English as a World Language

About You and People Around You

Let me introduce myself. 1 am Alina Ivanova. 1 am seventeen years old. 1 was born on May 14, 1987 in Moscow. My family consists of four members. I am a student of Foreign Languages Department of the Pedagogical University.

When I'm free 1 enjoy doing different things with my friends and alone. I am fond of reading interesting books. Among my favorite writers are Charles Dickens and Mark Twain. I like sport very much. I go in for basketball and always take part in sports competitions at our university.

Now let me introduce my family. We are a family of four. I think we are a large and friendly family. I'd like to start with my parents. I have got a father and a mother. Their names are Sergey Dmytrovych and Ekateryna Petrovna. My parents have been married for twenty-five years. They have much in common, but they have different interests, hobbies, points of view on sports and music. But my parents have the same opinion about the education and upbringing of their children. My mother is a teacher of English. She knows her subject perfectly and tries to develop in her pupils the desire to know the foreign language as well as their native one, to be cultured persons. My mother is a nice woman with brown hair and green eyes. She is forty-three but looks much younger. She is always elegant and smart. We usually help our mother about the house.

Now I'm going to tell you a couple of words about other members of our family.

Besides me, my parents have got one more child. She is my sister. Her name is Natalya. She is older than I. She is twenty-two. She is married and has a family of her own. She is a postgraduate of Moscow State Linguistic University. She is a very slim and pretty woman.

Tier husband is a scientist. They have got a son. my nephew. All of us like him greatly, he is only two yp<m nlH я lovely boy with golden hair and blue eyes and a spirit that is always bright and happy.

We also have many relatives. My aunts, uncles and cousins live far from us, in different cities of Russia.

Polessky State University

Polessky State University is an up-to-date educational establishment training specialists for the Republic's economy.

It was founded in 2006 in the result of merger of two higher educational establishments - Pinsk State Higher Banking College and branch of Belarusian State Economic University.

There are four faculties at University - Economic, Banking, Healthy Way of Life Organization Faculty and Biotechnological Faculty. Students get through training in a number of majors. They can get higher education through the full-time and part-time departments. University provides postgraduate training as well. Students attend lectures and practical classes. An academic year is divided into two terms, each ending in an examination session. The conditions for study at University are good. Numerous tutorial rooms, lecture halls, laboratories, computer centers, a big library and 2 canteens are at students' disposal.

University provides students with high-standard of theoretical and practical knowledge. They learn Accounting, Economic Theory, Statistics, Finance, Mathematics, Foreign Languages, etc.

Students who demonstrate superior academic performance may apply for scholarships offered by the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus and other commercial banks.

Polessky State University has good facilities for living, leisure and sports development. The University campus consists of 6 hostels, they are kept in good conditions. The rooms are fully furnished. There are also rooms for students and leisure.

In other words students of Polessky State University are sure to enjoy all the advantages available to them.

English as a World Language

The question of learning foreign languages is very important today. Foreign languages are needed as the main and the most efficient means of information exchange between the people of our planet.

Today English is one of the most speaking languages in the world. It is the language of progressive science and technology, trade and cultural relations, commerce and business. It is also the major language of diplomacy. Hundreds of books, magazines and newspapers are printed in English and read all over the world.

It is the official language of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the United States of America, of Australia and New Zealand. Besides, millions of people study English as a foreign language. In our country English is very popular. It is studied at schools (sometimes even at nursery schools), colleges and universities.

The English we study is known as Standard English. Standard English is the official language used in Great Britain. It is taught at schools and universities. It is used in literature, by the press, the radio and television and spoken by educated people.

Besides Standard English there are veiy many local dialects in Great Britain. The old local dialects are mainly preserved in the countryside. A few words should be said about Cockney English. Cockney is a class dialect spoken by about two million working class Londoners - Cockneys - in the East End of London.

When learning a foreign language you learn the culture and histoiy of the native speakers. One must work hard to learn any foreign language. To know English today is absolutely necessary for every educated man for every good specialist.

My Spare time. My Hobbies

Many people have hobbies. Hobby is what a person likes to do in his spare time. Hobbies differ like tastes. They make our life more interesting. Everyone chooses a hobby according to his character and taste. Some people are fond of music, others like to read books. Some people like to collect stamps, coins or badges, others prefer gardening or hiking or taking photographs. Some people like to cook, others like to knit or sew. Generally speaking, a hobby is a matter of taste.

My hobby is playing computer games. Both grown-ups and children are fond of it now. It has become one of the most popular hobbies nowadays. I think that playing with a computer is very interesting. It is not only "wasting time" as some people say.

Computer games make us to think things over properly, they widen and develop our mind and imagination. I have a good collection of different games and when I have some free time I play them with great pleasure. My favourite game is...

Some of my friends have the same hobby and we like to play together.

((((As for me, I like to listen to music. 3 months ago my parents bought me a compact disc player and I decided to collect compact discs. I like different music, it should be good. I collect discs of my favourite groups and singers. I carefully study the information printed on disc-booklets. I try to find everything about my favourite singers. Also I like to watch music programmes on TV. I want to keep up with the news in the world of music.)))))))

Of course, I like to spend my spare time with my friends. We talk about all sorts of things ( politics, teachers, girIA We discuss films, books, TV programmes. In fine weather we like to be in the open air. We find a nice olace somewhere in the forest. We make a fire, bake potatoes and have a lot of fun. When the weather is bad, my friends come to my place. We have a good time together.