Разговорные темы (стр. 3 )

Travelling by sea is popular mostly for pleasure trips. On board large ships and small river boats people can visit foreign countries and different places of interest within their own country. Trips on the Volga, the Dnieper, the Yenisei, the Black Sea are very popular today.

As for me I prefer traveling by car. I think it’s very convenient. You needn’t reserve your tickets. You needn’t carry heavy suitcases. You can stop wherever you wish and spend at any place as much time as you like. Every summer my family and I go somewhere to the South for holidays.

The Black Sea is one of the most wonderful places which attracts holiday - makers all over the world. There are many rest- homes and tourists camps

there. But it is also possible to rent a room. Sometimes we place ourselves in a tent on the sea shore enjoying fresh air and the sun all day long. As a rule I make new friends there. In the daytime we play volleyball, tennis, swim in the warm water of the sea and sunbathe. In the evening I like to sit on the beach watching the sea and enjoying the sunset.

Time passes quickly and soon we have to make our way back. We return home sunburnt and full of impressions.

Words and expressions:

impossible – невозможный

either … or … - или … или…, либо … либо …

pleasure – удовольствие

fast - быстрый

convenient – удобный

expensive – дорогой

slow – медленный

advantage – преимущество

journey – поездка

enjoyable – приятный

speed – скорость

safety – безопасность

to attract – привлекать

to enjoy fresh air – получать удовольствие от свежего воздуха

to return home sunburrnt and full impressions – возвращаться домой загорелыми и полны впечатлений

Answer the questions:

1. Is modern life impossible without travelling?

2. Do you like traveling?

3. What can people travel by?

4. What transport do you prefer to travel by?

5. What are the main advantages of trains and planes?

6. Why does the Black Sea attract many people?

7. Where would you like to travel?

Sport and healthy way of life.

People all over the world are fond of sports and games. Sport makes people healthy, keeps them fit, more organized and better disciplined. It unites people of different nationalities.

Many people do sports on their personal initiative. They go in for skiing, skating, table tennis, swimming, volleyball, football, body - building, etc. All necessary facilities are provided for them: stadiums, sport grounds, swimming pools, skating rinks, skiing stations, football fields. Sport is paid much attention to in our educational establishments. Gymnastics is a part of a daily activity in the kindergartens. Physical culture is a compulsory subject at schools and colleges.

Professional sport is also paid much attention to in our republic. There are different sporting societies, clubs and complexes. In the last years Chuvash sport has reached a leading place in the world sports movements. Major victories have been won by our gymnasts, weightlifters, wrestlers, race - walkers. Ivanova, Nickolayeva, Egorova, Andreev… won fame not only for themselves but for the republic.

Practically all kinds of sport are popular in our republic but track - and - field athletics, gymnastics and football enjoy the greatest popularity.

As for me, I go in for … It needs mobility, liveliness and much energy. It keeps a person in a good form. I have been doing sports for 5 years, but the more I do it the more I like it. I get a real joy going for sport and taking part in different competitions.. As for me, sport is an important part of my life. I think that it helps me in different ways. First of all sport builds character. It teaches to win and loose. Sport makes me strong, fast and patient As my coach says, my results are not bad in sport. I always take part in competitions with great pleasure. I am always happy when I win in competitions.

But on the other hand, sport causes a lot of injuries. It takes a lot of energy and time. And it makes me unhappy when I loose. But anyway, I can’t live without sport. Thanks to sport I have a lot of friends. And I do my best to be a good sportsman. My aim is to be a champion of the Olympic Games.

Words and expressions:

healthy – здоровый

to keep fit – быть в форме

it unites – он объединяет

all necessary facilities – всевозможные условия

sport is maid much attention – спорту уделяют много внимания

educational establishments – образовательные учреждения

compulsory subject – обязательный предмет

strong – сильный

patient - терпеливый

Answer the questions:

1. Are you fond of sport?

2. Does sport make people healthy, more organized and better disciplined?

3. What sport do you go in for?

4. How long have you been doing sports?

5. Is sport an important part in your life?

6. What are your results in sport?

7. Are you happy to study at rhe Sport College of the Olympic Reserve?

Mass media.

Mass media play an important role in the modern society. We live in the era of information, nowadays information can be more valuable than money. We live in the era of the information explosion. Every day we get much information and this information is necessary for our life, work and entertainment.

Mass media are considered to be the fourth branch of power because they influence the society and all the branches of power. Mass media express people’s opinions and can show and describe the smallest and the least important details of any juridical case or event. Journalists take their investigations and write about their discoveries. Mass media publish information about the plans of the government and the President.

Mass media give us all kinds of information. The most important mass media are newspapers, magazines, radio, television and the Internet.

Newspapers and magazines play a great and a very important role in the life of a modern man. There is practically no family that doesn’t have a TV set and doesn’t buy one or two newspapers and magazines. Reading a newspaper you can get information about the events that have taken or going to take place in our country or abroad. We can also read articles about historical events and public figures of the past and the present. Our newspapers publish information about the work of the State Duma of Russia. The pages of newspapers carry articles on our economy, industry and agriculture. Many newspapers carry material about international events, about life of the people in all parts of the world. I must mention such newspapers in Russia as “Pravda”, “Zhizn”, “Moskovsky komsomolets”, “Express gazeta”, etc.

We can not imagine our life without radio. To switch on the radio is the first thing in the morning with the national anthem. There are dozens of radio stations in Russia, everyone can choose a station to listen to. Most of them broadcast music, but of different styles. Music attracts listeners. You can also listen to weather forecasts, sports news, advice of lawyers, news, daily horoscope, agricultural, political, economical programmes, talk shows, the history of our city, you can take part in an intellectual quiz and win a prize. I think, radio has advantages. You can do something and listen to it at the same time.

Television now gives people a great chance to learn about the world. Some people like to travel, but you can not visit all places on the Earth. And television offers you a wide range of programmes about wild life and other countries. Such films as “Walking with Dinosaurs”, “Wild Life” are television masterpieces. Then there are news programmes, talk shows, quizzes and other kinds of programmes.

The Internet is the newest kind of mass media. In the Internet you can find now any kind of information. It can be called a kind of combination of newspapers, radio, TV and computers. All main newspapers and broadcasting companies have their sights in the Internet. So, you can find there the latest news without buying a paper.

But all the mass media have their advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages: mass media inform us, entertain us, offer competitions and quizzes with prizes, show the lives of pop stars and other famous people. We can watch video clips on TV. Mass media help democracy because they guarantee access to information for people.

Disadvantages: mass media occupy all free time, they brainwash (промывают мозги, обрабатывают зрителей), intrude opinions upon people (навязывают мнение), ruin our eyesight, introduce violence into our life. Children stop reading, they don’t know the national culture.

Words and expressions:

mass media – средства массовой информации

modern society – современное общество

valuable – ценный

the fourth branch of power – четвёртая власть

to influence – влиять

to express one’s opinion – выражать мнение

investigation – исследование

event – событие

to imagine – представлять

national anthem – национальный гимн

weather forecast – прогноз погоды

to broadcast – передавать по радио и телевидению

advantage – преимущество

disadvantage - недостаток

to entertain – развлекать

to offer – предлагать

quiz – викторина

to guarantee access to information – гарантировать доступ к информации

to brainwash – промывать мозги

to intrude opinions upon people – навязывать мнения людям

violence – насилие, жестокость

Answer the questions:

1. Do mass media play an important role in the modern society? Why do think so?

2. What mass media do you know?

3. Which of them are more popular?

4. Do you read any newspapers or magazines?

5. Do you spend much time in front your TV set?

6. What can you say about advantages and disadvantages of mass media?

Books.

Books play a very important part in our life. There is practically no family that does not have books. We can learn many things from books. They help us in self - education and deciding problems of life.

Books appeared ages ago and took different forms. The oldest form is probably the roll. It appeared in Ancient Egypt, and was as well used in Ancient Greece. The fist books were written on papyrus, on different materials, mostly skins of animals. The books were copied by hand and cost a whole fortune. Later the printing press was invented so the books became popular and rather cheap. The first printed book was produced in Korea in the 8th century. In Europe the printing press began to work in the 15th century.

There are many genres of books around us. They can be divided into fiction and non - fiction books.

Non - fiction books contain real information and are used for education and work. They are reference books, dictionaries, atlases, biographies and autobiographies, scientific reports, textbooks and encyclopedias.

Fiction books are written to give pleasure. They are also called belles-lettres.

This word is mostly used when we speak about stories, novels and romances. “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy is an example of fiction. But the young usually prefer fantasy books and science fiction.

Fantasy books usually describe the events and the countries in the form of the legend and narrate about the past.

Science fiction books describe events in the future, the characters and places are given as imaginary and usually take place in the future.

My favourite fiction book is “Gone with the Wind”. It was written be Margaret Mitchel. The book was published for the first time in 1936. It had a great success. In 1939 the film was filmed. The book is about the events of the Civil War between the North and the South, and of course about love. The main character, Scarlett O’Hara, loves Ashley Wilkes, but marries for money another man, Rhett the end of the book she understands that she and Rhett are alike and have much in common, that she loves Rhett. But Rhett leaves her, and we can only guess if she can get him back.

Words and expressions:

self-education – самообразование

to appear – появиться

roll – свиток

Ancient Egypt – Древний Египет

Ancient Greece – Древняя Греция

papyrus – папирус

to invent – изобретать

to cost a whole fortune – стоить целое состояние

genre – жанр

can be divided into – могут быть разделены

fiction – художественная литература

non-fiction – документальная литература

to contain – содержать

are used for – используются для

reference book – справочник

dictionary – словарь

scientific report – научный доклад

pleasure – удовольствие

to prefer - предпочитать

belles-lettres – беллетристика

romance – рыцарский роман; любовная история

to narrate – повествовать

science fiction – научная фантастика

great success – огромный успех

imaginary – выдуманный

to have much in common – иметь много общего

to guess – предполагать

Answer the question:

1. Do books play an important part in our life? Why?

2. What genres of books do you know?

3. Do you like to read?

4. What books do you prefer to read?

5. What do non-fiction books contain?

6. What is your favourite book?

Protection of the environment.

Since ancient times Nature has served Man, being the source of his life. For thousands of years people lived in harmony with environment and seemed to them that natural riches were unlimited. But with the development of civilization man’s interference in nature began to increase.

Large cities with thousands of smoky industrial enterprises appear all over the world today. The by - products of their activity pollute the air we breathe, the water we drink, the land we grow grain and vegetables. Every year world industry pollutes the atmosphere with about 1,000 million tons of dust and other harmful substances. Many cities suffer from smog. Vast forests are cut and burn in fire. Their disappearance upsets the oxygen balance. As a result

some rare species of animals, birds, fish and plants disappear forever, a number of rivers and lakes dry up.

The pollution of air and the world’s ocean, destruction of the ozone layer is the result of man’s careless interaction with nature, a sign of ecological crises.

The most terrible ecological disaster was the Chernobyl tragedy in April 1986. The land was polluted by radioactive substances. A great damage has been done not only to forests, animals, fish but also to people’s health.

Environmental protection is a universal concern. It seems that to stop pollution is very difficult and all countries must work together to solve this problem. Every one can help nature. Serious measures to create a system of ecological security should be taken. I think there should be an environmental programme at schools. This programme should include lessons about pollution and how children can help the Earth. We simply shouldn’t cut trees and other plants, we should help animals. We must collect wastes properly so it does not get into water or soil. We must do everything to protect nature, to save life on the planet not only for the sake of the present but also for the future generation.

Words and expressions:

protection of the environment – защита окружающей среды

nature – природа

to serve – служить

source of life – источник жизни

to seem – казаться

development – развитие

interference – вмешательство

to increase - увеличиваться

natural riches – природные богатства

enterprise – промышленное предприятие

by-product – побочный продукт

to pollute – загрязнять

air – воздух

to breathe – дышать

grain – зерно; хлебные злаки

to suffer – страдать

smog – густой туман с дымом и копотью; смог

dust – пыль

harmful substances – вредные вещества

their disappearance upsets oxygen balance – их исчезновение нарушает кислородный баланс

some rare species – некоторые редкие виды

destruction of the ozone layer – разрушение озонного слоя

the most terrible ecological disaster – самая ужасная экологическая катастрофа

damage – вред, ущерб

should – следует, должен

wastes – отходы

to save life – спасать жизнь

for the sake of – ради

future generation – будущее поколение

Answer the questions:

1. What can you say about the present ecological situation?

2. What does Nature give to man?

3. What pollutes Nature?

4. What are the main ecological problems?

5. What measures (меры) should be taken to protect Nature?

6. What do you know about ecological problems in our country?

Outstanding people.

The world knows the names of many great people: scientists, writers, actors, musicians and composers, politicians, historians, etc. A lot of discoveries have been made by them in different fields of science, history, culture, politics, etc. But the greatest event of the 20th century was the flight of Man into space. Special merit here belongs to Russian scientists. Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky is one of them.

K. Tsiolkovsky was born in 1879 in a small Russian village near Ryazan. Through all his life he had been working on the problem of interplanetary travel. He worked out the theory of cosmic flights. Tsiolkovsky believed that “mankind will not remain on Earth forever”, and he dreamt to see that day. But he died in 1935.