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Record-Breaking Bike

1- The main point of this article is the record that a bike known as eta broke. This point first appeared when the writer wrote that a “ strange-looking bike, bullet-shaped bike broke the record for fastest person-powered vehicle on Earth.” The writer first writes about the record that zeta has broke and how it did that, then she writes the circumstances under which Eta would perform the best or fastest, the finally she writes about the people involved in breaking the record, writing that “Reicherd first pedaled Eta through a 6 km (4mi)-long section of the course to accelerate, or increase the bike’s velocity”.

2- the article is divided into paragraphs, above the paragraphs is a title , each with a different title that is the main topic of the paragraph. I think giving a paragraph a title is a good thing to include in an informational text, in which it helps the reader have an idea of what he’s about to read. The order of the information helps the reader better understand the idea of the article, the writer first introduces the reader with background information so that later the reader can have a better understanding when the writer writes about the bike’s record, construction and so on. There isn’t any extra information needed to help us better understand the article, as we already get the main point with the given information. The writer has written this article to inform us about Eta breaking the record for fastest person-powered vehicle and how it was done. The writer included enough information in the article for the reader to get the purpose of why it was written. The writer concludes the article with a quote of a man known as Cameron Robertson who is a member of Team AeroVelo which says “This year, we spent more time preparing and testing, and it feels incredible to have that pay off”, the writer has written this quote to sum up the article.

3- Do the resources come from a trustful source? It is important for the resources to have been bought from a trustful source, so that readers reading the article would believe in you and rely on the information given. Who is the writer of the article? Knowing the writer of an article helps us determine the reliability of that articleand if the information given is true. Knowing the write would also help us determine if they know what they are talking about or if they are just a random person knowing nothing about the topic.

4- Yes, this article is reliable. The article was written on the 13th of November, which isn’t that long ago, this helps us know that the article includes information that’s up to date and therefore reliable. The article also includes cited quotes from people involved in the record, which supported the articles credibility. Sara Goudrazi, the writer, holds a Masters of Arts and is a known writer, this gives me somewhat a verification for the articles reliability.

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(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7EZX67mhnw)

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Vocabulary sentences

Her vindictive nature led her to spread rumours about the girl.

The traffic made me vex as i was in a hurry to go to school

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Do you like Christopher? What about his father? And his mother? Are they good people? Do you sympathize them when they behave unskillfully, or blame them for their faults?

Christopher Boone 

I really love Christopher's character, he's a 15 year old boy who has ambitions and goals but suffers from Asperger's Syndrome. Christopher's disability didn't stymie his dreams, like becoming an astronaut or doing A levels maths and so on... He's also funny, even though he thinks he isn't, and he's also intelligent. He faces a lot of struggles because of his disability, yet he doesn't let that stop him from reaching his dreams. For example, when he decided to go to London to live with his mother, he faced his adversity by talking to strangers in the train station. Christopher behaves in a way many people would think is disrespectful, but he acts that way because of his disability. For example he would most likely hit anyone who touches him, which I would've also thought was disrespectful and rude if I didn't know about Asperger's Syndrome. I sympathize with Christopher, because many people he meet might think of him as a bad person but in reality he's a good person with good intentions. I wouldn't blame Christopher for things he might have done wrong that happened because of his Syndrome, because he can't control it. 

 Ed Boone (Christopher's father) 

As for Christopher's father, Ed, I liked him in the beginning of the book, but as I was reading more and more, I started to dislike his character. At first, I thought he was caring and acted responsibly, he seemed to know how to act around Christopher, he was also strong because of the fact that he took care of Christopher alone. But as the story went on, we start to see the change in Ed's character, he hits Christopher when finding out about the investigation, we also discover that he had lied to Christopher about Christopher's mother. It was wrong for him to hit his child, even if he was angry. It was also wrong for him to lie to Christopher about his mother because Christopher had the right to know about his mother. No child should be prohibited to communicate or talk to his mother. Even though Ed has done many wrong things, I still think he was a good person because he was just worried about his son and protecting him from the truth. He also went to London attempting to bring his son back which shows that he cared about him. I sympathize with Ed as he was trying his best to raise Christopher on his own without a mother. I wouldn't blame him for his faults because he didn't intent to hurt his son Christopher, and I think that it is hard for a parent not to make mistakes especially while raising a child without the presence of a mother. 

 Judy Boone (Christopher's mother)

I strongly dislike this character. I think that Christopher's mother is a careless and irresponsible person, she left her son alone with the care of his father and never came back to check on him or anything. Sending her son letters doesn't justify her actions. She didn't even care to call him (or try to find his home number if she doesn't Know it) or come back to Swindon at least once to check on him. I also think that Ed Boone's decision by lying to his son about his mother's death might have been somewhat helpful or beneficial for Christopher, because if I was Christopher I would've felt sad and abandoned by my mother (and his father didn't want Christopher to feel that way). A mother shouldn't just leave her son no matter what, and Judy left her son because she wasn't able to handle his disability. But in the end, his mother showed concern when Christopher's father went to London to take his son, she didn't want to give him back. Showing concern at the end and not at the beginning of time doesn't mean I sympathize with Judy Boone. In my opinion, she isn't a good person because she acted selfish and left her son and I blame her for all of her faults.

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How has your opinion of social media changed from doing this project? Some people look at social media negatively – how would you argue with them that it can be useful and educating

My opinion of social media has changed since working on this project. I had always thought that social media was made for the sole purpose of entertainment and communication. After I was introduced to this project by my teacher I was a little bit confused, social media was there for me to help me communicate with my friends but not with school assignments or projects. Doing this project has helped me understand the use of social media for doing school work. Now I know the many ways social media can help people. For people who look at social media negatively, they should know that it can also benefit people. Of course social media has its negatives and positives, but it all depends on the person. For example, some negative sides of social media is cyber-bullying, it's easier for some bullies to bully victims through social media. Social media can also be a distraction to some people, it can prevent them from doing important things such as school work. But as I previously said, it all depends on the person who's using social media. Social media can be useful and educating in many ways. For example, this tumblr project has helped many students learn that everyone might have their own opinion about things and that there isn't a right or wrong opinion or just one right opinion. Also because of this project, students are getting out of their comfort zone trying to express their ideas and opinions, for me personally, I found it way easier to explain and talk about how I feel about things through tumblr. Using social media might help students become more concerned with the way they write since many other students can see their posts. I can see myself and many others improving especially with their writing skills, there is a really big difference between my posts from week 1 compared to week 5. I totally disagree with people who think that social media can be a bad influence to us, simply because they aren't seeing the how social media can benefit someone. Just seeing the negative aspects of social media, in my opinion, is the wrong thing to do. Social media can help with education and self improvement if used in the right way.

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I must say that this posts states exactly the same things I was thinking of. Using violence can be reasonable for some situations and unreasonable for some. People who are subjected to danger have the right to defend themselves and use violence. Using self-defense to protect yourself is acceptable, for example if someone has physically attacked you and you might be in danger, you have the right to defend yourself and use violence against that person. But in some cases, as you said, violence isn't acceptable. For example, it isn't acceptable for a bully to use violence against students. Using violence to express anger against someone or to harm anyone isn't right.

Violence Can Be A Reasonable Response To An Unreasonable Situation:

In my opinion, it is reasonable to use violence in certain situations. For instance, if you are subjected to violence, you have all the right to return the favor for self-defense. People start a conflict verbally at first and then they start using violence as a tool against you. In order for you to survive, you need to fight back and it is perfectly acceptable to fight back when you think you are in trouble.

For example, in the book, Christopher hits the policeman back because he hates physical contact with humans because he doesn’t understand human beings therefore he doesn’t think they are safe or trustworthy. So, in this case, it was a reasonable response to hit the policeman back, however, Christopher should also keep in mind that hitting a “sheriff” can serve u a long time in prison.

Another example from the book is when Christopher`s father starts physically hitting Christopher and Christopher felt unsafe so he had to act immediately to save himself from getting more hurt. Even thou hitting is father back made the situation worse, it was reasonable for Christopher to fight back.

In some cases, it`s not acceptable to use violence to express anger to someone. It’s also not acceptable to use violence for personal again or to bully someone. Using violence to harm anyone is not justified for any situation.  

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“Portraying people with disabilities in entertainment media is unfair.”

I disagree with the fact that portraying people with disabilities in entertainment media is unfair. Of course there are some entertainment media that portraits people with disabilities in a rude way, but that happens to people with no disabilities too. People with disabilities shouldn’t feel as if they’re different than us, because they aren’t. Portraying people with disabilities in entertainment media can actually benefit the people in many ways.

Portraying people with disabilities can teach people about that particular disability. Some people aren’t that aware of the struggles or what a person with a disability may go through everyday, this could give people more sympathy to people with disabilities and make them more understanding when that disabled person does something unacceptable or wrong in some way. For example if I have met someone like Christopher, with Asperger’s Syndrome, I would’ve thought they were rude or disrespectful for doing certain things (an example is hitting people when being touched), but because I’ve read the book, now I know why they would’ve done that. Knowing certain behaviors of people with Asperger’s Syndrome (from Christopher) helped me understand why they do certain things.

Also, sometimes seeing people with disabilities makes you feel more thankful for what you have. People should always feel grateful towards what they have, not everyone has what you have. Also people with disabilities, they have things we don’t have. Nobody is perfect or has everything, so everyone should feel appreciative for the things they have. For people with disabilities, seeing others go through the same struggles they go through everyday would make them feel like they aren’t alone. For example seeing Christopher having difficulties communicating with others made me feel fortunate to have the social skills I’ve got (even though I have bad social skills). A person with Asperger’s Syndrome might have never or rarely seen a person with the same disability. That person might have read TCIOTDITNT and felt like they weren’t the only ones going through these obstacles that differentiate them from other people.

All in all, I disagree with the statement that says that portraying people with disabilities in entertainment media is unfair. Actually, I think not portraying them in entertainment media would be unfair because they aren’t any different than us. There isn’t anything wrong with showing people what a day in a life of a disabled person is like. We always portray able-bodied people, how would it be unfair to portray disabled people? We are all the same. Also portraying disabled people would help others by teaching them new information and making them feel thankful for what these got. It would also teach disabled people to be stronger and feel like they aren’t alone.

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A major theme in the book is Isolation. Provide three examples of this throughout the book "I knew that it meant "happy," like when I'm reading about the Apollo space missions, or when I am still awake at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. in the morning and I can walk up and down the street and pretend that I am the only person in the whole world." Chapter 3 "These are some of my Behavioral Problems * Not talking to people for a long time * Not liking being touched * Screaming when I am angry or confused * Not liking being in really small places with other people * Not noticing that people are angry with me * Saying things that other people think are rude" chapter 73 "And I like really little spaces, so long as there is no one else in them with me. Sometimes when I want to be on my own I get into the airing cupboard outside the bathroom and slide in beside the boiler and pull the door closed behind me and sit there and think for hours and it makes me feel very calm." Chapter 83 _______________________________________________________________________

Christopher prefers to be alone, but knows he’s unable take care of himself on his own. Is there a contradiction here?

There is definitely a contradiction here. Christopher likes being distant and isolated from people , which are some of the traits people diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome have, but he still requires the constant care of other people. Having Asperger's Syndrome can limit someone's capability of doing simple things like interacting and communicating with people, meeting new people and visiting new places. Christopher also can easily breakdown by getting too much information or being somewhere crowded. He needs someone to help him with the difficulties and struggles he Faces, which is kind of ironic since he like being alone.

"Then, when I've got a degree in maths, or physics, or maths and physics, I will be able to get a job and earn lots of money and I will be able to pay someone who can look after me and cook my meals and wash my clothes, or I will get a lady to marry me and be my wife and she can look after me so I can have company and not be on my own." (Chapter 71)

In this quote however, Christopher explains how he needs someone since he he can't take care of himself. Even though he despises being with people, after all he needs someone to help and guide him through his life.

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Why is Christopher okay touching animals, but not humans?

People with Asperger's Syndrome usually dislike having any form of physical contact with people, such as touching. 

"we made our fingers and thumbs touch each other. We do this because sometimes Father wants to give me a hug, but I do not like hugging people so we do this instead, and it means that he loves me." Chapter 31

The reason he is okay with touching animals is because he thinks animals are more interesting and less complicated than people. He thinks he understands animals better as they have simpler emotions. Animals also can't do what people do such as lying or getting close to him which he hates, they are also loyal and honest which he likes.

 "I like dogs. You always know what a dog is thinking. It has four moods. Happy, sad, cross and concentrating. Also, dogs are faithful and they do not tell lies because they cannot talk." (Chapter 5)

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I strongly agree with you, violence is never the answer and it is the wrong way to fix a problem. And the examples you gave are a proof of that. Like for example when Christopher's father had hit him and it didn't end well, it actually made matters worse. Also, I agree that talking with a person calmly rather than using violence would be a better response to an 'unreasonable situation'.

“Violence can be a reasonable response to an unreasonable situation”

I disagree with this because it is totally the wrong way to fix any problem in any situation. Like for example when father had found out that Christopher had  talked to Mrs Alexander about Mr Shears, then father then grabbed him really hard and Christopher was very surprised of that because he never grabbed like that, and because he was surprised Christopher had hit him twice. Christopher had then blacked out and when he woke up he found himself on the carpet  with his back against the wall. I don’t think that that was the right thing to do because that will not solve the problem at all, it would make the problem even worse. If father had explained to Christopher why wouldn’t he want him to talk about Mr Shears or why not to investigate in who killed Wellington, Christopher would understand why and would think that it is maybe reasonable not do that because of the reasons that father should have told him.  I think that Christopher’s family was put in tough situations, but not  unreasonable ones. I believe that violence will only make   the situation worse, or in this case, even more “unreasonable." 

Another example when two people fight and they keep on fighting with no one to stop them, the problem will never be solved and they will keep on hating each other as long as they keep using violence with each other. But if they sit together and talk about the problem and how to solve it calmly, the problem will be more likely to be solved when they get to listen what the other person has to say about the problem, they will get to hear a different point of view and as a result the problem will be easier to solve.

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I strongly agree with you, violence is never the answer and it is the wrong way to fix a problem. And the examples you gave are a proof of that. Like for example when Christopher's father had hit him and it didn't end well, it actually made matters worse. Also, I agree that talking with a person calmly rather than using violence would be a better response to an 'unreasonable situation'.

“Violence can be a reasonable response to an unreasonable situation”

I disagree with this because it is totally the wrong way to fix any problem in any situation. Like for example when father had found out that Christopher had  talked to Mrs Alexander about Mr Shears, then father then grabbed him really hard and Christopher was very surprised of that because he never grabbed like that, and because he was surprised Christopher had hit him twice. Christopher had then blacked out and when he woke up he found himself on the carpet  with his back against the wall. I don’t think that that was the right thing to do because that will not solve the problem at all, it would make the problem even worse. If father had explained to Christopher why wouldn’t he want him to talk about Mr Shears or why not to investigate in who killed Wellington, Christopher would understand why and would think that it is maybe reasonable not do that because of the reasons that father should have told him.  I think that Christopher’s family was put in tough situations, but not  unreasonable ones. I believe that violence will only make   the situation worse, or in this case, even more “unreasonable." 

Another example when two people fight and they keep on fighting with no one to stop them, the problem will never be solved and they will keep on hating each other as long as they keep using violence with each other. But if they sit together and talk about the problem and how to solve it calmly, the problem will be more likely to be solved when they get to listen what the other person has to say about the problem, they will get to hear a different point of view and as a result the problem will be easier to solve.

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Christopher's Decision

After reading some of the 43 letters Christopher found in his father’s room, he found out that his mother isn’t dead and that she lived in London. Christopher’s father also confessed to him that he was the one who killed Wellington. Christopher then decided that he needed to run away because it was no longer safe to live with his father (since he killed Wellington and might kill him too).

Christopher trusted his father. He thought that he was a good person that did good things. He also thought that his father loved him, which meant that he always told him the truth. But now, his father wasn’t the same person Christopher thought was, he was hiding the truth from him and he was a killer too. All of this made Christopher distrust his father and feel terrified to live with him.

“I had to get out of the house. Father had murdered Wellington. That meant he could murder me, because I couldn’t trust him, even though he had said “Trust me,” because he had told a lie about a big thing.”

Christopher now has to find a place to go and live in. He had decided to go and live with Mrs. Shears since she wasn’t a stranger and he had stayed with her a couple of times before. But when he goes to Mrs. Shears house and knocks on her door, no one answers. He couldn’t live with Siobhan because she was a teacher and not a friend or a member of his family. He couldn’t go live with Mrs. Alexander since she wasn’t a family member too. He also couldn’t live with Uncle Terry because he lived far away and he didn’t like him all that much. Christopher then decides to go to London and live with his mother since she was a family member and he also knew her address from the letters he read from her.

“And then I thought that I could go and live with Mother because she was my family and I knew where she lived because I could remember the address from the letters, which was 451c Chapter Road, London NW2 5NG.”

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I would choose Macaulay Culkin to be Christopher. In the movie home alone, he was a smart kid. He wanted to stop the thieves from getting into his house and he had to be smart enough to solve that problem. He was smart and so is Christopher in the book. They both like solving problems for example Christopher really wanted to know who killed Wellington. And they have many similarities such as intelligence and creativity that makes Macaulay a great actor to play as Christopher.

I would cast Tina Fey (Ms.Norbury) from the movie mean girls to play Siobhan. In the movie she plays the role of a caring teacher that wants the best for her students. Ms. Siobhan is just as Ms.Norbury, she gives advice to Christopher that helps him understand the world he lives in. They both advice their students to make them feel comfortable and well off on their own, which is why I would cast Tina Fey to play the role of Siobhan.

As for Christopher’s father, I would cast Will smith to play the role. In the movie “The Pursuit of Happyness” Will smith is left alone to care for his son just like Christopher’s father. In the movie he seeks to promote the welfare of his son which shows how much he cares for him. In the book too, Christopher’s father cares for his son and wants the best for him.

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Lying is always wrong: White lies and lies of omission are as immoral as outright lies.

I agree with this statement. Being untruthful is never a good thing, and so is being a lair. Nobody wants to be called a lair for a reason. Lying is always associated with being bad and harmful. A lie occurs when a false statement is told whereas a white lie or a lie of omission, they occur “when an important fact is left out in order to foster a misconception.” In my opinion, I believe that any lie whether it be a lie or a white lie, is severe and serious. They give the person being lied to the wrong belief or idea of something. Lying can really harm relations between people such as friends or family. I also believe that if you tell any kind of lie, you are a lair, you have lied and you deserve that title.

Christopher used to know that his father loved him, because his father would always tell him the truth. Christopher trusted his father so much, he links his father’s love for him by the trust and honesty they share between themselves. Even though his father hasn’t told him the truth about who killed Wellington for the benefit of Christopher, Christopher still gets upset when he finds out the truth. “I had to get out of the house. Father had murdered Wellington. That meant he could murder me, because I couldn’t trust him, even though he had said “Trust me,” because he had told a lie about a big thing.” An example of a white lie in real life, is when your friend asks you whether her project for school is acceptable or not, and you tell her that it is but in reality it isn’t. You might’ve lied to her because you didn’t want to hurt her or she might’ve worked so hard for it that telling her the truth might be devastating for her to hear. But in the end, your friend is going to get an unpleasant grade because you lied to her.

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Social networking

I think that social media has helped me and many others better connect with the world around us in many ways. First of all talking or chatting with people through social media is way easier, faster and cheaper than talking in the phone. Because of that, people chat using social media all the time. It helps us with being close to our friends and families. For example if you’re traveling and you’re at another country, it would cost so much money to chat and talk with your friends using a phone. By using social media such as skype, you can do that with costing way less money. In addition to that, sometimes when you want to buy something you’re unsure of, social media is there to help. You might spend a lot of money buying something that turns out to be not the way you expected. With social media, you can see what other people’s opinion of that product is. This way, it’s easier to choose if you want that product or not. For example if you want to buy a makeup product such as an eyeshadow palette , watching YouTube videos with people with similar physical traits, such as skin color, eye color etc. will help you decide if that product would be good or suitable for you. Finally, you can use social media to know what’s happening in our world. Nowadays, people don’t bother to read the newspaper or see news on the television. Social media acts as a great tool to inform us about the world’s news. It’s also fast, which makes news spread fast and to almost everyone. For example you might receive a text from a friend about something big that happened in another country, you would then send it to your friends too. In this way too, news spreads quickly and becomes known to many people.

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Christopher and the world around him

“This is because I do not always do what I am told. And this is because when people tell you what to do it is usually confusing and does not make sense.”

I think this quote describes how Christopher feels about the world around him. Christopher feels trapped by being unable to understand directions directed by people such as his father. Because Christopher has Asperger’s Syndrome, he finds orders confusing and not making any sense. He faces difficulty with communication and understanding people’s expressions. This allows him to justify not following directions from people, leaving him free to do whatever he wants.

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Christopher's fight with his father

In chapter 127, Christopher arrives home and no one is there. He left his book in the kitchen and started watching a show he got fascinated by. His father then comes home and reads Christopher's book. Quietly, his father asks him if he really did ask Mrs.alexander about Mrs.Shears. Christopher thought that his father wasn't angry since he wasn't shouting, so he told his father that it was true. His father got angry and started hitting Christopher. Christopher started hitting back and then forgets what happened next. But after the fight, Christopher explains to us that there was blood on his right hand and he had a headache, he also sees his father's ripped sleeves.His father then goes outside with the book in his hands. He comes back with no book in his hands and locks the door that leads to the garden he just went to. His father regretted his actions, so he wanted to make up for it and show Christopher that he still loved him. The next day, his father took him to the zoo. His father also made him a sandwich and made sure that the zoo wasn't crowded. His father told and reassured him of his care and love for him. This all shows how strong they're relationship between each other is. It also meant that his father didn't mean it when he hit him, and he just did that because he was angry and mad. All of this anger from his father might have been related to the secret he hid from his son. A sign from Christopher that indicates that he didn't want to make his father angry was when he tried to differentiate between the rhetorical questions and the ones he had to answer. This shows how Christopher is trying his best not to get his father angry. Therefore, they love and care for each other and their bond is strong and unbreakable.