HK films need a dose of creativity I recently read an article in an entertainment newspaper that said the income from Hong Kong films has dropped by 4 per cent. On the other hand, the foreign film industry is thriving. People always say that illegal downloading hurts the local film industry, but this cannot account entirely for the drop. I think it is the films too. They need to be revitalised with new ideas. Directors aren't brave enough to film in new ways. If local directors get more creative, new interest will be generated and more people will go to Hong Kong movies. Ava Shei Leung Shek Chee College Read books you're interested in Books are packed full of knowledge, but if you don't choose to read about subjects you are interested in, you will soon get bored. What you read is as important as whether you read at all. Many of my friends find reading boring, or they think sleeping is a better use of time. But reading can be fun and can improve you. If you wish to become a writer, you should read novels to get ideas from others authors. If your dream is to be a scientist, you should read science books. It is much easier to read a book that you are interested in than a book that's on topics you dislike. To make the reading experience more worthwhile, you could think of questions to ask yourself about what the book is saying. In some books, there are questions provided for discussion. Asking and answering questions can be a lot of fun. Sharing books with friends also helps as you can discuss interesting parts of the story. You will discover different angles. Reading is fun. I hope more of my friends will pick up the good habit. Ricky Chue Chun-yin Cheung Sha Wan Catholic Secondary School Soft drinks are hard on the teeth Many people drink a lot of soft drinks; some even drink more soft drinks than water. They are not aware of how bad these chemical-laden drinks are for their health. Soft drinks are full of sugar. The sugar feeds the natural bacteria inside our mouth and causes tooth decay. Some soft drinks also contain caffeine which is addictive and can affect our behaviour and moods as it is a stimulant. If you care about your health, you should stop drinking soft drinks immediately. How about a cup of orange juice instead? Vincent St Mark's School World record books make good reading The annual collection of global records from Guinness World Records make for entertaining reading. Each book gives that year's world records, which range from the serious to the insane. For example, the most expensive burger can be ordered in New York City for US$59. And the record of the tallest man is held by Robert Pershing Wadlow of the United States, who is 2.7 metres. There are many other interesting records and great photos. You'll be surprised when you see them. The book can also improve your English. There are only a few sentences for each entry so it's easy to read. I highly recommend this book to readers of all ages. Jenny Wong Shui-yiu Our Lady of the Rosary College Practise your maths I took a maths test recently and expect my result to be quite good. I think doing exercises is the key to success in maths. Reading our notes is useless because we won't really understand the details if we don't practise what we have learned. We have to do more calculations to test our understanding. I hope my suggestions are helpful to others. Maureen Ho Tsuen Wan Public Ho Chuen Yiu Memorial College Work harder! My class got our exam results recently. Some students did well and were pleased, others were disappointed and even felt hopeless. There is no point getting upset about bad results. First, the exam is in the past and there's nothing you can do to change your marks. Second, the universal rule is: if you work hard, you will do well. Students should not hope that they will get good results when they have not worked hard. Instead of grumbling about their marks, students should work harder for satisfactory results in the next term. Mathew Cheung Cheung Sha Wan Catholic Secondary School
