Question:
Write a story when you discovered you were no longer afraid of something. End your story with : “…after all, it was nothing at all.”
Sample Answer by Students:
Ailurophobia – the fear of cats.
I never understood why I was so scared of cats. I didn’t feel disgusted when I look at them. In fact, I thought cats were very cute. They were fluffy, looked soft and the purring sound they made was nice. However, when they came near me, I would either scream or ran away.
“You’re weird,” my best friend told me one day. “Most people are afraid of the cockroaches but you’re scared of cats. Cats are cute! How could you not like them?”
The thing was, I liked cats. I really did. I was just scared of them. When they came near me, it felt like my life was in danger. I was scared that they would jump and hurt me although they were small. One day, I went home and asked my elder brother about it.
“Brother, why am I scared of cats?”
My brother laughed before telling me a childhood story I did not remember. Apparently when I was a toddler, I held a cat up by its tail and was bitten by the cat. I must have been traumatised by incident that I was still scared of cats although I couldn’t remember it. After hearing the story from my brother, I googled for the ways to overcome my fear of cats. I wanted to change. I didn’t want to be scared of cats anymore.
It was not an easy journey. When I saw a cat, I would slowly approach it. If the cat ran away, I would not pursue it. If it didn’t run, I would try to touch it with my index finger. If the cat didn’t react negatively, I would try to pat its head. For a few weeks, I still retract my hand and backed away if the cat tried to get nearer.
Later on, I started visiting the vet to try and play with the cats there. I pat their heads and learned how to hold them up. My first time holding a cat was funny. My hand was trembling so hard I ended up dropping the cat. I told myself that “Practice makes perfect” and didn’t give up. Soon enough, I could put a cat in my lap and smooth their fur with my hand!
It was not easy to overcome a phobia but it was not impossible. My fear was still there but it was no longer crippling. I could now touch a cat. It wasn’t as scary as I thought. I learned that it was important to believe in yourself and work hard for your goals. After all, it was nothing at all.
Hi,
I need your advice about English for Form 4. My son will sit the SPM in 2021 as a private candidate. However, I am not clear about the Literature section. Can you explain in details. I am not sure what books to buy for literature. What I must consider in terms of zone and so forth.
Hello Ms. Nani, I'm so sorry for the late reply. At the moment, unless your son takes the English Literature elective (SPM Code: 2205), which is a completely separate subject, there is no literature focus outlined by the new syllabus. Form 4 students exclusively use the newly prescribed textbook for the time being. The 2021 SPM format for English will also be similar to PT3 where students will sit on papers that test all four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing), no literature components.
I will ask my seniors about the literature components. Although there is no literature component in the CEFR syllabus, we have not yet received further information about discarding the previous literature component textbooks (poems, short drama, short stories and novel). As for zoning, only novels are affected by zones but private candidates can choose between any of the novel regardless of zones. Examiners will be from other zones too, so no worries there 🙂