“Write All About It”

Centerville High School Essay Contest

Rules

1). Students are asked to hand in essays of 500 to 700 words of their own work. Any essay containing material copied from another source will be disqualified.

2). Manuscripts should be typed double-spaced, with the student's name, address, and grade level on a separate sheet of paper.

3). Essays must be turned in by 4:00 P.M. on November 30. They can be brought to Mrs. Elton in Room 104 or to Mr. Markham in the school library.

Essay-Writing Tips

1). Catch your reader's interest—Your opening should immediately pull your reader into your essay. Asking a question or starting with a story, or surprising statement are some good ways to do this.

2). Create a picture—Use active words that show your reader what is happening. Instead of telling your reader that “the room was disordered,” paint a picture using active verbs and lively adjectives.

3). Have a purpose—Well-written essays do more than just describe an event or express a viewpoint; they also communicate a message.

4). Check for mistakes—Read your paper over to check for mistakes. Ask another student to read your paper. Another pair of eyes will often spot a mistake you have missed.

5). Format your essay—Neatly type your essay on white paper. Choose an attractive cover for handing in. The computer lab will be open after school from 3:15 to 4:45 P.M. each day this month so that students can use the computers.

Prizes

Winning essays will be published in the Centerville Times. Everyone who takes part in it will also receive a free pass to enter one school activity this year.

First Prize: $50 savings bond

Second Prize: Dictionary and reference book

Third Prize: Pen set and journal

Special thanks to the Centerville Writers' Association for the prizes to help encourage our aspiring authors. Good luck to all contestants.

    Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy. After all, you probably sing or whistle(吹口哨) when you are happy.

    Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of time just because they are happy. However, they sing most of the time for a very different reason. Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory.

    Do you know what a “territory” is? A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male, claims as its own. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same species(物种) are welcome. Your yard and house are your territory where only your family and friends are welcome. If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you, you might shout. Probably this would be enough to frighten him away.

    If so, you have actually frightened the stranger away without having to fight him. A bird does the same thing. But he expects an outsider almost any time, especially at nesting(筑巢) season. So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not. This screaming is what we call a bird's song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.

    Birds sing loudest in the spring when they are trying to attract a mate（配偶）and warn others not to enter the territory of theirs.

    You can see that birds have a language all their own. Most of it has something to do with attracting mates and setting up territories.

    A blocked airway(呼吸道) can kill someone in three to four minutes, but it can take more than eight minutes for an ambulance to arrive. So a simple procedure such as opening someone's airway can save their life while they're waiting for emergency medical help. This means you're more likely to give first aid to someone you know than a stranger.

    There are many misconceptions (误解) surrounding first aid. Below are the ‘most popular' ones with details of what you should do.

    You should put butter or cream on a burn. The only thing you should put on a burn is cold water — keep the butter for cooking. Put the affected area under cold running water for at least ten minutes.

    The best way to treat bleeding is to put the wound under a tap. If you put a bleeding wound under a tap you wash away the body's clotting agents(凝血剂) and make it bleed more. Instead put pressure on the wound with whatever is available to stop or slow down the flow of blood. As soon as possible call 999. Keep pressure on the wound until help arrives.

    Nosebleeds are best treated by putting the head back. If you put the head back during a nosebleed, all the blood goes down the back of the airway. Instead advise them to tilt(倾斜) their head forwards and ask the person to pinch(捏) the end of their nose and breathe through their mouth.

    You need lots of training to do first aid. You don't — what you mostly need is common sense. You can learn enough first aid in a few minutes to save someone's life — whether it's from a book, attending a course or watching videos online.

    Remember: anyone can save a life

    If you could have a superpower, what would it be? Other than flying and communicating with someone from his mind (which, let's be honest, would probably actually be awful), breathing underwater is one of the favorites. You can hang out with Aquaman and Ursula, and when the end of the world comes and we're all living under water, you'll be fine.

    With this in mind, a student at the Royal College of Art, London has designed a 3D-printed amphibious garment called AMPHIBIO —essentially a set of gills (鳃) —for this very purpose. According to Jun Kamei, a biomimicry designer and materials scientist, it is "for a future where humankind lives in the water".

    With the world set for a global temperature increase of 3. 2℃ (5. 7℉) by 2100, rising sea levels are a very real threat to large coastal cities, potentially affecting up to 2 billion people —or 26 percent of the current global population.

    Kamei's little device uses a specially designed porous (多孔的) material that fills oxygen again in the water and releases carbon dioxide. It is inspired by water-diving insects that create their own little scuba diving set by creating a protective bubble of air around their body thanks to their water repellent (防水的) skin.

    The technology is easily 3D-printable too, which will be great when we need them together. These "gills" could replace heavy and clumsy scuba equipment, making it more similar to free diving but for longer. This could have immediate applications for underwater rescue plans —the 12 boys rescued by divers from a flooded cave in Thailand, for example, where it took weeks to work out how to get the boys and the vital breathing equipment through those narrow tunnels.

    So far, the tech has only been tested as a working prototype, not actually on humans, so the dream may have to be on hold for now. And scaling up and testing on humans is Kamei's next plan. This may sound unbelievable, but Kamei insists he has a much more optimistic vision of the future.

    Robots are now being employed not just for dangerous tasks, such as discovering mines or rescuing people in disasters. They are also finding application as household helps and as nursing assistants. As increasing numbers of machines, equipped with the latest artificial intelligence, take on a growing variety of specialized and everyday tasks, the question of how people see them and behave towards them becomes ever more urgent.

    A team led by Sari Nijssen of Radboud University and Markus Paulus, Professor of Developmental Psychology at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU), have carried out a study to determine the degree to which people show concern for robots and behave towards them based on moral principles.

    According to Sari Nijssen, the study set out to answer the following question:" Under what circumstances would adults be willing to sacrifice robots to save human lives?" The participants were faced with a hypothetical (假设的) moral dilemma: Would they be prepared to put a single person at risk in order to save a group of injured persons? In the situations presented the intended victim was either a human, a humanoid robot that had been humanized (人性化的) to various degrees or a robot that was clearly recognizable as a machine.

    The study suggested that the more the robot was humanized, the less likely participants were to sacrifice it. Situations that included vivid stories in which the robot was described as a merciful being or as a creature with its own understandings, experiences and thoughts, were more likely to stop the study participants from sacrificing it in the interests of anonymous (无名的) humans.

    "This result indicates that our study group attached a certain moral status to the robot," says Paulus. "One possible suggestion of this finding is that attempts to humanize robots should not go too far. Such efforts could come into conflict with their intended function—to be of help to us."

    Earthquakes strike suddenly at any time of the day or night, but there's no way to tell when. If an earthquake happens, it may cause many deaths, injuries and damage. So you need a good preparation ahead of time. Decide how and where your family will get together if separated. Choose an out-of-state friend or relative that the family members can call after the quake to report where they are and how they are. Know the safe places in each room: under the strong tables, desks, or against inside walls. Keep enough food, water and other things, including a flashlight, a radio, medicines and clothing.

    During the earthquake, you should keep a clear head and never be too nervous to know what to do. Protect your head and neck with your arms. If possible, take a book, a pillow or any other things to protect yourself from falling glass and ruins. If you are indoors, you must immediately lie under any strong furniture. If outdoors, move to an open area away from trees, buildings, walls or power poles. If you are in a narrow valley, move to the centre of it and look up for falling stones. If you are in a car, move to the side of the road and stop the car. Do not stop near buildings, power lines or on or under bridges. Stay in your car until the shaking stops.

    Do not move a badly injured person unless he is in great danger after the earthquake. Do not use the telephone immediately unless there is a serious injury or fire. Turn on your radio for instructions and news reports. Be prepared for aftershocks. If you want to leave your home, post a message inside your home telling your family members where you can be found.