quarta-feira, 2 de fevereiro de 2011


“THE COPY” by Paul Jennings
              
                      TECHNOLOGY!
                                  TECHNOLOGY?!
                         
                      TECHNOLOGY…
                             TECHNOLOGY.

What side are you on?       
It is no easy answer, is it?
This short story about the Cloner machine makes it more difficult to make up our mind concerning an option.
Half scifi half reality, the story is indeed comic and sarcastic but also puzzling and intriguing.
It makes us aware, in a light tone, that technology experiments and advances may be both a blessing and a nightmare depending mostly on your judgement to use it safely and reliably.
If you blindly embrace its “wonders”, “miracles” and “spells” you are prone to be misled, fooled, trapped and victimised the same way Doctor Woolley, the lunatic scientist, creator of the Copy machine, and the real Tim were all right.
Tim´s clone turned out to be so a perfect replica of his methat neither of them knew who was who. They were just a mirror reflection, identical in everything. However, inexplicably, the me-copy proved to excel the me-originalending up, by using the Cloner machine, to be the exterminator of the real me!...
What a mess!
Beware! Don´t mess around with high tech. Out of the blue you might wake up choking and “wriggling like a dying worm” on an alien planet!...


Teacher Rosa Barros

23 comentários:

  1. In this short story, Paul Jenning used a quirky idea to create an interesting story… But what really happens?!
    Well, a boy (Tim) couldn’t overcome his difficulties/problems. For this same reason, he decided to get himself cloned. However, the clone was the “mirror image” of Tim, he not only had physical similarities with the original, but he also had the same mind. That brought about a lot of problems to Tim… since he didn’t trust his capacities.
    No doubt that this story has a powerful message about the way we face our own problems… I really enjoyed it!
    Beatriz Miranda, number 11, 11th B

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  2. Alternative ending

    …“I took the key out of the kettle and let us in.” I was shocked to see Mat in the workshop trying to rob the cloner machine.
    So, me and my copy, for the first time, stayed together to fight against Mat. Yes, we really did this! After many punches, we defeated Mat.
    After this, we had a long talk and became friends for a long time, like brothers.
    Dr. Woolley, after two years, appeared with other invention that saved him. Me and the copy remembered to do a Fiona’s clone too and she would be to Tim’s copy.
    Well, in the end the machine was destructed. Fiona and I and the copies are happy and live together.

    catarina/cátia/Sofia
    11º E

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  3. Opinion About the short story
    This story was very creative and interesting, but our teacher though that it might need a different ending. The writer explained very well the dilemma of the main character, he was troubled and the solution for him was to clone himself, and the clone killed him at the end.
    Well, first of all, with a machine that clones things between hands, he could think of a better solution! The most obvious one was to clone 5 dollar bills, and pay some punk to flat Matt. Having that solved, he clones his mom’s brooch, and keeps Fiona as his girlfriend. Changing 5 dollar bills into 100’s, and cloning a lot of those, he shows the machine to the world, winning the Nobel prize and helping modern science. Happy ending.
    Work done by:
    Gabriel Araujo nº 6, Sergio Gonçalves nº20, Hugo Fonseca nº11 – 11º E

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  4. I think that “The Copy” is a really good story and I think people should lose a little of their time to read it.
    It can teach the readers a lot about cloning because it talks about the consequences of that.
    This boy, Tim, can also teach us a lot about behavior because Tim didn’t accept who he was, he ignored the warnings and the signs that were right in front of him.
    The final lesson is that we have to face our problems in the best way possible and not in the easiest one because we have to do what is right.

    Marta Silva, number 18, 11th B

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  5. What can I say? This is a fantastic story! It is funny and it teaches us something at the same time!
    Tim was skinny, weak, not too smart at school, in other words, he was an ordinary boy, the one who was unnoticed!
    He had his life, his friends, his girlfriend, his enemy… OK, the problem was his enemy, Mat Hodson!
    He was afraid of him. He wanted to beat him but he didn’t have enough courage! So, to complicate the things, he decided to clone himself, even knowing that it would be dangerous.
    Even with the help of the Copy, he wasn’t able to beat Mat Hodson. In fact, he was humiliated!
    At the end, the Copy wins, because Tim was dead, and the Copy got Tim’s life!
    The message of the story is that we need to face our problems, we can’t be afraid of them, even if they are really scary…
    We need to be ourselves, we need to be strong and happy!
    Show yourself! You are beautiful on your own way. Don’t be afraid of doing stupid things! Face your problems! Be happy!

    Adriana Cunha number one 11th B

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  6. Tim chooses to copy himself, because he thought that having other Tim, will make Mat Hodson stop. He was wrong and everything he had was someone to steal his family and his girlfriend.
    The Copy, it’s an interesting and great story that tells us about cloning, but I wouldn’t copy myself because each one is unique and we born to learn and live, to be ourselves, to create our own personality. We can’t be selfish like Tim was, and look how that end up! He died…

    Adriana Ribeiro 11th B

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  7. This story is very interesting and funny, and gives us a lot of moral lessons. The most important lesson and that I liked most was that we don't need to create a false image of us, we just need to be ourselves and don't create a copy of us, because we are unique in the world, and if it weren't like this, the world wouldn't be funny nor fun!



    Verónica Pereira - 11th B, number 27

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  8. “The Copy” by Paul Jennings tell us the story of a skinny, week and not to smart at shcool boy named Tim.
    Despite his look life went good for him, he was dating to Fiona a very popular girl and his old friend Dr.Woolley was finally dealing with the last details of his revolutionary invention the cloner.
    Dating to Fiona was a dream came true but it turned out to be a “nightmare”because Mat Hodson didn´t accept that Fiona wasn´t his girl anymore, so he was allways threatning Tim. One day Tim went to visit Dr.Woolley but he wasn´t there and the house was a ness. He found to letters on the ground and they were both the same, they were strange and adressed to Tim.
    Tim soon realized what happened and he decided to use “the cloner” to solve his problem and so he did he cloned himself but everything was wrong because the clone was trying to get his life from him so he decided to destroy the copy.
    I enjoyed the story “the copy” because it deals with the issue of cloning but in a not so serious way but at the some time draw our attention to the dangers of playing with science. Science has its limits and I shouldn´t surpass them because we never know what the long term effects will be.

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  9. “Paul Jennings” Short Story – “The Copy”


    Alternative ending

    …“I took the key out of the kettle and let us in.” I was shocked. I saw Mat in the workshop trying to rob the cloner machine.
    So, me and my copy, for the first time, got together to fight against Mat. Yes, we really did this! After many and many punches, we won.
    After this, we had a long talk and became friends for a long time like brothers.
    Dr. Woolley after two years appeared with other invention that saved him. Me and the copy remembered to do a Fiona’s clone too and she would be to Tim’s copy.
    Well, in the end the machine was destructed. Fiona and I and the copies are happy and live together forever.

    (catarina/cátia/sofia) 11ºE

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  10. SHORT STORY

    We liked the short story but, in our opinion, we would change the end. This story talks about a guy named Tim with low self-esteem, because he was skinny and weak in the sports and at school. On the contrary, Mat was strong, smart and he loved Fiona (Tim’s girlfriend). When Mat, threatens to hurt Tim until he ends the relationship he has with Fiona Tim, without thinking twice, creates a clone of himself, with the cloner of his friend Dr. Woolley in an attempt to defeat so Matt. That was a big mistake, because the clone was so perfect that he thought he was the real Tim, then trying to kill the other.

    Diana 11º E

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  11. Opinions:
    - It was a funny story; (Emanuel)
    - Tim was a bit nerd;
    - The end was dramatic and I think it was interesting; (Carina)
    - I liked the fact in the end Tim realized he was the copy;
    - I like the fact that the clones are the mirror image of the other (Beatriz)
    - I liked the moment when the parents noticed the copy wasn’t the real Tim

    Summary
    There was a boy named Tim and he had a girlfriend named Fiona, she also had a boy who was interested on her named Matt. Tim had a genius friend, Dr. Wooley, who invented the cloner. That machine as Tim experimented could clone everything and the clones were the mirror image of the other.
    Right after Dr. Woolley’s mysterious disappearance, Matt Hodson threatened Tim. In order to beat him, Tim thought about cloning himself.
    The clone had the same memories, clothes and thoughts until the moment Tim was cloned. Their attempt went wrong because they got humiliated by Matt and his friends. They went home and the clone took Tim’s life. Seeing it, the narrator thought about getting rid of the copy. They went to Dr. Woolley’s workshop, got into a fight and in the end Tim managed to send his copy away. However, when he got home, his parents noticed that his usual physical appearance was the other way around. Then he realized he was the copy.

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  12. Short story:


    We really like to read this story, because it’s an interesting story, different and really actual.
    But the main reason is because we are science students and the subject called our attention.
    It’s amazing the way how the author talks about the theme to build the story.
    Besides the theme, the story is interesting and has a different final of we expected.
    The story talks about a guy who knows a scientist, and his friend scientist creates a cloning machine with two options, one is CLONE and the other is REVERSE. The first option creates a copy of the original but the copy has a little difference, the things cloned are symmetric.
    The second button is REVERSE, this option make things disappear.
    One day Tim goes to home of his friend scientist and his friend has disappeared and left to him letter who says to destroy the cloning machine.
    But Tim doesn’t destroy it because he thinks that is not necessary.
    Some days later Tim had a problem with Matt and Tim creates a copy of him to fight against Matt. But the plan wasn’t successful and he and his copy had their ass kicked by Matt. Then they go home and Tim discovers a problem, the copy thinks he is the real one, so his copy live Tim life and real Tim try to solve this problem and think in a plan to eliminate his copy…
    And in the final we discover the real one has been eliminated by his copy and he thinks he is the real.

    André – 6
    Sofia – 5
    11º C

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  13. “The copy” by Paul Jennings- summary

    This story tells us about a boy who is skinny, weak, and not too smart at school. However, he loves a girl, Fiona, and she also likes him. Although everything seems to go well, there is a problem, named Matt Hodson. That unlike Tim, he was a boy very versatile, athletic, and he was the captain of the football team, he was intelligent and takes excellent grades in school.
    Tim has a friend, Dr Woolley. He is an old scientist who loves to invent things. But all that he invents is a failure. Everybody thinks he's a crazy eccentric. Dr Woolley invented a machine, the cloner. This machine had a function to copy any object, even to copy humans.
    One day, Tim goes to visit his friend, and not find it. And the lab was completely turned upside down.
    Then Tim tries to make multiple copies, like a biro, a pine cone, a frog and a brooch the last one to give it to Fiona. But he never will give the gift to his girlfriend, because Matt Hodson stopped him. It got so annoyed with the whole situation that he had an idea, to clone himself so that he could face Matt Hodson. However the idea of genius was not so bright because the clone already knew everything that had happened previously, he knows about Fiona, about Mat Hodson, knows all the Tim’s past. Consequently, the confrontation with Mat did not go as planned, and the two fled.
    Tim, not being like the whole situation, thought in a way to get rid of the copy, and the only solution was to eliminate the clone. And he did so, but it was hard, because there was a fight between them, very equal, since the clone also had the idea of eliminating Tim.
    Finally, one of them disappeared. But the one who survive was the clone, because he had some differences from Tim, for example, the clone write with his left hand while Tim used to write with his right hand, and among others.

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  14. I really like this story because in fact people sometimes think: “I wish I had somebody exactly like me”.
    We regularly associate this “somebody” to a person that goes to school for us, makes our homework and cleans our room. So, “somebody” to do things we call “boring”.
    But we never think about the negative consequences of it. We only see the good part of it, because this has negative aspects as well. So, if we have somebody like us, this person probably won’t care making only the “boring” things. This person will want to walk and have fun with our friends; this person will want to be us all the time. And like in this story, it is a risk, because the person like us will want to take our boyfriend or girlfriend from us. Not always is good to have somebody like us. Later or sooner this “somebody” will want to be us not in part, but in everything.



    carina 11ºB nº8

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  15. Well there's not much to say about this story. Yeah it is interesting and all that stuff, but I think that it should have a different ending, that one it's sort of forced, maybe the author think that it's great, i don't really know. Anyway the idea it's well designed and Teacher should promote more activities like this one, I really enjoyed. Xoxo every1

    Daniel Piairo 11º B

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  16. First of all, I'd like to say that it's important to pay attention to this story, because it shows us that we've to think of the consequences of everything we do! The story is based on a cloning process and it tries to tell us that Science can't always overcome the "obstacles" and limitations of Human Nature. Therefore, I think that this is the most important thing we can learn after reading the story.

    XOXO every1, like Alvaro said previously hahaha

    Miguel Braga, 11thB

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  17. I enjoyed this short story, I really did.
    I liked it because it is a funny and different story, and makes us think about its message.
    We are always supposed to fight our fears. We don’t need to be a different person from what we are, we must always be us, and this is the most important.
    The short story also made me think that we should never run away from our problems but we must face them.

    Dania Fortunato 11th B

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  18. “The copy” by Paul Jennings tell us the story of somehow not very popular boy called Tim. Tim was skinny, weak and not to smart at school but is life was perfect by that time. Fiona a very popular girl accepted to be His girlfriend, and him didn’t know how or why.
    His life was great and so he decided to visit his friend Dr.Wolley.
    Dr.Wolley was a kind of inventor but he wasn’t a very successful one because no one really bought his inventions.
    Tim didn’t know how or what for the cloner served but he was very excited with it because Dr.Wolley told him that they will be rich with it.
    Tim was happy but there was a problem, because Mat Hodson on day Tim decided to visit Dr.Wolley but he wasn’t there. After a while Tim found out that the cloner worked and it was responsible for Dr.Wolley disappearance. Tim needed to escape from Mat se he decided to make a copy of himself but it didn’t worked because the copy wanted to take control of Tim’s life so he destroyed to the copy but at the end we don’t know if Tim destroyed himself on the copy. I think that the story “the copy” was a very interesting because it deals with a controversial issue: cloning but in an easy because he didn’t had to read scientific vocabulary. it raises a striking point that make us think about our limits because to what extent point that make us think about our limits science means evolution but it can also means the unknown to the copy human beings is like playing god.

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  19. In my opinion, this story is very interesting because when we think about clonning, we never remember the negative aspects of it, and this story as a great point of view about that.Despite being very good and a great step in Science, clonning has many cons on which we should reflect and discuss. Bullying is also present in this story,which is a current theme.

    Joel Vieira Nº16 11ºB

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  20. Everybody should post an opinion, OK?

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