My fairy tale

It’s been seven years, but I can still remember the day my mother came home from work telling everyone we would spend our following vacation in Curitiba. Definitely, that was a perfect place for breaking the tradition of spending all vacation either with my mother’s family in Natal or with my father’s family in Filadelfia. Regardless of being only eight years old, I was so excited about going to a different place that I started searching on the internet all the sights we could visit. When I discovered “Beto Carrero World” was near Curitiba, I immediately tried to persuade my mother to go there and, after several attempts, I finally got it.

Even spending the whole month before the trip planning how it would be, we couldn’t finish the itinerary on time. My mother, an unadventurous person, was really worried about how we would get to the places. Fortunately, Curitiba had excellent means of transportation, with efficient buses that connected all the sights of the city. For a child, the best part of the trip couldn’t have been different: spending a whole day in “Beto Carrero World”. I remember being there was like living a fairy tale. All those rides waiting for me, the circus and the ice-cream parlor made me be indecisive of where to go. I was so delighted with everything that I even didn’t fight with my sister. Except for “Beto Carrero World”, I can rarely remember the other places we went to. All I kept in my mind were the names of some of them: “Jardim Botânico de Curitiba”, “Ópera de Arame”, “Relógio das Flores”.

Although Murphy’s Law claims anything that can possibly go wrong, does; the trip couldn’t have been more perfect. It is curious how the not planning things seems to go better than the planned ones. Traveling to Curitiba was a milestone in the history of our trips. Since that, we have been experimenting visiting different places. Until now, we have gone to Amazonas,Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Pantanal and even Argentina and Chile. Despite that, I will never forget the great time I had on that trip to Curitiba. The only aspect I regret about it was being so young at that time and not being tall enough to go in all Beto Carrero’s rides. That’s the biggest reason why I want to go back there.

Beto Carrero World

Bárbara Fernandes Maranhão

4B

Television

One gadget that can be found everywhere is the television. Nowadays, it isn’t only something to have fun. It has become necessary not only for adults, but also for teenagers. There are all kinds of TV: big, small, slim. Every kind is really advanced. However, like anything, TV has good and bad points. One polemic point is that some people say that since the invention of the television, culture has become united.

This gadget used to be used by adults to watch the news and to watch cartoons and things like that by teenagers and children. Nevertheless, everybody needs to know the news nowadays, not only because we need to have critical sense but crucially because of the college entrance exam. Moreover, when we watch TV, we can relax and learn at the same time.

The worst problem of the television is that it can manipulate public opinion without the person even realizing it. This means that the TV doesn’t show all the facts. In this subject, newspapers and magazines are more complete. So in this sense, we need to complement our knowledge with other media, because the television isn’t enough.

I love to watch TV and I think it is a fun information source. Also, I believe that the television has publicized cultures, making people know more about other countries. In addition, learning about other cultures is very positive because this way we realize that we have to respect other cultures and to value ours.

Cellular phone

In the last ten years, the mobile phone has become really popular. Nowadays, it’s certainly true that most teenagers can’t live without it anymore. This dependence happens because cell phones can do almost everything, like take pictures or sometimes make phone calls. Obviously, it has a few bad points, but the good ones are more.

The cellular phone has facilitated life. At first, its function was to have the possibility of talk to anyone at any moment. But now, the mobile is useful in many other situations. With the advance of technology, this gadget can easily access the Internet. This means that people can see the news, send an email, make searches and surf the web. Also, the cell phone is an agenda, a calendar and a calculator. Besides, it can be a radio and even a little television. Finally, the cellular phone has actually become an unlimited source of communication and entertainment.

However, the mobile phone has some disadvantages. Although it provides easy access to other people, it can be really annoying sometimes. Not only can people keep you informed of everything at any time, but also call you strongly all day. Moreover, it leads people to reducing the close contact. Besides, privacy becomes rare, because everybody can know where you are.

Anyway, the cell phone has brought more benefits than problems. Personally, I am always with mine, even when I’m at home. I use only simple functions, like a phone book, a calendar, an alarm clock and to make phone calls, but I’m sure that I couldn’t live without my mobile. In sum, I believe it makes life easier for everybody.

Computer

With globalization, the development of technology is very significant. Life has become easier with these gadgets and every day there’s something new on the market. But by far the most useful gadget for a 21st century teenager is the computer.

This small machine giver you access to the whole world, without leaving your own seat. The amount of information you can get is unbelievable. News that happened two minutes ago, videos of people you never saw, information that you only got on books now are incredibly easy to get.

Another positive point is that you can make friends with people from all over the world, and also talk with distant relatives. You don’t have to leave you home to see your best friend or to talk with your cousin that lives in California. It helps you to keep in touch with the people you care about.

Basically, the computer is a great instrument that opened a lot of doors for a 21st century teenager. It keeps the teenagers connected to the world they’re living in and with a lot of extra information to entertain. So in this sense, that’s a great step for the teenager to become a better citizen.

Cell phone

Lately, more and more useful (or not so much) gadgets have been created. Simple objects, like refrigerators, new cars or even common telephones have been getting more and more updated everyday. However, one of the gadgets that receive newer functions every moment and that don’t stop getting more sophisticated is the cell phone. And it is definitely the most useful gadget for a teenager nowadays – which means, of course, that everyone has a cell phone.

The first obvious and really useful function is that you can use the cell phone to call anyone from anywhere. That may be just calling your friends to meet them when you go out, or even calling your parents or the police, in the case of an emergency. And that emergency is probably not going to happen in your house, so you will have to have a communication gadget with you – the cell phone.

Something that is also really useful and fun in the modern cell phones is that, in most of them, you can listen to music whenever you want, without the need of carrying an MP3 player or an “iPod” with you wherever you go. It can be very disturbing having to take lots of gadgets to the places you go – and, sometimes, you don’t even have enough pockets! One good example of these cell phones is the “iPhone”. It mixes up every kind of functions: games, internet surfing, music, and, of course, the phone itself.

Cell phones nowadays have basically everything you need to “live” in the world. It has way more functions than the cell phones we had before. A cell phone to a teenager can be a way just to have fun or to do important things, but they all have one.

Cell phone

It’s believed that the cell phone is one of the most used gadgets by teenagers nowadays. It’s hard to go anywhere without seeing someone talking on a cell phone. We all use cell phones not just in our private but also in our professional life. People all over the world use cell phones because of the advantages they have to offer.

The first advantage of cell phones is that we can communicate with other people anywhere, anytime and it is very fast. With cell phones we can move away or go on vacation and it seems like you are not even gone. With the technology getting even better, now it’s possible to change the operator keeping the phone number.
Secondly, cell phones can help us organize our daily plans. They can also remind us meetings.

Nowadays, cell phones have many features, such as: phone calls, txt messaging, accessing the web, taking pictures, using calculators, an alarm clock and all of these help us in our professional and private life.
In conclusion, cell phones help us to communicate in a better way and are very convenient to take with us. It’s possible to do almost everything just using a cell phone. Technology really makes our lives easier and cell phones prove it.

Cell phone

Nowadays, there is no limit to technology. New advances and techniques are produced everyday. For teenagers, it's always nice to know about it and to have as many gadgets as possible. Among the gadgets they usually have, there are the useful ones and there are the ones they'll never need. In my point of view, the most useful gadget for a 21st century teenager is the cell phone.

A cell phone offers lots of advantages, starting with the most important one: making and receiving calls. It may sound a little obvious, but that's the only way to talk to someone whenever you want. Of course, you can talk to a person using a computer, but only if this person is online too; with a cell phone, you can contact him/her anytime.

Another advantage of the cell phone is that it has a lot of tools in it. Therefore, other gadgets can be replaced by only one cell phone; for example: you won't need a camera or an mp3 player if you can take pictures with your cell phone and listen to music in it. Depending on the cell phone, you can also make videos with a great image quality.

Well, these are the reasons why I think the cell phone is the most useful gadget for a 21st century teenager. I believe that by the end of the century, more gadgets will have been invented. Nevertheless, cell phones may be considered very important for the technological advances.

Welcome

Dear advanced students,

Welcome to our blog!
This is the place where we are going to post our compositions and interact with other English teachers students from different countries. I hope you enjoy it!

Ronaldo