Топик: English topics

The Russian Federation.

The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world. It occupies about one-seventh of the earth’s surface. It’s total area is about 17 million square kilometers. The country is washed by 12 seas of 3 oceans : the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Arctic. Russia borders with many country. They are : Korea, China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Norway, Finland, the Baltic states, Belorussia and the Ukraine. It also has a sea border with the USA. The population of the Russian Federation is nearly 250 million people. The capital of the country is Moscow. It’s its largest political, scientific, cultural and economical center. Russia is very rich in mineral resources. There is gold, platinum, diamonds, coal, peat, oil, gas and wood. There are over two million rivers in Russia. The Europe’s biggest river , the Volga , flows into the Caspian sea. Others main rivers are : the Ob, the Yenisei, the Lena and the Amur. Russia is also rich in beautiful lakes. The world biggest lake - the Caspian sea and the world deepest lake - Lake Baikal are in it. Russia has one-six of the world’s forests. They are concentrated in the European north of the country, in Siberia and in Far East. On the vast territory of the country there are different types of climate, from arctic in the north to subtropical in the south. In the middle of the country the climate is continental. Russia has four beautiful seasons : winter , spring , summer and autumn. They are very different. The Russian Federation is a parliamentary republic. The Head of State is the President. He is elected for 4 years and his powers are limited by the Duma. At present Russia has some political and economical problems. (The price are rising, the rate of inflation is very high, people are losing their jobs and many factories are stopped). But I believe that in the future the young generation of your country will sold all these problems and they shall make “Great” Russia as strong and powerful as it used to be.

RUSSIA.

Russia occupy a large territory. It strech almost 10 000 (ten thousend) kilometres from east to west and nearly 5 000 (five thousend) kilometres from north to south. It's population is 150 000 000 (one handred and fifty) million people.

From spring till autmn the sun never sets over Russia: in Kaliningrad peole see it sitting in the Baltic, while in Kamchatka it rises out of the Pasific Ocean at the some time. People in our country see the New Year in eleven times in one night.

If you begin to trevell in the Far East by air and fly 8 000 (eight thousend)kilometres towards the west, you will land in Moscow on thr same hour same day that you left the Far East.

It is a wonderful sight yo see our country from the plane. One can hardly imagine a country more interesting to trevellers whan Russia.

Siberia covers millions of square kilometres. You fly over mountain, endless forests, large and small rivers, railways, motorways. You leave behind the lights of young and small towns, plants and factories. Siberia is a rigeon of untold riches.

Father West are the Ural Mountains the border between Asia and europe. The Urals are riche in different minerals.

The country's European part covers the territory from Urals to the Baltic Sea. The largest cities of the Russia are situated between theBlack Sea in the south and the Black Sea in the north. Such an our country from East to West. There is no over countrys in which the climet differs so much from one part to another. When it is still winter in the northen regions of our country the first warm days arrive in the south. In the central regions show storms and cold are still in power, while in the south people begin to think of spring crops. In the same season nature looks different in different parts of our country.

Russia is rich in oil, coul, iron, gold, silver and other minerals.

MUSICIANS.

I will tell you about not a very popular and famous musician. His songs sound wonderful, and be has an interesting way of making his melodies. Ed Alleyne-Johnson is a composer and violinist. Ed leant to play the violin at school. He played in the school orchestra, but he did not really enjoy playing classical music. It was too rigid. He did not go to the music college. He studied painting at the school of Drawing and Fine Art in Oxford. But he carried on playing the violin in rock bands and folk bands. He tried to make career as a painter, but it was too difficult so he went back to music. He started playing on the streets in England, and then he traveled around the Europe and the States. He met a lot of different musicians in different countries and leant some of the styles. He does not imitate them. Not many people play electric violin on the street, so people are usually interested. His violin is also a special one. Normal violins have four strings. Ed is violin has got five. He painted it purple as his first violin which he inherited from his grandfather. It became a sort of trade mark. When he is playing it, it sound like more than one instrument. It has a device that records music he has Just played, and repeats it again and again. It is a sort of high-tech, one-man band. He has also made a CD. It is called «The Purple Electric Violin Concerto». At the moment he is recording a new CD. He is going to go back to Europe and give free concerts on the streets and in record stores. His music was inspired by the streets, and he would tike to take it back to the people who helped him to write it.And here is another man who has been in the music business for about twenty years .His name is Paul Keгак. He never had another job. He started playing when he was just a kid, he taught himself to play. He tried few instruments , First there drums-it was when he was only five. After that it was there piano and then later the keyboards. He plays guitar also. He started playing professionally when he was still at school. He left school at sixteen. He was playing in a band, working on Sunday evening in pubs and clubs. When he left school his only ambitions was to be in a pop group. He was played with «Roxy Music» and »THE Smiths» . And he made records with «Pretendness» and «Madness». It is very important to him because he made a first hit record with them. That was in 1974 . The song was called «How Long» and it was a big bit all over the world. Since 1985 he is with «Mike and the Mechanics». He is the singer -vocalist and Mike plays the guitar. He always wanted to work in America. He was pleased when his records were successful there. And last summer he made an own record. It came out in the October and it is called «Groove Approval» . It is doing quite well, especially in America. His records are often played on radio there and there are more people that have heard of him then in Britain. He is not a superstar of course. But people know his name and buy his albums.

MUSIC.

Music - it art, reflecting validity in sound art images, one of the forms of public ideology. Having by powerful force direct emotional effect, music during of all history of man-kind plays a huge social,cultural and educational role.

Lieading composers are connected to progressive public movements,

life, interests and aspirations people. Each nations differs by peculiar national features. Folk music, being improved by creative efforts of many generations of the people, reaches a high degree of art maturity. On the basis of riches of national music professional musical creativity of composers is developed. Rejection of music from advanced ideas epoch of national culture, national roots of art leads to it's to decline and degeneration.

Idia emotional contents of music is passed through sound art images, implemented in musical sounds. The basic of music is the tune. according to the way of performance music is divided into 2 main branches:instrumental and vocal.

There are a lot of different styles of music. Such as: Jazz, Pop, Rock, Classic; and new musical directions.Such as: Rave, Hard Core, Jungle, Break Beat and many other. I like to listen to rave music and Happy Hard Core.

As for me i like these styles because they are very rythmic and dancing. The beginning of techno music was put very known singer Fredde Mercuri was the first to compose music in the style techno. In those years very few people evaluated new style of music. But with the years a new style has grown up to such global sizes. Now this music is listened to by large part of youth. I think it's very good that such musical direction as raiv has appeared. Because in raiv there are a lot of musical directions. Young people that are fond of music can easily choose just that style which appeals to them.

Famous actors : Paul Newman, Elizabeth Tailor

Newman, actor, director, and racing driver, was born so good looking that people said it was а shame to waste such beauty on, boy. He was born in Cleveland, 0hio, in 1925, and did some acting in high school and college, but never seriously considered making it his future career. However, after graduating, he immediately started working in the theater. He met his first wife, Jackie Witte, while they were acting together, and they got married in 1949. They had three children, a boy and two girls He found work in the theater and on several TV shows in New York. When he was thirty, he went to Los Angeles and made his first film. It was what Newman called an 'uncomfortable' start in the movies, in the role of a Greek slave. The experience was so bad that he went back to the theater and didn't accept another film role for two years. The film he chose was his big break. He played the boxer, Rocky Graziano, in the film Someone up There Likes Me. Newman is a method actor who believes in living the part before beginning the film He spent days - from morning till night - with Graziano. He studied the fighter's speech and watched him box, and they talked endlessly about Graziano's childhood. The picture brought Newman stardom overnight. He was living in Los Angeles away from his family when he met Joanne Woodward, an actress who he had first met in New York. They worked together in The Long Hot Summer. His wife, Jackie, and Paul recognized that their marriage wasn't working, and got divorced. Newman and Miss Woodward were married in Las Vegas in 1958. Newman went on to make films such as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Hustler, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting and Towering Inferno. He has made over forty-five films, and has won many awards, but he has never won an Oscar. His marriage to Woodward is one of the longest and strongest in Hollywood. They have three daughters, and they have co-starred in six films. Ever since the film Winning, Newman has been passionately interested in car racing, and in 1979 he came second in the twenty-four hour Le Mans race. But the end of the 1970s was not all good news for him. In 1978 his only son, Scott, died of a drug overdose, and as a result Newman created the Scott Newman Foundation to inform young people on drug abuse. He has a strong social conscience, and has supported causes such as the anti-nuclear movement, the environment, and driver education. All the money from 'Newman's Own' salad dressing, popcorn, and spaghetti sauce, now a multi-million dollar business, goes to charity. He is more than just a movie star. would like to be remembered as a man who has tried to help people to communicate with each other,' says Newman, 'and who has tried to do something good with his life. You have to keep trying. Thafs the most important thing.'

TV in my life.

TV is very important thing in our life. We can say that TV is our eyes because TV helps us to know more about the world, about the others counties, about the events that happened in the world. TV even helps you to know more about yourself. I like to watch TV very much. I can do that all day, that’s why sometimes my mother makes me turn off TV. I have about 12 Russian TV channels, they are : NTV, MTV, ORT, RTR, and others. I also have few KOSMOS TV’s channels, for example: Cartoon network, Discovery channel, TVE, and BBC. I like some of them and hate others. So here are some words about the channels that I like. So, my favorite channel is MTV . MTV is a music channel. 24 hours a day of music, can you believe it ? I like to listen music very much , and sometimes I even make myself the music, that is why I enjoy to watch MTV. I also like NTV. This channel has very interesting films, for example “ER” - my favorite film and a lot of sport programs. I like sport, especially football. NTV usually shows us two football match a week ( one Champion’s League match and one Russian national championship’s match ). I also like several foreigner channels, especially Eurosport. And you know why ! Cartoon network is not bad, but I think that it’s better for children - not for me. That’s all about me. I also want to tell you about my parent’s favorite channels. My father likes different channels with action films. His favorite actor is Sylvester Stalonne. My mother likes talk-shows, for example “ Я сама ” on TV6, and information programs, like “Сегодня” on NTV, “Время” on ORT, and “Вести” on RTR. She also likes BBC channels, which is one of the best information’s channels in the whole world. The Bush house is a headquarters of the BBC World Service. Form this building the BBC broadcasts radio programmers to the hole world. the World Service used to be called “ The Empire Service ”. It started in 1932, broadcast only in English. At the first the announcers used formal English and used to speak very slowly and clearly. In the 1930s the BBC started broadcasting to the Middle East. And in the 1938 it started broadcasting in Arabic. Very soon the BBC was broadcasting to all countries occupied by the Nazis. The BBC got a reputation for honesty and accuracy. After the Second World War the BBC continued its foreign languages broadcasts, and to this day broadcasts the news in thirty-nine languages. In the Newsroom a hundred and twenty journalists work day and night , writing two hundred news bulletins every 24 hours. All news in the BBC are checked at least twice before it is broadcasting. That’s why the World Service is not always popular with governments. The bb is the world’s largest international broadcaster. Every week, one hundred and thirty million people listen to BBC World Service radio. In 1992 the World Service started broadcasting TV programs and today people in countries all over the world can see as well as hear the news from the BBC. Cause of our different tastes, sometimes my family has a problem with choosing channels. Somebody thinks that TV is bad, but I don’t think so. I believe that in the future TV will be better and everyone will like it.

RADIO AND TELEVISION.

Of all the discoveries ever made by man, radio or wireless, is one of the most wonderfull. By means of wireless, you can speak to a man on the other side of the world. Seated confortably in your own home, you can hear music or talks, broadcast thousand of miles away from your- talks on national and international affairs, on science, history and other educational subject.

I listen to the wireless almost every evening, mine is are eght-valve set an arial which gives splended results. I t has medium, long and short wave-lenghts and it quit simple to manipulate. All I have to do it's to tune into the station I require.

I use my set a good deal for keeping up my forhn lanuges.

Mass media.

Mass media ( that is the press, the radio and television ) play an important role in the life of society. They inform, educate and entertain people. They also influence the way people look at the world and make them change their views. Mass media mould public opinion.Millions of people in their spare time watch TV and read newspapers.

Everybody can find there something interesting for him. On the radio

one can hear music, plays, news and various discussions or commentaries of current events. Lot’s radio or TV games and films attract a large audience. Newspapers uses in different ways,but basically they are read.

There is a lot of advertisment on mass media. Some of the TV and radio stations and newspapers are owned by different corporations. The owners can advertise whatever they choose.

But it is hardly fair to say that mass media do not try to raise cultural level of the people or to develop their artistic taste. Mass media brings to millions of homes not only entertaiment and news but also cultural and educational programs.

There are more then six TV channels and lot’s of radio stations and newspapers now in the Russian Federation.

Museums and art galleries.

Millions people al over the world spend their holidays visiting museums and art galleries. They visit them to see new things, to know more about other countries, their traditions, about history and even future of the mankind. There are different type of museums : historical, military The Tower of London is a historical museum. It is the oldest palace, fortress and prison in Europe. It’s also one of the most popular museums nowadays. The great central tower, the White tower was built around 1090 by William the Conqueror on the site of a Roman fort built there more than 1000 years earlier. Massive defensive walls and other towers were added later. Through the centuries, the Tower of London has been a citadel, a palace, a prison for offenders against the State, the home of the Mint, the treasury for the Crown Jewels, a menagerie, and the first Royal observatory. Three queens of England have been beheaded within its walls. The Tower’s guardians are the Yeomen Warders who wear splendid scarlet and gold uniforms dating back to Henry VII’s time. Sir Hans Sloane was a great collector. He filled his house with rare books and pictures, precious stones, stuffed animals, birds and butterflies, and ancient remains from all over the world. There had never been a collection quite like it , and visitors were amazed by what they saw. When Sir Hans Sloane died in 1753, his wife let the King buy the whole collection for just 20 000 pounds so that it could belong to the nation for ever. This was the start of the British Museums. It took thirty years and thousands of tons of stone to complete the building and the forty-four massive columns which decorated the front. The building of the British Museums was finished in 1948. The state Tretyakov Gallery is one of the best-known picture galleries in the world. It takes its name from its founder Pavel Tretyakov, a Moscow merchant and art connoisseur. In the mid-19^th century, Tretyakov began to collect Russian paintings. He visited all the exhibitions and art studios and bought the best pictures of contemporary artists. Little by little Tretyakov extended his range of interest and began to collect earlier Russian paintings. More than once he had to add wings to his house, because his collection grew larger and larger. In 1881 Pavel Tretyakov opened his collection to the public. 11 years later he donated it to the city of Moscow. Since then the gallery has received hundreds of pictures from other museums and private collection. Today the Tretyakov gallery is not only Russia’s biggest and most important museums of Russian art, it is also a research, cultural and educational center.

Japan school .

We all know that education is important in every country , but in Japan it’s more important for lots of reasons. The main reason is because the Japanese attitude to jobs. A good job is important to most people, but in Russia for example many people expect to, and perhaps want to, try more then one job in their lives. In Japan is different. People usually stay with the same company from the time they leave school or university until they retire. So the children must do well at school to get a good job then they leave. The hard work starts at 12 then they leave primary school and move to junior high school. There is less relaxed and more competitive. They are about 40 pupils in each class and discipline is quite strict. The pupils sit in rows, and before each lesson they stand up and bow to the teacher. Politeness and respect are very important in Japan. The pupils don’t ask questions. It’s considered rude to question a teacher. And another difference is that they go to school on Saturday. So they have 6 days of school a week. They also go to special extra schools in the evening, so they are busy most of the time. They have 3 or 4 hours of homework every night. The Japanese teenagers go back to school because that is when they have club activities – sports clubs, art clubs, English clubs and others. And children like their schools ‘cause they have no time to be bored. I think Russian schools could learn something from Japan.

Educating children at home.

Now educating children at home is something that apparently twice the number of parents are talking on than used to be the case. It is estimated that about 6000 children are being taught at home without going to school. “ Education Otherwise ” is the name of one organization of parents who have taken this step, and Bruce Cox is one of their number. Bruce thinks that it is not against the law to take the children out of school or not to put them in school. Children must be educated, according to the 1944 Act, but whether you educate them in school or otherwise, is a matter for parents to choose - he thinks. For some of children it is better to be educated at home or in alternative school than in government’s school. People don’t sent their children to school in the first place for a variety of reasons. They aren’t particularly hostile to school in some respects, that they could do just as good a job. And they very much enjoy having their family all together at home. They have done a certain amount of more organized maths, but most of the things they do arise out of the ordinary business of day-to-day life and responding to their interests and questions. They also thinks that children, who were educated at home, are perfectly OK as far as reading and writing are concerned, though they’ve been much more happy to leave the direct teaching of it to a later point in their lives than perhaps would happen at school. Parents don’t have to be a qualified teacher to their children at home. Most of them [ parents ] went to school and were quite successful, quite enjoyed it. They did think that it was very dependent on the ‘ carrot and stick ’ motivation. It means that they don’t hate the school, they just want better for their children. Maybe it is right, maybe not, but we should to try to understand and help them.

Hobbies.

Hobbies differ like tastes. If you have chosen a hobby according to your character and taste - you are lucky because your life becomes more interesting. Hobbies are divided into four large classes : doing things, making things, collecting things, and learning things. The most popular of all hobby groups is doing things. It includes a wide variety of activities, everything from gardening to traveling and from chess to volleyball. Gardening is one of the oldest man’s hobbies. It is well-know fact that the English are very found of gardening and growing flowers, especially roses. Both grown-ups and children are found of playing different computer games. This is a relatively new hobby but it is becoming more and more popular. Making thing includes drawing, painting, making sculpture, designing costumes, handicrafts and others. Two of the most famous hobby painters were President Eisenhower and Sir Winston Churchill. Some hobbyists write music or play musical instruments. President Bill Clinton, for example, plays on the saxophone. Almost everyone collects something at some period in his life : stamps, coins, matchboxes, books, records, postcards, toys, watches and other things. Some collection have not real value. Others become so large and so valuable that they are housed in museums and art galleries. Many world famous collections started in a small way with one or two items . People with a good deal of money often collect paintings, rare books and other art object. Often such private collections are given to museums, libraries and public galleries so that others might take pleasure in seeing them. No matter what kind of hobby a person has, he always has the opportunity of learning from it. By reading about the things he is interested in, he is adding to what he knows. Learning thing can be the most exciting aspect of a hobby. So I think that everyone should have a hobby, it is liked the target of your life.

LEISURE TIME AND HOBBY

Many man,many minds. All people are different and so they

prefer spending their free time in different ways. Some of them

go the parks, forests,to the country and enjoy the beauty of

nature. Others like to stay at home watching TV or reading

books. There are people who are fond of cinema and theatres, so

they try to go there as often as pos- sible. As for me I prefer

to spend my free time in different ways. I like to go in for

sports, to play football, basketball or volleyball with my

friends. I like to watch TV, to listen a tape recorder and play

computer games. Also I like to go for a walk in the country and

enjoy the beauty of nature.And my way of spending free time is

connected with my hobby. And my hobby is reading books...

I"d like to say that it"s hard to imagine our life without

books.Books play such a great role in the development of

personality. They help as to forget our daily problems and to

pretend we travel to the past, future and to many different,

wonderfull places that we can"t visit in reality. I am also

sure that books are our good friends and teachers. From them we

get to know the life around as better, they teatch as how to

tell right from wrong, to love our Motherland, to understand

friendship, people"s feelings. So, they teach us how to live.

As for me I like to read different kinds of books: ......

LIESURE TIME.

Everybody sometimes has a free time. Somebody prefer only to sleep in their liesure time, but the largest part of us prefer to do a great amount of things which are pleasant and interesting for us. It may be reading, a various types of sport game, watching TV, listening music and others. If we have a few day or a week we prefer to go to the attractive places. Many peoples thing that pupils and studients have too much liesure ,but in my opinion, they are wrong. We are very busy. Many pupils have six or se-ven lessons a day and go to school live or six day a week. Even during the holiday we learn our lessons after school. And we just no time to go some-there. Oldest of us are working after school or institutes. IТam not spend my time at school and ofter I have a free time. The large part of my free time devote to reading. I like to read books about another coun-tries, another times and another worlds. Also I read books about history of our country. Besides reading I like to do physical exercises. I and my school friends often gather after school and play basketball, fooftball or other active games. But my favorite hobby is travelling. Usually I travel in summer and ofter it is a trip to the south, to the warm sea. thing all peoples must have other occupation besides their basic work, ba-csuse it extand the bounduries of the familar world and teach us something new about people and thing.

Traveling.

Here is a story of a man who had an terrible holiday: The first thing that went wrong was that the country we were going to decided to have a war a few days before we were going there. So that was the end of that. But the plane we were going on was stopping off at Rome. So rather than not having a holiday at all, we thought we'd go to Italy. Very nice. See the sights. Go to the beaches and get fat with pasta. We were at the airport waiting for the plane and a friend of mine who lived near the airport had come to see us off. So we were having a few drinks in the bar and joking with this friend of mine, Peter, saying 'Poor old you in cold rainy England. This time tomorrow we'll be in Italy on the beach.' And I went down to see if the flight had been called and discovered it had gone. It was a terribly stupid mistake. We hadn't checked the time of departure. I was sure it was going 9 something but it was going at 19 something which of course is 7 o'clock. So we were actually there in the bar when it went without us. We were determined to have our holiday. The irony was that Peter was now going back to his comfortable home and we were stuck in the cold and the rain at 10 o'clock at night. You see, it was a charter flight so we couldn't book another one. We lost our money and all the other flights were booked up. Well, we got a train to the South Coast and caught the midnight boat across the Channel, froze to death all night, it was a terrible crossing with people being sick everywhere. And eventually we got to I think it was Dieppe and then a train to Paris. We got to Paris very early in the morning and I thought we'd be all right. You see, we now had to hitch hike because a lot of our money had gone on the boat and the train, but I thought 'Well, it's very early in the morning, we'll get a good place to start hitching and we'll soon be well on our way.' We got to the start of the motorway and I just couldn't believe it. I've never seen so many people trying to hitch a lift in all my life. Well, it was then it suddenly dawned on me. It was August the first wasn't it? and on August the first in France the whole population goes on holiday and there were hundreds of people, stopping the traffic, banging on drivers' windows trying to persuade them to stop and give them a lift. It was chaos, disastrous. Well, we got moving eventually. A lorry driver gave us a lift. And then things started to get better, as we got further south and it got warmer, you know, and we thought 'At last, the holiday's beginning.' Well, we camped that night and we then set off again the next day. We got some lifts, and met a great chap who owned a vineyard. He took us back to his farm and we tasted all this wine -Burgundy, my favorite - and we had a great time. Now the holiday really was starting. Well, he took us back to the motorway, and there we were by the side of the road, the sun was shining, we were a bit merry, sang a few songs - you know, life was great. And we got another lift from ... well he was a maniac, complete maniac. He seemed nice enough, but within a few minutes he was driving at about a hundred miles an hour, overtaking on the inside on the motorway, with his stereo at full volume, one hand on the wheel and well the other hand on various parts of Susan's body. What! So what did you do? I don't know why I'm laughing I've never been so frightened in all my life. We were absolutely -helpless. Susan tried to say that she had to go to the toilet, but he wouldn't stop then she pretended to be sick in his car, and he stopped in seconds. He had this really flash expensive car, and as soon as he stopped we just jumped out and ran. The worst thing was this tremendous drop from feeling so good to thinking that we were going to get killed. We eventually got down to the south of France and began to have a good time, and then down to Italy. We ran out of money, of course, but apart from that, it was good. I've never had such a tiring holiday. When we got back, I was exhausted. At the end of the holiday, I needed a holiday! And this is a story of an old woman. She has traveled all over the world in her tiny van. It's a nice way of having holiday. Now at this moment, somewhere on the other side of the Atlantic, Olive Gibbs is probably chugging along the road, in the early morning in her tiny camping van. The travel bug came to Mrs. Gibbs rather late in life. About 14 years ago, to help her get over the death of her husband she went on an overland bus trip to Katmandu. This fired her with the enthusiasm to travel more, but as she couldn't afford to go on extensive organized tours, she bought a camper and took to the road alone. Now at the age of 72, she's clocked up about 75,000 miles on trips that have taken her to America, Australia and South Africa. Ann Catchpole met her at her home on the Sussex coast just before she was setting out on her current venture another wander around America, Canada and Mexico, that'll take about a year, and she'd been very busy that afternoon packing up the van, mainly, as she told Ann, with stocks of food. Of all the meals that I have during the day, my breakfast is the one that I like. It's not that I have a large breakfast but I do like my toast and marmalade. I've got quite a few pounds of marmalade in my van at the moment, I should think I have about 10 pounds, and when that run out and if I'm down in California by then I shall make some marmalade. I take English things like Marmite which not many other countries of the world seem to appreciate. I'm also taking crisp breads to the United States because I don't care for their bread very much. And I take biscuits because I don't care for their biscuits very much. But otherwise I can buy everything I need in the United States. But I don't like wasting my time shopping, so I carry as much as I can and visit a supermarket only when I'm forced to. Well, I know vaguely which way I'm going to go, but I do change my direction if there's something I hear about which I think I would like to see, or I don't like the road I'll go a completely different way. And at the beginning of the day I don't know quite where I'm going to sleep at night. I wait until I feel tired or I wait until I see somewhere that attracts me and then I stop. The first thing I do, and I do this deliberately, I make myself a cup of tea, and I sit outside my van because I think it, it pleases the Americans to see an English lady having afternoon tea. But as soon as I really ... as soon as I arrive, especially in the United States or Canada, the men all want to talk to me about places they've been to when they were in the army during the war over here. Other people want to know and tell me about where their ancestors came from, and nearly always I have been to the places, or at least know something about them, because I do travel quite a bit in my own country as well as going abroad. In fact when I'm trying to unpack at the end of a day's journey and get a meal in the evening, life becomes very difficult because people gather round and want to know all about me and it's almost dark before I can get on with my unpacking and getting a meal ready. But I do try to get my cup of tea in first. In Zimbabwe, at that time called Rhodesia, and I was actually camping in Zimbabwe by the Zimbabwe ruins. And during the night someone went by with a torch. It woke me up, and I just thought it was somebody going to a toilet, and I took no notice. But when I woke up in the morning I found that a lot of my papers had been taken, and the wallet in which I kept them. And of course I didn't realize at the time what was going on. It must have been the noise of the door closing which woke me up. I suppose I'm very foolish but often I don't lock myself in my van at night. Sometimes I do if I feel at all nervous or if I'm in a camp site on my own, then I do lock myself in. Each country has something special about it. But I think the beauty of South Africa is something that I shall never forget. I used to stand sometimes when I was there and say to myself, 'Just look and look as much as you can in case you don't come this way again.

National holidays

There are many national holidays in the world, when people all over the country do not work and have special celebrations. For example in Russia the major holidays are: New Year's Day, Victory Day. The first holiday of the year is New Year's Day. People see the new year in at midnight on the 31st of December. They greet the new year with champagne and listen to the Kremlin chimes beating 12 o'clock. There are lots of New Year traditions in Russia. In every home there is a New Year tree glittering with colored lights and decorations. Children always wait for Father Frost to come and give them a present. Many people consider New Year's Day to be a family holiday. But the young prefer to have New Year parties of their own. The greatest national holiday in our country is Victory Day. On the 9lh of May, 1945, the Soviet Army and its allies completely defeated the German fascists and the Second World War ended. A lot of guests from different countries of the world came to Moscow to participate in the celebrations. There are fewer public holidays in Great Britain than in other European countries. They are: Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Easter Monday, Spring Bank Holiday. Public holidays in Britain arc called bank holidays, because the banks as well as most of the offices and shops are closed. The most popular holiday is Christmas. Every year the people of Norway give the city of London a present. It's a big Christmas tree and it stands in Trafalgar Square. Central streets are beautifully decorated. The fun starts the night before, on the 24th of December. Traditionally this is the day when people decorate their trees. Children hang stockings at the end of their beds, hoping that Father Christmas will come down the chimney during the night and fill them with toys and sweets. New Year's Day is less popular in Britain than Christmas. But in Scotland, Hogmanay is the biggest festival of the year. Besides public holidays there are some special festivals in Great Britain. There are also smaller, local festivals in Britain. Now a few words about holidays in Brazil. The most important event in brazil - this a festival in Rio-de-Janeiro, which passes each year at the end of February the beginning of March. The festival lasts 4 days and 4 night. In Rio there are special schools, which train the people to dance Samba and Lambada. Each of these schools exposes on a holiday about 4000 dancers and 300 drummers. Other important event in Brazil in the year is ancient religious holiday MACUMBA, which is celebrated by Brazilian in the new year eve. During this holiday on sand of a beach KOPACABANA people place drinks and meal and light candles thirsted in sand. People in the midnight throw in the water their gifts and if ocean takes them, the year will be successful, but if it throws out on a coast, the year will not present. In the different countries according to their traditions and history, there is a set of various national holidays. But there is one thing, which unites all of them: a holiday is always fun and pleasure.

Sport and healthy way of life : run your way to health

When I started running seven years ago, I could manage only about a quarter of a mile before I had to stop. Breathless and aching, I walked the next quarter of a mile, then I jogged the next quarter of a mile, alternating these two activities for a couple of miles. Within a few weeks I could jog half way round Hampstead Heath without stop-ping. Soon I started to run up the quarter-mile slope to the top of Parliament Hill, although I had to stop at the top to get my breath back. Eventually I found that I could even manage to get up the hill comfortably. I started to run because I felt desperately unfit. But the biggest pay-off for me was—and still is— the deep relaxation that I achieve by taking exercise. It tires me out but I find that it does calm me down. In those early days I saw few other runners. Now there are many more—and not just the macho sports freaks. Men and women of all ages have now taken up running. Some 25,000 runners aged five to 85 are attracted each year to the Sunday Times Fun Run in Hyde Park. In the last two years the London Marathon has become the biggest British sporting event— overtaking the boat race and the Derby in the number of spectators it attracts. When I started to jog I never dreamt of running in a marathon, but in 1982 I realized that if I trained for it, it was within my reach, and after a slow, six-month build-up I man-aged the 26.2 miles in just under four hours. A creditable performance for a first-timer and a far cry from those days when I had to stop for breath after a quarter of a mile. What about heart attacks?My story shows that an unfit 39-year-old, as I was when I started running, who had taken no serious exercise for 20 years, can do the marathon—and that this is a sport in which women can beat men. But is it crazy to do it? Does it make sense to run in the expectation of becoming healthier? What about the chances of injuring yourself or dying of a heart attack? I was personally convinced of the health benefits of running because I felt unfit, and I wasn't worried about the risk of a heart attack, because I was not a smoker and I was sticking to a fairly low animal-fat diet. But one person I knew well did die immediately after a jog and plenty of people told me I was mad to start running. Reassuring evidence now comes from doctors in Seattle, showing that vigorous exercise actually reduces the chances of heart attack. They found that people who had a sudden heart attack when they appeared to be completely fit had taken less exercise than those of similar age. According to their findings, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (volume 248, p 3113) it is necessary to take 20 minutes of vigorous exercise at least two or three days a week to obtain some protection from heart attack. Apart from jogging, the exercise might be swimming, singles tennis or squash, digging or chopping wood. Whatever it is, the exercise should leave you out of breath. There is a small risk of unaccustomed stress causing a heart attack when a person is very unfit, but this can be reduced if exercise is always increased in easy stages. My advice is: if you are under 40, are healthy and feel well, you can begin as I did by jogging gently until you are out of breath, then walking, and alternating the two for about two miles. Build up the jogging in stages until you can do the whole distance comfortably. At first, two or three times a week will probably be enough. People over 40 who are in any doubt about their health should see their doctor before starting an exercise program. Over-40s should begin by making a vigorous walk of at least two miles part of the daily routine. When you can do this comfortably you can start the mixed jogging and walking routine and progress from there. You will have to expect soreness of muscles and joints to begin with. If soreness changes to pain, or if you find that you suffer from deep tiredness which you cannot shake off, then stop jogging for a while and just walk.

SPORTS IN GREAT BRITAN.

The English are great lovers of sport; and they are neither playing nor waching games, they like to talk about them. However, there is important thing about sport in Britain which we must know. Today, an big sports is professional and famous players can make a lot of money.

Lat's take Football for example. It is the most popular team game in Britain. It is played in most of the schools, and there are thousands of amatur teams for young man in all parts of the country. But for most of the public, football is a professionals games which is watched on saturday afternoons at the stadiym.

Professional football is big business. Every larg town has one or more professional clubs.

Ragby football is played with an oval ball which may be carried. The players in the other team try to stop the man running with the ball by frowin him to the ground. There are fifteen players in each team.

Sports competition get big crowds in Great Britan. All people in Great britan are fond of sport and Englishman know is they train hard Sport will make them srong and helthy.

Moscow.

I am going to tell you about Moscow. Moscow, the capital of Russia, is one of the largest cities in the world. The total area of the city is about 900 square kilometers. It is political, commercial and cultural center of the country. About 10 million people live in the city. Moscow was founded in 1147 by prince Yuri Dolgoruky. Moscow stands on the bank of the Moskva river. Moscow is also one of the most beautiful city in the world. The heart of Moscow is Red Square, the central and most beautiful place in Moscow. Here one can see the Cathedral of St. Basil, the monument to Minin and Pozharsky, the Kremlin, the History museums and other interesting things. Some skyscrapers decorate Moscow including Moscow State University, the oldest university in Russia. It was founded in 18^th century by Lomonosov. Moscow is a city of students. There are over 82 higher educational institutes in it. The are more then 80 museums in Moscow. The largest one is Pushkin museums. The world famous art gallery, the State Tretyakov art Gallery, is in Moscow too. Moscow is famous for it’s theaters. The best-known of them is the Bolsoi Opera House. Drama theaters and studios are very popular too. There are many parks and gardens in Moscow, that’s why its citizen like to spend their free time out home. The most beautiful one is Park of Culture. Moscow is also the seat of the Russian Federation Parliament ( the Duma ) and the Official Resident of the Russian President. I live in Moscow and I think that it’s beautiful and worth seeing and in the future it will be better ‘cause we love it very much.

Children in sport.

I Hello, and welcome to today's 'You & Yours'. On today's program we look at children who are trying to be champions in the world of sport, and the pressures they can be under to win. Now I spoke to Allan Baker, the former British Athletics coach, and he had this to say.

AB Well the problem is that you want to find these children at quite a young age, to train them and motivate them as early as "possible. At that age they don't have social problems, you know they don't have boyfriends or girlfriends, so they give their sport the whole of their life. But they're so young that they can lose their childhood, and they're adults before they're 16. But of course they're not adults at all. Physically they can be quite developed, but emotionally they're still children. Everybody's looking for the new young star of the future, because there's a lot of money to be earned.

I Tennis is one of the sports where youngsters can play against their elders with more than a chance of success. In America there are tennis schools which accept children from as young as 9. So from the age of 9 a boy or girl is playing tennis for four or five hours every day, and doing ordinary school work around that. I spoke to the team manager of the English Lawn Tennis Association, Pam de Grouchy.

PG You see, we've already seen two 14-year-old American girls, that's Tracy Austin and Andrea Jaeger, playing at Wimbledon, and now, both at 18, they are now already showing the pressures on their bodies and their minds, and people are beginning to question whether this is a good thing for children. A 14-year-old just can't cope with the pressures of Wimbledon, the tournament, the Wimbledon crowds, and the press reporters. Well, I say to my girls, 'Stay at home, stay at school, do the things that teenagers like doing. If you like swimming, well swim; if you like going to dances, just go!' And if when they're older they'd really like to be a professional tennis player, well, they'll be a little older than the Americans, but they'll be better people for it, of that I'm perfectly sure.

I Pam de Grouchy thinks that young players shouldn't be allowed to become professionals until the age of 17 or 18 at least. I asked her what was responsible for the pressures on the young players - was it the money that can be earned, the parents, or perhaps the children themselves?

PG Oh no, it's the parents, without a shadow of a doubt. They want to push their children. I get letters from parents saying, 'My little Johnny enjoys playing tennis all day, and he'd like to learn only that and be trained by a professional coach', and quite frankly I just don't believe it.

I But what about the youngsters themselves? Robert, a 100-metre and 200-metre runner gave me an idea of his training program, and his own very simple way of avoiding trouble.

R Well I train under a coach for three days a week, and then decide how much running to do. If I've trained hard, well then maybe I run five miles, you know, if not so much, then eight miles. Well, of course, I'd like to go to the next Olympics and represent Great Britain, and of course I'd like to win a gold but there are lots of other things I like doing with my life too. I play in a rock group and I'm also a keen photographer. Well, I suppose for me the most important thing is enjoyment. If, if you win, you're happy, and if you lose, it's the same. I mean if you start getting upset every time you lose, I think it's time to stop.

I The sports stars of tomorrow, and good luck to them.

Young problems.

When you leave school you understand that the time of your independence life and the beginning of a far more serious examination of your abilities and character has come. You also understand that from now you’ll have to do everything yourself, and to “fight” with everybody around you for better life. The first problem that young people meet is to choose their future profession, it means that they have to choose the future of their life. It’s not an easy task to make the right choice of a job. You know children have a lot of dreams about their future : to become a superman or a policeman or a doctor … It’s very easy they think, but when they become older and see real world they understand that in all professions need to know perfectly about what you do, you must be well-educated and well-informed. That’s why I think it’s very important to have a good education at school. And if you work hard everything will be OK. Another problem of young people is drugs. This is a relatively new problem but it is becoming more and more dangerous. Million young people today are using drugs, and most of them will die. Usually they want just to try it , then again and again … and after year may be two years they will die . It is true. Because there are no medicine to help you. That’s why never do it, if you do - it goes bad, very bad. I think that police must work hard to protect young people from drugs. Because drugs will kill our young generation and our future will be very bad.

PROBLEMS OF UNEMPLOYMENT OF YOUNG PEOPLE.

People of almost every age are susceptible to this pernitious disease but it hits the youth the hardest. It's name is unemployment. The persent-age of unemployed youth in the total number of the jobless is high. In many developing countries the situation is more serious. Many young people to commit suside. Unless the economic situation in the world changes, youth unemployment will mount. This prodictions refer to all catigories of workers-with high and low skills in town and country. For all there possible distinctious,these young people over outside the production structure of society. The are deprived the possebility of creting there are "surplus" from time to time some may get a hit of luck, but the lot of the majority is to feel their unlessles to lose their ideals and become disillusioned. Unemployment greatly intemcilicselle tendency among the youth towards, drug education , frastretion and crime. This is a time bomb and is a heavy acusation of any social economic system.

THE PROBLEMS OF TEEN-AGES.

There are many young people in our country. Each of them has one's own view point on their life and their future. There are many problems which are common for all young people.For Example: how to spend their free time, what to do after school, choosing a profession, how to deal with girl and boy-friends and so on.

The problem number one of most of the young people is the problem of fathers and sons. All young people want to be independent, they want their parents to listen to their opinion, not to interfere in their private life. Some parents neglect their children, because they cant find a common language with each other.

Many problems were hushed up, but now we can speak openly about them. I think that the most difficult and sirious problem of modern teen-ages is drug-habit. Some young man use drugs, because they think that will be cool guys. But they don't understand, that it's wrong. Some of them can't stop that, and they become dependent on drugs. And they commit different serious, because they need some money to buy drugs. There are also many other problems: alchoholism, smokin and so on. There are many youth organisations in our country, wich unite young men on different principles. Members of every organisation has ons own world out looks. Each of them has their own morral qualities. There are some informal organisations, for example: skinheads, hippies, panks and so on. Now there exists the problem of missundrstanding beetwen different youth groups.

We also face the problem how to spend our free time. We can do it in different ways. Some of teen-ages spend their free time in different night clubs. Other young people spend their free time in the strets.

As for me, i spend my free time at home or in the night clubs. I also have some problems with my parents. But every time then i have them i try to slove them without quorrel.

Now we are young people and we are the future of our country. Teen-aegs play an important role in the modern society. Grown up's must remember that we are the future of our country and in present moment our character is formed and that's why our parents must not assert pressure on us.

David Attenborough

David Attenborough is very gloomy about much of what he's seen. What's depressed him most has been the huge speed and scale of change that human beings are inflicting on the world. People destroy everything around them. For example they cut down forests just because they need firewood to keep warm. And they don’t think about the future. When they cut down forests, the good soil have no umbrellas to protect them from the heavy rains. Water washes all good soil and in the future we will have no soil, no forests. Every year people destroy about 29,000 square miles. That is an area the size of the whole Scotland disappearing every year. Forty per cent of our drugs, our medicines, are derived from plants and most of those come from the tropical rain forests, and most of those come from the Amazon. But if nothing will be doing Amazonian jungle will disappear in just few years. Trees are a vital part of the water cycle, and of course they give us the oxygen. That means that we’ll have nothing to drink, to eat and no oxygen to breathe. Cutting down forests also causes floods. But we can’t say to these people that they mustn’t cut down that tree in order to cook their food. And it is an important problem of mankind – thinks David. But there are also other environmental problems today. Some of these problems are : the ozone holes, global warming ( or green-house effect ), acid rain … And the tragedy is that the people who suffer first are the deprived people, the people who are living on the edge of prosperity. And if they think that they are insulated from that, they are wrong. I think now a lot of people are beginning to realize that environmental problems are not somebody else’s. They make different organization, whose aim is conservation. For example “ GREEN PEACE ” , “ FRIEND OF THE EARTH ” and others. Everyday millions people from all over the world do everything to protect our environment , and they need for our help. I think we ought to help them , just to make our future better.

Environmental protection.

Our earth is our home, so if we want to protect our home we should protect our environment from harmful effects of human activity. Some of these activities cause pollution. Pollution now is a very important problem. Some of these problem are : the ozone holes, global warming ( or green-house effect), acid rain … The ozone layer is a layer of gases which stop harmful radiation from the sun protecting the earth. Recent research shows that there is a hole in part of the ozone layer which is caused by smoke from factories, car exhaust fumes, aerosol cans ‘cause they contain CFC. Global warming is an increase in world temperature caused by an increase in carbon dioxide. Acid rain is rain that contains dangerous chemicals, this is caused by smoke from factories. Another problem is poisons in food. Farmer soften spray chemicals in crops to safe them from pests. These chemicals are called pesticides. Scientists have found that pesticides often end up in our food and they can cause health problems - especially for kids. The seas are in danger. They are filled with poison : industrial, chemical, nuclear waste. Every ten minutes one kind of animal, plant or insect dies out for ever. And if nothing is done our earth will die in about 30 years from now. So what can we do to protect our environment ? I think that we should recycle our used things, we should plant more trees, we should not waste resources but try save them, we also must make smoke from factories and car’s fumes more clean, we must not dump industrial waste to seas and rivers …Now people are beginning to realize that environmental problems are not somebody else’s. They make different organization, whose aim is conservation. For example “ GREEN PEACE ” , “ FRIEND OF THE EARTH ” and others. Everyday millions people from all over the world do everything to protect our environment , and they need for our help. I think we ought to help them , just to make our future better.

My future profession.

When you leave school you understand that the time to choose your future profession, your future life has become. It’s not an easy to make the right choice of a job. I have known for long time that leaving school is the beginning of my independent life, the beginning of a far more serious examination of my abilities and character. What do I want to be when I leave school ? It’s very important question for me. A few years ago it was difficult for me to give a definite answer. As the years passed I changed my mind a lot of times about what science or field of industry to specialize in. It’s difficult to make up my mind and choose one of the hundreds jobs to which I might be better suited. A coupe of years ago I wanted to become a doctor, you know I wanted to help people who had problems with health. Then I wanted to become a policeman, then a spaceman, I even wanted to become a professional football player. But all of them now are in the past, they were like children’s dreams and nothing more. Now I have already decided what to do. I’d like to be an aviator. I know that it’s very difficult. I should know perfectly everything about the planes, airports, weather and other things. You know that the weather is very important thing for the flights too. I must be well-educated and well-informed. So that’s why at first I am going to go to the Aviation University in Moscow, then when I finish studding I’ll go to my country to try to get a job in the air companies. You know may be something will be not OK, because I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but I know that I’ll do everything to realize my plane and my dreams. I also want to say that the profession should be chosen according to the character and hobbies of the person. That’s why parents mustn’t make their children choose the thing they like ( parents like ). Children must do it themselves. Because they must love the thing they do, believe that people need them and their job will bring them more pleasure.

MY FUTURE PROFESSION

What I would like to become? This question pasels me

greatly. Every job has its elements of difficulties and interest.

I think that nearly all the professions are very important in

life. But to choose the right occupation is very difficult,

because we must take in to consideration many factors. We must

consider our personal taste and our kind of mind. At the same

time we must satisfy the requirements of our society and peoples

needs in one profession or another.

The end of school is the beginning of an independent life,

the beginning of a more serious examination. In order to pass

that very serious exam we must choose the road in life which will

help us best to live and work. Each boy and girl has every

opportunity to develop mind and use knowledge and education

received at school. Some may prefer to work in factories or

works, others want to go into construction: to take part in

building power stations and new towns. Many opportunities to work

and to satisfy at the same time the requirements of the society

and your own personal interest are offered in the sfere of the

services transport, communications and many others.

I have a specially liking for to became a programmist. I

like this profession because it very interest.

Learning foreigner language.

More and more people realize that every educated person should know a foreigner language. The most popular language now is English. English is a world language. It’s the language of progressive science and technology, trade and cultural relation, commerce and business. It’s the universal language of international aviation, shipping and sports. It is also the major language of diplomacy. Hundreds and hundreds of books, magazines and newspapers are printed in English and real all over the world. 75% of the world’s mail and 60% of the world’s telephone calls are in English. Half of the world’s scientific literature is written in English too. English is spoken by more than 350 million people . It is the official language of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland of the United States of America, of Australia and New Zealand. English is used as one of the official languages in Canada, the Republic of South Africa and the Irish Republic. It’s also spoken as a second language speakers in many parts of Asia and Africa. The number of second language speakers may soon exceed the number of native speakers. In Russia English is very popular : it is studied at schools, colleges, universities, and sometimes even at nurse schools. There are also other languages that are popular in the world. For example Chinese, the first language in the number of people who speak it, is used by over 1000 million people, it means that out one of every five people in whole world speaks Chinese. Another popular language is Arabic, which is the official language of several Asia’s countries ( Iran, Iraq, Syria, United Arab Emirates and others). Learning a foreign language is not an easy thing. It is a long and slow process that takes a lot of time and patience. But to know languages today is absolutely necessary for everyone. I want to know foreign language because I have always been interested in foreign countries and their cultures. You know I think that who doesn’t know a foreign language , doesn’t know his own language.

Learning languages.
The problem of learning languages is very important today. Foreign languages are socially demanded especially at the present time when the progress in science and technology has led to an explosion of knowledge and has contributed to an overflow of information. The total knowledge of mankind is known to double every seven years. Foreign languages are needed as the main and most efficient means of information exchange of the people of our planet.
Today English is the language of the world. Over 350 million people speak it as a mother tongue. The native speakers of English live in Great Britain, the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand. English is one of the official languages in the Irish Republic, Canada, the South African Republic. As a second language it is used in the former British and US colonies.
It is the major international language for communication in such areas as science, technology, business and mass entertainment. English is one of the official languages of the United Nations Organization and other political organization. It is the language of the literature, education, modern music, international tourism.
Russia is integrating into the world community and the problem of learning English for the purpose of communication is espicially urgent today. Learning a foreing language is not as easy thing. It is a long and slow process that takes a lot of time and patience. But to know English is absolutely necessary for every educated person, for every good specialist.
It is well known that reading books in the original , listening to the BBC news, communicating with the English speaking people will help a lot. When learning a foreign language you learn the culture and history of the native speakers. One must work hard to learn any foreign language.

ALEC ISSIGONIS

ALEC ISSIGONIS was born in 1906 in Izmir, Turkey. His mother was German and his father was Greek with British citizenship. Issigonis didn’t go to school. He was taught by a private teacher at home. After the First World War, the family moved to Britain, and Issigonis studied engineering. He was already a good designer but he couldn’t do math’s. He failed his math’s exam three times at technical college! He worked for a number of car manufacturers before joining Morris in 1936. After the Second World War he design the Morris Minor, the first British car to sell over a million. In 1956 he joined the British Motor Corporation. In that year the Suez Crisis caused petrol shortages in Europe, so everyone wanted cars that did not use much petrol. Issigonis was asked to design a small economical car that could take four passengers. The result was the Mini. Issigonis had complete control over the design of the Mini. He was an arrogant man who did not like to listen to other people. For example, he was told that all modern cars should have radios and seat belts. But he did not listen to the radio himself or wear seat belts, so he refused to put them in the first Minis. Later he changed his mind and seat belts and radios were added. He saw himself as an artist rather than a scientist. He once said, ‘Mathematics is the enemy of every truly creative man.’ Issigonis always followed his instincts. Luckily, they were usually right!About MINI. First of all he decided that the Mini should be three meters long, half a meter shorter than most small cars. Next, the wheels were made much smaller, with independent suspension. And they were put right at the four corners of the car. Then, the engine was turned sideways, and the gearbox was put underneath. Most space was saved by having front-wheel drive. And there was still room for four passengers. In 1959 this design was revolutionary. Today nearly every small car is based on the design of Mini. Henry Ford (1863-1947) Henry Ford was born in 1863. He was a man who transformed the world. The car he built changed the lives of people everywhere. In 1896, Ford succeeded in building an automobile powered by a gasoline engine. He built this engine in his kitchen sink. In 1903, Henry Ford established the Ford Motor Company and introduced the Model T Ford. Henry Ford wanted to make a car that everyone would be able to afford. He was able to lower the price of the Model T from $850 to $360 by introducing mass production assembly line techniques. On an assembly line each person has one specific job and can do it faster and more efficiently.

The United States of America.

The United States of America is located in North America. It is one of the largest countries in the world. The population of the USA is about 250 million people. The USA has 50 states. The largest of America’s states is Alaska. It’s nearly 400 times the size of Rhode Island, which is the smallest state. But Alaska has half the population of Rhode Island. The capital of the country is Washington DC ( the District of Colombia ). It was chosen as permanent site for the nation’s capital on December 1800 by George Washington. It’s main cities are New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Boston. There are many tall buildings in them that really scrape the sky, that’s why they are called skyscrapers. It’s highly developed country. It is rich in coal, oil, iron and natural gas. It exports a lot of raw materials, industrials and agricultural products. The United States of America is a federal republic. The American parliament ( called Congress ) has two chambers : the House of Representative and the Senate. The head of State is the president. He is elected for four years and his powers are limited by the Constitution. Now the President of the USA is Bill Clinton. The flag of the country has 13 red and white stripes representing the original 13 states and 50 stars - for each of the state of it. Each state has its own national motto, bird and flower as its symbol. America as any other country has its own customs, traditions and holidays. The United States is called “ melting pot ” because people from all over the world have mixed together to create modern America society. The earliest immigrants came from every countries of the world. People enjoy the wonder of nature practically in every state. The Appalachians and the Rocky Mountains, forest, plains, parties and even deserts, wonderful lakes, water falls and rivers cover the American territory that equals about 9.4 million square kilometers. Together with Hawaii and Alaska it is the 4^th largest nation in the world in area behind Russia, Canada and China. Among the most famous sites of interest are the Great Lakes, Niagara falls, the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco and other. There are many beautiful Nation park and protected areas of wilderness in America. I think that the USA is very beautiful country and if you visit it you will never forget it.

China.

China is the one of the largest countries in the world. The total area of the country is over million square kilometers. As to population China is the first country in the world. Over one thousand million peoples live in it. It means that one out of every five people in the whole world is Chinese. China is a great country, so only it has the man-made object which is visible from outer space - The Great Wall. China has a recorded history of nearly four thousand years. It was a monarchy till 1949 when Mao Tse Tung became a head of the state. Since that year China has been a Socialist Republic. In 1976 China started the Cultural Revolution, and it finished in 1976 when Mao dead. And now China is in the hands of Deng Xiaping, who has given the country a little free enterprise. Doors are now open to the rest of the world. And you can even come to China to study there. Some words about China’s education system. At the first all foreigners students will have to share a room with one Chinese student, which is very common. Days start very early, so they’ll have to get up at about six o’clock. There are morning exercise in the open air, and they will be invited to join it. The breakfast is at about six thirty. And all meals are communal. Their classes will probably be in English and Chinese, they’ll begin at seven thirty. Lunch is at twelve, and then more classes until six. After school day students usually go to the cinema. In fact it’s very difficult to get tickets. People also like to go for walks, to play cards or just to sit outside talking. The air in the streets is not pollute, because there are few cars but literally millions of bicycles. Chinese food is legendary that’s why you can find it in most cities in the world, and people like it very much. If you want to visit China you’ll have to get a visa. There are in fact many cities that you can visit with just the ordinary visa, and others that you need to get a visa from the local police station to go to. Now there is a very good train service and also an internal air service, but I think that it’ll be better if you travel by trains because you’ll see so much more of the country. And I also think that China is worth seeing. And you’ll never forget it if you visit it.

"The British Parliament"

The British Parliament is the oldest in the world. It originated

in th 12th century as Witenagemot, the body of wise councellers

whom the King needed to consult pursuing his policy. The British

Parliament consists of the House of Lords and the House of

Commons and the Queen as its head. The House of Commons plays the

major role in law-making. It consists of Members of Parliament

(called MPs for short). Each of them represents an area in

England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. MPs are elected either at a

general election or at a by-election following the death or

retirement. Parliamentary elections are held every 5 years and it

is the Prime Minister who decides on the exact day of the

election. The minimum voting age is 18. And the voting is taken

by secret ballot. The election campaign lasts about 3 weeks, The

British parliamentary system depends on politicals parties. The

party which wins the majority of seats forms the goverment and

its leader usually becomes Prime Minister. The Prime Minister

chooses about 20 MPs from his party to become the cabinet of

ministers. Each minister is responsible for a particular area in

the goverment. The second largest party becomes the official

opposition with its own leader and "shadow cabinet". The leader

of the opposition is a recognized post in the House of Commons.

The parliament and the monarch have different roles in the

goverment and they only meet together on symbolic occasions, such

as coronation of a new monarch or the opening of the parliament.

In reality, the House of Commons is the one of three which has

true power. The House of Commons is made up of six hundred and

fifty elected members, it is presided over by the speaker, a

member acceptable to the whole house. MPs sit on two sides of the

hall, one side for the governing party and the other for the

opposition. The first 2 rows of seats are occupied by the leading

members of both parties (called "front benches") The back benches

belong to the rank-and-life MPs. Each session of the House of

Commons lasts for 160-175 days. Parliament has intervals during

his work. MPs are paid for their parliamentary work and have to

attend the sittings. As mention above, the House of Commons plays

the major role in law making. The procedure is the following: a

proposed law ("a bill") has to go through three stages in order

to become an act of parliament, these are called "readings". The

first reading is a formality and is simply the publication of the

proposal. The second reading involves debate on the principles of

the bill, it is examination by parliamentary committy. And the

third reading is a report stage, when the work of the committy is

reported on to the house. This is usually the most important

stage in the process. When the bill passes through the House of

Commons, it is sent to the House of Lords for discussion, when

the Lords agree it, the bill is taken to the Queen for royal

assent, when the Queen sings the bill, it becomes act of the

Parliament and the Law of the Land. The House of Lords has more

than 1000 members, although only about 250 take an active part in

the work in the house. Members of this Upper House are not

elected, they sit there because of their rank, the chairman of

the House of Lords is the Lord Chancellor. And he sits on a

special seat, called "WoolSack" The members of the House of Lords

debate the bill after it has been passed by the House of Commons.

Some changes may be recommended and the agreement between the two

houses is reached by negotiations.

Great Britain.

The United Kingdom and Northern Ireland is situated on the British Isles. The British Isles consist of two large islands, Great Britain and Ireland, and about five thousand small islands. Their total area is over 244 000 square kilometers. The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast respectively. Great Britain consists of England, Scotland and Wales and does not include Northern Ireland. But in everyday speech Great Britain is used to mean the United Kingdom. The capital of UK is London.

London is political, economic, culture and commercial center of the country. It’s one of the largest cities in the world and the largest one in Europe. The population of the city is over 8 million. London is also one of the oldest and most interesting cities in the world. The British isles are separated from the European continent by the North Sea and the English channel. The western coast of Great Britain is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea. The surface of the British Isles is varies very much. The north of Scotland is mountainous and is called Highlands, while the south, which has beautiful valleys and plains, is called Lowlands. The north and west of England are mountainous, but all the rest - east, center and southeast - is a vast plain. Mountains are not very high. There are a lot of rivers in GB, but they are not very long. The Severn is the longest river, while the Thames is the deepest and most important one. The UK is one of the world’s smaller countries. The population of the country is over 57 million and about 80% of it is urban. The UK is highly developed industrial country. It’s known as one of world’s largest producers and exporters of machinery, electronics, textile, aircraft and navigation equipment. The UK is constitutional monarchy. In law, the Head of State is the Queen, but in practice, the Queen reigns, does not rule. The country is ruled by the elected government with the Primer Minister at the head. The British Parliament consists of two chambers : the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Now the Primer Minister of the United Kingdom is Tony Blair.

GREAT BRITAN.

1. The United Kindom of Great Britan and Nothen Island is situated on the British Iles not far from Europe. It consists of the island of Great Britan, the north-easten part of Irland and a great number of small islands. Such as: the Orkney, the Hebrides, the Isle of White and many others.

2. If you look at the map of europe you will see that Great Britan is not large. It takes 6 hours to trevel in a fast train, from London, the capital of England, to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. And the June from London to Plemouth takes a little over 4 hours by train.

3. There are 4 part of Great Britain England, the capital is London, Scotland the capital is Edinburg, Walles the capital is Cardif and Northen Island the capital is Belfast. Griat Britan lies not far from continent. It is siparated from europe by the North Sea and England Channel. The channel in it's narrowest part The Strate of Dover is only 32 kilometres.

4. Great Britan has a very good geographical position, as it lies on the crossways of the sea routes from Europe to other parts of the World.

The sea connects Britain with most European countrys such as:Belgium,

Holland, Denmark, Norway, Russia and some other countrys. The main sea route from Europe to America also passed throught the channel.

5. British climet is miled and damp. It often rains frogs are quit requent espeacially in the West and south-west. The Gulf Stream a warm ocean current warms to seas around the British coast moderating the climet, giving it cold Summers milds winters. The tempirature in winter seldom folls below zero and the field and meadow are green all year round.

"US Congress"

The United States of America is a federal republic consisting of

50 states. Each of which has its own goverment ("state

goverment"). In some ways the United States is like 50 small

countries. Each state has its own governor, its own police and

its own laws. The present constitution was proclaimed in 1787 in

Philadelphia, the President is the head of the whole country and

the goverment and "commandering chief" of the armed forces. He

makes the most important decisions and chooses the ministers, the

members of his cabinet. But the President cannot do just what he

wants. The Congress must agree first. Americans choose a new

president every four years. The residence of the President is the

White House in Washington, the Capital city. The goverment of the

whole country (the Federal goverment) works from Washington, this

is where the Congress is based. The Capitol is the seat of the US

Congress. Congress is the American parliament which consists of 2

chambers. The Senate and the House of Representatives. The first

Congress met in 1789 in New York city. The membership then

consisted of 22 senators and 59 representatives. Today the House

of Representatives has 435 members. Elections to the house take

place every 2 years. There are 100 senators (2 from each state),

they are elected to serve for a period of six years, but every

two years elections to the senate took place when one/third of

its members must be changed or re-elected. Election day is always

in the month of November, on the first Tuesday, after the first

Monday. Americans who aren't yet 25 years old have no right to be

elected to the House of Representatives. Whose, who are under 30

can't be elected in the Senate. The main political parties in the

United States of America are the Democratic Party and the

Republlican Party.

"Business Trips"

Never before in the history of the world have businessmen traveled

so much as they do today. It is not surprising because we are

living in a world of growing international trade and expanding

economic and technical cooperation. Fascinating though it is for

tourist travelling, however, has become the most tiring of all

the occupations for many businessmen and experts. Choosing a

comfortable hotel to stay at is, therefore, a matter of some

importance. There are plently of good hotels, motels, and guest

houses, in the world, conviently located for major business

centers. Many developing countries, such as India, Egypt,

Nigeria, Lybia, etc have excellent hotels. Their numerous

facilities include both: large and small cocktail barber's shops

and conference halls, equipped with simultaneous, multilingual

translation systems. There are parking areas which can accomodate

a lot of cars. It might be useful for travelling businessmen and

tourists to know that tailor shops, shoe repair shops and

laundry, dry cleaning services are available for guests. People

in the office help guests to book train or steamer tickets and

rent a car. They are also ready to give all necessary information.

Nowadays people who go on business mostly travel by air as it is

the fastest means of travelling. Passengers are requested to

arrive at the airport 2 hours before departure time on

international flights and an hour on domestic flights as there

must be enough time to complete the necessary airport

formalities. Passengers must register their tickets, weigh in and

register the luggage. Most airlines have at least 2 classes of

travel: first class and economy class which is cheaper. Each

passenger of more than 2 years of age has a free luggage

allowance. Generally this limit is 20kg for economic class

passenger and 30kg for first class passenger. Excess luggage must

be paid for except for some articles that can be carried free of

charge. Each passenger is given a boarding pass to be shown at

geparture gate and again to the stewardess when boarding the

plane. Watch the electric sign flashes when you are on board,

when the "Fasten Seat Belts" sign goes on do it promptly and also

obey the "No Smoking" signal. Do not forget your personal effects

when leaving the plane.

"Customs and Traditions"

There are many customs and traditions in England. And I would

like to tell you some of them. First tradition is called "Wrong

side of the bed" When people are bad tempered we say that they

must have got out of bed on the wrong side. Originally, it was

meant quiet literally. People belive that the way they rose in

the morning affected their behaivor throughout the day. The wrong

side of the bed was the left side. The left always having been

linked with evil. Second custom is called "Blowing out the

candles" The custom of having candles on birthday cakes goes back

to the ancient Greeks. Worshippers of Artemis, godess of the moon

and hunting, used to place honey cakes on the altars of her

temples on her birthday. The cakes were round like the full moon

and lit with tapers. This custom was next recorded in the middle

ages when German peasants lit tapers on birthday cakes, the

number lit indicating the person's age, plus an extra one to

represent the light of life. From earliest days burning tapers

had been endoued with mystical significance and it was belived

that when blown out they had the power to grant a secret wish and

ensure a happy year ahead. And the last tradition I would like to

tell you is called "The 5th of November" On the 5th of November

in almost every otwn and village in England you will see fire

burning, fireworks, cracking and lighting up the sky. You will

see too small groups of children pulling round in a home made

cart, a figure that looks something like a man but consists of an

old suit of clothes, stuffed with straw. The children will sing:"

Remember, remember the 5th of November; Gun powder, treason and

plot". And they will ask passers-by for "a penny for the Guy" But

the children with "the Guy" are not likely to know who or what

day they are celebrating. They have done this more or less every

5th of November since 1605. At that time James the First was on

the throne. He was hated with many people especialy the Roman

catholics against whom many sever laws had been passed. A number

of catholics chief of whom was Robert Catesby determined to kill

the King and his ministers by blowing up the house of Parliament

with gunpowder. To help them in this they got Guy Fawker, a

soldier of fortune, who would do the actual work. The day fixed

for attempt was the 5th of November, the day on which the

Parliament was to open. But one of the consperators had several

friends in the parliament and he didn't want them to die. So he

wrote a letter to Lord Monteagle begging him to make some excuse

to be absent from parliament if he valued his life. Lord

Monteagle took the letter hurrily to the King. Guards were sent

at once to examine the cellars of the house of Parliament. And

there they found Guy Fawker about to fire a trail of gunpowder.

He was tortured and hanged, Catesby was killed, resisting arrest

in his own house. In memory of that day bonfires are still

lighted, fireworks shoot across the November sky and figures of

Guy Fawker are burnt in the streets.

Customs and traditions of english speaking countries.

Every country and every nation has it's own traditions and customs.It's very important to know traditions and customs of different people. It will help you to know more about the history and life of different nations and countries.One cannot speak about England without speaking about it's traditions and customs .They are very important in the life of English people.Englishman are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up. There are six public holidays a year in G.B.. Cristmas day is one of their favorite holidays.It's celebrated on the 25-th of december. There are some traditions connected with it.One of them is to give presents to each other.It is not only children and members of family.It's a tradition to give cristmas presents to the people you work with.Another tradition is to send cristmas cards.All these cards are brightly and coloured.Most of big cities of G.B.,especially London, are decorated with coloured lights and cristmas trees. On Trafalgar Square, in the center of London stands a big cristmas tree.It is a gift from the people of Oslo.It is over 50 feet high. Many families celebrate cristmas day in the open air near the cristmas tree in order to catch the spirit of cristmas.Children find cristmas presents in their stockings.The traditional english dinner on cristmas is turkey and pudding.Other great holidays are:FatherТs day,MotherТs day,Helloween and other.

"Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)"

Thomas Jefferson one of the American President of the past was

born in Virginia in 1743. When he was 14 years old, his father

died and the young boy was left to choose for himself what to do.

Jefferson studied literature and languages. He also studied to be

a lawyer, and later he wrote many of the Virginia laws. One of

the laws for which he worked very much was a law to allow many

child to go to school free. Schools in America were only for the

children whose parents were rich. When Jefferson was still a

young man he was one of those who wanted freedom from England.

His most outstanding archivment was as chief author of the

Declaration of Independence, a statement of human rights and

liberties. It was read to the happy people on the 4th of July,

1776. Jefferson also drew up the constitution for his state,

Virginia, and served as its governor. He was sent to France as

the foreign minister of the United States of America and

afterwards was President's Washington secretary of state. A few

years later he became the country's third president, serving in

this position for 2 terms. The author of the Declaration of

Independence did another important thing for the American people.

He worked out a plan for a university where the students and

teachers could live and work together in a village build for

them. It was one of the first schools to teach science. Today, it

is the university of Virginia. This well known man was also a

self-tought architect. He introduced the simple classical design

to America when he designed the Virginia State Capital Building.

He also designed his own home, he remained the most influencial

architect of his time. Thomas Jefferson did many useful things

during his life time and he always thought of how to help

ordinary people. He was a practical and theoretical scientist

too. Jefferson's best traditions have been kept up by American

prograssive people in their struggle for peace and democracy.

"Pets"

The English people like animals very much. Pet: dogs, cats,

horses, ducks, canaries, chickens and other friends of men have a

much better life in Britain, than anywhere else. In Britain they

have special dog shops, selling food, clothes and other things

for dogs. There are dog hair-dressing saloons and dog cemetries.

The English arrange dogs' shows and organize dogs' supper parties

for winners of dogs' competitions. They do all they can to make

animals feel well in their home and outside their homes too.

There were photographs in English newspapres of a mother duck and

her young family, crossing slowly the road from Hyde Park to

Kensington Garden. All traffic around was stopped to let Mamma

Duck and her little ones walked quitly from one park to another.

In recent years the English began to show love for more exotic

animals such as crocodiles, elephants, tigers, cobras, camels.

You won't be surprised, we think, when we tell you that London

Airport has a special "animal hotel". Every year thousands of

animals arrive at London Airport, some stay the night there;

others stay several weeks. In one month, for example, "the hotel"

looked after 47000 creatures: birds, insects, fish, elephants,

mpnkey and other animals. There are about 4000000 dogs, 6000000

cats, 8000000 caged birds and lots of other animals in Britain.

The English people belive that they are the only nation on the

Earth that is really kind to its animals.

"Washington, DC"

The city of Washington, the capital of the United States of

America is located in the District of Columbia (DC for short)

Many people consider Washington DC to be one of the most beatiful

cities in the world. It is filled with many parks, wide streets

and impressive buildings. In the centre of the city, in Capitol

Park, visitors' eyes focus on the Capitol, where Congress

convence to inect laws. Many visitors come to Washington DC to

see the White House. It is the greatest attraction for many of

them. The White House, the official residence of the President,

is situated at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. The largest room in

this building of over the hundreds room is the East Room, scene

of many state receptions, balls and musicals. Other famous rooms

are: the Green Room, the Blue Room, the Red Room, which are used

for afternoon teas and for receptions held before state dinners.

The Blue Room, the most formal of these "colors" room is an

oval-shaped room connecting the Green and the Red Rooms. On the

second floor, the floor with the family quarters and quests

rooms, is the Lincoln Room, which one served as an office for

president Lincoln but today serves as an honor guest room. In

this room Lincoln signed the emansipation proclamation of 1863.

Other landmarks in Washington DC include memorials to three

Presidents: The Washington Memorial, The Lincoln Memorial and The

Jefferson Memorial; The Library of Congress, The National Gallary

of Art, The John F. Kennedy center for the Perfoming Arts. The

Capitol is in the very center of Washington. It is located on the

Capitol Hill, the highest point in the city. The Capitol is the

highest building in Washington. There is a law in Washington not

to build buildings higher than the Capitol. The conrer stone of

the Capitol was laid by George Washington on Sep 18th, 1793. The

Capitol is the seat of the goverment of the United States of

America.

BRITISH THEATRES

Until reccently the history of the english theatre has been build around actors rather then companies. It has been hard to find any London theatre that even had a consistent policy. There are no permanent staff in British theatres. Apply is rehearsed for a few weeks by a company of actors working together mostly for the first time and it is allowed to run as long as it draws the odious and pays it's way.

Another peculiarity of the theatres in Great Britain is an follows: there are two kinds of seats, which can be booked an advanced (bookable), and unbookable once have no numbers and the spectators occupy them on the principal: first come - first served. And ancient times plays were acted inside churches and later on the market places.

The first theatre in England "The Blackfries" build in 1576, and "The Globe" build in 1599, which is closely connected with William Shakespeare. Speaking about our times we should first of all mention "The English National theatre","The Royal Shakespeare company" and "Covent Garden".

"Covent Garden" used to be a fashionable promenade - it was, before then, a convent garden - but when it became overrun with flower-sellers, orange-vendors and vegetable-growers, the people moved to more exclusive surroundings farther west, such as "St. Jame's Square".

The first "Covent Garden theatre" was build in 1732. It was burnt down in 1808 and rebuild exactly a year after. It opened in September 1809, with Shakespeare's "Macbeth". Since the middle of the last century "Covent Garden" became exclusively devoted to opera.

Now "Covent Garden" in busier than ever, it is one of the few well-known opera houses open for 11 months of the year and it employs over 600 people both of the Opera company and the Royal Ballet.

THE NATIONAL THEATRE

It took over the hundred years to establish a national theatre company. It's first director from 1962 was Lawrence Olivier. This is the first state theatre Britain has ever had. A special building for it was opened in 1976. It has three theatres in one: "The Oliver theatre", the biggest is for the main classical repertoire; "The Lyttilton", a bit smaller is for new writing and for visiting foreigh countries and "The Cottesloe theatre", the smallest is used for experimental writing and productions. "The Royal Shakespeare company" are devided between the country and the capital and it's produces plays mainly by Shakespeare and his contempraries when it performs is "Stratford -on-Avon", and modern plays in it's two auditoria in the Cities, Barbican centre.

AUSTRALIA.

1. The Commonweaith of Austrelia is a self govering federal state. It is situated in the south-west of the Pasific ocean, ocuping the continent of Australia and a great number of islands of which Tasmania is the most important. Australia is a continent-island washed by the Indian and the Pasific Oceans.

2. The country consists of 6 (six) states and 2 (two) territories. 16 million people live in Australia. The capital is Canberra. The offical language is English.

3. Australia has a Parlament has two chambers, the house of Representatives and the Senate. the governmant of the country is headed by the Prime Minister.

4. Australia is not only far from the rest of the world, it has a bad climet, too. The climet is better in the east and south-east, where most big cities have grown-up. But the northen coast has too much rain, and the westen coast is too dry.

5. The highest part of Australia, and almost all the mountains are near the coast. The whole central part of the country is dry; it never rains, there are no large rivers and no water there. So there is no very rich plant life in Australia, except in the east and south-east.

6. Australia is an important producer and exporter of primary products: wool, meat, sugar, fruit, black, coal, iron, copper, lead, gold and so on.

7. Most of the factories are situated near big cities. There are 5 (five) big cities in Australia: Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and bris bane. These cities are also the country's main ports.

8. Canberra was specially planned as a capital. It is a quriet city. All the gover-

ment buildings are situated there. There no industrial plants in the city. About 300000

people live in Canberra.

9. Sydney is the oldest and largest city in Australia. It was founded in 1788. Sydney

is a big industrial centre. About 3 million people now live in the city.

THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM OF GREAT BRITAIN.

The educational system of G.B. is extreamely complex and bewilder- ing.It is very difficult to generalise about particular types of schools as schools differ from one to the other. The departament of education and science is responsible for national educational policy,but it doesnOt employe teacher or prescribe corricular or text books. Each school has itOs own board of governers consisting of teachers, parents, local politicians, members of local community, businessmen and sometimes pupils. According to the law only one subject is compulsary. Such as religious instruction. Schooling for children is compulsary from 5 to 16, though some provision is made for children under 5 and some pupils remain at school after 16 to prepare for higher education. The state school system is usually devided into 2 stages (secondary and primary). The majority of primary schools are mixed.They are subdevided into infant schools(ages 5 to 7),and junior schools(ages 7 to11). In junior schools pupils were often placed in A,B,C or D-streams, according to their abilities. Under the pressue of progressive parents and teachers the 11+ examination has now been abolished in most parts of the country. There are some types of schools in G.B.Grammar schools provided an academical cause for selected pupils from the age of 11 to 18. Only those children who have the best results are admitted to these schools. They give pupils a high level of academic education wich can lead to the university. Technical Schools offer a general education with a techni- cal bias and serve those pupils who are more mecanically minded. The corricular includes more science and mathematics. Secondary modern schools were formed to provide a non-academic education for children of lesser attainment. The corricular includes more practical subjects. The comprehensive schools brings about a general improvement in the system of secondary education.

BRITISH EDUCATION

British education emas us to develop fully the abilities of

individuals, for their own benefit and of society as a whole.

Compulsory schooling takes place between the agers of 5 and

16, but some pupils remain at shool for 2 years more, to prepare

for further higher education. Post shool education is organized

flaxebly, to provide a wide range of opportunities for academic

and vacational education and to continue studying through out

life.

Administration of state schools is decentralised. The

department of education and science is responsible for national

education policy, but it doesn't run any schools, if doesn't

employ teachers, or prescribe corricular or textbooks. All shools

are given a considerable amount of freedom. According to the law

only one subject is compulsary. That is religious instruction.

Children recieve preschool education under the age of 5 in

nursery schools or in infant's classes in primary schools.

Most pupils receive free education finenst from public fonds

and the small proportions attend schools wholy independent. Most

independent schools are single-sex, but the number of mixing

schools is growing.

Education within the mantained schools system usually

comprises two stages: primary and secondary education. Primary

schools are subdevided into infant schools (ages 5 - 7), and

junior schools (ages 7 - 11). Infant schools are informal and

children are encouraged to read, write and make use of numbers

and develop the creative abilities. Primary children do all their

work with the same class teacher exept for PT and music. The work

is beist upon the pupils interests as far as possible.

The junior stage extence over four years. Children have set

pirits of arithmetic, reading, composition, history, geography

nature study and others. At this stage of schooling pupils were

often placed in A, B, C and D streams according their abilities.

The most able children were put in the A stream, the list able in

the D stream. Till reccantly most junior shool children had to

seat for the eleven-plus examination. It usually consisted of an

arithmetic paper and an entelligent test.

According to the results of the exam children are sent to

Grammar, Technical or Secondary modern schools.

So called comprehansive schools began to appear after World

War 2. They are muchly mixed schools which can provide education

for over 1000 pupils. Ideally they provide all the courses given

in Grammar, Technical and Secondary modern schools.

By the law all children must receive full-time education

between the ages of 5 and 16. Formally each child can remain a

school for a further 2 or 3 years and continue his studies in the

sixth form up to the age of 18 or 19. The course is usually

subdevided into the lower 6 and the upper 6. The corricular is

narrowed to 5 subjects of which a pupil can choose 2 or 3.

The main examinations for secondary school pupils are

general certeficate of education (the GCE) exam and certificate

of secondary education (the CSE) exam. The GSE exam is held at

two levels: ordinary level (0 level) and advanced level (A

level).

Candidats set for 0 level papers at 15 - 16 years away. GCE

level is usually taken at the end on the sixth form. The CSE

level exam is taken after 5 years of secondary education by the

pupils who are of everage abilities of their age.

Exploration

Christopher Columbus

300-400 years ago a great deal of the world was undiscoveried. But now there seems little more to explore, the wild north was conquered, the jungle was conquered too. And it seems that all the pages of the great book called “The Earth” has been filled in, but exploration still goes on.

In the 15th century people knew only 3 continents: Europe, Asia and Africa. They knew nothing about America. The man who was thought to be the discoverier of America was born in 1451 in Italy. His name was Cristopher Columbus.

Knowing that the earth was round he desided to reach India by sailing to the west. It was very difficult for him to organize an expedition as nobody wanted to help him. At last the Spanish government gave him some money. In the 1492 he sailed with 3 small ships in to the Atlantic ocean. They had been sailing for more than 2 months and at last they saw land. Columbus was certain that the lands he discoveried were part of India and he called these islands “The West Indias”. He made 3 voyagers to America. His last voyage was made in 1502-1504. After that, seriously ill, he remained in Spain until his death. He died believing that Cuba was part of Asia. Colum-buse’s voyagers gave Europe first important knowledge of the new world. Many places have been named in his honour. America however was named after another explorer Amerigo Vespucci.

Americus Vespucius (or Amerigo Vespucci, as the name is spelled in Italian) was born in Florence, Italy, in 1454. He was in Spain at the time of Columbus' first and second voyages. In a letter, written in 1504 and printed in 1505, he claimed to have made four voyages, on the first of which, in 1497, he explored the South American coast. This would make him the first European to land on the American continent, for at that time Columbus had only reached the outlying islands. Most scholars reject Vespucius' version of this voyage. Vespucius perhaps did accompany a Spanish expedition that of Alonzo de Ojeda to South America in 1499, and in 1501 and 1503 he probably went with Portuguese expeditions. Probably he never commanded an expedition himself and, of course, was not the first person to set foot on the continents to which his name is given. Vespucius died in Seville, Spain, in 1512.

Historic cities : Durham, York, Oxford

York. York is one of Europe’s historic cities. It began as an important roman city. In medieval times a stone wall was built around it, and wall is still there today. There is the river Omse near Lendal bridge. And from here you can walk around the city on the wall, it takes about two hours. In the south wall is Micklegate bar, where kings and queens entered the city. There is also Monk bar and Booth bar. Inside the city there is a cathedral. It was begun in 1220 and finished two centuries later. If you compare this English cathedral with a catholic cathedral, you will see that they are different. Cathedral in Protestant England don’t have colorful paintings on the wall, the color is in the windows. In the center of window of this cathedral is white rose- the symbol of York. There are also different interesting museums in York. One of them is the National Railway Museum. There are a lot of trains in it, for example the first public train in the world, built in 1825 and the fastest steam train in the world are here.. West Yorkshire. The West Yorkshire moors, where two great writers, Charlotte and Emily Bronte, lived. Their books are Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heinghts. They lived in the 1800s in the village of Haworth with four brothers and sisters. Their father was the minister at the village church. All the children died by the age of thirty, except Charlotte. She lived on alone with her father in this house. Then at thirty-eight she married. But only nine month later she died too and was buried in the church by her old father. OXFORD. Oxford is one of oldest and most famous cities in the world. it is famous for it’s university, the Oxford university. It also called a city of students, because over 12000 students are living and studding here in thirty five colleges. Oxford is a place of young people and old traditions, for example teachers are called dons and still wear black grows. Student here are taught one-to-one in the Socratic tradition. At the libraries you can still see notices written in Latin - the ancient language of scholars. Students here are surrounded by old stone building. One of them is Hertford College, one of smallest colleges in the university. About two hundred students live and work here. But Oxford is not all work, there are a lot of clubs and other interesting places for students and dons to visit. For example the Sheldonian theater, which is used for concerts and university’s ceremonies. Opposite the theater is book shop, where people buy books. It is one of the word biggest book shops, with seven kilometers of selves. There are also a lot of pubs and cafes in the city, where you can buy cheap food and drink a cup of coffee with friends. There are two rivers in Oxford. People usually travel in the rivers by boats called punts. Oxford is also famous for it’s gardens, which has a maze.

LEISURE TIME AND HOBBY

Many man,many minds. All people are different and so they prefer spending their free time in different ways. Some of them go the parks, forests,to the country and enjoy the beauty of nature. Others like to stay at home watching TV or reading books. There are people who are fond of cinema and theatres, so they try to go there as often as pos- sible. As for me I prefer to spend my free time in different ways. I like to go in for sports, to play football, basketball or volleyball with my friends. I like to watch TV, to listen a tape recorder and play computer games. Also I like to go for a walk in the country and enjoy the beauty of nature.And my way of spending free time is connected with my hobby. And my hobby is reading books...

I"d like to say that it"s hard to imagine our life without books.Books play such a great role in the development of personality. They help as to forget our daily problems and to pretend we travel to the past, future and to many different, wonderfull places that we can"t visit in reality. I am also sure that books are our good friends and teachers. From them we get to know the life around as better, they teatch as how to tell right from wrong, to love our Motherland, to understand friendship, people"s feelings. So, they teach us how to live. As for me I like to read different kinds of books: ......

Learning languages.
The problem of learning languages is very important today. Foreign languages are socially demanded especially at the present time when the progress in science and technology has led to an explosion of knowledge and has contributed to an overflow of information. The total knowledge of mankind is known to double every seven years. Foreign languages are needed as the main and most efficient means of information exchange of the people of our planet.
Today English is the language of the world. Over 350 million people speak it as a mother tongue. The native speakers of English live in Great Britain, the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand. English is one of the official languages in the Irish Republic, Canada, the South African Republic. As a second language it is used in the former British and US colonies.
It is the major international language for communication in such areas as science, technology, business and mass entertainment. English is one of the official languages of the United Nations Organization and other political organization. It is the language of the literature, education, modern music, international tourism.
Russia is integrating into the world community and the problem of learning English for the purpose of communication is espicially urgent today. Learning a foreing language is not as easy thing. It is a long and slow process that takes a lot of time and patience. But to know English is absolutely necessary for every educated person, for every good specialist.
It is well known that reading books in the original , listening to the BBC news, communicating with the English speaking people will help a lot. When learning a foreign language you learn the culture and history of the native speakers. One must work hard to learn any foreign language.

ART GALLEREYS OF LONDON

Speaking about art gallereys of London we should first of all

mention The national gallery, The national portret galerey and

The tate gallery. I would like to tell you about National portret

gallery and about Tate gallery.

The national gallery houses one of the richest and most

extensive collections of painting in the world. It stands to the

north of the Trafalgar Square. the gallerey was desighned by

William Wilkins and build in 1834-37. The collection covers all

schools and periods of painting, but is a specially famous for

it's examples of Rembrant and Rubents. The british schools is

only moderately represented as the national collections are

shared with the Tate gallerey. The National gallerey was founded

in 1824 when the government bought the collection of John

Angerstein which included 38 paintings.

The Tate gallery houses the national collection of british

painting from the 16-th century to the present day. It is also

the national gallerey for modern art, including painting and

sculpture made in Britain, Europe, America and other countries.

It was opened in 1897 as the national gallerey of british art. It

owes it's establishment to Suie Henritate who built the gallerey

and gave his own collection of 65 painting.

MOSCOW THEATRES

For decades Moscow has had a reputation as a city of theatres. The birth plays of the historic "Bolshoy", "Maly" and "Moscow Art" theatres the city has been and steel is a centre for the development exploretary modern ideas in the dramatic art and is famous for it's great number of highlygifted, interesting directors, actors, playwrigts and artists.

Every evening the doors of Moscow theatres open to streams of theatre-gowers. The best Moscow theatres devoded themselves to developing the principals of directing and acting laid down by Stanislavsky, Meerhold, Nemerovich-Danchenko, Vachtangov and others. The discoveries and successes of Moscow theatres today exists due to experience and triumphs of preceding generations.

I'd like to tell you about the Bolshoy Theatre. The magestic building of the Bolshoy Theatre stands in Theatre Square in Moscow's central quater, not far from Kremlin. This is the leading Russian opera house with the best vocalists and choreographers in it's company.

The Bolshoi traces it's history to 1776 when a standing opera company was organized in Moscow. The first opera shown in Bolshoi theatre was opera "life of tsar" (now "Ivan Susanin").At later times operas by Dargomyzhsky, Serov, Tcaikovsky, Borodin, Moussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Rubinstein were produced here.

At the same time the Bolshoi company staged the best operas and ballets by West European composers-Mozart, Rossini, Weber, Verdi and others.

The bolshoi ballet company enjoys well-deserved fame as the world's finest. This is equally true of it's brilliant realistic style of perfomance and repertoire.

MY FAVORITE PAINTER

One of my favorite artists is Rembrant is the greatest Dutch

master, one of the supreme geneuses in the history of art. To

this day the art of Rembrant remains one of the most profound

witness of the progress of the soul in it's earthly pilgrimage

towards the realisation of higher destiny. The son of the

prosperous miller, Rembrant was born in Leiden in 1608. He

studied at Leiden University, but his real vocation was painting.

His rapid sugsess promoted him to move to the Amsterdam in 1631.

In 1632 Rembrant bought a splendid house, started a collection

of paintings and rarities. The universal artist dealt with many

world subjects. Rembrant created a number of portraits and some

group portraits which were traditional to the Dutch art. The best

of them are "Anatomy lesson of Dr. Tulp" and "The night watch".

In 1655 Rembrant found himself in the midst of several

financial troubles. At that period he painted "The Polish Rider",

which is an allegory of the man's earthly journey.

Probably in 1669, the year of his own death, Rembrant

painted his famous "Return of the Prological son", which stands

at the ultimate peak of Cristian spirituality, illuminating the

relationship of the self to the eternity.

The biblical theme was very important to Rembrant. He painted

"Artakserks, Oman and Eshpir", "The Saint Family".

Rembrant was not understood when he was alive. He died in

poverty. But it is the spirituality of his art that distinguishes

Rembrant from his Dutch contemporaries making him the greatest

artist of the world

THEATRES, MUSIC HALLS AND CINEMAS

Theatres are very much the same in London as anywhere else; the chief theatres ,music halls and cinemas are in the West End. If you are staying in London for a few days, you'll have no difficulty whatever in finding somewhere to spend an enjoyable evening. You'll find opera, balley, comedy, drama, revue, musical comedy and variety. Films are shown in the cinemas during the greatest part of the day.

The best seats at theatres are those in the stalls, the circle and the upper circle. Then comes the pit, and the last of all the gallery where the seats are cheapest. Boxes, of course, are the most expensive. Most theatres and music halls have good orchestras with popular conductors.

You ought to make a point of going to the opera at least once during the season if you can. There you can get the best of everything - an exellent orchestras, famous conductors, celebated singers and well dressed audience. But, of course, if you are not fond of music and singing, won't interest you.

At the West End theatres you can see most of the famous English actors and actresses. As a rule, the plays are magnificently staged - costumes, dresses, scenery, everything being done of the most lavish scale. Choose a good play, and you'll enjoy yourself thoroughly from the moment the curtain goes up to the end of the last act. Get your seats beforehand, either at the box-office of theatre itself or at one of the agencies. When you go to a theatre, you'll probably want to seat as near to the stage as possible. But if you are at the cinema, you may prefer to seat some distance from the screen. In fact, I would say, the further away the better.

ART IN MOSCOW

Speaking about art gallereys of Moscow we must mention the most famous gallereys.

The State Tretyakov gallery is one of the best known picture gallereys in Russia. It takes it's name from it's founder Pavel Tretyakov, a Moscow mercant. In the 19'th century Tretyakov began to collect russian paintings. He visitet all the exibitions and art studios and bought the best pictures. Little by little Tretyakov extended his interests and began to collect earlier Russian paintings. In 1881 Tretyakov opened in St. Peterburg to the public, 11 years later he donated it to the city of Moscow. Since then the gallerey has received hundred paintings from oter museums and private collections. The Tretyakov gallerey reflects the whole history of Russian paintings from 11'th century to the present day.

Also I'd like to tell you about state pushkin museum of fine art. The building was built in Greek stile by Roman Klein in 1898 - 1912 to house a museum of fine art, founded of initiative of professor Ivan Cvetayev. Since 1937 it has be known as The Puskin museum of fine art. It has one of the worlds largest ancient collections of european art. Now the picture gallerey has over 2 thousands works of various schools of painting which enaibous us to understand and appreciate the variaty of staills over the centuries.

The Pushkin museum pereodically hald's exibition of the art of various countries and of individual outstanding artist of past and present.

Computers

When Charles Babbage, a professor of Mathematics at Cambridge university, invented the first calculating machine in 1812 he couldn’t imagine the situation we find ourselves in today. Nearly everything we do in the world is helped, or even controlled by computers, the complicated descedants of his simple machine. Computers are used more and more often in the world today, for the simple reason that they are far more efficent than human beings. They have much better memories and they can store much information. No man alive can do 500000 sums in one second, but a computer can. In fact, computers can do many of the things we do, but faster and better. They can predict weather, and ever play chess, write poetry or compose music.

The use of computers

Just as television has extended human sight across the barriers of time and distance, so the computers extend the power of the human mind across the existing barriers.

Computers in medicine

Computers are one of great importance in modern hospital. The chief use of computers is the storing and sorting the medical knowledge which has been equired in the last 50 years. No doctor can possible keep up with all discoveries. The only solution of the problem is store medical knowledge in a computer. Today there are medical computer centers were all existing knowledge of simpthoms of various dessieses and of their treatment is stored. Doctors feed data on simpthoms in the computer and get the nessesary information on correct diagnostics and treatment.

Computers that can be learn

Ordinary computer can remember only the data stored in the hard disk. Now scientists have desighned machines, that are capable of learning from experience and remembering what they have learned. Such a machine is capable of recognising objects without human help or control. Of course, they made many mistakes.

There is another similar machine which can look at letter alphabet a simple words and they “say” thought a loudes speaker what it has seen. The machine has as certain learning power.

Computers at the school

Information science with the ideas and message of processing and storing informations is of great importance today. That’s why computer technology must be told in secondary school. The new subject “basic information science”, and “computing machine” was intreduste for the siner forms at schools. The pupils teach computers to anlestigate school problems. Contact with the machine increases the interest in learning, makes them more serious about studing new subject. School computers are used not only for studing information science, but also examinations purposes. Young people who finish the school must be trained to operate computers.

Fedor Dostoevsky (1821-1881)

The Russian writer Dostoevski is regarded as one of the world's great novelists. In Russia he was surpassed only by Leo Tolstoi.

Fedor Mikhailovich Dostoevski was born on Nov. 11, 1821, in a Moscow hospital where his father was a physician. At 13 Fedor was sent to a Moscow boarding school, then to a military engineering school in St. Petersburg. Shortly after graduating he resigned his commission in order to devote his time to writing.

Dostoevski had published two novels and several sketches and short stories when he was arrested along with a group of about 20 others with whom he had been studying French socialist theories. After the 1848 revolutions in Western Europe, Russia's Czar Nicholas I decided to round up all of that country's revolutionaries, and in April 1849 Dostoevski's group was imprisoned. Dostoevski and several others were sentenced to be shot, but at the last minute their sentence was changed to four years of hard labor in a prison in Omsk, Siberia. There, Dostoevski said, they were "packed in like herrings in a barrel" with murderers and other criminals. He read and reread the New Testament, the only book he had, and built a mystical creed, identifying Christ with the common people of Russia. He had great sympathy for the criminals.

As a child Dostoevski suffered from mild epilepsy, and it grew worse in prison. After four years in prison, he was sent as a private to a military station in Siberia. There in 1857 he met and married a widow named Marie Isaeva.

In 1860 Dostoevski was back in St. Petersburg. The next year he began to publish a literary journal that was soon suppressed, though he had by now lost interest in socialism. In 1862 he visited Western Europe and hated the industrialism he saw there. Dostoevski had been separated from his wife but visited her in Moscow before her death in 1864. In 1867 he married his young stenographer, Anna Snitkina. He died on Feb. 9, 1881, in St. Petersburg.

Education in Russia

An educated person is one who knows a lot about many things.I think it is very important that everyone should be educated.Each pupils ought todo his best to become a useful member of our society. Education is very important in our life. Going on educational excursions gives us opportunities to acquire some scientific knowledge.

In the Russian Federation the school education is compulsary. Pupils begin to go to school at the age of six. When they complete high grades they can either continue to study at school for more 2 years, or go to a professional school where they study not only main subjects , but are able to learn some profession. When school pupils leave school they can try to continue their educaton in institutes or universities.

There are many school types of schools in Russia: specialized, politecnical, musical art and others. Nowdays appeared some new types of schools: gimnasiums and colledges.

Bath

Bath is an unusual city because it was built for leisure and health. Most of the houses were built in the eighteenth century when Bath became a fashionable place. The houses were built with the pale golden-coloured stone from the nearby hills. Some of the terraces in Bath were built in crescent or circular shape. Some of the streets in Bath are closed to cars, so walking around, relaxation and pleasant conversation are as popular as they were in the eighteenth century. In those days the favourite meeting place was the social center of Bath, a building called “The Pump Room”. Here you can drink tea in the elegant atmosphere of the eighteenth century. The Pump Room was built over a spring, where natural hot water comes up from the underground. This water contains minerals which are good for you. The English were not the first to enjoy this warm, healthy water. The Romans built hot baths, swimming pools, and a temple here nearly two thousand years ago. The Roman Bath was fonded in 1878 and now ut’s stil work there. Near Bath you can visit beautiful gardens and classical country houses. Devon. Around the world there are about forty Plymouths-all named by people who sailed from this town in sixteenth and seventeenth century. In the early seventeenth century men and woman left from here to build a new life in America. The English Plymouth of today is Devons largest city. Its an interesting city to visit and many of the houses overlooking the sea are hotels, guest houses and bed and breakfast. A bed and breakfast is a private house which offers a room and a breakfast. Guest houses are like hotels but usually smaller and cheaper. The countryside of Devon has narrow country roads with high banks on both sides, which protect you from the wind. Devon is a green hilly county with many rivers and estuaries. Salcombe is a popular holiday town on the Kingsbridge Estuary. Here you can hire a boat and explore. Its one of the most popular places in Britain for sailing. One reason for its popularity is climate. This area is the most southernmost part of Britain, so its little warmer than elsewhere. Another good thing is absence of big modern hotels. They are not allowed in this protected area of natural beauty. The local drink in Devon is a strong cider called scrumpy. Its made of apples, using a traditional process. When the apples have been cut up, the pieces are scooped up with a wooden shovel and carried to a press. The lid of the press is placed on top, making a giant sandwich. The cogwheels begin to turn and the juice is squeezed out, quickly at first. A few month from now this apple juice will be a good scrumpy.

Exploration

Christopher Columbus

300-400 years ago a great deal of the world was undiscoveried. But now there seems little more to explore, the wild north was conquered, the jungle was conquered too. And it seems that all the pages of the great book called “The Earth” has been filled in, but exploration still goes on.

In the 15th century people knew only 3 continents: Europe, Asia and Africa. They knew nothing about America. The man who was thought to be the discoverier of America was born in 1451 in Italy. His name was Cristopher Columbus.

Knowing that the earth was round he desided to reach India by sailing to the west. It was very difficult for him to organize an expedition as nobody wanted to help him. At last the Spanish government gave him some money. In the 1492 he sailed with 3 small ships in to the Atlantic ocean. They had been sailing for more than 2 months and at last they saw land. Columbus was certain that the lands he discoveried were part of India and he called these islands “The West Indias”. He made 3 voyagers to America. His last voyage was made in 1502-1504. After that, seriously ill, he remained in Spain until his death. He died believing that Cuba was part of Asia. Colum-buse’s voyagers gave Europe first important knowledge of the new world. Many places have been named in his honour. America however was named after another explorer Amerigo Vespucci.

Americus Vespucius (or Amerigo Vespucci, as the name is spelled in Italian) was born in Florence, Italy, in 1454. He was in Spain at the time of Columbus' first and second voyages. In a letter, written in 1504 and printed in 1505, he claimed to have made four voyages, on the first of which, in 1497, he explored the South American coast. This would make him the first European to land on the American continent, for at that time Columbus had only reached the outlying islands. Most scholars reject Vespucius' version of this voyage. Vespucius perhaps did accompany a Spanish expedition that of Alonzo de Ojeda to South America in 1499, and in 1501 and 1503 he probably went with Portuguese expeditions. Probably he never commanded an expedition himself and, of course, was not the first person to set foot on the continents to which his name is given. Vespucius died in Seville, Spain, in 1512.

Scotland.

Scotland is one of four part of the GB. In area Scotland is more than half as big as England. The principal cities of the country are : its capital Edinburgh and the main industrial center Glasgow. Scottish towns look very different from English towns. Some words about Edinburgh . Edinburgh, capital of Scotland, is one of Britain’s most attractive cities. It’s a city for people who like to walk. You are never far from green parks, gardens and hills - even in the main shopping streets. It’s a busy modern city, but the history is everywhere. At the top of the highest hill in Edinburgh is Edinburgh Castle. It was the home of Scotland’s royal family until 1603 when King James the 6^th of Scotland became king of England and moved to London. The road which begins at the castle and goes eastwards is called Royal Mile. At the other end of the Royal Mile is the Palace of Hollyroodhouse. It was built by a Scottish king before Scotland and England were united to make Great Britain. Now it is a second home for the Queen or her children, who usually visit Edinburgh in the summer. When the royal family is not there you can visit the palace and see a lot of interesting things. There are nine hills in Edinburgh. They are long-dead volcanoes. From the tops of them you can see two bridges : the modern road bridges an the old rail bridges which has carried trains to the Highlands for more than a hundred years. The highlands of Scotland is mountainous and wild. In the winter it’s white with snow but in the summer it’s purple. Highlands are famous for the Scottish Olympics or the Highland games ( it’s real name ). These games are not only sporting competitions : music and different traditional games are very important too. While athletes throw the hammer at the one end of the arena, you can watch a dancing competition at the other end. there is also a game for the strongest athletes - tossing the caber, which weights 60 kilos and is six metres long. These games are very popular in Highlands. Usually between the mountains are rivers and lakes. Scottish people like fishing very much, that’s why they say that Scottish rivers are good for two : fishing is one, the other is Scotch whisky. Whisky is made from water and barley. The method hasn’t changed for hundreds years. Scotch whisky is the best one. Scotland is also famous for it’s kilt, the most important part of national dress and bagpipes - the national instrument. I thing Scotland is very beautiful country and if you visit it you shall never forget it.

Wales.

Wales is a country of lakes and mountains. Its about the half the size of Switzerland, and it has a population of two and three quarter million. On the north of Wales is some of the most beautiful scenery in the British islands, the Snowdon mountain. Snowdon is Britain’s second highest mountain.

Wales is an not independent nation. In 1292, the English king, Edward , invaded Wales and built fourteen huge castles to control the Welsh people. His son, Edward, became the first prince of Wales, since then all the kings and queens of England have given their eldest sons the title, Prince of Wales. Prince Charles became the twenty-first Prince of Wales. Although the English have ruled Wales for many centuries, Wales still has its own flag, culture, and, above all, its own language. In the towns and villages of North Wales, many people speak English only as a second language. Their first language is Welsh. In Llanberis, a small town at the foot of Snowdon, eighty-six per cent people speak Welsh as their first language. At the local primary school children have nearly all their lessons in Welsh. The children should be bilingual by the time that they are eleven years old. It is not a problem for children to learn two languages at the same time. Children have insight into two cultures, so have all the folk tales of two languages. Children like Welsh because in Welsh you spell things just how you say them, in English there are more silent letters.

Welsh is one of the oldest languages in Europe. Its a Celtic language, like Breton in France, Gaelic in Ireland, or Gaelic in Scotland. Two and a half thousand years before these languages were spoken in many parts of Europe. They died out when the Romans invaded these areas, but some of them survived in the north-west corner of Europe. But over the last hundred years the number of Welsh-speaker has fallen very quickly. Now only twenty per cent of Welsh people speak Welsh. Here are some of the reasons for the decline.

In the nineteenth century people thought that Welsh an uncivilized language. If you wanted to be successful in life you had to learn English, the language of the British Empire. So in many schools children were forbidden to speak Welsh.

At the beginning of the twentieth century many English and Irish people moved to South Wales to work in the coal mines and steel works. They did not learn Welsh.

People, especially young people, moved away from the Welsh-speaking villages and farms of north and west Wales to look for work in the big towns and cities, so the Welsh-speaking communities became much smaller.

In the 1960s and 1970s many English people bought holiday cottages in villages in Wales. Most of them did not learn Welsh. This also pushed up the price of houses so that local Welsh-speaking people cold not afford them.

English comes into every Welsh home trough the television, the radio, newspapers, books, etc. There are Welsh-language TV and radio stations, but far fever than English ones. And now there is cable and satellite TV, too-in English, of course!

The decline has now stopped, because a lot has been done. Road signs, bilingual documentation, and there is a Welsh language act. The future of Welsh is uncertain. The problem is that Welsh has to survive next door to English, and, as we all know, English is a very successful language.

0. William Shakespeare.

1. Renaissance.
2. William Shakespeare.
3. Shakespeare’s works and Hamlet’s soliloguy.
4. Enlightment.
5. Daniel Defoe.
6. “Robinson Crusoe”.
7. Jonathan Swift.
8. “Gulliver’s Travels”.
9. Robert Burns.

William Shakespeare.

Shakespeare is the most famous British playwright in history. People know his name in almost every country in the world. But who exactly was William Shakespeare? That is the question! Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon on 23 April, 1564. Families were big in those days. William had seven brothers and sisters. But his parent’s weren’t poor; his father, John Shakespeare, was a successful businessman who bought and sold leather and wool. His mother was the daughter of a rich farmer. When Shakespeare left school, he went to work for his father. But soon after, he met and fell in love with Ann Hathaway, the daughter of a farmer who lived in Stratford. They got married in December 1582, and just five months late, their first daughter, Susanna, was born. William was 18. Ann was 25. What did Shakespeare do for the next ten years? We don’t know exactly. We don’t know why he gave up a good job in his father’s business and moved to London. We don’t know exactly when or why he became an actor and playwright. All we know is that in 1592 he wrote his first play. After that, his plays became popular very quickly, and he made a lot of money. Four hundred years ago, Shakespeare built a theatre – The Globe – here in the center of London. It was one of London’s first theatres. It was round and had no roof over the center – like the theatres of ancient Rome. OK in Rome – not such a good idea in cold, rainy London! The people of London loves going to the theatre. The globe could hold three thousand people. Some people sat to watch the plays; other stood in the middle, in front of the stage. The audience were usually noisy, often clapping and cheering, and shouting to the actors – and there were only actors, no actresses. Young boys played the parts of women. It often rained in London then, too. And everyone got very wet. In 1610, after about twenty-five years in London, Shakespeare came back here to Stratford. He was rich, and he had a big house where he enjoyed life with his family and friends. But he didn’t stop writing plays. What kind of plays did William Shakespeare write? Well, he wrote thirty-nine plays. Some of them are comedies, for example, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Comedy of Errors. They have happy endings. Others are stories from English history, for example, stories about the kings of England. They are very patriotic. Queen Elizabeth 1 often went to see them. And the others are tragedies, such as Hamlet and MacBeth – these are sad, dark stories of murder and revenge. Shakespeare died on his fifty-second birthday in 1616. He is buried in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford. But the characters in his plays are still with us today.

1.The Renaissance.

The Renaissance or the revival of learning was the period then european culture was at it’s high. It lasted from the 14’th centure till 17’th centure, and was coursed by complex economic situation and social conditions. The feudal system was been shuttled by the bourgeoisie, thich was getting stronger and stronger. It was more profitable to unite under a single rouler. Absolute monacy came into being. This lead to the forming of nations and the true sense of the world. New social and economic conditions called for the new ideology, because the catholic dogmas didn’t correspond to the new trend of life. For this reason in many european countries the protestant religion sprend up and national churches were established.

Instead of the blind face ordered by the catholic then appeared a new outlook which was called humanism. The time demanded positive recional knowledge and this demand was supplied: in astronomy by Copernicus, in philosophy by Tomas More, in geography by Columbus, Vaska de Gama and others. Leonardo de Vinci was force a new feory of art: “It was the greatest progressive revolution that mankind have so far experience, a time, thich called for “Giants” and produced Giants in power and thought, passion and character in universality and language.”

An example of a typical men of the Renaissance period was: the famous Englishmen sir Walter Raleigh, he was a soldier, sailor, explorer, pirate, coloniser, historian, thilosother and a poet. He was much interested in science and literature. He wrote works of geography and lead expedition to South America. He was an outstanding poet. His poems are full of profound wisdom, written with great elegance and salacity of style. He organised of “academy”. Christother Marlowe the greatest dramatist (before Shakespear). But the most important of most this writer and one of the greatest men of this period was sir Thomas More.

Thomas More.

He came into great favour and made a repid carrier as a statesmen, at the same time writing works of a political, philosophical and historical character. His most famous book is “Utopie”. “Utopie” - means “no place, no there”. The work is writing in latin and devided into two books. Thomas More was the first writer in Europe to formulate communist principals as a bases of society.

The Renaisense in England.

The prideses of Shakespeare.

The most brilliant period of English literature was in the second half of the 16’th and begining of 17’th centure.Sometimes it’s called “Elizabethen age” after quen Elizabeth 5. England had become a geat world power. It had established wide commercial contact with countries And rich trading company had been organaized. The english people were now a great nation and the english language inriched was now not unlike the language of Chaucer. Many famous poetical and prose works appeared. Among those who inriched the literary haritage of this period ere sir Philip Sydney, Adnond Spenser and Christother Marlowe. There were fine works of poetry and prose in the Elizabethen age but the greatest hight’s of literature of this period were riached in drama.

2. Life of Shakespeare.

The great poet and dramatist William Shakespeare is often called by his people “Our National Bard”, “The Immortal. Poet of nature” and “The Great Unknown”. More than two hundred contemporary references to Shakespeare have been located amoung church records, legal records, documents in the Public Record Office, and miscellaneous repositories. When these owe assembled, we have at least the sceleton out line of his life, begining with his baptist on April 26, 1564, in Trinity Churche, Stratford-on-Avon, and ending with his burial there on April 25, 1616. Shakespeare native place was Sratford-on-Avon, a little town in Warwickshive, which is generally described as beign in the middle of England.

Shakespeare’s father, John, was a prosperious glove maker of Stratford who, after holding minor municipal offices, was elected high bailiff of Stratford. Shakespeare’s mother Mary Arden, came from an affluent family of landowners.

Shakespeare probably recieved his early education at the exellent Stratford Grammar School, supervised by an Oxford graduate, where he would have learned Latin smattering of Greek.

In 1582 Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, who lived in a neighboring hamlet. The first child born to Ann and William was their daughter Susanna. In about two years Ann bore him twins a boy and a girl, Hamlet and Jidith.

Then life in Stratford became intolerable for William Shakespeare and he dicided to go to London and began a theatrical career. Shakespeare major activity lay in the field of drama. He became a full shaveholder in his acting company, he was partowner of “the Globe” theatre and later of “the Blackfriars” theatre, and in 1597 he purchased property in Strarford. Including new place, one of the largest houses in the town. He probably refired there about 1610, travelling of London when necessary to take cave of his theatrical business. In all, 154 sonnets seguence. The sonnets were probably written in the 1590 but were first published in 1609.

3. Shakespeare’s works.
Shakespeare’s literary work is usually divided into three periods. The first period of his creative work falls between 1590 and 1600. Shakespeare’s comedies belong to the first period of his creativ work. They all are written in his playfull manner and and in the brilliant poetry that conveys the spectator to Italy. Some of the first plays of the first period are: “Richard 3” (1592), “The comedy of errors” (1592), “Romeo and Juliet” (1594), “Julius Caesar” (1599), “As you like it” (1599), 1600 - “Twelth night”. Shakespe-are’s poems are also attributed to the first period, “Venus and Adonis” and “Lucrece”, and 154 sonnets. “Venus and Adonis” was the first of Shakespeare’s works that came off the press. The second period of Shakespeare’s creative work during from 1600 to 1608. His famous tragedies appeared at this time. In the plays of this period the dramatist reaches his full maturity. He presents great humans problems. His tragedies and historical plays made Shakespeare the greatest humanist of the English Renaissanse. Some plays of the second period: 1601 - “Hamlet”, 1604 - “Othello”.
Shakespeare’s plays of the third period are called the “Romantic dramas”. There is no tragic tension in these plays. This period lasted from 1609 till 1612.
1609 - “Cymbeline”, 1610 - “The Winters Tale”, 1612 - “Henry 8”.
Hamlet’s soliloguy.
To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether tis nobler in the mind to sufler.
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing and then. To die, to sleep -
No more, and by a sleep to say we end
The heart - ache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is hear to; ‘tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die to sleep -
To sleep! Perchance to dream! Ay, there’s the rub
For in that sleep of death what dreams may comes,
When we have shuflled off this mortal coil
Must give pause - there’s the respect
That makes calimity of so long life.
4. The Enlightment.
The history of England and second part of the 17’th centure, and during the 18’th centure was marked by British colonial, expression and struggle for the leading role in cowers. The writters and philosofists of this age protested against the sovivals of feodalizm in thich they saw the main evil of this time. Man they thought was vertains by nature and wise was duty ignorence to they started a pubic movement for enlighting the people. This movement was called “the enlightment”. The enlighters belived in the power of reason and the period was also called “the age of reason”. This period saw a remarkable rise in literature. English literature of this period may be characterise by the following features: 1.The rise of the political pamphlets and issue. The novell became the leading genre. 2. The prose style became clever gracefull and polished. 3. The hero of the novell was no longer a prince but a representative of the middle class. 4. Literature became very instructive.

The literature of this age may be divided into 3 periods:
The 1’st period is caracterised by classisizm in poetry. The greatest follower of the classical style was Alexander Pope. There appeared the first realistic novels written by Defoe and Swift.
The 2’nd peiod saw the development of the realistic social novel, represen-tive by Richardson, Fielding and others.
The 3’rd period is marked by the appiriense of a new trends: sentimenta-lizm. Typefed by the works of Goldsmith and Stern. This period also saw the rise of the realistic drama (R. Sheridan).

5. Daniel Defoe.
DD was the founder of the realistic novel. He was also a brilliant journa-list and in many ways the father of modern English periodicals. He founded and paved the way for many magazines ( “The Revue”, “The Spectator”).
DD was born in London, his father a butcher, was wealthy enough to give his sone a good education. D was to become a prist, but it was his cheariched desire to become wealthy. His wished was never fullfield. D was banckrote several times. He was always in deep debt. The inly branch of business in which he proved succesful was journalism and literature. When D was about 23 he started writting pamphlets on question of the hour. He started writting pamphlets prassing King William 3, who was supported by the whig party. D wrote a setire in woth. No matter in whose defends his brilliant pamphlets were written they are irony was so subtle, that the enemy didn’t understand it at first. But as soon as his enemy realised the real character of the pamphlets D was sentensed to 7 years inprisonment. It was a cruel punishment, and when the came for him to be set free people carried him on their shoulders.. This was the climax of his political career and the end of it. In 1719, he tried his hand at another kind of literature - fiction, and wrote the novel he is now best known: “Robison Crusoe”. After the book was published, D became famous and rich and was able to pay his creditors in full. Other novels which D were also very much talked about during his lifetime, but we do not hear much about them now. For example “Captain Singleton”(1720), “Moll Flanders”(1722).
6. Robinson Crusoe.
Books about voyages and new discoveries were very popular in the first quater of the 18’th centure and many stories of this then had been written but while Defoe was busy with politics he didn’t think of also trying his hand at it. However one story in in Steel magasine attracted his attention.
It was about Scotish sailor, who lived quite alone 4 years and 4 month on a desert island. Defoe’s hero, R.C., however spend 26 years on a desert island. The novel was a prase tohuman labour and the triumph the men over the nature. Labour and fortitude help Robinson to endure hardships. They save him from dispair. The very process of hardwork gives his satisfaction. R’s most characteristic tract is his optimism. His guiding prencipal in life was: “never said die” and “in trouble to be troubles is to have your trouble double.”

7. Jonathan Swift.
(1667-1745)
JS was the greatest of English satiriste. His better satire at the contempro-rary social order in jeneral and an the policy of English government towards in particular. That’s why the Irish people considered Swift the champion in the struggle for the wealthy and freedom of their country.
JS was born in Dublin, but he came from English family. His father died at the age of 25, liaving his wife and daughter penuiless. His son was born seven month later after his death. The boy knew little of his mother chearch. He hardly ever saw her, during his childhood. J was supported by his uncle Godwin. At the age of 6 he was send to school, which he left at 14. When he entered a college in Dublin and got his bacheloris degree in 1686.
8. Gulliver’s Travels.
In 1726 Swift’s masterpiece “Gulliver’s Travels” appeared. This work made a great sensation in Ireland as well as in England, it equally strirred the interests of those in politics as well as the readers of novels.
In this work Swift intended to satirise the evils of the existing society in the form of fictions travels. It tells of the adventures of ship surgeon, as related by himself and divided into four parts of four voyages:
1. A voyage to Liliput.
2. A voyage to Brobdignag.
3. A voyage to Laputa.
4. A voyage to the country of Houyhnhnms.

1. The first voyage was to a strange country Lilliput. As the result of a shipwreck Gulliver finds himself in a country, inhabited by a race of people about six inches high. Everything else in this country is on a correspondent scale. Swift meant this small country with it’s shallow interest, corrupted laws and evil customs to symbolize the England of the 18’th centure, the court with it’s atmosphere of hostility, hypocrizy and flattery where the author felt as lonely as his hero when among the liliputians.
2. Before long Gulliver undertakes another voyage. The ship anchors near the land of the giants to take in a supply of water. While on shore Gulliver is captured by the giants. They are good-natured creatures and treat Gulliver kindly, though they are amused by his small size and look upon him as a plaything.
Brobdingnag is an expression of Swift’s desire to find the ideal and escape from the disgusting world of the Liliputians. The author idealizes an agricultural country ruled by ideal monarch. Swift creates such a monarch in the king of Brobdingnag. He is clever, honest and kind to his people. He hates wars and wants to make his people happy.
3. The third voyage is to Laputa, a flying island Laputa. Swift’s imagination the bitterness of his satire reach their climax in the third part where he shows the academy of sciences in Laputa (the author touches upon all the existing sciences). It is easy enough to understand that in ridiculing the academy of Laputa. Swift ridicults the scientists of the 18’th century. The scientists are shut in their chambers isolated from all the world.
3. In the 4’th part Swift describes Gulliver’s adventures at the Heuyhnhnms - a ideal land where were is neither sickness, dishonesty, non any of the frivo-lities of human scociety. The human race ocupies a position of servility there and a noble race of horces rules the country by reason and justice.
“Gulliver’s travels was one of the greatest works of the period of the Enlightment in world literature. Swift’s democratic ideas expressed in the book had a great influence on the English writers who came after Swift.
9. Robert Burns.
RB is the national poet of Scotland. Every year on his bithday scotsmen all over the world gather together for a traditional celebration in which his memory is glorified,his poems are recited and his song are sung. Burns poetry is loved and enjoied by all his countrymen. They love Burns for the generosity and kindness of his nature, for his patriotism and truthfulness. In his poems he sang the pride and dignity of the Scotish peasantry.
Burns sang the beauty and the glory of his native land. He gloryfield true love and friendship.
Burns was born in Alloway, near Ayr, on the 25 of January, 1759. His father was a hard-working man and he took great trouble to give his family all the education he could.
When Robert was 6, he was send to a school at Alloway Miln. Robert were given a good knowledge of English.
For some years Burns worked on the family farm. They lived very poor.
Burns wrote his first poem at the age of 14. And from then till his death his poems and songs came out, giving delight and joy to the himself, his countrymen and all the world around. Burns worked with his father and brothers. The death of his father in 1784 left Burns free to chose his own kind of life, but it also gave him new resposobilities as head of the family. As a farmer he was unsuccessful and moved to other place - Burns published his poems in Kilmarnock in 1786. The success was great.
Burns wrote many poems and songs. After a short illness he died on 21’st July, 1796. Millions of people all over the world highly esteem and love Burns poems.
S. Marshak, a great soviet poet, brought Burns to russian people throught his fine translate.
My Heart’s in the Highlands.
My heart’s in the Highlands, my heart is not here;
My heart’s in the Highkands, a chasing the deer;
A-chasing the wild deer, and following the roe -
My heart in the Highlands wherever I go.
Farewell to the Highlands, farewell to the North,
The birthplace of valour, the country of worth:
Wherever I wander, wherever I rove,
The hills of the Highlands for ever I love.
Farewell to the mountains high cover’d with snow;
Farewell to the straths and green valleys below;
Farewell to the forests and wild-handing woods;
Farewell to the torrents and loud pouring floods.
My heart’s in the Highlands, my heart is not here;
My heart’s in the Highkands, a chasing the deer;
A-chasing the wild deer, and following the roe -
My heart in the Highlands wherever I go.

Famous writers.

There are many famous English writers. Among them are William Shakespeare, Keepling and many others. I will tell you about the life and work of Arthur Conan Doyle and Ian Fleming, because I like their books most of all. Ian Fleming is the author of internationally famous James Bond spy novels. And in his life he was like the hero of his books James bond. Ian Fleming was born on may the 28^th , 1908 in England. His family were rich. His grandfather was a millionaire banker and his father was a member of parliament. He was killed in the First World War when Ian was only nine. He had three brothers and he was quite close to them, but he was different from them. They all went to Eton. His brothers liked it. He hated it. He hated the army too. He didn’t want to be a soldier. He was good at languages, so he went to study in Geneva in 1930. Then the next year he wanted to join the Foreign office but did not pass the exams. He went back home and he was living with his mother again, feeling very bored, when he got a job as a journalist. He worked in London, Berlin and Moscow. Then he worked as a stockbroker and he was doing this when the Second World War started. That’s when he started working in the world of spies. He joined the Naval Intelligence and had a lot of contact with MI5 and the Secret Service. He went on secret missions to North Africa, Lisbon and America. He was a good-looking man. He loved money and had expensive way of life. He always dressed very carefully. He had a lot of girlfriends. He didn’t marry until he was forty-three. He drank a lot of gin, martini, vodka and smoked 60 cigarettes a day. Probably as a result of this he had a bad heart from quite a young age. He started writing after the war. He went to Jamaica in 1952, loved it and decided to buy some land by the sea and built a house. He called it Goldeneye. And in Jamaica in 1952 three very important things happened: he got married, he got a son and started writing about James Bond. His first book was “Casino Royale”, then his second book was “Live and Let Dye” in 1954. After that there were more twelve James Bond books. His last book was “ The Man with the Golden Gun”. He helped choose Sean Connery for “Dr.No”, but he died while they were making the Second Bond film, “From Russia with LOVE”. His books were successful. Forty millions were sold by the time oh his death.All over the world, detective stories are the most popular kind of fiction. My favorite detective is Sherlock Holmes. Although he is a fictional character, Sherlock Holmes had a real address-221b Baker street. Today this is the Sherlock Holmes museum. The author of the Sherlock Holmes stories was Arthur Conan Doyle. He was born in Scotland, in 1859. He was a doctor, and he wrote detective stories to spare time. He wrote twenty-six Sherlock Holmes stories between 1887 and 1895. Then, he decided to kill of his hero. At the end of the story called “The Final Problem” Holmes and Moriarty fall into the Reichenbach falls in Switzerland. The readers were very upset. Public pressure was too great and he had to bring Holmes back to life, although he did not like him. He thought that Sherlock Holmes books were not serious. He wanted to write historical novels. Conan Doyle continued writing about his hero for another twenty-five years. Conan Doyle books are still famous and popular.