ESSAY

TECHNOLOGY NOWADAYS

By way of introduction, social networks and the new electronic gadgets have supposed to be a key breakthrough in our society, especially in young people. These developments are becoming available to more and more people faster than it is expected. However, they involve some advantages, but also some disadvantages, which I am going to explain now:

Regarding the advantages, the internet makes it possible to access and navigate websites to look for information more easily, in the case of students for example. For us, it is easier to look for what we need going online than search it in books. It also allows holding records and printing files, which makes easier the way of studying and doing homework. Laptops are very useful in terms of taking notes. Maybe a teacher talks very fast, and typing on the computer instead of writing by hand makes the process of taking notes very easy. Also mobiles are very useful. With them you can take pictures wherever you go and hold them in the mobile memory, as well as retouch them or modify as you like. Furthermore, with mobiles and laptops you have an easier access to “apps”, like WhatsApp, Twitter, or Facebook, the most popular ones. With them you can talk to people without paying money, you can share pictures, or you are also able to post what are you doing and in general, what you want.

However, this social networks, or as I said before, “apps” involve a lot of disadvantages which can be very serious. For example, posting and sharing everything by Twitter or Facebook allows everyone to know about your life and your intimate life. Besides, in the future when you get a job, your boss will be able to search your name on the internet, and know everything about you. In relation to the app WhatsApp, it must be used as a tool to talk to people, but in a reasonable way. You cannot be “on line” 24 hours a day, because it will affect your social life and even your health.

In conclusion, unfortunately some people think how they could live before without social networks, and they give more importance to them than to their friends or family. For this reason, the internet and the “apps” must be used with responsibility and respecting each other’s intimate life. In this way, these developments will be a very useful advantage and not a disadvantage.

TRAVELLING… LONDON

By way of introduction, during my life in school I’ve had the opportunity to travel around some places of Europe thanks to the bilingual project that my highschool offered, in which we organized exchanges and trips to practice and improve our English. One of the cities I visited was London, and it is what I am going to talk about right now.

First and foremost, London is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever seen, and my classmates and I were so excited about the idea of visiting all the places and monuments which we had been dreaming with when we were making our travel arrangements. We stayed in a hotel quite central in the town, which we had booked previously. We already know that London was a city in which the weather is stormy, so our luggage was full of warm clothes. However, the weather didn’t stop us visiting every piece of the city. Some of the places we visited were the British Museum, the National Gallery, Camden Town, Piccadilly Circus, Hyde Park, the Buckingham Palace, the Tower Bridge, and of course the Big Ben and the London Eye, from where the views were terrific and breathtaking. My twin sister also came to the trip. She is a keen photographer, so she took pictures of every place and scenery we saw.

In conclusion, I encourage you to go to London because it is well worth visiting and not only the famous locations, but also the museums and monuments, since, without being there, everyone knows a little about London, just imagine going there and seeing everything in person. It is so amazing.

4th Practice

OPINION ESSAY

A LOT OF WAYS TO HAVE FUN!

Many young people do not know how to have a good time and share happiness with friends without smoking and drinking. In this presentation I am going to give my opinion about modern teenagers and the excessive consumption of alcohol and addictions like tobacco or drugs.

At first, as far as I am concerned, since I am also a teenager, not everybody is equal and the great majority knows how to spend a good time without the necessity of drinking alcohol. I don’t consider myself a person who needs to drink and smoke to have a good time with friends, and what’s more, I hate tobacco and I’m not very keen on alcohol. Nevertheless, many others unfortunately think that they will make more friends or they will be more popular by doing those things. From my point of view, people who think like this show a lack of personality by having this attitude only for the other people to like them and accept them. I think the most logical is to drink consciously and with responsibility, only if you want.

Regarding the issue of getting drunk, this is a way of destroying your body and organism without sense and, a lot of times, getting drunk involves terrible fights between people who are not conscious about what they do.

Let’s move now to another addiction, which is less harmful to the health; this is social networks. Many teenagers, and not so young people, spend all day and their spare time hooked to their mobile phones, and unfortunately, I include myself among these.

On balance, I would like to mention some tips about how to stay healthy. For instance, related to the issue of drinking and smoking, the best way of feeling good with yourself is to be keen on some type of sport. In our spare time, instead of being hooked to the mobile phones, to tobacco, or to alcohol, we should get into a team of the sport we like most: namely, football, basketball, or swimming. This is a very good way to disconnect your mind, take care of your body, and have a good time without the necessity of addictions.

TV AND ADVERTS

Showing the simple truth is rarely a purpose of TV adverts.

As far as I am concerned, I totally agree with the statement which claims that adverts and commercials make a huge impact on society, especially in young people owing to their facility to be influenced.

Teens tend to follow the trends imposed by major brands, which promote and show products. In this way, they manipulate the society to consume their products. Another characteristic by which young people let be influenced so easily is because they, by not working and earning their own money, do not care about how much they spend and about paying more or less for a product.  For this reason, major brands take advantage of this by stablishing higher prices. Advertising agencies hire ad men and experts on advertising able to create marketing strategies. For instance, the use of celebrities like top footballers, singers or actors; the use of catchy jingles in their TV adverts; or the use of powerful slogans. The aim is to obtain more successful TV adverts for the better and more important brands, which are shown by channels with the highest television audience and share.

An example of cunning ad from TV which is succeeding in recently, is the TV advert about the Christmas lottery. The advert has a misleading beginning by showing an upset man because he hasn’t bought the winner coupon. And an unforgettable ending in which his friend has kept the coupon for him. This advert attracts the viewers by showing the human side of people.

ZOOS

Zoos have always been a place for entertainment and fun, where people go to observe animals, hand-feed them take pictures of them or see shows.

Nonetheless, sometimes people don’t realize what this involves for zoo animals being an entertainment object. For this is why I am against zoos. Maybe people think that animals are better cared on zoos, but they need to be in their natural habitats and free, not locked in cages to be trained by animal behaviorists, something that I think is totally for people’s own profit and make money at the expense of the animals.

However, what I agree with is with animal shelters, where the animals are not locked in cages and they can be freely in the shelter or in natural enclosures, with the difference that there they are cared if they get sick, or feed if they are malnourished, and then they come back to their natural habitat. In the shelters, breeders also protect and conserve endangered species due to their habitat destruction. Furthermore, if anyone wants to visit a shelter, the money collected is intended for animal protection charities without any profit for the breeders.

In conclusion, I agree with animal shelters and I’m against with zoos, since although at first sight they seem similar, the process of animal care and the objective of the breeders are totally different.