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Growing Up

Advance Level

Unit 1: Video and Photograph

A Quote

A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.

- Muhammad Ali

Idioms About Growing Up

English speakers like to talk about their life experiences and culture. The following is a list of commonly used idioms that describes someone's life experiences.

1) Black sheep of the family - A person that other family members dislike or disprove off. My Great Uncle, James Powell, was the black sheep of the family until his life changed for the better when he went to Europe to make a name for himself. 2) Ahead of the pack - To be in the lead or to do something more successful than others. Monica was always ahead of the pack at school.

The Origin and Meaning of Idioms Born with a silver spoon Many children who are born with a silver spoon in their mouth usually inherit the estate and businesses of their parents. In the past, people would normally associate silver with riches and wealth. In the past, it was a common practice to baptize newborn babies. Once the child was baptized, the child's sponsor would give a silver spoon as a gift if they could afford it. However a child that is born into a rich family does not need a silver spoon, because he or she will inherit all the wealth of the family.

Unit 2: Reading

Sunday, April 23, 2006
We stopped over at Walter Mart (its the Filipino version of the famous U.S. Wal Mart chain store), near Makati Cinema Square, to have lunch with our friends - uncle Jerome, aunty Joy and their little two year old, Sophia. While the two mums shared about their pregnancies, morning sickness and what-not. Uncle Jerome kindly volunteered to donate his wife's pregnancy clothes - this is really good news! It simply means one less trip to the "Ukay-Ukay" store to get preggy clothes for your mum. There's a kind of unspoken tradition with married couples here about pass-me downs; that you take only what you need, use it for a season, and when the time comes, pass it further down to the next expecting couple.

Anyway, Uncle Jerome had some interesting stories to share about how Chinese parents can sometimes be autocratic, imposing their values and overwhelming their children who are trying to get along in life (he comes from a Chinese family married, but his wife is a Filipina). But that's another subject to blog about some other time. It was Uncle Jerome's advice about music therapy and baby talk that was of the greater interest to me. I learnt that after your 16th month in your mother's womb, your ears should be well developed and functional. You can pretty much hear everything, from your mum's heartbeat to the gurgling in her stomach. It's around 12:30 midnight; your mother and I decided to put on some classical music by Vivaldi to evoke a quiet calm before we slept. I hope you appreciate the music because it's supposed to stimulate your development and linguistic skills. And now for the talking part that Uncle Jerome mentioned, the part that will help bring us closer together. I'll start reading this blog to you, which someday will be my gift to you.

This article was printed with permission from the personal blog of Toby Ung at http://www.tobyspiritualjourney.blogspot.com/

Vocabulary Practice

Autocratic: being too self-assured, domineering or thoughtlessly exercising power.
Overwhelm (Overwhelming): to be completely overcome by something.
Blog: A web log or personal diary that is accessible on the the internet.
Therapy: The act of giving comfort or care.
Gurgles: The bubbling sound of running water.
Evoke: to arouse or make something happen.
Linguistic: Relating to languages.

Questions

1. Who is the author writing to?
2. What is the unspoken tradition the author is talking about?
3. Have you experienced talking to an unborn child?