Exploring a Mystery: The Dyatlov Pass Incident

Wayne (Weimin) Li

I have heard lots about the paranormal or mysteries. There are all kinds of theories defining these mystical events. Although, some of them are deliberately caused by someone who wants to be focused on by the public, some mysteries are real indeed. Who did it? The experts are still solving these mysterious questions.
An example of an unexplained event is the Dyatlov incident that occurred in the northern Ural Mountains in an evening of the month of February in 1959 -- the death of nine on a cross country ski trek.

The team's captain was called Dyatlov. He led the trek. When they were climbing the Ridge of Death, the whole team died. The investigation into this matter revealed that the trekkers' tent was open. They were covered by thick snow and had bare feet. There is no evidence of fighting. The scene showed a skull fracture, two broken ribs, and a missing tongue. Some of them were wrapped in rags, but it seemed like these clothes were cut off from the corpses. Through the investigation, it was found that the deceased’s clothing had a strong radiation, even though this radiation may have been subsequently added. However, it was shown that nothing was relevant. One of the experts who surveyed this accident said that the three of the deceased’s fatal injuries couldn't have been caused by humans, but were caused by a kind of unknown power. So far this unknown force is still unsolved.

Secular humanism is informing the focus on supernatural encounters. Yet humans naturally believe in supernatural encounters. These encounters might vary from person to person and culture to culture, but people naturally perceive beings like angels, demons or ghosts to exist.

Reflections on Friendship

Mustafa Al Saeed

First of all, I would like to introduce what friends mean. Friends mean society, family, and life.

No matter in which way I make any friend I will be faithful to him.

Secondly, I have various best ways to make friends. I enjoy making friends in every area, school and country. I believe the aim of making friends is we help, also we respect each other. How we meet isn't so important.

Most of my friends are neighbors, from my school, sports club, friends of friends and family friends. However I do not have any problem to make friends using other ways, furthermore, I know some friends who I helped or they helped me.

I am still with friends who are respectful, generous, humble, faithful, sincere, dependable, and respect their and my parents.

I have many friends but our friendships have not been continued because some of them have died or and some of them are busy with their families or work.

I have never left a friend and my opinion a friend is a gift from God.

Finally I like to behave with people, as I like them to behave with me.

Making & Maintaining Friendships

Meiti Here Iotefa Stergios

I think that there is no best way to meet new friends. You can meet them anywhere and any time. Most often one meets friends at school or at work, places where there are lots of people. It is also possible to meet friends in a sports club or by organizing activities. The way most used by young people in order to do it is the Internet! Several sites enable people to meet and to make friends worldwide. I think that it is a really good idea and it also allows us to stay in contact with friends and family, and matters in the world! It's quick and efficient. I use it too and I'm sure that lots of students in the Language Centre also use it. It's also possible to make friends at a party or by the way of our friends. Pubs, bars and coffee shops are also known for meetings, because many people go there.

To maintain a friendship, I think that it must always be necessary to stay in contact, to be called from time to time or to exchange emails. However, for friends living in different countries, exchanging letters or speaking to each other online seems to be a good idea to prolong a friendship. I also think that doing activities with friends, such as going to the cinema, going shopping or having lunch together nurture our friendships and make sure they're long lasting. Having a party with friends also allows the support of friendly relations and at the same time, is also allows one to meet news friends. In my country, there is a party to gather all old students of a school to remember old times.

The Advantage of Meeting in the Flesh

Afnan Khadawurdi

I like forming new friendships especially since I came to New Zealand because there are a lot of international people from everywhere. As a result I can learn and I get to know plenty of information.

After I came here I wanted Arabic people to talk with and I felt homesick and strange in this country. Then I met a lot of Saudi girls who encouraged me and I felt nearly the same as in my country.

I like meeting friends in a public place such as in school, homes, gardens and university because I can see them and talk with them. I also can form ideas about them. On the other hand I don’t choose to meet new friends on line chatting on Skype or MSN because I can’t see them very well.

I really like friendships because sometimes we need someone to talk with or some advice about something.

Advice & A Warning

Chris (Ce) Dong

Friends play important roles in our lives. A proverb says 'One man is not good enough to live alone in the world.' Indeed, there are many things in life which we can't perform alone. We need friends’ help. It's great to have a memorable and eternal friendship but it's difficult to make a real friend. So we should learn more about how to find new friends and how to nurture and maintain our friendships.

Of course, we can make friends everywhere at anytime. For example, we can go to speed dating, join a reading group or even find friends though the Internet. However, I think the best place is school, where we are among a big number of boys and girls our own age, so it is easy to get to know each other in a short time. Besides, we can also make friends among the people who work with us in the community.

In order to make real good friends, the most important thing I think is that we should have common ambitions as well as the same interests and hobbies because it's hard to stay with a person who always disagrees with your ideas. In addition, we must be honest, noble-minded and kind-hearted in order to leave a favorable impression with others. And we mustn't lie to our friends. For me, when I was a child, I didn't understand what a real friendship meant. One of my best friends asked me the date to go back to school when we were on holiday. I told him the wrong date so he didn't go to school on time. Then the teacher asked his parents to come to the school. He was so angry and broke up with me. I hoped to say sorry to him but it was too late. I still regret that.

At the same time, we should avoid bad friends. A proverb says ‘A friend in need is a friend indeed.' Friends are people who willingly and readily help us when we are in trouble, and show sympathies for us when we are in misery. However, bad friends always do harm to us and they are dangerous to the people around us. What is even worse, they mar our friendships with good friends. So we should make friends wisely.

An Optimal Environment for Making Friends

Othman Al Ghamdi

I would like to talk about getting together. In my opinion, I see the best way to meet new friends is in school. I chose schools because they are the easiest place to get new friends and know them very well. There are many ways to get new friends but there is not enough time to meet them. It might be because of study or work. If someone asks me why I chose schools as the best way, I would say it is because I have met many of my best friends in schools.

At the University of Otago Language Centre I have made and got to know my best friend, called Ahmed Al Zahrani. I have known him since my first day at the Language Centre when I was looking for my friend Abdul Aziz in the common room. I think that reason is enough for me to respond when anyone asks me why I prefer schools as the greatest way to get the best friends.

I believe that the best way to maintain our friendships is to keep in touch with each other and try to help each other when anyone of us has got a problem. In addition, trying to not be angry when someone makes a mistake. I think these ways are the best ways to maintain our friendships and grow them.

Practical Advice on Nurturing New Friendships

Wayne (Weimin) Li

A friend, which is the most important thing in anyone’s life, represents honesty and support. Therefore, making friends is very important. Whether good friends or bad friends, both can affect the way we live.
With hi-tech developments, there are so many ways to find new friends or keep in touch with our old friends. As you know the way we usually use to communicate with people, are the telephone, writing a letter, the Internet and text messages. If you want to know which the best way to meet a new friend is, I can tell you this depends on different kind of people, who have their own personalities.
However, when you make a friend, if you are not concerned about this up and coming friendship, you're likely to lose this friend soon. So, what you should do after having made a new friend is having contact with them properly or doing something that shows you care about them. For example, if you want to attend an activity, you may call your friend and say ‘would you like to attend that activity with me?’ And you also can text them to say ‘How’s it going?’ Or you can send them some gifts as well. I think all the means above definitely work.
To tell the truth, I am not really sure how to maintain a relationship or to make it long-lasting, but personally, whatever the case is, doing your best for your friends is the key.

To Have A Friend Is To Have A Treasure

Araceli Munoz

Friendship is an important element of our social relations and our social environment. People usually find friends within the context that they move. In their school, in their neighbourhood, in their job, while traveling, on the Internet ... it’s possible to find friends everywhere.

In my case, I have made good friends at every time and in all places of my life. My friends mark the different phases though which I have passed during my life. I still keep in touch with some of my friends but others only remain for a while in my life and afterwards they only rest in my memory.

Many times, we fall out of touch when we lose some common thing that we shared with our friend: a place, a hobby, other friends … Sometimes time or distance doesn’t make it easy to keep our friendships, but, even so, some relations remain. We lose other friends forever. And some ones seem lost but we return to get in touch again after some time.

During my life I have learnt that being able to keep our good and old friends is sometimes more important than finding new ones. It can be easy to find new friends but keeping the friends that you already have is much more difficult. Maybe, if you want to keep your friends, the most important thing is allocating time for them.

But, what do we expect out of a friendship? Perhaps, we look for confidence, respect, sincerity, reciprocity, understanding or support, someone who will be with you when you need him and whom you will help when he calls for you. Or, maybe, we only try to find affection or companionship: somebody with whom we can speak about our problems, happiness or sadness and who listens to you both when you are right and when you are wrong. Or simply, we need to have friends in order to be happy and to enjoy good times, because, like the saying tells us “to have a friend is to have a treasure”.

However, we don’t expect the same things from all our friends. Not all friends have the same importance to us and we are not fond of each one in the same way. There are good, close and essential friends and there are more superficial relationships. And, sincerely, I believe that the former are the most important to keep.

Meeting New Friends & Maintaining Your Friendships

Fatmah Al Naser

Friendship is an amazing thing. I know many people but I only have a few friendships which I consider to be true friendships. These are people that I love and share my life with.

My friends always make me laugh and smile. They also keep me strong and encourage me to achieve my goals.

In my opinion there is no particular way to meet new friends. However, sometimes when you meet a new friend you feel you already know this person even though you have not met him before. This person probably becomes your friend because he is a copy of you and you see yourself inside him.

I read something interesting about how friends break up. Let me tell you about it. Firstly both friends will think the other is busy and will not contact him. As time passes, both will think why should I contact him first? Your love may be converted to hate. Finally, without contact the memory becomes weak and they forget each other. Keep in touch with all your friends because I don’t want you to be one of these kinds of people.

Making New Friends at the UOLC

Nitikorn Fongrattanakul

There are a lot of ways for making new friends and there are friends everywhere in the world such as at school, university, office, pubs or bars and the Internet. Before I came here, I only had Thai friends but at the moment, I’m staying in Dunedin and of course, I’ve already made new friends who are from different countries.

In my opinion, travelling is the best way to meet new friends for me. This is a good way to know other people and lots of other things such as culture, tradition, religion, society and so on.

Until now, I’ve studied English here for almost 6 months and I’ve got to know a lot of international friends such as Chinese, Japanese and Saudi people. How have I got to know them? Because I first started studying in the Elemetary class and now, I’m studying in the Upper-Intermediate class, so I have met a lot of friends.

In my view, almost all of them are good and kind people and I should cultivate our relationship by speaking to them and learning about them a lot, so this is a good way to nurture our relationships.

Moreover, I’ve already learnt various habits and got experiences that I’ve never had before and I promise that I’ll definitely maintain this happy time in my life forever.

Watch Out In Old Buildings!

Othman Al Ghamdi

I am going to talk about the paranormal. In my opinion, I believe there are some paranormal beings in the world and they live like us, but we cannot see them though they can see us. For example, many genies live around us and they hear us and they may do something that we do.

I do not believe some events have a supernatural cause because events cannot change and also God knows the events that will happen before they happen, so how can genies change something? It is not true that there is the ability to change or make events in life.

I am not interested about an explanation for phenomena in the material or natural sphere because nobody can change it, but we should find and search about the main reasons for that. In Saudi Arabia, I know some old buildings that people used to live in, but when they left, the buildings changed to be lived in by genies and many of them still live there and anybody who tries to get into these buildings may become mad or get sick. I know some people have got mad or got problems by getting inside many old buildings and they cannot cure themselves yet.

In conclusion, there are many paranormal beings in the world like genies. Nobody should try to get inside old buildings. That is my advice for each one.

The Musings of A Sceptic

Meiti Here Iotefa Stergios

I don't really believe the paranormal. I am a sceptic. But in my religion, we believe some Bible stories, but I don't know if they're true or false. We are just asked to believe in them. As when Jesus gifted sight to a blind person. It's a miracle but I don't know if it's really true. Maybe ...

In addition, in my home-country, many people say that they have seen UFOs, but may be it was just a light or a cloud. Perhaps a plane. Nobody really knows.

There are also some odd stories whitout explanations, such as ghost stories or the sudden disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle. They're really strange…

I only believe the things or the events that I can see or touch, I always seek an explanation for everything.

The Bermuda Triangle

Chris (Ce) Dong

There are lots of unsolved mysteries in the world. They are all very strange and unbelievable. We can't understand how they have happened--even scientists can’t explain them. So people are very interested in the mysteries. The Bermuda Triangle is one of the most attractive mysteries in the world and I am very curious about it.

The Bermuda Triangle is also called the Devil’s Triangle. It is an imaginary area in the Atlantic Ocean. It extends more than one million square kilometers between the island of Bermuda and it's very mysterious and dangerous because lots of planes and ships have disappeared in this area. It's said that at least fifty ships and twenty planes have disappeared there during the past one hundred years with over 1500 people disappearing. The accident that first suggested the danger of the Bermuda Triangle was the disappearance of five American Navy planes in 1945. The planes were carrying fourteen people on a training flight. They never returned. And a plane sent to search for them also disappeared.

In addition, it's also very strange that in this area compasses and other instruments stop working. Even satellite connection is gone. And some planes and ships’ captains reported that they saw a yellow fog in the Bermuda Triangle. When they approached the area, the sky suddenly turned yellow, and the sea and the sky seemed to come together. As a result, they could not tell where they were, or in what direction they were heading.

There are many different kinds of ideas about the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle. One writer says that there are powerful forces under the water. These forces interfere with communication devices and cause planes to crash and ships to sink. Some people think that creatures from outer space guard the area. These creatures pull the planes and ships to another planet. On the other hand, some critics think the Bermuda Triangle stories are false. They say most of the events that have taken place in the area can be explained scientifically. There isn't a definite and common idea yet.

In my opinion, the strange phenomena in the Bermuda Triangle area tell us that human beings are only one part of nature. Through the long history of development, men have gotten to know more and more about the world. However, there are still more natural phenomena we do not know. We human beings still have a long way to go.

A Man of Incredible Strength Plus Some Djinns

Mustafa Al Saeed

In fact I do not believe all that I am told though I respect people's opinion, however I think some supernatural men have power or thinking which is better than the normal. There are many things we should put on the table to discuss, for example some miracles.

Everything has an interpretation. While I talk with my friends about this they think they are lied to by me. Those stories Arab Countries have too many. I would like to say two things, one is true and the second is questionable even if we see it clearly or the scientists seek how to prove it.

The first one is supernatural; I remember one man of my city had super powers. I did not see every thing about him but I saw him do many crazy things. I saw him swimming and pulling a boat that had 5 people because they were in the middle of the sea and the boat’s engine stopped. That time it was in the winter that it is very dangerous to swim, and many people were missing, and he has never tired of his job. He is in his 60s and he defeats young people who are in their 30s or 40s. Furthermore some people said to him there is a dog, which is the most dangerous dog in my city, and the man who had that dog bought it almost for $10,000 from Pakistan. The supernatural man did not want to kill that dog and he said one of us will be dead, so there were 2 choices for him (be killed or be a killer), but he was told he would fear the dog. Then we went to the farm to see that fighting. The dog rushed and bit him then he hit it on its face and broke its neck.

The second one is when I was in Oman, I saw some wells and a cave which are believed to have been made by djinns. I did not see that it was very hard to make them. I told my friend “maybe these are such as the pyramids that are in Egypt ” They told me "why, you do not believe the djinns.” This is not an argument but it is questionable. I believe the djinns but I do not believe in some of the things people say they do. People make everything miraculous.

The Power of the Mind

Fatmah Al Naser

Nowadays, in many countries governments start to concentrate on the human being as the source of power for countries. The science of self development has started in the last few years in education.

This kind of science focuses on human study and explains the difference between people and why we can see for example two brothers grow up in the same environment and under the same conditions, but one of them is smart and the other one is a normal person. In my opinion the first one understands himself clearly and he works to improve his mind and he really knows himself very well, so he becomes different.

One day I read about the human brain and how we can discover the power of the brain and that we use only five percent of our brain power and the remainder is unused. Also I read about photoreading which is kind of reading skill and the brain is able to take a photo of every page in a book in a few seconds, and then the person is able to read the whole book in minutes and will also be able to remember the numbers of the pages. When I read that for the first time I could not believe it, but when I researched it on the Internet I found many topics about photoreading and how can we improve our reading skills. This kind of reading is what we really need in the ILETS exam.

Mysteries or Lack of Knowledge?

Araceli Munoz

In general, at all times and in all cultures, people are prone to want to have an explanation of all the things that we see, think or do, even if this is beyond our means. People try to find different ways of looking for these answers and these can vary depending on character, education, religion, tradition or culture. We want an answer and if we don’t find one inside our knowledge system, we look for it in another place. We don’t resign ourselves to ignorance or doubt.

As well as the rest of people, I try to look for an explanation for all the things that surround me. Slave of the modern times and the occidental culture, I characterize myself by an extreme incredulity (I won't believe it until I see it) and a great scepticism with relation to strange explanations of unknown phenomena for which science (still) hasn’t found an answer. This includes not being a religious woman, and only having faith in the things which I can see or feel and in the people who I love, like my family and my friends, who I trust (maybe contradictorily) with a blind faith.

Nevertheless, I try to bear in mind that mine isn’t the only existent knowledge system. There also exists other world views in other cultures and these have their own way of explaining the world that surrounds them. The interpretations that these modes of seeing the world provide are as valid, logical and credible for these people as the scientific explanations of occidental culture for me.

Even if everybody tries to explain the things which happen through the knowledge that their tradition or culture provide them, people should also bear in mind that their way of explaining reality isn’t better (or worse) that the manner provided by other societies. The others' world views (different from ours) can supply explanations as logical as our interpretations. Although for us these are intelligible I think that the comprehension of our reality should be accompanied by respect for the way that other people see the world.

But, on the other hand, that doesn’t mean that, inside the same culture and the same manner of seeing the world, we must have an absolute confidence in the explanations that different people, collectives, institutions or groups of interest give us and that we must believe all the assertions that they explain to us. It’s important to underline the role that every person has in the process of rationalizing the information that they receive, deciding by themselves if this information can be a plausible and convincing explanation for their doubts.

Responding to Stories of the Paranormal

Nitikorn Fongrattanakul

In my opinion, I usually have two ideas to compare everything. The first way is an agreement and second way is a disagreement. Accordingly, the paranormal and the supernatural things are possible or impossible. Some events are probably true but other events are difficult to believe, aren’t they?

My country, Thailand has a lot of supernatural stories. For example some people believe that there are angels in famous Thai rivers and inside holy Thai trees. Thai people often worship them because they can give them many good things such as a good life, good careers etc and they also are an important thing in their life.

However, other Thai people don’t think so because they think they are hoaxes and maybe coincidences, and the believers are blind. If you want to have a good life, you have to be a hard working person, they say.

In addition, I’ve watched one of the Thai scary movies and this movie is about a black magic ritual story and the main actress had supernatural powers and she could move many nails to inside humans’ stomach if she wanted to do it. I know though, it can’t explain how she does it.

In conclusion, there are lots of reasons for things being true or fake. Sometimes, we can’t understand how they are happening, or why they happen? What is the cause, human or the natural? However, we should believe them about fifty percent of the time and shouldn’t be immersed in what is claimed to be paranormal too much.

A Miraculous Healing

Afnan Khadawurdi

I believe in the supernatural but I think this is a gift from God because he can do everything for people. He created them and gives them eyes, ears, a mouth, a brain and everything in their life. In my religion I believe that God can make me a successful person. He also can cure me from illness so I ask him for every thing I want.

I will tell you a story about that. In my country a lot of people every year have cancer. My friend told me a story about her cousin. One day when she woke up she saw in the mirror a swelling in her throat. Every day it became bigger than the day before. After that her family took her to a hospital. A doctor arranged blood tests and x-rays for her and told her she had a cancer in the throat, or more exactly in the thyroid gland. And they could do surgery but the problem is when they cut out the cancer they could cut the vocal cords and then she wouldn't be able to talk again and she was 20 years old and this was very difficult for her. And the doctor told her she had to decide very quickly because the cancer was spreading very fast. She went home and thought. Then she decided to go to Mecca, the holy city in Saudi Arabia and stayed in the holy mosque in it for one month. Every day she prayed and asked God to cure her from the cancer. She also drank the holy water called Zam Zam. After one month she went to hospital and received another blood test and x-ray. When she saw the doctor, he was amazed with her result. He told her the cancer had gone and she didn’t have to have surgery.

I was very surprised when I listened to the story but I remembered God can do everything impossible.

The Power of Fame

Chris (Ce) Dong

Fame and fortune, how attractive and beautiful they are.I think no one would say that they don't want to achieve fame and fortune. When I was a child,I even felt that if we don't have fame and fortune, it won't be a successful life. I dreamt of being a celebrity whom everyone knows. But on growing up, I have become more realistic. I know that life isn't all about that. Fame and fortune are not the whole meaning of life. The most important thing is we should live a happy life.

Surely,celebrities are important to me. I feel they are an important part of society. They can be models or idols for us. I have many favorite singers and actors. I often listen to their songs and watch their movies. I also regard some successful persons as models, like Bill Gates.

One of my favorite celebrities is Jet Li, who is a famous kung fu movie star in Hollywood. He was born in Beijing in 1963. When he was young, he was a martial artist and he won lots of golds in matches. He acted in his first film Shaolin Temple in 1982. Then, he became more and more famous not only in China but also in the world. In 1998, Li played a role in his first Hollywood movie, Lethal Weapon 4. In subsequent years, he has acted in lots of popular films like Kiss of the Dragon, The One, and Hero etc. Some of his movies have won a lot of awards in film festivals. So you see, he is really a successful celebrity and many people in China are proud of him.

Without doubt, Jet Li has lots of fame and fortune. But he has never been high-headed. He always says that he just wants a real simple and happy life. Besides, Li is also a kind-hearted man. He always devotes himself to charities. He has founded a charity named 'One Foundation.' By September 30, 2009, it had already collected 181,550,569 yuan. The money is used to help the poor and people who are disabled all over the world.

Reflections On Fame

Mohammed Al Amri

Fame and fortune are the ambition of a lot of people these days. In other words, there are a lot of people who think that happiness and satisfaction can’t be found unless you a rich and well-known person.

On the other side, there are diehard fans and every one of them is attracted by someone famous and ready to spend his/her life for his/her idol. They imagine every day about their marked persons: How they eat? How they sleep? How they spend their day? There are a lot of questions that convert those celeb worshippers lives into a hell.

They do that because they don’t know the cost that you should pay for being famous or rich. In my experience, mostly, poor people are happier than rich, because most rich people can’t sleep at night because of the stress of how to manage their money. They still think about that all the time.

In addition, famous persons don’t feel comfortable anywhere, usually, because they are followed by paparazzi and some obsessed fans and they face a lot of problems through their life because they are in the public eye and their mistakes are counted up by people and published by the press.

In my opinion, having enough money to survive and a home to live in is a decent life, much better than that of millions of people starving and dying in many places around the world.

Halle Berry

Afnan Khadawurdi

She was born on August 14^th, 1966, in Cleveland. When she was studying at high school she was very active and she took part in plenty of activities such as being newspaper editor. After that she completed her study at Cleveland’s Cuyahoga Community College where she studied broadcast journalism.

She started her career as an actor in television with a role on the short-lived sitcom Living Dolls in 1989. In February of 2000 Berry faced controversy when she was involved in a hit and run accident that erupted into a tabloid scandal. In the summer of 2001 she costarred with John Travolta in an action movie Swordfish.

She is one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood. She has earned as much as $14 million a film. In 2009 she acted in the movie Frankie and Alice.

She has achieved a lot of awards after an Oscar in 2002 for best actress in a leading role for Monster’s Ball. In 2002, 2004 and 2008 she won BET awards for best actress. Also, in 2005 and 2006 she won the Black movie award.

I admire Halle Berry because she achieved something for the first time in being the first African American woman to win an Oscar. She still continues to win awards

How To Be Rich

Wayne (Weimin) Li

Personally the details of life are the key to being rich. There is a saying 'If you want to be loved by fortune, you must have to learn how to love fortune to start with.' Here is a story about a famous man.
Once, a photographer, with his assistant, was waiting for a celebrity on an airfield. This photographer clearly knew this celebrity -- He regards money as his life. Therefore, they came up with a tricky idea before the celebrity arrived.
The photographer dropped a coin on the airfield. Then he stepped forward to his assistant and said ‘Let’s wait to see whether he will pick that coin up or not, but I bet he will.’
A moment later, the wealthy man came there in a hurry. Although, it was noisy on the airfield ‘Where should I stand, here?’ he spoke loudly from far away.
Suddenly he found there was a coin left behind on the ground. So, by the way, ‘Can I stand behind that coin?’ he added.
Meanwhile, he picked that coin up. So it was as the photographer said. At that time, the photographer and his assistant burst into laughter.
This man is so greedy for money, so he is rich. His name is Sam Walton, and he is well-known around the world as the founder of Wal-Mart. What if he didn’t have this particular behaviour, he wouldn’t be rich now I think.

Fame: How I Respond To It

Wayne (Weimin) Li

Fame can make us popular and famous, and we get respect and admiration from those who support and love us. If we get fame, fortune will follow. Therefore fame means fortune, and on the contrary, fortune means fame.

For me, I don’t feel I’m a worshipper chasing celebrities. I won’t be easily influenced, so I am not a person who identifies with celebrities. But sometimes I am interested in some news about celebrities, such as David Beckham, Kobe Byrant and gossip about them with my friends. This is just to kill time. So, you know I am just a member of the audience who watches the latest news on celebs, although I am jealous of their fame and fortune.

To have Fame and fortune is everyone’s dream, so we often focus on those who are famous and wealthy. We admire and chase them because they are what we want to be in the future. Personally though, I don’t support lots of people chasing celebrities blindly, but we can think of it as an interest or a tool for killing time. On another hand, to admire celebs also is a motivation for us to achieve our dream. If people who are already famous and wealthy can do it, why can’t we do it as well as them?

Jennifer Murray a.k.a. Supergran

Chris Dong

Jennifer Murray was born in June, 1940 in Providence, Rhode Island. The grandmother of five only learned how to fly a helicopter 13 years ago but soon after entered the Guinness Book of Records as the first woman to circumnavigate the globe in one. She circumnavigated the world aboard a Robinson R44 helicopter, the distance of 36,000 miles in 97 days in 1997.

On the 6th of September, 2000, Murray became the first woman to make a solo flight around the world in a helicopter. The journey took 99 days. After that,she wrote a book about that journey, named Now Solo: One Woman's Record-breaking Flight Around the World, which was printed in 2002.

Her journey has never stopped. In 2007 Murray successfully co-piloted a circumnavigation of the Earth over the North and South Poles with pilot Colin Bodill. Before that,their first attempt in 2003 ended in a near fatal crash in Antarctica. "You've not failed until you stop trying," said Murray,who had spent three years preparing for her second attempt.

As you see, Murray is such a brave woman, although she is 69 years old. However, what inspires me mostly is her kindness. She always devotes herself to charities. "My motive was to create a world record and have a fantastic adventure," she said, after her circumnavigation in 2000, "however, I didn't want to do this without raising money for charity as well." Her journey raised over one million euros for Operation Smile, a charity which provides facial surgery for children in developing countries.

She has earned lots of awards and honours in her life and her journey is still going on.

The Potential of Fame

Othman Al Ghamdi

I am going to write about fame. Firstly, I want to tell you what fame means to me. It means to be known by many people in the world and to have everyone want a photo taken with you. It means to be a good man that people know will help them.

I think celebrities are important because many people will like you if your behavior is good. I know many famous people though do not behave very well, so nobody should try to behave like them. To some people, celebrity is not important because they will get a lot of problems from it so they would not like to be famous.

I like trying to take an active interest in celebrities who are helpful to people. For example, I would like to act like Zinedine Zidane from France who was a professional footballer because he is still trying to help poor people in the world by playing many football matches and then the money is given to poor people to help them. I remember he played many matches with his friend Ronaldo from Brazil and they got lots of money and they gave it to poor people in many countries.

Bill Gates

Fatmah Al Naser

Many people like to be a famous and they are ready to spend all their money to become celebrated. I am really interested when I read about celebrities and think about how their life has developed and how they collected their wealth and became famous.

One time I read Bill Gates's autobiography and how he made his fortune from nothing. He is the founder of Microsoft Company and the richest in the word. He was born in Seattle, Washington in 1955. When he was a child he was very intelligent and good at mathematics and he loved computers very much and he spent a long time creating new programs. He made a big change in the world when he created his program, Microsoft Windows. Now in the developed countries approximately everyone uses his program.

I believe that Bill Gates did not think about fame but he focused on what was interesting for him and then he became famous. Also he became rich and his wealth was estimated at around 58 billion in 2008. In my opinion if everyone focused on himself and tried to find strong points and worked to improve them then he would be famous or rich. "Inside everyone is a bright side" I really like this sentence and it has always encouraged me to create something interesting in my life. I learn from Bill Gates how I can be patient and make my life more interesting. I really admire him.

Celebrities: Between Fiction & Reality

Araceli Munoz

On occasions, people are famous because being a celebrity is a goal per se and fame is their final purpose. On other occasions, their fame is a consequence of their achievements which have made them well-known. But other times, people become famous not only without wanting it, but also without doing anything. Sometimes, fame is desired but other times it arrives without being wanted or even without being known.

Some celebrities like the fame and working and living for this, but others don’t want to be famous and they try to pass unnoticed in a crowd. Being famous implies a double aspect, a positive and a negative side, but, at times, people only want the positive part of being famous but don’t accept the negative consequences.

Even if you like fame and you live on it, it isn’t always easy being famous. It isn’t pleasant to have hundreds of paparazzi at the door of your home everyday waiting to know what you are going to do or to take a photo to you in pyjamas or a bikini. Celebrities’ lives can become very stressful without hardly any privacy.

I understand that the life of these famous people can be amusing and enjoyable to a lot of people who feel lonely (from elderly or ill people to housewives), people who live in hard social conditions, or, simply, romantic people who feel that their lives are more empty, boring or monotonous than celebrities’ lives. It’s good to have something to talk about or just to think about or imagine about. If you can’t achieve your dreams, you can always find some consolation in imagining or thinking about them.

This idea makes me think of the Woody Allen’s film “The Purple Rose of Cairo”, where a woman, who lives a hard life between a cheerless marriage and a sad job, escapes from her life by going to the cinema to watch the wonderful and amazing life of her preferred film’s characters. She is so close to the world of these characters and so far from her own everyday reality that the principal character of the film leaves the screen and they begin a romance.

In the same way, some people enjoy or take comfort in the experiences of famous people so they can escape from a life which they don’t like or they can reflect on their unfulfilled dreams. At times, our idols are people who we admire for their talent or skills, but some people also see in them what they would have wanted to be if they had been able to.

Fame: The Positives & The Negatives

Nitikorn Fongrattanakul

In my opinion, fame can be a positive or a negative thing. Firstly it is a positive thing because if you are a famous person, you’ll have a lot of good things in your life. For example you are known, liked, even loved and respected by most people or you’ll be rich. Moreover, everyone gives you important things.

On the other hand, it is a negative thing for you because you may not have private time to do something. When you want to go somewhere, some people follow you and they want to know about what your activities are each day. Some fans do some things that are crazy and they’ll probably endanger you, so celebrity in my view, isn’t an important thing. I want to be a normal person who has private time to spend and I don’t want to do fake things. Many celebrities usually do good things to show everyone that they are good or kind but in fact, they may not be real habits for them.

Moreover, I’m not interested in famous people too much because I don’t think it is a useful way to spend time. We should find and do other things that are better such as studying, working and exercising etc.

However, I like some celebrities such as David Beckham, Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp, but I’ve just appreciated their ability and I’m not crazy about their life too much.

Fame: Some Reflections on Ben Bernanke

Mustafa Al Saeed

Fame is important for me because I should be a good person; a person who is long remembered, especially by my family, as charitable.

As for some people, when others remember them they directly start swearing. I do not really follow celebrities’ lives zealously, however I would like to know how they got their starts, if they are smart or not, and I like to read wise sayings and aphorisms. I read and watch the news so I have just been watching politicians and other people who make important decisions. I do not like actors and singers. I am keen to know who the Man of the Year in the Forbes magazine or Time magazine is. Every month I seek on the Internet about the best men to find some good ideas and use them in my life. I found Ben Bernanke was the Man of the Year in 2009, and I read about him to find how he became a force more powerful than Obama, Hu Jintao (China president), and Medvedev (Russia president). Furthermore he is not very famous like many others, he is not known. I have found something amazing about this man, I could not forget him because even the Congress could not do anything for him nevertheless he slams it every time, also if he talks about the US dollar, the global share prices change. He is the president of the Federal Reserve Bank. He does not fear anything. Also, he is frank. Last time he said the world would probably face another financial crisis, because the USA has been printing trillions of dollars. “That's it” he declares to the entire world about that and no one says anything to him.

I read about every smart human that I have been seeing on the news several times on a lot of channels or in newspapers. Sometimes if I think it is wasting my time I leave it directly.

On the other hand, sometimes there are no benefits from looking to celebrities. I don't face any problems with my friends or in the class because I do not know some people that are very famous according to my friends' opinion but not in my opinion.