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I think we can’t live without books. Most of them are with us all our life. There are different kinds of books in the world, for example, thrillers, historical novels, detective stories, science fiction, adventure books, fantasy books and others.
I enjoy reading very much. Reading stretches my imagination, creates colourful pictures of the described characters and events in my mind, transfers me to other countries, continents or even to other worlds, lets me meet amazing people, makes me laugh and cry. Most of all I like reading detective stories, because they have interesting story lines and unusual endings. I am particularly captivated by characters who conduct investigation.
I never believed there really were books that you couldn’t put down. I changed my mind when I began reading Agatha’s Christie books.
Agatha Christie is my favourite writer. Agatha Christie is known all over the world as the Queen of Crime. She wrote 78 novels, 19 plays and 6 romantic novels. Her books have been translated into 103 foreign languages. She is the third best-selling author in the world. Many of her novels and short stories have been filmed.
Agatha Christie was born in 1890 in Devon. She was educated at home and took singing lessons in Paris. She began writing at the end of the First World War. Her first novel “The Mysterious Affair at Styles” was published in 1920. That was the first appearance of Hercule Poirot, who became one of the most popular private detectives since Sherlock Holmes. He is my favourite character. This little Belgian with the egg-shaped head and the passion for order amazes me by his powerful intellect and his brilliant solutions to the most complicated crimes.
Agatha Christie became very popular in 1926, after publishing of her novel “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd”. It is still considered her masterpiece. It impressed me a lot. It is my favourite book. It is very interesting and mysterious. Hercule Poirot is extremely clever and uses his intelligence, or what he calls his ‘little grey cells’, to solve the crime. He is happily retired in the picturesque village of King's Abbott. When his friend Roger Ackroyd is found murdered in his study, Poirot is reunited with his old friend Chief [ tʃiːf ] Inspector Japp of Scotland Yard. Poirot is convinced that Ackroyd's death must somehow be connected to the suicide of Mrs. Dorothy Ferrars who had died the previous day and whom Roger Ackroyd had admitted was the love of his life. He also believed she was being blackmailed by someone. There are many secrets in the Ackroyd household, not the least of which is a secret marriage, but Poirot puts it all together and identifies the killer.
When Agatha Christie got tired of Hercule Poirot she invented Miss Marple, an old lady with her own methods of investigation.
Agatha Christie’s success with millions of readers is in her ability to combine clever plots with excellent character drawing, and a keen sense of humour with great powers of observation. Her plots always mislead the reader and keep him in suspense. He cannot guess who the criminal is. Fortunately, evil is always conquered in her novels. That’s why I love her books most of all.
As for poems, I don’t like to read them. The only poet who really impressed me is Alexander Pushkin. Pushkin filled Russian literature with narrative poems, love poems, political poems, short stories, novels, plays, histories, and fairy tales. I am fond of Pushkin's skeptical mind and sense of. His writing style is simple and impressive at the same time.
I think that reading is an essential part of our life. Only in books we can find answers to all our questions. Books can tell us a lot about modern world and ancient times. Besides, they can help us to explore new ideas and broaden our mind. I agree that ‘reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body’. What is more, books teach us to be kind and honest. While reading we learn how to solve our problems and to be happy. And I think that reading is the perfect way to spend free time and not to feel bored. I am sure, books are our friends.
Our lives would be hard without rest and recreation. People have quite different ideas of how to spend their free time. For some of them the only way to relax is watching TV, playing computer games or drinking beer. But other people use their spare time getting maximum benefit from it.
I am sure that hobbies make our lives much more interesting. Hobbies differ like tastes. There are different kinds of hobbies such as reading, cooking, knitting, collecting, playing a musical instrument, painting, dancing, travelling, sports and many others. So we can always find an exciting activity which we will certainly like.
Nevertheless, quite a lot of people have no hobby. Most of them say that they are too busy or too tired to do anything in their free time. But I am sure that such people are lazy and passive and their lives are dull and boring.
In general, having a hobby is very important for everybody because it is a kind of self-expression and the way to understand other people and the whole world. A hobby makes us strongly physically and mentally, helps us escape from reality, improves our knowledge, broadens our mind, develops our skills and gives us a better understanding of how the world works.
I agree that if we have chosen a hobby according to our character and taste we are lucky because our life becomes more interesting, but if our choice is both interesting and useful we are twice lucky.
As for me I have three hobbies. They are reading, knitting and embroidering.
I enjoy reading very much. Reading stretches my imagination, creates colourful pictures of the described characters and events in my mind, transfers me to other countries, continents or even to other worlds, lets me meet amazing people, makes me laugh and cry. Most of all I like reading detective stories, because they have interesting story lines and unusual endings. I am particularly captivated by characters who conduct investigation. I never believed there really were books that you couldn’t put down. I changed my mind when I began reading Agatha’s Christie books. She is my favourite author.
I think that reading is an essential part of our life. Only in books we can find answers to all our questions. Books can tell us a lot about modern world and ancient times. Besides, they can help us to explore new ideas and broaden our mind. I agree that ‘reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body’. What is more, books teach us to be kind and honest. While reading we learn how to solve our problems and to be happy. And I think that reading is the perfect way to spend free time and not to feel bored. I am sure, books are our friends.
My second hobby is knitting. Two years ago I was looking for a hobby; something, fun, easy and relaxing. My grandmother recommended me to knit. She promised me the experience wouldn’t be frustrating. I never considered myself to be “crafty,” so I avoided the knitting store for a number of months.
Knitting is a part of the craft. Since many generations this craft is used at home. Knitting is the craft in which we can prepare a nice fabric with the help of thread like yarn and wool. The mechanic of the knitting is simple: we have to pull loops or stitches in between each other in specific way so as to get the fabric. It seemed very hard at first, but then I learnt to do it perfectly. I can knit using needles and a crochet [ˈkrəʊʃeɪ] (крючок). I can knit a lot of different clothes, small tablecloths, toys and souvenirs.
I love knitting gifts for friends and I especially love knitting on the beach. I find it calming. Plus, it’s so much better to make something by hand instead of buying.
For me, knitting is a good time to reflect on life lessons
Knitting is the only activity that can force me to slow down. It’s a great opportunity to be mindful (внимательный) of the task at hand and how I am breathing. It helps me use my breath as an anchor, when life gets crazy. And in turn, I’m able to slow down and stop rushing around so much.
I always keep growing my skills. For me every new thing is an opportunity to grow as a person.
What’s more, knitting helps me unwind the knots in my mind. When I’m knitting I just let my mind wander and I usually end up thinking over my creative projects. The activity helps me focus on what’s important.
Life circumstances can change in the blink of an eye and that’s why it’s so important to live our life right now, with everything we’ve got. Knitting helps me to find security in an uncertain world.
I never expected to learn so much from knitting or that it would become one of my favourite hobbies. Each time I pick-up my needles, I remember this quote . . .
Though knitting seems to be grandmothers’ craft, once you enter it you will develop more and more interest so as to get variety of fabric using vivid yarn [ jɑːn ]and stitches.
My third hobby is embroidery. Embroidery is a variety of Russian decorative [ˈdekərətɪv] art and craft. In old Russia girls were taught to embroider when they were small. Embroidered pictures, clothes, domestic things such as pillows, towels, covers were very popular and could be found in every Russian house.
Nowadays interest to it is survived, but it is rather a hobby than a serious occupation. We can embroider in cross, satin-stitch, beads.
I prefer embroidering in cross. I was interested in it, when I was 12 years old. I saw my grandmother sitting near the window over the tambour [ˈtæmbʊə] (пяльцы). I noticed how quiet and neat her fingers were with a needle and a thread drawing beautiful picture on the canvas. I wanted to try… And I liked it. Now when I have some free time, I turn on the music and embroider. I like this craft. It helps me to relax. Sometimes it helps to solve some problems. I like to embroider small canvases for my friends. I think the thing made by my hands is the best gift for them.
To sum up, my hobbies help me in my life a lot and thanks to them I am really happy because I have no time to be bored!
Nowadays we can’t imagine our life without travelling. Millions of people all over the world spend their holidays travelling. They travel to see other countries and continents, modern cities and the ruins of ancient towns. They travel to enjoy picturesque places or just for a change. It gives them the opportunity to go sightseeing, to relax physically and mentally and to get wonderful impressions. It is always interesting to discover new things, different way of life, to meet interesting people, to try different food, to listen to different music.
Travelling is the most useful thing for learning foreign languages. People go to different countries to learn the chosen language, for example English. In all European countries there are a lot of summer schools. They are not expensive, but they are very useful. The result is great. After studying at such schools, people can speak English more fluently. They do not have a language barrier any more. They can be in touch with people easier.
Travelling is very popular today. The most fantastic wishes come true thanks to modern technologies. Millions of people move from their own countries. By mountain biking or skiing, flying into outer space, feeding sharks or just sightseeing people explore both themselves and the world around them. Nowadays people can travel by car, train, plane, ship, spacecraft or on foot. Travelling, going from one place to another, gives a person a kind of social experience too.
All means of travelling has its advantages and disadvantages. And usually people can choose one according to their plans and destinations.
Most travelers and holiday-makers take a camera with them and take pictures of everything that interests them – the sights of the city, old churches and castles, views of mountains, plains, valleys, lakes, waterfalls, forests, different kinds of trees, animals and birds, flowers and plants.
I am fond of travelling because it is the best way to learn the world. It gives me a chance to see new places and meet new people. I visited … . Wonderful memories about my travelling experience will stay with me forever. Unfortunately, I didn’t travel a lot because I am too young.
I like travelling by plane. There is nothing like travel by air for me. I think that travelling by plane is very comfortable, quick and thrilling. It helps me save plenty of times. I don’t need to worry about anything during the flight. I can relax, listen to music, read or take a nap. The stewardess will take care of passengers during the flight and will help them to get comfortable in their seats. I can always enjoy good service and tasty food. What’s more travelling by plane gives me a wonderful opportunity to look through the porthole and to admire beautiful landscapes.
However some people doubt that travelling by air is safe. They are afraid of plane crashes and terrorists. But as a rule much attention is paid to security.
To sum up, by travelling we get a lot of new information. Travelling broadens our mind. The period of extensive travelling is called the Age of Discovery. Tourism, activity or practice of touring for pleasure, is the phenomenon [fəˈnɒmɪnən] of the 20-th century. And it is up to us to decide whether to travel or not. But to tell you frankly, once we have tasted the excitement of visiting different destinations in our country and abroad, we will never want to stop.
Environmental protection (complicated)
Environmental protection is one of the main problems of today. The Earth is the only planet where people can live. But nowadays they seem to be doing everything to make their home unfit for living. Our planet is in danger: air, water and land pollution have disastrous [dɪˈzɑːstrəs] (катастрофический) consequences [ˈkɒnsɪkwəns](последствия)which threaten human life on Earth.
Industrial civilization [ˌsɪvəlaɪˈzeɪʃn] is connected with numerous factories and power stations, automobiles and aeroplanes [ˈeərəpleɪn]. Technological progress improves people's lives, but at the same time it causes a lot of problems which were unimaginable in the past centuries. Through their daily activities people pollute and contaminate[kənˈtæmɪneɪt](загрязнять, портить, оказывать пагубное влияние) land, water and air. Today pollution has become a universal problem. Both the atmosphere of the Earth and the depths of the oceans are poisoned with toxic wastes created by the humans. Millions of species [ˈspiːʃiːz]- animals, birds, fish have already disappeared from our planet; thousands of others will be gone tomorrow. Natural resources are exhausted [ɪɡˈzɔːst]; the ecology of the planet is imbalanced[ɪmˈbæləns]. The survival of our civilization depends on the ability of mankind to find a way out. The task of protecting the nature is of primary importance now.
Big cities face the environmental catastrophe [kəˈtæstrəfi]. Concentration [ˌkɒnsnˈtreɪʃn] of millions of people on a tiny area causes a lot of problems. Some of them can be solved only at the expense of creating new ones. For example, air pollution is caused by the ever-increasing number of automobiles that help to cope with the transportation problem.
The need for energy generates [ˈdʒenəreɪt] pollution on a large scale. Energy that derives from fossil fuels contaminates the atmosphere. Nuclear power plants threaten air, water and land. The necessity to employ all the inhabitants of the city leads to the creation of new factories that produce not only consumer goods, but wastes and smog as well. Constant carbon dioxide emissions is a characteristic feature of big cities. Pollution of water by both industrial and domestic users creates the problem of water deficit. One form of pollution that is characteristic of large urban cities is noise that has destructive influence on a person's mind. Litter is another issue that people face in big cities. As a result of it big industrial centres today look more like garbage dumps.
It would be naive to think that the environmental problems are limited to big cities only. Our Earth is a living entity; land, air and water are inseparable. Water contaminated in big cities runs to the major rivers that then flow into oceans and seas, thus affecting places far from the point of origin. The atmosphere is in constant movement; the air polluted in the United States can travel the next day to Russia poisoning our people.
Another source of global danger is acid rain. It is a relatively new kind of pollution. Acid rains appeared as a reaction of the atmosphere to the air contamination. Acid rains damage water, forest, and soil resources. Acid rains cause the disappearance of fish from many lakes, bring death to the forests and woods in Europe and America. One more danger comes from the depletion of the ozone layer, which absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. If it continues it will damage all living organisms on our planet.
The only thing that people fail to realise is that humanity is also part of the biosphere and that people depend completely on the environment. The war on nature that mankind is waging today is a kind of collective suicide. People pollute the air that they breathe, poison the water that they drink. The most evident example of such suicidal tendencies is smoking. Smoking not only harms the health of the smoker, but also is destructive for others. That is why many countries passed laws to restrict smoking in public and at work.
Beginning with the 1960s the pollution problems have received great publicity. Recently the environmental movement has gained widespread support. Environmental activists, organisations of volunteers do their best to stop pollution of our planet. Due to such groups many laws aimed at environmental protection have been passed. Such laws as the Clean Air Act, Water Pollution Control Act, Endangered Species Act led to considerable specific improvements in the environment. Numerous chemicals, fertilisers and gases that were once used in agriculture and industry are banned today. Standards for food have become strict, because agricultural chemicals, used for growing crops, may poison people and end up in food and water supply. In many countries purifying systems for treatment of industrial waters have been installed, measures have been taken to protect rivers and seas from oil waters.
Greenpeace organisation was created in 1987. This organisation carries out numerous campaigns against the global environmental pollution. The protection of natural resources and wild animals is becoming a political programme in every country.
Public attention to the problem of pollution has now become part of the contemporary life. The solution of this global problem requires the co-operation of all nations. People also worry about the dangers resulting from massive releases of radioactive materials from nuclear weapons, which, if used on a major scale, could seriously endanger the humanity. Another concern is accidents at nuclear power plants. In 1978 a nuclear power plant in the United States suffered a severe accident leading to radioactive contamination of water and atmosphere. In 1986 the Chernobyl nuclear power plant near Kiev suffered a fire and a serious breakdown that led to a radioactive explosion. The contaminated air was soon carried to northern and eastern European countries that suffered radioactive rains.
To protect nature people should change their attitude to it. Man should stop taking from nature everything he needs and give it his love instead. Otherwise the price that mankind will have to pay will be too high. It is good that at last people started to realise that they should keep air and water clean by establishing strict pollution control. Efforts are made to reduce pollution from automobile engines by developing pollution-free engines, which may eventually eliminate the more serious air pollution problems. Certain countries have already agreed to limit their carbon dioxide emissions. Moreover, the strong public reaction can facilitate the exercise of absolute pollution control in various contamination industries.
Environmental protection is one of the main problems of today. The Earth is the only planet where people can live.
Today our planet is in serious danger. Acid rains, global warming, air and water pollution, overpopulation are the problems that threaten human life on Earth. Nowadays people seem to be doing everything to make their home unfit for living. Our Earht is in danger: air, water and land pollution have disastrous [dɪˈzɑːstrəs] (катастрофический) consequences [ˈkɒnsɪkwəns](последствия)which threaten human life on Earth.
Our forests are disappearing because they are cut down or burnt. If this trend will go on, one day we won’t have enough oxygen to breathe.
The seas are in danger. They are filled with poison: industrial and nuclear waste, chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
The Mediterranean is already nearly dead, the North Sea is following. The Aral Sea is on the brink of extinction. Ir nothing is done about it, one day nothing will be able to live in the seas.
Every ten minutes one kind of animal, plant or insect dies out for ever. If nothing is done about it, one million species that are alive today may soon become extinct.
Air pollution is another serious problem. Factories emit tons of harmful chemicals. They are the main reason for the greenhouse effect and acid rains.
And even great threats are nuclear power stations, we all know how tragic the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster are.
Fortunately, it is not too late to solve these problems. We have the time, the money and even the technology to make our planet a better, cleaner and safer place. We can plant trees and make parks for endangered animals. We can reduce, recycle and reuse recourses of the planet. We can support green parties and put preassure on those in power. Together we can save the planet and all of us with it.
The disappearance of some species of animals and plants from the Earth is the result of the pollution of air, land and water. City and industrial waters, chemicals and fertilizers [ˈfɜːtəlaɪzə] exhaust [ɪɡˈzɔːst] (исчерпывать, истощать) natural resources, endanger stocks of fish in the lakes, rivers and ponds. Moreover some animals became extinct [ɪkˈstɪŋkt] because of the people's greediness. These animals were hunted for the sake of fur or ivory, horns or tusks.
People use oceans and seas as big dumps and pour industrial and domestic waste into them. So fish become toxic and endangered.
People cut down trees and many birds and animals can’t live in their usual habitat so they begin to dying out. If the situation doesn’t change, soon we will live in a very different world – a world without a number of species that we know now.
Fortunately, there are some organizations which take care of endangered animals and plants. One of them is WWF, it means “World Wide Fund for Nature”. It is an international organization that protect wildlife on the planet. I think that this fund needs our support because it is very important to help wild animals to survive. Mostly they help the endangered animals. For example, if the population of some species is very small, it means that they can become extinct. Ecologists protect them and try to make their population larger.
Another famous organization is Greenpeace. It is a non-governmental environmental organization . Greenpeace’s goal is to support life on our planet in all its diversity [daɪˈvɜːsəti] (разнообразие) and focuses on worldwide problems such as global warming, cutting down the forests, overfishing, commercial whaling and anti-nuclear issues.
All these organizations are very useful and we should do everything possible to support them.
At present English is better than any other language suited to play the role of a global language. There are many reasons of its popularity. Geographically it is the most widespread [ˈwaɪdspred] language on the Earth. One billion people speak English today. That is about twenty per cent of the world’s population. Four hundred million people speak English as their first language. For the other six hundred million people it is either a second language or a foreign language. English is the first language in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand. It is one of the official languages in Canada, the Irish Republic and the Republic of South Africa. As a second language it is spoken in more than sixty countries.
English is so widespread [ˈwaɪdspred] nowadays because it has become the standard language for all kinds of international communication. It is the language of businessmen and scientists, politicians [ˌpɒləˈtɪʃn] and diplomats [ˈdɪpləmæt], sportsmen and singers. English language has become the world’s top tongue and I think it is going to be a global language, dominating [ˈdɒmɪneɪt] the world’s trade, computers and media [ˈmiːdiə].
Nowadays English is the most popular language in Russia. If you are interested in science, business or literature, you can always read the latest reports in English and learn the latest information. If you know English, you can enjoy foreign films and foreign music. More than that, English is very useful when you travel abroad. You can communicate with English-speaking people.
Personally I think that it is better and easier to learn English in England. You won’t have an opportunity to speak your own language there and you will meet different people and have a lot of practice. And what’s more, while in England you will be able to see a lot of places of interest and to learn more about the English traditions and lifestyle.
But a lot of people don’t have an opportunity to go to English-speaking countries. So they have to learn English in their own country. Nowadays everybody can use the Internet. First of all there are a lot of different language websites where you can learn English with English-speaking teachers or by yourself using a lot of audio [ˈɔːdiəʊ] and video [ˈvɪdiəʊ] materials. Secondly, you can use the Internet to make friends with people from English-speaking countries and then to communicate with them using text messages, e-mails or voice chats. It is also very useful to watch TV programmes and different films in English. Besides you shouldn’t forget about English books, magazines and newspapers. But in my opinion, the best way of learning a language is to practice a lot – so you can use all the mentioned resources [rɪˈsɔːs] as often as you can and you will be a success.
As for me I learn English because I like this language. It is one of my favourite subjects at school. Besides, I want to travel abroad and to communicate with different people in English. I can’t imagine my future life without English. I haven’t chosen my profession yet, but it goes without saying that I won’t be able to do without English when I grow up. English is a must for every educated person. I am sure it will help me in my life.
George Washington (1732—1799) is known in the USA as the "Father of our Country". For nearly twenty years he guided [ɡaɪd] his country much as a father cares for a growing child.
Washington lived an exciting life in exciting times. As a boy, he explored the wilderness [wɪldənəs]. When he grew older, he helped the British fight the French and Indians. Many times he was nearly killed. As a general he suffered hardships with his troops in the cold winters.
He lost many battles, but led the American Army to final victory. After he became President, he successfully solved many problems facing his country. Washington belonged to an old colonial [kəˈləʊniəl] family that believed in hard work, in public service and in worshipping [ˈwɜːʃɪp] God.
George Washington was born in Virginia on a farm, on the twenty-second of February, 1732. His first American ancestor [ˈænsestə(r)] (предок) came to Virginia from England in 1657. Farming, land buying, trading, milling, and the iron industry were the means by which the family rose in the world. George's father had four children by his first wife and six by his second wife, Mary Ball, George's mother.
Of George's early life little is known. His formal education was not good: no more than 7 or 8 years of school. Men, plantation life and the haunts [hɔːnt] (часто посещать, появляться, бродить) of river, field and forest were his main teachers. His favourite subject was arithmetic [əˈrɪθmətɪk]. He studied enough history and geography to know something of the outside world. But he never learned very much about literature, foreign languages and history.
At the age of 14 he began to work as a surveyor [səˈveɪə(r)] (инспектор), making many trips into the wilderness areas of Virginia [vəˈdʒɪnɪə] and Pennsylvania [ˌpɛnsɪlˈveɪnɪə]. His first military experience came in the French and Indian War (1754—1763), when he was sent on two missions deep into the Ohio [əʊˈhʌɪəʊ] county [ˈkaʊnti] (округ, графство).
In 1759 Washington retired and married Martha Dandridge, a rich widow. He became a loving stepfather to Martha's two children. He was a progressive farmer of that time.
In 1760's the American colonists grew angrier and angrier at the taxes placed on them by Great Britain. In September 1771 the Continental Congress met, where Washington had his first chance to meet and talk with leaders of other colonies. The members were impressed with his judgement [ˈdʒʌdʒmənt] (суждение, мнение, оценка) and military knowledge. He was sent to attend the Second Continental Congress (1775) where he was elected a commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. He proved [pruːv] (доказать, подтвердить) himself a capable [ˈkeɪpəbl] (способный) commander [kəˈmɑːndə(r)] of the War of Independence.
In 1787 Washington was chosen president of the Continental Convention [kənˈvenʃn] (съезд, собрание) and later elected first president of the republic (1789), followed by reelection (1792).
George Washington died after an illness of two days on the 14th of December, 1799.
No other American has been honoured [ˈɒnə(r)] (почитать, уважать)more than Washington. The nation's capital, Washington D. C., was named after him. There the giant [ˈdʒaɪənt] Washington Monument stands. The state of Washington is the only state named after President. Many cities, parks, streets, bridges, lakes, and schools bear [beə(r)] his name. Washington's portrait appears on postage [ˈpəʊstɪdʒ] (почтовая)stamps, on the $1 bill, and on the quarter [ˈkwɔːtə(r)] (монета в 25 центов).
It is not a secret that our meals influence [ˈɪnfluəns] (влиять) our mood. Also it is very important for our health. Every person should eat proper kinds of food – dairy [ˈdeəri] products, meats, fruit and vegetables, fats and sugars, cereals and grains. Dairy products provide [prəˈvaɪd] (обеспечивать) us with calcium [ˈkælsiəm], meat provide [prəˈvaɪd] our bodies with protein [ˈprəʊtiːn] (белок), iron, zinc. Eating fruit and vegetables helps to keep us healthy too because they give us fibre [ˈfaɪbə(r)] (клетчатка), vitamins [ˈvɪtəmɪn] and minerals. We should eat fats and sugars in moderation [ˌmɒdəˈreɪʃn] (умеренно), because too much fats and sugars can cause [kɔːz] different heart-diseases [dɪˈziːz] and you can be overweighted [ˌəʊvəˈweɪt]. Cereals and grains are important for us because they provide us with the energy we need for physical activity.
In this fast-moving world it is necessary to watch what we eat – it should be healthy food, not junk (бесполезная еда) one, which has become very popular. Eating too much junk food can cause [kɔːz] (вызывать, быть причиной) overweight and a heart-disease. For example, it is much better to eat an apple or a banana than to eat a double hamburger with ketchup [ˈketʃəp] and mayonnaise [ˌmeɪəˈneɪz]. You will feel full in both cases, but a fruit or a vegetable is healthier.
Today there are a lot of different restaurants [ˈrestrɒnt] and cafes where you can eat delicious and not really expensive food. The service is usually excellent and friendly waiters (официант) help you to relax and enjoy your meal fully. You can any types of food in restaurants – you can try homemade cakes, beefsteaks, pasta [ˈpæstə] and macaroni [ˌmækəˈrəʊni] and others. For a main course [kɔːs] (основное блюдо) you can order fish, meat or chicken with some rice or potatoes, also you can ask for pasta [ˈpæstə] and salad. You can eat some ice-cream, a pieces of apple pie, strawberries with cream or something like that for dessert [dɪˈzɜːt]. For drink you can order a glass of water or juice, a cup of coffee or tea.
Eating habits are different in different countries. Well, as for me I respect their eating habits and like to eat different countries’ food such as Italian Pasta, Japanese rice with sushi [ˈsuːʃi] or Indian spicy [ˈspaɪsi] meat. But most of all I like just ice-cream. It doesn’t matter what kind – with raspberry [ˈrɑːzbəri] taste, with marmalade, chocolate chips or pieces of fruit. I can eat it anytime and anywhere. But anyways whatever you like you should remember words of wisdom which say that we eat to live, but not live to eat.
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 problems. If we eat too much, we’ll become obese [əʊˈbiːs], and obesity [əʊˈbiːsəti] leads to serious diseases [dɪˈziːz]. 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 [ˈvɪtəmɪn] and proteins. High fibre [ˈfaɪbə(r)] and low-fat foods can now be found in all shops and supermarkets. We shouldn’t eat at night. If you keep to a diet, you must do it carefully, because sometimes diets may be harmful. If you want to lose weight, you should cut out snacks and desserts [dɪˈzɜːt] and cut down on fat. Some people count the number of calories [ˈkæləri] and lose weight. This is called a calorie-controlled diet.
Besides, to be healthy, a person must stop smoking and drinking much. Everyone should remember that cigarettes [ˌsɪɡəˈret], alcohol and drugs destroy [dɪˈstrɔɪ] both body and brain. It is common knowledge that smoking and drinking can shorten our lives dramatically. Cigarette-smoking, for example, kills about three million people every year. Many of them die from lung cancer. Some aren’t even smokers. Yet many young people smoke and drink. Why? One answer is that tobacco [təˈbækəʊ] and drinks companies invest large sums of money in advertising [ˈædvətaɪzɪŋ] their products. For them cigarettes and alcoholic [ˌælkəˈhɒlɪk] drinks mean money. For us they mean disease and even death. Nowadays there is a problem of taking drugs, especially among young people. It causes many diseases and leads to death.
Lack of exercise is another serious problem. We spend hours in front of our computers and TV-sets. Few of us do morning exercises. We walk less, because we prefer to use cars or public transport. Research [rɪˈsɜːtʃ] shows, however, that young people who don't take enough exercise often suffer from heart attacks [əˈtæk].
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 sport clubs 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 [ˌɪnˈdɔːz] and outdoors [ˌaʊtˈdɔːz]. 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.
As for me, I think it is necessary to take care of our health. Being fat, in fact, can cause a lot of problems. That’s why I go in for sports and go dancing. And I try to eat only low-fat food, fruit and vegetables, which are rich in vitamins. Besides, I don’t smoke because I don’t want to have unhealthy skin and teeth and sick lungs. I am sure that regularity [ˌreɡjuˈlærəti] in life promotes [prəˈməʊt] (способствовать, стимулировать, поддерживать) our health. Sleeping eight or nine hours, getting up early, regular meals, a healthy diet and going in for sports is really a good way to live.
M.Lomonosov
Speaking about outstanding people of the world, I’d like to tell you some words about such famous men as, Mikhail Lomonosov, William Shakespeare [ˈʃeɪkspɪə], and George Washington.
Mikhail Lomonosov is the father of the Russian science and one of the most famous universities in the world. Lomonosov was born in 1711 in Arkhangelsk Region. He began to read when he was a little boy. He always wanted to study and when he was nineteen he went to Moscow. He entered the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. Lomonosov worked hard and became a great scientist. Lomonosov opened the first Russian chemistry [ˈkemɪstri] lab. He was a physicist [ˈfɪzɪsɪst] (физик), a painter, an astronomer [əˈstrɒnəmə(r)], a geographer [dʒiˈɒɡrəfə(r)], a historian [hɪˈstɔːriən] and a statesman. In 1755 Mikhail Lomonosov founded Moscow University which is now Moscow State University.
Lomonosov was also the author of many odes [əʊd] and poems. He also published a lot of scientific works, including the first book on Russian grammar. Lomonosov died in 1765 but people still remember him.
William Shakespeare was the greatest dramatist [ˈdræmətɪst] and writer. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564. His father was a glover and his mother was the daughter of a famous farmer. Shakespeare went to grammar school, but he never entered any university. He is famous for his great tragedies [ˈtrædʒədi] including Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth and the best known love story in the world Romeo [ˈrəʊmiəʊ] and Juliet.
William Shakespeare also wrote poetry [ˈpəʊətri], including the sonnets [ˈsɒnɪt]. He worked as an actor and a playwright at the Globe Theatre in London.
Shakespeare married once and had three children. After his death in 1616 his house in Stratford became a museum and now it is a popular place with tourists. Shakespeare's plays were staged in many theatres and translated into numerous [ˈnjuːmərəs] languages. They are still read and loved by many people
George Washington (1732—1799) is known in the USA as the "Father of our Country" because for nearly twenty years he guided [ɡaɪd] his country.
Washington lived an exciting life in exciting times. As a boy, he explored the wilderness [wɪldənəs]. When he grew older, he helped the British fight the French and Indians. Many times he was nearly killed. As a general he suffered hardships with his troops in the cold winters.
He lost many battles, but led the American Army to final victory. After he became President, he successfully solved many problems facing his country. Washington belonged to an old colonial [kəˈləʊniəl] family that believed in hard work, in public service and in worshipping [ˈwɜːʃɪp] God.
George Washington
George Washington was born in Virginia on a farm, on the twenty-second of February, 1732. His first American ancestor [ˈænsestə(r)] (предок) came to Virginia from England in 1657. Farming, land buying, trading, milling, and the iron industry were the means by which the family rose in the world. George's father had four children by his first wife and six by his second wife, Mary Ball, George's mother.
Of George's early life little is known. His formal education was not good: no more than 7 or 8 years of school. Men, plantation life and the haunts [hɔːnt] (часто посещать, появляться, бродить) of river, field and forest were his main teachers. His favourite subject was arithmetic [əˈrɪθmətɪk]. He studied enough history and geography to know something of the outside world. But he never learned very much about literature, foreign languages and history.
At the age of 14 he began to work as a surveyor [səˈveɪə(r)] (инспектор), making many trips into the wilderness areas of Virginia [vəˈdʒɪnɪə] and Pennsylvania [ˌpɛnsɪlˈveɪnɪə]. His first military experience came in the French and Indian War (1754—1763), when he was sent on two missions deep into the Ohio [əʊˈhʌɪəʊ] county [ˈkaʊnti] (округ, графство).
In 1759 Washington retired and married Martha Dandridge, a rich widow. He became a loving stepfather to Martha's two children. He was a progressive farmer of that time.
In 1760's the American colonists grew angrier and angrier at the taxes placed on them by Great Britain. In September 1771 the Continental Congress met, where Washington had his first chance to meet and talk with leaders of other colonies. The members were impressed with his judgement [ˈdʒʌdʒmənt] (суждение, мнение, оценка) and military knowledge. He was sent to attend the Second Continental Congress (1775) where he was elected a commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. He proved [pruːv] (доказать, подтвердить) himself a capable [ˈkeɪpəbl] (способный) commander [kəˈmɑːndə(r)] of the War of Independence.
In 1787 Washington was chosen president of the Continental Convention [kənˈvenʃn] (съезд, собрание) and later elected first president of the republic (1789), followed by reelection (1792).
George Washington died after an illness of two days on the 14th of December, 1799.
No other American has been honoured [ˈɒnə(r)] (почитать, уважать)more than Washington. The nation's capital, Washington D. C., was named after him. There the giant [ˈdʒaɪənt] Washington Monument stands. The state of Washington is the only state named after President. Many cities, parks, streets, bridges, lakes, and schools bear [beə(r)] his name. Washington's portrait appears on postage [ˈpəʊstɪdʒ] (почтовая)stamps, on the $1 bill, and on the quarter [ˈkwɔːtə(r)] (монета в 25 центов).
People use various [veəriəs] means of communication to get from one place to another. In the old days people had to travel several days, weeks and months to get to the place they needed. They either went on foot, by coaches [kəʊtʃ] driven by horses or on horseback or by boats and ships. Then trams, cars, buses, planes, underground and other means appeared [əˈpɪə(r)].
Many people like to travel by air as it is the fastest way of traveling. As for me I like travelling by plane. I think that travelling by plane is very comfortable, quick and thrilling. It helps me save plenty of times. I don’t need to worry about anything during the flight. I can relax, listen to music, read or take a nap. The stewardess [ˌstjuːəˈdes] will take care of passengers during the flight and will help them to get comfortable in their seats. I can always enjoy good service and tasty food. What’s more travelling by plane gives me a wonderful opportunity to look through the porthole [ˈpɔːthəʊl ] and to admire beautiful landscapes. However some people doubt that travelling by air is safe. They are afraid of plane crashes and terrorists. But as a rule much attention is paid to security.
A lot of people like to travel by train because they have speed, comfort and pleasure combined. While travelling they can walk around, look through the windows to enjoy a beautiful view of the countryside. Trains can run in any weather. What is more, as trains are consider to be less harmful to the environment than other means of transport. The service is popular with passengers because it is fast, efficient [ɪˈfɪʃnt] (целесообразный, эффективный), comfortable and quiet.
Some people like to travel by car. In my opinion, the car is one of the most comfortable means of transport. Firstly, travelling by car is fast and helps to save a lot of time. Secondly, it is comfortable because you don’t have to buy any tickets and your car is always at your disposal. When you travel by car you don’t depend on the weather. While driving you can listen to music or the latest news on the radio. And finally, you can stop where you would like and have a snack or enjoy nature. On the other hand, travelling by car has a number of disadvantages. First, it is bad for ecology and health. Secondly, the car is not a safe means of travel as there are a lot of car and bus crashes. Travelling by car is not very convenient if the trip is long. Besides it is rather expensive as petrol is not cheap. And what is more, when we travel by car, we can be stuck in a traffic jam for several hours. It is rather difficult to do without cars nowadays. But if we want to be healthy, we should sometimes ride a bike or just walk.
People who live in big cities use various means of communication to get from one place to another. They can go by bus, by car, by taxi, by trolleybus, by tram or by underground. And it is up to us to decide what means of transport to use as all means of communication have their advantages and disadvantages and usually people choose one according to their plans and destinations.
Smoking is the shortest way to bad health. Today half of the men and a quarter of the women in the world smoke. Only 13% of the population smoke in the USA, but in Russia more than 70%.
If people want to be healthy and live a long happy life, they must stop smoking and drinking much. Everyone should remember that cigarettes [ˌsɪɡəˈret], alcohol and drugs destroy [dɪˈstrɔɪ] both body and brain. It is common knowledge that smoking and drinking can shorten our lives dramatically. The life of the people who smoke is 25 per cent shorter. Cigarette-smoking kills about three million people every year. Many of them die from lung cancer. Some aren’t even smokers.
Four hundred thousand people die in Russia every year as a result of smoking.
Yet many young people smoke and drink. Why? On the one hand, many teens think it cool. It looks smart in old films, and it seems that everybody does it. On the other hand, tobacco [təˈbækəʊ] and drinks companies invest large sums of money in advertising [ˈædvətaɪzɪŋ] their products. For them cigarettes and alcoholic [ˌælkəˈhɒlɪk] drinks mean money. For us they mean disease and even death.
If teenagers think smoking cool, they should remember these very sad facts about smoking. Those who smoke have yellow teeth and bad breath. Their hair and skin have a terrible smell and they are dry. Smoking causes heart attacks. Nicotine isn’t the only bad things in cigarettes, there are over four hundred chemicals in one cigarette that are known to be harmful. Babies with mothers who smoke develop more slowly during childhood.
What’s more, smoking is unpleasant and harmful for non-smokers, too, and a serious fire risk. It is offensive in public places like cafes and schools. Any form of addiction is unhealthy, whether it is tobacco, alcohol, drugs, sugary things, or money. It can be a sign of not growing up and not being able to cope. I think those who smoke are weak because if they see somebody smoking they join them. Only strong people don’t follow the crowd.
Fortunately, in recent years smoking has received a lot of bad publicity, and fewer people smoke nowadays. Some companies don’t employ people who are smokers. Smoking is banned in most public places, because everyone agrees it does harm to our health.
A lot of smokers would like to give up smoking, but it is not so easy. There is a special day and it is the 16th of November when people all over the world quit smoking.
As for me, I don’t smoke because I want to be healthy and fit and don’t want to have bad skin and teeth.
All Russian children have the right to education, but it is not only a right, it is a duty too. Education in our country is compulsory and lasts eleven years. It consists of primary education and secondary education.
Primary education starts at the age of six or seven and continues for four years.
After a four-year primary school pupils go to secondary school, where they study a lot of subjects, such as Russian, Literature, Maths, Physics, Chemistry, English, History, Geography, Biology, Information Technology and Physical Education. Classes last 45 minutes with breaks from ten to twenty minutes. As a rule, pupils go to school six days a week. The school year begins in September and ends in May or June. It is divided into four terms with holidays up to ten days between them. The summer holidays last from June to September.
Most of the schools in Russia are comprehensive, but there are also some specialized schools, lyceums and gymnasiums.
After classes pupils don’t usually go home right away. They have some extracurricular activities. Their social and cultural life is well-organize. Schools have different clubs and societies, and pupils can take part in their work according to their preferences.
After finishing the 9th form students must take four examinations. But to enter a university or college they have to study for two more years and take some examinations on finishing the 11th form.
In Great Britain education is compulsory for all children from 5 to 16 years of age. All state schools in Great Britain are free, and schools provide their pupils with books and equipments for their studies.
At the age of 5 children go to infant school, which is the first stage of primary education. From 7 to 11 pupils attend junior school, which is the second stage of primary education. In primary schools pupils are taught reading, writing and arithmetic.
At the age of 11 most pupils go to secondary schools called comprehensive schools. About 6 per cent of the students go to grammar schools, which takes students who pass the eleven-plus examination.
At the age of 16 pupils take national exam called GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) and then they can leave school if they wish. This is the end of compulsory education. Then the students can continue their study in the sixth form at school or at a six-form college. The sixth form prepare students for the national exam called A-level. They need it to enter a university.
Along with the state schools there are about 500 private schools in Britain. They are not free. Some private schools are boarding schools, where the children actually live in the school. The most expensive private schools are called “public schools” and they have a long history and traditions. Among the most famous public schools are Eton, Westminster, Rugby and Harrow.
People cannot live without music. They listen to music, dance to music or learn to play musical instruments. There is music everywhere: at home, in a concert hall, in the park, at the seaside, in the forest and even in the street.
Music is not a combination of pleasant sounds only. Music is a universal language understandable to everybody. It is an art which reflects life. Music reflects people's ideas and emotions. In this world of ours, filled with conflicts, tragedies, joys and hopes, music tries to speak to people of what is most important. The composer speaks to us without using any words. Music can fill us with energy and make us happy. It is known that classical music makes us feel delighted and relaxed. And, on the contrary, rock music and heavy metal arouse hatred and violence. Some sounds can have a healing effect on people and can make them calm and happy without any pills.
Music in the lives of different people is different: some compose music, others play music, and others only listen to it. A lot of people who cannot play any musical instrument love to listen to music either at home or at a concert. Different people like different kinds of music. You may prefer pop or rock music, country or folk music, classical music or jazz, but you certainly cannot think of a day without music.
As for me, I prefer pop music because it is breathtaking and full of energy. When I listen to pop music, it makes me remember happy times and forget the problems of everyday life. It helps me to relax when I am tired and entertains me when I would like to have fun. I don’t mind listening to dance music, especially when I go to disco clubs. I have a lot of cassettes (CDs, records). I try to watch all the programmes dealing with it on TV and to go to the concerts as often as possible. My favourite composer (singer, musician) is... I think he (she) is very talented. I can (not) play an instrument (the piano, the guitar, the violin). It is a great pleasure to be able to play an instrument and I like it a lot.
It goes without saying that music plays a very important role in people’s lives. It reflects out mood and emotions. Music appeals to our hearts and transforms our feelings. It conquers our souls and enriches our minds. Besides, listening to music is the perfect way to spend free time and not to feel bored. You can hardly find a person who doesn’t like or need music, who never sings or dances. Music is beauty in sounds, it is our magic source of inspiration.
To begin with, I would like to tell you that Great Britain is called a nation of animal lovers. Everybody knows that. There are 27 million pets in the country and 43% of households contain at least one family friend, making pets well and truly part of the UK’s landscape. They have about five million dogs, almost as many cats, over three million budgies, other cage-birds, fish – and one million “exotic” pets. 1 in 10 people would rather spend time with their pet than anyone else. Dogs and cats are the most popular pets in Great Britain, followed by fish. Those who are widowed or divorced are the most likely to allow their pet to sleep in their bedroom.
The biggest problem people have with their pets is that they do not behave as expected, and there is more responsibility than they thought. Mirror has estimated that Britain spends six times as much on pet foods as on baby foods, and roughly 16 times as much as on cancer research.
So, we can see that people in the UK spend a lot of money on their pets. They buy special food and toys for their cats and dogs and often pay a lot of money for medical treatment. It proves that English people are really fond of keeping pets. However some people think that it is waste of money, and say that pets are often dangerous and aggressive.
I am sure that people can benefit from their pets in many ways. Pets are usually devoted to their owners and love them. You will hardly feel lonely and depressed if you have a pet. Pets help people to stay healthy. Doctors have found out that people who have high blood pressure feel much better when they stroke cats and talk to them. What’s more, pets make their owners to get out and exercise. Dogs’ owners usually spend much time walking their pets which helps them improve their health and keep fit. It is known that people who have pets are happier and live longer than those who don’t have them.
But a lot of people say that it is waste of time and money to keep pets or that they are too busy to take care of them. Cats, dogs, birds, fish, hamsters and other creatures need love and kindness as well as food, medical care, training and shelter. They must be fed regularly. You must keep them clean and go to the vet for checkup. Pets make a lot of noise, can look untidy and disturb the members of the family.
It is up to us to decide whether to have a pet at home or not. Anyway we should remember is a great responsibility and some extra work.
As for me I have a pet. It is a cat called Tisha. She is 6 years old and she is the fourth member of our family. We all like her very much, but I like her most of all, because 6 years ago my parents brought her to me as a gift. She was small and funny and since that time we have always been together. She has been my best companion for 6 years. We grew together. We slept together. When I was small, I was not scared to be left alone at home, because my Trisha was with me. We played together and did a lot of other things. She always followed me.
Now the things are the same. Trisha is with me all the time when I stay at home. She sleeps with me and she wakes me up in the morning. She never lets me oversleep! She follows me everywhere at home. She sits on my desk when I do my homework or surf the Internet. She loves being stroked and I like to stroke her. She likes to play and I often give her such a pleasure and also play with her. She feels my mood and does her best to calm me down when I am upset. She is really great! I like to take care about her, because I want my pet to be happy and healthy.
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 classes and nationalities.
Sport has always been popular in our country, there are different sporting societies and clubs in Russia. Many of them take part in different international competitions and are known all over the world. A great number of world records have been set by Russian sportsmen. They also take part in Olympic Games and always win a lot of gold, silver and bronze medals.
But sport can be fun as well. Besides, it helps to stay in good shape, to keep fit and to be healthy. Doing sports is becoming more and more popular. Many people do sports. They go in for skiing, skating, swimming, they do bodybuilding, they play volleyball, football, table tennis and other games. All necessary facilities are provided for them: stadiums, sport grounds, swimming pools, skating rinks, skiing stations, football fields. Physical Education is a compulsory subject at schools and colleges in our country. Moreover, a lot of pupils are trained in sports schools.
Professional sport is also paid much attention to in Russia. There are different sporting societies, clubs and complexes. The most famous of them are the Olympic complexes "Luzhniki", "Dynamo" stadium, etc. They are used for international and world competitions.
Practically all kinds of sports are popular in our country but football, hockey, skating and skiing, gymnastics and tennis enjoy the greatest popularity.
As for me, I go in for swimming. It needs mobility, liveliness and much energy. It keeps me in a good form. I usually go in for swimming in summer. I like swimming in the Black sea. I don’t take part in any competitions but I get a lot of joy from swimming.
As for sport in Great Britain it is a well-known fact that the English are great lovers of sport. Many of the games we play now have come from Britain. However, there is important thing about sport in Britain which we must know. Today, big sport is professional and famous players can make a lot of money.
One of the most popular British games is cricket, which foreigners can hardly understand. To many Englishmen cricket is both a game and a standard of behavior. Another game which attracts a lot of attention is football. There is a football team in every town. The Cup Final played in London is the main event of the football season. Rugby football is also very popular. A great number of people play and watch tennis. The most famous tennis tournament takes place in Wimbledon. Horse racing is also extremely popular in Great Britain. The Derby is one of the most famous sporting events in the whole world. The English also like playing golf, basketball, baseball and bowling. Athletics sports such as running, jumping, rowing, swimming, boxing and gymnastics are practiced in schools and colleges. The annual Oxford-Cambridge boat race on the river Themes attracts a lot of people and is very popular. In Scotland where there are good conditions for winter sports skiing is very popular.
Sport probably plays a more important part in people’s lives in Britain than it does in most other countries. Millions of people take part in some kind of sport at least once a week. A lot of people are regular spectators. There are a lot of sport programmes on TV. Every newspaper devotes several pages to sport.
The Internet has already entered our ordinary life. Everybody knows that the Internet is a global computer network, which helps us to communicate with each other.
The history of the Internet began in the United States in 1969. Information sent over the Internet takes the shortest way from one computer to another. Because of this, any two computers on the net will be able to stay in touch with each other as long as there is a single route [ruːt] between them. This technology was called packet switching.
Invention of modems [ˈməʊdem], special devices sending the information using a telephone line, has opened doors to the Internet for millions of people.
Most of the Internet host computers are in the United States of America. It is clear that the number of users can be counted approximately [əˈprɒksɪmətli], nobody knows exactly how many people use the Internet today, because there are hundreds of millions of users and their number is growing.
Nowadays the most popular Internet service is e-mail. Most of the people use the network only for sending and receiving e-mail messages. They can do it either they are at home or in the Internet clubs or at work. Other popular services are available on the Internet too. We can find any information we need. We can learn languages and other useful things via the Internet. A lot of different websites help us to read news, watch different films and video clips, listen to music and communicate with the help of different messengers, where we can use typing, head phones, a microphone [ˈmaɪkrəfəʊn] and a web camera to be in touch with the people all over the world.
In many countries, the Internet provides businessmen with a reliable [rɪˈlaɪəbl] communication system. Commercial users can communicate cheaply over the Internet with the rest of the world. When they send e-mail messages, they only have to pay for phone calls to their local service providers, not for international calls around the world, when you pay a lot of money.
But saving money is only the first step and not the last one. There is a commercial use of this network. Now you can work and play via the Internet.
However, there are some problems. The most important problem is security [sɪˈkjʊərəti]. When you send an e-mail, your message can travel through many different networks and computers. The data is constantly being directed towards its destination [ˌdestɪˈneɪʃn] by special computers (called routers). Because of this, it is possible to get into any of the computers along the route, and change the data being sent over the Internet.
Another problem is the Internet addiction, an over-dependency on the Internet. Such people spend more than 6 hours a day online. An international group of psychologists [saɪˈkɒlədʒɪst] has recently suggested that anyone who surfs the Internet for long periods is clinically ill and needs medical treatment. According to their report, Internet addicts [ˈædɪkt] should be treated in the same way as alcoholics, drug addicts, compulsive [kəmˈpʌlsɪv] (заядлый, непреодолимый) gamblers (азартные игроки) and people with eating disorders. School work of such students is too bad. What's more, their addiction [əˈdɪkʃn] also destroys their social life and their spare-time interests. For example, they often drop out of their school’s sport teams in order to spend more time at their computers. Instead of spending next weekend having a good time out with friends, they'll be spending it indoors surfing the Internet.
The third big and serious problem of the net is control. Yes, there is no effective [ɪˈfektɪv] control on the Internet, because of a huge amount of information. It is like a large library and market together. In the future, the situation might change.
Is it possible to put a money amount (количество, сумма) on the value on someone’s life? Many have different opinions. Some people ask themselves the question “Is a poor man’s life worth less than a rich man’s?” To answer this question, there is no definite response. Our society [səˈsaɪəti] has placed a money amount on life; however, I think the value of a person’s life should be determined [dɪˈtɜːmɪn] by how happy we are, the experiences we have, and our relationships with other people.
Our society has its priorities [praɪˈɒrəti] in the wrong order. We think that professional athletes, singers, or actors are “worth more” than people who have good hearts but who do not make as much money. It is a well-known fact that money can’t buy happiness. Our government has set up a specific formula [fɔːmjələ] on how much money a life is worth when there is an accident and someone is killed.
There are charts [tʃɑːt] (схема) made up to determine (определять, устанавливать) how much money each family will receive. This formula, while trying to be helpful, has actually made people more heartless [ˈhɑːtləs]. The violencе in movies, in video games that pumped (нагнетается) into the minds of children at rather young ages, makes them disregard [ˌdɪsrɪˈɡɑːd] (игнорировать, пренебрегать) the true value [ˈvæljuː] of life.
Everybody's life is different, and therefore, of different value. Some people are successful and are motivated [ˈməʊtɪveɪt] to live their lives to the fullest and to enrich [ɪnˈrɪtʃ] (обогащать, улучшать) the lives of those around them. Other people simply idle [ˈaɪdl] (тратить попусту) away their lives and do not care what comes of it. It is not society's job to "assign" [əˈsaɪn] (назначать, устанавливать) us a value for living because it comes down to each individual person. I would consider someone to be valuable [ˈvæljuəbl] (ценный) if they changed your life significantly [sɪɡˈnɪfɪkəntli] (существенно)for the better using positive moral values.
What’s more, positive moral values are important because they allow you to have an overall (полный) feeling of peace and joy. Moral values can give meaning and purpose to your life. You are able to direct [dɪˈrekt] (направлять) your behavior [bɪˈheɪvjə] (поведение) to helpful and useful activities.
When you live your life according to moral values that are based on honesty, compassion, courage, modesty, and forgiveness, then you can also form positive relations [rɪˈleɪʃn] (отношения) with other people.
In conclusion [kənˈkluːʒn], moral values are extremely important for your overall (полный) well-being (благополучие). Moral values provide a structure for your life. Honesty [ˈɒnəsti] (честность) makes you respectable [rɪˈspektəbl]. Compassion [kəmˈpæʃn] (сострадание) makes you sympathetic [ˌsɪmpəˈθetɪk] (полный сочувствия, отзывчивый) to others. Courage [ˈkʌrɪdʒ] (мужество) gives you the bravery (храбрость) to overcome life’s difficulties. Modesty (умеренность) keeps you focused [ˈfəʊkəst](сосредоточенный) and humble (скромный). Forgiveness [fəˈɡɪvnəs] (прощение) allows you to be emotionally stable (стабильный, устойчивый) because you don’t hold onto anger and resentment [rɪˈzentmənt](негодование, возмущение). These qualities [ˈkwɒləti] (качества) will allow you to live your life in a way that reduces [rɪˈdjuːs](уменьшать) your stress levels. You will also have peace and harmony [ˈhɑːməni] in our life. Moral values allow you to live your life in a manner that you can be proud of. The relations that you form with others will also be more useful because you live your life according to honesty, compassion, courage, modesty and forgiveness.
The family is very important in the life of the people. A person’s upbringing and education starts in his or her family and it is in the family that values, norms and ideas are communicated from generation to generation.
Each mother feels great affection for her children and tries to bring them up in a proper way. Understanding between the members of the family and consideration for others are very important in family relationship. Tenderness, warm-heartedness and respect are feelings which make a family friendly. A lot of activities help members of the family to be on friendly terms: discussing all the family plans together, going on trips and hikes together, visiting museums, theatres, exhibitions and exchanging opinions about them, sharing joys and sorrows.
If you think of the others in the family you show your love and attention in everyday life. You can hurt them if you are selfish, not sincere and rude. It is very important to visit relatives on holidays, on birthdays, on anniversaries and develop close relationship. We feel more affection for our relatives when we are parted from them. The proverb says,
" Absence makes the heart grow fonder". When the family is friendly, everybody has the warmed feelings of returning home where dear relatives are waiting for them.
There are different opinions on how children should be treated if they disobey their parents, break the rules, do forbidden things, don't keep their words or promises. In our family we think that parents should be patient, kind and understanding. The rules and my behavior are discussed in our family. I am sure "love and kindness will save the world".
We are the family of three. I live with my mother and father. We don't have such problems as misunderstanding between the members of the family. I think that it is thanks to the age of my parents and their character. My mother is … years old, and my father is … years old. My Mum is a kind, clever and responsible woman. She is always ready to give me necessary information, moral support and a good advice. She is very good at cooking. As for my Dad he is very clever, humorous and reliable. He is good at computers. And it seems to me that he understands me even better than my mother.
It is common knowledge that there is no place like home. I agree with it. We are devoted to our home, we give it much love, care and enthusiasm. A man's house is his castle. I like my home. I like to stay at home when my mother and father are in, when everybody is busy with something. I like the moment in the evening when we have our meal. Our kitchen is the most popular and favorite place with all of us. Every Sunday my mother makes a cake and we gather together, discuss our problems and make plans for the next week.
I can tell you a lot about my home, but to make a long story short I can say, that speaking about my home, I don't mean a flat as it is , I mean people, who are dear to me, who love me and are always waiting for me. That is why, wherever I were I would always hurry home.
Greenpeace is an international organization, which deals with ecological and environmental problems. It was formed in 1971. Now it is a powerful organization, which works all over the word. There are many serious actions in the list of Greenpeace activities. The national offices are in 27 countries of the world. In Russia Greenpeace was formed in 1992. It works here on four directions: Wood Campaign, Antinuclear Campaign, and Campaign for preservation Lake Baikal. Greenpeace tries to attract public attention to different problems in the world and find out who is guilty. It is financed by personal voluntary donations of its supporters.
One more organization I'd like to speak about is the World Wildlife Fund. It was formed in 1961 by a small group of people. Now it is a large organization. The aim of it is to save animals and plants of the world. It has raised over 35 million pounds for conversation projects and it has given support to National parks in five continents.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is the UK's leading animal welfare charity which was founded in 1824. It rescues, collects and rehomes hundreds of thousands of animals each year. It offers advice on caring for all animals and tries to change laws that will protect them. It works for a world in which all humans respect and live in harmony with all other members of the animal kingdom.
As for me, I'd like to join Greenpeace organization. I am extremely concerned in ecological problems in our country, especially in our region. It is very important what water we drink, what food we eat. Besides, it is the place where I live. We must save our land for future generations.
Among the Russian towns and cities of the Golden Ring, Kostroma takes a special place. One of the most ancient cities, Kostroma is not only a cultural and historical centre with a lot of sights, but also an important industrial centre of the Kostroma Region.
Kostroma was founded in 1152 by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky.
Kostroma is located not so far from Moscow – just 350 kilometres away. It is interesting to note that Kostroma stands on both banks of the Volga River and the Kostroma River.
There are about 288 000 people living in Kostroma, though the city is not considered to be a large one.
Kostroma is also famous for a number of prominent people who lived and acted in it. During the time of Polish-Lithuanian intervention at the beginning of the 18th century Kostroma played an important role in the formation of people's volunteer corps led by Minin and Pozharsky. Another representative of Kostroma, peasant Ivan Susanin took the enemies to thick woods and deadly swamps, where he met his death, but where the enemy troops disappeared, too.
The city was destroyed by fire in 1773, nevertheless the centre was rebuilt all at once, in remarkable Russian classical style. The central area now consists of buildings and complexes built during the period between 1770-1830. It’s a fine example of a unique beautiful complex.
I think that the nicest thing to do in Kostroma is to walk along quiet central streets with trading arcades and wooden houses. The charm of the ancient trading city remained, and its special location, right on the shore of such a large river gives it brightness and a special atmosphere. A good place to walk is also the embankment of the Volga River.
The city centre is rich in ancient architectural monuments such as white-stone churches, shopping streets, and a beautiful Fire Tower, which is a landmark of Kostroma.
One of the major historical monuments of Kostroma is the Ipatievsky Monastery. The unique Museum of Wooden Architecture located on the territory of the Ipatievsky Monastery exists since 1958. The city also has the unique Museum of Ivan Susanin’s Feat.
Kostroma Museum of History, Architecture and Arts is famous for the collection which is constantly filled in as a result of expeditions around the Kostroma Region. Ostrovsky State Drama Theatre was named after the playwright, who used to come to the theatre any time he visited Kostroma.
In the past Kostroma was traditionally a textile city. Nowadays it is a modern industrial center. Machine building and metal-working, electronics and tool-building, furniture and light industries, power engineering, wood-processing, forest, jewelry industries - these are branches characterizing new industrial outlook of Kostroma.
I like my native city and I would like it to be more beautiful and clean.
Internet and modern life.
The Internet has already entered our ordinary life. Everybody knows that the Internet is a global computer network, which embraces hundred of millions of users all over the world and helps us to communicate with each other.
The history of Internet began in the United States in 1969. It was a military experiment, designed to help to survive during a nuclear war, when everything around might be polluted by radiation and it would be dangerous to get out for any living being to get some information to anywhere. Information sent over the Internet takes the shortest and safest path available from one computer to another. Because of this, any two computers on the net will be able to stay in touch with each other as long as there is a single route between them. This technology was called packet switching.
Invention of modems, special devices allowing your computer to send the information through the telephone line, has opened doors to the Internet for millions of people.
Most of the Internet host computers are in the United States of America. It is clear that the accurate number of users can be counted fairly approximately, nobody knows exactly how many people use the Internet today, because there are hundred of millions of users and their number is growing.
Nowadays the most popular Internet service is e-mail. Most of the people use the network only for sending and receiving e-mail messages. They can do it either they are at home or in the internet clubs or at work. Other popular services are available on the Internet too. It is reading news, available on some dedicated news servers, telnet, FTP servers, etc.
In many countries, the Internet could provide businessmen with a reliable, alternative to the expensive and unreliable telecommunications systems its own system of communications. Commercial users can communicate cheaply over the Internet with the rest of the world. When they send e-mail messages, they only have to pay for phone calls to their local service providers, not for international calls around the world, when you pay a good deal of money.
But saving money is only the first step and not the last one. There is a commercial use of this network and it is drastically increasing. Now you can work through the internet, gambling and playing through the net.
However, there are some problems. The most important problem is security. When you send an e-mail, your message can travel through many different networks and computers. The data is constantly being directed towards its destination by special computers called routers. Because of this, it is possible to get into any of the computers along the route, intercept and even change the data being sent over the Internet. But there are many encoding programs available. Notwith-standing, these programs are not perfect and can easily be cracked.
Another big and serious problem of the net is control. Yes, there is no effective control in the^Internet, because a huge amount of information circulating through the net. It is like a tremendous library and market together. In the future, the situation might change, but now we have what we have. It could be expressed in two words— an anarchist's dream.
Last week, in a private rehabilitation clinic outside Edinburgh, Leo Edwards, a sixteen-year-old schoolboy, was going through severe withdrawal symptoms. His body often shook violently and uncontrollably, and at mealtimes he regularly threw cups and plates around the dining room. The boy's addiction had nothing to do with alcohol, drugs, gambling or food. His problem was 'Net obsession'— an over-dependency on the Internet.
An international group of psychologists has recently suggested that anyone who surfs the Internet for long periods is clinically ill and needs medical treatment. According to their report, Internet addicts should be treated in the same way as alcoholics, drug addicts, compulsive gamblers and people with eating disorders.
Leo Edwards is not an isolated case. Russell Hopkins, aged fifteen, from Gateshead in north-east England, is a typical online addict.
Every day after school, and after dinner until three or four in the morning, he will be found in his room surfing the Net or playing computer games. By the end of the day he will have spent more than six hours online. Understandably, his parents are extremely worried. Not only has his school work suffered, but Russell's addiction has also destroyed his social life and his spare-time interests. For instance, he has just dropped out of his school's basketball team in order to spend more time at his computer. Instead of spending next weekend having a good time out with friends, he'll be spending it indoors surfing the Internet.
Russell has recently joined an Internet online support group. It may seem ironic that many of the support groups for Internet addicts are online but at least Russell has sought help. Not everyone does. Dr Ann Hoffman, who runs an online support group, says, "People don't realise that being online for more than four hours a day amounts to addiction and that they have a serious problem. I predict that the number of people who join online support groups will have risen dramatically within three years."
The Internet is a huge network of computers spanning this planet and is now started to bring in the surrounding area like space. Some computers like servers share data, others just surf the web as clients downloading the data. Public Internet began in the late 70's. In the 70*s web users used an interface called telnet, but now that program is mainly obsolete. Telnet is most widely deployed in accessing college email accounts.
The Internet is very helpful, because it's a huge database of knowledge, from the pictures of family trips to an analysis of quantum mechanics. Everyone should have the Internet because of its near instantaneous communication and huge wealth of knowledge. But how to go on the Internet and do a search for information we need. There are two ways to do it.
The first is when you know an internet address of data you need and the second one is when you try to find information you need by using a search program. In the beginning we have got to enter any browser you like. It could be an Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator or Opera, etc. If we have a broadband connection, we connect to the Internet at once. If not, we have to set up and connect to our dial-up service. Finally, if we want to find some information in the Internet, we are to type an address of this data in the browser we use or simply use the existing search-programs such as the google search program, rambler search program, yandex search program or yahoo search program.
They are very simple and popular networks of sites. In these programs we can just type the word or name of thing, we would like to find and then press enter. A search program solves this problem. We get our results in the same window. After we get our results, we simply choose whatever site best matches our query or keep searching.
Besides data, one can get from the Internet, we can also send and receive e-mail or electronic mail. This internet service is cheaper than ordinary mail and much quicker. It is becoming popular day by day. We can get some news from the Internet, because there are many informational servers in the web.
Old people are always saying that the young are not what they were. The same comment is made from generation to generation and it is always true. It has never been truer than it is today. The young are better educated. They grow up more quickly and are not so dependent on their parents. They think more for themselves and do not blindly accept the ideals of their elders. Events which the older generation remembers vividly are nothing more than past history. This is as it should be. Every new generation is different from the one that preceded it.
The old always assume that they know best for the simple reason that they have been around a bit longer. They don't like to feel that their values are being questioned or threatened. And this is precisely what the young are doing. They are questioning, they take leave to doubt that the older generation has created the best of all possible worlds. What they reject more than anything is conformity.
Office hours, for instance, are nothing more than enforced slavery. Wouldn't people work best if they were given complete freedom and responsibility? And what about clothing? Who said that all the men in the world should wear drab grey suits and convict haircuts? Why have the older generation so often used violence to solve their problems? Why are they so unhappy and guilt-ridden in their personal lives, so obsessed with mean ambitions and the desire to amass more and more material possessions? Can anything be right with the retrace? Haven't the old lost touch with all that is important in life?
These are not questions the older generation can shrug off easily. Their record over the past forty years or so hasn't been exactly spotless.
Traditionally, the young have turned to their elders for guidance. Today, the situation might be reserved. The elderly — if they are ready to admit it — could learn a thing or two from their children. One of the biggest lessons they could learn is that enjoyment is not 'sinful'. Enjoyment is a principle one could apply to all aspects of life. It is surely not wrong to enjoy your work and enjoy your leisure: to shed restricting inhibitions.
It is surely not wrong to live in the present rather than in the past or future. This emphasis on the present is only to be expected because the young have grown up under the shadow of the bomb; the constant threat of complete annihilation. This is their glorious heritage.
Today it is fashionable to speak about teenage broblems. A few years ago alcohol, fights, murders and other kinds of violence were more problems of adults rather than young people.
But now, as official reports admit, violence, AIDS, drugs and alcohol are more and more associated with youngest. For many children from poor families violence, drinking problems and all that is associated with powerty becomes more and more real.
The Government surveys show that every fifth teenager who was arrested for criminal actions, was younger that 14 and couldn’t be sent to prison. Almost half of teenagers have an experience with drugs, alcohol and sex under age of 16. A lot of teenagers who have drug or alcohol addiction almost never believe that they are dependent. These things are often combined with family and school problems.
What has gone wrong? Some specialists explain that the changes of our society, the system of our life force young people to choose their own lifestyle. On the one hand, our society agrees that 15-17-years old people are old enough to be responsible for what they do and gives them quite a lot of freedom and rights. On the other hand, most adults think that teenagers are too young to be taken seriously. This misunderstaning has produced many problems. Actually, a lot of teenagers say that their parents let them do anything they want and are quite indifferent to their problems. Many teenagers get upset or depressed when they can’t solve their problems. As a result, it makes them believe that there is only one way out — to stop living and commit suicide.
No doubt, the teens’ problems will increase. And young people should feeel that they are cared about.
Life used to be fun for 'teenagers'. They used to have money to spend, and free time to spend it in. They used to wear teenage clothes, and meet in teenage coffee bars and discos. Some of them still do. But for many young people, life is harder now. Jobs are difficult to find. There's not so much money around. Things are more expensive, and it's hard to find a place to live.
Teachers say that students work harder than they used to. They are less interested in politics, and more interested in passing exams. They know that good exam results may get them better jobs.
Most young people worry more about money than their parents did twenty years ago. They try to spend less and save more. They want to be able to get homes of their own one day.
For some, the answer to unemployment is to leave home and look for work in one of Britain's big cities. Every day hundreds of young people arrive in London from other parts of Britain, looking for jobs. Some find work, and stay. Others don't find it, and go home again, or join the many unemployed in London. There used to be one kind of teenage fashion, one style, one top pop group. Then, the girls all wore mini-skirts and everyone danced to the music of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
But now an eighteen-year-old might be a punk, with green hair and chains round his legs, or a skin head, with short, short hair and right wing politics, or a 'rasta', with long uncombed hair and a love for Africa. There's a lot of different music around too. There's reggae, the West Indian sound, there's rock, there's heavy metal, country and western, and disco. All these kinds of music are played by different groups and listened to by different fans.
When you read the newspapers and watch the news on television, it's easy to get the idea that British young people are all unemployed, angry and in trouble.
But that's not true. Three quarters of them do more or less what their parents did. They do their best at school, find some kind of work in the end, and get married in their early twenties. They get on well with their parents, and enjoy family life. They eat fish and chips, watch football on TV, go to the pub, and like reading about pop stars. After all, if they didn't, they wouldn't be British, would they?
Life used to be fun for 'teenagers'. They used to have money to spend, and free time to spend it in. They used to wear teenage clothes, and meet in teenage coffee bars and discos.
Some of them still do. But for many young people, life is harder now. Jobs are difficult to find. There's not so much money around. Things are more expensive, and it's hard to find a place to live.
Teachers say that students work harder than they used to. They are less interested in politics, and more interested in passing exams. They know that good exam results may get them better jobs.
Most young people worry more about money than their parents did twenty years ago. They try to spend less and save more. They want to be able to get homes of their own one day.
For some, the answer to unemployment is to leave home and look for work in one of Britain's big cities. Every day hundreds of young people arrive in London from other parts of Britain, looking for jobs. Some find work, and stay.
Others don't find it, and go home again, or join the many unemployed in London. There used to be one kind of teenage fashion, one style, one top pop group. Then, the girls all wore mini-skirts and everyone danced to the music of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
But now an eighteen-year-old might be a punk, with green hair and chains round his legs, or a skin head, with short, short hair and right wing politics, or a 'rasta', with long uncombed hair and a love for Africa.
There's a lot of different music around too. There's reggae, the West Indian sound, there's rock, there's heavy metal, country and western, and disco. All these kinds of music are played by different groups and listened to by different fans.
When you read the newspapers and watch the news on television, it's easy to get the idea that British young people are all unemployed, angry and in trouble.
But that's not true. Three quarters of them do more or less what their parents did. They do their best at school, find some kind of work in the end, and get married in their early twenties.
They get on well with their parents, and enjoy family life. They eat fish and chips, watch football on TV, go to the pub, and like reading about pop stars. After all, if they didn't, they wouldn't be British, would they?
There are many organizations in the world, which work and cooperate together in dealing with international problems. Some of them are official, the other are public. Among them are the United Nations Organization, The Red Cross League, Greenpeace and many others. Let's take, for example, the United Nations. It is an organization to which nearly all the countries of the world belong. It's headquarters are situated in New York. Its central aim is to maintain peace and security in the world, to develop friendly relations among nations.
Greenpeace is an international organization, which deals with ecological and environmental problems. It was formed in 1971. Now it is a powerful organization, which works all over the word. There are many serious actions in the list of Greenpeace activities. The national offices exist in 27 countries of the world. In Russia Greenpeace was formed in 1992. It works here on four directions: Wood Campaign, Antinuclear Campaign, and Campaign for preservation Lake Baikal. Greenpeace tries to attract public attention to different problems in the world and find out who is guilty. It is financed by personal voluntary donations of its supporters. One more organization I'd like to speak about is the World Wildlife Fund. It was formed in 1961 by a small group of people. Now it is a large organization. The aim of it is to sake animals and plants of the world. It has raised over 35 million pounds for conversation projects and given support to National parks in five continents. As for me, I'd like to join Greenpeace organization. I am extremely concerned in ecological problems in our country, especially in our region. It is very important what water we drink, what food we eat. Besides, it is the place where I live. We must save our land for future generations.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is an internationalnon-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada, United States and the United Kingdom. It is the world's largest independent conservation organization with over 5 million supporters worldwide, working in more than 100 countries, supporting around 1,300[4] conservation and environmental projects. WWF is a foundation,[5] in 2010 deriving 57% of funding from individuals and bequests, 17% from government sources (such as the World Bank, DFID, USAID) and 11% from corporations.[3]
The group says its mission is "to halt and reverse the destruction of our environment".[6] Currently, much of its work focuses on the conservation of three biomes that contain most of the world's biodiversity: forests, freshwater ecosystems, and oceans and coasts. Among other issues, it is also concerned with endangered species, pollution and climate change.
Largest privately supported international conservation organization in the world. Founded in 1961 by a small group of European scientists, naturalists, and business and political leaders, including Peter Markham Scott, the organization raises funds and channels them to other conservation groups. It directs its efforts toward protecting endangered environments such as coral reefs, saving endangered species, and addressing global threats such as pollution. It has helped establish and manage parks and reserves, and was instrumental in saving the giant panda (whose image it uses as its symbol) and other endangered species.
Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/wwf#ixzz1w9HJgp4q
Some progress has been already made in this direction. 159 countries-members of the UNO have set up environmental protection agencies. They hold conferences discussing ecological problems, set up environmental research centres and take practical urgent measures to avoid ecological catastrophe. There are numerous public organisations such as Greenpeace that are doing much to preserve environment. The 5th of June is proclaimed the World Environmental Day by the UNO and is celebrated every year.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity in Britain that promotes animal welfare. In 2011, the RSPCA investigated 159,759 cruelty complaints and collected and rescued 119,126 animals.[1] It is the oldest and largest animal welfare organisation in the world[2] and is one of the largest charities in the UK, with 1,505 employees (as of 2008).[3]
The charity's work has inspired the creation of similar groups in other jurisdictions, starting with the Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (founded in 1836), and including the Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (1839), the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (1840), the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (1866), the Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (1882), and various groups which eventually came together as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Australia (1981).
The RSPCA is funded entirely by voluntary donations.[4] No state or lottery funding is received. In 2008, total income was £119,926,000, total expenditure was £114,090,000, and reserves were £70,656,000.[3] Its patron is Queen Elizabeth II.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals - the UK's leading animal welfare charity. We rescue, rehabilitate and rehome hundreds of thousands of animals each year. We offer advice on caring for all animals and campaign to change laws that will protect them, which we will enforce through prosecution. Our work relies on your support, so get involved or donate today. You can make a difference.
The family is very important as a unit in our society. Nothing else but family can be an emotional center of people's life, can be a transmitter of culture and raising children. Every mother feels great affection for her children and tries to bring them up in a proper way. Understanding between the members of the family and consideration for others are very important in family relationship. Tenderness, warm-heartedness and respect must always be present in the family to make it friendly. A lot of activities help members of the family to be on friendly terms: discussing all the family plans together, going on trips hikes together, visiting museums, theaters, exhibitions and exchanging opinions about them, sharing the same joys and sorrows. If you think of the others in the family you show your love and attention in everyday life, you can hurt them if you are selfish, not sincere and rude. It is very important to visit relatives on holidays, on birthdays, on anniversaries and develop close relationship. We feel more affection for our relatives when we are parted from them. The proverb says, " /Absence makes the heart grow fonder". When the family is friendly, everybody has the warmed feelings of returning home where dear relatives are waiting for them. There are different opinions on how children should be treated if they disobey their parents, break the rules, do forbidden things, don't keep their words or promises. Some people think that parents should be patient, kind and understanding. The rules and children's behaviors are discussed in such families. But others believe that children ought always to obey the parents and if they won't they should be punished. From my point of view, such principles won't do a lot of good. Fear and punishment will lead to selfishness, cruelty and lies. But "love and kindness will save the world". We are the family of two. I live with my mother.
We don't have such problems as misunderstanding between the members of the family. I think that it is due to the age of my parents and their character. My mother is 40 years old, she is layer. She is a kind, clever and responsible woman. My mother always ready to give me necessary information, moral support and a good advice. It is common knowledge that there is no place like a home. We are dedicated to our homes, we give them much love, care and enthusiasm. A man's house is his castle. I like my home and I want to tell you more about it. I live in Kuprijanov st. in center of our city. We moved into this flat several years ago. Now it is a place where I feel it ease and enjoy every minute of my stay there. We have a washing-machine, a vacuum cleaner, a refrigerator, a freezer, hand-mixer, computer and other things which I consider to be quite necessary as they make our life easier and help to solve a lot of problems in the shortest possible time. We have 2 rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom. When you drop into our flat you come into a lobby, where you can take off your coat, shoes and hat. I'm very happy to have a room for myself, where I feel quite and comfortable. It is a place where I can relax, read a book and listen to music.
There are yellow blinds and a writing table, a sofa, a bookcase where my favorite books are situated. There are a lot of things in my room which can tell about myself, about my friends and relatives. You can find frames with photos of my parents and best friends on the walls, little pictures. They remind me happy moments of my life and that is why are very dear for me. You may be surprised, but the most popular and favorite place with all of us is the kitchen. Every Sunday my mother makes a cake and we gather together, discuss our problems and make plans for the next week. Our kitchen isn't large and looks the usual modern kitchen you can see in many other homes. I can tell a lot about my home, but to make a long story short I can say, that speaking about my home, I don't mean a flat as it is , I mean people, who are dear to me, who love me and are always waiting for me. That is why, wherever I were I would always hurry home.
Family is important. It takes commitment and hard work to improve family relationships. With all the negative influences around us, we struggle to hold our families together. But it's a battle that is well worth it.
Family must come first and foremost before anything else, even before our career. "No other success can compensate for failure in the home. The poorest shack in which love prevails over a united family is of greater value to God and future humanity than any other riches." - David O. McKay
I believe that love, communication, and respect go a long way. I know of five rules that can improve relationships and make a family closer.
1. Parents and children must "show" love by helping each other. Giving service and sharing is what it's all about.
2. Take time for one another by going on dates with your spouse or having family outings. It's amazing what a picnic can do for a family.
3. Communicate with each other and take time to listen. Richard L. Evans said, "If only we could feel we have been heard! If only we would listen when we should!"
4. Show respect to each family member. Never demean another person.
5. Pray together. Abraham Lincoln said, "I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life."
Money, wealth, and great careers shouldn't come before family. Money won't buy your family's love or happiness. Eugene Hansen said, "I learned money and material possessions are not the keys to happiness and success. Even with the constant financial challenge, we still had a good life. There was love in the home. Home was the place where we wanted to be. We did have two very significant items: we had a piano and we had a bookcase. How significant those two somewhat simple possessions were in the development of productive talents and interests so important in our early years."
What our children need is love. Material objects will never replace affection or our absence. "We have been so anxious to give our children what we didn't have that we have neglected to give them what we did have." -Author Unknown.
The relationship between husband and wife is important, also. It should not be neglected. Marriage is a sacred bond between man and woman. We must always work on our relationship. Never embarrass or hurt the feelings of our marriage partner intentionally. Build up the other's self-esteem. Treat your partner with respect. Children watch, listen, mimic and follow in our footsteps. They learn quickly. When we show lack of respect to our partner, so will they.
We have to work at marriage. It's a lifetime commitment. Mary Stewart Cutting said, "A woman can stand anything but being forgotten, not being needed."
Richard L. Evans said, "All things need watching, working at, caring for, and marriage is no exception. Marriage is not something to be indifferently treated or abused, or something that simply takes care of itself. All things need attention, care and concern, and especially so in this most sensitive of all relationships of life."
Everyone has to work at Family relationships. It's doesn't come easy. It's something that needs a lot of work, but it's worth it. Thomas Jefferson said, "The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family."
Written by Linda Weaver Clarke, author of Melinda and the Wild West, a Semi-finalist for the "Reviewers Choice Award 2007." To contact the author, visit http://www.lindaweaverclarke.com
Is the family you grew up in different from the ones that exist today? Is your family different from the ones you see on television? The answer is probably yes to both of these questions because so much has changed in the American family and so much was always myth about the way family was portrayed vs. the way it really is.
The Myth:
We hear a lot about the influence that violence has on everyone who watches television and movies. What is often neglected is the impact of other messages on the beliefs and attitudes of viewers of all ages. Specifically, I am thinking of the portrait of family life that is communicated to people of all ages who view these programs and movies. An example is the very old television program from the 1950's called Father Knows Best. Another program from that era was Leave It to Beaver.
These were two benign and optimistic programs whose episodes demonstrated the warm, humorous, and well functioning side of family life. Despite some difficult situations that the children got into, the wise and all knowing parents and adults resolved issues in ways that best showed the power of moral thinking and good, religious, American values. At the end of each episode problems were resolved and everyone was happy. Of course, Father "Knew" best, followed by mother and then all of the other members of the community. This was all very heart warming but, was it realistic?
I have known many people who watched, and were influenced by, these programs. Some of these people were friends and family members. Later, after I was a therapist, some of the individuals who reported being influenced by these programs were patients, either in individual or family and marital therapy. Almost all of them expressed distress that their past and present family experiences did not even remotely resemble what they had seen.
Even if attitudes about family life were not influenced by the media, there are many social mores, values, and myths about what healthy family life comprises.
Some of the myths are as follows:
1. Healthy families are made up of parents who do not quarrel.
2. Siblings in healthy families are always cooperative with their parents and willing to help one another.
3. Healthy families are harmonious and without conflict.
4. Parents have total control over their children, including where they go and what they do.
5. In a healthy family, the father goes to work and the mother remains at home to raise the children.
6. Everyone lives in nuclear families. A nuclear family is made up of father, mother, and children.
Many of the myths about the nuclear family were the result of Post World War II American life. The perfect nuclear family was expected to live in the suburbs, in homes with neatly kept lawns and lovely neighbors. The very funny and entertaining Dick Van Dyke Show was an example of this paradigm of family life. On the Dick Van Dyke Show the father worked in Manhattan while the wife and mother, played by Mary Tyler Moore, was at home happily tending to the chores of raising her child, shopping, cooking, and keeping the house. Even Lucy of the comedy I Love Lucy fit this same paradigm. Ricky, the husband and professional entertainer, worked and was a responsible member of society, while Lucy was a scattered brained red-headed wife who was always getting into trouble. Ultimately Lucy and Ricky, who began their married life living in Manhattan, moved out of the City to the inevitable suburbs.
While all of these programs were fun and entertaining, they were totally inaccurate about what family life is really like.
Now, let’s look at the facts surrounding some of the myths mentioned above:
1. Even couples who are happily married report that they quarrel. Marriage is difficult, bringing with it a period of adjustment soon after marriage, and continued work as the couple’s circumstances change. The problem is not that parents argue but how they argue. Those couples who argue and find solutions to their problems move on with their family lives.
2. Family studies and surveys show that most siblings grow up arguing with one another. As long as parents do not get involved and allow the youngsters to work it out themselves resolutions are found. Of course, it is sometimes necessary for parents to step in if the argument is getting loud and out of control. In fact, several studies show that siblings who argued while growing up become friends as adults.
3. It would be difficult to define what is meant by a happy family. Life brings with it constant change and the need to adjust to changing circumstances. Even changes that represent great success for the family are stressful for members to adapt to. The fact is that elderly family members die, many families experience economic problems, and illness, accidents, and tragedy have a way of interrupting all families.
4. Not only do parents not have total control over their children but it is necessary for them to prepare children for greater independence and autonomy as they grow. Once children become adolescents, they place distance between themselves and their families by starting to date the opposite sex, socialize with peers, spend time in sports competitions, and prepare for the final moving away by thinking about college, the military, or work. In addition, with most parents working, there is often no way to completely monitor where their children are after school.
5. In point of fact, the history of the family shows that mothers worked long before the industrial revolution. While fathers farmed the land, women worked at home in cottage industries, sewing clothing for sale, usually regulated by contractors. Even before the age of cottage industries, women collected a lot of food for the winter and did the preservation and storing of food stuffs for the entire family.
6. The nuclear family has had a brief history as will be seen next in this essay. If anything, most people lived in extended families made up of many generations such as grandparents and great grandparents in addition to aunts and uncles.
7. Today, many people are either delaying marriage or are electing not to marry at all.
Family Reality Today:
1. There are single parent families that are headed by a mother or father and this is usually the result of divorce, death or:
2. Because standards of sexual behavior have changed so much over the years, there are now many single parent families that are the result of women deciding to have children outside of marriage.
3. Something that would never have been imagined years ago is the fact that there are gay families. These are families in which gay couples decide to have children in one of two ways: If there are two women, one of them may decide to be artificially inseminated with donated sperm so that the baby will be raised by two mothers. The other way for gay couples to have children is to adopt and raise them together.
4. There are blended families that are the result of two divorced people deciding to marry and raise their sets of children together.
5. Yes, there are nuclear and extended families today and it would be a mistake to believe that they have disappeared.
However, with a more than fifty percent rate of divorce, the nature and type of family life has undergone enormous change.
So, if you have complaints about the way you were raised, try not to feel too bad. There are no ideal families, conflict is an inevitable part of family life, and large numbers of children know what it is like to grow up without seeing one of their parents, especially their fathers.
Also, it is important to keep in mind that if you are having marriage problems or difficulties with the behavior of the children, you are not alone. Partly, it is the job of children to test the limits with their parents as they learn about themselves and begin to assert their individuality with opinions and tastes that parents may not like.
Of course, if either marriage problems or difficulties managing children are becoming too great, then it is time to seek professional help. This can come in the form of psychologists or social workers who specialize in marriage and family problems.
So, remember, there are no perfect families and there are no perfect marriages or relationships.
True Value of Life
Is it possible to put an actual dollar amount on the value on someone’s life? Many have different opinions. Amanda Ripley asked the question, “Is a poor man’s life worth less than a rich man’s?” (1). To answer this question, there is no definitive response. Our society has placed a dollar amount on life; however, I think the value of a person’s life should be determined by how happy we are, the experiences we have, and the relationships we acquire.
Our society has its priorities in the wrong order. We think that professional athletes, singers, or actors are “worth more” than people who have good hearts but who do not make as much money. If money can’t buy happiness then how do we, as a society, put very large price-tags on celebrities who live miserable lives and only pretend to be happy when there’s a camera pointed in their direction? Currently, our government has set up a specific formula on how much money a life is worth when there is an accident and someone is killed.
There are charts made up to determine how much money each family will receive. “The charts, while functional, are brutal, crystallizing how readily the legal system commodifies life” (Ripley 2). This formula, while trying to be helpful, has actually made Americans more heartless and desensitized towards the taking of lives. With all of the violence in movies in video games that it pumped into the minds of children at rather young ages, it makes them disregard the true value of life.
Everybody's life is different, and therefore, of different value. Some people are successful and are motivated to live their lives to the fullest and to enrich the lives of those around them. Other people simply idle away their lives and do not care what comes of it. It is not society's job to necessarily "assign" us a value for living because it comes down to each individual person. I would consider someone to be valuable if they changed your life significantly for the better. If my grandmother had...
The Importance of Moral Values in Our Life Essay
Positive moral values are important because they allow you to have an overall feeling of peace and joy. Moral values can give meaning and purpose to your life. You are able to direct your behavior towards beneficial and fulfilling activities.
When you live your life according to moral values that are based on honesty, compassion, courage, modesty, and forgiveness, then you can also form positive bonds with other people.
Incorporating the moral value of honesty in your life make you trustworthy. You will have a clear conscience because you can respect yourself. The people that you come into contact with will be able to count on you to be fair and sincere. Your integrity will allow you to advance in both your personal and professional life. There are more opportunities for you to fully experience life when you are an honest person.
In addition to honesty, you also need to incorporate the moral value of compassion into your life. Compassion allows you to have sympathy for the misfortunes of other people. It also motivates you to want to give them any type of assistance that you can. Compassion results in your having feelings of mercy towards other people. When you have compassion as a moral value people are more likely to put their trust in you because you will be non-judgmental of their circumstances.
Thirdly, the moral value of courage gives you the determination to face anything that impedes your progress through life. You will also be able to overcome any obstacles because you won’t let fear hold you back. Others will feel confident relying on you for encouragement because you find solutions to whatever problems arise in your life. When courage is one of your moral values, you can bravely face the world.
In life it is essential to your survival to have modesty especially in respect to courage. Modesty allows you to realize what your limits are. It helps you to stay focused and keeps you from becoming overconfident and reckless. People will feel comfortable around you because you are humble and you don’t try to belittle them.
Lastly, it is also important to incorporate the moral value of forgiveness in your life. Forgiveness allows you to move past hurtful or damaging situations. It allows you to abandon feelings of anger or resentment against others or yourself. You can be emotionally healthy when you practice forgiveness because it keeps you from holding onto pain and resentment.
In conclusion, moral values are extremely important for your overall well-being. Moral values provide a structure for your life. Honesty makes you respectable. Compassion makes you sympathetic to others. Courage gives you the bravery to overcome life’s challenges. Modesty keeps you focused and humble. Forgiveness allows you to be emotionally stable because you don’t hold onto anger and resentment. These attributes will allow you to live your life in a way that reduces your stress levels. You will also have peace and harmony in your life. Moral values allow you to live your life in a manner that you can be proud of. The bonds that you form with others will also be more fulfilling because you live your life according to honesty, compassion, courage, modesty and forgiveness.
Seven sins: wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character,commerce without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice, politics without principle.
-Mahatma Gandhi
Just in case you believe that great social problems are beyond your scope, consider this story: God said to me: Your task is to build a better world. I answered: How can I do that? The world is such a large, vast place, so complicated now, and I am so small and useless. There nothing I can do. But God in his great wisdom said: Just build a better you.
- Anonymous
The moral values present a true perspective of the development of any society or nation. They tell us to what extent a society or nation has developed itself. Values are virtues, ideals and qualities on which actions and beliefs are based. Values are guiding principles that shape our world outlook, attitudes and conduct. Values however are either innate or acquired. Innate values are our inborn divine virtues such as love, peace, happiness, mercy and compassion as well as the positive moral qualities such as respect, humility, tolerance, responsibility, cooperation, honesty and simplicity.
Acquired values are those external values adopted at your "place of birth" or "place of growth" and
are influenced by the immediate environment. Examples of acquired values are one's mode of dress, the way you bless, cultural customs, traditions, habits and tendencies.
The main causes of moral degeneration are:
- Lack of respect for the sanctity of human life.
- Breakdown of parental control of children in families
- Lack of respect for authority, seen through the brazen breaking of the law and
Total disregard for rules and regulations
- Crime and corruption
- Abuse of alcohol and drugs
- Abuse of women and children, and other vulnerable members of society.
- Lack of respect for other people and property.
To solve all these type problems it is necessary to know the main causes of the above problems. We know today children are tomorrow's citizens. If we give good education to the present day children, the future of the next generations will be well. My opinion education is the solution for all types of the problems. Now we are living in the modern century. If we use science and technology in the proper way it is not difficult for us to solve all the problems of the non-moral and value things.The main object of the study is to inculcate moral and value based education in schools and colleges and to know the attitude of intermediate students towards moral values. Gandhiji advised the inmates of Sabarmati Ashram on the practice of the following values in their day-
to-day life:
1. Ahimsa
2. Non-stealing
3. Non-possession
4. Swadeshi
5. Manual work
6. Fearlessness
7. Truth
8. Chastity
9. Equality of religion
10. Removal of untouchability
11. Control of palate
Important life goals and personal characteristics:
Life goals and Personal characteristics are very necessary for all types of persons in the society.
Life Goals:
- A world at peace (free of war and conflict)
- Freedom (independence, free choice)
- Wisdom (a mature understanding of life)
- Happiness (contentedness)
- An exciting life (a stimulating, active life)
- Equality (brotherhood, equal opportunity for all)
- A comfortable life (a prosperous life)
- Self-respect (self-esteem, feeling good about yourself)
- Salvation (religiously saved, eternal life)
- Mature love (sexual & spiritual intimacy)
- Social recognition (respect, admiration)
- A sense of accomplishment (I've made a lasting contribution)
- Family security (taking care of loved ones)
- True friendship (close companionship)
- A world of beauty (beauty of nature and the arts)
- Inner harmony (freedom from inner conflict)
- Pleasure (an enjoyable, leisurely life)
- National security (protection from attack)
Personal Characteristics:
- Self-controlled (thinks first, restrained, self-disciplined)
- Honest (sincere, truthful, disclosing)
- Loving (affectionate, tender, caring)
- Ambitious (hard working, aspiring)
- Cheerful (lighthearted, joyful)
- Responsible (dependable, reliable)
- Independent (self-reliant, sufficient)
- Broad-minded (open-minded, able to see other viewpoints)
- Polite (courteous, well mannered)
- Forgiving (willing to pardon others)
- Intellectual (intelligent, reflective, knowledgeable)
- Helpful (working for the welfare of others)
- Obedient (dutiful, respectful)
- Capable (competent, effective, skillful)
- Logical (consistent, rational, aware of reality)
- Clean (neat, tidy)
- Imaginative (daring, creative)
- Courageous (standing up for your beliefs, strong)
Hogan (1973) believes that moral behavior is determined by five factors: (1) Socialization: becoming aware as a child of society's and parents' rules of conduct for being good. (2) Moral
judgment: learning to think reasonably about our own ethics and deliberately deciding on our own
moral standards. (3) Moral feelings: the internalization of our moral beliefs to the degree that we feel shame and guilt when we fail to do what we "should." (4) Empathy: the awareness of other people's situation, feelings, and needs so that one is compelled to help those in need. (5) Confidence and knowledge: knowing the steps involved in helping others and believing that one is responsible for and capable of helping.
Today we facing so many problems like terrorism, poverty and population problem. It is necessary to inculcate moral values in curriculum. Education is an effective weapon. Education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it is his handsand at whom it is aimed. (Joseph Stalin)
Curricular Activities:
Due to liberalization, industrialization and globalization rapid changes are occurring in almost all social sciences. The value possessed and their attitudes according to the changes should be known up to date vast changes are occurring in the education. So called philosophical foundations of India are declining day to day with the country in a state of social turbulence, the goals and functions of formal education need to be reassessed and updated. Through education we can change the world.
- By giving a place for moral values in the curriculum.
- Moral values can be explained through stories and illustrations.
- Through poetry, novel and stories we can inculcate moral values in the students.
- Role play of a good story in the lesson.
- Educate students through posters, advertisements and dramatizations; those are all a part
in the curriculum.
- By introducing a course on moral values as a part of its Master Degree in Developmental
Administration.
- Giving course training to students to develop moral values in the society.
- By educating citizen through direct contact by setting up local offices across the religion.
- First of all educate women in the society. Mother is the first teacher. Motivate every woman
to know about moral values through special course like "Gandhian Studies".
"IF WEALTH IS LOST NOTHING IS LOST"
"IF HEALTH IS LOST SOMETHING IS LOST"
"IF CHARACTER IS LOST EVERYTHING IS LOST"
BEST OF ALL THINGS IS CHARACTER - FATHER OF INDIAN NATION MAHATMA GANDHI
Kostroma city is an administrative center and capital of Kostroma oblast of Russia. Kostroma city is situated on the both banks of Volga River. Kostroma is a large river port. There is also an airport in the city. Kostroma is located about 350 km northeast of Moscow city.
Kostroma population - 270,000 (2009). Land area - 145 sq. km.
The phone code of the city is +7-4942, the postal codes - 156000-156xxx.
The current local time in Kostroma city is May 28, 2012, 12:40 pm (+3 UTC).
Kostroma history
Kostroma was first time mentioned in chronicles in 1213. The official foundation date of Kostroma is believed to be 1152 and the founder is Yury Dolgoruky. In 1238 the town was captured and sacked by Mongols army. Later Kostroma town was bought by Moscow state tsar Ivan I.
Because of its location Kostroma was the place of Moscow state leaders retreat during Moscow city sieges in 1382, 1408 and 1433. The town was growing quickly in the 16th century. One of the possible reasons is the creation of Moscow Company trading with Dutch and English merchants through Archangel town port located on the north of Moscow state.
Kostroma was captured by Polish armies two times. One of the most known heroes of wars with Poles is peasant Ivan Susanin. There are several monuments dedicated to him in Kostroma city.
In 1612 Kostroma town was the place where Moscow embassy offered Michael Romanov Russian crown. It was the end of Russian “Time of Troubles” and the beginning of Romanov’s dynasty reigning on the throne of Russia.
Kostroma city was heavily damaged during the fire in 1773. After the fire Kostroma was completely rebuilt. All streets of the city were radiating from a single point located near the river.
Kostroma city street view
Kostroma city scenery
Kostroma Russia city scenery
Kostroma economics
In the past Kostroma city was traditionally a textile city, nowadays it is a modern industrial center. Machine building and metal-working, electronics and tool-building, furniture and light industries, power engineering, wood-processing, forest, jewelry industries - these are branches characterizing new industrial outlook of Kostroma.
Kostroma is an important transportation juncture. It is crossed by highway of federal importance Moscow - Yaroslavl - Kirov - Perm - Ekaterinburg. The city has a river port and an airport.
Kostroma city view
Kostroma city architecture
Kostroma city wooden house
Kostroma attractions
Kostroma city was celebrating its 855th anniversary in 2007. Kostroma is one of the cities on the well-known tourist route “Golden Ring of Russia”.
The historical structure of planning is preserved in the old part of Kostroma city. The general plan of the city was affirmed by Emperor Catherine II in 1781.
Among the most interesting architectural complexes and monasteries of Kostroma city are:
Also some buildings of civil architecture of 20th century are worth seeing like Communications House (1934) and The Exhibition of Economic Achievements.
Among the environmental places of interest is a unique elk-farm.
All in all there are 535 monuments of history and culture in Kostroma city including 60 monuments of federal importance and 475 - of regional one.
Kostroma was ruled by one of Konstantin of Rostov‘s numerous brothers (Vladimir) in the 13th century and was sacked by the former for that reason. As a reminder, Konstantin, called “the Wise,” battled his brothers after their father’s death, finally made peace with them prior to his own death, and told his own sons to please get along (or do as I say, not as I do).
Old Kostroma - the Resurrection Church
New Kostroma - the bridge
Our hotel in Kostroma is a bit of a throwback to Soviet times with cramped elevators that take forever to arrive. People are tired but that doesn’t excuse them pushing ahead. One woman who forces her way in around me forgets to push the button for her floor in her excitement of getting in first. “Serves you right,” I think in satisfaction. She’ll be riding up and down for a while.
In Russia, the heat doesn’t get turned on till October. This applies to all buildings – public facilities, hospitals, apartment buildings. Hospitals and schools get heat first. I recall that a friend of mine who lived and worked in the Soviet Union in the 1990′s would freeze in her hotel room in Novosibirsk as the heat would be switched on no earlier than October 15th no matter what the weather. I was expecting the same during this trip and prepared for the worst but every hotel I stay in is heated – some of the rooms are almost unbearably warm but I am not complaining. Especially when our tour director mentions that the heat in her apartment building hasn’t been turned on yet. The temperatures are now about 6 or 7 Celsius (in the low 40′s Fahrenheit) so it is certainly time.
We arrive in Kostroma in the evening and I have dinner with one of the ladies from our group, Galina. The meals are pre-ordered and everything is very efficient. In the morning, there is a breakfast buffet and the items are even labeled in English although that would not be of much help to non-Russian speakers in some cases as the bread is labeled “lye bread.”
Galina lives in Birobidzhan, a city in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast far to the east in Siberia. I had talked a bit about my journey and mentioned the problem of getting a train ticket from Krasnoyarsk to Harbin. At dinner, she tells me that I can come to Birobidzhan and stay with her and she will arrange for me to get to Harbin. She says there are plenty of bus tours that leave from there and they are cheap. Later, she gives me her home address and phone number. I hope it won’t come to that but who knows? If I am stranded in Siberia it will be nice to know that there is someone I can call. At this point, I have tentative plans to fly to Khabarovsk from Krasnoyarsk and then take the train to Harbin. She notes that this takes a couple of days. It doesn’t seem that far on a map but I take her at her word (she is right). She tells me that there is a lot of passenger train traffic between northern China and Moscow now and since there is only one train a week from Moscow to Harbin, all the tickets get purchased immediately by sales people from China who are returning home from Moscow.
I watch the news in the evening and there is a story about how people in a certain neighborhood of Moscow are fed up with the drivers who park their cars on the sidewalks . They are going around putting signs on the cars which say “I don’t give a damn about anyone. I park wherever I want.” A couple of car owners are caught returning to their cars and there are no apologies here. One woman tears up the sign and hisses that she works for a living unlike these bums how have nothing better to do than harass citizens. Another guy looks straight at the camera and confirms that the sign is correct – he most certainly does NOT give a damn about anyone. At one point, it reaches the stage of fisticuffs. I empathize with the protestors. The automobile will be the downfall of urban life here - its noise, its pollution, its intrusiveness.
Kostroma has a small historic section. It includes market arcades built in the 18th century (much of the town burned in a fire in 1773). It is cold and raining so the area is deserted but one gets the idea of what the city was like in the olden days, bustling, with merchants selling their wares. Our guide tells us the story of local hero Ivan Susanin, who saved the city during the Polish invasions in the 17th century. He led the Poles into a swamp and they were unable to get back out since he evaded them and only he knew the way. The guide tells us that she had a difficult moment once when she was conducting a tour for a group of Polish visitors. She notes that deviation from the script was not allowed so she had to tell the story of Susanin as usual. Luckily the Poles had a sense of humor – one of them said, “So, Susanin was the fellow who gave Poles their first tour of the area?”
Kostroma
Kostroma is one of the most beautiful old Russian cities and a part of the Golden Ring of Russia. One of the most ancient cities, Kostroma is not only a cultural and historical centre boastin a wide range of sights, but also an important industrial centre of the Kostroma Region.
Kostroma is located not so far from Moscow – just 330 kilometres away. It is interesting to note that Kostroma stands on both banks of Volga river and Kostroma river. For this reason the basic transport means habitual for Kostroma dwellers is river shipping. Lots of moorings and ports are located on Kostroma quay.
There are about 288 000 people living in Kostroma, though the city is not considered to be a large one. The ethnical structure is quite simple: the Kostroma’s population is generally Russian. The language people use in everyday life is mostly Russian but there is one particularity about the pronunciation: Kostroma’s inhabitants do pronounce the letter {o} distinctly which is unusual of Central Russia’s way to pronounce words.
Kostroma is also famous for a number of prominent people who lived and acted in Kostroma. During the time of Polish-Lithuanian intervention in the beginning of the 18th century Kostroma played a prominent role in the formation of people's volunteer corps leaded by Minin and Pozharsky. Another representative of Kostroma, peasant Ivan Susanin took the enemies to thick woods and deadly swamps, where he met his death, but where the enemy troops vanished, too.
The city was destroyed by fire in 1773, nevertheless the centre was rebuilt all at once, in remarkable Russian classical style. The central district now comprise buildings and complexes built during the period between 1770-1830. It’s a fine example of a unique, monolithic complex.
Yet the nicest thing to do in Kostroma is to walk along quiet central streets with trading arcades and wooden houses. The charm of the ancient trading city remained, and its special location, right on the shore of such a large river gives it brightness and a special atmosphere. A good place to walk is also the embankment of the Volga River.
Sights of Kostroma:
On a visit to Kostroma, it is a must to take a walk in the city centre with its ancient architecture, white-stone churches, antique shopping street, and a splendid fire watchtower, which is a trademark of Kostroma.
One of the major historical monuments of Kostroma is the Ipatievsky Monastery. The unique Museum of Wooden Architecture located on the territory of the Ipatievsky Monastery exists since 1958. The city also has the unique Museum of Ivan Susanin’s Feat, the only one in the world. It is known, that Ivan Susanin was a native of one of the villages of Kostroma.
Special attention should be paid to the Kostroma State United Arts Museum, the collection of which is constantly replenished as a result of expeditions around the Kostroma Region. In Kostroma there is also a well-known Literary Museum, opened since 1996. The A.N.Ostrovsky State Drama Theatre is another worthy point of interest in Kostroma.
It is hardly possible to enumerate all the sights of Kostroma, so many there are. The list is so big that it will take more than a week to visit all the well-known places of the city. Thanks to the big number of its sights and picturesque scenery Kostroma enjoys popularity as an attractive tourist place.
The market arcades
We visit two monasteries the next day – the Ipatievsky and Bogoyavlensky. The Ipatievsky Monastery includes the Trinity Cathedral which has a gorgeous iconostasis and frescoes. I witness a clash of customs. An older man in our group is wearing a cap and is asked by a woman working in the Cathedral to take it off. He refuses. He becomes belligerent about not taking it off and she timidly backs off. He is traveling with his wife and is obviously here for the historic aspect of the tour only. I think he is unnecessarily rude and his anger at her request seems out of proportion. This anger is of a person who grew up in the atheist Soviet Union, taught that religion is the opiate of the people, and a sign of backwardness. Now he is expected to follow customs that mean nothing to him.
Ipatievsky Monastery
Trinity Cathedral
Frescos
The Bogoyavlensky Monastery church has an unusual interior, not the usual ornate gold leaf but all white. It gives a completely different feeling when entering an all white interior as opposed to the colorful frescos of the Trinity Cathedral or the gold leaf that is almost ubiquitous in all of the newer churches. Photos are not allowed as this is a functioning church.
Bogoyavlensky Monastery
One of my all-time favorite films was made in Kostroma - A Cruel Romance (Zhestokiy Romans). A young woman in 19th century Russia is led astray by a rake (Nikita Mikhalkov is the actor in the part). A simple story but marvelously filmed and Mikhalkov, as always, enchants.
Kostroma
Kostroma is one of the most beautiful old Russian cities and a part of the Golden Ring of Russia. One of the most ancient cities, Kostroma is not only a cultural and historical centre boastin a wide range of sights, but also an important industrial centre of the Kostroma Region.
Kostroma is located not so far from Moscow – just 330 kilometres away. It is interesting to note that Kostroma stands on both banks of Volga river and Kostroma river. For this reason the basic transport means habitual for Kostroma dwellers is river shipping. Lots of moorings and ports are located on Kostroma quay.
There are about 288 000 people living in Kostroma, though the city is not considered to be a large one. The ethnical structure is quite simple: the Kostroma’s population is generally Russian. The language people use in everyday life is mostly Russian but there is one particularity about the pronunciation: Kostroma’s inhabitants do pronounce the letter {o} distinctly which is unusual of Central Russia’s way to pronounce words.
Kostroma is also famous for a number of prominent people who lived and acted in Kostroma. During the time of Polish-Lithuanian intervention in the beginning of the 18th century Kostroma played a prominent role in the formation of people's volunteer corps leaded by Minin and Pozharsky. Another representative of Kostroma, peasant Ivan Susanin took the enemies to thick woods and deadly swamps, where he met his death, but where the enemy troops vanished, too.
The city was destroyed by fire in 1773, nevertheless the centre was rebuilt all at once, in remarkable Russian classical style. The central district now comprise buildings and complexes built during the period between 1770-1830. It’s a fine example of a unique, monolithic complex.
Yet the nicest thing to do in Kostroma is to walk along quiet central streets with trading arcades and wooden houses. The charm of the ancient trading city remained, and its special location, right on the shore of such a large river gives it brightness and a special atmosphere. A good place to walk is also the embankment of the Volga River.
Sights of Kostroma:
On a visit to Kostroma, it is a must to take a walk in the city centre with its ancient architecture, white-stone churches, antique shopping street, and a splendid fire watchtower, which is a trademark of Kostroma.
One of the major historical monuments of Kostroma is the Ipatievsky Monastery. The unique Museum of Wooden Architecture located on the territory of the Ipatievsky Monastery exists since 1958. The city also has the unique Museum of Ivan Susanin’s Feat, the only one in the world. It is known, that Ivan Susanin was a native of one of the villages of Kostroma.
Special attention should be paid to the Kostroma State United Arts Museum, the collection of which is constantly replenished as a result of expeditions around the Kostroma Region. In Kostroma there is also a well-known Literary Museum, opened since 1996. The A.N.Ostrovsky State Drama Theatre is another worthy point of interest in Kostroma.
It is hardly possible to enumerate all the sights of Kostroma, so many there are. The list is so big that it will take more than a week to visit all the well-known places of the city. Thanks to the big number of its sights and picturesque scenery Kostroma enjoys popularity as an attractive tourist place.
Kostroma was founded in 1152 on the conjunction of Volga and Kostroma rivers by Yury Dolgoruky (he was the one who founded Moscow also) to secure the north- east part of his Rostov-Suzdal principality. Many times Kostroma was completely devastated. In the beginning of the 13th century Kostroma was burned because of a quarrel between Russian princes, who couldn't divide the country. In 1238 the Tartars invaded and plundered the town, in 1318 Moscow princes plundered Kostroma again, in 1375 the town was invaded by the river pirates, who came from Novgorod and ransacked the town. St Ipatiev monastery, located at the place where Kostroma river meets Volga river, was securing the town. In the beginning of 17th century the monastery was captured by Lzhedmitri II, who claimed to be the Tsar (king) of Russia, but he was banished by militiamen. By the end of the 17th century Kostroma became the third biggest town in Russia, after Moscow and Yaroslavl. It ceased to be a significant fort, and became an important cultural and commercial center.
Slavonic colonists come to the forests of the Middle Volga region in the end of XI century, attracted by wealth of woods, furry animals, fish and salt deposit. They found a small settlement where the Kostroma River flows into the Volga. Later, in 1152-1157, prince Yuri Dolgorukiy founds a frontier town-fortress Kostroma, which becomes the centre for further colonization of the wooded Volga region.
The wooded Volga region is rich in bogs and primeval forests, thus civilization develops here quite slow. Historians suggest that word “Kostroma” originates from the ancient Slavonic pagan festival of Kostroma, which is a man of straw and one of the most important summer celebrations of the ancient Slavs.
Kostroma is first mentioned in the Russian chronicles in 1213 in connection with the conflict between sons of the Great Prince Vsevolod “Big Nest” III of Vladimir – Konstantin, prince of Rostov, burns Kostroma, which belongs to his brother Yuri, and sends Kostroma dwellers to Rostov. In the thirties of the XIII century Kostroma is burned one more time, but by the Tatars, who destroy every city on the Volga River. After 1239 Kostroma is reconstructed by Yaroslav of Vladimir, who builds in the city a wooden church of Saint Fyodor.
In 1246 Kostroma goes to Yaroslav’s junior son, Vasiliy, who rules the town for 30 years till his death in 1276. When Vasiliy becomes Great Prince of Vladimir, he stays in Kostroma, making it the capital of North-East Russia. During his reign the town gets Spaso-Zaprudnensky monastery, church of Voskresenie (Resurrection) on Debra and Uspensky cathedral. In 1272 prince Vasiliy wins a battle against Tatars. After his death Kostroma again becomes a provincial town.
Kostroma’s favourable location on the left bank of the Volga affects town’s development – Kostroma stands away from main trade paths, connecting Rostov, Yaroslavl, Suzdal and Moscow, however, the town hides Moscow princes during Tatar attacks. The town population grows, replenished by resettlers from other cities. In XIII-XIV centuries Kostroma gets surrounded by fortified monasteries, protecting town’s outskirts.
Kostroma meets the XV century as a big town, until it burns down during great fire of 1413. Moscow prince orders to build new stone houses in the town. The town welcomes craftsmen and merchants, until Polish interventionists invade the town in 1608 and start attacking nearest towns. In winter troops from Galich and Kostroma free the town. In 1613 the Council decides to appoint Mikhail Romanov, nephew of first wife of Ivan the Terrible, as Russian tsar. At that time Mikhail Romanov is in Kostroma, hiding in the Ipatievsky monastery. Same year Russian peasant Ivan Susanin performs his deed – he guides a group of enemies to the forest and dies there with them.
After Mikhail Romanov becomes a tsar, members of the Royal family consider necessary to come to Kostroma to the Ipatievsky monastery. Every arrival of a royal person brings something new to the town. Twenties of the XVII century mark a new stage in the town’s development. Neighbouring Yaroslavl flourishes, standing on the crossroad of main trade paths. Kostroma becomes the first town of the Volga region after Yaroslavl, where foreign merchants settle together with Russian ones. Kostroma sells and buys meat, milk, salt, bread, icons, iron and furs.
In 1619 citizens start building a new larger town and fortify it with ditches and a wooden wall with 23 towers and 6 gates. Inside the wall are several churches and other buildings. In 1650 the town boasts 2086 homesteads. Craftsmen export white soap, which foreign commercial agents claim to be the best soap ever. Arts and crafts flourish in Kostroma. However, fires and pandemics do not leave the town alone, but nothing can stop town’s economic growth now. Citizens keep re-building the town. In 1702 Kostroma is fifth largest city in Russia.
During XVIII Kostroma keeps growing as an industrial, trade and political centre of vast territory. Textile mills, brick works, bell plant, printing-works and other enterprises appear in the town. Town planning scheme is approved in 1781 and requires much effort, since fire of 1773 changes the town completely. Kostroma raises many Russian cultural figures – actors, painters, artists and writers.
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