Summary - Choice of Clothes - Autumn 2015

The choice of clothes by adolescents is important because these clothes demonstrate who they are - they are an expression of young people’s identities and they can demonstrate that they are different. Type of clothes can also affect communication as looking the same allows peers to interact easier and this will allow youths to be accepted into groups. However, there are some negative effects. Others may look down upon people who are wearing different or unusual clothing. If young people, don’t wear a particular style of clothes, they won’t be accepted into groups. Therefore, young people make focus on brand-name clothing, leading to buying things that they cannot afford.

Seeing Red (Summer 2014)

One reason for the population of red squirrels to decline is that they fell victim to the ‘squirrel pox’ virus, which was introduced into England by the non-native grey squirrel. These grey squirrels are also more powerful than the reds, so they steal the reds’ territory and food. In addition, severe weather has further killed off the already weakened red squirrels. However, the number of red squirrels is rebounding due to efforts by environmentalists, such as the Wildlife Trust with their RSNE project, to stop the spread of grey squirrels into red squirrel territory, which ensures the reds have food and don’t catch deadly viruses. Furthermore, local landowners have assisted the Wildlife Trust to make their land more “red squirrel friendly”.

The Beauty of Books (Autumn 2013)

Many people get to know about the plots and characters in books solely by watching the subsequent movie. However, I believe that rather than watching the movie, it is much more beneficial to read the book first for a number of reasons.

First of all, films only tell the story at a superficial level whereas books go into more detail about the characters, the setting and the plot. In addition, you have time to reflect while reading books; for example, when you reach a thought-provoking part of the story, you can set the book aside to think more deeply about what the author is trying to say. It is difficult to do this with films. Moreover, films are just interpretations of the original book. Directors and script writers manipulate the story so as it fits in with what they think the audience is looking for, resulting in the original intentions of the author to be lost or distorted; by reading the book, you can better understand the original meaning of the author.

While there is no doubt that films based on books can be highly entertaining and thought-provoking, in my opinion there is no better sense of satisfaction than winding the day away with a really enjoyable book.

A Surprise Party (Oct/Nov 2013)

Hi Mary,

How are you? I hope your examinations went well. I’m sorry that I haven’t written for such a long time but I was really busy organising a surprise homecoming party for my brother. Anyway, I’m writing to tell you about the event.

As you know, Joe has been working abroad and recently got a fantastic promotion, so we all wanted to congratulate him personally with a big party. It was a lot of work. First, we had to tidy the house from top to bottom. Then, we spent hours in the kitchen cooking all his favourite foods such as Thai curry, Japanese sushi and Mexican burritos. To top it off, we made a sumptuous chocolate cheesecake for desert. Dad picked him up at the airport, with not a squeak from him about the party. When Joe entered the house, all the lights were out. Suddenly, Dad turned on the lights to reveal a room full of friends and relatives. Joe was totally surprised but after the initial shock he was beaming with delight. He couldn’t stop smiling all evening.

It’s a pity you weren’t there, but hopefully you can pay us a visit in the not too distant future. Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Best wishes
Sue

Space Exploration - An Expensive Folly? - Summer 2017

Mankind has always been fascinated by the stars, and with advances in technology we now have the ability to explore deeper and deeper into space. This technology is expensive though, and some people argue that the money used could be better spent on things such as education and healthcare. However, in my opinion, we shouldn’t cut back on funding space exploration for a number of reasons.

From a long-term perspective, at the rate we are destroying the earth, either through overpopulation, pollution or weapons development, the time may come when the earth is no longer habitable. Space exploration allows us to discover new potential worlds to which we can relocate and how the body will react on the long trips needed to get to these new worlds. From a short-term perspective, the technology being developed for space exploration can be used for more terrestrial needs. For example, this technology has allowed us to develop better aircraft, better computing systems and better solar technologies. Furthermore, space exploration, such as the deployment of the Hubble telescope, allows us to better understand the origins of the universe and how Earth was formed.

In conclusion, while education and healthcare should not be left underfunded, I believe that benefits derived from space exploration justify the costs.

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Work Experience - Summer 2017

Hi Leo,

How are you? I hope you're doing well. I’m sorry that I haven’t written for a while but I was busy doing work experience. Anyway, I’m writing to tell you about what I did.

My father knows the general manager of the local hotel, so he was able to get me a job for the summer. My main task was to welcome guests and take their luggage to and from their rooms. However, towards the end of the summer, I also worked in reception. Even though the working day was long, I generally enjoyed my time there. One main benefit was that my English really improved as most of the guests were from overseas. While working as a receptionist, I had many opportunities to have longer conversations as guests needed a lot of information about the area. Perhaps the most enjoyable part of the job was talking with the younger guests and finding out about youth culture in their countries.

Have you ever done work experience? If so, please write soon to tell me about it. Looking forward to hearing from you.

All the best,
Pei Pei

Summary - Why are we shrinking? - Summer 2013

One reason that we have shrunk over the last 10,000 years is due to lifestyle changes, such as switching from hunting to agriculture. Another reason is linked to diet; cereals lacked micronutrients and vitamins. A final reason is social inequality as the ruling classes took most of the better food from the poorer classes. Our brains has also diminished in size mainly due to need to be more efficient. Scientists believe that the brain needs to conserve energy to be better able to do the different types of tasks required in modern societies. However, they also believe that smaller brains don’t make us less intelligent.