Selected Reading Material 3: A Train (MRT / Subway) Breakdown (2)

Some possible answers to the cloze passage exercise in 'Selected Reading Material 3: A Train (MRT / Subway) Breakdown (1)' are as follows:

1) rush / peak
2) plunged 
3) silence
4) speaking / talking / singing (cajole, comfort)
5) failure / outage
6) stifling / choking / suffocating (burning, scorching, unbearable) 
7) shone (used, light, lit, directed, projected)
8) smashed / shattered
9) ventilation (circulation, relief, comfort, hope)
10) groggy / dizzy / light-headed (tipsy)
11) pried / forced (pulled, pushed)
12) through (along)

If you would like to ask me alternative answers, please email me instead of posting as a comment as the discussion can get really long...My email address can be found at Important Terms and Conditions / Disclaimer / How to Submit.

Part Two

Now, let's apply what we've learnt to a possible question. It is difficult to post pictures here as there are some copyright issues I do not wish to tread on. So at the moment, lets just use an example from continuous writing.

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Mr Suresh was on his way to work on an MRT train. Suddenly, the train stopped and he found himself in total darkness.

Based on the above situation, write a composition of at least 150 words using the following points:

-How Mr Suresh felt

-What happened after that

-What happened in the end

You may reorder the points and / or include your own.

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Here is a possible composition using content from the selected reading materials:

    Mr Suresh stared at the scar on his right arm. He would never forget what happened that fateful day when he was trapped in an MRT train while on his way to work...

    Mr Suresh waved goodbye to his family and headed to the MRT station near his home to catch the train to work. As it was the morning rush hour, the carriages were packed to the brim. Mr Suresh was lucky to find a seat next to the fire extinguisher and quickly settled down and began reading the newspaper. 

    He was halfway through the papers when the train suddenly plunged into total darkness and grounded to a halt. For a moment, there was an eerie silence as no one dared to move or speak. Then, Mr Suresh heard a child's voice, "Mommy, I am scared!" The trapped commuters started talking to one another, trying to find an explanation to what was going on.

    The air conditioning had also stopped working and the stifling heat was beginning to feel unbearable. Beads of perspiration began trickling down Mr Suresh's temples. "I think I've got to do something before we all die of suffocation!" he thought to himself. "Can someone help me please? I need some light here!" he called out to the other commuters. The commuters used their mobile phones as torchlights and helped lit up part of the carriage. Mr Suresh found the fire extinguisher and with all his strength smashed it onto a carriage window. The window immediately shattered and a whiff of fresh air finally entered the carriage. Unfortunately, while breaking the window, one of the glass shrapnels pierced into his right arm. Mr Suresh cried out in pain as blood began oozing from the wound. A commuter tied a handkerchief around the wound but it was quickly soaked in blood. He needed medical attention as soon as possible. Just when Mr Suresh was about to faint, someone forced opened the train door. Help had finally arrived!

    The civil defence officers evacuated Mr Suresh and sent him to the nearest hospital while the other trapped commuter were led through the underground tunnels to the nearest train station.

    Mr Suresh was grateful that he was rescued at the nick of time. Although he still had nightmares about the incident, he still took the train to work. However, ever since, he always carried a torchlight with him, just in case.

Have you noticed that instead of using a lot of highly-impressive vocabulary, the composition has been written in English expected of an average (to above-average) upper primary student? (with the exception of some the underlined words, which may be words or phrases you can now pick up to add flavour to your writing)

Reading story books can help improve your vocabulary. However, do put in constant effort to look up the meaning of new words and try them out in your writing. Only with hard work can you eventually succeed in doing well in your writing.

With the above example, I conclude 'Selected Reading Material 3: A Train (MRT / Subway) Breakdown (2)' . 

I hope this segment will prove useful to some of you!