Environmental problems

Your home town (city or village).

My home town is A. It's a little town in the central part of Russia. Historians say that it was founded more than 400 years ago. It was a little settlement but now about 400,000 people live here.

The town is famous for its electrical power station that supplies the whole region. There is also an agricultural factory that produces different milk products and lots of other businesses. The architecture of the centre of the town is not interesting, in my opinion — you can see the same style in most towns and cities. However there are several streets where you can still see old wooden and stone houses — people built such houses here almost a century ago but they look very attractive to me.

I love my town because it's my home — my family and friends live here. In the summer we spend lots of time outdoors — swim in the river, go to the parks, cycle and explore the surroundings. In winter there are lots of places to go too — there is a skating rink, cinemas and computer clubs. My favourite place is the central park — there are huge, old trees there. We often go there to skateboard, roller-skate and cycle.

I think that my town is a nice place to live in and it's getting better every year.

1. I think our town is the most beautiful in summer. It's very green and there are lots of flowers everywhere. And people in the streets smile more often in the summer.

2. I would prefer to live in a big city because I think life is more intense there. There are more exhibitions, concerts and different shows. There are more opportunities to meet new people and make new friends.

Internet.

It's difficult to imagine that fifty years ago people lived without the Internet. Now it is used everywhere and people of different professions need it. For example, in education — teachers can teach via the Internet and there are many online courses today. I think it's very convenient because the students don't have to travel. It doesn't matter whether you live in a big city or in a small village — you need only a computer and you don't have to travel anywhere. I think that online education will become very popular soon.

My friends and I use the Internet for learning too. At school we often have to write essays and projects and we search for additional information on the Internet. It's much faster than looking for it in the library. There's lots of reference information on the Internet — like online dictionaries, Wikipedia etc. Sometimes we send our written tasks to the teacher via e-mail and it's also convenient and quick. The Internet is good not only for education but for entertainment and communication. We chat online, play games and exchange photos. I also watch films on my computer.

Sometimes people spend so much time online that they forget about real world. That's certainly not good at all — it may affect their health, work, studies and family relations but it's not the fault of the Internet. The Internet is a very smart tool, but only people can decide how to use it. I really think that the Internet gives us great opportunities and we should use it wisely.

1. In IT lessons we learn how to work with text documents, how to make presentations, and how to work with photos. We also learn to work in different programs.

2. People prefer e-mails because it's very quick and convenient to send them via the Internet. It's also very cheap as you only have to pay for the Internet connection.

Films.

Nowadays there are lots of opportunities for people to see any film they like — there are lots of TV channels and cinemas or you can buy a disk and watch a film at home or watch it online. In spite of all these opportunities I don't watch films very often. It's because I don't have lots of free time and because I don't find most contemporary films very interesting — I like the Internet more.

However, I saw an interesting film several days ago. It was an old film and I don't remember its name. It was about a spaceship that landed on a far-away planet. The crew of the spaceship started to explore the planet and found very intelligent creatures there. They looked very different from us and the captain wanted to study them. Several aliens were killed. Fortunately, the pilot of the spaceship managed to explain to the captain that the people should leave the planet and not to do any more harm to the aliens. The astronauts decided not to inform Earth about the civilization they had found.

You can see that the plot of the film is not original at all. I was surprised that the film didn't have any expensive special effects, but I enjoyed it because the actors played their roles very well and there were lots of good jokes and humour in the film. The music was also very good. In my opinion, the most essential things for a film are a good story and talented actors.

I think that film producers today often forget about these things and pay too much attention to special effects. That's why lots of films are very much alike and are not really interesting.

1. Last time my friend and I went to the cinema was two weeks ago. The film was not very good but we had a good time anyway.

2. I like watching the Discovery Channel and different educational programmes. I'm interested in programmes which tell us about different countries, cultures, the mysteries of the past and the secrets of the universe.

Books.

Books have always been very important. People need books for studying and they read them for pleasure too. However, that's true that people of my age read books less than our parents and grandparents did. I think it's because the world has changed — we get information from different sources, not only from books like in our grandparents' times.

Now we have TV, radio and the Internet where we can almost certainly find any information in seconds. Another reason for reading less is the lack of free time. Our life is very busy and it's not easy to find a couple of hours for reading a book.

However, in spite of the lack of time I can't do without reading and that's why I use my electronic book a lot. I often read on buses, trains or when I have to wait for someone or something. I think that an electronic book is much more convenient than a traditional paper book. An e-book is a small device but it contains lots of texts. It's easy to use because it opens at the exact place I stopped reading it last time. I've got dozens of traditional books in my e-book.

Most of my books are science fiction because that is my favourite genre. I also like historical novels and I enjoy reading science articles which I download from the Internet. I don't really think that people will ever stop reading but books may change a lot and probably very soon traditional paper books will be only in museums.

1. It was the book 'The heart of a dog' by Michael Bulgakov. I had to read it for my literature classes but I soon became interested and enjoyed reading it.

2. If I have free time, I usually watch films. I have to read a lot for my classes and that's why watching films is more relaxing for me.

 

environmental problems.

People discuss environmental problems a lot nowadays. There are lots of TV programmes and newspaper articles that explain that if we don't stop polluting the air and if we continue to destroy the forests, the situation will become very dangerous for all of us. In the past people were not able to affect nature so much because they didn't have such powerful technology, but now people have to be very careful or we may destroy the whole planet. Global warming is one of the examples. If global warming goes on, cities and whole countries will be lost under water.

There are some environmental problems in our town, too. The first one is that we suffer from air pollution as there are too many cars in the streets. Its especially harmful for elderly people and small children. Another problem is our river. It's very dirty and it's dangerous to swim there. There's rubbish on the beach and on the banks of the river.

Ordinary people and teenagers like me cant solve global environmental problems but we can clean up our town and keep our parks and river banks tidy. As for me, I never throw plastic bottles or ice cream packages on the ground. If some of my friends do, I make them pick up their rubbish and put it into the rubbish bin. If they refuse to do it, I pick up their rubbish myself. They usually feel very uncomfortable about it and never do it again. But if they don't change their behaviour, we don't remain friends for long.

I really think that people can't ignore major and minor environmental problems any longer. Governments and ordinary people should do everything they can to save nature and themselves.

1. Yes, people should use clean energy more because it's safer for the environment. Solar energy can help grow vegetables and fruit, light cities and keep our houses warm without using gas and oil. The energy from gas and oil pollutes the environment, and the energy from the sun and the wind doesn't.

2. If nobody wastes light and water, we'll save lots of energy. For example we should be quick when getting the food out of the fridge. When the door is open, the fridge uses extra energy. We should turn off the lights and the taps if we don't need them. It means that we'll burn less gas and oil and the environment will be cleaner.

Clothes and fashion.

Lots of people think that it's important to follow fashion. They buy new clothes and accessories but these things go out of fashion very quickly and they have to buy more. There are lots of magazines and TV shows that encourage people to buy expensive clothes.

I like good and trendy clothes too, but I think it's silly to buy expensive and impractical clothes. I prefer comfortable things that I can wear for any occasion. Most my friends prefer casual clothes or sports styles as well. The most popular clothes with teenagers are jeans, T-shirts and jumpers. They are not boring — you can change T-shirts and look different every day. You pan wear the same clothes to college and to a party, and you can walk and do sports wearing them. They are comfortable and they are certainly fashionable.

As for the school uniform I approve of it in general. It's very convenient because you don't have to think about what to wear in the morning. On the other hand, it's very boring to wear the same clothes all year round. School uniform doesn't look fashionable at all — this is a great disadvantage.

In general, I don't think it's very important to follow fashion. It's more important to find your personal style and wear things that suit you.

1. I like bright colours like red, orange, and light green. Sometimes I wear blue and black but not very often.

2. I would like to wear a sports style for school. It could be jeans and a shirt — I think any colours should be allowed. The uniform could be the same for boys and girls.

About photography.

I’d like to start with the notion that taking pictures has become very popular these days. Not to mention that almost every family has their own camera. I think that people like taking pictures because in that way they can memorize the moment. Looking at the self-made photograph makes you think about old good times. In my opinion, taking photos is more popular now than it was before because cameras have become cheaper and more people can buy them. Speaking about me, I like taking photos, too. And, obviously, I have my best shot. It’s the photograph of the local lake surrounded by trees. In conclusion, I think that taking photos is a good hobby and it’s great that many people agree with me.

 

Your free time.

I would like to start with the idea that most of the people have enough free time to relax. But the majority of them always complain that they need more and more. I think that you just have to be responsible for a wise usage of your free time. Speaking about me, I’m usually busy doing homework. But I still have enough free time to play with my friends. Or, for example, sometimes I prefer to watch a new movie in the cinema. I would say that I have enough free time to do everything that I’ve planned. During my recreation I enjoy having fun with my friends from school. We usually play football together. But my favourite day of the week is Sunday because I go to the pool in the early morning. Tthen I meet with my friends and we watch a movie together. In summary, I should say that having a lot of free time is great.

 

Your career plans.

I would like to start with the idea that almost all young people today consider making a successful career as the main goal in life. That is why so many people go to universities. Most of them spend four or six years on getting a decent education. Speaking about me, I want to be an economist working in the bank. Or in a big multinational company. It’s an interesting and well-paid job. But this job is also difficult because you should be very good both at microeconomics and math. Those two subjects are important because a true economist should know both economic theory and mathematical models. That is why this profession requires a lot of knowledge which you get during the six year period. In fact, my family doesn’t approve my career choice. They thinkt that I should become a lawyer. In conclusion, I think that being economist is great. And I’m looking forward to it.

About travelling.

Today many people around the world choose travelling as the main hobby. They save money for the trip the whole year. And then they travel to another city or country with friends. I think that most people enjoy travelling because it gives them an opportunity to meet new people. Also it's a good chance to find out interesting historical facts. I guess that the majority of tourists spend time attending museums and theaters. Morover, tourists like to watch popular monuments of the country. Also it’s a great way to examine a foreign culture. Speaking about me, I would like to visit Canada because of the glorious history of the country. Also my best friend wants to go there. In conclusion, I think that travelling is a great hobby. All people should use an opportunity to visit other countries.

Weather and seasons.

I would like to start with the idea that weather is a very popular topic. I think that the majority of people hate a winter season because it’s too cold. But I consider winter as the most gorgeous and beautiful time of the year because snow covers absolutely everything including big roofs and tall trees. As the result the view is fantastic. I enjoy walking on the streets in that time of the year. Nevertheless, I have all reasons to think that climate is rapidly changing. For example, winter has become shorter. I'm convinced that we should definitely do something to change the current situation. Speaking about weather forecasts, I would say that I trust them because they use scientific methods to determine the future weather. Of course, there is some inaccuracy. But most of the time predictions come true. In summary, I should say that climate is a very fragile system. We should not harm it.