Every child in our country has the right to go to school. The system of education in Russia is not very complicated. Most of the children attend comprehensive schools which offer education free of

Education.

Every child in our country has the right to go to school. The system of education in Russia is not very complicated. Most of the children attend comprehensive schools which offer education free of charge but there are some private schools too. Schools are mainly co-educational but there are also all-girls and all-boys schools. The majority of pupils go to day schools but some live and study in boarding schools.

Russian children start school at the age of 6 or 7. But most of them get their first skills in kindergartens. Primary education lasts 4 years. The next stage of education is a secondary school where the pupils spend 5 or 7 years. In Russia there is a 9-year compulsory education. If you are going to enter a college you may pass the GCSE exams and leave the school after the 9^th form. But if you want to enrol at the institute or university you have to study 2 years more.

I attend a secondary school № 26 specializing in English. I am in the 9^th form now.Our school year is divided into 4 terms and we have 4 holidays a year. We go to school 6 days a week from Monday to Saturday. The school day usually starts at 8.30 and is over at 2 or 3 p.m. Each lesson lasts 40 minutes and there is a 15-minute break after it. At school we do various subjects and are engaged in after-class activities. On the timetable we have Maths, Russian, English, History, Biology, Geography, Chemistry, Physics, Computing, PE.This year we are working hard to prepare for our GCSE exams in core subjects: Maths, Russian and English. We are also supposed to make a serious choice of our future career.

As for me I want to continue my education in the 10^th form as I’d like to enter the institute and get a profession of a…

Famous People.

Talent and mastery, strong will and intelligence, energy and hard work can help a man to become famous. Every country has its outstanding people who contributed greatly to the development of science and technology, politics and history, who achieved great results in sports or created real masterpieces in arts and literature. Every country is rich in remarkable artists, writers, architects, musicians, politicians, sportsmen, scientists.

One of the greatest men in the history of science is the English scientist Isaac Newton who made his discoveries in maths and physical sciences. He discovered the method of calculus, the law of gravitation and the three laws of motion.

Michael Faraday was a physicist and a chemist. His name is usually linked with electricity and electrochemistry. He discovered the connection between electricity and magnetism.

Charles Darwin was an outstanding naturalist. According to his theory of evolution all plants and animals have developed from earlier and different forms.

Ernest Rutherford, the great pioneer of nuclear physics made discoveries in the nature of radioactivity. He discovered 2 types of radiation and was the first to split the atom. He received the Nobel Prize for his investigations.

At the beginning of the 20^th century Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin.

Lomonosov is the father of Russian science, an outstanding poet, the founder of Russian literature. He was a physicist, a painter, an astronomer, a geographer, a historian, a statesman. He made a telescope. He wrote the first scientific grammar of the Russian language. He wrote many poems. He was the first to discover the vegetable origin of coal. His living memorial is the Moscow State University which he founded in 1755.

Andrei Sakharov, a Russian scientist was the father of the hydrogen bomb and human rights campaigner. He became an academician at the age of 32 and in 1975 he received the Nobel Prize for his work towards world peace.

Famous people in culture.

Pushkin, Tchaikovsky, Levitan- VII p. 7-8

Pavel Tretyakov

William Shakespeare

Famous cosmonauts

Gagarin-VII p.7-8

Teenagers’ Activities

Different people have different hobbies. A hobby is something you like to do very much in your free time. Many people are fond of collecting different things, gardening, painting, traveling, watching TV, music, sports, reading books, visiting museums and galleries. Sometimes hobbies help us to choose our future profession, because we learn many new things.

Teens in Great Britain are fond of playing football and cricket. They think that summer without cricket is not summer. Teens in Russia like sports too. Many kinds of sports are popular among teens: hockey, skating, swimming, shooting, volleyball, basketball. Water sports are well spread too: swimming, diving, sailing, water skiing and canoeing. Teens like extreme sports ….

Teens in GB enjoy listening to music and dancing. They go to discos when they have free time. Dancing is also a way to spend evening in America. Russian teens can’t live without music. We listen to music, dance to music, and learn to play musical instruments. There are many kinds of music popular in Russia: pop, rock, hip-hop, rap, punk, classical music. Russian teens don’t like classical music. They say it is boring, annoying and old-fashioned. Russian teenagers prefer to spend their free time at the disco and clubs but classical music is not for dancing.

Teens from all countries like to travel around the world. They travel to see other countries and continents, modern cities and the ruins of ancient towns. It is always interesting to discover new things, different ways of life, to try different food. Teens like to travel because they want to communicate with new people.

TV plays an important role in the life of all teenagers. People can learn about the world by watching TV. All teens like to watch music channels, talk shows, news about stars and famous people, interviews and discussions. Teens hate educational programs as they are boring.

Young people in Germany, the USA, England, Spain, France, Brazil are fond of computer games. It has become one of the main hobbies among teens nowadays.

Reading is very popular among teenagers of different nationalities. A book is a means of education and a means of relaxation. Nowadays teens prefer to read detective stories, love stories and books about computers.

So we can see that teenagers from different countries share the same interests.

Healthy Way of Life.

It goes without saying that one of the most important tasks today is to bring up a healthy generation. There is nothing more important than health.

Our health depends on many things: the food we eat, our good and bad habits, our physical activity.

Sleeping for 8 hours a day, getting up early, taking regular exercises, spending a lot of time outdoors, a healthy diet and regular meals is really a good way to live.

Healthy food contains 7 components:

1) carbohydrates which give you energy

2) fats make you strong and energetic

3) protein helps you to grow

4) water is important for your blood

5) minerals make your bones and teeth strong

6) fibre cleans the inside of your body

7) vitamins are important for your eyes, skin, bones, hair and other parts of your body. There are 13 types of vitamins. They are in different types of food. Meat, fish, dairy products, bread, vegetables and fruit are very useful to people.

Some people care about their health and have good habits. They get up and go to bed early, take a cold shower, clean their teeth twice a day, wash their hands before they eat, keep to a healthy diet, spend a lot of time outdoors and go in for sports.

(see the topic “Sports in my life”)

Other people don’t care about their health and have bad habits.

(see the chart “ Bad Habits”)

As for me, I don’t have any health problems because …

Sports in our life.

1. The role of sports in the life of people (to be healthy, to become strong, to make people more disciplined)

2. Sports in Russia (sport-lovers VII p. 219)

a) popular kinds of sports(VII p.243)

b) sporting facilities (VII p.243)

c) international tournaments (to participate in Olympic Games, to set records, to win medals, prizes, to compete in championships, to take part in tournaments)

3. My favourite sport and sportsman (sport equipment, clothes, facilities, the history, the sportsmen and their records)

4. Sports at school (PE lessons, sporting facilities- a gym and equipment, sports competitions) (VII p.249)

5. Sports in my life (go in for sports, take regular exercises, achieve good results, train hard, show good results in sport events, watch competitions, follow the exciting match, race, contest with interest)

Sports in Great Britain.

The British people like sports and games. Their favourite sports are football, cricket and tennis. Many of them also go in for such sports as golf, hockey, athletics, climbing, horse-riding, boating, rugby and rowing.

Britain invented and developed many of the sports and games which are now played all over the world. Football is one of them. It is spread all over the country- in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Their national teams compete with each other every year. The Cup Final at Wimbley Stadium in London is one of the most important football matches of the year. There are many football clubs all over the country.

Cricket is another popular summer sport. It is sometimes called an English national game. Many cricket clubs were founded in the 18^th century. Nowadays this game is played in schools, colleges and universities in most towns and villages of Britain. Cricket is a very long game. International cricket matches last for 5 days. Girls and women play this game too.

Boxing as a British sport is one of the oldest. It existed even in Saxon times. Golf began to develop in Scotland and now is widely spread all over Britain. Tennis or lawn tennis is also a popular game. Every summer in June the British hold the International Tennis Championship at Wimbledon near London.

There are some other important sport competitions in Britain such as an Oxford- Cambridge Boat Race-a contest between the two universities on the Thames river and the Highland Games in Scotland. (V-p.249-250)

Russia and its achievements

Russia is a great country. It has a lot of achievements and we are proud of its success. Russian people are talented. We can name many of those who are well-known all over the world. People all over the world read novels by Chekhov, Tolstoy, and Dostoevsky. You can see plays by Chekhov staged in New York, Paris, London and Delhi. People on many continents listen to beautiful music by Tchaikovsky and Glinka.

Russian people have made many discoveries in different spheres of life. They contributed greatly to the development of science. (Lomonosov, Sakharov)

People all over the world know the names of Gagarin and other cosmonauts who contributed to the exploration of space. (Gagarin)

We are proud of our achievements in literature, music, arts.(Pushkin, Tchaikovsky, Levitan, Tretyakov)

Russian sportsmen set new world records and win medals at the International Championships and the Olympic Games (sportsmen)

We are also proud of our historical past. Russian historical centers are great tourists’ attractions. Every year thousands of foreigners visit Moscow, St. Petersburg and other historical cities with their places of interests: museums, art galleries, churches, cathedrals. (sights of Moscow or St.Petersburg)

I am proud of my native town…(see the topic “Cherepovets”)

We people of Russia love our country and are proud of it and we would like other nations to understand and love our homeland.

Russian, British and American Holidays

Every country and every nation has its own customs and traditions. There are many holidays in our country and many traditions are closely connected with them.

One of them is Maslenitsa. People celebrate it at the end of February or the beginning of March to say good-bye to winter. During Maslenitsa week people always cook pancakes and eat them with sour cream, caviar, butter or honey. People make fires, burn the scarecrows of winter, sing songs and dance.

Easter is a church festival which celebrates Jesus Christ’s return to life. People decorate eggs with different colours and eat them on Easter Sunday. They also eat “culitch (a kind of cake) and “paskha” (a mixture of soft cheese with fruit, eggs and butter). The most important part of the festival is the night church service when people sing special Easter hymns.

Russian people also celebrate New Year and Old New Year’s Eve, Christmas, One’s Name Day, May Day and some other holidays. My favourite holiday is…

In Britain traditions play a more important role in the life of people than in any other country. British people are very conservative. They are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up. Christmas, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween have also become traditional American holidays. (speak about two of them).

At school we usually celebrate Halloween, Christmas and Valentine’s Day. (speak about the way we do it)

Books in Our Life

Reading plays an important role in our life. Some people read for pleasure. Others read for information. But very few nowadays read from habit.

A good book is a means of relaxation and a means of education. Books enrich my mind with knowledge and expand my outlook. They can arouse different emotions, form moral values and develop our literary tastes.

There are many kinds of books…(VII-p.170)

Fiction appeals to a general reader. Non-fiction appeals to a highly educated reader. Detective stories, spy stories, thrillers, humorous stories, travel and adventure books entertain readers. Reading them you can enjoy exciting events, vivid descriptions, original plots. One can admire a great lyrical power in the books of poetry.

Some people think that reading is not important because…

I think reading is important because…(see the list “Is reading important?”)

As for me I am a serious reader. I often read books to get some information on different subjects. Sometimes I take books from our school library. When I have free time I usually spend the evening with my favourite books and their characters.

My favourite writer is…

My favourite book is…

It is…

It is about…

The action takes place…

The main characters are…

They…

I like reading this book because…

The book is worth reading.

I am also very fond of reading books written by the British writers such as…

The most outstanding English writer is William Shakespeare.

Music in Our Life

We cannot imagine our life without music. Music is everywhere- at home, in the concert hall, in parks, at the seaside and even in the forest. People cannot live without music. We listen to music, dance to music, learn to play musical instruments. What is music?

Music is not a combination of pleasant sounds only. It is an art which reflects life. Music reflects people’s ideas and emotions. Music can leave us indifferent or it can provoke powerful and complex feelings.

Speak about different kinds of music (classical, rock, pop, etc.), how they influence people and you personally (see the chart “Music: the soundtrack of our lives”).

Speak on the history of pop music.

Pop is popular music. It is the music for the young. It was born in the USA in the 50’s at the time of Elvis Presley. There were all kinds of music in those days: blues, jazz, rock and roll and others. The 60’s were a time of rock (the Beatles and the Rolling Stones). Hard rock, heavy metal, punk and disco appeared in the 70’s. The 80’s gave us music made by computers. Superstars of that time were Jackson and Madonna. The 90’s are known for rap. Rap like punk was the music of the city streets.

Give your arguments for and against rock and classical music.

Classical

for against

supports the ideas of good difficult to understand

appeals to the intellect a complicated art

creates a special spiritual musical pieces are long and dull

world

makes you better

enriches your inner life

Rock

for against

appeals to young people not tuneful

entertains them the monotonous beat again and again

makes them feel happy the tunes are primitive

the words deal with their world too noisy

are easy to understand words are senseless

has bad influence on our nervous system

Speak about your favourite music; name the genre and the singer or a group.

About Myself

I. Introduce yourself.

II. Speak about your family, your flat, your home town.

III. Your interests and hobbies(reading, sports, TV, music, pets, traveling) (VII p.84-85, topics)

IV. Your best friends

V. What kind of person are you? Your good and bad points(VII p.120)

VI. Your school achievements

VII. What are your wishes and life ambitions (I have great life ambitions. I want to be …)

Let me introduce myself. My full name is…but my friends call me…for short. I was born on the 4th of May in 1990. I am … years old now. I live in Cherepovets. My address is 10 Gogol Street, flat 9. My phone number is…

Hobbies

to be interested in…

to be fond of…

to go in for…

to enjoy doing smth.

School

to be good at…

to succeed in…

to do well at school

to be on good terms with…

to get along with …

to share common interests

Ecology

Ecology is a natural balance between plants, animals, people and their environment. The word environment means simply what is around us: the air we breathe, the soil on which we stand, the water we drink are all part of the environment.

The most urgent ecological problems nowadays are:

· Pollution in its forms (water, air, nuclear pollution)

· Noise from cars and buses

· Shortage of natural resources

· Destruction of wildlife

Air pollution in big cities is a serious problem today. Plants and factories release harmful substances into the air. You can often see fume from the chimneys and smog over the city. The streets and houses are covered with soot and dirt. It’s hard to breath. The pollution also comes from cars and buses which produce the exhaust fumes and noise. Many scientists think that ozone holes are also the result of air pollution.

Nuclear power stations can go wrong and cause nuclear pollution. This happened in Windscale in Britain, in Three Mile Island in the USA and in Chernobyl.

Oceans and seas are used for dumping chemical and nuclear wastes. The seas are polluted by oil. Many rivers and lakes are poisoned too. Factories and plants pour a lot of poisonous substances into rivers and seas and kill fish, reptiles and sea animals.

We must take measures to stop air and water pollution. We should remove plants from the cities, use filters and purifying systems, reduce the number of cars in big cities. People must create green zones and protect the greenery.

Many natural resources are not renewable. Coal, gas, oil, metals will finish one day. Other resources take a long time to grow, such as trees, or are not always available such as water. We must find the ways to reduce the amount of resources we use because they may be exhausted.

Every day people throw away millions of tons of rubbish. A lot of rubbish that we throw away is not biodegradable-plastic, metals, chemicals. We must avoid using nonbiodegradable material and find ways to recycle the things we use.

All the states should join their efforts to save the Earth from ecological catastrophe. People all over the world take part in ecological campaign for healthy environment.

We live in an industrial center. Cherepovets is one of the largest steel-making centers of the country. For a long time it was a smoky and dirty city. Today the environment is entirely different due to the city’s clean air programme. The factories and plants were redesigned and modified. Special filters are used to purify the air. Widescale planting and rigid smoke control have changed the ecological situation in the city.

At school we get ecological education at the lessons of biology and geography. We help the grown-ups to plant and protect the greenery, keep the territory of our school clean picking up the litter.

Topical vocabulary

urgent problems

air pollution

to pollute air

to release harmful substances

fume from the chimneys

smog over the city

hard to breathe

to be covered with soot and dirt

exhaust fumes

ozone holes

nuclear pollution

water pollution

to pollute with oil

to dump/ pour industrial wastes

to poison/ poisonous substances

to take measures

to remove plants from the city

natural resources

renewable

to be exhausted

to throw rubbish

(non) biodegradable

to avoid

to recycle

to join the efforts

ecological catastrophe

ecological campaign

healthy environment

purifying systems

widescale tree planting

rigid smoke control

Traveling around Russia

Most people enjoy traveling. Some people travel for pleasure, some travel on business. Some travel light, and some take a lot of luggage on their trips, journeys and voyages. There are many different kinds of transport. You can travel by train, by plane, by ship, by bus or by car. Traveling by plane is very fast and comfortable but it is rather expensive and not safe. Many people prefer to travel by train as it is cheaper. Besides, while traveling by train you can look out of the window and see many picturesque places. Those who are fond of traveling by ship can go on a voyage and enjoy the fresh wind and the beauty of the sea. Traveling by car is convenient and interesting too. The cheapest way of traveling is traveling on foot. You can become tired but hiking will help you to keep fit and be healthy.

If you want your travel to be comfortable you should arrange everything beforehand: choose the most convenient way of getting at your destination. It may be a through train or a direct flight, a fast coach or a sea liner. You should book your ticket in advance. You may buy a single or a return, a business-class or an economy-class ticket. You should find out the time of your departure and arrival and pack your luggage. If you travel by air don’t forget that you must check in for the flight, go through the customs formalities and passport control, fill in a declaration and weigh your luggage.

People of different nationalities travel around the world. They want to see new places, meet interesting people, learn about the customs and traditions, culture and history of other countries.

Russia is very attractive for tourists. Thousands of foreign tourists come to Moscow, the capital of our country every year. The main tourists’ attractions in Moscow are the Kremlin with its magnificent cathedrals, a famous Tsar Bell and a Tsar Canon, Red Square with St. Basil’s Cathedral, the Lenin Mausoleum and the monument to Minin and Pozharsky. Moscow has about 80 museums and art galleries. The most famous are the State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts and the State Tretyakov Gallery. There are a lot of real masterpieces of Russian painters such as Serov, Shishkin, Levitan, Vasnetsov, Aivazovsky, Vereshchagin in the Tretyakov Gallery. Moscow has many theatres. The Bolshoy Theatre is known all over the world.

St. Petersburg is worth visiting too. Among its places of interest are the Hermitage, the State Russian Museum, Winter Palace and Summer Garden, St. Isaac’s Cathedral. In my opinion the most interesting place in St. Petersburg is Peterhoff with its fountains, beautiful parks and remarkable architecture.

If you are interested in Russian churches and folklore you may go on a trip around the Golden Ring and visit Rostov, Vladimir, Kostroma, Suzdal.

Our town is worth visiting too. Though Cherepovets is not a very old town, we have got some museums: the museum of local history and nature, where one can see different birds and animals of our region, the Galskys’ Estate (there’s a museum of history and ethnography there) and the House-museum of Vereshchagin, a famous Russian artist.

Great Britain

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the official name of the state situated on the British Isles. The two main islands Great Britain and Ireland are separated by the Irish Sea. There’s a number of smaller islands: the Shetland Islands, the Orkney Islands, the Hebrides, the Isle of Man and the Isle of Wight. The UK is washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the north and the North Sea in the west. It is separated from the continent by the English Channel and the Strait of Dover. The UK is divided into 4 parts: England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Their capitals are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.

More than 56 million people live in Britain. Many of them live in big industrial cities such as London, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Birmingham, and Newcastle. The official language is English but people speak Scottish, Welsh and Irish as well.

The flag of the UK is known as the Union Jack and consists of 3 crosses: the cross of St. George (the patron saint of England), the cross of St. Andrew (the patron saint of Scotland) and the cross of St.Patrick (the patron saint of Ireland). The British coat of arms consists of the Lion and the Unicorn. The official national song is “God save the Queen”. Each part of Britain has its own flag and the emblem. The emblem of England is a red rose, the emblem of Scotland is a thistle, the emblem of Ireland is a shamrock. Wales has two emblems: a leek and a daffodil.

The Queen is the Head of the State but in fact she has no real power. The real power in the country belongs to the British Parliament. The Parliament consists of the two houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The members of the House of Lords are aristocrats, people of church, lawyers and former politicians. The 650 members of the House of Commons are elected every 5 years.

London is the capital of Great Britain. It is its political, cultural and business centre. There are many places of interest in London. One of them is the Tower built by William the Conqueror in the 11^th century. There one can see the collection of Crown Jewels and the armour.There are always black ravens in the Tower of London. One of the greatest English churches is St. Paul’s Cathedral. It was built by an architect Sir Christopher Wren in the 17^th century and is famous for its Whispering Gallery. The center of London is Trafalgar Square with the monument to Admiral Nelson. Big Ben is also a symbol of Britain. It is a name of the clock and the bell of the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament. Westminster Abbey is a place where many English kings and queens are buried. It is also famous for its Poet’s Corner. The Queen of Britain lives in Buckingham Palace. It is a wonderful building with a monument to Queen Victoria in front of it. One can find many museums in London. The most popular of them are the National Gallery, the Tate Gallery, the British Museum, Madam Tussaud’s Museum.

Ways of Learning about the World

There are many ways of learning about the world: through the mass media, books, traveling, visiting museums and meeting other people.

The mass media is a collective name for newspapers and magazines, radio, TV and the Internet. You can get a lot of information by reading papers. Serious papers give us a wide coverage of current events. They provide information on various subjects: politics, economics, business and finance, science and technology, culture and sport. Popular papers entertain the readers giving information on crime, lives of famous stars, fashion and dress. They contain articles on music, TV, movies, a lot of ads, cartoons, photos and crossword puzzles.

TV gives us wonderful possibilities for education. We get a great amount of information by watching TV programs. We see people in our country and abroad, learn of their customs, opinions and problems. We become better informed by watching home and foreign news, documentaries, science and educational programs, discussions. We see great historic events and famous people. We become more cultured by learning more about arts.

Computers give us access to the Internet- an international computer network. You can spend a lot of time surfing the Internet and get all sorts of information from it.

A good book is a means of education too. It can enrich your mind with knowledge and expand your outlook. I often read books to get some information on different subjects. Books help me discover new things, explore new ideas. They can tell us a lot about ancient times and latest discoveries, plants and animals, lives of famous people and many other interesting things.

Traveling around the world you can see new places, visit museums and galleries, meet interesting people, learn about the customs and traditions, culture and history of other countries.

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