There is Too Much Violence on Television

By Misato Tonomura

There is too much violence on television. Many psychologists have been analyzing the effect of violent television on children. According to their reports, it is not sure but there are lots of possibilities that children who watch violent programs for a long time threaten to imitate what they watch on television.

To prevent children from watching such programs, some countries have restrictions. For exaqmple, in america, parants can choose the programs for their children. Programs which include violence and sexual scenes are encoded, and parents can check it before, and then they select the code for children. In most countries, what parents should should to their children is regarded as the parants' responsibility.

Book Review: Marco

By Emika Uetake

Marco is a boy who is working at his fathers farm. But he dislikes work. He didn’t talk a lot with his family. One day, he decided to go to a big city to escape the life. Immediately after arriving in the city, his money was stolen by a girl. The girl planned to buy a cake with his money, and she ate the cake alone. But Marco noticed that and he followed her, but a policeman helped her because she lives in the city and is a girl. Marco turned and walked away down the street.

When he was walking down a street, he found a market. In addition, he found a shop that was selling his farm’s peaches. Marco took a peach, and was about to eat it, but the shop’s owner became angry and a lot of people were watching him and they all looked unfriendly. Then, his father’s friend named Carlo found Marco and helped. So he could eat peaches and go back home. He thought it was good for him just working at his farm.

My Major is Early Childhood Education

By Ayako Suzuki

My major is early childhood education. I like to play with children. A child’s smile looks like an angel’s. I have been to kindergarten, nursery school, and mentally and physically handicapped person facilities. I think there is a difference between the lecture and a lot of practice. In fact, experience is very important. I can’t understand only lectures. Finally, I need to play more with children, and I need to know more about early childhood education.

Book Review: The Man in the Iron Mask

By Teruyo Yamada

About the author:

Alexandre Dumas was born on July 24, 1802 in northern France. In 1823, Dumas went to Paris. He wanted to become a lawyer and started to write historical plays and novels. They were exciting and they were successful. He became a famous man. He wrote three stories about some French soldiers in the seventeenth century. The Man in the Iron Mask is part of the story, The Viscount of Bragelonne (1844-1850).

About this story:

The time is 1661. The place is France. Louis XIV became the king of France. But he was only five years old. So Queen Anne, Louis's mother, ruled for him. After that, Louis began to rule France himself.

This story is about four friends: D'Artagnan, Aramis, Porthos, and Athos. They were soldiers in the king's Musketeers. "All for one, and one for all!" that was their promise to each other.

Paris is starving, but the king of France is more interested in money and women. Aramis, Athos, and Porthos band together with a plan to replace the king. Unknown to many, there is a second king, a twin, hidden at birth, then imprisoned for six years behind an iron mask. All that remains now is D'Artagnan: will he stand against his longtime friends, or do what is best for his country?

Athos, Aramis, and Porthos think of a plan to take revenge on the king. Aramis points out that there is a man in an iron mask in a very secure prison, and that this man's existence can solve all present problems. So they free the king's hidden twin brother, and tell him who he is, as he of course feels free of guilt and has no idea whatsoever why he was imprisoned for six years with this mask forged around his head. The plan nbow is to replace the evil king with his brother at a masquerade party held soon. Only D'Artagnan still is guarding the king and so he has to turn against his old friends.

A King Louis XIV prepares to rule France, he proves to be a cruel ruler. However, they learn that Louis has a secret good twin brother named Phillipe, who has been imprisoned in the castle and his face hidden behind an iron mask. Could Phillipe be a solution and safe haven to the people of France?

This is the story of the last adventure of the Musketeers.

My Trip to Clearwater

By Arisa Shimamoto

I went to Clearwater from last Thursday to Monday. Clearwater is between Fort St. John and Vancouver. It takes 12 hours by car. I went there with my host father, hostmother, Mayu and Chi. Two sisters of my hostmother live there. So we stayed at her house for three days.

The first day, we left at 7 o’clock a.m. On the way, I saw a lot of things. I saw the Peace River for the first time. It was bigger than I though. I also saw many cows, wild deer, and so on. It was the longest drive I had ever been on, so I was a little tired, but Clearwater has a lot of nature. It was very comfortable for me, and my host mother’s two sisters resembled my host mother very much.

The second day, we were taken to see a river, sheep, and a waterfall. Of those, the vest view was the waterfall. It was very big. The water below froze. So it may be the most beautiful view I had ever seen. At night, one of the hostmother’s sisters sang some songs with playing a guitar. It was a very exciting day.

The third day, we had a great lunch because of Easter. My hostmother grilled the chicken whole. It was very delicious. In the afternoon, we watched some DVDs and took a walk. At night, we talked about Japan, and we taught a few Japanese words. Everyone laughed all the time.

The fourth day, in the morning, my hostmother and father hid the chocolate. We looked for that. My hostmother gave a hint, so I can find it very fast. That chocolate was big and in the shape of an elephant. It was very cute. I thought Easter is a delightful event.

The last day, we came back home. When we left, my hostmother’s sister cried. So I couldn’t help feeling like crying too.
In these five days, I took many pictures, about more than a hundred. I had a very good time and a lot of memories. I want to appreciate my hostfather and mother and sisters.

Naruto, My Home Town

By Kotomi Taniguchi

My hometown is Naruto. It is not a big city but there are so many delicious foods. For example, sweet potatoes, fresh fish, sea weed, vegetables and so on. We can eat so many different kinds of food each season. In spring, we can eat raw fish that is caught in the sea. We cook it with sushi, salad, rice, udon, and also bread.

My city also has a dance festival. Every summer, the dance festival, called “Awa Dance,” is held in my town. Awa dance is a traditional Japanese dance and so many people come to see this dance around Japan. Different dressed-up dance teams dance everywhere in my hometown. You can see these dances for free and you can eat delicious food there. If you are interested in Japanese culture, you will enjoy it!

Snowboarding

By Austin Ao

I went snowboarding in February. This was my second time to go snowboarding. I went with my classmates. It was so exciting for me. I enjoyed having fun with them. We had a coach and he taught us how to snowboard. Also, I tried many difficult styles to make it fun. I lost myself on the hill. While snowboarding, I fell down many times because I was in the dark at the first. I talked with my coach about snowboarding on the hill. He shared his experience with me. So I didn’t only learn how to snowboard, but also I could improve my English skills by listening and speaking to him. By the way, I saw a wolf and the security kept staying by my side in order to keep me safe. Finally, I could snowboard successfully. I hope I’m able to go snowboarding next year.

My Favourite Season

By Selina Situ

There are four seasons in a year. Compared with the other seasons, summer and winter are opposite. In summer, the temperature is highter than any other season. In the opposite direction, winter is colder than any other season, but one thing you have to remember is in winter the temperature can be negative Celsius degrees in the morning and at night, but it might go up to positive Celsius degrees in the afternoon. In addition, people wear more clothes in the winter, but it is very inconvenient as you come inside. When you go inside, you have to take off your coat because the inside is heated. Also, in winter, the night time is longer than the day time. On the other hand, in summer, the day time is longer than the night time.

In my opinion, I likde winter , but it is too cold for me, and I think a lot of people love summer, maybe because they can dress less than in winter, showing off their perfect bodies, and it is no very inconvenient to go out on a nice summer day.

Hairspray, My Favourite Movie

By Saori

One of my hobbies is watching movies, so I'll talk to you about my favourite movie. Its title is "Hairspray." I think it's not an ordinary movie.

First, it's a musical, so all actors acted their parts while they were singing. Of course, their acting was very wonderful, but their singing was so great, too! Also they can dance very well!They must practice singing and dancing hard, and they have to remember their lines.

Next, it's not just an interesting movie. This story was so funny, but it told about racial discrimination. This movie told about American history in the 1960s, so you can learn about it.

Finally, this film is directed by Adam Sharkman. I recommend his film because he is devoted to his film, and he not only produces films but also he teaches actors how to dance.

If you have never seen it before, you can borrow it from the rental shop, and you had better watch it!