Skydiving Adventure, Movie Review & Science Experiment
My Skydiving Experience
Yesterday was the best day ever. I went skydiving for the first time!
The adventure started when I met my instructor, Mario, at a small airport near the Dolomite Mountains in northern Italy.
First, Mario showed me the equipment and explained what to do. Next, we got into a small plane. While we were flying higher and higher, I looked at the breathtaking scenery below. It was like a painting. “Soon I’ll be diving into that painting,” I thought. Then, at around 4000 meters, Mario opened the door. The earth was very far below us. I was excited and terrified at the same time.
The next thing I knew, we were falling at 193 km per hour. It was only around 60 seconds, but it felt much longer. Finally, Mario opened the parachute, and I had a chance to admire the spectacular mountains around me until we reached the ground.
It was totally awesome. In fact, I’m going to book another few sessions. Mario says that after a few sessions, he’ll have taught me the basic skills to skydive on my own. Maybe he’ll even teach me some stunts!
Weekend Fun: Museum and Beach
Hey Miren,
How are things with you? Sorry I couldn’t write before; I was very busy working hard for my exams at school. Luckily, the last exam was on Friday, and I’m writing to tell you about the great weekend I had.
On Saturday morning, I went to the Museum of Science with Bob. It’s quite close to his house, so he often goes there. Anyway, at the museum, we saw some really cool futuristic gadgets and even tried using some of them. But Sunday was the best. We went to the beach with some of Bob’s friends and had a lot of fun. In the afternoon, we went sailing—it was awesome!
That’s all for now. I can’t wait to hear from you, and I promise to answer quickly this time!
Love,
Dayanna
Movie Review: The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, directed by Peter Jackson and starring Martin Freeman, is based on a famous children’s book by J.R.R. Tolkien. This is the first of three films Jackson plans to make about this book.
Set in the imaginary world of Middle-earth, The Hobbit is filled with wonderful creatures and magical events. The plot follows the adventures of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, who is sent on a dangerous mission by a wizard called Gandalf.
At minutes, the film is too long, and some scenes could have been omitted. However, there is still a lot to like about the film. The amazing special effects, as well as sophisticated camera techniques, bring to life the strange creatures of Middle-earth. Moreover, both Martin Freeman and Ian McKellen give brilliant performances as Bilbo and Gandalf. Finally, in addition to the unforgettable soundtrack, audiences will enjoy the breathtaking scenery.
Although it is not perfect, The Hobbit is an entertaining film. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy or loves adventure.
Science News: Cellphone Radiation and Plant Growth
Five ninth-grade young women from Denmark recently created a science experiment that is causing a stir in the scientific community.
It started with an observation and a question. The girls noticed that if they slept with their mobile phones near their heads at night, they often had difficulty concentrating at school the next day. They wanted to test the effect of a cellphone’s radiation on humans, but their school, Hjallerup School in Denmark, did not have the equipment to handle such an experiment. So, the girls designed an experiment that would test the effect of cellphone radiation on a plant instead, according to Dutch news site DR.
The students placed six trays filled with Lepidium sativum, a type of garden cress, into a room without radiation, and six trays of the seeds into another room next to two routers that, according to the girls’ calculations, emitted about the same type of radiation as an ordinary cellphone.
Over the next 12 days, the girls observed, measured, weighed, and photographed their results. By the end of the experiment, the results were blatantly obvious—the cress seeds placed near the router had not grown. Many of them were completely dead. Meanwhile, the cress seeds planted in the other room, away from the routers, thrived.
The experiment earned the girls (pictured below) top honors in a regional science competition and the interest of scientists around the world.