My family is neither big nor small. It consists of members: my mother, my father, sister, brother. We all live in a flat (house) in district of Odessa.
Ticket 1.
My family
My family is neither big nor small. It consists of … members: my mother, my father, sister, brother. We all live in a flat (house) in … district of Odessa.
My father is … years old. He is tall (short) and well-built man with short dark (fair) hair and blue (green, grey, brown) eyes. He works as a (an) … By character he is a quiet man while my mother is energetic and talkative.
My mother is … years old. She is a (an) … (doctor, accountant…). My mother always has a lot of work about the house. She is a busy woman and we all help her.
Our family is very united. We like spending time together. In the evenings we watch TV, read books, listen to music or just talk about the events of the day.
Youth music and the way it influences teenagers.
There are lots of different kinds of music in the world and everybody can choose what they really like. As for teenagers, they usually prefer more active types of music such as rap, rock, heavy metal and others which arise some problems they are interested in. Some teenagers imitate the style of clothes or lifestyle of their favourite music band or performer that is smoke, drink alcohol or take drugs challenging the society in this way. However, most of them understand what is good or bad for them and music doesn’t influence them much.
Ticket 2.
1. My favourite teacher.
My favourite teacher is … He (She) is (was) my Maths (Information Technology…) teacher. He (She) is a kind but strict teacher whose lessons are always interesting, creative and practical. He (She) treats each student with great respect trying to find a special way how to give them learning material productively. Due to him (her) I got interested in … and now I am studying here and hope to become a professional … and get a good job which will bring me good money. I hope I will be as efficient and energetic as my teacher and will be of benefit to our society.
Importance of learning foreign languages.
I think that nowadays knowledge of foreign languages is very important for every educated person because it widens your vision of the world and gives you a lot of opportunities to develop. English, for example, is the most wide-spread language which is used in politics, sport, science and computer technologies, business and international communication. That means that English promotes cultural, technical and educational co-operation among people all over the world.
As for me, it helps me to learn more about foreigners, make friends from abroad, travel without any problems and etc. I would also like to mention the importance of knowing English for computer users, especially for us future computer programmers. Most of the computer programs use English as their computer language, so I try to improve my English every day by reading books, listening to songs, watching films in English.
Ticket 3.
The climate of Ukraine.
The climate of Ukraine is determined by its geographical position. Ukraine is situated in the eastern part of Europe with the Carpathians Mountains in the west and the Crimean Mountains in the south. It is washed by the Black Sea and the Azov Sea. In general the climate of Ukraine is moderately continental, being subtropical only on the southern coast of the Crimea.
Winter is rather mild with recurrent snowfalls and bitter winds. The coldest month is January with the average temperature of about 15 degrees below zero. But the weather changes very often in winter. Sometimes it rains and the snow melts.
Summer is usually hot. The hottest month is July when the temperature sometimes rises above 40 degrees.
Such climate conditions are very favourable for farming that is why Ukraine is traditionally an agricultural country.
Last year I went to London to visit my friend Mark. While I was staying there, Mark invited me to go to the theater. I agreed because it was Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare and I like this play very much. Mark had bought the tickets the day before. The performance started at 7 o’clock in the evening. We were just in time to take our seats before the lights went off. The actors appeared and at first when they started speaking English I was a little bit uncomfortable but little by little I got used to their speech. They played brilliantly, the costumes and decorations were fantastic as if we really had been in medieval Italy. The performance made a great impression upon me and next time when I am in London I will obligatory attend the theater and watch it once more.
Ticket 4.
Nowadays global warming attracts more and more attention being a serious problem to the environment. Every year it is getting warmer and warmer, summers become too hot, winters are not cold enough. Our climate is changing which can lead us to the death of everything on our planet. Air and water pollution, space exploration with its regular flights and manufacture and usage of… effect the atmosphere resulting in ozone holes are the main reasons of global warming. The ways to improve the situation are the following, to close down all the plants which do not have the refining systems, to limit the production of cars and advertise the healthy lifestyle, make people aware of this problem, restrict flights to the space. There can be also alternative ways of solving this problem such as more scientists getting involved. As for us, we can also make our small contribution by planting more trees, refusing to use plastic bags and walking more instead of travelling by car.
Banning of mobile phones at school has its advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand it is good because it doesn’t distract students from learning process and lets them focus on the material studied, especially when speaking about playing computer games or listening to music. On the other hand mobile phones are necessary when an urgent situation arises and you should quickly keep in touch with your relatives or friends. So there should be some kind of a solution but what?
Ticket 5.
Ukraine is situated in the east of Europe. It borders on Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and Romania. It is washed by the Black Sea and the Azov Sea. The major rivers are the Dnieper, the Dniester, the Donets. The territory of Ukraine consists mainly of plains. There are the Carpathians in the west, and the Crimean Mountains in the south, but they aren’t high. The population of Ukraine is over 49 million people. The biggest cities are Kiyv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhie, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, Lviv and some others.
Dear, school leavers! We want to invite you for the school leaving party which will take place in Paladium on the 30th of June. Come at 8 o’clock. You are welcome to wear fancy dresses. You are surely have a great time. In program there is band (name of the band), specially invited on the occasion, a lot of different games and competitions to all tastes, delicious food and the disco. Looking forward to your coming.
Your schoolmates.
Ticket 6.
Studying at college Server we don’t have a lot of free time because we have to do a lot of homework. When I have it, it is already an evening so I spend my spare time in front of the TV watching an interesting film, playing computer games or chatting with my friends via the Skype. At weekends I prefer going for a walk with my friends either in the city center or near the sea. In summer I have much more free time and I like it because I can do what I want. It is important to have free time to relax.
New Year is my favourite holiday because it is time when all people become children believing in wonders. I like buying and getting presents for my relatives and friends besides I enjoy preparing for this holiday. Some days before it we buy a fir tree and decorate it. We celebrate this holiday on the 31st of December. On its eve we cook a lot of delicious food and invite our closest relatives and friends. At 10 o’clock the festive table is already laid up and the guests come. We gather together in front of the TV waiting for our president’s speech and the clock chimes to strike 12. We congratulate everybody on New Year wishing all the best. Then we exchange presents. Everybody has lots of fun and we talk and laugh. Next day I celebrate this holiday with my friends in a café or at someone’s house.
Ticket 7
Until recently the planet was a large world in which human activities and the nature were in balance. The development of industry has led to different problems with the environment such as acid rains, global warming and species loss. In Ukraine lots of rivers are polluted, the forests are cut down. One of the main problem is air pollution caused by smoke of factories and transport. As we can do nothing about stopping the factories, we should do something to reduce the amounts of cars by walking more and using ecological means of transport such as trolleybuses and bicycles when possible. Perhaps solar power should be also taken into consideration. The pollution of the environment damages people’s health sometimes causing even death so it should be solved without delay.
Dear Jane, Best wishes for a St. Valentines Day! I hope that this day will bring you love and a lot of happiness because it is so important to have somebody to love and be loved by this somebody. I am looking forward to hearing from you. Kisses, Lena.
Ticket 8
After finishing college I am planning to continue studying to get more knowledge on my specialty. I am going to enter Polytech University and at the same time to work part time to partly pay for my education. I’d like to get some experience before applying for a job in some kind of an international company. I am intending to work as a computer programmer and earn good money.
Hello, Denis, How are you? Yesterday I had a telephone call from our common friend Pete. Do you remember he has a birthday on the 5th of June? He is having a birthday party on the occasion and invites us to come. The party will take place at his house starting at 6 o’clock in the evening, then after having something to eat we are going to a bowling (billiards) club and after that we are going to a disco. He is looking forward to our coming. P:S: What about buying him a … as a birthday present? Regards, George.
Ticket 9
Hot Marinated Mushrooms. You need the following ingredients: 25 g butter, 375 g mushrooms, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp lemon grind (grated), 1 tsp mustard, salt and pepper. Put the butter in a saucepan and melt it. Add the mushrooms and cook for five minutes. Mix the dressing ingredients together. Remove the pan from the heat and pour in the dressing. Serve hot.
Ticket 10
Recently I have travelled to St Petersburg to visit my friend Kate (my relatives). I went there with my parents by train. It took us a day and a half to reach it. When we arrived there my friend Kate was waiting for us at the railway station. The weather was brilliant, neither cold nor hot. It was afternoon. The sun was shining and after leaving our stuff at Kate’s home, we immediately went for a walk along Nevskiy avenue straight to the Neva river to watch bridges be drawn. The next day we went on an excursion to Peterhov where we had a lot of fun watching different fountains, admiring the beauty of the lanes where once Russian tsars had been walking. We spent there half a day and though we were rather tired we didn’t want to leave. Our last day, which surely wasn’t enough, we dedicated to the Hermitage Museum with over 3 million famous works of art. There we saw paintings by Monet, Van Gogh, Michelangelo, Titian and many others. When our third last day came to an end, we were sad because we wanted to have more time to explore this wonderful city. We were full of impressions and positive emotions and made up our mind to return there once more in the near future.
A lot of people watch TV in their free time choosing channels to their own taste. My favourite channel is Discovery which offers a variety of programmes. Among them … is the most interesting for me. It is about the man who is taken to different corners of the world being left there to survive, usually in the hardest conditions. Once he stayed in the jungle full of dangerous wild animals making a fire and sleeping in the tree, the other time he crossed a bog. This programme shows us that opportunities of a human being are unlimited and we are much stronger and more intelligent than we sometimes consider. It is a very exciting show, and if you want to relax after your day in the college, I am sure you will enjoy it.
Ticket 11
Right now I am finishing the first course of college Server and I will have to study for three more years. Then I am planning to enter Polytech University to continue studying to get a higher education which will help me to get an interesting well-paid job of the … in my future. When I study at university I also intend to work part time to pay partially for my education and to get some experience. In the near future I am going to join English courses to improve my English as it is a must condition when applying for a good job.
Dear David, Happy Birthday! Many happy returns of the day! I wish you lots of love, joy, attention and presents on your birthday. I hope now that you are a grown-up you can realize all your dreams. But not all of them – one needs something to dream about. Bob.
Ticket 12
In Ukraine medical help is available in hospitals, polyclinics and also in medical centers in such places as schools, universities, factories and some others. Health service is based on local therapeutists as they are the first who diagnose. Some certain district is divided into several areas. Each area is appointed to a certain therapeutist. All the people who live in that area visit their appointed doctor or you can call your local therapeutist to come home and examine you as a patient, assign some treatment, prescribe some medicine and give a medical certificate to you. However, it is always better not to be ill. To stay healthy, you should try to lead a healthy lifestyle, which means to keep to a certain regime of the day using your energy reasonably, go to bed before the time you are too tired, to eat healthy food, not to smoke and drink alcohol and avoid stress. You should clean your teeth twice a day, take a shower once a day, wash your hands before meals and exercise your body. All these recommendations sound easy to do but we sometimes ignore them forgetting that it is pleasant to have strong health and enjoy each moment of your life.
For the attention of the members of young Mathematicians Club. The next meeting of the club will take place at 3 p.m. on Thursday, May 15 in the Maths Room. We ask all of you to be present as there are important issues to discuss.
Ticket 13
As I study English I’ve read a lot about the holidays and traditions of Great Britain. I found out that some British and Ukrainian holidays are similar. They are Christmas, New Year, Easter and Remembrance Day. There are also holidays which are celebrated only by the British, such as Bonfire Night, Pancake Day, Boxing Day and some others. I know that Christmas is the most festive and merry time of the year in Britain. During the weeks before Christmas British families are busy buying a Christmas tree, special Christmas greeting cards and presents for their relatives and friends. The Christmas tree is placed in the living room and decorated beautifully. British children like ours also believe that Santa Claus brings them presents either putting them under the tree or in the special socks and stocking they leave near their beds. In the evening on the 25th of December families sit down to a big turkey dinner followed by Christmas pudding. They watch the Queen on TV as she congratulates the United Kingdom and in their turn they congratulate their relatives on this holiday too wishing them happiness, love, health and success. I would like to go to Britain during this holiday to feel its atmosphere. I think it would be great.
Reading books is one of my favourite leisure activities. You can relax and at the same time get some knowledge. One of my favourite books is “Twelve chairs” by two writers from Odessa Ilf and Petrov which was written at the beginning of the twentieth century and describes the adventures of young man Ostap Bender. Together with Kissa Vorobyaninov, whose dead mother-in-law informed him about the jewelry she had put in one of the twelve chairs, they are looking for it with the hope to get rich. They get through lots of obstacles and difficulties only to find out at the end that all their efforts are futile and with the help of the money from the jewelry a new club for railway workers was built. The book is full of humour and sparkling wit and is very easy and interesting to read. It teaches us that people’s wish to become rich overnight is illusive and if you want to get something in this life you should work hard.
Ticket 14
Olympic Games are the largest international complex competitions which are held every four years. They date back to the Ancient Greece and were a religious and sport holiday during which there was truce concluded, that is no wars were allowed. Olympic Games are divided into Summer and Winter Olympics with the time interval of two years between them starting from 1994. Sportsmen representatives of nearly all countries take part in them and no discriminations are permitted. The strongest, fastest, most obstinate win, bringing gold, silver and bronze medals to their countries. Olympics start and finish with spectacular performances which are organized by the country where they are held. At their beginning the Olympic fire is lit and in the end it is put out. The last Olympic Games took part in Vancouver in Canada in winter 2010, the next ones will be held in London in summer 2012. Ukraine has been participating in Olympic Games for 55 years. As an independent country it was represented in 1996 and won 23 medals. Sergey Oleynik is the first sportsman who brought Ukraine a gold medal (Graeco-Roman wrestling) Yana Klochkova won two gold medals in swimming competition, the first one in 2000 and the second in 2004.
Hi, Kate. This is Max speaking. It is a pity you are not at home and can’t answer the phone. Do you remember we were going to buy a present for Vasiliy? I want to know when we will be able to go shopping. Call me back as soon as you return home. And please, return me my dictionary I gave you last week. Thanks, bye.
Ticket 15
Visiting Zoos is a popular recreational and educational activity throughout the world. I myself like going there so I was quite surprised when the other day in the Times I read about elimination of Zoos in big cities. The article said that inspecting some Zoos animal rights supporters got worried about conditions in which some animals are kept and the way how they are treated there. They offered to close them down and take the animals in their natural habitat. On the one hand I agree with them because all creatures in this world must have right for freedom of choice and live their own lives. However with growing of industry lots of species of animals are in danger of extinction in the wild and this is where Zoos can help becoming refuges for them. Besides most people, children or adults like viewing animals they would never see in the real life. Zoos can also help us understand how animals live In addition, Zoos teach people about the problems facing wildlife and about conservation. To my mind the focus should be shifted from eliminating of the Zoos to their improvements and careful inspection.
My dear Mum and Dad! Unfortunately I can’t come home on time today. We are having a class meeting after the classes. There will be a competition in our school next week. We have to discuss which of the sports should be included in the competition. I think I’ll be back at 17 o’clock the latest.
Ticket 16
Victor Sergeyovich, I’d like to talk to you about my homework which I have failed to do for today. I’d like to explain why I didn’t do it. You know that I attend dancing, don’t you? Yesterday as usual I went training and returned home only at 8 o’clock in the evening. Unfortunately when I started doing the task you had given to us the light went out and there was no electricity until the very morning. I promise I’ll do it for the next lesson.
Bringing up children has never been an easy thing to do. Nowadays it is even more difficult because of the following reasons: parents have to spend more time at work, besides there appeared more temptations for children of all ages. Parents always complain about the following things
Ticket 17
Ukraine is a sovereign state. Its independence was proclaimed on the 24th of August, 1991. There are 26 administrative districts and the Crimean autonomous republic in Ukraine. The power in the country is divided into three branches: legislative, executive and judiciary. The main legislative body is Verkhovna Rada, which consists of 450 deputees. The elections to the Verkhovna Rada are held every four years. The highest executive body is the President. He can veto any decision of Verkhovna Rada. The president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Ukraine. He also represents the state in international relations. The other part of the executive branch is the Cabinet of Ministers, which is headed by the Prime Minister. The Cabinet of Ministers may introduce bills to the Verkhovna Rada. The judiciary power belongs to the Constitutional Court and regional courts. The constitution is the main law of Ukraine.
Dear Max, I am afraid I can’t meet with you at 5 o’clock in the evening as we have planned. I failed my Maths test and … kindly offered to explain to me the material I don’t understand. I meet him (her) at 6 o’clock. I would like to know if we can meet tomorrow. Phone me and let me know if you can make it.
Ticket 18
Soon I will have my 15th birthday and I am going to have a party on this occasion. I am going to invite all my friends. We will go to (my house) the café and after that we will go to the disco (billiards, bowling, aquapark, Karaoke club …). It will last for the whole evening and I hope my parents and friends will help me with it. I would like to receive … as a present.
See ticket 1 point 3.
Ticket 19
In Britain children must start school when they are 5 and stay until they are at least 15. There is state education and independent schools where fees are charged. At first children go to primary school, and at 11 or 12 they move to secondary modern schools where they receive a general and practical education until they are 15, or grammar schools where they can stay until they are 18, then transferring to places of higher education, or comprehensive schools in which all types of secondary education are given and where the children’s courses are chosen to suit them from a wide range of subjects. In some areas there are middle schools for children of about 9 to 13 who then move to senior comprehensive schools. Speaking about higher education, there are 44 universities in Britain, over 700 technical colleges everything from engineering to satellite communications, many other types of training colleges including art schools, colleges of education for teacher training and commercial colleges. So if you go to Britain you will certainly find an educational establishment which suits your interests the best.
Healthy life style is nowadays enjoys great popularity and it isn’t strange. There are two main things which can help us healthy which are healthy food habits and sport. I would like to speak about sport which is very important in our life. Due to it we feel strong and sure of ourselves. It really helps us to keep fit and healthy. When we go in for sports we are always in a good shape and very seldom ill. There is even a proverb, “A sound mind in a sound body”.
Ticket 20
We are going to hold a football tournament among colleges in Odessa. We have chosen this kind of sport because it is the most popular kind of sport and there are a lot of promising footballers in our college so we are going to win.
