Топики для сдачи экзаменов по английскому языку /english/

few words about sculptures. I saw a lot of vases, statues and fountains. The most beautiful thing I have ever seen was the fauntain belonged to Alexander the Second.
Among other outstanding pieces of art I saw the coach of Ecatherine the Second and beautiful gobelens. It took 60 years to made one of these gobelens.
In conclusion I'd like to stress that no one can see everything for the one visit. To enjoy the Hermitage Gallery you must visit it several times.
The State Hermitage in St Petersburg is one of the world's most outstanding art museums. It is the largest fine arts museum in Russia.
World famous is the collection of West-European paintings covering a span of about seven hundreds years, from the 13th to the 20th centure, and comprising works by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, El |Greco. Velasquez, Murillo; outstanding paintings by Rembrandt, Va-Dyck, Rubens; a remarkable group of French 18th-centure canvases, and Impressionist and Post Impressionist paintings. The collection illustrates the art of Italy, Spain, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Austria, France, Britain, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and some other countries. The West-European Department also includes a fine collection of European sculpture, containing works by Michelangelo, Canova, Falconet, Houdon, Rodin and many other eminent masters. The Hermitage, together with the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum in Moscow, must be ranked among the richest in the world in respect of Impressionist art.
In addition to the works of Western masters, the Hermitage has sections devoted to the arts of India, China, Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Pre-|Columbian America, Greece and Rome, as well as a department of prehistoric art, not to mention a section devoted to Scythian art. People come to admire the collections of tapestry, precious textiles, weapons, ivories, pottery, porcelain and furniture as well.


Hobbies

Hobbies differ like tastes. If you have chosen a hobby according to your character and taste you are lucky because your life becomes more interesting. Hobbies are divided into 4 large groups: doing, making, collecting and learning things. The most popular of all hobby groups is doing things It includes gardening, travelling, playing games and so on. Making things includes drawing, painting, writing music.
My main hobby is to collect compact disks.
No matter what kind of hobby a person has, he always has the opportunity of learning from it. By reading about the things he is interested in, he is adding to what he knows. Learning things can be the most exciting aspect of a hobby.


Laos

Somewhat smaller than Oregon, Laos is a mountainous Southeast Asia country ruled by communists. The population of this little country is about 3 and a half million people.
One of the poorest and most underdeveloped nations of the world, Laos depends on aid from other countries to import the food and other goods its people need to survive. Most of the people are rice farmers. Few can read and write.
Over 80 percent of the country is rugged jungle terrain. The main river is Mekong River-the system of irrigate.
Now I'd like to tell you about the history of Laos. First Laotian territory was the seat of the Buddhist kingdom of Lan Xang, founded in 1353 by King Fa Ngum. Laos was invaded by France in 1893 and by Japanese forces in 1941. During the World War II King Sisavang Vong proclaimed himself king of all Laos.
A new coalition government under Premier Souvanna Phouma that included 5 members of the communist Pathet Lao was sworn in on April 5, 1974.


Kuwait

The middle Eastern nation of Kuwait is the second most prosperous country in the world. It is the area's third-largest producer of oil, surpassed only by Saudi Arabia and Iran. Kuwait has given and loaned billions of dollars to poorer Arab states, has invested billions in the United States and other industrial countries and purchased planes and other equipment for Arab states opposing Israel.
The government also has used its oil to give medical services, education and social welfare to everyone in Kuwait. Local telephone service is also free, and almost every family owns at least one car and one TV set. There no income taxes.
Now I'd like to tell you about the history of Kuwait. In the 1700s Arab nomads founded the town of Kuwait. Under the leadership Sabah Abu Abdullah Kuwait's population grew to several thousand (now the population of Kuwait is about 988 thousands of people). With the discovery of oil in Kuwait in 1938, and its development after 1945, Iraq decided in 1952 to renew an ancient claim to Kuwait,
but it was rejected by the British. In 1961 Kuwait became a fully independent nation. But in 1973 Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait and only after Saudi Arabia had sent more than 15,000 troops to assist Kuwait, Iraq withdrew. In March 1975 the government took complete control of the oil and gas industry from US and other foreign owners, increasing it's annual income to $10 billion or more a year.
Today Kuwait is a monarchy which is ruled by the Emir Sheikh Saban al-Salim al-Sabah (rained since 1985). It's area is about 7,7 square miles. Official language is Arabic, but there are also Persian and English in Kuwait. Religion: Islam. Places of interest: Oil wells, modern city of Kuwait, royal residences and so on.
That's all I would like you to say about Kuwait.


Moscow

Moscow is the capital of Russia, its political, economic, commercial and cultural centre. It was founded 8 centuries ago by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky in 1147. Gradually the city became more and more powerful. In the 13th century Moscow was the centre of the struggle of Russian lands for the liberation from the tartar yoke. In the 16th century under Ivan the Terrible Moscow became the capital of the new united state. Though Peter the Great moved the capital to St. Petersburg in 1712; Moscow remained the heart of Russia. That's why it became the main target of Napoleon's attack. After the October revolution Moscow became the capital again.
Now Moscow is one of the largest cities in Europe. Its total area is about nine hundred square kilometres. The population of the city is over 8 million.
Moscow is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The heart of Moscow is Red Square. The Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral (Vasily Blazheny) are masterpieces of ancient Russian architecture. On the territory of the Kremlin you can see old cathedrals, the Palace of Congresses, the Tzar-Cannon and the Tzar-Bell, the biggest cannon and bell in the world. St. Basil's Cathedral was built in the mid-16th century in memory of the victory over Kazan.
One of the well-known Kremlin museums is the Armoury Chamber. The famous golden cap of Monomach, the first Russian imperial crown of Katherine the second and many other historical items are exhibited there.
There are more than 80 museums in Moscow. The Historical Museum, the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, the Tretyakov State Picture Gallery are world famous and the largest.
Moscow is famous for its theatres. The best-known of them are Bolshoi, Maly and Art theatres.
Moscow is the seat of the Russian Parliament (the Duma) and the centre of political life of the country.


My school

First of all I'd like to tell you about my school which I've just left. My school is one of the specialised schools in Moscow. It is famous for its high-quality education and strict discipline. To my mind, our school-lyceum is very well equipped. It has a gym, a canteen, a library, a computer class and some labs( for example - chemistry lab or physics lab).
First two years in our lyceum we had 7 or 8 lessons, but in 10th and 11th forms we had less lessons. What about our homework we usually had a lot to do and it took me several hours. I sometimes had to sit up to write a composition, to prepare a report, to translate an article from English to Russian or to learn a poem by heart.
After classes we usually had some out-of-class activities. Our social and cultural life was well-organised. For example, we had a choir and literature club.
At school we had classes in Russian, literature, mathematics, English, history and so on. My favourite subjects were English, History and Russian. On Russian we had a lot of fun situations and talks; history, to my mind, is a very interesting subject; and what about English, we need learning this language to be able to read books, listen to the news, speak with English speaking people and so on.
Now my plans for the future. I must say that when you leave school you understand that the time to choose your future profession has come. It's not an easy task to make the right choice of a job. People choose profession according to their own interests and abilities. As far as I have a computer at home I've decided to enter some mathematics institute. It is called МГАТУ(Moscow State Aviation- Technology University). I'll be study there informatic and English. I think, today computer is very popular in our country and programmists are paid very much.


Political system of US

Washington, the capital of the United States is situated on the Potomac River in the District of Columbia. The district is a piece of land which doesn't belong to any state but to all the states. All these states are sovereignty.
Under the Constitution, the federal government is divided into three branches.
The legislative power is vested in Congress and made up of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representative. There are 435 members in the House of Representative and 100 senators. Each state elects two members of the 100-member Senate.
The executive branch is headed by the President, who proposes bills to Congress, enforces federal laws, serves as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces and with the approval of the Senate, makes treaties. President can veto a bill unless Congress by a two-thirds vote shall overrule him.
The vice President, elected from the same political party as the President, acts as chairman of the Senate, and in the event of the death of the President, assumes the Presidency.
The judicial branch is made up of Federal District Courts, 11 Federal Courts and the Supreme Court. Federal judges are appointed by the President for life. Federal courts decide cases involving federal law, conflicts between citizens of different states. The Supreme court may rule the law to be unconstitutional.
Now about the elections. The President is chosen in nation-wide elections every 4 years together with the Vice-President.
Constitution. Constitution has been amended 26 times. The Bill of Rights guarantee individual liberties: freedom of speech, religion and so on. Later amendments abolish slavery, grant the vote to women and allow citizens to vote at age 18.


The Russian Federation

The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world. It occupies about one-seventh of the earth's surface. It covers the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia. Its total area is about 17 million square kilometres. The country is washed by 12 seas of 3 oceans: the Pacific, the Arctic and the Atlantic. In the south Russia borders on China, Mongolia, Korea, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan. In the west it borders on Norway, Finland, the Baltic States, Belorussia, the Ukraine. It also has a sea-borders with the USA.
There is hardly a country in the world where such a variety of scenery and vegetation can be found. We have steppes in the south, plains and forests in the midland, tundra and taiga in the north, highlands and deserts in the east.
There are two great plains in Russia: the Great Russian Plain and the West Siberian Lowland. There are several mountains chains on the territory of the country: the Urals, the Caucasus, the Altai and others. The largest mountain chain, the Urals, separates Europe from Asia.
There are over two million rivers in Russia. Europe's biggest river, the Volga, flows into the Caspian Sea. The main Siberian rivers- the Ob, the Yenisei and the Lena- flow from the south to the north. The Amur in the Far East flows into the Pacific Ocean.
Russia is reach in beautiful lakes. The world's