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Топики для сдачи экзамена по английскому языку в 11-ом классе (Шпаргалка)

Работа из раздела: «Иностранные языки»

RUSSIAN FEDERATION (RUSSIA)

  Russia is one of the largest countries in the world. It occupies about one-
seventh part of dry land. It is situated in Europe and Asia. Its total  area
is over 17 million square kilometers.
  The country is washed by seas and oceans.
  There are different types of climate on the territory of the  country.  It
is very cold in the North even in summer. The central part  of  the  country
has mild climate: winters are cold, springs and autumns are  warm  or  cool,
summers are hot and warm. In the South  the  temperature  is  usually  above
zero all year round, even in winter. Summer is really hot,  the  climate  is
very favourable. The climate of Siberia is continental: summers are hot  and
dry, winters are very cold.
  Some parts of our country are covered with mountains and hills.
  There are many rivers in Russia, the longest  rivers  are  the  Volga  in
Europe and the Yenisei and the Ob in Asia. The deepest lakes are the  Baikal
and the Ladoga.
  The Russian Federation is very rich in mineral resources,  such  as  oil,
natural gas, coal, iron, gold and others.
  Russia borders  on  many  countries.  Among  them  are  Estonia,  Latvia,
Finland, Poland, China, Mongolia, Korea.
  Moscow is the capital of our country. It was founded in  1147.  It  is  a
wonderful city. There are many sights in Moscow. You can see  many  museums,
art galleries, theatres, churches and monuments in our  capital.  People  of
our country are proud of  the  Moscow  Kremlin.  There  are  also  many  big
beautiful cities in Russia.
  The population of Russia is about 150 million people. 83 per cent  of  the
population are Russians. 70 per cent of the population live in cities.

  MOSCOW

  Moscow is the capital of Russia. It  is  one  of  the  biggest  and  most
beautiful cities in the world. Moscow is a modern city now.  The  population
of the city is about 9.8 million  people.  Moscow  is  a  political  centre,
where the government of our country works. Moscow was  founded  in  1147  by
Yuri Dolgoruky. The total area  of  Moscow  is  about  nine  hundred  square
kilometres.
  We say that Moscow is a port of five  seas,  as  the  Moscow—Volga  Canal
links Moscow with the Baltic, White, Caspian and Black seas and the  Sea  of
Azov.
  Moscow is an industrial centre too. There are many factories and plants in
it. One of the best-known plants produces many lorries, and  the  other  one
produces cars.
  The Bolshoi Theatre is one of the famous theatres all over the world.  If
you are fond of painting you can go to the Tretyakov Art Gallery or  to  the
Pushkin Fine Arts  Museum  and  see  a  lot  of  interesting  portraits  and
landscapes there. We say that the Tretyakov Art Gallery is a  treasure-house
of Russian art. Young people like to  visit  the  Central  Military  Museum.
There are many tanks, guns and war documents there.
  One can see the Kremlin and Red Square in the city. There are  many  fine
buildings, wide streets, green parks, large squares, churches and  monuments
in Moscow.
  It is necessary to mention such famous  monuments  as  monuments  to  the
great Russian writer Alexander Pushkin and  to  the  first  Russian  printer
Ivan Fedorov.
  Visiting the capital a lot of foreigners from all over the world come  to
see these monuments.
  One of the highest buildings in Moscow is the State Moscow University. It
was founded in 1755 by the great scientist Mikhail Lomonosov.
  Transport. Moscow  is  a  very  big  city,  and  its  transport  must  be
comfortable and fast.
  One can see a lot of cars, buses, trolley-buses, trams in the streets  of
our city. The Moscow metro began its work on the 15th of  May,  1935.  There
were 13 stations at that time. Now it has  190  stations.  Our  metro  is  a
beautiful and convenient one.
  There are nine railway stations in Moscow and five  airports  around  the
city.
  There are many stadiums in Moscow. The Central Stadium  is  in  Luzhniki.
Many competitions and football matches are held there.
  The Olympic village was built for the 22nd Olympic  Games  in  Moscow  in
1980. It is a big complex for sport games.
  I live in Moscow and I am proud of this city.



  THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND
  The United Kingdom is situated in the north-west coast of  Europe  between
the Atlantic Ocean on the north-west and the North Sea on the east.
  The   U.   K.   includes   Great   Britain    and    Northern    Ireland.
 I
  Great Britain, the largest island in Europe, contains  England,  Scotland
and Wales.
  The United Kingdom has an area of
  244,000 square kilometres  (94,249  square  miles).  The  capital  of  the
country is London. English is the official language.
  The population of the U. K. is nearly 60 million  people.  The  population
lives mostly in towns and cities and their suburbs. Four out of  every  five
people live in towns. Over  46  million  people  live  in  England.  Over  3
million — in Wales. A little  over  5  million  —  in  Scotland.  About  1.5
million— in Northern Ireland. London's population is over 7 million  people.
The British nation consists of the English, the Scots,  the  Welsh  and  the
Irish. There are many  people  of  all  colours  and  races  in  the  United
Kingdom.
  The climate of Great Britain is mild. It is not too hot in summer or  too
cold in winter. It often rains in England.  Rain  falls  in  summer  and  in
winter, in autumn and in spring. Snow falls only in the north  and  west  of
the country. The surface of England and Ireland is flat,  but  Scotland  and
Wales are mountainous. Many parts of the country  have  beautiful  villages.
There are many rivers in Great Britain. The main river is the  Thames.  Many
ships and barges go up and down the river. The longest river is  Severn.  It
is 350 kilometres long.
  There are many universities, colleges libraries, museums and  theatres  in
the country. The most famous universities are Cambridge  University,  Oxford
University, Glasgow University.
  The U. K. is a parliamentary monarchy. The British Parliament consists of
two Houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Prime  Minister
is the head of the government.
  The United Kingdom has some mineral resources. Coal and oil are the  most
important  of  them.  The  United  Kingdom  i  one  of  the   world's   most
industrialize»  countries.  The  main  industrial  centres  are   Sheffield,
Birmingham and Manchester. The largest cities of  the  country  are  London,
Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester, Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin.
  Agriculture takes an important sector  in  economy  of  the  country.  The
British people grow wheat, fruit, vegetables oats.


  THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

  The USA is one of the largest countries in the world. It is  situated  in
the central part of the North American continent. The area  of  the  USA  is
over nine million square kilometres. It is washed by the Pacific  Ocean  and
by the Atlantic Ocean. The most northern part of the  USA  is  Alaska,,  the
largest state, separated from the rest of the country by Canada.
  The population of the United States is nearly 250 million people, most of
the people live in towns. People of  different  nationalities  live  in  the
USA.
  The official language of the country  is  English.  The  capital  of  the
country is Washington. It was  named  in  honour  of  the  first  President,
George Washington.
  As the USA is a large country, the  climate  is  different  in  different
regions. Foi example, the Pacific coast is a  region  of  mild  winters  and
warm, dry summers, but  the  eastern  continental  region  is  watered  with
rainfall. The region arounc the Great Lakes has changeable weather.
  There are many mountains in the USA For example, the highest peaks of the
Cordilliers in the USA are 6,193 and 4,418 metres.
  The main river of the country is the  Mississippi.  But  there  are  many
other great rivers in the USA: the Colorado in the south  and  the  Columbia
in the northwest. There are five Great Lakes between the USA and Canada.
  The USA produces more than 52  per  cent  of  the  world's  corn,  wheat,
cotton, tobacco.
  There are many big cities in the  coun  try.  They  are  Washington  (the
capital
  of the country). New York (the city of contrasts, financial  and  business
centre of the USA), Boston (there are  many  colleges  and  universities  in
it), Chicago (one  of  the  biggest  industrial  cities  in  the  USA),  San
Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Detroit (one of  the  biggest  centres
of the automobile industry).
  The  USA  has  an  Academy  of  Sciences.  There   are   many   scientific
institutions, museums, libraries, theatres and other interesting  places  in
the country.
  The USA is a highly developed industrial  country.  The  USA  is  rich  in
mineral resources, such as aluminium, salt, zinc, coppers, and  others.  The
country is rich in coal, natural gas, gold and silver, too. It holds one  of
the first places in the  world  for  the  production  of  coal,  iron,  oil,
natural gas.
  Such industries as machine-building, ship-building are highly developed in
the country.
  American agriculture produces  a  lot  of  food  products:  grain,  fruit,
vegetables.
  The USA is a federal republic, consisting of fifty states. Each  of  these
states has its own government. Congress is  the  American  Parliament  which
consists of two Chambers.
  The president is the head of the state and the government. He is  elected
for four years.



  NEW ZEALAND
  New Zealand is a very interesting  country.  It  has  got  total  area  of
269,000 square kilometers. It is situated to south-east of Australia in  the
Pacific Ocean. It consists of two  main  islands  (North  Island  and  South
Island) and some smaller  ones.  Nearly  3.5  million  people  live  in  the
country. The capital of New Zealand is Wellington. It is a financial  centre
too. The city was founded in 1840 and has been the capital since  1865.  The
official language Is English.
  The climate of New Zealand is moist. New Zealand  is  rich  in  minerals.
There are some main industries in the country, for example, iron  and  steel
industry. The country has gas and petroleum. There  are  many  mountains  in
New Zealand. The highest is Mount Cook (3,764 metres or 12,349 feet).
  There are many rivers and lakes in the country. The chief rivers are  the
Waikato and the Wairu. You have  heard  about  the  native  animals  in  the
country. One of them is the kiwi. This interesting bird  lives  in  the  wet
parts of the thick bushes. In the day-time the bird  does  not  go  out.  It
comes out only at night to find food.  Kiwis  cannot  fly.  Many  years  ago
kiwis were hunted for food. Now the government does not permit  the  hunting
the kiwis. The kiwi is now the symbol of New Zealand people. Small  children
are often called kiwis.
  New Zealand is independent state, but formerly it is a part of the British
  Empire. The head of the state is the Queen. New Zealand is  self-governing
state.  The  Parliament  consists  of  one  House   only,   the   House   of
Representatives. The Prime Minister is the head of the government.
  New Zealand has got heavy industry. There are many plants in the  country.
Paper and rubber industries are developed too.  New  Zealand  exports  wool,
meat, butter.
  There are some big cities such as Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dune-
din, Nelson. Auckland and Wellington are the main ports of the country.
  There are some educational and cultural institutions in  Wellington.  They
are the University of New Zealand, Victoria University College  and  others.
Victoria University was established in 1897.
  New Zealand is a very interesting and beautiful country.

  THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
  The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal state. It has got  six  states:
New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia,  Western  Australia,
Tasmania and two internal territories. The official language is English.
  Australia is situated in the south-west of the Pacific Ocean.
  The area of this country has got 7,687,000 square kilometers. Australia is
the largest island in the world and it is the smallest continent. The  Dutch
were the first Europeans to visit Australia. In  1770  the  English  captain
James Cook discovered the east coast of Australia.
  Nearly 20 million people live in Australia.
  Australia's climate is dry and warm. Australia is situated in the southern
hemisphere and that's why there is summer, when we have winter and there  is
winter, when we have summer. It is interesting to know that January  is  the
hottest month in Australia.
  Australia is separated from many countries. The animals in Australia have
a lot of original, and they are  interesting,  for  example,  dingoes  (wild
dogs), koala bears, kangaroos.
  The kangaroo and koala have got the pouch in which they carry their cubs.
There are  many  birds  in  the  country,  too.  One  can  see  parrots  and
cockatoos. The emu is the most interesting bird in Australia. It is big  and
can't fly.
  There are many rivers and lakes in the country.
  Australia is an industrial country. It  has  coal,  nickel,  zinc,  gold.
Several factories and plants work in the country. Australia is  one  of  the
most  important  producers  of  metals  and  minerals.   It   exports   wool
production, meat, fruit, sugar.
  The capital of the country is Canberra. The city became  the  capital  in
1927. Federal Government works in Canberra in the government  buildings.  It
is interest
  ing to know that there are no industrial plants in Canberra.
  The population of Canberra is about 300,000 people.
  There are many sights in the city. They are the Building of the Australian
Academy of Sciences, the Australian National University  and  others.  There
are two big industrial cities in Australia: Sydney and Melbourne.
  The habited part of the country is situated near ocean. Melbourne, Sydney,
Brisbane and others are the ports of the country.
  Australia is a part of the British Empire. Formerly the head of the  state
is the Queen, but in fact Australia is  independent,  self-governing  state.
The Parliament consists of two Houses.
  There are many universities, theatres and museums in Australia.



  YOUTH PROBLEMS

  All people have problems. Some of them have many problems, the others have
one or two problems only.
  Young people have as many problems as the grown-ups.  It  is  possible  to
solve some problems but sometimes we can not solve  this  or  that  problem.
The first problem is to choose a good friend. I know the proverb  'A  friend
in need is a friend indeed.' I agree with it,  that's  why  I  try  to  make
friends with gay and true persons.
  I want to have a  friend  who  understands  me.  It  will  be  simple  and
interesting to speak to him or her.
  I think that young people have problems with their parents. What are they?
Sometimes we have  different  tastes.  I  like  the  proverb  'There  is  no
accounting for tastes.' For example, I go to the shops with my  mother.  She
likes this dress but I like that one. My mother wants me to buy this  dress.
But I am sure, that dress is much to my taste.
   My parents want me to be a teacher as they are  skilled  teachers  but  I
have a taste for music, and my dream is to be a composer.
   Where can we go? What can we do if we have free time?  My  friend  Nastya
lives in the village. Her village is far from Moscow.  It  takes  her  three
hours to go to Moscow. She says that there is nowhere to  go  and  there  is
nothing to do in her village. There are no clubs,  museums,  cinemas,  parks
there. If she wants to go to Moscow it'll take  her  a  lot  of  money.  She
can't afford it.
   It is a problem to get a good education.
   It is necessary to pay for a good education. I think it is  difficult  to
learn English, for example, without additional classes.
   I can't enter the Institute without good  knowledge.  To  get  it  it  is
necessary to pay for it and have heavy expenses.
  Many good teachers leave schools because they haven't  got  enough  money.
Persons without special experience can't teach the pupils well.
  I am sure that all teenagers want to have a lot of money to dress well, to
go to the theatres, to visit foreign countries, ito eat what they  want,  to
buy books-How can they solve all these problems?
  They have to earn money. I think it is possible to do it. Some  boys  wash
cars, the others sell newspapers, some of my friends help old persons.  Many
of my friends have load of care.
  We have some problems but we are sure that we solve them in a proper way.
  I think that the young people in other countries have many problems too. I
have a pen-friend in Italy. He usually writes that his parents make  him  to
do a lot of house-work. It is stange for us, but my friend Jack from  London
has his biggest problem — his freckles.

  INTRODUCING YOURSELF
  My name is Kostya. My surname is Laznev. I was born in Moscow on the  23rd
of June in 1981. I am a tall thin boy. My hair is dark and  short.  My  face
is oval, my nose is straight. My eyes are large and brown.  My  friends  say
that I am a good-looking boy. I like to dress well.  I  usually  wear  black
trousers, light shirts, clean boots.
  I have a dream to enter the Institute.
  I worked hard at school.  We  studied  many  subjects  such  as  History,
Russian, Physics, Geography and others. I was fond of English  and  Physics.
And I was good at them.
  I think that I am honest, serious and polite.
  I want to get a good education and find an interesting and useful work.  I
have a hobby. I like to sing songs. My father likes to sing  songs  too.  He
knows many good songs and we usually sing songs together.
  Nowadays young people don't like classical music. They prefer  pop  music.
My parents invite me to some very good concerts of classical  music.  It  is
great. I am very grateful to my parents because now I  begin  to  understand
how wrong I was going only to pop concerts.
  I am proud of my mother and father. They are musicians. We like  to  spend
our free time together. We often go to the museums, to  the  Concert  Halls,
to the theatres.
  I want to say that I respect my parents.



  I HAVE A DREAM TO BE A DOCTOR

 There are many interesting and noble  professions.  I  want  to  become  a
doctor.
 I like this profession and I am eager to get a medical education and  work
at a hospital.
 It is a  good  tradition  in  our  family.  My  mother  is  a  doctor,  my
grandfather is a doctor and I want to be a doctor, too.
  When I was a little boy my grandfather worked at a hospital and  I  spent
some time at the hospital with him. He is a surgeon and works in a  surgical
department.
  Day by day he takes care of his hospital patients, he treats  them  well.
He is very attentive. Every day he comes into
  wards asking patients, 'What do you complain of?'
  He wants all people to be able-bodied  and  he  tries  to  treat  his  in-
patients in a proper way.
  To operate on persons is his main task. He is a kind and skilled surgeon.
  Every day he comes into an operating-room and operates on his in-patients.
After each operation he takes care of his in-patients. Day by day  he  helps
them to recover and he is glad when he can  say,  'My  in-patient  is  quite
recovered.'
  Sometimes he advises his in-patients to go to  sanatoriums  after  leaving
the hospital. He instructs them in detail what they can  do  and  eat  after
their operations.
  My grandfather tells me  a  lot  of  true  stories  about  doctors,  their
profession, their aid for people.
  I respect my grandfather. I like his profession and I have a dream to be a
doctor too.


  SPORT AND A HEALTHY MODE 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 volley-ball  and
basket-ball at the lessons. There is a  sportsground  near  our  school  and
school-children go in foi 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,  volley-
ball, 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.
  There are summer and winter sports.
  My favourite 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.



  Sports in Great Britain
  National sports in Great Britain... It is  a  very  interesting  question,
because many kinds of sport have taken the origin in England.
  The Englishmen love sports, they are called sports-lovers in spite of  the
fact that some of them neither play games nor even  watch  them.  They  only
like to speak about sports.
  Some kinds of sport are professional in England.
  Many traditional sporting contests take place  in  England,  for  example,
cricket. It is played from May till September. This game is associated  with
England. There are many cricket clubs in this country. English  people  like
to play cricket. They  think  that  summer  without  cricket  isn't  summer.
Cricket is the English national  sport  in  summer.  If  you  want  to  play
cricket you must wear white boots, a white shirt and white long trousers.
  There are two teams. Each team has eleven players. Cricket is  popular  in
boys' schools. Girls play cricket too.
  Football. It has got a long history. Football was  played  by  the  whole
village teams in the middle ages in England.
  Now football is the most popular game in Britain.  It  is  a  team  game.
There are some amateur teams but most of the teams are professional ones  in
England. Professional football is a big  business.  Football  is  played  at
schools too.
  Rugby football. You can see a ball in this game, but it is not round.  It
is oval. This is a team game. There are fifteen players in each team. It  is
a popular game in England. There are many amateur rug-by football  teams  in
this country.
  If we speak about football we can mention an American football too. It is
a game that is played between two teams of players using an oval  ball  that
can be handled or kicked. The captain of the team  must  be  the  oldest  or
best player.
  Table tennis or ping-pong. Englishmen heard about table tennis  in  1880.
Then  the  International  Table  Tennis  Association  was  formed  and   the
international rules were worked out.
  Many people like to play table tennis. This game is  played  by  men  and
women.
  There are some tennis clubs in England,  but  if  you  play  there  it  is
necessary to pay money for it.
  Englishmen like playing tennis but many of them prefer to watch this game.
  Wimbledon. It is the centre of lawn tennis. Some years ago Wimbledon was a
village, now it is a part of London. The most important  tennis  competition
takes place there every summer.
  Englishmen pay much attention to swimming, rowing and walking. Usually the
Oxford—Cambridge Boat Race takes place  at  the  end  of  March  or  at  the
beginning of April. It is an interesting contest  between  the  universities
of Oxford and Cambridge. It is usually held on the Thames River.  The  first
such race was held in 1820. There were a lot of people watching this race.
  There are some racing competitions in England. They are motor-car racing,
dog-racing, donkey-racing, boat-racing, horse-racing. All kinds  of  racings
are popular in England. It is interesting to  see  the  egg-and-spoon  race.
The runner, who takes part in this competition,  must  carry  an  egg  in  a
spoon. It is not allowed to drop the egg.
  We must speak about the Highland Games in Scotland. All competitors  wear
Highland dress. There are such competitions as putting the  weight,  tossing
the caber and others. The English are great lovers of sports.



  LEARNING FOREIGN LANGUAGES

  It is necessary to learn foreign languages. That's  why  pupils  have  got
such subject as a foreign  language  at  school.  Everybody  knows  his  own
language, but it is useful to know foreign languages.
  I learn English, because I understand that I can use it. For example, if I
go to England I'll be able to speak English there. If I go to the USA,  I'll
speak English too. English is used not only in England, but  also  in  other
parts of the world.
  I learn English because I want to read foreign literature in the original.
I know and like such English and American writers as Charles  Dickens,  Mark
Twain, Lewis Carroll and others. I understand that I must learn English.  If
I know English well, I'll be able to go to the library  and  take  books  by
English and American writers in the original.
   I like to travel. But it is difficult to visit countries, when you  don't
know the language of  these  countries.  If  I  know  the  language  of  the
country, where I am going to, it will be easy to travel there. If I want  to
ask something, I can do it in English.
   I like to read books. And I like to read newspapers, too. If I know,  for
example, English I'll be able to  read  English  newspapers  and  magazines.
Knowledge of foreign languages helps young people of different countries  to
understand each other, to develop friendship among  them.  For  example,  we
have a foreign exhibition in Moscow. If I know a  foreign  language,  it  is
easy for me to visit this exhibition.
   You can see a lot of advertisements, signboards, names  in  the  streets.
They are in foreign languages. Very often they are in English. If  you  know
English, you can read and understand them.
  Now we buy many clothes from other countries If you know English well, you
can read something about the size of this or that thing.  It  is  clear  for
you what it is made of.
  There are a lot of  films  in  foreign  languages.  If  you  know  foreign
languages, you can understand films without any help.
  There are international friendship camps in the world. If  you  can  speak
foreign languages, it will be easy for you to visit  such  camps  and  speak
with the boys, girls, men even they don't know Russian.
  In short, I understand that I have to learn English in a proper way and  I
try to do it.


  I LIKE TO TRAVEL
  I like to travel. First of all, the members of  our  family  usually  have
long walks in the country. Such walks are called hikes. If we  want  to  see
the countryside, we have to spend a part of our summer  holidays  on  hikes.
It is useful for all members of our family. We take our rucksacks, we  don't
think about tickets, we don't hurry up and we walk a lot. During such  hikes
we see a lot of interesting places, sometimes we meet. interesting people.
  I like to travel by car. It is interesting too, because you can  see  many
things in a short time. When we go by car, we don't  take  tickets  too,  we
put all things we need in a car. We don't carry them.

  THE PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

  Our country. Our environment. There are many big and small  rivers,  green
forests, high mountains, lakes and seas in Russia.
  Our Earth is our home. I think people must take care of our Motherland.
  There are some laws and decisions on this important subject. We have state
organizations which pay attention to this problem.
  The international  conventions  pay  much  attention  to  the  control  of
pollution too.
  There are a lot of industrial enterprises in our country,  that's  why  we
can't ignore the problem of the protection of our environment. Our main  aim
is the protection. Our environment must be clean. What V must we do for  it?
We have to control atmospheric and  water  pollution,  to  study  the  man's
influence on the climate. The pollution of the  environment  influences  the
life of animals, plants and our human life. If we don't use chemicals  in  a
proper way we'll pollute our environment.
  Our plants and  factories  put  their  waste  materials  into  water  and
atmosphere and pollute the environment.
  There are many kinds of transport in our big cities, that's why  we  must
pay attention to the protection of our nature and the health of the people.
  Radiation. Now it has become one of the main problems. It is not good for
J health of people. Many people  died  from  radiation  some  years  ago  in
Chernobyl. It ' was a tragedy. Another problem is earthquake. We  know  some
terrible  earthquakes  in  the  world.  Our  scientists  try   to   forecast
earthquakes, then we can protect ourselves from them.
  The people all over the world do everything to protect  their  nature,  to
make their country richer, to make their life happier.



  CHRISTMAS DAY

  Every country has its own customs and traditions. English people are proud
of their traditions and they keep them up.
  It is  difficult  to  speak  about  England  without  speaking  about  its
holidays. Christmas Day is among them.
  All English people celebrate Christmas (or X-mas) on the 25th of December.
  Christmas! What kind of holiday is it? It is the yearly celebration of the
birth of Jesus Christ. It falls on December 25 by the  Catholic  Church  and
on the 7th of January  by  the  Orthodox  Church.  This  holiday  means  the
beginning of the new year and the new life. English  people  celebrate  this
holiday with the evergreen tree — Christmas tree. Children rut
  along sock, called a Christmas stocking at the end of their beds and Santa
Claus conies down the chimney to bring them presents.
  Christmas Day is the greatest holiday in England.  It  is  interesting  to
visit the shops before this holiday. There  are  a  lot  of  nice  Christmas
cards and presents there. English people like this  holiday  very  much  and
prepare for it beforehand. They buy presents for each  other,  try  to  send
Christmas cards for their relatives and friends.
  It is interesting  to  visit  London  during  this  holiday.  There  is  a
Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square. We can see many lights, toys and  sweets
all over this tree. Everywhere you can see slogans 'A Merry Christmas and  a
Happy New Year'.
  The traditional English dinner on Christmas is turkey and pudding.


  NEW YEAR'S DAY
  There are many  holidays  in  our  country.  They  are:  New  Year's  Day,
Christmas, Women's Day, Victory Day, May Day and others.
  I like New Year's Day, it is my favourite holiday. The 1st of January is a
winter holiday and now it is the first day of the New Year.
  Peter the First changed the Russian calendar in 1699. He made the 31st  of
December, 1699 the last day of the year. The first of  January  1700  became
New Year's Day.
  The 1st of January is in the middle of winter. The weather is usually fine
and there is a lot of snow everywhere. As the 1st of January is a holiday  I
don't go to school and my parents don't go to work.
  We usually have got a very interesting New Year's  party  at  school.  We
have got it on the 28th or 29th of December.
  Our family prepares for this  holiday  beforehand.  My  father  buys  and
brings home a beautiful New Year's tree at the end of December.  Our  family
has a tradition to buy it. I like to  decorate  the  New  Year's  tree  with
toys, little coloured lights, sweets and a beautiful star on the top.
  My mother and grandmother prepare our holiday supper and lay the table. I
make a cake.
  All the members of our family clean the flat before this nice holiday and
then each of us try to dress well. We like to see the New Year  in  at  home
with our relatives. They come to see us at 11 o'clock in the evening.
  At 12 o'clock we are sitting at the table and we are glad to see the  New
Year in. We say, 'Best wishes for the New Year!'
  I hope that next year will be better than the last one.
  The New Year's Day is always connected with our new hopes and dreams.
  It is a pleasant moment to get presents on the New Year's Eve.
  I usually get many nice useful things from my parents and relatives.
  My parents put their presents under the New Year's tree.
  We don't go to bed till morning, we watch TV, dance, eat tasty things  and
make jokes.
  I enjoy this holiday very much.



  YURI GAGARIN (1934-68)

  Yuri Gagarin was the first  cosmonaut  in  the  world.  Yuri  Alexeyevich
Gagarin was born on the 9th of March, 1934. He was born in  the  village  of
Klushino in the Smolensk region.
  Yura was an active, brave and curious boy. His father  was  jack  of  all
trades and he helped his son when Yura made toy planes by hand. But the  war
began. Yuri Gagarin and his mother, father, brother and  sister  left  their
house and had to live in a dug-out.
  After the war Gagarin's family moved to Gzhatsk. Now it  is  Gagarin.  It
was named after the first cosmonaut.
  In 1951 Gagarin graduated from a  vocational  school  in  Lyubertsy  near
Moscow.
  Yuri Gagarin attended an aeroclub and began to fly when he was a  student
of a technical secondary school in Saratov.
  In 1955 he entered a school for pilots. Then he became a pilot and joined
the first group of cosmonauts.
  In 1960 Gagarin began to prepare for the flight into space.
  On April 12, 1961 Yuri Gagarin flew  into  space  and  spent  108  minutes
there. Jt was the first time in history that the Russian spaceship  'Vostok'
with the man on board was  in  space.  After  his  flight  he  visited  many
countries and saw millions of people. Gagarin became a Hero of our country.
  He died in 1968, but people always remember the first Russian cosmonaut.



  THE MASS MEDIA

  Newspapers

  There are many kinds of newspapers in our country. It is possible  to  buy
them almost everywhere. But we can't read all the newspapers. We  know  that
it is necessary to read newspapers. Reading them  we  can  learn  a  lot  of
interesting and useful things. I think that everyone  must  read  newspapers
every day. I read many newspapers and magazines.
  Everyone has its favourite newspapers. I like 'Vechernaya Moskva' best  of
all. This newspaper was published on the  6th  of  December,  1923  for  the
first time. It usually has 8 pages. You can read some news on the 1st  page.
You can't know a lot about these events, you read  only  some  facts,  which
are usually short, but
  interesting. If you turn the second page, you can read about our life. You
can read out events abroad and about your  favourite  artists  and  singers,
too. You л see some advertisements on each page the newspaper and use  them.
You can learn about the weather from the pages of is newspaper.
  If you are fond of football, basket-ball tennis, you read  articles  about
sport events in our country and about our famous sportsmen. If you  want  to
buy something you have to read  the  last  page.  There  are  some  humorous
stories in this newspaper.

  Magazines

  It is interesting to look through some magazines  or  read  them.  It  is
possible to subscribe to some of them or buy them. We usually  subscribe  to
the magazine 'At the wheel'. As we have a car it is useful for  us  to  read
it. My mother prefer to read the magazine 'Liza'.  She  says  that  it  even
helps her in some cases.


  Television and radio


  I think that they are very popular means of information. They are  popular
among young people in our country. We can know a lot of news watching TV  or
listening to the radio  set.  All  members  of  our  family  watch  TV  very
regularly. We like such programme as 'My family'. I prefer to  discuss  some
problems with my parents after it. I have many favourite TV  programmes  but
I haven't enough time to watch all of them.



  MY HOBBY

  What is a hobby? It is what you can and like to do,  when  you  have  free
time. We choose a hobby according to our character and taste. When  we  have
a hobby our life becomes more interesting.
  Very often our hobby helps us to choose our future profession  because  we
learn a lot of new things.
  Many people are interested in music. They collect records. Others like  to
read and collect books. People living in cities and towns like to be  closer
to nature and they spend their free time in the country.
  Some of us go  on  hikes,  some  like  to  work  in  their  gardens,  take
photographs or knit.
  For example, gardening and growing roses is the most  common  hobby  among
Englishmen.
  Both grown-ups and children are fond of playing different computer  games.
It has become one of the numerous hobbies.
  I have got a hobby too.
  My name is Nastya. Sometimes I have got some free time.  As  my  hobby  is
cooking I like to make cakes and pies. My cakes are very tasty, but  I  like
pies best of all. I'll tell you how I make pies with cabbage.
  First of all I take a head of cabbage, cut and put it into  a  frying-pan.
Then I take carrot and peel it. By the way I have a very comfortable  grater
at home. I like to use it when I make  my  pies.  I  usually  grate  carrot,
onion using my favourite grater. I put grated carrot  into  the  frying-pan,
then I salt cabbage and carrot to my taste, mix them  and  add  some  water.
Then I stew these vegetables in the frying-pan. I  usually  buy  some  paste
for my pies.
  I cut up paste, roll it and make small pies. Then I put pies  with  stewed
cabbage into the oven. It takes twenty minutes
  to bake them. My parents and friends like to eat my pies. I advise you  to
make such pies and I hope that you'll like them too.


  MY SCHOOL

  At the age of 6 or 7 all boys and girls go to school. I go to school too.
The number of my school is 338.  Our  school  is  large  and  light.  It  is
neither old nor new. There is a schoolyard around it.  It  is  a  pity,  but
there are no flowers near the school. You can see a sportsground behind  the
school. Sometimes we have physical training lessons there.
  Our school has got three floors. There is a workshop on the ground  floor.
It is big. There are all kinds of tools and machines there. The boys of  our
school have a wood-work room too. They learn to make things of wood in  this
room. There is a room for manual work for girls. It is  not  on  the  ground
floor, it is on the second floor.
  There are some computer classes, and pupils like such school  subjects  as
Computing.
  If you enter the school and go to the left you  see  a  dining-room.  Here
pupils and teachers have their breakfast and dinner.
  The dining-room is a clean one. There are many nice pictures on the walls.
  There is a gymnasium near the dining-room. All pupils like  to  go  there,
because they like physical training lessons.
  Our school has got a library. It is on the ground floor too. There  are  a
lot of interesting new and old books in it. But our library has no  reading-
room.
  Our school has got many classrooms. We have got  two  English  classrooms.
History, Geography and Physics classrooms  and  others.  They  are  big  and
light and each of them has  got  two  large  windows  with  green  curtains,
flowers on the window-sills, a bookcase near the  door,  the  blackboard  on
the wall.
  The teacher's table with many books on it is situated  not  far  from  the
blackboard.
  There are twenty desks and some comfortable chairs in the classrooms.
  There is a TV set in each classroom.  Sometimes  it  is  used  during  the
lessons.
  There is a school hall on the second floor where meetings and  conferences
take place.
  We organize concerts, parties when we celebrate our  holidays.  Pupils  of
our school sing songs and dance modern and  folk  dances  and  perform  some
plays there. The last bell is organized at our school in a  proper  way.  It
is a very remarkable day in the life of all the pupils. The  pupils  of  the
first form and the pupils of the eleventh one are  preparing  for  this  day
with great pleasure.
  The teachers' room is on the second floor. There are  tables  and  chairs
for teachers, a TV set and a telephone there. It is a comfortable  and  cosy
room and the teachers like to spend  their  free  time  in  it.  I  like  my
school. I go there and get knowledge.



  THE CINEMA

  The Lumiere brothers  made  their  first  film  in  1895.  This  film  was
demonstrated in one famous cafe in Paris.
  The first films were silent and short, but they were popular among people.
  The USA was the leader in the production of films. The  first  sound  film
appeared in 1927. Soon coloured films appeared.
  Cinematography has a long history in our country too.
  Pioneers of the Russian cinema were Protozanov, Gardin, later Pudovkin and
Dovzhenko. At that time films were silent and black-and-white.
  Later films became sound and colourful.
  Some years ago it was popular to go to  the  cinemas  in  Moscow.  It  was
difficult to buy a ticket for a good film and we had to  stand  in  a  queue
for hours.
  But now we prefer to stay at home and watch TV and video films.
  In England the cinema is usually called  'the  pictures'.  The  prices  of
cinema seats in London are high. In the past cinemas were more popular  than
they are now. It is interesting that in some towns in  Britain  the  cinemas
are closed on Sundays.
  I like to see documentary films best of  all.  Some  of  them  are  rather
interesting, because they tell  us  the  truth  about  the  history  of  our
country.
  I like to see films about school life. As I study at  school,  such  films
are connected with me. It is interesting to see films bout  school  life  in
England, France, Spain and in the USA.  It  is  interesting  to  know  about
foreign education and to see their schools.
  My favourite Russian film is 'Moscow doesn't believe in tears'. It is  the
true story about the girl. She leaves her  village  for  Moscow.  This  film
tells us about her difficulties, about her wish  to  live  in  the  capital,
about her friends. I am sure that it is a kind and a clever film.



  THE TRETYAKOV GALLERY
  There are many  interesting  galleries  in  our  country.  The  Tretyakov
Gallery is one
  of the famous and well-known picture galleries in our country and all over
the world.
  The State Tretyakov Gallery is situated in a Russian-looking building  in
the centre of  Moscow.  This  gallery  is  named  after  its  founder  Peter
Tretyakov. He began to collect Russian paintings in 1856.  He  wanted  these
paintings to be seen by people.
  This gallery and collections of paintings were nationalized in 1918.
  The first works in Tretyakov's collection were the paintings of the 'Pere-
dvizhniki'. The collector bought paintings  'Morning  in  a  Pine  Wood'  by
Shish-kin and 'Ivan Tsarevich on the Grey Wolf 'by Vasnetsov.
  The gallery has got many halls. There  are  halls  devoted  to  the  great
Russian painters of the 18th and 19th centuries.  We  can  see  pictures  by
such painters as Serov, Repin, Ivanov, Levitan and others. You can  see  the
landscapes 'After Rain' and 'Golden Autumn'. These paintings by Levitan  are
beautiful. I like to see his paintings because he is  one  of  my  favourite
artists. I compare his painting 'Golden Autumn' with the  poem  'Autumn'  by
Pushkin.
  There are some paintings by Repin in the Tretyakov Gallery. His  paintings
are connected with the history of our country.  For  example,  his  painting
'Ivan Grozny Murders His Son Ivan'. There are some portraits of Lev  Tolstoy
and a self-portrait of Repin in this hall.
  I like the painting 'Trinity' by Andrei Rublyov. This  work  reflects  the
life and soul of the Russian people.
  This gallery has many new exhibits now. You can see works of the  painters
of the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century there.  I  like
works by Gerasimov. I think that he is a very talented painter.



  BOOKS IN OUR LIFE

  Books... I think that we can't live without them.
  I consider that books are with us during all our life. When I was a  child
my parents read them to me. I was pleased  to  listen  to  the  stories  and
tales. I learned a lot of interesting  things  from  books.  I  remember,  I
liked thick books.
  Later I could read myself. I like to read books about animals, nature  and
children.
  I like to get presents on my birthday. I am happy if  it  is  a  book.  It
doesn't matter what kind of book it is. I like to read almost all books.  If
I have got time I like to spend it  with  my  favourite  book.  When  I  was
fifteen I was fond of reading too.
  But I preferred to read books about travels. I travelled with  the  heroes
of the stories.  I  saw  many  interesting  places  and  learned  a  lot  of
important facts about other countries and people.
  Now I like to read books on science.  You  can  learn  many  things  from
books. I am sure that books play a very important role in my life.
  Our family has got many books. All the members of our  family  buy  books
and read them. My mother says that books help us in self-education.
  In ancient times books were written by hand. It was difficult to write  a
book with a pen. Then printing  came  into  our  life.  Printing  played  an
important role in the development of literature and culture.
  Now there are a lot of books in the shops, there are many  books  in  our
flats. But it is difficult to buy all books which we want  to  read.  That's
why we get books in public libraries.
  There are some problems in our life and  sometimes  it  is  difficult  to
solve them. I think that books  can  help  us.  Last  year  I  read  a  very
interesting book 'An American Tragedy' by Theodore Dreiser. This  novel  was
published at the beginning of the 20th  century.  The  novel  describes  the
tragic fate of a boy and a girl, Clyde and Roberta by  name.  It  is  a  sad
story. This novel was written many years ago, but it  is  popular  nowadays.
Books must be our friends during all our life.


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