London. London manages in a unique way to reflect the past and, at the same
time, to live a life of a modern city. The saying “When a man is tired of
London, he is tired of life” means that you can’t be bored in London. There
are hundreds of historic buildings, galleries and museums in London.
As for me, I’m fond of history and I’ve read a lot about English kings and
queens. I’d like to visit all places in London which are connected with
Royal London, such as Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Whitehall and
Trafalgar Square, St Paul’s Cathedral, and the Tower of London. And I’d
like to visit places which are not in London, such as Windsor Castle, the
Queen’s house in Greenwich, the Palace of Holyrood house in Edinburgh and
other places in the UK which are connected with the Crown. The UK is famous
for its castles such as Edinburgh Castle and Leeds Castle and others, and
I’d like to see them with my own eyes. Another place which is worth seeing
is Madam Tussaud’s Museum of Waxworks. This museum consists of several
halls with wax images of outstanding political characters, poets and
writers, world-famous film stars and musicians. Then I’d like to see one of
the wonders of the world – the famous Stonehenge. Every year thousands of
young people go to Stonehenge to take part in the midsummer Druid festival.
I wish I were there.
Palace of Holyrrodhouse in Edinburgh
In the House of Lords, the Chancellor sits on a sack of wool. This
tradition comes from old times when sheep wool made England rich and
powerful. In the House of Commons there are two rows of benches: one row is
for the government and the other one is for opposition. There is a red line
in the carpet in front of each “front bench”. The person who is speaking is
not allowed to step across it. It is also a tradition from old days, when
that division prevented the two parties from fighting during the debates.
Even the Legislation of the country is traditional. It includes many laws
that haven’t been changed for centuries. Other traditional features of
Great Britain are the numerous clubs that unite people of various
interests; and the pubs, the local beer halls, where Englishmen like to
spend their time talking, discussing traditional matters: politics, sports,
and weather, over a glass of beer. The British have a reputation of being
conservative, for having established values without questioning their
validity. They drive on the left side of the road and use double-decker
buses. They stick to their own measurement system and continue to measure
distances in miles and yards (not in kilometres and metres). They buy
cheese in pounds and ounces, milk in pints, petrol in gallons.
Fire-place
English people are famous for their habit of politeness. It is considered
polite to give up one’s seat to a woman who is standing, to open a door for
her, carry things for her, and so on. Most British people expect the person
in front of them to hold the door open for them. People think you are rude,
if you don’t do this. English people are very reserved. This means that
they don’t talk much to strangers, and don’t show much emotion. A reserved
person never tells you anything about himself. But the people of the North
and West of Britain are much less reserved than those of the South and
East. Most British people queue when they are waiting for a bus or waiting
to be served in a shop. But during the rush hour, when a bus or train
arrives, people often push forward to make sure they get on. This is called
jumping the queue. British people keep their old traditions and are very
proud of them. They are famous for their sense of humour. English people
show great love for animals. And, of course, English people are fond of
sports. Many continentals think life is a game; the English think cricket
is a game. To many Englishmen cricket is both a game and a standard of
behaviour. When they consider something unfair, they say “That isn’t
cricket”.
Cricket
The traditional love of English people for tea is well known. They like to
drink tea with milk. They have their five-o’clock tea not only at home or
in offices, but also in tea-rooms and tea-shops, which can be found in
every town.
A nation is born from its land, its history, its art, its traditions and
its institutions. These things work together to make people what they are.
But above all, a nation is made up of people, and although there are things
they all share, all of those people are different. We can say there is
still a “British nation,” and one of the most characteristic features of
Englishmen is their traditions, which they respect, and which they have
kept for centuries. The traditions don’t only accumulate the experience and
wisdom of many generations, but they bring some stability into the rapidly
changing world.
7. Each country takes pride in its own achievements and success. What makes
you feel proud of your country?
Our country is great, and I’m very proud of it. Russia is famous for its
outstanding people – scientists, writers, poets, travellers and explorers.
Russia is a stable and democratic society. Its citizens have many freedoms,
among them the freedom of speech, religion and the press. Russia is a
member of the United Nations. Russia is one of the largest trading
countries. It has a lot of energy resources and exports oil and natural
gas. Russia has for centuries encouraged research and innovation and it has
a lot of achievements throughout the twentieth century. Nobel prizes for
science, literature and peace have been won by Russian citizens. In the
fields of art, media and sports, Russia enjoys an international reputation.
Russia has nuclear weapons, a strong army and remains a widely-respected
country.
For ages mankind was dreaming of travelling in the space. The science
itself came later. K. E. Tsiolkovsky, the great Russian scientist, is the
father of the theory of interplanetary travels. His words that “mankind
will not remain on the Earth forever” came true. On 4 October 1957 the
Soviet Union launched the world’s first satellite “Sputnik”. This word,
“sputnik”, immediately began to be used in all languages. The first
cosmonaut on the Earth to fly into space, Yuri Gagarin, was from Russia,
and he made his flight around the Earth on 12 April 1961 that lasted 1 hour
48 minutes. Years will pass, people will conquer the Universe and make
landings on other planets, but mankind will always remember Yury Gagarin as
the first to pave the way to the stars.
Russia is also famous for its ancient churches, cathedrals, and towns.
Moscow, the capital of Russia, is famous for its monuments to outstanding
people, churches, galleries, theatres, squares and streets.
The heart of Moscow is Red Square. It’s my favourite place in my native
city. I show it to all my guests from different countries. It is our
history, and I’d like to tell you some facts about the buildings on it. St
Basil’s Cathedral was built in 1551–1561 after the victory over the Kazan
Kingdom. It’s a magnificent Cathedral, with eight churches placed around
the tallest ninth one. There is a monument to Minin and Pozharsky in front
of the Cathedral. It was built in 1818 and it was the first statue put up
in Moscow. Minin and Pozharsky were heroes of the people’s struggle in the
war against Poland in 1612. You can see Lobnoye Mesto near the Cathedral.
It was erected in the 16 century; the tsar’s orders were read from it, also
it was used as a place for execution. The tallest tower of the Kremlin is
the Spasskaya Tower. It’s also on Red Square. It’s one of the symbols of
Moscow, because the Kremlin clock, made in the 16th century, is on it. The
clock strikes on the hour, half hour and quarter of an hour. The Lenin
Mausoleum is in the centre of the square. It was at first made of wood; and
in 1930 it was rebuilt, and made of stone, brick, marble and granite. The
State History Museum was opened in 1883. It has a rich collection of
documents, drawings, pictures, and materials about the country’s past and
Russia’s great people. The State Department Store (GUM) is one of the
largest department stores in the country. It is an impressive building with
a glass roof.
Of course the most ancient part of Moscow is the Kremlin. Nowadays the
Kremlin centre looks truly magnificent, with its many-domed cathedrals in
Cathedral Square and with its Tsar Bell and Tsar Cannon.
A very interesting place in Moscow is the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.
The original cathedral was erected by order of Emperor Alexander as a token
of the Russian people’s gratitude to God for the deliverance of Russia from
Napoleon’s invasion in 1812. In 1931 it was demolished by order of Josef
Stalin. In 1995, Moscow’s Mayor Yuri Luzhkov and the world-famous musician
Mstislav Rostropovich laid the first stone in the foundation of the new
Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Today you can admire this Cathedral in the
centre of Moscow.
People in Russia keep their old traditions and are very proud of them. They
celebrate religious holidays such as Easter, Christmas, and Maslenitsa.
They eat traditional food for Maslenitsa such as pancakes with honey,
caviar or sour cream; they colour eggs; bake kulich cakes; make a paskha
out of cottage cheese for Easter. Many Russians are religious people. The
main church in Russia is the Orthodox Church, but there are other religions
too. The Orthodox Church has survived during hard times, and now we speak
about a rebirth of religion in our country.
Страницы: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
