is basically about mistaken identity. The main character in the story is a
young artist who goes up to the north of England to instruct two young
ladies. And he falls in love with Miss Fairlie, who looks very like the
woman in white. Finally they turn out to be identical twins. The author
brilliantly describes the adventures, love and fears of his heroes. He
really brings the characters to life. A good writer knows how to keep you
reading the book. In The Woman in White the reader’s interest is caught
from the very first page and there is suspense till the very end! This is a
great book and I would recommend it to anyone.
But my favourite writer is Agatha Christie. She is possibly the world’s
most famous detective story writer. She wrote 79 novels and several plays.
Her books are translated into 103 foreign languages. Many of her novels and
short stories have been filmed. Her sales outnumber those of Shakespeare,
but her life was often lonely and unhappy.
She was born in 1890 in Devon. She didn’t go to school, but was educated at
home by her mother. During World War I, while she was working in a hospital
dispensary, she learned about chemicals and poisons, which proved very
useful to her in her later career. She wrote her first detective novel,
“The Mysterious Affair at Styles”, in 1920. In it she introduced Hercule
Poirot, the Belgian detective, who appeared in many subsequent novels. Her
other main detective was an elderly spinster called Miss Marple. Miss
Marple doesn’t look like a detective at all. This old lady always uses her
instinct and knowledge of human nature to investigate crimes.
In 1914 she married Archibald Christie, but the marriage was unhappy. It
didn’t last long, and they divorced in 1926. Agatha desperately wanted
solitude and developed very bitter feelings towards the media because the
newspapers had given her a hard time over her breakdown. She was determined
never to let them enter her private life again and she buried herself in
her work. On November 25, 1952 her play “The Mousetrap” opened in London.
Today, over 50 years later, it is still running. It is the longest running
show in the whole world. Agatha Christie died peacefully in 1976. People
all over the world value this talented writer and consider her to be the
Queen of Crime.
I don’t mind reading adventure stories. I especially like to read about
characters who go through dangers to complete their mission. I think it’s
more interesting than reading dull historical novels. But I dislike poetry,
especially modern poetry. I find it too complicated. Sometimes I fail to
understand what poets mean.
I am sure that reading is an essential part of our life. Only in books can
you find answers to all your questions. Books can tell us a lot about the
modern world and ancient times. Besides, they can help us to explore new
ideas and expand our outlook. I completely agree that “reading is to the
mind what exercise is to the body.” What is more, books teach us to be kind
and honest. While reading we learn how to solve our problems and to make
people happy. And I think that reading is a perfect way to spend free time
and not to feel bored. Books must be our friends during all our life.
12. Television is much spoken about nowadays. It has both good and bad
points. What are your arguments for and against watching TV?
It goes without saying that television plays a very important part in
people’s lives. It’s a wonderful source of information and one of the best
ways to spend free time and not to feel bored. Television viewing is by far
the most popular leisure pastime. For example, in Britain over 99 per cent
of British homes have a TV, and the average person watches “the box” 26
hours a week. It’s not surprising, because TV channels show a great variety
of programmes: documentaries and current affairs programmes, feature films
and comedies, soaps and police series, concerts and talk shows.
There are four TV channels in Britain: BBC 1, BBC 2, ITV and Channel 4. BBC
1 and BBC 2, the two state channels, do not show adverts. ITV and Channel
4, the two independent channels, do show adverts. BBC 1 and ITV tend to
broadcast popular programmes: sports programmes, recent films, news, game
shows, children’s programmes and soaps. BBC 2 and Channel 4 show programmes
which usually attract much smaller audiences: TV plays, classical concerts,
foreign films and programmes for minority groups.
Russian television has between 10 and 15 channels, which show all kinds of
programmes: news and sports programmes, talk shows and quizzes,
documentaries and feature films, soaps and police series, comedies and
concerts.
Thanks to satellites, TV viewers can increase their options and watch TV
from different countries. Conventional television has to struggle to retain
its audience, as people switch over to cable viewing, satellite TV, or
renting video cassettes.
Television is a reflection of the modern world. It gives you an opportunity
to travel all over the world, to see different people and learn about their
customs and traditions. Television keeps you informed about the rest of the
world. And of course, it helps you to escape from everyday problems.
A lot of people usually relax watching soaps – TV serials which dramatise
their characters’ daily life. Their story lines are entertaining, but often
unbelievable. I don’t think that they show life realistically; but to many
people, the characters in the weekly TV serial shows have become more
important than real people.
As for me, I prefer watching different quizz shows. That’s why my favourite
TV programme is “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” It is shown twice a week,
and lasts about an hour. The programme is now hosted by Maxim Galkin. It is
a game show where the player is asked different questions. If the answers
are correct, the participant gets a lot of money. But if he is wrong, he
loses everything. I particularly enjoy watching this programme, because the
questions are always very interesting and they help me to expand my
outlook. Besides, it’s a perfect way to be in the know about everything. I
find this programme clever and informative and try not to miss it.
Of course, not everything shown on TV is made in good taste. There are
badly-written programmes which contain unnecessary bad language and
violence. The strange thing is that neither politicians nor producers like
to admit that watching violence on TV leads to greater violence on the
streets.
Many people admit that the quality of television could be better. They
would prefer to see fewer soap operas and crime series, and more history,
drama, and science. One reason for the poor quality of programmes is
advertising. Not all people like watching commercials. They find ads silly
and boring. As for me, I don’t take advertising seriously. On the one hand,
advertisements help people choose the best products and get the best value
for their money. But on the other hand, they show life unrealistically and
give false information. Besides, in adverts all people seem to be happy
consumers, all kids seem to be healthy and well off. But this is not true
at all. What is more, I find it very annoying when a film stops at the most
interesting moment. Nevertheless, I am not against commercials on TV,
because television companies earn their money from advertising.
Another thing I would like to complain about is the amount of smoking in
the films that are shown on TV. Smoking is often shown as a very “cool”
thing to do – making young people much more likely to copy what they see,
and take up smoking themselves.
Some people say that television is a terrible waste of time. Of course,
there are TV addicts who can’t drag themselves away from the box. They
watch TV for hours without choosing programmes, and spend time in front of
television which they could spend talking to their friends and family. In
this case, television makes them really waste time. But on the contrary, if
we watch TV for an hour a day, to find out what is happening in the world
or to relax, then television is really useful.
In short, television does have its good points. Many of the broadcast
programmes are educational and can help with schoolwork. A good soap-opera
or a comedy is a source of relaxation for many people. Television also
provides jobs for thousands of people. So I think it is not the TV itself
which is to blame for the bad effects it has, but the fact that people do
not know how to make the best use of it.
13. What are the most popular free time activities for British and Russian
teenagers? What activities do you like? Why?
Britain has recent by been described as a “leisure society.” This is
because there are a great variety of leisure pursuits. Young people
generally go out on Friday or Saturday nights to a disco, to a concert or
to a pub. In recent years going out for a meal or getting a take-away meal
have become popular too. During the past years there is a great increase in
keeping fit and staying healthy. A lot of teens started running, jogging
and going to different fitness clubs in their spare time. Aerobics classes
and fitness clubs opened in every town, and the number of recreation
centres greatly increased. Indoor pools, with their wave-making machines,
water slides and tropical vegetation, have became very popular.
And the same is true in Russia. A lot of teens go in for different kinds of
sport. Sport helps them to feel as fit as a fiddle. In both countries there
are special programmes for problem teenagers, such as a high-risk
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