Sport in Our Life (Спорт в нашей жизни )

Modern life becomes more and more technological. People walk little. They prefer to drive cars. They don’t climb up the stairs. It’s much more convenient to use an elevator. Moreover our life is full of stresses that make us weak and nervous. It’s evident that sport is a necessity for the entire society nowadays.

First of all, it gives us health. Jogging in the morning helps significantly to avoid the risk of heart attack.

For the second, it makes us slim and beautiful. For the most of young people it is even more important to correspond to the fashion trends of beauty than to be healthy.

For the third, it gives us pleasure. I believe that every man in the world can find for himself the kind of sport which gives to him an incredible pleasure. For somebody it will be wind-surfing, for the other football, and it can also be chess for the other one.

Sport is an important part of just about every society, every country, and every part of our planet

Learning Languages

(Почему мы учим иностранные языки)

The problem of learning languages is very important today. Foreign languages are socially demanded especially at the present time when the progress in science and technology has led to an explosion of knowledge and has contributed to an overflow of information. The total knowledge of mankind is known to double every seven years. Foreign languages are needed as the main and most efficient means of information exchange of the people of our planet. Today English is the language of the world. Over 350 million people speak it as a mother tongue. The native speakers of English live in Great Britain, the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand. English is one of the official languages in the Irish Republic, Canada, and the South African Republic. As a second language it is used in the former British and US colonies. It is the major international language for communication in such areas as science, technology, business and mass entertainment. English is one of the official languages of the United Nations Organization and other political organizations. It is the language of the literature, education, modern music, and international tourism. Russia is integrating into the world community and the problem of learning English for the purpose of communication is especially urgent today. Learning a foreign language is not an easy thing. It is a long and slow process that takes a lot of time and patience. But to know English is absolutely necessary for every educated person, for every good specialist. It is well known that reading books in the original, listening to the BBC news, communicating with the English-speaking people will help a lot. When learning a foreign language you learn the culture and history of the native speakers. One must work hard to learn any foreign language.

Books in Our Life (Книги в нашей жизни)

It's no doubt that books are an essential and necessary part of mankind's civilization. It gives us an opportunity to link up with authors who lived hundreds and thousands years ago. Through reading books we can understand their thoughts, feelings and emotions better. A book is the surest way to bring people together. I think it is faithful and undemanding friend: it can be put away and taken up at any moment. We must admit that we can't do without books. As for me I became keen on literature early in life. Probably it happened so because we had a very good and many-sided library at home. Since my childhood Pushkin's tales and Krilov's fables enchanted me. Gogol was one of the greatest authorities to me. Later Fet and Blok won my heart. Pasternak's and Vysotsky's poetry filled my heart with expectation of joy and happiness. Luckily, our country is rich in such remarkable authors. And as for the classical authors I study rather than read their books. For example after reading William Shakespeare's tragedy «Hamlet» I came to a conclusion that this rich work demands great erudition on the part of a reader. One must know the Middle English History and the peculiarities of relationships between people then. I'm sure that Shakespeare was a highly educated person and it is hard for me to keep up with him. To tell the truth I give my preference to the science fiction. It is hard to choose a favorite book. Lately I have read a wonderful book entitled «The Martian Chronicles». It was written by Ray Bradbury — famous American science fiction writer. His stories have a special charm that lies in its interesting plot, exciting situations and at the same time 5 conveys deep thoughts, keen observations and sharpness of characterization. This book tells us 3 about the fantastic events, which took place on Mars. I think this book has got everything: actions, many interesting ideas to think over, witty j characters and, surely, a great deal of dialogs, Ray Bradbury is a master of, With the help of vivid descriptions the author carries the reader j into the wonderful world of his imagination. The story is so beautifully told that it is hard not to believe it. This book stirs my imagination j and expends the boundaries of the familiar world. Normally I read a book once but this book I read again and j again, discovering something new for me. No matter how many times you read it, as it again and again gives you the same feeling of freshness and exciting that you experienced on the first reading. Though Ray Bradbury has written many science fiction books this one is definitely the best.

Newspapers and Magazines (Газеты и журналы )

I think we can't do without means of mass media today. Newspapers and magazines, radio and television are the most effective way of keeping people well informed. They give the full coverage of the latest events, draw our attention to different aspects of life and help us to understand the events correctly. Nowadays there is a great amount of newspapers and magazines, radio stations and TV channels that we have to be selective and to give our preference to some of them. This year our family subscribed to the newspaper «Poslednie novosti». Our family likes the way the newspaper presents the information. The editorial board pays much attention to different spheres of life. The newspaper offers its readers a wide range of topics. It gives full attention to international and home affairs and raises vital problems of political, social and cultural life. It also informs the readers about the latest achievements and researches in many branches of science. As a rule on the front page of the newspaper there is a photograph with a short article on the most important occasion of the day. Among the traditional sections of the newspaper there are: serious editorials, news reports, interview with famous people, features and surveys. Catchy headlines attract people's attention at once. The newspaper has a weekly supplement for women and for businessmen, which makes the readership of the newspaper wider. «Poslednie novosti» is issued both: in Russian and English. It comes outfthree times a week. This weekly newspaper is for those whose reading preferences are wide and varied. No wonder its circulation is high. I think the newspaper is worth reading and subscribing to. I’d like to recommend it to everyone who tries to get in touch with the world.

Television (Телевидение)

It is my firm belief that television is a great achievement of the present day's life. It provides us a great amount of information on the latest news, research in different branches of science. Television enriches our intellect, gives us opportunities to see the best actors, performances, famous people and events, which will become history. Besides television is a powerful medium. Some TV programs gather big audiences. Apart from their educational and entertainment value they give us many useful topics to discuss. But on the other hand television has many disadvantages. The first and, probably, the main one is that television affects our health through rushed meals and lack of sleep. More than that it prevents us from reading books, going to different sport clubs and other active kinds of spending our leisure time. Nowadays there is a great variety of TV programs such as news reports, sports, variety shows, and so you have to be selective and to give preference to some of them. My favorite programs are documentary ones. They deal with different materials about the wild life, the history of the country and its present day's life. Some of them are concerned with different art events such as exhibitions, festivals, variety shows and so on. I think interviews with famous people make these programs more interesting. But I'm sure that there is no good TV pro-gram without good talk show host. The success of the program much depends upon the host's personality. My favorite TV host is V. Posner. He is distinguished by his ability to understand people though we can easily recognize his own attitude to the problem. I think Posner is rather intelligent. Posner is speaking in a friendly, likable manner without any hint of insincerity. To my mind Vladimir Posner has all the qualities the real talk show host ought to have. He announces a great number of programs but I like his program «We» best of all. it deals with the social, economic and cultural problems of the modern society and offers the ways to solve them. I think this program has got everything: intelligent host, interviews with people-in-power, detailed reports etc. It is a weekly program, which is on Wednesday. So I try my best to do all the things beforehand to free my time for my favorite program. I’m sure it is for you to decide whether television is a great worth or not and what programs to watch, but still it remains one of the greatest achievements of the human civilization.

The Theatre (Театр)

We go to the theatre to see a play, a performance given by actors and actresses. A play of a serious character, dealing with important human problems is called a tragedy. A play of a humorous, tighter character is a comedy (or a farce). Dramatists are called playwrights nowadays and there are no longer such great dramatists as Shakespeare or B. Show. If we want to go to the theatre we buy tickets at the box-office and show them to the attendant at the entrance. In the building there is a hall, a large foyer and a cloakroom where we leave our overcoats, hats, etc. The audience can walk in the foyer in the intervals. Many doors lead to the auditorium consisting of stalls, boxes and balconies. In front of the auditorium there is a curtain separating it from the stage. The curtain rises when the play begins and falls at the end of each act Many people must work together to produce a play. The author writes it; the producer conducts the acting; carpenters, mechanics, designers prepare the scenery; electricians and light operators see to the light effects and operate the floodlights. We, the playgoers (or fans) demand an interesting plot, good acting and impressive scenery — that is two hours of good entertainment.

Cinema (Кино )

In England the cinema is usually called «the pictures». In America the word «the movie» Is often used. Cinema-going is a favorite pastime in Britain. People go to the cinema once or twice a week. Cinema-going is more popular in industrial towns in the North of England and Scotland than In the South. However, especially If it is cold and wet outside, many people like to stay at home to watch TV. Cinemas in England are usually large and more comfortable than the theatres. Often there is a restaurant, so that it is possible to spend an afternoon and evening there (if you have enough money, of course). Behind the cinema screen there is a stage, so that the building can be used for concerts and other performances. British cinemagoers see mainly English and American films, though many of the foreign films are often shown in London and in the South of the country. In our country cinema going is not so popular now as it was earlier. People prefer to stay at home and to watch TV or video. I like to watch films very much. I prefer thrillers, comedies and horror movies, but I do not like tragedies and melodramas very much, and I hate soap operas, although they are becoming very popular in our country. My favorite film is … with ... starring. It is really wonderful from the beginning to the end. There are a lot of films, which are worth seeing, but this one is the best one to my mind.

Seasons (Сезоны года)

There are four seasons in a year: spring, summer, autumn and winter. March, April and May are spring months. Spring is the most pleasant of all the seasons of the year. The weather is getting warmer and warmer; everything changes and seems to revive. The trees begin to bud. Sometimes it rains, but there are no rough winds; the sun shines brightly. The grass is green and one can see a lot of flowers peeping out from it. In spring all the migratory birds return. They sing sweetly on the branches of the trees. The summer months are June, July and August. Summer is the hottest season of the year. The days are longest in summer. The longest day of the year is the 22-nd of June. Some people like summer best of all. All of us enjoy summer with its cloudless sunshine, with its gardens and meadows full of flowers. There is a lot of fruit and vegetables at that time. In summer many people leave town and spend the hottest time in the country or at the seaside. After summer autumn comes. The autumn months are September, October and November. The warm days of early autumn are called the «Golden Autumn». The «Golden Autumn» is really beautiful with its yellow, red and brown trees and golden leaves falling down. Autumn is the season of fruit and vegetables. But the days become shorter and the nights longer and darker. The weather is not so good as in spring and in summer. It often rains and the air gets colder and colder. Winter is the coldest season of the year. The winter months are December, January and February. The winter days are short and gloomy. It often snows and it freezes. Winter is a very beautiful season too. Some people like it very much. It is pleasant to walk when it is not very cold and it snows. The ground is covered with snow. The trees and the roofs are white with snow too. Winter also gives great opportunities for those who go in for winter sports. I think every season has a charm of its own.