Smoking - a health hazard

Winner:

Smoking has become a very common habit, especially among young boys. This habit usually begins at school when boys try to experiment with every new thing that they hear about or see and can lay their hands on. Despite the warnings given by adults and doctors about the ill effects of smoking, many people continue to smoke.

Most smokers are addicted to it. Even if they want to, they cannot refrain from picking up a cigar or cigarette.

Some youngsters smoke because of peer pressure or to fit into a certain segment of society. Some feel that smoking would make them appear liberated and broadminded. At the start, a person may only take a few puffs from a friend’s cigarette, but gradually it becomes a habit. Then comes a time when smoking becomes an indispensable part of the person’s life.Having a puff just for fun could be the formation of a habit. So, don’t do it. Smoking definitely affects the health, but once a person is addicted he is reluctant to give it up.Many end up as “Chain Smokers.

”Smoking causes lung cancer. Tobacco companies all over the world have been requested to carry a health warning on every packet of cigarette or cigars they release to the market. Even though smoking is harmful to one’s health, and the cigarette packets carry a warning about the danger, the smoker never reads this warning.Even if he does, he hardly pays any attention to this.

The government increases the price of cigarette and tobacco every year, usually to discourage people from smoking. However, it has no impact. Smoking continues to grow.It does not only harm the smokers but also many others who inhale the smoke. They are known as passive smokers.

Smoking can be stopped if one has a strong will to kick this deadly habit. Every person has the ability to give it up, once he sets his mind to it.

Mishel Fernando,

Grade 7D,

St. Lawrences Convent,

English Literary Association,

Colombo 6.

Who is more cruel: man or animal?

Winner:

Animals and humans are all living beings who belong to one family. That is the family of Mother Nature.Planet Earth belongs to animals and humans, so they both have a right to live in this world.We generally think that animals are more cruel than humans. But this is not exactly the truth. Animals usually become cruel when someone tries to harm them.

It is to protect themselves that they bite, sting or attack us.

Today, most humans harm animals in many different ways, sometimes for no apparent reason. So, that is why animals have become cruel. They have to be cruel to protect themselves, from the cruel activities of humans. Going by what’s happening, I believe that man is more cruel than animals.

Man is also an animal. But the difference between man and animal is that man has a brain to think and reason out. However it seems as though he does not use it for the betterment of mankind. That is why humans do more harm than good to the animals in the world. If man thinks deeply about his actions, no one will become cruel. But because of man’s foolish activities most animals will end up becoming ferocious or cruel.

Why cannot man realise that if he destroys the environment which includes animals, we cannot exist?

Modern society has become very competitive. Today people clear valuable forests to meet their needs of living space. As animals too live in these forests what will happen to them? They will lose their habitats.

There will be a shortage of food and shelter too when forests are destroyed.Why doesn’t man think about these before resorting to such careless acts? They only think about their comfortable lifestyles and care very little about animals.

So, I think animals are actually not as cruel as humans. They might be cruel in their own way but when compared to man, it is not significant, because man has a good knowledge about his actions.Man often kills animals for sport, for their skin or some other body part and sometimes because he simply does not like animals. Some ill-treats even animals they rear as pets. So, I think it is the man who is more cruel than animal.

Fathima Fahma, Grade 11A,

Sacred Heart Convent,

Galle.

My favourite sport

My favourite sport is cricket. Cricket is a very popular game in Sri Lanka. Two teams are needed to play cricket. There are eleven players in a cricket team. The players need a bat, a ball and three-wickets to play this game.Cricket is generally played in a big playground.

We have a very good national cricket team in Sri Lanka. My favourite cricketers are Mahela and Thisara. I also like to be a good cricketer.

T. D. Harith Ayodya Kulatunga,

Grade 6,

C. W. W. Kannangara Madya Maha Vidyalaya,

Matugama.

Farming in Sri Lanka

Winner:

Sri Lanka is a country with a multiultural society, consisting of different religions and racial groups speaking different languages. The people who belong to these different categories engage in various occupations to earn something to meet their day-to-day needs. Some of the areas they work in are the fishing industry, carpentry, farming and mat weaving. Out of them farming is very special for the Sri Lankan people. Paddy is one of the three main crops that is cultivated mostly due to the suitable climatic conditions in the country.

Farming is an occupation which has been in existence from ancient times in Sri Lanka. The kings who ruled the country in the past have done so many things to develop farming. The major thing they did was the construction of huge tanks which supply water needed for cultivations.

People did farming under two methods. One is the normal paddy fields as seen in low country areas and the other, the terrace system seen in the up country. People did cultivation in terrace systems in the mountains. They sow the paddy seeds in two kannas or seasons known as ‘Yala’ and ‘Maha.’ After the growing period is over the people harvest the fields and store the extra paddy in a special place called ‘Vee bissa’ for the use in the dry seasons. In the past the farmers gave their share to the king’s palace and to the temple.To plough their fields they used buffaloes and they treated them like their wealth.

However,today things have changed because of modern technology.Now people use tractors instead of buffaloes.Various new machines have been introduced to carry out different work to make the process of farming fast and easy.

When we take into consideration the use of technology in farming, especially in Sri Lanka, we can see that there are advantages as well as disadvantages. The benefits are that the machines make the work faster. But the disadvantages are that the smoke and chemicals emitted by the machines pollute the environment.

As Sri Lanka is a developing country, farming affects the economy of the country in a big way.

People in the rural sector earn money mostly by engaging in farming. Therefore, farming can be considered as an effective means to develop the economy of the country and ensure a good future for the citizens of the country.

P.Shehani Randika

Priyamanthi Silva,

Grade 9-7,

CH/WEN/Holy Family BMV, Wennappuwa.

Early to bed and early to rise

Winner:

Early to bed and early to rise is a good habit. Rising early has many advantages. Early in the morning our mind is fresh and the environment is also clear.

There are less distractions and noises. So, one can concentrate better on studies and do more work too.

A great deal of work can be completed before others even get out of bed, if you rise early. One becomes a gainer, as he has much more time at his disposal.

An early riser is also a healthy person. He has time to go for a walk or to exercise breathing fresh air. It enables a person to accumulate energy for the whole day. After a good night’s sleep, the mind is fresh. It is therefore good for students to concentrate on their studies in the morning hours, when they can absorb the maximum. Most bright students are, early risers.

When compared to early risers, late risers have a definite disadvantage. They not only lose their prime time in sleeping, but also have very little time left during the day. This affects their studies, work and health.

They are deprived of the beauty of sunrise and the freshness of nature. Like a sunflower or a lotus, the mind of a man too blooms with dawn and wanes with sunset. If we disregard this principle of nature, we would be working against ourselves and restrict our growth.

M.Y.F. Hizmiya,

Plomer Farook MV,

Pulichchakulam,

Bathulu Oya.

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[Your Poems]

Unbelievable city

Winner:

One day I entered a city
Which was full of animals
There weren’t any humans,
But that was the most beautiful
Place I have ever seen.

Monkeys were riding motor bicycles,
Riding faster than any human being,
I saw the tigers driving cars
As if in a race.

In that city there weren’t any roads,
All the vehicles were travelling
High up in the sky.
Snakes too were flying in the sky.
Buildings were floating.

Birds were swimming in a pool,
All the animals could talk
Trees could talk and walk too.
Wasn’t it a wonderful thing?
I am still wondering!

Rahul Jayathilake,
Grade 8,
Sussex College,
Kurunegala.