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Great Britain
The United Kingdom (or Great Britain) is situated on the British Isles. The British Isles consist of two large islands, Great Britain and Ireland, and about five thousand small islands. Their total area is over 244,000 square kilometres.
The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Wales, Scotland (on the island of Great Britain), and Northern Ireland (on the island of Ireland). Their capitals are London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, and Belfast respectively. The capital of the UK is London.
The British Isles are separated from the European continent by the North Sea and the English Channel. The western coast of Great Britain is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea.
The surface of the British Isles varies very much. The north of Scotland is mountainous and is called the Highlands, while the south, which has beautiful valleys and plains, is called the Lowlands. The north and west of England are mountainous, but all the rest — east, centre, and south-east — is a vast plain. Mountains are not very high. Ben Nevis in Scotland is the highest mountain (1,343 m).
There are a lot of rivers in Great Britain, but they are not very long. The Severn is the longest river, while the Thames is the deepest one.
The mountains, the Atlantic Ocean, and the warm waters of Gulf Stream influence on the climate of the British Isles. It is mild the whole year round.
The UK is one of the world's smallest countries. Its population is over 57 million. About 80 % of the population is urban.
The UK is a highly developed industrial country. It is known as one of the world's largest producers and exporters of machinery» electronics, textile, aircraft, and navigation equipment. One of the chief industries of the country is shipbuilding.
The UK is a constitutional monarchy. In law, Head of the State is Queen. In practice, Queen reigns, but does not rule. The country is ruled by the elected government with the Prime Minister at the head. The British Parliament consists of two chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
There are three main political parties in Great Britain: the Labour, the Conservative, and the Liberal parties.
The Republic of Belarus
Belarus is my homeland. It is the place where I was born. Officially it is called the Republic of Belarus, a sovereign independent state with its own government, constitution, state emblem, flag and anthem. Belarus is a member-state of the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) and one of the UN (United Nations) founder-members.
Belarus is situated nearly in the centre of Europe in the extreme western part of the East-European Plain within the basins of the Dnieper, the Western Dvina and the Upper Neman. It borders on Poland in the west, the Baltic States — Lithuania and Latvia — in the north-west, on Russia in the north and east, on the Ukraine in the south.
Belarus stretches for 560 kilometres from south to north and for 650 kilometres from east to west. It occupies the territory of 207.6 thousand square kilometres. It is much larger than such countries as Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Portugal, Czechia and Slovakia. Its present-day population is about 10.3 mln people: 78% of Belarusians, 12% of Russians, 4% of Poles and 2% of Ukrainians. 68% of the population live in towns and cities. The largest of which are Minsk, Gomel, Vitebsk, Mogilev, Grodno and Brest.
Belarus is situated on a rolling plain rising to hills, the highest of which is Mt.Dzerzhinskaya reaching 350 metres above sea level.
There are more than 3,000 rivers in Belarus. Seven of them are more than 500 kilometres long each. They are the Dnieper, Neman, Western Dvina, Prypiat, Berezina, Sozh and Vilia.
Belarus is a lake-country. There are about 10,800 lakes here. The lakes are particularly numerous in the north. The largest is Lake Naroch — 80 square kilometres. The lakes are noted for their great depth, transparent water and beautiful scenery.
A third of Belarus is under forest. The largest forests are called pushchas. The Byelovezhskaya Pushcha is famous for its aurochs (European bisons). Fauna is rich and diverse there: one can see elks and deer, wild boars and wolves, bears and foxes, beavers and lynxes, not mentioning myriads of birds.
Forests, pinewoods, mighty oak groves, birch groves and all sorts of other mixed forest formations are the charm, wealth and pride of our homeland.
Belarus is situated in the Temperate Zone of 200—500 kilometres away from the Baltic Sea. The climate of Belarus varies from maritime to continental due to a strong influence of the maritime air of the Atlantic. This results in temperate and mild climate.
The territory of Belarus is divided into 6 regions: Brest, Vitebsk, Gomel, Grodno, Minsk, and Mogilev. The capital of Belarus is Minsk with a population of over 1.5 mln people.
By the way, Belarus is the country with unique history and rich cultural heritage. It is an interesting region from the tourist point of view.
Education
Education is very important in our life. An educated person is one who knows a lot about many things. He always tries to learn, find out, discover more about the world around him. He get knowledge at school, from books, magazines, from TV educational programs. The pupils can get deeper knowledge in different optional courses in different subjects and school offers these opportunities. They can deepen and improve their knowledge by attending different optional courses in different subjects. The result of the educative process is the capacity for Further education. Nowadays the students of secondary schools have opportunities to continue their education by entering, gymnasiums, lyceums, colleges. But the road to learning is not easy. There is noroyal road to learning. To be successful in studies one must work heard. It's for you to decide to learn and make progress or not to learn lose your time. The role of foreign languages is also increasing today. Thanks to the knowledge of foreign languages one can read books, magazines in the original, talk to foreigners, translate various technical articles. Moreover, joint ventures which have recently appeared in our country need specialists with profound knowledge of foreign languages like English, German or French. To know foreign languages is absolute necessary for every educated person, for good specialists. Our country is transferring to a market economy. Research and innovations should improve living, working conditions of our people. That is why it is so important to be persistent in students. English is a world language. It is the language of progressive science and technology, trade and cultural relations, commerce and business. It's the language of international aviation, shipping and sports. It's also the major language of diplomacy. Geographically it is the most widespread language on earth, second only to Chinese in the number of people who speak it hearing a foreign language is- not an easy thing. It's a long and slow process that takes a lot of time and practice. A foreign language is not just a subject learnt in the classrooms. It's something which is used in real life situations. There are many reasons why we begin to study foreign languages. First of all it's an effective medium of international communication. I'm convinced if we are working in any brunch of science we must read books and magazines in other languages. Learning foreign languages opens up opportunities and careers that didn't even exits some years ago. Knowing foreign languages can help us to find a job in such fields as science and technology, foreign trade and banking, international transportation communication, teaching librarian science and others. A more general aim is to make our intellectual and cultures. Learning a foreign language including learning also culture, traditions and mode of thought of different people. Of course speaking and writing in a foreign language is a difficult art and it has to be learned. Needless to say that English has become very popular today. About 350 million people speak English as its first language. About the same numbers use it as a second language. It's an official language in 44 countries. It's the dominant language of medicine, electronics and space technology, of international business and advertising, of radio. It has replaced French in the world of diplomacy and German in the field of science. As for me, I'm completely convinced that to know a foreign language is absolutely necessary for all educated person and modern specialists. Everything depends on our own efforts.
Choosing a career
Every person at the age of 14 to 16 has to make an extremely stressful decision, to choose his or her own career. You might be wondering what the difference is between a career and a job. Basically a job is something you do, but don't expect to continue doing forever. A career is what you hope to do for a long time or even for your entire working life. Choosing a career is a difficult and challenging task: the decision once taken will influence your future life. There are, of course, a lot of examples when people have changed their career paths in their twenties, thirties and even forties but, of course, it is better to make the right choice at the very beginning. The earlier you decide on what profession is interesting and rewarding for you, the more you can achieve during your lifetime.
Choosing a career is a challenging task indeed. It is all about finding the perfect match between your personality, interests, and skills. On the one hand, modern society, with its hundreds of professions and jobs, presents a vast range of future job opportunities. Industry and business, farming, science and education, medicine, service, arts and journalism are just a few professional fields a young person can specialize in. On the other hand, modern society with its crises, unemployment and inflation, makes a poor choice of profession a really bad mistake. You can choose a profession you really like, and face problems when looking for a job. Or you can find a job you like, but it will be underpaid. Besides, a young person's parents usually have their own ideas of what career path to choose. Some parents are more democratic and let the child determine his future by himself. Some are oppressive and overprotective and try to force the child to make this or that career choice. In this case, they often try to compensate for their own dreams which have failed and the chances they have missed. Sometimes they see their child is gifted in some field and try to persuade him to choose this profession irrespective of the fact if he likes it or not.
In spite of all the problems mentioned above, the choice has to be made. To make it easier for the young people, there is some professional advice. It's best for the young man to start this process as early as possible, ideally in the tenth form. You should determine if you would like to continue in higher education, or to learn a trade and look for a job. It's up to the person to decide, but you should remember that to get more chances, you should strive for higher education which enables you to be qualified for skilled labour. You should determine what you might like to study or major in at college. You might like to try some of these career assessment tests to help with this step. You will surely also get suggestions from family, friends, and high school teachers and guidance counsellors. You also have to consider the demand for a particular career in the labour market. Choosing a career where there are limited job opportunities can greatly increase the challenges you will face.
Family Relations
How could you describe the word "family"? First of all "family" means a close unit of parents and their children living together. But we shouldn't forget that it is a most complex system of relationships. Family relationships are rarely as easy as we would like, and very often we have to work hard at keeping them peaceful.
When do people usually start a family? This question doesn't have a definite answer. In the 18th, 19th and at the beginning of the 20th century people used to get married at the age of 18 or even 16. If a girl about 23 or more wasn't married, she was said to be an old maid or a spinster. That might have turned out a real tragedy for her family which usually brought up more than three children, because in some cases a successful marriage was the only chance to provide a good life for the daughter and to help her family. Despite the fact that the girl was so young, she was already able to keep the house, take care of her husband and raise children. To feel the time, its culture and customs I advise you to read a wonderful novel or see a breathtaking film "Pride and Prejudice". Though the story takes place at the turn of the 19th century, it retains fascination for modern readers, revealing some problems which may be urgent in the 21st century.
But life's changing as well as people's style of life. Nowadays we have got much more freedom in questions concerning family. It is natural to get married at the age of 20 up to 30; however, some people prefer to make a career first and only after that start a family when they are already in their forties. Moreover, there are many cases when people prefer to live together without being married. There are some reasons for this phenomenon. Firstly, it is difficult to juggle a family life with studies at school or university. But without good education it is practically impossible to find a suitable well-paid steady job. It's a must to get a higher education, but by this moment you are already 22—24 years old. After that you seek for a well-paid job to live independently, which takes about 3—5 years. Now you see why people in the 21st century do not hurry to get married.
There is also another difference between old and modern families. Nowadays it is very unusual to find three generations living under one roof as they used to do in the past. Relatives, as a rule, live separately and don't often meet one another. This fact sharply hurts an older generation. Our parents and grandparents usually suffer from lack of attention and respect from their children and grandchildren, although they try not to show it. They really don't need much, just a telephone call or a visit once a week will make them happy.
There are two basic types of families. A nuclear family — a typical family consisting of parents and children. A single-parent family consists of one parent and children. Nowadays there are very few people who have never divorced. Today the highest divorce rate in the world has the Maldive Republic. The United States of America take the third place. Russia is at the ninth place. What are the reasons of great numbers of divorce? Let us name some of the most common and serious ones.
• Occurrence of adultery once or throughout the marriage. The unfaithful attitude towards a spouse destroys the relationship and leads to a final separation.
• Communication breakdown. After some time of living under one roof spouses find out that they are absolutely incompatible. Constant clashes, brawls and squabbles cause serious problems. The differences grow as a snowball and can't be already settled by kisses or hugs.
• Physical, psychological or emotional abuses. When a person taunts, humiliates, hits the children or his spouse, it can't but end with a divorce.
• Financial problems. It sounds lamentably, but sometimes love alone can't guarantee well-being, whereas money can solve many of your problems. So when a couple lacks it, their relations become more and more complicated, their priorities change and the relationships end.
• Boredom. A lot of couples get bored of each other after 7 or more years of marriage. Boredom may become the reason of constant quarrels and adultery which inevitably leads to a divorce.
However, it goes without saying, in most cases married couples succeed in solving all the problems and keep living in peace and happiness.
Leisure Time
Leisure is time spent in non-compulsory activities. Because leisure time is free from compulsory activities such as work, study, household duties, eating and sleeping, it is often referred to as 'free time'. The ideas of leisure and leisure time are thought to have emerged in the late 19th century with the rise of mechanized industry, when the increase in productivity of labour resulted in the fact that workers had some time to spend on themselves.
They started doing sports and visiting theatres. Since then the idea of leisure time and relaxation has been popular with all the age groups and social classes. Old and young, rich and poor have been using their free time for rest and entertainment. The ways people spend their leisure time normally differ according to the age group: middle-aged and old people normally prefer more passive kind of rest like watching TV or going to the theatre, or sometimes gardening, younger people enjoy more active pastimes like doing extreme sports, visiting night clubs and discos or travelling. However, the idea of active leisure like doing sports or travelling is gaining popularity with the older people, too.
So the basic leisure time activities of the young are travelling, doing sports including extreme sports, visiting discos and night clubs or more passive ways of recreation like listening to music or watching TV and videos, and surfing the Internet. Teenagers normally prefer to do extreme sports, that is sports featuring speed, height and danger as they lead to the so-called 'adrenaline rush9 in participants. They wish to push themselves to the limits of their physical ability and fear, and push the boundaries of a particular sport, such as bungee jumping, climbing, white-water rafting, surfing, windsurfing and many others. Their tastes in music are normally different kinds of popular music associated with youth subcultures, such as hard rock, hip-hop or rap, punk rock, psychedelic rock and the like. In watching TV and videos or going to the cinema, they prefer film genres which are full of action, movement, colour, cinema effects and have a good soundtrack. They normally like action films, comedies, musicals, thrillers and cartoons.
Sometimes the ways young people spend their free time varies according to the country, as they sometimes depend on national traditions. For example, in the USA young people normally like different types of popular culture which originated in their country like blues, different kinds of rock, country music and hip hop in music and pop art in fine arts. The sports they are doing are more often than not those which originated in America like baseball, auto-racing, basketball, and board-based recreational sports — surfboarding, skateboarding and snowboarding. American youngsters are fond of eating out and eat a lot of junk food like hambuigers and cheeseburgers and drink Coca-cola or Pepsi. British youngsters are really fond of watching football matches and sorts of races such as horse-racing, boat-racing and even dog-racing, as well as playing football, rugby and golf and taking part in races. They are really fond of pets and often spend some time in the evening taking their dog for a walk. In going out for the evening, they still prefer pubs to restaurants, bars and cafes. In music, their tastes are nearly the same as those of their American peers. In Germany young people prefer drinking beer when meeting their friends and spending much time doing various sports. In Spain many youngsters, as well as older people, are fond of watching bullfighting. In France they like listening to French chanson.
Shopping
When we want to buy something, we go to a shop. There are many kinds of shops in every town or city, but most of them have a food supermarket, a department store, men's and women's clothing stores, grocery, a bakery and a butchery.
I like to do my shopping at big department stores and supermarkets. They sell various goods under one roof and this is very convenient. A department store, for example, true to its name, is composed of many departments: readymade clothes, fabrics, shoes, sports goods, toys, china and glass, electric appliances, cosmetics, linen, curtains, cameras, records, etc. You can buy everything you like there.
There are also escalators in big stores which take customers to different floors. The things for sale are on the counters so that they can be easily seen. In the women's clothing department you can find dresses, costumes, blouses, skirts, coats, beautiful underwear and many other things. In the men's clothing department you can choose suits, trousers, overcoats, ties, etc.
In the knitwear department one can buy sweaters, cardigans, short-sleeved and long-sleeved pullovers, woollen jackets. In the perfumery they sell face cream and powder, lipstick, lotions and shampoos.
In a food supermarket we can also buy many different things at once: sausages, fish, sugar, macaroni, flour, cereals, tea. At the butcher's there is a wide choice of meat and poultry. At the bakery you buy brown and white bread, rolls, biscuits.
Another shop we frequently go to is the greengrocery which is stocked by cabbage, potatoes, onions, cucumbers, carrots, beetroots, green peas and what not. Everything is sold here ready-weighed and packed. If you call round at a dairy you can buy milk, cream, cheese, butter and many other products.
The methods of shopping may vary. It may be a selfservice shop where the customer goes from counter to counter selecting and putting into a basket what he wishes to buy. Then he takes the basket to the check-out counter, where the prices of the purchases are added up. If it is not a self-service shop, and most small shops are not, the shop-assistant helps the customer in finding what he wants. You pay money to the cashier and he gives you back the change.
Customs and traditions of an English-speaking country.
I am going to tell you about English customs and traditions.First of all it concerns United Kingdom political system. In Great Britain there is no written constitution, only customs, traditions and precedents. After the English Revolution of Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy headed by King (now Qeen, Elixabeth the second). Traditionally the qeen acts only on the advice of her Ministers. She reigns but she does not rule.
Englishmen have traditions not only in political, but in social life. For example, London, the capital of England, is traditionally devided into three parts: the West End, the East end,and the City. The City is a histrorical, financial and business centre of London. The East End is the district inhabied by the workers, and the West End is a fashionable shopping and entertaining centre. English people like to spend their free time in numerous pubs where they can have a glass of beer and talk about different things with their friends.
The English are traditional about their meals. They eat eggs and bacon with toasts for breakfast, pudding or apple pie for dessert. Every English family has five o'clock tea. A typical feature of an english house is a fireplace, even when there is central heating in the house.
English people like domestic animals. Every family has a pet:a dog, a cat or a bird.
Politeness is a characteristic feature of Englishmen. They often say "Thank you", "Sorry", "Beg your pardon". Russian people,I think, have to learn this good custom.
Englishmen have many traditional holidays, such as Christmas, St.Valentine's Day, Mother's day, Easter and others.
National cuisine of an English-speaking country
Some people criticize English food. They say it's unimaginable, boring, tasteless, it's chips with everything and totally overcooked vegetables. The basic ingredients, when fresh, are so full of flavour that British haven't had to invent sauces to disguise their natural taste. What can compare with fresh pees or new potatoes just boiled and served with butter? Why drown spring lamb in wine or cream and spices, when with just one or two herbs it is absolutely delicious?
If you ask foreigners to name some typically English dishes, they will probably say "Fish and chips" then stop. It is disappointing, but true that, there is no tradition in England of eating in restaurants, because the food doesn't lend itself to such preparation. English cooking is found at home. So it is difficult to a good English restaurant with a reasonable prices.
In most cities in Britain you'll find Indian, Chinese, French and Italian restaurants. In London you'll also find Indonesian, Mexican, Greek... Cynics will say that this is because English have no "cuisine" themselves, but this is not quite the true.
Travelling
Modern life is impossible without travelling. Thousands of people travel every day either on bussines or for pleasure. They can travel by air, by rail, by see or by road.
Travelling by air is the fastest and the most convinient way, but it is the most expensive too. To my mind travelling by train is more interesting. You can see interesting places of the country you are travellin throught. Modern trains have very comfortable seats. There are also sleeping carriages and a dining- carrige which make even the longest journey enjoyable.
Travelling by sea is very popular. On board of ship you can enjoy your trip. There are tennis and badminton grounds, a swimming-pool, a sinema and a dancing hall there. Some people prefer travelling by car. If you heve your own car you may go to the Black Sea, where there are a lot of rest-houses, sanatoriums and tourist camps. In the daytime you can have a nice opportunity to play voleyball, swim in the warm water of the sea and sunbathe. In the evening you like to sit on the beach watching the sea and enjoying the sunset.
As for me I'm a hiker. I like to go on a hike to the mountins or to the forest. You go agree with me that it is pleasant to gather mushrooms and berries in the forest, swim in the river, make a fire and prepare meals on it. On my week-end I take a tent, a rucksack and go to railway station take the train. In an hour I find myself out of noisy city. The air is fresh, birds sing their merry songs. To make my long story short I'd like to say that travelling is one of my hobbies. Travelling helps me to see to coutry-side better, to know about customs and traditions of the Republic, to meet people and make friends with them.
Sport
Sport is probably as old as the humanity itself. It has been developing with the developing and growth of the mankind. All over the world people of different ages are very fond of sports and games.
Sport not only helps people to become strong and to develop physically but also makes them more organized and better disciplined in their daily activities. It makes for a healthy mind in a healthy body. Sports help people to keep in good health.
We all need to exercise. Even if you don't plan to make a career in sport you still have to practice. Regular exercises give you more energy. That is why many people who suffer from general tiredness should take more exercise than more rest.
Exercise makes you feel and look better.
The best exercise is one which involves in repeated movements, those are: walking, jogging or swimming. Bending and stretching will add flexibility and feeling of lightness.
Among the sports popular in our country are football, basketball, swimming, volleyball, ice hockey, tennis, gymnastics, figure skating. A person can choose sports and games for any season, for any taste.
Environment
Man have always wanted to make his life easier. He invented machines and mechanisms which have been working — and polluting the world we live in. Economists have long thought of the environment as of the unlimited source of resources only. In fact, the economy and the environment are closely related. The environment supplies the economy with water, timber, minerals, oil, etc. It has to absorb all the waste products, too. Nevertheless, some economists have always argued that pollution damages the resources.
There are many consequences of damaging the environment. One of them is acid rain. Pumping waste gases from a power station does not get rid of them. Waste gases cause acid rain, this leads to forest damage and reduces the resources of forestry industry.
Another one is water shortage. It comes from abuse of lands in agriculture. The third one is destroying the ozone layer of the Earth through pollution from factories and plants. The fourth one is damage to water and soils. The fifth one is damage to wildlife: many species of plants and animals can disappear. The sixth one is the greenhouse effect and global warming — that is, an increase in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and oceans. Global warming can lead to rises in sea levels, and extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, and hurricanes, and global climate change. Lastly, the most serious danger is the result of all these consequences. This is the danger for the life and health of the man.
The territories of the former Soviet Union are suffering many environmental problems. Many of these problems have been caused by economic activities. Apart from the effect of the Chernobyl disaster, the worst problem is that with the Aral Sea. Cotton growing in the region has used large amounts of water, and the sea level has fallen, this destroyed fishing and led to a damage in soils, crops, and wildlife. Many forests in the Far East and in the north of European Russia are under threat. A system of dams on the Volga damaged fish.
If we cannot learn to use the environment carefully, very soon we'll have no world to live in. In my opinion, pollution can be stopped or at least reduced by using fuels which are low in pollutants, more complete burning of solid fuels, shift to using alternative forms of power such as wind power, electricity or solar energy and banning the use of nuclear power. The first reason why I believe these ways to be most effective ones is that industry and transport are the most important sources of all chemical pollution of air, water and soil. The second one is that banning the use of nuclear power will destroy the danger of radioactive contamination.
The most important thing common people could do is to change their attitude towards the environment. We should realize that natural resources are not unlimited and destroying them may result in destroying life on Earth. The change of public attitude to the environment is important due to several reasons. Firstly, public opinion could make governments introduce stricter anti-pollution measures. It could make governments fund scientific research facilitating development of ecologically safe materials and sources of energy. Secondly, people could behave in the way which is less damaging for the ecology of our planet. For example, they could stop leaving litter in city streets and in the country. Thirdly, they could stop damaging forests by cutting down trees for their personal needs or causing forest fires.
Fashion
Fashion is something we deal with everyday. Even people who say they don't care what they wear choose clothes every morning that say a lot about them and how they feel that day.
One certain thing in the fashion world is change. We are constantly being bombarded with new fashion ideas from music, videos, books, and television. Movies also have a big impact on what people wear. Ray-Ban sold more sunglasses after the movie Men In Black. Sometimes a trend is world-wide. Back in the 1950s, teenagers everywhere dressed like Elvis Presley.
Fashion is revealing. Clothes reveal what groups people are in. In high school, groups have names: "goths, skaters, preps, herbs." Styles show who you are, but they also create stereotypes and distance between groups. For instance, a businessman might look at a boy with green hair and multiple piercings as a freak and outsider. But to another person, the boy is a strict conformist. He dresses a certain way to deliver the message of rebellion and separation, but within that group, the look is uniform. Acceptance or rejection of a style is a reaction to the society we live in. Fashion is a language which tells a story about the person who wears it. "Clothes create a wordless means of communication that we all understand," according to Katherine Hamnett, a top British fashion designer.
Fashion is big business. More people are involved in the buying, selling and production of clothing than any other business in the world. Everyday, millions of workers design, sew, glue, dye, and transport clothing to stores. Ads on buses, billboards and magazines give us ideas about what to wear, consciously, or subconsciously. Clothing can be used as a political weapon. In nineteenth century England, laws prohibited people from wearing clothes produced in France. During twentieth century communist revolutions, uniforms were used to abolish class and race distinctions.
Weather and Climate
Climate is the weather a certain place has over a long period of time. Climate has a very important influence on plants, animals and humans and is different in different parts of the world. Some scientists think that the world is becomming hotter. If you compare Minsk winter and summer temperatures at the beginning of our century and at its end you will see that climate has really changed. Winters have become warmer. Sometimes there is little snow in January, and there were winters when it rained on the New Year’s Eve. Many people say that it is so because of the greenhouse effect. During the last 100 years people have produced a lot of carbon dioxide. This gas in the atmosphere works like glass in a greenhouse. It lets heat get in, but it doesn’t let much heat get out. So the atmosphere becomes warmer. Where does the carbon dioxide come from? People and animals breathe in oxygen, and breathe out carbon dioxide. We produce carbon dioxide when we burn things. Trees take this gas from the air, and produce oxygen. But in the last few years, people have cut down and burn big areas of rainforest. This means there are fewer trees, and, of course, more carbon dioxide! As we see the climate in different parts of the world changes a little from year to year. These changes can be dangerous for our planet, which needs protection. Earth is millions of years old, much older than the humans. We know many of its secrets. Yet there is still much to learn.
Modern means of communication
To begin with I’d like to point out that means of communication have changed greatly .When we think of it we cannot understand how people who lived 50 years ago were able to keep in touch. Nowadays we cannot imagine human contact without modern technology devices such as mobile phones, smartphones, i-Pods, i-Pads, Tablets, laptops and so on.
Thanks to the new technologies people are communicating more than ever before. Modern means of communication have made the distance between people unimportant. Unlike 20 years ago we usually call someone, not visit. Mobile phones are portable and let us contact others wherever they and we are. Furthermore, mobile phones offer the possibility of texting. Text messaging is the most convenient and the cheapest form of communication when we need to pass a quick note containing only a few words.
Emails have replaced letters and postcards almost completely. People prefer emails, which are quicker to write and send and more sure to reach the addressee.
Video conferences are often used by business people and scientists and they don’t need to travel to remote places.
To keep in touch with our families and friends that live abroad we use the Internet and such programs as Skype or Messenger, we use video chats or instant messaging. Thanks to them we can talk with our relatives for free and without time limits.
A lot of people especially teenagers communicate in social networks such as vkontacte, facebook, twitter, odnoklasniki. They share the news, pictures, funny videos, jokes, songs and so on.
The Internet is very helpful for those who have a hobby. You can communicate with those who share the same passion from all over the world. You can learn the news and discuss your favourite pop star, or a movie actor, a tv show , sport competitions and what not. On forums people share their experiences and help each other to solve the problems they have run into.
To sum it up I’d like to point out that modern means of communication have changed our life , they influence our social life, politics, commerce, everything.
Healthy way of life
Everybody wants to live a long healthy life. Nowadays a healthy body becomes a fashion, an ideal of modern life.
There are many ways to keep fit.
For example, healthy food is a very important factor. Overeating causes many dangerous diseases. We shouldn’t snack and we should have breakfast. We should eat low-fat food, more fruit and vegetables, meat, milk products, which are rich in vitamins and proteins. We shouldn’t eat at night. If you keep to a diet, you must do it carefully, because sometimes diets may be harmful.
Besides, to be healthy, a person must stop smoking and drinking much. Besides, nowadays there is a problem of taking drugs, especially among young people. It causes many diseases and leads to death.
Everyone should remember that cigarettes, alcohol and drugs destroy both body and brain.
And the best way to be healthy is to go in for sports. Sport is very important in our life. It is popular among young and old people. Many people do morning exercises and train themselves in different sections and take part in sport competitions. Sport helps to make people strong, brave and cheerful. We can go in for sports in winter and in summer, indoors and outdoors. To keep fit, it is very useful to walk a lot, to play active games, to spend a lot of time outdoors in the fresh air.
Physical training is an important subject at school. Pupils have got physical training lessons twice a week. Boys and girls usually play volleyball and basketball at their lessons. There are some popular kinds of sport in our country: football, volleyball, basketball, hockey, gymnastics, skiing, skating, figure skating.
As for me, I like to go in for sports very much. I am good at swimming. I visit a swimming-pool 3 times a week. Besides, I’m a candidate for Master of Sports in kickboxing. In summer I do my morning exercises every day.
Life in the city and in the country
Sometime you may be think, the city life is better than village life. However there are so many advantages and disadvantages in city life and village life.Actually the city life is more comfortable.As well as there are more opportunities for people to progress in their lives. There are a lot of facilities for people in the city and they have more opportunities for making money. Children living in the city can get a good education, because there are better school in the town than in the village. When a person falls ill there are good government and private hospital in the city to get treatment. There are large shop complexions, banks, offices, cinemas, hostels, clubs, hospitals etc. in and around the city. People in the city have better transport facilities than the village. There is electricity, highway, communication, telecommunication, plumb facilities in the city. So people can lead a comfortable and enjoyable fife in the city.Although living in the city has many advantages there are some disadvantages too. The cost of living is very high in the city. Most goods are very expensive. There is no fresh air and pure water. The environment is polluted with dust, smoke, garbage and dioxide gases from factories. Most of the people who live in the city are corrupted. So there are lots of crimes in the city. Many thefts and murders often take place in the city. The city is always busy and noisy. There are a lot of vehicles and people in the road. The streets are dusty and unclean. So it is hard to lead a healthy life in the city. As well as there are so many advantages in the village life. Mainly the people of the village live in unity and peace. The villagers earn money very hard and earn money enough for live. So they live less competition with each other. So they can reach a good position. They have more friends in the community since it is small. The village people always try to protect their traditional habits and culture. The village has clean air and the environment is very beautiful. The village has less noise and rush. So the pollution is less. The village has not lot of vehicles. So roads are less dangerous for driving cycling. They can get fresh vegetables and fresh fruits. The environment of the village is pleasant and silent and it has scenic beauty. The village has not only good points, but also it has bad points. The village has intelligent people. But many people are not educated. Villager’s children go to the village’s school. They are not go to the city’s school. They have difficult to keep up with new developments in their field or profession. Same day villagers live same place. Village people have to face many difficulties for their lives , like traveling problems. They have to go to the city for supply their needs. Although the life in the city is more comfortable than village, I like village life than city.
Different types of houses
We can hardly say that today there exist the problem of choosing a type of housing. Everyone can find something he or she likes. For instance, some people prefer to live somewhere in the country in a small, but cosy cottage or a large farmhouse. To my mind those people, who prefer this type of dwelling really adore nature: they want to wake up to songs of birds, to enjoy beautiful landscapes, to breath fresh air or in other words they want to have a calm and measured rhythm of life. Usually such people keep the poultry and the cattle. One of advantages living in such a house is that you have your own land where you can grow fruit and vegetables, make flowerbeds and plant beautiful flowers, lay out an orchard, etc. You can also build some outhouses like a green-house, a garage, a tool shed or an arbour. But the greatest disadvantage of living in a farmhouse or in a cottage, in my opinion, is that it takes much time to get to the nearest town, but if you have a car it isn't a problem for you. That's why I think over the possibility to live in a cottage when I retire.
There are also those who like semi-detached houses or, as the Americans call them, duplexes. I believe that such houses attract people because they are less expensive than mansions or bungalows for example and you have only one neighbour as opposed to block of flats. And as you have a neighbour you can always turn to him if you need something, though from time to time your neighbour can disturb you when he repairs his part of the house or listens to music too loudly. But in general I'm sure that it's quite nice to live in a semi-detached house.
Below I've mentioned such a type of housing as a block of flats. I consider that it's the cheapest type of dwelling in a town. Flats can be of different sizes: one-roomed, two-roomed, three-roomed, so one can choose a flat he/she likes. If you are going to live alone, you can prefer a studio to a large apartment. Besides among advantages of living in a block o f flats some people name the fact that it takes less time to tidy up a flat than a house. But as any type of housing a flat has its disadvantages: your neighbours can make a lot of noise when they, for example, hammer or drill the wall, or when they organize a party. Sometimes you can depend on your neighbours - imagine such a situation: your neighbours' tap is dripping and they need it to be repaired, so they block the water supply not only in their own flat but also in yours and you have to wait for hours till you can do the washing-up or take a shower. It isn't convenient, but in spite of it the largest part of population in our country lives in blocks of flats. I also live in a flat and I can say that all these disadvantages don't bother me very much, and in general it's a good type of housing.
And the last type of dwelling I want to mention is a detached house. It has a lot of advantages: first of all your neighbours can never disturb you. But at the same time if you want to ask your neighbours for something or just to have a talk you can visit them. As you have some land around the house you can build outhouses; and if I lived in a detached house I would certainly build a garage, a summer house, maybe a padding pool and certainly I would arrange some flowerbeds as I adore flowers.
In the end I'd like to add that there are many types of housing and all the people have the right to choose where to live.
Friendship
What is friendship? Some people will say that it is a feeling of mutual liking between two or more people, other will add that it is a state when one person understands and supports the other one.
To my mind friendship can be compared to a tree. Its seed should find good soil and under good conditions it will grow into a tree. As the years go by the tree stands firmer and firmer on the ground. And if it is strong enough, it will survive all the storms and winds. But to help it, we should take care of it and love it.
The most important feeling that exists between friends is trust. It newer appears by itself, it's the result of a long friendship and this feeling is very valuable. Respect and tolerance are also very important; it means that you don't criticize your friend's way of living, but try to understand him, discuss problems with him and explain to him what you think is good and what is bad. A friend is a person who can help you in time, lend you any sum of money for a long period of time without any percent, whom you can wake up in the middle of the night just to say you feel worried or who is eager to do everything for you waiting nothing in return, who supports you in all your beginnings and who will never betray you.
Lucky are those people who have friends. I'm happy to have lots of friends, too. Some of them are very close, some are less. But all of them make my life interesting and enjoyable.
I appreciate friendship. It makes happiness grow brighter and grief less painful, because we have friends to share it with. When we doubt our ability to fulfill our aspiration or to reach our secret goal it is our best friend who gives us a spark of assurance. And we trust our friends and we are grateful to them. Friendship is a bridge between loneliness and fellowship, frustration and confidence, despair and hope, setbacks and success. That's why a true friend is a priceless gift. They are rich who have true friends, says a proverb and I agree.
Belarusian national cuisine
Food is obviously a very important part of peoples’ culture and if you want to understand the nation it is important to try national food.
Belarusian cuisine consists mostly of vegetables, meats and breads. The foods that are considered to be staples of Belarus include pork, cabbages, potatoes and bread. Traditional cooking methods are usually either slowly cooked or stewed food.
But the most popular Belarusian dish is draniki with machanka. Machanka is used as a traditional Belarusian sauce for draniki or blini. Most often it is made with pork, sausage, sliced onion, sour cream and flour.
Kvass is a type of soft drink that is made from either brown bread or rye flour that has been malted. Kvass can also be combined with sliced vegetables to create a cold soup called okroshka.
I think all these dishes will be rather tasty and unusual for a tourist.