Fast food -good or bad?

Winner:

In most countries including Sri Lanka, people eat fast food on a regular basis because it is convenient. They think of only how it helps with their fast- paced lifestyles and not the effects it has on their health.There are many disadvantages of eating fast food, especially health problems such as becoming obese and suffering from heart ailments. Fast foods are high in cholesterol;they contain a lot of fat and sugars. Food like potato fries, hamburgers and ice cream shakes are rich in unhealthy fat and high in calories.

Many people, especially children think that fast foods are tastier than home cooked food and enjoy eating out. Some fast foods contain many unhealthy additives and flavours to enhance taste so it is not healthy to eat them very often. Eating them often could lead to many health hazards. Even though some fast foods may be low in cost they may not be high in quality. We should balance our intake of fast foods by eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. We must try to eat nutritious food everyday without eating only fast foods. We must make healthy choices when it comes to our diet. For example, we must opt to eat boiled vegetables instead of fried ones or drink milk instead of sugar based and fizzy beverages.

If fast food is not healthy why have them, some may ask. It is not necessary to stop eating fast food or close down such outlets if one knows how to limit the amount one eats.

Madhushani Palliyaguru,
Grade 7 A,
Willesden International,

I am an active horse

Winner:

I am a horse. My name is Sunny. My colour is black. I am very tall and also young,strong and healthy. I can beat anybody who comes to race with me. I am very proud of myself.

I always want to run ,jump and play with my friends. My owner wants me to be healthy and win all the races I take part in .He likes me because he enjoys being famous. I bring happiness to a lot of people. I may even be featured in the newspapers someday with a photograph of myself along with the trophies I have won.They may call me, "Sunny, the black stallion".

At present everything is fine. My life is full of freedom .But sad times will start only when I am old and unable to win any races. This will be the time nobody wants me or cares about me. I am sad to say that when I am old and feeble, they will shoot me down. I will probably end up on the dinner plate of some animals in the zoo.But dear friends, "forget me not".

Roshan Ranasinghe,
Grade 4,
Negombo South International School, Nittambuwa.

Busy bees

Winner:

Bees are flying insects. Their colours are black and yellow. They have six legs, four wings, two feelers and a sting. Bees live in colonies or groups. They live in a beehive.

There is a queen bee in their kingdom. She lays eggs. She is the head of their colony. In their colony there are drones, workers and soldiers. They are very active. Soldier bees are always flying around their beehive for security purposes. Some workers fly for over two to three miles to collect nectar.

They store nectar in the cages of their beehive. Some worker bees feed nectar to their larva and store the excess. They make their beehive using wax.

They take nectar from flowers and fruits. Drones protect the queen bee. Bees are useful to people also. I like busy bees very much.

Hasali Edirisinghe,
Grade 6B,
Musaeus College, Colombo 7.

Water management is important to conserve resources

Winner:

Sri Lanka is fortunate that she does not have to share her water resources with any other country. Many countries that have to share their water resources with bordering countries face disputes over it.

We have to be thankful for the many natural waterways we have in the form of rivers and lakes, and learn to manage these resources.

If we do not protect and preserve our natural environment these valuable water bodies could run dry. So far Sri Lanka has been able to minimise environmental hazards and manage her water resources well.

There are two aspects of water management. One is to ensure there is sufficient water to meet the needs of the environment and the other is to allocate adequate water to meet the human needs of water; for domestic,agricultural and industrial requirements such as power generation.

The excessive removal of water from rivers,reservoirs and other water bodies for irrigation purposes has exposed many plant,bird and animal species to danger.

Policy makers should pay greater attention to the over exploitation of fresh water resources when planning and carrying out development projects. They must recognise the need to ensure there is sufficient water available to maintain the environment too.

Wastage of must be controlled and steps must be taken to monitor the on flow and use of water in the natural habitat as well as under development projects.

It is important that officials pay attention to the environmental impact of the various water management schemes introduces and take steps to maintain the ecosystem.

B.A.Kavishka Dinithi,
Grade 7-A,
Dharmapal Vidyalaya,
Kottawa North.

Why we should learn English

Winner:

One day our English teacher asked us, "Why should we learn English." We told him that English is very useful to us in many ways.

English is an international language. If we learn English we can travel all over the world and converse with the people without difficulties. We can also read various types of books and magazines written in English.

It is said that a person who knows only one language is like a frog in the well. He knows only the boundaries where he lives. So, if we study English well we can improve our knowledge in many fields such as science and information technology.

English is the key to open the vast treasure house of knowledge. We should learn our mother tongue too, but we should not fail to learn this international link language which could help us reach great heights. If you want to do your higher studies, learning English is a must because most subjects are conducted in English at University level.

Gayashan P. Dias,
Grade 7A,
Seethawaka National College,
Avissawella.

Wonders of the Great Barrier Reef

Winner:

The Great Barrier Reef was one of Australia's first heritage area's. It is in the world's biggest property, extending over 2000 km and covering over 348,000 on the north east continental shelf of Australia. Larger than Italy, it is one of the best known marine areas under protection.

The Great Barrier Reef's diversity reflects the maturity of the ecosystem which has evolved over many thousands of years. It is the world's most extensive coral reef system and has some of the richest biological diversity found anywhere. The Great Barrier Reef contains extensive area's of seagrass, mangrove, sandy and muddy seabed communities, inter-reefal areas, deep oceanic waters and island communities. Contrary to popular belief, the Great Barrier Reef is not a countinous but a broken maze of around 2,900 individual reefs, of which 760 are fringing reefs along the main land or around islands. The reef ranges in size, from less than one hectare to over 1000 km and also in shape; from flat platform reefs to elongated ribbon reefs.

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven wonders of the natural world, and when viewing it from a greater distance, you can understand why. The Great Barrier Reef is blessed with breathtaking beauty.

A close encounter with this impressive coral garden reveals many astounding, underwater attractions including the world's largest collection of corals, coral sponges, molluscs, rays, dolphins, over 1506 species of tropical fish, around 20 types of reptiles including sea turtles and giant clams over 120 years old.

Pubuduni Karalliyadde,
Year 4,
Epping Heights Public School,
Sydney, Australia.