Master of Ceremonies (MC)

Master of Ceremonies (MC) is always needed at a wedding, conference, performance/show or party.


The duties and jobs of an MC are managing the timing and knowing what to say from the welcome speech to the closing remarks. For most event, MC is called succeed if she/he can bring the event alive with humour and energy and have the audience enthralled.


In general, MC of an event is the host who has a variety of responsibilities, such as making formal opening, announcing something, introducing speakers, performers and any other interaction/communication which aim to make the audience paying their attention to the event or make the event alive.


Kinds of MC
1. Formal MC, for example protocol of formal events.
2. Informal MC, for example someone who is part of entertainer, motivator or comedian.


Being an MC for the first time, someone might start sweating, panic and getting nervous.


How to be an MC
1. Learn about your surroundings (studio or location). A good MC is capable of reviewing scripts, understanding briefings and taking direction from the producer and stage manager, sometimes simultaneously.
2. Prepare a detailed runsheet in advance. Put notes in bullet points and keep them brief.
3. Know in advance what style is suitable for the event, formal or informal.
4. Memorise the names of the important people related to the event.
5. Don't use jokes, quotes and speeches frequently.
6. Introduce yourself, welcome them to the venue and thank the guests for their attention.
7. Before making any announcements, get the crowd's attention first.
8. Smile always, not just when you're speaking.
9. Keep it brief. It's not the MC's role to deliver a speech.
10. When speaking, ensure you can be easily seen by all guests.
11. Be aware of the timeline and keep things moving along at a reasonable pace, but don't make it too hurried. Part of your job is to make sure everything runs the time.
12. If it is needed, ask the guests intriguing questions.


Tips and Warning for an MC
1. Remember to keep your chin down when looking at the camera or the guests.
2. Keep notes handy.
3. Try not to offend your guests.

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How to find the topic sentence

A paragraph consists of topic sentence, supporting sentences and concluding sentences. Those three kinds of sentences usually develop the writer's main idea, opinion or feeling about something. Every good paragraph has a topic sentence, which clearly states the topic and the controlling idea.



Paragraph -------->	Topic sentence
	Supporting sentence Supporting sentence Supporting sentence
	Concluding sentence



There are three important points to remember about a topic sentence.
1. A topic sentence is a complete sentence that is contains a subject, a verb and (usually) a complement.
2. A topic sentence contains both a topic and a controlling idea. It names the topic and then limits the topic to a specific area to be discussed in the space of a single paragraph.
3. A topic sentence is the most general statement in the paragraph.


A topic sentence is the most important sentence in a paragraph. It briefly indicates what the paragraph is going to discuss. The topic sentence maybe the first and last sentence of the paragraph.


Examples:


HURRICANES
Hurricanes, which are also called cyclones, exert tremendous power. These violent storms are often a hundred miles in diameter, and their winds can reach velocities1 of seventy -five miles per hour or more. Furthermore, the strong winds and heavy rainfall that accompany them can completely destroy a small in a couple of hours. The energy that is released by a hurricane in one day exceeds the total energy consumed by human kind throughout the world in one year.
1velocities: speeds


MOBILE PHONE
Mobile phone can waste our money if we cannot control to buy credits. It's also harmful for our health, especially when we use the phone too close to our ear. Some mobile phones give the owners the easiest way to access internet. Some owners use their phones to do bad things, such as related to pornography and hijacking. It is wise if we can control the use of mobile phone as a communication tool.


SYNONYMS
Synonyms, word that have the same basic meaning, do not always have the same emotional meaning. For example, the word "stingy" and "frugal" both mean "careful with money". However, to call a person "stingy" is an insult, while the word "frugal" has a much move positive connotation1. Similarly, a person wants to be slender but not skinny, and aggressive but not pushy. Therefore, you should be careful in choosing words because many so -called synonyms are not really synonyms at all.
1connotation: positive or negative meaning

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Shadaqah

Shadaqah yang sering disebut dengan sedekah ialah pemberian sesuatu dari seseorang kepada orang lain dengan benar-benar mengharapkan keridhaan Allah.


Hukum shadaqah ialah sunnat; hal ini sesuai dengan perintah Allah SWT:


وتَصَدَّقْ عَلَيْنَا اِنَّ اللَّهَ يَجْزِى الْمُتَصَدِّقِيْنَ
Artinya:
"Dan bersedakahlah kepada kami, sesungguhnya Allah memberi balasan kepada orang-orang yang bersedekah." (Yusuf: 88)


Allah juga berfirman di dalam surat Al-Baqarah ayat 272.


وَمَا تُنْفِقُوْنَ اِلَّاابْتِغَآءَوَجْهِ اللَّهِ وَمَا تُنْفِقُوْامِنْ خَيْرٍيُّوَفَّ اِلَيْكُمْ وَاَنْتُمْ لَاتُظْلَمُوْنَ
Artinya:
"Dan kamu tidak menafkahkan, melainkan karena mencari keridhaan Allah dan sesuatu yang kamu belanjakan, kelak akan disempurnakan balasannya sedang kamu sedikit pun tidak akan dianiaya." (Al-Baqarah: 272)


Dalam suatu hadis, Rasulullah bersabda:


جَاءَرَجُلٌ اِلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ: يَارَسُوْلَ اللَّهِ اَيُّ الصَّدَقَةِ اَعْظَمُ اَجْرًا؟ قَالَ: اَنْ تَصَدَّقَ وَاَنْتَ صَحِيْحٌ شَحِيْحٌ تَخْشَى الْفُقَرَآءَوَتَأْمُلُ الْغِنَى,وَلَا تُهْمِلُ حَتَّى اِذَابَلَغَتِ الْحُلْقُوْمَ قُلْتُ لِفُلَانٍ كَذَاوَقَدْكَانَ لِفُلَانٍ كَذَا (متفق عليه)


Artinya:
"Seseorang telah datang kepada Nabi Saw. lalu ia bertanya: Wahai Rasulullah, shadaqah yang bagaimanakah yang lebih besar pahalanya? Rasulullah Saw. bersabda: shadaqah dalam keadaan sehat dengan harta yang sangat disayangi serta takut miskin dan ingin kaya. Dan jangan menunda-nunda bershadaqah sehingga ruhnya telah sampai tenggorokan (sekarat) lalu berwasiat untuk Fulan sekian untuk Fulan yang lain sekian. Padahal waktu itu kekayaannya telah menjadi milik ahli waris." (HR. Bukhari dan Muslim)


Hal ini sesuai dengan firman Allah dalam surat Al-Baqarah ayat 177 yang artinya:
"Dan memberikan harta yang dicintainya kepada kerabatnya, anak-anak yatim, orang-orang miskin, musafir (yang memerlukan pertolongan) dan orang-orang yang meminta-minta."


Rukun Shadaqah
Rukun shadaqah dan syaratnya masing-masing sebagai berikut.
1. Orang yang memberi, syaratnya orang yang memiliki benda itu dan berhak untuk men-tasharruf-kan (memperedarkannya).
2. Orang yang diberi, syaratnya berhak memiliki. Dengan demikian tidak sah memberi kepada anak yang masih dalam kandungan ibunya atau memberi kepada binatang karena keduanya tidak berhak memiliki sesuatu.
3. Ijab dan qabul. Ijab adalah pernyataan pemberian dari orang yang memberi, sedangkan qabul ialah pernyataan penerimaan dari orang yang menerima pemberian.
4. Barang yang diberikan, syaratnya barang yang dapat dijual.

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President Soekarno's Speech at the Opening of the Bandung Conference, April 18, 1955

This twentieth century has been a period of terrific dynamism. Perhaps the last fifty years have seen more developments and more material progress than the previous five hundred years. Man has learned to control many of the scourges, which once threatened him. He has learned to consumed distance. He has learned to project his voice and his picture across oceans and continents. He has learned how to make the desert bloom and the plants of the earth increase their bounty. He has learned how to release the immense forces locked in the smallest particles of matter.

But has man's political skill marched hand-in-hand with his technical and scientific skill? The answer is No! The political skill of man has been far outstripped by technical skill. The result of this is fear. And man gasps for safety and morality.

Perhaps now more than at any other moment in the history of the world, society, government and statesmanship needs to be based upon the highest code of morality and ethics. And in political terms, what is the highest code of morality? It is the subordination of everything to the well being of mankind. But today we are faced with a situation where the well being of mankind is not always the primary consideration. Many who are in places of high power think, rather, of controlling the world.

Yes, we are living in a world of fear. The life of man today is corroded and made bitter by fear. Fear of future, fear of hydrogen bomb, fear of ideologies. Perhaps this fear is a greater danger than the danger itself, because it is fear, which drives men to ac foolishly, to act thoughtlessly, to act dangerously.

All of us, I am certain, are united by more important things than those, which superficially divide us. We are united, for instance, by a common detestation of colonialism in whatever form it appears. We are united by a common detestation of racialism. And we are united by a common determination to preserve and stabilize peace in the world.

We are often told, "Colonialism is dead." Let us not be deceived or even soothed by that. I say to you, colonialism is not yet dead. How can we say it is dead, so long as vast areas of Asia and Africa are unfree.

And, I beg of you do not think of colonialism only in the classic form, which we of Indonesia, and our brothers in different parts of Asia and Africa, knew. Colonialism has also its modern dress, in the form of economic control, intellectual control, and actual physical control by a small but alien community within a nation. It is a skillful and determined enemy, and it appears in many guises. It does not give up its loot easily. Wherever, whenever and however it appears, colonialism is an evil thing, and one which must be eradicated from the earth. . .

Source: Excerpt taken from Africa-Asia Speaks from Bandung, (Djakarta Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1995, 19-29)

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The Enchanted Fish

There once was a fisherman who lived with his wife in a small hut close by the seaside. The fisherman used to go fishing every day. One day, as he sat in his boat with his rod, looking at the sparkling waves and watching his line, all of a sudden his float was dragged away deep into the water. He quickly started to reel in his line and managed to pull out a huge fish. "Wow! This will feed us for days." Much to his surprise, the fish started to talk and said, "Pray, let me live! I am not a real fish; I am an enchanted prince. Put me in the water again, and let me go! Have mercy o' kind fisherman." The astonished fisherman quickly threw him back, exclaiming, "I don't want to hurt a talking fish! Go on! Go where you came from." 

When the fisherman went home to his wife, he told her everything that had happened and how, on hearing it speak, he had let it go again. "Didn't you ask it for anything?" said the wife. "No, I didn't, what should I have asked for?" replied the fisherman.

"I am surprised you don't realize what you should have asked for. We live very wretchedly here, in this nasty dirty hut. We are poor and I am so miserable. You should have asked for a nice cozy cottage. Now go back and ask the fish that we want a snug little cottage," said his wife.

The fisherman wasn't sure about this but he still went to the seashore, sat in his boat, went to the middle of the sea and said:

"O enchanted beautiful fish!

Hear my plea!

My wife wants not what I want,

and she won't give up till she has her own will,

so come forth and help me!"

The fish immediately came swimming to him, and said, "Well, what is her will? How can I help your wife?" "Ah!" said the fisherman, "she says that when I had caught you, I ought to have asked you for something before I let you go. She does not like living in our little hut, and wants a snug little cottage." "Go home then," said the fish, "She is already in the cottage!" So the fisherman went home, and saw his wife standing at the door of a nice trim little cottage. "Come in, come on in! Look at the beautiful cottage we have." Everything went fine for a while, and then one day fisherman's wife said, "Husband, there is not enough room for us in this cottage, go back to the fish and tell him to make me an emperor." "Wife," said the fisherman , "I don't want to go to him again. Perhaps he will be angry. We ought to be happy with what the fish has given us and not be greedy." "Nonsense!" said the wife; "The fish will do it very willingly, I know. Go along and try!" With a heavy heart the fisherman went to the middle of the sea and said:

"O enchanted beautiful fish!

Hear my plea!

My wife wants not what I want,

and she won't give up till she has her own will,

so come forth and help me!"

"What would she have now?" said the fish. "Ah!" said the fisherman, "she wants to be an emperor." "Go home," said the fish; "She is an emperor already."

So he went home and he saw his wife sitting on a very lofty throne made of solid gold, with a great crown on her head full two yards high. And on each side of her stood her guards and attendants in a row. The fisherman went up to her and said, "Wife, are you an emperor?" "Yes," she said, "I am an emperor." "Ah!" said the man, as he gazed upon her, "What a fine thing it is to be an emperor!" "Husband," she said, "it is goof to be an emperor." They were happy for a while.

Then a time came when she was not able to sleep all night for she was thinking what she should ask next. At last, as she was about to fall asleep, morning broke, and the sun rose. "Ha!" she thought, as she woke up and looked at it through the window, "after all I cannot prevent the sun from rising." At this thought she was very angry, and weakened her husband, and said, "Husband, go to the fish and tell him I must be Lord of the sun and the moon." The fisherman was half asleep, but the thought frightened him so much that he fell out of the bed. "Alas, wife!" he said, "cannot you be happy with being such a powerful emperor?" "No," she said, "I am very uneasy as long as the sun and the moon rise without my permission. Go to the fish at once!" "I don't think this is a good idea," said the fisherman but his wife wouldn't listen to him. "Why don't you just go and ask the fish to make me the Lord of everything," she said.

Then the man went shivering with fear. As he was going down to the shore a dreadful storm arose. The trees and the very rocks shook and the sky became black with stormy clouds. There were great black waves, swelling up like mountains with crowns of white foam upon their heads. Unfortunately the fisherman did not have any choice, so he got onto his boat and rowed to the middle of the sea and cried out as loud as he could:

"O enchanted beautiful fish!

Hear my plea!

My wife wants not what I want,

and she won't give up till she has her own will,

so come forth and help me!"

"What does she want now?" said the fish. "I am truly ashamed of my wife's greed but I can't do anything. She wants to be Lord of the sun and the moon." "Go home," said the fish, "to your small hut." And it is said that they live there to this every day.

Adapted from Grimm Brothers, 1812. "The fisherman and his wife"

Adopted from Bahasa Inggris Kelas XI SMA/MA/SMK/MAK Semester 1. Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan 2014.

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