Topics about our life

1. Society and the future

Our life become faster, a lot of new things appear, our mind develops and it cannot stop. Nowadays we live surrounded by machines and others inventions. More and more new things appear day by day. And we don’t thing about how they were created. The only thing we know is that we will never return to the life people lead to the reason for that is that a lot of centuries ago there is a way back.

Some people think that the world will change a lot. The cities will become bigger. They will be more beautiful. Sanghai will become one of the world’s leading business centres. Religion will not play a significant role in our life. The Catholic Church will elect a black Pope. We will have electric cars, household robots and cheap travel offers.

Pupils will not go to school. They will have computers at home and the computers will help them to learn everything.

At weekends people will go to the moon and other planets. They will have a good time there. People won’t read many books. They will mostly watch television and get news from Internet. And in conclusion I want to say that the technical progress won’t stop and the future machines will substitute everything.

2. Money

Money plays a great role in our modern life.

They are a means of storing and saving.

More and more people are saving money not at home, but opening an account in the bank. And now a few words about the history of money. In the 19^th century money was represented as golden and silver coins, but later notes appeared.

Nowadays coins as well as notes exist.

It isn’t necessary to carry one’s money in one’s pocket. It’s enough to have a plastic card.

Almost each country has it’s own monetary unit. For example in Russia we have a ruble, in the UK they have a pound and in the USA — $.

The new universal monetary unit appeared in the most European countries — that is euro. Unfortunately, with the technical development it became possible to forge money. That’s why now money has several layers of money defence.

So money, whatever they are: coins, notes or plastic cards, gives us some privileges in the society and provide us with the means for life.

3. Mass Media

Now the new era has come the era of information technologies. Nowadays in the world many kinds of mass media. They are: TV, Internet, newspapers, radio …

In my opinion the most reliable kind of mass media is the Internet. It gives us objective information.

To my mind most of the people don’t listen to the radio because nowadays there are many other kinds of mass media among them for example is the TV. TV is very important thing in our life. TV helps us to know more about the world about the events that happened in the world. I have about 12 Russian TV channels, they are: NTV, ORT, RTR and others. I like some of them and hate others. So, my favorite channel is MuzTV. MuzTV is a musical channel. I also like STS, this channel has very interesting films.

I hate advertisements because she break very interesting films or chat shows. In most cases the companies who promote their products tend to give large sums of money to the channels which then show the advertisements of these companies. This funds give the channels the opportunities to show qualitative and educational programs.

I hate soap operas because they are very much alike besides they mis present the up to date reality. Every TV channel wants to be first with the news.

Most often people watch TV not for getting new information but in order get relaxed and calmed.

As for me I myself often watch TV for relaxation. Different movies and talk-shows help me to forget my daily problems.

4. Problems and solution

In our life we always face difficult and problems. Each age has it’s special problems. In childhood we want to be independent from our parents. In our youth we face the problem of choosing the future career.

When we are adults the main problem for us is our health.

Our life always provides us with new and new problems and we are to find it’s solutions.

In order to solve this or that problem we need to make a compromise.

My grand father has always wanted me to become a physicist, while I wanted to be a programmer. Finally we came to a compromise.

There are a great many problems whose solutions are not very important for example the choice of clothes and there are also such problems as the choice of friends and future career, which are very important.

All in all our problems whether important or not, whether actual or not, need the solution and this depend on us. And for their solution we need to be maximum concentrated on them.

5. How I spend time

The great deal of my time I spend at the university. My studies are really quite stressful. In university is we spend a lot of time on project work. Every day I do lots of housework and it’s not that simple. I go out with my friends from university quite a lot. I stay home in the evening.

Of course university is an essential component of my life but I find free time sometimes.

After the studies I listen to the music, I absolutely love music and listen to it all the time. I think you can listen to the music while doing any other job. Also, when I have free time I don’t mind computer on and playing computer games. In the Internet I can surf lots of time. Also I like to contact in the chat. Another thing that interest me is reading books and newspapers.

I like spending time with the family. In the evenings, when all the members of our family get together after work and study we like to watch TV.

We have a small house with a garden there is much work there and at weekends we go there and work and have rest all together.

Every Saturday my friends and I gather together. When the weather is fine we sometimes go for a walk but usually we go to the bar — the bars here in Kimry are always busy and the people are really friendly. On Saturday we also go dancing. The summer I and my friends go once a week to play tennis at least. In the morning we often go to the beach swimming.

Also in summer I travel to Sochi it is a very beautiful city. I hope to travel more in the future.

6. Jobs and careers

Millions of people all over the world have profession. Professions are very different. Just think how boring it would be if everyone were the same doctor, teacher, engineer, lawyer all we need is skilled specialist.

Different jobs are suitable for men and women. There are male as well as female jobs. There are a number of jobs that women are naturally better suited to than men. For example instance house wife and nursery school teacher and the like.

Some people think working in a bank is boring. It’s all about dealing with people and that’s always a challenge. There’s a lot of job satisfaction just being with the children and watching them develop and seeing things the way they see them. Some people think it’s an easy job, because the holidays are quite long and everything, but it’s harder work than you imagine mind you.

Now I have already decided what to do, I’d like to be a systems manager. I know that it’s very difficult. I should know perfectly everything about the computers and network. I must be well-educated and well-informed.

I also want to say that the profession should be chosen according to the character and hobbies of the person. And of course if you’re a professional in your sphere you shouldn’t worry, you will easily get the right job.

7. Things of importance

In our life there are many different things of importance. Things created by the scientific progress that we use in our every day life. I mean refrigerators, TV set, computers, microwave ovens, radio telephones and other. That made our life easy, comfortable and pleasant. There are many things of important around me but there’s one thing which is the most important in my life and my future career that is a computer. I can’t deal without my computer because it helps me to do my best in my studies.

Of course computer is an essential component of my life but in my life there are many other kinds of modern machine which influence on my life. First of all, it is a TV, because I get a great deal information from it, secondly it is DVD player, because I’m fond of music and finally it is home facilities.

I like traveling and most usually I take a CD player with me. I’m an up-to-date person and I need all the things I have.

For me one of the most valuable things is my mobile phone. It’s valuable for me, because I have many friends and acquaintances with whom a always in contact. A friend of mine has given to me on my birthday. It’s fashionable up-to-date thing with a digital camera, designed by Samsung.

8. Entertainment

A hundreds years ago there was no problem of what working people could do with their spare time.

Nowadays it’s even hard to name all the activities, entertainment of people in their free time. Entertainments differ like tastes and your life becomes more interesting. A growing number of people prefer watching films and listening to the music. Other popular occupation are listening to the radio, reading books and newspapers. Many people prefer to go in for different kinds of sports and lead an active way of life. But majority of people prefer watching sport on TV, for example football.

More serious people prefer to visit museums, art galleries or theaters. Every weekend great number of people gather at disco parties to dance and relax there. Music is the thing that unites them.

I always try to do my best to make my holidays really exciting, because we have only few days in a week for relaxation and rest. During the weekend we have an opportunity of enjoying the life and having rest. Every weekend we go dancing. Sometimes we go to the bar or cinema. Also I like listening to the music and playing computer games and surf lots of time in the Internet. I think entertainment necessary, because it’s help relaxation all the people.

9. People around me

People are very different we have advantage and disadvantage.

First of all I would like to speak about my family. We are very different. My father is 45. He is a man of strong character but we all love him very much. My mother is 42. She is an optimist in every thing she sees good side almost. I admire her. My brother is a pupil. He is very lazy but I think he can change. My grandmother does not work now, she is a pensioner, but she has a lot of work to do about the house. My grandfather is a pensioner too. He well-read person, he has experience in many fields.

Also I want to say about my friends. So my best friend is Lena. We were at school together. She ever so good-hearted. I think she means very well and she is always very interested in how I’m getting on at home always terribly interested in my family and everything. My neighbor is always complain about something or other and she just goes on and on about her problems. I have to say she really gets on my nerves sometimes. And of course, all my friends in university they very much people without exception.

10. Visiting different cultures

Every country and every nation has it’s own traditions and customs. It’s very important to know traditions and customs of different people. It will help you to know more about the history and life of different nations and countries.

For example one cannot speak about England without speaking about it’s traditions and customs. Englishman are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up. They are the nation of stay at homes. They prefer a small house built for one family, with a small garden. They like to follow the traditions concerning food and meals.

Thailand is famous for it’s hospitality and the average visitor will have no difficulty in adapting to local customs. Traditional cooking for such dishes as rice, fish and many different fruits. National religion is Buddhism.

Also I’d like to say a few words about the traditions of my country. First about Russian people. To my mind the main trait of character which differ them from other people is hospitality. The Russians are talented nation Russia gave the world many well-know names of Pushkin, Chaikovsky, thousands of names of world famous poets, writers, composers, scientists. We celebrate the forgotten holidays for example Maslenitca. Traditional Russian cooking is world famous for such dishes as shi, pelmeni, bliny.

11. Countries and city

In the world many different countries, but I want to say about my country and country which I want to visit.

The country which I want to visit is the USA it’s one of the largest country in the world. The capital of the country is Washington, but City which I want to visit is New York because it is one of the largest investment markets in the world especially in Wall Street. New York is the port in America. This is also noisy, cosmopolitan, polluted city but I think there are many places of interest New York. They are: Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building — it is the most famous building in New York.

Manhattan — it is the centre of American finance, advertising and much more. There are two more world famous streets — Broadway and Fifth Avenue. Broadway is the centre of the theatres and night life. Fifth Avenue is the great shopping hotel and clubs. New York is the city that never goes to sleep and I hope visit it someday. Among the most cites of interest are the San Francisco, Los Angeles and other.

And in conclusion I want to say about my country. Moscow the capital of Russia. It one of the most beautiful city in the world. The heart of Moscow is Red Square. Kremyl the official resident of the Russia President. The world famous art gallery the Tretyakov. Moscow is famous theaters. The best-know of them is the Bolshoj. Russia is a big country and have many beautiful cites for example Sankt-Peterburg.

12. Life story

In the 1960s the Beatles was popular all over the world. The Beatles gave characteristic musical flavor and had profound influence in the popular music.

Participants of the Beatles: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were all born in Liverpool and started the group there in 1959. Lennon and McCartney had played together in a group called «The Quarrymen» with Harrison their own group «The Silver Beatles» in 1959 and Starr joined them in 1962. They first played at a night club called the «Cavern» and then traveled around the world.

Their early music was influenced by the American rock singers. But they infused an accustomed musical form with freshness, vitality and wit.

The release of «I want to Hold your hand» in 1964 marked the beginning of the phenomenon known as «Beatle mania» in the USA. Their records sold in millions.

Experimenting with new musical forms the produced an extraordinary variety of songs. The group disbanded in 1970 after the release of their final album «Let it Be». Each to pursue individual careers.

Paul McCartney is now the richest musician in the world. Many tourists visit Liverpool to see the homes of the Beatles.

13. Freedom of choice

Perhaps no issue is discussed more often than the right and freedoms of the individual — how far should the state decide what is best for us and how far should we have the right to control our own lives? Even in countries where social and political values are very similar, the laws about some of the world’s most controversial issues can be very different.

Freedom of choice is one of the achievements of the democratic society.

In democratic countries the law is beyond criticism. For example in the Netherlands the law allows doctors to help terminally ill patients to die if the patient states repeatedly that this is their wish and in the Netherlands, people are allowed to carry small amounts of soft drugs such as cannabis for their own personal use.

In principle young people are free to choose any education they want. A person is free to choose whom to be friends with, but one has no right to impose his opinion on other.

In two words democracy means you can do practically everything you like unless it interferes with the interests of other people.

14. TRADITIONS & CUSTOMS OF GREAT BRITIAN

Every nation and every country has its own customs and traditions. In Britian traditions play more importaint part in the life of the people than in some other countries. Englishmen are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up. It has been the law for about three hundred years that all the theatres are closed on Sundays no letters are delivered only a few Sunday papers are publshed. To this day English families prefer cotage houses with gardens to flats in a modern house with central heeting. English people like gardens. Sometimes the garden in front of the house is a little square covered with cement painted green (in imitation of grass) and a box of flowers. In English houses the fire-place has always been the centre of interest in a room. For many months of the year people like to sit round the fire and watch the dancing flames. Fire places are decorated with woodworks, there is a painting or a mirror over it. Above the fire there is usually a shelf with a clock and some photographs. Holydays are especially rich in old traditions and are different in cotland, Wales and England. Christmas is a great english national holyday and in Scotland it is not kept at all exeept by clerks in banks, all the shops and factories are working. But 6 days later on the New Year’s Eve the

Scots begin to enjoy themselves. People invite their friends to their houses and sit the old year out and the new year in. In England on new Year’s Eve a lot of people go to Trafalgar Square, at midnight, they all cross their arms join hands and sing. People have parties too, they drink toarts to the New Year Children are happy to have presents.

Four times a year the offices and banks in Britain are closed on Monday. These public holidays are known as Bank Holidays. The British like to spend holidays out of the town in the open air. They go to the sea-side or to amusements parks. Londoners often visit the Zoo, outside London they take their families to Hamsted Heath ['hнmstid'hi@] a large natural park too. There is usually a big fair with many different amusements for children merry-go-round, swings puppet shows, bright baloons.

One must also speak about such holidays ass All Fools Day, Hallowe’en Bonfire Night, St. Valentines Day and such tradition as Eisteddfod (a festival of which culture).

15. SCIENCE IN OUR LIFE

Today we see the world in which social, industrial and political order has been greatly influenced by science. The development of science has increased man’s know-ledge of nature. Modern experimental science began about 400 year ago. Man learned to use the energy of fire water. Later man made steaw serve him. Nowdays man uses thermonuclear energy and that of autimatter. I’d like to dwell on electronics as not a day passes without the apearance of a new eletronic device. The first great progress in electronics came with the invention of the vacuum tube or valve in 1904. it made broadcasting possible. the development of electronics during World War II gave us radars and electronic computers. The first general purpose computer for scientific use was invented in 1949. Today computers have become common they can do fantastic things. Computer can conduct experiments in places which are too dangerous for people. Some computers are used in carves and mines to replace workers. Besides they can be designed for special purposes. They can solve mathematical problems, make bank aubuts, play chess. New supercomputers solve problems in many branches of industry, science and culture. They are videly used in submarine navigation and in modern hospital. Now much is being done to create artifical intellect. Science has brought in to being a new atomic technologies. Elektric enginearing and radio enginearin have been created in the some way.

Science and technology have acheeved great progress in spase research. There have been space flights, the launching of interplanetary stations in the direction of Mars, Radar contacts with the planets Mercury and Venus. Science enters own flats. Many people have already forgotten what the world was like before television. several generations of children have grown up with TV as a baby-sitter, teacher and companion. A lot of kitchens in our flats are so well equipped that they look like a control room. We are so used to all these that we can’t (emmigenc) our life without science.

16. Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln is the most famous example of the «American dream». Many Americans think that in their country a man may rise from the lowest to the highest position in the ireland. That was exactly what Lincoln did. He was born in 1809 in a small farm in Kentucky. When Abraham was quite young, the family moved to the wild forest land of Indiana. He hardly had any education; he only learned to read and write and do simple arithmetic. In 1830 Abraham left his father’s farm and went to Springfield, Illinois. There he became a clerk in a store and worked hard to improve his education. In 1836 he became a lawyer.

He entered politics, too, and in 1834 became a candidate to the Parliament of Illinois. He soon became a force in the political life. In 1847 he went as a Congressman to the National Assembly (National Parliament).

Slavery was then becoming a burning questions American politics. Many people in the Northern states wanted to abolish it, the Southern states opposed the abolition. The Southerners said that it would mean economic ruin for them. The reason was that the prosperity of the South was based on cotton-growing, and only Negroes worked there. The Southerners threatened that if the North didn’t cease its fight against slavery, the Southern states would leave the Union. They wanted to form an independent «confederacy». In 1860 Lincoln was elected President of the USA. In 1861 seven states left the Union and elected their own President, Jefferson Davis. The Confederacy was formed.

Lincoln was strongly against slavery and even more strongly against the break-up of the Union. In 1862 the American Civil War between the North and the South began. At first the war went badly for the North. The Southerners headed by General Robert Lee and Colonel Jackson won some brilliant victories. But Lincoln did not lose courage. On April, 9 General Lee surrendered. The Civil War was over. Lincoln tried to convince former enemies that they should live in peace.

On April, 14 the President and his wife visited a theatre in Washington. During the performance Lincoln was shot by an actor who supported Confederacy. Abraham Lincoln died next morning. People admire Lincoln for political moderation. They admire him because he tried to preserve the nation. He is a symbol of American democracy.

17. Peter the Great

Peter 1, or Peter the Great was one of the most outstanding rulers and reformers in Russian history. He was Tsar of Russia and became Emperor in 1721. First he ruled together with his brother, Ivan, and his sister, Sofya. In 1696 he became a sole ruler. He was a healthy, lively and clever child. He loved military games and enjoyed carpentry, blacksmithing and printing. At the age of 17 he was married. Peter I is famous for drawing Russia further to the Cast. He also transferred the capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Peter travelled much in Western Europe and tried to carry western customs and habits to Russia. He introduced western technology. He completely changed the Russian government and military system: he increased the power of the monarch and reduced the power of the boyars and the church. In foreign policy. Peter I waged a war with Turkey (1695−1696) and the Great Nothern War with Sweden (1700−1721), and a war with Persia (1722−1723). In these wars, he wanted to get access to the Baltic, Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. He managed to get the shores of the Baltic Sea and and the Caspian Sea. Peter I played a great part in Russian history. After his death, Russia was much more secure and progressive than it had been before his reign.

18. Pushkin

Pushkin is the most important Russian writer of all time, like Shakespeare in England or Dante in Italy. Pushkin provided the standards for Russian arts and literature in the 19th century. Pushkin was born in Moscow in 1799 into an upper-class family. In 1811 he entered a lyceum at Tsarskoye Solo. The education offered at the lyceum shaped Pushkin’s life. He graduated from the lyceum in 1817 and began to work in the foreign office in St. Petersburg. In 1820 the foreign office transferred Pushkin to Ekaterinoslav, and later to Odessa for writing anti-tsarist poetry. In 1824, for his letters against the tsar, he was exiled to Mikhailovskoye. In 1824, Tsar Nicholas I allowed Pushkin to return to Moscow. Pushkin felt in love with Natalya Goncharova,-who was lfrthen, and in 1830 they got married. His wife was suspected of an affair with Baron Georges d’Antes; this became the subject of gossip. Pushkin challenged d’Antes to a duel. Pushkin was wounded and died two days later. Pushkin was Russia’s greatest poet. In his works he was first influenced by 18th century poets, and then by Lord Byron. Finally he developed bis own style, which was realistic but classical in form. His earliest long poem was romantic «Ruslan and Lyudmila» (1818−1820). А series of verse tales followed- «The Prisoner of the Caucasus», «The Robber Brothers», «The Fountain ofBakhchisarai», and «The Gypsies». They were inspired by Syren’s poetry. In 1823 Pushkin began writing his masterpiece «Eugene Onegin», a novel in verse. «Eugen Onegin» became the linguistic and literary standard. It is a commentary on the life of the early I 9th century Russia. It is noted for brilliant verse. He also wrote other long poems, including «Bronze Horseman» (1833), the finest collection of lyrics in Russian literature. Pushkin created also a number of masterpieces in drama and prose. «Little Tragedies» and «The Stone Guest» are among the best works in the world history of drama. Pushkin’s love to Russia’s past resulted in his historical drama, «Boris Godunov» (1825). «Tales of the Late l.P.Belkin», «Dubrovsky», «The Captain’s Daughter» are the most important of his prose works. Pushkin’s use of Russian influenced the of great Russian writers Turgenev, Goncharov, Tolstoy. Pushkin’s early death shocked the country. Pushkin, called by many «the sun of Russian literature», belongs among the foremost poets and writers of the world.

19. Russia

Russia is one of the largest countries in the world. The vast territory of Russia lies in the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia. Russia is washed by twelve seas and three oceans. The oceans are: the Arctic, the Atlantic, the Pacific. The seas are: the White Sea, the Barents Sea, the Okhotsk Sea, the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea and others. Russia borders on many countries, such as Mongolia and China in the south-east, Finland and Norway in the north-west, and so on. The land of Russia varies very much from forests to deserts, from high mountains to deep valleys. The main mountain cbains are the Urals, the Caucasus and the Altai. There are a lot of great rivers and deep lakes on its territory. The longest rivers are the Volga in Europe and the Ob, the Yenisei and the Lena in Asia. The largest lakes are Ladoga and Baikal. Baikal is the deepest lake in the world and its water is the purest on earth. The Russian Federation is rich in natural and mineral resources. It has deposits of oil, gas, coal, iron, gold and many others. The current population of Russia is more than 150 million people. The European part of the country is densely peopled, and most population live in cities and towns and their outskirts.

The capital of Russian Federation is Moscow, with the population of about 10 million people. Russia is a presidedtial republic. It is one of the leading powers in the world.

20. Health

People nowadays are more health-conscious than they used to be. They understand that good health is above wealth.

To be healthy we should avoid different bad habits that can affect our health. In my opinion, smoking and drinking too much alcohol, are the worst ones. It’s common knowledge that smoking and drinking can shorten our lives dramatically. Smoking, for example, causes a number of heart and lung diseases, such as pneumonia, emphysema and cancer. Besides, it makes your teeth yellow and skin unhealthy. Fortunately, in recent years smoking has received a lot of bad publicity, and fewer people smoke nowadays. Some companies don’t employ people who are smokers. Smoking has been banned in most public places because everyone agrees it does harm to our health. I don’t smoke, because I don’t want to have unhealthy skin and teeth and die young.

Smoking and drinking are joined by less dangerous habits, such as skipping meals, eating unhealthy food, or even overeating. Of course, they are not quite as deadly as smoking or drinking alcohol, but they also affect our health.

If we eat too much, we’ll become obese, and obesity leads to serious health problems. A lot of people like drinking coca cola and coffee, and enjoy pizzas and hamburgers. But what is tasty is not always healthy. Fast food makes you fat, that’s why Americans are the fattest people in the world.

In recent years eating habits have undergone a change. People are encouraged to eat less fat and more fibre. Fat is believed to be one of the major causes of obesity and heart disease. High fibre and low fat foods can now be found in all shops and supermarkets. Salads, beans, and fruit have taken the place of steak and ice cream. The fashion for health food is growing all the time.

Many people feel they are too fat, even if their doctors disagree. And a lot of people try to improve their fitness. There are a lot of ways to lose weight and avoid gaining it. Perhaps the most popular of them is following a diet. If you want to lose weight, you should cut out snacks and desserts, and cut down on fat. People have also become more aware of calories, the energy value of food. Some people count the number of calories they eat every day; so that they can try to take in fewer calories and lose weight. This is called a calorie-controlled diet. Manufacturers are increasingly producing special foods with fewer calories for slimmers.

But excessive dieting may be dangerous, too. Some people refuse to eat meat as they consider it harmful. They say a vegetarian diet reduces the risk of cancer and vegetarians live longer than others. I can’t agree with them, because meat is an excellent source of good nutrition. In my opinion, it’s wrong to put down a food simply because excessive amounts can cause health problems. Consumed in moderate amounts, meat is perfectly good for our health.

To my mind, the only way to stay healthy and to keep fit is by going in for sports. Among the benefits of regular exercise are a healthier heart, stronger bones, quicker reaction times and more resistance to various illnesses. Besides, you can eat and drink as much as you want because you are burning it all off.

To be healthy, it is also very important to spend a lot of time in the open air. It is useful to go for a walk before going to bed, or to air the room.

I think it is very important to be fit and healthy, and it is necessary to take care of your health. Being fat, in fact, can cause real problems. It is harder for fat people to get a good job, or even to make friends. If you want to do well, you must be thin. That’s why I go in for sports on a regular basis. I have been doing aerobics for three years and I feel great. I am not enthusiastic about strict dieting, but I try to eat only low-fat food, and fruit and vegetables which are rich in vitamins.

Personally I believe that regularity in life promotes our health. Sleeping eight or nine hours, getting up early, regular meals, a healthy diet and going in for sports is really a good way to live.