English topics

A.D. Sakharov is remembered by everybody as an outstanding humanist and philosopher.

Leisure time of British teenagers.

The majority of teenagers in Great Britain spend their free time as everywhere in the world. The average young person spends about 19 hours in front of the television. According to the government report nearly three-quarter of young people have TV sets in their rooms. Besides watching TV, other activities like cinema going and sport remain popular. In Wales, the report says that some 50 percent of boys play football throughout the winter while a great number of girls also play football, although they are in general prefer swimming and tennis.

Listening to music is also a part of time spending. Tape-recorders, CD-players and the concerts of pop music are the subject of every day talk of teenagers.

As children grow older they turn from playgardens or homes to streets where they meet and talk and start develop their confidence. Street life includes groups of friends who meet together in the streets, squares and parks, or visit town centers to do window-shopping and "see what's going on".

My hobby.

I have many hobbies because there are many interesting things to do. Unfortunately I don't have much spare time as I'm going to be a student. That's why I have to study a lot. I like doing different things: Such as reading detective stories, listening to the music, playing tennis with my classmates.

But my favorite hobby is solving crossword puzzles. It's not only interesting, but also very useful. When you try to solve the puzzle you find out and learn a lot of different facts. Because in puzzles there are questions about famous people, geographical places, countries, scientific achievements and so on. You also train your brain. The crosswords are published in newspapers and magazines and there are special newspapers that contain only crosswords. I sometimes try to make up my own puzzle and I can say that it is not less interesting. All the members of our family like to take part in solving the puzzles and this unites us very much.

Space Exploration.

For thousands of years man dreamed of flying to the stars. At the beginning of the century the great Russian scientist Tsiolkovsky predicted that "mankind will not remain on Earth forever". Half a century later his words came true, the dream became a reality.

It happened on October 4, 1957, when the 1st artificial satellite, the sputnik, was launched. The Russians were the 1st in the world to fly into outer space.

Then the most remarkable event in the history of cosmonautics took place.

On April 12, 1961 the spaceship "Vostok", piloted by Yuri Gagarin went up. He orbited the Earth only once, staying in space for 108 minutes. Mankind will always remember him.

A new era of man's exploration of outer space began. Many space rockets went up by our cosmonauts. Among them were Titov, Nikolaev, Leonov, Tereshkova, Savitskaya and others.

Today Russia wants the exploration of space to be based on broad international cooperation. Many international crews went up in space. This is the best example of the possibility of peaceful cooperation.

Spare time.

Every day I go to school. I get up early, do homework, and have piano lessons twice a week. But on weekends I like to do something different. I like to relax. I watch TV or videos. If it rains, I prefer indoor activities: to read books and magazines, to play chess, to play records, to draw on a computer, to clean the house.

As for my sister she likes to knit and sew. She takes an aerobics class on Sundays. In spring and summer I prefer outdoor activities: to do some gardening, to ride a bike, to go jogging.

Sometimes we come to see our grandparents or friends. I also like to go to the parties to discos with my friends.

Our family has a little summerhouse in the country. Beginning from early spring we spend a lot of time on the weekends there. There is a river not far from our house and when the weather is fine we go there to bathe, to swim, to get sunburnt.

Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln was one of the most famous presidents of the USA. He was born in the family of a poor farmer in 1809 in Kentucky, but soon his family left for the wild forestland of Indiana.

He was taught reading, writing and simple arithmetic, as his family could not afford better education.

When he was 18, he went to New Orleans and there he saw a slave market. It made a deep impression on him and he began to hate slavery and he decided to fight against it.

In 1830 he went to Springfield and became a clerk in a store. He learned much and greatly improved his knowledge. He entered politics and in 1832 became a candidate for the Parliament of the State. Soon he became a force in political life and in 1860 was elected President of the USA.

He was an enemy of slavery. Some of the Southern States left the Union, and the war between the South and the North began. At first the war went badly for the North but Lincoln never lost his courage and soon they won.

When the war was over, Lincoln issued a proclamation to say that slavery was abolished.

Lincoln was well known all over America and everybody loved him.

In 1864 he was elected President of the USA for the second time. But his enemies could not let him continue his work.

He was shot in a theatre in Washington on April 14, 1865 and he died the next day.

From the History of GB

The conquest of England by the Normans began in 1066 with the Battle of Hastings where the English fought against the Normans. The conquest was completed in 1071.

Who were the Normans who conquered England?

Some 150 years before the conquest of England they came to a part of France, opposite England, a part that we call Normandy. There they adopted the Christian faith, the French language and the Roman law. So they became French. The Normans brought to England the French language. After the Norman Conquest there were 3 languages in England. There was Latin, the language of church and the language, in which all learned men wrote and spoke. There was French, the language, which kings and nobles spoke. And finally, there was the English language, which remained the language of the masses of the people.

The role of the Norman Conquest was great for the development of feudalism and monarchy in Britain.

Great Britain.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on the British Isles.

It consists of 4 parts: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

England, Wales and Scotland occupy the territory of Great Britain. Northern Ireland is situated in the northern part of Ireland.

The population is over 57 million people.

The northern and western part of the country is mountainous and is called the Highlands.

All the rest: south, east and center are a vast plain, which is called the Lowlands.

The mountains are not very high. The rivers are not very long. The most important of them are the Severn and the Thames. There are many beautiful lakes in Great Britain.

Great Britain is a country with old cultural traditions and customs. The most famous educational centers are Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

The United Kingdom is a monarchy and the Queen is the head of the state. But in practice it is ruled by the government with a Parliament at the head.

Isaac Newton.

The great English scientist Isaac Newton was born in a village not far from the university town of Cambridge in 1642.

In his early years young I.N made various things. He made a clock that worked by water. He also made a sundial

When Isaac grew older, he took a considerable interest in mathematics. His ability as a mathematician and a physicist was very important. His first physical experiment was carried on when he was 16 years old.

On June 5 1661 Newton entered the University of Cambridge where he studied mathematics. Soon he became famous for his contribution to mathematics by the time he was 21.

In1665 while he was in his native village, he saw an apple fall from the tree and began wondering what force made the apple fall.

Newton performed many experiments with light. He invented a reflecting telescope. Newton developed a mathematical method, which is known as the Binomial Theorem.

In 1669 Newton was appointed a professor and began lectures on mathematics and optics at Cambridge University and continued his work on the problem of gravitation. His great work "Elements of Natural Philosophy" was published in the middle of 1687.

Newton's contribution to science is unique.

He died at the age of 85. He was buried with honors as a national hero.

My Favorite Film Actor.

Gerard Depardieu is one is the most popular actor. He was born in 1948 in a poor family of a shoemaker in a little town.

When he was 16 he came to Paris without any education and without any money.

Together with his friend he began to attend the actor courses. He got acquainted with a girl of a wealthy family and soon they got married. She had a great influence upon him. He finished the actor courses. When he was only 20 he played big roles in the theatres. His great success in films is a consequence of his good theatrical school.

But his success in the USA was not long. In 1991 during his interview to the magazine "Time" he told that he was a hooligan when he was a teenager. The american audience doesn't excuse such fact in his biography.

The works of Depardieu in cinema are marked by many cinema rewards in France and in Italy. Everybody notes that glory and money don't spoil him. They only made him independent.

He played in about 80 films.

The UN.

The United Nations is the organization of sovereign nations. The UN works out the development of friendly relation among the nations. The UN struggles for peace, for international co-operation, for the solution of problems of the economic, social, cultural and humanitarian nature.

The United Nations has been playing the active role in reducing tension in the world, preventing conflicts and putting an end to fighting.

There are 6 main organs in the UN - the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Secretariat and the International Court of Justice. The Court has its place in the Hague, Netherlands. All other organs are based at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Members of the General Assembly talk to each other in many languages, but officially there are only 6 - French, Arabic, Chinese, English, Russian and Spanish.