Ko-Ngai's Great Love

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

What a great thing it is if you can sacrifice your life for the sake of your friends! That kind of love was shown when Jesus Christ sacrificed his temporary life here on earth just to free all the people from the sins they have made. Jesus Christ is just too good to be true to sacrifice his life just to let the people realize how important God is.

This was also done by Ko-Ngai when she sacrificed her life just to let her father live. When she heard what the astrologer said, she didn’t hesitate to sacrifice her life just to free her father from possible execution. Ko-Ngai saved her father’s life though she knew that she needed to learn more in life, not like her father who was already experienced enough to die. She didn’t realize it was because she was blinded by a very, very great love. This great love does not set death as its limitation. It is because Ko-Ngai and her father will always love each other even though death came in their way. This is the greatest love of all - sacrificial love.

~Mary Nyl Tiu Serra, II-Narra

This wonderful and important word of wisdom from Jesus that we should follow apply to Ko-Ngai in the story "The Soul of the Great Bell." When she read the "Dragon Seal" letter from Yung-Lo, she did not hesitate to find a solution and give her life in order to secure peace and freedom for her father. What Ko-Ngai did is the greatest love and the greatest sacrifice that a human being can do, like what our heroes did.

The story shows, and Ko-Ngai shows, that she loves her father very much and she can sacrifice anything even her life. We should follow what Ko-Ngai did in the story because it serves a lesson and inspiration.

~ Diana Mae Ponce, II-Molave

In the story, Ko-Ngai made a great sacrifice for the people, and this means that the love she had within herself was unconditional and immeasurable. This is an example of what Jesus Christ tells us in the Bible that no love can compare to one which considers the sake and benefit of other people. Sacrifice is one of, or maybe the best way to show your love to the person you care for. Although the sacrifice may hurt you physicaly, deep inside you won't feel any hurt because you know your sacrifice is for a cause.

~ Maria Jeanne Carla Briones, II-Acacia


(Thoughts on The Soul of the Great Bell by Lafcadio Hearn)

A Letter from Ko-Ngai

My Dearest Father,

Do not feel guilty nor stop me, for I am presenting myself to be thy sacrifice. I am presenting myself with my whole heart and without hesitations. I am presenting myself because the astrologer had predicted and said "Gold and brass will never meet in wedlock, silver and iron will never embrace, until the flesh of a maiden be melted with the crucible, until the blood of a virgin be mixed with the metals in their fusion." I do not want any other person to be put in this trouble.

Remember, I always love thee father. This is not my last goodbye. Let the bell be thy remembrance of this sacrifice.


Your loving daughter,
Ko Ngai



(This is the output of the Lao Tze group of II-Narra for The Soul of the Great Bell activity.)

Poem Making is Hard

This was written by Jan Joseff Genduso during English period. The rest of the class was reading The Soul of the Great Bell by Lafcadio Hearn. Jan was "most probably" not. And so classroom might as well have his output here.

So you think poem
making is easy?
No, it is enough
to make you queasy.

It's tough enough
to find some rhymes,
avoiding words like
orange, like limes.

A big Vocab is
such a must,
common words
are nothing but dust.

Keep verses
within your reach,
you must make verses
four lines each.

O'er and o'er
Again and a'ain
Apostrophes will keep you
from syllabic dis'ain.

Keep margins close,
not a centimeter stray,
problems in poems
are a diverse array.

When your done
with your so-called "masterpiece,"
criticism will come,
ripping you piece by piece.

Keep your hopes up,
and hope critics are kind;
poem making is enough
to lose your mind.

Are you insane yet?

Strange voices and
sounds all around.
Crying and frustration,
they abound.

Now, drop that gun
and drop the knfe,
don't use those
to end your silly strife.

Poem making can
make the brain grind;
don't let it take over
body and mind.

Some more tips
for the poem maker,
hold on, put down
that leaf raker.

Try to fill lines
with meaningful words,
feelingless words come
in groups and herds.

If the poem stinks,
don't lose heart,
grab your pen
and go back to the start.

If your new poem
doesn't turn heads,
please, do not rip
yourself to shreds.

Wait. What's that rope,
and why's it around your neck?
Don't kill yourself
over a little speck.

Hey, where are you going?
Don't drop your guard!
Oh, well. Poem making
is hard.

On-Line Quiz 7: Sentence Patterns

Identify the pattern of each sentence.

1. That rascal left the windows open.
2. I drive a black Mercedes.
3. The French swimmers crossed the Strait of Dover.
4. Geno gave Christian a light punch on the shoulder.
5. The students talk all the time.
6. Bering Strait is between Alaska and Siberia.
7. We study world geography with Mr. Puno.
8. She looks amazing in her little black dress.
9. The little wooden boy was named Pinocchio.
10. They answered the questions correctly.

The box is still accepting answers...

The Ant and the Grasshopper

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Writing Exercise 1:(Antonyms and Synonyms): Opposites Attract

by Mary Nyl Tiu Serra, II-Narra

"There is strength and stability in the unity of differences."
You might say, "Strength and stability in the unity of differences? How can it possibly happen?" But if you will think more clearly, it will happen, and it will always happen. Two things generally symbolize this thought - yin and yang.

Yin and Yang are the opposite and complimentary forces in the universe, as what Taoists believe. They mean "shaded" (yin) and "sunny" (yang). Yin is the darker side. It is always intertwined with being dark, moist, receptive, earthy, and feminine. Yang is attached to brightness, dryness, activeness, being heavenly, and is of masculine type. Taoists also believe that Yin and Yang combine in various proportions to produce all the different in the universe.

Let us imagine that we also believe in the Chinese concept of Yin and Yang. Our minds may seem so troubled thinking that two opposite forces, combined together will form harmony. As I once heard, "Yin and Yang are one". It means that yin and yang are so attached to each other that they seem to be one. Yin will not exist if there is no yang, and vice versa. They are different, but they are the same in the matter of fact that they are both needed everywhere. Imagine a room filled with nothing but happiness. Will it really be happy? You can never taste true happiness without being sad. There is always a "twist" that makes everything (nearly) perfect.

Writing Exercise 1: Two Personalities

by Melody Calleja, II-Molave

God created us with different personalities and with varied roles. In our everyday life, we encounter philanthropists. We meet leaders, revolutionaries, scientists and inventors. There are also the historical and present heroes and icons. We also come face to face with some of the artists and entertainers. There are also men and women with the clout and power to change our present world, such as the peacemakers, democrats, and holy men, while there are also people who have the capability to continue and retain our current global problems like the dictators, warriors, criminals and terrorists. We can notice that the above-mentioned persons are alike and sometimes antonymous to each other. Yes, they are, and in our society you can find so many people with different careers. Two of these people are a white author and a black host, equally opposite in color and profession.

If you're one of the million viewers and readers who would tune in to Oprah and read The Da Vinci Code, I'm sure you have seen and heard of these empathetic and imaginative human beings who bring local and foreign information to the lives of hundreds of people. From famous pop-icons to unknown activists and from familiar to unfamiliar truths, Winfrey and Brown talk and write them equally and with balance. While Oprah brings us the truth of everyday life, Dan leaves in us the fantasy through his books. They use two different ways to touch and inspire people. Oprah has been praised and admired for her work, Dan has been condemned by church leaders instead of being commended for his popular novels. One of their differences is that while Oprah presents us with simple ideas, Dan has complicated ideas.

These two personalities have opposite and similar characteristics and they have both succeeded in their respective professions.

Writing Exercise 1: Plants and Animals

by Nessa Loveres, II-Acacia

At first glance, plants and animals are said to be different from each other. As we look closely at them, however, plants and animals have similarities, too. Both of them need to be nourished in order to survive. They both need the earth where they get their food, water, air, sunlight, and care from humans. Both of them grow, move, and reproduce their own kind. They also vary in kind depending upon their environment. Both can live either in land or water. And, both of them are needed in the ecosystem and in the interrelationship of organisms.

On the other hand, plants and animals have dissimilarities, too because, as we said, no two creatures are perfectly the same. Plants and animals both need air but they demand different kinds of it. Plants need carbon dioxide while animals need oxygen. Animals need plant and smaller animals or prey to serve as its meal while plants need neither animals or its own kind to nourish itself - they only need sunlight and carbon dioxide to process their food. Plants have fibers and animals give protein and fats. Plants are called producers while animals are consumers. Animals have too many body parts including the exterior and interior ones while plants only have few, such as stems, leaves, roots, flowers and its reproductive organ. Animals have brain and have their own distinct behaviors while plants do not. Animals can go wherever they want to but plants have only one direction as a way of moving.

Animals and plants are in most cases both different and alike. They both need each other in order to survive, plants need animals to sustain themselves with the right kind of food that they need. Animals need plants for their food, too. And, humans need both of them in order to live and survive.

On-line Quiz 6: Verbal Analogy

Choose the letter of the word or pair of words that best expresses a relationship similar to that expression in the original pair.

1. manual: hand:: guttural : __________

a. hair

b. stomach

c. fist

d. brain

e. throat

2. astronauts : space :: argonauts : __________

a. ship

b. goats

c. treasure

d. birds

e. sea

3. philatelist : stamps :: numismatist : ___________

a. books

b. coins

c. birds

d. brands

e. pictures

4. heart : cardiac :: finger : __________

a. brachial

b. digital

c. touch

d. count

e. cephalic

5. snake : alligator :: salamander : __________

a. shark

b. toad

c. alligator

d. starfish

e. earthworm

6. recant : revoke :: profess _________

a. assert

b. refuse

c. reject

d. decline

e. repudiate

7. immaculate: defiled :: ____________

a. pious : reverent

b. impotent : infirm

c. indolent : slothful

d. noxious : deadly

e. ignominious : reputable

8. capricious : whim :: ______________

a. conscientious : plan

b. collision : divergence

c. wintry : stoical

d. belief : credulous

e. operation : clandestine

9. entomology : insects :: ______________

a. man : mammals

b. cardiologist : heart

c. paleontology : fossils

d. dermatologist : skin

e. photography : camera

10. humble : unassuming :: _______

a. plain : modest

b. reserved : ostentatious

c. meek : mellow

d. gentle: haughty

e. high-spirited : unpretending

Send in your answers now! Contest ends on Wednesday, July 9, 2008.

On-Line Quiz 5: Sentence Fragments

Freshmen, this is for you!

Correct the five items and win a prize.

1. Under the silvery moon.
2. Losing her balance. Magayon fell into the Yawa River.
3. Going to the beach everyday.
4. Amelia, the aviator.
5. We like to watch sports. Especially tennis.