According to scientists, happiness is a really dangerous sickness. It can spread really quickly and people can do silly things under it’s control. Next time you see someone smiling, put your thumbs in ears, close your eyes and run for your life. The scientist tell us to take happy people to see a doctor. I will take Denis with me because he is usually quite happy. According to them, you must be careful with others and if you see that someone is having a good day, you must try to do something to make him sad.

According to me, scientists are just a bunch of jealous people who are never happy and are trying to make us unhappy. I think that if we are crazy if we are happy, let us all be crazy so we can have a better world. But I am not finished. This is a real subject that I found in the "Actualité" and that made me feel quite happy. I just can’t figure out how those people always try to find the "dark side" of everything.

I think that scientist should use their time on things that are worth it : like true sicknesses. Finally, we can hope that everyone can be happy at least once a day so we can feel better.

1. What is the main subject of the essay?
2. Is the author talking positively or negatively about the subject?
3. Do you agree with the author? Why?

Marijuana is a plant that grows principally in Central America. That drug is considered a soft drug. I want to talk you about legalising marijuana.

Marijuana is already partly legal for people who are affected by serious cancers or illnesses. They have the right to smoke this drug to minimise the pain.

I think that legalising marijuana could be good for the country’s economy. It could develop a new kind of commerce and boutique. Also it could add commerce with other countries such as Jamaica and Brazil. That kind of commerce would give a lot of money to government from taxation.

In another way, if marijuana is more accessible there’s a risk that people who smoke it would be younger and there would be more people smoking it for the wrong reasons. Someone who is under marijuana’s effects can do dangerous things like fighting and driving a car. But I still think that the government should think about legalising marijuana.

1. What is the main idea of this essay?
2. Do you agree with the author?
3. Is the author for or against people smoking marijuana?

What do you think about our health care system? Are you tired of hospitals? I am. It can’t stay like this. Changes are required.

Nothing in the hospital helps us to feel better. The decoration on the walls is terrible. Sometimes, there is a little square of colour, but… you know what I mean? Do you remember the cafeteria food in high school? In a hospital, it’s the same thing... the same bad taste. And what about the smell? It smells like sickness. How you can feel better with that all around?

The services offered by the health system have become very poor. Have you ever waited for an operation or to have some other kind of care? It takes a very long time. What can we do? The nurses are overworked and they go on strike to claim their rights. The hospitals don’t respect the immediate needs of their patients. They make each room with 6 beds in the same place to save space. What can we do?

I think that we have a lot of work to do and a long way to go.

1. What is the main idea of the essay?
2. Do you agree with the author?
3. What does she say about hospital food?

In this text, I will talk about some of the good and the bad things of winter. Firstly, one of the good things about winter is the many sports. We can do things like snowmobiling, skating and skiing. There are many other sports but these three are my favourites. Another advantage of winter is that you don’t sweat. A very important thing after this is the Christmas vacation. It’s the thing that I prefer in winter. It’s at this moment that you get the most gifts. There is also the New Year. It is also the time when we can have a big party.

The thing that I hate the most in winter, it is the beginning of the school. It’s horrible. I hate it. The cold temperatures are yet another disadvantage of winter. I think that nobody likes three layers of clothing to go outside. Another thing is the darkness. The night begins at 6:00 p.m. I don’t like this. The last thing is the icy roads. It’s always slippery. This is the reason for many accidents.

Even if there are many bad things about winter, It’s my favourite season. If we didn’t have school during this season, it would be paradise.

1. What is the main idea of the essay?
2. Is the author negative or positive about his subject
3. Do you agree with the author?

I am writing to you about a subject that concerns most people. It is love. Love can be fun but it could also have disadvantages.

First, love can bring us a lot. Every human needs affection to live. A boyfriend or a girlfriend can give it to us. If we have that, we are happier in all what we do because we have the affection that we need.

That point can also be bad because we are not as free as we were when we did not have a boyfriend and a girlfriend. We have to be with him or her most of the time. We can lose friends because we do not spend as much time with them as usual. Some friends hate it and decide to go with other people. That is a very bad point because friends are very important in the life of most teenagers.

Second, a girlfriend or a boyfriend is someone with whom we can do activities. He or she is always there for us. So, we are never alone. Most time, if we ask him or her to go somewhere with us, he or she will accept.

That point is good too but, if he or she is there when we want, we have to be there for him or her too. We don’t have time to be alone and think of what we want.

Third, we can talk with him or her. He or she listens to us and understands us.

But, when we are alone because he or she leaves us, we can have emotional troubles. We can cry a lot and for a lot of time.

Love can be something very exciting or bad but no one can live without it!

1. What is the main idea of the text?
2. Do you agree or disagree with the author?
3. Can you think of somewhere else that we can get affection?

1. What is the main point of this essay
2. Who were arguing about the button that detonated a nuclear bomb?

Yesterday, I was walking down the street and I saw a man dressed like a hockey player. Believe it or not, Theoren Fleury was there, he was asking for money. I went close to him and said:

"What are you doing here?"

"I need money sir, please, please, help me!" he answered.

"But, I said, you signed a 31 million deal with the New York Rangers! You’re safe for the rest of your life. You don’t need money anymore!"

"Yeah, he answered, but, you know, my old bones… Anyway, what the hell can I do with 31 million, Brunei’s sultan has 31 billion dollars in his safe. He’s richer than I am. Now, look at Bill Gates, he is the richest man in the world. My 31 million dollars is ridiculous!"

"I know that it’s ridiculous!" I yelled, "Nobody, as good as he is, deserves 31 million to push a puck in a goal. And this year you’re not even able to do it right! Your millions are totally ridiculous! Everybody already knows that!"

Then, he slashed me with his stick and started to go away. I yelled, in front of everyone in the street: "He! Everyone! Let’s have a look at the big baby right there! He’s running away because I showed him the truth! On three, everyone say: we love you baby! 1,2,3…" and everybody did! That’s when he started crying! Yes! It’s the whole truth! Theoren Fleury was crying like a baby in the street!

Let’s be a bit serious now. The professional athletes salaries are really too big. Who deserves all that money? There’s only one answer: NOBODY!

In French, we say: "Appetite comes while you are eating." That’s the situation we’re having with these athletes.

We immediately need to put an end to this!

That was my very own personal opinion…

1. What is the main idea of the text?
2. What is the author’s opinion on the subject?
3. Do you agree with the author? Why? Why not?

Have you noticed army billboards when you’re in the bus or when you walk on Racine Street? Well, I will give some information about the army and its possibilities.

Firstly, the army is a cool experience because you meet different kinds of people. It’s like our society but with more rules. Unfortunately, we have to follow more rules than in normal life and we must obey the rules of the chain of command. Further more, we must wear the same clothes all the time.

Secondly, you get a job in the army. They pay for your studies, so you can have a "free education". You can do any kind of work such as working with the earth, on the sea or in the forces. The disadvantage is that you must give them some part of your life after our studies, usually around 4-5 years.

Thirdly, the army gives a lot of money. When you get your pension, they give you forty percent (40%) of your salary.

Finally, army is a good place for work. It’s great and profitable, and it offers a great future.

1. What is the main idea of the essay?
2. Is the author in agreement with the subject?
3. How much money would one get from the army once they are receiving their pension?

I think that school is a good thing because we always learn new things. Sometimes what we learn can be really hard but it will certainly help us in the future. It doesn’t matter what your job will be, because I’m sure that one day, we will use something that we learned at school.

Even if we learn new things at school there’s also some problems. One of them is that we start too early in the morning. I think that it could be one of the reasons why some students are not very good at school. They are so tired that they sleep during the first one or two periods or even sometimes three periods… Maybe if we start at nine o’clock in the morning, it would certainly help some students at school! The second problem at school is that sometimes, the teachers are very boring so the students are not interested in listening to what they are saying. I’m sure that if a teacher is smiling, nice with the students or if he or she makes jokes sometimes, the students will be more interested in listening.

A point that interests the students is the activities. I know that this year we have some activities but sometimes we have to pay for them if we want to participate in these activities. I know that some of them are free but they are not always interesting. I’m sure that if all students tell what they like and what they dislike about school, one day something will change…

1. Do you agree with the author?
2. What is the main idea of the text?
3. Does she agree with starting school early in the morning?

The scouts are a wonderful gang! I was in this group last year, and I had a lot of fun with them. I will talk you a little bit more about the good and the bad things of the scouts in this text.

First, I want to say that the first thing we learn in the scouts is how to help people. There are a lot of people and it was very fun because we are all friends. We spend a lot of time in the forest and it is so quiet. I am very happy when I am with them. We improved our personalities and we had to put in a big effort. It’s a very good thing that I joined the scouts for my personal life. I had so many great experiences. We did a lot of activities, like rafting, skiing, biking…It was good for the health.

There are not just good things about the scouts. First we had too many of meetings and I had no time to do all my homework. I was very tired after all the meetings and we had to clean a big school so we were dead when we arrived home. Second we had to sell calendars. What a boring things! Especially when it was cold and raining outside. We were alone to sell the calendars and it was tiring.

Even though there are some disadvantages to being in the scouts. It’s a very good group. If you want to have a good experience, get information about THE SCOUTS!

1. What is this text about?
2. Is the author positive or negative about her subject?
3. Do you agree with the author?

Today I will talk about something that occupies a major part of my life: the cadets. I will try to teach you more about this subject. I have been in the army cadets since October 1997. I discovered it in an ad in the newspaper. At the beginning I was more curious than interested. I wanted to know if it was really fun.

I’m now a corporal and I have a silver star. The cadets are like school. When you pass a year, you pass a star. Green, red, silver and gold are the colours of the stars. So you have to study hard to pass a level. Most of the people want to know what is fun in studying so hard just to have a little star on his arm. It’s the prestige! The cadets are more than the courses and the boots. Every week we have a parade and an inspection. So our uniform must be good, sharp and clean and the boots amazing.

We are a big family. We give help to other that need it and we never leave some one out. We learn practical things like what to do if you are lost in the woods. So the time that we take in class it helps us when we go out in to the field. Every year, we go to the woods three times. Once in the fall, once in the winter, and for the more advanced, once in the spring.

Yes the military side is very important for us, but it’s more than discipline. It’s the team spirit and the fact that we do it all by ourselves from the beginning to the end. We always keep in mind that we have to be enthusiast in front of every situation.

I wish that one day, everybody will realise that we are not military people and that what we learn could be very useful in many situations. So it’s very important to encourage us even if we have difficulties or not.

1. What is this text about?
2. Does the author have a negative or positive feeling for the subject?
3. Do you agree with her?

I want to give you my opinion about school. I’ll tell you why I think that school is great and a couple of things that could be better.

Firstly, I believe that school is good because we learn a lot of new things. For example, we learn to talk English in your class. But there are too many things to remember.

Secondly, I think that is good to meet new friends. For example, this year, I met a new friend and her name is Karine. But the time between classes is too short. I have no time to talk to Karine.

Thirdly, school allows you to get a good job later. For example, later I want to be an architect. But the studies are long to get that job.

Fourthly, school finishes very early in afternoon. After, I have time to do my homework before the supper. But school starts too early in the morning. It’s not funny to wake up at six o’clock in the morning.

To conclude, I believe that school has as many qualities as faults.

1. What is the main idea of the essay?
2. Do you agree with the author?
3. Name some of the negative aspects of the subject discussed.

My subject is humanity. Why? Because I always thought that God had given us the most beautiful thing that can happen to somebody : " life ". What a wonderful gift? But what I’m asking myself today is : " Why does everybody want to destroy someone for being more important in someone else’s life? ". The society in which we live is very stupid. The poor are rejected because they don’t have beautiful clothes. But the rich are accepted by everybody because they have beautiful cars, beautiful houses and beautiful clothes. They can have everything that they want. What about people who are unable to eat three meals a day? The poor make themselves poorer and the rich enrich themselves. It is very unfair.

Another thing that I find hopeless is that no one believes anyone. People are too naïve. Even you and I are much too naïve. Life is wonderful thing I guess, but you have to be rich, cute or be strong to be accepted in this world. It is like asking someone to be another person than he is in reality. We don’t accept people as they are. And that’s true for everybody, even me. I would fly away from this world but what I say to myself is that running away from problems does not resolve them. It is very cowardly.

Even if I find that our world is " crappy ", I think that life is wonderful. We just have to settle all those problems and it will be almost perfect.

1. What is the main idea of the essay?
2. Is the author positive or negative about her subject?
3. Do you agree or disagree with the view of the author? Why?

In this text, I’m going to tell you more about my favourite hobby. It’s a hobby that involves a lot of disciplines like aerodynamics, electronics, woodcraft and piloting skills. You probably guessed that my hobby is R/C controlled aircraft. There are a lot of categories in this hobby but I’ll concentrate on the most important of them. It mostly consist of an aircraft, motorised or not, controlled by a pilot on the ground with a remote control.

First of all, I will talk about different kinds of aeroplanes you can fly in R/C. The first one is a trainer. It can be controlled by 3 or 4 axis on the controller and is designed to fly very slowly and easily. They are designed in a way that enables it to recover itself from dangerous positions without any input from the pilot. Then you can fly, if you’re more experienced, a scale model. Those models are usually very big, expensive and tougher to build than trainers are. They are like real size aeroplanes reduced by a factor that varies between 1/16 and ½. The third type, one of the most challenging and interesting kinds of aeroplanes is the acrobatic one also called the sport aircraft. It’s built to be highly resistant, quick and with high performance. They’re reserved for experienced R/C pilots because of their high costs, high speed and the high experience level needed to pilot them correctly. They have very sensitive controls that enable them to make very sharp turns and acrobatics figures. The low mounted wings and the tail wheel makes it even tougher to pilot. The fourth kind of aircraft I’ll talk about is the fastest, the most expensive and the toughest aeroplane you can pilot. It’s called jet powered aircraft. They are propelled by a little jet engine that costs about 5000$. They can fly at ultra high speeds of over 300 km/h.

Finally the last kind of aircraft I’ll talk about is the helicopter. It’s construction is really though but they can do a lot of stuff just like aeroplanes. You can even fly inverted at 10 feet above the ground with them.

Now that you have a little bit more knowledge about kinds of aircraft we will see what you actually need to complete one. First of all you need a model’s kit that includes the wood and other parts to complete the aeroplane itself. They usually include a canopy, landing gear, plans and a fuel tank. Then you’ll need some covering material to put on the wood. Heat-shrink film is normally used because it’s easy to install. After this you’ll need a remote controller and an engine, you put all this together and you’re ready to go.

1. What is the main idea of the essay?
2. Does the author agree or disagree with the subject?
3. Did you find the essay interesting? Why? Why not?

Are sports good or not? That is the question. Sports are good because you can make friends if you play in a sport team like basketball, hockey, football, baseball or even soccer.

Sports are not good for one reason: you can get hurt if you play in a football team. For example, my brother Steeve played on a football team when he was 16 years old, he was the tackler of his team and when the second quarter arrived, the other tackler of the other team tackled Steeve broke his leg. After this accident my brother Steeve didn’t play anymore of this game. The same could be true for any of the other sports I mentioned before. The only sport that Steeve does now is rollerblading in summer and snowboarding in winter.

Sports are also good because they are very good for your health. My doctor asked me if I did any sports and I told him "no". He told me that I must because it is really good for the health. Since that day I jog and do physical exercises like push-ups and all that kind of thing.

As you know, everybody thinks that sports are good, so you must agree that sports are good for all the reasons I told you before.

1. Do you agree with the author?
2. Do you do any sports?
3. What did the doctor tell the author to do?

With the treaty of Versailles, the document that ended the first world war, all the responsibilities of the war was put on Germany’s back, they were forced to repay all damages caused, which brought an economic turmoil to their economy. These were bad times for the Germans; there were injured war survivors roaming the streets begging for food and money. Poverty was everywhere. Who could bring power and wealth back to this once great nation?

A war soldier stepped up, with new ideas and plans; he rallied many important people to be on his side and started a new union party to have the people of Germany in his favor. This man was named Adolph Hitler, if elected fuhrer (leader), he promised his people that he would abolish the treaty of Versailles and take back all the territories lost during the First World War.

Hitler, an idealist, dreamed of having a world of Aryan race, supposedly super humans to be created by the new Nazi government, but to achieve this, he would have to get rid of all the people who did not fit those traits and to Hitler, those were the Jews. Once Hitler got rid of the competition (the Jews or non-Aryans), he was then elected Fuhrer, leader of Germany; he would the change his government with a copy of the Italians. The Italians had adopted the leadership tactics of Fascism. Fascism was the new thing around and Hitler based his government upon it. With Fascism installed, no one could defy Hitler and he had absolute power over what people were saying, writing and almost thinking.

With his new power Hitler took back, as promised, the lost territories of the first war. He perfected a new combat, he called it the Blitzkrieg. It was a massive and extremely quick strike on the enemy, which surprised them and made them fall immediately. He used this technique to get back Czhkslovakia and Austria. The next stop for him was Poland, a country that was rich in Jews, and the perfect spot for Hitler to start his purification. The Russians, now Communist, were blood enemies with the Germans. They saw what was happening. Under the command of Lenin, they declared war with Germany. The Germans, seeking an ally, turned to the Italians that shared the same views as themselves. Now that Germany was more powerful because of their new allies, the Italians, they felt that they could conquer all of Europe. Germany would take the North and Italy could take the south.

Nonetheless, this power reign would not last forever. With the arrival of the Japanese, new allies would come to play. Great Britain, France, Russia and the United-States would become the Jew’s and the rest of the world’s heroes. The Italians would be the first to crash and burn, then Hitler would come to a sequence of many defeats and strategic errors that would lead to his and his army’s downfall. With the use of Fat Man and Little Boy, the two A-bombs used on the Japanese at Nagasaki and Hiroshima the war would be declared over but only officially on the 11^th of November 1945.

1. What is the tone of this essay?
2. Who were the countries that initially entered into the war?
3. When was the war declared officially over?

Today, I am going to write about my favourite activity. This activity requires a lot discipline and a lot of leadership. One must be strict (but not too much) and friendly. This activity is the air cadets. I will talk about why I am in this group and this activity.

I am in the 799^th squadron of royal Canadian. Air Cadet of Chicoutimi Optimists. It has been 3 years since I joined this organisation, and I love it. I have been a corporal since last year (it is quite good if we consider that some cadets can take 4 years to be promoted to this rank and I only took two). I received my first aid course from St-Jean emergency and I am doing the Duke of Edinburgh program now, the highest for young civilian decoration. The activity that I am doing is the precision drill and sport. I am the captain of the basketball team of our squadron. I did two camps, the 2 week elementary camp (Tum-Tum) and the ``Air Cadet Instructor Course`` or ACIC. The first is a camp where we review what we saw the year before and the ACIC is a 3-week camp where we learn how to be a good instructor in our squadron. Those two camps are in Bagotville. This year, I will ask Advanced Leadership (called by most people: `` Cold Lake``). As you can see, this camp is at Cold Lake somewhere in Alberta. It is the highest camp that is available for the moment. Enough, let us talk about the activity.

There is a lot of activity available for everybody. I will tell them with a little description. The first activity is music. This group is playing music but not electric instruments; it’s instruments like saxophones, flute, snare, etc… It is on Wednesdays. At the same time, the shooting team shoots. This team practice for the big competition in London, England. They shoot Daisy, an air rifle used by all kind of cadet (air, navy, and army). The day after, Thursday, there is a lot more activity. The first and my favourite is the precision drill. The only thing we do is drill. It can look a little bit scary but it is not because we try to make it in a funny way. We drill and we have to make a special show for the Quebec competition. It is a big competition where every squadron sends their precision drill team to show their show. It is very impressive to see the shows of the other squadrons. At the same time, the aeromodelists make aircraft. This little group of maniac control aircraft commonly called RIC. When they finish building it, they fly them at St-Jean-Vienny.

Another interesting activity is the pilot course. During the whole night, they learn things like how aircraft fly and all the techniques. If they learn that they pass the test for going to St-Jean, the place where they learn how to fly aircraft or gliders. The Saturday is a great day because it is sport day. Everybody goes there and plays sports. Why? Because they want to go to the Olympics. All the kinds of cadet go there and compete to win the gold medal. Many sports are involved in this competition like Basketball, hockey, volleyball, etc… Last year, I was the captain of the basketball team and we finished 19^th on 23rd so the competition is very big.

That is not all. There is a lot more activity like survival, visiting the base, guided tours, seminary and parties, but I don’t have enough time to talk to you about it. If you do not know what to do with your Tuesdays and you find the humour of Tuesdays on TQS boring, I have a big suggestion for you: join the air cadets. Now!

1. What is the main idea of the essay?
2. Does the author have a positive or negative view of his subject?
3. What is the suggestion made to the audience at the end of the essay?

Do you like your family? I hope so because you have to pass a lot of time with the members of your family.

For me, family is very important. It has positive and negative points. I think the support you can have in your family is a good thing. It’s very important to be understood and to be supported by your family. The ties you build with them are so strong that it gives you the feeling that you can climb a mountain. Family gives you love and joy. You know that your family will always be there for you.

Despite all, some squabbles will certainly happen. You will have to follow some rules and to do many things you don’t want to. You will have to follow some rules and go visit your relatives every week.

However, I am sure that in your heart, your family is very important. Despite all I can say, it’s the blood of your family that flows in your veins.

Main idea: the good and bad points of family.

Questions:

1. Name one bad point and one good point about family.
2. How does the author feel about family?

Today, I decided to talk to you about publicity. Publicity is already present in our lives. We turn on the T.V. and what do we see? Publicity! On the bus, on the wall, in the washroom -- what do we see? Publicity!

Publicity is everywhere; it’s the thing that I hate. If publicity was just on the wall or in the washroom, it would be okay, but it’s everywhere. When you watch a show or a film, you have to stop watching it because of that, you are in the punch and you have to stop. I find that so stupid. When you want to put out a publicity, you have to pay a lot of money and it’s not sure that it will work.

Publicity has negative points, but it has positive points too. It is a good way to sell something that you want to sell or, if you have a store, it’s a good way to show it to many people everywhere in the city. If you watch commercials, you can find something inexpensive and it’s a kind of decoration, the fact that publicity is everywhere can be a kind of decoration.

Questions:

1. Name two reasons why the author dislikes publicity.
2. Name two positive points to publicity.

I noticed that people judge everybody, and then I realised that it was the teenagers who are most judged. Old people are scared of us. For example, when you want to help them, they tell you to go away, and then there are people who say that teenagers are disrespectful, but not all teenagers are like that. People generalise the teenagers. Most of the teenagers have a job. Some of the teenagers stay after school to get help. Most people are scared of the difference between their generation and our generation. In conclusion, I want to say that teenagers are responsible.

Questions:

1. Why do people dislike teenagers?
2. Should all teenagers be generalised? Why or why not?

I will talk about my opinion and about the positive and negative things about love. My opinion about this subject is that love can be stronger than every thing in this world.

One of the most negative thing in love is something very disgusting: a boy who is very possessive and jealous. A girl who is in this position can’t do whatever she wants. she always has to do what he wants or she has to ask him everything that she wants to do. I’m really against guys who act like this.

Another point that I can perceive is a boy who his so independent that you always think that he wants to throw you up. I never experienced this situation, but I heard a lot about men who are so free. I think that we can’t count on them.

When I had a boyfriend, I could count on him every time. Every hour of the day, he was always there for me and I was so free with him. It’s something important in a relationship to have trust with him.

To conclude, love has always been something great, but sometimes it can be an experience that you have to learn about.

A lot of murderers kill again when they leave jail, maybe the death penalty could be safer than the jail. It could provide security for others, and I would be sure that the prisoners wouldn’t escape from death. I think that we should re-establish the death penalty for the worst cases.

Firstly, if we execute someone, it costs no money, no food, no clothes and no place. It's less expensive than to keep someone in a jail for 25 years. And if we make someone a prisoner for life, it’s harder than the death penalty…. I think.

Secondly, if we apply the death penalty, it would scare some criminals and the number of bad people would decrease and we wouldn’t need to execute a lot of people. In other words, there would be fewer criminals. On the other hand, the criminals also have family and, in executing someone, we break a family.

Finally, the death penalty could be useful and easy to apply, but it also could have disadvantages. To summarise, the death penalty can be re-established, but not too often.

Questions:

Answers:

Motoring is a sport that has been practised since 1930. This sport has always been very popular. I will write about the good points and the bad points.

Since the beginning, motoring has always attracted a lot of people to the races. That brings in a lot of money to the organiser. When a race arrives in a town, a lot of profits are related to that, such as the hotel room rented by the participants and the sport spectators and the meals sold by the restaurants.

The sports car drivers like this sport because of the sensation of driving very fast. They love the danger. It’s like a drug for them. When they reach 200 km/h in the front of a bend, they have to break very rapidly and that’s a great feeling.

Driving sports cars is very costly for the owner of the car because he has to pay for the repairs, the tire set, the team, the driver and a lot of other things.

Questions:

1. What profits does motoring bring in?
2. Why is motoring costly?

In Chicoutimi, high school classes are given in 3 differents schools : Lafontaine for secondary 1 and 2, Laure-Conan for secondary 3 and Dominique-Racine for secondary 4 and 5. I think that these changes are good for the students.

There are only advantages to this situation. When the students are separated like that., there is never more than 2 years between the students, so we don’t see an intimidation phenomenon. Another advantage that occurs when you change schools every 2 years is that there isn’t a gang who takes control of the school.

There aren’t only disciplinary advantages. There are also academic advantages. It’s motivating to know that, if you pass your grade, you will change schools. This situation obliges the young to adapt constantly to the new teachers, the new rules, etc… Also, when they will work, they will need to be able to adapt often.

I hope that the leader of the school board will keep the high school class like that for a very long time yet.

Questions :

1. Name a social advantage and an academic advantage of having three different high schools in Chicoutimi.
2. How can this help students in their future careers?

Who likes fast food? Some people like fast food, because it takes long to cook, you don’t have to cook it and it’s good, but some people don’t like fast food because there’s a lot of fat in it, and it’s expensive.

Do you know that fast food is not good for our health because it has a lot of fat in it, and it causes obesity if we abuse of it?

Some kinds of fast food are good for us. Like vegetable fast food. It doesn’t have a lot of fat on it, and vegetables are good for our health.

Take care of your health and eat what you want but don’t spend all your money on fast food.

Questions:

1. What kind of fast food is good for us? Why?
2. What happens if we abuse fast food?

On Friday, November 30^th, 1984, a little girl named Josephine was born. As a kid, she was very happy. She had her two parents, she lived in a great house, she had a lot of toys and she had a lot of friends. She had everything a kid could want. But then she began to change. She began to have feelings she never had before. She was all mixed up and she was not getting along well with her parents anymore. She was fighting with them all the time. It was a very dark period of her life. One day she wanted to hang out with her boy-friend but her parents did not want her to. So she ran away. She came back after a few days, but her parents were really mad at her. She got punished. A few years later, she met the man of her life. She had great times with him. One day, they decided to have kids. Josephine got pregnant and nine months later she had two wonderful little girls. Her boy-friend and her were very happy. But one day her daughters got sick. After two months, her daughters were still sick. The doctors told them that their little girls were very sick and that they were afraid they would not get better. Sadly, they did not, and, one month later, they died. Joey and her boyfriend were devastated. After two years, they got over their pain and decided to try to have kids again. So they got a little boy and he lived on. A long time later when Joey was very old she told her son that she would die soon and that she did not want him to be sad and one week later she died. Her son and her boyfriend were very sad. But they knew that it was part of the big circle of life: first you are born, then you live and then you die. It is sad but it is the only way.

Questions:

1. How many kids did Joey and her boyfriend have?
2. When was Joey born?
3. What did Joey tell her son to do when she would die?

Today, we need to be 18 years old to do some activities. I am very tired of this injustice. I will talk about the injustice of being limited because were not 18 years old. I will give examples and I will contest this stupid rule.

I agree with the fact that we need to be 18 years old to drink beer because if young people could drink beer like they want, it could cause damages to their organs. But I think that they could put down the age to 16 if some people were not immature. We need to be 18 years old to buy lottery tickets, to swim in the pool of the "Hotel des Montagnais". Do we need this age to have some places for us? I will give you this example: Last week, I went to the "Hotel des Montagnais’" pool because my friend and I wanted to swim. But they say that if we weren’t 18 years old, we needed to be with an adult. Do you think I wanted to swim with my parents? I want to be with my friends. They gave the reason that a group of students caused problems in the pool. Just because they caused problems, we are not all going to do the same things.

If some adults had done the same things, they would not have said anything about them.

They generalise the problems. Peoples are tired of the teenagers because they say that we break, steel, and cause damages. They need to make someone feel guilty. We are always accused by them. We are supposed to be somebody after 18 years old. Before that, we are nothing. In the past, they had some places for us, but, as time goes on, we have nothing. We want to have parties and other activities but we have nowhere to go or when we go the adults call the police .What is the difference between 17 and 364 days years old and 18 years old ? Nothing much/

To finish I want to say that we are people. Stop generalising with us. It’s not because a teenager steals that we all steal. It’s not because a teenager breaks the law that we all break the law. Respect us like you respect others and give us a chance to grow in a society that accepts us.

Main idea: Respect us even if we are not 18 years old.

Questions:

1. What does the author’s Hotel Montagnais example illustrate?
2. What does the author think society should change?

Answers :

Gr 02

What do you think about smoking? Are you a smoker? Do you hate second hand smoking? I will talk about this subject and I will give you my own point of view about it.

First, I would like to talk about the health side of smoking. Doctors proved that smoking is very bad for our health. Lungs become dirty and arteries become harder. In other words, smoking could kill you! Do you realise it? This is the reason why I decided to never smoke.

Furthermore, I believe that smokers don’t even think about non-smokers. It’s really unpleasant to get smoke in your face. Wherever they go non-smokers always have a problem. Smokers are really poisoning the life of non-smokers and this is the truth! Did you know that second hand smoke is as dangerous as your own smoke? We did a survey and smokers don’t respect it.

On the other hand, smoking is very relaxing for many people. For example, many smokers light a cigarette after a hard day of work. However, some people, especially the young, smoke to be cool. I think that it’s very stupid to begin smoking only to have a nice style. They jeopardise their health to be accepted in a gang.

In conclusion, I would like to give you some advice: Before lighting a cigarette, think about your health and your life. Ask yourself if you really need it. And if you are a non-smoker, be proud to say that you chose life instead death.

Questions:

1. What are the health risks associated with smoking?
2. Why do people smoke?

In one month, it will be a big day that nobody will see two times in one’s life. It will be the 31st of December at 12 p.m. past one second. The year 2000 is a date that everybody can’t wait to beat. In this text, I will present the good and the bad view of this big event: the year 2000.

First, families will enjoy that because they will rent a big hall and invite all of the family. If a sister or an uncle lives in another town and it has been a long time since you saw him or her, you will meet him or her at this special family party. Second, it is not every day that you can see the change of a millennium. It will be a big event in everyone’s life. It’s not only us who will benefit from the year 2000, the companies will make some big profits, they will make some t-shirts, Christmas lights, school bags, pencils, hats – all they are able to invent, they will sell for a big price.

But under the good view is the bad view. The worst event is the year 2000 "bug!" Some rumours said that we will lose electricity for one or two days. No forms of communication will work, the companies who work with computers will be out of work. But I think that the biggest problem will be the person who will party too much. Think of that. If the alarm security didn’t work, people will steal and break some items in some store. It’s gonna be hell!

Main idea: the good and the bad view of this big event: the year 2000.

Questions:

1. Why will families enjoy this event?
2. What is one bad thing that might happen?

Violence on television is a big subject. Sometimes we listen to a group of people who speak about that and the opinions are very varied. For me, I think that’s a very important influence.

Firstly, the television is watched by a lot of people so the action movies begin here to make an influence. The reason is that in an action movie there’s too many dead men. In every minute, you see a little blood with a knife or a gun. It’s not normal that sometimes this kind of movie is shown at dinner time. It could be an influence on a kid.

Secondly, as I said a few sentences ago it could influence the behaviour of someone.That can became serious if we don’t pay attention about to the hour the show is on. Kids are easily influenced. You say something to them and five minutes later this word is in their vocabulary.

Finally,I think that if you change the hour of showing or if you simply remove all the shows or movies with exagerated violence you take a big step for our world!

Questions :

1. When are violent programs sometimes shown?
2. Who do they influence the most?

Do you think dogs are good to have for pets? I think they are. They are man’s best friend and you can live that.

First, I would like to talk to you about their eating habits. They eat all the food in the house, but they clean their dish afterwards. If you have a pair of shoes you don’t like, give them to the dog. Problem solved. They are better then having a husband because they do their dirty work outside and they don’t talk so you don’t get into a fight with them.

Furthermore, I believe that having a dog for a pet will take the pain of loneliness away when that starts to happen. They are there to be your friends, for you to talk to about you problems. They are there to keep you company in your times of depression. But on other hand, they could be the cause of your depression, but you’ll get over it. Everyone does one way or another.

In conclusion, I would give some advice: dogs are good friends but they can’t help you all the time. They are good pets to have and I would get one. They are a lot of responsibility, and they take a lot of time.

MAIN IDEA: DOGS ARE GOOD TO HAVE FOR PETS.

1. THEY CLEAN THEIR DISHES.
2. THEY ARE A GARBAGE DISPOSAL.
3. THEY ARE GOOD LISTENERS.
4. THEY HAVE A LOT OF RESPONSIBILITY.

I decided to talk about the salary of the professional athlete. My opinion on this subject is that the salary is too high. They are not working for their salary. A good example of that is the Montreal Canadians. But it’s tough at the same time because they travel a lot and it’s one of the reasons why the salary is high. This has a big impact for us because the price of the ticket is going higher and higher.

Gr.02

Life. What is life? What is this gift we received on the day we were born? Why is this life so fun for some and for others a torture? All of these questions deserve to be answered and all of their answers can help us to find the meaning of our life.

When we arrive on this planet, we don’t yet know what life will bring to us. We don’t know if our life will be good and fun or bad. For all these questions, the answers won’t be long. As soon as you get old enough to experience good and bad things, you understand and you discover the truth. From the moment you get the chance to find out the direction of your life, you find out, unfortunately, that your existence will consist of both good and bad days. For example, joy. Everybody has been happy at least once in his life. To be happy is to be at peace with our body and our mind. It is also to have fun, to smile, to laugh and to be able to see the brightness in our life. On the other hand, everybody will have to face the pain one day or another. Of course, this feeling makes us want to give up and cry. But we all know that after all, our life wouldn’t be complete if we had only joy as a feeling. By being aware of what pain is, when something makes us feel good, we appreciate it much more. Life also brings love. What a feeling, don’t you think? Yes, it is. Love can be good, but it can be bad too. When you’re in love, everything is perfect for you. Everything’s right. But, unfortunately, love, when it is not shared, can bring a sea of tears, misery. As you can see, life is made of good and bad experiences. Sometimes, people yield in front of problems. Even if we all know it is not the best solution, it is out of our control. For some people, life is just a continuation of problem after problem. This is why some sink into despair. They think that joy will never come to them. In other words, we should learn to face our problems and to get stronger. To make our life happier, we should base ourselves on our own values.

Altogether, life – the chance that has been given us on the day we were born – deserves to be lived. And don’t forget: never let the pain despair you. Face your problems, cry if you need to but don’t give up. Joy will come to you, sooner or later.

Questions:

1. The author lists some of the ways we experience joy. What are they?
2. How can love be good? How can love be bad?

In today’s society, women are supposed to be at the same level as men. Sometimes they’re not. So here’s my question: What do you think of the girls playing hockey? Before you answer this question, read my text and maybe you will change your mind.

Have you ever seen girls playing hockey? If you didn’t and you think that women might stay home every day to cook and take care of the kids, you might do it! We are in the year 2000, and there is still some sexism in the arenas. When you tell someone you’re playing hockey, they are so shocked… I mean, they’re looking at you as if you were an alien. Come on boys! Maybe we’re not as tall or as strong as you, but we can be as good as you or even better, so please give us a chance to show you what we can do and leave your pride in the tack room!!! The other day, my team (only girls) won a game against some boys and I can assure you that after the game they were not strong… Since that game, they didn’t win any of their other games…If they would have lost against a boy’s team, they would have been disappointed, but not as much as they were after losing a game against GIRLS. They can’t imagine we can be good too!

I think that this sport has developed a lot in the last few years for girls. But there are still some changes to be made to people’s minds.

Questions:

1. The author uses personal examples to illustrate her frustration. Name one example.
2. Do you agree or disagree with her point of view? Why?

Driving when you drink alcohol is a very bad idea. 65% of road kill accidents are caused by alcohol. It’s enormous. We have to make a lot of efforts to inform people about how it can be dangerous to drink and drive. The government thinks that because they make the law more strict, they will discourage drunk drivers, but it’s not the case. Drunk drivers continue to drive.

Many people say that the army and school have many common points. But there is something that they want to implement in school that exists in the army. It’s the uniform. The uniform in school is something that a lot of teachers and parents want to implement. But there are a lot of reasons to be for and against it.

If you wear a uniform, you won’t have difficulties choosing what you’re going to wear in the morning. That’s true, the uniforms will be the only clothes accepted in school, so you will not have the choice to wear them. That can be considered a good point of wearing a uniform. But there is something else that is good about wearing a uniform. You will look more serious in the eyes of your parents, your teachers, everybody.

But there are not only good things about wearing a uniform, there are bad things. Here are some of them. A lot of parents will have to buy new clothes for their children, and it costs a lot. The poor families are not going to be able to afford all this new stuff. Another fact is that if everybody is wearing the same thing, they’re going to look stupid. There will not be any more variety in the school. But the most important thing is: "Is this going to change something in the school?" The answer is "NO". The students are going to look more serious, but they’re not going to lose their sense of humour, and their seriousness in class, the uniform will only change their appearance, not what they are. You are what you are, it’s not a piece of clothing that is going to change it.

That is what I think about the uniform in school. It’s sure that is what a uniform at school will do.

Questions:

1. What two things does the author compare in the introduction? How are they different?
2. Is the uniform at school a good idea? Will it change anything?

Dear reader, I am going to talk to you about the hockey players who receive too much money. In my opinion, the Canadians teams are going to disappear from the NHL because the value of the Canadians dollar is very low.

The team’s general managers should do something right now. If not, the NHL will have to be in a lock out.

There are also the game tickets that are very expensive. Someone who wants to have a good seat for a game has to pay more than 70 dollars for one ticket.

In my opinion, players like Alexei Yashin should be suspended by their own teams.

Questions:

1. Why might the Canadian teams in the NHL disappear?
2. How much is one hockey ticket?

I think smokers should not have the right to smoke in public places for many reasons.

First of all, it’s a question of respect. I don’t feel respected at all when, as an example, I go to the shopping centre and there are 3 people who smoke near me. All I want is to do is run away to breathe some fresh air.

The odour is also an important thing to talk about. It stinks. The smell stays on your clothes all day long and even longer.

Cigarettes are bad for health; a lot of people develop lung cancers after being exposed to smoke. It’s even worse to breathe second hand smoke than to smoke a cigarette by yourself.

It’s unpleasant; it gives me a headache and itches my throat and my eyes.

We also encourage teens to smoke. My point is that they wouldn’t start smoking at home, but in public places. They want to look cool, so they light up a cigarette and nobody will stop them because they have the right to smoke there!

On the other hand, for some people, it’s a way to wind down and relax. So I prefer that, to have them start yelling at everyone.

In conclusion, I think non-smokers should be free to breathe smokeless air everywhere they go. It’s a fundamental right.

Comments of the author: I wrote this because I really hate people who smoke and don’t care about the health of their relatives. I wanted to express myself.

For many years, we have seen many crimes on television or in the newspapers every day and, almost each time, these crimes are made with firearms : do we have to forbid the carrying of firearms? I think that we have to do this. Except maybe for the policemen but they have to be very careful. In my essay, I will talk about the danger that carrying firearms represents for each citizen and the consequences of the firearms. In second, I will talk about the danger for the children who can find a firearm.

First, I think that firearms are the main cause of crime and if they didn’t exist, there would be many more people in the world. Everybody can have a firearm if he wants and he can kill anybody. In many cities, this frightens many people. It’s very dangerous. And I think that if nobody had a firearm, the policemen wouldn’t need a firearm.

Second, it’s very dangerous for the children if their parents have a firearm at home. For example, there was an advertisement on television that showed a child who hid in a wardrobe. He found a firearm, and the next thing we saw was the little child took it and after, we heard a " paff " and the image cut. It’s very shocking. It’s for this reason that I say firearms are dangerous.

Finally I think that the law about firearms should be more severe, especially in the U.S.A. We must pay attention about that so that there are less people who die because of firearms.

Questions :

1. What did the advertisement on television show?
2. Does the author think policemen would still need firearms if firearms were banned for common citizens?

There are different things that people must know before going in the army. I know someone who is in the Canadian Air Forces and he told me many details.

Firstly, there are many advantages like the chance of learning to speak English correctly. Soldiers are always together (in gangs). It gives them the chance to have many friends everywhere in the world and it gives them the assurance of having a job later.

However, like in everything, there are also disadvantages. It’s hard to have "family life" and they are always on the move around the world. This style of life is not easy, and it’s very difficult for physical and moral endurance. The last thing and the hardest is to leave family and friends. That depends on each person; it’s a choice to make and nobody is same.

It’s for different reasons that people decide to go or not to go in the army. In my view, we are better in our homes! But for others, it’s maybe the chance of their life.

Questions:

1. Name one advantage and one disadvantage of working for the army.
2. What does the author feel we should do?

Should we let kids play with Pokemon cards? That’s a pertinent question and a disturbing subject. Many people don’t know what to do about this problem. Its popularity made it the best selling card game. But we’ll discuss the pros and cons of this question.

First, like all of the card games, it’s a hobby for people from seven to seventy-seven years old. You can collect them, trade them, buy them, sell them or even burn them. It brings me to an another argument, a con. Pokemon cards are too expensive. For only one card, if it is rare, the price can go up to forty dollars. At this price, every family have personal bankruptcy.

Another argument against these cards is the fact that it makes kids violent all around the world. Over the last three weeks, I saw a boy on television who stabbed another one accused of a cards stealing. The boy was only twelve. Why did he do that? Only for a piece of paper with little monster on it. Only the Japanese can tell us.

A thing we should consider is that it makes the Japanese become more powerful. I think enough is enough. They began to invade us with their many electronic products, after with their cars and now with these cards. Is it going to be necessary to start the Third World War?

Of course, the kids can arrange their conflicts without battle. It gives them the idea to make gifts and the "7 Jours" magazine sales increase considerably. But you can’t forget that everybody becomes jealous of every other person.

I leave you on this. I think you can choose by yourself what to do with your children.

Questions:

1. What ages can play with Pokemon cards?
2. What did the author see on television?
3. What magazine’s sales increased?

Who can say that television is not important? Probably nobody because it is through this fabulous way of communication that we can listen to the news all around the world and relax ourselves.

First of all, television is a fabulous way to be entertained. It relaxes people and makes them less stressed. According to me, if it didn’t exist I don’t know what I could do. When I return from school and I’m tired, I lie down on my bed and watch T.V., sometimes I fall asleep. Television shows many styles of programs so everybody can be satisfied with it. The persons who prefer the romanticism can watch something like "Santa Barbara", and for those who prefer the humor can watch something like "Jerry Seinfeld".

Secondly, television is a good way of communication to learn the news and know about the information. There are many channels like "RDI" to know what happens around the world. I think that it’s really important to get information for the only reason that it makes us aware that we’re not the only ones to have problems or to be happy.

To conclude, television is probably the best invention invented after electricity for sure. It makes us relax and less stressed. So, will internet take the total control on the world and make television disappear?

Questions:

1. What can people who prefer romantic shows watch?
2. What can people who prefer humor watch?
3. What can television teach us about?

I really think it should be!! Could you imagine a shopping center where nobody would be smoking! You could breathe without breathing in any smoke! Wow! Unbelievable! It would be many people’s dream come true!

Firstly, do you think that all second hand smoke you have to breathe is good for your health? If smoking in public places is not prohibited, our lungs are going to look like rocks. Could you imagine that? You could get lung cancer because of all those dangerous smokers. They are like moving cigarettes! They are going to kill us!

Secondly, don’t you think that is stinks? You just sit for five minutes beside a smoker and you’ll smell like an old cigarette for the whole day!

Thirdly, it’s not respectful for non-smokers! They can’t even understand why we hate it! When someone asks me if he or she can smoke, I just answer: "No! It stinks!"

I can’t find many arguments why it shouldn’t be prohibited. I can understand that it’s a need for some of them, but you don’t have to smoke in public places to fill that need!

Finally, I really think it should be prohibited. It could even be easier for some of them to stop smoking!!!

QUESTIONS:

1. Did the author of this text find many reasons why smoking should be permitted in public places?
2. Is the author a smoker?
3. What does the author answers when someone asks him: "Do you mind if I smoke?"

ANSWERS:

1. No
2. No
3. Yes! It stinks!

Abortion has been a hotly debated subject for many years. According to the Reader’s Digest Encyclopaedic Dictionary, abortion is "the premature expulsion of a foetus from the womb, which may be either spontaneous (a miscarriage) or induced by an operation." Both the Pro-Choice and the Pro-Life movement firmly believe their view is the right one. There doesn’t seem to be much middle ground.

Pro-Life refers to those who oppose legal abortion. They believe that human life begins at conception. Therefore, they consider abortion as murder of a person. They feel that it is morally wrong. They also believe the foetus is a separate and distinct human being and that the right of the unborn to live is greater than any right of a woman to "control her own body." The Pro-Life movement states that there are alternatives to abortion, such as adoption, and that abortion is never the best solution.

Pro-Choice supports "reproduction freedom," which means that an individual woman should be able to make her own choice. They believe that life begins at birth. They feel that the foetus is totally dependent on the baby of the woman for it’s life support and that only at birth are they separate. They state that abortion "should be left to the woman and her doctor." They consider the right of privacy to include matters of marriage, family and sex, personal decisions. They hold that a woman should be able to decide for herself.

In conclusion, abortion remains a much argued and controversial subject. There appears to be very little room for compromise. Extremists have only inflamed the issue. It will be hard to satisfy both sides. The government will have a hard time dealing with this. It is a debate that will go on for quite some time.

Almost everybody who has a computer knows what an MP3 is. It’s a sound file that can be found on the internet. Some people say that it should be illegal, but I think it should be legal. It gives us the opportunity to know underground bands that we never had the chance to hear. We can also download a single song without buying the entire CD and if you know computers a bit, you may be able to find full albums on the internet.

I think it’s good for the band because it’s good publicity. Only a few people download full albums. The majority of people download single songs that we can hear on radio or music video channels, so I don’t think it can be bad for the bands.

Questions:

1. What is an MP3?
2. Why should they be legal?

Drugs are bad for people’s health because they have a lot of effects that disrupt the system and create money problems. There are three types of drugs: the disruptive, the depressant and the stimulant.

Billy is a guy that takes a lot of drugs. He is generous with everybody and has no problems with other people, but one day he lost his drugs. It drove him mad, he started to kill people, and finally he remembered where he had put his drugs. Then he returned home, looked under his bed and found them. He took them and had fun.

The disruptive drugs are the ones that have the most effects, the ones that make illusions and it is this that makes them the most dangerous. The depressant drugs make you feel sleepy. The stimulant gives you energy, such as coffee.

Finally Billy, because he found his drugs, brings peace to the world.

Questions:

1. What are the three types of drugs?
2. Why does Billy go mad?

Have you heard students talking about school? They said that they waste their time, learn nothing and that all the teachers are on their back. But did you ever hear students talking about travelling? They say that is the best thing they can do. They get to see others countries and do not have to go to school. They also have a holiday away from their parents for a few days. Why don't we put those things together: trip and school? This goes along with the celebrated proverb: "travelling develop youth." It's good for a lot of reasons.

First, if we decided to go to the west of Canada or the United States, students can learn English. It’s very important for the year 2000 to know a minimum of two languages. I’m sure it will help them.

Second, it makes the students more involved in a project. They have to do a lot of things and make initiatives to make their trip work. And also, it’s related to school. They can’t wait to come to school to finish the arrangements. But there are bad things about trips too. Trips cost a lot of money and the students will have to find it. They’ll have to do door-to-door fundraising to find this money. They’ll have to stay at school after class to find the money for the trip. They miss a few weeks of school. It’s dangerous for students who have bad marks at school. They can fail their year because of that.

Finally, it’s certain that are arguments for and against travelling, but I think, if the students can do it at least once in their secondary, it will help a lot of students to be motivated.

Questions:

Today, I want to talk to you about my definition of paradise, about a thing that I can do all the time in my life: snowboarding.

For me, paradise is when you snowboard in powder snow on a sunny day. I love it. It makes me relax. When I snowboard, I think of nothing else. I feel like a bird in the sky. I forget all my troubles. I can snowboard even if it’s very cold or raining (it depends).

If you are looking for a good way to spend energy or do exercise, snowboard is a really good to keep your body in good shape. When you snowboard, you get hot and when you are hot, you get thin. Moreover, it’s good for your health because you are in fresh air, on a mountain with a really, really beautiful view, depending where you go. But, if you go to the Valinouët on the west side, you will have a really good view.

If you are a little bit sociable when you go in the ski-lift, you will may be able to meet someone. Or when you take the bus to go to the ski centre, you will be able to make new friends.

The two last things that I like in snowboarding are snowboarding during the spring and what happens after snowboarding. When you snowboard during the spring, the weather is really good, and you can eat hot-dogs at the bottom of the hill and pancakes on the top. The second thing I like is the after ski. For me, there are two ways to pass the time after snowboarding. The first is to take a good bath, light the fire and watch a film in bedclothes. The second is to take a shower and go drink beer with some friends.

Really, snowboarding is really paradise !!!!

1. What is my definition of paradise?
2. What do you get when you do snowboarding?
3. How many ways are there to pass the time after snowboarding?

1. Snowboarding
2. You get hot and thin
3. Two ways

I think that cigarettes should be completely banned for people below 18 years of age. I’m going to give reasons why it should be that way and explain why.

First of all, the kinds would be in better shape. You only have to look in the schools. The smokers have problems going up all the stairs without being tired. When you say that one person of secondary one is a smoker, he started to smoke probably in grade 6, 5 and even 4. That’s awfully young. The health problems would be reduced a lot because a lot of problems are due to tobacco.

Then, one of the biggest reasons why cigarettes should be banned is the famous gang problem. I think the youth start to smoke to be accepted. If cigarettes are banned, that problem would be less frequent because cigarettes would be harder to get.

Alright, let’s talk about health! Have you ever looked at the smoking adolescent after they finished going up the stairs? Well they’re totally tired, well most of them. Plus, it’s proven that tobacco causes a lot of diseases. Just take lung cancer for example. It’s practically all caused by smoking. Of course, they won’t die right away, but they will start having bronchitis, then having more breathing problems which will eventually lead to lung cancer and even lead to death.

How about money? Well somebody who smokes gives money away for absolutely nothing because when you start smoking, there’s no fun to it. It has been proven that somebody who smokes regularly from the age of 15 would be almost a millionaire by his 50’s if he’d put the amount of a pack in the bank every day until he has 50 years old.

Have you ever smelt a smoker? Well, they all stink of stupid cigarettes and they lose the corporal smell.

So, for me, the use of cigarettes below 18 years of age should be strictly PROHIBITED!

QUESTIONS

1. By what age would the guy be a millionaire if he had saved the money he spent on smoking?
2. The kids would be in a better… what?
3. What kind of health problems does tobacco bring?

I want to talk about something that really upsets me. So I'll talk about school. Is it really important in someone’s life? I have to answer yes to this... You'll see why as I go through my mind.

Just think about it. If we didn't have school, we could be ... well hem... nothing, a nobody, a piece of monkey crap. If we can read and talk with the right words and understand TV, well it's all because of school, but something is wrong with that. We should change the way school works. For example, school shouldn't be necessary. For all the kids’ parents are able to teach us all the basics I think. As far as missing classes is concerned, the teachers shouldn't be on our backs about it. I mean they shouldn't always ask for a paper on why we are missing. I think we are mature, and we know what he can miss and not miss. School has a positive point. It teaches us the way to live in society.

Thanks for reading my text.

The main idea: I don’t like school

Supporting details:

1. School helps us to understand words and teaches us how to follow a conversation.
2. School teaches us to live in society.

There are many people who say "no" and there are many people who say "yes." Some of them say it without knowing all the facts. People who say "no" are often blind regarding the positive arguments of legalising pot. Everybody has their own opinion, everybody has the right to her or his own opinion, but after reading this essay you will maybe change your opinion or stay more loyal to the opinion you already had.

First of all, let’s face it. Lots of people turn to pot when the effect of smoking cigarettes isn’t strong enough anymore. Wouldn’t it be less expensive for them (remember, they are your friends and family members) when pot is legalised? And of course it would be a lot easier to buy. However, the younger kids would think that smoking pot and doing drugs is okay. Sure thing, some of us may say that smoking pot is no big deal, but they’re wrong (medical fact). You know that feeling you get when smoking pot, well, you get it because the oxygen can’t reach your brain properly. It kills brain cells, so basically you’re dumber by a smoke. More and more kids would buy pot, thinking they would look more grown-up. Do you want to raise a kid with a bright future or a kid with a potential to be a future drug addict?

Of course, another positive argument is the creation of more jobs. More people would be needed for pot production, which would create more jobs. However, doesn’t that also mean more taxes?

Nevertheless, the legalisation of pot has negative arguments too. It is very likely that starting with pot may lead to the use of more dangerous drugs. Most of today’s pot smokers started with cigarettes. Of course, this isn’t the way it’s always going to be, but I’m sad to say that in most cases it is.

So, let’s say that pot is legal. Many would smoke it and then grow bored by it. That’s what we did with cigarettes, remember? Today’s generation wants to legalise pot; tomorrow’s generation will want to legalise cocaine. There are lines that need not be crossed over.

In my opinion, and I know some may not like it, the legalisation of pot is one of those lines that should not be crossed over. But let’s face it: people who want to smoke pot will smoke it whether the pot is legal or not.

Questions:

1. Why is pot dangerous for our health?
2. Should pot be legalised?

In the 20 century, everyone knows that our cities are very polluted. Cigarettes are maybe the cause. Everyone knows that old smokers come from young smokers. You’ll almost never hear an old smoker telling you that he or she started to smoke after his or her secondary year. For the good of our city, don’t you think we should totally forbid cigarettes to teenagers? Think about all the advantages. If teenagers must quit smoking, the number of smokers will decrease a lot. If there are fewer smokers, there will be less pollution. So with less pollution, the air will be more breathable. For about a couple of years life expectancy is very important for everybody. We all know that cigarettes cause cancer. There are also some people who say that it is more dangerous to a non-smoker who breathes cigarette smoke than the smoker who directly breathes the smoke. On the other hand, teenagers know all about the danger of cigarettes. They are old enough to take this responsibility.

Questions:

1. What might be the cause of pollution in our cities?
2. Is the author for or against smoking? Why?

Judging is one of the things we do the most often. We judge on everything: food, the way that people act and the way they are dressed. I think we should not judge people on their clothes because people who have less money can’t be dressed like people in the luxurious shops. After you are judged by your appearance, what you’re going to wear for each day becomes an obsession. You feel nervous, you ask all the people near you if you’re alright. Finally, they become so upset about those questions that they hate answering this question. That’s why judging people is very hard on someone’s feelings.

The people who don’t fit into today’s physical standard have a lot of difficulty being accepted by normal people. A person who is fat, who has a lot of difficulty walking, has difficulty finding a job and getting sincere friends. They feel rejected and are very suspicious about every person they see because they laugh at them very often. Also, a person who is very little has a lot of difficulty to be considered as a normal person. It’s the same thing for people with handicapped in a wheelchair. They get too much help and cannot develop abilities and hate to be dependant on the people around them.

The little people and the people in wheelchairs are judged by their physical capacities and not by their skills .Too many people think that people in wheelchairs are unable to do office work correctly. I think these people are simply people who see the world in general terms and have a very personal view on it.

Questions:

1. By what do we judge people?
2. How do people feel when they are judged?

Not long ago, I heard somebody who asked if we should keep the physical education course. When I heard that, I did not agree. I think that the physical education course is something that we cannot eliminate from school. That course is very important to keep your good health and also to lose weight. Also, another argument I can say is that this course encourages relaxation and can help students to have less stress. And the most important argument I found is a survey which certifies that physical education courses can help students to raise up their personal marks in school. But, it is true that, if we remove that course, we could have more hours of mathematics class or other important courses.

Finally, I think that we should never make the wrong choice of removing the physical education course from our school...

Questions:

1. Does the author think we should eliminate physical education courses?
2. What are the arguments she uses to prove her point?
3. What is the one advantage to eliminating physical education from our schools?

I think that mixed teams are not a solution. In this short essay, I will give you reasons why I’m against mixed teams.

Some sports require a very good shape and a lot of strength because a lot of sports are brutal. So, in general life men have more force than women. If, in a game of football for example, a man tackles a woman, she will fall but if a man tackles a man, he will have a kind of equal force, and the man will stay up.

All sports have a final (the Stanley cup in hockey, the world championship in formula one) and it’s very emotional. Guys are able to keep their emotions inside but not girls. So when you lose or win it’s emotional and boys don’t cry, but when a team of girls loses a final, all the girls cry but in the podium. It’s not very beautiful and serious. So if we accept mixed teams, we will have men acting serious and women crying. It will not be very beautiful.

Because of the force of girl and the force of boy, the strength of the team will be reduced. For example, if we have 15 men and 15 women in a team, it will be reduced compared to a team of 30 men.

Questions:

1. What do all sports have in common?
2. Who is able to keep their emotions inside?
3. Who has the most strength?

Answers:

1. A final
2. Men
3. Men

Today, there are many violent television programs. Many people think that’s why there are violent teenagers, but some people disagree with that. So, here are some positive and negative arguments about that topic.

First, some teenagers are easily influenced by their friends, and it’s the same thing about television programs, which give them many ideas, good or not.

Next, some others can’t distinguish between reality and fiction. They identify themselves with the main character, violent or not. They try to do the same as their heroes, no matter what the consequences might be.

Then, many teenagers think that, as it’s shown on television, violence is a good way to solve their problems. So, instead of talking with people, they hit them.

On the other hand, there were violent teenagers before the invention of the television. The only difference is that, sixty years ago, people didn’t talk about things like that.

Questions:

1. Who and what are teenagers influenced by?
2. Why is television dangerous?
3. Did violence in teenagers exist before the invention of the television?

In the 21^st century, we often see kids with divorced parents. Is it good for children to be in this situation? I think they are able to deal with that even if it’s not always easy. It gives them the possibility to experience more in life. I mean, their parents want to be nice with them to compensate for the absence of the other parent. They do all that their child wants to do and they buy him a lot of things. But, sure, there are a lot of drawbacks to having divorced parents. The most important is that the kids have to divide their life in two. They are always in their suitcases and have to travel from one house to the other. They also have to decide where they want to be on Christmas and during all the other holidays. The third point, I would like to talk about is that a child with divorced parents has to count only on the support of one parent at a time. For example, every year at school, the parents have a meeting. So, the child has to ask to his mother or to his father, because the two could never be together at the same place. You could see that they don’t have an easy life, but they are strong.

Questions:

1. Which possibilities does divorce give to a child?
2. What is the most important drawback of having divorced parents?
3. What is the problem for those children with the school meeting?

Answers:

1. It gives him the possibility of experiencing more in life.
2. It’s that the children have to divide their life in two.
3. They have to ask only their mother or only their father if he or she wants to come.

When I say "DROP OF WATER," it means nothing for me. But, when I think a little bit more, I can say that a drop of water means "life" because, without water, life can’t exist. And some poor children must do hard work to get a drop of water. Think a little bit and we can say that life is not a justice for all.

Completely different, in a poem a drop of water can mean passion. It can mean purity of thought or of a person.

And for animals and flowers, a drop of water means everything. It means life and death.

Finally, the best thing after you run an hour or after you have been under a big and hot sun or after you ate something bad is simply a drop of water. Now we can see that a simple thing means the most important thing in the world: life.

Questions:

Answers:

Every year, there are a lot of 18 year-old teenagers who enter into the fabulous adult world, but this phenomenon arrived for those teenagers 2 years before, but at this time it wasn’t for all the states. So should we consider 16 year-old teenagers adults? According to me, yes we should consider them as adults.

Why? Here are the reasons. Firstly, after 16 years of existence, it seems likes nothing if they don’t know what they want in life and how to get the maximum out of it. I mean if, after all this time, they still haven’t done anything great, it’s not worth it for them to continue to live for the simple reason that they should know themselves because they should already know themselves at least a little bit at this age. We develop our independence, our intelligence and our responsibility. If we have this, shouldn’t we be considered adults at 16 year-old?

Secondly, if they have the right to work (and be paid), to drive, to continue or abandon their studies and to have a consultation at the hospital without their parents being informed at 16 year-olds, I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t be considered adult everywhere at this age. After that, leaving the family home isn’t harder than all those things and sorry but I don’t know many people who didn’t do something at 16 years of age that they were not supposed to do before being 18 years-old. Seriously, I’m certain that there are approximately only one or two people out of a million that respect all those rules so…

Finally, if I thought that we should consider 16 year-old teenagers as adults, it’s for the reasons listed above and for the fact that they are able to act like adults if they want. Then a forbidden fruit is always better than a permitted fruit.

Questions:

1. What do teenagers have the right to do at 16 years of age?
2. How many people out of a million respect the rules?

I want to talk to you about music because I think that it is a very important subject for me.

I like it because it relaxes me. Every night, before sleeping, I have to listen to my favorite CD. And when I wake up in the morning, before going to school, it is the same thing: I have to listen to music again. When I finish school and I take the bus, I listen to music again. It also helps me to relax when I do my homework.

But when I am happy, it is also a good way to show it. I listen to music and sing. Sometimes, people think that I am crazy. And when I am sad, I listen to music, and I try to concentrate only on the lyrics of the song instead of thinking about what makes me so sad. It is a good way to forget all the things that are so bad and a way to escape reality.

Finally, music is also funny to listen to when I am with all of my friends and when we are having fun all night.

So, I think that I told you why music is so important to me: to relax, to have fun, etc. Therefore, be like me and always listen to music!