(originally posted in the Learn English forum)
by Jarp Corrected by Lynne Hand:-
Well, it's going to be a new decade soon. Are you already missing the year 2009? I have to brutally honest now and tell you that it's gone, all gone and you won't get it back. For good or bad, it's going to be in your memory as your childhood, or your first day of work or school, but of course, as a wise human from the planet earth, you already knew that.
Still, if you're reading this, we did it. We survived a decade which offered such devastating news from around the world and all the horrible things that seemed to take place everywhere, things we couldn't have imagined in our worst nightmares.
It was also a decade of new words and meanings, and now we've got plenty of new books about things that happened in the period 2000-2009. It feels like the world should have finally woken up to itself.
I remember the start of the "naughties" a time when people talked incessantly about the end of the world; that computers would shut down and how all the airplanes would drop out of the skies, and how we'd face chaos and poverty. I was scared and felt afraid of the dark. I couldn't understand the thing they were talking about. I wondered how the world would change and how would we face all this devastation that people were talking about? But they were wrong.
Then it all happened in one moment: 9/11. That was one of the things that scared the hell out of me. This was it! I was one hundred percent sure that we were all going to be wiped out. I had nightmares and I had sleepless nights. I lived my life with these fears, but I tried to pretend to everyone that everything was good in my life. There was a price for pretending that, I remember how I talked about this fatal incident with my mates and peers and how we all pretended that everything was going to be okay soon. The daily newspapers were full of stories about 9/11 and all the stories accumulated in me. It was uncomfortable and frustrating. It's still painful, but I can live with it. And yet again, the world survived, even the weapons of mass destruction were never found.
In fact, on reflection, the decade was really nice and warm. We had some wonderful times, lovely days at the beach and we were so happy. But then we'd hear about droughts and terrible storms. The disasters etched in my memory were the tsunami, and Katarina which hit New Orleans. These kinds of natural disasters left such terrible devastation behind. And once again I was floored and amazed by the never-ending end of the world. Now I had enough evidence of the upcoming devastation that I thought I ought to start digging my own grave. I bought a shovel for the job and a bucket, because I knew it was time to kick it.
On top of all this I had heard the news about global warming, and my assumption was that this finally would herald the end of the world. My mind was clearer than ever before. I had overcome 9/11; tsunamis, hurricanes, war and now I had to deal with global warming. So I wondered what on earth I should do now. As an individual I can do a lot and maybe prevent further warming. What would be suitable for the environment I asked myself and I came across the idea of recycling. Maybe that would be the thing. I'd try and help the earth to survive! But yet again I was wrong and it's not going to be the end of the world. It's been proven now that it's normal to occasionally experience these natural catastrophes.
Then I heard the "r" word on the BBC news and I nearly fainted…
But, so far everything has been OK. The last time I looked the world was still here, with no end in sight. We have air to breathe and tea is served regularly, thus I can enjoy the moment and wait to see what this new decade will bring.
Article reprinted with permission from.
not sure about that !
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