Grade Reader
Mara Pho, PDT Student, Australia Awards Scholarship
I am a PDT (Pre-Departure Training) student, and I have received an Australia Awards Scholarship (AAS). I really like the Graded Reader in addition to the course because reading one of these can really be fun, touching and moving. I have picked up many books from the book club, and I’d like to share with you one of my favourites, that is, The Great Ponds. I like it because it speaks about ordinary life of some African tribes before modernisation devoured it. As a result, it has inspired me because an African writer walked me through the journey. I hope my summary motivates you to take on the whole journey from the book yourself.
About 100 years ago in Eastern Nigeria lived the people of Chiolu, Aliakoro, and Isiali. They were subsistent farmers, and most of their food came from the ponds nearby. One pond, the Pond of Wagaba, upon which the Chiolu relied for years, had plenty of fish. The Chiolu believed that it belonged to them. Likewise, the elders of the nearby village, the Aliakoro, had been telling younger generations that it was theirs, and they also had fished from it. For a while the Chiolu started noticing that there were others who also came to fish in their pond. They then assigned their men to capture those poachers. This led to a war between the two tribes over the legitimate ownership of the pond, which resulted in deaths, and losses to both villages. Not only did the feud over the Wagaba pond affect them, but also affected other villages nearby. Those affected villages started to worry about the ongoing dispute and called upon the two villages to have a formal meeting to solve it.
They all agreed if anyone from either one of the villages believed the great pond belonged to them, and dared take an oath by a god to claim it, and if after six months the god did not punish that person, then the pond would rightfully be theirs. One man of Chiolu who strongly believed the pond was the Chiolu’s took the oath. He swore to the god of night who was believed to be powerful. This led to a struggle between the two villages because they both wanted to prove that the pond was theirs. The Aliakoro, against what they had agreed upon, had tried to kill the Chiolu man tied to the oath, but to no avail. During the oath period, many people from both villages died from a strange disease believed to have caused by the angry god. Although the man who gave the oath survived the six months, the Chiolu still lost the pond because there was an Aliakoro man who killed himself in the pond in order that the rival village couldn’t claim ownership over it. The incident was believed to be the act of the god who was angry with the two tribes. Thereafter, they could no longer fish in the pond because they believed they couldn’t fish in a pond in which a person had drowned.
Chhan Ratana, PDT Student, Australia Awards Scholarship
Hi everyone! I am thrilled to get a chance to share a story with you. The story is Oliver Twist which I read while on the Pre-Departure (PDT) course. I have also received an Australia Awards Scholarship (AAS).
In brief, Oliver Twist is the story of a forlorn orphan boy who reflects the life of poverty in England in the 1830’s. The story shows the evils of the Poor Houses of the time and the corruption of the people who worked there. It also revealsthe depths of London’s crime with an emphasis on petty robbery and pick-pocketing. Oliver Twist is also a novel about the battles of “good” versus “evil”, with the evil continually trying to corrupt and exploit the good. Be informed that very heart wrenching and tearful settings happen from the beginning to almost the end of the story, and I let you experience such feelings on your own by reading it; however, please wait for a couple of minutes and read my words before reading the story.
Many acknowledge that time and life are going too fast, but walking through them is absolutely challenging. In this world, life is of course different from one moment to the next. Some get a better
life while some don’t. Indeed, this story is inspiring and educational. Previously, I only thought reading novels was a way of entertainment and vocabulary building but now that feeling has gone and I have come up with a complete new mindset about learning life lessons from novels since I finished this novel. So, if you want to picture the life of a poor orphan and the ways of those who struggled to stay survive, I do recommend this story to you. Keep it: “Your efforts are worth every single moment of your life!”
Sinet Seap, PDT Student, Australia Awards Scholarship
Life is meaningful; it is powerful. It breaks the rules, norms and stereotypes. Start to laugh, love, and smile, and make dreams. Do not let any destructive force prevent us from reaching our dreams. Moving, out of our comfort zone, thinking out of the box, exploring our dreams and enjoying every moment we have. One important way to do that is to find our balance. A non-fiction story Eat Pray Love, written by Elizabeth Gilbert (Liz), addresses how she finds the balance in order to succeed in her life. Life is like we are riding a bike. We can move forward when we can balance ourselves with the clear vision of what we want to achieve.
Liz is a modern and successful journalist who got married and lived in a big house. She had almost everything that she wanted. But it did not mean that she was successful in her life. She found herself lost and confused because she really did not know what she really wanted. She was not happy with her married life because there was something missing. She divorced and started to search for what she wanted by going to Italy where she enjoyed learning Italian. Then she moved to India to do meditation where she found the power of prayer to help her to find balance where she knows herself very well. Finally, she went to Bali, Indonesia, where she found the unexpected; the inside peace and balance of her true love in life.
Oudom Bondith, PDT Student, Australia Awards Scholarship
Hi! I am Bondith. I would like to share a story I read which you might find inspiring and engaging for your reading habits. Firstly, I would say I have read many books, but I was not convinced that reading could be for pleasure until Touching the Void became compulsory in my Pre-Departure Training (PDT) course. In summary, the novel is a non-fiction narrating a man’s will to survive from climbing up and down one of the most dangerous mountain, Suila Grande. He broke his leg, fell into a crevasse, was left behind, and felt a sense of emptiness. Joe who was both an author and actor managed to find his internal courage and stay alive from a deadly unprecedented accident. Reading through the story, there are actually further fascinating moments occurring in the journey, but I will let you find out by reading the book.
Indeed, it is a vivid novel and most suitable for readers who like adventure and seek excitement in life. For those exploring a thrilling moment, it is a recommended story to feel such a moment and more. From my perspective, reading this book is not only for your entertainment but also language improvement. Therefore, it is appropriate for general readers. The novel is well composed to make every plot and setting seems realistic although you have never climbed mountains. The writing is clear because of its simplicity and authenticity, so you might find it interesting and worth reading. The story also presents lessons for our real life, and there is nothing to lose. At the end of reading, different people may come up with various lessons learnt, but from my reading, I find life is empty without challenging goals. “Never give up but find courage to move on.” Pick up a book now and begin the journey. I hope you enjoy the book!