Разговорные темы для обучающихся 9 - 11 классов (стр. 4 )

Another rule is to have enough sleep: not less than 8 or 9 hours a day.

People should give up bad health habits: smoking, drinking alcohol, taking drugs. But it’s better to never start them.

Following these simple rules you can keep healthy and fit.

Space Exploration

People have always admired stars and studied different planets. They wanted to know more about our universe. The Cosmos (or space) has become a sphere for experiments in the XX century: biological, ecological, agricultural, industrial and others. Everybody in Russia and all over the world remembers outstanding scientists of our country: K. Tsialkovsky, S. Korolev and other scientists who studied space and gave the world the first flight around our beautiful Earth.

The first space flight was made in 1961 by the Russian, Yuri Gagarin. It lasted 108 minutes. Russia was the first country to accomplish a manned space flight. Gagarin became a hero of our country.

The first woman in space was also Russian, Valentina Tereshkova. In 1963, her flight lasted almost 3 days. And the first “space walk” was made by another Russian, Aleksey Leonov, in 1965, though he was still tethered by a line to his spaceship. It was nineteen years later, in 1984, that the American Bruce Mc Candies, made the first independent excursion in space.

The name of Svetlana Savitskaya, a Russian woman–cosmonaut, is well known too. She was the second Russian woman–cosmonaut and the first woman to walk and work in space. Her first space mission was accomplished in August, 1982.

The name of Neil Armstrong, an American astronaut, is known all over the world. He was a man who set foot on the Moon for the first time. On July 21, 1969 Neil Armstrong spoke words that have gone down in history: “One small step for a man, one giant step for mankind”.

There were a lot of other famous Russian and foreign names in the history of space exploration. Nowadays, joint international flights are very popular. Cosmonauts carry out different important experiments that help scientists to study various phenomena in different fields.

Hobbies

Hobby is an occupation done during one’s leisure time for rest and pleasure. I think one’s hobby is the best way not to waste time. There are many kinds of hobbies. One of the most popular hobbies is collecting. People can collect everything: records, postcards, coins, stickers, stamps. When I was a little girl I enjoyed collecting dolls. It was really interesting and fun. For many people going in for art is a good rest. Sir Winston Churchill and Queen Victoria liked to paint, president William (Bill) Clinton played the saxophone. Costume designing, sewing, knitting, embroidering are usually considered to be women’s hobbies, but it is known that some men do it really well. For example, Ives Saint Laurent, Gianni Versace and other masters of haute–couture are gentlemen. Their hobbies became their professions.

One more popular hobby is reading. When you read, you learn a lot about the world around you, about other people, history and life of other peoples. Many people, who like to read, collect books and learn the biographies of their favourite writers. I also have a good library at home. I can say that reading is my hobby. I usually read classics, poetry and historical novels. L. Tolstoy is my favourite writer.

A lot of people enjoy playing sports. It is also a very good hobby. It makes people healthy, strong and fit. But I’m not a very sporty girl. I prefer swimming in summer, training myself in the gym and walking.

I think, any hobby can be entertaining and useful if you do it with great wish and pleasure.

Sport

Sport plays an important role in our life. It helps people to be strong, healthy and keep fit. There are a lot of kinds of sport, but the most popular sports in Russia are football, hockey, swimming and figure skating. Russia is also known for its chess players, gymnasts and skiers.

As for me, I can’t say that I’m a very sporty girl. But I attend a sport centre where I train myself and try to keep fit. It’s a good way to work out extra energy. But most of all I prefer watching spectator sports such as figure skating, gymnastics.

In summer my friends and I go to the river where we enjoy swimming. I also walk a lot. I think walking is the best sport. You do not need the company of others and you do not have to buy special equipment, you can do it without special training.

I think that famous athletes can be examples for other people. They are usually well-built, have good figures and they are very attractive. They develop positive traits of character and learn how to work hard, be strong, patient, well-organized and disciplined.

But if you want to be a sportsman, you have to exercise every day or, at least, several times a week. Many people can not afford that because they work hard to make their career.

So, I try to go in for sport when I have some free time because I think that it is one of the most important components of the healthy way of life. And as it is known, only a healthy person can enjoy life, work well and be happy. As for me, I prefer to be healthy and fit.

My Favourite Writer

Nowadays people seem to read newspapers mostly. Many people are fond of reading detective stories or spy thrillers. I myself prefer books about politics, history, travel-books and biographies. As for the American writers, I like to read books by Mark Twain and O’Henry.

I enjoy reading books by such English writers as Charles Dickens, Robert Stevenson, Walter Scott. My favourite English writer is William Shakespeare, one of the most outstanding personalities in the world literature.

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon not far from London. His father, John Shakespeare, came to Stratford from a village and opened a shop there. He never became a rich man but at one time he was an important official in the city. William Shakespeare lived is Stratford until he was twenty-one. He got married and had three children. At the age of 21 William left Stratford for London to join a company of actors. He was a very good actor and an excellent playwright. William Shakespeare lived and worked in London for 25 the end of the 16th century William Shakespeare and his friends had enough money to build their own theatre – “the Globe”.

Shakespeare wrote 37 plays, 2 long poems, a sonnet cycle of 155 small pieces. William Shakespeare had a natural gift for comedy. In his comedies “Two Gentleman of Verona”, “As You Like It”, “The Twelfth Night” William Shakespeare describes the adventures of young men and women, their love, friendship, happiness. Shakespeare’s tragedies “King Lear”, “Othello”, “Romeo and Juliet” depict noblemen who opposed evil in the world. Since they were written, there has never been a time when at least some of Shakespeare’s plays were not staged.

In England and other countries it is highest honour for an actor to be invited to play in a comedy or a tragedy by Shakespeare. In the last 35 years all the plays by W. Shakespeare have been filmed. Since 1879 Shakespeare’s Festival has been held every year at Stratford–upon–Avon.

Great Britain

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK is located on the British Isles which is the geographical name of all the islands situated off the northwest coast of the European Continent. They consist of Great Britain, Ireland and of about five thousand small islands. The North Sea, the Strait of Dover and the English Channel separate Great Britain from the continent. It is washed on the west coast by the Atlantic Ocean and by the Irish Sea.

The mountains in Great Britain are not very high, the highest mountain is Ben Nevis in Scotland. The main rivers in Britain are the Thames, the Mersey, the Severn and others, but none of them are very long.

The climate of Great Britain is mild. The Atlantic Ocean and the warm waters of the Gulf Stream influence the weather on the British Isles. The summers are cool and rainy; the winters are not very cold.

Great Britain is a highly developed industrial country. One of the leading industries in Great Britain is the Textile industry. Coal, iron and steel as well as various machines are produced there. Shipbuilding and motor industry are highly developed too.

There are many big industrial cities in Britain, such as Birmingham and Sheffield (with big iron and steel works), Manchester and Liverpool (the biggest centres of textile industry), Cardiff and others. London, the capital city of the UK, is one of the biggest commercial centres and ports of the world. It is also an important political, cultural and educational centre. Other educational centres in Great Britain are Oxford and Cambridge, the world famous oldest Universities, and also Edinburgh and Sheffield.

The total population of Great Britain today is about 59 million people. The official language of the country is English, though in Wales people speak Welsh which is different from English. There are many other languages spoken in Britain as it is a multinational state.

British Customs and Traditions

When foreigners come to England, they are struck at once

by a great number of customs and traditions in English life. They may seem strange to visitors but the English still keep up these old customs and traditions which mix with everyday life in the streets of busy London.

Traditional uniforms are still preserved in Great Britain. You can see a group of cavalrymen riding on black horses through the central streets of London. They wear red uniforms, shining helmets, long black boots and long white gloves. They carry swords. These men are Life Guards and their special duty is to guard the king or queen. In the Tower of London you can see the warders (or Beefeaters) with their funny flat hats.

On each second Saturday in November, the newly-elected Lord Mayor of London rides in procession through the streets of the city in his medieval carriage. This Lord Mayor`s show is a great traditional event for Londoners.

There are a number of other formal ceremonies, such as Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, Trooping the Colour which is performed on Horse Guards Parade every year on the Queen`s official birthday.