Holidays in Great Britain

L Foreign Languages in Our

Life

Learning a foreign language is not an

easy thing.

It is a long and slow process that

takes a lot of time and efforts.

Nowadays it is especially important to

know foreign languages.

Some people learn languages

because they need them for their

work, others travel abroad, for

the third studying languages is

a hobby.

Everyone, who knows foreign

languages can speak to people from

other countries, read foreign writers in

the original, which makes your outlook

wider.

It is not surprising that many

intellectuals and well­educated

people are polyglots.

I study English.

Nowadays English has become the

world’s most important language in

politics, science, trade and cultural

relations.

Over 300 million people speak it as

a mother tongue. The native speakers of English live in

Great Britain, the United States

of America, Australia and New

Zealand.

English is one of the official languages

in the Irish Republic, Canada, the

South Africa Republic.

English is one of the official languages

of the United Nations Organization

and other political organizations.

Half of the world’s scientific literature

is in English.

It is the language of computer tech­

nology.

To know English today is absolutely

necessary for every educated person,

for every good specialist.

The English language is a wonderful

language.

It is the language of the great

literature.

It is the language of William Shake­

speare, Jonathan Swift, Walter Scott,

Charles Dickens.

The great German poet Goethe once

said, “He, who knows no foreign lan­

guage, does not know his own one”.

That is why in order to understand one­

self and environment one has to study

foreign languages.

L Places of Interest in kyiv

Ukraine has a long history and rich

culture.

That is why there are many places of

interest there.

It is natural that the capital of the

country, Kyiv, has the greatest

number of them.

It is one of the oldest cities in Europe.

From time immemorial Kyiv has been

the centre of Slavonic culture.

There are many ancient cathedrals

and churches, museums and

monuments, beautiful streets and

squares in it.

The main street of Kyiv is certainly

Khreshchatyk.

If you have never been to Kyiv you

should start your sightseeing there.

The street is only one kilometre long

but very impressive.

Kyiv is famous for its Kyivo­Pecherska

Lavra.

More than 80 buildings were

constructed on its territory during 900

years of the monastery’s existence.

Tourists always go to have a look

at the monument to Bohdan

Khmelnytsky, the outstanding

Ukrainian statesman and military

leader.

There are many other places of

interest in Kyiv. One of them is the State Historical Mu­

seum of Ukraine.

There are more than 50,000 exhibits

on display.

The exposition tells us about the

history of Ukraine and its culture from

antiquity to the present days.

The Golden Gates, the Andreyevskaya

Church, the monuments to Prince Vo­

lodymyr and Taras Shevchenko are

worth seeing.

Kyiv Shevchenko Opera and Ballet

House, Kyiv Ivan Franko Drama

Theatre are well­known all over the

country.

Any place is interesting in its own way

and visiting it we come to know and

love this country more.

L Places of Interest in London

There are a lot of places of interest in

London.

Among them there are: Westminster

Abbey, the Houses of Parliament,

Buckingham Palace, St Paul’s Cathe­

dral, London Bridge, the Tower of

London.

London stands on the river Thames.

Crossing the river by the Tower Bridge

you can see the Tower of London.

It is one of the oldest buildings of the

city.

Many centuries ago it was a fortress,

a royal palace and then a prison.

Now it is a museum of arms.

On the bank of the Thames, not

far from the Tower of London, you

can see Westminster Palace, or the

Houses of Parliament.

It is the seat of the British government

and it is one of the most beautiful

buildings in London.

In one of its towers there is famous

Big Ben, the largest clock of England.

It strikes every quarter of an hour.

Buckingham Palace is the Queen’s

official London residence.

Tourists always go to see the

ceremony of changing the Guard

there.

London has many fine squares. Some of them are quiet, others are

busy like Trafalgar Square.

Trafalgar Square is the central square

of the city.

To the right of the square there is

the National Gallery which has a fine

collection of European paintings.

St Paul’s Cathedral is the biggest Eng­

lish church.

Another famous church is Westminster

Abbey where kings, queens, and many

famous people are buried.

London is also famous for its beautiful

parks.

Hyde Park is the most democratic

park in the world, as anyone can say

anything he likes there.

Regent’s Park is the home of London

Zoo.

William Shakespeare

There are a lot of famous names in the

history of Great Britain.

The name of William Shakespeare is

one of them.

William Shakespeare, the great English

poet and dramatist, was born in 1564

in the town of Stratford­on­Avon.

There were no theatres in England in

those times.

Groups of actors travelled from town

to town showing performances in the

street.

Sometimes actors came to Stratford­

on­Avon.

The boy went to see all their shows

and liked them very much.

He wanted to become an actor.

Sometimes he wrote little plays and

staged them with his friends.

When he was twenty­one, William

went to London.

There he joined a group of actors. At first he only helped actors and then

began writing plays for them.

Soon Shakespeare’s plays were

staged more and more and became

famous.

The theatre where he worked was

called “The Globe”.

It became the first professional theatre.

Everyone knows Shakespeare’s plays.

The most famous of them are

“Othello”, “Hamlet”, “Romeo and

Juliet”, “King Lear”.

Shakespeare showed the real life and

relations between people.

Love and death, friendship and

treason, devotion and lie are the main

ideas of his plays.

Shakespeare’s works will always be

interesting for all people.

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Holidays in Great Britain

For many British people, Christmas is the favourite holiday. It is celebrated much earlier than in our country, on December, 25. Preparation for the holiday begins several weeks before it with sending dozens of cards, buying presents and food, decorating the Christmas tree and the house.. Most offices and public buildings close at one o'clock, but shops stay open late. Railway and bus stations are overcrowded as people travel from all parts of the country to be with their families. Christmas is the most important family holiday...

In the homes there is a great air of expectation.. Mothers of the family are busy in the kitchen getting ready for the next day's dinner of turkey,pudding and other tasty things. Before going to bed children may hang Christmas stockings on their beds in the hope of getting presents from Santa Claus. The next day, on December 26 people get up late, have big meals, go to church and have a good rest after the Christmas rush.

New Year in Britain is not celebrated as widely as in our country. Some people may even completely ignore it and go to bed at the usual time without waiting for the clock to strike twelve. Those who do celebrate it may have parties or family get-togethers, go to the disco .

Many British people start feeling spring on February, 14 when they get Valentine cards and symbolic love gifts. For many centuries St. Valentine's Day has been a good opportunity to openly show your feelings.

Easter in Britain is the time of giving and receiving presents which traditionally take the form of Easter eggs and hot cross buns. Nowadays eggs are usually made of chocolate with surprises in them, but the old custom is dying and painting eggs is still kept in some country districts. Other emblems of Easter are fluffy little chicks, the Easter Bunny and spring flowers.

April Fools' Day is not an official holiday but few people are indifferent to it. Everyone who has a sense of humor likes to play practical jokes on their friends and family neighbours.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-28