Shopping
It’s difficult to imagine our life without shops. Every day we do shopping. There are different kinds of shops. They are butcher’s, baker’s greengrocer’s where we buy meat, bread, different fruit and vegetables or clothing shops where different clothes can be bought. Nowadays supermarkets and department stores are becoming more popular where people can reserve time and find a necessary good. Some people go to the market. As for me I prefer going to the market because I am a poor student but I have many friends who prefer the department store to a market. I’d like to tell you about my neighbour. He prefers Department store in Kostroma. Where there are many departments in it. The shop sells all kinds of goods for both men and women and it has many departments. In every department there is a good selection of goods. It takes a little time to buy a necessary thing. So all this goods are of good quality and so they are very expensive. My friend adores doing shopping in the department store. As for me I dislike this shop. The service is much to desired. I think that shop assistant must help to choose good things because I have no much money I have to go to the market. On one hand market goods are cheaper on the other hand I am not sure in their quality. To tell the truth I don’t like to go shopping. My mother or grandmother do shopping in my family. They do their shopping at the market because meals are always fresh and not expensive here. They buy al necessary food. But sometimes I have go to the shop if my relatives are very busy. I take a bag and go to the nearby shop. Advertisements play a very important role in our life. They often help me to make my choice. At first I read advertisements in newspapers or watch them on TV and then go to the shop. To my mind advertisements are of good adviser. We can discuss this topic very long because shops are essential part of our life.
Belarus On The International Arena
As a sovereign country, Belarus enjoys full rights and is active on the foreign arena. From the moment of setting up the United Nations Organization (UNO) Belarus as one of its constituent member states takes an active part in the work of this association, its organs and institutions. Belarus regularly sends its delegations to the sessions of the UNO General Assembly, has its permanent delegation and its own staff in it. Belarus is a member of some international specialized organizations, commissions, bureaus, funds and other organs.
On the initiative of Belarus the international organizations have adopted a number of important decisions, particularly on the punishment of war criminals, on education of youth in the spirit of ideas of peace and friendship among nations. Belarus has signed many treaties, agreements, protocols and conventions on co-operation with other countries in various fields. Belarus has many a time been the seat of convening international meetings, such as UNO seminars on social aspects of industrialization and on distribution of industry, seminars on the International organization of labour on inspection of labour, etc. Together with representatives of other peace-loving countries the envoys of Belarus are struggling for implementing a policy that answers the basic interests of all nations of the world, for their peace and security, co-operation and friendship.
The Belarusian people indefatigably strengthens and broaden its ties with the people of other countries. Its public organizations have established direct contacts and exchange delegations with their trade unions, youth, women's and sports organizations. Fruitful are the activities of the Belarusian Society for Friendship and Cultural Relations with foreign countries. It maintains contacts with many organizations of many countries.
The political system of Great Britain
Great Britain is a parliamentary monarchy. It means that there is a Queen (or King) and the Parliament. The Queen has almost no power in the country. Her powers are limited by the Parliament. Laws are made by the Parliament. The Queen is only a formal ruler: she reigns but does not rule. In fact everything that she does is done on the active of her ministers, who are responsible for the royal acts. Thus, most of her functions are symbolic. The United Kingdom is governed by Her majesty's Government in the name of the Queen. But the Queen has all information, has the right to encourage and the right to warn. The Queen's residence in London is Buckingham Palace. Besides, she has some homes in England and Scotland. The British Parliament consists of two cambers: the House if Lords and the House of Commons. There are more than 1000 members in the House of Lords. Many seats are hereditary. The House of Commons has 635 members. They are elected by a general election (secret ballot). Any member may introduce a Bill and ask permission to bring it to the House for the first reading. After the third time reading the Bill goes to the House of Lords. If the Lords agree to a Bill, it will be placed before the Queen for signature. The government is headed by the Prime Minister, who is the leader of the party that has won the election. In Great Britain there are three main political parties: the Conservatives, the Labour Party and the Liberals.
Education in GB and USA
Education is very important for every person. It gives information and opportunities for further life. Every country has its own, unique system of education. We can note examples of many different systems, but I think the most developed and popular are: education system in the USA, the education system in Great Britain, as the most oldest, and Russian education system, the best in some qualities I think. But as many persons as many opinions, and the best way to prove something is to compare it, I consider. Education in Great Britain. There are three main systems in Britain: the Comprehensive system, the selective and the private system. The Comprehensive system was introduced in Britain in 1960s. More than 90% of children who go to state schools go to schools of comprehensive system. Children go to a primary school at the age of 5. Then they go to the upper school - usually called comprehensive - at the age of 11. Alternatively they may go to the middle school for 3 or 4 years before going to the upper school. The selective system, which still exists in some areas of Britain, is old. It was introduced in 1944. Children are selected according to their abilities. In Britain children then take an examination called 11-plus and who are successful go to the grammar school and those who fail enter the secondary modern school. And the last subsystem that is developed in Great Britain is the private education. In Britain about 7% of children go to private schools. There are three levels of private education: primary schools - age from 4 to 8, preparatory school - age from 8 to 13. At the age of 13 children take an examination. If they are successful they go on to public schools where they usually remain until the age of 18. Almost all students in Britain take examinations. The public examinations taken by British schoolchildren are called GCSEs (The General Certificate of Secondary Education). Pupils usually take their GCSEs at the age of 16. Pupils who have passed their GCSEs may remain at school for another two years and take their advanced level exams. It's interesting to mote that any student who wants to go to the university needs to pass two or three "A" level exams. Education in the United States. Most schools in the United States start at the kindergarten level. In addition to bilingual and bicultural programs many schools have special programs for those with learning and reading difficulties. All the education system of USA have always stressed the importance of "character" or "social skills" through extracurricular activities, including organized sports. There is usually a very broad range of such activities available. They not only give pupils a chance to be together outside normal classes, but they also help to develop a feeling of "school spirit". And to my mind it is the one of the most striking differences between the American education system and Russian education system. And I'm sure that it is our great loss. In my opinion the weakness of the US education system is that students at early age have to choose subjects and they don't receive the beginning knowledge of all branches of sciences. The education in the USA is most provided with new technologies. In every school there are new models of computers and almost every school has a direct connect to the Internet. Internet gives an opportunity for remote education with the help of e-mail, special forums and teleconferences. Russia is on the first stage of bringing these technologies in education. But I hope we will have them too in our school.
Environment and ecology
The poisoning of the world's land, air, and water is the fastest-spreading disease of civilisation. It probably produces fewer headlines than wars, earthquakes and floods, but it is potentially one of history's greatest dangers to human life on earth. If present trends continue for the next several decades, our planet will become uninhabitable. Overpopulation, pollution and energy consumption have created such planet-wide problems as massive deforestation, ozone depletion, acid rains and the global warming that is believed to be coused by the greenhouse effect. The seas are in danger. They are filled with poison: industrial and nuclear waste, chemical fertilisers and pesticides. The Mediterranean is already nearly dead; the North Sea is following. The Aral Sea is on the brink of extinction. If nothing is done about it, one day nothing will be able to live in the seas. Every ten minutes one kind of enimal, plant or insect dies out for ever. If nothing is done about it, one million species that are alive today will have become extinct twenty years from now. Air population is a very serious problem. In Cairo just breathing the air is life threatening- equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. The same holds true for Mexico City and 600 cities of the former Soviet Union. Industrial enterprises emit tons of harmful substunces. These emissions have disastrous consequences for our planet. They are the main reason for the greenhouse effect and acid rains. An even greater environmental threat are nuclear power stations. We all know how tragic the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster are. People are beginning to realise that environmenta problems are not somebody else's. They join and support various international organosation and green parties. If governments wake up to what is happening- perhaps we'll be able to avoid the disaster that threatens the natural world and all of us with it.
Environmental problems
All the nations have the same basic environmental problems. In fact the problem of environment crisis has assumed a global proportions. That is why many ecological problems can generally be solved only at the world community level. As nations we all share a single ecological space. Acid rains, for example, have no boundaries. Nuclear radiation does not respect administrative or national regions. All the nations must assume a position as responsible members of the world community level, cooperating in matters of environmental protection. It’s important that we all work together to share, to overcome ecological disasters. Both scientists and politicians agree that if some radical steps are not taken, life on our planet may be damaged if not destroyed altogether, because the number of air pollutants is constantly growing. Ecological disasters do not happen by chance. Ignorance, lack of planning, greed and criminal neglect have been responsible for creating ecological distress zones throughout the world. Radioactive materials present health and safety problems in an increasing number of countries. Underground nuclear-weapon tests are a major threat to the environment. Steps must be taken to do away with nuclear tests. The acid falls to earth in form of rain or snow that can damage anything from the monuments to living organisms. The increase in traffic is threatening another serious air pollution in our cities, because vehicles, not factories, produce most of toxic micro-particles, which do most harm. Toxic gases appear in the atmosphere in critical concentration of carbon dioxide is expected to increase at rates that could change the world’s climate. The commonest air pollution comes from the cigarette smoke, which pollutes public places. Water pollution is another important problem. In several years tourists will find fewer beaches where it’s safe to swim. Urgent measures must be taken if we don’t want to leave a dangerous planet to future generations.



Death by Tourism
The effects of tourism since the 1960s have been incredible. It’s brings death and destruction for all landscapes, temples, castles, cultures. For instance at the entrance to one of the ruined temples of Petra in Jordan, there is an inscription chiselled into the soft red rock. It looks as if it has been there for centuries. But closer inspection reveals that it is not so ancient after all. It reads something like ‘Shane and Wendy were here…’ Because of this it is not looks so ancient now. The Mediterranean shores have a resident population of 130 million, but this swells to 230 million each summer because of the tourists. In the Alps, the cable cars have climbed ever higher. More and more peaks have been conquered. American national parks have been operating permit systems for years. But even this is not enough for the most popular sites. In Notre Dame in Paris, more then 100 visitors enter each minute during opening hours. Thirty-five buses, having put down their passengers, wait outside, their fumes eating away at the stonework of the cathedral. Many of the great cities of Europe are finding that their historic centers are fast becoming theme parks – tourist ghettos, filled with clicking cameras, abandoned by all local residents except for the souvenir sellers. Until recently, we all believed that travel broadened the mind, but now many believe the exact opposite: ‘Modern travel narrows the mind’.

William Shakespeare
The last half of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th centuries are known as the golden age of English literature. It was the time of the English Renaissance, and sometimes it is even called “the age of Shakespeare”. William Shakespeare, the greatest and the most famous of English writers, and probably the greatest playwright who has ever lived, was born in Stratford-on-Avon. In spite of his fame we know very little about his life. The things that we know about Shakespeare’s life begin with the date baptized in the church of Stratford, on April 26, 1564, when he was only a few days old. So he has believed to have been born on April 23. Though little is known about William’s childhood, there is every reason to believe that he was educated at the local Grammar school. When little over 18 he married Anne Halthaway of Shottery. William lived in Stratford until he was about 21, when he went to London. We don’t know why he left Stratford-on-Avon. There is a story that Shakespeare’s 1st job in London was holding rich men’s horses at the theatre door. But nobody can be sure that this story is true. Later, Shakespeare became an actor and a member of one of the chief acting companies. Soon he began to write plays for his company and in a few years became a well-known author. One writer of that time said that Shakespeare liked a quiet life, he didn’t like parties, and wasn’t fond of being invited to the court. “If he was invited to the court, he was in pain.” Shakespeare’s experience as an actor helped him greatly in the writing of his plays. His knowledge of stage and his poetical genius made his plays the most wonderful ones ever written. Shakespeare wrote 37 plays. Among them there are deep tragedies, such as Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, Macbeth, light comedies, such as Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, The Merry Wives of Windsor, historical dramas, such as Henry the fourth and Richard the third. Most of Shakespeare’s plays were not published in his lifetime. So some of them may have been lost in the fire when the “Globe” burned down in 1613. Shakespeare spent the last years of his life at Stratford, where he died in 1616. He was buried in the church of Stratford. A monument was erected to the memory of the great playwright in the Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey.
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare, the greatest and most famous of English writers, and probably the greatest playwright who has ever lived, was born on the 23d of April, 1564, in Stratford-on-Avon. In sprite of his fame we know very little about his life. At the age of six he was sent to school, but had to leave it at the age of 13. His father, John Shakespeare, was a glove-maker, and when he fell into debt, William had to help him in the trade. Just what William did between his fourteenth and eighteenth years isn’t known. At the age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway. Ann was eight years older than her husband and the marriage wasn’t a happy one. When Shakespeare was twenty-one, he went to London. We don’t know why he left Stratford-on-Avon. There is a story that Shakespeare’s first job in London was holding rich men’s horses at the theatre door. But nobody can be sure that this story is true. Later, Shakespeare became an actor and a member of a very successful acting company. It’s highly probable that The Comedy of Errors, Romeo and Juliet and some other plays by Shakespeare were performed for the first time on this stage. Very soon, however, the actors were told that could no longer use the land that their theatre was built on and the company had nowhere else to perform. There is a story that in the dead of night the whole acting troop took down their theatre, timber by timber, brick by brick. They carried it across the river and rebuilt it. The new theatre was called the Globe. Shakespeare’s Globe was rather different from modern theatres. The plays were performed in the open air and the audience got wet if it rained. There was no scenery, very few props, and the only lighting was the daylight that came from the open roof above. Women in those days weren’t allowed to act in public and all the parts (even Juliet!) were played by men. Much of the audience stood to watch the performance and moved around, talking with each other and throwing fruit at the stage if they didn’t like something. Shakespeare wrote 37 plays: 10 tragedies (such as Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, Macbeth), 17 comedies (such as As You Like It, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing), 10 historical plays (such as Henry 4, Richard 3). He also left 7 books of poems and sonnets.

Science
Science is a source of progress. It develops the world we live in. Our century is an epoch of great discoveries in science and engineering. It is epoch of scientific and technological revolution, when new ideas are being born and new discoveries, inventions are being made at an ever increasing rate. Today science has become the most important factor in the development of national economy in the whole world. Scientific progress serves the interests of society, helps to increase the well - being of people and develops public education. Computer technology plays the most important role in the progress of science. The ability of computers to solve many mathematical problems more effective than man does, has given rise to new trends in mathematics. Computer science is a new field of study and research. In recent years scientists of the world have achieved great success in the development of physics, chemistry, biology, and such astonishing, interesting science as psychology. But science may be turned both for peace and military purpose. It can take good forms and evil forms. With the help of scientific inventions politicians make weapons of mass destruction. But on the other hand researches help us in our life: at home, at work, at school and make the level of the country development higher. That's why there are a lot's of facts telling about a great amount of well-known scientists who had burned their works when they've understood the consequences of their inventions. There are a lot of world-known scientists but one of the greatest names in history of man's work in physics. James Clerk Maxwell was born Edinburgh, Scotland, on November 13, 1831.After school he entered the University of native city, attended the University of Cambridge which he graduated in 1854. For two years he lectured, made experiments in optics at Trinity College, studied much himself. In 1856 he became a professor of natural philosophy and in 1860 - a professor of physics and astronomy at kings College in London. In London he lived for five years. There he saw Faraday. In 1871 Maxwell became a professor of experimental physics at Cambridge. At that time students couldn't even have such subjects like electricity and magnetism, as there was no laboratory for the study of these subjects. Maxwell organized such a laboratory, which made Cambridge world-known. This was a fruitful period of Maxwell's life. He studied the problems of electromagnetism, molecular physics, optics, and mechanics. Maxwell wrote his first scientific work when he was 15. Science that time he wrote a great number of works which were the results of his experiments and calculations. His most outstanding investigations are in the field of kinetic theory of gases and electricity. Maxwell is the founder of the electromagnetic field (side by side with Faraday). In 1873 he published his work on electricity and magnetism. During these years he also wrote his classic "Matter and Motion", "Atoms", "Attraction", "Faraday". Maxwell died in 1879.
Mass Media
The press, the radio and TV play an important role in the life of society. They inform, educate and entertain people. They also influence the way people look at the world and make them change their views. Mass media shapes public opinion. Millions of people in their spare-time read newspapers. It is impossible to imagine our life without newspapers. Millions of copies of them appear every day. Many people subscribe to two or more newspapers, others buy newspapers on the news-stands. There are national daily newspapers such as "The News" and "The Economic newspaper". There are also national weekly newspapers such as "The arguments and the facts". Most national newspapers express a political opinion and people choose them according to their political beliefs. Most newspapers contain news, detailed articles on home and international affairs, reviews of book are and TV-shows. Mane of them cover sport events. There are local newspapers in every city and town of Russia. The most popular local newspapers in Moscow are "The Moscow Komsomolets" and "Evening Moscow", in Kazan - "Evening Kazan. It is a local paper, because it is circulated only in our city. It is a daily paper because it is issued for times a week. The circulation of this paper is more than 80 thousand copies. This paper is delivered to our house. I am fond of reading it because it gives a full coverage of the events at home and abroad. One can also find newspapers for teenagers and children, for sportsfans and people of different professions. In Britain there are great differences between the various daily newspapers - in the type of news they report and the way they report it. On the one hand there are "quality" newspapers: "The Times", "The Guardian ", "The Daily Telegraph". These concern themselves, as far as possible, with factual reports of major national and international events, with the world of politics and business, and with the arts and sport. On the other hand there are the popular and tabloids, so-called because of their smaller size. The tabloids - the most widely read of which are "The Daily Mail", "The Daily Express" and "The Sun" - concentrate on more emotive reporting of stories often featuring violence, the Royal Family, film and pop stars and sport. The tabloid press is much more popular than the quality press. In addition to the national daily newspapers there are some national papers which are published on Sundays. Most of the Sundays contain more reading matter than daily papers. Besides, nearly every area in Britain has one or more local newspapers. The British are one of the biggest newspaper-reading nations in the world. Millions of people watch TV. In our technological age TV has become a part of daily life. It broadens our horizons and enriches our mind because there are different programs on the arts, history, archeology, technical inventions. The strength of our television lies in its high quality, in its willingness to experiment and its ability to please most tastes. But a peculiar feature of modern TV is a soap-opera. It is s sentimental serial drama dealing with domestic problems. Most people find soap-operas boring. There is a lot of advertising on TV. The same advertisements are repeated dozens of times every day which bores the viewers. In my opinion some new American films pull the rest of the people down to their own intellectual level. But it hardly fair to say that our media do not try to raise the cultural level of the people or to develop their artistic taste. Many of the TV programs are excellent, they are made in a good taste and with a great professional skill. The radio is turned on most of the time. It doesn't interfere with your activities. You can listen to the radio while doing some work about the house, reading a book or driving a car. On the radio one hear the music, plays, news and various commentaries and discussions. Radio and TV bring into millions of homes not only entertainment and news but also cultural and educational programs. For instants you can take a TV course in history, political, economy, management and many other subjects, learn a foreign language by radio. My favorite is "Current affairs". This program deals with political and social problems of modern society. Its aim is to give an analysis of the problems and to show different view points.
My plans for the future
When millions of young people leave school, they begin an independent life. Some of them start working, go into business, some of them continue schooling to receive a higher education. Young people can learn about professions in magazines and advertisements. Magazines for teenagers often offer questionnaires, quizzes or surreys to help young people to find out what their interests and abilities are more clearly and to make a decision concerning their future occupation. While choosing a career you should take into consideration main demands that you want your future profession to meet: the profession must be interesting, you have to be sure of your future (that means that you will be able to find a job after graduation from the university), a profession must be well-paid, otherwise you won’t be able to support yourself and your future family. During our school life we begin to think about our future life, our job. There over 2000 professions in the world, so it is quite difficult to choose and to make a decision. Some follow their own choice and some follow their relation’s, teacher’s, parent’s advice, because they can guide them and help to make a decision concerning future plans. I have never had a question, what I am going to do when I graduate from my school. I have known from childhood that I want to be a linguist. I have chosen this profession, because a knowledge of foreign languages and foreign cultures is growing in importance nowadays. Foreign languages are needed as the main and the most efficient mean of information exchange between the people of our planet. Although there are 3000 languages, English is the most universal. It is the language of progressive science and technology, trade and cultural relations, and business. It is the universal language of international aviation, shipping, sports, medicine. English is the official language in nearly forty countries. It is spoken by more than 350 millions people and also spoken as a second language in many parts of India and Africa. Besides, millions of people study English as a foreign language . In our country English is very popular. It is studied at schools, colleges and universities. It is important for me to learn English because I want to know what is going on round me in the world. With recent advances in technology, the world is changing rapidly in many fields, such as business, arts and medicine. These changes will affect me soon and its important for me to read and keep up with these changes. In fact, learning English is the answer to a lot of the things that I need and want. And I can’t help mentioning the quotation: “Every man is the maker of his own fortune.” In conclusion I would like to say it is an advantage to choose our future career while at school. It gives us a goal to work towards and enables us to choose a right, suitable course of study. I’d like to mention also that if we don’t think about our future, nobody will think for us, so we just can’t have one. We must work hard to archive out ambitions and to realize our wishes, because future is purchased by the present.