3 Топика по иностранному языку (english)

Native AmericansNative Americans came from Asia. Over 20 000 years ago they traveledacross the land between Siberia and Alaska. When English colonists came to theNew World on board the Mayflower the native Americans met them andwere very friendly and helped them a lot. In those days people lived in small earth houses andgrew their own food.

Some Indians ate only grass, nuts, and what fruit theycould find. Other people were fishermen and lived in wooden houses. Most nativeAmericans were very peaceful. They wanted to live happily with nature and eachother. They believed in many gods and thought that the gods live in trees,stones, water and fire. They believed their gods could bring success inhunting, farming and fishing.

They often had special ceremonies with dances andmusic before they went hunting or fishing or when they began farming. Native Americans songs and poems are a veryimportant part of their traditions as they help them to keep their history andculture alive. Another famous tradition was smoking of a peace pipe. When theysmoked this pipe together with people they did not know it meant friendship andpeace.

Many years ago Native American tribes lived in all parts of the USA, andhunted and fished wherever they choose. Now most of them live in poor lands tothe west of Mississippi River. Many live in reservations .Pets in Great BritainLots of families in Great Britain have got one or more pets. Dogs are the favourite pets and there are about 6million of them in

Great Britain. The second favourite are cats about 5millions and the third favourite is a bird - budgie . Some families do notkeep cats or dogs. They keep other animals as pets in their homes. There aremore than 12 million pets in Britain. The English take good care of their pets.They give them nice names Rover, Rax, Cindy, Misty for dogs Albert, Snowy,Fluffy,

Tom for cats Polly, Chatterbox for parrots Guy, Scamper, Shipley,Shirley for monkeys .When they speak of their pets, they say, he or she , not it . The English give their pets nice foodto eat. They buy food for their pets in pet shops. The English are pet lovers.Schools in EnglandEnglish educational system is quite different from what we have inRussia. It is class-divided. There some state schools and some private ones.

State schools are infant, junior or secondary.British boys and girls begin to go to school at the age of 5. They drawpictures, sing songs, listen to the stories and tales. British children beginto read and write when they enter the infant schools. Young children are divided into two groups,according to their mental abilities. Children leave infant schools when theyare 7. Then they go to study at junior schools where they learn

to write, readand do mathematics. Their school subjects are History, English, Geography,Arithmetics, Arts, Music, Swimming and some others. When the pupils enter thejunior schools they pass abilities test. According to the results of the testand thus their intellectual potential they are divided into three groups. Boysand girls spend four years studying at junior schools.

Then they passexaminations again and enter the secondary schools. There different types ofsecondary schools in Britain. They are grammar schools, modern schools andcomprehensive schools. English boys and girls attend secondary schools from 11till 16. They don t go to schools on Saturdays and Sundays.

In the modernschools pupils do not learn foreign languages. In grammar schools pupilsreceive better theoretical education. And the other school type iscomprehensive schools. Almot all secondary pupils around 90 per cent gothere. There are also private schools in England. Boys andgirls do not study together there.

It is common that aristocracy sons go tothese schools and parents pay a lot of money for their education. These schoolsare called public. Independent and preparatory schools are private onestoo. They prepare children for public schools and take money for the training.The teachers of the private schools can pay more attention to each of thepupils personally. It is possible to enter the best English universities afterleaving public schools.

After finishing grammar schools pupils have goodknowledge and may continue studying in colleges and universities. Englishpupils wear school uniform. It is one of the oldest country s traditions. Aboy s uniform includes a school cap, a tie and a blazer. A girl s uniformconsists of a hat, a coat, a skirt and a blouse. The uniforms vary from schoolto school. Usually, they are dark.