New Year’s Trees and have a late dinner that consists of various delicious
courses ( блюда) – salats, fried feesh and meet, cakes, and, of cause,
champagne. Some people prefer to stay at home just watch TV-programs and
concerts. The others like to go to their friends or to different parties
and restaurants. But when the clock strikes 12 at night (часы бьют),
everybody congratulate each other and gives and gets presents. Sometimes
they also go out for a late walk and to make and to watch fireworks..
In Russia we also have holidays commemorating some important events in our
history, for example, Victory Day ( on the 9th of May) , Constitution Day (
on the 12 of December) , the Day of the Sovereignty of the Russian
Federation ( on the 12th of June). There are also holidays like May Day and
Women’s Day ( on the 8th of March). The most important religious holidays
are Christmas and Easter. In Russia Christmas is celebrated on January 7,
and in Europe and in the USA, on December 25.
In Great Britain there are also many holidays. Banking Holidays happen
four times a year: Easter Monday, Whit Monday, the first Monday in August
and December 26th. Day. They are very interesting holydays for all the
banks and the other official establishments (государственные учреждения)
are closed and people give to their employees (служащим) presents ( thats
why they re also called Boxing Days).
The other public holidays celebrated in the Western countries are:
Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, Good Friday and May Day. On these days all
bank and all places of business are also closed and nearly everyone takes a
holyday.
But British traditional national holidays like Pancake Day, Guy Fawkes’
Night, St. Valentine’s Day, April Fool’s Day, Mother’s Day are ordinary
working days. ( подробнее про английские праздники)
There are also many holidays in the USA.
The main holiday in the USA is Independence Day, celebrated on the fourth
of July. On that day in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
Another traditional American holiday is Thanksgiving Day which falls on
the fourth Thursday of November. It has been celebrated since the 17th
century, when the English colonists decided to celebrate the end of their
first year in America and to give thanks to God.
There are the other holydays in the USA besides Christmas, New Year and
Easter, which are popular all over the world. For instance, Columbus Day
celebrated on October 12.
There are many special holydays, for example, Day of Martin Luther King,
Presidents Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and of cause Halloween, which
celebrated on October 31.
13. I know many American and English holidays but I want to tell you
about Russian ones.
There are plenty holidays in Russia, but my favorite one is New Year’s
Day. The celebration of the holiday begins at 12 o’clock AM on 31st of
December.
First of all, I like it because it is celebrated during winter vacations
and when I think of this holiday, I always remember all the things that
I^ve done during this time. I have a lot time to sleep and to walk with my
friends. There are a lot of interesting and funny programs, famous comedies
and concerts on TV on the New Year’s Eve.
We always begin to celebrate New Year’s Day in a very good mood. First of
all, we light colored lamps on our decorated New Year’s Tree and have a
late dinner that usially consists of very delicious courses like salats,
fried fish or meed, cakes, and, of cause, champagne.
Sometimes we just watch TV till the clock strikes 12, and then we go
out for a walk to visit our friends and relatives and to watch beatiful
fireworks in the centre of our town.
On New Year everybody gives and gets presents, and like this tradition very
much. People become very kind and friendly on this day, because it is a
great holiday. Everything outside seems very nice, every home, every shop
and building becomes beautiful because, people want to make their home and
place of work more bright. At home we all stay up until midnight and
much later.
On the next day after the celebraton of New Year people can sleep very
long, because they don^t need to go to work.
It is very important to celebrate New Year very well and funny because it
is believed that you will pass a new year in the same way as you have met
it.
14. I have studied a lot about different famous Americans and British, so
I would like to tell you about some of them.
A lot of famous writers and poets were born in America. For example, Jack
London, a writer well- known all over the world. He is best known for his
book « The Call of the Wild», the story about adventures of a dog in frozen
north.
Mark Twain was born in Missouri and he is famous forsuch his masterpieces
as «The Adventure of Tom Sawyer» and «The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn».
My favorite science-fiction writers are Ray Bradbury and Robert Shaklee.
Ray Bradbury wrote «the Marsian Chronicles». And Robert Shaklee is known
for his very interesting short stories about aliens and space adventures.
American animators and illustrators are aslo world-famous. For example,
Walt Disney who created such cartoon-heroes as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck
and Pluto. He is the founder of the Disney Park. Chuck Jones is also a
popular American animator famous for his Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote.
Many american inventors became famous all over the world for their
inventions. Wright brothers are known for their invention, building and
flying the first airplane. Henry Ford is known like father of automobile
powered by a gasoline engine. Alexander Bell created the first telephone.
I also know some famous architects who lived in America. For
example, Thomas Jefferson who is best known as the first president of the
USA and the author of Declaration of Independence. But he was also a self-
taught architect who designed the Virginia State Capitol Building.
As for actors, directors and singers, America and the Great Britain stand
on the first place. Elvis Presley, the king of rock’ n ’roll, was born
and lived in America, but the most popular group for all the times and
nations, the Beatles, began their career in Britain. Movie- Actors like Al
Pachino, Robert De Nero, Tom Cruise, Arnold Schwarzneger and many others
live in USA and play in Hollywood blockbasters. The most successful
Hollywood film-directors today are Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and
James Cameron. Their films are very popular all over the world and in our
country as well.
And of cause I can say something about famous politicians who lived in
English-speaking countries. Sir Winston Churchill was the prime minister of
the United Kingdom in a very difficult period – during the World War II,
but he managed to make England a strong country.
George Washington, who was the first president of the United States,
is probably the most famous man in America. There were also such great
presidnts as Abraham Lincoln, Teodor Roosewelt and Franclin Roosewelt
that did their best to make the USA a leading world-power ( ведущая мировая
держава).
15. TV has good and bad sides. First of all it keeps people informed, we
can learn a lot of information watching TV. We can choose from a lot of
channels, and TV offers programs for all the interests and tastes.
Sometimes we can relax and entertain ourselves by watching TV when we are
tired. TV advertisement gives us information about different products and
it makes it easier to make a choice as to what things to buy. When we
watch TV we learn about the world, famous people and recent global or our
home-country news.
But watcing TV also has a lot of disadvantages.
First of all, it’s quite bad for our health, especially for eyes.
Violence on TV has become a vital problem. Some programs and films with
violence and murders make people cruel and affects their psych (психику).
Often there is too much advertisement on TV that encourage us to buy
things we don’t need at all.
Watching TV occupies all the leisure time of the majority of people. We
just watch it, not concentrate, and waste time.
So, to sum up, it can be said that it can be useful and interesting to
watch TV, but in reasonable limits.
16. When I don’t need to study at school I have a lot of free time.
Every time my opinion is different and I change my mind many times, before
I think up what to do and where can I go. It is quite difficult for me to
make a choice.
Sometimes I would like to seat at home and just watch TV or listen to
music. Then I don’t want to see anybody, I just want to be alone. Usually
it happens when the weather is not good or when I^m in a bad mood. When I
am tired, I like to read or to lay and watch something on TV. It is the
best time-passing for me, because my eyes and my brain can work, but my
body can rest.
The way I pass my time depends on what is the season: in winter I’m less
active but in all other seasons I don’t like to seat at home.
On autumn and spring vacations I go to the disco with my friends. There I
can relax and meet new people, but my parents don’t like when I go there,
because they worry when I come to home very late.
On summer I prefer to do sports every day. I think that summer is the
best time for sport, because the weather outside is worm and you don’t get
tired at school, so you have a lot of powers and you can do anything you
like.
Traveling is my favorite kind of spending free time. I like to go to
different places, especially if I havent been there before, to watch the
places of interests and to meet new people and make new friends.
I also like to collect different things. Now I collect corks
from beer-bottles, but my collection is not very big. I have only 160 kinds
of corks.
In my free time I like to sit in the Internet, because its always
interesting to find new infomation or to learn something you would like ot
know, or just to chat with people who are miles away.
17. Everybody knows that education helps to form personality and prepares
one for life. That’s why all countries consider the system of education as
a very important part of national politicy.
In Russia there is a nine-year compulsory education, but to
enter a university one has to study two years more. Russian children go to
School at the age of six. But most of them have learned letters in
kindergarden, which is now part of primary school. Primary and secondary
schools together comprise eleven years of study.
After finishing secondary school one can go to a lyceum or a gymnasium to
get a higher education. All the applicants must take competitive
examinations.
Americans also value education very much. Universal
access to a high quality education has been one of the nation’s historic
goals.
Children go to school at the time they reach six or seven years and study
there until they are sixteen or seventeen.
Elementary and Secondary schools consist of twelve year –studing, that
makes for about 10 months a year, five days a week and five hours a day.
Almost in every elementary school such subjects as English, Mathematics,
Science, Social Studies, Music, Art and Physical Education are being
taught.
After graduating from secondary schools a growing number of Americans go on
studing to get to a higher education in colleges or universities, the most
famous of which are the Harvard University, the Yiel and the Columbia
university
The British system of education has a very long history.
Children go to school at the age of 5 years and continue to study until
they are 16 years old. Boys and girls are taught together in the most
schools. Around half of 3- and 4- years-olds in Britain receive nursery
education and many children attend preschool play-groups. Compulsory
primary education begins at the age of 5. Children usually start their
school career in an infant school and move to a junior school or department
at 7.
At 7 and 11 years in the primary school (and at 14 and 16 in the secondary
school) teachers measure children’s progress in each subject against
attainment targets. For each target there are 10 levels of attainment. So
instead of 2, 3, 4and 5 marks in Russia puipls get A, B, C, D etc. scores.
The secondary level includes the children from 11 to 18. Here they enhance
( укреплять ) and specify the knowledge they have acquired at primary
school. At the age of 16 they can get the General Certificate of Secondary
Education qualifications on the basis of examinations and course work.
Puiples who got high examination scores hve chances to continue their
education in collges and universities without pay. There are 79
universities in the UK , Oxford and Cambridge are the oldest of them.
18. Nowadays the theatre is less popular than the cinema. Due to the
popularity of television and the since appearance of video, theatre has
lost a great deal of its attraction. Besides, theatre tickets are very
expensive, especially in good theatres. And one should always book (
бронировать ) and buy the tickets for good plays where famous actors star
in advance. So we can say that a visit to a famous theatre has become a
luxury.
Still, the theatre is an inseparable part of the intellectual life of any
country. In every country theatre has its own history and traditions.
There are a lot of theatres in Russia and some of them are popular all over
the world. In Moscow theatre-goers try not to miss the first nights at the
Vachtangov, Sovremennik, or Khudozhestvenny theatres. St. Petersburg also
has a variety of theatres, which meet all the tastes. Those who are fond of
drama visit the Bolshoi Drama Theatre. Alexandrinsky Theatre, Open Theatre
and many others. People loving classic music never miss a chance to visit
the Philharmonic Society Hall.
I like the cinema too, even though it doesn’t create so festive
atmosphere as the thetre does. There is one cinema in our town and it’s
open very seldom. So every time when I have the opportunity to go to
Moscow, I like to go to the cinema there. There are very many movie-
theatres in Moscow, modern and old ones, where one can always see some new
film. Moscow movie-theatres are large, comfortable and well-decorated.
Before a film starts people can sit in a bar and drink something or eat
pop-corn. Before a movie you can see the announcements of new films.
Nowadays video becomes more and more popular. I think that its
popular depends on the comfort of viewing things on video. You can just
buy a video-tape with your favorite film and watch it whenever you want
and have time. So you can lay on a sofa when you are watching video, eat or
drink anything you like and even talk on the phone Video is very
comfortable and relatively unexpensive because you don’t need to pay money
every time, when you are going to watch it).
Maybe when the technology developes enough and everyone will be rich enough
to allow this, there will a «home movie-theatre» in every house and people
would not need to the cinema to enjoy this art.
19. Millions people al over the world spend their holidays visiting
museums and art galleries. They visit them to see new things, to know more
about other countries, their traditions, about history and even future of
the mankind. There are different type of museums : historical, military,
nature and many others. The Tower of London is a historical museum. It is
the oldest palace, fortress and prison in Europe. It’s also one of the most
popular museums nowadays.
Saint Petersburg is often called « the cultural capital of Russia». Many of
Russia’s finest museums are situated here. The Hermitage, for example, is
one of the world’s greatest and most famous museums. It houses over 2,5
million works of art. The best works of art from Russia and Europe are
situated in the five buildings and over 350 rooms that make up the
Hermitage. The main building of the Hermitage is the Winter Palace on
Palace Square with the main entrance facing the Neva.
The state Tretyakov Gallery is one of the best-known picture galleries in
the world. It takes its name from its founder Pavel Tretyakov, a Moscow
merchant and collector of pictures. Today the Tretyakov gallery is not only
Russia’s biggest and most important museums of Russian art, it is also a
research, cultural and educational center.
20. I know a lot of American, British and Russian writers, but some of
them I like to read most.
To my mind, the greatest Russian writers and poets are Pushkin and
Lermontov. My favorite Pushkin’s masterpiece is the novel «Evgeny
Onegin». I like it because it is written in a very beautiful language that
is not used nowadays. There are many popular expressions there, which
became famous in Russia, and what is most peculiar (особенное) about this
novel, that Pushkin invented a special Onegin strophe in which the whole
world is written.
Lermontov is also a very talented poet.. He wrote a lot of
very popular poems and novels, for example, «The hero of our time» and
«Мцыри». I think that he stands at one place with Pushkin, though his style
of writing is not such light and optimistic as Poushkins. But all the
masterpieces of Lermontov are very profound ( глубокий ) and intellectual.
I prefer to read American science-fiction and I have my favorite writers
there.
I think that the best writer of the genre is Ray Bradbury. I like him for
his very interesting and fascinating short stories. The most popular novels
of this author are «The Martian Chronicles» and «451 degrees on
Fahrenheit». His novel «Ice and flame» is the best, I think. The novel is
about surviving of the man in very hard conditions of the Mercury. His
short stories are also very interesting, they arise such everlasting
problems as war, love, bravery and honor. The novels and stories ob
Bradbury are unlike all the others, they all are not ordinary.
Another my favorite writer is Robert Shaklee. He wrote only three
novels, but they became very popular in the world of science-fiction.
There are: «Corporation Immortality», «Exchange of the minds» and «Variants
of a Choice». He also wrote more than 90 short stories, which are, too,
very interesting.
I think that literature helps one to develop his knowledge of life and
his personal intellect. And the books written by great talented people
remain up-to date even through centuries ( lets take the masterpieces of
Shakespear ), because they consider eternal problems. That’s why they are
called classics.
