My Life as a Spider

by 3D Jason Chow Chun Lai

Hi, I’m a spider.  I don’t actually have a name.  I’m just a jumping spider…

I woke up in the morning.  I yawned.  I tested my eight legs.  What’s for breakfast?  I used my eight eyes to look out for food. I tightened my leg muscles and jumped.  I flew in the air for a while and landed on sticky soil… the best environment for hunting!
　　　
I looked around for food.  I thought I heard something and stopped to listen. I stood as still as a stone.  I didn’t move a single muscle. Although I couldn’t see it, I could make out what it was by looking at its shape; it was a praying mantis, an adult one.  The mantis didn’t seem to notice me.

I stealthily jumped on to the grass and carefully stalked the mantis. I tightened my muscles - and leapt!  I landed on the mantis and took it by surprise.  My front legs pinned it on the grass – and I sank my fangs deep into the mantis’s back.  Blood spilled out of the mantis.  He cried in pain and struggled frantically.  I raised my fangs, but just as I dug them into the mantis’s head, it broke free and sliced its claw through my skin.  Pain shot through my body.

The mantis stood up, stretched its arms and pinned me back on the grass.  I screamed in agony.  I couldn’t die here.  I thought.  I had to fight back!

I used my ultimate weapon, stabbing my poison into the mantis’s abdomen in a last ditch effort to survive my ordeal.  It fell to the soil.  I didn’t wait for it to flip back, and knocked him over.  I raised my fangs and tried to stab the mantis again, but missed.  The mantis’s menacing claws swiped towards me.  Oh no! I t stabbed its claws into my body, I was going to die…

Well, I could envisage my end in graphic detail. The mantis froze there. What happened?  Oh right!  My fangs! They have venom and it was working at last!

I didn’t waste my time. I spun a web and moved around and around so the web wrapped around the mantis. Then I dragged the mantis into my cozy home.

I ate the mantis from one of the fang marks I had made. I ate half of it and felt really full.  Time for a nap.  Soon, I drifted off to sleep.  Zzzzzzzzz…

Should Secondary School Students Do Part-time Jobs?

Is it a good idea for secondary school students to take part time jobs? Two Form 4 students of our school present two opposing views on the topic below.

Lee Hoi Lam from 4C believes that working part time is good for students.

Firstly, teenagers who has a part time job can get some valuable work experience.  If teenagers have work experience, they won’t have so much pressure when they get a job in the future as they know how hard work can be.  Take my sister Amy as an example, she is eighteen years old now.  When she was sixteen she worked as a sales girl.  She was so nervous when she went to work on the first day but as time passed, her experience increased and she knew how to strike a balance between work and study.  So, having work experience is good for teenagers.

Moreover, when teenagers have a part time job, they can earn pocket money, become more independent and less of a financial burden on their parents, which will make them feel good about themselves. 

Also, when they know how hard it is to make money, they won’t spend it carelessly, and develop good money management skills. 

The last reason why I think teenagers taking part time jobs is a good idea is that having a job is suitable for them.  For example opening an online shop with friends is a good idea for teenagers, as they tend to know the latest trends and fashions. One possibility would be for them to start an online shop to sell their chosen goods; this can be quite profitable if well researched and managed, as there is need to rent a shop and it is quite a relaxing way to do business.  They can study and work at the same time, which is a good balance of the two.

In conclusion, I think it is a good idea for teenagers in Hong Kong to take part time jobs while they are studying at school. Interference with their studies will be minimal and undertaken in their free time. They will develop money management skills, gain work experience and become more financially independent.

On the other hand, Leung Hau Shan, also from 4C thinks that working part time brings negative impacts to students.

Firstly, it is true that a teenager who has a part time job can get work experience and earn money, but there are some negative effects to having a part time job.  If students work, even if only part time they will concentrate more on the job than their studies.  Let's take my friend Ivan as an example. When he was a student, he also had a job, and lost interest in school work. Later, he still worked and he only concentrated on the job because he thought earning money was more important than the school work.  He didn’t have enough time to rest so he often slept in his lessons.  Then of course his results became worse and worse.  Finally he didn't go to school at all.

Secondly, when teenagers have a part time job they may meet bad friends in the workplace and develop bad habits.  For example, they may start smoking and drinking with their bad friends, and in extreme cases they may even take drugs, which will of course be very bad for their health.  Moreover, they will not go to school because they want to avoid their friends who may find out they are taking drugs.

The last reason why I think teenagers should not take part time jobs is that they may spend money carelessly because they may think the money is earned easily. Afterwards, they might spend more and more money to buy useless things.

In conclusion, I don't think teenagers taking part time jobs is a good idea.  It may lead them to lose interest in school work, meet bad friends and develop bad habits.  It may also affect their money management skills.

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The Hands Resist Him

by 5F Liu Chin Wai

 



The Hands Resist Him
Bill Stoneham 1972
 

‘It must be that haunted painting, it always brings misfortune!’ the curator screamed.

The previous night, serious vandalism had occurred in the Hong Kong Museum of Art and several masterpieces had been damaged, so Patrick Ip, a criminal investigator,  and his assistant David were on their way to there to investigate further.  It was a cloudy morning; as they arrived, a gust of chilly wind blew the huge banner hanging high at the top of the entrance.  It swung as if it were welcoming them.

 

‘Let’s go in and make a start’, said Patrick to his sidekick.

 

As they moved towards the entrance, the glass sliding door opened automatically. It was even cooler inside, and Patrick trembled even though he was wearing a pretty thick jacket. He showed his warrant card to the approaching guard and they were led to the Special Exhibition Gallery where two more guards flanked the entrance. The poster next to it bore the words‘Exhibition of the World’s Scariest Masterpieces’.

 

In the center of the hall, five paintings, each the size of a coffee table were on display, and burn marks could be seen on all of them - except the middle one.

 

‘Wow, that’s pretty horrible, I mean the painting in the middle,’ commented David.

 

This was indeed true: in the picture, two children were standing in front of an opaque door.  Behind the door, numerous tiny hands were pushing against it. No facial expression could be seen on the children.  The most horrible thing was that when studied closely, it became apparent that they had been painted with no eyes!

 

 

‘That’s “The Hands Resist Him” by Bill Stoneham, a painting rumoured to be haunted,’ a middle-aged woman murmured as she approached the two detectives, a distracted smile on her face.  Nonetheless, in her eyes, there was a sense of sadness and worry…

 

‘I am Susan Wong, the curator of this museum,’ she explained.

 

Patrick introduced David and himself, and asked Susan if they could view the CCTV footage from the previous night.

 

Everyone was shocked when the video was played - nobody made a sound.  Everything was alright for the first five hours after the museum had closed, but then something astonishing happened, just when the digital clock struck midnight. The brightly shining spotlights dimmed, and the “Hands Resist Him” painting suddenly vibrated, electricity arcing like live snakes through the other paintings, leaving scorch marks on each of them. One, two, three… four.  In an instant the four valuable pictures burst into flames, a billion dollars had gone up in smoke!  The eyes of the two children in the painting remained hollow and murky, as if silently observing the destruction around them.

 

David held his breath with his mouth open; Susan’s eyes widened as she covered her mouth with her hands, trying to conceal her terror.  Patrick managed to keep calm, but he felt his skin crawl, especially when a blast of chill wind blown out by the air conditioner went down his back, raising goosebumps on his flesh.  They all fell into silence, none of them daring to be the first to comment on what they had just witnessed.

 

‘It must be that haunted painting.  It always brings misfortune!’ screamed Susan again, ‘In the rumour I told you about, those two children will come out from the picture at night and play tricks!  They must have burnt the pictures and caused all those things to happen!’ she continued.

 

They fell into silence again, Patrick tried to break the panic; he didn’t believe in anything supernatural, at least he didn’t want to, and certainly not before his investigative instincts as a detective had been tested.  He turned around and walked towards the now dead canvases.  David followed.  Patrick studied the paintings in great detail, almost as if he were an art restorer.  As he reached out to touch one of the paintings, Susan stopped him.

 

‘The frames of all these pictures are electrically connected as part of the security system’, she warned.  ‘They could still be live.’

 

Patrick’s heart almost stopped beating when he heard this, and he breathed a sigh of relief for having been warned and escaping almost certain electrocution, the same fate as the very things he was examining.   He welcomed the thought of being warm again – but not that warm!

 

‘Wait, what did you say?  The frames are connected to the mains?’ David asked.

 

‘Ha! Great minds think alike,’ replied Patrick, again taking pains to avoid touching the picture frames.

 

‘I want to know more about this frame - please disconnect the electricity and find person who designed it. I would like to have a talk with him,’ ordered Patrick.

 

They were finally able to take the paintings down for a closer study after the security system had been turned off.  However, to their disappointment, nothing untoward was found except a network of electrical wires.  While they were still checking the connections, the designer arrived.

 

To their astonishment, the designer was a man from the Middle East named Adam Hussein.

 

‘So you are the designer as well as the new security manager here at the Museum?’ asked Patrick in a firm voice.

 

‘Yes, that’s right. I made the frame, but I didn’t do that, I haven’t committed any crime!’ replied Hussein immediately.

 

‘I never said you had.  Why did you say that?’  Patrick’s iron-like tone hardened.

 

Hussein’s face went pale and his hands started shaking,  confirming Patrick’s suspicions.  He walked over to David winking at him unobtrusively.  He leant close to his head and whispered to him to leave and run a check on Hussein.  He kept talking to Hussein, whose replies got more and more confused and contradictory; the hunter had nearly caught his quarry.

 

As their conversation became heated, Patrick received a message from David on his mobile.

 

‘Hussein is a fanatical Christian. Could be important!

 

Receiving the message, Patrick realised the truth of what had happened in a flash.  So strong was the realisation that it was like an electric shock.  He asked Susan for more details of the damaged artworks.

 

‘Here you are,’ she said, flicking through the Museum’s catalogue of the exhibition.  ‘As our theme is horror in this exhibition, we have paintings related to horrible topics, so they are “Sin”, “Death” and “The Devil”, “St Michael Defeats the Devils”, “Building the Devil’s Bridge”, and finally, “Satan Before the Lord,” said Susan, enumerating all the pictures in the exhibition.

 

‘Bingo! All the damaged artworks are related to the devils; a Christian fanatic will neither approve of nor allow the existence of the devil, even in art.  Am I correct, Mr. Hussein?’ asked Patrick, his voice now like steel.

 

Adam’s eyes became hollow, like the children in “Hands Resist Him”.  He stuttered, ‘Brilliant, really clever deduction.  Devils cannot be allowed to exist, so I deliberately connected the wires to those pictures in order to cause a short circuit.  They burnt when the security system was turned on at night, when I was out of sight, out of mind. The lord will bless me for my deed,’ he choked, a crazy smile on his face.

 

‘Yes, true, so may God forgive you, in jail. Take him away!’  Patrick ordered and Adam was handcuffed by David and the security guards and led away.

 

‘There is no supernatural,’ sighed Patrick. ‘Let’s call it a day. File closed.’ Patrick grinned at David as he spoke, watching the delusional criminal being manhandled out to the waiting police car.

Top Three Most Important Words in the English Language

by 4C Wong Lai Kwan

One of the most important words in the English Language is mother. This word is important because all mothers in the world love their children and take good care of them. The love from a mother is warm and is everything in the world. My mother gave birth to me and looked after me but she left my father and I many years ago. She is going to marry another man now. I felt happy for her because she has found the man she loves so much but I also feel sad. I don't know why. I just feel sad and want to cry. Anyway, I love my mother and she loves me too. My mother is important to me.

Another most important word in the English Language is holiday. This word is important because holiday is the only day the I can relax and go out with my friends. In the summer holidays this year, I went to Cheung Chau with my friends but not my parents. The trip was fun and happy. We played together and knew each other more. We cooked together, went to the beach and slept together. We also bathed together! That was embarrassing! Our relationship is closer after this trip. If we didn't have a holiday, friends wouldn't have this kind of chance to get closer. 

 The last most important word in the English language is art. I like art and I'm studying art now. This word is important because art is the most beautiful thing in the world. It is colourful and beautiful. Everything can be art: pictures, photos, words, buildings and music. I have liked drawing anime since I was ten years old and that was because my friends love drawing and I started to love to use lines and dots to tell people my feelings.

That's all of the reasons why I think mother, holiday and art are the three most important words in the English language. 

Pressure of Teenagers

by 5E Kitty Yue Li Yee

Do you have pressure? If yes, where does your pressure come from? Do you know the definition of pressure? If no, let me tell you now. 

Pressure is a kind of psychological problem. If you get pressure, you may feel sad, depressed or even get clinical depression. Is there any pressure around teenagers? From my point of view, there is. But where does the pressure com from? I am going to present this to all of you.

First, I would like to talk about a news article which I have read recently. There are five cases of teenage suicide within two months, which I think is a serious problem. After reading this article, I deemed that the main reason why teenagers attempted suicide, is their poor relationship with parents. All of the teenagers who committed suicide were born to a broken family. It means that family is very important to teenagers. Some of the teenagers may think that they don’t need to rely on their parents any more because no matter what they say, their parents cannot help them. Therefore, pressure builds up gradually and they think they don’t have any way to release it. Finally, they believe suicide is the only solution.

Secondly, the education system in Hong Kong is also the one of the reasons why teenagers get pressure. It is because the academic result affects the future of a student a lot. If they don’t work hard now, they need to work much harder when they join the work force. For instance, nowadays, the most important examination in Hong Kong is the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE). The report card of this examination will affect your future. So everybody works very hard to attain a better result. The pressure therefore builds up. I have experienced an academic pressure too. Experiencing the academic pressure made me feel anxious. I always thought that no matter how hard-working I was, I would still not get a good result. I had lost courage before and wanted to give up. But finally I thought that if I really worked hard, I would be able to attain a good result too. Although there is a harsh education system, we can still handle it if we work hard enough.

Last but not least, I think that everyone has pressure. Therefore, the most important way to handle our pressure is to relax. We can do more exercise and listen to some music to release our pressure.

The Importance of Mythology

 by Tony Liu 4F

 

Before starting the article, I should first offer a definition of the term ‘mythology’. ‘Mythology’ refers to the collection of myths, which are sacred narratives mostly related to gods and religion.

 

  

Nowadays unfortunately, they may just refer to traditional stories. In this article, I want to emphasize the significance of mythology, which has greatly contributed to creating our culture, or even more importantly, our thinking.

 

First of all, mythology colours our history and makes it more appealing to study. If myths hadn't existed, history would be dull and bland. The ancients recorded their experiences in the form of myths - stories created in their own imagination which also gave them satisfaction.

In the past, when most countries were still feudal, the rulers held all the power, thus people at that time were forced to obey. However, they were not born to do so, they had their own thoughts, dreams and desires of freedom, but in those days individual freedoms were suppressed.  In order to compensate for their discontent and anger, people had to find someone even more powerful than their rulers, and so gods and in turn myths were created. With the support of religion and rich sources for ideas such as the historic events, a number of myths were created to fascinate others while giving free rein to their imaginations.
 

If we take war as an example, war was very common in history. In the Bible, Samuel (1 Samuel 17), Goliath the giant was defeated by the young David; we don’t know if David was really blessed with the power of God, yet it is believed he was.  The Trojan Horse in  Greek mythology is also mixed with the idea of gods; war really existed, but was there an Athena to help Odysseus?  There is actually no evidence for this.

  

I don’t mean to challenge any of the myths mentioned above; the point I want to make is simply that myth is a kind of history, mixed with people's emotions.  If the history we are learning can show evidence of being true, then the myths we know show the  world through the eyes of the ancients. Myths are valuable for historical research, especially when we are studying the reality of past societies.

Secondly, mythology is closely related to religion; a myth is usually based on religion.  It gives us hope and has long-term positive effects. Think about it - if there were no myths, no heroes and no gods, how would society be today? Mythology sometimes cannot be explained or proven, but who cares?  Who has ever been able to prove the existence of Noah?  What we want to gain from myths is a power that motivates and recharges us, so that we can use our imagination.   Moreover, mythology helps build  our culture; it is the compound of our thoughts and values. According to Bruce Lincoln, professor of History of Religions at the University of Chicago, myth is defined as "ideology in narrative form".  True, I agree with him. If life is formed by gathering molecules, then culture is formed by gathering thoughts. To express these in a more impressive way, myths are synthesized and gradually build up a huge net connecting all of us and coiling inextricably round our cultural experiences.
 

To conclude, no matter which religion mythology belongs to, it always brings a positive message and carries the great value of history. Mythology is important for us to learn and appreciate, since it conveys religious or idealized experiences, and also to establish behavioral models.Finally, the last thing to remember is that we should learn morals from myths instead of slavishly believing them word for word.

If I had 7 days left living in the world

BY 5D Chow Lok Hang Jonathan

God created this wonderful world in seven days.  I think I could do something remarkable in my last seven days too.

Only seven days left?  No, you are wrong to think of it like that. In fact, I STILL HAVE seven days.  I would make a Bucket List for myself... before I kicked the bucket!  I would make the best use of the time and try to make those days the most wonderful moments in my life, and so leave this world without any regrets. In those seven days, I would meet the people that I most care about, hate most, and try doing things that I have always longed to do.

There are many things I want to do before my life ends. Life is full of hope and miracles; in a way it’s sad to know that I only have seven days left, but I would set myself goals to achieve in the time I had left. To live, instead of to escape. Have I found JOY in my life and has my life created JOY in the lives of others？These questions will be the last ones in my life; I hope I can find the right answers.

I would not waste a second in those seven days. I would hope to make the best use of time left to do the things that I want to do. I should thank God that I STILL have seven days for that.

The first thing that I would do is to catch up with my good friends. I would invite them to my house and have a farewell party. I would hope I could meet all of them and share the happiness of being friends with them in my life. I would spend a whole day with them, recalling the memories of when we met, and share their hopes and dream.  I would hope they would have good memories of me.

Secondly, I would visit the people who I hate most. Maybe you think I am crazy to say that. Why should I visit them? They once did something really bad to me - why should I visit them at the end of my life?  For revenge?  No, this is all about forgiving. “But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.” Mark 11:26.  Hatred is painful indeed.  Perhaps they did something bad to me, but I don’t think I should continue to hate them anymore as I knowingly approach death.  All of us do bad things in the course of our lives, so why not forgive them?  If I carry the hatred to heaven, I will not be happy and free.  When I forgive them, they will feel relief too.

Life is too short. There are lots of things I want to do in my life but not many that I can achieve now. In the last seven days of my life, I may not be able to do something really big, like travel around the world, but if I needed to choose, I would do some crazy things which I have never done in my life, such as bungee jump, get drunk, spend all my money and party until my last morning without any regret.

At the end of the seventh day, I would stay in bed, and have my family and best friends around me, singing to me. That would help me leave this world peacefully, for the next.

This is the way I would spend the last seven days of my life.  I hope I could go without any regret.  Life is full of surprises!

If I had 7 days left living in the world

By 5D Li Wing Kei, Monica

Many people are afraid of death because they think they haven't done enough amazing things in their lives, and feel they still have so many things they want to do. If I had only seven days left to live, I would use my remaining time effectively. I would try to create  unforgettable memories for those close to me with my love, and then leave this world without regret.

Firstly, I think love is the most essential factor in my life. Without love, I would not be happy even if I were a billionaire. Therefore, if I had seven days left to live I would spend time with my family and friends, since we always focus on our studies or careers in our daily life, so we have closer relationships with our work than our families.  This would also be the right time to escape from modern city life and explore the beauty of nature. I would go hiking with my family and friends for relaxation and spiritual renewal. Without any electronic devices we could refresh our minds, and breathe in fresh air.  It would be a rare chance for us to find happiness in nature instead of thinking of our wealth and other mundane matters. I am sure hiking would be a great way for us to be happy together.

Secondly, I would secretly make an album for my family. I would compile photos taken when we travelled around the world.  Also, I would write something beside the photos to express my love and thanks for their care. I hope they would treat this album as a treasure and remember my smiles and the time they spent with me. I don’t want them to be upset because of my death. I would want to let them know my life was beautiful, since their love and care filled it with happiness. I would want them to feel that we were together even after I had left this world, and that they therefore did not need to miss me.

Last but not least, I would donate all my savings to charity. It would be useless for me to keep my money when I had left this world.  Although I don’t admire rich people who donate millions of dollars for show and just to avoid taxes, I would want to make the little contribution to the world that I could, and help people in need.  This would be the best and most meaningful way to use my money. I would hope my little contribution could improve the lives of some and help them have a better future.

Life is never too short if we have lived joyfully. The value of life is not built on how much we have, but how much love we have had - and given. If I had seven days left to live in this world, I would not feel bitter, but grasp my last chance to enjoy life with those I love. I would smile and say goodbye to the beautiful world I have been privileged to spend time in, and wait until the day I would meet my family and friends again one day, in the hereafter. 

We Reap What We Sow

                                              by 6B Wong Sze Wai 

Have you ever imagined you could travel through time?  To me, this dream has always been just that, a dream - until that night.  Then everything changed.

Last Saturday night when I was going home, a thunderstorm suddenly came. I had no choice but to shelter from the heavy rain under a building. All of a sudden a spark of light appeared in front of me.  When I realized what had happened I felt some force engulf me in darkness; I think I fainted for few seconds.

When I became conscious again, I found that I was standing in an unknown place.  Around me were a few buildings, just like the flats in Hong Kong.  Oh, no!  Looking at the buildings more clearly, they were all skyscrapers with over 60 floors!  And there above the sky were cars travelling on the highways!  Where was I?!

While I was standing there, confused, a young man walked towards me.

“Are you Charles? Charles Ho?” the man asked excitedly.

“Yes, I am Charles Ho. May I ask a question? Where is this place? And what year is it?”  I just wanted to go home as soon as possible.  The young man replied, “You are now in Hong Kong; the year is 2060."

"What!" I exclaimed. "2060!"  I had travelled 48 years forward in time!

“Let me introduce myself", he continued.  "I am junior Charles Ho junior. I am your grandson!

”Oh my god", I thought, "he must be kidding!"

“Grandpa, you came here for a reason. Hong Kong is dying!  You must save our home!  For decades, Hong Kong people have been destroying their home. Pollution, deforestation and over-use of resources have made this city unsuitable for living. Look around, look at the ash everywhere, Look at the black fumes shutting out the blue sky!  Many people have moved out of this city… they just gave up hope.”

  

“There is nothing I can do", I said.  "I am just a student, and the year is 2013!”  Actually, I really believed that this was a dream.

“No, Grandpa. There is a lot you can do. When you go back to 2013, you must urge the government do something to protect the precious environment. Hong Kong people still have the chance to change their lives. It depends on you. Please! Help us!”  His pleading voice began to fade in my ears.

Dark again…

I was standing under the building. I look upon the sky; the sky was gleaming with stars. Was what just happened real, or not?  

I didn’t know - but I knew I had to do something!

Lance Armstrong

by 6A Wong Tsz To Charlotte    The famous cyclist Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France seven times consecutively, from 1999 to 2005. Unfortunately, an investigative journalist found that he and his teammates had been systematically doping for years.  I feel really disappointed in him. Since he was a professional athlete in the public eye, I thought he was a great and successful cyclist. However, he only relied on drugs to win the competitions. It was not fair to the other cyclists in the competition. In 1996, Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer, which spread to his brain and lungs. The doctors told him that he only had 50 per cent chance of surviving. Due to his strong faith and spirit, he recovered eventually and began cycling again. I appreciate his resolute passion and his enthusiasm for cycling very much. I thought he would cherish the opportunity to be a cyclist even more than before. At first, I did not believe he would dope in order to be strong enough to win the competition. I thought he was just a very strong and healthy athlete, but he let me down completely. Successful athletes should win competitions by their own strength and stamina, not by doping. All the articles that reported Armstrong’s bad behavior will damage his reputation and image. It was not clever for him to take anabolic steroids before competitions. Moreover, this behavior harmed others. Although he won lots of money and had a good image before, he has lost all this now.  He had to give back the money to the Tour de France organizers and everyone feels disappointed with him. He gained nothing in the end. I supposed he could have won those competitions if he had relied on himself. Since he had fought cancer with his strong faith, he could be the best cyclist too. It was a shame that he took the wrong path. The sports community should do something to avoid this happening again. First, they should enforce the rules more strictly. For those who break them, they should pay a big fine to the community or even be sent to prison - for at least two years. This would discourage athletes from doping before competitions. Also, the sports community could have a ‘black-list’ system for those who are found guilty of doping. Offenders would be banned from any other competitions or related activities. I think these harsh punishments could deter athletes from doping.  Finally, the sports community could assign doctors to the teams. The doctors would have to be professional and trustworthy enough to help the athletes remain healthy and fit, and prevent 'crooked' athletes and their co-conspirators from using sophisticated doping methods to deceive the public. Lance Armstrong is a failed role model for other athletes.

Nature of Human

                                                                                        By 4B Lung Hiu Fung   

Confucianism is one of the most important Chinese philosophical beliefs, and its values still affect us a lot nowadays; for example the ideals of loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness, but I still disagree with one thing, which concerns the nature of humans.

There are two opposing schools of thought about this: the “good human-nature theory” by Mencius and the “evil human-nature theory” by Xunzi.  However, I disagree with both of them.

Firstly, Mencius believed that humans are born naturally good because when they see a child falling down a well, for example, they want to save it at once - not because they want to seek appreciation from friends and neighbours, nor even improve their own reputation, but because they have an innate tendency towards goodness. Nonetheless, I think the reason for people wanting to save the child is that he is just a stranger. If a person saw someone he regarded as a competitor fall down a well, that person would hesitate to save him, as humans are motivated most by self-interest. Therefore, I think humans only have compassion towards strangers, not their competitors, so they are not really born naturally good.

On the other hand , Xunzi believed that humans are born evil and he thought conflicts would occur if there were no rules to manage society.  However, humans can become good through education, which could be considered hypocritical in a way.  Personally, I agree with the latter view: humans will act unnaturally because of social pressure. For example, the reason that some people obey laws is that they know others will discriminate against them if they break the law. For example, theft: people steal things sneakily because they are aware of the possible penalties, not because they know their behavior is wrong.  However, I don’t think humans are born evil because one of the reasons humans are so different from other animals, is that they can think critically, so they won’t usually hurt someone for no reason as it might have adverse effects on themselves.

To conclude, I think human nature is neither inherently good, nor evil - just selfish.  They value themselves above all else and are likely to harm others who threaten their position.

Australian “strange” and “great” experience!

By 5D Ho Yi Lam Jane    

     Last summer I went on a summer writing course in a small town in Australia. While having a great time in Australia, I experienced something strange and creepy at night in the dormitory where I stayed.

    

     The great experience is that I thought I had seen a ghost…not thought, I really believed it must be true! I had seen a ghost!

    

     That night was a fine night. The weather was great and there was a breeze and a full moon in the sky. I saw the ghost in the dormitory. She was near a beautiful garden. She said a word to me. At first, I was too afraid so I left. I remember she said “Come and chat with me! I am not as terrible as you thought!” But at that time I felt terrified, so I didn’t step forward and look into it. I ran away.

    

     The next day, I went and discussed the incident with my summer course mates. They told me that in that school, there was a good teacher before but she left after she had got cancer, and had died the year before. Everyone studying in the school knew this but seldom talked about it because the principal didn’t want people to know about it.

    

     I thought for a while, I had met a ghost the night before. Was she that great teacher? If I really met her again, what would I say?

     

     After a day, I went back to my dormitory, I saw her again! I felt a bit scared. But I trusted that she might be that teacher! So I stepped forward, took a deep breath and tried to chat with her.

    

     “Hi! Are you Mrs. Smith?”

    

     “Yes! I am!” said Mrs. Smith. “You are the first person who has had enough courage to step forward and chat with me! You are lucky!”

    

     “I agree I am the lucky one, because I can ask you about how to improve my writing skill!” I said---After we had communicated with each other, Mrs. Smith said “Trust yourself, use your heart, you can write really well.” After she said that, she disappeared. But she left me a piece of paper. One the paper there was a story but just half finished. I thought that might be her writing, so I read it.

    

     The writing was a one-sided argumentative essay, about a current social issue. Her handwriting and vocabulary were great but still not finished. I thought that this was a great chance for me to try to write a one-sided argument.

    

     I looked for her the next night at the same place but she was not there. She left me a note. She told me to write for her and use her writing to participate in a newspaper writing competition.

     

     I used her half and I wrote my half. I had no confidence, since my writing was poor, but Mrs. Smith encouraged me. I remember that she had told me to trust myself and use my heart. Finally I submitted the writing to the newspaper. The result would be posted on the notice board.

    

     After a few weeks, I received a phone call from the “Mirror Post”. They said they wanted to invite me to have an interview with them, because my writing had won a prize!

    

     I immediately went back to the garden to find Mrs. Smith, but although I went every night, she didn’t appear. I went to the church to say a prayer. I hope that Mrs. Smith received my prayers.

     

     I want to give thanks to Mrs. Smith but there is no chance. However, although I can’t thank her, I still had a great and strange experience from this trip.