Four-five rocks!

Newspaper Review

Date: 14th December

Title: Walking on water [Life section]


Summary:
Like most teenagers, Paralympic swimmer Yip Pin Xiu as a little shy when it comes to talking about herself. But when it comes to breaking records in the pool, she has no stage fright, thanks to her big match temperament. In Beijing, She did singapore proud by snatching the gold medal in 50m backstroke and a silver for the 50m freestyle as well as setting two world records along the way. Pin Xiu was born with muscle dystrophy, a disorder in which her body progressively degenerates. Pin Xiu's achivements are all the more remarkable, considering the fact that she only began competitive swimming fours ago. She began swimming when she was five after she clamoured to join her elder brothers in their swimming lessons. " I feel free and i can do what others do" quoted from her dialogue.

Thoughts about the article:
After reading the article, I do have to say that she is an amazing girl. A girl who overcame all obstacles to compete in the Paralympic and a person who did Singapore proud by winning medals and setting world records. I have to wonder what people like her have to go through to participate in the paralympics. How do they train them? I'm not trying to be rude here but i really do want to know how people who are disabled able to do activities such as swimming and etc. Training for competitive swimming can be extremely tough, even for a normal person. So how can a disabled person do it? Is it because of their strong determination? Frankly, i do not know. However, I'm sure that the people participating in paralympics have to work for an extra mile than most people. Even though Pin Xiu can't walk due to her physical disabilities, she's able to walk in the pool and she don't see it as a disability at all.


Newspaper Review 2

Title:Tainted milk victims to get cash payoff

Summary:
Chinese dairy firms that sold baby formula tainted with the industrial chemical melamine will pay compensation to the families of nearly 300,000 children who were killed or sickened as a result, state media reported.However, Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group, Mengniu Dairy and Bright Dairy group are among the firms found earlier to have produced milk contaminated with melamine.The enterprises offered to shoulder the compensation liability. By doing so, they hope to earn understanding and forgiveness of the families of the sickened children,' Xinhua quoted the association as saying.Chinese authorities have said that at least six children died and around 294,000 were made ill earlier this year after they drank formula containing melamine.Sanlu Group, the company at the heart of the scandal, was made bankrupt as a result. Sanlu is partly owned by New Zealand's Fonterra group.

Thoughts:
This incident of Sanlu has highlighted the practice among dairy suppliers who add melamine to the milk to artificially boosts its protein levels. I was shocked when i found out so many food products from China contain melamine and no one noticed it until now. Food products are supposed to be tested before entering Singapore and other countries. So why is it only now that someone found out about the melamine products? Sanlu was declared bankrupt with $233 million of net debt. They should have known that scandal would have been found out sooner or later and dire consequences would happen. However, they did not stop their practice of adding melamine into their products. Why? Because of human greed, they're never satisfied with the amout of money they earn. This incident me wonder if the food products found in Singapore are really safe for consumption. Well, I'm sure that this incident has served as an important reminder to everyone.


Munyi