Hazards

The Destruction of Terrorism

The headlines screamed: Bomb exploded at Northview Park Eatery, thirty people killed, first terrorist attach Singapore has seen. Police leave no stones unturned. This startling piece of news evoked Ryan’s memories of the terrorizing incident.

The sky was delightful expanse of azure blue. The clouds had no place in the morning sky where the majestic sun reigned supreme. Ryan, being a bubbly child, yearned for nothing more than having fun. His heart raced excitedly as his family headed for their scrumptious lunch after thoroughly enjoying their bike ride around the whole of Northview Park. Ryan’s family loves the food at the eatery there and they would never miss a chance to savour it whenever they could.

Ryan’s family located an empty booth and chattered animatedly while his father went to order their food. Suddenly, an earth-shattering blast punctured the vivacious spirits of the Sunday crowd in the eatery. Within a fraction of a second, flames and smoke were whirling in all directions. Ryan was stunned at the shocking spectacle. Everything became tumultuous! People scurried for the exits, shrills and sobs resounded through the air. Intense heat from the raging fire sank into Ryan’s skin. He looked in wide-eyed horror at his motionless father and brother. They were scorched to the bone and charred black. Ryan’s heart throbbed. He could not believe his eyes. In a total state of distraught bemusement, Ryan stood there, rooted to the ground.

Smoke charged into Ryan’s nostrils, depriving him of oxygen. Breathing in the noxious, toxic fumes of the smoke made his head spin. Darkness overcame him. Ryan lost consciousness.

Ryan woke up in the unfamiliar room, swathed in bandages. The pain was overwhelming but nothing was more unbearable than the loss of his kin. With the newspaper in his hands and the pain in his heart, Ryan read the words of the police with a new consciousness, “The acts of terrorism shall not instil fear in people but an indomitable courage to face the cruelties. Justice will prevail.”

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What the words and phrases mean…

1	the headlines screamed	main titles in a newspaper
2	leave no stones unturned	investigate thoroughly
3	startling piece of news	shocking news
4	evoked ... memories	brought up memories of the past
5	the morning sky where the majestic sun reigned supreme	a bright morning with the sun shone gloriously
6	heart raced excitedly	heart beating very fast; feeling very eager
7	savour	enjoy good food
8	chattered animatedly	in a lively conversation
9	an earth-shattering blast	an explosion that shook the grounds
10	punctured the vivacious spirits	disrupted cheerful atmosphere
11	within a fraction of a second	immediate
12	flames and smoke were whirling in all directions	a place filled with smoke and fire
13	stunned at the shocking spectacle	a frightening and shocking scene
14	tumultuous	chaotic situation
15	scurried for the exits	dashed for the exits
16	shrills and sobs resounded through the air	screams and cries filled the air
17	intense heat from the raging fire sank into ryan’s skin	felt the heat from strong fire
18	looked in wide-eyed horror	eyes widened in fear
19	scorched to the bone and charred black	very badly burnt till black in colour
20	his heart throbbed	an intense heartache
21	a total state of distraught bemusement	very upset and in a total state of confusion
22	smoke charged into his nostrils	smoke filled his nostrils
23	depriving him of oxygen	feeling breathless
24	noxious, toxic fumes of the smoke made his head spin	feeling giddy due to poisonous smoke and fumes
25	swathed in bandages	body in bandages
26	the pain was overwhelming	experiencing extreme pain
27	nothing was more unbearable than the loss of his kin	feeling the heartache over the death of one’s relatives
28	instil fear	introduce a sense of terror
29	an indomitable courage to face the cruelties	formidable guts to face distressful matters
30	justice will prevail	righteousness will rule

Trapped

“Remember to turn off the fire on the stove after the fish is fully steamed,” my mother nagged at me before she rushed out to attend a seminar.  

“Yeah..” I retorted.

It was far from exciting to spend my time watching a fish being slowly steamed. I was bored stiff. “Sizzle, sizzle...” went the fire. Soon, I felt tired. Slowly and unknowingly, I fell into a deep sleep. I was abruptly awakened by the smell of smoke. The pungent odour of the smoke was nauseating, making me feel like gagging. I stood rooted to the ground at the scene that greeted me. The hungry flames were spreading throughout the whole house, swallowing every combustible material blocking its path. The blazing red monster was advancing rapidly towards me. Clouds of filthy and queasy smoke billowed out of the windows. I knew doom was awaiting me as the hungry flames engulfed and devoured the burning house. There was no time to salvage the valuables. There was only time to escape from the clutches of death which showed no mercy.

Tongues of flames were leaping speedily towards me. I panicked. It was all because of my carelessness to leave the stove alone and fall asleep. I bolted right out of the kitchen, but alas, fire blocked my escape route. I dashed to the window, frantically trying to open it. Nevertheless, no matter how hard I tried, I could not open it. The window grills were stuck! Fear gripped me. Beads of perspiration rolled down my forehead. I had to do something fast! As a last resort, I lifted a nearby crowbar and hacked desperately at the window. The windows simply refused to give way. I was in utter despair. It was totally useless.

My hopes were kindled when I heard the piercing shrill of sirens in the distance. I stoop up, waved my arms frantically and shouted for help at the top of my lungs. Soon, the fire engines and ambulance arrived at the scene. By then, the whole house was a burning inferno. It was a matter of time before the fire reached me. About a dozen firemen emerged and sprang into action. Firemen in bright uniforms and shiny hats sprayed water from hoses that snaked up the ladders. A brave fireman hacked through the window and rescued me. Within minutes, they had brought the fire under control. After an hour of struggle, the fire was extinguished.

When I saw my mother, I sprang into her arms. Apologies tumbled out of my mouth. However, my mother only heaved a sigh of relief that I was safe. Both of us thanked the firemen profusely. I had learnt a very valuable lesson, not to leave fire unattended. Fire is a good servant but a really bad master!

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What the words and phrases mean…

1	retorted	answered back
2	bored stiff	feeling uninterested
3	unknowingly	unaware
4	abruptly awakened	to be wakened suddenly
5	pungent odour	unpleasant smell
6	nauseating	stomach-churning
7	gagging	vomiting
8	stood rooted to the ground	unable to move, usually due to shock
9	swallowing every combustible material blocking its path	burning everything up
10	advancing rapidly	moving forward quickly
11	clouds of filthy and queasy smoke	smoke that is dirty and revolting
12	billowed	puffed out
13	doom was awaiting me	thinking that one was going to die
14	hungry flames engulfed and devoured the burning house	intense fire that was burning up the whole house
15	salvage the valuables	to gather and save things of value
16	clutches of death	on the verge of losing your life
17	tongues of flames were leaping speedily	fire licking and spreading quickly
18	panicked	overwhelmed with terror
19	bolted	ran away suddenly
20	alas	unfortunately
21	nevertheless	on the other hand
22	fear gripped me	felt terrified
23	as a last resort	in desperation
24	in utter despair	very miserable
25	hopes were kindled	felt hopeful
26	waved my arms frantically	waved arms hysterically
27	burning inferno	huge intense fire
28	emerged	appeared
29	apologies tumbled out of my mouth	spoke in a rush
30	fire is a good servant but a really bad master	fire is very useful under one’s control but dangerous when it is not

Fire!

It was a silent and tranquil night. Thomas had two more chapters to finish for his crucial examinations the following day. He stifled a yawn and tried to force his eyes open as he stared at the book in front of him obligingly. Gradually, the words started to swim in his face and the tired boy nodded off.

All of a sudden, Thomas woke up feeling parched and gasping for air. Beads of perspiration dotted his forehead. He felt as if he had just been baked in a microwave oven. It was then Thomas realised that smoke was curling into his bedroom from under the door! The word ‘fire’ ricocheted repeatedly and thoughts of himself being burnt like a charred chicken raced through his mind. Thomas ran to the window to investigate further. There was a dishevelled man with matches in his hands running away at breakneck speed! ‘Arson’ reverberated through his thoughts. Thomas’ heart was palpitating vigorously and his hands turned cold and clammy.

Pandemonium filled the block of flats that was engulfed in thick ominous black smoke. The fire was like a cankerous monster, showing no mercy to humans. Neighbours were scurrying and hollering for help. While Thomas and his neighbours were making a hasty beeline for the open field, fire obstructed their way and licked the walls menacingly. Everyone was indeed at their wits’ ends! All of them were trapped in the rampant inferno. Smoke penetrated their lungs, robbing them of every ounce of oxygen. It was the wailing of the sirens echoing in the helpless atmosphere that renewed all their hopes of survival! Their immense anxiety turned to relief as jets of water shot like a paralysing dart, extinguishing the hazardous flames.

Within minutes, the fire was put out and everyone was safe and sound. Thomas volunteered all the information he could remember about the arsonist to the police. His righteous self could not wait for the culprit to be apprehended. This incident would forever be etched in Thomas’ mind.

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What the words and phrases mean…

1	silent and tranquil night	quiet and peaceful night
2	crucial	important
3	stifled a yawn	subdued a yawn
4	stared ... obligingly	looked at something out of responsibility
5	gradually	slowly
6	gasping for air	breathless
7	beads of perspiration dotted his forehead	perspiration spread across his forehead
8	smoke was curling into his bedroom	smoke was filling his bedroom
9	ricocheted repeatedly	echoed over and over again
10	burnt like a charred chicken	like an overcooked chicken that has turned black
11	dishevelled	messy
12	at breakneck speed	moving extremely fast
13	arson	setting fire purposely for a criminal reason
14	reverberated through his thoughts	an idea bounced off in one’s mind
15	heart was palpitating vigorously	heart beating very fast
16	hands turned cold and clammy	sweaty palms that were cold due to fear
17	pandemonium	a chaotic situation
18	engulfed in thick ominous black smoke	surrounded by dangerous black smoke
19	cankerous monster	evil influence that is spreading
20	showing no mercy	not giving any chances
21	scurrying	running
22	hollering for help	shouting loudly for help
23	making a hasty beeline	making an escape
24	fire obstructed their way and licked the walls menacingly	fire blocked the exits and was burning the walls furiously
25	rampant inferno	uncontrollable burning fire
26	smoke penetrated their lungs	smoke filled their lungs
27	robbing them of every ounce of oxygen	depriving one of air
28	wailing of the sirens echoing in the helpless atmosphere	sounds of alarm in a terrible situation
29	renewed all their hopes of survival	gave hope once again
30	immense anxiety turned to relief	worries changed to feeling restful
31	shot like a paralysing dart	affected by an immobilising effect
32	extinguishing the hazardous flames	putting out dangerous fire
33	righteous	having a sense of justice

The Campfire

“Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray!” Thunderous applause followed the rambunctious cheer from the children that gathered around me. Their innocent faces were lit up by their jubilant smiles. In an orderly fashion, all of them were seated in a circle around me. I roared to life with burst of sparks adding more excitement to the night. All of the spectators’ eyes widened in awe, as I soared higher into the night sky when more fuel was added into my base. I am the star of this gathering, I am the Campfire.

I was set up by the lovely camp leaders. They had conjured me up from wood and fuel. When the clock struck seven, the President of the children camp brought me to life. I leaped and burned with gusto to the delight of all the kids. My flames made a grand entrance, thriving on the solid fuel that formed my base.

The party started. Children’s giggles and laughter reverberated around the surroundings. The young leaders made all the children holler out their group cheers bringing the atmosphere to a new climax. Music blasted from the speakers, my flames danced to the upbeat tempo of the pop songs. The cool night breeze caressed my orange fire, giving me more energy to synchronise with the zesty tunes. The wood crackled loudly as I danced vibrantly. I glowed more brilliantly with each gust of wind that hit my face. Feeding my enthusiasm for boogie, the children joined me in a folk dance. They circled around me and danced in harmony. I was overjoyed, my fire stretched towards the sky!

As the night drew to an end, I exhausted every bit of stored energy from the wood and fuel. My flames dulled to a low glow. I lulled in soft and gentle orange hues as my flames died out in bits. The children sang and danced to their hearts’ content. I was proud to be the centre of attention tonight. As the children returned to their tents to rest for the night, I knew it was curtain call for me. Stars peppered across the chic black night sky, I fizzled out along with the cool night breeze. Being the proud Campfire, I am sure I left wonderful memories for this bunch of kids.   

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What the words and phrases mean…

1	thunderous applause	very loud clapping
2	rambunctious cheer	loud and noisy cheer
3	jubilant smiles	joyful looks
4	in an orderly fashion	in a tidy manner
5	roared to life	became full of energy
6	eyes widened in awe	eyes became bigger due to wonder
7	conjured	made something appear, as if by magic
8	burned with gusto	burned with vigorous zest
9	thriving	making steady progress
10	giggles and laughter reverberated	joyful sounds echoed
11	climax	most exciting point
12	music blasted from the speakers	music sounded loudly from the speakers
13	upbeat tempo	lively pace, especially for music
14	caressed	touched in a loving, affectionate manner
15	synchronise	to operate in unison
16	zesty tunes	lively music
17	crackled	small popping sound
18	vibrantly	dazzlingly
19	gust of wind	a strong sudden rush of wind
20	enthusiasm for boogie	interest in dancing
21	exhausted	used up
22	lulled	soothed and calmed
23	to their hearts’ content	to their satisfaction
24	curtain call	an appearance of the performers at the end of a show to receive applause from the audience
25	chic black night	very dark night
26	fizzled out	ended off weakly