Threats to
moment they put down their phones is the time they go to sleep. Indeed, the usage of smartphones can be considered as a threat to our future. Maybe not in the future, it has now become a threat to us if we cannot be the master of smartphones.
OUR FUTURE
Some couch potatoes spend the whole day sitting in front of the television. This is a threat to everyone, not only the teenagers but everyone living on this planet. Lack of exercise and a sedentary lifestyle is a threat to our health. Doctors always advise us to do exercise at least three times per week. This is because through exercise, the toxins accumulated in our body can be excreted through our sweat and our blood circulation is improved. However, people nowadays are forced to pursue a career to support themselves and their families. Lack of time has become their main reason for not spending their time in exercising. This instead is slowly threatening our health, our lives and even our future! How far can you go if you are not as fit as a fiddle? Think about it!
Guided by, Pn. Ching Ben Lean ONG EE ZHEN (5S1)
“Do you know what are the problems that we are facing nowadays?” “No, we lead a comfortable life, there is nothing to be worried about!” “I do not really agree with you in this case. There is much more to be worried for!” The above conversation shows that some people are aware of the threat that may arise in our future while some others are still in the dark. Trust me, life is not a bed of roses! Even if your life is full of roses, you have to learn to accept the thorns as well! So, it is obvious that life in our future is full of threats! As we march towards development, the quality of life is improving and the progress in our beloved country is evident. However, there are many threats that I can foresee in our future! Problems are waiting for every Tom, Dick and Harry. Take a deep breath and let me explain to you more on the elements that may threaten us in the future.
The next threat to our future is the improper diet. Nowadays, junk food and fast food sell like hot cakes as they are finger-licking good. Many children and teenagers are attracted to consume these types of food. Indeed, it has become a threat to all of us. I still remember my Biology teacher who taught me that a balanced diet is a diet that consists of all the seven classes of food, they are carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, vitamins, dietary fibres and water in the correct proportion. So, it is certain that junk food and fast food are not a balanced diet. In addition, the preservatives and additives in these types of food may be a major threat to everyone. You may contract cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus and hypertension in the long run. So, do you think eating junk food and fast food is a threat to our future?
In this modern era, technological advancement has been part and parcel of our lives. Have you ever heard of the word “Internet”? I am very sure that your answer is “yes”. But, try to put on your thinking cap! Is it really beneficial to all of us? Internet has opened the door of the world to teenagers, unsupervised, unchecked and with unlimited freedom. Undesirable information will only shape teenagers into individuals with low moral values. With proper guidance, they will use this form of advancement for the good life. However, without proper guidance, they simply drift along towards the darker side of life. They become the masters of their lives and justify their actions. As a result, they rebel against any form of authority because they think they are free to do so. It is a fact that Internet does bring benefits to all of us but it may be a treat to our future too. So, use it wisely. Be rational! Think carefully!
Besides, social problems that are happening in every nook and cranny of the world are threatening our future. People nowadays are afraid to walk along the street alone which we considered as a safe action in the good old days. Residents try to prevent themselves from becoming the next victim of snatch thieves. People do not trust others easily anymore. This is a serious problem that is threatening our lives. Last but not least, environmental pollution is another serious problem that may be a threat to us in the future. Our Mother Earth is sick and slowly dying because of water pollution, land pollution, air pollution and sound pollution. The Earth is the only planet that can sustain human lives! Are we really going to destroy it ourselves? The last drops of water on this planet will be our tears if we do not appreciate nature.
The next threat that I could think of is the use of technological devices such as smartphones and televisions. It is a common phenomenon that everyone is always with his or her smartphone no matter where he or she is. When they are having dinner with their friends or family members, they keep on busy with their phones, updating status in Facebook, sharing photographs in Instagram rather than chatting with the one sitting face to face with them. They have become the slaves of technological equipment. A survey conducted by the Consumer Association recently showed that teenagers spent almost four hours with their smartphones every day. This is an alarming figure! Teenagers should use their time wisely, exploring the beauty of nature and gaining more knowledge to enrich their minds. But, smartphones have slowly taken away their time and they are addicted to them. To make matter worse, some even spend the whole day with the smartphones, be it with games or Internet. The
In a nutshell, there are many problems slowly arising in our society and becoming a threat to our future. Prompt actions must be implemented so that every inhabitant is aware of what is taking place around him or her. Parents play a crucial role in guiding their children and instilling values in them. This is significant so that everyone has self-esteem to fight for our right and overcome every threat! Hope that the Earth will be a better place to live in. Problems will arise when we are alive! So, be brave and put your foot forward!
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TECHNOL OG Y does TECHNOLOG OGY
more HARM than GOOD Guided by, Pn. Ching Ben Lean TAH KAI CHENG (5S1)
As our world continues to evolve and stride forward, more and more technologies surface. Of yore, we measured the evolution of technology by years and decades; nowadays, the advancement of technology is measured by days and weeks. Though technology contributes to the human kind, it also brings out a great number of setbacks. Should technology be celebrated and praised for its benefits? Or, does technology bring the world to ruins?
turn viral. For instance, after the tragedy of the MH 370 flight that disappeared into thin air, every subsequent hour, there were veritable amount of fraud reports regarding the missing plane. However, many of them were believed to be true by the people. This is truly a harm done by technology. As technology - especially IT - reigns the world, it has become a warm bed where many cyber crimes happen. The cyber criminals make many malicious and alluring deceptions in the world of technology. Especially in recent years, this crime rate has come to the hilt. Every day and night, as we turn over the leaves of the newspaper, there is a large number of reports concerning the cyber crimes and deceptions in the form of cash, property, sex and so on. Technology has caused all these hot potatoes abound, which was not a problem in the past decades. Technology, whence all the crimes originated, has therefore said to bring more griefs than happiness to mankind.
Yes, I agree that technology does more harm than good. With technology everywhere, human kind has become utterly idle and lazy. Of old, we washed clothes with hands and soap, now, a button on the washing machine will settle the laundry. Years ago, we had a discourse with others by having a tryst, now, a smart phone will do while idling on the settee. Humans have become more and more dependent and idle in the presence of modern technology. All the tasks - no matter easy or difficult - are done by technology. In the future, man will become degenerated and weak, as a result of over-dependent on machines and technology.
Besides, the development and utilisation of technology also bring pollution to the earth. In the process of producing more sophisticated technologies, many other sorts of detrimental products such as waste water, smoke, soot, unnecessary heat, poisonous and high metal concentration by-products, carcinogenic byproducts will pollute and taint the air or water. Meanwhile, when humans are using the technology, the radiation, heat, sound, toxic gases and by-products that are released will also make the environment to deteriorate. Hence, we must concede that from the Research and Development to the elimination of a technological product, it is constantly and consistently polluting and marring our earth. Although various ways are used to reduce the effects of pollution, there are still more setbacks unresolved.
Furthermore, in the presence of technology, a direct, face-to-face communication between people has been neglected. Every now and again, we can get what we need to know from the World Wide Web and other social webs. We need not communicate with others with words and language from our own tongue. As we scroll down the social web pages, such as Facebook, Twitter, WeChat, Whatsapps, Line and so on, we get to know about everything. Verily, the future generation, who engross in the virtual social world, will be deprived of the communication skills, and be imprudent, impulsive, irrational and improper in their conversations and speaking with other people. In this globalised era - thanks to technology information and communique spread with startling speed around the globe. It seems to be a good news, nay, there are fraud and untrue information en masse in the wide range of news. We must always remember that information is not knowledge! There are many perpetrators who fill the web with false information in order to gain benefits, for this false and captivating information often becomes the apple in the eye of society and it will then
As a conclusion, technology does bring developments and comfortable lives to human beings, but the harm it induces is also devastating and destructive. If we continue to be ignorant and throw caution to the air, we will face the music in the years to come. Thus, we have to work together to avert the situation, by attempting to reduce and cut down the detrimental and harmful effects of technology, lest we regret in the future. “Many hands make light work�, so let us do it together right here and right now!
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The
and abseilling for the first time and if you ask me if I am going to try them again, my answer is YES! Sometimes, you can only enjoy yourself to the fullest after conquering your fear. Fear is an attitude. If we choose to embrace it, it sticks to us like a leech.
FIRSTS, The LASTS
I believe many of us have not tried canoeing, right? But, during the camp, each and everyone of us got to go canoeing which was super fun and was my favourite. It was amazing when I tried things that I had only seen on the Internet or television and it was not as difficult as I thought. I even had a race with my friends. Shrieks of joy and howls of laughter filled the place where fluffy, white clouds drifted across the blue sky.
Guided by, Pn. Ching Ben Lean NGU HUI CI (5S1)
Sometimes, you will never know the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory..... It was 5 years ago when I first joined them. 5 years, not too long but not too short either. At that time, I had never imagined that they would fill my life with so much happiness. Not going to deny that there were times when I felt so hard to breath as life was busy, but I guess we have to fight through some bad days to earn the best days of our life, right? I believe it is always ‘no pain, no gain’.
I had tried night trekking 2 years ago, however, this time it was a whole new story. The last time, we carried our own torchlights. This time, we had to walk in the jungle without torchlights as the trainers wanted us to feel and see nature at night. It was total darkness but there were still some fire flies around. Before we returned to our campsite, we sat in the jungle, listening to the sounds of the crickets, feeling the cool night breeze caressing our skin, inhaling the fresh air and looking at the sky full of stars glistening in the velvety dark sky.
Being a Form 5 student, everything seems to be more precious than it has always been. The ‘firsts’ and the ‘lasts’ have become what we want to remember, what we want to keep in our hearts and our minds, forever. It was the ‘Family and Expedition Camp’ that had lighted up my June holidays and took me out from the stressful study life for a while. Here, unlike my last article about a camp which was written 2 years ago, I will only talk about my very own ‘firsts’ and ‘lasts’ throughout this camp.
For an expedition camp, the long walk would be the icing on the cake. That was the day when all of us needed to walk 8 km in order to complete our 16 km expedition. It was hot at first. The sun was like a ball of fire. Then, after a kilometre or so, ominous black clouds hung overhead and torrential rains started to pour from the heavens mercilessly while the wind howled. It was bad news for all of us as we still had a long way to go. For a few seconds, I thought that was life. Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, life is about learning how to dance in the rain. Luckily yet proudly, we managed to finish the cold and wet journey safely without anyone of us getting sick. Even though all of us were soaked to the skin and chilled to the bones when we arrived at the campsite, the sense of our achievement was in expressable!
It was my first time as a camp’s squad leader. Being a squad leader alone is not an easy task itself, but becoming a camp’s squad leader is even more challenging. I had to take good care of all my ‘children’ during the 4 days and 3 nights camp, making sure every member was around during gatherings, knowing the schedule well so they would not be late or were in appropriate attire and even their safety. Not forgetting preparing them for competitions! It was somehow exhausting as there were quite a lot of things to be taken care of. Nevertheless, it was a good experience for me as a leader to learn, to lead and to know my weaknesses.
The last night was a memorable one too! The weather was pretty nice and we had a campfire. We managed to keep the fire roaring for a few hours as we sang, danced and shared our thoughts around it. Going to this ‘Family and Expedition Camp’ was a decision I would never regret. This is my last year in high school and it would probably be my last camp. Even if I have the chance to join them for another camp, it will not be the same anymore.
The outdoor activities were fantastic! I was one of the first-timers for ‘Flying Fox’ and abseilling. To be honest, I am afraid of height. So, it was a big challenge for me to climb up so high and holding on to nothing but a rope and then, ‘flew’ in the air. Still, I liked the view from the higher place as I could see the beauty around clearly. ‘Life is a climb but the view is great.’ From the movie Hannah Montana, this is one of my favourite quotes. Thanks to the camp. I had tried ‘Flying Fox’
Last camp, last speech. Thank you for these 5 years of memories all my beloved Boys’ Brigade family members.
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is the
EDUCATION
MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR
in the development of a country Guided by, Pn. Ching Ben Lean YU MEE HIONG (6A)
In this challenging and competitive era, most of the countries in the world especially those developing countries like Malaysia are struggling to improve their level of development. This is because a successful development will lead to a great progress of a country. Income per capita, economic growth, unemployment and population growth rate are partly an indicator to measure the success of a development. There are many factors affecting the level of development of a country. In my point of view, education contributes a lot in this context, thus it is the most important factor in the development of a country.
negligence or discrepancies. Besides, we can also avail our rights as a citizen and seek improvement in the structural functioning of governance and economy. It is only when a citizen is aware about the policies of his government can he be able to support or protest the change. As a whole, people can bring about development only when they know where improvement is necessary for the greater good of mankind. Education helps us to understand ourselves better and realise our potentials and qualities as human beings. Therefore, we are able to take up the role of supervision on the government in seeking a better future for the country.
Good education plays a vital role in the development of a country. High quality education helps to generate a good quality and skillful workforce. Developing countries especially are demanding for high quality workforce to increase their productivity and thus contribute to the average income of a country. Besides, the skillful workforce is also needed to handle those advanced technologies that are used in the manufacturing industry, agriculture and others. The application of technology in industries and agriculture is definitely difficult to be implemented if there is a shortage of creative and technically proficient workforce to handle such high-tech equipment. With the generation of high quality workforce through a good education system, engineering and manufacturing technologies can be used widely to make production faster, simpler and more efficient. As a whole, development of a country can be achieved successfully without depending on foreign workers.
In addition, the gap between the poor and the rich can be reduced successfully through education. The quality of living is one of the indicators to measure the degree of development of a country. As the gap between the poor and the rich or inequality gets worse, the quality of living of the majority in the society is relatively low. By receiving a comprehensive and high quality education, we are able to change totally our destiny from being ranked the lowest in the social ladder to one which is higher. People who are well-educated will lead a more comfortable life compared to those who are not educated as they can apply for jobs easily. This will eventually reduce poverty and promote sustainable development of the country. As a conclusion, education obviously is the most important factor in the development of a country as it is able to generate a high quality workforce, encourage active involvement of people in society through social mobility and also increase the civic awareness of its citizens. Since education is so essential for the long term development of a country, each level of society should show great cooperation in transforming the education system to a better one for the sake of the country.
At the same time, education also improves the civic awareness of people in the society. A good education will keep us aware of our given surrounding as well as the rules and regulations of the society that we are living in. It is only through knowledge that we learn, we are able to question the authority for its
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