My family is not very big, just a typical family: Dad, Mom, me, my brother and sister and our cat. My Mummy is forty-one, she is a teacher of Spanish at the University. She is a born teacher. She has teaching abilities. My Dad is forty-two, he is a professional painter, he works for a design company. My parents both like their work very much. My elder sister Natasha is nineteen, she goes to the Uni­versity, she wants to be a teacher of history. She is fond of reading books on history and fiction. My younger brother Igor is only six years old, he goes to the kindergarten. He is very funny, I like to spend my free time teaching

 him something. Igor likes to play with our cat. My grandparents are retired. They like gardening. They spend a lot of their time in the garden. They grow vegetables and fruits. We enjoy having fresh vegetables and green on our dinner table. I love my family very much. We always help each other. Everyone in my family is my best friend.

 

I have many friends. I like my friends. When we gather, we play computer games, chat, make lots of noise. I like noise. To my mind, people should have many friends as possible, because if you have not friends, you just become very dull and boring person. It is fine when you have friends, who are able to understand you and support and help in difficult situations. We have much in common and we enjoy communicating with each other. One of my friends is Sergey. He is thirteen. I can say that he is a good guy. He is a schoolboy. He wants to be a businessman like his father. He studies well, but he is not a hardworking person. When we gather together we like to play computer games, to watch new movies and discuss them. His favourite subject at school is Maths. He is keen on Maths. I guess he might become a great mathematician, but he wants to be like his father. We are friends for a long time. We trust each other. We have some personal secrets. I can tell him about my troubles and he always helps me, if he can. I'm happy to have such a good friend as Sergey.

 

Nowadays it's almost impossible to imagine our life without books. Perhaps, there are more books on our planet than men alive. Long before the invention of printing people valued books as treasure troves of the human knowledge and experience. Hand — written manuscripts took months of writing and were collected by and kept in monasteries with utmost care. We can distinguish books between three classes of them. Firstly, books on different branches of knowledge, works by brilliant minds of mankind. Secondly, textbooks, reference books and numerous dictionaries. And at last, books of all kinds and genres to read at leisure. Classics should be taken a little at a time. One's understanding of books by Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, Mopassan and Balzak depends on one's age and experience. Serious books are to be read conscientiously and maybe more than once. To a thinking reader they will provide new food for thought every time he rereads it. Many people indulge in reading science fiction, fantasy or detective stories. Of course, there are some advantages and disadvantages of this kind of literature, often reffered to as «easy reading». As for me, good science fiction and fantasy develop imagination, logical thinking, broader one's outlook. The same could be said in favour of detective stories. They reveal such minute details of everyday life in this or that particular country that are of greatest interest for a curious reader. The masterpieces of this genre by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie and others, show the depths of psychological analysis, the insight into the human nature. As an old saying goes, man cannot live on bread alone. Books are the source of knowledge and the means of self — perfection. Sometimes it is difficult to solve some problems in life. I think that books can help us. Books must be our friends during all our life.

I love music, I think people can not live without it. The first thing I do in the morning I switch on my tape — recorder. We can hear music everywhere: in the streets, in the shops, on TV, over the radio, in the cars, in the parks, everywhere. I think it's really doesn't matter what kind of music you prefer: rock, pop, classical, jazz. A lot of people are fond of music. They buy tapes, go to the concerts, visit Concert Halls and Opera Theatres. I enjoy listening music because it reflects my moods and emotions. Very often when I'm blue, I play my favourite merry songs and feel much better. Sometimes I attend music halls and the concerts, when popular groups and singers are there. I like watching music programs on TV. I like to know more and more about popular talented groups and singers I like. One wall of my room is covered with posters of "Bon Jovi", "Scorpions", "Roxette", Russian singers Agutin, Sjutkin, Linda and others. Some people go to musics schools, they play different musical instruments, sing in the chorus, try to compose music. Unfortunately there are so many ungifted singers on the stages, that it makes me sad. To have a good producer doesn't mean to have good ears and voice. I think that only talented people can claim to be singers.

London is the capital of Great Britain, its political, economic and cultural centre. It's one of the largest cities in the world. Its population is more than million people. London is situated on the river Thames. The city is very old and beautiful. It was founded more than two thousand years ago. Traditionally London is divided into several parts: the City, the West End, the East End and Westminster. The City is the oldest part of London, its financial and business centre. The heart of the City is the Stock Exchange. Westminster is the most important part of the capital. It's the administrative centre. The Houses of Parliament, the seat of the British Government, are there. It's a very beautiful building with two towers and a very big clock called Big Ben. Big Ben is really the bell which strikes every quarter of an hour. Opposite the Houses of Parliament is Westminster Abbey. It's a very beautiful church built over 900 years ago. The tombs of many great statesmen, scientists and writers are there. To the west of Westminster is West End. Here we find most of the big shops, hotels, museums, art galleries, theatres and concert halls. Picadilly Circus is the heart of London's West End. In the West End there are wide streets with beautiful houses and many parks, gardens and squares. To the east of Westminster is the East End, an industrial district of the capital. There are no parks or gardens in the East End and you can't see many fine houses there. Most of the plants and factories are situated there. London has many places of interest. One of them is Buckingham Palace. It's the residence of the Queen. The English are proud of Trafalgar Square, which was named so in memory of the victory at the battle. There in 1805 the English fleet defeated the fleet of France and Spain. The last place of interest I should like to mention, is the British Museum, the biggest museum in London. The museum is famous for its library -one of the richest in the world. All London's long-past history is told by its streets. There are many streets in London which are known all over the" world. Among them Oxford Street, Downing Street and a lot of others can be mentioned. And tourists are usually attracted not only by the places of interest but by the streets too. In conclusion I should say if you are lucky enough to find yourself in London some day you will have a lot to see and enjoy there.

 

Young people from all walks of life are united according to their interests by the established youth organizations in Britain. These organizations develop because of the contribution of both full-time and part-time youth workers and a great number of volunteers. Outdoor pursuits involve anything from pony trekking to rock-climbing or canoeing and help young people go out from the confines of their home or their environment. Such pursuits nourish a spirit of self-reliance and help realize the importance of team-work under a good leadership. All the major youth organizations hold outdoor pursuits either by organizing special residential courses or by sending their members to take part in established courses or seminars in other cities and countries. Local authorities and a number of multipurpose youth organizations provide the place for such activities as canoeing, sailing, rock-climbing, map reading, orienteering and cooking for survival; all of them encourage initiative and self-discipline. Among providers of outdoor places are the Sports Council, the Outward-Bound Trust, the Ocean Youth Club, the Sail Training Association, and the Nautical Training Corps. The Outward-Bound Trust is the longest established and most experienced organization in Britain based on outdoor pursuits, personal development, and training. It has five centres in the English Lake District, Wales, and Scotland. It operates in 38 other countries of the world. It has centres in Belgium, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. This organization is based on two simple principles: firstly, that everyone is capable of achieving more than he might imagine, and, secondly, that too few people have a real appreciation of what can be achieved by team-work and mutual support. Young people participate in 'expedition courses' lasting 8, 12, or 20 days and involving adventurous journeys by land or sea. There are also 'specialist courses' for young people aged 17 and over to become involved in work with such groups as the homeless, the elderly, and the disabled.

 

British nation is considered to be the most conservative in Europe. It is not a secret that every nation and every country has its own customs and traditions. In Great Britain people attach greater importance to traditions and customs than in other European countries. Englishmen are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up. The best examples are their queen, money system, their weights and measures. There are many customs and some of them are very old. There is, for example, the Marble Championship, where the British Champion is crowned; he wins a silver cup known among folk dancers as Morris Dancing. Morris Dancing is an event where people, worn in beautiful clothes with ribbons and bells, dance with handkerchiefs or big sticks in their hands, while traditional music- sounds. Another example is the Boat Race, which takes place on the river Thames, often on Easter Sunday. A boat with a team from Oxford University and one with a team from Cambridge University hold a race. British people think that the Grand National horse race is the most exciting horse race in the world. It takes place near Liverpool every year. Sometimes it happens the same day as the Boat Race takes place, sometimes a week later. Amateur riders as well as professional jockeys can participate. It is a very famous event. There are many celebrations in May, especially in the countryside. Halloween is a day on which many children dress up in unusual costumes. In fact, this holiday has a Celtic origin. The day was originally called All Halloween's Eve, because it happens on October 31, the eve of all Saint's Day. The name was later shortened to Halloween. The Celts celebrated the coming of New Year on that day. Another tradition is the holiday called Bonfire Night. On November 5,1605, a man called Guy Fawkes planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament where the king James 1st was to open Parliament on that day. But Guy Fawkes was unable to realize his plan and was caught and later, hanged. The British still remember that Guy Fawkes' Night. It is another name for this holiday. This day one can see children with figures, made of sacks and straw and dressed in old clothes. On November 5th, children put their figures on the bonfire, burn them, and light their fireworks. In the end of the year, there is the most famous New Year celebration. In London, many people go to Trafalgar Square on New Year's Eve. There is singing and dancing at 12 o'clock on December 31st. A popular Scottish event is the Edinburgh Festival of music and drama, which takes place every year. A truly Welsh event is the Eisteddfod, a national festival of traditional poetry and music, with a competition for the best new poem in Welsh. If we look at English weights and measures, we can be convinced that the British are very conservative people. They do not use the internationally accepted measurements. They have conserved their old measures. There are nine essential measures. For general use, the smallest weight is one ounce, then 16 ounce is equal to a pound. Fourteen pounds is one stone. The English always give people's weight in pounds and stones. Liquids they measure in pints, quarts and gallons. There are two pints in a quart and four quarts or eight pints are in one gallon. For length, they have inches» foot, yards and miles. If we have always been used to the metric system therefore the English monetary system could be found rather difficult for us. They have a pound sterling, which is divided into twenty shillings, half-crown is cost two shillings and sixpence, shilling is worth twelve pennies and one penny could be changed by two halfpennies.

Hobby is a favourite occupation of a person in his free time. I have many friends. They are very different and they have different kinds of hobbies. One of my girl-friends, for example, likes to knit very much. Another girl-friend of mine spends all her free time sewing things: skirts, blouses, dresses. She makes it nicely and she always looks fine. One of my friends likes to make everything with his own hands. He can repair an iron, a radio-set, or a tape-recorder. I think it's a very good hobby. Many people are very fond of collecting. Some collect old coins, others collect post-cards. As for me, my hobby is collecting stamps. Now I have 5 albums full of stamps. I like to sit at the table in the evening and arrange new stamps in the albums or just look through the stamps. Each stamp has a story to tell about distant countries and new people. I see pictures of people, birds and animals which I have never seen. Kings and presidents pass before my eyes and I can follow the history of whole nations. My hobby is not only wonderful but is also very useful.

 

People all over the world are fond of sports and games. Sport makes people healthy, keeps them fit, more organized and better disciplined. It unites people of different classes and nationalities. Many people do sports on their personal initiative. They go in for skiing, skating, table tennis, swimming, volley-ball, football, body-building, etc. All necessary facilities are provided for them: stadiums, sport grounds, swimming pools, skating rinks, skiing stations, football fields. Sport is paid much attention to in our educational establishments. Gymnastics is a part of children's daily activities in the kindergartens. Physical culture is ч compulsory subject at schools and colleges. Professional sport is also paid much attention to in our country. In city, where I live, there are different sporting societies, clubs and complexes. Practically all kinds of sports are popular in our country, but football, gymnastics and tennis enjoy the greatest popularity. As for me, I go in for table tennis (ping-pong). It needs mobility, liveliness and much energy. It keeps a person in a good form. I have been playing tennis for five years, but the more I play, the more I like it. I get a real joy taking part in competitions or simply playing with my friends. Sometimes, I go to tennis courts. Certainly, there's a great distance between my manner of playing and such favourites as Jim Courier, Stephan Edberg, Pete Sampras, Boris Becker, Per Korda, but I do my training with great pleasure and hope to play as well as our best players do.

January 1 New Year's Day January 7 Christmas, Russian Orthodox March 8 International Women's Day May 1-2 Spring and Labour Holiday May 9 Victory Day (Over German Nazism in the WW2) June 12 Independence Day August 22 Day of the Russian Federation State Flag November 7 Day of Accord and Conciliation December 12 Constitution Day The New Year is first on the calendar and in popularity. Many celebrate it twice, on January 1 and 14 (which corresponds to January 1 in the Julian calendar, used in Russia before 1918). Next is February 23, Soldier's Day, known until recently as Soviet Army Day, popularly viewed as holiday for all men and closely followed by its female counterpart, Women's Day, March 8, when women receive flowers, presents and are toasted by men. Mayday, until recently officially termed International Workers' Solidarity Day, is now known as Spring and Labour Day. On some years, it occurs on or close to Russian Orthodox Easter, so some people celebrate in church while some attend customary demonstrations. Russia celebrates Victory Day on May 9 to commemorate the millions fallen in World War II. Flowers and wreaths are laid on wartime graves on this day, and veterans come out into the streets wearing their military orders and medals. Alas, there are fewer of them with every passing year. June 12 is Russia's newest holiday, Independence Day, which commemorates the adoption in 1991 of the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Russian Federation. November 7 — the anniversary of the socialist revolution of October 1917 which established communist power — still survives. The system is gone, but many still cling to the custom. Church feasts have been reborn. Easter is celebrated nationwide, as of old, and Christmas became a day off. Muslims, Jews and Buddhists also celebrate their feasts without fear of secular authorities.

The capital of the Russian Federation is Moscow. It is one of the largest cities in the world. More than 8.75 million people live in Moscow. Moscow is the cultural, communications, government, industrial, scientific, and transportation centre of Russia. It lies in western Russia, in the European part of the country. The Moscow River, for which the city was named, flows through the city. Moscow was founded during 12th century. Moscow emerged as the most powerful Russian city in the late 1400 s. The princes of Moscow played a leading role in uniting various Russian lands and in conquering non-Russian peoples and territories. Moscow became the capital of the Russian Empire and was the home of Russia's czars until 1712, when the capital was moved to St. Petersburg. Moscow again became the Russian capital in 1918, after the Bolsheviks (later called Communists) took control of the country. In 1922, Russia and three other republics united to form the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Moscow was chosen as the Soviet capital. The Communists lost power in the Soviet Union in August 1991. In December, the Soviet Union was dissolved. Russia and other former Soviet republics became independent countries. Most of the republics, including Russia, formed the Commonwealth of Independent States. Moscow remained the capital of Russia. The city of Minsk, in Belarus, was named headquarters of the Commonwealth. Moscow is built in the shape of a wheel. This shape can be traced to the city's early history, when rings of fortifications were built to protect it from attack. Today, wide boulevards extend from the city's centre, forming the spokes of the wheel. They cross circular ^boulevards, which make up the inner and outer rims of the wheel. A major highway circles Moscow. Past the highway lies the Green Belt, a ring of forests and parks covering about 1,800 square kilometres. The oldest and busiest sections of Moscow lie near the Kremlin, a huge walled fortress at the city's historic centre. Just north and east of the Kremlin is the main business, commercial, and administrative district. Encircling this area and the Kremlin are Moscow's main shopping streets and many cultural buildings. Most of the city's new residential and industrial districts lie in the outermost rings. At the city's heart on the banks of the River Moscow lies the Kremlin, a walled fortress housing all the government buildings. Nearby St. Basil's Cathedral was built in the 16th century to celebrate a military victory; it is now a museum.

 

The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world. It occupies about one-seventh of the earth's surface. It covers the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia. Its total area is about 17 million square kilometres. The country is washed by 12 seas of 3 oceans: the Pacific, the Arctic and the Atlantic. In the south Russia borders on China, Mongolia, Korea, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan. In the west it borders on Norway, Finland, the Baltic States, Byelorussia and Ukraine. It also has a sea-border with the USA. There is hardly a country in the world where such a variety of scenery and vegetation can be found. We have steppes in the south, plains and forests in the midland, tundra and taiga in the north, highlands and deserts in the east. There are two great plains in Russia: the Great Russian Plain and the West Siberian Lowland. There are several mountain chains on the territory of the country: the Urals, the Caucasus, the Altai and others. The largest mountain chain, the Urals, separates Europe from Asia. There are over two million rivers 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 the Far East flows into Pacific Ocean. Russia is rich in beautiful lakes. The world's deepest lake (1600 meters) is Lake Baikal. It is much smaller than the Baltic Sea, but there is much more water in it than in the Baltic Sea. The water in the lake is so clear that if you look down you can count the stones on the bottom. Russia has one-sixth of the world's forests. They are concentrated in the European north of the country, in Siberia and in the Far East.
On the vast territory of the country there are various types of climate, from arctic in the north to subtropical in the south. In the middle of the country the climate is temperate and continental. Russia is very rich in oil, coal, iron ore, natural gas, copper, nickel and other mineral resources. Russia is a parliamentary republic. The Head of the State is the President. The legislative powers are exercised by the Duma. The capital of Russia is Moscow. It is its largest political, scientific, cultural and industrial centre. It is one of the oldest Russian cities. At present, the political and economic situation in the country is rather complicated. There are a lot of problems in the national economy of the Russian Federation. But in spite of the problems Russia is facing at present, there are a lot of opportunities for this country to become one of the leading countries in the world.

 

Computer addicts are the minority of computer users but there is no doubt that more and more young people are computer literate. Computer studies is a subject in many schools and many young people have personal computers. About one in three hundred computer owners spend almost all their time using computers. Ninety six per cent of them are males of all ages. All of them spend an average of twenty hours per week on home computers. The majority of the adults also use computers at work. All the computer addicts are very intelligent. They have been interested in science and technology from a very early age and they are usually very shy people who like being alone. A survey in a school showed that fewer girls are interested in computers because girls are less likely to have a computer. Even if they have one, they use then less frequently than boys. Possibly it is because we think of computers as something to do with maths and science, which are traditionally 'male' subjects. Possibly it is because most of the computer teachers are men, who give the girls less attention. Possibly parents think it is less important for girls to have computer skills. Computer addicts are usually very shy people. Using computers gives them confidence. They love debugging and solving problems, develop programs and love learning programming languages. They learnt to communicate with other users through computer networks and the people they met in school and work think of them as experts who could help and advise when they had problems with their machines. A few spend their time 'hacking' and one addict left a message on a computer of Buckingham House. Very few computer addicts play computer games, but many people use a computer exclusively for games. Some parents worry about computer games because they think their children won't be able to communicate with real people in the real world. But parents do not need to worry. According to research computer addicts usually do well after they have left school. Parents also do not need to worry that computer addiction will make their children become unfriendly and unable to communicate with people. It is not the computer that makes them shy. In fact, what they know about computers improves their social lives. They become experts and others come to them for help and advice. For most children computer games are a craze. Like any other craze, such as skate-boarding, the craze is short-lived. It provides harmless fun and a chance to escape. If we didn't have these computer addicts, we wouldn't have modern technology. They are the inventors of tomorrow.

 

Television now plays an important role in our life. It is difficult to say if it is good or bad for us. It is clear, that television has advantages and disadvantages. But are there more advantages than disadvantages? In the first place, television is an entertainment. But it is not only a convenient entertainment. For a family of three, four or five, for example, it is more convenient and less expensive to sit comfortably at home than to go out to find entertainment in other places. They don't have to pay for expensive seats at the theatre or cinema. They turn on the TV-set and can watch interesting films, concerts, football matches. But some people think that it's bad to watch TV. Those who watch TV need do nothing. We are passive when we watch TV. Television shows us many interesting programmes. But again there is a disadvantage here: we watch TV every evening, and it begins to dominate our lives. My friend told me that when his TV-set broke down, he and his family found that they had more time to do things and to talk to each other. There are other arguments for and against television. Very often the programmes are bad. Sometimes they show too much violence in films and news programmes. There is also too much pop music and ads. Ads on the whole are convenient for grown-ups. But is it good for children to watch all those ads where they show all kinds of underwear and what not?

 

Life used to be fun for 'teenagers'. They used to have money to spend, and free time to spend it in. They used to wear teenage clothes, and meet in teenage coffee bars and discos. Some of them still do. But for many young people, life is harder now. Jobs are difficult to find. There's not so much money around. Things are more expensive, and it's hard to find a place to live. Teachers say that students work harder than they used to. They are less interested in politics, and more interested in passing exams. They know that good exam results may get them better jobs. Most young people worry more about money than their parents did twenty years ago. They try to spend less and save more. They want to be able to get homes of their own one day. For some, the answer to unemployment is to leave home and look for work in one of Britain's big cities. Every day hundreds of young people arrive in London from other parts of Britain, looking for jobs. Some find work, and stay. Others don't find it, and go home again, or join the many unemployed in London. There used to be one kind of teenage fashion, one style, one top pop group. Then, the girls all wore mini-skirts and everyone danced to the music of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. But now an eighteen-year-old might be a punk, with green hair and chains round his legs, or a skin head, with short, short hair and right wing politics, or a 'rasta', with long uncombed hair and a love for Africa. There's a lot of different music around too. There's reggae, the West Indian sound, there's rock, there's heavy metal, country and western, and disco. All these kinds of music are played by different groups and listened to by different fans. When you read the newspapers and watch the news on television, it's easy to get the idea that British young people are all unemployed, angry and in trouble. But that's not true. Three quarters of them do more or less what their parents did. They do their best at school, find some kind of work in the end, and get married in their early twenties. They get on well with their parents, and enjoy family life. They eat fish and chips, watch football on TV, go to the pub, and like reading about pop stars. After all, if they didn't, they wouldn't be British, would they?

 

Since ancient times Nature has served Man, being the source of his life. For thousands of years people lived in harmony with environment and it seemed to them that natural riches were unlimited. But with the development of civilization man's interference in nature began to increase. Large cities with thousands of smoky industrial enterprises appear all over the world today. The by-products of their activity pollute the air we breathe, the water we drink, the land we grow grain and vegetables on. Every year world industry pollutes the atmosphere with about 1000 million tons of dust and other harmful substances. Many cities suffer from smog. Vast forests are cut and burn in fire. Their disappearance upsets the oxygen balance. As a result some rare species of animals, birds, fish and plants disappear forever, a number of rivers and lakes dry up. The pollution of air and the world's ocean, destruction of the ozone layer is the result of man's careless interaction with nature, a sign of the ecological crises. The most horrible ecological disaster befell Ukraine and its people after the Chernobyl tragedy in April 1986. About 18 percent of the territory of Byelarus were also polluted with radioactive substances. A great damage has been done to the agriculture, forests and people's health. The consequences of this explosion at the atomic power-station are tragic for the Ukrainian, Byelorussian and other nations. Environmental protection is of a universal concern. That is why serious measures to create a system of ecological security should be taken. Some progress has been already made in this direction. As many as 159 countries — members of the UNO — have set up environmental protection agencies. Numerous conferences have been held by these agencies to discuss problems facing ecologically poor regions including the Aral Sea, the South Urals, Kuzbass, Donbass, Semipalatinsk and Chernobyl. An international environmental research centre has been set up on Lake Baikal. The international organisation Greenpeace is also doing much to preserve the environment. But these are only the initial steps and they must be carried onward to protect nature, to save life on the planet not only for the sake of the present but also for the future generations.