Sports and a Healthy Way of Life

ТЕМЫ ДЛЯ ИТОГОВОГО ЗАЧЁТА

1. Знакомство.

2. Внешность человека.

3. Любимый вид спорта.

4. Мои музыкальные предпочтения.

5. Моё хобби.

6. Мой вечер.

7. Моя семья.

8. Традиции, обычаи, праздники России.

9. Традиции, обычаи, праздники Великобритании.

10. Роль компьютера в нашей жизни.

Тексты к зачёту

ABOUT MYSELF

My name is Oleg, my surname is Petrov. I am fourteen years old. I was born on the 25lh of October, 1992. I am Russian. I was born in Vologda and this is my hometown. When I was a child, I went to a kindergarten. I learnt how to draw, read and write letters and words. We learnt Russian alphabet too.

When I was seven my parents moved to Moscow. We have lived in this city for seven years already. My family is not very big: I have got a mother, a father and an elder brother.

I am a pupil. I study in the 9th form. I like studying. My favourite school subjects are English, Russian and Biology. I want to be a teacher of English like my mother. I am very good at foreign languages. I want to learn Spanish and French, too.

My teachers and parents say that I am hard-working and clever. Sometimes I like spending time at home, listening to music or watching TV. I also like reading, playing computer games and drawing. Sometimes I play football with my friends and my brother. My favourite music genre is rock music and I always argue with my brother who likes popular music.

When I was a child, I had a lot of hobbies, but now I do not have much time for them. I used to collect badges and stamps, but I gave it up, too. Now my major hobby is English, so I read English books and watch films in the English language.

Vocabulary

argue спорить

badge значок

elder brother старший брат

genre жанр музыки

hard-working трудолюбивый

hometown родной город

kindergarten детский сад

major основной, главный

Questions

What is your name?

What is your surname?

Where are you from?

Do you have a family?

Is it big?

Are you a pupil?

What form are you in?

What do you like doing in your free time?

MY FRIENDS

It is important to have friends. I have a lot of them. But my best friend is my groupmate Denis. He is seventeen. He is a tall boy with an oval face and brown eyes. His hair is short and brown. Denis lives not far from my house. We usually go for a walk, play computer games and do our homework together. I really like spending my time with him. Denis is a very good student. Sometimes he helps me with this or that subject.

I have other friend, too. It is Katya. She is not my groupmate, she is older. Katya is tall, slim and long-legged. She is very pretty. She looks like her mother. Her hair is long, thick and dark and her eyes are big and grey. She is very kind and helpful.

I think that my friends are very nice and I am glad to have them.

Tell about your friend:

1. Let me introduce my friend.

2. He (she) is a student too.

3. His (her) name is………. .

4. What is his (her) exterior?

5. His (her) eyes are ……. .

6. His (her) hair is …….. .

7. His (her) nose is …….. .

8. His (her) ears are …….. .

9. His (her) teeth are …….. .

10. He (she) is tall and slim. (He (she) is short and plump).

11. He is handsome. (She is beautiful).

12. He (she) is kind, merry, helpful, pleasant.

13. He (she) is a good friend.

Make the dialogue with your new friend:

1. What is your name? - My name is ……. .

2. What is your surname? – My surname is ………. .

3. Where are you from? – I am from ……… .

4. What are you? – I am a ………… .

5. What is your address? - ………, …….. street ……, flat ….. .

Sports and a Healthy Way of Life

Sport is very important in our life. It is popular among young and old people. Many people do morning exercises, jog in the morning, train themselves in clubs, in different sections and take part in sport competitions.

Other people like sports too, but they only watch sports games, listen to sports news. They prefer reading interesting stories about sportsmen. But they don't go in for sports. Physical training is an important subject at school. Pupils have got physical training lessons twice a week. Boys and girls play volleyball and basketball at the lessons.

There is a sports ground near our school and schoolchildren go in for sports in the open air. A lot of different competitions are held at schools, a great number of pupils take part in them. All participants try to get good results and become winners.

Sport helps people to keep in good health. If you go in for sports, you have good health and don't catch cold. Children and grown-ups must take care of their health and do morning exercises regularly.

There are some popular kinds of sports in our country: football, volleyball, hockey, gymnastics, skiing, skating. Athletics is one of the most popular kinds of sports. It includes such kinds of sports as running, jumping and others.

Everybody may choose the sport he (or she) is interested in. My favorite sport is swimming. I go to the swimming-pool twice a week. But I prefer to rest by the lake or the river and swim there.

My friend Kostya goes in for boxing. He is a good boxer and he is a brave and courageous boy. His hobby helps him in his everyday life.

Translate the words:

important, jumping, morning exercises, physical training, brave, include twice, a sports ground, boxer, take part, health, to take care of.

Answer the following questions:

1. What is very important in our life?

2. What many people do in the morning?

3. What subject is important at school?

4. What kinds of sports are popular in your country?

5. What is your favorite sport?

MUSIC

Music plays a big role in our life. Can you think of a day without it? We hear music everywhere: in the street, in shops, in parks and at home. Music follows us from childhood and we can’t live without it. We listen to music when we are happy or sad, we dance to it and we learn to play music, too. Music is not a combination of sounds, it is art. There are a lot of kinds of music: classical music, jazz, popular music or pop-music, rock and club music. They are all different, but still people listen to them and enjoy. Music reflects our life, our feelings and emotions.

I prefer Russian pop-music. I have no favourite pop group. I just listen to the songs and melodies I like. My brother loves rock music. His favourite rock groups are Aria and Rammstein. Sometimes he turns the music up and enjoys it.

My father likes classical music. His favourite composer is Mozart. Sometimes he listens to Vivaldi or Tchaikovsky. When I am in a bad mood I can listen to classical music, too. It calms me and I start feeling better.

As for my mother, she is fond of Elvis Presley. She can listen to his songs all day. She says that he is great and his voice makes her forget about everyday problems.

I like to go to clubs and discos. Most of them play club music: trance or techno. I like to dance to such music, but I can’t listen to it alone. The beats and sounds are too aggressive sometimes and I usually have a headache later.

My friend studies in a musical college. She likes folk music. Students of this college usually sing and dance to it. I have been to the concerts where they performed and I enjoyed it a lot.

Nobody knows when music appeared, but I think that if there were no music, our life would be very boring and sad.

Vocabulary

appear появляться

beat ритм

boring скучный

calm успокаивать

combination сочетание

emotion эмоция

folk music народная музыка

follow зд. преследовать

perform выступать

reflect отражать

techno техно (муз. стиль)

trance транс (муз. стиль)

turn up делать громко

Questions

What is music?

Why does it play a big role in our life?

What kinds of music do you know?

What are your favourite kinds of music?

Do you have a favourite group or a composer?

What music do your relatives like to listen to?

MY HOBBIES AND PASTIME

Hobby is what people like doing in their free time. Most people choose a hobby according to their likes and dislikes.

One of the most popular hobbies is collecting different things. Some people collect badges and stamps, some people collect bottles or flowers. There are people who collect paintings or cars.

I collected coins when I was a child. I have a collection of more than one thousand coins from all over the world. My father collects stamps. His grandfather started collecting them and then he gave his collection to my father as a birthday present. There are very rare stamps in the collection.

Making things with hands is another type of hobbies. This includes drawing, painting, handicraft, etc. For example, my friend sews small plush toys. My brother makes toy planes. He has a big collection of them at home.

Playing computer games has become a very popular hobby today. My brother is fond of computer games. On the one hand it is good that a person has such a hobby, but on the other hand it is not healthy, it can harm his eyes. Speaking about me, my major hobby is English. I аm very good at it. My hobby includes reading books in English, listening to English radio stations and watching films in English. I also talk to my foreign friends and this helps me improve my knowledge of the language.

I also like listening to music. I have a big collection of CDs with different kinds of music. I also have some favourite singers and I collect information about them.

Sport is another type of hobbies. It is not a professional sport, mostly amateur sport. Some people play football or volleyball. Others prefer spending their free time watching sports programmes on TV. I think that doing sport is a good hobby.

Now I want to talk about ways of spending free time. I think that hobbies and pastime are connected with each other because you do whatever you like in your free time. My friend likes travelling and he spends most of his free time travelling to small Russian towns. He has a car and every weekend he drives to the country to see new places. Sometimes I go with him. I think that this is a very good hobby. You spend much time outdoors and you see new places.

Personally, I like reading and watching TV in my free time. Most of all I like English educational programmes, though there are few of them unfortunately.

I think it is necessary to have a hobby. Your free time is not wasted.

Vocabulary

according согласно

coin монета

dislikes отсутствие интереса

handicraft ремесло

improve улучшать

include включать

outdoors на улице

plush toy плюшевая игрушка

rare редкий

sew шить

unfortunately к сожалению

waste тратить попусту

weekend выходные

Questions

What is a hobby?

What is one of the most popular hobbies?

Do you collect anything?

What hobbies do the members of your family have?

Do your friends have any hobbies?

What is your hobby?

How do you usually spend your pastime?

MY EVENING

We have classes five days a week, except Saturday and Sunday.

Sometimes I do not go home right after classes. On Tuesdays I play chess in the school chess club. On other days I either stay in the school library to get ready for my classes or go to my friend’s place. Sometimes I go shopping after school if my mother asks me to buy some food.

When I come home, I have dinner and listen to some music. Then I call some of my classmates, and by 5 o’clock I am ready to do my next day’s homework.

It may take me from two to four hours to prepare for the next day’s classes.

I usually spend more time on History, Social Science and Literature because I have to read a lot of additional materials besides school textbooks.

Then my parents come home from work and at about 7 o’clock we have supper. During supper we speak about the latest news and share our impressions of the day. After supper I help my mother to wash up.

Then I go to the sitting room and read books. If there is an interesting programme or a film on TV, I watch it till late at night. If there is nothing special to see, I can go to bed at 11 o’clock.

Find the English equivalents:

Идти по магазинам, кроме воскресенья, дополнительные материалы,

до поздней ночи, делимся впечатлениями, домашнее задание,

играть в шахматы, во время ужина, ничего особенного, гостиная.

Answer the following questions:

1. Where do you go after classes?

2. What do you do if you stay at school?

3. How long does it take you to prepare your homework?

4. What do you like to do in the evening?

5. How often do you meet with your friends?

MY FAMILY

I want to tell you about my family. It is not very big. I have got a mother, a father and a brother.

My mother’s name is Elena. She is 42. She is a teacher of English. She works at Moscow City Pedagogical University. She is a very good teacher, students like her a lot. My mother likes reading books and magazines and she knows a lot of interesting things. She is always ready to help me with my homework if I have problems.

My father’s name is Eugenij and he is 44 years old. He is an architect. He works for a construction firm. He is very good at Maths and Physics. He draws schemes and plans of buildings and I like to look at them. My father is also very good at sport. I like to go skiing and play football with him! My father cooks well too. He always makes up new dishes and they are very tasty.

My elder brother Dmitry is 21. He is a student already and he studies in Moscow State University. He is in his fourth year. He is going to be an economist. Sometimes he helps me with my homework when he has time, but he doesn’t like doing it. He says that I must study myself. I also like to go jogging with him in the morning. I think my brother is very nice. I like talking and discussing different things with him. He also plays the guitar very well and sometimes we sing together.

My grandparents live in the country. Every summer we go there to visit them. I like my grandparents and their village. My grandmother Anna is 65. She bakes wonderful pancakes. My grandfather is 67. In the country I usually swim and sunbathe. My parents and my brother join me. We usually go to the forest together and pick up berries and mushrooms.

I love my family very much. I think it’s the best in the world.

Vocabulary

architect архитектор

bake печь

berry ягода

construction firm строительная фирма

go jogging бегать по утрам

join присоединяться

makeup выдумывать

pancake блин

pick up собирать

scheme схема

tasty вкусный

Questions

Is your family big?

What members are there in your family?

What can you say about your parents?

Do you have a brother/sister?

What is his/her name?

Do you have grandparents?

Where do they live?

RUSSIAN HOLIDAYS AND TRADITIONS

Every country has customs and traditions. I want to tell you about some holidays and traditions of my country.

Russians really love holidays. We usually celebrate them with a lot of food, presents and in big companies of relatives and friends.

There are three types of holidays in Russia. They are family holidays, state holidays and religious holidays.

Let me tell you about family holidays first. They include birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and others. Each family has its own traditions of celebrating this or that holiday. For example, my family celebrates my birthday for two days. On the first day I celebrate it with my parents, grandparents, my uncle and aunt. The second day of celebration is only for my close friends. They usually come in a big group with a lot of presents. I like my birthday very much.

State or public holidays in Russia include Constitution Day, New Year’s Day, the International Women’s Day, May Day, Victory Day and Russia Day. During these holidays, people do not work. They spend time with their families and friends or go to the centre of big cities to celebrate there. Banks, companies and some shops do not work on these days either.

New Year’s Day is the major holiday in Russia. We put up a New Year tree and decorate it with colourful toys and glass balls. The main fir-tree of the country is put up in the State Kremlin Palace. Small fir trees are put up in shop windows, in streets and squares, even on roofs of buildings. A lot of people like buying natural fir trees, others prefer plastic ones. Children like the holiday a lot. They can stay up late and then get their presents. At ten minutes to midnight on the 31st of December families gather in front of the TV-set and watch the president making his traditional speech. After the clock on the main tower of the Kremlin strikes midnight, everybody says Happy New Year and drinks champagne. After that the time for presents comes. Russian children believe that Father Frost brings presents. After all the presents are given out, Russians have fun, drink, eat, and play games all night longs

Victory Day is a very important holiday for Russian history. On this day we remember those who protected our country from the German invaders during World War II. A great parade is held on this day in Red Square. Numerous war and patriotic films are shown on television. On this day people congratulate veterans and give them flowers.

The so-called religious holidays include Christmas, Easter and others. There is also a pagan holiday - Pancake Day. These holidays are not state, so people usually work and study on these days. At Pancake Day, people see spring in, eat pancakes and bum a scarecrow, which symbolizes winter.

Russian Christmas is celebrated on the 7th of January, but there is no exact date for Easter, it is different every year.

Nowadays foreign celebrations are becoming more and more popular in Russia. They are Halloween and St. Valentine’s Day. On Halloween Day some clubs organize parties and masquerades. St. Valentine’s Day is mostly popular with young people. They usually buy presents for their girlfriends and boyfriends such as chocolate and sweets and make greeting cards in the shape of a heart.

I like Russian holidays and look forward to celebrating each of them!

Vocabulary

anniversary юбилей

close friend близкий друг

custom традиция

Easter Пасха

family holidays семейные праздники

fir tree елка

in the shape of a heart в форме сердца

masquerade маскарад

pagan holiday языческий праздник

public holidays народные праздники

put up ставить (елку)

relative родственник

religious holidays религиозные праздники

scarecrow чучело

see spring in встречать весну

speech речь

state holidays государственные праздники

strike бить (о часах)

wedding свадьба

Questions

What are the three types of holidays in Russia?

What are family holidays?

How does your family celebrate them?

What are the state holidays in Russia?

What is the major holiday in the country?

What do Russians do on this day?

What are the traditions of this holiday?

What is Victory Day and when is it celebrated?

What do religious holidays include?

How are they celebrated?

What foreign celebrations are there in Russia?

BRITISH HOLIDAYS AND TRADITIONS

Great Britain is an old country and it has a lot of holidays and interesting traditions. Holidays in the country are historic and public. Most public holidays are called bank holidays because banks, companies and most shops do not work on these days. Such holidays include New Year’s Day, Easter Monday and others.

At Easter, the British give each other chocolate eggs which they eat on Easter Sunday.

Christmas is on the 25th of December. Families spend this day together. For many people this is the most important holiday of the year. Family members wrap up their presents and put them under the Christmas tree. Children hang colourful socks at the end of their beds for presents. They believe that Father Frost puts presents inside the socks.

New Year’s Day is not as important in Britain as it is in Russia. People usually make promises to themselves such as to give up smoking, to change their lifestyle and others.

St. Valentine’s Day is celebrated on the 14th of February. This is the traditional day for those who are in love. Young people give flowers and greeting cards to their Valentines and celebrate this day together.

Halloween is a holiday loved by all children. It takes place on the 31st of October. There are a lot of parties and people dress up in costumes of witches and ghosts and make lanterns of pumpkins with a candle inside. People also play different games and have fun. Children usually go from one house to another with empty baskets or bags, knock on doors and say: Trick or treat. People should give them something, or they will play a trick on them.

Among historic holidays, Guy Fawkes Night can be mentioned. In the 15th century, a group of people with Guy Fawkes as their leader decided to blow up the Houses of Parliament. They did not manage to do this and Guy Fawkes was caught and hanged. Since then the British celebrate this day burning a doll made of straw and dressed in old clothes on a bonfire. Children dress in old clothes and beg in the street saying: A penny for the Guy.

There are a lot of customs in Great Britain. One of the most famous is gardening. Most of the English make small gardens full of flowers behind their houses, around them. In spring, there are a lot of flower- shows and vegetable-shows with prizes for the best exhibitions.

In Northern Ireland there is a holiday called St. Patrick’s Day. It is celebrated on the 17th of March. On this day people wear green clothes and drink Irish beer. There are carnivals and barbeques all over the country.

Vocabulary

basket корзинка

be caught быть пойманным

be in love влюбиться

beg просить подаяния

blowup взрывать

bonfire костер

carnival карнавал

change one’s lifestyle поменять образ жизни

dress up наряжаться

flower-show выставка цветов

ghost привидение

give up зд. бросать

hang (hanged, hanged) казнить через повешение

hang(hung,hung) вешать

knock стучать

lantern фонарь

manage справляться, удаваться

promise обещание

pumpkin тыква

straw солома

treat угощение

trick шутка

vegetable-show овощная выставка

witch ведьма

wrap up заворачивать

Questions

What kind of holidays are there in Britain?

What do bank holidays mean?

What is the most popular holiday with the British?

What can you tell about Halloween?

Can you tell anything about historic holidays?

What British customs do you know?

Computers in Our Life

What is the role of computers? Just think of our everyday life!

If you buy something with a bank credit card or pay a bill by check, computers help you process the information. When you check out at the counter of your store, a computer assists the checkout clerk and the store manager. When you visit your doctor, your schedules and bills and special services, such as laboratory tests, are prepared by computer.

Computers have become commonplace in homes, offices, stores, schools etc.

The use of computers in business, industry and communication services is widespread today.

Computer-controlled robots are able to improve the quality of manufactured products and to increase the productivity of industry. Computers can control the work of power stations, plants and docks. They help in making different decisions and in management of economy.

The work of banks depends upon computer terminals for millions of daily operations.

Computers form a part of many military systems including communication and fire control. They are applied for automatic piloting and automatic navigation.

Computers find application in astronomy and upper atmosphere research. Weather forecasting, library information services can benefit from computers too.

It is interesting to note that computers are widely used in medicine. They became valuable medical diagnostic tools. Technicians can operate computer tomography scanners which combine x-rays with computer technology to give sectional views of the body of patients. The views then can be combined into a single shown on the screen.

It should be noticed that learning on computer can be fun. Students spend more time with computer-aided instruction performing the assigned task, as compared with conventional classroom.

Many other uses of computers that we cannot imagine at present will become commonplace in the transition from an industrial to post industrial, or information society.

Find the English equivalents:

Автоматическое пилотирование и навигация, связь, управление экономикой, рентгеновские лучи, проводить много времени, расплачиваться за покупку, прогнозирование погоды, диагностическое оборудование, обычное место, применение.

Answer the following question:

What is the application of computers in our life?