The British press
The press
is a mirror of current events. This proves to be true when you look
through any newspaper. There are a lot of photoes, articles, short
and long, that inform readers of the latest events.
It has
been claimed that the British read more newspapers than any other
people throughout the United Kingdom.
All
British papers can be classified as either “quality” or
“popular” papers. A “quality” paper is a
serious national paper that aims at the educated reader. The best
known British newspapers which give serious coverage of the news and
comment are “The Times”, “The Gardian”, “The
Financial Times” and “The
Independant”. They contain information on home and foreign
affairs, serious editorials, art and
literary reviews. They provide up-to-date financial information and
proffesional advertiring.
Some
newspapers have colour supplement, with many photographs and
advertisements. A popular paper is a newspaper that is designed for
the undemanding reader. Such papers have brief and direct news
reports and a large number of photographs. Much attention is given to
personal stories. Especially when they mention a figure in the public
eye, such as a member of a royal family , a political figure or a
film star. The style of English in these newspapers is often
conversational with much use of slang, catchy headlines. Among these
newspapers are “The Daily Express”, “The Daily
Mirror”, “The Star”. In addition to national daily
newspapers there are nine national papers published on Sundays.
Several of them include coloured magazines.
Stavropol
Stavropol
is the main town of the Stavropol Territory. It is situated in the
North Caucasus . Stavropol was founded in 1777 as a fortress. A
presen- day Stavropol is young and beautiful. Wide streets, spacious
squares, multi storeyed blocks of houses and offices add to the
beauty of the town. Stavropol in summer is one big park full of
flowers.
Stavropol
is a cultural center of the Stavropol Territory. There are three
universities, many colleges and schools here. Stavropol Drama Theatre
is the oldest theatre in the North Caucasus. The town has a puppet
theatre, a circus and many cinemas. There are many places of interest
in Stavropol. Near the cinema “Rodina” you can see a
piece of an ancient wall. You can also see a simbolic teht with the
key to the town. That’s the place from where our town began to
grow.
You can
see a wonderful view of Stavropol from Komsomolskaya Gorka. It’s
a monument to Russian soldiers who died that we might live.
There are
three big parks, we can say forests in our town.
People
like to walk there, especially in fine weather.
The British Library
The
British Library is the largest public library in Britain. It consists
of the Reference Division, the Bibliographic Service Division, the
National Sound Archive and the Research and Development Department in
London, and the Lending Division in Yorkshire.
The
Reference Division has its origins in the library departments of the
British Museum founded in 1753. It is housed within the same 19th
century building of the British Museum, with more than 9 million
books stored along two miles of shelving, and includes a Gutenburg
Bible, the Magna Carta, medieval illuminated manuscripts and original
tects by Shakespeare, Dickens, da Vinci and many others. The Reading
Room of the British Library is a centre of serious study in all
fields. It is used by university professors and lecturers,and by
those who are engaged in research in therir spare time.
The
richness of the collections in different subjects makes the Library
specially useful for journalists and writers.
The
Library of Congress today is among the world’s largest. It was
established as a reference library in 1800, and occupied one room in
the building of the United States Capital Washington. These
structures hold more than 80 million items in collection of books,
newspapers, periodicals, manuscripts, films, maps, and work of drama,
music, and art. The Library’s archives keep a great number of
important and exciting documents from American history.
My pet
Most
people like animals. They keep animals at home as pets. Pets may be
different. People like dogs and cats, birds and hamsters, rabbi and
hedgehoge, some people even like snakes.
But you
can’t keep any animals as a pet even if you like him very much.
Can a crocodile make a good pet? Or a lion, or a tiger, or a bear?
You may love them, but will they love you? Some day when they are big
they may become dangerous.
As for
me, I prefer dogs. They are so clever and truthful. When they look at
you with their beautiful eyes it seems to you that they understand
you but can’t talk.
People
teach dogs to understand commands, to do some tricks. And it think
dogs teach people to be kinder, to think of others. People change for
better when they keep pets.
Sure,
pets need much care. You must keep the place where they sleep and eat
tidy and clean, you must give them three meals a day. Dogs need more
attention and care than cats. You must take then for walks at least
two times a day.
I have a
dog as a pet. His name is Ret. I like him very much. I bought him. My
dog is kind . He has a black nose, brown and black fur. My dog is
pedigree. He likes to bathe. Ret enjoys Chappi and bones. I go for a
walk with Ret. My father helps me to take care of the dog. I like Ret
very much. Ret is a very big dog. He lives in the dog house . We like
Ret.
I help about the house
We live
in a big house. Our flat is on the 3-th floor. We have 3 rooms and a
kitchen. The flat /house/ has all modern conveniences: gas,
electricity, central heating, cold and hot running water. It’s
difficult for my mother to run the house herself. I’m big
enough to help her. Everybody in our family has his own duties. As
for me, my duty is to keep the right things in the right places. It
means that I must keep my room tidy and clean fold up my clothes.
Usually I
tidy up twice a week, on Wednesday and on Saturday. I open the window
in any weather to air the room. After that I dust the furniture,
water the flowers. We do not sweep the floor. We use a vacuum-cleaner
for this.
There is
a lot of work in the kitchen. I clean the taps, iron the towels and
curtains, wash up after meals.
I do my
best to help my mother to run the house. And I’m glad when
mother is pleased with me.
Sometimes
I go shoping. I buy bread, butter, milk. My father’s duty is to
take our dog for a walk. But he doesn’t like it. So I take my
dog for a walks in the morning.
My birthday
Everybody likes
holidays. New Year, Christmas, May day and others. But these holidays
are for all. There is one holiday in a year that belongs only to you.
It’s your birthday.
My birthday was on the
5 of July. In the morning my parents wished me many happy returns of
the day and gave me presents. Mother gave me a jeans, father bought
me a recorder. The day began wonderfully.
I invited my friends
to my birthday party. They came at 4 o’clock in the afternoon
and brought me a lot of presents – books, sweets, toys.
Mother cooked many
tasty, things, among them was a beautiful birthday cake with ten
candles in it. I was ten that day. We enjoyed tea with the cake and
sweets and fruit. After tea we had a lot of fun. We played games,
danced and sang songs.
In the evening my
Granny and Grandpa came. They brought me a lovely puppy as a
present. It has always been my dream to have a puppy! I thanked my
Grandparents and kissed them. Really, I had a wonderful birthday.
New Year party
Children all over the
world enjoy New Year. They known father frost will come and give them
presents. They like to have a fir-tree at home. It’s fun to
decorate it with shiny toys and colored lights. And it’s nice
to find a surprise under it in the morning. Children like to go to a
big New Year party where they sing and dance around a beautiful New
Year tree.
I like it when Father
Frost comes together with Snow Maiden. Children recite poems, sing
songs, then Father Frost gives them presents.
When I was little I be
lived that Father Frost and Snow Maiden were real. I was so upset
when I learn that they only actors. I like New Year Parties at home,
too. Father buys a New Year tree. In the evening we decorate it
together. There are many shiny balls, flags, lamps on the New Year
tree. Mother usually cooks a holiday dinner. There are so many tasty
things on the table.
At 10 o’clock
guests come. They wish us happy New Year. We watch holiday programs
or TV. At 12 o’clock the Kremlin clock strikes and the New Year
comes. We congratulate each other and gull our best wishes. I think
New Year is the best holiday.
Fables
Fables are short and
wise stories about animals and people. They teach us to be kind and
not to boast. When we read fables we see people in the animals. We
laugh at silly and greedy characters. Fables teach us not to be silly
and to be pleased with what we have.
I want to tell you a
short story about a greedy lion. Once he caught a hare and wanted to
eat it. But then he saw a deer, of course a deer is a bigger dinner
than a hare, so the lion let the hare go and ran after the deer, but
couldn’t catch him. Now the lion had no dinner at all. Some
times it is wiser to be pleased with what you have. People must
remember fables and the lessons they teach us.
We all love and admire
Esop’s fables. Esop lived 2500 years ago in Greece. He told his
fables to many people and they remembered them. Millions of people
all over the world now read Esop’s fables.
Summer is wonderful
Summer is wonderful!
There are many long sunny days and there is no school! There are new
friends and many interesting things to see and to do.
Some children spend
their holidays at the seaside, some in the mountains and some in the
country.
Isn’t it nice to
spend some weeks out of a noisy town?
Isn’t it to walk
in the green fields? To watch the clouds? To sit down by a river or a
lake on soft green grass? To climb the high hills? To swim and to
fish? To play games outdoors all the time. I think I was the happiest
of all because I was at a wonderful children’s camp. Children
from different towns gather here every year.
In the morning we swam
and bathed in the beautiful sea and played games on the yellow sand.
In the evening we made a camp-fire, sat around it and sang songs. We
all became good friends.
The day to leave came
too soon. We had a very good time at camp with our new friends.
Children find a lot of things to enjoy, and the summer month go so
quickly. Then autumn comes and school begins.
At the library
You can hardly find a
boy or a girl who is not fond of reading. Books open a wonderful
world to us. Many people have their own libraries at home. But still
they go to public libraries to get one or another new book.
There is library in
our school too. It’s not too big there is a wide choice of
books there. Fairy tales and war stories, poems and novels, science
fiction and fables. You can come and choice a book to your liking.
The library begins
it’s work at 9 o’clock and is closed at 5. If you don’t
know what book to take, a librarian will help you with your choice. A
pupil is allowed to take two books at a time. Books need care as
anything else. Going to the library don’t forget the library
rules.
Wash your hands
before you begin to read.
Do not write
anything on the pages with a pen.
Do not make
drawings in the book.
Do not make dog’s
ears in the book.
Do not tear the
pages.
Do not lose your
books or leave them in shops or buses. That means that you lose your
friends.
If
you keep all these rules you’ll make a good reader. Books are
our great friends. They
teach us a lot of useful things.
Hobbies
What
is a hobby? It’s something that you like to do when you have
time to spare. People like to do different things, sometimes hobbies
are very unusual. Extravagant people prefer to collect some special
things. I remember a film about a girl whose hobby was to collect
echoes. She lived in the Crimea. She used to explore mountains on the
shore, and she found different echoes there among the cliffs.
There
was a man who collected old trains. Another man collected old cars.
But such collections need a lot of money and the place where to keep
them. More often people are fond of collecting small things: stamps,
match-boxes, coins, stickers.
Very
often people collect stamps, envelopes, postcards. Its a traditional
hobby of most children. I should say that stamps open the world for
you. It’s interesting to imagine those countries from where the
letters come. There in nothing better than to get a letter from your
pen-friend and to see a new stamp on it. Some of the stamps are very
beautiful. We learn many interesting things about these countries.
Sometimes we stage fairy tales in English. Its great!
Seasons
A year is long time.
Lot’s of things happen in a year. There are four seasons in a
year. All the seasons are nice: spring, summer, autumn and winter.
Spring is the morning of the year. In spring nature awakens and the
weather gets warmer, warmer, warmer. The fields are covers with first
fresh green grass and flowers. The forests are filled with bird’s
songs. The sky is blue and sun shines brightly. At night millions
stars shine in the darkness.
When summer comes, the
weather gets warmer and sometimes it’s very hot. It’s
school children’s holidays time. Some of them go to the seaside
with their parents, others go to the country. Summer is wonderful.
It’s nice to walk in the green fields, to play with friends, to
swim and to fish. Children find a lot of things to enjoy in summer.
After summer autumn
comes. We call autumn a tasty season. It’s harvest time when
crops are gathered in. The days get shorter and nights get longer.
The woods turn yellow-red and brown. Leaves begin to fall down the
trees. The sky is grey and it often rains.
When winter comes we
spend more time at home, because it is cold. But when snow comes the
ground as a white carpet children like to play snowballs, to make
snowman, to skate, to ski.
My favorite book
It’s
hard to imagine our lives without books. We learn a lot of
interesting things when we read books. Books are our great friend and
teachers.
I
am fond of reading. I like to read adventure stories, fairy tales,
history books.
When
you read books you find your selves in different lands. Together with
the characters of the books you climb high mountains, go by ship in
the stormy sea, fly into space. In a ward, you have a lot of
adventures.
There
are books and writers that everybody knows. “Mary Poppins”
by Pamela Travers, “Winnie-the-Pooh” by Alan Milne, and
of course “The adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain.
My
favorite book is “Tom Sawyer”. Tom Sawyer was a boy with
wild imagination. He and his friends liked to play games, dreamt of
different adventures. Tom was sometimes naughty and never quiet. But
he was often noble and always bright and full of ideas, I also enjoy
books about animals. Have you ever heard of Bambi? He is a baby dear
who is famous all over the world. “Bambi” is a book by an
Austrian writer Felix Salthen. It’s author is a poet who feels
nature deeply and loves animals.
My friend
I
have a friend. His name is Denis. He is a pupil of the 8 form. He is
lovely boy with dark hair and brown eyes. He is 13. My friend is a
clever and industrious boy. He studies well. Besides he is fond of
basketball. He plays the basketball very well. My friend knows a lot
of interesting things.
Denis
has a sweet nature. He is attentive and thoughtful to people. He
helps his parent about the house. He washes the dishes, tidies up the
flat and goes shopping. Denis has a pet. It’s a dog. He takes
good care of his and always goes for a walk with him.
We
spend much time together, and almost never quarrel. On days-of we go
to the cinema, and when the weather is fine we like to play outdoors.
What
I like in him is that he always keeps his word and never boasts.
There
is a proverb: a friend inneed is a friend indeed. And I may say, that
these words are about my friend. Because he is always ready to help
me, when I am in troubles.
I
think Denis is the very good friend.
We ought to take care of everything that nature
gives us
Nature
gives people everything they need for their lives. People have learnt
to use the soil, the water, the minerals on the earth and under the
earth.
Forests
are the lungs of the planet. They give us fresh air, from the forest
we get wood to build the houses, the furniture and what-not. Paper is
also made from wood. Can you imagine our life without a common piece
of paper. No books, no newspapers. Terrible, isn’t it? Most of
our clothes are also made from natural material: leather, wool,
cotton.
People
will simply die if nature is spoiled. It may sound strange, but no
one does more harm to nature than people do.
Plants
and factories throw their wastes into seas and oceans, pollute water,
contaminate sea animals and fish. Some birds and animals have
disappeared from the earth in this century. People often killed them
for their beautiful skins and feather.
But
today there are people in all parts of the world who are trying to
protect wild animals and birds. There is even an international
organization called “Green Peace”. Reservations for rare
plants and animals are set up in different parts of the world.
Hunting is not allowed there.
We
all love our Earth. We love its green fields and forests, mountains,
rivers and lakes. We must take care of every thing that grows and
lives on the Earth.
We like to travel
Thousands
of people spend their holidays travelling. They travel by trains, by
buses, by sea, by air or in their own cars.
A
lot of people travel in their own cars. Wonderful landscapes of our
country attract lovers of nature. People travel not only to enjoy
picturesque places, but also to see ancient monuments and other
places of interest.
Hiking
is becoming very popular. People like to spend their days-off in the
country. Happy they return home to plan new hikes for the coming
weekend.
Some
people prefer travelling by train, others by sea. It’s very
comfortable, especially if you don’t feel seasick.
In
fine weather the passengers
I
like to look at the ship with its many decks and cabins. It looks
like a white flouting city. When the sea is a little rough, the ship
rolls from side to side. Some passengers feel seasick.
I
like to watch the sea-gulls, listen to their cries when they fly over
the waves.
It’s
also fine to travel by trains. From a comfortable railway carriage
you have a splendid view of a country side.
And
of course it’s not bad to travel in a car. You may stop at any
place you like, have lunch under a shady tree or swim in a cool river
or a like.
Sport is good for all
People all over the
world are fond of sport. Sport activities are very important for the
growing organism of a child. Children showed not neglect this fact.
There are many sport
clubs that they can join us. Light athletics gives much opportunity
to those who go in for it. It includes track field events: running,
long-jumping, high jumping, discus throwing and others.
Many children are fond
of ball games: basketball, volleyball, football. They are so exiting.
Besides they are played all year round. Children like to take part in
the competitions to see who is the quickest, the strongest, who can
jump best, who is the best swimmer or player. Pupils in different
classes hold competitions in different kinds of sport. Many boys and
girls show good results. All the competitions and games are very
popular with the pupils. A lot of fans always come to watch them.
My favorite sport is basketball. Basketball is a wonderful sport.
It’s a good exercise too. It makes us strong and healthy.
To
become a good sportsman you must train a lot. If you want to be good
at something you have to work hard. Practice makes perfect.
All around you
The world is full of
wonderful things. You see the blue sky and the grey rain, the black
night and the shiny stars, trees and mountains, seas and sunshine.
These things are the world, and they are all around you.
It’s interesting
to know why we need the Sun, why the moon is bright, what animals
live on the Earth.
The world we live on
is a big round ball. It’s turning all the time, but we can’t
feel it.
The Sun shines on the
Earth the rain falls on it.
Different plants grow
on the Earth, different animals live on it. The forests are full of
berries and mush rooms.
There is water around
the land. It’s called the World Ocean. There is life in the
Ocean too. Different sea animals and fishes live in the ocean.
Nature gives us every
thing we need for our life. People grow food on the ground. Animals
give us meat and milk. We must take good care of nature.
Keep your eyes and
ears open and you’ll see a lot of interesting thing around you.
Planning a day
My
working day begins rather early. I wake up at 6.30, I am not an early
– riser and its difficult for me to get up so early. Then I go
to the bathroom, wash my face, clean my teeth and comb my hair. After
that I dress myself.
In the morning I don’t
have much time for breakfast, so I have a cup of tea with a sandwich.
Then I take my schoolbag and run to the bus stop. My way to school is
rather hard because of the traffic. I live rather far from school. It
takes me nearly 40 minutes to get there. The buses and trolley-buses
are usually overcrowded in the morning. And it’s a problem to
get into it. I must elbow my way to stand somewhere in the corner.
Nobody can call such a ride a pleasure, neither can I.
At last I am at
school, and the day’s work begins. Usually we have six or seven
lessons a day with ten minute breaks.
At 1.30 the school is
over. But my working day is not, I have to do my homework at 2.00
p.m. I come home, change my clothes, wash my hands and have dinner.
After dinner I have a short rest and then I do my homework.
Most of all I like
evening hours, when the family gets together. We like to have dinner
together and speak about our problems. Then we watch TV, or read. At
11 o’clock I go to bed. At 6.30 in the morning the alarm clock
wakes me up, and I am happy to start a new day.
Holiday in the USA
In
the USA different states celebrate different holidays, but everyone
remembers the 4th
of July, “Independence day”. On this day in 1776 America
signed the Declaration of Independence. On that day people go out
into the streets and take part in the parades. The second big
American festival is Thanksgiving day. It is celebrated in November.
American families meet for a special dinner, usually with turkey,
pumpkin and pies. They give thanks to God for the past year, remember
the first harvest of European Americans in 1621.
Children always have
fun at Halloween on October 31. They dress up as ghosts and witches.
They go from house and say “Trick or Treat”. If they get
a “treat”, they go away happy. But if they don’t,
they play a “trick”. They might put soap on the windows
or throw ----------- ??? in the garden.
February
the 14th
is Saint Valentine’s Day. People send valentine cards to their
sweethearts of friends with words of love.
Christmas is
celebrated at the end of December. It’s a religious holiday,
the birth of Jesus Christ. By this day people decorate fir-trees with
toys and lights. Christmas is a very busy time. People hurry to the
shops to buy presents for their nearest and dearest. On New Year’s
Day most people stay up all night, even children. At midnight they go
outside and shout “Happy New Year!”
Great
Britain
Great
Britain is not large. It takes just six hours in a fast train from
London to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Great Britain lies not
far from continent of Europe. It is separated from the continent by
the North Sea and English Channel.”Great Britain” has
several different names. Some people say “Britain” or
“the United Kingdom”, or just “UK”. There are
four different countries in the United Kingdom: England, Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland. Britain is only a small country, but
every part is different. Scotland is a land of mountains, lakes and
romantic castles. The winters are cold, with plenty of snow, but the
summers are often warm and sunny. Most farmers keep sheep and there
are many small factories, which make fine sweaters from their wool.
Northern
Ireland has its problems but it has beauty too. In the warm wet
climate, the grass grows a brilliant green, and much of the land is
farming country. Wales is a special place, a country of mountains and
pretty valleys. But Wales has plenty of industry too, with many
factories and coalmines. The Midlands, known as the heart of England
is the largest industrial part in the country. The most important
industrial cities are Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool, which is one
of Britain’s big parts, and Birmingham. The two famous Midlands
cities, Stratford on Avon and Oxford are connected with English
culture: Stratford is the birthplace of great William Shakespeare and
Oxford is famous for its university.
The USA
The
United States of America -the richest and one of the biggest
countries in the world - has several names. People say “The
United States”, “The States”, “America”
or just “the USA” or “the US”.
There are
fifty states in the USA and over 200 million, people live in them.
There is no “American climate” or “American
countryside”. Every part of the country is different, from
Alaska in the north, covered with snow and ice, to tropical Florida
in the south.
The
American Indians were the first people to live in that vast land.
They had a fascinating, ancient culture, and rich traditions of
language and customs. But then, the immigrants came. Most came from
Europe, but there were also many from the Middle East and Africa.
You can
find almost anything in America. There are mountains and deserts, old
churches and moon rockets, homes with three cars and homes with no
electric lights at all.
The
United States is a young country. Its written history is only a few
hundred years old. It is sometimes, in fact, called the “New
World”. Over the last four hundred years millions of people
have come to start a new life in this “New World”.
Americans are not afraid of new ideas. They built the first
skyscrapers and they put the first man on the Moon. They like to be
modern. They like exciting, modern cities, new houses, and new cars.
At the same time, Americans love old things. They like to visit
historic houses and museums. They build old pioneer houses and
remember the days of “Wild West”. Americans are
interested in old traditions, but they are good at making new
traditions too.
Russia
Russia is one of the largest countries in the world.
The vast territory of the Russian Federation stretches from the
Baltic Sea in the West to the Pacific Ocean in the East, from the
Arctic Ocean in the North to the Black Sea in the South. Due to the
large territory the climate and nature are of various types in Russia
. The climate of Siberia is continental with very cold winters and
hot and dry summers. The climate in the central part of Russia is
rather mild. In the south of Russia the climate is subtropical.
Russia is
a country of thick forests, high mountains and long rivers. The
longest rivers are the Volga in Europe and the Ob., Yenissei and the
Lena in Asia. Lake Baikal is the biggest and the deepest in the
world. It’s famous for its crystal clean water.
Russia is
rich in natural resources such as gas, oil, coal. Russia has
one-sixth of the world forests. Our country has a glorious history.
Russian people suffered from many wars. But they never attacked any
other country.
Russia
gave the world such famous writers and poets as Tolstoi, Dostoevsky,
Pushkin. Such composer as Tchaikovvsky, Glinka, Borodin are admired
in the world. The emblem of Russia is a double-headed eagle, the most
ancient symbols. The symbol of Russia is a three-coloured flag. Is
has three horizontal stripes: white, blue, red. White represents
peace, blue represents loyality, and red stands for valour. The
capital of Russia is Moscow.
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