The Gods Must Be Restless
Living in the shadow of Indonesia's volcanoes
National Geographic, January 2008
By Andrew Marshall
All hell is about to break loose, but Udi, a 60-year-old farmer from the village of Kinarejo on the Indonesian island of Java, will not budge. Not even though a mere three miles (five kilometers) separates the smoldering peak of Mount Merapi from Kinarejo. Not even though columns of noxious gas and the nervous tracings of seismographs signal an imminent explosion. Not even though the government has ordered a full-scale evacuation. "I feel safe here," he says. "If the Gatekeeper won't move, then neither will I."
Merapi is a natural-born killer. Rising almost 10,000 feet (3,000 meters) over forests and fields, it ranks among the world's most active and dangerous volcanoes. Its very name means "fire mountain." An eruption in 1930 killed more than 1,300; even in less deadly times, plumes drift menacingly from the peak. Some of the surrounding area, warns a local hazards map, is "frequently affected by pyroclastic flows, lava flows, rockfalls, toxic gases and glowing ejected rock fragments." As the volcano's rumbling crescendoed in May 2006, thousands fled the fertile slopes and settled reluctantly into makeshift camps at lower, safer altitudes. Even the resident monkeys descended in droves.
Not Udi and his fellow villagers, who take their cues from an octogenarian with dazzling dentures and a taste for menthol cigarettes: Mbah Marijan, the Gatekeeper of Merapi. Marijan has one of the more bizarre jobs in Indonesia, or anywhere else, for that matter. The fate of villagers like Udi and of the 500,000 residents of Yogyakarta, a city 20 miles (32 kilometers) to the south, rests on Marijan's thin shoulders. It is his responsibility to perform the rituals designed to appease an ogre believed to inhabit Merapi's summit. This time, the rituals seem to have fallen short. The warnings grow more urgent. Volcanologists, military commanders, even Indonesia's vice president beg him to evacuate. He flatly refuses. "It's your duty to come talk to me," he tells the police. "It is my duty to stay."
Marijan's behavior might seem suicidal anywhere else, but not in Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,500 islands that straddles the western reaches of the hyperactive Ring of Fire. It's a zone of geophysical violence, a juncture of colliding tectonic plates that loops more than 25,000 miles (40,200 kilometers) around the Pacific. Geography has dealt Indonesia a wild card: Nowhere else do so many live so close to so many active volcanoes—129 by one count. On Java alone, 120 million people live in the shadow of more than 30 volcanoes, a proximity that has proved fatal to more than 140,000 in the past 500 years.
Death by volcano takes many forms: searing lava, suffocating mud, or the tsunamis that often follow an eruption. In 1883, Mount Krakatau (often misspelled as Krakatoa), located off Java's coast, triggered a tsunami that claimed more than 36,000 lives. The name became a metaphor for a catastrophic natural disaster. For Marijan, though, an eruption is not so much a threat as a growth spurt. "The kingdom of Merapi is expanding," he says, with a nod at its smoldering peak. In Indonesia, volcanoes are not just a fact of life, they are life itself. Volcanic ash enriches the soil; farmers on Java can harvest three crops of rice in a season. Farmers on neighboring Borneo, with only one volcano, can't.
On a less earthly plane, volcanoes stand at the heart of a complicated set of mystical beliefs that grip millions of Indonesians and influence events in unexpected ways. Their peaks attract holy men and pilgrims. Their eruptions augur political change and social upheaval. You might say that in Indonesia, volcanoes are a cultural cauldron in which mysticism, modern life, Islam, and other religions mix—or don't. Indonesia, an assemblage of races, religions, and tongues, is riveted together by volcanoes. Reverence for them is virtually a national trait.
If the Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, the government agency that keeps eight seismograph stations humming on Merapi, represents modern science, Marijan, the Gatekeeper of Merapi, is Indonesia at its most mystical. When a Dutch hiker went missing on the volcano in 1996, Marijan reportedly made the thick mist vanish and found the injured hiker in a ravine.
It is often hard to distinguish the kind of volcanic spasm that builds toward a convulsion from the seismic restlessness that settles back into quiescence. But monitoring technology has grown more sophisticated. Overnight, government volcanologists have raised the alert to its highest level. The lava dome might collapse at any moment. Hasn't Marijan heard? The entreaties leave Marijan unimpressed. The alerts are merely guesses by men at far remove from the spirit of the volcano. The lava dome collapse? "That's what the experts say," he says, smiling. "But an idiot like me can't see any change from yesterday."
INDONESIA'S MOTTO, "Bhinneka tunggal ika—Unity in diversity," speaks to some 300 ethnic groups and more than 700 languages and dialects. The government officially recognizes six religions: Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism, but mysticism riddles all faiths and bares their animistic roots. Sumatra, the vast island northwest of Java, is home to the Batak people, converted to Christianity by European missionaries in the 19th century. Yet many still believe the first human descended from heaven on a bamboo pole to Mount Pusuk Buhit, an active volcano on the shores of Lake Toba. The Tengger, Hindus who live around Mount Bromo in East Java, periodically climb through choking sulfurous clouds to throw money, vegetables, chickens, and an occasional goat into the crater. On Flores, the Nage, Catholics like most on that island, are buried with their heads toward Mount Ebulobo, whose cone fills their southern horizon.
Likewise, on largely Hindu Bali, volcanoes are sacred, none more so than 10,000-foot (3,000 meters) Mount Agung, its highest peak. It is said a true Balinese knows its location, even when blindfolded, and many sleep with their heads pointing toward it. In 1963 a catastrophic eruption of Mount Agung killed a thousand people. Others starved to death after ash smothered their crops. "The very ground beneath us trembled with the perpetual shocks of the explosions," wrote an eyewitness. Yet what once was spoken of as divine wrath is now seen as a gift. The rock and sand thrown up by the eruption built hotels, restaurants, and villas for hordes of foreign tourists, who started arriving in the 1970s. Despite attacks by Islamic terrorists in 2002 and 2005, which killed more than 220 people, tourism remains Bali's biggest industry. And by the grace of Agung and its neighbor, Mount Batur, houses that once nestled in fields of chilies and onions now overlook quarries filled with workers shoveling volcanic sand into trucks. Not everyone has been lifted by the rising tide of tourism. Seven hundred people in the village of Trunyan squeeze into a mountain stronghold near Mount Batur. Their ramshackle houses cling to a sliver of land along a lake in a vast caldera. The villagers fish in dugout canoes and grow crops on the steep shoulders of the caldera. The village's creation myth explains its isolation, telling how a wandering Javanese nobleman fell in love with a goddess who lived in a giant banyan tree. She agreed to marry him, but only if he covered his tracks so nobody else could follow him from Java.
While tourism has brought breakneck development to the rest of Bali, Trunyan's cherished isolation now spells economic marginalization. Elders watch helplessly as a younger generation traces the same path to Bali's towns and cities as Batur's rock and sand. "There are no jobs here, no opportunities," admits Made Tusan, a teacher at Trunyan's only school.
As if economic malaise weren't enough, a recent catastrophe added to the litany of woes. A giant banyan tree that had shaded the village for centuries crashed to the ground during a storm, flattening the village temple, though miraculously sparing the holy statue of Dewa Ratu Gede Pancering Jagat, the local deity.
A village elder, I Ketut Jaksa, blames the disaster on Balinese politicians and businessmen. He "won't name names," he says guardedly, but he insists they angered the volcano deity by praying to advance their careers while ignoring Trunyan's growing disrepair. Others blame the new road, which recently connected the village to the rest of Bali, destroying its isolation and leaving it open to spiritual contamination.
IN INDONESIA, it's a given that human folly can trigger natural disasters. Eruptions, earthquakes, even a toppling banyan tree, have long been regarded as cosmic votes of no-confidence in a ruler—a fact of which the country's president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, is painfully aware.
Two months after the president's inauguration in October 2004, an earthquake and tsunami struck Aceh Province on Sumatra, claiming 170,000 lives. A quake hit Sumatra three months later, killing perhaps 1,000. Then Mount Talang erupted, forcing thousands of villagers to flee their homes. A chain text message flashed across cell phones, imploring Yudhoyono to perform a ritual to stop the calamities. "Mr. President," it read, "please sacrifice 1,000 goats." Yudhoyono—a former general with a doctorate in agricultural economics—publicly refused. "Even if I sacrificed a thousand goats," he announced, "disasters in Indonesia will not end."
They didn't. There were more eruptions—a statistical certainty in the volcano-studded country. One catastrophe followed another: a quake, a tsunami, floods, forest fires, landslides, dengue fever, avian influenza, and a mud eruption. Trains derailed, ferries sank, and after three major plane crashes—one at Yogyakarta airport—an editorial in the Jakarta Post advised air travelers to pray. The streak of tragedy haunting the president could be explained, it was said, by his inauspicious birth date and by the name of his vice president, Jusuf Kalla, which bore an unhappy resemblance to that of a man-eating monster called Batara Kala. Amid renewed calls to perform a ritual to dispel the run of bad luck, President Yudhoyono and his cabinet joined a mass prayer at Jakarta's grand mosque. "Nothing unusual," insisted his spokesman, but the high-profile gathering was clearly meant to allay national fears.
Other politicians appeal directly to the spirits. Before running for vice president, one candidate sneaked off to worship at a volcano near Lake Toba, where there is reportedly a helipad for visiting VIPs. The spirits must not have been listening: He was defeated. Another time, members of the Indonesian National Unity and Fusion Party gathered high on Merapi's slopes for a ritual-laced political rally, even though the volcano was on the brink of erupting. Led by Arief Koesno, a portly ex-actor who believes he is the reincarnation of Indonesia's first president, Sukarno, the ceremony started with the slaughter of nine goats and ended with party members dancing wildly in a circle.
"After this ceremony," Koesno declared, "I am certain Merapi will not erupt." Three days later, it did. In the smoking caldera of Indonesian politics, belief in the supernatural persists among even the most modern, high-ranking leaders. "Indonesian politicians are hypocrites," says Permadi, a professional soothsayer and member of parliament. "They say they believe in Islam, in the Holy Koran. They also claim to be rational, because many are educated in America. But in their hearts, they still believe in mysticism."
Even President Yudhoyono, claims Permadi, has conducted a ritual atop Mount Lawu, a revered Javanese volcano. The persistence of mysticism also explains why, when campaigning for office, many politicians make it a point to pay their respects to Mbah Marijan, the well-connected Gatekeeper of Merapi.
AS THINGS HEAT UP around Merapi, dozens of reporters flock to cover the standoff starring the immovable Marijan, Merapi's first media-age Gatekeeper. Soon, his face and the words "President of Merapi" adorn T-shirts all over Yogyakarta. To raise funds for his impoverished Kinarejo neighbors, he appears in a television advertisement for an energy drink.
Marijan, who inherited his job as Merapi's caretaker from his father, is paid the equivalent of a dollar a month by the kraton, as the sultan's high-walled palace in Yogyakarta is known. In traditional Javanese cosmology, the kraton sits on an invisible line between Mount Merapi and the nearby Indian Ocean. The sultan, a palace publication explains, is a "divinely chosen person" whose coronation is preceded by "a supernatural message." Along with the everyday business of governing Yogyakarta, the sultan is also responsible for placating a powerful sea goddess called Ratu Kidul, and Merapi's guardian ogre, Sapu Jagat.
One morning, soldiers arrive. "I don't want to leave," Marijan tells them with all the firmness his creaky voice can convey. "Maybe I'll leave tomorrow. Maybe the day after tomorrow. It's up to me." Then he heads for the village mosque. Marijan's duties may include mollifying a volcano-dwelling ogre. But he is also a devout Muslim who prays five times a day. Two days later, the lava dome collapses. Traffic grinds to a halt in downtown Yogyakarta as motorists gape at the scorching avalanche of rocks rushing down Merapi's western flank—away from Marijan's village. Thanks to the timely evacuation, nobody is hurt.
Antonius Ratdomopurbo, director of the Volcanological Research and Technological Development Agency in Yogyakarta, is visibly relieved. "Merapi isn't a big volcano, but it's heavily populated. Many people were killed in 1930 simply because they were too close." Marijan has just been lucky, he says. A month later, the lava dome collapses again, this time to the south, and two rescue workers perish under six feet (two meters) of hot ash. Again, fortune—or is it the volcano deity?—spares Marijan's village. Does the Gatekeeper understand anything about the science of volcanoes? "I don't know," replies Ratdomopurbo with a tight smile. "You ask him."
In his stubborn adherence to duty, Marijan has gone head-to-head not only with the authorities but also with his own boss, Hamengku Buwono X, the sultan, who backed the government's call for an evacuation.
Hamengku Buwono X—the name means "sustainer of the universe"—heads a dynasty that dates back to the 18th century. His official portrait shows him in full Javanese court attire, a curved dagger tucked into his magnificent batik sarong. His everyday wear is an impeccably tailored dark suit—preferably Armani. In his office, during an interview, he puffs on a fat Davidoff cigar. A large painting of a volcano hangs on the wall behind him. "Not Merapi," he says dismissively. "Fuji."
Though tradition requires he employ Marijan, Hamengku Buwono X, a law graduate, does not believe in volcano-dwelling spirits. He is a progressive Muslim who has urged Yogyakartans to consider Merapi's eruptions from a scientific perspective. "A great nation cannot be built on pessimistic myths," he believes.
The relationship between the sultan and Marijan is uneasy, to say the least. The two inhabit opposite poles: the modern sultan versus the mystical Gatekeeper. Marijan tells reporters he will evacuate if ordered by the sultan—but he doesn't mean the current ruler. His sultan is the much loved Hamengku Buwono IX, father of Hamengku Buwono X, who appointed Marijan as Gatekeeper and who died almost 20 years ago. "I follow the ninth sultan," he says. "He was the man in the kraton last time I visited."
In Marijan's opinion, the current sultan's biggest mistake is allowing businessmen to strip Merapi of millions of cubic feet of rock and sand. "He is not the sultan," says Marijan witheringly. "He's just the governor." Marijan is not alone in his disapproval. Some in Yogyakarta accuse Hamengku Buwono X of turning this cultural capital into a city of shopping malls and of spending too much time on the golf course. They yearn for the comfort of ancient rites and criticize the sultan for neglecting ceremonies his father routinely attended. In 2006, the sultan was conspicuously absent from an annual ritual to bless offerings for the ogre Sapu Jagat and the sea goddess Ratu Kidul. The offerings—which include food, flowers, cloth, and clippings of the sultan's hair and fingernails—are meant to ensure the sacred alignment between the volcano, his palace, and the Indian Ocean, and thus the safety of the people.
Less than two weeks after Merapi's first major eruption of 2006, a powerful earthquake had struck south of Yogyakarta, killing more than 5,000 people. The palace and royal burial grounds were also badly damaged—an ill omen for the sultan, already the target of public outrage over the slow distribution of relief funds. Damage control was in order. Even a modern sultan can't escape the force of the old beliefs. With or without him, the annual ritual offerings had to be made.
So the sultan's staff laid out offerings in the quake-damaged courtyard for a brief ceremony, then sent them to waiting cars, which sped off in two separate directions. The first set of offerings was brought to Marijan's house. The next morning, the Gatekeeper hiked to a pavilion a mile from the volcano's peak where, amid trees snapped in half by the latest pyroclastic flow and the crash of tumbling boulders, he solemnly prayed over the sultan's offerings.
A second set of offerings was driven south to Parangkusumo, the Indian Ocean beach where, legend says, the sultan's 16th-century ancestor Senopati met the sea goddess Ratu Kidul. Thousands of houses lay in rubble amid the rice fields. At Parangkusumo, the sultan's staff buried his hair and fingernail clippings near the beach, in a walled-off compound where two flower-strewn stones marked the site of the ancient encounter. Other offerings were flung into the waves.
It is August. Three months have elapsed since the first major eruption of the year. Though still active, Merapi has settled down. Residents attribute the calm to Marijan's prayers and presence on the volcano. But calm in Indonesia is about as long lasting as a plume of smoke.
THE ANTAGONIST in the equation is militant Islam. Radicalized by events such as 9/11 and the United States invasion of Iraq, groups preaching a more austere version of Islam have gained strength and influence, fueled by the perception that Islam is the cure for Indonesia's ills, notably its poverty and corruption. Some local governments have introduced measures based on sharia, Islamic law, that call for the arrest of women not wearing head scarves or the public whipping of adulterous couples.
Militant Islamists have targeted mysticism in the conviction that such practices pollute the faith. Islamic relief workers who arrived in Yogyakarta following Merapi's first blowup in May 2006 vowed to disrupt rituals held on the volcano, while in Jakarta members of an Islamic youth group hacked branches from a sacred banyan tree to prove it had no magical power. "People used to believe that things like graves and big trees were sacred," says Muhammad Goodwill Zubir, a leader of Muhammadiyah, an organization focused on peaceful ways to purge the Muslim faith of pre-Islamic influences, including the "heretical" reverence for volcanoes. "As Muhammadiyah spreads in those areas, such beliefs have died out," Zubir says. His movement boasts about 30 million members and runs thousands of mosques, schools, and clinics to promote the orthodoxy. But how to explain a painting of what looks like Merapi hanging outside Zubir's office in Jakarta? "It's just art," he shrugs. Nothing more.
Still, there are men, like Satria Naradha, who believe that mysticism will not merely survive, it will flourish. Naradha owns Bali's top newspaper and television station. Locals admire the fortysomething media mogul for conducting the lavish rituals that President Yudhoyono so pointedly dislikes.
"Volcanoes are the thrones of the gods," he explains. "They are nature's greatest force, one which can sustain life or destroy it." Naradha is helping underwrite an ambitious program of building Hindu temples across Indonesia, particularly on active volcanoes. In addition to raising nearly one and a half million dollars to complete a temple on Lombok's Mount Rinjani, he has plans to build on Sumbawa's Mount Tambora, site of an 1815 eruption that was the biggest in recorded history. Naturally, he hopes one day to erect a temple on Mount Merapi.
Building Hindu temples in predominantly Muslim areas might seem a dangerous provocation in a country prone to religious and ethnic strife, but Naradha is undeterred. Temples help strengthen Balinese culture by harnessing the spiritual power of the volcanoes they're built on, he explains. Most of all, they help restore the harmony between humans and nature. "This helps all Indonesians, not just the Balinese," he says.
A happy thought, except that harmony seems hard to come by in a nation splintered by multiple beliefs and languages, and the incessant tug-of-war between the modern world and ancient traditions. Revivalist Hinduism, militant Islam, ancient mysticism: Which will prevail? Perhaps all. Perhaps none. Globalization is sweeping through Indonesia like a monsoon. A young Internet-savvy generation worships not volcanoes, but Asian boy bands and English soccer clubs.
But don't count the volcanoes out yet. Recently, Golkar, Indonesia's largest political party, held its annual conference in Yogyakarta. Its ambitious leader, Vice President Jusuf Kalla—he of the inauspicious name—is expected to run for president in 2009.
In the teak-paneled ballroom of the Hyatt Regency, Kalla introduces the guest of honor as a man who is "resolute and able to make decisions in any situation or risk."
It's Mbah Marijan, of course. Who better to launch a campaign for the nation's highest office than the President of Merapi?
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Principles Over My Life by Lee Wei Ling
Apr 18, 2010 , Straits Times
My principles over my life
Call me foolhardy but I won't fund someone's drug habit - even if my life were at risk
By Lee Wei Ling
In June 1996, I was in Cleveland Clinic learning about the surgical treatment of severe epilepsy.
The hospital had a 25m swimming pool but it was closed on weekends. I asked around and was told that there was a decent swimming pool at a nearby YMCA in a middle-class neighbourhood.
So I set out on Saturday morning, kickboard under my arm, and waited for the bus at the bus stop. When I boarded the bus, I told the driver which YMCA I wanted to go to. He said he knew the place and would tell me when we got there.
I noticed all the other passengers on the bus were African American, but that did not surprise me. After all, the majority of the people living and working in the area around Cleveland Clinic were African American.
Eventually, the bus driver told me where I should get off. But the moment I got off, I sensed that I was in a dangerous area. I stuck out like a sore thumb as the only non-African American around, and the kickboard under my arm attracted further attention.
There was indeed a YMCA nearby. As I approached it, two African Americans with dreadlocks walked towards me. I beat a quick retreat.
Out on the main road, a young African American woman approached me and asked if I was lost. Since there was no point pretending otherwise, I admitted I was indeed lost and told her that I had been mistakenly dropped off at the wrong YMCA.
'I will take you to the bus terminal and help you get the right bus,' she said.
As we were walking, she asked me how much cash I had with me.
'Fifteen dollars,' I replied and even opened my wallet to show her.
She then told me about her drug addict husband who was in jail, and how she was having a hard time paying for milk powder and Pampers for her children.
When we arrived at the bus terminal, she demanded: 'Give me three bucks to buy Pampers.'
I was certain the money was more likely to be spent on drugs. 'No, I won't,' I told her.
'I have a gun,' she threatened.
'Anyway, after giving me three bucks, you still have enough money for bus fare to get home.'
I said nothing but kept my eyes on her, ready to act if she reached for a gun. We stood there staring at each other for what seemed like five to 10 minutes. Then a bus arrived.
I jumped in, she grabbed my hand, I yanked myself free and ran to the front of the bus where the driver, an African American woman, was sitting. The potential mugger did not follow me onto the bus.
Suddenly my luck changed for the better; this bus was headed for the correct YMCA. It stopped in a suburb filled with bungalows with gardens - and very few humans in sight. And the few I saw were white.
I eventually got to the correct YMCA, swam the requisite number of laps, then took another bus to the motel where I was staying.
I was not particularly perturbed by the woman's attempt to extort money from me to buy drugs. I found it amusing that she thought I would give in to her so easily.
The next day, a Sunday, I needed to use the swimming pool at the YMCA again. This time, I boarded the right bus and arrived at the correct YMCA.
On Monday, I told the doctors and technicians at the Cleveland Clinic what had transpired. They were all flabbergasted and said I was mad.
They said it was highly likely that the woman did indeed have a gun, and if she had drawn it to shoot, no one would have lifted a finger to help me. Most said they would not only have given her the three bucks, they would probably have offered her their entire wallet.
I did not try to explain my reasoning. I doubted if anyone would have understood my sentiments on matters of principle.
I will not fund a drug habit - be it be $3 or $1 million. There is a Chinese saying: 'I will not bow for five bushels of padi.' Well, I will not bow or compromise my principles even if my life were at risk.
When I returned to Singapore, everyone who heard of the incident, including members of my family, thought I was either mad or extremely foolhardy. Some told me that they purposely carried around a few hundred dollars in cash, so in the event they were confronted by a mugger, they could appease him or her and not be injured or killed.
Perhaps I was foolhardy. But I was determined not to fund the woman's drug habit even if she did try to shoot me. I still don't think I made a mistake.
Of course, I would not advise everyone to act as I did. In 1996, I was very fit, and I had learnt karate up to the level of first dan black belt. Would I have been as determined to stick to my principles if I thought my chances of escaping unhurt were minuscule?
I can't be absolutely certain, but think I would have. My system of internal logic works that way. As a result, some people, including my close friends, consider me eccentric.
The writer is director of the National Neuroscience Institute
My principles over my life
Call me foolhardy but I won't fund someone's drug habit - even if my life were at risk
By Lee Wei Ling
In June 1996, I was in Cleveland Clinic learning about the surgical treatment of severe epilepsy.
The hospital had a 25m swimming pool but it was closed on weekends. I asked around and was told that there was a decent swimming pool at a nearby YMCA in a middle-class neighbourhood.
So I set out on Saturday morning, kickboard under my arm, and waited for the bus at the bus stop. When I boarded the bus, I told the driver which YMCA I wanted to go to. He said he knew the place and would tell me when we got there.
I noticed all the other passengers on the bus were African American, but that did not surprise me. After all, the majority of the people living and working in the area around Cleveland Clinic were African American.
Eventually, the bus driver told me where I should get off. But the moment I got off, I sensed that I was in a dangerous area. I stuck out like a sore thumb as the only non-African American around, and the kickboard under my arm attracted further attention.
There was indeed a YMCA nearby. As I approached it, two African Americans with dreadlocks walked towards me. I beat a quick retreat.
Out on the main road, a young African American woman approached me and asked if I was lost. Since there was no point pretending otherwise, I admitted I was indeed lost and told her that I had been mistakenly dropped off at the wrong YMCA.
'I will take you to the bus terminal and help you get the right bus,' she said.
As we were walking, she asked me how much cash I had with me.
'Fifteen dollars,' I replied and even opened my wallet to show her.
She then told me about her drug addict husband who was in jail, and how she was having a hard time paying for milk powder and Pampers for her children.
When we arrived at the bus terminal, she demanded: 'Give me three bucks to buy Pampers.'
I was certain the money was more likely to be spent on drugs. 'No, I won't,' I told her.
'I have a gun,' she threatened.
'Anyway, after giving me three bucks, you still have enough money for bus fare to get home.'
I said nothing but kept my eyes on her, ready to act if she reached for a gun. We stood there staring at each other for what seemed like five to 10 minutes. Then a bus arrived.
I jumped in, she grabbed my hand, I yanked myself free and ran to the front of the bus where the driver, an African American woman, was sitting. The potential mugger did not follow me onto the bus.
Suddenly my luck changed for the better; this bus was headed for the correct YMCA. It stopped in a suburb filled with bungalows with gardens - and very few humans in sight. And the few I saw were white.
I eventually got to the correct YMCA, swam the requisite number of laps, then took another bus to the motel where I was staying.
I was not particularly perturbed by the woman's attempt to extort money from me to buy drugs. I found it amusing that she thought I would give in to her so easily.
The next day, a Sunday, I needed to use the swimming pool at the YMCA again. This time, I boarded the right bus and arrived at the correct YMCA.
On Monday, I told the doctors and technicians at the Cleveland Clinic what had transpired. They were all flabbergasted and said I was mad.
They said it was highly likely that the woman did indeed have a gun, and if she had drawn it to shoot, no one would have lifted a finger to help me. Most said they would not only have given her the three bucks, they would probably have offered her their entire wallet.
I did not try to explain my reasoning. I doubted if anyone would have understood my sentiments on matters of principle.
I will not fund a drug habit - be it be $3 or $1 million. There is a Chinese saying: 'I will not bow for five bushels of padi.' Well, I will not bow or compromise my principles even if my life were at risk.
When I returned to Singapore, everyone who heard of the incident, including members of my family, thought I was either mad or extremely foolhardy. Some told me that they purposely carried around a few hundred dollars in cash, so in the event they were confronted by a mugger, they could appease him or her and not be injured or killed.
Perhaps I was foolhardy. But I was determined not to fund the woman's drug habit even if she did try to shoot me. I still don't think I made a mistake.
Of course, I would not advise everyone to act as I did. In 1996, I was very fit, and I had learnt karate up to the level of first dan black belt. Would I have been as determined to stick to my principles if I thought my chances of escaping unhurt were minuscule?
I can't be absolutely certain, but think I would have. My system of internal logic works that way. As a result, some people, including my close friends, consider me eccentric.
The writer is director of the National Neuroscience Institute
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Naples Pizza Protected By EU, BBC, Words In The News.
Naples pizza protected by EU
Adapted from BBC, Words in the News, 5 February 2010
Reporter: Duncan Kennedy
Part A: Editing-Spelling
There are spelling errors. Write the correct word above the error.
Pizza makers in Naples are celebrating after gaining official European Union recognition. It’s the end of a battle that began 25 years ago and is aimed at protecting Neapolitan pizzas from imitations.
For 25 years pizza makers in Naples have been trying to get their product protected, and now it is, being 1. grented a TSG, or Traditional Speciality Guaranteed label by the EU. The head of the pizza makers’ association said the 2. tridemark was a great honour. The EU ’s agriculture commissioner said Neapolitan pizza was now part of Europe’s 3. food haritage.
It means that all 4. pezzerias aspiring to supply the real thing are, in future, supposed to be 5. vatted by a special commission that will check standards. They include using only San Marzano tomatoes and fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese.The Italian farmers’ association says that half of Italy’s 25,000 pizzerias currently use the wrong ingredients, like east European cheese or Ukrainian flour.Italy now tops EU chart for products that are protected. It has 180, more than Spain or France. Protected status enables producers to not only 6. baost about their exclusavity but also 7. charge a pramium. And now pizza makers from Naples will get their slice of the action.
Part B
Write TRUE or FALSE.
1. Pizza makers tried to patent their product. _______
2. The pizza is granted a TSG. ______
3. The pizza trademark is highly valued. ______
4. Neapolitan pizza is part of Europe’s cuisine. _______
5. A special commission checks standards of pizza made in England. _______
6. Three quarters of Italy’s pizzerias used incorrect techniques, including ingredients. ________
Part C: Vocabulary
Match the WORDS with the correct MEANINGS. Draw lines to match WORDS and the MEANIGS
WORDS MEANING
1. to get their product protected a. put the price of something up because it is in some way special
2. granted b. express pride in the uniqueness of their product
3. head c. checked or examined something carefully to make sure it is acceptable or suitable
4. trademark d. genuine ( not fake) things( here, Neapolitan pizzas)
5. food heritage e. food belonging to the culture of a particular society which exists from the which is important historically
6. pizzerias f. name or a symbol which is put on a product to show that it is made by a particular producer and cannot be used legally by any other producer.
7. the real thing g. given
8. vetted h. to have the same thing that they make ( here, pizzas) given special tratment
9. boast about their exclusivity i. boss or leader of an organisation
10. charge a premium j. places ( restaurants, cafes, etc) which make and sell pizzas to customers.
Part D Reading for Ideas
1. What is your favourite food?
2. Are food sold in the food court and hawker centres in Singapore healthy for consumption?
3. What is a healthy diet?
Part E: Contextual Clues
Underline the definition of the word given in bold.
1. The picture on the old television set was fuzzy so the outline of the people in the film was blurry and unclear.
2. No one liked the condescending man who always behaved as though he was superior to those around him.
3. I knew that James was in a pensive mood for he sat alone quietly and thoughtfully and looked a little sad.
4. Toby was a sincere man who said only what he truly meant and believed in.
5. Jane was an impetuous girl who often acted without thinking.
6. The ruthless dictator was harsh and cruel towards those who disobeyed him.
ANSWERS
Part A
1. granted 2. trademark 3. food heritage 4. pizzerias 5. vetted 6. boast about their exclusivity 7. charge a premium
Part B
1. true 2. true 3. true 4. true 5. false 6. false
Part C
1. h 2. g 3. I 4. f 5. e 6. j 7. d 8. c 9. b 10. a
Adapted from BBC, Words in the News, 5 February 2010
Reporter: Duncan Kennedy
Part A: Editing-Spelling
There are spelling errors. Write the correct word above the error.
Pizza makers in Naples are celebrating after gaining official European Union recognition. It’s the end of a battle that began 25 years ago and is aimed at protecting Neapolitan pizzas from imitations.
For 25 years pizza makers in Naples have been trying to get their product protected, and now it is, being 1. grented a TSG, or Traditional Speciality Guaranteed label by the EU. The head of the pizza makers’ association said the 2. tridemark was a great honour. The EU ’s agriculture commissioner said Neapolitan pizza was now part of Europe’s 3. food haritage.
It means that all 4. pezzerias aspiring to supply the real thing are, in future, supposed to be 5. vatted by a special commission that will check standards. They include using only San Marzano tomatoes and fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese.The Italian farmers’ association says that half of Italy’s 25,000 pizzerias currently use the wrong ingredients, like east European cheese or Ukrainian flour.Italy now tops EU chart for products that are protected. It has 180, more than Spain or France. Protected status enables producers to not only 6. baost about their exclusavity but also 7. charge a pramium. And now pizza makers from Naples will get their slice of the action.
Part B
Write TRUE or FALSE.
1. Pizza makers tried to patent their product. _______
2. The pizza is granted a TSG. ______
3. The pizza trademark is highly valued. ______
4. Neapolitan pizza is part of Europe’s cuisine. _______
5. A special commission checks standards of pizza made in England. _______
6. Three quarters of Italy’s pizzerias used incorrect techniques, including ingredients. ________
Part C: Vocabulary
Match the WORDS with the correct MEANINGS. Draw lines to match WORDS and the MEANIGS
WORDS MEANING
1. to get their product protected a. put the price of something up because it is in some way special
2. granted b. express pride in the uniqueness of their product
3. head c. checked or examined something carefully to make sure it is acceptable or suitable
4. trademark d. genuine ( not fake) things( here, Neapolitan pizzas)
5. food heritage e. food belonging to the culture of a particular society which exists from the which is important historically
6. pizzerias f. name or a symbol which is put on a product to show that it is made by a particular producer and cannot be used legally by any other producer.
7. the real thing g. given
8. vetted h. to have the same thing that they make ( here, pizzas) given special tratment
9. boast about their exclusivity i. boss or leader of an organisation
10. charge a premium j. places ( restaurants, cafes, etc) which make and sell pizzas to customers.
Part D Reading for Ideas
1. What is your favourite food?
2. Are food sold in the food court and hawker centres in Singapore healthy for consumption?
3. What is a healthy diet?
Part E: Contextual Clues
Underline the definition of the word given in bold.
1. The picture on the old television set was fuzzy so the outline of the people in the film was blurry and unclear.
2. No one liked the condescending man who always behaved as though he was superior to those around him.
3. I knew that James was in a pensive mood for he sat alone quietly and thoughtfully and looked a little sad.
4. Toby was a sincere man who said only what he truly meant and believed in.
5. Jane was an impetuous girl who often acted without thinking.
6. The ruthless dictator was harsh and cruel towards those who disobeyed him.
ANSWERS
Part A
1. granted 2. trademark 3. food heritage 4. pizzerias 5. vetted 6. boast about their exclusivity 7. charge a premium
Part B
1. true 2. true 3. true 4. true 5. false 6. false
Part C
1. h 2. g 3. I 4. f 5. e 6. j 7. d 8. c 9. b 10. a
Child Directs Air Traffic At JFK, BBC, Words In The News
Child direct air traffic at JFK
Adapted for BBC, Words in the News, 5 March, 2010
Reporter: James Gordon
US officials are investigating how a child was apparently allowed to direct planes at JFK airport. Pilots heard the voice of a surprisingly young boy instructin them from air traffic control.
JFK Airport in new York is one of the largest airports in the country, handling nearly a thousand take-offs and landings a day. But just after 8pm on the 16th of February, there was somebody else in the control tower directing air traffic and giving instructions to pilots.
Recording from air traffic control:
Boy: JetBlue 171 clear to take off.
Pilot: Clear for take off JetBlue 171.
The boy was speaking to an airbus A320 heading for Sacramento. The child’s father, who us a certified controller, brought his son to work and then put him to work as well.
Recording from air traffic control:
Boy: JetBlue 171 contact departure.
Pilot: Over to departure JetBlue 171. Awesome job.
The young boy continued directing pilots for several take-offs, pilots appearing to be more amused than worried.
The federal Aviation Administration, which regulates Americas’ airports, hasn’t released the names of the controllers involved, as well as his supervisor. Both have been relieved of their duties.
Some are saying the incident is being blown out of proportion since the youngster was repeating standard, routine directions to pilots with the adults, presumably, alongside him. It’s been revealed the controller in question brought his daughter in the following evening.
The FAA has released a statement saying, “This lapse in judgment not only violated the FAA’s own policies but common sense standards for professional conduct. These kinds of distractions are totally unacceptable.”
Part A: Write TRUE or FALSE.
1. A little girl was in the control tower in the evening of 16th February. _______
2. The child was talking to the pilot of an airbus heading for New York. ______
3. The child’s father was not a certified controller. __________
4. The child directed only one pilot for take-off. ________
5. Pilots who heard the boy giving instructions were alarmed. _________
6. The FAA regulates America’s airports. ________
7. The pilot and supervisor were suspended from work . ________
8. The controller had his son and his daughter with him at work the next evening. _______
Part B: Matching.
Match each of the following sentences with the words given below.
A. the control tower B. pilots C. an Airbus A320 D. amused
E. his supervisor F. relieved of their duties
G. is being blown out of proportion
H. lapse in judgment I. violated J. distractions
1. Things that stop people from paying attention and concentrating on what they should be doing.
___________________________________________________________________
2. Broke the rules or guidelines.
___________________________________________________________________
3. Unexpectedly bad decisions.
__________________________________________________________________
4. Had their jobs taken away, are no longer allowed to work
___________________________________________________________________
5. The high building in an airport from where instructions are given to help people takeoff and land airplanes safely.
__________________________ _________________________________________
6. People who fly airplanes.
___________________________________________________________________
7. A type of airplane.
____________________________________________________________________
8. Thought of something funny.
____________________________________________________________________
9. His manager, the person who makes sure that he does his job properly, gets training to do it and that his behavior at work is acceptable. ____________________________________________________________________
10. Is being made to seem much more serious than it actually is. ____________________________________________________________________
ANSWERS
Part A
1. false 2. false 3. false 4. false 5. false 5. true 7. true 8. true.
Part B
1. distractions 2. violated 3. lapse in judgment 4. relieved of their duties
5. the control tower 6. pilots 7. an Airbus A320 8. amused
9. his supervisor 10. is being blown out of proportion.
Adapted for BBC, Words in the News, 5 March, 2010
Reporter: James Gordon
US officials are investigating how a child was apparently allowed to direct planes at JFK airport. Pilots heard the voice of a surprisingly young boy instructin them from air traffic control.
JFK Airport in new York is one of the largest airports in the country, handling nearly a thousand take-offs and landings a day. But just after 8pm on the 16th of February, there was somebody else in the control tower directing air traffic and giving instructions to pilots.
Recording from air traffic control:
Boy: JetBlue 171 clear to take off.
Pilot: Clear for take off JetBlue 171.
The boy was speaking to an airbus A320 heading for Sacramento. The child’s father, who us a certified controller, brought his son to work and then put him to work as well.
Recording from air traffic control:
Boy: JetBlue 171 contact departure.
Pilot: Over to departure JetBlue 171. Awesome job.
The young boy continued directing pilots for several take-offs, pilots appearing to be more amused than worried.
The federal Aviation Administration, which regulates Americas’ airports, hasn’t released the names of the controllers involved, as well as his supervisor. Both have been relieved of their duties.
Some are saying the incident is being blown out of proportion since the youngster was repeating standard, routine directions to pilots with the adults, presumably, alongside him. It’s been revealed the controller in question brought his daughter in the following evening.
The FAA has released a statement saying, “This lapse in judgment not only violated the FAA’s own policies but common sense standards for professional conduct. These kinds of distractions are totally unacceptable.”
Part A: Write TRUE or FALSE.
1. A little girl was in the control tower in the evening of 16th February. _______
2. The child was talking to the pilot of an airbus heading for New York. ______
3. The child’s father was not a certified controller. __________
4. The child directed only one pilot for take-off. ________
5. Pilots who heard the boy giving instructions were alarmed. _________
6. The FAA regulates America’s airports. ________
7. The pilot and supervisor were suspended from work . ________
8. The controller had his son and his daughter with him at work the next evening. _______
Part B: Matching.
Match each of the following sentences with the words given below.
A. the control tower B. pilots C. an Airbus A320 D. amused
E. his supervisor F. relieved of their duties
G. is being blown out of proportion
H. lapse in judgment I. violated J. distractions
1. Things that stop people from paying attention and concentrating on what they should be doing.
___________________________________________________________________
2. Broke the rules or guidelines.
___________________________________________________________________
3. Unexpectedly bad decisions.
__________________________________________________________________
4. Had their jobs taken away, are no longer allowed to work
___________________________________________________________________
5. The high building in an airport from where instructions are given to help people takeoff and land airplanes safely.
__________________________ _________________________________________
6. People who fly airplanes.
___________________________________________________________________
7. A type of airplane.
____________________________________________________________________
8. Thought of something funny.
____________________________________________________________________
9. His manager, the person who makes sure that he does his job properly, gets training to do it and that his behavior at work is acceptable. ____________________________________________________________________
10. Is being made to seem much more serious than it actually is. ____________________________________________________________________
ANSWERS
Part A
1. false 2. false 3. false 4. false 5. false 5. true 7. true 8. true.
Part B
1. distractions 2. violated 3. lapse in judgment 4. relieved of their duties
5. the control tower 6. pilots 7. an Airbus A320 8. amused
9. his supervisor 10. is being blown out of proportion.
Gold For Canada As Olympics Ends, BBC, Words In The News
Gold for Canada as Olympics End
Adapted from BBC, Words in the News, 1 March 2010.
Reporter: Ian Gunn
The flame was put out and the organizers were praised as the Olympic games in Vancouver came to a close. But the real excitement was provided by Canada’s men’s ice-hockey team winning the final gold medal of the games.
The ceremony was marked by Canadians making gentle fun of themselves. In a nod to a glitch in the opening ceremony, part of the Olympic cauldron which couldn’t be lit two weeks ago was set alight to kick off the closing. The ceremony also featured a comic parade of Canadian stereotypes including Mounties, canoes and moose-antler hats for members of the audience.
In his closing remarks IOC ( International Olympics Committee) President Jacques Rogge called the games ‘excellent’ and ‘very friendly’ and said the Canadian organizers had done an outstanding job.
The head of Vancouver’s organizing committee received a deafening cheer from the 60,000 spectators as he acknowledged Canada’s ice-hockey team that won the final gold medal of the games shortly before the ceremony. John Furlong also said the games had lifted the Canadian mood in a way no one could have anticipated.
The Canadian officials handed the Olympic flag to organizers of the next Winter Olympics in Sochi who invited the world to Russia in 2014 with simultaneous performances inside the Canadian stadium and from Sochi itself.
Part A: Write TRUE or FALSE
1. During the ceremony, the Canadians were laughing and smiling at things about themselves. __________________
2. There was a small problem in the opening ceremony . ___________________
3. There was a parade of Canadian police officers. ____________
4. Jacques Rogge was the President of Canada. __________
5. Head of Vancouver’s organizing committee received a cold welcome from the spectators. _____________
6. The ice-hockey team won a silver medal. ______________
7. The audience wore moose-antler hats. ___________
8. The next winter games will be held in Sochi. __________
9. Sochi is in Russia. _____________
10. The next winter Olympics is in five years’ time. _________
Part B: Vocabulary Matching
Match the sentences with the words given below.
A. making gentle fun of themselves B. a nod to
C. a glitch in D. cauldron
E. to kick off F. Mounties
G. moose-antler hats H. a deafening cheer
I. lifted the Canadian mood J. anticipated
1. an acknowledgment of, in recognition of.
__________________________________________________________
2. smiling or laughing at things about themselves that others find funny.
__________________________________________________________
3. a small problem or fault.
__________________________________________________________
4. to start, to begin
_________________________________________________________
5. hats that have flat horns on them like those of a large type of deer found in
North America.
_________________________________________________________
6. Canadian police officers who are well known for their colourful uniforms and their use of horses rather than motor vehicles.
_________________________________________________________
7. expected, predicted
________________________________________________________
8. an extremely loud sound made by a crowd of people to show that they are very pleased.
________________________________________________________
9. made the Canadians feel happier
_______________________________________________________
10. very large, round metal pot that is used on fires, here, to hold the Olympic flame.
_______________________________________________________
ANSWERS
Part A
1. true 2. true 3. true 4. false 5. false 6. false 7. true 8. true 9. true 10. false
Part B
1. a nod 2. making gentle fun of themselves 3. a glitch in 4. to kick off 5. moose-antler hats 6. Mounties 7. anticipated 8. a defeaning cher 9. lifted the Canadian mood 10. cauldron
Adapted from BBC, Words in the News, 1 March 2010.
Reporter: Ian Gunn
The flame was put out and the organizers were praised as the Olympic games in Vancouver came to a close. But the real excitement was provided by Canada’s men’s ice-hockey team winning the final gold medal of the games.
The ceremony was marked by Canadians making gentle fun of themselves. In a nod to a glitch in the opening ceremony, part of the Olympic cauldron which couldn’t be lit two weeks ago was set alight to kick off the closing. The ceremony also featured a comic parade of Canadian stereotypes including Mounties, canoes and moose-antler hats for members of the audience.
In his closing remarks IOC ( International Olympics Committee) President Jacques Rogge called the games ‘excellent’ and ‘very friendly’ and said the Canadian organizers had done an outstanding job.
The head of Vancouver’s organizing committee received a deafening cheer from the 60,000 spectators as he acknowledged Canada’s ice-hockey team that won the final gold medal of the games shortly before the ceremony. John Furlong also said the games had lifted the Canadian mood in a way no one could have anticipated.
The Canadian officials handed the Olympic flag to organizers of the next Winter Olympics in Sochi who invited the world to Russia in 2014 with simultaneous performances inside the Canadian stadium and from Sochi itself.
Part A: Write TRUE or FALSE
1. During the ceremony, the Canadians were laughing and smiling at things about themselves. __________________
2. There was a small problem in the opening ceremony . ___________________
3. There was a parade of Canadian police officers. ____________
4. Jacques Rogge was the President of Canada. __________
5. Head of Vancouver’s organizing committee received a cold welcome from the spectators. _____________
6. The ice-hockey team won a silver medal. ______________
7. The audience wore moose-antler hats. ___________
8. The next winter games will be held in Sochi. __________
9. Sochi is in Russia. _____________
10. The next winter Olympics is in five years’ time. _________
Part B: Vocabulary Matching
Match the sentences with the words given below.
A. making gentle fun of themselves B. a nod to
C. a glitch in D. cauldron
E. to kick off F. Mounties
G. moose-antler hats H. a deafening cheer
I. lifted the Canadian mood J. anticipated
1. an acknowledgment of, in recognition of.
__________________________________________________________
2. smiling or laughing at things about themselves that others find funny.
__________________________________________________________
3. a small problem or fault.
__________________________________________________________
4. to start, to begin
_________________________________________________________
5. hats that have flat horns on them like those of a large type of deer found in
North America.
_________________________________________________________
6. Canadian police officers who are well known for their colourful uniforms and their use of horses rather than motor vehicles.
_________________________________________________________
7. expected, predicted
________________________________________________________
8. an extremely loud sound made by a crowd of people to show that they are very pleased.
________________________________________________________
9. made the Canadians feel happier
_______________________________________________________
10. very large, round metal pot that is used on fires, here, to hold the Olympic flame.
_______________________________________________________
ANSWERS
Part A
1. true 2. true 3. true 4. false 5. false 6. false 7. true 8. true 9. true 10. false
Part B
1. a nod 2. making gentle fun of themselves 3. a glitch in 4. to kick off 5. moose-antler hats 6. Mounties 7. anticipated 8. a defeaning cher 9. lifted the Canadian mood 10. cauldron
Sunday, February 21, 2010
JOLLY JUMBO- decribing people
Name ________________________ Class _____________ Date ______________
Feb 8, 2010 , STRAITS TIMES
Vocabulary and Grammar( Tenses, punctuation) Worksheet
Title: Jolly Jumbo
Good service, good food and GM Ang Kiam Meng's personal touch keep customers happy at Jumbo's restaurants
By huang lijie
Apart from its six seafood outlets, Mr Ang has added new dining concepts to the Jumbo Group. -- ST
PART ONE: GRAMMAR: TENSES
Seafood restaurateur Ang Kiam Meng is the last person you expect to 1. ________( be+concern) about what to wear for a photo shoot.
Yet the 47-year-old general manager of the Jumbo Group of restaurants, clad in a long-sleeved white shirt and dark trousers for an earlier office meeting, turns up for the interview at his semi-detached home off MacPherson Road, asking: What should I wear? Something casual or formal? Maybe both so you 2. ____________(be) a choice?
He 3. __________(pick) out a black Mandarin-collar shirt and a company T-shirt, and
4. ___________(change) outfits quickly during the photo shoot.
Those who do not know him better might think he is vain. But his friends will tell you such behaviour is typical of the unassuming man, who 5. __________( considerate) and
6. ___________(focus) on getting the job done well.
Indeed, he 7. ___________(skip) lunch after his previous meeting ran late, so that the interview can proceed as scheduled. He 8. __________(quell) hunger pangs during the three-hour conversation by 9. __________(nibble) on Nonya kueh.
He is decidedly low-key for someone whose six Jumbo Seafood restaurants in locations such as East Coast Parkway and Dempsey Hill, posted a combined revenue of $51 million last year.
The three-storey home where he 10. ___________(live) with his four children, aged between 10 and 20, and wife Jacqueline, 47, assistant general manager of the Jumbo Group, shows his preference for restraint.
The red cotton sofa set 11. __________(spell) comfort, not designer furniture. The glass dining table 12. __________(decorate) with sea shells. Family photos grace the walls of the living room.
His parents, Madam Nyeo Sai Joo, 70, and Mr Ang Hon Nam, 72, live next door while two of his younger sisters live opposite. He says: 'We 13. _________(be) a close-knit family and living on the same street allows us to take care of one another.'
The down-to-earth air extends to his favourite pastime - basketball. He 14. _______(perk + preposition) when talking about his recreational basketball team, the 88ers, which 15. _________(be) formed in 1988. The group is made up of friends and it used to meet weekly at community clubs until recently, when the members' heavy work commitments took a toll. Now, it meets once a month.
PART TWO: VOCABULARY
He also runs and pounds the pavement of his neighbourhood at least once a week, covering about 4km each time. It helps him relax and sort out his 1. (thoughts/ motives/money)
Besides Jumbo Seafood, the group also runs hotpot restaurant Jpot at VivoCity, Claypot Fun, a claypot rice restaurant in East Coast Parkway, and Yoshimaru Ramen Bar in Holland Village and East Coast Parkway. It also has shares in two Singapore Seafood Republic restaurants with 2. (headquarters/booths/outlets) in Shinagawa and Ginza in Tokyo.
He says: 'I always think of the business from the customer's point of view and what I would like if I were the 3. ( client/ student/customer).'
This is why he prices Jumbo Seafood's signature chilli crab and black pepper crab between $36 and $42 per kg, instead of the usual $44 per kg that other restaurants charge. He says: 'Chilli crab and pepper crab are our main draws and we believe in giving customers the best
4. ( quantity/ object/value) for their money.'
With this in mind, he 5. ( projected/launched/organized) the Jumbo Rewards card in 2004. Anyone can sign up for the card, which offers members a 10 per cent discount on meals and a 5 per cent 6. (rebate/incentive/gifts) that may be used to pay for subsequent meals or redeemed as dining-shopping 7. (vouchers/cheques/cash). About 17,000 cards have been issued so far.
Even the corporate calendar given to regular customers comes with discount 8.(coupons/letters/credits) for a special dish every month at each of its restaurants.
Mr Han Jin Juan, 57, managing director of Palm Beach Seafood Restaurants and a shareholder of Claypot Fun, Yoshimaru Ramen Bar and Singapore Seafood Republic, says: 'Kiam Meng is very hands on. Every time he opens a new restaurant, he is always around to help
9. (in/under/out) and serve customers. Not all restaurant owners as successful as him will go to this extent.'
As the president of the Restaurant Association of Singapore, which represents 2,000 restaurants, Mr Ang has done things differently.
He has been 10. (called/announced/nominated)to the post for two two-year terms since 2006 and says: 'When I took over, the association was fighting to stay afloat financially. So I made sure its day-to-day operations, such as organising activities for members, are financially self-sustaining. It is now financially stable.'
He developed the association's training centre into the Singapore
11. (Handicraft/Baking/Culinary) Institute in 2007. The institute teaches Asian culinary skills and it is supported by enterprise development agency Spring Singapore and the Singapore Workforce Development Agency.
His willingness to share trade information with its members, even if some are direct business competitors, helped to strengthen the industry too. For example, he tells members about reliable suppliers and contractors he has encountered.
He says: 'I regard other restaurateurs as friends because when the industry is faced with challenges, it is easier for us to come together and solve problems.'
This is why he has had no trouble working with other restaurants such as Palm Beach Seafood and Seafood International on new dining eateries.
He adds: 'We have our own market segments and we
12. (substitute/complement/compete) one another. Palm Beach caters to a corporate crowd, Seafood International is into fine-dining and Jumbo is more for the masses.'
Mr Han of Palm Beach Seafood says: 'He is very helpful and willing to share information that will benefit the industry. As a business partner, he is also very focused and detail-oriented.'
PART THREE: GRAMMAR
Yet, Mr Ang is an accidental restaurateur. Born the eldest of five children to a housewife mother and taxi driver father, he spent his early years living in an attap house in Aljunied.
The family's fortunes improved after his father started running a garment manufacturing business and they 1. _________(move) into a semi-detached home off MacPherson Road when he was seven.
In school, he 2. ________(be) always among the top of his class. He 3. _________(study) at Maha Bodhi School, Maris Stella High School and the then Hwa Chong Junior College. He was also active in sports and represented his schools in basketball and track and field.
Mr Mark Kuah, 47, owner of an insurance agency who 4. _________(be+know) him since secondary school, says: 'Even though he was a top student, he 5. _________(be+help) those who were weak in their schoolwork. He never behaved like a rich man's son. He was humble and friendly to everyone.'
Mr Ang 6. ________(graduate) with a bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of Texas in Austin in the United States in 1985 and worked as a software engineer with Singapore Technologies.
PART FOUR : EDITING- Tenses. Phrasal Verbs, Infinitives
There are FIFTEEN errors. Write the correct answer on the lines below.
In 1987, his father and nine friends 1. buys in a failed restaurant at the East Coast Seafood Centre and 2. had given it the catchy name Jumbo.
He says: 'My father and his friends used 3. to entertained a lot for business, so they 4. think opening their own seafood restaurant was a good idea. But it was a big mistake because they knew nothing about running a restaurant.'
The manager hired to run it 5. do not do a good job and the business 6. falters briefly. His father and uncle, who were major shareholders, 7. take off the operations and 8. rolled in changes that made sense to them if they were restaurant customers.
Menus, uncommon at most seafood restaurants then, 9. is introduce so that their pricing was transparent. They also treated all diners equally, regardless of the size of the dining group or the amount the party 10. spends.
This combination of good service and good food - their chilli crab 11. was simmering to extract the full flavour of the crab - made Jumbo Seafood popular.
In 1993, his father 12. has feeling it was time to expand the restaurant and asked him 13. to joined the business as he was the eldest son.
He says, “I was 14. half hearted about leaving my software engineering job because I knew nothing about running a restaurant. But I was a bit bored with corporate life and my father 15. needing me.”
His first big task was to open Jumbo's second outlet, but it failed. Lured by good rental, he took over the space of a failed restaurant at the then East Coast Recreation Centre, now called Marine Cove.
But he was not careful with the tenancy agreement, which allowed the landlord to increase the rent 5.6 times when the tenancy was up for renewal after two years.
So the restaurant, despite doing good business, wound up in 1995 without recovering its investment of $1.6 million.
He says: 'It was a very stressful time and I used to jog around my neighbourhood at 1am to try to de-stress. But I am not the sort to quit so I persevered.'
Over the next 12 years, he grew Jumbo Seafood to six outlets. He says: 'We will expand only when we have the manpower and financial ability to grow. We also avoid rushing into prime locations unless the rental price is right.'
He adds: 'The Singapore market for seafood restaurants is limited so we have gone overseas and also opened different dining concepts.'
In 2008, it opened Singapore Seafood Republic in Shinagawa, Tokyo with Palm Beach Seafood, Seafood International and Kriston Food and Beverage after they were approached by Japan's Maruha Restaurant Systems to launch a seafood restaurant that features each partner's signature style of crabs.
The restaurant, which sells about 3,000kg of crabs every month, spawned a second outlet in Ginza, Tokyo last year.
Jumbo also added three new concepts to its group of restaurants last year.
Claypot Fun, a collaboration with other restaurateurs, came about because they love eating claypot rice and saw the potential for this type of cuisine. The restaurant, which cost $80,000 to set up, broke even in six months.
Similarly, its hotpot restaurant, Jpot, was opened to satisfy consumer demand for steamboat. It is on track to recover its $800,000 set-up costs in three years.
Yoshimaru Ramen Bar, started in Japan by Maruha Restaurant Systems, was brought in because of Singaporean's appetite for ramen.
This year, Jumbo will launch a casual seafood restaurant at Resorts World Sentosa in partnership with Tung Lok restaurant, Palm Beach Seafood, Seafood International and Singapore Seafood Republic.
Helping him grow the business are his sister, Mrs Christina Kong, 41, head of corporate affairs and human resources, and brother, Mr Ang Kiam Lian, 37, head of strategic business planning.
The advantage of working with family, he says, is that they are committed to the business, although he acknowledges they have to be careful to maintain a strictly professional relationship at work.
He adds: 'Sometimes, because they are family, I take them for granted. I have overlooked my wife's feelings and been quite harsh with her during discussions in the past. But I have since mellowed.'
Mrs Ang says: 'He has become more understanding and we have learnt how to come to a compromise on issues.'
He says: 'When I first started in this business, I kept wondering if I made the right choice. I struggled a lot and I had so little confidence in myself then, I did not dare to tell people I was a restaurateur.
'But I stuck with it and I have no regrets now, 17 years later.'
PART FIVE: GRAMMAR- PUNCTUATION
Punctuate the following .
1. This is a semi detached house.
2. Mr Tan is the forty year old general manager.
3. He wore a long sleeved shirt and a black bow tie.
4. He wore a mandarin collar shirt.
5. It was a three hour wait.
6. They live in a three storey house.
7. This is a close knit family.
8. His down to earth ideas won the audience to his side.
9. The day to day operations in the restaurant went on smoothly.
10. There are many fine dining restaurants along the beach.
11. He is focused and detail orientated.
12. We like to de stress by going to the Spa Resort at Batam every weekend.
ANSWERS
Part one
1. be concerned 2. have 3. picked 4. changed 5. is considerate 6. focused
7. skips 8. quells 9. nibbling 10. lives 11. spells 12. decorates 13. are
14. oerks up 15. was
Part two
1. thoughts 2. outlets 3. client 4. value 5. launched 6. rebate 7. vouchers
8. coupons 9. out 10. nominated 11. culinary 12. complement
Part three
1. moved 2. was 3. studied 4. was known 5. would help 6. graduated
Part four
1. buys over 2. gave 3. to entertain 4. thought 5. did not do
6. faltered 7. took over 8. rolled out 9. was introduced
10. spent 11. was simmered 12. felt 13. to join
14. half-hearted 15. needed
Part five
1. semi-detached 2. forty-year-old 3. long-sleeved 4. mandarin-collar 5. three-hour 6. three-storey 7. close-knit 8. down-to-earth 9 close-knit
10. day-to-day 11. fine-dining 12. de-stress
Feb 8, 2010 , STRAITS TIMES
Vocabulary and Grammar( Tenses, punctuation) Worksheet
Title: Jolly Jumbo
Good service, good food and GM Ang Kiam Meng's personal touch keep customers happy at Jumbo's restaurants
By huang lijie
Apart from its six seafood outlets, Mr Ang has added new dining concepts to the Jumbo Group. -- ST
PART ONE: GRAMMAR: TENSES
Seafood restaurateur Ang Kiam Meng is the last person you expect to 1. ________( be+concern) about what to wear for a photo shoot.
Yet the 47-year-old general manager of the Jumbo Group of restaurants, clad in a long-sleeved white shirt and dark trousers for an earlier office meeting, turns up for the interview at his semi-detached home off MacPherson Road, asking: What should I wear? Something casual or formal? Maybe both so you 2. ____________(be) a choice?
He 3. __________(pick) out a black Mandarin-collar shirt and a company T-shirt, and
4. ___________(change) outfits quickly during the photo shoot.
Those who do not know him better might think he is vain. But his friends will tell you such behaviour is typical of the unassuming man, who 5. __________( considerate) and
6. ___________(focus) on getting the job done well.
Indeed, he 7. ___________(skip) lunch after his previous meeting ran late, so that the interview can proceed as scheduled. He 8. __________(quell) hunger pangs during the three-hour conversation by 9. __________(nibble) on Nonya kueh.
He is decidedly low-key for someone whose six Jumbo Seafood restaurants in locations such as East Coast Parkway and Dempsey Hill, posted a combined revenue of $51 million last year.
The three-storey home where he 10. ___________(live) with his four children, aged between 10 and 20, and wife Jacqueline, 47, assistant general manager of the Jumbo Group, shows his preference for restraint.
The red cotton sofa set 11. __________(spell) comfort, not designer furniture. The glass dining table 12. __________(decorate) with sea shells. Family photos grace the walls of the living room.
His parents, Madam Nyeo Sai Joo, 70, and Mr Ang Hon Nam, 72, live next door while two of his younger sisters live opposite. He says: 'We 13. _________(be) a close-knit family and living on the same street allows us to take care of one another.'
The down-to-earth air extends to his favourite pastime - basketball. He 14. _______(perk + preposition) when talking about his recreational basketball team, the 88ers, which 15. _________(be) formed in 1988. The group is made up of friends and it used to meet weekly at community clubs until recently, when the members' heavy work commitments took a toll. Now, it meets once a month.
PART TWO: VOCABULARY
He also runs and pounds the pavement of his neighbourhood at least once a week, covering about 4km each time. It helps him relax and sort out his 1. (thoughts/ motives/money)
Besides Jumbo Seafood, the group also runs hotpot restaurant Jpot at VivoCity, Claypot Fun, a claypot rice restaurant in East Coast Parkway, and Yoshimaru Ramen Bar in Holland Village and East Coast Parkway. It also has shares in two Singapore Seafood Republic restaurants with 2. (headquarters/booths/outlets) in Shinagawa and Ginza in Tokyo.
He says: 'I always think of the business from the customer's point of view and what I would like if I were the 3. ( client/ student/customer).'
This is why he prices Jumbo Seafood's signature chilli crab and black pepper crab between $36 and $42 per kg, instead of the usual $44 per kg that other restaurants charge. He says: 'Chilli crab and pepper crab are our main draws and we believe in giving customers the best
4. ( quantity/ object/value) for their money.'
With this in mind, he 5. ( projected/launched/organized) the Jumbo Rewards card in 2004. Anyone can sign up for the card, which offers members a 10 per cent discount on meals and a 5 per cent 6. (rebate/incentive/gifts) that may be used to pay for subsequent meals or redeemed as dining-shopping 7. (vouchers/cheques/cash). About 17,000 cards have been issued so far.
Even the corporate calendar given to regular customers comes with discount 8.(coupons/letters/credits) for a special dish every month at each of its restaurants.
Mr Han Jin Juan, 57, managing director of Palm Beach Seafood Restaurants and a shareholder of Claypot Fun, Yoshimaru Ramen Bar and Singapore Seafood Republic, says: 'Kiam Meng is very hands on. Every time he opens a new restaurant, he is always around to help
9. (in/under/out) and serve customers. Not all restaurant owners as successful as him will go to this extent.'
As the president of the Restaurant Association of Singapore, which represents 2,000 restaurants, Mr Ang has done things differently.
He has been 10. (called/announced/nominated)to the post for two two-year terms since 2006 and says: 'When I took over, the association was fighting to stay afloat financially. So I made sure its day-to-day operations, such as organising activities for members, are financially self-sustaining. It is now financially stable.'
He developed the association's training centre into the Singapore
11. (Handicraft/Baking/Culinary) Institute in 2007. The institute teaches Asian culinary skills and it is supported by enterprise development agency Spring Singapore and the Singapore Workforce Development Agency.
His willingness to share trade information with its members, even if some are direct business competitors, helped to strengthen the industry too. For example, he tells members about reliable suppliers and contractors he has encountered.
He says: 'I regard other restaurateurs as friends because when the industry is faced with challenges, it is easier for us to come together and solve problems.'
This is why he has had no trouble working with other restaurants such as Palm Beach Seafood and Seafood International on new dining eateries.
He adds: 'We have our own market segments and we
12. (substitute/complement/compete) one another. Palm Beach caters to a corporate crowd, Seafood International is into fine-dining and Jumbo is more for the masses.'
Mr Han of Palm Beach Seafood says: 'He is very helpful and willing to share information that will benefit the industry. As a business partner, he is also very focused and detail-oriented.'
PART THREE: GRAMMAR
Yet, Mr Ang is an accidental restaurateur. Born the eldest of five children to a housewife mother and taxi driver father, he spent his early years living in an attap house in Aljunied.
The family's fortunes improved after his father started running a garment manufacturing business and they 1. _________(move) into a semi-detached home off MacPherson Road when he was seven.
In school, he 2. ________(be) always among the top of his class. He 3. _________(study) at Maha Bodhi School, Maris Stella High School and the then Hwa Chong Junior College. He was also active in sports and represented his schools in basketball and track and field.
Mr Mark Kuah, 47, owner of an insurance agency who 4. _________(be+know) him since secondary school, says: 'Even though he was a top student, he 5. _________(be+help) those who were weak in their schoolwork. He never behaved like a rich man's son. He was humble and friendly to everyone.'
Mr Ang 6. ________(graduate) with a bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of Texas in Austin in the United States in 1985 and worked as a software engineer with Singapore Technologies.
PART FOUR : EDITING- Tenses. Phrasal Verbs, Infinitives
There are FIFTEEN errors. Write the correct answer on the lines below.
In 1987, his father and nine friends 1. buys in a failed restaurant at the East Coast Seafood Centre and 2. had given it the catchy name Jumbo.
He says: 'My father and his friends used 3. to entertained a lot for business, so they 4. think opening their own seafood restaurant was a good idea. But it was a big mistake because they knew nothing about running a restaurant.'
The manager hired to run it 5. do not do a good job and the business 6. falters briefly. His father and uncle, who were major shareholders, 7. take off the operations and 8. rolled in changes that made sense to them if they were restaurant customers.
Menus, uncommon at most seafood restaurants then, 9. is introduce so that their pricing was transparent. They also treated all diners equally, regardless of the size of the dining group or the amount the party 10. spends.
This combination of good service and good food - their chilli crab 11. was simmering to extract the full flavour of the crab - made Jumbo Seafood popular.
In 1993, his father 12. has feeling it was time to expand the restaurant and asked him 13. to joined the business as he was the eldest son.
He says, “I was 14. half hearted about leaving my software engineering job because I knew nothing about running a restaurant. But I was a bit bored with corporate life and my father 15. needing me.”
His first big task was to open Jumbo's second outlet, but it failed. Lured by good rental, he took over the space of a failed restaurant at the then East Coast Recreation Centre, now called Marine Cove.
But he was not careful with the tenancy agreement, which allowed the landlord to increase the rent 5.6 times when the tenancy was up for renewal after two years.
So the restaurant, despite doing good business, wound up in 1995 without recovering its investment of $1.6 million.
He says: 'It was a very stressful time and I used to jog around my neighbourhood at 1am to try to de-stress. But I am not the sort to quit so I persevered.'
Over the next 12 years, he grew Jumbo Seafood to six outlets. He says: 'We will expand only when we have the manpower and financial ability to grow. We also avoid rushing into prime locations unless the rental price is right.'
He adds: 'The Singapore market for seafood restaurants is limited so we have gone overseas and also opened different dining concepts.'
In 2008, it opened Singapore Seafood Republic in Shinagawa, Tokyo with Palm Beach Seafood, Seafood International and Kriston Food and Beverage after they were approached by Japan's Maruha Restaurant Systems to launch a seafood restaurant that features each partner's signature style of crabs.
The restaurant, which sells about 3,000kg of crabs every month, spawned a second outlet in Ginza, Tokyo last year.
Jumbo also added three new concepts to its group of restaurants last year.
Claypot Fun, a collaboration with other restaurateurs, came about because they love eating claypot rice and saw the potential for this type of cuisine. The restaurant, which cost $80,000 to set up, broke even in six months.
Similarly, its hotpot restaurant, Jpot, was opened to satisfy consumer demand for steamboat. It is on track to recover its $800,000 set-up costs in three years.
Yoshimaru Ramen Bar, started in Japan by Maruha Restaurant Systems, was brought in because of Singaporean's appetite for ramen.
This year, Jumbo will launch a casual seafood restaurant at Resorts World Sentosa in partnership with Tung Lok restaurant, Palm Beach Seafood, Seafood International and Singapore Seafood Republic.
Helping him grow the business are his sister, Mrs Christina Kong, 41, head of corporate affairs and human resources, and brother, Mr Ang Kiam Lian, 37, head of strategic business planning.
The advantage of working with family, he says, is that they are committed to the business, although he acknowledges they have to be careful to maintain a strictly professional relationship at work.
He adds: 'Sometimes, because they are family, I take them for granted. I have overlooked my wife's feelings and been quite harsh with her during discussions in the past. But I have since mellowed.'
Mrs Ang says: 'He has become more understanding and we have learnt how to come to a compromise on issues.'
He says: 'When I first started in this business, I kept wondering if I made the right choice. I struggled a lot and I had so little confidence in myself then, I did not dare to tell people I was a restaurateur.
'But I stuck with it and I have no regrets now, 17 years later.'
PART FIVE: GRAMMAR- PUNCTUATION
Punctuate the following .
1. This is a semi detached house.
2. Mr Tan is the forty year old general manager.
3. He wore a long sleeved shirt and a black bow tie.
4. He wore a mandarin collar shirt.
5. It was a three hour wait.
6. They live in a three storey house.
7. This is a close knit family.
8. His down to earth ideas won the audience to his side.
9. The day to day operations in the restaurant went on smoothly.
10. There are many fine dining restaurants along the beach.
11. He is focused and detail orientated.
12. We like to de stress by going to the Spa Resort at Batam every weekend.
ANSWERS
Part one
1. be concerned 2. have 3. picked 4. changed 5. is considerate 6. focused
7. skips 8. quells 9. nibbling 10. lives 11. spells 12. decorates 13. are
14. oerks up 15. was
Part two
1. thoughts 2. outlets 3. client 4. value 5. launched 6. rebate 7. vouchers
8. coupons 9. out 10. nominated 11. culinary 12. complement
Part three
1. moved 2. was 3. studied 4. was known 5. would help 6. graduated
Part four
1. buys over 2. gave 3. to entertain 4. thought 5. did not do
6. faltered 7. took over 8. rolled out 9. was introduced
10. spent 11. was simmered 12. felt 13. to join
14. half-hearted 15. needed
Part five
1. semi-detached 2. forty-year-old 3. long-sleeved 4. mandarin-collar 5. three-hour 6. three-storey 7. close-knit 8. down-to-earth 9 close-knit
10. day-to-day 11. fine-dining 12. de-stress
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