My Day Off and My Hobbies

UNIT I

GRAMMAR. NOUNS. ADJECTIVES. ADVERBS. PRONOUNS. NUMBERS. THERE IS/ARE. IT IS. TENSE FORMS IN ACTIVE VOICE. TOPICS: ABOUT MYSELF. MY WORKING DAY. MY DAY OFF. READING. THE CELL. CELLS: THE SMALLEST UNITS OF LIFE, THEIR STRUCTURE

About myself

My name is Natasha Kozlova and I was born in Minsk on the fifth of October 1993. My family is an averagesized Belarusian family: I have a father, a mother and a brother. I was named after my granny and I am very proud of it. I descend from the family of office-workers.

My mother tongue is Belarusian, though in everyday life I speak mostly Russian. I can also speak English a little and I understand spoken Ukrainian and Polish.

Now I am going to speak about my father. His name is Boris Petrovich. He is 42. He is a computer engineer by education, but he is in business now. His firm deals with modern TV sets and computers. He often goes on business trips to different cities of the country and abroad. After his trips he tells us many interesting stories about people, different countries and their traditions. Though my father is a very busy man, he always finds time to listen to our problems and to help us. He is also handy with many things. He can fix almost everything: a washing machine, a vacuum cleaner, a fridge etc. He likes sports. Basketball is his favourite. That is why he is still a very handsome tall man with broad shoulders, fair hair and grey eyes.

My mother’s name is Alla Antonovna. She is four years younger than my father. She is shorter than my father. Her brown hair, small thin nose, blue eyes and open smile make her very beautiful. She is a doctor and she likes her work very much. My mum is fond of music and poetry. She also likes dancing and singing. She attended a music school. My mum plays the piano fairly well. She also does most of the cooking, washing, cleaning and tiding. She seems to be never tired. Of course, we always try to help her as much as we can.

My brother’s name is Victor. He is 12 and naturally he is still at school. He does very well at school, so his school reports are always excellent. He is especially very good at Maths and English. They are his favourite subjects. He says he wants to become an engineer.

He is like his mother: same hair, same eyes, same voice and same manners. Just like his mother, he is fond of music and likes singing and dancing very much. Just like his father, he is fond of sports. My brother is of great help to my parents.

I have got a grandfather and grandmother. They are my grandparents on my mother’s side. They are under 65, and they are still in good health. As they live in the country, they have a large house with a garden nearby. They still keep a small household. They are retired now. My Granny and Granddad enjoy seeing us in their house very much. So we often go to see them on weekends. When summer comes, my brother likes to spend his holidays in the country at our grandparents’.

We have many relatives. Some of them live in Belarus, others live in the Ukraine, Russia and Poland. They always try to come and see us each time we celebrate some family holidays or to send us their best wishes.

I’ve finished school this year. Choosing the right career to follow is one of the most important decisions you ever make. As for me, I made my choice long ago. Besides, my parents encouraged me a lot in choosing my profession. I want to work in the sphere of environment protection and contribute as much as possible to the improvement of the ecology situation in the Republic of Belarus. Therefore, I did my best at school, as well as took a preparatory course at the University. I am always very busy, but when I am free I like to read books and visit museums and art galleries. I have many friends and I like to travel. We visited a lot of interesting places in Belarus and abroad.

Vocabulary

handy – ловкий, искусный

fix (v) – починить

household – домашнее хозяйство

grandparents – дедушка и бабушка

career – карьера

nearby – рядом

especially – особенно

washing machine – стиральная машина

nephew – племянник

niece – племянница

vacuum cleaner – пылесос

fridge – холодильник

favourite – любимый (ая, ое)

right – верный, правильный

abroad – за границей

museum – музей

improvement – улучшение

Vocabulary Notes

averagesized Belarusian family – среднестатистическая белорусская семья

mother tongue – родной язык

spoken Ukrainian – разговорный украинский

business trips – деловые поездки

to be fond of smb. or smth. – любить кого-либо или что-либо

to be like smb. – быть похожим на кого-то

to be retired – быть на пенсии

to retire – уйти на пенсию

to make a choice – сделать выбор

environment protection – охрана окружающей среды

favourite subjects – любимые предметы

to be fond of sports – любить спорт

to send one’s best wishes – передать наилучшие пожелания

to encourage smb. in doing smth. – поддерживать(поощрять) кого-то в чем-то

to take a preparatory course at the University – посещать подготовительные курсы в Университете

to be married – быть замужем (женатым)

to be communicative – быть общительным

Answer the questions:

1. When and where were you born?

2. How old are you?

3. When is your birthday?

4. What are your parents’ occupations?

5. What do you know about your parents’ jobs?

6. Are your parents fond of sports?

7. What are your hobbies?

8. Have you got any brothers/sisters?

9. Is your brother/sister like your mother or father?

10. Have you got a nephew or a niece?

11. Where do your grandparents live?

12. What other relatives have you got?

13. What future career did you choose?

14. Who helped you to make your choice?

15. Are you married?

16. What colour is your hair?

17. What colour are your eyes?

18. Are you communicative?

19. Have you got many friends?

My Working Day

My every day activities are quite routine. They do not differ much from those of any other working person. My working day begins at 7 a.m. when I get up. I do my physical jerks, wash, brush my teeth and comb my hair. Then I have breakfast. For breakfast I usually have toasted bread, fried eggs, corn flakes, tea or coffee and some jam.

At half past seven I leave for work. I work as a nurse on a shift basis at Minsk Hospital No.2, therefore I have to work on my days off too. It takes me 20 minutes to get to my hospital by bus. At 8:30 a.m. I take up my duties at the hospital for the duration of 24 hours. It is my obligation to take due care of the sick people and to treat them according to the required recommendations. I feel tired, of course, by the end of my shift, but I am happy to think that I will have a 2-days’ rest before my next turn. As my week-days are extremely busy I use every opportunity to spend my two-days of rest most usefully. I enjoy meeting my friends, reading interesting books, visiting museums and theaters etc.

I began to think about my future profession at the age of 15. My parents encouraged me in my desire to connect my life with medicine. Becoming a nurse had been the first step in acquiring this profession. Having become a nurse I have come to realize that I am willing to connect my life with biology. This year I have realized my cherished dream to become a student of the biology faculty. I have managed to successfully pass my exams and entered the Belarusian State University. Of course, being a student of such a reputable institution of higher education imposes certain responsibilities upon myself, therefore I reduce sometimes all my entertainments and try to study to the most of my abilities to achieve my life’s ambitions and to justify hopes of my parents. I also hope that I will never regret my choice and get a well-paid and interesting job afterwards. Maybe I will consider my future job connected with genetics problems.

My parents usually return home at 7 p.m. When I am at home we have dinner together, we use the possibility to exchange the news and to make plans for the future.

I used to go to bed at about 11 p.m. Before going to bed I take a shower, clean my teeth and then do some reading. Usually I fall asleep at once as I feel very tired by the end of the day.

Vocabulary

activity – деятельность

routine [rH′tJn] – рутинный, шаблонный, по заведенному порядку

duties – обязанности

obligation – обязанность

encourage (v) – поощрять

ambition – амбиция, стремление, цель

regret (v) – сожалеть

relax (v) – расслабляться, отдыхать

bedtime – время ложиться спать

Vocabulary Notes

physical jerks – гимнастика, зарядка

cherished dream – сокровенная мечта

on a shift basis – посменно

to take up duties – принять дежурство

required recommendations – требуемые рекомендации

to impose certain responsibilities – налагать определенную ответственность на кого-либо

reputable institution – уважаемое учреждение

to enjoy doing smth – получать удовольствие от

genetics problems – проблемы генетики

life’s ambitions – жизненные амбиции

to take due care – заботиться надлежащим образом

Answer the questions:

1. At what time do you usually get up?

2. Do you do your morning exercises every day?

3. When and where do you have your breakfast?

4. Do you go to your work place by bus or on foot?

5. How long does it take you to get there?

6. When do you start your work and when is it over? What do you do for relaxation?

7. When did you start to think about your future profession?

8. What profession do you like best of all?

9. Is your future profession interesting and modern?

10. What do you usually do in the evening?

11. What is your bedtime?

12. Do you often sit up far into the night?

My Day Off and My Hobbies

When I was a pupil my only regular day off was Sunday. It was a day of freedom from routine duties and studies. I could do whatever I wished and could go wherever I wanted. 1 could also stay the whole day at home and have a good rest.

But I must admit that every day off needs some special planning. Time passes quickly and if you have no plans be sure to get no results. You may spend your time on trifles.

So, I’ll try to describe my common day off. If I planned to get out into the open air, I had to get up very early to catch the train. When the sky is blue and the sun is shining my friends and I like to go to the riverside for our ideal day out. A walk or a drive to the country may be a good alternative. But such a way of relaxation is acceptable in early autumn or late spring. Our winter days off differ greatly. In winter, if you want to skate or ski, it is not necessary to get out of town. You can do it not far from your home.

Sometimes when the weather was nasty, I could afford to relax and not to be in a hurry. So I could stay in bed and not get up till 10 or 11 a.m. Only then I dressed and had my breakfast. I watched TV, played with my little brother, did some reading, prepared my homework and after that went to see a friend of mine to play chess or go to the cinema with him. I’m not a great cinemagoer, but I like to see feature films and enjoy historical adventure films. I find these films most instructive and entertaining.

In case I had neither plans nor inclination to go anywhere, I could look through again and again my numerous albums full оf different stamps. Collecting stamps is my hobby.Almost everyone collects something in his life: coins, stamps, postcards, buttons, books, records, toys, watches. My parents started collecting stamps long ago and then passed their collection to me. Now I continue collecting stamps myself.

No matter what kind of hobby you have, you always have the opportunity of learning from it. By reading about the things you are interested in you are adding to what you know. Learning things is the most exciting aspect of my hobby too. Each stamp has its own story to tell. I can see pictures of distant countries and their people. I learn their history, culture and traditions. The greatest part of my collection is devoted to famous artists and their masterpieces. This part of my collection looks like art gallery.

My relatives very often send new stamps to me together with their letters and postcards. Sometimes I buy new stamps in a shop. I also have many penfriends in Belarus and abroad. We exchange stamps with them. Now I don’t have much time to spend on my collection, but sometimes I come back to it with great pleasure.

My evenings I prefer to spend at home. At about 7 p.m. we have dinner. It’s a good opportunity for the family to discuss the events of the day and our plans for the coming week.

I must say that I’m a great reader, but I never have enough time to enjoy it. I always read a book or a magazine late in the evening.

On Sunday my usual bedtime was 11 p.m. as I wanted to have a good sleep before starting a new week of studies.

Vocabulary

relaxation – расслабление, развлечение, отдых от работы

riverside – прибрежная полоса, берег реки

masterpiece [′mRstqpJs] – шедевр

opportunity – возможность

magazine – журнал

admit (v) – признать

alternative – альтернатива

afford (v) – позволить себе

inclination – намерение, склонность

hobby – хобби

Vocabulary Notes

to spend time on trifles – тратить время по пустякам

instructive and entertaining films – поучительные и развлекательные фильмы

collecting stamps – коллекционирование марок

to be a great reader – быть большим любителем чтенияё

to be nasty (about weather) – скверная, плохая

to be in a hurry – спешить

Answer the questions.

1. What is your day off?

2. Do you usually make plans for your day off?

3. Why is it necessary to do?

4. Where do you like to go on your day off?

5. Do you often go to the cinema, theater or dancing parties?

6. Do you prefer to spend your day off with your friends or alone?

7. What is your hobby?

8. What is your friend’s hobby?

9. Is it useful to have some hobbies?

10. Do you spend much time on your hobby?

11. How do you spend your evenings?

12. What is your usual bedtime on your day off?

READING MATERIAL

TEXT A

Study the meaning and pronunciation of the following words:

cell (n) [sel] – клетка

inhabit (v) [In′hxbIt] –населять

differ (v) [′dIfq] – отличаться

reproduce (v) [‚rJprq′djHs] – размножаться

activity (n) [xk′tIvItI] – деятельность

distinguish (v) [dIs′tINgwiS] – отличать

branch (n) [brRnC] – ветвь, отрасль

science (n) [′saIqns] – наука

honeycomb (n) [′hAnIkoum] – медовые соты

tissue (n) [′tJsjH] – ткань

shape (n) [SeIp] – форма

size (n) [saIz] – размер

surround (v) [sq′raund] – окружать

substance (n) [′sAbstqns] – вещество

consist (v) [kqn′sIst] – состоять

mixture (n) [′mIksCq] – смесь

compound (n) [′kOmpaund] – соединение

amoeba (n) [q′mJbq] – амеба

complicated (n) [′kOmplI‚keItId] – сложный

creature (n) [′krJCq] – существо

stomach (n) [′stAmqk] – желудок

digest (v) [daI′Gest] – переваривать

blood (n) [blAd] – кровь

carry (v) [′kxrI] – нести

bunch (n) [bAnC] – скопление

knit (v) [nIt] – объединять

make up (v) [meIk Ap] – составлять

I. Make sure you pronounce the following words properly:

biology [baI′OlqGI] microscope [′maIkrqskoup] structure [′strAkCq] type [taIp] membrane [′membreIn] cellulose [′seljHlouz]

protoplasm [′proutqplxzm] cytoplasm [′saItqplxzm] oxygen [′OksIGqn] muscle [mAsl] specialized [′speSqlaizd] digestive [dI′GestIv]