Television is no great teacher or show stopper, but an evil machine, an evil mind-numbing machine.

Television In the world we are living in today there are a great many people who will tell you televisions are an amazing teaching tool, or that they bring quality entertainment to millions of people around the world. This is quite simply a lie. Television is no 'great teacher' or 'show stopper', but an evil machine, an evil mind-numbing machine. You only need to look at the effects that Logi-biards contraption has on people, to see what I mean. They sit in front of trashy soap operas, with their far-fetched storylines and sub standard acting, stuffing junk food into their faces. These 'Tele-Addicts' will, with no hesitation, watch hours upon hours of programmes, wasting evening after evening in front of their 'goggle boxes'. From the very first moment they turn on their televisions, they turn off their brains and become transfixed on the screen. They begin to plan their lives around the television schedule; the T.V Guide has become their bible. If you observe someone watching television it's easy to see that they have turned off their body and minds except for their hands. Their hands are now on autopilot used on the odd occasion to operate the remote or stuff junk food in to their faces. You could set off a bomb in the same room with them and I doubt they'd notice, as long as it doesn't interrupt the programme they were staring at they couldn't care. There are

  • Word count: 885
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Youth is wasted on the Young Debate

YOUTH IS WASTED ON THE YOUNG PERSUASIVE SPEECH: NEGATIVE 'Youth is a gift of nature, but age is a work of art.' (Stanislaw Lec) Is youth really wasted on the young - or is this proverb inspired by a desperation to be young again? Heard from all around the world, this short, blunt statement is aimed not just to criticize but also to express regret, sorrow and disappointment. It is muttered from the street corners as one more youth is seen with that distant look in their eyes, head bent, playing on the latest gadget. They walk mindlessly to a destination not known to them. Their concentration is unwavering, their eyes rarely blinking. If only they were like this in school! Another person walks past and, seeing the youth, utters the line heard so often now, 'Youth is wasted on the young.' Those critics forget the learning, the experiences and the opportunities they neglected or misused in their youth so that they are living the life they do now. Perhaps the older members look at the life and energy possessed by the youths and enviously wish for even the smallest fraction of that energy? They grow irritated at their physical limitations for inside their slowly decaying bodies lie sharp minds, eager once more for the excitement of youth and the freedom the young have. They want to experience the wonder and constant surprises. They want to experience the learning and

  • Word count: 1074
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Room 101. The first thing that I would out into room 101 is the money grabbing, cold-hearted, kill joy mugs. If you havent guessed yet, I am talking about the selfish traffic wardens.

Room 101 The first thing that I would out into room 101 is the money grabbing, cold-hearted, kill joy mugs. These Gestapo's walk around, head down, scribbling away in their nasty little books, feeling proud of ruining yet another innocent person's day. If you haven't guessed yet, I am talking about the selfish traffic wardens. 99.9% of vehicle/car owners don't even realise that they have done anything to deserve a parking ticket! How would you like it if you had paid for a 1hour p+d (pay and display) ticket and you came to your care at 1 minute past and a warden was stamping the sicky yellow piece of paper on your windscreen? - That is so unfair. For arriving at your car one minute late you have to pay a massive fine of £30. Right, imagine this. You have just had the most wonderful day out to Southport with you family and your children's smile spreads right across their face. (Feels good doesn't it!) Then you walk over to your car to find the dreaded yellow ticket. The smiles have now hit the floor. But wait, you check you p+d ticket and you are back before the expiry time...so why are you getting charged? What's going on!? Then you read the note... You put your parking ticket on the wrong side of the windscreen. How can there be a right and wrong side to put a p+d ticket? As I said before... selfish. For instance, the last time I heard of anyone getting a ticket

  • Word count: 681
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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In "A View from the Bridge" how does Arthur Miller build the dramatic tension to a climax at the end of Act 1?

Harkiran Bansal In "A View from the Bridge" how does Arthur Miller build the dramatic tension to a climax at the end of Act 1? "A View from the Bridge" is a play written in 1995 by Arthur Miller set in Brooklyn. During the 1950's Italy was a very poor country so there were many people immigrating to the U.S.A. Over a million Sicilians had already moved to the U.S.A. and there were more moving over. Many Sicilians dreamed of a better life in America with a well paid job and enough money to support their family. This play is based on a man named Eddie who lives with his wife Beatrice and niece Catherine who he has cared for since she was a child. Beatrice's cousins, 2 Italian immigrants come to stay with them. The tensions arise when one of the cousins, Radolpho, and Catherine fall in love and Eddie realises his true feelings for Catherine, which has devastating consequences and eventually leads to Eddie's tragic death. Throughout Act 1, Miller builds up tension, which eventually leads to the death of Eddie. Much of this tension arises from conflict between characters. One of the first moments where we see tension building up is when Catherine is telling Eddie how Marco and Rodolpho have been to Africa. She says "They went to Africa. On a fishing boat. (Eddie glances at her) It's true Eddie." The stage direction shows Eddies is interested in what they are talking about as

  • Word count: 1259
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"Breaking Point" Article Letter

The Big Issue 236-240 Pentonville Road London N1 9JY Dear Sir, I am writing to you to express my views on teenage crime. I believe most people's opinions on young people is clouded by stereotypes made by the media. Reading Leonardo Cito's article "Breaking Point" has given me reason to believe that their eyes might be opened to reality. The first thing from the "Breaking Point" article that I want to comment on is in the sub-heading. "Vandalism isn't always mindless", this obviously implies that some people think that others vandalize because they can and not because they have social problems with family, teachers etc. but there are deeper meanings to vandalism. I strongly agree with this point. Most of the time, adults believe that young people are behind vandalism because they think it's fun. This view on teenagers has been reinforced by the media, with their pictures of destroyed shops and houses, followed by endless security video footage of hooded males executing crimes. I have recently been a victim of second-hand judgment. About a month ago, during one of my daily jogs in the park, I noticed a mangled memorial bench that had been smashed into pieces and offensive graffiti had been sprayed onto it. Pausing in my jog to see the extent of the damage, I suddenly noticed a senior citizen yelling at me down the path. As he got closer, I was able to get a grip on

  • Word count: 878
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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A Life changing experience

A Life Changing Experience In my family I have a dad, a mum, one brother and three sisters, not to mention my six dogs all golden retrievers with lovely temperaments. It all sounds hectic but it's not! My parents are easy to live with ,and so are my two sisters and my brother. We rub along together. My eldest sister is hard to live with and she and I always fight. I have to share my room with my brother. He can be a real pain sometimes. He is always up very early every morning playing with his cars. My other two sisters share a room together and my parents in another room. The six dogs sleep in the kitchen. One of the worst experiences I have had lately is when I was out on my paper round. "Lucky that I had my watch on. If I had not had it on then I could have lost part of my hand from my wrist to the tip of my fingertips lost..." It was a cold Thursday evening I was halfway into my paper round when the terrible thing happened. I was walking up to the shiny white door and was just about to put the paper through the door, when the owner opened the door and she had the baby in her hands. Suddenly a big Alsatian came out from the house and bit me badly on my arm and I was bleeding. I still have the scars on my arm to show for it. Lucky that I had my watch on. If I had not had it on then I could have lost part of my hand from my wrist to the tip of my fingertips

  • Word count: 715
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Say "NO" to plastic bags

Say 'NO' to Plastic Bags! Gone are the days when our grandmothers used cloth bags and straw baskets to carry the grocery while going around in the market. For small items there were brown or newspaper bags, but now whether you buy clothes, groceries, meat, books or buttons, the shopkeepers only use plastic bags for the items. Have you ever wondered the beneficial and dangerous side of using plastics? I have and I have found that plastics are very harmful to the environment, even though they are very useful to carry things around. You must be wondering how just a plastic bag, can be so detrimental to the environment. Allow me to tell you how. Plastic bags are cheap and are light in weight. They are also water and chemical resistant and require less energy in manufacture.1 These are the advantages of using plastic bags, but above all these benefits they are still very harmful to the environment! Let's begin with a story to give you all an idea what actually happens when you just throw away a plastic bag, without considering what harm it can cause. A young boy asks a shopkeeper for a plastic bag for the items he had bought; not knowing that it would harm the earth for not carrying the items in his hands or pockets. As soon as he arrives at his doorstep, he throws away the "plastic bag" now regarding it as a useless piece of junk. The winds carry the bag into the river and

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  • Word count: 909
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Controlling the Intellectual Property of Medicine and Drugs Through the Power of Patenting

Controlling the Intellectual Property of Medicine and Drugs Through the Power of Patenting Remember when you were a child and you went over to play at your friend's house? When you were in his or her room and you saw that perfect Barbie doll outfit; that perfect little toy car that you've always wanted ever since you were five but your mother couldn't afford it. The toy that you felt you desperately needed. Remember the urge that you underwent? To just pinch it off the shelf and hide it in your backpack, knowing that he or she would never miss it anyway, as they had never even used it? Then, remember the conscience that stopped you in your mother's voice, telling you it was wrong and you weren't allowed? This exact situation of emotions in adult life is experienced, except that the states of affairs are more serious. Information that people want or need is not available to the public, and instead of your mother's voice telling you the consequences, you have the law doing so. This is due to the issue of patents. Patents are intellectual properties that protect inventions. In fact, the U.S Constitution Article 1 actually described this clause as the following: "The Congress shall have power ... To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries"1. The first

  • Word count: 1876
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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The Exception For No Exceptions

RuthAnn Milbert 4/23/2010 Lynne Lerych English 101 Essay Draft #1 The Exception For No Exceptions With a law that declares that a state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to anyone due to race, sex, etc. it's hard to think of a reason that would exempt someone, but RCW 49.60.400 does almost immediately. Can this law actually be a good thing if it can't even exist without wavering to multiple exceptions? RCW 49.60.400 was created on December 3, 1998 with the purpose of stopping discrimination or granting preferential treatment to people in public employment, public education, and public contracting due to race, sex, ethnicity, or where the originated from. The basic idea of equality among the public can obviously be thought of as a positive one, but it's limited. RCW 49.60.400 doesn't affect any lawful classification that is based on sex and is necessary for sexual privacy or medical/psychological treatments, provides separate athletic teams determined by sex, or is needed for police or other law enforcement that is undercover or audio, video, theatrical casting, or film. Basis of the laws that aren't affected by RCW 49.60.400 aren't the only restrictions. Time is also against the law. This law doesn't effect any action taken before December 3, 1998. So regardless of how many times this law may have been violated previous to this date, it

  • Word count: 543
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Persuasive argument against school dinners

School Dinners-Should We Have a Choice? Which would you rather, your children staying in the safety of the school premises and not eating, or them travelling out of school to find the snack foods which they cannot get in school due to the new initiative set down by the government to rid schools of "snack" foods. I am here to argue whether school children should have a choice about the switch to healthy meals in school. This year, education Secretary Alan Johnson has published nutrition guidelines banning meals high in salt and fat. These guidelines have been set to improve the overall health, behaviour and concentration of pupils. The standards were based on recommendations made by the School Meal Review Panel, following the campaign by TV chef Jamie Oliver to improve the quality of school dinners. The recommendations were, that from September, caterers must ensure that high-quality meat, poultry or oily fish are served on a regular basis, replacing" turkey twizzlers and chicken nuggets". Pupils must also get a minimum of two portions of fruit and vegetable with every meal and fried products are to be served twice a week. This has caused many problems as children in secondary schools are leaving school grounds to eat at their nearby chip shop instead and primary school children are giving up on school meals and taking a lunch box, this is putting the school meals

  • Word count: 1236
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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