Brickbats
1. Grammar
(a) plural
- NUS Alumni Toastmaster Club => NUS Alumni Toastmasters Club
- I could go oversea to study => I could go overseas to study
- I have three question => I have three questions
- A lot of thing can went wrong => A lot of things can go wrong
- will have many happy moment => will have many happy moments
- school holiday => school holidays
(b) tenses
- I still feel very happy for that => I still felt very happy about that
- A lot of us are stretch to the full => Many of us are stretched to the full
- I seek for help => I sought for help
- When the earthquake strike => when the earthquake struck
- In order to be qualify for voting => In order to qualify for voting
(c) subject-verb agreement
- Someone who is passionate about volunteer work and enjoy travelling => Someone who is passionate about volunteer work and enjoys travelling
2. Vocabulary
- fang xue le! => 6pm! Time to knock off! (Avoid using Mandarin, unless necessary and include translation)
- I am the TME for this evening. => I am the TME for tonight's meeting.
- for those who are doing their P1 speech => for those who are presenting their P1 speeches
- someone who will take care of our pause-fillers => someone who will take note of our pause-fillers
- you will hear the bell, in which you have to stop. => you will hear the bell, after which you have to stop.
- who doesn't not make wrong choices => who does not make wrong choices
- speak on the feet => think on your feet, speak off the cuff
- lame and nonsense stuff => lame and nonsensical stuff
- culture differences => cultural differences
- We should not feel sad of Singapore => We should not feel sad for Singapore
3. Sentence Structure
- Congratulations on completing your Project 1 and I just move on to your Project 2 speech => Congratulations on completing your Project 1 speech and I strongly encourage you to move on to your Project 2 speech
- Samsung is fighting against Apple. => Samsung can give Apple a run for their money.
Bouquets
1. Alliteration
- market mechanism
- bend backwards
- idleness is ideal
2. Rhyme
- We should not just survive; we should thrive.
- anything and everything is up for sale
3. Metaphor
- one of our club's newest collection (referring to a new member)
- People think that I bite. I won't bite but don't step on my tail.
- When I look back at this chapter of my life...
- Marketisation sharpens the sting of inequality.
- crowd out the values we seek to create
- You are the speech
- There is a big teddy bear in him. (referring to Lau Kwong Fook)
- Wisdom is the name they attache to four of your teeth.
4. Parallel structure
- No mountain too high, no river too wide
- moral and civic goods that market do not honour, and that money can't buy.
5. Vocabulary
- fixated on issues without caring about people's emotions => fixated means to have an obsessive attachment
6. Contrast
- Instead of letting changes happen to you, let the change come from within yourself.
- Instead of seeing change as negative, view it as an opportunity to learn a new skill.
