Sabtu, 31 Agustus 2013

Newsreading text (3)


Former top envoy to US named suspect

Shortly after being released on parole, graft convict and former Indonesian ambassador to the United States Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat is once again facing another corruption charge that could send him back to prison. Spokesperson of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Priharsa Nugraha confirmed on Wednesday that Sudjadnan had been questioned on charges of misusing state funds earmarked for the Foreign Ministry to organize a series of international events including seminars and conferences between 2004 and 2005.

The KPK said that the crime occurred while Sudjadnan was the ministry secretary-general for the 2004-2005 period. He was accused of playing an important role in the misappropriation scheme, which caused the state to lose Rp 18 billion (US$1.9 million). The KPK, however, has not moved to detain Sudjadnan.
The antigraft body named Sudjanan in November 2011 but details of the case have only been disclosed recently KPK investigators have questioned a number of witnesses including Indonesian ambassador to Canada Dienne Dhardianto Mohario, a former inspector general at the ministry and composer and conductor Erwin Gutawa. Erwin is one of musicians regularly invited to perform at the events in question.
KPK spokesman Johan Budi said Sudjadnan was the only suspect in the case. “But investigators may come up with more names as the probe progresses, when they have more testimony and evidence,” he said. This is not the first time Sudjadnan has been investigated for graft. In 2008 while still serving as ambassador to the US, Sudjadnan was named a suspect for his role in the mark-up of the renovation of the Indonesian embassy in Singapore between 2003 and 2004. The procurement project was worth $1.98 million.
During Sudjadnan’s corruption trial in 2008, former ambassador to Singapore Mochamad Slamet Hidayat, who was also convicted, revealed that Sudjadnan had received US$200,000 from the project funds when he was the Foreign Ministry secretary-general. In January 2011, the Jakarta Corruption Court sentenced him to 1 year and 8 months in prison. He was released on parole earlier this year. The Foreign Ministry has recently been rocked by a graft scandal in the procurement of overseas flight tickets for its diplomats and officials.
The investigation by the Attorney General’s Office’s (AGO) special crimes division at that time implicated former Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda, who is now a member of the presidential advisory board, and former secretary-general (now Indonesian ambassador to China) Imron Cotan.
No charges have been brought to the former senior officials. Several cases of alleged corruption involving Indonesian diplomats overseas have raised concerns over their credibility in representing the country abroad.
Another top envoy implicated in a graft case is former ambassador to Russia Hamid Awaluddin. He was implicated in a passport project carried out by the Justice and Human Rights Ministry where he was minister from 2005 to 2007. Hamid earlier evaded graft charges against him in connection with the misuse of 2004 election funds, and in another case linked to a bribery scandal involving former president Soeharto’s youngest son, Hutomo “Tommy” Mandala Putra

Newsreading Text (2)

Governor upbeat that residents will not resist relocation

Jakarta Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo says that he is optimistic that residents living on riverbanks will agree to his plan to build kampung deret (rows of villages) along the river in order to provide them with better housing.

Jokowi assured that more discussions with residents would be organized to engage with those who did not agree with the plan.

“I’m sure [the residents will agree]. We haven’t talked much about it, and we don’t want to evict anybody,” he said on Friday as quoted by kompas.com.

Jokowi said that the administration had planned thoroughly on the construction of kampung deret.

“But talking with the residents is the most crucial part. And the construction of kampung deret and low-cost apartment blocks will of course be in line with the regulation,” he said.

Some residents along the riverbank said that they were still reluctant to move from their houses when the construction of kampung deret started.

They said that they were afraid they could not get used to the new conditions.

Jakarta housing and building agency chief Novizal said that the construction would start in 2013.

“The concept is now being discussed. We are still collecting information about areas whose residents have agreed with this plan and measuring the areas,” he said recently.

Novizal said that the kampung deret would look like two or three-story high low-cost apartments. Each unit will be built complete with proper lighting and air circulation.

He said that there would be no evictions during the construction, but the residents would be moved to places that would be provided by the administration.

Novizal said that when the villages and blocks were completed, residents would then occupy their old places.

“The mechanisms are still being planned. But residents will have new buildings at the same locations,” he said.

The first area that would be built would likely be Ciliwung River, Bukit Duri in South Jakarta.

Jokowi talked with residents in the area during his visit to the Sanggar Ciliwung Merdeka community organization in Bukit Duri.

He had a discussion with residents on the design of low-cost apartment blocks that were presented by community leader Sandyawan Sumardi.

He said that the plan had received a positive response from the residents and added that it could help turn the area into a better living environment.

Newsreading text (1)

Dahlan skips another House hearing for cattle project

State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan did not show up for the second time in a hearing session held by the House of Representatives over the alleged mismanagement of PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), which led to the state suffering Rp 36 trillion (US$3.78 billion) in losses.

“We are very disappointed as this is a very serious matter. Dahlan Iskan is the former state power firm PLN chief and that is why we need him to be present. We did not summon him in his capacity as a minister,” said Effendi Simbolon of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) who chaired the hearing session.

Effendi said the next hearing would not be until the House completed its recess period from Oct. 25 to Nov. 18.

The legislators, he added, would summon Dahlan for a third time with a copy of the summons letter being sent to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to ensure the minister shows up before the
lawmakers.

An official with the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry public relations director, Faisal Halimi, confirmed separately that Dahlan was visiting a cattle project in Jambi.

Previously on Monday, legislators at the House Commission VII overseeing energy scheduled an impromptu hearing session to demand answers from Dahlan in regards to a report by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) on PLN’s performance.

Dahlan led PLN from 2009 until 2011.

The minister failed to attend the meeting as he accompanied President Yudhoyono in Yogyakarta for a microfinancing event.

The BPK report shows that Dahlan was responsible for PLN purchasing diesel-powered electricity generators following its inability to meet deadlines on the construction of coal-powered generators in the 10,000 megawatt projects.

The report concluded that the decision, which led to soaring electricity subsidies, was a result of poor management of the company’s energy mix.

Separately, another legislator, Teuku Riefky Harsya from the Democratic Party, said that the meeting could have gone on in the absence of Dahlan as the legislators could hear answers from other parties
mentioned in the BPK report.

“However, as most members of the commission wanted to postpone the meeting, then we must delay it,” he said.

Current PLN president director Nur Pamudji, who previously served as the state power firm’s primary energy director under Dahlan’s tenure, said that he was optimistic he could explain the alleged mishaps as reported by the BPK.

“At the time, PLN did not get enough gas supplies, hence we used diesel to provide electricity,” he told The Jakarta Post.

“Thus, PLN did not suffer losses, we just lost a chance to save as much as Rp 36 trillion. Those were not losses.”

Dahlan was not available for comment on Wednesday evening, but tempo.co quoted Dahlan in Jambi as saying that he would explain the BPK report to the legislators as soon as possible.

Some fillers

Wow                       : wow
Hey                         : hei
Well, mm                : baiklah
Ok                           : baiklah
Alright                     : baiklah
Fine                         : baiklah
Here we go             : nah, ini dia
There you go          : nah, gitu dong
O Come on             : please deh
O No no no n          : o jangan..
Yup                          : ya
Nope                       : bukan
Uh huh                    : ya, terus
Whoa whoa             : tunggu
Ouch                        : aduh
O man                     : astaga
Gee                         : astaga
O lord                      : astaga
O right  ya               : ya
O what’s up?           : ada apa?
Wow, that’s nice     : wah, keren banget
That’s right              : bener banget
That’s great             : luar biasa, hebat!
Wow, I love it!          : wow, keren banget
That’s awesome      : wow, keren banget
That’s awful             : wow, mengerikan
Gorgeous!               : wow, keren
O that’s funny          : wah, itu konyol bgt
What’s so funny?     : apanya yang lucu?
Good work!              : bagus
Wonderful!               : luar biasa
Interesting!              : menarik sekali
Perfect!                    : sempurna
Yeah.. kind of          : ya…gitu deh
Absolutely                : tentu saja
Of course                 : tentu
Amazing                  : menakjubkan
Excellent                  : luar biasa
Very impressive       : sgt mengesankan
Tah dah                   : ini dia

Surprise!                  : kejutan
Brilliant                     : luar biasa sekali
Fantastic                  : fantastic
Classic                     : wah, lucu banget
Terrible                    : mengerikan sekali
That’s crazy             : gila!
 I know it’s crazy      : aku tau ini keterlaluan
Very cool                 : keren banget
Wow, that’s so cool! : wah, keren banget
O my God                : astaga
Gosh                        : astaga
Wow, It must be …  : wah, itu pasti….
Really?                    : sungguh
Well, it’s ok               : gapapa
You know what        : tau gak
Wait!                        : ntar dulu
Are you kidding me? : beneran neh
No kidding?             : beneran nih
Get you                    : kena lo
O my god, I’m had!  : aduh, aku tertipu
O my god, I’ve had it! : aduh, mati aku
So                            : jadi
I mean                     : maksudku
I think so                  : kayaknya sih gitu
I don’t think so         : kayaknya gak deh
No matter what       : gak peduli apapun
Gimme a break!       : yang bener aja lo
What a beautiful!     : wah, indahnya
Sorry, but                : maaf, tapi
Again?                     : lagi?
Are you sure?          : serius lo
Excuse me               : maaf / apa?
Oh, no!                    : o tidak
So sweet                 : manis banget/indahnya!
O my..                      : astaga
Oh dear                   : astaga
You see                   : tu kan
Just wait and see   : liat aja nanti!
You made it man     : kau berhasil kawan
And then                  : terus
After that                 : setelah itu
So, what’s next?      : terus
Why don’t you..        : kenapa kamu gak…
Not so fast               : gak secepat itu
How if…/ what if..    : gimana jika
Anyway                    : pokoknya
Guess what             : coba tebak?
Let me guess           : coba saya tebak
Lucky guess             : tebakan yg tepat
Let me tell you something  : begini lo
I tell you what          : gini lo
Certainly                  : tentu saja
Suddenly                 : tiba-tiba
Fortunately              : untungnya
Unfortunately           : sayangnya

In fact                     : kenyataannya, sebenarnya
By accident              : secara tidak sengaja
Probably                  : mungkin
However                  : bagaimanapun     
While                       : sambil
Whenever                : kapanpun
Whatever                 : apapun
The main point        : yang penting
Although                  : walaupun
That’s why               : oleh sebab itu
Because of              : gara-gara
Whereas                  : padahal
Even                        : bahkan
Who cares!              : emangnya gue pikirin
Who scares!            : siapa takut!

The Love Test


Are you a hopeless romantic—willing to do anything for your love? Or are you a down-to-earth realist who accepts life with or without love?
To know which one are you, please answer the questions below by giving score in each number.
The scoring system is listed as follows:

Scoring
For questions 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, score as follows:
Strong agreement                                          1
Mild agreement                                              2
Indecision                                                       3
Mild disagreement                                          4
Strong disagreement                                     5

For questions 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, score as follows:
Strong agreement                                          5
 










                                                     Mild agreement                                              4
Indecision                                                      3
Mild disagreement                                          2
Strong disagreement                                     1

THE LOVE TEST
No
Questions
Score
 1
You have a steady partner. Along comes really attractive person; could you fall in love with someone else?

2
Would you consider marrying someone from a very different background to your own?

3
Would you consider writing off to a computer dating firm?

4
Do you believe that marriage is for life?

5
Would you consider getting married and not having children?

6
Would you say no to someone you liked very much—because you thought someone better might come along?

7
If the person you love died, would you consider life worth living?

8
Could you fall in love with someone whom you do not find physically attractive?

9
Do you agree that men are interested in women for one reason only?

10
Imagine that you have very little money. Would you consider marrying someone who also had very little money?

Total score

                                             Adapted from Keller’s Conversation Gambit (1988)

Useful expressions:

Strong agreement
Of course I would
I certainly would

Mild agreement
I think I would
I might
I might consider it.
I think so

Indecision
I don’t know
I can’t decide
I can’t make up my mind
 I’m not sure

Mild disagreement
Probably not
I don’t think so
I doubt it

Strong disagreement
Never in a million years
Not on your life!
Not even if you paid me!
Not for all the tea in China!


Texts of Story telling

                                                                                          The Lonely Landy
           One day, there was a porcupine named Landy. He was lonely. No one wanted to play with him, because they were afraid of his spike.“Dear Landy. We don’t want to play with you because your spikes are too sharp. We don’t want you to hurts us,” said Cici the rabbit one day.“Cici is right, Landy. It is not because you’re bad or rude to us, no, Landy. Just because of your spikes. They will stab us if we close to you,” said Tito the rooster. 
            Landy felt lonely. Landy spent most of the time day dreaming at the river bank, “I would be happy if there were no spikes on my body.”Suddenly, Kuku the turtle appeared from the river. He came to Landy and said, “Landy, what are you thinking of?”“Oh, nothing,” Landy replied.“Don’t lie to me, Landy! Who knows I can help you,” said Kuku wisely. Then he sat beside Landy. He wasn’t afraid of Landy’s spikes.Shortly, Landy told his problem. Kuku nodded his head. He said, “Poor you. But it isn’t your fault. I know, your spikes are very useful and helpful for you. They will realize it someday. Trust me!”“Thanks, Kuku. You are my best friend.”
One day, Koko the frog held his birthday party. He invited all his friends, including Landy. But he decided not to come. He didn’t want to mess up the party. “I’ll come with you Landy. I’ll tell everyone that you’re harmless,” said Kuku. Finally Landy attended the party. Everyone enjoyed it.
Suddenly Tito screamed, “Help….help.…! The evil wolf is coming. Save yourself!” Then, everyone saved their lives, except Kuku and landy. Kuku pulled his head and his leg into his shell. And Landy rolled his body into a ball.Unintentionally, the evil wolf touched Landy. Of course, the spike pricked him. He screamed, “Ouch!” Since his foot was bleeding, he didn’t chase Landy’s friends any longer. Then, he ran away.“Horray….horray….! Long live Landy! He saved our lives,” said Cici and her friends. They thanked him from then on. Landy wasn’t lonely anymore.

Moral  value  :
We should not underestimate someone’s bad physical appearance.

Snow White
Once upon a time lived a little girl named Snow White. She lived with her Aunt and Uncle because her parents ware dead.
One day she heard her Uncle and Aunt talking about leaving Snow White in the castle because they both wanted to go to America and they didn’t have enough money to take Snow White.
Snow White did not want her Uncle and Aunt to do this so she decided it would be best if she ran away. The next morning she ran away from home when her Aunt and Uncle were having breakfast. She ran away into the woods.
She was very tired and hungry.
Then she saw this little cottage. She knocked but no one answered so she went inside and fell asleep.
Meanwhile, the seven dwarfs were coming home from work. They went inside. There they found Snow White sleeping. Then Snow White woke up. She saw the dwarfs. The dwarfs said, ‘What is your name?’ Snow White said, ‘My name is Snow White.’
Doc said, ‘if you wish, you may live here with us’. Snow White said, ‘Oh could? ’Thank you. Then Snow White told the dwarfs the whole story and Snow White and the seven dwarfs lived happily ever after

The Myth of Malin Kundang
         A long time ago, in a small village near the beach in West Sumatra, a woman and her son lived. They were Malin Kundang and her mother. Her mother was a single parent because Malin Kundang's father had passed away when he was a baby. Malin Kundang had to live hard with his mother. Malin Kundang was a healthy, diligent, and strong boy. He usually went to sea to catch fish. After getting fish he would bring it to his mother, or sold the caught fish in the town.
        One day, when Malin Kundang was sailing, he saw a merchant's ship which was being raided by a small band of pirates. He helped the merchant. With his brave and power, Malin Kundang defeated the pirates. The merchant was so happy and thanked to him. In return the merchant asked Malin Kundang to sail with him. To get a better life, Malin Kundang agreed. He left his mother alone.
Many years later, Malin Kundang became wealthy. He had a huge ship and was helped by many ship crews loading trading goods. Perfectly he had a beautiful wife too. When he was sailing his trading journey, his ship landed on a beach near a small village. The villagers recognized him. 
         The news ran fast in the town; “Malin Kundang has become rich and now he is here”.
An old woman ran to the beach to meet the new rich merchant. She was Malin Kundang’s mother. She wanted to hug him, released her sadness of being lonely after so long time. Unfortunately, when the mother came, Malin Kundang who was in front of his well dressed wife and his ship crews denied meeting that old lonely woman. For three times her mother begged Malin Kundang and for three times he yelled at her. 
         At last Malin Kundang said to her "Enough, old woman! I have never had a mother like you, a dirty and ugly woman!" After that he ordered his crews to set sail. He would leave the old mother again but in that time she was full of both sadness and angriness.
Finally, enraged, she cursed Malin Kundang that he would turn into a stone if he didn't apologize. Malin Kundang just laughed and really set sail. In the quiet sea, suddenly a thunderstorm came. His huge ship was wrecked and it was too late for Malin Kundang to apologize. He was thrown by the wave out of his ship. He fell on a small island. It was really too late for him to avoid his curse. Suddenly, he turned into a stone

Once upon time, a man had a wonderful parrot. There was no other parrot like it. The parrot could say every word, except one word. The parrot would not say the name of the place where it was born. The name of the place was Catano.
The man felt excited having the smartest parrot but he could not understand why the parrot would not say Catano. The man tried to teach the bird to say Catano however the bird kept not saying the word.
At the first, the man was very nice to the bird but then he got very angry. “You stupid bird!” pointed the man to the parrot. “Why can’t you say the word? Say Catano! Or I will kill you” the man said angrily. Although he tried hard to teach, the parrot would not say it. Then the man got so angry and shouted to the bird over and over; “Say Catano or I’ll kill you”. The bird kept not to say the word of Catano.
One day, after he had been trying so many times to make the bird say Catano, the man really got very angry. He could not bear it. He picked the parrot and threw it into the chicken house. There were four old chickens for next dinner “You are as stupid as the chickens. Just stay with them” Said the man angrily. Then he continued to humble; “You know, I will cut the chicken for my meal. Next it will be your turn, I will eat you too, stupid parrot”. After that he left the chicken house.
The next day, the man came back to the chicken house. He opened the door and was very surprised. He could not believe what he saw at the chicken house. There were three death chickens on the floor. At the moment, the parrot was standing proudly and screaming at the last old chicken; “Say Catano or I’ll kill you”.

In the town of Verona there lived two families, the Capulets and the Montagues. They engaged in a bitter feud. Among the Montagues was Romeo, a hot-blooded young man with an eye for the ladies. One day, Romeo attended the feast of the Capulets', a costume party where he expected to meet his love, Rosaline, a haughty beauty from a well-to-do family. Once there, however, Romeo's eyes felt upon Juliet, and he thought of Rosaline no more.
The vision of Juliet had been invading his every thought. Unable to sleep, Romeo returned late that night to the Juliet's bedroom window. There, he was surprised to find Juliet on the balcony, professing her love for him and wishing that he were not a "Montague", a name behind his own. "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Romeo was ready to deny his name and professed his love. The two agreed to meet at nine o’clocks the next morning to be married.
Early the next morning, Romeo came to Friar Lawrence begging the friar to marry him to Juliet. The Friar performed the ceremony, praying that the union might someday put an end to the feud between the two families. He advised Romeo kept the marriage a secret for a time.
On the way home, Romeo chanced upon his friend Mercutio arguing with Tybalt, a member of the Capulet clan. That quarreling last caused Merquito died. Romeo was reluctant no longer. He drew his sword and slew Tybalt died. Romeo realized he had made a terrible mistake. Then Friar Lawrence advised Romeo to travel to Mantua until things cool down. He promised to inform Juliet.
In the other hand, Juliet's father had decided the time for her to marry with Paris. Juliet consulted Friar Lawrence and made a plot to take a sleeping potion for Juliet which would simulate death for three days. The plot proceeded according to the plan. Juliet was sleeping in death.
Unfortunately, The Friar's letter failed to reach Romeo. Under the cover of darkness, he broke into Juliet's tomb. Romeo kissed the lips of his Juliet one last time and drank the poison. Meanwhile, the effects of the sleeping potion wear off. Juliet woke up calling for Romeo. She found her love next to her but was lying dead, with a cup of poison in his hand. She tried to kiss the poison from his lips, but failed. Then Juliet put out his dagger and plunged it into her breast. She died