Discussion Text: Growing Number of High School Student Smoking

A survey has found about 13 percent of first-time smokers in the country are junior high school students. It also revealed 89 percent of young female employees were smokers.

The survey was conducted in five major cities across the country, including Surakarta in Central Java.

Muhammad Syahril Mansyur, the Surakarta Health Agency’s respiratory illness division, said that the finding of the survey showed an alarming growth rate of Indonesian smokers. "This situation is a cause for concern,” he said. “It appears the country’s younger generation is uneducated about the health risks of smoking.”

The Indonesian anti-tobacco campaign has reportedly been deemed as ineffective as the government refuses to sign the international convention on tobacco control. It said that cigarette producers contributed to a large amount to state revenue and gave jobs to thousands of workers.

 

Source: http://understandingtext.blogspot.com/2009/11/growing-student-smoking-as-example-of.html

Explanation Text: Cupcake

Cupcake is the cakes were often baked in individual pottery cups, ramekins, or molds and took their name from the cups they were baked in. This is the use of the name that has persisted. The first mention of the cupcake can be traced as far back as 1796, when a recipe notation of "a cake to be baked in small cups" was written in American Cookery by Amelia Simms.

In the early 19th century, there were two different uses for the name cup cake or cupcake. In previous centuries, before muffin tins were widely available, the cakes were often baked in individual pottery cups, ramekins, or molds and took their name from the cups they were baked in. This is the use of the name that has persisted, and the name of "cupcake" is now given to any small cake that is about the size of a teacup. The name "fairy cake" is a fanciful description of its size, which would be appropriate for a party of diminutive fairies to share. While English fairy cakes vary in size more than American cupcakes, they are traditionally smaller and are rarely topped with elaborate icing.

A standard cupcake uses the same basic ingredients as standard-sized cakes: butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. Nearly any recipe that is suitable for a layer cake can be used to bake cupcakes. Because their small size is more efficient for heat conduction, cupcakes bake much faster than layer cakes.

Variants:

• A "cake in a mug" is a variant that gained popularity on many internet cooking forums and mailing  lists. The technique uses a mug as its cooking vessel and can be done in a microwave oven. The recipe often takes fewer than five minutes to prepare.

• A butterfly cake is a variant of cupcake, also called fairy cake for its fairy-like "wings".

• A cake ball is an individual portion of cake, round like a chocolate truffle, that is coated in chocolate.These are typically formed from crumbled cake mixed with frosting, rather than being baked as a sphere.  
• Source:
  http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodcakes.html#cupcakes

Kebo Iwa (Folklore from Bali)

ONCE upon a time in Bali, a man and his wife were praying. They have been married for a long time but did not have any children. They asked God to give them a child. They prayed and prayed.

God finally answered their pray. The wife, then, got pregnant and they had a baby boy. They were very happy.

The baby was extraordinary. He was very much different from other babies. He ate and drank a lot. Day after day he ate more and more. His body was getting bigger and bigger. And by the time he was a teenager, his body was as big as a buffalo. People then started to call him Kebo Iwa.

Because of his eating habit, Kebo Iwa’s parents spent a lot of money to buy his food in large amount. They finally went bankrupt. They gave up and asked the villagers to help them provide the food.

The villagers then worked together to cook and build a big house for Kebo Iwa. He was like a giant. He could not stay in his parents’ house anymore because of his big body. Sadly, after a few months, the villagers also could not afford to cook him the food. They then asked Kebo Iwa to cook his own food. The villagers just prepared the raw materials.

Kebo Iwa agreed and as an expression of his gratitude to the villagers, he built a dam, dug wells, and he also protected the villagers from animals and people who wanted to attack their village. He did those things by himself.

Meanwhile, the troops of Majapahit were planning to attack Bali. They knew about Kebo Iwa. And they also knew that they could not conquer Bali with Kebo Iwa there. Kebo Iwa was more powerful than they were.

Gajah Mada, the Maha Patih (Chief Minister) of Majapahit then planned something. They were pretending to invite Kebo Iwa to Majapahit to help them dig some wells. They said that Majapahit was suffering from a long dry season and needed much water. Kebo Iwa did not know the plan, so he went to Majapahit.

When Kebo Iwa was busy digging a very big well, the troops covered the well. Kebo Iwa had difficulty in breathing and buried alive. He died inside the well.

After the death of Kebo Iwa, Bali was conquered by Majapahit. Until now, people still remember Kebo Iwa because he had done a lot for Majapahit and Bali. The stone head of legendary Kebo Iwa can be found in Pura Gaduh temple in Blahbatuh.