Name: Dean (49712059)

Date: 27/5/2009

Article# 5
My My reaction :

In my opinion, decriminasing drugs is a double-edged sword to the society. The result could be controversial : the positive one is declining the illegel drug market ; the nagativeone may trigger another social problem.

Drugs, of course, are considerd as a perish cause of many nations, especially in developing countries, like india. Since there are not many entertainment, people have nothing to do for killing time. Futhermore, they don’t know much about the side-effect of it. Therefore, they may take it for fun. Moreover, drugs could trigger a moral issue. Teenagers may think that taking drugs is as normal as having meals. That would normalize the consequence of using it.
Despite the truth, why the Portuguese government still insists of observing this policy ? First, legelising drugs could exterminate the blackmarket. In general, there are many suppliers smuggling drugs, like cannabate. Most of them aren’t safe to use as the production of drugs can be poor, roughly. The product may consist of other substance like mercury. That would seriously damage human body. If the government decriminalize drugs, the drug user will choose it for safety.

Secondly, drugs are harmless if not are over-used. Also, some of the chemicals are used in other aspect. For example, morphine, an anaesthetic, is used in plastic surgery. The use of must be accurate. (208words)

Name: Dean (49712059)

Date: 7/5/2009

Article# 4
My reaction :
In my opinion, Facebook is a common way for teenagers to communicate with others. Most of the them have made friends by this way.

The reason why Facebook has occupied people’s life is the characteristic. Nowadays, people live in a world full of stress and work. They need a way to release it. Therefore, Facebook takes a large part of easing pressure. Facebook is a virtual tool of commnication that allows people to conceal the real-world face, so that they can talk freely without consideration. Also, Facebook has no geographical problem. No matter where you are, all they have to do is to turn on a computer and input few words. Because it connects with the Internet, they may chat with foreigners. Conserquently, it widers their horizon.

On the other hand, I think this situation also triggers to another problem. That is so-called ‘ social withdrawel’. It means a certain group of people especially the teenagers are reluctent to contact with the outside world, only their inner world. Once they take Facebool as a tool of commnication, they can’t resist any temptations of the virtual world. That merely makes the problem even more worst. For example, according to a survey in Hongkong, the average hour of surfing the net is ten. That includs using Facebook. One extreme case is that a girl spends twenty hours a week surfing Facebook. She almost gave up her study. It has raised up a question of teenagers addicting to Facebook. Certainly, it is merely a tip of the iceburg. The more we know concern about the society, the less chances we go on the wrong track. (210 words)

Name: Dean (49712059)

Date: 9/4/2009

Article# 3

My
reaction:
In my opinion, soft revolution is a kind of alternative power to change other's original thought in the mild way. People need time to accept and take it for a granted in their life. Also this power could be very effective and efficient.

For example, Hong Kong, a place that local Chinese have lived for centuries is full of foreign culture. Western especially British culture takes an essential part of it. Since the British government had completely controlled the territory, it carried out a serious of measures in order to, such as applying for government jobs. If you want to get it, you have to learn English at least, and then you would have an opportunity to get an interview. Otherwise, you have to work in lower class. For those locals, it was a sort of soft revolution that forced them to learn foreign culture and language without using violence. Therefore, most people did it for living.

On the other hand, if the revolution isn't carried out by government, it would be a totally different situation. When you are not in an official organisation, it would be inconvenient to accomplish every change. You would encounter the opposition of conservative parties and groups. Therefore, the effort you pay would be double or even triple.

As a result, I appreciate to the girl mentioned in the article that resist the restriction of tradition, and bravely express the feeling she had. It requires enormous courage.

Name: Dean (49712059)

Date: 27/3/2009

Article# 2

My reaction:

When reading this article, I think that the century of expensive car is changing, and replaced by small cars.

There are two reasons due to the rise of that Indian car. As we know, the economy of the world is withering and hasn't reached to the end. Everyone starts to spend less money in case any unexpected. As for the vehicles users, it would be a burden if they drive the former car that consumes lots of energy, especially in USA. Those cars are large and heavy and consume much more fuel than small ones; the most important one is the high price. That makes the consumers reluctant to purchase car and then the economy is getting worse. Therefore, Nano, the ultra cheap cars produced in India have become popular because of the light weight and cheap price. That would help the buyers ease the financial burden. In addition, global warming is getting serious than before. Consequently, people start to concern about the environment. For example, they use bio fuel instead of fossil fuel and purchase more small cars.

The next one is the drawback. Since it is small cars, normally the gasoline container is small as well. Therefore, it isn't appropriate for long distance drive. If you want to go somewhere remote, you have to take public transport. That would be inconviniet. (203words)

Name: Dean(49712059)

Date:12/3/2009

Article# 1

My reaction:

While reading this article, I am interested in it. As I know, there are many ways to advise people not to drink frequently but most of them are boring.

At first, the new ways include sending mobile phone text messages, posting video clips that feature the consequences of drinking and writing articles. These are relevant to our daily life. Therefore, we will be constantly and chronically edified. For example, the former one is a good idea. When people receive the message before starting to drink, they would think twice as for considering what they do like driving, also it is a pretty caring advice that we found that some one consider us as well as not be alone, just as a friend's reminding.

However, we should think of the effect of it. Since the economy of the entire world is going to the dogs, we might have heard of the news of lying off employees. Those unemployed prefer drinking in order to escape from the reality. Consequently, the number of drinkers is increasing. Most of them are in bad mood during drinking and they are unwilling to be disturbed from outside world. Thus, the above measures are useless. In my opinion, the best way is to seek for professional's help and tell them your situation.

In addition, some liquor companies support this idea, but their intention is making money. Not purely for it. They do this for getting famous and then sell their products easily. That is not only save the advertising cost but also fulfill their goal. The idea at last carries an odor of commerce. (206words)

Japanese whaler reported missing

Name: Dean (49712059)

Date: 8/1/2009

Article# 13

From: BBC

Japanese whaler reported missing

(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7812820.stm)

My reaction:

The news is about a tragedy that happened in whaling ship in the Antarctic. A sailor was missing for several until now.

At the beginning, I think that whaling is one of the most dangerous industries in the world. Alike fishermen, the whalers have to deal with the problem most of their time: The weather. As we know, weather always plays a role of death in the sea world because of its unpredictable character. Sometimes it is sunny, sometimes it is stormy. You can't predict it even though you have sophisticated equipment. Therefore, the seamen depend on the seasons that often happens hurricanes or other disasters. However, the time which harvests the most is in the hurricane season. Thus, some of the sailors would take risk sailing. If you win the weather, you will get your reward; otherwise, you will pay your life. That sounds like gambling, but it is true.

Next, it is about living problem. Since the sail takes several months or maybe a year, it is crucial to store medicines. In a wild sea, there is no way to seek for help if something happens. For instance, scurvy is a common disease which is found among sailors. If someone suffers from it, you have no way to help unless you get any medicines.
Then, why the whalers risk their life working? I think it is because of the high profit. Since whale's whole body can be made into something like lipsticks. It consists the fat of whales' and the cost of extraction is low; In addition, women like making-up. They would spend all of their money on cosmetics. Then lipsticks would become their target. This business is worth millions of dollars.

On the other hand, many environmentists and animal protectors go against with them because of the way of hunting whales. The way they use is cruel. They drag the wounded whales and kill them alive. It is a bloody scene. The animals should not suffer this kind of pain and we, human, have no rights to do this. Therefore, the animal protectors often shoot that video in other to sue the whaling companies. (190words)

Mosquito blood 'identifies thief'

Name: Dean (49712059)

Date: 25/12/2008

Article# 12

From: BBC

Mosquito blood ‘identifies thief’
(http://www.news.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7795725.stm)

My reaction:

The news is about a car stolen case that was solved by Crime Scene Investigation which found the suspect’s blood in a mosquito.

At, the beginning, I felt quiet interesting that depended on such a tiny little bug to find out the truth. It was ridiculous. However, we shouldn’t lookdown any creature’s ability. Since the mankind has become the master of the world, they ignored everything as they thought they can solve all problems by the intelligence. That is arrogance. For example, there is a story about a rat and a lion. One day, the lion was trapped by hunting net. The rat wanted to help it but was laughed by the lion because of its size. Nevertheless, the rat saved the lion by biting the net.
What I learned was no matter how great we are, we ought to learn from other species’ strength. Learning is essential to human development as well as the way to improve our society. If we keep ignoring anything, we will be out in the food chain. We could use their strength on technology. For instant, we train dolphins to detect the water bombs. That could decline the number of injuries.

In addition, I found that there is no way to escape the net of justice if you committed crime. Every criminal leaves glues in the crime scene no matter how well you organize. Therefore, to those wanted, you will fall into the net finally.(190words)