READING EXERCISE 008: "Sulawesi's tyre-bound crocodile finally freed after five years" (VOCABULARY LIST 8)

                        Sulawesi's tyre-bound crocodile finally freed after five years

A wild crocodile in Central Sulawesi who was trapped in a tyre for more than five years has been rescued, freed from its rubber vice and released back into the wild, officials and residents said Tuesday. Conservation workers have been trying to lure the stricken saltwater crocodile from a river since 2016 after residents of Palu spotted the animal with a motorbike tyre wrapped around its neck. But it had proved very difficult to capture. At one point, an Australian crocodile wrangler attempted to free the reptile but was unsuccessful. But it was a local resident who snared the 5.2-metre (17 foot) long reptile -- who was regularly seen sunbathing in the Palu river in Central Sulawesi -- from its tight squeeze late on Monday. Tili, a 34-year-old bird-seller, used chicken as bait and ropes to catch the beast at the end of what he said was a three-week rescue effort, before dozens of locals helped to drag the crocodile to shore and cut the tyre around its neck. "I just wanted to help, I hate seeing animals trapped and suffering," Tili told AFP.  His first two attempts to rescue the croc failed because the ropes were not strong enough to contend with its weight, he said, before turning to nylon ropes used for tugging boats. "I was already exhausted so I let them finish the rescue, the crocodile was unbelievably heavy, everybody was sweating and getting very tired."   The crocodile was released back into the water immediately after the rescue to relieved cheers from locals. 

 Conservationists believe someone may have deliberately placed the tyre around the croc's neck in a failed attempt to trap it as a pet in the archipelago nation that is home to several species of the animal.  Tili beat the authorities to the capture because they lacked the proper equipment for a rescue in the river that houses more than 30 other crocodiles. "Yesterday was a historical day for us, we are grateful the crocodile was finally rescued and we appreciate the locals who showed concern for the wildlife," Hasmuni Hasmar, head of the local conservation agency, told AFP.

The reptile made headlines in early 2020 when the local government promised a reward to anyone who caught the croc and removed the tyre, but later called off the contest over fears it could endanger its safety.  But the local conservation agency said Tili is in line for a prize after his daring plan paid off.

The reptile, which local people had referred to as "buaya kalung ban" (crocodile with a tyre necklace), was released back into the river on Monday evening."We will award Tili for his effort in rescuing the wildlife,"Hasmar said.

Source: Te Jakarta Post (Wednesday, 9 February 2022)

 

         LIST OF VOCABULARY

NO	ENGLISH	INDO
1.	Trapped	Terjebak
2.	Conservation	Konservasi
3.	Wrapped	Melilit
4.	Wrangler	Pecinta hewan
5.	Snared	Menjerat
6.	Bait	Umpan
7.	Beast	Hewan buas
8.	Shore	Pantai
9.	Contend	Bersaing
10.	Sweating	Berkeringat
11.	Deliberately	Dengan sengaja
12.	Lacked	Kekurangan/keterbatasan
13.	Caught	Menangkap
14.	Released	Melepaskan
15.	Prize	Hadiah

Created by: Mazririd 

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15 Alternatif lain dari ungkapan "you are welcome"

Dalam berkomonikasi terdapat ungkapan yang mampu merubah kondisi percakapan menjadi lebih hangat dan berkesan apa itu, yaitu pemilihan ungkapan yang sesuai dengan tata krama yang berlaku dalam sebuah masyarakat. 

 

Salah satu ungkapan yaitu "terima kasih" atau "thank you/thanks". Biasanya, kata ini diucapkan ketika memperoleh hadiah, pertolongan ataupun pemberian makanan/minuman. Dalam percakapan bahasa indonesia biasanya kita merespon dengan kata "sama-sama", sementara itu dalam bahasa inggris "you are welcome".

Untuk menambah variasi dalam berkomunikasi agar lebih menarik dan berkesan terdapat alternatif lain dari ungkapan  "you are welcome" seperti contoh dibawah ini:

NO	ENGLISH	INDO
1.	Anytime	Sama-sama
2.	Don’t mention it	Sama-sama
3.	Dont’t worry about it	Sama-sama
4.	Glad to help you	Sama-sama
5.	Happy to be of Service	Sama-sama
6.	It Was Nothing	Sama-sama
7.	It Was The Least I Could Do	Sama-sama
8.	My pleasure	Sama-sama
9.	No At All	Sama-sama
10.	No Big Deal	Sama-sama
11.	No Worries	Sama-sama
12.	No Problem	Sama-sama
13.	Sure	Sama-sama
14.	That’s Absolutely Fine	Sama-sama
15.	You would’ve done the same for me

 

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READING EXERCISE 007: "Indonesia tightens social restrictions in Jakarta, Bali and 2 other cities as Covid-19 cases surge" (VOCABULARY LIST 7)

Indonesia tightens social restrictions in Jakarta, Bali and 2 other cities as Covid-19 cases surge

 

JAKARTA -  Indonesia is tightening social restrictions in Greater Jakarta, Bali, Bandung and Yogyakarta amid a spike in Covid-19 infections driven by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. The authorities expect the surge in cases to peak later this month, and the government said on Monday (Feb 7) that the number of people allowed in public places in the four cities will be restricted. Restaurants, cafes, shopping malls must again limit visitors and operate at 60 per cent capacity, playgrounds and entertainment centres at 35 per cent capacity, and places of worship at 50 per cent. Mr Luhut Pandjaitan, the senior minister in charge of coordinating efforts to contain Covid-19 on the country’s most populous island of Java as well as Bali, said the government will now look at the ratio of hospital bed occupation and contact tracing when evaluating if a city required tighter restrictions.

 Java and Bali account for 60 per cent of Indonesia’s more than 270 million population. “Frankly, we do not want people to get frightened and the economy affected, while in fact the real problem may not actually be as bad. We are closely monitoring the situation this week. If things are good, we may ease restrictions next week,” Mr Luhut told reporters during an online media briefing on Monday. About 65 per cent of patients in hospital for Covid-19 have no or mild symptoms, he disclosed, adding that they should instead self-isolate at home or be sent to a designated isolation facility. Government data shows that currently, 18,966 hospital beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients, which is less than 20 per cent of the 120,000 set aside for them. Indonesia has a total of about 400,000 hospital beds nationwide.

Said Health Minister Budi Sadikin, who was also at the same online media briefing: “It’s important the public understand that cases will spike. In other countries, Omicron cases are doubled or tripled that of Delta. What is important is we continue to comply with health protocols so that hospitalisation and death numbers are low.” Delta is the more deadly of the two coronavirus variants, but Omicron is far more transmissible. Indonesia was hit by a Covid-19 wave in early 2021, and this was followed by a more devastating one, dominated by the Delta variant in the middle of the year, which saw daily new cases exceed 50,000 at its peak.The second wave pushed hospitals and healthcare workers to the limit.  “Do not panic when seeing high case numbers because what matters more are hospitalisation and death numbers, which are far lower and under control,” Mr Budi said. “If patients comply with the Health Ministry’s directives, the number of hospitalised patients would have been 60 to 70 per cent lower. Hospitals should be only for those who need them,” Mr Budi later told reporters. Nearly half or 42 per cent of the 356 Covid-19 patients who died since mid-December, when the Omicron variant was first detected in the country, suffered other underlying conditions. Many of those who died, or 44 per cent, were elderly and 69 per cent were either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.

Mr Budi noted that three regions in Indonesia have recorded daily cases surpassing their respective peaks during the Delta wave.  Jakarta had 14,600 daily new cases at the peak of the Delta wave but is reporting 15,800 now. Banten province, which had 3,900 then, has 4,800 now, and Bali, with 1,900 previously, has 2,000 now. Indonesia is much better prepared for a third Covid-19 wave, with centralised isolation centres set up and ample supply of oxygen and medicine, as well as medical staff. In January, the country received its first shipment of two types of Covid-19 antiviral pills – molnupiravir made by Merck, and paxlovid by Pfizer – and is set to start producing locally in April. A telemedicine service in Jakarta, where patients can consult doctors and get free Covid-19 medicine delivered to their doorstep, will be expanded to Bandung, Semarang, Solo, Yogyakarta and Denpasar. The world’s fourth-most populous nation has fully vaccinated 107 million people, with 160 million partially vaccinated as at the end of 2021.

 

Source: Thestraittimes (Tuesday, 8 February 2022)

                     LIST OF VOCABULARY

NO	ENGLISH	INDO
1.	Tightening	Mengencangkan
2.	Restrictions	Pembatasan
3.	Expect	Mengharapkan
4.	Worship	Memuja
5.	Affected	Mempengaruhi
6.	Symptoms	Gejala
7.	Comply	Mematuhi
8.	Devastating	Merusak
9.	Elderly	Tua
10.	Peaks	Puncak
11.	Doorstep	Ambang pintu

 

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