I would like to tell about the two fantastic films which I really enjoyed watching.
One of them is the "National Treasure 2". It deals with the adventures of a group of people who search a very valuable and enormous treasure. There are some written riddles about how to find the treasure and they have to solve them. Actually the riddle does not take them directly to the treasure, but it takes them to another riddle. The treasure they are after is the national treasure of America and their goal is not to be the owner of it, but to be the discoverer of the national treasure and present to the the United Nations. Finding the treasure is so comlicated that they even have to kidnap the president of America as a part their search. What's more, they have rivals who also want to have the treasure and they have to fight with.
Despite the challenges, they accomplish the mission and become famous as the discoverers of America's national treasure "the golden city".

The other movie I will tell about is "Chronicles of Narnia".The theme the movie deals with is the independence of a country from the command of a bad witch.
The mentioned country is independent from the world we live in and its inhabitants are creatures that are difficult to encounter in the real world, like speaking animals and half-animal people. Previously, king of the country was a strong lion called "Aslan", but a woman called "White Witch" beat the lion and dominated the country with her magical powers. The evil has been ruling the country and the season has been winter, since then.
However, there is a prophecy that one day four human beings will come from the other world and Aslan will beat the White Witch with their help. With the arrival of four children who come through the cupboard in their house, the prophecy comes true.
Aslan's army get a big victory against the witch's army and The White Witch is killed by Aslan. After that, the evil comes to the end, the season changes into spring again and the four children are declared the kings and queens of the country.

Culture and Traditions

There are lots of social groups all over the world. What makes them different and seperates with borders is definitely the difference between cultures.
Every society has its specific culture and thus customs and taditions which have been handed down from one generation to another for centuries. Customs and traditions make up the culture and they are composed of the society's way of life, religious beliefs, superstitons, their viewpoint on the environment and their general opinions, concepts and knowledge. Customs and traditions regulate people's relations and organize the society.
How they celebrate important days and ceremonies like weddings, how they greet each other, how they ask about each other's health, how they console each other in bad times.. All these depend on the culture and traditions of a society.

A funny anecdote from Nasreddin Hodja

One day, while carrying a heavy sack full of wood, a woodsman stumbled over a stone and his load fell out of the sack. Another man who was passing by saw him and said "If I help you pick up your wood, what will you pay me?" "Nothing" replied the woodsman and the other man accepted. After loading the wood back into the sack, the man said "give me my nothing" to the woodsman. The woodsman surprised said "I said I will give you nothing." After some argument, they decided to consult Nasreddin Hodja. They both told about their problem to the Hodja. Then, Nasreddin Hodja asked the man, who was expecting his nothing, to lift the right corner of the rug on the floor and see what is there. The man did as the Hodja said. "What do you see" asked the Hodja. "Nothing" said the man."OK,take it now," responded the Hodja. "it is your payment."

The cat's fate

During the Middle Ages, in Europe there was a belief that cats were related with evil, there was a secret devil in them and they had magic powers which they used for bad purposes. It was also believed that cats were helpers of witches. For this reason, people who kept a cat were suspected to be a witch or a magician. These people were often burned with their cats in their house. Cats were often exposed to torture and hunting.
Consequently, cats decreased in number and they became almost extinct. This paved the way for rat and mouse population to increase and to spread some infectious diseases. Deadly epidemics became widespread throughout the whole Europe. This led people to appreciate cats. Just towards the end of 17th century, cats got their former place as friends of people and hunter of mice.

Is Zaidi right for what he did ?

Probably you heard, an Iraqi journalist named Muntazer al Zaidi threw his shoes to George W. Bush. It hasn't been long since this event occured and it is one of the most popular topics on agenda these days.

George Bush had come to Iraq for a farewell visit so we may think that behaving in this way towards a guest is wrong. However they had come to Iraq not as a guest four years ago. They had their weapons, planes and vehicles for war and thousands of soldiers with them.
Americans occupied Iraq, killing lots of Iraqi people, harming their houses and personel properties meanwhile. They changed Iraq into a hell. From this viewpoint, it is possible to find Zaidi right for his action, because restricting one's independence is one of the worst things and Americans did this to Iraqis. He is supported by a lot of people all over the world and he is seen as a national hero in Iraq, because he reflected all Iraqis' feelings by his action.

What is important in a friend ?

Friendship is indispensable to human which is a social being. Social means, it can't live solitarily. People need other people in every period of their lives. Sometimes for help in tough moments, sometimes for sharing feelings, for feeling sad for something bad or feeling happy for something good together, they need somebody around.
Friends are important for shaping one's character. We gain lots of our characterical attributes through our friends. Many habits transmit to people from their friends. If somebody chooses bad people as friends, he also becomes bad; if he chooses good people as friends, he becomes good this time.
I think, for someone to be a real friend, he must be reliable, he must be sincere towards people around him. Because trust is crucial for people's relationships and nothing can be achieved, if there isn't trust between people. If I don't trust somebody, I can't be close to him, I can't be together with him or I can't tell my secrets to him.

What is that called "global warming" ?

These days, we are often encircled by the issue of global warming. This issue is actually a fact that has been going on for the last fifty years; butit has become obvious and perceptible in the 20th century.

According to what scientists say, global warming is the increase in the temperature of World and it is caused by the gases emited to the atmosphere by people. These gases by creating a green house effect, prevent the sun rays from reflecting back into the space and this results in the accumulation of heat.

According to the scientific observations, the nearest part of the atmosphere has heated by 0.6 centigrade degrees in the 20th century. Climate changes and melting down of glaciers started to gain speed. As it seems , urgent solutions are needed for this situation.

About Teacher's Day

Atatürk attached great importance to education and teachers for the development and modernization of Turkey. It is emphasised in his words "Who will save nations are only teachers."

In the 100th anniversary of his birth 1981, the 24th november was decided to be celebrated as Teacher's Day. This is also the date on which Atatürk was named "the head teacher".

On teacher's day, importance and value of teachers are emphasised. Problems of teachers and education are discussed. Famous teachers who made important contributions to education are remembered. And newly starting teachers read the teacher's oath.

Superstitions

Superstition,as everyone knows, is a belief that an object or action is lucky or unlucky. Nearly everybody knows that they are not real and logical, though, some people apply them traditionally. For example, in England walking under a ladder is thought to bring bad luck. Some people also believe that if your left hand itches, you will get money.
Here is another superstition: Some people sprinkle salt over their left shoulders in order to prevent bad luck. This superstition dates back to ancient Rome. In ancient Rome,it was believed that left was related with evil and wrong; and the Devil stood behind the left shoulder. In order to prevent the Devil from hurting them, people in Rome would sprinkle salt over their left shoulders and make the Devil blind.

Thomas Edison with some sides

Thomas Edison, the inventor of bulb, didn’t only endow us with the electric light , but also he is the inventor of over one thousand other things such as motion picture camera and phonograph (an old record player)
He attended school for only two months. His mother who was teacher, taught some things but he received most of his education by himself. His inborn curiosity led him to do experiments.
His first laboratory was on a train which he worked on. He could experiments here in his spare time but later he was dismissed from his job on the train for causing a fire in his laboratory.
One of his ears was completely deaf and it is said that he invented the bulb because he was afraid of darknes.
He worked for at least sixteen hours a day. Sometimes he even forgot to eat and sleep. About every two weeks he would invent something new..

The Assigned Story

It was a Saturday morning. I got up early. I was happy because Iwouldn’t go to work. After a perfect breakfast, I went to my room, took my laptop computer out of the bag. I attached the headphones and the mouse. I sat in my comfortable seat and listened to some music.
Then I wore my glasses and started to read the book that that my mum gave me as a present on my birthday. It was about a trombone player. There were good anecdotes and I wrote them down in my notebook.
After finishing the book I had lunch and then while thinking about what to do, my mobile phone rang. It was one of my best friends. He asked me to go to the movie together and I accepted immediatelly. Because the cinema was not far ,I started to walk there after taking my coat. On the way to the cinema, I met an old man with a wand. He was trying to go across the road. I helped him pass the road. He presented his gratitudes for my action.
The movie started at 13.30 and lasted for two hours. It was about UFOs and I wached with pleasure. While going back to my home, I met a woman selling flowers to look after her baby. She could have sold very few flowers. I bought all her flowers and gave my mum when I arrived at home. It was a day full of activities and kindnesses.

The Armenian Problem

Turkey has political problem with its neighbour, Armenia. This problem dates back to the years of World War I. The Armenians had lived with the Turkish nation in a very friendly manner during the reigns of Seljuks and Ottomans for about 900 years but this friendship turned into hate and hostility towards the end of the 19.century. They started to treat Turkish people very cruelly. Their goal was to found an Armenian government in Eest Anatolia. In spite of their hostility, the Turkish government did not respond with hostility. They put forward the compulsory immigration as a resolution. During the immigrations every precaution was taken and the immigrations were completed successfully but during the immigrations some Armenian people died for natural reasons. The Armenian government has been trying to introduce these deaths as a genocide and take compensation and territory from us since then..

A Giant Country: China

In terms of both population and area China is a very big country. Its area is 9million 596thousand kilometres square and its population is one billion 350million. Despite the one child policy, population in China is expanding very fast, about 10 million per year. Its capital city is Beijing for about 500 years. There are alot of nations and languages in China but there is a common language that everybody can understand. The Great Wall of China is a world wide famous attraction. It attracts lots of tourists and the Chinese earn lots of money through it.

As a result of the one child policy,there is an odd situation in China. Children do not have any sisters, brothers,aunts or uncles. They have only parents and grandparents as relatives..

Descriptive paraghraph

The little tree has accomplished the impossible. It must have got in a crack on the rock as a seed. It has come over all the troubles and come out as a tree on the edge of a cliff. It has been alone all the time and is still alone all against storms, blizzards and thunders . It has no soil, no water, no friends, no parents but still goes on the struggle of survival. This little tree teaches us the lesson of not surrendering despite difficulties.

Descriptive paraghraph

The poor man... He is helpless against the enemy soldier. He has nothing to defend himself despite the soldier's gun apart from curling to the ground. He must be very frightened bacause he knows he will die soon with the shot of enemy soldier.

On the other hand, The cruel soldier is proud of what he does. The arrogant expression on his face is disgusting. He views the man as a worthless animal. He does not think he has a family and children. Their tyranny will be one day their end.

Turkish Folk Songs

Folk music is a very important aspect of nations' culture. Folk music reflects its nation's character so for a nation and its culture is understood, its traditional music should be analysed deeply.


The Turkish has a rich music culture, it is called "Türkü". For centuries, Turkish nation has expressed themselves in Türküs. They has expressed their joys, sorrows,loves, longings and many other things in Türküs. Turkish people have composed türküs for many things. Here are some verses of a türkü in which a man who got a leathel disease while doing his military service and who is left by his financee is told :
"Hastane önünde incir ağacı
Doktor bulamadı bana ilacı
Baş tabip geliyor zehirden acı
Garip kaldım yüreğime dert oldu
Ellerin vatanı bana yurt oldu"
Unfortunately, lately Türküs have lost their popularity due to the influence of western music. They are listened by very few people. However good things start to happen. For example, in "Kurtlar Vadisi", a very popular TV series, türküs are used. This is a good thing for the return of türküs.

Dietary Habits of Youth

Recent studies confirm the connection between happiness and breakfast. Nutritionists state that breakfast is essential for having a good day. Especially for a student, breakfast is indispensible because it brings success at school. Although scientific researches state that, college yongsters do not have breakfast regularly. Among the college students, consuming unhealty fast food is very trendy but consumption of fruits and milk is very low. As it seems, delicios food is preferred rather than nutritive ones.
And another point; the consumption of alcohol and cigarette is very high among youngsters. With the wrong consumption of food, this causes diseases like diabet, obesity, stomach problems and high cholesterol at very early ages.

About Language Learning

With the development of technology, communication is getting easier day by day. We can contact with somebody that is thousands of kilometres away.Globalization and international interactions are faster than ever.This situation makes language learning one of the most essential things in the world where there are hundreds of thousands of languages and dialects. Today, many instutions look for people who know English to work with. People who can speak several languages are regarded far superior to others. Every school has at least one foreign language lesson in their curriculum. People pay huge amounts of money for language classes.All these show the popularity language learning.

The Millionare Fair

These days, Millionares are coming to Istanbul from all over the world in order to visit the Millionare Fair , in spite of the global economical crisis. In the Millionare Fair known as the most luxurious fair in the world, it is impossible to find a product below 100 thousand dollars.The total price of the exhibited works is 300 million dollars. 190 thousand euro yatch of the Russian businessman Roman Abramovich, the gold embrodiered carpet that is bought by George Bush, the 980 thousand dollar watch , the Gumbert brand car and the gold plated mobile phone are the most interesting ones. The fair will close on 2nd November.

Importance of forests

I want to talk about the advantages of forests. First of all, they contribute to the beauty of our country. They are the source of fresh air. They prevent erosion and desertification. They avoid dry climate. And countless other advantages... Forests are very valuable wealth for a country, so plantation should be attached importance all the time. Present forests should be protected from fires and illegal cutting down. New generations should be informed about nature, forests and their importance.

Smoking

Smoking is one of the biggest problems of human today. As everybody knows, smoking is extremely harmful for people's health.In spite of this fact,there are many people who are destroying their bodies by smoking for a little satisfaction.What is worse; the smoking habit starts at very early ages. I have many friends who have started smoking at primary school. Even if they want to give up, it is very difficult,because cigarette is addictive. Moreover, a smoker has to spend a lot of money on cigarette, so smoking is also an economical disadvantage.

First day in METU

METU students come to their school for enrolments for the first time. The first place they see in METU is Cultural and Convention Centre, as the registrations are held there traditionaly.Students start to view METU in a different way for it is their own school now, even if they have visited it before. They feel the happiness and responsibility of being a student at METU. They dream about the things they will experience in METU, the exams and their graduations