10 Topics for exams

1. My position about weddings So, speaking about weddings, I would like to mention first that I don t understand people, who are getting married at the age of 17-20, it s hideous. Cause they don t realize that they ll break their lives by divesting themselves of the greatest years. Cause at that age they all are still children and children can only play representing a family but it s wrong to transform such a game into a reality, cause they are to young to do it.

The same I can tell about weddings the reasons of which is pregnancy, such wedlocks exist for a short time as usual. As for me I decided that it would be better to get married when I ll be 25-27 years old. And only misunderstanding, cruel and unfair control can change my decision, so I can make up my mind and displace that age limit a little below. I think that nowadays marriage is only the way to bring up lawful children.

And it would be better and admissible for me to live in civil marriage with a beloved person. And only when we ll be sure in each other, in our joint future and our financial stability it would be possible to speak about our marriage and children. I m an atheist, so I want to have a humanist wedding and after it a ceremony in a register office. As any other girls I want my wedding to be as unusual as possible,

I want us to recite our own vows, and to invite a crowd of friends and relatives. Getting older you look for real, true love. You simply fall in love and want to make the other person happy too. And so you marry and take on the responsibilities of married life. In this new life you learn to take care of your partner, and you expect to have a family and bring up your children in the way you know to be right. As parents, you wish to provide them with everything

you know a child needs, namely love, protection, safety and understanding. By rearing children and being a good partner you yourself feel needed and loved. The self-realization in marriage and parenthood is the key to happiness, although it is still associated with effort, sacrifice and hard work. If the decision to get married does not result from an unpleasant domestic situation you have a great chance to succeed in marriage.

2. Role of Women in Society The ongoing changes in social, political and economic spheres of the country entails not only the raise of women s role in society, in addition they are accompanied by breaking of stereotypes to treat human beings by sex that had been shaping through decades. Free economic relations and democratization of all spheres of life create the basis for eventual equal social rights for any human being regardless of sex, for both men and women.

From a legal point of view, a man and a woman in Russia are equal. However, in practice, there are no real mechanisms of women s rights fulfillment as well as for their active participation in social life. Such questions as women and their place in the society, their political and social activity as well as enlightening of those problems in mass media questions of creation of informational data-base as well as maternity and childhood cannot be effectively solved by governmental

bodies, especially in the situation of economic crisis. That is why it is important today to assist the creation of such mechanisms through the activation of women s public organizations. And non-governmental charity organizations become a single source for support of such projects. Housework, chores and raising children are generally considered to belong to a womans domain. Despite the fact that birthrates in the country have been falling, children are

obstacles in the labor market. It is understandable that women decide to defer having children later or do not have children at all. Along with that, there is a lack of knowledge about modern contraception and a correspondingly large number of abortions. The frequency of abortions in Russia is one of the highest in the world. Women comprise 54 percent of contemporary Russian society. However, the number of women taking part in the countrys political, economic and civic

life shows that women are restricted in the spheres of politics and government. Womens salaries are on average lower than mens, and women are likewise far more likely to fall victim to violence and unemployment. According to United Nations Gender Organization data, 67 percent of those unemployed in Russia are women. A lack of state financing in social programs has caused further tightening in the

labor market, particularly for women. Female unemployment is rising at a catastrophically high rate. Women have less access to retraining programs than men, while women entrepreneurs are a rarity. Womens social status is a serious problem. Few female decision-makers can be found in positions of social importance. This strengthens the stereotype of male superiority and hinders the creation of true partnerships between men and women. One of the most important reflections of equity is equal rights

in the labor market. Analysis of existing legislation of Russia confirms its prohibition on gender discrimination. However, legislation itself creates only a certain legal environment, certain conditions for equality, but does not ensure their fulfillment. So,The main goals are protection of women s rights and elimination of discrimination in society widening women s participation in policy decision-making processes on the

local, regional and national levels support for cooperation between women s organizations on the national and international arenas widening access to international resources and experience of women s organizations on an international level. 3. The only child in a family So, I m the only child in the family and I like it. Of course I m spoilt a little but it doesn t disturb me.

The attention is all mine, consequently I m the apple of my parent s eyes. I feel lucky, and my friends are jealous because of my single state, particularly because I don t have to share a bedroom. It s an advantage. You get undivided attention from your parents. Being alone made me close to animals but it also made me quite demanding. If you don t have sisters or brothers you need friends and so

I tried hard to make them, I am good at making them still and such experience is very useful nowadays. It may be true that an only child is spoilt, but, believe me, there are occasions on which you wish there was a brother or sister to share problems, but when you solve you problems yourself you tend to become strong and rational person, and it s better to spend more time in the company of adults than with your contemporaries. I ve seen a lot of big families where were two or more children in a family

and most of my friends have brothers or sisters. And I didn t make up my mind and think that it s better to be the only child then the other way round. I suppose that only people who have a good financial situation or are rich can afford more than one child. Cause in the other way they ll make a great mistake. Most of specialists suppose that only in a family with one child a real leader can be born and educate.

In the former situation parents usually believe in his possibilities, praise him for small successes and reward his good deeds. Thus he becomes self-centered and conceited. He is greedy for money. In the latter situation parents are overprotective, underestimating their child s skills and talents and often criticizing his efforts to be independent. Thus he is not sure of his real value. His start into adult life seems to be easier when we take into

consideration welfare, comfort and living standards. But from the point of view of maturity his start is more difficult as he becomes independent later than his friends of the same age and sometimes cannot solve simple problems at work because so far his parents have always done it for him. Responsible parents should know that family is the first little community where the personality of a child develops and if there are more than three in the family the

children can learn in a more natural and easy way how to cope with every day problems and learn to compromise in an argument, as well as understand others and love them. It is much more difficult to bring up the only child as the process of teaching him the terms of living in a society is rather artificial. In their books, educational films, and therapy meetings, psychologists give a lot of positive evidence that multi-children families provide a better psychological and socially

healthier environment for development. The parents effort to rear their children is rewarded when the children grow up. And when the parents are old it is impossible to be forgotten form the bunch of kids there is at least one or two who will always remember to hasten with assistance to their loving parents. 4. My way of diet People in different countries have different ideas about what is good to eat and what is the best diet for them. So, we live in a country where breakfast is a very rich meal.

We have not only roll with butter, jam of honey, but ham or sausage and fried eggs or porridge as well. Tea is taken at breakfast more often than coffee. Well, when I get up in the morning the only thing I can face is a glass of some juice or mineral water it raises my spirits a bit. Then, several minutes later I have my typical breakfast. A cup of tea with some sandwiches or scrambled eggs with milk.

Lunch is not very popular in our country but when we have some breaks at university called windows we have lunch in our university s canteen, we have a bit of choice there. The main and the most abundant meal of the day is diner, but as we are students it s better to call it supper. A full typical dinner comprises soup, a main course and a dessert. My favourite soups are red beet and mushroom soups.

For the main course I typically have some meat or fish, potatoes and vegetables. The most typical meat is a pork or veal chops or chicken. Some other dishes served as appetizers for dinner or for supper are different kinds of salads. According to our tradition, good food should be accompanied by good drink. For dinner or supper people sometimes drink vodka, wine or beer.

As for me sometimes I drink vine with my Mum after supper. As for my eating and drinking habits, I can tell that I m not into sweets and as most men think that chocolate is nothing else but a kind of sweets. I dislike any kinds of rolls, buns, cakes and pies. But I m into hot Mexican and Chinese food, hot pizzas, chilly and sushi.

On special occasions, my family goes out to eat in clubs and restaurants. I like trying cuisine of different countries. And while being in different countries I always trying their national cuisine. I don t think I d like to eat this every day but it s really good for a change. In the end I should mention that we always should remember that we eat to live but not live to eat.

6. I don t believe weather forecast Countless man hours and millions of dollars have been invested in weather satellites, weather radar, and remote sensors to generate sophisticated computer models of the worlds atmosphere to make detailed weather forecasts. So what do I get when I tune into the news to find out the weather Tomorrow theres a chance itll be partly cloudy with highs from mid, to upper 80s

What is partly cloudy supposed to mean When is it not partly cloudy Even if it is, or isnt, does it really matter Does anyone really need to be reminded that it will be partly cloudy tomorrow As ambiguous as the phrase is, they water it down even more with the word chance. How useful is it to know that theres a chance itll be partly cloudy on any given day as opposed to all those other days when there isnt a chance itll be partly cloudy

Weather men use the phrase partly cloudy as a buffer every chance they get. Dont believe me Just tune into a weather forecast. Chances are youll hear the phrase at least 3 or more times. When the use of the phrase partly cloudy has been exhausted, they turn to yet another empty phrase, or the phrase mostly sunny in particular. The inverse of partly cloudy is mostly sunny.

So what new information have they given us Nothing. Not a single thing. You want to find out the weather Look out the window. As for meteorology and other weather lores I think that, as it s not a precise science but something that is based on guessworks. And, truthly speaking, there are only two weather clues for me.

The first one means that whenever I take my umbrella with me without noticing weather forecast the weather will inevitably be fine and dry all day long. And the second one is that if I listen to Madonna s Rain it would be stormy wind and rain several hours later. May be it s fun, but it works 8. Freak weather Freak weather has been introduced by the scientific

community and the media as the term that encompasses all potential changes in climate. Hundreds of scientists from many different countries are working to understand strange phenomena. As freak weather is the result of extremely complex interactions, scientists still cannot predict the exact impact on the Earth of these phenomena and find the explanation of them. El-Nino is one of these phenomenon. Every few years something mysterious happens in the

Pacific. Vast areas of the surface of the Pacific begin to warm up. As a result, the wind weakens. A great sweep of warm water sloshes eastwards. These warm waters usually arrive off the coast of South America shortly after Christmas. That is why they are known as El-Nino, which is Spanish for the Chist-Child.It seems rhat

El-Nino affects the weather of North America and the Atlantic, too. In 1983 severe storms caused havoc in the United States and Europe, these and severe drought in Africa, India and Europe could be traced back to El-Nino. Scientists call El-Nino world weather upset.

Crop circles phenomenon is not a modern one. They are mentioned in academic texts of the late 17th Century. Since then some eighty eyewitnesses from as far away as British Columbia have reported crop circles forming in under twenty seconds cases are often accompanied by sightings of incandescent or brightly-coloured balls of light, shafts of light or structured flying craft. Serious attention was given to the simple circles in 1980 in southern

England. The designs appeared primarily as simple circles, circle with rings, and variations on the Celtic cross, they developed straight lines and created pictograms, Research and laboratory tests suggest that microwave or ultrasound may be the only method capable of producing such an effect. There are a lot of other unusual weather phenomena such as flying saucers, tornadoes, blood rains about which people think they are

God signs. 9. Feeling under the weather A long time ago when people lived mostly out-of-doors, they were close to nature. They noticed that plants, mammals, insects and birds sensed the coming of any weather change sooner than people did. So when ancient people saw animals seeking shelter, they did, too. Nowadays people have much more problems and interferes of weather conditions. Some people are very sensitive to humidity. People who have arthritis are, in a sense, living hydrometers.

High humidity causes the fluids in their tissues and joints to increase, making movement difficult and painful. That is why many older people say, it s going to rain. I can feel it in my bones. They actually can. Few people in northern countries enjoy the long, dark nights and cold temperatures of winter. According to scientists, wintery conditions may be making some people ill. They suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder

SAD or the winter blues. Sufferers become depressed as the days become shorter but recover rapidly in spring. The symptoms can be very serious and may be mistaken for signs of mental illness. They include sleeping more than usual but never feeling rested, melancholy, listlessness, weight gain and lack of energy among others. The further you live from the equator, the more likely you are to be affected by SAD. It is believed that up to 20 of the population of northern countries suffers from

SAD and that 5 are chronic cases. But even if you don t have full-blown SAD, you may still experience a few symptoms, such as increased fatigue and a down mood, from the lack of light. So, if you have any of those symptoms it s better for you to see your doctor, to keep your home and workplace as bright as possible, light treatment with special bulbs, given under your doctor s direction, can alleviate and even prevent symptoms

It takes a little sleuthing, but once you ve fingered the source of your blues, and applied the appropriate fix, who knows You may actually start to enjoy winter for a change 10. Environmental protection Some hundreds of years ago people lived in harmony with nature, because industry was not much developed. Today, however, the contradictions between man and nature are dramatic. The twenty first century is a century of the scientific and technological progress.

The achievements of the mankind in mechanization and automation of industrial processes, in chemical industry and conquering outer space, in the creation of atomic power stations and ships are amazing. But at the same time, this progress gave birth to a very serious problem the problem of environment. Ecology and the contamination of environment, is concerned with climate, over-population in certain areas, deaths of plant and animals, chemical contamination of seas, lakes and rivers as well as atomic

experiments and dumping of atomic waste from power stations. Floods, unexpected draughts, and the greenhouse effect are the next reasons. There are many consequences of damaging the environment. One of them is acid rain. Another one is water shortage resulting from abuse of arable lands in agriculture. The third one is destroying the ozone layer of the

Earth through pollution from factories and plants. The fourth problem is damage o water and soils. The fifth one is damage to wildlife numerous species of animals and plants can disappear. At last, the most serious danger arising from damaging the environment is the result of the abovementioned consequences. This is the danger for the life and health of the man. The protection of natural resources and wildlife is becoming a political programme in every country.

Numerous anti-pollution acts passed in different countries led to considerable improvements in environment. In many countries purifying systems for treatment of industrial waters have been installed, measures have been taken to protect rivers and seas from oil waters. But the environmental problems have grown beyond the concern of a single country. Their solution requires the co-operation of all nations.

If we are unable to learn to use the environment carefully and protect it from damage caused by man s activities, very soon we ll have no world to live in. 11. Global warming Global warming has been introduced by the scientific community and the media as the term that encompasses all potential changes in climate that result from higher average global temperatures. Hundreds of scientists from many different countries are working to understand global warming and have

come to a consensus on several important aspects. In general, Global warming will produce far more profound climatic changes than simply a rise in global temperature. An analysis of temperature records shows that the Earth has warmed an average of 0.5C over the past 100 years. This is consistent with predictions of global warming due to an enhanced greenhouse effect and increased

aerosols. Part of the current global warmth is associated with the tropical El Nino, without which a record global temperature would probably not have occurred. The Earths climate is the result of extremely complex interactions among the atmosphere, the oceans, the land masses, and living organisms, which are all warmed daily by the suns energy. This heat would radiate back into space if not for the atmosphere, which relies on a delicate balance

of heat-trapping gases - including water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane - to act as a natural greenhouse, keeping in just the right amount of the suns energy to support life. For the past 150 years, though, the atmospheric concentrations of these gases, particularly carbon dioxide, have been rising. As a result, more heat is being trapped than previously, which in turn is causing the global temperature to rise. Climate scientists have linked the increased levels of heat-

trapping gases in the atmosphere to human activities, in particular the burning of fossil fuels coal, oil, and natural gas for heating and electricity gasoline for transportation, deforestation, cattle ranching, and rice farming. As the Earths climate is the result of extremely complex interactions, scientists still cannot predict the exact impact on the earths climate of these rising levels of heat-trapping gases over the next century. The current best estimate is that if carbon dioxide concentrations double

over preindustrial levels, according to the scientific possible scenarios, an atmospheric doubling of carbon dioxide could occur as early as 2050. In 1995, scientists with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - the authoritative international body charged with studying this issue-reached a conclusion in the Second Assessment Report, which summarizes the current state of scientific knowledge on global warming, also called climate

change. For the first time ever, the Panel concluded that the observed increase in global average temperature over the last century is unlikely to be entirely natural in origin and that the balance of evidence suggests that there is a discernible human influence on global climate. 12. English Geo When we speak of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland we actually speak about four countries united into one state.

So Great Britain proper comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Each of these countries has its own language, its capital, its government. The United Kingdom of Great Britain is situated on the British Isles lying to the north-west of the continent of Europe. The British Isles consists of two main Islands,

Great Britain and Ireland, and over five hundred small Islands. Britain is comparatively small, but thee is hardly a county in the world where such a variety of scenery can be found in so small a compass. There are wild desolate mountains in the northern Highlands of Scotland, flat tulip fields round the Fens, that would make you think you were in Holland, within a few miles of

Manchester and Sheffield you can be in glorious heather-covered moors. You can notice on the map how deeply indented the coastline is. This indentation gives a good supply of splendid harbours for ships and you can note too, that owning to the shape of the country there is no point in it that is more than seventy miles from the sea. The surface of England and Ireland is rather flat while the highland area comprises

Scotland and most of Wales. The Cheviot Hills running from east to west, separate England from Scotland. The Pennine Chain extends southward from the Cheviot Hills into the Midlands. There are many rivers in Great Britain but they are not long. The longest river is the Severn, flowing south-west into the Irish Sea. The busiest and the most important river is the

Thames. The chief river in Scotland is the Clyde. Many of the English and Scottish rivers are joined by canals, so that it s possible to travel by water from one end of Great Britain to the other. The rivers of Britain are of no great value as water-ways, few of them are navigable except near the mouth for anything but the smaller vessels. The UK has many beautiful lakes in Scotland and north-west

England. Many Scottish valleys between the hills are filled with lakes, called lochs. The best known is Loch Ness where as some people think a large monster lives. The Lake District in northern England with its lakes, mountains and valleys is a favourite holiday resort. There are no great forests in Great Britain now. Historically, the most famous forest is Sherwood Forest, the home of

Robin Hood. It is to the north of London. The seas round the British Isles are shallow. The North Sea is nowhere more than 600 feet deep, so that if St. Paul s Cathedral were put down in any part of it some of the cathedral would still be above water. The Atlantic Ocean and the warm waters of Gulf Stream influence the climate of Great Britain, making it temperate and mild. Rains all year round and thick fogs in autumn or in winter

are the most typical features of the climate in Great Britain. 13. The history of London. More than two thousand years ago the early Britons established a settlement on the north bank of the Thames. The site had many advantages. It was defended on two sides by rivers. It lay in the center of the most fertile region. The old

Britons gave the town its name, Lyndin, the Romans made it the center of their colony, the Germanic invaders tied to burn and destroy it, the victorious Normans made it the capital of the country. So the physical layout of contemporary London is the end product of complex historical events and growth forces. The fort of Londinium, founded by the Romans in the 1st century

AD, and the administrative center established at Westminster 1000 years later served as the nuclei for following development in Central London. At the time of the Roman occupation of Britain in the 1st century AD, London was already a town of considerable importance, in the 2th century King Alfred made London the capital of his kingdom.

After William the Conqueror established himself in England, he began construction of the Tower of London, intending it as a citadel to overawe the populace. Many Normans settled in London and erected imposing edifices. Throughout the Middle Ages the development of London was slow and was repeatedly arrested by wars, epidemics and commercial crises. The opening by Queen

Elizabeth 1 of the Royal Exchange in 1566 marked the growth of the city expanded it might become too powerful. Queen Elizabeth 1 issued a proclamation prohibiting the construction of any new building within a radius of 4,8 km outside the city gates. In 1665, during the Great Plague, nearly 70,000 Londoners died of to the disease with a period of a year. The epidemic was followed by the Great Fire of 1666, which destroyed most of the walled section of

the city. Because the Rebuilding Act of 1667 stipulated that only stone and brick be used, the new buildings that rose from the ruins bore little resemblance to the quaint wooden dwellings of old London. During the 19th century many suburbs were incorporated into Greater London, all the bridges in the city were rebuilt in stone, and the streets were furnished first with gas, and later with electric, illumination. During

World War 1 London was the object of frequent raids by German airplanes and zeppelins. The city was heavily bombed during World War 2. About 10,000 persons wee killed. Among the celebrated buildings either damaged or destroyed were the Tower of London, the British Museum, Houses of Parliament, St. Paul s Cathedral, Buckingham palace, many railway stations also were severely damaged.

After the war, by the end of the 1950s most of the war damage in London was repaired. As a result of the reconstruction the skyline of the city began changing. Tall buildings were built, such as The London StockExchange, the General Post Office. Homes, shops, schools and a cultural center were built, and important landmarks were preserved. Considerable controversy followed the demolition of several historical or architecturally

interesting areas sacrificed for the construction of high-rise office and apartment buildings.