# THE TEST TRACK | The Islanders :::success **Welcome to the Test Track!** Here you can practice grammar and writing which will aid in our production and content value. I will check in **weekly** (ideally) to help with grammatical mistakes and overall smoothing of the compositions. Write whatever you like, and most importantly, have fun & enjoy! ::: --- ### My Favorite Sport My favorite sport is F1 racing. Though most people might not think of it as a sport, it is very physical and requires a lot from the drivers. They go through rigorous training in order to get where they are currently. I strive to have the courage and audacity of the brilliant drivers. - 1/13, James :::warning This is where I will add remarks/corrections to the original piece. Please remember to add date and name as the sample article above. You can copy the above paragraph to get started. **Formatting your article is critical and is very much a demonstration of attention to detail.** Much like grammar. ::: --- ### SOP Singapore, the center of the chemical industry in Asia, gathers all geographic and industrial advantages and enjoys rapid growth in recent years. Besides having a promising industrial prospect, Singapore also provides an excellent academic environment for researchers. Therefore, I consider Singapore as the first choice to fulfill my graduate study and develop my career, deciding to apply for this Master’s Programme held by two of the most prestigious universities in the world. :::warning Singapore, being the center of chemical industry in Asia, has gathered all advantage, both geographical and industrial to enjoy rapid growth in recent years. Besides having promising industrial prospects, Singapore also provides an excellent academic environment for researchers. I consider Singapore as the first choice to fulfill my graduate studies and further develop my career. Therefore, I decided to apply for this Master's programme held by two of the most prestigious universities in the world. ::: In the spring of 2019, I started my undergraduate research project on energy storage materials, sodium-ion battery electrode materials specifically. This project gives me a chance to jump out of the frame of textbooks and explore the unknown boundary of science. In this project, I acquire the ability to think critically, search through literature and find solutions quickly, design and conduct synthesis processes and experiments independently, analyze experimental data accurately, and interpret the physical and chemical meaning from the data correctly. The intense challenges from my project research cultivate me to become a material scientist and give me a strong motivation for researching revolutionary energy storage materials. Accordingly, to really become a professional in the energy storage field, advanced training provided by Industrial Chemistry Programme is essential and critical. :::warning In the spring of 2019, I started my undergraduate research project on energy storage materials, with a focus on sodium-ion battery electrode materials. This project gave me a chance to jump out of the box that is textbook curriculum and explore the unknown boundaries of science. In this project, I learned how to think critically, search through material to find solutions quickly, design synthesis processes, and conduct experiments independently. I also acquired the ability to analyze experimental data accurately and intepret the physical and chemical properties from the data correctly. The intense challenges from my project research cultivated me to become a material scientist and gave me a strong motivation to research revolutionary energy storage materials. To achieve the ultimate goal of becoming a professional in this field, advanced training provided by the Industrial Chemistry Programme is essential and critical. ::: At National Tsing Hua University, I studied in the Interdisciplinary Program of Engineering and completed the Bachelor’s Degree in the program of Material Science and Engineering (MSE) and Chemistry (CH) in my four years. Professional knowledge of material science and engineering provides me with deep comprehension of various material systems like alloys, ceramics, and polymers and the core relations between macroscopic property, microstructure, and process, and the four-year rigorous training gives me the ability to design a material with desired property and to refine the structure by tuning processing parameters. On the other hand, knowledge of chemistry supplies me with in-depth insight into fundamental theories of kinetics and thermodynamics of chemical reaction, compounds synthesis, and quantum mechanics and with sufficient hand-on experimental experience. Equipped with this knowledge, I can have better chemical and physical intuition which allows me to make more accurate predictions on experiment results and design a synthesis process by myself. :::warning At National Tsing Hua University, I enrolled in the Interdisciplinary Program of Engineering and completed the Bachelor's Degree with a focus in Material Science Engineering (MSE) and Chemistry (CH). Through profesional understanding of material science and engineering, I can comprehend the various material systems such as alloys, ceramics, polymers, and the core relations between macroscopic properties, microstructure, and processes. Four years of rigorous training gave me the ability to design materials with desired properties and refine the structures by tuning processing parameters. On the side, I also have the knowledge of chemistry to supply me with insight into fundamental theories of the kinetics and thermodynamics of chemical reactions, compound synthesis, and quantum mechanics. With sufficient hands-on experiments to back the knowledge learned from textbooks, I have better intuition when predicting experiment results and designing synthesis processes. ::: Being knowledgeable in both engineering and science disciplines allows me to view problems from multiple perspectives and combine the knowledge form the two fields and make full use of them to solve problems in innovative methods. For example, utilizing the molecular orbitals (MOs) theory on explaining the properties of metal oxides in ceramics material systems shows a great combination of expertise form MSE and CH. The example demonstrates that the two programs complement each other well, and such ability and experience make me indispensable and give me an advantage over my peers. :::warning Being acquainted in both engineering and science disciplines allows me to view problems from multiple perspectives and combine paradigms from the two fields and solve problems with innovative methods. For example, using the molecular orbital theory on explaining the properties of metal oxides in ceramic material systems is evident of this. This example also demonstates that the two disciplines complement each other well, and such ability and experience can give me an edge over competition in the long term. ::: With interdisciplinary knowledge and multiple research ability form my project research, I’m confident that I’m qualified to fit into the Industrial Chemistry Program successfully, and my study in TUM Asia will certainly enrich my academic life and shape me to become a future leader in this field. :::warning With interdisciplinary knowledge and research ability from multiple projects, I am confident that I am qualified to fit into the Industrial Chemistry Program successfully, and my studies in TUM Asia will certainly enrich my academic life and shape me to become a future leader in this field. ::: --- ### Journal entry number 1 I'm currently in New Year's Goods Main Street, and it seems that nearly all the people in the city have crowded into the Street to compete for food since the city will be stroke by famine and become a food desert in the next seven days. So, people are driven by their survival instincts and follow the trace of food all the way to here just like sharks following the smell of blood in the ocean. :::warning I am currently in New Year's Goods Main Street, and it seems that nearly all the people in the city have been crammed into the space of a few blocks. People are flocking here for food because for the next seven days, the city will shut down and become a food desert. The masses are driven by their survival instincts and are following the trace of food, much like sharks following trails of blood. ::: Actually, people in the streets are literally sharks, since driven not only by foods but also the current of people. On the shores, merchants spread free to try as fresh and fishy bets to attract the influx of sharks. At this point, the most significant scenes of mother nature occur. Several strong and formidable female sharks sense the smell and spontaneously charge at the bets. Since shouldering the burden of nursing their youths, they fight each other for discounts and free gifts relentlessly and fiercely. They form iconic shark balls which disturb the current and the order of the ocean. :::warning Actually, people in the streets are literally sharks, as they are driven not only by food but also the flow of the crowd. On the shores, merchants are giving out samples, much like fresh and fishy baits that attract the sudden influx of sharks. Right at this point, one of the most significant scenes of mother nature is happening. Several strong and formidable female sharks sense the smell and spontaneously charge at the baits. Since they are shouldering the burden of nursing their youth, thay fight each other for discounts and free gifts relentlessly and fiercely. They soon form a tight bunch that disturb the current and the once calm ocean. ::: By the way, you may wonder why I'm here. My mother just won the fight in the shark ball and hong another bag of booties to my arms. According to the weight of these bags, I assumed that 2000 dollars have been spent and the number is very likely to increase. My hands turned red and are going to turn white and purple or even black in minutes, while the end of the hunt is still unknown. :::warning By the way, you may wonder why I am here. My mother just came out on top in the swarm of sharks and threw another bag of goodies into my arms. According to the weight of these bags, I assume that more than 2000 dollars have been spent, and it is far from over. My hands turned red, white, purple, then black in a couple of minutes, while the end of the hunt is still unknown. ::: Ps. Even in my hometown, I'm suffering the intense homesick. I miss the couch so much. Do I have the chance to embrace my couch by sunset? :::warning Ps. Even in my hometown I am suffering from intense homesickness. I miss my couch so much. Do I have the chance to embrace my couch by sunset? ::: --- ### Taiwanese Movies Different from blasts and thrilling action scene made by Hollywood, popular movies from Taiwan generally give people a looser impression with stories around passionate young figures and themes closing to our daily life. But if you ask a student studying in movie art about Taiwanese movies, for sure, they will introduce you a whole new world of movies with serene and rythmic visual languages in the mastery works created by the well-known Ang-Lee or Hsiao-Hsien Ho. Being the most influential media across centuries, movies are no longer only for entertainment consumption, but have also become carriers of cultural entities, which are so diverse and way too colorful on the island of Taiwan. Let's take a ride to those popular movies beloved by Taiwanese people along with the works admired by world-wide art lovers together, and discover the beauty of Taiwanese culture behind. --- ### How social media change our social relationships? Have you ever noticed that you were kicked out from someone's "close friend" list on Instagram, or accidentally overheard your friend post something bad about you on Facebook but you're not allowed to view. How did that feel? Do you feel down or frustrated? Or you simply don’t believe that matters as such? These days, we are more and more aware of the status on social media with our friends. Originally a tool for us to connect with each other, social media gradually seems to become another dimension of our social relationships. Today, we are going to share our ideas on how social media become part of our social life along with the things that we worries about, and try to derive some insights from those struggling experiences happened online. --- ### Get it clean! As one of the most challenging task all of us has to face weekly, monthly, or maybe, if you are such a person of endurance, yearly. How do you cope with the matter of housecleaning? Should all ashes in the corner or under the vase been completely wiped out? Or could the paint spot on the wall been ignored or covered up by some picture frame? How about rearranging your bookshelf in ascending order of height? Today, we are going to share our thoughts on housecleaning and try to measure each of our "neat freak index" from some different aspects. So go get your desk clean now, and listen closely to the upcomming neat episode. ### Tension idea 1 政府任用具有特定意識型態的官員是否不妥 臺北市政府任用新勞動局局長，該局長為反同人士。 Is it suitable for our government appoint an administrator holding specific and controversial ideology? Should we only focus on the capability of an public figure or both Recently, Taipei city government appointed an anti-same sex marriage administrator, which triggers a series of debates. Opponents consider that this decision greatly violates the progressive values claimed by the major, and homosexual employees may be treated unfairly or even be discriminated. While supporters think that the public should focus more on the professional experience and the capability of the person rather than criticizing him simply for his personal belief. In Taiwan, politicians are often criticized for their speech. Here in this episode, we are going to ask : Should we value a politician based on his or her ideology and speech or achievements and capability. --- ### Tension idea 2 都市更新&釘子戶 Urban renewal is necessary for every cities with long history because it will not only beautify cityscape but also improve housing safety by replacing old and fragile buildings. In spite of having so much advantages, urban renewal is extremely hard to be implemented because of the so called nail households. The residents unwilling to give up their houses for family’s memories or personal interests become the biggest hindrances of critical urban renewals. Some people consider that the welfare of the public shouldn’t be sacrificed because of the minority, and the city government should take initiative to levy the lands of the nail households forcibly to facilitate the urban renewal. On the other hand, some people sympathize the conditions of these nail households, they think the authorities shouldn’t force these residents to give up their houses in the name of public welfare, since our democratic government should protect personal investment rather than sabotaging them. So far, it’s still a controversial issue, in this episode, we will try to put ourselves in different perspectives and debates on this controversial issue. Please join us and pay more attention to this undetermined issue and think about the possible solution with all the audience and us or even discuss publicly to raise the public awareness.