some are just visitors who come into your life occasionally. We should treat them differently depending on how much we value that relationship.

**Shopping for Nothing**
After reading this chapter, we __know__ something about the writer’s grandma. For example, her grandma got to be lonely after her husband moved out. But she enjoyed the time with her granddaughter that is the writer. The memory that most impressed me is the time they were shopping and having dinner. The author wrote, “If you held something inside your head… it became yours, too." (p. 31). Everyone in the world is different, which means that each person's value is different. Every individual has their own memories, people, time and items that they value and cherish (beautiful observation!). So for the writer’s grandma, she would never lose her shopping bags, her feathered hats, and her lovely granddaughter. And for the writer, the memory with her grandma is so precious and unique that nothing can replace.

**Take Me with You**
In this chapter, the writer recalled the memories about cars or vehicles she rode. In her childhood, the neighbor boy, Roger, __rode her__ with his green bicycle around their houses. Then, her father, her mother’s friend Irma and her mother all got into an accident__.__ And the author said: “Being rich would be nice, so you could pay your traffic tickets and eat more frozen custard, but it wasn’t as important as having a Big Life” page? In my opinion, there are many people throughout the world that are rich enough to enjoy kinds of luxury lives. However, how many of them have experienced the satisfaction and peace from spirit and soul? (wow!) I think the “Big Life” here refers to a kind of self actualization that differs between individuals. Some people like to challenge themselves; therefore, they climb to the summit of Mount Qomolangma. Some people may like to travel the world to broaden their views and expand their horizons.

Dangerous Taxis
In this chapter, the author also described some stories about cars. In high school, a car crash happened to her friend and her. After that, her parents ordered her to stop riding in any car they were not driving. Another story happened in a stranger’s car. The writer hitchhiked with a young man. She became increasingly suspicious of this young man because he dressed strangely. Then the writer took the opportunity of the stop at a gas station to jump out of the car and run.

On the way to see the writer’s grandfather, her friend and her accepted a ride in a dump truck. They told the truck driver about her aunt’s stories of losing nine babies, which shocked the driver. After her aunt’s death, the writer felt so sorry about her because there had been a quarrel between her aunt and her. If one would like to get along with other people in society, the first goal he needs to accomplish is to have a friendly and harmonious relationship with families. (yes!) In the end, the writer met a young man who was just running away from his wedding on the train. I think the writer wrote this episode because she considered that this man did not realize how holy a wedding is in one’s life.

Taxi, North from Jerusalem In this chapter, the writer recalled the stories about a man she loved at that time. The story started from the kisses between the man and her in an Arabic taxi. The driver was horrified and angry about what happened in his car. Ten years later, when the writer met the man she kissed again, they seemed to be incompatible with each other. They began to complain the other’s personalities and weaknesses. People change a lot throughout time. Time is just like a graver that shapes and changes each person so that we can better adapt to different situations. Ultimately, it is dramatic for the writer that she had thought of the uncomfortable driver more than the person she kissed in the taxi.

What Happens The writer portrayed several scenes of what happened in taxis in different places. The first one is in a taxi in Pittsburgh. The driver said he dreamed about staircases under the bed going down to other worlds. And the writer replied she agreed with his idea of writing his dream into a story or book. Second, during the trip in New Orleans, the writer knew from a driver that most Louisianans do not like Texas at all. In Jordan, the taxi would stop no matter what you said on the road side. Then, an experience in New York City terrified the writer and her friend. The driver was distracted by whatever he saw on the roads and braking at random moments in crowded streets. Finally, when she was in Philadelphia, the driver talked about the Star Trek and said his life had totally changed due to the “Tibetan Book of the Dead”. (p. 62) At the book signing, a woman was unsatisfied with the signature of “Hamilton” which was the writer’s cat’s name. And the writer was forced to sign again and promise to eat the chocolate the woman gave later.

The Thread In this chapter, the writer recalled her experiences about unforeseeable thread. First, the writer met her friend Dubby at college who was assigned to be her partner later in doing experiments. Unexpectedly, the writer developed bronchitis with a high fever and had to stay home for a whole week. Dubby became forgetful in routine trials without his partner.

When the writer’s cat DC needed to go to the vet, Dubby drove us to there by his GTO. It is unexpected that our car was smashed by another car whose driver was drunk with shopping.

In the end, the cat DC who escaped from the collision was not as lucky as the last time. The writer’s mother ran over DC in the driveway and he died on the spot.

Life is always unforeseeable. Neither can you predict what tomorrow is likely to be based on experience or convention, nor can you have a day as exactly same as yesterday.

Dora In this chapter, the writer described a story about a stranger. The writer got into her car from a pharmacy finding there was an old lady sitting in her car. No matter what the writer asked the lady, she did not reply anything except a word “Dora”. The writer had to drive her home to ask help for her parents. Her dad suggested taking the old lady to the newspaper to let someone there interview her. While her mother and writer decided to take the lady a ride and maybe found a clue. Finally, the old lady revealed a smile when they came to the Dora Street. Suddenly, the writer realized that Dora was the name of a street rather than the name of the lady. The lady got out of the car and stepped into her home with happiness. Just as her mother said in the last “What fun”, helping people is also a process to enjoy purified fun and happiness for us.

Random Taxis In this chapter, the writer randomly picked some stories happened in different taxies. First, the Palmer House Hotel where the writer lived seemed to be grand based on its publicity information. People were too hurried to read the history of the hotel, encountering a sudden rain. The only block between people in the taxi and the Wider World is the car door. They seem to be very close the world. From another perspective, they are thousands miles away from the world because few of them know the true meaning why they live in the world or what they live for.

A driver in Dallas said people who control the universe are the ones in charge of the plastic, the credit cards, behind the scenes, under the tables. I think this reflects the current situation and fact of the real world to some extent.

Greenhouse

In this chapter, the writer told some memories about her first car: Mercedes Benz, circa 1965. Her parents bought it in Germany in 1967 and sold it to the writer after getting her driving license. She was so fond of this car that she drove it all over Texas for many years. But, unfortunately the car broke down soon. The writer was so sad about her car and blamed herself that she made her car become a greenhouse. Here I think the writer regarded the car as a shelter, just like our parents. Many children are too dependent on their parents in the process of growing up. We should be more active and independent to get in touch with the society.

Passport

In this chapter, the writer described the experience of the trip to France with her husband. There was an argument between the writer and the rickshaw driver in Agra, India due to the problem of fees. Shortly after that, another argument came to the writer with her husband. Her husband would like to take the second class of train because it would be more interesting. While the writer insisted that the second class was such a long suffering and would be very crowded. Finally, the first class of train they took turned out to be freezing cold. However, the time in Paris was enjoyable and impressive to the writer. In Mexico, the writer heard of terrifying news about taxi drivers in Mexico. It was said that many taxi drivers were robbers.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">Ultimately, the writer could not help breaking out her emotions when she heard the word “home”. This is reasonable because home is extremely special to everyone all over the world. Home is where we have happiness and love. Home is where we can always go back to. Thus, it deserves everyone to struggle to build and maintain a home.

The Same Bed <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">The dialogue between the driver and the author was about the description of what the author did last night. The author recalled the stories in the guest book she read. Monsters

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">In this chapter, the author encountered a driver she loved to talk with in Scotland. The author talked about her friends’ opinion on politics. They said politics in Scotland is the issue about corruption and interests. I think this problem can be surely found worldwide. The policies and internal system of governments disappoint the citizens. In China, the incremental tax and inflation apparently add people’s burden. On the highway, the author saw a sign: Please allow overtaking---frustration causes accidents and queues likely ahead and tiredness can kill. In my opinion, the sign reveals the truth that competition is essential in life. Once we consider someone the example, not only should we catch up with him/her, but overtake the goal. There is a saying that the person leaning on a cozy chair is more likely to fall asleep.

Brown <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">The author met strange young taxi driver in Michigan. He did not look like a driver, because he was a college student, who needed extra income to pay tuition. To the author’s surprise, the white driver was tanning his skin to become darker. The author thought that “the whiter, the better” should be the logic based on racism, which had reached consensus in many Western countries. The truth is that racial discrimination, which dated back to the era of Britain Empire, has been challenging and disrupting the morality, mercy and justice, which are highly valued by human, for hundreds of years. The most terrifying incident should be the massacre to the Jew by fascists during Second World War.

Rolletina

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">The author expressed her own values in experiencing life. Unlike other people who value stages of maturation, like graduating from high school or college, getting married and having a baby, the author enjoys the ride in a taxi, passing in a car. She looks forward to encountering each taxi driver, and talking with them. The curiosity of communicating with someone she has never met makes her feel intoxicated.

Test Case

In Delhi, the author was taking a taxi to a handmade paper store. But there was a heavy jam on the road. After detouring fourteen times, the driver suggested that there was an overpass that could help them. The overpass was truly a shortcut. However, it was just opened last night, and the driver and the author were the first crew, which was also the test case, riding on the overpass.

Mouth of the Rat

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">After coming back from New York, the author was told that her driver’s car was broken. Then, another driver came to pick her up with a limousine. But there were another two passengers riding the same car with her. The two passengers are a couple from New York. Their wealth and social status made them feel superior to the author and the driver. On the way, there was an embarrassing silence resulted from the gap. Even if the author talked to them for a while in order to introduce each other, the couple revealed impatience. After arriving at the destination, the driver told the author that such millionaires were always artificial and pretended to be accessible and mild.

Sightseeing

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">The writer was riding her bicycle in the park. She loved her breakfast of thin corn tortillas with scrambled eggs and a few fried onions and peppers. Then, she saw a man and his cat in the park. The man told her that the cat liked going out to have a walk in different places.

Tips <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">In this chapter, the author booked a taxi three hours in advance, but it did not show up. What was worse, there were even no empty taxis passed. Then a driver, whose taxi already had a passenger, agreed that the author could take a ride with half of the money. On the way, the driver’s chatter made the author and the other passenger feel tiresome. They only replied with “Uh-huh” and “Mmmmm”.

Lending Library

In San Jose, California, the writer met a driver, who waited for her late plane for three hours. The driver loved reading so much, which made the author feel very excited, because the writer herself was a reading fanatic. The driver told her that reading had shifted his value and life totally. He worked for a year and lived simply. Next year, he spent the saved money in exploring the world by travelling different countries, instead of depositing money for marriage and kids.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">This driver is fully aware of what kind of life he wants and what is meaningful to him. What’s more, the courage and determination that apply thought into practice is truly admirable.

No Room at the Inn

In Chicago, the writer was told that the hotel she had booked in advance gave away her room to somebody else. Although the writer was exhausted by hours on the plane, she had to find another hotel provided by the desk clerk. And the desk clerk helped her call a taxi, and gave her thirty-five dollars to pay the driver. Largely due to the darkness at deep nigh and drowsiness, the Indian driver lost the direction, and drove to a restaurant, which was far away from their original destination. The manager of the restaurant kindly offered them with pizzas and salad and showed them the right direction to drive. On the way, the writer was told that the driver’s daughter was in adolescence, whose parents were too busy to take care of her. After arriving at the given hotel, the writer gave the driver one hundred dollars for hours driving, and left the pizzas for him and his daughter. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">After dealing with her business, the author required the hotel to compensate the difference of taxi fees. Not only did she succeed to get the compensation, but also got a free room to live.

Bruce

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">In New Jersey, the writer met a young taxi driver, who just got married a few years ago. When the author asked if he liked Bruce Springsteen, the driver revealed excite and talked with the writer, as if she was his intimate. The driver talked about the celebrities he drove around, including the celebrities’ looks, their act and his feelings at that time. He mentioned that celebrities, who already owned looks, talent, wealth and glory, ought to amiable and nice to their fans and other people. Most fundamentally, they should show respect to people instead of arrogance.

Fun with Grandpa

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">The author was dialing to her son, who was visiting his grandparents for the weekend. The child was on his grandpa’s pickup truck, and told her mother that a poor big snake was run over by the truck in the morning.

Free Day in Toronto

The writer and her son had been attending a children’s literature conference at a university campus in Toronto for a week. However, before they enjoyed the view and food, the writer felt terribly painful through her left arm. She had to go to the hospital. Luckily, nothing was really wrong, and she got out of hospital soon. On the next day, the pain recurred on the curb. Her son bought medicine for her, and actively motioned a taxi to the hospital. The writer was impressed by her son’s maturity.

In the hospital, the author saw a son shouting at his mother lying on the bed when his mother called out softly to him. At this time, the author recalled her son’s kindness to her, and felt fortunate. Everyone should be indebted and grateful to parents before it is too late.

Criminal Handbags

In New York, the writer met a driver, who had just been released from jail. The young man told her that he got caught because he was doing some illegal business, which was to selling counterfeit handbags. Although he was driving a taxi currently, he would go back to his original business later. The writer tried to persuade him to stop such illegal and risky business. But the young man insisted that the huge and fast benefit was the only way to live better.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">People prefer to buy fake commodities with famous and fashionable brands, rather than real ones with low fame. It does help improve out life that if we make decisions based on an objective and rational judgment, instead on vanity.

Too Many Cars

In this chapter, there were two accidents happened in the writer’s parents’ house. The first one was that a car crashed into the house, stopping in front of the table in her father’s office. The driver was a middle-aged man from Croatia, who drank lots of alcohol. He was not hurt, and sent an invitation to the writer’s parents for dinner as the compensation for his fault.

In the second crash, it was also a drunken man that drove the car into the writer’s parents’ yard. This Mexican young man lost his CDs in the house. Then, the writer and her father sent them back to the place of employment of the young man. The man was surprised by the writer’s persuasion in a mild tone.

After All That Walking

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">The woman or fighter described in previous chapter, who walked between towns, died in a car crash. Besides, another car collision happened to the writer and her baby in a highway. Luckily, they were not hurt. Although nothing is absolutely safe or flat, we cannot stop our steps in exploration and improvement.

Gifts

The writer was rehearsing for an evening event in a theatre. In the taxi, then, the writer got to know that the driver loved a poet, who was going to perform in the event. The writer gave away a ticket of the show for the driver. And the driver took the ride for free in return.

In California, the writer met a driver named Joe. To writer’s surprise, Joe refused to take charges from her, and said: “I am giving a gift” (p. 214). Same situation happened again: Joe still did not charge any fees in the second ride. In the third time, the writer had considered a plan of how to pay Joe. Unexpectedly, after knowing Joe had the same ethnicity with her, the writer felt so sad about the hardship of Joe’s families in hometown.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">Wars are always accompanied with political interests. In this perspective, culture, art, education, and even music are more trustworthy.

Roses

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">In Washington, the writer met a driver, whose hat was exact same with hers. Later, the driver told her that he loved roses, and had eighty rose bushes at home in Washington and four hundred bushes in hometown. After hearing that, the author who was also a flowers lover, were deeply impressed. Moreover, the driver did not consider spending lots of money and energy in cultivating the mass roses as a burden. This is about interest, attitude and responsibility.

Backseat

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">In this chapter, the writer revealed sadness and sorrow for two of her aunties’ death. But her son, who was three years old, could not figure out what happened to his aunties. He thought they were still in the backseat in the car, and just became invisible. Later, a piece of paper was blowing into the air by a sudden wind, and vanished in their sight. To their surprise, the paper flew back on the car after they shopped for “purple martins”. This strange situation terrified the author, while her son felt happy that the invisible aunties helped him bring it back.

** Shibing Ren ** **<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">EN 1313 ****<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">Iyengar ****<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">08/23/11 ** <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">** Name Game ** <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">The person I interviewed is Jo Ann Rivas who emigrated from Mexico with her family during her childhood. Her first name is Jo Ann, which is also the name of a lady her mother was very familiar with. Her mother appreciated this lady very much for the help she offered and the profound friendship between them. As a result, her mother gave this lady’s name to Rivas. The last name, Rivas, is a Spanish name and comes from her husband. It can be interpreted as one who lives near the bank of a river or a shore of a lake. Her maiden last name is Reyes. It means “kings” in Spanish. In her family, her father named all her brothers and sisters with a “J”, such as Janet and Joe. Her father likes all his sons and daughters following him so as to continue a family tradition. However, Rivas said she was not fond of her name. She would prefer to have a Spanish name rather than an English name. If she had a chance, she would have replaced her name with Maria, since it is simple. What’s more, it is a Spanish name. <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">Moreover, I learned some information about cultural blending among different ethnicities. In Mexico, there are many Spanish people bringing their culture, religion, values and technologies into Mexico. Currently, people from different regions live together beyond borders. Thus, I am confident that the example of Mexico and Spain can also be applied into ethnicities worldwide, though it will take a long time.

** Shibing Ren ** <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">EN 1313 **<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">Iyengar ****<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">08/28/11 **

**Unforgettable Memories** <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Most people have experienced a trip during leisure time, viewing beautiful scenery, tasting delicious food and enjoying happy times with friends and families. These memories are too precious to forget. In high school, I had such an impressive journey in spring. This outing is a routine organized by the school once a year for students in grade one. There were about six hundred students and teachers attending the outing which made us a magnificent group. Our destination was Suzhou which is always a resort for its time-honored culture.

<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">On the first day, we assembled at the front gate of school at eight o’clock. The time on the bus was delightful. Students were listening to music, chatting with friends and enjoying the food. Some others were playing cards; their group even attracted the teachers. At noon, we arrived at the first destination: Suzhou Amusement Land. It is a theme park attracting thousands of people annually. As soon as we got off the buses, we took photos at the gate. The most impressive feature I participated in was the roller coaster. After standing in line for about half an hour, it was our turn. I sat in the compartment and fastened the safety belt. I was nervous and my heartbeat began to accelerate because it was my first time to play it. The train climbed slowly at first, till to the height of about 40 meters. Then it fell with a dramatic slope. At that time, I experienced the weightlessness learned in physics classes several weeks ago. Before I had time to recall the knowledge in the textbook, the train was climbing to another summit. Incredibly, the next drop was vertical. I was too terrified to open my eyes. At the bottom, there was a pool and we went through water rapidly.

<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">At midnight, after the teachers fell asleep, some boys organized a small party. We bought dozens of beer and some roasts. We began to recall the experience in the daytime. The room was full of chatting and laughing. I even remember that some people were arguing about a problem on the test. We did not go back to our rooms till sunrise.

<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">On the second day, we got to the next destination: City of Three Kingdoms. This is a film and television base. We saw many ancient style houses including restaurants, grocery stores and even theatres. We bought some accessories in a souvenir shop. Then we took a sightseeing boat and enjoyed the view of Tai Lake. The lake was too big to see the end.

<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">At twilight, it was time to assemble again. However, compared to how we came together individually when we set out yesterday, this time most people showed up in groups. I think this is the point of this activity, which aims to intensify the communication and relationship among students just entering high school. Some friends I met at that trip have been keeping in touch with me till now, and we recall scenes of the outing sometimes.

<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">Cell Phone <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">It is generally accepted that cell phones bring a revolution to communication and has changed our lives. Before cell phones are invented, people suffered from poor signal, space restriction and expensive fees. The efficiency and convenience of cell phones has improved the way we communicate and made things possible which we never imagine before. This essay will focus on the rationales of how a cell phone with the frequently-used functions works.

<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">To start with, the most important rationale is that a cell phone is actually a radio. There are cellular systems throughout the world. When we say a cellular system, it means a division of a city into small cells. Each cell has a base station that consists of a tower and a small building containing the radio equipment, so that millions of cell phones can receive signals from the tower at the same time. After turning on a cell phone, it searches for signals to verify that the service is available, including the phone number and network operator. Then you can proceed with further steps of using a cell phone.

<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">The most fundamental function of a cell phone is making calls. When you make a call, your call travels through a nearby antenna and is switched into signals by a phone landline system. The call then becomes like any other phone call and is directed over the traditional phone network and to the person you are calling. If you're calling someone far away, your call will be conveyed to a long distance switching center, which continues the call to the country or around the world through fiber-optic cables. Finally, the reason you can hear a voice from the person you call is that the voice is converted into numbers using a computer language called binary digits, and received and identified by your cell phone.

<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">The function of surfing the Internet has become a popular function on cell phones. When you open the browser on your cell phone, it sends out a radio signal, searching for service. Then, a connection is made with your service provider under the condition that you have a related contract about General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) with your provider. After getting the Internet access, you select a website you wish to view, and this request is sent to a gateway server using Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). Next, the gateway server retrieves the information via Hyper Text Transport Protocol (HTTP). The gateway server, then, encodes the data into a specialized computer language that can be identified your cell phone. At last, you can see the wireless Internet version of the webpage you want.

<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">Some other functions of cell phones also play important roles in daily life. Short Message Service (SMS) is used very frequently in communication. After editing your message, the text is sent to a Message Service Center (MSC) nearby. The MSC, then, will transmit your text to a centralized control center. After processing, your text will be sent to the person to whom you sent it.

<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">The cell phone today is so powerful that it enables people easily handle daily affairs, including shopping and payment by cell phones. A better understanding of the rationales of the main functions helps to manage the cell phone and even the life.

Buildings <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">Buildings have been part of people’s life for a long time. They were first considered as the shelter from beasts, storms, and other natural threats. However, buildings have evolved into a kind of culture over thousands of years. Some of them become landmarks of cities, and some are regarded as the heritage of history. This essay will introduce some classic styles of buildings in the past and present eras.

<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">Gothic architecture is the style that originated in the 12th century in France and flourished in the late medieval period. People can easily recognize gothic buildings by the ogival arch, the ribbed vault, the flying buttress, and the vast windows painted with biblical stories. All of these characteristics make gothic buildings accompanied with deep religious atmosphere. Furthermore, gothic architecture is famous for the height and soring vertical interiors. The height is not simply striking when people view the building from the outside, but from examining internal vaults, whose roof is over 100 feet. Inside cathedrals, the soring lines symbolize the way from the world to heaven, which intends to stress the presence of God and the church. Gothic architecture is not merely classic for the religious attribute, but, more importantly, for its exquisite beauty and majesty.

<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">Baroque is the architecture style that developed on the basis of the Renaissance in late 16th century in Italy. Initially, baroque art is characterized by dynamism. The most outstanding features of baroque composition are the extravagant use of strong curves, gorgeous decoration, and dynamic fountains. These features are designed to be a kind of destruction of harmony so that a strong sense of motion and change is highlighted. Second, baroque buildings stress the dramatic use of light. Architects intentionally design the shape and size of windows to form strong light-and-shade contrast. Moreover, light is used to create special and atmospheric illusions. Daylight is the main source of lighting, changing constantly in intensity and rhythm. Finally, like gothic architecture, baroque buildings also have a relation with religion. The excessive pursuit of magnificence and luxury makes the buildings become a kind of show off of churchly wealth.



<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">With the development of technology and economy, modern architecture enables people to live a more comfortable and convenient life. First, modern architecture is generally characterized by scientific structure and the theme of the building. When architects design a building, they tend to take advantage of natural factors, such as daylight, climate, and terrain. Modern buildings are usually accompanied with a theme, such as peace or freedom, in order to enrich its cultural connotation. Then, modern architecture is becoming nature-oriented. With the increase of consciousness of environmental protection, more contemporary architecture is built with organic material, recycling system and energy saving design.



<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">By providing the foundational function of residence, buildings are embedded with the miniature and expectation of each era, such as religious faith, churchly authorization, and the global issue of environmental sustainability. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and religious symbols and as works of art.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">A Class Divided <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">—Interests in Racism <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">Racism has been severely threatening people of color for many years. There once was a great activist, Martin Luther King Jr., who encouraged the suppressed people to fight against segregation and injustice. However, the economic and political interests make the advocates of racism so resistant that it seems impossible to abolish racism. <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">The supporters of racism exploit more profit from people of color through racism. Why is there more poverty in Africa today with the process of global development? Racist still makes efforts to distinguish people from white and black in order to achieve the awareness of superiority and inferiority. Racists consider the black labor force inferior to the white labor force, and then pay much less to the black workers who work in poorer working conditions and work for longer hours since they think the black workers’ skills and performance are as inferior as their skin color. The wealth this exploitation is creating is forcefully subsidized by discriminated workers, and then is delivered to the developed countries to maintain their political supremacy. <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">To expand on this political supremacy, racism is frequently used by politicians to execute expansion strategies and achieve hegemony. Political elites in America often vilify a particular race or a country to achieve strategic policies. For instance, they called the Latin-American and black people “barbaric people” as the justification to plunder their wealth and resources. Racism only serves the benefits of monopoly capitalist class in the United States.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">My name is Khan

<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Contemporarily, it is more common to see that violence tend to be the primary choice in resolving conflicts. In the movie “My name is Khan”, violence seems to be the unique method for military force and terrorists to handle religious and racial problems in the name of public security and God’s will. However, too many violent activities against terrorism cannot help achieve world peace and common good, but contribute to more injustice, inhumanity, and consequently more violence. The fact is that presently there are three main causes lead to more violence worldwide: prejudice, misleading information from mass media, and hegemony. <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Prejudice for religion and race extensively exists in people’s mind. There are so many people revealing disgust and ignorance against exotic behaviors, customs, and languages just because of prejudice, but not racism. In the movie “My name is Khan”, Rizvan Khan is roughly searched and detained at the airport only because he has the same religion with the terrorists of the 911 incident. Then, people cannot help exhibiting sight with puzzle and contempt to Khan when he is dong the Islamic prayer. Additionally, Khan’s son, Sam, loses his life in a quarrel with some students, who show hatred to Muslims after the 911 terrorist attacks. None of these people think of themselves as racists, and I believe there are not. Their acts are only based on their restricted perception of minor extremists, and then impose kinds of biases on the whole race and the whole nation. Sometimes their biases come from media. <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Mass media plays an important role in aggravating violence. The contemporary status of mass media is far more strengthened with the unprecedented development of information technology. Such intensification is a double-edged sword. It saves a great amount of time of transmitting information, and meanwhile it also enhances the penetration and spread of misleading information. In the movie “My name is Khan”, Khan’s promise “My name is Khan, and I’m not a terrorist” is distorted into “I am a terrorist”. With the massive report of media, Khan becomes a national criminal who has relation to terrorism within one day. Furthermore, mass media is becoming the servant of politics. In spite of the fact that no link had ever been found between Saddam Hussein and the 911 attacks, the majority of the U.S. population continued to believe that Saddam was personally involved in terrorism. Where do these people get their information? How is it possible for so many people to be so mistaken about such an important “fact”? <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Hegemony is sustained not only by the efforts of mass media, but also by the plunder and exploitation from the Third World. Poor countries in the Third World are indicated by developed countries that globalization can help get rid of poverty with the claims of aid, humanity, and justice. Developed countries encourage policies, like privatization of national assets, entire open of capital market, and elimination of import/export barriers, to be executed in poor nations. However, the fact turns out to be that these nations are suffering from more debt, more vulnerable capital market, more unemployment, more resource plunder, and consequently more poverty. Also, poverty is always accompanied with violence. The wealth this exploitation is creating is forcefully subsidized by millions of lives in the Third World, and then is delivered to the developed countries to maintain their political and economic supremacy. <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Today violence in the form of conflicts and quarrels among individuals and small groups seems to be diminishing with process of civilization. However, the violence that has intimate relation to unfairness and inhumanity throughout the world becomes more prominent. It is time for people to move forward on the way of acceptance, to be critical and intelligent about information, and to strive toward the world of common good rather than domination. Then, there will be a world of comprehension, wisdom, and love.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Tolerating Intolerance

<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">Tolerance has always been considered as a necessary qualification for those who have ambitions to succeed. The realistic world compels people to tolerate kinds of unexpected difficulties and frustrations in order to adapt to the world. However, shall we continue to tolerate issues or persons that against our beliefs? The journal from Sarah Rider tells us how to do as an instructor when there is negative and controversial view in classroom.

<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">The controversies that come from one of Rider’s students, William, form the diversity of opinions. In the writing course, William chose to focus on his topic on Odinism for the research assignment. Then, in the draft of his paper, he elaborated his views of ethnography in which the superiority of the White was demonstrated and the claim of white-separation was further advocated. Not only did he reveal his debatable beliefs, but also he attached the self drawn artifacts which were about the preservation of white women with his paper. After seeing the images, the teacher could not help coming up with the impression of racist of William. However, Rider did not persuade William to change the topic because she considered the critical reflection from William’s peers would do more benefits to him, as well as the whole class. Then, in the discussion of assignments, students frequently questioned William about his research with a variety of attitude, including curiosity, interest, wrath, and critique. The intensive reflections from peers not only made William rethink of his research, but also contributed to the involvement of each individual in the class and the cohesion of classmates.

<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">Admittedly, the diversity of opinions promotes critical thinking and meaningful conversations. However, too much tolerance of such controversial and biased views can also lead to severe social problems such as racism. From William’s firm beliefs of the superiority of white people and the support from separatist groups, it is not difficult to associate the severity of racism.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">In addition, I do not claim that racism in present world is as bare as physical abuse, but I do think that contemporary racism is becoming more prevalent in a way of utilization rather than pure hatred. On one hand, the supporters of racism exploit more profit from people of color through racism. Racist makes efforts to distinguish people from white and black in order to achieve the awareness of superiority and inferiority. Racists consider the black labor force inferior to the white labor force, and then pay much less to the black workers who work in poorer working conditions and work for longer hours since they think the black workers’ skills and performance are as inferior as their skin color. On the other hand, to maintain political supremacy, racism is frequently used by politicians to execute strategic policies and achieve hegemony. It is common to see that political elites in America express critiques and dissatisfactions about other nations’ policies and systems in the name of racial equality. Racism serves as a tool of international intervention, and even as an excuse of war.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Oral Presentation Essay

<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">―Listening

<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">A better capacity of listening facilitates better communication with others. More importantly, listening can be considered as the foundational access to reading and writing. In the essay of “Listening”, Eudora Welty illustrates how listening promotes better reading by portraying the pieces of her childhood.

<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">Initially, Eudora became interested in reading by her parents’ elaborate gifts. Her mother regularly read kinds of stories to her in different places of their house. The author considered her mother a great storyteller because of her expressive tone, which can always arouse the author’s interest. Moreover, her father was all the while carefully selecting the books his children should grow up with. Then, by initiating Eudora into knowledge of the word, she became a reading lover, and regarded books as treasure. She would not help reading everything that stood before her. What’s more, she even felt sad for the books suffered from fire or water.

<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">Eudora found that creating association and physical awareness of the word can improve the interest of reading. The author thought the letter “O” had a rabbit running it as a treadmill. And she imagined that the rising moon was a grape held in her mouth. Finally, the author stressed the significance of movement while listening. Listening is also a thinking process which comprises association and interpretation. While reading, one should be so interested that as if he is listening a story from a voice in mind.



<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">The Story of Stuff <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The video showed the operation of contemporary material world in the form of animation. In the video, people’s lives were got into a cycle that was led by corporations with the only pursuit of profit. However, with the strict constraints of domestic legal system, transnational corporations are seeking to externalize production costs in developing countries with vulnerable laws, such as Mexico, India, China, and South Africa. The economic, social and ecological costs of constant growth in the industrialized countries have been and are shifted to the colonized countries of the South, to those countries’ environment and their people. Then, the exploitation of labor force and the destruction of ecosystem are the most prominent problems caused by cost externalization. Only by dividing the international workforce into workers in the colonized regions and workers in the developed regions and by maintaining these relations of dominance, is it possible for industrial countries’ workers to be paid wages far higher than those in the South. The ecological costs of the industrial production of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, atomic energy, and other commodities are being inflicted on nature. It will not only affect the present, but all future generations. Nowadays, there is a saying that: People are now brought together as consumers but kept apart as citizens. The transformed role of government is not to protect citizens or the safety of public space but to protect and facilitate the flow of capital. So today we speak of free markets but not of free labor. We speak of expanding global market, but a diminishing public space and we hardly speak at all of citizen participation and justice.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Interview

<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">One day I attended the interview with Professor Dunitru’s students. We found a quiet place in the open air. Then, I was asked question about my homeland, the related culture, and my current situations in the university. There was still a question: “What’s your religion?” When I replied that I had no faith, they seemed to be shocked and continued to ask: “Are all Chinese like you that have no faith?” My answer was no. But according to my experience from primary school to college in China, I was never implanted the thoughts of religious belief by teachers, friends, and families. We were told to learn science and to think objectively. But I do not claim that religion is the ideology that utilized by the few to mentally slave the public. Oppositely, I think the principles of never do harm, love, and common good that are advocated by Catholics can change the society toward a better world with comprehension, wisdom, and love.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Shibing Ren <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Iyengar <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">EN 1313 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">11/30/11 Wikis <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> Wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content without any professional knowledge of information technology. Allowing everyday users to create and edit any page in a Web site is so exciting that it encourages democratic use of the Web and promotes content composition and writing ability by nontechnical users. In other words, wikis provide users with both author and editor privileges. Moreover, wikis are able to incorporate sounds, movies, and pictures; they may prove to be a simple tool to create multimedia presentations. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">It is very simple to edit personal content on wikis. When you click a wiki page’s “Edit” link, the web sends the raw text file to your browser in an editable form, allowing you to modify the content of the page. Pressing the “Save” button sends the modified text back to the wiki server, which replaces the existing text file with your changed version for all to see. Admittedly, wikis offer users kinds of functions, such as a shared online space to store documents, a medium of information exchange, remote work collaboration, and ease of use. However, it still has some disadvantages. For instance, it requires uses to upgrade the basic template to achieve the design with graphics or exciting colors. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Not only can students use wiki to demonstrate their wisdom, imagination and creativity, but also faculty can use wikis to collaborate on projects, whether editing a textbook, preparing a journal article, or assembling a syllabus. Collaboration using a wiki is not limited to students. Faculty can use wikis to collaborate on projects, whether editing a textbook, preparing a journal article, or assembling a syllabus or reading list. Wikis might also prove to be an ideal vehicle for soliciting ongoing input for research or projects where community input can help inform and direct subsequent investigation. Wiki enabled projects can provide various levels of site access and control to members, offering a strong element that enhances the teaching and learning experience. <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> Since wikis are easy to edit, they carry an inherent potential to change how we construct knowledge on the Web. Wikis allow groups to form around specific topics. The low barrier to entry makes them the equivalent of shared digital paper—literally anyone with access to the Web can post, modify, and delete content on that site. Because they are so easy to use, the technology recedes into the background, allowing anyone to become a publisher.