Britainin Brief.
TheUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with an area of244 000 square miles is situated on the British Isles, which areseparated from the European continent by the North Sea, the Strait ofDover and the English Channel. Britain’s population is over 56million. Four out of every five people live in towns. The largestcities of the country are London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester,Glasgow and Edinburgh.
TheUK is a monarchy: the head of the state is a king or a queen. Inpractice, the Sovereign reigns, but does not rule: the UK is governedby the Government. The present Sovereign is Queen Elizabeth II.
Theterritory of Great Britain is small. Yet the country has a widevariety of scenery.
Theheart of Britain is England. It is the richest, the most fertile andmost populated in the country. The north and the west of England aremountainous, but all the rest of territory is a vast plain. InNorthwest England, there are many beautiful lakes with green, woodedor grassy shores and grey mountains all around.
Thesmallest of Britain’s countries is Wales. The largest part ofWales is covered with rocky mountains, which are difficult to climb.Most people in Wales live in the coastal plains.
Scotland is a land of mountains, wild moorlands, narrowvalleys and plains, famous lakes and no end of large and smallislands. The Highlands of Scotland are among the oldest mountains inthe world. One-third of the people in Scotland
livein or near its capital, Edinburgh, and its great industrial center,Glasgow.
Thecapital of Great Britain, London, stands on the Thames. The Thames isthe busiest and the most important river in Great Britain, but it isnot very long. The climate of Great Britain is mild.
RobertBurns.
Robert Burns is the national poet of Scotland. In his poemsBurns sang the beauty and the glory of his native land.
Burns was born in Alloway,near Ayr, on 25 of January 1759. His father, a small farmer, was ahard-working man. When Robert was 6, he was sent to a school atAlloway Miln. Robert and his brother Gilbert were given a goodknowledge of English. They progressed rapidly in reading and writing.
For some years Burns workedon the family field, plugging and reaping. The combination of hardphysical labour and poor food in his youth that brought about thefirst symptoms of the heart disease which troubled him for much ofhis life and from which he died.
Burns wrote his first poem at the age of 14 for a girl whoworked with him in the fields. After father’s death heimmigrated to Jamaica. His most creative years were probably 1785 and1786. During this period Burns wrote his most brilliant poems. Burnspublished his poems in August 1786. The success was great.
Soon, in April 1787, asecond edition of his poems appeared in Edinburgh; 3000 copies wereprinted – a very large number for those times!
Now Burns had theopportunity to see more of his native land which he so dearly loved.He visited some historic places, which made a great impression onhim.
Duringthe last 5 years of his life Burns wrote some of his best poems andsongs. After a short illness he died on 21 July 1796.
London.
Londonis the capital of the United Kingdom, its economic, political andcultural center. It is one of the world’s most important portsand one of the largest cities in the world. London with its suburbshas a population of about 11 million people.
Londonhas been a capital for nearly a thousand years. Many of its ancientbuildings still stand. The most famous of them are the Tower ofLondon, Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral. Mostvisitors also want to see the Houses of Parliament and the manymagnificent museums.
OnceLondon was a small Roman town of the north bank of the Thames. Slowlyit grew into one of the world’s major cities.
Differentareas of London seem like different cities. The West End is a richman’s world of shops, offices and theatres. The City of Londonis the district where most offices and banks are concentrated; theRoyal Exchange and the Bank of England are here, too. The East End isa district where mostly working people live. The old port area is nowcalled «Docklands».There are now new office buildings in Docklands, and thousands of newflats and houses.
Bythe day the whole of London is busy. At night, offices are quiet andempty, but the West End stays alive, because this is where Londonerscome to enjoy themselves. There are two opera houses here, severalconcert halls and many theatres, as well as cinemas. In nearby Sohothe pubs and restaurants and nightclubs are busy half the night
Moscow.
Moscowis the capital of Russia, its political, economic and culturalcenter. It was founded 8 centuries ago by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky.Historians have accepted the year of 1147 as the start of Moscow’shistory. Gradually the city became more and more powerful. In the13thcentury Moscow was the center of the struggle of Russian lands forthe liberation from the tartar yoke. In the 16thcentury under Ivan the Terrible Moscow became the capital of the newunited state. Though Peter the Great moved the capital to St.Petersburg in 1712, Moscow remained the heart of Russia.
NowMoscow is one of the largest cities in Europe. Its total area isabout 900 square km. The population of the city is over 8 millionpeople.
Moscowis one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The heart of Moscowis Red Square. The Kremlin and St. Basil’s Cathedral aremasterpieces of ancient Russian architecture. The main Kremlin tower,the Spasskaya Tower, has become the symbol of the country. On theterritory of Kremlin you can see old cathedrals, the Bell Tower, thePalace of Congress, the Tzar-Cannon and the Tzar-Bell, the biggestcannon and bell in the world. St. Basil’s Cathedral was builtin the mid-16thcentury in memory of the victory over Kazan. There is a legend, thatIvan the Terrible blinded the architects Barma and Postnik, becausehe didn’t want them to create another masterpiece.
Moscow is famous for itstheatres. The best known of them is the Bolshoi Opera House. Dramatheatres and studios are also very popular.
Moscow is a city of students.There are over 80 higher educational institutions in it, includingseveral universities.
Moscow is the seat of theRussian Parliament and the center of political life of the country.
Ourschool.
Mostschools in ourcityare comprehensive. Ours is a lyceum so our pupils come from differentparts of the city. The school holds over 1200 pupils and about 100teachers. The
classroomsfor junior forms are on the ground floor. They look cozy. The wallsare decorated with pictures and there are nice curtains on the largewindows. I think, children feel at home here. The classrooms forsenior students are on the upper floors. Our principal’s officeis on the ground floor. At the beginning of the corridor, on theright are gym and a workshop for girls, and on the left –workshop for boys. The library and the canteen are on the firstfloor. The computer class is on the first floor, too. It is verypopular with our pupils, as many of them are fond of computer games.It’s a pity we have no Assembly Hall and all schoolcelebrations and gatherings are held in the gym. The school is ratherwell equipped. Tape recorders and record players are used atdifferent lessons. Chemistry, physics and biology are taught inwell-equipped labs. The students carry out experiments and makecareful observations there. Our classes start at half past eight andare over at half past one. Some pupils live far from school so theyhave to get there by bus, by tram or by trolley-bus. My school isfrom Monday till Saturday so we have only one day off. If we had onemore day off we would devote our spare time to entertainment,theatres, museums, sports and different hobby clubs.
The RussianFederation.
The Russian Federation is thelargest country in the world. Its total area is about 17 millionsquare kilometers. It occupies most of Eastern Europe and NorthernAsia. Russia is bordered by Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Litva, Belarus,Ukraine, Azerbaijan and China.
Russian Federation is locatedon two plains, the Great Russian Plain and the West Siberian Lowland.The longest mountain chains are the Urals, the Caucasus and theAltai. Russia’s most important rivers are the Volga, the mainSiberian rivers and the Amur. The total number of rivers in Russia isover two million. The world’s deepest lake – Lake Baikal,with the deeps of 1600 metres, is situated in Russia, too. Theclimate in Russia varies from the arctic in the north to subtropicalin the south. The current population of Russia is about 150 millionpeople.
Russia is ahighly-developed-agrarian republic. Its vast mineral resourcesinclude oil, natural gas, coal, iron, zinc, lead nickel, aluminum,gold and other non-ferrous metals.
The capital of the RussianFederation is Moscow, with the population of about 10 million people.
Russia is a constitutionalrepublic with president as Head of State. The legislative power isvested in the Federal Assembly, consisting of the Council ofFederation and the State Duma.
Science.
Science is important to mostpeople living in the modern world for a number of reasons. Inparticular, science is important to world peace and understanding, tothe understanding of technology, and to our understanding of theworld.
Science is important to worldpeace in many ways. On one hand, scientists have helped to developmany of the modern tools of war. On the other hand, they have alsohelped to keep the peace through research, which has improved lifefor people. Scientists have helped us understand the problem ofsupplying the world with enough energy; using energy from the sun andfrom the atom. Scientists have also analysed the world’sresources. Scientists studies the Universe and how to use itspossibilities for the benefit of men.
Scientists are also importantto everyone who is affected by modern technology. Many of the thingsthat make our lives easier and better are the results of advances intechnology. In some cases, such as technology for taking salt out ofocean water, technology may be essential for our lives on Earth.
Scientists are learning topredict earthquakes, to study many other natural events such asstorms. Scientists are also studying various aspects of human biologyand the origin and developments of the human race. The study of thenatural world may help improve life for many people all over theworld.
A basic knowledge of science isessential for everyone. It helps people to find their way in thechanging world.
Sport in a pub.
There are many public houses inLondon and elsewhere, where beer, wine and spirits may be bought anddrunk at certain times of the day. These are suitable for all classesof the community and provide a place, where people may meet togetherand talk, and perhaps play at darts or other games, as well as drink.
Inthe bar of every English «pub»thereis a dartboard, and on most evenings the game of darts is beingplayed. This is a traditional English game. The first record ofsomething like the modern game appears in a sixteenth century. Inthis tournament people threw missiles in a target by hand, instead ofusing a bow.
Thedartboard has numbered sections and the score depends on the sectionin which the dart lands. The darts are small, about 12 cm long, andhave a steel point, a metal body and the three feathers. A set ofthree darts is used and each player throws them in turns. Expertplayers usually have their own private set of darts, but pubs alwaysprovide a set for occasional players. If you hit the very middle –you hit the bull’s eye, which give you the highest score.
Pubsare really an essential part of English life. Most customers in thesmaller pubs play games such as dominoes, darts or snooker. Snookeris a variation of billiards played with 15 red balls and 6 variouslycolored ones. And in many local pubs there are the teams of playersof snooker who play matches against teams from other pubs. The ideahas developed so far that there are even national championships insnooker and darts.
Sportin Our Life.
People all overthe world are fond of sports and games. Sport makes people healthy,keeps them fit, more organized and better disciplined. It unitespeople of different classes and nationalities.
Manypeople do sports on their personal initiative. They go in for skiing,skating, table tennis, swimming, volleyball, football, bodybuilding,etc. All necessary facilities are provided for them: stadiums, sportgrounds, swimming pools, skating rinks, skiing stations, footballfields. Sport is
paidmuch attention to in our educational establishments. Gymnastics is apart of children’s daily activity in the kindergartens.Physical culture is a compulsory subject at schools and colleges.
Professionalsport is also paid much attention to in our republic. There aredifferent sporting societies clubs and complexes. The most famous ofthem are the Olympic complexes «Luzhniki»,«Dynamo»stadium, etc. They are used for international and world competitions.
Practicallyall kinds of sports are popular in our republic but football;gymnastics and tennis enjoy the greatest popularity.
Asfor me, I go in for swimming. It needs mobility, liveliness and muchenergy. It keeps a person in a good form. I have been swimming for a5 years. I get a real joy taking part in competitions or a simplyswimming with my friends. Certainly, it`s a great distance between mymanner of swimming and such favorites as Popov, but I do my trainingwith great pleasure and hope to swim well as our best swimmers do.
ThomasAlva Edison
Mostpeople know that Thomas Edison invented first working light bulb, butthey don’t know anything else about him. Edison had almost noformal schooling, yet he invented over 1000 different things. AmongEdison’s inventions are: the phonograph (record player), themovie camera and the movie projector.
ThomasEdison invented his electric light bulb in 1879, but there was stillmuch work to do. No one knew how to use electricity outside oflaboratory before Thomas Edison. He and his workers had to create asafe electric system. First they had to build a factory. Then theyhad to build the dynamos to make the electricity. Next they had tosend out the electricity.
Toshow people that he was serious, Edison began his project in New YorkCity. By 1887, much of New York City had electricity. Edison foundedthe Edison Electric Light Company and continued to supply electricityto New York and other places.
ThomasEdison lived until 1931. He continued to invent all his life. Afterthe War, he tried to invent a substitute for rubber because of theshortage that the war caused.
ThomasEdison was a true genius, but he never went to a college oruniversity. The only time Edison attended school was when he was 7years old. He stayed for 3 months and never returned. Thomas Edisonwas a school dropout, yet he became one of America’s mostfamous and most honoured man.
Washington,D.C.
TheUnited States is a federal union, which is made up of 50 states andone independent district – the District of Columbia. TheDistrict of Columbia is the territory of the national capital of theUSA, Washington, with its own laws and regulations. Washington, D.C.is situated on both banks of the Potomac river, between the twostates, Maryland and Virginia.
This place was chosen by thefirst American President George Washington. In 1790 George Washingtonlaid the corner-stone of the Capitol where the Congress sits. Theplace was called the District of Columbia in honour of Columbus, thediscoverer of America. The capital got the name of Washington afterthe name of its founder. Washington has been the federal capitalsince 1800.
Washington is sometimes calledthe heart of America. It is the capital where the federal governmentworks and where each President of the United States lives. Washingtonis smaller in size than the largest cities of the USA. The populationof Washington is about 11 million people. The buildings in Washingtonare not very tall because no building must be taller than theCapitol. But in political sense Washington is the centre of thecountry and the most important city in the United States.
WilliamShakespeare.
William Shakespeare is thegreatest of all playwrights and poets of all times. Not much is knownof his life. He was probably the son of a businessman and was born in1564 in Stradford-upon-Avon. He probably attended the local grammarschool and got a classical education. In 1582 he married AnneHathaway and had 3 children. Little is known of his life before 1592,when he appeared as a playwright in London. Soon he became an actorplaying supporting roles like the ghost in «Hamlet». In1599 Shakespeare became a part owner of the Globe Theatre in London.
Shakespeare’s work as aplaywright is subdivided into 3 periods. Written in the first period,Shakespeare’s plays are mostly history plays like «HenryVI», and comedies with strong elements of farce. Hismasterpiece of this period is «Romeo and Juliet».
Inthe second period Shakespeare wrote a number of comedies where hemoved away from farce towards romance. In the third period, after1600, appeared his major tragedies – «Hamlet»,«Othello». They presented a clear opposition of order tochaos, good to evil.
Shakespeare was a great poet andwould be well known for his poetry alone. His major achievement as apoet is his sonnets, first published in 1609. A sonnet is a poemconsisting of 14 lines, with a moral at the end. The sonnets areaddressed to some «W.H.», and to mysterious «DarkLady of Sonnets». The sonnets deal with the great themes oflove, friendship, death, change and immortality. Shakespeare looks athis own poetry as a means of immortality. Shakespeare’s sonnetsare excellent. They are full of harmony and music; they praise love,friendship and beauty, though there is no sentimentality in them.
Shakespeare’s poetry is atthe summit of human achievement. Many centuries have passed since hisdeath in 1616, but Shakespeare is still considered to be the greatestof all playwrights and poets.