Exams

They do evolve when we grow up, don't they?

Exams, I mean.

In primary school, exams were really amusing. Being educated in a Chinese school, for many papers, the teacher would stand in front of the classroom, read a question aloud, and wait for about half a minute for the class to choose their answers before repeating the procedure for the next question.

So it's like this.

"Good or bad -- throwing sticks at wild dogs."

And a 30-second-pause while the students contemplate the answers.

And then there's fill in the blanks. We only had to fill in one letter to words that time. And as if that wasn't easy enough, pictures were provided for every single word.

Like this.

_PPLE

Then there's the MCQs which lasted for so long. All we had to do was to pick A, B, C, D, and occasionally, E.

"Hey, I spelled BAD-DAD for my answers!"

Things are surely different today. The questions are usually incredibly short. "Explain the Pauli Exclusion Principle", and we are expected to answer the questions in several paragraphs, filled with charts, diagrams, equations, tables, graphs and quotes etc.

By the way, Randall Munroe gave a very short answer to that very same question, described in xkcd.com.

We now sit in the exam halls for hours at a time, compared to the comical 30 minutes just some 10 years ago. It was the exams that made me discover that one can actually be tired of sitting.

Some exams even require hands-on. So you know your friends failed if they came out of the labs with smoking hair and burnt coat.

Looking back to the "good ol' days", things are surely a zillion times harder now. But that's OK, because it means we're approaching the end of our education soon.

All we have to do is just to try our best for the last few times, and it will be over forever.

And one day, there will be a chance for us to sneer at college or university students.

All the best to SPM, STPM, O-Levels and A-Levels students out there. A special good luck to my sister ;-)

(ROT13) FYE

Note: High resolution images of some of the following photos are available. These photos are marked with [HiRes] tags in their captions. Click on the photos to view their higher resolution images.

I came across a little luck a few days before this Hallowe'en. I've been treated with some... really good stuff. We'll let the pictures do the talking, shall we?

Spoiler 1: Lake of the Jubilee Campus, University of Nottingham.

OK perhaps that picture doesn't talk loudly enough. Maybe this one?

Raleigh Park.

Do you see it? No? This one?

[HiRes] Spoiler 2: Your Future's Right Here! Jubilee Campus

Or this?

[HiRes] Spoiler 3: Jubilee Campus lake.

OK the sights of Jubilee Campus are simply breathtaking. I will blog about them sometime soon, hence the Spoiler tags.

Let's try some everyday sights.

[HiRes] 09/10 Planner, given free, courtesy of Blackwell bookstore at University Park.


[HiRes] Spoiler 4: Library books at Jubilee Campus.

Don't see anything yet?

Seriously? These are everyday items!

Last shot (literally). A digicam, a pair of old, faded jeans and a shoe. How good do you expect it to look?

[HiRes] My Nikon Coolpix 3200, the faithful camera I've been using to shoot the hundreds of photos you see here.

Hang on... Something is spooky here. If my camera is the subject, what did I use to shoot the picture?

Hmmm. Maybe it was a haunted picture. After all, it IS Hallowe'en.

Ah well, who cares? Happy Hallowe'en.

Sights of Nottingham -- Old Market Square

Note 1: High resolution images of some of the following photos are available. These photos are marked with [HiRes] tags (Hi-Resolution) in their captions. Click on the photos to view their higher resolution images.

Note 2: Various facts obtained from Wikipedia. All text-links lead to the related Wikipedia articles.

I've posted tens of photos on the University of Nottingham. I guess it's time for a change, so let's go for a walk...

... to Nottingham City Centre!!! Hurray!!! It's a 30-minute-walk away from my place, but you're lucky to be spared of the exercise.

A building in Nottingham City Centre.

There are tonnes to photos to share, so today I'm just going to show you the area around the Old Market Square.

[HiRes] Old Market Square, Nottingham. The grand, old structure in the background is the Nottingham Council House.

The Nottingham Old Market Square is the largest town square surviving in the United Kingdom. Covering an area of over 22,000 square metres, events and fairs are frequently held there.

The Old Market Square has been recently renovated and now includes a fountain.

[HiRes] Water fountain of the Old Market Square.

Interestingly, the fountain can be turned off and drained to reveal an amphi-theatre style seating, good for performances.

Cropped version of the above picture. Can be found on Flickr, but no higher resolution available.

Story tells that it was here that Robin Hood famously won the Silver Arrow from the Sheriff of Nottingham.

Today, the Nottingham Council House sits majestically beside the Square. It houses the city hall of Nottingham, as well as the Exchange Arcade, a high-end shopping complex (albeit too small to be attractive).

[HiRes] The facade of the Council House.


[HiRes] Interior of the Exchange Arcade.

Another reference to Robin Hood can be found here -- the clock bell of the Council House is named Little John.

[HiRes] The dome, Nottingham Council House.

I've been to the Square for several times now, and saw tents set up during most weekends, selling all sorts of snacks and delicacies.

The weekend crowd among the tents in Old Market Square.

These tents are not available during weekdays. And while the weekend crowd is simply crazy, with children playing in the fountain, the smaller weekday visitors are mainly adults.

The many types of cheese sold in one of the tents.

It was in Old Market Square that I saw a tram with my own eyes for the very first time.

Forgive me lah, but trams are non-existent in Malaysia and Singapore.

[HiRes] Nottingham Tram. Haven't got a chance to ride one yet.

There are still lots of things to see.

For example, during my first trip here, I realised that McD restaurants in UK are not painted red.

No Ronald McDonald, no big Golden Arches on striking red background. If I were illiterate I wouldn't know it's a McD at all.

Then there's the street market.

Colourful scarves/hats for sale! This scene looked strangely out of place in UK -- the Malaysian Pasar Malam would suit this store perfectly.

For my friends who love to read, there's also a store selling books at quite reasonable prices.

£5 for 3 novels. The Chinese say that books are the food for the souls. The truth is, these soul foods are cheaper than body food in UK.

More pictures of the City and University of Nottingham coming up in November! For the time being, Happy Hallowe'en!!!