Great Britain is not large.
It takes just six hours in a fast train from London to Edinburgh, the
capital
of Scotland. Great Britain lies not far from continent of Europe. It is
separated from the continent by the North Sea and English
Channel.” Great
Britain” has several different names. Some people say
“Britain” or “the United
Kingdom” , or just “UK” . There are four
different countries in the United
Kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Britain is only
a small
country, but every part is different. Scotland is a land of mountains,
lakes
and romantic castles. The winters are cold, with plenty of snow, but
the
summers are often warm and sunny. Most farmers keep sheep and there are
many
small factories, which make fine sweaters from their wool.
Northern Ireland has its
problems but it has beauty too. In the warm wet climate, the grass
grows a
brilliant green, and much of the land is farming country. Wales is a
special
place, a country of mountains and pretty valleys. But Wales has plenty
of
industry too, with many factories and coal mines. The Midlands, known
as the
heart of England is the largest industrial part in the country. The
most
important industrial cities are Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool, which
is one
of Britain’s big parts, and Birmingham. The two famous
Midlands cities,
Stratford on Avon and Oxford are connected with English culture:
Stratford is
the birthplace of great William Shakespeare and Oxford is famous for
its
university.
The
USA
The United States of
America -the richest and one of the biggest countries in the world -
has
several names. People say “The United States” ,
“The States” , “America” or
just “the USA” or “the US” .
There are fifty states in the
USA and over 200 million, people live in them. There is no
“American climate”
or “American countryside” . Every part of the
country is different, from Alaska
in the north, covered with snow and ice, to tropical Florida in the
south.
The American Indians were
the first people to live in that vast land. They had a fascinating,
ancient
culture, and rich traditions of language and customs. But then, the
immigrants
came. Most came from Europe, but there were also many from the Middle
East and
Africa.
You can find almost
anything in America. There are mountains and deserts, old churches and
moon
rockets, homes with three cars and homes with no electric lights at
all.
The United States is a
young country. Its written history is only a few hundred years old. It
is
sometimes, in fact, called the “New World” . Over
the last four hundred years
millions of people have come to start a new life in this “New
World” .
Americans are not afraid of new ideas. They built the first skyscrapers
and
they put the first man on the Moon. They like to be modern. They like
exciting,
modern cities, new houses, and new cars. At the same time, Americans
love old
things. They like to visit historic houses and museums. They build old
pioneer
houses and remember the days of “Wild West” .
Americans are interested in old
traditions, but they are good at making new traditions too.
Russia
Russia is one of the
largest countries in the world. The vast territory of the Russian
Federation
stretches from the Baltic Sea in the West to the Pacific Ocean in the
East,
from the Arctic Ocean in the North to the Black Sea in the South. Due
to the
large territory the climate and nature are of various types in Russia.
The
climate of Siberia is continental with very cold winters and hot and
dry summers.
The climate in the central part of Russia is rather mild. In the south
of
Russia the climate is subtropical.
Russia is a country of
thick forests, high mountains and long rivers. The longest rivers are
the Volga
in Europe and the Ob., Yenissei and the Lena in Asia. Lake Baikal is
the
biggest and the deepest in the world. It’s famous for its
crystal clean water.
Russia is rich in natural
resources such as gas, oil, coal. Russia has one-sixth of the world
forests.
Our country has a glorious history.
Russian people suffered from many wars. But they never attacked any
other
country.
Russia gave the world such
famous writers and poets as Tolstoi, Dostoevsky, Pushkin. Such composer
as
Tchaikovvsky, Glinka, Borodin are admired in the world. The emblem of
Russia is
a double-headed eagle, the most ancient symbols. The symbol of Russia
is a
three-coloured flag. Is has three horizontal stripes: white, blue, red.
White
represents peace, blue represents loyalty, and red stands for valour.
The
capital of Russia is Moscow.
The British press
The press is a mirror of
current events. This proves to be true when you look through any
newspaper.
There are a lot of photos, articles, short and long, that inform
readers of the
latest events.
It has been claimed that
the British read more newspapers than any other people throughout the
United
Kingdom.
All British papers can be
classified as either “quality” or
“popular” papers. A “quality”
paper is a
serious national paper that aims at the educated reader. The best known
British
newspapers which give serious coverage of the news and comment are
“The Times”
, “The Gardian” , “The Financial
Times” and “The Independent” . They
contain
information on home and foreign affairs, serious editorials, art and
literary
reviews. They provide up-to-date financial information and professional
advertising.
Some newspapers have colour
supplement, with many photographs and advertisements. A popular paper
is a
newspaper that is designed for the undemanding reader. Such papers have
brief
and direct news reports and a large number of photographs. Much
attention is
given to personal stories. Especially when they mention a figure in the
public
eye, such as a member of a royal family, a political figure or a film
star. The
style of English in these newspapers is often conversational with much
use of
slang, catchy headlines. Among these newspapers are “The
Daily Express” , “The
Daily Mirror” , “The Star” . In addition
to national daily newspapers there are
nine national papers published on Sundays. Several of them include
coloured
magazines.
Stavropol
Stavropol is the main
town of the Stavropol Territory. It is situated in the North Caucasus.
Stavropol was founded in 1777 as a fortress. A presen- day Stavropol is
young
and beautiful. Wide streets, spacious squares, multi storeyed blocks of
houses
and offices add to the beauty of the town. Stavropol in summer is one
big park
full of flowers.
Stavropol is a cultural
center of the Stavropol Territory. There are three universities, many
colleges
and schools here. Stavropol Drama Theatre is the oldest theatre in the
North
Caucasus. The town has a puppet theatre, a circus and many cinemas.
There are
many places of interest in Stavropol. Near the cinema
“Rodina” you can see a piece
of an ancient wall. You can also see a simbolic teht with the key to
the town.
That’s the place from where our town began to grow.
You can see a wonderful
view of Stavropol from Komsomolskaya Gorka. It’s a monument
to Russian soldiers
who died that we might live.
There are three big parks,
we can say forests in our town.
People like to walk there,
especially in fine weather.
The
British Library
The British Library is the
largest public library in Britain. It consists of the Reference
Division, the
Bibliographic Service Division, the National Sound Archive and the
Research and
Development Department in London, and the Lending Division in
Yorkshire.
The Reference Division has
its origins in the library departments of the British Museum founded in
1753.
It is housed within the same 19th century building of the British
Museum, with
more than 9 million books stored along two miles of shelving, and
includes a
Gutenburg Bible, the Magna Carta, medieval illuminated manuscripts and
original
texts by Shakespeare, Dickens, da Vinci and many others. The Reading
Room of
the British Library is a centre of serious study in all fields. It is
used by
university professors and lecturers, and by those who are engaged in
research
in their spare time.
The richness of the
collections in different subjects makes the Library specially useful
for
journalists and writers.
The Library of Congress
today is among the world’s largest. It was established as a
reference library
in 1800, and occupied one room in the building of the United States
Capital
Washington. These structures hold more than 80 million items in
collection of
books, newspapers, periodicals, manuscripts, films, maps, and work of
drama,
music, and art. The Library’s archives keep a great number of
important and
exciting documents from American history.
My
pet
Most people like
animals. They keep animals at home as pets. Pets may be different.
People like
dogs and cats, birds and hamsters, rabbits and hedgehogs, some people
even like
snakes.
But you can’t keep any
animals as a pet even if you like him very much. Can a crocodile make a
good
pet? Or a lion, or a tiger, or a bear? You may love them, but will they
love
you? Some day when they are big they may become dangerous.
As for me, I prefer dogs.
They are so clever and truthful. When they look at you with their
beautiful
eyes it seems to you that they understand you but can’t talk.
People teach dogs to
understand commands, to do some tricks. And it think dogs teach people
to be
kinder, to think of others. People change for better when they keep
pets.
Sure, pets need much care.
You must keep the place where they sleep and eat tidy and clean, you
must give
them three meals a day. Dogs need more attention and care than cats.
You must
take then for walks at least two times a day.
I have a dog as a pet. His
name is Ret. I like him very much. I bought him. My dog is kind. He has
a black
nose, brown and black fur. My dog is pedigree. He likes to bathe. Ret
enjoys
Chappi and bones. I go for a walk with Ret. My father helps me to take
care of
the dog. I like Ret very much. Ret is a very big dog. He lives in the
dog
house. We like Ret.
I
help about the house
We live in a big
house. Our flat is on the 3-th floor. We have 3 rooms and a kitchen.
The flat
/house/ has all modern conveniences: gas, electricity, central heating,
cold
and hot running water. It’s difficult for my mother to run
the house herself.
I’m big enough to help her. Everybody in our family has his
own duties. As for
me, my duty is to keep the right things in the right places. It means
that I
must keep my room tidy and clean fold up my clothes.
Usually I tidy up twice a
week, on Wednesday and on Saturday. I open the window in any weather to
air the
room. After that I dust the furniture, water the flowers. We do not
sweep the
floor. We use a vacuum cleaner for this.
There is a lot of work in
the kitchen. I clean the taps, iron the towels and curtains wash up
after
meals.
I do my best to help my
mother to run the house. And I’m glad when mother is pleased
with me.
Sometimes I go shopping. I
buy bread, butter, milk. My father’s duty is to take our dog
for a walk. But he
doesn’t like it. So I take my dog for a walks in the morning.
My
birthday
Everybody likes holidays.
New Year, Christmas, May day and others. But these holidays are for
all. There
is one holiday in a year that belongs only to you. It’s your
birthday.
My birthday was on the 5 of
July. In the morning my parents wished me many happy returns of the day
and
gave me presents. Mother gave me a jeans, father bought me a recorder.
The day
began wonderfully.
I invited my friends to my
birthday party. They came at 4 o’clock in the afternoon and
brought me a lot of
presents – books, sweets, toys.
Mother cooked many tasty,
things, among them was a beautiful birthday cake with ten candles in
it. I was
ten that day. We enjoyed tea with the cake and sweets and fruit. After
tea we
had a lot of fun. We played games, danced and sang songs.
In the evening my Granny
and Grandpa came. They brought me a lovely puppy as a present. It has
always
been my dream to have a puppy! I thanked my Grandparents and kissed
them.
Really, I had a wonderful birthday.
New
Year party
Children all over the
world enjoy New Year. They know father frost will come and give them
presents.
They like to have a fir tree at home. It’s fun to decorate it
with shiny toys
and coloured lights. And it’s nice to find a surprise under
it in the morning.
Children like to go to a big New Year party where they sing and dance
around a
beautiful New Year tree.
I like it when Father Frost
comes together with Snow Maiden. Children recite poems, sing songs,
then Father
Frost gives them presents.
When I was little I be
lived that Father Frost and Snow Maiden were real. I was so upset when
I learn
that they only actors. I like New Year Parties at home, too. Father
buys a New
Year tree. In the evening we decorate it together. There are many shiny
balls,
flags, lamps on the New Year tree. Mother usually cooks a holiday
dinner. There
are so many tasty things on the table.
At 10 o’clock guests come.
They wish us happy New Year. We watch holiday programs or TV. At 12
o’clock the
Kremlin clock strikes and the New Year comes. We congratulate each
other and
gull our best wishes. I think New Year is the best holiday.
Fables
Fables are short and
wise stories about animals and people. They teach us to be kind and not
to
boast. When we read fables we see people in the animals. We laugh at
silly and
greedy characters. Fables teach us not to be silly and to be pleased
with what
we have.
I want to tell you a short
story about a greedy lion. Once he caught a hare and wanted to eat it.
But then
he saw a deer, of course a deer is a bigger dinner than a hare, so the
lion let
the hare go and ran after the deer, but couldn’t catch him.
Now the lion had no
dinner at all. Some times it is wiser to be pleased with what you have.
People
must remember fables and the lessons they teach us.
We all love and admire
Esop’s fables. Esop lived 2500 years ago in Greece. He told
his fables to many
people and they remembered them. Millions of people all over the world
now read
Esop’s fables.
Summer
is wonderful
Summer is wonderful! There
are many long sunny days and there is no school! There are new friends
and many
interesting things to see and to do.
Some children spend their
holidays at the seaside, some in the mountains and some in the country.
Isn’t it nice to spend some
weeks out of a noisy town?
Isn’t it to walk in the
green fields? To watch the clouds? To sit down by a river or a lake on
soft
green grass? To climb the high hills? To swim and to fish? To play
games
outdoors all the time. I think I was the happiest of all because I was
at a
wonderful children’s camp. Children from different towns
gather here every
year.
In the morning we swam and
bathed in the beautiful sea and played games on the yellow sand. In the
evening
we made a camp-fire, sat around it and sang songs. We all became good
friends.
The day to leave came too
soon. We had a very good time at camp with our new friends. Children
find a lot
of things to enjoy, and the summer months go so quickly. Then autumn
comes and
school begins.
At
the library
You can hardly find a
boy or a girl who is not fond of reading. Books open a wonderful world
to us.
Many people have their own libraries at home. But still they go to
public
libraries to get one or another new book.
There is library in our
school too. It’s not too big there is a wide choice of books
there. Fairy tales
and war stories, poems and novels, science fiction and fables. You can
come and
choice a book to your liking.
The library begins its work
at 9 o’clock and is closed at 5. If you don’t know
what book to take, a librarian
will help you with your choice. A pupil is allowed to take two books at
a time.
Books need care as anything else. Going to the library don’t
forget the library
rules.
If you keep all these rules you’ll make a good
reader. Books are our great
friends. They teach us a lot of useful things.
Hobbies
What is a
hobby? It’s something that you like to do when you have time
to spare. People
like to do different things, sometimes hobbies are very unusual.
Extravagant
people prefer to collect some special things. I remember a film about a
girl
whose hobby was to collect echoes. She lived in the Crimea. She used to
explore
mountains on the shore, and she found different echoes there among the
cliffs.
There was a man
who collected old trains. Another man collected old cars. But such
collections
need a lot of money and the place where to keep them. More often people
are
fond of collecting small things: stamps, match-boxes, coins, stickers.
Very often
people collect stamps, envelopes, postcards. It's a traditional hobby
of most
children. I should say that stamps open the world for you.
It’s interesting to
imagine those countries from where the letters come. There in nothing
better
than to get a letter from your pen-friend and to see a new stamp on it.
Some of
the stamps are very beautiful. We learn many interesting things about
these
countries. Sometimes we stage fairy tales in English. Its great!
Seasons
A year is long time.
Lot’s of things happen in a year. There are four seasons in a
year. All the
seasons are nice: spring, summer, autumn and winter. Spring is the
morning of
the year. In spring nature awakens and the weather gets warmer, warmer,
warmer.
The fields are covers with first fresh green grass and flowers. The
forests are
filled with bird’s songs. The sky is blue and sun shines
brightly. At night
millions stars shine in the darkness.
When summer comes, the
weather gets warmer and sometimes it’s very hot.
It’s school children’s
holidays' time. Some of them go to the seaside with their parents,
others go to
the country. Summer is wonderful. It’s nice to walk in the
green fields, to
play with friends, to swim and to fish. Children find a lot of things
to enjoy
in summer.
After summer autumn comes.
We call autumn a tasty season. It’s harvest time when crops
are gathered in.
The days get shorter and nights get longer. The woods turn yellow-red
and
brown. Leaves begin to fall down the trees. The sky is grey and it
often rains.
When winter comes we spend
more time at home, because it is cold. But when snow comes the ground
as a
white carpet children like to play snowballs, to make snowman, to
skate, to
ski.
My
favourite book
It’s hard
to imagine our lives without books. We learn a lot of interesting
things when
we read books. Books are our great friend and teachers.
I am fond of
reading. I like to read adventure stories, fairy tales, history books.
When you read
books you find your selves in different lands. Together with the
characters of
the books you climb high mountains, go by ship in the stormy sea, fly
into
space. In a ward, you have a lot of adventures.
There are books
and writers that everybody knows. “Mary Poppins” by
Pamela Travers,
“Winnie-the-Pooh” by Alan Milne, and of course
“The adventures of Tom Sawyer”
by Mark Twain.
My favorite book
is “Tom Sawyer” . Tom Sawyer was a boy with wild
imagination. He and his
friends liked to play games, dreamt of different adventures. Tom was
sometimes
naughty and never quiet. But he was often noble and always bright and
full of
ideas, I also enjoy books about animals. Have you ever heard of Bambi?
He is a
baby dear who is famous all over the world. “Bambi”
is a book by an Austrian
writer Felix Salthen. Its author is a poet who feels nature deeply and
loves
animals.
My
friend
I have a
friend. His name is Denis. He is a pupil of the 8 form. He is lovely
boy with
dark hair and brown eyes. He is 13. My friend is a clever and
industrious boy.
He studies well. Besides he is fond of basketball. He plays the
basketball very
well. My friend knows a lot of interesting things.
Denis has a
sweet nature. He is attentive and thoughtful to people. He helps his
parent
about the house. He washes the dishes, tidies up the flat and goes
shopping. Denis
has a pet. It’s a dog. He takes good care of his and always
goes for a walk
with him.
We spend much
time together, and almost never quarrel. On days-of we go to the
cinema, and
when the weather is fine we like to play outdoors.
What I like in
him is that he always keeps his word and never boasts.
There is a
proverb: a friend in need is a friend indeed. And I may say, that these
words
are about my friend. Because he is always ready to help me, when I am
in
troubles.
I think Denis is
the very good friend.
We ought
to take care of everything that nature gives us
Nature
gives people everything they need for their lives. People have learnt
to use
the soil, the water, the minerals on the earth and under the earth.
Forests are the
lungs of the planet. They give us fresh air, from the forest we get
wood to
build the houses, the furniture and what-not. Paper is also made from
wood. Can
you imagine our life without a common piece of paper. No books, no
newspapers.
Terrible, isn’t it? Most of our clothes are also made from
natural material:
leather, wool, cotton.
People will
simply die if nature is spoiled. It may sound strange, but no one does
more
harm to nature than people do.
Plants and
factories throw their wastes into seas and oceans, pollute water,
contaminate
sea animals and fish. Some birds and animals have disappeared from the
earth in
this century. People often killed them for their beautiful skins and
feather.
But today there
are people in all parts of the world who are trying to protect wild
animals and
birds. There is even an international organization called
“Green Peace” .
Reservations for rare plants and animals are set up in different parts
of the
world. Hunting is not allowed there.
We all love our
Earth. We love its green fields and forests, mountains, rivers and
lakes. We
must take care of every thing that grows and lives on the Earth.
We
like to travel
Thousands
of people spend their holidays travelling. They travel by trains, by
buses, by
sea, by air or in their own cars.
A lot of people
travel in their own cars. Wonderful landscapes of our country attract
lovers of
nature. People travel not only to enjoy picturesque places, but also to
see
ancient monuments and other places of interest.
Hiking is
becoming very popular. People like to spend their days-off in the
country.
Happy they return home to plan new hikes for the coming weekend.
Some people
prefer travelling by train, others by sea. It’s very
comfortable, especially if
you don’t feel seasick.
In fine weather
the passengers
I like
to look at the ship with its many decks and cabins. It looks like a
white
flouting city. When the sea is a little rough, the ship rolls from side
to
side. Some passengers feel seasick.
I like to watch
the sea-gulls, listen to their cries when they fly over the waves.
It’s also fine
to travel by trains. From a comfortable railway carriage you have a
splendid
view of a country side.
And of course
it’s not bad to travel in a car. You may stop at any place
you like, have lunch
under a shady tree or swim in a cool river or a like.
Sport
is good for all
People all over the
world are fond of sport. Sport activities are very important for the
growing
organism of a child. Children showed not neglect this fact.
There are many sport clubs
that they can join us. Light athletics gives much opportunity to those
who go
in for it. It includes track field events: running, long-jumping, high
jumping,
discus throwing and others.
Many children are fond of ball
games: basketball, volleyball, football. They are so exiting. Besides
they are
played all year round. Children like to take part in the competitions
to see
who is the quickest, the strongest, who can jump best, who is the best
swimmer
or player. Pupils in different classes hold competitions in different
kinds of
sport. Many boys and girls show good results. All the competitions and
games
are very popular with the pupils. A lot of fans always come to watch
them.
My favourite sport is basketball. Basketball is a wonderful
sport. It’s a
good exercise too. It makes us strong and healthy.
To become a good sportsman you must train a lot. If you want
to be good at
something you have to work hard. Practice makes perfect.
All
around you
The world is full of
wonderful things. You see the blue sky and the grey rain, the black
night and
the shiny stars, trees and mountains, seas and sunshine. These things
are the
world, and they are all around you.
It’s interesting to know
why we need the Sun, why the moon is bright, what animals live on the
Earth.
The world we live on is a
big round ball. It’s turning all the time, but we
can’t feel it.
The Sun shines on the Earth
the rain falls on it.
Different plants grow on
the Earth, different animals live on it. The forests are full of
berries and
mushrooms.
There is water around the
land. It’s called the World Ocean. There is life in the Ocean
too. Different
sea animals and fishes live in the ocean.
Nature gives us every thing
we need for our life. People grow food on the ground. Animals give us
meat and
milk. We must take good care of nature.
Keep your eyes and ears
open and you’ll see a lot of interesting thing around you.
Planning
a day
My working day begins
rather early. I wake up at 6.30, I am not an early – riser
and its difficult
for me to get up so early. Then I go to the bathroom, wash my face,
clean my
teeth and comb my hair. After that I dress myself.
In the morning I don’t have
much time for breakfast, so I have a cup of tea with a sandwich. Then I
take my
schoolbag and run to the bus stop. My way to school is rather hard
because of
the traffic. I live rather far from school. It takes me nearly 40
minutes to
get there. The buses and trolley-buses are usually overcrowded in the
morning.
And it’s a problem to get into it. I must elbow my way to
stand somewhere in
the corner. Nobody can call such a ride a pleasure, neither can I.
At last I am at school, and
the day’s work begins. Usually we have six or seven lessons a
day with ten minute
breaks.
At 1.30 the school is over.
But my working day is not, I have to do my homework at 2.00 p. m. I
come home,
change my clothes, wash my hands and have dinner. After dinner I have a
short
rest and then I do my homework.
Most of all I like evening
hours, when the family gets together. We like to have dinner together
and speak
about our problems. Then we watch TV, or read. At 11 o’clock
I go to bed. At
6.30 in the morning the alarm clock wakes me up, and I am happy to
start a new
day.
Holiday
in the USA
In the USA different
states celebrate different holidays, but everyone remembers the 4th
of July, “Independence day” . On this day in 1776
America signed the
Declaration of Independence. On that day people go out into the streets
and take
part in the parades. The second big American festival is Thanksgiving
day. It
is celebrated in November. American families meet for a special dinner,
usually
with turkey, pumpkin and pies. They give thanks to God for the past
year,
remember the first harvest of European Americans in 1621.
Children always have fun at
Halloween on October 31. They dress up as ghosts and witches. They go
from
house and say “Trick or Treat” . If they get a
“treat” , they go away happy.
But if they don’t, they play a “trick” .
They might put soap on the windows or
throw in the garden.
February the 14th
is Saint Valentine’s Day. People send valentine cards to
their sweethearts of
friends with words of love.
Christmas is celebrated at
the end of December. It’s a religious holiday, the birth of
Jesus Christ. By
this day people decorate fir-trees with toys and lights. Christmas is a
very
busy time. People hurry to the shops to buy presents for their nearest
and
dearest. On New Year’s Day most people stay up all night,
even children. At
midnight they go outside and shout “Happy New
Year!”
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