What would the main character be likely to do if s/he visited your classroom?

I have just read finished "Scorpia Rising" written by Anthony Horowitz, which is about a teenage boy being recruited against his will into the world of espionage and is sent on a mission again. However, the mastermind of the criminal operation Alex is sent to uncover is Scorpia, which is a criminal organisation which was considerably successful until the arrival of Alex. They, needless to say, wanted to get revenge, as he had uncovered 2 of their operations, and survived an attack by a sniper sent by them. In addition, he feels tired as he has been sent on missions for countless of times, and it took up nearly a whole year. As such, he is forced to keep quiet about what he is doing.

What if Alex were to step into our classroom? I guess he would be very shy as he has constantly has to lie to his old friends at school when he was away for missions. In addition, he would also need help in studies as he was on missions. He would most likely sit at a corner and not talk to anyone. However, he would be very friendly and respond politely if one greeted him. Though he is shy and friendly most of the time, he would definitely help people he sees in need. On one occasion, a sniper miraculously positioned himself on the roof opposite the school and "tried" to take a shot at him. However, Alex managed to defend his good friend by pushing him down to the floor, out of range from the bullets.

Alex is now fifteen years old, and he has ,fortunately, left the world of espionage for good. He is also an expert in martial arts. He hopes to be just a normal boy, to go for his examinations, and to behave like a normal boy. However, he has recently suffered an emotional trauma as his housekeeper was killed by Scorpia. I hope he would be able to recover from it as time passes, and leave at last free from the world of espionage which had been manipulating his childhood from the start

Should cigarette smoking be banned?

Everybody knows that smoking is harmful to our health. However, there are still many people who smoked regardless of the health warnings given to them. They repeatedly smoke a great number of cigarettes every day. Hence should cigarette smoking be banned? In my opinion, it definitely must be banned.

Firstly, smoking poses a danger to our health. Smoking not only causes lung cancer, it also increases the risk of miscarriages in pregnant mothers, ruptures our lungs, and causes other lethal cancers. Research has also shown that one in 2 lifetime smokers die from their habits, and half of the deaths occur in middle age. Many smokers suffer from heart attacks and strokes due to the strain in blood vessels and the heart caused by nicotine and carbon monoxide.

Secondly, second-hand smoke exhaled from smokers also poses a threat to the health of others. People round the smoker have a general increased risk of heart disease and cancer. Some children are even found to have brain tumours caused by such second-hand smoke. In additon, people are found to have skin disorders due to the second-smoke of smokers. The smoker is not only putting his life in danger, he is also placing other people's life in danger.

Therefore, more bans must be placed in public places to improve the health of the people, with severe consequences to offenders who infringe the ban. Imposing a higher cost in purchasing cigarettes would also help to reduced the number of smokers. Hopefully the number of smokers in Singapore would be reduced; we would then live in a clean and healthy environment.

When should parents let teens make their own decisions?

Many teenagers are often complaining that their lives are restricted as their parents control them in almost every aspect of their lives. However, many teenagers are unable to understand that whatever their parents do is for their own good. Many teenagers, if given the right to make their own decisions, would make the wrong choices in life, and if it is serious, it might affect their whole life. They are indeed not yet mature enough to have control over their own life. Hence I feel that parents should let teens make their own decisions only if they know that he/she is mature enough.

Many teenagers are often influenced by their peers around them. hence they might be easily convinced into making a wrong decisions. It is definitely crucial that their parents are there to stop them should they make a wrong choice. Teenagers should also obey their parents and not shout at them, as although their actions might seem unreasonable at first, but they are still for the well being of them. Hence unnecessary conflicts can be prevented this way and the parent is able to ensure that the teenagers do not make a wrong choice.

In addition, many teenagers are often distracted by the "latest trend" up and about. For example, if some people in class got the newest version of iPhones, the rest might be influenced to purchase such phones too. Therefore, parents are there to stop them from getting influenced. After all, parents have also been through childhood and worked in the harsh society, hence they would definitely know the best choice for their children.

Many might argue that being restricted by parents makes teenagers to dependent on them. I do not agree. When the teenagers grow into mature young adults, they would understand their parents' words and not make the same mistake again. Therefore, parents should only let teens make their own decisions only when they have reached a certain maturity.

Should cell phones still be continued to used?

Nowadays, practically everyone owns a cellphone which one can carry around for easy contact with others. There are even features such as cameras and games in newer versions of phones. Many teenagers also own different kinds of phones. Indeed, cellphones play an essential part in many people's lives. Therefore one might think that cellphones should continue to be used as it has a lot of benefits. However, I do not agree as there are also negative effects to carrying cellphones around with us, particularly the harmful effects to our health

Research carried out recently has shown that cellphones does have harmful effects to our health. The consequences of being exposed to the microwave radiation through mobile phones is that electromagnetic waves "alters activity of the brain, cause disturbance in sleep, and causes difficulty in concentration". In addition, the usage of mobile phones have been related to Alzheimer's Disease and Cancer. I do not think that we should not take care of our health just for the sake of communicating with each other. Our health is of utmost importance as without a healthy body, we are not able to survive.

In addition, cellphones are also very distracting to people. Some teenagers might not bother to listen to their teachers in class; instead they spend their time either texting messages to each other, surfing the internet or playing games on their cellphones. Therefore, the students might not be able to learn what the teachers had thought them that day, and that lesson is considered a waste of time. Nowadays, some students also show off by buying the latest versions of handphones, which is in fact a waste of money. Many people also tend to abuse their phones if there is an internet connection.

Furthermore, cellphones might also pose a danger to people. There have been many car accidents as drivers talk on their handphones as they are driving. They tend to lose focus on driving if they talk on their phones, hence there is a high possibility of car accidents happening. Also, it reduces the number of face-to-face times together with friend and families.

Therefore I do feel that mobile phones are harmful for us and should NOT be continued to be used. So next time, when you see your friends playing with their handphones, do not forget about the harmful effects it has to our body and the disadvantages to having one.