Task 2

Children in the Darkness
There are children in the darkness
Who have not seen the light
There are children in the darkness
Who someone will teach to fight

Chalk and blackboards will not be
To this door there is no key
From this life they can not flee
And these children are not free

Could we simply light a candle
Could we give them half a chance
Could we teach them how to read
Could we teach them how to dance

Or will a war consume them
Their body and their soul
Will their life and blood be poured
Down some endless thirsty hole

Back into the darkness
From which there is no flight
Back into the darkness
Into which there shines no light

This poem is written in the point of view of the writer, showing sympathy to the children who had to fight for the country. This reflects the character of the writer which is kind hearted. He would feel for the children who were suffering. Therefore, he wrote this poem in his point of view to influence others, conveying the message that war is always cruel.

The poem is set before the war. As the picture of the boy was shown in the news, the news reporter was trying to say that even a boy had to go to war. There are two perspectives to this issue. Firstly, the news reporter could be saying that war is cruel, and even dragged in the younger generations. However, he might want to tell the people that even a young boy was patriotic enough to serve and defend the country.

In the first stanza, the writer mentioned darkness twice. The first one is to show that the children died young in the war, being unable to live happily. The second one is to show that the children were trapped in the darkness and cruelty of war. This also shows that they were controlled and had no freedom at all. In the third stanza, the candle symbolises brightness, peace and warmth. The author is trying to say that the children had lived in the world without peace and warmth. In the fourth stanza, the writer mentioned, "Blood be poured down some endless thirsty hole". The blood means the soul of the children and the endless thirsty hole is the war. The war is thirsty, thirsty for blood of the children. This clearly shows the cruelty of war destroying the lives of the children. The last stanza is a repetition, drilling the point that war is cruel into the readers' mind.

After reading this poem, I also sympathise the children who were forced to suffer in war. There are also values in this poem. One of them is humanity. The government at that time was desperate to win the war, therefore, war totally dominated them and made them lose their humanity. Consequently, the children were forced into war. Humanity is very important as when someone loses it, anything can happen.

Home Learning 26th May Task 1

At that time when he wrote this poem, he was in Vietnam. He looked at the TV and the news was on. Although he did not understand what the reporter was talking about, he could infer from the picture of a boy holding an automatic rifle. This picture actually shows that even a young boy is going to war. That was how inhumane and cruel war was. The country was willing to sacrifice all these younger generations who would be the next leaders of the countries. If all of them died, no one could imagine what would happen.

Finally, English team out of Champions League Finals

Finally, the English teams are out of Champions League Finals. For the past few seasons, the English teams had been earning a place in the finals. This is a different season, with German Champions Bayern Munich and all time favourites Inter Milan as the two finalists.

I think Inter will win. They have a excellent manager whom I believe will bring the team to victory. However, the main reason is that Ribery was red carded the last match. Obviously, he would be ruled out of this coming match. Ribery is the best candidate to fill up the midfielder position. His red card may result in a disaster for Bayern and shatter Bayern's dream of lifting a second trophy this season.

However, I believe the German club would not be demoralised by this incident. Instead, they should be playing better to make it up for Ribery. The ball is round, a soccer match result can never be predicted.

Who will win?

Deserve it!

103 is a nice number, 71 too.

Drogba and Anelka are good players, Frank Lampard too.

Man Utd is a good team, Chelsea too. In fact, better.

Chelsea deserved the win. A good manager, unstoppable scorers and indestructible defence with spectators as morale boosters, they deserved it. A stunning win over Wigan Athletic brought them the 4th title, which further boosted their confidence in the FA Cup finals. However, I am a loyal fan. Man Utd's loss was most probably the lack of scorers.

Tevez and Ronaldo left the club. Currently, the main scorers are Rooney and Berbatov. Personally, I feel that the Bulgarian has not been performing well this season. That leaves with a main scorer as Michael Owen was ruled out of the season. If Ronaldo had stayed, there would be more scorers, better free kicks and winger. Tevez is also a good scorer, his unimpressive performance last season was due to the lack of appearances.

On the other hand, Chelsea trained many to score. Other than Drogba and Anelka, Lampard, Kalou and Malouda are great scorers too. Although Chelsea has several old players, they maintained their fitness level to bring Chelsea to such heights.

Chelsea deserved it.

Who do you think Man Utd should buy? Comment please.

Miracle?

Manchester United is hoping for a miracle today. The title race has not ended but it will most likely go to Chelsea. Their opponent is Wigan Athletic who has not been performing well. This will most probably ensure a win for Chelsea.

But as I said before, the ball is round. Complacency in Chelsea players will lead to a disaster and shatter their dreams of lifting the trophy for the fourth time. Manchester United, who has won the title 17 times, is praying for a miracle which is a Chelsea lose.

Despite being a ManU fan, I think that Chelsea will win. This is because of their impressive performance shown in previous games. The players are now in top form. With strong defenders and accurate strikers, almost nothing can stop them from scoring. Almost nothing can break through their defence.

Of course, I am also praying for a MIRACLE. What about you? What do you think?