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ENGLISH
Second Quarter – Module 4

SDO TAGUIG CITY AND PATEROS

Introductory Message
For the facilitator:

This module was collaboratively designed, developed and evaluated by the

Development and Quality Assurance Teams of SDO TAPAT to assist you in helping
the learners meet the standards set by the K to 12 Curriculum while overcoming
their personal, social, and economic constraints in schooling.

As a facilitator, you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this module.
You also need to keep track of the learners' progress while allowing them to
manage their own learning. Furthermore, you are expected to encourage and assist
the learners as they do the tasks included in the module.

For the learner:

This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful opportunities
for guided and independent learning at your own pace and time. You will be
enabled to process the contents of the learning resource while being an active
learner.

The following are some reminders in using this module:

1. Use the module with care. Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part of
the module. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the exercises.
2. Don’t forget to answer Let’s Try before moving on to the other activities
included in the module.
3. Read the instruction carefully before doing each task.
4. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking your
answers.
5. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.
6. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are through with it.
If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this module, do not
hesitate to consult your teacher or facilitator. Always bear in mind that you are
not alone.

We hope that through this material, you will experience meaningful learning
and gain deep understanding of the relevant competencies. You can do it!
 Let’s Learn

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help you
compare and contrast your opinions with those presented in familiar texts. The
scope of this module permits it to be used in many different learning situations.
The language used recognizes your diverse vocabulary level.

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. identify the changes that happened to Singapore through time;
2. explain how Singaporeans adjust to changes they experience;
3. recognize the similarities and differences of Singapore and the Philippines in
terms of people, places, and economic status; and
4. compare and contrast one’s point of view from the text presented.

Let’s Try

Directions: Complete the semantic web below to show what you know about
Singapore in terms of people, places and economic status. Use words
or phrases for your answers.

resilient Merlion

places
people

Singapore
highly developed

economic status
Lesson
The Bumboat Cruise On a
1 Singapore River

Let’s Recall

Vocabulary Words
Directions: Determine the meaning of the underlined words using context clues.
Encircle the letter of your answer.

1. A building looms every now and then in Singapore.

a. appears b. grows c. disappears

2. There were a number of conspicuous changes in the appearance of the

mansion.
a. inappropriate b. noticeable c. suspicious

3. The man was immediately released after a year of confinement.

a. freedom b. detention c. loneliness

4. The Merlion is famous for its grotesque and unique appearance.

a. odd b. extraordinary c. huge

5. One of the best traits of a good speaker is a clear and audible voice.
a. husky b. soft c. loud
 Let’s Explore
I. Directions: Analyze the two photos presented. Write your observations on how
Marina Bay in Singapore looks several years ago compared to how it
looks today.

Marina Bay in Singapore

Then Now
Source: http://travel.cnn.com/singapore/life/then-and-now-266369/266369/

Then Now
 Let’s Elaborate

Some of the reasons Singapore is named as Asia’s business and financial center are their ability to adjust to
changes, creativity, and hard work. Singaporeans’ resilience to change is truly one of their remarkable traits.

Bumboat Cruise on the Singapore River

by Miriam Wei Wei Lo

You may also read the poem directly from the author’s website:
https://miriamweiweilo.com/poetry-miriam-wei-wei-lo

Rhetoric is what keeps this island afloat.

Singaporean voice with a strong American accent,
barely audible above the drone of the bumboat engine:
“Singaporeans are crazy about their food.
They are especially fond of all-you-can-eat buffets.
Why not do as the locals do and try out one of the buffets
at these hotels along the waterfront.” The Swissotel looms.
The Grand Copthorne. The Miramar. All glass
and upward-sweeping architecture. Why not do
as the locals do. Here in this city where conspicuous consumption
is an artform. Where white tourists wearing slippers and singlets
are tolerated in black tie establishments. Dollars. Sense.

How did I ever live in this place? Sixteen years of my life

afloat in this sea of contradictions, of which I was, equally, one:
half-white, half-Chinese; the taxi-driver cannot decide
if I am a tourist or a local, so he pitches at my husband:
“Everything in Singapore is changing all the time.”
Strong gestures. Manic conviction. “This is good.
We are never bored. Sometimes my customers
ask me to take them to a destination, but it is no longer there.”
We tighten our grip on two squirming children and pray
that the bumboat tour will exist. Nothing short of a miracle
this small wooden boat which is taking us now past Boat Quay,
in its current incarnation, past the Fullerton Hotel

to the mouth of the Singapore river, where the Merlion

still astonishes: grotesque and beautiful as a gargoyle.
The children begin to chafe at confinement. My daughter wails
above the drone of the engine. There’s talk of closing the mouth
of the river. New water supply. There’s talk of a casino.
Heated debate in the Cabinet. Old Lee and Young Lee
locked in some Oedipal battle. The swell is bigger out here
in the harbour, slapping up spray against the sides of the boat,
as if it were waves that kept it afloat, this boat,
this island, caught between sinking and swimming,
as I am caught now. As if rhetoric mattered.
As if this place gives me a name for myself.

To have a glimpse of the Singapore River Bumboat Cruise Tour experience, you
may click this link and watch the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuQ6c_M8TJ0

Let’s Dig In

I. Directions: On a separate sheet of paper, answer the following questions. Write

each of your answer in 3 to 5 sentences.

1. How does the author describe Singapore?

2. Is the author proud of being a product of mixed races? Prove your answer.
3. How do Singaporeans feel about the changes that happened to their country?
4. What positive traits have they gained out of these changes?
5. Do Filipinos handle changes the same way that Singaporeans do? Prove your
answer.

Let’s Remember

Directions: Express what you have learned in this lesson by completing the
sentences below.

1. The author of the Bumboat Cruise on a Singapore River is

____________________________________________________________________.

2. Bumboat Cruise on a Singapore River is a poem that merely provides

information about Singapore’s _______________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
3. Some of the changes that happened to Singapore are
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
 Let’s Apply

Let’s Recall
Comparison and Contrast
Comparison means pointing out similarities among things or what they have in
common.

Contrast means pointing out differences among things.

Directions: Using a bubble map, compare and contrast your views about
Singapore and the Philippines in terms of people, places and economic status.

Same

Singapore Philippines
 Let’s Evaluate
A. Directions: Choose the letter of the best answer. Write your answer on the
blank before the number. You may also click the link below to answer
this activity using Google Forms.
Link: https://forms.gle/uG461hqhd15FQsHG8

________1. Bumboat Cruise on a Singapore River is a poem that speaks about

_____________________.
a. the narrator’s experience on the river cruise as she
contemplates what Singapore truly means to her.
b. the narrator’s frustrations about the changes that happened to
Singapore and its people.
c. the narrator’s knowledge about Singapore’s famous tourist
spots.
________2. How does the author see Singapore?
a. Singapore has changed a lot.
b. Singapore is just the same as before.
c. Singapore becomes overpopulated.
________3. The taxi driver cannot decide whether the narrator is a tourist or
a
local because __________________.
a. the narrator knows a lot of places in Singapore but does not
know how to go there.
b. the narrator is half-white, half-Chinese.
c. the narrator speaks both English and Chinese.
________4. How does the author describe the Singaporeans?
a. Singaporeans love to go to eat-all-you-can buffets.
b. Singaporeans love to travel.
c. Singaporeans love to watch movies.
________5. What usually happens when customers ask the taxi driver to take
them to a destination?
a. Some destinations are no longer there.
b. Some destinations are crowded.
c. Some destinations are closed.
________6. What famous landmark in Singapore appears “grotesque and
beautiful as a gargoyle”?
a. Fullerton Hotel
b. The Grand Copthorne
c. The Merlion
________7. The Swissotel, The Grand Copthorrne and The Miramar are
____________ that can be seen along the waterfront.
a. statutes
b. boats
c. hotels
________8. “Everything in Singapore is changing all the time.” This statement
came from ____________.
a. the narrator
b. the husband
 c. the taxi driver

________9. “There’s talk of closing the mouth of the river. New water supply.
There’s talk of a casino.” This line from the poem suggests
That ______________.
a. There are plans to close the river to tourists and build a casino.
b. People are talking about their experiences going to the casino.
c. The narrator and the driver are going to the casino along the
riverside.

________10.

“Singaporean voice with a strong American accent,

barely audible above the drone of the bumboat engine:…”

“Here in this city where conspicuous consumption

is an artform. Where white tourists wearing slippers and
singlets are tolerated in black tie establishments. Dollars.
Sense.”

These lines from the poem suggests that ____________.

a. Many Singaporeans live like Americans now.
b. There are a lot of American tourists in Singapore.
c. American tourists do not like Singapore.

Let’s Extend

Directions: Cut out pictures from old magazines and/or any other resources to
show your “Ideal Philippines” in the next ten years. You may show the changes that
you want to happen to our country in terms of people, places and economic status.
Paste them on a short bond paper and write a one paragraph explanation about
your work.

References
Lo, M. (2005). Miriam Wei Wei Lo Poetry [online] Available at:
https://miriamweiweilo.com/poetry-miriam-wei-wei-lo

Quarter 4 Module in English For Grade VIII (8) Prepared by Division of TAPAT
Grade 8 English Teachers pp. 46-50

Ledesma, L.V. (2010). Singapore: Then and now. CNN Travel. [online]
Available at:
http://travel.cnn.com/singapore/life/then-and-now-266369/266369/

Development Team of the Module

Writer: ROS ANN G. BORBON

Editors:
Content Editors: EDEN F. ROLDAN
RODEL R. ARROYO
Language Editor: JOCELYN G. AZARIAS
Reviewers:
Illustrator: BERNARD MARC E. CODILLO
Layout Artist: BERNARD MARC E. CODILLO
Module Cover Artist: BERNARD MARC E. CODILLO
Management Team: DR. MARAGRITO B. MATERUM, SDS
DR. GEORGE P. TIZON, SGOD-Chief
DR. ELLERY G. QUINTIA, CID Chief
MR. NOEL BALUBAL, EPS - ENGLISH
DR. DAISY L. MATAAC, EPS – LRMS/ ALS

For inquiries, please write or call:

Schools Division of Taguig city and Pateros Upper Bicutan Taguig City

Telefax: 8384251