PROBLEM AND SOLUTION PARAGRAPHS

Problem paragraph writen by me: 

Poverty is today one of the worst realities all over the world. There are several degrees of poverty, but, in general terms, it leads to unhappiness. Some countries in the world, such as most of them in Africa or some of them in Asia are really affected because the majority of the population is poor there. Millions of children are hungry, and they are even dying of hunger and diseases, because their families can neither pay for medicines nor hospitalary services. However, the real and main problem is that the richer people seem not to be aware of this fact. Or maybe they just do not want to be aware…

Solution paragraph writen by María López Chuecos: 

“In my opinion, poverty is a really difficult problem to be solved, because it involves a lot of different issues, including political and social aspects. From my point of view, governements should improve their measures against poverty and people must help as much as possible (for example, donating money to the charity)”.

WRITING THE END OF "THE MAN ON THE EDGE"

They all were sweating out. The cops did not know what to do, as they did not sound enough convincing to him. But, suddenly, just in the moment he had decided to jump, his wife came into the room with a disfigured expression and begged him not to suicide. She regretted in ten seconds everything she had not regretted in ten years. She admitted she should not have split up, and confirmed once more her love towards him. In that moment, he was absolutely in shock and even more confused than before. “I am pregnant” – she added. “You are going to be father soon. Give me a chance, please. Give a chance to our baby”. His cheeks got redden, and a smile was starting to be drawn in his face. He was so excited that he could just stand petrified like a gargoyle. His sudden future plans made him forget about every problem which had lead him to this situation. He even forgot about where he phisically was. Just in the moment he came back to the Earth, he started to move to enter the room again. His zest for life was already inside the room, even before than the unexpected stumble which made him fall into the emptiness of the heights. However, he was not scared while falling, since he understood his life had already make sense.

WINNING THE LOTTERY

If I won the lottery, I would do lots of different things, depending on the amount of money I earned. For example, if I obtained the jackpot prize I would save part of the money for the future, I would share some of the amount with my family, I would donate money to charity, and of course I would be able to afford my most desired dream ever:  travelling and travelling around the world. I would visit the USA, the Antilles islands, Argentina, South Africa, China, Thailand, all the countries around Europe... 

But if I obtained just some sort of little cash prize, I think I would save it for the future, because perhaps I will need to pay a master degree, a car or an apartment. I would also fix my instrument, since it is really out of tune (it is very old and fixing taxes are not cheap at all!).                    

However, I do not think that winning the lottery would mean the solution for all my problems. It is true that it would be a great lucky break (because of the welcome sum of money it involves), but if  a relative is about to die, if my future wife does not love me anymore and wants to split up, if I get into a depression or illness... the money will never help. Moral problems cannot be solved with money, because money just interferes in the field of materialism. And people who are not able to appreciate this may experience sense of guilt, envy, greed, or dive into a real obsession with money and wealth. In this aspect, underdeveloped countries knock developed countries out: while education and lifestyles revolve around money in the richer countries of the world, important human values such as generosity, humility or empathy are the only hope against hunger or fear to the death in the poorer countries.  

We should be aware of the drawbacks of money, and we should think that family, friendship and life are much more important than wealth. In fact, money comes and goes by so easily, but our closer and beloved people must remain beside us!

ROSTROPOVICH /VS/ SEX PISTOLS

Rostropovich and the Sex Pistols are two well known icons in the world of the music. They both have been performing all over the world for many different audiences which usually got dazzled with their melodies. Likewise, they both earned their living with music: the concerts in which they performed would attract many people (who had to pay rather expensive tickets to see them and enjoy their music). 

However, while Sex Pistols play funk music, Rostropovich is a global benchmark of classical music. Different from Sex Pistols, Rostropovich used to perform as a soloist with the most prestigious orchestras ever. Besides, the clothing style of Sex Pistols is not the same as Rostropovich´s one: Sex Pistols wear much more informal and scruffier than Rostropovich (who used to wear an elegant suit). 

In music - and of course, in life - there should be diveresity: different styles which put accross different feelings, perspectives or likes. That is the reason why we are lucky to be able to enjoy such a different music written by these great artists: Rostropovich and the members of Sex Pistols. 

        

        

UNCONDITIONAL BASIC INCOME

From my point of view, the unconditional basic income is both unfair and utopic. Firstly, this way of trying to distribute wealth and avoiding poverty is not an economic-viable idea. Lots of amounts of money would have to be spent in the distribution, and in the end, everyone (even the economic disadvantaged people) would have to pay for this aim with high taxes and fees. Furthermore, people who are too lazy would take advantage of the situation: they would get money in the same conditions as people who work hard, so the unfairness would be so appreciable in the everyday reality. In my opinion, there should be several aids to help poor people, but the inconditional basic income is not possible in our society; we have to get used to working our own way to the top, so that we can earn our living by our efforts. As Nietzsche used to say: "A person will succeed when he/she squeezes his/her qualities to the fullest".

THE TRUTH ABOUT ZOOS

Although many zoos define themselves as "animals´ hosts", they are actually places where some interesting species are collected to show them to an audience that normally gets dazzled by seeing them. Zoos seem to teach that there is no problem in having trapped, bored, alone and far from their natural homes animals. In fact, some shocking studies show that, for every hour that a person walks through the zoo, animals spend five years or more in there. In my opinion, this is not fun, but a real tragedy.

In zoos, all the natural needs of animals are cut down: migratory birds are not allowed to fly freely long distances, aquatic animals have much less water than necessary, some animals which are used to living in large herds have to live alone... Natural behaviours such as hunting or choosing a partner are completely knocked out by feeding regimes and mating programs.

It is also true that, even though many zoos act under the pretext of preserving endangered species which are currently facing extinction, the general purpose is to find ways to breed and keep animals in captivity. “Protecting species” sounds like a noble cause, but, in general terms, zoos give priority and support the exotic and popular animals (which attract many people) and neglect common species. If the aim is to encourage the reproduction and perpetuation of the species, it would be much more effective to prevent hunting and the destruction of their natural environments, taking drastic measures on the society.

Summing up: although it is true that there are zoos which differ a lot in size and quality (some of them count with huge semi-natural parks, and some others just consist of small places full of cages and iron sticks), and although there are zoos which carry out intensive animal care, I think we should let animals live in their natural habitats, where they can really develop themselves as natural species.

PICASSO IS WORTHWHILE

When I saw this picture for the first time,  it aroused many different feelings in me. Basically, I think it transmits some sensations such as chaos, anxiety, hustle, disorder, madness, despair, suffering, death... This helps us to understand the topic of this painting, which focuses on the horrors of the Spanish Civil War. Picasso, a Spanish republican painter, is inspired by a historical fact characterized for the brutality and inhumanity: the bombing of the town of Guernica. However, Picasso does not represent the bombing itself, but his pain through multiple symbols. Most of them have one thing in common: they are a cry against war, to make us reflect on the destruction and pain that was present in Spain less than 100 years ago.

In my opinion, the bull (at the top, on the left) could be related to the brutality and fascism that oppresses its victims. The woman with the dead child in her arms (under the bull) could represent the pain and despair. The horse (in the middle of the scene) could represent the Spanish people and the maimed man on the floor refers to the war deads. However, I think Picasso draws hopeful symbols, such as the light bulb or the flower holded  by the arm of the maimed man.

Anyway, I think this work is great because Picasso is able to transmit a vision that summarizes and mimics the experiences and consequences of the Spanish Civil War. From my point of view, the painting itself is not pretty or nice to see… because the Spanish war was neither.

THE BBC COMPANY

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the public-service broadcaster of the United Kingdom which constitutes the oldest and the second largest national broadcasting organisation all over the world. Since 2014, the BBC World Service has made this company expand throughout many other countries, as it provides lots of services in 28 different languages. The BBC has long remained one of the main elements in British popular culture, due to its production of TV and radio for mass audiences. 

Talking about me, I like particulary this company because of two main reasons:

1.         One year ago, I was recommended to listen to the radio in English, so as I could improve my listening skills. At first, I did not like the experience because I could not find anything interesting on the Internet. But when my English teacher in the second year of Bachillerato told us about BBC radio, I really changed my mind. Every night before going to sleep, I used to listening to this radio (BBC radio channel 4 in particular) because the English they spoke was so easily understandable, and also because the chosen topics were current, varied and interesting.

2.         I´m studying bassoon at the Superior Conservatory of Murcia, and that´s because I´m so fond of music and professional orchestras. I wish in the future I could earn my living performing with one of the best orchestras in the world (Berlin Philarmoniker, Wiener Philarmoniker, London Royal Symphoniker, Frankfurt Operahaus, etc.). However, a new orchestra financed by the BBC (which is called BBC Proms Orchestra) has recently been born, and it´s revolutioning the world of the music. The BBC company employs the best musicians all over the world to play together in this orchestra: it sounds incredibly amazing! They usually rehearse in well known buildings in London, such as the Opera or the Royal Albert Hall.

In Spain, there are some public broadcasting companies too, but I think they are not as unified as the BBC. The people´s support and the companies achievements are neither measured on such a large scale. In my opinion, the BBC is much more engaged with people than Spanish broadcasting companies, and that is an important fact which usually leads to success. It´s a pitty that Spanish communications (and culture, in general terms) are not in the same level than English ones, isn´t it?

FEAR

Fear of the future.

Fear of chosing a wrong way.

Fear of not finding what I am looking for.

Fear of wasting my time.

Fear of doubting and fear of regretting too late.

Fear of having nobody when I need everybody.

Fear of letting down those who trust me,

and fear of trusting those who let me down.

Fear of the time which goes by.

Fear of the solitude.

Fear of the inescapable oblivion.

Fear of bitter memories.

Fear of the unpredictable randomness.

Fear of not making the most every second of my life.

Fear of the last bye.

Fear nobody will remember me when I´m gone.

Fear this day will end and fear there will not be a tomorrow.

Fear of waking up to find someone is missing.

Fear of not loving and fear of loving too much.

Fear of myself.

Fear of my fears.

Fear of everything.

I´ve said that.