The person I admire the most
Winner:
Many of my friends admire either a world famous actor or a
multimillionaire as the best personality. However, the person I admire
the most is neither a world famous actor nor a multimillionaire. She is
my dear “mum”.
She is forty years of age. She is fair and medium in height. She has
long black hair and she prefers to wear the Abaya. She prefers to wear
simple clothes. She looks after us carefully and provides all the
facilities needed by us.
The first reason I admire her is her personality which is a mixture
of honesty, simplicity, equality and kindness towards every organism.
She is very honest and always advises us to speak the truth and follow
the right path.
Another reason I admire her is her teachings. She is actually my
first teacher. She has taught me several important things from my young
age to date. She is the one who taught me that not only happiness and
wealth is part of our life but also hard work and difficulties are also
a part of life. She showed me how important it is to face such
challenges.
She always helps me to do my homework. She also teaches me the value
of good habits such as sharing with others, respecting elders and
helping the disabled. Her unconditional love towards us is one of the
prime reasons which makes me admire her so much. She loves every one of
her children equally. Sometimes she gets annoyed with us because of the
mischievous things we do, but she never stops loving us. We cannot
compare anyone’s love with that of our mother.
I can briefly say that she is my ‘best friend’. I believe that the
letters in the English alphabet are not sufficient for me to mention the
many reasons I admire her. However, I think I have been able to show you
some of the reasons for my admiration. I was lucky to get such a
wonderful mother. I am sure most of you too have great mums like mine.
- Muhammadh Faalil Bary
Grade 8,
Jennath International School, Galle.
Rainbows are beautiful
Winner:
A rainbow is something that most people in the world have seen or at
least heard of. A rainbow is usually seen soon after it rains; it is
seen as an arc in the sky. A
 rainbow
consists of seven colours and they are red, orange, yellow, green, blue,
indigo and violet. These seven colours blend together to form a spectrum
of hues considered to be one of the most beautiful phenomena that can be
seen in this world.
Even though most people have seen rainbows, not all of them actually
know how they are formed. The process in the formation of a rainbow
mainly involves the reflection and refraction of light. The term
refraction is basically the bending of a light ray as it passes from one
medium to another which differs in optical density; that is how easily
it allows light to travel through.
So, as a white light ray from the Sun enters a water droplet it
refracts, causing the ray to disperse into its seven colours. Then these
seven light rays reflect off the inside surface of the water droplet and
again as the light rays exit the water droplet, they refract in such a
way that it prevents the seven coloured light rays from merging to
produce white light. Instead, they refract such that a phenomenon known
as dispersion occurs.
This is the theory behind the formation of a rainbow. Of course this
process must occur in millions of raindrops to form a rainbow. Sometimes
on rare occasions a second, weaker rainbow is seen above the first when
two reflections occur in each droplet, but in this second rainbow the
order of the colours are arranged in the reverse order. Next time you
see a rainbow, observe it closely.
Ruwindu Petangoda,
Grade 8,
Royal Institute International School,
Nugegoda.
Impact of heavy showers
Winner:
Many Sri Lankans faced untold hardships due to the recent drought in
the island. They had no water for their daily needs such as washing,
bathing and cooking.
Even agricultural activities were affected. Some people had to do
their work in the dark due to the constant power cuts imposed by the
Ceylon Electricity Board as the water levels in the reservoirs were
dropping, affecting the hydro-power generation.
People in the dry zone had to walk many miles in search of water.
Both humans and animals suffered a lot without water due to drought.
Then came the rains with unexpected force. Heavy showers experienced
in the island distrupted the daily life of a number of people. Most
roads went under water making it impossible for people to get about.
Normal life came to a virtual standstill. We could not attend school
for several days because of the floods. Some people lost their
belongings when their houses were flooded or damaged by landslips.
However, most people are now glad that there is plenty of water to
meet their daily needs.
There will be no need to impose power cuts for a longer period of
time, since the reservoirs are filled to capacity. So, the recent rain
has brought us both happiness and sorrow.
Chanu Yasasmi Thambavita,
Grade 9B,
St. Mary's College, Mathugama.
Value of water management
Winner:
 Sri
Lankans are fortunate that we do not have to share our water resources
with any other country as we are an island. We are therefore able to
manage our water resources and minimize environmental hazards.
If we are to preserve the natural beauty of Sri Lanka we have to
manage our water resources well. Sri Lanka is called the pearl of the
Indian Ocean because of her shape and natural beauty.
There are two aspects to water management. Firstly to allocate water
to the environment, according to its needs and secondly to supply water
for human requirement such as for agriculture, industry, power
generation and domestic work.
Excessive removal of water from rivers, tanks and other waterways has
exposed bird, animal, fish and plant species to danger. It has also
threatened the livelihood of many farmers and fishermen. There are many
people who depend on river water for drinking, cooking, washing and for
various other daily uses. Proper water management therefore is important
to ensure a smooth supply to meet both human and natural requirements in
any country. We must take measures to conserve and protect our water
resources.
Mohamed Irfak,
Mr/Arfa NC,
Weligama.
A motherless calf's plea
When I was born into this world
I saw my mother's eyes sparkle with joy
She fed me her tasty milk,
And I tasted it greedily.
Now I am a year-old babe
But I have lost my mother
When my master comes to my shed,
I ask him “Where has my mother gone?”
I can still remember that dark night,
At midnight they came to our shed,
I was drinking my mother's milk
But they didn't care about it
They took my mother out of the shed
And she kept crying “Umba Umba.”
I still hear her sad voice
And still remember their rude voices
As they dragged her away from me
Now how can I drink my mother's milk?
And feel my mother's warmth?
How can I grow without her?
Now I feel lonely as a cloud
So, if anyone of you can hear my sorrowful plea
Don't, please don't eat your Kiri Amma's meat.
Samodya Herath,
Grade 7Q,
Mahinda Rajapaksa College,
Pitipana, Homagama.
Poem of life...
Happiness is a lotus
that blooms in the water
Sorrow is a ship
that sails in the ocean
A wish is a star
that shines in the sky
With all these...
Life is a poem
that everyone has read.
Nimni Pathiraja
Grade 12C (Bio Stream),
Nissanka College, Kurunegala.
I wish
I wish I would be an angel
In the heaven above
I’d help the poor girls on earth
Make their dreams come true.
I wish I would be Santa
Who decorates Christmas
I’d present gifts for them
To make them happy and gay.
I wish I would be rich one day
I’d help all the poor children
To learn about the world and more.
Kavishna Tinali Herath,
Grade 9B,
Pl/Medirigiriya
National College. |
