Sports in Great Britain

The English are great lovers of sport; and they are neither playing nor waching games, they like to talk about them. However, there is important thing about sport in Britain which we must know. Today, the big-time sport is professional and famous players can make much money.

Lat's take Football for example. It is the most popular team game in Britain. It is played in most of the schools, and there are thousands of amateur teams for young men in all parts of the country. But for most of the public football is a professional game which is watched on saturday afternoons at the stadium.

Professional football is a big business. Every large town has one or more professional clubs.

Rugby football is played with an oval ball which may be carried in hands. The players of the other team try to stop the man running with the ball by throwing him on the ground. There are fifteen players in each team.

Sport competitions gather big crowds in Great Britan All people in Great Britan are ond of sport and Englishmen know that if they train hard Sport will make them strong and healthy.

The Olympic Games

In 1453 before Christ the first games were held in Olympia. Beginning with approximately 776 before Christ the games were organised every fourth year. These sports consisted of running, wrestling and other exercises. The favourite games of that time were horse-racing and jumping. The ancient winners received wreaths of palm leaves. The modern Olympic Games were revived in 1896. They take place every four years. They cannot take place in a country which is at war, and during the two world wars there were no Olympic Games. So except in 1916, 1940 and 1944, the Olympic Games have been held every leap year. Women's events were held beginning from 1912. Winter Olympic Games first took place in 1924.

The Games have been held in many countries. The 22nd Olympic Games were held in 1980 in Moscow. The international Olympic Committee, which was set up and began to work in 1896, chooses the country and the city for the Olympic Games to be held in. The 26th Olympic Games were held in 1996 in Atlanta in the USA. It was a great sport event. There were competitions on practically all summer sports. Russian sportsmen took an active part in these Games. They won a lot of medals and we are very proud of them. The Games were organised in a proper way. It was a wonderful festival of sport, health, peace and friendship.

Sport in Russia

The biggest country in the world offers a striking variety of landscapes and weather conditions. Here you can find arctic zones, covered with ice and snow all-year round, huge virgin pine forests, inaccessible rugged mountains, endless plains and sandy beaches with lush subtropical vegetation. This diversity creates opportunities for almost all known sports activities – from swimming and watersports at the seaside through hiking and cycling along the roads that reach the horizon to skiing in all seasons in Siberia and the Caucasus Mountains. Cruising is also very attractive to tourists in Russia, as it allows them to explore some of the most beautiful and important cities and cultural sites in the world.

Hiking
Hiking is an enjoyable activity for both nature lovers and athletes, giving a unique chance to get close to nature and explore the vast country in an incomparable way. Russia has an abundance of hiking trails and paths that will satisfy every taste. Mount Elbrus is one of Russia’s favorite hiking trails, rising to more than 5,500 metres above sea level. The trail has two cable lifts and special permission has been needed since 2004. Due to the difficulty of the terrain, the hike is possible only if tourists are organised by a hiking club that provides an experienced and knowledgeable guide. The Kamchatka Peninsula is another breathtaking destination for hiking trips with Kronotsky Nature Reserve, the Geyser Valley and the active volcano Karymsky being the main points of interest. Other remarkable hiking routes in Russia include the mounts Iremel and Taganai in Southern Ural, the Khibiny Mountains located 150 kilometres north of the Polar Circle and numberless paths in the Siberian taiga.

Cycling
Russia provides a wide range of cycling opportunities for tourists of all tastes and physical conditions. The enormous country has a network of cycling trails, but more common is travelling on two wheels using the roads with less traffic in the countryside - especially east of Ural. Two of the Eurovelo international cycle routes pass through Russian territory. The Capitals Route starts in Moscow and leaves Russia near the town of Smolensk, heading for Galway in Ireland. The Baltic Sea Cycle Route is a closed circuit along the coast of the Baltic Sea and passes through St Petersburg and its surroundings. There are some attractive tours that deserve attention, like the 650 kilometre-long Golden Ring to the northeast of Moscow and the tour of Karelia. Apart from biking pleasure, they provide encounters with Russian culture, history and architecture.

Swimming
Russia has an extremely long coastline, but only a negligible part of it is suitable for swimming or other watersports. The Black Sea coast in the southwestern end of the country has been the leading seaside holiday destination from the time of the USSR, when the elite of the country used it as a place for summer relaxation. Today, the region, with its centre Sochi, is far from its old fame and glamour, but is still the major Russian seaside resort. Swimming conditions are very good with high water temperatures and the saltines being twice lower than in the ocean. Countless swimming opportunities are available in the interior in the country – clean lakes and rivers with sandy beaches and copious public swimming pools and aqua parks in larger cities. Typically, the main Russian activity is ice diving – one of the most extreme activities known. It can be practised in the White Sea, which is always covered with at least a one metre crust of ice. Specialised diving clubs organise the dives and provide everything necessary.

Cruising
Russia is among the most attractive cruising destinations worldwide. Hundreds of different itineraries are available along the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Volga River and the dense network of canals and waterways, especially in the European part of the country. A truly unforgettable experience is the 13-day cruise from Moscow to St Petersburg aboard the luxurious cruise ship “The White Nights” along the Imperial Russian Waterways. The Peter Tchaikovsky Cruise from Moscow to Perm is a great adventure for music experts. Cruises from Moscow to Rostov and around Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands are also worth experiencing.

Rafting
Rafting trips in Russia will give you the chance to explore the landscape along some of the most beautiful waterways to be found in this country. The trips are typically hosted in remote wilderness areas with limited access, including Karelia, the Altai Mountains, parts of Siberia, and the Lake Baikal region. Most of them are suitable for both keen beginners and skilled rafters. Rafting tours are organised by local adventure travel agencies, which often combine rafting with other extreme activities, such as canoeing and canyoning, to provide tourists a never-ending adrenaline rush.

Skiing
Russia has great potential for a skiing holidays. The country boasts more than 100 ski areas of various type and quality. In response to the increasing demand, a few first-class ski centres with modern facilities have been built. Mount Elbrus offers the highest peak and year-around skiing. The peaks can be reached by cable car or helicopter, making easy access to amazing heights. Cheget is another very popular ski resort. Located in the Caucasus Mountains it has five runs that challenge even the most experienced skiers. The Volen Sport Park is also a great place for skiing and is only 60 kilometers from Moscow. There are six slopes catering to different needs, as well as elevators and equipment hire. Southern Ural and the Baikal Lake region offer perfect off-piste and cross-country skiing.

Golf
Golf is a relatively new leisure activity in Russia, but is rapidly gaining popularity. The country has many suitable locations for this game – endless plains and fields, green forests and crystal-clear lakes create an attractive setting for playing golf. There are numerous golf courses where keen golfers can pursue their passion while enjoying the fascinating Russian nature. The most famous clubs that provide excellent courses, equipment, lessons and accommodation are the Moscow City Golf Club, the Le Meridian Moscow Country Club and the Moscow Golf Club in Krylatskoe. Professional golf tournaments are held here, like the Russian Open, as a part of the European Tour.

Enjoy your Meal

It is not a secret that our meals influence our mood. Also it is very important for our health. Every single person should eat proper kinds of food – dairy products, meats, fruit and vegetables, fats and sugars, cereals and grains. Dairy products provide us with calcium, meat provide our bodies with protein, iron, zinc. Eating fruit and vegetables helps to keep us healthy too because they give us fibre, vitamins and minerals. We should eat fats and sugars in moderation, because too much fats and sugars can cause different heart-diseases. 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 one, which has become very popular. Eating too much junk food can cause 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 and mayonnaise. You will feel full in both cases, but a fruit or a vegetable is healthier.

Today there are a lot of different restaurants and cafes where you can eat delicious and not really expensive food. The service is usually excellent and friendly waiters help you to relax and enjoy your meal fully. You can any types of food in restaurants – you can try homemade cakes, beefsteaks, pasta and macaroni and others. For a main course you can order fish, meat or chicken with some rice or potatoes, also you can ask for pasta and salad. You can eat a bowl of ice-cream, a pieces of apple pie, strawberries with cream or something like that for dessert. For drink you can order a glass of water or juice, a cup of coffee or tea or alcohol drink such as wine or beer.

Eating habits are different in different countries. For example, Brazilians never eat with their hands – they always use a knife and a fork, even when they eat hotdogs. Finns like to eat hot sausages and drink beer in the streets; many Philipinos prefer to eat with their hands. Also they think that it is polite to leave a little food on the plate at the end of a meal.

Well, as for me I do respect their eating habits and like to eat different countries’ food such as Italian Pasta, Japanese rice with sushi or Indian spicy meat. But most of all I like just ice-cream. It doesn’t matter what kind – with raspberry favor, 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.

Healthy Food

All food is made up of nutrients which our bodies use. There are different kinds of nutrients: carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals. Different kinds of food contain different nutrients.

Before we cut down on fat, sugar and salt, we have to know a bit more about the kind of food these things might be in. The biggest problem comes when these things are hidden in other foods: biscuits, crisps, sausages, meat pies, soft drinks and so on. The best way is to get into the habit of checking the ingredients and nutritional value on the sides of packets although this isn't always easy to do. Another thing to know is, for example, that we do need fat to live, it's an essential part of our diet and physically we couldn't exist without it. But we all know that to eat much fat is bad for our health. The matter is that there are different kinds of fat. There are fats that are good for us and fats that are bad for us. Eating less of the bad ones and more of the good ones can actually help us to live longer! Bad fats are the saturated fats, found in animal productions, like red meat, butter and cheese.

Friendly fats are the unprocessed fats found naturally in foods like nuts and seeds, olives, avocados and oily fish, including tuna. One more thing to know is that when food is cooked, its structure changes. It can change the vitamin and nutrient contents of food. More and more people feel strongly about the way, their food is produced. Nowadays so much of the basic food we eat — meat, fish, fruit and vegetables — is grown using chemicals and additives.

Although fertilizers and pesticides have greatly increased the quantity of food and helped to improve its appearance, there is a growing concern about the effects of these chemicals in the food chain. This concern has led to a growth in the demand for organically grown products. Today there is another problem. It is modified food, which is cheaper that ordinary one. There is a rumour that such food can cause cancer and other problems. Nobody knows, either it is just an imagined fear or a real problem. This problem could be solved and examined, but it will take some time. The food we eat, depends on lots of things. Taste is a big factor. Culture, religion and health also play a part in what food we eat. Advertising and social factors also have a big influence.

Income is also an important factor. That is why not surprisingly, money, rather than a lack of knowledge about how to eat well, is at the heart of the problem. Finally, there are three main messages to follow for healthy eating: First, we should eat less fat, particularly saturated fat. Secondly, we are to cut down on sugar and salt. Thirdly, we must eat more fresh fruit and vegetables

Travelling

Almost all people are fond of travelling. It is very interesting to see new places, another towns and countries. People may travel either for pleasure or on business. There are various means of travelling. For me there is nothing like travel by air; it is more comfortable, more convenient and, of course, far quicker than any other means. There is none of the dust and dirt of a railway or car journey, none of the trouble of changing from train to steamer and then to another train.

With a train you have speed, comfort and pleasure combined. From the comfortable seat of a railway carriage you have a splendid view of the whole countryside. If you are hungry, you can have a meal in the dining-car; and if a journey is a long one you can have a wonderful bed in a sleeper.

Travelling by ship is also very popular now. It is very pleasant to feel the deck of the ship under the feet, to see the rise and fall of the waves, to feel the fresh sea wind blowing in the face and hear the cry of the seagulls.

Many people like to travel by car. It is interesting too, because you can see many sights in a short time, you can stop when and where you like, you do not have to buy tickets or carry your suitcases.

A very popular means of travelling is hiking. It is travelling on foot. Walking tours are very interesting. Hitch-hiking is a very popular method of travelling among young people. But it is not as popular in our country as abroad.