Culture in Great Britain
It you're staing in London for a fes days,you'll have no difficulty whatever in finding somewhere to spend an enjoyableevening. You'll find opera, ballet, comedy, drama, review, musical comedy andvariety. Most theatres and music-halls have good orchestras with popularconductors. At the West-End theatres you can see most of the famous Englishactores and actresses. As a rule, the plays are magnificently staged — costumes, dresses, scenery, everything being done on the most lavish scale.
The last half of the XVI andthe beginning of the XVII centuries are known as the golden age of Englishliterature, It was the time of the English Renaissance, and sometimes it iseven called «the age of Shakespeare».
Shakespeare, the greatest andmost famous of English writers, and probebly the greatest playwright who hasever lived, was born in Stratford-on-Avon. In spite of his fame we know verylittle about his life. He wrote 37 plays. Among them there are deep tragedies,such as Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, Macbeth, light comedies, such as The MerryWives of Windsor, All's Well That Ends Well, Twelfth Night, Much Ado AboutNothing.
Customs and traditions
I am going to tell you aboutEnglish customs and traditions.First of all it concerns United Kingdompolitical system. In Great Britain there is no written constitution,only customs, traditions and precedents. After the English Revolution of Great Britain is a constitutionalmonarchy headed by King (now Qeen, Elixabeth the second). Traditionally theqeen acts only on the advice of her Ministers. She reigns but she does not rule.
Englishmen have traditions notonly in political, but in social life. For example, London,the capital of England, istraditionally devided into three parts: the West End,the East end,and the City. The City is a histrorical, financial and businesscentre of London.The East End is the district inhabied by the workers, and the West End is a fashionable shopping and entertaining centre. Englishpeople like to spend their free time in numerous pubs where they can have aglass of beer and talk about differentthings with their friends.
The English are traditionalabout their meals. They eat eggs and bacon with toasts for breakfast, puddingor apple pie for dessert. Every English family has five o'clock tea. A typicalfeature of an english house is a fireplace, even when there is central heatingin the house.
English people like domesticanimals. Every family has a pet:a dog, a cat or a bird.
Politeness is a characteristicfeature of Englishmen. They often say «Thank you», «Sorry»,«Beg your pardon». Russian people,I think, have to learn this goodcustom.
Englishmen have manytraditional holidays, such as Christmas, St.Valentine's Day, Mother's day,Easter and others.
Education in GB
I know English boys and girlsbegin to go to school(it is called «infant») at five; at seven theygo to junior schools or departments; at eleven they go to secondary schools.(After selection procedures at the age of eleven they can study at differenttypes of secondary shool: grammar schools which provide an academic educationoriented toeards university entry; secondary modern schools which wereoriginally designed to give a general education with a practical bias(уклон); a few secondary technics schools offering a generaleducation related to industry, commerce and agriculture; and schools providingall three or any two types of education, in separately orginized streams knownas multilateral or bilateral schools).
These schools consist of denominationaland non-denominational schools. I'd like to yell you about non-denominationalschool. One must study there for 6 years. It's open to all boys and girls.There are the six years in this school.During the first year all classesrecieve the same basic core of subjects namely English, maths, history,geography, science, French, art, music, P.E., technical subjects & homeeconomics. Toward the end of the second year pupils are asked to make theirsubject choices for third and forth years. Desicions on this stage are onlytaken after interviews involving parents, staff and the pupils themselfs. Thecurriculum in 3rd and 4th years consistsof compulsory section (обязательноеразделение) which includesEnglish, math and an options section made up of those subjects choosen by thepupil at the end of the second year. Optionl cources are designed to give asound basic education.
The system of higher educationin Britainincludes universities, colleges of education and advanced cources at variouscolleges.
There are more than 44universities in Britain.But not all universities are equil. They differ from one another in history andtradition. The oldest and world-known universities are Oxfordand Cambridge.
A university usually consistsof colleges. The departments of the colleges are organized into faculties. Inthe university students have a series of lectures, seminars, tutorials andlaboratory classes. Lectures are given to large groups of students whileseminars are much smaller than lectures. Lectures and seminars are all one hourin length, laboratory classes last 2 or 3 hours. The academic year devides into3 terms. First two termslast for 24 weeks; the 3rd term is reserved for classesand examinations and lasts for six weeks.
After three years of study auniversity graduate will leave with the Degree of Bachelor of Arts or Science.Student can continue to take his Master's Degree and then the Doctor's.
Education in Russia.
Citizens of Russia have theright to education which is guaranteed by the Constitution. The publiceducational system in our country incorporates pre-school, general school,specialized secondary and higher education.
Pre-school consists of kindergartensand creches. Children there learn reading, writing and arithmetic. Butpre-school education isn't compulsory — children can get it at home.
Compulsory education is forchildren from 6(7) to 17 years of age.
The main link in the system ofeducation is the general school which prepares the younger generation for lifeand work in modern production. There are various types of schools: generalsecondary schools, schools specializing in a certain subject, high schools,lyceums and so on. Tuition in most of them is free of charge, but some newtypes of schools are fee-paying. The term of study in a general secondaryschool is 11 years and consists of primery, middle and upper stages. At themiddle stage of a secondary school the children learn the basic laws of natureand society at the lessons of history, algebra, literature, physics and manyothers.
After 9th form pupils have tosit for examinations. Also they have a choice between entering the 10th gradeof a general secondary school and enroling in a specialized secondary orvocational school.
Persons who finish the generalsecondary school, recieve a secondary education certificate, giving them theright to enter any higher educational establishment. Entrance examinations areheld in July and August. Institutions are headed by rectors; the faculties areheaded by the deans. One has to study in the institute for 5 years. Highereducational institutions train students in one or several specializations.
Environmental problems
The poisoning of the world'sland, air, and water is the fastest-spreading disease of civilisation. Itprobably produces fewer headlines than wars, earthquakes and floods, but it ispotentially one of history's greatest dangers to human life on earth. Ifpresent trends continue for the next several decades, our planet will becomeuninhabitable.
Overpopulation, pollution andenergy consumption have created such planet-wide problems as massivedeforestation, ozone depletion, acid rains and the global warming that isbelieved to be coused by the greenhouse effect.
The seas are in danger. Theyare filled with poison: industrial and nuclear waste, chemical fertilisers andpesticides. The Mediterranean is already nearly dead; the North Sea is following. The Aral Sea ison the brink of extinction. If nothing is done about it, one day nothing willbe able to live in the seas.
Every ten minutes one kind ofenimal, plant or insect dies out for ever. If nothing is done about it, onemillion species that are alive today will have become extinct twenty years fromnow.
Air population is a veryserious problem. In Cairojust breathing the air is life threatening- equivalent to smoking two packs ofcigarettes a day. The same holds true for Mexico Cityand 600 cities of the former Soviet Union.
Industrial enterprises emittons of harmful substunces. These emissions have disastrous consequences forour planet. They are the main reason for the greenhouse effect and acid rains.
An even greater environmentalthreat are nuclear power stations. We all know how tragic the consequences ofthe Chernobyldisaster are.
People are beginning to realisethat environmenta problems are not somebody else's. They join and supportvarious international organosation and green parties. If governments wake up towhat is happening- perhaps we'll be able to avoid the disaster that threatensthe natural world and all of us with it.
Great Britain
The United Kingdom of G.B. and Northen Irelands is situated on theBritish Isles/ The British Isles consists of two large islands, G.B. and Ireland, andabout five thousand small islands. Their total area is over 244,000 squarekilometres.
The UKis made up of four countries:England,Wales, Scotland and Northen Ireland. GB consists of England, Scotlandand Wales and doesn'tinclude Northen Ireland.The capital of the UK is London.
The British Isles are separatedfrom European continent by the North Sea and the English Channel. The western coast of GB is washed by the Atlantic Oceanand the Irish Sea.
The surface of the British Isles varies very much. The north of Scotland is mountainous and is called theHighlands, while the south, which has beautiful valleys and plains, is calledthe Lowlands.
There are a lot of rivers inGB, but they are not very long. The Severn is the longest river, while the Thames is the deepest and the most important one.
The mountains, the AtlanticOcean and the warm waters if Gulf Stream influence the climate of the British Isles. The weather in GB is very changeable. Afine morning can change into a wet afternoon and evening and the wrong sideout. The english people say:«Other countries have a climate; in England we haveweather." The English also say that they have three variants of weather:when it rains in the morning, when it rains in the afternoon or twhen it rainsall day long.
The weather is the favouriteconversational topic in GB. After they greet each other they start talking theweather.
The best time of the year in GBis spring(of course, it rains in spring too). The two worst months in britain are Januaryand February. They are cold, damp and unpleasant. The best place in the worldthen is at home by the big fire. Summer months are rather cold and there can bea lot of rainy days. So most people who look forward to summer holidays, planto go abroad for the summer.
The most unpleasant aspect ofEnglish weather is fog and smog. This isextremely bad in big cities especially in London.The fog spreads everywhere so cars move along slowly and people can't see eachother. They try not to be run over by a car but still accidents are frequent inthe fog.
The Hermitage Gallery
I'd like to tell you about theHermitage Gallery, one of the largest and well known museums in the world. Twomonths ago together with my classmates I was on an exersion in S. Petersburg.Ivisited many places of interest including the Hermitage Gallery.I was greatlyimpressed by visiting this museum of art. It was founded in 1764 by Ecatherinethe Second when she bought 225 pictures in Berlin. Now the Hermitage consists of fivebuildings.
Now I'd like to tell you aboutpictures, sculptures and other works of art I've seen in the Hermitage Gallery.A great number of wonderful pictures are offered there. Everyone can find somekind of pictures to enjoy, for example the pictures by the world's greatestmasters: Michelangelo, Raphael, Rembrands, Rubens and many others. All greatschools of paintings are represented there:Italian, Spanish, German etc.
A few words about sculptures.I saw a lot of vases, staues andfountains. The most beautiful thing I have ever seen was the fauntain belongedto Alexander the Second.
Among other outstanding peicesof art I saw the coach of Ecatherine the Second and beautiful gobelens. It took 60 years to made one of these gobelens.
In conclusion I'd like to stressthat no one can see everything for the one visit. To enjoy the HermitageGallery you must visit it several times.
The State Hermitage in StPetrsburg is one of the world's most outstanding art museums. It is the largestfine arts museum in Russia.
World famour is the collectionof West-European paintings covering a span of about seven hundreds years, fromthe 13th to the 20th centure, and comprising works by Leonardo da Vinci,Raphael, Titian, El |Greco. Velasquez, Murillo; outstanding paintings by Rembrandt, Va-Dyck,Rubens; a remarkable group of French 18th-centure canvases, and Impressionistand Post Impressionist paintings. The collection illustrates the art of Italy, Spain,Holland, Belgium,Germany, Austria, France,Britain, Sweden, Denmark,Finlandand some other countries. The West-European Department also includes a finecollectin of European sculpture, containing works by Michelangelo, Canova,Falconet, Houdon, Rodin and many other eminent masters. The Hermitage, togetherwith the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum in Moscow,must be ranked among the richest in the world in respect of Impressionist art.
In addition to the works ofWestern masters, the Hermitage has sections devoted to the arts of India, China,Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Pre-|Columbian America,Greece and Rome, as well as a department of prehistoricart, not to mention a section devoted to Scythian art. People come to admirethe collections of tapestry, precious textiles, weapons, ivories, pottery,porcelain and furniture as well.
Hobbies
Hobbies differ like tastes. Ifyou have chosen a hobby according to your character and taste you are luckybecause your life becomes more interesting.Hobbies are devided into 4 largegroups: doing, making, collecting and learning things. The most popular of allhobby groups is doing things It includes gardening, travelling, playing gamesand so on. Making things includes drawing, painting, writing music.
My main hobby is to collectcompact disks.
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No matter what kind of hobby aperson has, he always has the opportunity of learning from it. By reading aboutthe fthings he is interested in, he is adding to what he knows. Learning thingscan be the most exciting aspect of a hobby.
Laos
Somewhat smaller than Oregon, Laosis a mountainous Southeast Asia country ruledby communists. The population of this little country is about 3 and a halfmillion people.
One of the poorest and mostunderdeveloped nations of the world, Laos depends on aid from othercountries to import the food and other goods its people need to survive. Mostof the people are rice farmers. Few can read and write.
Over 80 percent of the country is rugged jungleterrain. The main river is Mekong River-the system of irrigate.
Now i'd like to tell you aboutthe history of Laos.First Laotian territory was the seat of the Buddhist kingdom of Lan Xang,founded in 1353 by King Fa Ngum. Laoswas invided by Francein 1893 and by Japanese forces in 1941. During the World War II King SisavangVong proclaimed himself king of all Laos.
A new coalition governmentunder Premier Souvanna Phouma that included 5 members of the communist PathetLao was sworn in on April 5, 1974.
Kuwait
The middle Eastern nation of Kuwait is thesecond most prosperous country in the world. It i sthe area's third-largestproducer of oil, surpassed only by Saudi Arabiaand Iran.Kuwait has given and loanedbillions of dollars to poorer Arab states, has invested billions in the United States and other industrial countries andpurchased planes and other equipment for Arab states opposing Israel.
The gobvernment also has usedits oil to give medical services, education and social welfare to everyone in Kuwait. Localtelephone service is also free, and almost every family owns at least one carand one TV set. There no income taxes.
Now i'd like to tell you aboutthe history of Kuwait.In the 1700s Arab nomads founded the town of Kuwait. Under the leadership Sabah AbuAbdullah Kuwait's populationgrew to several thousand (now the population of Kuwait is about 988 thousands ofpeople). With the discovery of oil in Kuwaitin 1938, and its development after 1945, Iraqdecided in 1952 to renew an ancient claim to Kuwait,
but it was rejected by theBritish. In 1961 Kuwaitbecame a fully independent nation. But in 1973 Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait and only after Saudi Arabia had sent more than 15,000 troops to assist Kuwait, Iraq withdrew. In March 1975 thegovernment took complete control of the oil and gas industry from US and otherforeign owners, increasing it's annual income to $10 billion or more a year.
Today Kuwait is amonarchy which is rulled by the Emir Sheikh Saban al-Salim al-Sabah (raignedsince 1985). It's area is about 7,7 square miles. Official language is Arabic,but there are also Persian and English in Kuwait. Religion: Islam. Places ofinterest:Oil wells, modern city of Kuwait,royal residences and so on.
That's all i would like you tosay about Kuwait.
Moscow
Moscowis the capital of Russia, its political,economic, commercial and cultural centre. It was founded 8 centurys ago byPrince Yuri Dolgoruky in 1147. Gradually the city became more and morepowerfull. In the 13th century Moscowwas the centre of the struggle of Russian lands for the liberation from thetartar yoke. In the 16th century under Ivan the Terrible Moscow became thecapital of the new united state. Though Peter the Great moved the capital to St. Petersburg in 1712; Moscowremained the heart of Russia.That's why it became the main target of Napoleon's attack. After the Octoberrevolution Moscowbecame the capital again.
Now moscowis one of the largest cities in Europe. Itstotal area is about nine hundred square kilometres. The population of the cityis over 8 million.
Moscowis one of the mostbeautiful cities in the world. The heart of Moscowis Red Square. The Kremlin and St. Basil'sCathedral (Vasily Blazheny) are masterpieces of encient Russian architecture.On the territory of the Kremlin you can see old cathedrals, the Palace of Congresses, the Tzar-Cannon and theTzar-Bell, the biggest cannon and bell in the world. St. Basil's Cathedral wasbuilt in the mid-16th century in memory of the victory over Kazan.
One of the well-known Kremlinmuseums is the Armouty Chamber. The famous golden cap of Monomach, the firstRussian imperial crown of Catherin the second and many other historical itemsare exhibited there.
There are more than 80 museumsin Moscow. The Historical Museum, the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts,the Tretyakov State Picture Gallery are world famous and the largest.
Moscowis famous for itstheatres. The best-known of them are Bolshoi, Maly and Art theatres.
Moscowis the seat of theRussian Parliament (the Duma) and the centre of political life of the country.
My school
First of all i'd like to tellyou about my school which i've just left. My school is one of the specializedschools in Moscow.It is famous for its high-quality education and strict discipline. To my mind,our school-lycium is very well equipped. It has a gym, a carteen, a library, acomputer class and some labs( for example — chemistry lab or physics lab).
First two years in our lyciumwe had 7 or 8 lessons, but in 10th and11th forms we had less lessons. What about our homework we usually had a lot todo and it took me several hours. I sometimes had to sit up to write acomposition, to prepare a report, to traslate an article from English toRussian or to learn a poem by heart.
After classes we usually hadsome out-of-class activities.our social and cultural life was well-organized.For example, we had a choir and literature club.
At school we had classes inRussian, literature, mathematics, English, history and so on. My favouritesubjects were English, History and Russian. On Russian we had a lot of funsituations and talks; history, to my mind, is a very interesting subject; andwhat about English, we need learning this language to be able to read books,listen to the news, speak with English speaking people and so on.
Now my plans for the future. I mustsay that when you leave school you understand that the time to choose yourfuture profession has come. It's not an easy task to make the right choice of ajob. People choose profession according to their own interests and abilities.As far as i have a computer at home I've decided to enter some mathemeticinstitute. It is called МГАТУ(Moscow State Aviation- Technology University). I'll bestudy there informatic and English. I think, today computer is very popular inour country and programmists are paid very much.
Political system of US
Washington, the capital of theUnited States is situatedonthe Rotomac Riverin the District of Columbia.The district is a piece of land which doesn't belong to any state but to allthe states. All these states are sovereignty.
Under the Constitution, thefederal government is devided into three branches.
The legislative power is vestedin Congress and made up of two houses: the Senate and the House ofRepresentative. There are 435 members in the House of Representative and 100senators. Each state elects two members of the 100-member Senate.
The executive branch is headedby the President, who proposes bills to Congress, enforces federal laws, servesas commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces and with the approval of the Senate,makes treaties. President can veto a bill unless Congress by a two-thirds voteshall overrule him.
The vice President, electedfrom the same political party as the Oresident, acts as chairman of the Senate,and in the event of the death of the President, assumes the Presidency.
The judicial branch is made upof Federal District Courts, 11 Federal Courts and the Supreme Court. Federaljudges are appointed by the President for life. Federal courts decide casesinvolving federal law, conflicts between citizens of different states. TheSupreme court may rule the law to be unconstitutional.
Now about the elections.The President ischosen in nation-wide elections every 4 years together with the Vice-President.
Constitution.Constitution hasbeen amended 26 times. The Bill of Rights guarantee individual liberties:freedom of speach, religion and so on. Later amendments abolish slavery, grantthe vote to women and allow citizens to vote at age 18.
The Russian Federation
The Russian Federation is the largestcountry in the world. It occupies about one-seventh of the earth's surface. Itcovers the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia.Its total area is about 17 million square kilometres. The country is washed by12 seas of 3 oceans:the Pacific, the Arctic and the Atlantic.In the south Russia borderson China, Mongolia, Korea,Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan. In the west it borderson Norway, Finland, the Baltic States, Belorussia, the Ukraine. It also has a sea-borderswith the USA.
There is hardly a country inthe world where such a variety of scenery and vegetation can be found. We havesteppes in the south, plains and forests in the midland, tundra and taiga inthe nirth, highlands and deserts in the east.
There are two great plains in Russia:theGreat Russian Plain and the West Siberian Lowland. There are several mountainschains on the territory of the country: the Urals, the Caucasus,the Altai and others. The largest mountain chain, the Urals, separates Europefrom Asia.
There are over two millionrivers in Russia.Europe's biggest river, the Volga, flows into the Caspian Sea. The main Siberian rivers- the Ob, the Yenisei and the Lena- flow from the south to the north. The Amur in theFar East flows into the Pacific Ocean.
Russiais reach inbeautiful lakes. The world's deepest lake is Lake Baikal.It is much smaller than the Baltic Sea, but there is much more water in it thanin the Baltic Sea. The water in the lake is soclear that if you look down you can count the stones on the bottom.
Russiahas one-sixth ofthe world's forests. They are concentrated in the European north of thecountry, in Syberia and in the Far East.
On the vast territory of thecountry there are various types of climate, from arctic in the north tosubtropical in the south. In the middle of the country the climate is temperateand continental.
Russiais very reach inoil, iron ore, natural gas, copper, nickel and other mineral resources.
Russiais a parliamentaryrepublic. The Head of State is the President. The legislative powers areexercised by the Duma.
The capital of Russia is Moscow.It is its largest political, scientific, cultural and industrial centre. It'sone of the oldest Russian cities.
At present, the political andeconomic situationn in the country is rather complicated. There are a lot ofproblems in the national economy of the Russian Federation. The industrialproduction is decreasing. The prices are constantly rising, the rate ofinflation is very high. People are losing their jobs because many factories andplants are going bankrupt.
But in spite of the problems Russia isfacing at present, there are a lot of opportunities for this country to becomeone of the leading countries in the world. I'm sure that we, the youngergeneration, can do very much to make Russia as strong and powerful as itused to be.
Sport in our life
Millions of people all over theworld are fond of sports and games. Sport helps people to stay in good shape,helps to support health and prevents from illness. Sport makes them moreorganized and better disciplined in their daily activities.
We've always paid greatattention to sport in our schools, colleges and universities. You can hardlyfind a school without a gym or a sports ground. Every city and town has a fewstadiums or swimming pools where local competitions are usually held.
There are different sportingsocieties and clubs in Russia.Many of them take part in different international tournaments and are known allover the world. A great nu,ber of world records have been set by Russiansportsmen. Our sportsmen also win a lot of gold, silver and bronze medals inthe Olympic Games.
Television and advertisment.
Many people have forgotten whatthe world was like before TV. But today it has become an integral part of ourlives. No medium can compare with TV as a means of information, entertainment& education. TV now plays such an important role in so many people's livesthat it is essential for us to try to decide whether it is bad or good.
On the first place TV is notonly a convenient source of entertainment, but also a compartively cheap one.For a family of 4, for example, it is more convenient as well as cheaper to sitcomfortably at home than to go out. They don't have to pay for expensivetickets. All they have to do is to turn on TV and they can see fiklms,political discussions and the latest exciting football matches. Some people saythat this is fust where the danger lies. The TV viewers need do nothing: theymake no choices, they're complitely passive & don't even use their legs.
TV, people often say, informsabout current events and the latest developments in science and politics. A lotof good films, music programms have appeared recently on TV. Yet here againthere is a danger. We get to like watching TV so much that it begins todominate our lives. A friend of mine told me that when his TVset broke he &his family suddenly found that they had much more time to do things.
The most important thing whichis really critising is poor quality of the programms and its harmful effect onchildren. For example the film " Natural Born Killers" teacheschildren to kill and there was one eccident in France when a group of teenagerskill their parents.
There are many arguments forand against TV. I think we must understand that TV in itself is neither goodnor bad. TV is as good or as bad as we make it.
Washington
I am going to tell you about Washington.Washington, the capital of theUnited States is situated on the Potomac River in the District of Columbia. Thedistrict is a piece of land which does not belong to any one state but to allthe states. The district is named in honour of Columbus, the discoverer ofAmerica.
Washington was founded in 1791 for the purpose of serving as thecapital of the United States of America. George Washington chose the placelocated midway to keep at close touch as possible between the states. Washington is quite new as it didn't existfor two hundred years. The population of the city is nearly million people. Itis not a very large city, but it is very important as the capital of the USA.There is a law in Washington against building structures higher than theCapitol; therefore it presents a different appearance from New York with itsskyscrapers.
Washington has many historical places. The largest and tallest is theCapitol, where the Congress meets. It is a very beautiful building with whitemarble columns. Not far from the Capitol is the Library of Congress. It holdsfive million books.
The White House, the residence of the president is the oldest publicstructure in the capital and one of the most beautiful. It was built in 1799.It is a two storied white building. It is said that in 1812 when England was atwar with America the British entered the city and some of the buildings,including the Capitol and the house of the president were set on fire. Twoyears later in order to hide the marks of the fire, the brown stone walls ofthe president's home were painted white and it has been the White House eversince.
Not far from the Capitol is the Washington monument, which looks like avery big pencil. It rises 160 metres and it is empty inside. A special liftbrings visitors to the top in 70 seconds,from where they can enjoy a view ofthe city.
The Jefferson Memorial was built in memory of the third President ofthe USA Thomas Jefferson, who was also the author of the Declaration ofIndependence. The Memorial is surrounded by cherry trees.
The Lincoln Memorial is devoted to the memory of the sixteenth Presidentof the USA, the author of the Emancipation Proclamation, which gave freedom toNegro slaves in America.