Singaporeans often say 炸zhà鸡. This is inaccurate. There are a couple of ways of reading 炸 and that slight difference would mean different things. 1) It can be read zhà (fourth tone). 炸zhà 药、炸zhà弹 – as you can see, they all have something to do with an explosion. 2) 炸 can also be read zhá[…]
Do you know there’s a difference between “stay” and “live”? To “stay” in a place is to live in it temporarily, whereas to “live” somewhere is more permanent. For instance: 1) Your friend could be going to New York for a holiday. You can ask him, “Where are you staying in New York?” instead of[…]
Digestive juices are produced in the mouth, the stomach, and the small intestine. Mouth – main role is to chew / churn and secrete digestive juice (saliva). Stomach – main role is to digest and secrete digestive juice. Small intestine – main role is to digest and absorb food (not water) and secrete digestive juice.[…]
“I went to recce that place, it was very suitable for holding the field camp.” In Singapore, we use the slang “recce” during NS to refer to the act of visually observing a location before the actual operation. Do you know the full word is “reconnaissance”? For example: We did a reconnaissance of the enemy’s[…]
The heart pumps blood throughout the body. The blood serves as the medium to transport oxygen, carbon dioxide, food, and other substances to the various parts of the body. The human circulatory system (and also that of many animals) is a “double circulatory system”. One circuit goes to the lungs, where the blood is able[…]
“I went to recce that place, it was very suitable for holding the field camp.” In Singapore, we use the slang “recce” during NS to refer to the act of visually observing a location before the actual operation. Do you know the full word is “reconnaissance”? For example: We did a reconnaissance of the enemy’s[…]
What are keys called in Chinese? a) 钥匙 b) 锁匙 c) Both a) and b) are acceptable. The correct answer is 钥匙. In Singapore, we often say 锁匙; this is a translation from the Cantonese’s term for keys. During exams, it’s best to stick with 钥匙 because examiners may consider 锁匙 as a 病句。
We had mentioned in previous posts about avoiding “word echos” when writing your compositions, i.e. try to refrain from using the same terms in a paragraph. For example: That group of old boys from XXX school look really old. Better: That group of old boys from XXX school have really aged. While you are trying[…]
When do you use the word “like”? 1) The obvious mistake Youngsters these days enjoy using “like” as a filler to replace “uh”, “erm”. Examples: I was, like, so angry. My boyfriend is ,like, the best ever. This is a simple correction. Just remove the word “like”. Correct: I was so angry. My boyfriend is[…]
This is another trick question. The family tree below shows the children and grandchildren of a female carrier of colour-blindness and a male who is not colour-blind. The question is: How many of the daughters or granddaughters are NOT colour-blind? ==================== The answer is 5 (not 7). Beware, do not count daughters-in-law and other members[…]