Portfolio 6:The attitudes I’d like to have in the future
Attitude is a person’s feeling or opinion about something, there is a proverb says that attitude determines everything. Positive attitude is an essential component leading to success. Now, as an overseas student in Singapore and envisioning my future, I have established three attitudes in my heart.

First, I should be optimistic when facing difficulties. There would be difficulties in my life, including language, culture, diet and climate. Adapting to a new environment is a tough process which I need to go through. An attitude deserves to learn reads “it’s there” (A climber who wanted to conquer Mount Qomolangma answered a journalist who asked why he had the courage). Yes, so easy an answer, but it has meaningful intensions. While difficulties are on the way, I have the confidence to overcome them.

Secondly, I want to have a learning attitude. One purpose I came here is to widen my horizon and Singapore gives me the chance as an international and cosmopolitan city. During my time in Singapore, I can acquire more cutting-edge knowledge, gain more international information and make friends with people who are different races. This is really a good opportunity for me to enrich my mind.

Thirdly, I would like to have a dedicating attitude to society. Being generous is an important step of being devoting, if somebody ask for help, I will give him my hand. On the other hand, I hope that, through this overseas experience, my hard working spirit and acquired knowledge; I can be a useful people and make more contribution to our society.

In a nutshell, making these attitudes my guide, I will do my best and I am confident that my future will be bright.

Portfolio 5:My new technology---Minder Reader
Reading the two articles is the first time I heard about the mind reader technology and I feel it is mysterious. By the general introduction from the two articles I know there are both positive and negative effects. A question raised is how we can make use of this cutting edge technology and what should we do to minimize the potential unethical abuse of it. That is a problem needs to be solved.
If I am a researcher on this field, firstly I would guarantee that technology itself does not have any flaws so that it will not cause bad influence on its users. Achieving this requires researchers to be responsible and careful, which are the characteristics I need to have.
After making sure it is safe, I can put it into market. I am glad to see that my technology benefits a lot of users, but it is possible that some lawless people would make use of it to some illegal things, which is not what I want to see. For example, terrorist may use it to steal the national confidentiality. Because of this potential threat of abusing my technology, a new task comes to me. I would develop a powerful and intelligent program which can detect the abuse of my technology. Once someone wants to do bad things by it, this mind reader can tell by itself and loss its function immediately.
Human develop new technology by hoping that it can help us rather than harm us. We should aware the possible results brought by our innovation. If there is any potential threat, we need to think about it and make it safer.

Portfolio 4:Difficulties in My Engineering Classes
As an engineering student, I encounter lots of new knowledge which contains various fields of subjects. My real feeling is that these new-learned knowledge is quite hard and it is uneasy for me cope with them well. More than the professional knowledge, because English is not my first language, so this is another difficulty for me.

Take EG1108 as an example, this is a fundamental module for electrical engineering students so it is very important for me to learn it well. This module mainly covers the field of electricity and its application. Before entering university, I have gained some basic knowledge about it, which makes it easier for me to learn this module. I found that the difference between this module and things I have learned before is that EG1108 is more specific and more focused and it broadens my previous knowledge. As a consequence, its difficulty will definitely increase. I think it is impossible to handle it well if only attending the lecture and doing the tutorial. So after each lecture, it is necessary for me to think carefully about things taught by the lecturer, I will look for help from textbook, friends and tutor if I cannot understand something and solve them as soon as possible. I become more proficient by doing this. Also I will see lots of technical words every lecture, to avoid the difficulties in understanding the knowledge caused by these new words, I gradually form the habit of preview. I will read the lecture notes before class so I have a rough idea about what I’m going to learn that lecture and I will look up those technical words at the same time so that I would not feel confused about the knowledge because of language.

Learning is a process and everyone has his own difficulties. To me, by taking the suitable methods, I am confident that I will improve gradually.

Porfolio 3:A summary for Listening to the Language and the Voices of Terrorists
After the “nine-eleven” event, on September 14, Present Bush gave a speech to the rescue workers on the ruins and ashes who were shouting “USA, USA, USA”, telling them that their voice will be heard by people from all over the world including those terrorists who plotted this attack. President expressed his anger and this speech was regarded as a warning on terrorism.

Soon after that, US declared war on Afghanistan in the name of eliminating terrorist. This was thought by the author Noa Zanolli as acts of violence. She raise a very distinctive opinion that incessant exchanges of acts of violence on either side. By convention, we never think about what the terrorism is telling us. We just think that terrorist hate us and we only communicate with each other through mutual mass murder. The author gives us a question: why we do not think it from another perspective and listen to the voice of terrorism?

The author stresses that listening to the voice of terrorism never mean harm our citizens. She raises several assumptions and asks why not we think in that way and point out that if we and terrorist can understand each other, the situation may become better and there may not be any violence on either side. Understanding is the most important factor for both sides and we need mediators to translate the language of terrorism and vice versa translate the Western responses.

At last, the author mentions the two US presidential candidates. According to her opinion, compared with Senator McCain’s policy, Senator Obama’s is much suitable which offers hope and a chance to silencing terrorism by listening and by dealing with it with a lot more understanding of its complexity and in a more effective manner.

The following link to find the the original article: http://www.mediate.com/articles/zanolliN2.cfm#bio

Portfolio 2:A Common Grammar Mistake: Word Forms
In English language, there are several different kinds of word forms: verb, noun, adjective, pronoun, preposition, adverb, conjunction, article, numeral. Each kind of word has different functions and some of them have similar usage. So knowing how each one is used is very important. No matter in written or speaking English, I make mistakes by misusing them and it is essential for me to learn more about all these word’s correct usages. Among those words, verb, noun and adjective are most commonly used and here I will concentrate on them.

In terms of verb, it has many tenses where I always make mistakes. For example, when a noun is used as a subject in single form, the corresponding verb should be used as single verb too. Also, verb has two important forms, namely “-ing” and “-ed” forms. By using these two forms, verb can be used as attributive such as challenging problem and reserved seat. Above are only two basic usages of verb while other usages await me to explore.

In terms of noun, there are countable and uncountable noun which relate to the use of article. For example, tree, apple and people are countable nouns; water, chalk and light are uncountable nouns. Noun also has difference of single and plural such as leaf and leaves. A remarkable example I want to mention is people because its singular and plural forms are same. Both are places mistakes usually happen and I need to pay close attention to them.

In terms of adjective, the most important thing is collocation because adjectives are usually used to modify other words. Sometimes I make some collocations which make no senses in English. In this aspect, I think I can improve by doing more practices and accumulate in my daily life.

In short, I need to realize where my mistakes always happen and pay attention to them next when encountering them, as well as more practices. I believe that I will do better by my effort.

A Practice:Errors in word forms are indicated in italics. Write the correct form of the word in the corresponding lines in the right hand column.

From the living room and family car to the supermarket and office, it's impossible to escape the electronic revolution that is transforming the way people live and work.

Already, 1.technology gains are bringing to people products, services, and recreation they never dreamed of just a few years ago: stereophonic television, TV sets that can be 2.carrying in a coat pocket, portable radios with stereo sound, home telephones that signal when another caller is on the line and forward calls from home to business, bill paying without the paperwork.

Outside the home, the dazzle of electronics is no less brilliant, a 3.perfect typed letter at the touch of a button, building and auto designs from a com­puter, cash from the bank at any hour andinstant access to thousands of ref­erence sources.
All this comes at a price. Robbery by computer now is the primary white-­collar crime according to some criminologists, and costs society anywhere from $100 million to S3 billion a year. Another problem raised by the use of more computers is the risk of 4.invaded of personal privacy. There is also concern on the part of many workers that their jobs will be taken by 5.computer robots or some other form of automation.

The computer industry can trace its beginning to 1906, when inventor Lee DeForest perfected the three‑element vacuum tube. This device, the triode, made it possible to use one electric current to control the flow of another. From that development, seventy‑six years ago, has 6.evolution a $120‑billion‑a‑year electronics industry that includes everything from laser beams for medicine and industry to guidance systems for weapons and video games.

This business, in which technological discoveries occur with 7. regularly is on its way to becoming a bedrock of the U.S. economy. By the end of the decade, according to some estimates, its sales will rival those of America's basic industries‑steel, autos, and chemicals.

Currently, about 10 percent of all electronic‑products sales are in consumer rather than business ‑oriented, products. But at the rate advances are made in radios, TVs. computers, and telephones, people's lives will be 8.changeable more and more by electronics. For example,
The gradual computerization of the telephone means that in the not­ too‑distant future, a single phone number will be enough to reach a person no matter where in the world he or she is. Or consumers call­ing a firm's single 9.nation number will be routed automatically to the nearest office.

Computers will be essential to the smooth and efficient operation of the home by regulating room temperatures, 10.control lights, and activat­ing security systems. People will be able to use them to leave mes­sages with other households.

Videotex systems will permit people to use television sets, telephones, and computers to shop and pay bills electronically, tap into reference and referral services and take advantage of popular home computer programs such as games and foreign‑language 11.instructor. New York's Chemical Bank has a system that allows users to pay bills and mort­gages by computer.

Parents may be led by their children in computer literacy. Already, at least 173,000 computers are in public schools‑ an average of 2.2 per school and rapid increases are 12.expectation. Also, some colleges now require that new students have their own computers, a trend bound to spread.In short, America is at the beginning of a computer revolution, not only in the business world but also in the home.

1. technological
5. computerised
9. national
2. carried
6. evolved
10. controlling
3. perfectly
7. regularity
11. instruction
4. invasion
8. changed
12. expected

Portfolio 1:New challenges facing engineering
After finish reading the two articles, I have realized that engineers are actually not like what we had imagined before---who are only involved in manufacture industry. Nowadays, in the 21st century, their roles are changing as the highly development of the world. The responsibility of solving human concern is on their shoulders and they are facing unprecedented challenges.

As mentioned in the two articles, human beings, as a whole, now face all kinds of crisis. For instance, resources which are going to be used up, the spread of hunger, lack of clean water, the advent of incurable new diseases, frequent nature disasters and the danger of terrorism. All above must be solved in order to achieve a sustainable, safe, healthy, and joyous human society. By analyzing the current status of all these concerns and from the perspective of causes, we can easily find that all can be resolved to certain extent with the use of modern technology and engineers play a key role in it.

Also, it is not enough for only engineers engaging in the field. Scientists, as well as educators should join in the procession. For the sake of all human beings, they should cooperate with each other and help each other. So for engineers, it is essential to learn some knowledge out of their specific field like acts and social science. Then, they can make the most use of their knowledge and contribute to the society.

Realizing that we face a lot of problems which are urgent to be solved and engineering is going to play a significant part in dealing with them, I think “new challenges facing engineering” is the most important idea to the profession in the two articles.