Holidays, Travel and Tourism
My family.
We are 4 at our family: my mother, father, my elder brother and I. I think, our family is friendly, united. We spend much time together, go for a walk in the woods, visit theaters, museums, go to the cinema. My mother’s name is Luidmila Mikhailovna. She is an engineer, she works in an office. She is a kind, nice woman. She can cook very well. She is fond of reading. My father’s name is Konstantin Alexeevich. He is a sailor. He is a strong, clever man. He often tells me interesting stories about different countries. Father can do a lot of things. He teaches me to repair furniture, to drive a car. My brother’s name is Alexei. He is 22 years old. He have been studied in Far- Eastern State Marine Academy for 5 years. Now it is a very difficult period for him: he is passing through state exams.
I have my duties about the house. I must go shopping, clean the rooms. It’s not difficult for me. I like our home to be clean and tidy. I think home is the nicest place. As proverb says, «East or West, home is best». There is no place more delightful than home and there are no people more dear than your relatives.
UK.The UK of Great Britain & Northen Island with an area of some 244sq. miles is situated on the British Isles, which are separated from the European continent by the North Sea, the Strait of Dover & the English Channel. Britain’s population is over 56 million people. The territory of Gr. Britain is small. Yet the country has a wide variety of scenery. The capital of Gr. Britain London stands on the Thames which flows into the North Sea. The Thames is the deepest & the most important river in Gr. Britain but isn’t very long. The Severn, which flows into the Irish Sea, is the longest British river. The climate of Gr. Britain is mild. The Atlantic Ocean & the warm waters of the Gulf-Stream affects the weather of the British Isles. The summers are usually cool rainy. There is much rain & fog in autumn & in winter. The heart of Britain is England. It is the richest & most populated in the country. The north & the E. are mountainous, but all the rest of the territory is a vast plain. In northwest E there are many beautiful lakes called Lake District. The smallest of Britain’s countries is Wales. The large part of Wales is covered with Rocky mountains, which are difficult to climb. Scotland is a land of mountains, wild moorlands, narrow valleys & plains, famous lakes & no end of large & small islands of the coast. The highlands of Scotland are among the oldest mountains in the world. The UK is a monarchy the head of the state is a king or a queen. In fact the sovrin rings, but doesn’t rule. The UK is governed by the Government. Parliament consists of 2 houses – The House of Lords & the House of Commons. The members of the House of Commons are election every 5 years. The House of Commons is very important because it makes laws. The members of The House of Lords are permanent. The House of Lords can delete & change laws.
Moscow the capital of Russia is one of the world’s great cities. Its name was first mentioned in chronicles in 1147. Since that time M. has played an important role in R-an history. Today M. isn’t only the political center of R. but also the contry’s leading city in population, industry & in cultural importrance. M. stands on the M.R. in the center of the vast plain of E.R. The climate of M. is continental. Winters are long & dark with a lot of snow. Spring is rather short & the temperature rises quickly during late April. Summers are warm & July is the warmest month. Rainy days are quite common but the summer rainfall often comes in heavy showers & thunderstorms. Autumn like spring is brief with rapidly falling temp-s. M. is the largest industrial center of R. The most important industries are those producing automobiles & trucks, machine tools, radio & TV sets. M. plants & factories also produce food, furniture, clothes & footwear. The most important element in M’s city transport is the metro subway. The system was begun in 1935 & is still developing. M. has numerouse theatres headed by the B. theatre. I know such theatres as the M. art theatre, the state central puppet theatre & the M. state circus. M. has some museums & art galleries of international rank. Among them are the state Pushkin museum of fine arts & the state Tretyakov Gallery with an exellent collection of R.paintings.
Sport.Almost everyone likes sports. Next to the weather people probably talk more about sports than about any other topic. There is no doubt that sport holds an important part in our life. It helps people to keep fit to become stronger & developed physically. It makes them to be more organized quickens our reactions & sharpens our wits. If you want to keep fit you must do sports. To my mind it must be an essential part of our daily life. A person must work to be skil full in sports. Even if you do a set of morning exercises every day you’ll feel healthy & cheerful for the rest of the day. As for me I fully support those parents who train their babies to swim from the cradle. As a rule these babies grow sound & healthy. Almost any pleasant activity aimed at exercising the body may be called a sport. What a sport for one person may be just hard work for another. Many of us play such games as volleyball football basketball or tennis. Athletics is the most popular sport. People call it the queen of all sports. Great championships in sport, which are organized every 4thyear are called the Olympic games. The last Olympic games were in 2002. My friends prefer swimming, running, tennis. But as for me I’m found of volleyball basketball. These games are very exciting & I always follow them on TV. I think our PT lessons do us a lot of good. We often have different competitions in different games such as pioneer-ball basketball volleyball. Of all outdoor & indoor games I prefer basketball tennis hockey, but I’m also interested in other sports.
My last day off.
Yesterday it was Sunday, that’s why my last day off was not long ago and I remember it quite well. I always try to do my best to make my holidays really exciting, because we have only few days in a week for relaxation and rest.
Yesterday my friends and I agreed to meet at my place. First we watched a very interesting TV show «What? Where? When?». Then we went took a videocassette and watched an outstanding movie «The Independence Day». This is a story about strangers from the other planets that were trying to conquer the whole Earth and about the struggle against them. The movie is full of visual effects and computer graphics that takes your breath and makes you admire the modern technologies in the cinema. I wish our studios and directors made such movies. «The Independence Day» can be added to the genius pieces of modern art – that is my opinion.
Having watched the film, we decided that it was a time to go outside. The first place we went to was the sports ground. Though it was rather cold, we put on warm clothes and had fun. Almost all day long we played soccer and basketball.
As for me, I like weekends and holidays, as the majority of other people. And I like telling about my holidays. It’s dull to listen about the ordinary working day, how do you think? Every working day looks like another, but every weekend is different from the other. During the weekend we have an opportunity of enjoying the life and having rest.
English.Language belongs to each of us. Every one uses words. There are not less than 3 thousand living languages on our planet. The interest to foreign languages has greatly increased in recent years. There are many reasons why people undertake the study of foreign language. More than 750 million people all over the world use English. English is the main language of business. So it is for sport: the official language of the Olympics. Sometimes English is a computer language. I think it is one of the richest language. I have been learning Eng. For almost 7 years. I learn eng for half an hour 6 times a week. English grammar isn’t very difficult. I think we should understand it & all will be O.K. I know that grammar is a foundation of any language. One of the problems for learners of eng is phrasal verbs. I have problems learning new words & idioms. I think idioms are very difficult too. I know the English intonation is awful. I mean, I think it is the most difficult part of pronunciation, because if you get it wrong people think you’re rude. I find reading very helpful for people who just beginning to learn eng. If they want to know eng they can listening to pop music, but people must know that some songs have such silly words.
Learning a foreign language isn’t a easy thing. It is a long & slow process that takes a lot of time & efforts. I hope that my future will be connect with English.
Family. In my opinion family is one of the most imprtant things in our life. Almoust all our life we live within a family. My family isn't very large, it consits of mother, father, sister and me. Also we have a cat, called Alice. My father is 45 years old. He is an engineer. He works in the office of an Nizhnecamsk engineering company. He is always busy. He has very little free time. In my opinion he is a handsome man of medium height & strong build with a bronzed face. His dark brown hairs is just beginning to go grey. My mother is 42 years old but she is very pleasant looking woman. She is an engineer too. By character my father is a quet man while my mother is an energetic & active. My sister's name is Lena. She is 18 years old. Like mother Lena has blue eyes & fair hair. My sister looks attractive I can say that she is charming. My name is Gena. I'm a student. I'm well at institute & get only good. My favorite subject is information & I want to pass it on exem. In future I want to be a programmist. My family is very united. We like to spend time together. In the evenings we watch TV read books listen to the music or just talk about the events of the day.
My working day.
I usually start my day with getting up and doing all things that everybody does in the morning: washing, having breakfast, etc. Also, I got used to gather my learning tools: pencils, exercise-books, text-books in the morning. Then I usually go to the university. Fortunately, father takes a car every morning and he often picks me up and drives me to the doors of our university building.
And soon the lectures and lessons begin... We have from 2 to 4 lectures every time, depending on day. I like studying in the university more than in the school because in university it is mostly allowed to miss some lectures (of course, later you should take a summary from your mate and copy it). So, a student is much more free, than pupil is.
After the lessons I usually return home where I have dinner and start thinking about my ways of spending the rest of the day. Very often I go to my friend’s places. During the early autumn and summer I often go to the sports ground or on the beach. I also like visiting different sports events, for example, soccer matches of «Luch» in Russian championship. So, the world is full of enjoyable things to do.
On returning home I usually start doing my homework (perhaps, it is the most dull part of the day). Having finished it, I open a book and read it or watch TV. At last, I go to the bed.
Of course, I would like to tell you more about myself and my working day, but, unfortunately, my time is rather limited and I have got a lot of homework to do. Generally, now you know about my working day enough.
My breakfast.
It is not a secret that our meals influence much on our health and our mood. That’s why I consider breakfast to be the most important meal in the day as it is the first our meal and it can put us in good spirits or it can’t. Now I shall tell you about my breakfast.
In the morning I usually have porridge. I often start my breakfast with a cereal which is not cooked, it is something dry, ready to be eaten or muesly – some grain or porridge which is not cooked with dried fruit, nuts and so on.
I also like eggs (cooked in different ways). I don’t practically eat butter, I prefer soft margarine – made of vegetable fat, which is not heavy and creamy. I don’t eat jam at breakfast, I eat marmalade which is not sweet, there is slight bitterness; it’s rather pleasant.
I usually don’t have substantial breakfast on weekdays, I do it on weekends when I get up late. Very often I have just tea or coffee with sandwiches. Tea is usually taken by me with milk. I like very strong tea without sugar.
Sometimes when I am in hurry I don’t have time to have proper breakfast and I go to the university being hungry. In such case I usually buy something like «Snickers» or «Mars» on my way.
ABOUT MYSELF.
My name is Gennady. My surname is Larshin. I am 21 years old. I am a student in municipal institute. I shall be a teacher of the informatics. My favorite subject is English. I spend much time on it reading books, doing tests. May be, English and learning it will be a part of my future career. I like reading. I think detective stories are much easier to read but I prefer to read fantasy or fantastic. Also, I like to listen music. I play the guitar, not seriously, but for my soul. I have not much time to watch IV but sometimes I spend an hour or two watching an interesting film or a news programme. In the evening I often read newspapers or magazines. I like fresh air and exercise. I’m sorry I have not much time for doing sports. But some aerobics in the morning, a swimming-pool twice a week, a ski-walk on a frosty day are of great help. I have a wide circle of interests. I’m very sociable, so I get a way with people. I have many friends, most of them are my peers. We spend much time together, going out to the cinema or to the disco party, speaking about lessons and music, discussing our problems. But most of all I like my family. We all are great friends and deeply attached to each other.
You see, it’s me - a person with his good and not good characteristics, liking this and hating that. But it’s interesting for me to live, to open new things.
Holidays, Travel and Tourism
For most people there is no problem in deciding how they are going to spend the money they earn - it all goes on housing, food, clothes, transport and, if they are lucky, leisure and some holidays. Many of us have spent our lives without doing anything out of the ordinary and now I have got a marvelous opportunity of doing something exciting and I will. If I win the prize of 20,000 dollars, I will spend it in the world round trip. To travel round the world has long been my dream and with this sum of money behind me this dream is likely to be realized. I am going to take a trip round the world. I am going to do a lot of sight seeing. I am going to put up at expensive hotels and spend much money on entertainment and other exciting things.
My travel experience would begin in New York, known as one of the world's most modern cities because of its high buildings and its dynamic spirit. From New York I would cross the Atlantic Ocean to England. In London I would explore the British Museum and visit the shops and pubs along King's Road in Chelsea.
My next stop would be Amsterdam, an attractive city because of its steep narrow houses and canals lined with trees. Flying on to Copenhagen I would eat Danish open-faced sandwiches and be entertained at night clubs in Tivoli Gardens. Having seen enough cities by this time I would head South to the Italian Riviera. Portofino, a handsome fishing village resembling an opera setting, is one of the most charming vacations sports in Europe.
Of course, a serious traveler could not leave Italy without visiting Florence, Venice, Naples and Rome, for all these cities are living museums. Continuing South, I would trace the beginning of Western civilization. I would make stops in Athens and Cairo. Certainly a chance to see the pyramids should not be missed.
Next, I would fly east to visit the shimmering island of Ceylon. Here, the traveler finds many precious gems for sale, but the brightest jewel of all is Ceylon itself. Leaving this island I would travel to Bangkok, an Oriental city of many charms. Then, like mane other travelers, I would be drawn to Hong Kong, the shopper's paradise.
Leaving Asia, I would load my over stuffed suitcase on a plane bound for Acapulco. In this Mexican resort, I would swim, sunbathes and eat spicy foods.
At this time it would be necessary to count my remaining travellers checks.
If a tour of Latin America were still possible, I would want to stop in Peru, Argentina, Brazil. But by that time my funds would probably have run low. So, where would my round the would trip end? For me there is only one answer: Moscow, the city I will never tire of calling home.
My Favorite Writer
I'm fond of reading. My favorite writer is William Somerset Maugham and i would like to tell about his biography. William Somerset Maugham was born in 1874 and spent his childhood in Paris in the family of a British diplomat. Having lost his parents at an early age, he went to live in England with his uncle, who was a clergyman. He was educated at King's school in Canterbury studied painting in Paris, went to Heidelbury University in Germany and spent six years at St. Thomas Hospital in England studying to be a doctor. He was an unsatisfactory medical student for his heart wasn't in medicine. He wanted, he had always wanted to be a writer and in the evening after his tea, he wrote and read.
In 1897 he wrote a novel called "Liza of Lambeth", sent it to a publisher and it was accepted. It was something of a success. So William Somerset Maugham decided to abandon his medical profession and he did it with relive. The next ten years were very hard on him. He learned the terrible difficulties of making a living by writing. But he survived. He became a famous writer. He never regretted the five years he had spent at the hospital. They taught him pretty well all he knew about human nature.
The novel "The moon and sixpence" (1919) is based on the life of the artist Paul Gauguin was an immediate success. Maugham went to Tahiti and lived in Gauguin's hut while writing the book. His fame as a short story writer began with "The Trembling of a leaf". Since then he wrote many collections of books, essays and criticism. Many of his books and stories came out of his extensive travels in the East. His autobiographical books "The summing up" and "A writer's Notebook" are remarkable for both style and sincerity. His books have been reprinted many times.
In 1927 William Somerset Maugham settled in the South of France and lived there until his death in 1965.
My friend
I have a very good friend. His name is Oleg. Friends are very important in our life. I think one cannot live without friends. The most important thing for being good friends, to my mind, is to be ready to help one another in any situation, nevertheless how difficult it is, to support one another and to solve all the problems together. And never mind, that the friends may have different interests and hobbies, different likes and dislikes. They say that the friend in need is a friend indeed. I think it is really so,
My friend and I always do our best to help one another. We discuss all our troubles and try to find the best decision in any situation. My friend is a very good, kind and clever boy. We often spend our free time together. It is not very easy now, because both of us are very busy — we are going to enter institutes and have a lot of work to do.
My friend is going to become a doctor. Our future professions are different and the subjects we have to study are different too, but we like to work together and to help one another in our study.
When we have some free time, we go for walks, read and discuss books, watch films, go to discos or play computer games. Playing computer games is our hobby. Both of us are fond of sport. We go in for swimming and often go to the swimming pool together. We are football fans and we like to watch and discuss football matches on TV or to go to the stadium. I love my friend very much. I think he is a true friend. Our friendship is very dear to me and I try to do my best to be a good friend too.
Maslenitsa
There are many holidays and traditions in Russia. One of them is Maslenitsa. This holiday lasts for a week. Russian people celebrate it at the end of February or at the beginning of March. They say "goodbye" to winter on this holiday. During "Maslenitsa week" we always cook pancakes.
It is a tradition to cook pancakes and eat them with fish, sour cream, caviar, honey, sugar, butter. Our family likes to invite our friends to come to see us. We buy cakes, fruits, cook pancakes.
It is interesting to eat pancakes and to have a talk. During this holiday we celebrate the beginning of spring.
Usually this holiday is celebrated in our parks. People prepare fires and burn straw scarecrows of winter.
I like this gay Russian holiday, because I like to eat pancakes and I like spring.
Australia
Australia is situated in the southern hemisphere on the continent of Australis and several islands. It washed by the Pacific and the Indian oceans.
Austaralia is the hottest place in the southern hemisphere. More than half of the territory does not drain to the sea and lies in the tropical belt. Most of the lakes are salt ones (lake Eyre, lake Dissapointment). The main rivers are the Murray and the Darling. The flora and fauna of Australia is unique.
Australia is a member of the Commonwealth. The land is rich in ores, coal, gas, oil. The country takes the leading place in production of lamb-meat and sheep wool.
Australia is a federation of 6 states and 2 territories. The capital of the state is Canberra which is situated on the special Australian Capital Territory. Other important cities areSydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. The head of the country is the British monarch (now - Elizabeth II), so Australia is a constitutional monarchy. The main legislative organ is a two-chamber parlament which made up of the House of lords and the House of Commons. The Commons have much more real power. The members of it are elected by the people. They control the executive branch and discuss most important political problrms.
In law the Queen is the head of the executive branch and a part of legislative branch but in fact her role is mostly ceremonial.
The USA
The USA form a state which has existed only since 1776. It situated in the North American continent and washed by the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The USA borders on Canada in the North and on Mexico in the south. It has a sea-border with Russia.
The USA is rich in mineral resources such as coal, gas, oil and metals.
The country is a Federative (or a Presidential) republic which consist of 50 states and District of Columbia. So the President is the head of the state here. But the President is elected directly by the people every 4 years and he is not a member of the American Parlament, Congress. Every state has its own Constitution and the system of power.
Congress, the legislative branch of the Federal Government, is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The House of Representatives is the lower chamber and the Senate is the highter chamber. There are 100 senators, two for each state. The House has 435 members, the number of Representatives from each state depends on its population. Congress makes all laws and each house of Congress can introduce a new project. Each can vote against the project passed by the other. If both houses agree the project becomes law. The President can veto laws passed by Congress, but it can pass laws over the President's veto a two-thirds majority.
The President and his Administration represent the executive branch of power. The Administration includes the Secretaries who are heads of the executive departments. Each department is responsible for a specific area. The President appoints the Secretaries but the Senate must approve his appointment.
The juridical branch of power is represented by the Supreme Court which can declare presidential acts or laws unconstitutional, but federal judges are appointed by the President.
Canada.
Canada is a vast country, bigger than the United States, bigger than the continent of Australia. It is in fact one of the world’s largest countries. Its area is about 10 mln sq km. As Canada extends for thousands of miles from the Arctic Ocean to the United States and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, all kinds of weather conditions and scenery are to be found there. The population of Canada is 29 mln people. The capital is Ottawa; the main cities are Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. The word Canada comes from one of the Red Indian languages – “Kannata”, meaning “a number of huts”. Canada is often called the “Land of the Maple Leaf”. The maple leaf is the national emblem of Canada. The story of Canada goes back over 400 years. The French were the first settlers to this country. In 1759 Canada became part of the British Empire. In 1931 was Independence from Britain. Today Canada is an independent federative state, consisting of 10 provinces and 2 territories. It is a member of the Commonwealth, headed by the Queen of Great Britain. The two official languages are English and French. But many other languages are spoken: Italian, Chinese, German, Polish and Greek. Canada is a country with a very high standard of living. This country is particularly advanced in the areas of health, education, social protection and human rights.
NEW ZEALAND
What is the name of the country which has volcanoes and rivers of ice, deer and sea-elephants?
It is New Zealand, called the Land of the Long White Cloud by the Maoris.
New Zealand is an island country. It is made up of three islands: the North and South Islands and Steward Island, a small land mass just to the south of (he South Island. Most of its people live in North Island, and that is where you find big volcanoes like Egmont and Tongariro and the boiling pools and geysers and lakes of bubbling mud. Auckland, Christ church and Wellington are the biggest cities. Wellington is the capital.
South Island is larger than North Island and has the highest mountains. There you can find the snow-capped Southern Alps, rising 3.764 metres to the tip of Mount Cook (named after Captain Cook, of course, because he visited the islands before sailing on westwards and discovering the eastern coast of Australia).
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South Island is very beautiful with its Alps and lakes, its glaciers and fiords. Have you ever heard of Milford Sound? That is one of the most picturesque of the fiords, with cliffs rising straight up out of the water, the whole scene reflected in the water. Down there, too, are the Sunderland Falls, where water drops six hundred metres, making these falls one of the highest waterfalls in the whole world.
So you can see there is plenty to look at in New Zealand. Plenty of things to do for tourists, because New Zealand is also famous for its fishing, snow sports, mountaineering, sailing and hiking.
The climate is pleasant at all seasons, without much difference between winter and summer. New Zealand does not have the terrible heat of Australian summers; the oceans temper its climate and the mountains bring down quite a lot of rain.
What do the people do? Farm mostly. Dairy products, meat and wool are the main exports. New Zealand ranks second only to Australia as an exporter of wool. There are many factories there too, with hydro-electric stations to produce the power for them.
North Island is where you find the Maoris, the fine people who lived in these islands hundreds of years before the white man came. Most of them live near Auckland.
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The Maoris, a Polynesian people, are the aborigines of New Zealand. After long stays in Indonesia and the South Pacific, which they explored for many years, they made their great journey to New Zealand about the middle of the 14th century. They sailed in double canoes open to all weathers. They knew the winds, the ocean currents and the stars, and this earned them the name of Vikings of the Sunrise.
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The capital of New Zealand since 1865, and one of its busiest ports, Wellington is at southern end of North Island, lying among hills on the western side of a natural harbour.
It is the third largest city in New Zealand.
Auckland (the former capital) is the first largest city, and Christchurch is the second.
The Maori name for Wellington Harbour means the great bay of Tara. According to Maori legend, Tara was the first Polynesian settler in this place. But Nicholson (after a Royal Navy captain) was the name given to it by the first British settlers, and it is still sometimes called by this name.
In 1839 a British officer bought the site of Wellington from the Maoris; he got it in exchange for blankets and some other unimportant things. In 1840 the first settlers arrived and called their settlement Britannia. By 1842 there were 3.700 colonists in the settlement and Britannia had become Wellington.
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The kiwi is rather an unusual bird found only in New Zealand. It has no tail, almost no wings, and its nostrils are situated near the end of its bill. No other bird lays an egg so large in proportion to its size. Its egg is about one fifth of its own weight. This is a tremendous size.
In many countries. New Zealander. too, are known as Kiwis, for the bird is also the symbol of people of the two islands.
Forests of exotic pines near the centre of New Zealand's North Island, cover an area of more than 160000 hectares. This is the largest single continuous area of planted forest in the world. New Zealand has more than four hundred thousand hectares of planted forests.
The most important wood is pine, which grows five times faster in New Zealand than in its native habitat in California, USA.
The Russian Federation
The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world. It occupies about one-seventh of the earth's surface. It covers the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia. Its total area is about 17 million square kilometres. The country is washed by 12 seas of 3 oceans:the Pacific, the Arctic and the Atlantic. In the south Russia borders on China, Mongolia, Korea, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan. In the west it borders on Norway, Finland, the Baltic States, Belorussia, the Ukraine. It also has a sea-borders with the USA.
There is hardly a country in the world where such a variety of scenery and vegetation can be found. We have steppes in the south, plains and forests in the midland, tundra and taiga in the nirth, highlands and deserts in the east.There are two great plains in Russia:the Great Russian Plain and the West Siberian Lowland. There are several mountains chains on the territory of the country: the Urals, the Caucasus, the Altai and others. The largest mountain chain, the Urals, separates Europe from Asia.There are over two million rivers in Russia. Europe's biggest river, the Volga, flows into the Caspian Sea. The main Siberian rivers- the Ob, the Yenisei and the Lena- flow from the south to the north. The Amur in the Far East flows into the Pacific Ocean.
Russia is reach in beautiful lakes. The world's deepest lake is Lake Baikal. It is much smaller than the Baltic Sea, but there is much more water in it than in the Baltic Sea. The water in the lake is so clear that if you look down you can count the stones on the bottom.Russia has one-sixth of the world's forests. They are concentrated in the European north of the country, in Syberia and in the Far East.On the vast territory of the country there are various types of climate, from arctic in the north to subtropical in the south. In the middle of the country the climate is temperate and continental.
Russia is very reach in oil, iron ore, natural gas, copper, nickel and other mineral resources.Russia is a parliamentary republic. The Head of State is the President. The legislative powers are exercised by the Duma.The capital of Russia is Moscow. It is its largest political, scientific, cultural and industrial centre. It's one of the oldest Russian cities.At present, the political and economic situationn in the country is rather complicated. There are a lot of problems in the national economy of the Russian Federation. The industrial production is decreasing. The prices are constantly rising, the rate of inflation is very high. People are losing their jobs because many factories and plants are going bankrupt.But in spite of the problems Russia is facing at present, there are a lot of opportunities for this country to become one of the leading countries in the world. I'm sure that we, the younger generation, can do very much to make Russia as strong and powerful as it used to be.
Moscow
Moscow is the capital of Russia, its political, economic, commercial and cultural centre. It was founded 8 centurys ago by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky in 1147. Gradually the city became more and more powerfull. In the 13th century Moscow was the centre of the struggle of Russian lands for the liberation from the tartar yoke. In the 16th century under Ivan the Terrible Moscow became the capital of the new united state. Though Peter the Great moved the capital to St. Petersburg in 1712; Moscow remained the heart of Russia. That's why it became the main target of Napoleon's attack. After the October revolution Moscow became the capital again. Now moscow is one of the largest cities in Europe. Its total area is about nine hundred square kilometres. The population of the city is over 8 million.Moscow is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The heart of Moscow is Red Square. The Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral (Vasily Blazheny) are masterpieces of encient Russian architecture. On the territory of the Kremlin you can see old cathedrals, the Palace of Congresses, the Tzar-Cannon and the Tzar-Bell, the biggest cannon and bell in the world. St. Basil's Cathedral was built in the mid-16th century in memory of the victory over Kazan.One of the well-known Kremlin museums is the Armouty Chamber. The famous golden cap of Monomach, the first Russian imperial crown of Catherin the second and many other historical items are exhibited there.
There are more than 80 museums in Moscow. The Historical Museum, the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, the Tretyakov State Picture Gallery are world famous and the largest.Moscow is famous for its theatres. The best-known of them are Bolshoi, Maly and Art theatres.
Moscow is the seat of the Russian Parliament (the Duma) and the centre of political life of the country.
Environmental problems
The poisoning of the world's land, air, and water is the fastest-spreading disease of civilisation. It probably produces fewer headlines than wars, earthquakes and floods, but it is potentially one of history's greatest dangers to human life on earth. If present trends continue for the next several decades, our planet will become uninhabitable.
Overpopulation, pollution and energy consumption have created such planet-wide problems as massive deforestation, ozone depletion, acid rains and the global warming that is believed to be coused by the greenhouse effect.The seas are in danger. They are filled with poison: industrial and nuclear waste, chemical fertilisers and pesticides. The Mediterranean is already nearly dead; the North Sea is following. The Aral Sea is on the brink of extinction. If nothing is done about it, one day nothing will be able to live in the seas.
Every ten minutes one kind of enimal, plant or insect dies out for ever. If nothing is done about it, one million species that are alive today will have become extinct twenty years from now.
Air population is a very serious problem. In Cairo just breathing the air is life threatening- equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. The same holds true for Mexico City and 600 cities of the former Soviet Union.Industrial enterprises emit tons of harmful substunces. These emissions have disastrous consequences for our planet. They are the main reason for the greenhouse effect and acid rains.An even greater environmental threat are nuclear power stations. We all know how tragic the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster are.
People are beginning to realise that environmenta problems are not somebody else's. They join and support various international organosation and green parties. If governments wake up to what is happening- perhaps we'll be able to avoid the disaster that threatens the natural world and all of us with it.
TRADITIONS & CUSTOMS OF GREAT BRITIAN.
Every nation and every country has its own customs and traditions. In Britian traditions play more importaint part in the life of the people than in some other countries. Englishmen are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up. It has been the law for about three hundred years that all the theatres are closed on Sundays no letters are delivered only a few Sunday papers are publshed. To this day English families prefer cotage houses with gardens to flats in a modern house with central heeting.English people like gardens.Sometimes the garden in front of the house is a little square covered with cement painted green (in imitation of grass) and a box of flowers. In English houses the fire-place has always been the centre of interest in a room.For many months of the year people like to sit round the fire and watch the dancing flames.Fire places are decorated with woodworks,there is a painting or a mirror over it.Above the fire there is usually a shelf with a clock and some photographs. Holydays are especially rich in old traditions and are different in cotland,Wales and England.Christmas is a great english national holyday and in Scotland it is not kept at all exeept by clerks in banks,all the shops and factories are working.But 6 days later on the New Year's Eve the Scots begin to enjoy themselves.People invite their friends to their houses and sit the old year out and the new year in.In England on new Year's Eve a lot of people go to Trafalgar Square,at midnight,they all cross their arms join hands and sing.People have parties too,they drink toarts to the New Year Children are happy to have presents.
Four times a year the offices and banks in Britain are closed on Monday. These public holidays are known as Bank Holidays.The British like to spend holidays out of the town in the open air.They go to the sea-side or to amusements parks. Londoners often visit the Zoo,outside London they take their families to Hamsted Heath ['hнmstid'hi@] a large natural park too.There is usually a big fair with many different amusements for children merry-go-round,swings puppet shows,bright baloons.
One must also speak about such holidays ass All Fools Day,Hallowe'en Bonfire Night,St.Valentines Day and such tradition as Eisteddfod (a festival of which culture).
BOOKS IN MY LIFE
A book is one of the greatest wonders of world. Why are so many people fond of reading? The world of books is full of wonders. Together with the characters of books you can find yourself in different and countries, have a lot of adventures. The book is a faithful friend. They form our values and characters. We try to look like the characters of your favourite books: to be brave, honest, not to be silly and greedy, to be real friends. We enjoyed the beauty and wisdom of fairy-tales and fables when we were babies and Granny read them. They taught us to be kind, clever, hardworking, to understand other people and help them. They teach us to understand the beauty of nature, take care of it, to love our homeland.
Books have been with us since childhood. Who hasn’t read «Alice in the wonderland», «Mowgli»? Who hasn’t travelled with Marry Poppins to her imaginary world? Who hasn’t imagined himself to be Robinson Crusoe on the deserted island?
I have read a lot of interesting books, but my favourite book is «The adventures of Tom Sawyer» by Mark Twain. This well-known book is popular with the children all over the world.
The main character of the book is Tom Sawyer, who lived in a small town on the Mississippi River. He was a boy with a wild imagination. He and his friends often dreamed of different adventures. Tom was naughty, kind and brave. Besides he was noble. I like this boy because he teaches us to be true friends.
If you are not fond of reading, take a book to your liking or borrow it from the library and read it. Books are worth reading. Readly, they are our good friends.
Saint-Peterburg
St-PB is the second largest city in Russia. Its population is about five million people. The city is situated on the east shorn of the golf of Finland of the Baltic Sea. St-PB stands on the river Neva in its delta. The river is seventeen four kilometers long. It is the main waterway of the city. Many centuries ago these lands belong to Novgorod principality, but it the 17-century they were sired by Sweden. When Peter the first came to Russian troun he launched the war against Sweden. This war lasted for 21 years. And known as a north war. After one of the important battles Peter the first ordered to put up the fortress to protect these lands. It was built on the Heir Island and known as Peter and Paul fortress. Soon Peter the first decided build a new big city here. He invited famous architectures to build the city. Now it is one of most big cities in the world. It is famous for its famous museums, parks and cathedrals.
The Hermitage Gallery
I'd like to tell you about the Hermitage Gallery, one of the largest and well known museums in the world. Two months ago together with my classmates I was on an exersion in S. Petersburg.I visited many places of interest including the Hermitage Gallery.I was greatly impressed by visiting this museum of art. It was founded in 1764 by Ecatherine the Second when she bought 225 pictures in Berlin. Now the Hermitage consists of five buildings.
Now I'd like to tell you about pictures, sculptures and other works of art I've seen in the Hermitage Gallery. A great number of wonderful pictures are offered there. Everyone can find some kind of pictures to enjoy, for example the pictures by the world's greatest masters : Michelangelo, Raphael, Rembrands, Rubens and many others. All great schools of paintings are represented there:Italian, Spanish, German etc.
A few words about sculptures. I saw a lot of vases, staues and fountains. The most beautiful thing I have ever seen was the fauntain belonged to Alexander the Second.Among other outstanding peices of art I saw the coach of Ecatherine the Second and beautiful gobelens. It took 60 years to made one of these gobelens.In conclusion I'd like to stress that no one can see everything for the one visit. To enjoy the Hermitage Gallery you must visit it several times.The State Hermitage in St Petrsburg is one of the world's most outstanding art museums. It is the largest fine arts museum in Russia.World famour is the collection of West-European paintings covering a span of about seven hundreds years, from the 13th to the 20th centure, and comprising works by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, El |Greco. Velasquez, Murillo; outstanding paintings by Rembrandt, Va-Dyck, Rubens; a remarkable group of French 18th-centure canvases, and Impressionist and Post Impressionist paintings. The collection illustrates the art of Italy, Spain, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Austria, France, Britain, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and some other countries. The West-European Department also includes a fine collectin of European sculpture, containing works by Michelangelo, Canova, Falconet, Houdon, Rodin and many other eminent masters. The Hermitage, together with the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum in Moscow, must be ranked among the richest in the world in respect of Impressionist art.In addition to the works of Western masters, the Hermitage has sections devoted to the arts of India, China, Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Pre-|Columbian America, Greece and Rome, as well as a department of prehistoric art, not to mention a section devoted to Scythian art. People come to admire the collections of tapestry, precious textiles, weapons, ivories, pottery, porcelain and furniture as well.
MASS MEDIA
Mass media are one of the most characteristic features of modern civilization. People are united into one global community with the help of mass media. People can learn about what is happening in the world very fast using mass media. The mass media include newspapers, magazines,radio and television. The earliest kind of mass media was newspapers. The first newspaper was Roman handwritten newssheet called “Acta Diurna” started in 59 B.C. Magazines appeared in 1700’s. They developed from newspapers and bookseller’s catalogs. Radio and TV appeared only in this century. The most exciting and entertaining kind of mass media is TV. It brings moving pictures and sounds directly to people’s homes. Radio is widespread for its portablility. It means that radios can easily be carried around. People like listening to the radio on the beach or picnic, while driving a car or just walking down the street. Newspapers can present and comment on the news in much detail in comparison to radio or TV. Magazines don’t focus on daily, rapidly changing events. They provide more profound analysis of events of week.
ABOUT MYSELF.
My name is Natalia. My surname is Govorova. I am 15. I was born in 1982 in Chelyabinsk. I live in a small town of Usinsk in the Komi Republic. My address is Flat 116, 19, Pionerskaya Street. My phone number is 41-5-81. I am a pupil. I go to school Numbers 1. I am a good pupil. I do well in all subjects. They say, that I am a hardworking person. To tell the truth, all school subjects come easy for me but sometimes. I have to sit much, for example, to do lessons in Physics or Chemistry, to write a composition or to learn a poem by heart. But my favourite subject is English. I spend much time on it reading books, doing tests etc. May be, English and learning it will be a part of my future carreer. I like reading. I think comics and detective stories are much easier to read but I prefer to read novels - historical or up-to-date. I like music. My musical tastes are different, but it depends on my mood. But I think every apple is good in its season. I play the piano and the guitar, not seriously, but for my soul. Sometimes I like to listen to the Russian classical music. My favourite composers are Chaikovsky and Mozart. I don’t like rock music, but I like «Queen» and «Beatles». Also I like Russian folk songs. I have not much time to watch IV but sometimes I spend an hour or two watching an interesting film or a news programme. In the evening I often read newspapers (our local ones) or magazines. I like fresh air and exercise. I’m sorry I have not much time for doing sports. But some aerobics in the morning, a swimming-pool twice a week, a ski-walk on a frosty day are of great help. Sports is fun. I have a wide circle of interests. I’m very sociable, so I get a way with people. I have many friends, most of them are my class-mates. We spend much time together, going out to the cinema or to the disco party, speaking about lessons and music, discussing our problems. But most of all I like my family. We all are great friends and deeply attached to each other.
You see, it’s me - a person with his good and not good characteristics, liking this and hating that. But it’s interesting for me to live, to open new things.
Sport in our life
Millions of people all over the world are fond of sports and games. Sport helps people to stay in good shape, helps to support health and prevents from illness. Sport makes them more organized and better disciplined in their daily activities.We've always paid great attention to sport in our schools, colleges and universities. You can hardly find a school without a gym or a sports ground. Every city and town has a few stadiums or swimming pools where local competitions are usually held.There are different sporting societies and clubs in Russia. Many of them take part in different international tournaments and are known all over the world. A great nu,ber of world records have been set by Russian sportsmen. Our sportsmen also win a lot of gold, silver and bronze medals in the Olympic Games.