Ðåôåðàòû - Àôîðèçìû - Ñëîâàðè
Ðóññêèå, áåëîðóññêèå è àíãëèéñêèå ñî÷èíåíèÿ
Ðóññêèå è áåëîðóññêèå èçëîæåíèÿ
 

Øïàðãàëêè ïî àíãëèéñêîìó ÿçûêó

Ðàáîòà èç ðàçäåëà: «Èíîñòðàííûå ÿçûêè»

Learning foreign languages. Somebody said: 'English is a language that came
from nowhere to conquer the world…' These words are really true and I will
prove it. Foreign languages are absolutely necessary for us nowadays
because of our growing international contacts with all the countries of the
world.

There are many reasons why we begin the study of a foreign language. One of
them is to be able to communicate with other people who use this language.
We may be planning to travel in one or two countries where the language is
spoken. If we know the language of a foreign country, we can talk to its
people and understand what they are saying to us. If we are working in any
branch of science, we naturally wish to read scientific books and magazines
in other languages. Making business nowadays also means knowing foreign
languages because of the growing international business contacts. Knowing
foreign languages helps people of different countries to develop mutual
friendship and understanding. We can also make our intellectual and
cultural horizons wider through contacts with people of another culture. It
is also very interesting to read foreign literature in the original. We can
also read foreign newspapers and magazines and to understand films in
foreign languages without any help.

Learning foreign languages is compulsory in all the secondary and higher
schools in our country. English is a very popular language. People use it
in many parts of the world and there is a lot of business correspondence
and literature in English.

I think, it is very important to know at least one foreign language —
English, German, French, Spanish or any other one.  In conclusion I would
like to say that now there are more than 60 countries that speak English as
the dominant or official language. My purpose is to show you why the
English is a world language. The present day world status of English is the
result of two factors: the expansion of British colonial power, which
peaked towards the end of the 19th century, and the emergence of the US as
the leading economic power of the 20th century. English is the chief
language of international business and academic conferences, and the
leading language of international tourism. English is the main language of
popular music, advertising, home computers and video games. Most of the
scientific, technological and academic information in the world is
expressed in English.
Reading plays a very important role in the life of  people.  It  educates  a
person, enriches his intellect. Books help to mould  a  person's  character,
from his moral values. Besides, books bring pleasure  and  delight.  It's  a
wonderful way of spending spare time. Sometimes we read the same book  again
and again. Thanks to books we learn to express  our  thoughts  and  feelings
more exactly. The book is faithful and understanding friend. It can  be  put
aside and taken up again at any moment. There are books which have been  our
favorites since childhood. People are fond of  reading  different  kinds  of
books. Some people  enjoy  reading  detective  stories,  adventure  stories,
novels, biographies, other prefer classics.  Fairy  tales  are  enjoyed  and
read by children, books about adventures and journeys are enjoyed  by  those
who are fond of traveling. Legends and myths are read by those who are  fond
of history. Some people developed much time to  reading  books  and  reading
becomes  their  free  time  occupation,  their  passion.  Through  out   the
centuries books had an  enormous  influence  on  the  minds  and  hearts  of
people. Books bind together ages, personalities.  Thanks  to  books  we  can
talk to people who lived in different countries and  ages.  Through  reading
books we hear their voices, thoughts and feelings. The book  is  the  surest
way to bring  nations  together.  It  helps  people  achieve  understanding,
trust,  cooperation  and  friendship.  Books  awaken  the   young   reader's
imagination. They develop literary taste,  arouse  interest  and  curiosity,
the reader's laugher as well as his tears. They  teach  the  readers  to  be
truthful, friendly, honest decisive, conscientious, frank,  firm,  fair  and
serious.

People reflect their life in art. Real, live art appeals to  the  heart  and
mind of man, to his feelings and  ideals  and  it  proclaims  life.  Art  is
truthful only when it serves life, only when the artist hopes  to  arouse  a
warm response in the heart of man. Art belongs to the  people.  The  history
of art from the Renaissance to our days confirms this. There  are  nearly  a
thousand museums in Russia, many of them being  world  famous.  The  largest
collection of Russian art is the Tretyakov Art Gallery in Moscow.  It  is  a
real treasury  of  canvases  by  prominent  Russian  painters.  It  contains
priceless collections of icons, 17-20th centuries paintings  and  sculptures
and contemporary Russian painting and sculpture.  One  of  the  largest  and
most remarkable museums of the world  is  the  Hermitage,  more  than  three
hundred halls housing its exhibitions of articles of the  greatest  artistic
value. The museum's collections now comprise work of various periods in  the
development of art, from  ancient  times  up  to  the  present  day.  Famous
painters from different countries are represented there. The Russian  Museum
in St. Petersburg is another picture  gallery  which  contains  the  richest
collection  of  Russian  paintings  of  18-19th  centuries  and   the   best
collection of Russian sculpture. In the Pushkin Museum of the Fine  Arts  in
Moscow the art of the Ancient East and Western Europe is  represented.  This
museum possesses a unique collection of copies of the finest  sculptures  of
the old time. It is in this museum that many famous foreign  expositions  of
the Fine Arts are displayed almost every year.   Music  plays  an  important
role in our life. It was born together with people. It  reflects  the  world
around us by means of combination of tones, rhythm  and  melody.  Music  can
help to relax and to have a rest;  it  provokes  our  deepest  emotions  and
fills our hearts with kindness, joy  and  happiness.  First  musicians  used
primitive instruments: whistles, pipes, and  drums.  Then  harps,  bagpipes,
flutes,  and  horns  appeared.  Nowadays  modern   musicians   use   various
instruments: violin, guitars, saxophones, trumpets and pianos.  Some  people
are fond of classical music, waltz,  marches,  country-dance,  organ,  folk,
spiritual music. Others are interested in modern music: jazz,  blues,  rock,
hard rock, and rap, rave. I like rap music. I admire it. It enriches  me.  I
hate hard rock. I think it is annoying. I don't understand  it.  I  find  it
noisy and dreadful. I am impressed by classical music.  When  I  am  in  bad
mood I listen to classical music. When I have free time I like to listen  to
romantic music.  My  friends  share  my  tastes  in  music.  I  like  having
background music while I'm working. I often go  to  concerts,  buy  records,
cassettes and CD's.       People are fond of  traveling.  They  spend  their
holidays traveling. They travel to see other countries  and  continents,  to
learn a lot about people's traditions, to enjoy picturesque  places.  It  is
interesting for them to discover new things,  different  ways  of  life,  to
meet different people, to try different food. Those who live in the  country
like to find themselves in large cities with their  shops,  cinemas,  crowds
of people. City-dwellers usually like a quiet holiday by the sea or  in  the
mountains with nothing to do but walking and bathing,  laying  in  the  sun.
Most travelers and holiday makers take a camera with them and take  pictures
of everything that interests them - beautiful views of waterfalls,  forests,
unusual plants and animals. These photos will remind them of the happy  time
of holiday. These are many ways of traveling - by train, by plain, by  ship,
on foot. Everyone chooses his favourite one. My favourite way  is  traveling
by plain. And not because it is very comfortable. It  is  exciting.  I  also
like traveling by train. I've traveled this way a lot. When you are  in  the
train you can see the beauty of nature. I envy the tourists because I  think
that they study geography traveling and  visiting  different  parts  of  the
world. They can tell you many things which you didn't know before. They  are
interesting people from whom you can learn much new for yourself.  Any  kind
of travel helps you to understand many things that  you  can  never  see  or
learn at home. As for me I'd like to have  a  coach  tour  to  some  foreign
country. Coach tours are planned and I'll have a  chance  to  do  a  lot  of
sightseeings and have a good rest at the same time.  |My future  profession.
The end of school is the start of our independent life and the beginning  of
the most serious examination we have passed. In order to  do  well  at  this
examination it is necessary to choose the right  road  in  life  which  will
help us to do our best and to work for the  benefit  of  our  country.  Many
roads will open before us: technical schools, institutes  and  universities.
Everybody will have a chance to develop  and  use  knowledge  and  education
received during the school years. There are a lot of  different  trades  and
professions, and each one must choose the occupation in which he or she  can
best develop one's  own  talent  and  abilities.  Our  society  needs  well-
educated people. Nowadays the profession of an economist has become one  the
most useful, modern and interesting. That is because our country  is  moving
towards  market  economy  and  different  forms  of   property   are   being
established. There is a place for an economist at every plant  and  factory.
An economist exercises different functions. He  or  she  can  determine  the
structure of an enterprise and calculate costs as well as probable  profits.
An economist analyses the condition of the  market  and  prospects  for  its
development in the future. His or her practical use of electronic  computers
is a must. The activities of  an  economist  at  an  enterprise  range  from
bookkeeper control the financial state of an enterprise and  perform  a  lot
of useful calculations. A manager is an actual administrator. Having a  good
command of the economic situation in the  region  and  the  demands  of  the
market a person with an economist's diploma may establish his own  business,
or he may become a partner of a joint venture. It is very important  for  an
economist to know a foreign language, especially English.  That  is  because
contracts between our country and many countries of the world  are  becoming
wider with every coming day. Every economist has a chance to  go  abroad  or
to deal with foreign businessmen coming to our  country.  But  to  become  a
good economist one must work hard and get  not  only  theoretical  knowledge
but also great practical skills.


My school. I had just left school and I would like to tell you a  few  words
about it. I went to school in 1988. This school I  studied  in  is  a  three
stored building. When you enter the school yard you  can  see  poplar  trees
and beautiful flowers. To the right of the school building there  is  a  big
playground. When the weather  was  fine  we  had  our  classes  in  physical
training there. When you enter the school you come in to a large hall and  a
cloak-room, there we left our coats, rain-coats and jackets. On  the  ground
floor where is also a school  library  and  a  gym.  The  class  rooms,  the
assembly hall, the teachers room and the canteen are on  the  upper  floors.
On the walls of the corridors you can see the portraits of  famous  writers,
poets, scientists and our school wall newspaper. It is done  by  the  pupils
of our school and has a  lot  of  interesting  things  to  read.  I  learned
different subjects at school: Russian, English,  math,  physics,  chemistry,
geography, history and some others. My favorite subjects  were  Russian  and
English. I also liked literature. I was good at these subjects  and  usually
got good marks  in  them.  I  worked  hard  at  English  lessons:  read  and
translated texts, made up dialogues, did a lot of ex,  but  best  of  all  I
liked different tests, I was fond of grammar. But I was poor  in  chemistry.
I always failed to learn formulas and terms  properly.  I  liked  my  class,
everybody was so friendly easy to get along with. I was on good  terms  with
my class maids and we often spend our free time together.



Much was done by people to reach the present state of human development.  It
is necessary to say that great contribution to the development of the  world
science and culture, literature, music and painting was made by the  Russian
people. The names of Russian scientists and writers,  poets,  composers  and
painters are world-famous-Pushkin, Lermontov, Chehov,  Levitan.  This  chain
can be endless. It is almost impossible to name a branch of science  in  the
development of which the Russian  scientists  haven't  played  the  greatest
role. Lomonosov, the founder of the Moscow  University  was  an  outstanding
innovator  both  in  the  humanities  and  sciences.  Mendeleev's   greatest
discovery was  the  Periodic  System  of  Elements.  Popov  invented  radio.
Sechenov and Pavlov were  the  world's  greatest  physiologists.  Russia  is
rightly  called  the  mother  of  aviation  and   cosmounatics.   Names   of
Tsiolkovsky, Korolov and Gagarin are symbols of new  space  era.  People  in
many countries admire paintings, portraits and landscapes Surikov,  Levitan,
Repin works of our  Russian  writes  and  poets  are  translated  into  many
languages. I want to tell about one of the greatest Russians.  Pyotr  Ilyich
Tchaikovsky, an outstanding Russian composer, was born in Votkinsk in  1840.
He was fond of  music  since  his  early  childhood.  His  mother  sang  him
beautiful songs and taught him to play the  piano.  He  graduated  from  the
Petersburg  Conservatoire  only  in  1866  because  of   his   poor   living
conditions. He was the best  pupil  of  Anton  Rubinstein.  Wen  the  Moscow
Conservatoire was founded Pyotr Ilyich became a professor there. He  created
wonderful music: 10 operas, 3  ballets,  6  symphonies,  7  large  symphonic
poems and many other musical pieces. , a new type  of  opera,  was  a  great
success all  over  the  world.  Margaret  Thatcher  was  the  longest  Prime
Minister of the 20th century. Her style  and  her  views  appealed  to  mane
British people who had lost confidence in  the  welfare  state  and  in  the
direction the nation had taken. In some  ways  she  was  the  first  genuine
leader the nation had had  since  Churchill.  Margaret  Thatcher  began  her
career in politics, when she became a Conservative Member of Parliament.  in
1979 she was elected as Britain's  first  woman  Prime  Minister.  From  the
start, her autocratic style earned her the nickname of 'The Iron Lady'.  Her
abrasive manner has attracted some criticism. During the  Falklands  War  of
1982, however,  Margaret  Thatcher's  militant  patriotism  found  her  many
supporters, and she became something  of  a  popular  hero-figure,  much  as
Winston Churchill had been in the Second World War.  Margaret  Thatcher  was
re-elected Prime Minister in the general elections of 1983 and 1987.  Andrew
Wyet is one of the prominent living American painters. He was born in  1917.
The son of illustrator – Andrew is the leading  member  of  the  dynasty  of
painters that includes his sisters, their husbands and his own two sons.  He
won fame at the age of 12 for his illustrations of 'Robin Hood'. He  was  20
when he first exhibited his paintings. Andrew studied with  his  father  and
was  strongly  influenced  by  him.  His  father's  style  of   illustration
expresses sentimentality. But very early the young artist gravitated  a  way
from his teacher. Wyet's style is both precise and minute in detail,  he  is
a realist influenced  by  photography.  He  painted  portraits,  landscapes,
seascapes and domestic scenery. His favorite media  are  tempera  and  water
colors.  His  works  are  easily  recognized  by  dimly  lit  and   deserted
landscapes  in  tones  of  grey  and  brown  which  convey  the  feeling  of
loveliness and solitude. His most famous works are 'Christina's  world'  and
'Inland shell'.



 |Problems of Youth. The age between 14 & 17 is considered to be one of  the
best periods in  people’s  life.  Grown-ups  remind  it  with  excitement  &
tenderness. But most teens wouldn’t agree with this  opinion  if  they  were
asked. Youth is the time when a person is trying to find his  place  in  the
world. And during this search he or  she  comes  across  different  problems
which are as important as those  of  the  adults.  The  youth  of  the  21st
century face almost the same problems which  were  acute  to  their  parents
when they were young. These problems are  quite  serious  &  they  can’t  be
considered trifles.
 One of them is a  generation  gap.  Every  generation  is  unique  in  its
experience. It has its own ideals and a system of  values  concerning  every
aspect of human life. Adults always complain that the young  people  do  not
blindly accept the ideals  of  their  parents.  Different  generations  take
different directions. Grown-ups always teach the young how to live. But  the
latter want to live their own life. And it generates  the  conflict  of  the
generations.
 Drinking & taking drugs have become the most actual problems of the modern
society. As for drinking , teenagers don’t  realize  the  harm  it  does  to
their health , they just don’t want it to the  privilege  of  grown-ups  but
unlike grown-ups they  are  notable  to  drink  responsibly  .  They  really
believe that certain drinks will make them look like they’re  accepted.  So,
we can say that the low level  of  self-appraisal  is  the  main  reason  of
drinking & drug problem.
 In fact, teenagers have got  a  lot  of  work.  They’re  busy  with  their
studies, household chores, some of them have a  paid  job.  But  there’s  no
time for fun &  they  want  to  be  entertained  at  least  sometimes.  This
excessive work leads to an inner conflict which’s usually expressed  in  the
form of an open, direct protest against the world of grown-ups.
 Our age – is time of making a choice what we will be in  future,  what  we
want to do and how. So we have to  choose  the  university  to  have  better
education and future profession. If you have  a  good  education  you’ll  be
always perfect at you profession and of course you’ll earn much money,  make
your life better. And the best way to prepare is to study better at  school.
The school ages are also very difficult. We do a lot of  homework  and  even
have no time to go for a walk or do whatever we want.
 And of course, communication can be one of the most important problems  of
all young people of today. If you don’t like noisy clubs  and  other  places
of entertainment, you can make friends without leaving your  apartment.  The
Internet gives such an opportunity. But the problem is that people  can  sit
at the displays for 24  hours  without  eating,  sleeping,  having  a  rest,
working or learning properly. I am sure, that it’s a great  problem  of  the
present and future.
  So as you see it’s very difficult to  be  young  nowadays  as  indeed  it
always was. But you only can be young ones and  some  wonderful  things  can
happen to you only when you’re young. So it’s better to  enjoy  youth  while
it lasts.



Holidays.  Every  nation  and  every  country  has  its  own   customs   and
traditions. But there are also international holidays which  are  celebrated
in all countries world-wide. They are: Christmas, New Year, Easter  and  St.
Valentine's  day.  Christmas  comes  but  once  a  year.  Christmas   is   a
traditional family reunion day. On this day, many  people  attend  a  church
service, open their  presents  and  eat  a  Christmas  dinner.  In  Britain,
Christmas is the most important public holiday of the year. It combines  the
custom of giving gifts with the tradition of  spending  this  day  with  the
family. Every year a huge Christmas tree, the gift of the Norwegian  people,
graces Trafalgar square. In Russia Christmas is celebrated  on  the  7th  of
January. On this day people celebrate the  birthday  of  Jesus  Christ.  New
Year is a public holiday but it is not marked with any particular custom  in
Britain and America, yet it has a joyful celebration in Russia. People  stay
awake until after midnight on December 31st to watch the Old  Year  out  and
the New Year in. Many parties are  given  on  this  night.  Theatres,  night
clubs and  streets  are  crowded.  Easter  is  one  of  the  most  important
Christian holiday. It is traditionally associated with Easter eggs and  with
the coming of  spring,  and  most  churches  are  specially  decorated  with
flowers for the service held on Easter Day.  There  are  also  some  special
holidays which are usually celebrated in a particular country.  Let's  start
with the traditional British holiday Pancake day. But people don't only  eat
pancakes on this day, they run with them. In many towns in  England  pancake
races are held every year. These races  are  run  by  housewives.  The  most
American holiday is Thanksgiving day.  It  was  first  celebrated  in  early
colonial  times  by  Pilgrim  Fathers  after  their  first   good   harvest.
Thanksgiving is a day when the  family  eats  a  large  traditional  dinner,
usually with turkey and pumpkin pie. In Russia we celebrate Women's  day  on
the 8th of March. On this day men are supposed to do  everything  about  the
house and cook all the meals.  I  think  it  is  very  important  to  follow
special traditions, because they untie people.  n  Britain  traditions  play
more important part in the life of the people than in some other  countries.
English are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up.  There  is
a big difference of people between America and  Britain.  An  Englishman  in
America is  respected,  Americans  love  his  accent  and  his  country.  An
American in England is thought  to  be  a  little  strange  because  of  his
behavior  and  his  language.  To  the  English  their  private  lives   are
important, their holidays are important, their garden are  important,  their
animals are important. For American the work is the most important thing  in
life. And in England you can hear the most extraordinary excuse  not  to  go
to work, for example 'My dog's got a cold'.  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.
Above the fire there is usually a shelf with a clock and  some  photos.  The
English are a nation of stay-at-homes. There is  no  place  like  home.  The
Englishman is never tired to say 'My house is my castle'. The Americans  are
different. I think they are more open, they speak their minds,  so  if  they
don't like something, they actually tell it directly. Not like the  British,
who might think one thing and say  another.  Americans  start  conversations
with people in the street,  in  the  subway;  they  are  more  enthusiastic.
American customs underline independence and freedom of  the  nation.  Russia
is the country of the dramatic beauty. To my mind, the main  traits  of  the
real Russia character are hospitality, 'open heart',  'golden  hands',  wise
Russian fairytales reflect their wisdom. The Russians are  a  very  talented
nation. Russia gave the world beautiful  names  of  Pushkin  and  Lermontov,
Tchaikovsky and Repin, thousands of names of world  famous  poets,  writers,
composers, scientists. Every country is also known for its food. England  is
noted for its pudding,  bacon,  marmalade,  porridge  and  five-o'clock-tea.
America  is  the  country  of  Coca-Cola,  hamburgers   and   chewing   gum.
Traditional Russian cooking is worldfamous for such dishes as okroshka,…
|Sports. Sport is probably as old as the humanity itself. It has been
developing with the development and growth of the mankind people all over
the world. If you want to feel fit you'd better go in for one kind of sport
or another. I should admit that everyone must do all he can to be healthy.
Good health is better than the best medicine, as the old Latin proverb
says. All kinds of physical exercises are very useful to make our bodies
strong and to keep ourselves fit and healthy.
 Sport not only helps people to become strong and to develop physically but
also makes them  more  organized  and  better  disciplined  in  their  daily
activities. It makes for a healthy  mind  in  a  healthy  body  sport  helps
people to keep in good health. We all need to exercise. Even  if  you  don’t
plan to make  a  career  in  sport  you  still  have  to  practice.  Regular
exercises give you more energy. That is why  many  people  who  suffer  from
general tiredness should take more exercise than more rest.  Exercise  makes
you feel and look better. The best exercise is one, which  is  involved,  in
repeated movements: walking, jogging, and swimming. Bending  and  stretching
will add flexibility and feeling of lightness.
 As for me I try to take all these  things  into  consideration  and  as  a
result  of  it  I  go  in  dancing  studio,  play  badminton  and  sometimes
volleyball, ride bicycle and swim. I  think  that  dancing  is  better  than
sport if you just want to keep feet, but not make a  sport  career.  Because
sometimes sport  is  dangerous  if  you  don’t  know  how  to  do  exercises
properly. For example, if you run too much your calves can  become  too  big
or you even can get injury.  So  you  better  go  to  a  sport  clubs  where
experienced instructor will help you to achieve good results.
I like to dance very much and I think it’s a best way to be healthy  and  to
keep feet for girls. Because dancing develops  all  groups  of  muscles  and
helps to keep good deportment. Besides  it  makes  one  feel  confident  and
helps to overcome shyness. So I am in good form and hope to be in future.

My favourite holiday. Many great holidays and anniversaries  are  celebrated
in our country. On the 1st of May there is May Day — the holiday  of  spring
and labour. On the 8th of March there is Women's Day — the  holiday  of  all
women and girls. We celebrate Day of Independence  of  Russia  on  the  12th
June and Day of Russian Constitution on the 12th  of  December.  Now  people
celebrate some religious holidays such  as  Christmas  and  Easter.  But  my
favourite holiday is New Year's Day, of course. It  is  a  really  wonderful
holiday. People get ready for this holiday long  before  it.  They  buy  New
Year trees and decorate them. Every year a fairy-tale comes to  every  house
and every family on New Year's Eve. Children and  even  grown-ups  wait  for
this day because they believe that all their wishes and  desires  come  true
and different wonderful miracles happen on that day.

On New Year’s Eve people get together to see “the old year out and  the  new
year in”. They eat tasty food, drink champagne, dance and have a  good  time
together. They wish each other happiness and good luck in the new  year  and
put the presents under the New Year tree. Children like  this  holiday  very
much. They wait for New Year presents, which,  they  believe,  Father  Frost
brings to them. Everybody is merry on that day and wishes the next  year  to
be good and happy and all one's troubles and disappointments  to  remain  in
the past.



Great Britain is situated on the British  Isles.  It  consists  of  England,
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and  is  one  thirtieth  the  size  of
Europe. Great Britain is surrounded by seas on all sides  and  is  separated
from the continent by the North Sea and the English Channel.

There are many rivers in Britain. They are not long but  some  of  them  are
deep. The longest river is the Severn.  There  are  many  mountains  in  the
north of England and in Scotland but they are not  very  high.  The  highest
mountain in Great Britain is Ben Nevis. There are many  lakes  in  Scotland.
The most beautiful is Loch Lomond.

Great Britain has a very good position as it lies on the  crossways  of  the
sea routes from Europe to the other parts  of  the  world.  There  are  many
countries which are connected with Great Britain  by  sea.  Thanks  to  Gulf
Stream the climate of Great Britain is mild. It is often  foggy  and  rainy.
The summer is not very hot and the winter is not very cold.

Great Britain  is  a  highly  developed  industrial  country.  It  lives  by
manufacture and trade. Its  agriculture  provides  only  half  the  food  it
needs, the other half of its food has to be imported. Britain is one of  the
most  highly  industrialised  countries  in  the  world:  for  every  person
employed in agriculture, eleven are employed in  mining,  manufacturing  and
building. The main branches of  British  economy  are  engineering,  mining,
ship-building,   motor   vehicle    manufacturing,    textile,    chemistry,
electronics, fishing and food processing. The industrial  centres  of  Great
Britain are London, Manchester, Eirmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield  and
others.
The United States of America is another important English-speaking  country.
It consists of fifty different states and the District  of  Columbia  joined
together under one government.

The USA covers an area of almost 9400000 square kilometres and is  twice  as
large as all the countries of Europe combined. It is placed  in  the  middle
of the North American continent and is washed by the Atlantic Ocean  in  the
east and the Pacific Ocean in the west. Placed between two oceans,  the  USA
has a free access to the trade routes of the world.

 On the whole the USA has a continental climate. It is at the same time  one
of the coldest and one of the hottest countries, one of the wettest and  one
on the driest.

The flag of the United States is called “Stars and Stripes”.  The  50  stars
represent the 50 states and the 13 stripes  represent  13  original  English
colonies, which in 1776 became free and independent of England.

The USA is governed by Congress and by the President. Congress  consists  of
the  Senate  (100  senators  —  2  from  each  state)  and  the   House   of
Representatives (435 Congressmen). The President, who is also  the  head  of
the government and the  commander-in-chief  of  all  the  armed  forces,  is
elected every four years.

The capital of the United States  is  Washington.  It  is  situated  on  the
Potomac River not far from the Atlantic coast.  Washington  is  not  a  very
large city. Such cities as New York, Chicago, Los  Angeles,  San  Francisco,
Houston, Dallas, Philadelphia, Detroit, New  Orleans  and  some  others  are
larger.

The USA is one of the most  developed  countries  in  the  world.  It  is  a
country of great contrasts. There are a lot  of  unsolved  problems  in  the
country such as unemployment and inflation, but nevertheless it  is  one  of
the greatest countries in the world.

 |Protection of Environment. It is a small world we live in, and it is  high
time for all of us to realize it.  Since  ancient  times  people  have  been
trying to produce more and more to increase  human  wealth.  Nobody  noticed
that we were destroying Nature by using it as the source of  raw  materials,
and as the garbage can for our waste. Nature  seemed  to  be  boundless  and
endless... Far from it  as  it  turned  out.  Millions  of  cars  and  smoky
factories pollute and spoil the air we  breathe  in.  Pollution  is  hanging
over big cities like an ugly brown cloud. It is hurting our  lungs  as  well
as the life of animals, birds and plants. People need wood and paper, so  we
cut down our forests. We don't know what to do with waste materials  of  our
industry, so we pour them into water, bury them into soil,  and  shoot  them
into atmosphere. We pollute the water we drink, and the  land  we  live  in.
People build nuclear power stations  and  carry  out  nuclear  tests.  As  a
result, radiation represents one of the main problems  nowadays.  The  rapid
growth of population in the world may turn into another grave  problem  very
soon. The speed, with which we are  using  up  our  non-renewable  resources
like oil and gas, is appalling. With the development of our civilization  we
have become dangerous to the planet and to ourselves. What must  we  do  not
to find ourselves in a dirty  desert  in  the  near  future?  This  question
cannot be ignored. Some scientists are pessimistic about our problems.  They
suppose that we have already reached the point  of  no  return.  Others  are
more optimistic and  believe  that  our  ecological  problems  are  solvable
because more and more people begin to understand  how  dangerous  they  are.
There is increasing awareness of people of the real state of the planet.  In
many countries environmental protection agencies and  research  centers  are
set up. Such organizations as 'Green Peace' and 'Friends of the  Earth'  try
to put pressure upon those governments that  do  not  care  for  ecology  in
their countries. The humankind will be  able  to  survive  only  if  we  all
understand that environmental protection is our universal concern.

Mass media. The most popular sources of entertainment  and  information  are
the press, radio, tv, and movies. The press plays an important part  in  the
life of society. Millions of Americans in their free time  read  newspapers.
The English word ‘newspaper’ does not really describe  everything  that  you
can read in this kind of publication. Newspapers include  not  only  stories
about recent events (news), but opinions, advertising,  and  other  non-news
items. The first American  newspaper  was  called  Public  Occurrences  Both
Foreign and Domestic. This paper was first published in Boston in 1690.  Now
there are about 2,600 newspapers published in the USA. The New  York  Times,
the Washington Post, and the  Los  Angeles  Times  are  three  of  the  most
important daily papers that describe foreign and domestic  news.  The  radio
does not interfere with your activities. You can listen to the  radio  while
doing some work about the house, reading a book or driving  a  car.  On  the
radio one  can  hear  music,  plays,  news,  and  different  commentary  and
discussions called ‘forums’. At a forum several authorities  exchange  views
on social, economic and  political  problems.  A  peculiar  feature  of  the
American radio is  soap  opera.  It  is  a  sentimental  serial  drama  that
describes domestic problems and which  is  for  housewives.  Soap  opera  is
usually broadcast every day. Most people find soap opera boring.  There  ate
a lot of games on the radio. They are called  ‘panel  games’.  Radio  brings
also cultural and  educational  programs.  Many  programs  are  made  up  of
classical music. Television is a ‘chewing gum for ears and eyes’. There  are
many serials on TV in the  USA.  They  appeared  in  the  1950s.  TV  games-
attract a large audience, too. During TV quiz  programs  TV  viewers  answer
different questions.  There  is  a  lot  of  education  on  television.  For
example,  you  can  take  a  TV  course  in  history,   political   economy,
management, banking and in many other subjects, or learn a foreign  language
by TV. Educational TV films and programs are shown in schools  and  colleges
as a part of the curriculum.



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 vast territory of Russia lies in the Eastern part of Europe and  in  the
northern part of Asia. In area, it is one of the largest  countries  in  the
world. Airlines service many cities throughout the country.  A  flight  from
Moscow to Magadan takes eight hours. Russia is washed  by  twelwe  seas  and
three oceans. The oceans are: tha Atlantic, the  Arctic,  the  Pacific.  The
northern and eastern coasts of Russia are  washed  by  the  White  Sea,  the
Barents Sea and by the Okhotsk Sea. The land of Russia  waries  a  lot  from
heavy forests  to  barren  deserts,  from  high  peaked  mountains  to  deep
valleys. Russia is located on two plains. They are: the Great Russian  Plain
and the West Siberian  Plain.  There  are  three  main  mountain  chains  in
Russia. The Urals, the longest mountain chain, separates Europe  from  Asia.
There are various types of climate on  the  territory  of  Russia.  But  the
temperate zone with four distinct seasons prevails.  Russia  is  a  land  of
long rivers and deep lakes.  The  broad  Volga  River  system  has  a  great
historic, economic and cultural importance to Russia. It became  the  cradle
of such ancient towns as Vladimir, Tver, Yaroslavl, Kazan, Nizhny  Novgorod.
Numerous canals join all the rivers in the European part of  Russia,  making
it the largest inland water transportation route in Europe. The Volga  River
runs into the Caspian Sea, which is in reality,  the  largest  lake  in  the
world. The Baikal is the deepest lake in the world.  The  European  part  of
Russia is densely populated. There are a lot of cities, towns  and  villages
there. Russia is rich in natural resources. It has deposits  of  coal,  oil,
natural gas, iron  ore,  gold,  nickel,  etc.  Russia  borders  on  fourteen
countries, including the  former  Republics  of  the  USSR,  which  are  now
independent states. The history of Russia dates back to the  year  862.  Now
Russia is a Presidental Republic. Russia  has  always  played  an  important
role in the world. It is one of its leading Powers.

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