2015-10-22
1366
My Day Оff
Most people in our country work five days а week and have two days off, but students have only one day off. It is Sunday.
I like this day very much. You needn't hurry anywhere and you may go wherever you like after your week's work. On this day I wake up later than usual. Sometimes I don't get up until nine or ten o'clock. I read morning newspapers or listen to the music. As soon as I get up I air the room, make my bed. Then I have breakfast. Two hours for getting ready with my homework and I’m free. Imeet my friends and we discuss our plans together. Sometimes I phone to my girlfriend and we may go to the cinema or the theatre, to the museum or the park. In fine weather we also like to go to the country. We call our friends and hike there. We find а nice place somewhere in the forest or on the bank of the river. We sunbathe, play different games and swim. In winter my friends and I often go to the skating-ring. Skating is my favourite kind of sport, but I like to ski, too.
When the weather is bad, my friends come to my place. We listen to the music or go to the cinema. We like films about the life of the youth abroad. On the way home we usually discuss the films we've seen.
In the evening, all the members of our family get together. We have our supper, make plans for tomorrow, watch TV or read books. Reading is my hobby. Sometimes we receive guests at our place or go for а walk. Ienjoy my days off very much.
Our Country. Russia. General Information
Russian Federation is our Motherland. This is a very large country. Its territory covers half Europe and half Asia. Russian territory occupies 17,075 square kilometres. There are many forests and steppes, mountains and hills, rivers and lakes in Russia. It borders on 12 seas. There are 1030 towns and cities in our country. Railways, waterways and airways connect the cities and towns of Russia from the cold Arctic seas to the wart Black Sea and from the East to the West. Our country is rich in natural resources. We have oil and coal, iron, timber and natural gas needed for our industry. Russia is a multinational state. The population of our country is about 150 million people, 83 percent of them are Russian.
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Some words about Russian climate. Winters are cold and summers are hot here. Many different animals live on the territory of Russia. Three-quarters of the country's minerals are concentrated in Siberia, and the Far East. There are many villages in Russia famous for their specific crafts. Traditional Russian cooking includes porridges and pancakes.
The capital of Russia is Moscow about 9 million people live there.
Moscow
Moscow is the capital of our Motherland, it’s administrative centre. It is the largest political, scientific, cultural and industrial centre too. Its population is over ten million and total area of the city is about 900 thousand square kilometres.
It is one of the oldest Russian cities. Moscow was founded in 1147 by Yuri Dolgoruki. The oldest part of Moscow is the Kremlin. It is situated on the bank of the Moskva River.
The present day Moscow is the seat of the government of Russian Federation and President of the state lives and works here.
Moscow is a major industrial city. Its leading industries are engineering, chemical and light industries.
The Moscow Metro is the most beautiful metro (underground) in the world. Moscow is famous for its theatres and museums. St. Basil’s Cathedral, a masterpiece of Russian architecture, was built in 1555-60 under Ivan the Terrible. The Bolshoi Theatre was opened in 1825. The Moscow University named after M. V. Lomonosov was founded in 1755. The Tretyakov Gallery and Russian art museum after Pushkin are devoted to the Russian national art. The monument to A. S. Pushkin is in Moscow, too. I like our capital.
Mikhail Lomonosov
Mikhail Lomonosov was born in 1711 in the family of a fisherman in the northern coastal village of Denisovka not far from Archangelsk. When he was ten years of age his father began to take him sea fishing. The dangerous life of a fisherman taught him to observe the natural phenomena more closely. During the long winter nights young Lomonosov studied his letters grammar and arithmetic diligently.
Being the son of a peasant, he was refused admission to the local school. After some years, through concealing his peasant origin, he gained admission to the Slavonic-Greek-Latin Academy and for five years lived a hand-to-mouth existence on three kopecks a day. The noblemen so studying with him made fun of the twenty-year-old giant who, in spite the jeers and his own poverty, made rapid progress.
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After five years came the chance of entering the Academy of Sciences as there were not enough noble-born students to fill the quota. His ability and diligence attracted the attention of the professors and as one of three best students he was sent abroad. He spent all his time there studying the works leading European scientists in chemistry, metallurgy, mining and mathematics. On his return to Russia in 1745 he was made a professor and was the Russian scientist to become a member of the Academy of Sciences.
For versatility Lomonosov has no equal in Russian science. Many of his ideas and discoveries only won recognition in the nineteenth century. He was the first to discover the vegetable origin of coal, for instance, and as a poet and scientist he played a great role in the formation of Russian literary language, eliminating distortions and unnecessary foreign words. He died in 1765. His living memorial is the Moscow University, which he founded in 1755.
Topical Vocabulary
to be born - родиться
to observe the natural phenomena - наблюдать явления природы
to be the son of a peasant - быть сыном крестьянина
to be refused admission to smth. - получить отказ в принятии
to conceal one's peasant origin - скрыть свое крестьянское происхождение
to gain admission to the Slavonic- -быть принятым в Славяно-
Greek-Latin Academy греко-латинскую академию to live a hand-to-mouth existence - едва сводить концы с концами
noblemen - знать, знатные люди
to make rapid progress - делать быстрые успехи
to enter the Academy of Sciences - вступить в Академию наук
to fill the quota -обнаружить нужное кол-во ability and diligence - способность и учтивость
to be sent abroad - послать за границу
works in chemistry, metallurgy, - работы по химии, металлургии,
mining and mathematics горному делу и математике
for versatility - по количеству открытий
to have no equal in smth. - не иметь равных в чем- либо
a discovery - открытие
to win recognition - получить признание
the vegetable origin of - растительное происхождение …
to play a great role in smth. -играть большую роль ч.- л.
the formation of the Russian literary -формирование русского
language литературного языка
to eliminate distortions - устраивать диспропорции
The United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland consists of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It covers the British Isles. Great Britain and Ireland are the largest islands and there are about five thousand small islands.
The North Sea, the Strait of Dover and the English Channel separate Great Britain from the continent.
The north of Scotland is mountainous and is called the Highlands, while the south, which has beautiful valleys and plains, is called the Lowlands. There are numerous lakes in Scotland and they are called Lochs.
The climate of Great Britain is mild. The Atlantic Ocean washes the British Isles. The summers are cool and rainy. It is not so hot in England as in the continent. There is much rain and fog in autumn and in winter.
Great Britain is a parliamentary monarchy. According to the law, the Queen of Great Britain is at the head of the state, but really the Parliament is. The Queen acts only advising with her Ministers.
Together with 48 countries, which were in the past British colonies, the U.K. is member of the voluntary association of states known as the Commonwealth. The Queen is head of the Commonwealth.
Since 1973 Britain has been a member of European Community.
The United Kingdom is both a constitutional monarchy and a centrally run democracy. It is governed by a prime minister, a group of ministers, who together form the Government. The Sovereign formally appoints the prime minister, who is the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons. Other ministers are appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the prime minister. The ministers control the executive side of the Government but remain at the same time responsible to Parliament.
Britain is the highly developed industrial nation. It has a largely free-market economy. The main sectors of its economy are manufacturing, services and agriculture. Among the traditional industries one can find textile industry, heavy and electrical engineering. As to services, they account for 60% of gross domestic product and 65% of employees. This sector covers financial services, professional and scientific services, leisure, tourism and retail distribution.
English traditions
Every country and every nation has its own traditions and customs. You cannot speak about England without speaking about its traditions and customs. Englishmen are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up.
The English are stay-at-home people. "There is no place like home", they say. When they don't work, they like to spend their days off at home with their families. Englishmen are very fond of fire-place, that's why many of them prefer the open fire to central heating. They like to live in small houses with а small garden. People all over the world know the saying "The Englishman's home is his castle".
They say that English people keep to their traditions even in meals. Porridge is the dish Englishmen are very fond of. Many of them eat porridge with milk and sugar for breakfast. As for the Scotch, for example, they never put sugar in their porridge, they always put salt in it. By the way, breakfast time in England is between seven and nine. Then, between 12 and 2, there comes lunchtime. In some English houses lunch is the biggest meal of the day - they have meat or fish, vegetables, fruit or pudding. In the afternoon, at teatime the English likes to have а cup of tea with milk. Some Englishmen have their dinner late in the evening. For dinner they have soup, fish or meat, vegetables, pudding or fruit. For supper they usually have а glass of milk and а cake or а cup of tea and sandwich.
