Leisure time of British teenagers
The majority of teenagers in Great Britain spend their free time as everywhere in the world. The average young person spends about 19 hours in front of the television. According to the government report nearly three-quarter of young people have TV sets in their rooms. Besides watching TV, other activities like cinema going and sport remain popular. In Wales, the report says that some 50 percent of boys play football throughout the winter while a great number of girls also play football, although they are in general prefer swimming and tennis.
Listening to music is also a part of time spending. Tape-recorders, CD-players and the concerts of pop music are the subject of every day talk of teenagers.
As children grow older they turn from playgardens or homes to streets where they meet and talk and start develop their confidence. Street life includes groups of friends who meet together in the streets, squares and parks, or visit town centers to do window-shopping and "see what's going on".
My hobby.
I have many hobbies because there are many interesting things to do. Unfortunately I don't have much spare time as I'm going to be a student. That's why I have to study a lot. I like doing different things: Such as reading detective stories, listening to the music, playing tennis with my classmates.
But my favorite hobby is solving crossword puzzles. It's not only interesting, but also very useful. When you try to solve the puzzle you find out and learn a lot of different facts. Because in puzzles there are questions about famous people, geographical places, countries, scientific achievements and so on. You also train your brain. The crosswords are published in newspapers and magazines and there are special newspapers that contain only crosswords. I sometimes try to make up my own puzzle and I can say that it is not less interesting. All the members of our family like to take part in solving the puzzles and this unites us very much.
Space Exploration.
For thousands of years man dreamed of flying to the stars. At the beginning of the century the great Russian scientist Tsiolkovsky predicted that "mankind will not remain on Earth forever". Half a century later his words came true, the dream became a reality.
It happened on October 4, 1957, when the 1st artificial satellite, the sputnik, was launched. The Russians were the 1st in the world to fly into outer space.
Then the most remarkable event in the history of cosmonautics took place.
On April 12, 1961 the spaceship "Vostok", piloted by Yuri Gagarin went up. He orbited the Earth only once, staying in space for 108 minutes. Mankind will always remember him.
A new era of man's exploration of outer space began. Many space rockets went up by our cosmonauts. Among them were Titov, Nikolaev, Leonov, Tereshkova, Savitskaya and others.
Today Russia wants the exploration of space to be based on broad international cooperation. Many international crews went up in space. This is the best example of the possibility of peaceful cooperation.
Spare time.
Every day I go to school. I get up early, do homework, and have piano lessons twice a week. But on weekends I like to do something different. I like to relax. I watch TV or videos. If it rains, I prefer indoor activities: to read books and magazines, to play chess, to play records, to draw on a computer, to clean the house.
As for my sister she likes to knit and sew. She takes an aerobics class on Sundays. In spring and summer I prefer outdoor activities: to do some gardening, to ride a bike, to go jogging.
Sometimes we come to see our grandparents or friends. I also like to go to the parties to discos with my friends.
Our family has a little summerhouse in the country. Beginning from early spring we spend a lot of time on the weekends there. There is a river not far from our house and when the weather is fine we go there to bathe, to swim, to get sunburnt.
Abraham Lincoln.
Lincoln was one of the most famous presidents of the USA. He was born in the family of a poor farmer in 1809 in Kentucky, but soon his family left for the wild forestland of Indiana.
He was taught reading, writing and simple arithmetic, as his family could not afford better education.
When he was 18, he went to New Orleans and there he saw a slave market. It made a deep impression on him and he began to hate slavery and he decided to fight against it.
In 1830 he went to Springfield and became a clerk in a store. He learned much and greatly improved his knowledge. He entered politics and in 1832 became a candidate for the Parliament of the State. Soon he became a force in political life and in 1860 was elected President of the USA.
He was an enemy of slavery. Some of the Southern States left the Union, and the war between the South and the North began. At first the war went badly for the North but Lincoln never lost his courage and soon they won.
When the war was over, Lincoln issued a proclamation to say that slavery was abolished.
Lincoln was well known all over America and everybody loved him.
In 1864 he was elected President of the USA for the second time. But his enemies could not let him continue his work.
He was shot in a theatre in Washington on April 14, 1865 and he died the next day.