Do you know any elderly that you talk to? Nowadays, the elderly and teenagers have conflict in themselves, misunderstanding each other, without talking to each other. There is a new scheme for both teenagers and elderlies to get to know and learn from each other. This is definitely beneficial for both of them.

I read this article on the internet about Roberta and Samuel who entered this scheme. They both claimed the scheme was very helpful and it was a meaningful time for them. Roberta got more involved in activities throughout the scheme. Before, she was afraid to go out and talk to teenagers because of their appearance. But now, she is not afraid at all and she got rid of the fear she had towards new technology. She plays game console and she learnt how to use the laptop computer. She also had changes in her motto. She now thinks that trying new things is important because keep procrastinating does not help and you don't know when the chance is going to come again. The scheme also brought her old hobbies back. Looking at Samuel, her teenager pair, she took out her paintbox again and started painting. She's not afraid of meeting new people anymore. She visits Samuel's family often and she even cooks for them. She is more energetic and lively now than before she tried the scheme.

Samuel, teenager who participated in this scheme claimed that he learnt precious skills and memorable experience throughout this scheme. He has learnt what a person could achieve in life, how old people are interesting with full of stories to tell you and also learnt how to do banking. By helping Roberta, he learnt how to manage money and to deal with bank statements and bills. Roberta also made it interesting for Samuel to visit art galleries and museums by telling her own story. Before then, he never liked going to these places. Apart from learning and gaining experience, he also had fun and pleasure talking to Roberta. He is very satisfied with this scheme.

By spending time with the elderly, you can gain experience. By talking to them, you can get the most precious advices, experiences that they suffered from and not make the same mistake. These advices and experiences are not comparable with money. These are things that you can not buy, but learn from experience. However, by asking elderly, you don't have to waste your time suffering the same mistake that they made. This will help you become a more discipline and successful person. You can also learn skills like banking skills by helping them. This will help you later when you have to manage your own money instead of losing the money because you didn't know how to manage them. You can also learn about stories in the past which will help you in history. You will be able to have more knowledge which will be a benefit now or even later when you go to college.

The new scheme is time worthy and you can gain a lot of essential skills and knowledge which will help you in the future and in studying. You will also get to know how to treat old people which will definitely help you in life.

Have you ever tried playing games? Games have become an important part of our lives, especially for  teenagers. While there are many individuals supporting games, there are people opposing to this idea, most of them, student's parents or teachers. They both have valid reasons for their opinions.

Students who said games are beneficial claimed that games make them think more creatively which helps them in studies as well. Games like strategy games require your brain to think and figure the opposition's tactic so that you can protect your realm, as well as attacking more efficiently, assuming their strategy. This wakes your brain up and keeps it busy in order to win a game. Some spend more than 4 hours in one game to protect their realm.

However, because games are designed to be addictive, people spend a lot of time in front of computers without using their time for health purposes like exercising. Sitting in front of the computer damages your eyesight. No matter which screen protector you are using, light from computers damage your eyes gradually. Not only affecting your eyes, playing games affects your eating habits which might cause you to be obese or to suffer from malnutrition from not eating correct food. When you play games, you are so focused in the game that you don't want to ruin that moment by eating, so you tend to crave fast food or snacks which are not consisted of balanced nutrition.

On the other hand, playing games unable you to meet people and socialise. Nowadays, most of the teenagers play computer games and it's their way of 'socialising' when they play games in the same server. They also chat online while playing games and team games also require team work, so people can also learn teamwork and leadership skills through games. You can learn important skills as well as having fun and experiencing pleasure, through games.

On the contrary, games keep individuals isolated from real world. What happens in games are not real. For example, you can keep your pets and families in the game, but does it happen in real life? No, it doesn't. If you start playing games at a young age, you might find it hard to differentiate the society in real life and in the game. This might cause a person to be violent as they can kill people in the game and be rewarded. However, in real life, you go to prison. There are many cases where game addicts murdered human in real life, thinking it is inside a game.

Games can be useful and be helpful to certain people. It will be beneficial for individuals regarding that they manage their time properly and don't play it for a long time. However, it is very difficult task to manage oneself especially when it is very addictive. So we should try to stop ourselves from being addicted to games. Set alarm when you start playing game, so that you don't exceed the amount of time you planned to spend, don't be harsh on yourself and let your body rest at certain times.

Have you ever wondered.....

Have you ever wondered how retailers(shops) like Target and Tesco send you coupons that you really need? Are they magicians? How did they figure this out! The truth was.... when you make membership card of that shop, they collect your personal information like name, age and gender. Every time you use the card, what you bought will be recorded down and will be saved to their data. They figure out what you'll need and what your interests are and recommend you products that you might like by sending you coupons. There was an incident where a sixteen year old girl was pregnant and even before she told her parents about it, she started getting coupons for diapers and products that a pregnant women might buy. When her parents found out about this, they went to complain to Target about getting these coupons. Few weeks later, she told her parents and her parents had to apologise to Target. It is very interesting but we always need to be careful in handling our personal information as they can be used in crimes and other negative purposes. 

English past paper 2010

Dear Zach,

I just had my amazing day at a gorilla sanctuary and I thought it would be a good idea to tell you what happened, so that you can visit here next time. It was a whole new experience seeing gorillas right in front of my eyes. They were so adorable and interesting.

The first chimp I saw was named Max and he was wearing a nappy. Have you ever imagined a gorilla wearing a nappy? For me, it was unexpected, so I was so amused by the first sight. What's more is that they are intelligent, so they can communicate with people. Max was really curious about everything and we could see the trust between him and Mark, who he stays with all the time. Chimps are just like babies. They play with children's toys, cling onto people and love being hugged. They are full of emotions. They get jealous when their caretaker takes care of other chimps and they love getting the attention. Oh, did you know that chimps don't go bald when chimpanzees do?

I met two people there and they were Mark, who I mentioned before and Madame Yvette. They were both working in the gorilla sanctuary, and they were both passionate and open minded. We could see that they care a lot for their chimps, looking at how they treat chimps just like their own babies. However, they were different at times. Mark was rather calm and quiet when Madame Yvette was bright and active. They were both great at care taking the chimps.

While I was having a great time in the sanctuary, I heard a depressing news. They told me that hunters kill the mother chimp and take away the baby to sell it as a pet to villagers. It is rare for the baby chimp to be rescued and sent to the sanctuary and even if they do, they arrive in bad physical wounds and their stomachs are full of earth they consumed due to the dearth of food. Because these chimps are sensitive, the babies who experience the mothers' death, are traumatised and can even lead to them dying of grief, refusing to eat. There were twenty-seven rescued chimps but only four are still alive. The sanctuary needs our help to provide better care and cure for the chimps including food supply and medical supply. I have entered my name for being the constant volunteer and I am planning to make donations overtime. Don't you want to join me? It is going to be an enormous help for the baby like chimps and caring care takers.

Just consider what I suggested and I will be waiting for your answer! See you soon!

Love,
Lary

First language English past paper

Interview with Signor

Interviewer: Some people say you are an eccentric man whose behaviour is odd at times. Are they right?

Signor: I guess some people can take it that way, but I don't think my behaviour is odd. It's just what a great conductor should do. We need to have fixed rules and I'm just following my daily routines. I get so frustrated whenever something stops me from continuing what I want to do. I mean, we all have our own daily routines right? We can go to high class restaurants to eat curry and enjoy riding our limousine, don't we? For me, I get bored of the perfection and wealth and I need my ears to get used to the noises before concerts, so I take a taxi despite the inconvenience. I don't see how that is eccentric. If that is, that means all the people around the world are weird. I can't stand my plans or my daily routines being ruined. That is just being organised, isn't it? I can't find anything wrong in this.

Interviewer: Oh, I see. As you always stick to your plans, how did today's concert go? I heard that there was an unexpected happening that took place. Can you explain about that?

Signor: It wasn't a big problem for me, it was just a mistake caused by a new time keeper. It wasn't my fault, the time keeper told me the time late, so I didn't have any time to get ready and be prepared just like I normally do before I conduct a stage. Just like any other great conductors, I need to prepare for myself to be prefect as I always do.

Interviewer: Oh, I'm sorry if it disturbed you. Anyway, why do you like conducting? 

Signor: I have always loved music since I was a little kid and I always liked leading others and helping them get in the right way. As a young boy, I wanted to be a general but as I grew up, I was in love with the music and decided that I want to live my life with melody and rhythms, and I found this interesting profession called conductor which is somehow like general of a musical concert. I think I have a good leadership and I manage my feelings quite decently. I also love entertaining people. The performers also love me, and I love being a small part of a magnificent team.

Interviewer: So, it can count as you achieving your past dreams! I have the last question for you. Since you have worked as a conductor for a long time, do you think that the time has come for you to retire from conducting?

Signor: No, not at all! The more experience you have, the better you conduct. If I can, I wouldn't mind dying working as a conductor. Why would you want to stop it when so many people come to look at your concerts and they praise you, give you all the attention and more? I love getting the attention I get because I am the most important person in the music hall. If I retire, I think I will die of depression from not getting what I want and what I want to do. I know I have a lot of money and I am successful, but now, it's not my goal to earn money or experience, but interact with people and keep on being famous. I love the fame given to me. That is the most precious thing I could ask for in my whole life. 

Interviewer: Okay, Mr. Signor, thank you for your passionate interview and your amazing answers!

Signor: No problem. It has been a great honour to be interviewed.

Interviewer: It has been a pleasure to interview you and thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it very much. 



Corrections are in blue.