Список + все темы по английскому языку для сдачи выпускного экзамена в 11 классе 2001 года
Examination TopicsForm 11.
My Motherland.
What can you tell yourEnglish-speaking partner about Russia as the biggest country in theworld (it’s geographical position, its weather and climate,etc.)?
What makes you proud ofyour Motherland (classic and modern writers, scientists, politicians,etc. )?
Why does Russia attracttourists from all over the world? What would you show to your friendsin your country?
What cities, lakes,rivers is Russia famous for? Talk your partner into visiting them.
Moscow.
Is Moscow really apolitical, cultural and scientific center of Russia? Prove it.
What facts from thehistory of Moscow could be interesting to your friends from othercountries?
Have you ever been toMoscow? What surprised you most of all?
What places (towers,streets, squares, churches, museums, concert halls, theatres,monuments, etc.) is Moscow famous for?
Which of them would youlike to show to your friends coming to Moscow for a visit?
MySchool. My future career.
What would you like todo after school? Was it your own decision?
Who helped you to makeyour decision?
Have you tried apart-time or summer job to find out what interests you most of all?What professions are in demand now?
What are advantagesand disadvantages of your future profession/job?
Which of your personalcharacteristics will help you to succeed in your career? Whichqualities of your character would you like to develop? Why?
Those who chose theircareer correctly are really happy, aren't they? Did you have "bornteachers" at school?
Why teaching as acareer is so important? I interview your teacher of English.
Youthproblems.
You've got a lot ofreally difficult problems to solve, haven't you? Share them with your
partner.
What jobs, attitudes,looks, arts, books, outfits, hobbies are popular among the teenagers?
Would you like to get agood education? Why? Where?
Is it easy for ateenager to get a job and to earn some money? Have you ever tried to?Say a few words
about your experience.
Do you alwaysunderstand your parents? Do they understand you?
What are the reasons ofmisunderstanding?
Do you spend much timewith your friends?
What do you usuallytalk about? How do you choose friends?
What do you value inyourself, in your friends?
Sport.Healthy living guide.
How does your healthdepend on your life style?
Is sport a hobby orpart of your everyday life?
Why is it important toexercise every day?
What do you do to keepfit?
Would you like to be aprofessional sportsman? Talk about its advantages and disadvantages.
What famous sportsmando you know?
What questions wouldyou ask him/her if you were a correspondent?
What sports are popularin your family?
Do your parents dosports regularly? Do you do it together? Is sport popular inBritain/America/Russia?
Which sports areespecially popular in these countries?
Travelling.
Why is travelling sopopular?
Do you (your family)travel? How often? Where and why?
Speak about the mostinteresting trip you have ever made.
Would you prefer to goabroad or to discover your own country? Explain why.
Why does Russia attractso many tourists from all over the world?
What would you show toyour friends from other countries? Have you ever been toEnglish-speaking countries? Anywhere abroad? Share your impressions.
Environment.Ecological problems.
Why are people sointerested in environmental protection?
How does your healthand your life depend on the environment? Give your reasons.
Who needs protectionnowadays (people, animals, plants, oceans, etc.)?
Can you name anysociety fighting fog environmental protection? What do they do?
Would you like to jointhe society?
How do you protect theenvironment?
Does your school andyour family, your town and your country do its best to solve thisproblem?
Outstandingpersonalities of Russia and English-speaking countries.
Who can be called afamous/great person?
What makes a persongreat?
What famous people ofRussia would you tell your British/American friend about?
Why are you proud ofthem?
What famous Britons andAmericans do you know? Are they known in your country?
What for? Talk aboutthe famous politicians who helped nations to get closer in the 20th
century.
Massmedia.
Do you regularly readnewspapers and magazines?
Which are yourfavourite ones?
Do all the members ofyour family read the same newspaper/magazine or don't they? Why?
How often do you watchTV?
Which are yourfavourite TV programs?
What is good and badabout the TV programs for youngsters?
What new youth programswould you suggest? Share your opinion.
Hobbiesand past time.
Have you got much freetime?
How do you spend it?
What kind of rest doyou prefer very active (disco, travelling, doing sports, etc.) orless active (reading, watching TV. collecting, etc.)?
Are you anybody's fan?
Are your hobbiesconnected with your future profession?
What are they? Do youshare your hobbies/activities with your friends?
Do you findunderstanding in your family?
What are typicalBritish/American hobbies and sports?
Are they popular inRussia?
English-speakingcountries.
What English-speakingcountries do you know?
Do the people in thesecountries speak the "same English"?
Do they have similartraditions?
What do you know aboutthe UK?
Why is the UK called anisland state?
What is special aboutthe political system of the UK?
What is important toknow about the UK if you go there as a tourist (cities, towns,
monuments, historicalplaces, etc.)?
What is the officialname of the USA?
What city is thecapital of the USA?
How many states doesthe USA have? Name some of them.
What places of interestin the United States would you like to visit? Why?
What is a true/typicalAmerican like?
Which famous Americansdo you know? Speak about your favourite one.
London.
What parts does Londondivided into?
Why is the centralsquare in London named Trafalgar square?
What is the West endfamous for?
What is situated in theEast end?
Why is the City calledthe business center of London?
What do you know aboutthe British Museum and the National Gallery?
Booksand libraries.
Have you got many booksin your home library?
Who usually buys booksin your family?
Are there differentreading tastes in your family?
What do you think ofpoetry? Is a book the best present for you?
What kind of books doyou enjoy reading? Explain why.
Who is your favouriteRussian/British/ American writer?
Which of his/her booksdo you like best of all?
Say a few words aboutthe writer and the book.
Why do some peopleprefer to watch TV
adaptations of novelsinstead of reading books?
Do you think readingbooks will be
popular in the 21stcentury? Share your opinion.
Holidaysin Russia and English-speaking countries.
What would you tellyour British/American friend about traditional Russian holidays?
Which internationalholidays do you know?
How are they celebratedin the English-speaking countries?
Are they celebrated inRussia in the same way?
What specificBritish/American holidays and traditions do you know?
What are traditionalRussian/British/ American dishes offered on different holidays?
Why do people givepresents to each other? How do they choose presents?
Artsand culture.
Do you often listen tomusic?
To what kind of music?
Does it make you happy?
Can you play anymusical instrument?
Is a special musicaltraining necessary to understand music?
Are you a fan of anypop or rock group?
What makes it yourfavourite?
Do you listen to musicat home or at the concert/disco?
Do you think thetheatre and the cinema are modem arts?
Why is video so popularnowadays?
Who is your favouriteactor (composer/ musician/artist)?
What makes him/herspecial for you?
Which do you preferballet, opera, drama or comedy? Explain your choice.
Are you a member of anydrama circle? Do you enjoy it? Why?
Englishliterature.
Economicsystem of England and the USA.
What type of economicsystem exists in the USA (England)?
What is itcharacterized by?
What are traditionalbranches of industry in these countries?
Enumerate the biggestindustrial centers of England, of the USA.
Is agriculturedeveloped? In what regions?
Economicsystem of Russia.
What period is Russiagoing through at the present moment?
What measures are beingundertaken to overcome economic crisis?
What factors are themain obstacles to reform?
Is it possible to maketransition to capitalism by changing only economic structure ofsociety?
What are the mainbranches of industry?
What does Russiatraditionally export?
What are the richestareas of Russia?
When does the historyof Russian industry go back to?
Politicalsystem of Russia.
What kind of politicalsystem is there in Russia?
What does the federalgovernment consist of?
What are theresponsibilities of the President?
What is the judicialbranch represented by?
What is state symbol ofRussia?
What is the origin ofthe national emblem?
Politicalsystem of the USA and England.
What are the threebranches of the U.S. government?
What are theirresponsibilities?
What is the system ofchecks and balances?
What power does thePresident have under this system?
What are the majorpolitical parties of the USA?
What does thelegislative branch consist of?
Great Britain is aconstitutional monarchy, isn’t it?
What is the name of theQueen of Great Britain?
Is her power limited byParliament?
How many chambers doesthe British Parliament consist of? What are they?
What are the mainpolitical parties in Great Britain?
Which political partydoes he represent?
Russia(My Motherland)
Russiawas the largest Republic in the former USSR. But now it has become anindependent State.
Itis situated in the Eastern part of Europe and in the Northern part ofAsia.
Thecountry is washed by 12 seas of three oceans: the Pacific, the Arcticand the Atlantic oceans. The seas are: the White Sea, the BarentsSea, the Okhotsk Sea, the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea and others.
Theclimate in Russia varies from arctic in the north to continental inthe central part of the country and subtropical in the South. Wintersare cold, windy and snowy, especially in the northern part of thecountry. The coldest point of the northern hemisphere, wheretemperatures are minus 70*C, is located in Siberia. Summers are hotand dry, especially in the South region of the country, in suchcities like Sochi, Anapa and others. Autumn usually brings rains andfogs.
Theland of Russia varies from thick forests to barren deserts, from highpeaked mountains to deep valleys. There are two great plains inRussia: they are the Great Russian Plain and the West Siberian Plain.There are some mountain chains. The biggest mountain chain, theUrals, separates Europe from Asia. In Asian part of Russia we canfind another big mountain chain, the Altai. There are about 150volcanoes in Kamchatka Peninsula, 30 of which are active. One canfind deserts in the Far East, Arctic zones of tundra in the North.These territories are inhabited by various animals, birds, insects.In the north of Russia live the walrus, seal, white bear, polar foxand reindeer. In the forest zone live the bear, wolf, fox, linx,sable, ermine, elk, roe, wild bear and in the Far East the tiger andleopard. Among the trees growing in the European part of Russia arebirch, pine and oak: in Siberia – cedar, larch and fir treesand in the Far East – iron and cork trees, lotus, ginseng andlianas.
Thereare very many rivers in Russia, the longest of them are the Volga inEurope and the Yenissei and the Ob in Asia. The world’s deepest lake - Lake Baikal, with the depth of 1600 metres, is situated inRussia, too. Its water is the purest in the world.
Russiaborders on many countries: Norway and Finland in the north-west,Estonia, Latvia, Belarus and the Ukraine in the west, Georgia andAzerbaijan in the south-west, and Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China in thesouth
Thecapital of Russia is Moscow and it is also one of the main political,scientific, industrial and cultural centres. It’s population isabout 10 million people. Other big cities are St. Petersburg,Sverdlovsk, Samara, Omsk, Novosibirsk and many others.
Russiahas population of about 150 million people of over a hundrednationalities. Nearly one hundred languages are spoken in thecountry. The European part of the country is densely peopled, andmost population live in cities and towns and their outskirts.
Russiais a highly-industrialized-agrariancountry. Its vast mineral resources include oil, natural gas, coal,iron ore, nickel, zinc, lead, aluminium, gold, diamonds, zinc andalmost all other minerals. Russia has the world’s largest oiland natural gas resources. Three-quarters of the country’smineral wealth are concentrated in Siberia and the Far East.
Approximately10 million people are engaged in agriculture and they produce half ofthe region’s grain, meat, milk and other dairy products. Thelargest granaries are located in the North Caucasus and the Volga andthe Amur regions.
Russiahas very long and rich history. That’s why we have manydifferent customs and traditions. For example, there are manyvillages in Russia famous for their specific crafts: painted boxes inPalekh, wooden tableware in Khokhloma and toys in Dymkovo. Loghouses, usually decorated with wood carving are typical for Russianvillages. People in Russian villages performed traditional Khorovods(a kind of round dance) and chastushki (folk chanted rhymes) and rodein troikas (carriages drawn by teams of three horses abreast) and, ofcourse, village residents still prefer to drink tea from samovars.Traditional Russian Cooking includes porridges, pancakes, variousaspics, cabbage, chiken and fish soup, pirozhki (tuknovers) and kvass(a beverage made from fermented rye bread). Siberian causine has suchdishes as stroganina(frozen fish) and pelmeni(meat-filled dumplings).
Ourcountry has always played one of the leading parts in the worldpolitics and economics. But, at present, there are a lot of problemsin the national economy of the Russian Federation. The industrialproduction is decreasing. The prices are constantly rising, the rateof inflation is very high. People are losing their jobs because manyfactories and plants are going bankrupt.
State System
TheRussian Federation, or the Russian Federative Republic, is set up bythe Constitution of 1993.
Underthe Constitution Russia is a presidential republic. The federalgovernment consists of three branches: legislative, executive andjudicial. Each of them is checked and balanced by the President.
Thelegislative power is vested in the Federal Assembly. It consists oftwo chambers. The Upper Chamber is the Council of Federation: theLower Chamber is the State Duma.
Eachchamber is headed by the Speaker. Legislature may be initiated ineither of the two Chambers. But to become a law a bill must beapproved by both Chambers and signed by the President. The Presidentmay veto the bill.
ThePresident is commander-in chief of the armed forces, he makestreaties, enforces laws, appoints ministers to be approved by theFederal Assembly.
Theexecutive power belongs to the Government headed by the PrimeMinister. The first action of the Prime Minister on appointment is toform the Cabinet.
Thejudicial branch is represented by the Constitutional Court, theSupreme Court and the regional courts.
Themembers of the Federal Assembly are elected by popular vote for afour-year period.
Todaythe state symbol of Russia is a three-colored banner. It has threehorizontal stripes: white, blue and red. The white stripe symbolizesthe earth, the blue one stands for the sky, and the red onesymbolizes liberty. It was the first state symbol that replaced theformer symbols in 1991. The hymn of Russia was written by Alexandrov.A new national emblem is a two-headed eagle. It is the most ancientsymbol of Russia. It originates from the heraldic emblem of theRuricovitches. All these symbols are official. They have beenapproved by the Federal Assembly.
Ilove my motherland and I am very proud of it as it has great history.Russia is famous for great scientists such as Lomonosov, Mendeleev,Tzyolkovskii, Popov, Sacharov, Korolev, writers – Pushkin,Tolstoy, Dostoevskii, Lermontov, Chekhov, painters, actors. And alsois famous for the great discoveries suck as the first man in thespace, the discovery of the vodorodnya bomba which contributed tothe development of society and world.
Butin spite of the problems Russia is facing at present, I think, thatthere are a lot of opportunities for this country to become one ofthe leading countries in the world again.
MOSCOW
Moscow isthe capital of Russia, its political, economic, commercial andcultural centre.
It was founded 8 centuries agoby Prince Yuri Dolgorukiy in 1147. Gradually the city became more andmore powerful. In the 13th century Moscow was the centre of thestruggle of Russian lands for the liberation from the tartar yoke. Inthe 16th century under Ivan the Terrible Moscow became the capital ofthe new united state. Though Peter the Great moved the capital to St.Petersburg Moscow remained the heart of Russia. That's why it becamethe main target of Napoleon's attack. After the October revolutionMoscow became the capital again.
Now Moscow isone of the largest cities in the Europe. It stands on the bank of theMoskva-River. More than 10 million people live in the city. Moscow isfamous for its historical and architectural monuments that were builtby outstanding architects and sculptors.
Moscow isone of the most beautiful cities in the world. The historical centreof Moscow is Red Square. The best starting point of the tour aroundthe city is Red Square, the central and the most beautiful square inMoscow. It is the place of parades, meeting and demonstrations. Hereone can see the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed, or St. Basil’scathedral, erected to commemorate Russia’s conquest of theKazan Kingdom in 1552. It is a masterpiece of Russian architecture.Tourists can see the monument to Minin and Pozharsky in memory of theRussian victory over the Polish invaders. The heart of Moscow is theKremlin, a wonderful architectural ensemble with 3 magnificentcathedrals, the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great palaces, fortress wallsand 20 towers. The most famous of the towers is the Spasskaya Towerwith a big clock. On the territory of the Kremlin you can see theTzar-Cannon and the Tzar-Bell, the biggest cannon and bell in theworld.The Kremlin with golden domes and tower makes a strongimpression on tourists. The Alexander Garden with the Tomb of theUnknown Soldier is the place of memory. One of the well-known Kremlinmuseums is the Armoury Chamber. The famous golden cap of Monomach,the first Russian imperial crown of Catherine the Second and manyother historical items are exhibited there.
Some skyscrapers decorate Moscowincluding Moscow University, a palace of knowledge and students.Moscow is a scientific and cultural centre where there are a lot ofinstitutes, universities, libraries, museums. The city leads a variedcultural life. It has a lot of cinemas, clubs, concert halls, morethan 40 drama and musical theatres, including the Bolshoi Theatre,the Art Theatre, the Maly Theatre, the Vakhtangov Theatre. Themagestic building of the Bolshoy Theatre stands in TheatreSquare in Moscow's central quater, not far from Kremlin. This is the leading Russian opera house with the best vocalists andchoreographers in it's company.
Peopleof Moscow are proud of their museums : the Tretyakov Gallery, PushkinMuseum of Fine Arts, literary museums. The State Tretyakov gallery isone of the best-known picture galleries in Russia. It takes its namefrom it's founder Pavel Tretyakov, a Moscow merchant. In the 19'thcentury Tretyakov began to collect Russian paintings, and before hisdeath he donated the collection to the city of Moscow. Since thenthe gallery has received hundred paintings from other museums andprivate collections. The Tretyakov gallery reflects the whole historyof Russian paintings from 11'th century to the present day. Crowdsof people visit the Tretiakov Gallery admiring beautiful pictures ofRussian painters.
The citizens of Moscow enjoyspending their weekends in parks and gardens - the Park of Cultureand Rest, Izmailovo, Sokolniki.
Moscow is the seat of theRussian Parliament and the centre of political life of the country.
Moscow is a place where thinsare happening in all spheres of life.
Choosing a career.
When you leave schoolyou understand that the time to choose your future profession hascome. It’s not an easy task to make the right choice of a job.I have known for a long time that leaving school is the beginning ofa far more serious examination of my abilities and character.
As the years passed Ihave changed my mind a lot of times about which science or field ofindustry to specialize in. It was difficult to make up my mind andchoose one of hundred of jobs to which I might be better suited.
Everyone needs at leastone profession in his life. So when you begin spending sleeplessnights thinking about a job and money, when you think longingly ofthe plans for the future it’s no doubt about it you’reready to choose most suitable career for you.
So in the world thereare very and very many different professions: you can work withpeople as a doctor, a lawyer, a receptionist, a teacher, etc.; on theenterprise, bank, school, state institution. And what kind of aprofession you choose is mainly depend on yourself. And I think it’svery difficult task for everybody.
And now there is suchsituation in the life that it is very difficult to find some worthyjob especially suitable for you. So if you want some-how to get agob, you can make plans for the future when you study still atschool. It’s a good idea to take different factors intoaccount: job satisfaction – your future job must satisfy you;money – it’s important that your future profession mustbe well-paid or you must have a high salary to support the family,etc; good conditions; training; travelling and so on; the place ofwork -in the office, from home, in the open area, abroad, etc.
In the past, when I wasat age of 10, I dream of becoming a lawyer.Because a lawyer should bevery energetic, talkative, inventive, enterprise, creative,adventurous and enthusiastic. I wanted to work with people and helpthem. But now I can say that I made up my mind what to do in thefuture. I think I have an aptitude for working with figures andsolving financial problems and I am interested in knowing how moneyis made. So I think I can work as an economist in the financialfield. I think that it is more in demand now especially in bankswhere a really good specialist can have a lot of money. The successof this profession depends on mainly my education. So I want to enterto the Vyatka State Technical University on the social-economicsfaculty in spite of the very high competition. I think I’ll beable to enter there because I have a good knowledge of English andmathematics to pass the exams. So when I’ll finish theUniversity I’m going to work in the father’s office as afinancial consultant and specialist in this field. I think I will notdisappoint my father about this job because I’m energetic,communicative, enterprise and quick by nature.
Our society is made up ofall kinds of organizations, such as companies, governmentdepartments, unions, hospitals, schools, libraries and the like. Theyare essential to our existence, helping to create our standard ofliving and our quality of life. In all the organizations there arepeople carrying out the work of the manager although they do not havethat tittle. The vice- chancellors of a university, the president ofa students union or a chief librarian are all managers. They have theresponsibility to use the resources of their organization effectivelyand economically to achieve its objectives.
Managers are to forecast,plan, organize, coordinate, control and motivate other workers. Inmost companies the activities of managers depend on the level atwhich he (she) is working. Top managers such as the chairmen anddirectors, will be more involved in long range planning, policymaking and the relations of the company with the outside world. Theywill be making decisions on the future of the company, the sort ofproduct lines it should develop, the way it should face up to thecompetition, the means of diversifying, etc.
On the other hand, middlemanagement and supervisions are generally making the day- to-daydecisions, which help an organization to run efficiently andsmoothly. They must response to the pressure of the job, which maymean dealing with unhappy customers, chasing up supplies, meeting anurgent order or sorting out technical problems. Managers at thislevel spend a great deal of time communicating, coordinating andmaking decisions affecting the daily operation of their organization.
In carrying outmanagement functions, such as planning, organizing, motivating andcontrolling, a manager will be continually making decisions.Decision-making is a key management responsibility. Some decisionsare often the routine kind. They are decisions, which are made fairlyquickly and are based on judgement. Other decisions are oftenintuitive ones. Before making a decision the manager will carefullyassess" the options, considering the advantages anddisadvantages of each one. Thus any manager is to be a bitchallenging person.
Sport and healthyliving guide
They say, "Health is abovewealth." One of the first duties we owe to ourselves is to keepour bodies in perfect health. If your body suffers from any disorder,our mind suffers with it, and we are unable to make much progress inknowledge, and we are unfit to perform those duties, which arerequired of us in social life.
There are certain laws of healthwhich deserve particular attention and they are so simple that even achild can learn them. A certain amount of exercise is necessary tokeep the body in perfect condition. All the powers (mental andbodily) we possess are strengthened by use and weakened by disuse.Moderation in eating and drinking, reasonable hours of labour andstudy, enough sleeping time (not less than 7-8 hours a day),regularity in exercise, recreation and rest, cleanliness lay thefoundations for health and long healthy happy life.
Thousandsof people consider sports to be very helpful in gaining good health.That's why every country pays much attention to developing sports. Itis sport that helps to bring up physically strong, strong-willed,courageous and energetic people.
Inthe last ten years recreational sport has become extremely popular,and, according to doctors is absolutely essential for a long andhealthy life.
The reasons of this enormousinterest in sport of all kinds are varied. When you ask people whythey spend so much time, effort, and sometimes money, they will talkabout the physical benefits (feeling fit, increasing stamina,sleeping better, the chance of living a more active life),psychological benefits (self-discipline and respect, a sense ofpersonal achievement, relaxation, getting rid of aggression), and thesocial advantages (meeting people with similar interests, the teamspirit). However, the social aspect seems to be more important formen than for women. Very often, enjoying a drink with friends afterthe match is as important for the former as a physical activityitself. The latter generally see sport as a way of keeping fit ratherthan anything else.
Of course, some people don’tconsider sport to be a hobby, it is an everyday work for them. Muchis spoken now about problems in professional sport. There is a lotdrug taking in sport. There is too much pressure on young sportspeople. Mountaineering and air sports such as hang-gliding, each killat least 16 people every year. In one Sports Council study of 28,000people, football was found responsible for more than a quarter of2,000 injuries seen every year. But still many people are involved inprofessional sport and millions of people can not live without it.They prefer watching sporting events rather than taking part in them.They are so-called sport-fans. They pack stadiums during sportmatches and competitions, they sit glued to the TV, they are ready togive every moral support to their favourite sportsmen or teams.
Inthe meantime thousands of ordinary people devote their spare time togoing in for sports. They play indoor and outdoor games: volleyball,basketball, table tennis, hockey, lawn tennis. The number ofparticipants and spectators show that the most popular games arebasketball, hockey and, of course, football. A lot of people go infor track-and-field athletics, cycling, boxing, wrestling, gymnasticsand so on.
Hockey, figure skating, skiingand skating are among the most popular winter sports. In summerswimming is enjoyed by millions of people. There are also many indoorswimming pools, which makes swimming possible all the year round.Cycling is a useful exercise, too, because it takes you out into thefresh air and gives much work to all the muscles. So if you arrangeyour day correctly you can find an opportunity for sports.
Physical training is anessential part of young people's development. All pupils and studentshave regular training at PT lessons. These classes are enjoyed byeverybody as they give a lot of energy, develop muscles, make pupilsstrong, quick and healthy. From time to time different kinds ofcompetitions are organized at school or between schools. The mostpopular sports at school are basketball, football and volleyball.Besides, pupils and students attend a lot of sports clubs and sportssections after classes, where they take up their favourite kind ofsport.
Indeed, sport is a part ofeveryday life of many generations all other the world. So if youthink that physical fitness and health are important you are to go infor sports.
TRAVELLING.
Thosewho live in the country like to find themselves in large cities withtheir shops, cinemas, crowds of people. City-dwellers usually like aquiet holiday by the sea or in the mountains with nothing to do butwalking and bathing, lazying in the sun. Most travelers and holidaymakers take a camera with them and take pictures of everything thatinterests them - beautiful views of waterfalls, forests, unusualplants and animals. These photos will remind them of the happy timeof holiday.
Modernlife is impossible without travelling. Of course the fastest way oftravelling is by plane. But many people make their choice ontravelling by train as with a train you have speed, comfort andpleasure combined. Travelling by train is of course slower than byair but it also has its advantages.
Ifyou are going to travel by train you’d better book seatsbeforehand because many people are fond of travelling by train. Thereare some reasons why people choose railroad. Train is the cheap meansof travelling. If it is summer outside it will be better to think ofyour trip before the vocation starts. To understand how true this is,you only have to go to a railway station. There you will see hundredsof people hurrying to catch a train. You’ll waste a lot of timestanding near the booking-office trying to buy a ticket.
Moderntrains have very comfortable seats in all passenger cars, and thereare sleeping-cars and dining-cars which make even the longest journeyenjoyable. You can buy first-class, second-class and third-classsleepers in a separate compartment. If you are early before the trainstarts you can leave your suit-cases in the compartment and walk upand down the platform. Some people forget when and from whichplatform and track their train will be off. They can always ask forthe track, platform and train numbers at the railroad stationinformation bureau and also get information about next trains andtheir schedules. There are express, slow and long-distance trains. Ifyou want to go somewhere and get there as quickly as possible you’dbetter know that express trains only stop at the largest stationswhile slow trains stop at all stations. You can get to far countriesonly by a long-distance train.
Onceyou are in your compartment you have to ask the guide to bring in thebedding. There are usually two lower and two upper berths in athird-class sleeper compartment. Some people like to occupy upperberths because it is more convenient and exciting to travel. Duringyour way on the train you can read newspapers, books, look out of thewindow, drink the tea, communicate with your neighbors or sleep. Iprefer to look out of the window, because you can see the country youare passing through, and not only the clouds as when you are flying.You can have something to eat at the stations when the train makesstops.
Theseare many ways of traveling - by train, by plain, by ship, on foot.Everyone chooses his favourite one. My favourite way is traveling byplain. And not because it is very comfortable. It is exciting. Ialso like traveling by train. I’ve traveled this way a lot.When you are in the train you can see the beauty of nature.
Ienvy the tourists because I think that they study geography travelingand visiting different parts of the world. They can tell you manythings which you didn’t know before.
Theyare interesting people from whom you can learn much new for yourself.Any kind of travel helps you to understand many things that you cannever see or learn at home. Though you may read about them in booksand newspapers.
Asfor me I’d like to have a coach tour to some foreign country.Coach tours are planned and I’ll have a chance to do a lot ofsightseeings and have a good rest at the same time.
SAVE ©UR PLANET BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!
Since ancient times nature ha& served Man, being the source ofhis life. Humans have been living on this planet fer two millionyears and in the last tw® hundred years humans have made a mess©f the planet; chopped trees^ killed animals, polluted air^land, water, etc. Because efthat we new have a let of problems I'llname just a few of them: 1. the greenhouse; 2. killing forests andanimals; 3-. water, air, land pollution; 4. rubbish problems;S. nuclear power.
The earth has been getting hotter because we are producing too manygreenhouse gases. These gases hold heat. Trees and plants help totake gases, such as carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but we havenow destroyed too many trees. There aren't enough trees and plants todo this job. We make carbon dioxide when we burn wood or drive cars.Other dangerous gases are in refrigerators and spray cans. Pollutinggases fall as acid rains Acid rain is a kind of air pollution. It iscaused-by factories that bum-coal or oil or gas. These-factories sendsmoke high into the air. The wind often carries the smoke far fromthe factories.
The ram in many places isn't natural and clean any more. It's full ofacid chemicals. When it falls in lakes, it changes them too. Thelakes become more acidie. Acid water is like vinegar or lemon Juice.It hurts when-it gets in-your eyes. It also kills the plants andanimals that usually live in lake water As a result of air pollutiononly 2-3 per cent of healthy babies are born in Yaroslavl and peoplecannot bathe-in the Volga river.
The pollution of air and the world's ocean, destruction of ozonelayer is the result of man's careless interaction with nature^ a-signof ecological crises.
As a result of man's careless interaction with nature some rarespecies of animals, birds, fish and plants disappear forever. Forexample, the-Blue Whale, the Panda, the California-Big^ Tree are onthe verge of extinction now. Many animals have gone forever, as theirhabitats have been destroyed at-an alarming rate, 340i miles a day!
The truth is that we use animals or parts of animals for jewellery,clothes, soaps, etc. All the moment weare using lOOdof animals-everyyear for tests of things, like shampoos to find-out if they cause anyirritation. Some of the animals go blind or ever die from thesetests. We kill whales for their oil, which weuse for cosmetics andsoaps. A lot of expensive jewellery are made from ivory, from thehorns of elephants and rhinos. African elephants are disappearingfast. People continue to kill animals to wear fur coats. Some ofthese animals like fox are in danger or extinction.
Believe it or noty but every ten- minuter one kind- of animal orplant dies out forever. If nothing is done about it one millionspecies that are alive today will have become extinct twenty yearsfrom-now.
One ofthe most important problems now is the rubbish problem. Many peoplefind it easy to drop anything on the ground. They think that it isvery little, but very big garbage heaps appear from small wrappers.Littering isn't very dangerous, but trash in the streets looks ugly,on the nature it spoils the view. Littering is very awful when windcarries scraps of paper and cans go under one's feet, rotting foodattracts birds and rats, which carry disease. There are manycountries, which have a law against littering. But in Russia thereisn’t such a law. That is why many cities in our country are asgarbage heaps.
One of the most horrible ecological problems is nuclear power,because nuclear weapons could destroy the world. Nuclear weapon testsincrease the amount of radiation in the atmosphere. Nuclear powerproduces high-level radioactive waste, which can be dangerous forthousands of years. Nuclear explosions on the ground causedirreversible changes in the chemical composition C^y of the upperatmosphere. 'S»
As a result of the Chemobyl tragedy in April 1986^ about 18 per centof the territory of Belarus were polluted with radioactivesubstances. A great damage has been done to the republic'sagriculture^ forests and people's health. The consequences of thisexplosion at the atomic power station are tragic for the Belarussiannation.
Some scientists^are pessimistic about our problems. They suppose thatwe-havealrear reached the point of no return. Others are moreoptimistic and believe rh;-n n
Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle wasborn in the capital of Scotland, Edinburgh. His father, Charles E.Doyle, was an artist and architect by profession, but he worked as aclerk in an office. The father died young and the Doyles were verypoor.
Arthur’s motherwas a very good story-teller and he remembered her fantastic storiesall his life. The talent of story-telling was inherited by Arthurfrom his mother and it helped him as a writer.During his school yearshe read much, and he often told his school friends long andinteresting stories, getting cakes and sweets for that.
After leaving schoolConan Doyle became a student of the medical faculty at the universityof Edinburgh. In this third year of studies he went as a ship doctorto the Arctic and upon graduating from the university, he again wentin a ship to western Africa.
He began his medicalpractice in a small English town Southsea, where he spent eightyears. In 1887, he published his first detective story “A studyin Scarlet”. Its main characters were Sherlock Holmes and Dr.Watson, and they became the most popular characters of a great manyof Conan Doyle’s stories.
“A scandal inBohemia” opened a collection of detective stories under thetitle “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”. The story waspublished in 1891 and soon after that Baker Street became thewell-known address of Sherlock Holmes.
The readers asked formore and more stories about Sherlock Holmes and for two years ConanDoyle wrote them. When he had written about twenty stories withSherlock Holmes as the main detective, he was so tired of thesestories that he decided “ to kill Sherlock Holmes”. Hewrote a story, which he named “Holmes’s last case”(1893). In this story Holmes was killd during his struggle withProfessor Moriarty. The writer hoped that after that he could beginwriting other books.
But the readers didnot wish to lose their favourite character and ten years later thefamous detective appeared again. In 1901 –1902 one of ConanDoyle’s best stories “The hound of the Baskervilles”was published.
In 1891 Conan Doylegave up his medical work and devoted all his time to his literatyactivity. He also travelled much. He visited Europe, the USA andEgypt. In Norway he met Jerome K. Jerome, who wrote about that factin one of his books.
Beside detectivestories, Conan Doyle also wrote historic novels, war books and ananticolonial book about the Belgian Congo. His two fantastic stories“The lost world” (1912) and “The Poisoned Belt”(1913) were quite successful.
All his life ConanDoyle liked sports, he skied played golf and went in for boxing.
He died in 1930, Afterhis death, the famous detective Sherlock Holmes, together with hisfriend Dr. Watson, continued to live on the pages of Conan Doyle’sbooks. They are amound the favourite characters of Englishliterature.
Tourists coming toLondon always go to visit Bakers street to see the house whereSherlock Holmes lived.
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
The world is rich inremarkable authors, but I think that Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was oneof the greatest authorities. He is my favourite writer. In myopinion, he is the greatest Russian dramatist and short-story writer.I’m never tired of reading and rereading his plays and humorousstories.
Chekhov was born in1860 in Taganrog. In 1879 he went to Moscow, where he studiesmedicine. Though he practised little as a doctor in his lifetime, hewas prouder of his medical knowledge than of his writing talent.
While in college,Chekhov wrote humorous sketches for comic papers to support hisfamily. He collected the best ones into a volume, Motley Stories, in1886. The book attracted the attention of the publisher of the NovojeVremja, Russia’s largest paper, and Chekhov was asked tocontribute stories regularly.
Chekhov, as anestablished writer, was able to develop a style of his own. Though henever gave up writing comic stories, he began working in a moreserious vein. In 1887 Ivanov, his first play, established Chekhov asa dramatist. From then on, he concentrated on writing plays, as wellas short stories.
Chekhov was seriouslyill. He had tuberculosis and knew what it meant. By 1892 his healthwas so bad that he was afraid to spend another winter in Moscow. Hebought a small estate near a village Melikhovo, 50 miles from Moscow.He spent 5 years there, and those were happy years in spite of theillness. He wrote some of his best stories there, including WardNo.6, several well-known one-act comedies and two of his seriousdramatic masterpieces, The Seagull and Uncle Vanya.
The Seagull wasfirst staged in the Alexandrinsky Theatre in Petersburg. It was acomplete failure because of the dull and clumsy production. It was acruel blow to Chekhov. However, the play was successfully performedas the first production of the Moscow Art Theatre in 1898. From thenon, Chekhov was closely connected with this theatre and with itsfounder, K.S. Stanislavsky. In 1901 he married an Art Theatreactress, Olga Knipper, who acted in his play The Three Sisters thesame year.
Chekhov’s healthwent from bad to worse and he had to spent the remaining years in theCrimea and other health spas.
The Cherry Orchard,his last play, was produced in 1904. Soon after the first nightChekhov died. He was 44.
Chekhovhad an immense influence on the 20thcenturydrama. Besides, several generations of writers both in Russia andabroad studied and imitated Chekhov to perfect their own literarystyle.
Mass Media
Mass media are one of the mostcharacteristic features of modern civilizations. People are unitedinto one global community with the help of mass media/ People canlearn about what is happening in the world very fast using massmedia.
The mass media includenewspapers, magazines, radio, TV.
The earliest kind of mass mediawas newspaper. The first newspaper was Roman called «ActaDiurna» started in 59 B.C.
Magazines appeared in 18century.
The most exciting andentertaining kind of mass media is television. It brings movingpictures and sounds directly to people’s homes. So one can seeevents in faraway places.
Radio is widespread for itsportability. It can be easily carried around. People like to listento the Radio in the park, on the beach, at the seaside, in the car,while driving a car, on the picnic. The main kind of radioentertainment is music, news, musical quiz.
Newspapers can present allcomment on the news in much detail in compares on to radio and TV.
Magazines are designed to bekept for a long time. So it have cover and binding. They are printedon better paper then newspapers.
The youngest kind of mass mediais global computer net called Internet. I think that Internet iskind of mass media of the future. People can find on word wide webwhole information about all things from sport to travel, from musicto shopping. Internet is the most advanced and fast-growing kind ofdigital media. It gives people the freedom of speech andself-expression unavailable before, at the same time allowing manynew and unforeseen combinations of different media types. Internet isalso the foundation of new technologies that will impact the societyin numerous ways, such as e-commerce and virtual multi-usercommunities.
TV.
The name «Television»comes from Greek word meaning «far» and Latin wordmeaning «to see» so it means «to see far».
There are commercial stations,they sell advertising time to pay for their operating costs and tomake profit/ The public stations are nonprofit organizations.
Commercial TV stationsbroadcast mostly entertainment programs to attract lager number ofviewers.
These programs include lightdramas called situation comedies, action-packed dramas about life ofdetectives, police officers, lawyers and doctors, show dancers andsingers, movies, quiz shows, soap operas, cartoons, talk shows. Ontalk shows a host interviews politicians, TV, movie stars athletes.There are also sport programs, brief summaries of local, national andinternational news.
Advertising is an importantpart of commercial TV. Commercials appear between and during mostprograms. They urge viewers to buy different kinds of products –from dog food to hair spray, from cars to insurance polices.
Public TV focuses mainly oneducation and culture. Public TV also broadcasts plays, ballets,symphonies as well as programs about art and history. It attract lessviewers then commercial TV.
TV. Past and Future.
In just half a century,television has covered the planet. TV affects our daily life is a waythat no other media can. It was simply an idea of a machine able tobroadcast both sound and vision.
First TV-sets were in blackand white.
Since 1980 there have beenfour major developments of TV. The first is video, which has givenviewers the power to control what they watch and when they watch it. These days, fifty percent of homes have a video-cassette-recorder(VCR) and millions more are being sold every year.
The second is satellite TV.Thanks to direct broadcast satellites (DBS) dozens of new channelsare now available to everyone who buys a receiving «dish».Many of these new channels specialize in one kind of program –only news, sport, cartoons, music and movies.
The third development is cable– a system of hi-tech wires, which provides even more channels.
So, TV has come a very longway in a very short time.
Hobbies.
People live avery busy life nowadays, so they have little time to spare. Stillthey try their best to make use of those rare hours of leisure. Ahobby is a favorite pastime of a person.
Hobbies differ liketastes. Peoples choose their hobbies according to their taste andcharacter. Someone likes simply to watch TV, lying on a sofa, whensomeone climbs to the mountains.
If you have chosen ahobby to your liking, lucky you are: you have made your life moreinteresting. But many people have nothing to do during their sparetime, though there are many different hobbies: reading, collecting,going in for sports, traveling and others.
If a personcollects something, he does it according to his financial abilities:someone collects cars or pictures of world-known painters, whileanother one collects beer cans or stamps. But no matter what theycollect, it gives them pleasure. Many collections started in a smallway with one or two items. Some private collections are reallyvaluable.
No matter whatkind of hobby a person has, he always has an opportunity of learningfrom it.
Some youngpeople find it a pleasure to go to the theatre. The theatre is one ofthe most ancient kinds of art. For centuries people have come to thetheatre for the different aims: to relax, to be amazed orentertained, to have a good laugh, to enjoy the acting of theirfavorite actors and actresses.
Modern life isimpossible without traveling. Many people travel by rail, by air, bysea or by road for pleasure.
I don’tlike to read very much, but I think, that it’s the most usefulpastime.
If a personlikes to read, he can take many useful information and lifeexperience from the books. By reading about the things, a hobbyist isinterested in, he is adding to what he knows.
A relatively newhobby is watching TV. But I don’t think that television is ahobby at all. As for me, it’s the way of getting information.There are two viewpoints on television. Some people think that TV isgoing a lot of harm. People begin to forget how to occupy their freetime. It prevents them from communicating with each other, fromvisiting friends or relatives. And indeed, people are used to havehobbies, to go outside for amusements, to the theatres, cinemas,sporting events. They are used to read books and listen to music. ButTV gives wonderful possibilities for getting information, foreducation. TV brings world in our rooms.
Computers are anew hobby too. Many young people all over the world like to sit gluedto the monitor all day long, playing their favorite computer games.
As for me, thefirst hobby, I had in childhood, when I was 5 or 6 years old, wascollecting pictures from the bubble gums. Later on, when I was 8, Icollected beer cans. Afterwards, my grandma had thrown them away,‘cause they occupied a lot of space.
And now I’minterested in cars. I always read all available magazines about thecars, ‘cause I want to know everything about their constructionand production.
Also I like tolisten to music, especially heavy metal. Some people think that it isimpossible to listen such music and they call metal fans“headbangers” or “metalheads”, but I don’tcare.
And, of course,like all teenagers, I like to work with computer, watch video and togo in for sports.
So as you cansee there are a lot of things to do during your free time.
English–speaking countries.
TheUnited kingdom of Gr. Britain is a capitalist country. England,Wales, Scotland are made in Gr. Britain. Peoples in countries outsidethe British Isles often call the inhabitants of United kingdomEnglish. There are four main nationalities: English, Wales and Irish.
Thepopulation of the United kingdom of Gr. Britain is almost fifty sixmillion Gr. Britain is highly industrialized. The United kingdom is aparliamentary monarchy. But it is well known that the monarchy todayhas no power.
TheUSA is situated in the central part of North American continent. TheUSA is an English speaking country. Many people of this country speakEnglish. But here we can hear French, German and other languages too.
Washingtonis the capital of the USA. The population of the USA is about 256million people. There are 50 states in this country.
Canadais to the north of the USA. It is very large country? Larger then theUnited States. The people who live in these parts came to Canadafrom France. Canada has to official languages – English andFresh. In Canada many people speak English, because they also camefrom England many years age. But in some part of Canada they speakFresh.
Australiais also an English – speaking country Australia the hottestsummer month is January, and the coldest winter month is June. ButJune is not very cold. Snow falls only on the mountain there. Andthere are not many mountains in Australia.
NewZealand is not far from Australia, but it is great distant fromBritain. The seasons in New Zealand are also different from what theyare in Britain from January to February. It is summer, from march tomay it is autumn; From June to August it is winter, from September toNovember it is spring. The national language is New Zealand is alsoEnglish. Many people from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland cameto live in Australia and New Zealand many years ago.
London
London is the capital of Great Britain, its political, economic and commercial centre. It is one of the largest cities in the world (together with Tokyo and New York) andthe largest city in Europe.
The city is very old. It has more then 20 centuriesold history. Once, London was a small Roman town on the north bankof the Thames, but slowly it grew into one of the world’s majorcities with population of about 8 million. Fewer people live in thecentre now, but the suburbs are still growing.
Traditionally London is divided into several parts: the City, Westminster, the West End and the East End. Theyare very different from each other.
The city is the oldest part of London, it's financial andbusiness centre. Numerous banks, offices and firms are concentrated here including the Bank of England, the StockExchange and the Old Bailey. Few people live in the City but over a million come to work here. Two masterpieces are situatedwithin the City: St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London. St. Paul's Cathedral was built in the 17th century by Christopher Wren. The Tower of London was built in the 11thcentury. It was used as a fortress, a palace and a prison. Now it's a museum.
Westminster is the aristocratic official part of London. It includes Buckingham Palace where the Queen lives and the Houses of Parliament stretching for nearly 1000 feet along the north bankof the Thames.The Clock Tower of the Houses of Parliament is famous for its big hour bell, known as "Big Ben".
Westminster Abbey is the place where coronation of nearly all kings and queens has taken place. Many of them are buried here as well as some other famous people of the country (G. Chaucer, Tennyson, Newton, Ch. Dickens, T. Hardy, R.Kipling, etc.).
The West End is the richest and most beautiful part of London. It is a symbol of wealth and luxury. The best hotels, restaurants, shops, clubs, parkland houses are situated there. English aristocracy lives in this region. One of the busiest streets in the West End is Oxford street. There aremany various shops in it which attract — customers fromdifferent countries of the world.
By the day the whole of London is busy. At night, the offices arequiet and empty, but the West End stays alive, because this is whereLondoners come to enjoy themselves. There are two opera houses here,several concert halls and many theatres, as well as cinemas, and innearby Soho the pubs, restaurants and night-clubs are busy half thenight.
Trafalgar Square is the geographical centre of London. It was named in the memory of Admiral Nelson's victory at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The tall Nelson's Column stands in the middle of the square.
Opposite the Nelson’s monument is the National Gallery and theNational Portrait Gallery. They contain the finest art collections in the world. Not far from the National Gallery is the British Museum famous for its rich library (about 7,000,000books).
One of the most popular museums in London is MadameTussaud’s. Almost every visitor has seen Madame Tussaud, an oldlady of 81 standing at the entrance of her own exhibition. She ismade of wax, like all the models of people in the museum. MadameTussaud’s brings together a host contemporary celebrities frommany different walks of life during many centuries. Kings and queens,politicians and military leaders, presidents and writers, scientistsand musicians, actors and actresses stand, sit and lie in manydifferent rooms of exhibition. The history of Madame Tussaud’sgoes back over 200 years during which time the exhibition has formedan integral part of experience of countless million of visitor toLondon.
The East End is an industrial district of London. There aremany factories and the Port of London there. The region is densely populated by working class families, those people who havebuilt the palaces of the West End. Old residents of the EastEnd are proud to be called cockneys, which means true Londoners,hereditary inhabitants of the area. They love the district verymuch.
London is situated on the river Thames. A hundred yearsago, the river was crowded by ships, leaving for Java and Japan, NewZealand and New York, but now people travel by air, and London’smain airport, Heathrow, is one of the busiest in the world.
The London Underground is the oldest one in the world.The first line, opened in second middle of XIX century, was like atube. That’s why it was called the Tube.
Like all big cities, London has streets and concretebuildings, but it also has many big parks, full of trees, flowers andgrass. Sit on the grass (you’re allowed to!) in the middle ofHyde Park or Kensington Gardens, and you will think that you’rein the countryside, miles away.
London is one of the world’s most enjoyable capital of Europe.
Booksin our life.
Despitethe increase in TV watching and the developing of World Wide Web,
readingis still very important. So I don't think books need to be rescued.Reading both entertains and educates people. Books help us todiscover new things and explore new ideas.
Abook is one of the greatest wonders in the world. It gives a uniquechance to link up with authors who lived hundreds and thousands yearsago. Thanks to books we can talk to people who lived in differentages and countries. Through reading books we hear their voices,thoughts and feelings. Books can tell us a lot about arts andfashion. From them we can learn about the rest of the world. The bookis the surest way to bring nations together. It gives us an insightnot only into the past, but also into the future.
Thebook is a faithful and undemanding friend: it can be put aside andtaken up
againat any moment. Reading is the perfect way to relax and spend yourfree time. Books portray life in its richness, so they developreader's imagination and arouse curiosity, admiration. Sometimes theyeven can help to solve difficult problems of life.
Ibecome very keen on literature early in life. This probably happenedbecause we had a very good and widely read library in home. Booksstirred my imagination, expanded the boundaries of the familiar worldand filled my life with great expectations of joy and happiness.Since childhood I have been enchanted by A. Volkov and his "Magicianof the Emerald City" and its sequels. I also was delighted withPushkin's fairytales. Later my heart was won by Chehov, Russianwriter, and J. Ronie, French author who wrote a lot of adventurenovels about ancient times. Luckily this world is rich in remarkableauthors.
I'mfond of reading and I've read a lot of books of different genres. Andcertainly I have my favorite book. It is the story by Agatha Christie – "The murder of Roger Ackroyd". Agatha Christie wasborn in 1890. She is the famous English detective writer, and almosteveryone knows her as creator of Miss Marple and Hercules Poirot.Thisbook was written in 1926. Some critics say that Agatha Christieintroduced a novelty in this work, because the murder is astoryteller. In the "The murder of Roger Ackroyd" the maincharacters and environment are typical for 1920th in England. Theaction takes place in a country house. The authors shows us it'sowner with his habits, relatives and neighbors. All this is presentedvividly and brightly. One of the main heroes of the book HerculesPoirot gets over a lot of problems before catching a murder.
Excitement,suspense, horror, revenge, and extraordinary talent, astounding
calmnessof Hercules Poirot fill this book. "The murder of Roger Ackroyd"has made a great impression on me. And nowadays it makes reallyunforgettable impressive reading.
Holidays.
In Russia, the same as in every other country,there are many holidays: interesting and funny, patriotic anddedicated to any historical event. For example in Russia there aresuch holidays as the Women’s day, the Victory Day, theIndependent Day, the April’s Fool’s day, and many other.In 80thyears in Russia some holidays were canceled, among them is the MayDay, the 7thof October, the birthday of komsomol, and some other. As for me thisresolution was right because when the life of the whole country ischanging the old holidays must also be changed by new.
Ilike all holidays. But everyone of them can be made upset, exceptone. It’s the New Year. New Year is a holiday for everyone. Thepeople all over the world welcome the new year at one moment, that’swhy I think it’s the most uniting holiday in the world, becausein this moment every person can say that he loves everyone. I thinkit is an international holiday.
Butin different countries the New Year is celebrated in different days,for example it can be celebrated on the 1st of September or …Also I’ve heard that from 2001 year the New Year will becelebrated on the 1st of March by all countries all over the world.As for me, I think that it was a right resolution.
Thereare lots of New Year traditions in Russia. In every home there is aNew Year tree glittering in colored lights and decorations. Childrenalways wait for Father Frost to come and give them a present. Manypeople consider a New Year to be a family holiday. But most of theyoung prefer to spend the New Year there own having parties. As forme I prefer to see the New Year with my family, because I meet theseNew Years last times with my family and after some years I’llspend it on my own. I must spend as much time as possible with myfamily because in some years I’ll have to leave them to beginmy own life and these holidays may be the last.
Holiday is a dayset apart for religious observance or for the commemoration of someextraordinary event or distinguished person, or for some other publicoccasion.
Nationalholidays are days set aside by official government proclamation tocelebrate different occasions.
The U.S.has no national holidays. Legal holidays – days on which banks,schools, or other public institutions and most places of business areclosed.
Memorial Day isa legal holiday, observed annually on the last Monday in May in mostof the United States, It honours the nation's armed services killedin wartime. The holiday, originally called Decoration Day, istraditionally marked by parades, memorial speeches and ceremonies,and the decoration of graves with flowers and flags. Memorial Day wasfirst observed on May 30, 1868, on the order of General JohnAlexander Logan for the purpose of decorating the graves of theAmerican Civil War dead. It was observed on May 30 until 1971, whenmost states changed to a newly established federal schedule ofholiday observance.
Independence Day isan annual holiday commemorating the formal adoption by theContinental Congress of the Declaration of Independence on July 4,1776, in Philadelphia. Although the signing of the Declaration wasnot completed until August, the Fourth of July holiday has beenaccepted as the official anniversary of United States independenceand is celebrated in all states and territories of the U.S.
TheFourth of July is traditionally celebrated publicly with parades andpageants, patriotic speeches, and organised firing of guns andcannons and displays of fireworks. Family picnics and outings are afeature of private Fourth of July celebrations.
Thanksgiving Day,a legal holiday in the U.S., was first celebrated in early colonialtimes in New England. The actual origin is probably the harvestfestivals that are traditional in many parts of the world. After thefirst harvest was completed by the Plymouth colonists in 1621,Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving.
In 1863President Abraham Lincoln appointed a day of thanksgiving, and sincethen each president has issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation,generally designating the fourth Thursday of November as a holiday.
New Year's Day isthe first day of the year, January 1 in the Gregorian calendar. Inthe Middle Ages most European countries used the Julian calendar andobserved New Year's Day on March 25, called Annunciation Day andcelebrated as the birth to the Son of God. With the introduction ofthe Gregorian calendar in 1582, Roman Catholic countries began tocelebrate New Year's Day on January 1.
Thecustom of visiting friends, relatives and neighbours on New Year’sDay is one of the Old World traditions that has taken on a new formin the United States. A favourite place to see the old year out isNew York City’s Time Square.
Christmas is anannual festival, held on December 25, to celebrate the Nativity, orbirth of Christ. The Christmas tree, an evergreen trimmed with lightsand other decorations, is derived from the so-called paradise tree,symbolising Eden.
Saint Valentine's Day,a holiday honouring lovers, is celebrated on February 14. There is acustom of sending greeting cards or gifts to express affection. Thecards, known as valentines, are often designed with hearts tosymbolise love. The holiday probably derives from the ancient Romanfeast of Lupercalis (February 15). The festival gradually becameassociated with the feast day (February 14) of two Roman martyrs,both named St. Valentine, who lived in the 3rd century. St. Valentinehas traditionally been regarded as the patron saint of lovers.
Artand culture.
The Oxford Advancer Learner`s Dictionary ofCurrent English by Hornby gives us the following definition of thenotion «art».“«Art»is the creation or expression of what is beautiful, especially invisual form. Drawing, painting, sculpture, architecture,literature, music, ballet belong to the fine art”.
Really when something is extremely beautiful or has great culturalvalue, we say: “It`s art”. Art has always been occupationfor the few, but has been admired by many. Art reflects feelings andemotions, brings delight and admiration, makes life pure as itwakens our best hidden qualities. Speaking about arts, we connectthis notion with culture. According to the dictionary culture of acommunity or nation includes all the arts, beliefs and socialinstitutions characteristic of a community or nation. We can speakabout either material, or spiritual culture. Art is both.
Russia is a country that can rightfully boast itsartistic and cultural traditions, its art galleries attract hugecrowds of tourists from all over the world. St`Petersburg is aprecious stone in the crown of Russian cities. The Hermitage isfamous all over the world for its valuable rare collections ofcanvases and other art objects covering a span of about sevenhundreds years and comprising masterpieces of by Leonardo da Vinci,Titian, Raphael, Rembrandt, Rubens. The collections illustrates theart of Italy, Spain, Holland, Germany, France, Britain, Sweden. TheWest – European Department also includes a fine collection ofEuropean Sculpture. People come to admire the collections of tapestry, precious textiles, weapons, ivory, pottery, porcelain andfurniture as well.
The Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, the RussianMuseum should be mentioned by all means. This picture gallery wasfounded by a Russian merchant and a connoisseur of art PavelTretyakov in the 19thcentury. He was especially fond of the works of Peredvizhniki orWanders- the artists who belonged to the Society of Travelling ArtExhibitions such as Kramskoy, Perov, Ghe and other great Russianpainters. The Tretyakov Gallery reflects the whole history of RussianArt. It has a rich collection of early Russian painting includingfamous icon. The world famous «TheTrinity» by Andrey Rublev isexhibited in the gallery.
Speaking about art one should not forget aboutmusic, especially classic music. Outstanding Russian composers makeall the world admire their music. One can find a man, who does notknow Pyotr Ilyich Tchaicovsky, Michail Glinka, NicholaiRimsky-Korsakov – the prominent composers of 19thcentury, and Sergei Rachmaninov, Sergei Prokofiev and DmitriyShostakovich.
It was Glinka (1804-1857) who laid the foundationfor modern Russian music, his music expressed the temperament ofRussian people. His two best known operas «IvanSusanin» and «Ruslanand Ludmila» were based on Russianfolklore and historical legends.
The most famous ballets «SwanLake», «TheSleeping Beauty», «TheNutcracker» and not less famousoperas «The Queen of Spades», «Eugine Onegin»are still excellently staged and performed not only in Russian butin many greatest theatres in the world.
Russia is world famous for its literature. The«golden age»of Russian literature began in the 19thcentury when such outstanding masters of letters such as AlexanderPushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoeyevsky created theirimmortal masterpieces.
Alexander Pushkin, the father of RussianLiterature was the authors of more than 700 lyrical poems. He wrotealso the volumes of dramatic works, short stories, made adaptationsof Russian fairy-tales.
Russia is famous for its architecture. The realjewel of architecture is the Moscow Kremlin with its cathedrals,towers and red brick walls. Just outside the Kremlin walls standsSt.Basil`s Cathedral, one of the world most astonishing buildingswith 8 domes of different designs and colors.
St.Petersburg has great number of realmasterpieces of architecture of different styles and is definitelyworth visiting and being admired.
Russia is rich also in young talents, new Russianculture is forming. It will appear on the basis of the old one, butits essence will be new. We can hear new voices in music and poetry, new canvases of modern artists, great actors and film directors.
All of them will make their contribution intoRussian Culture and Art.
GreatBritain is a highly developed industrial country. This was thecountry in which the earliest developments of modern industry tookplace. It exports machinery, vessels, motors and other goods. Thereare a lot of factories and mines there.
Thetextile industry is also highly developed. Manchester is the centerof the cotton, textile industry, one of the Britain’s mostimportant producers of computers and electronic equipment. A lot ofBritish textiles are exported.
Ship-buildingis an important industry. The main ship building centers are London,Glasgow.
Atthe same time Great Britain imports some food products and rawmaterials from many countries of the world. Because of the weatheronly half of the food the country needs is produced by Britishagriculture. Vegetables and fruits are grown especially in the southof England where the temperature is higher and there are more hoursof sunshine than in the northern regions.
Wheatis grown in the east of England. English wool is famous in the wholeworld. Sheep can be seen in many parts of England, Scotland and thereare a lot of cattle farms and farms where milk, butter and cheese areproduced.