Реферат: English topics

My favorite book.

My favorite book is «The Old Man andthe Sea» by Ernest Hemingway. This story is one of the well-known works ofthe writer. The author depicts the characters of the old man and the boy andtheir relations very vividly and skillfully. Santiago, the old man, was one ofthe writer's beloved characters. The old man was a born fisherman, but he wasnot a butcher and fished only for a living.

He was very lonely. He had a devoted friend- the boy, Manolin. The boy loved the old man for his kind heart, his devotionto the sea. Manolin was like a son to Santiago. He took care of the old man'sfood and his belongings.

The old man was glad to pass his experienceto the boy. He looked forward to going to the sea together with the boy.

All Santiago's life had been in preparationfor the battle with big fish. He knew that he had been born for this and it wastime to prove it. A strong man at last had met a strong fish. The battle was adifficult one and full of danger.

Though the sharks had eaten the fish andnothing had left but the backbone, the old man had morally won the battle.Santiago's words «man can be destroyed but not defeated» are the mainidea of this story.

«The Old Man and the Sea» is amasterpiece for its imaginative language and the description of nature.

My Favorite Newspapers.

Newspapers and magazines play a great andvery important role in the life of a modern man.

The newspapers I read are the most readableand have a large readership or circulation. For example «Arguments andFacts» has a circulation of more than 5 million. Reading the newspaper Ican get information about current events that have taken or are going to takeplace in this country and abroad. I can also read articles about historicalevents and public figures of the past. The pages of the newspaper carryarticles on our economy, industry, agriculture and social life.

The newspaper contains and gives coverageof local, home and foreign affairs.

I like the way it presents different pointsof view, approaches to the problems, topical issues of the day.

My parents and I subscribe to someperiodicals. There is no need to read all the articles. I can look through thenewspapers and read the items I am interested in.

My Favorite Writer.

My favorite foreign writer is O.Henry. Hewas born in 1862. O.Henry is one of the most widely published American authors.His works have been translated into many languages. The best of his storieswere published in books: ''Cabbages and Kings'', «The 4 million»,«Heart of West» and others. His credo was-art should be true,democratic, it should address contemporary life and embrace all aspects oflife. O.Henry was an outstanding humorist. He worked out and enriched all thetypes of the short story: the anecdote, the adventure story, tales andsketches. He was most famous for his stories of city life. O.Henry wrote about150 stories with a New York background. He was a born writer of great talent.In childhood I was deeply impressed by his story «The Last Leaf».Since then I bear in my heart the image of a young girl suffering from seriousillness and her friends doing everything they can do to give her hope and bringher back to life. The author penetrates deeply into a person's soul and revealsits best qualities. His love for humanity, for common people, for criticalattitude towards injustice attracts readers to this day.

My Friend.

I'd like to tell you about my friend. Sheis my classmate. She is very diligent and kind-hearted. She is willing to helpold people and animals. She is good at mathematics. She is interested inhistory. She is bright girl and does her lessons quickly and easily. Shelistens very attentively to all the explanations in class. She is extremelyfond of reading. I have much in common with her and we never quarrel, becausethere is no reason for it. We have common ideas, opinions and we discussdifferent problems together. I think she is rather beautiful. She has a snubnose, curly hair. She is a pretty girl.

My school

I study at school №159. It is situated inthe center of our district close to my house. It takes me only 10 minutes toget there. I go to school 5 times a week. We study different subjects: Russian,English, literature, history, geography, biology, physics, chemistry, math andcomputer science.

Languages and history are my favoritesubjects. I make much progress in these subjects.

Our school is a 3-storeyed modern building.It has many classrooms, specialized rooms, laboratories and workshops.

Specialized rooms are used to study math,chemistry and other subjects. These rooms are equipped with correspondingteaching materials, facilities and devices.

On the ground floor there is a library, acloakroom, a dining room, workshops, a gymnasium and a head master's office.

Our school is located in a picturesqueplace. The park where different trees, bushes and flowers grow surrounds it.There is a play ground and a stadium near  the building of the school.

The English Language.

Knowledge of the foreign language isbecoming more important nowadays. There are many reasons why we study English.Now, in a period when we are reconstructing our economy, when there are manyjoint ventures with foreign companies operating in our country, we need anumber of specialists who know foreign languages. If you know English, you cancommunicate (personally or in writing) with others who use this language.

If you wish to make a career in science,you must read scientific books and magazines in English. Knowing English youcan read the works of foreign writers in original.

A more general aim is to broaden ourintellectual and cultural horizons through contacts with people of othercountries.

Knowledge of foreign languages helps peopleof different countries to develop mutual friendship and understanding.

At the Theatre.

There are many theatres in my town, butthey are all very popular with the public. Theatre lovers don't miss any newperformance at the Drama Theatre.

Children like to go to the Puppet Theatreand the circus.

Those who are fond of music go to the OperaHouse. I'll never forget my first visit to the Opera and Ballet Theatre. Myfriend and I dreamt to see the famous ballet «Swan Lake» byChaikovsky. The theatre was packed. The audience was well dressed, talking andlaughing. From the first minute I was deeply impressed by everything I saw onthe stage. The dancing was exciting, the music was thrilling. When the curtainsfell at the end of the performance there came a storm of applause. Theperformance was a great success.

Environmental Protection.

Since ancient times Nature has served Man,being the source of his life. For thousands of years people lived in harmonywith environment. But with the development of civilization man's interferencewith nature began to increase.

Large cities with thousands of smokyindustrial enterprises appear all over the world today. They pollute the air webreathe, the water we drink, the land we live in. Many cities suffer from smog.Vast forests are cut and burnt in fire.

As a result some rare species of animals,birds, fish and plants disappear forever.

Environmental protection is a universalconcern. That is why serious measures to create a sistem of ecological securityshould be taken.

Some progress has been already made in thisdirection. As many as 159 countries-members of UNO- have set up environmentalprotection agencies. The accident at Chernobyl nuclear power station in April1986 caused radioactive pollution of a vast area.

The international organization Greenpeaseis also doing much to preserve the environment.

The Earth is our home. We must take care ofit for next generations and ourselves.

My Favorite Video Film.

My favorite video film is«Titanic». It tells the story of the famous ship,«Titanic», which sank in 1912. The«Titanic»was a colossalship even by modern standards. Its tragic sinking will always be remembered,for the ship went down on the first voyage with heavy loss of life.

The director of the film is Jeremy Cameron.The main parts in the film are played by young actors Leonardo De Caprio andKate Winslet. To my mind their acting is superb. The camerawork is fantastic,too. I've heard that for this film they made a full-size model of the«Titanic». It's a very spectacular film. It is also a movinglove-story.

I advise all my friends to see this film.It was awarded 11 Oscars and I'm sure the film deserves every one of them."

My Future Profession.

Finishing school is the beginning of theindependent life for school leavers. Many roads are open before them: technicalschools, institutes and universities. But it is not easy thing to choose aprofession out of more than 2.000 existing in the world. Some pupils follow theadvice of their parents, others can't decide even after leaving school. As forme I have made my choice long ago. I want to become a teacher of the Russianlanguage and literature. My choice of this occupation didn't come as a suddenflash. During all school years literature was my favorite subject. I understandthat reading books helps people in self-education and in solving different lifeproblems. Teachers do not only teach their subjects. They develop their pupils'intellect, form their views and characters, their attitudes to life and toother people. It's a great responsibility.

I'm applying to the Philological Departmentand I am sure my dream will come true sooner or later.

Sport in my life.

Watching sport events and going in forsports are 2 different things. When you listen to the radio you can always hearsport news. When you open a newspaper you will always find information aboutsport events.

TV programs about sports are always verypopular, and you can watch something very interesting every day.

Personally I prefer to watch figure-skatingcompetitions.

Sports help people to keep fit. At the sametime those who go in for sports try to achieve good results and win victoriesin sports competitions. Practically speaking all kinds of sports and games arepopular in our country. People go in for athletics, gymnastics boxing, fencing,and tennis — sports and games for any season, for any person, for any taste.

It goes without saying that football andtennis enjoy the greatest popularity in our country.

As for me I go jogging every day and Iattend fitness center 3 times a week. But I am not crazy about sports. I ammuch happier sitting on the sofa with a book or in front of the computer.

Travelling.

Modern life is impossible withouttravelling. People can travel by rail, by sea, by road, by air.

As for me I prefer travelling by car. Everyyear my parents and I go somewhere to the South for holidays.

The Black Sea is one of the most wonderfulplaces, which attracts holidaymakers all over the world. We often go onexcursions. It's interesting for me to go sightseeing and to see ancientmonuments and many places of historical interest. As a rule I make new friendsthere. I never feel bored when I travel, because I always have good companions.Time passes quickly and soon we have to make our way back. We return homesunburnt and full of impressions. I think travelling and sightseeing help meget to know the world around us.

Books and libraries.

I usually take books from school library.The library is helpful when I have to make a report, when I need information onsome subjects. The choice of books in our school library is very good. Thereare many short stories and novels, textbooks and reference books, dictionariesand encyclopedias there. All books are arranged in alphabetical order. I payattention to the cover of the book, its illustrations, the name of the author,the title of the book and the contents.

When we take a book, we mustn't do dog'sears, we mustn't write anything on the pages, and we must return books to the libraryin time.

I think it is necessary to follow theserules. I'm extremely fond of reading. I often read for pleasure and sometimesfor information.

So I'm interested in different kinds ofbooks. I like to read stories about heroes, great travelers, explorers, andcourageous men. These books excite my imagination. I think I devote much timeto reading.

Famous people.

Andrei Sakharov, an outstanding scientistand public figure, was born on the 21st of May 1921. He graduatedfrom Moscow University in 1942. In 1947 he defended his thesis for the degreeof Candidate of Science. In 1953 he defended his Doctorate thesis and waselected member of the Academy of Sciences.

Sakharov played a decisive role indeveloping the Soviet hydrogen bomb. While working on the bomb he came to theconclusion that any atomic and nuclear weapons should be banned.

He fought courageously for human rights inthe former USSR and in 1975 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Hisinternational repute as a scientist kept him out official, but in 1980 he wasdeprived of all his titles and orders and exiled to the city of Gorky. There hecontinued to work for peace, justice and human rights.

Only in 1985 Sakharov was allowed to comeback to Moscow. He was given back all his titles and 3 years later he waselected a deputy of the Supreme Soviet. But soon he died in 1989.

A.D. Sakharov is remembered by everybody asan outstanding humanist and philosopher.

Leisure time of British teenagers.

The majority of teenagers in Great Britainspend their free time as everywhere in the world. The average young personspends about 19 hours in front of the television. According to the governmentreport nearly three-quarter of young people have TV sets in their rooms.Besides watching TV, other activities like cinema going and sport remainpopular. In Wales, the report says that some 50 percent of boys play footballthroughout the winter while a great number of girls also play football,although they are in general prefer swimming and tennis.

Listening to music is also a part of timespending. Tape-recorders, CD-players and the concerts of pop music are thesubject of every day talk of teenagers.

As children grow older they turn fromplaygardens or homes to streets where they meet and talk and start developtheir confidence. Street life includes groups of friends who meet together inthe streets, squares and parks, or visit town centers to do window-shopping and«see what's going on».

My hobby.

I have many hobbies because there are manyinteresting things to do. Unfortunately I don't have much spare time as I'mgoing to be a student. That's why I have to study a lot. I like doing differentthings: Such as reading detective stories, listening to the music, playingtennis with my classmates.

But my favorite hobby is solving crosswordpuzzles. It's not only interesting, but also very useful. When you try to solvethe puzzle you find out and learn a lot of different facts. Because in puzzlesthere are questions about famous people, geographical places, countries,scientific achievements and so on. You also train your brain. The crosswordsare published in newspapers and magazines and there are special newspapers thatcontain only crosswords. I sometimes try to make up my own puzzle and I can saythat it is not less interesting. All the members of our family like to takepart in solving the puzzles and this unites us very much.

Space Exploration.

For thousands of years man dreamed offlying to the stars. At the beginning of the century the great Russianscientist Tsiolkovsky predicted that «mankind will not remain on Earthforever». Half a century later his words came true, the dream became areality.

It happened on October 4, 1957, when the 1startificial satellite, the sputnik, was launched. The Russians were the 1stin the world to fly into outer space.

Then the most remarkable event in thehistory of cosmonautics took place.

On April 12, 1961 the spaceship«Vostok», piloted by Yuri Gagarin went up. He orbited the Earth onlyonce, staying in space for 108 minutes. Mankind will always remember him.

A new era of man's exploration of outerspace began. Many space rockets went up by our cosmonauts. Among them wereTitov, Nikolaev, Leonov, Tereshkova, Savitskaya and others.

Today Russia wants the exploration of spaceto be based on broad international cooperation. Many international crews wentup in space. This is the best example of the possibility of peacefulcooperation.

Spare time.

Every day I go to school. I get up early,do homework, and have piano lessons twice a week. But on weekends I like to dosomething different. I like to relax. I watch TV or videos. If it rains, Iprefer indoor activities: to read books and magazines, to play chess, to playrecords, to draw on a computer, to clean the house.

As for my sister she likes to knit and sew.She takes an aerobics class on Sundays. In spring and summer I prefer outdooractivities: to do some gardening, to ride a bike, to go jogging.

Sometimes we come to see our grandparentsor friends. I also like to go to the parties to discos with my friends.

Our family has a little summerhouse in thecountry. Beginning from early spring we spend a lot of time on the weekendsthere. There is a river not far from our house and when the weather is fine wego there to bathe, to swim, to get sunburnt.

Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln was one of the most famouspresidents of the USA. He was born in the family of a poor farmer in 1809 inKentucky, but soon his family left for the wild forestland of Indiana.

He was taught reading, writing and simplearithmetic, as his family could not afford better education.

When he was 18, he went to New Orleans andthere he saw a slave market. It made a deep impression on him and he began tohate slavery and he decided to fight against it.

In 1830 he went to Springfield and became aclerk in a store. He learned much and greatly improved his knowledge. Heentered politics and in 1832 became a candidate for the Parliament of theState. Soon he became a force in political life and in 1860 was electedPresident of the USA.

He was an enemy of slavery. Some of theSouthern States left the Union, and the war between the South and the Northbegan. At first the war went badly for the North but Lincoln never lost hiscourage and soon they won.

When the war was over, Lincoln issued aproclamation to say that slavery was abolished.

Lincoln was well known all over America andeverybody loved him.

In 1864 he was elected President of the USAfor the second time. But his enemies could not let him continue his work.

He was shot in a theatre in Washington onApril 14, 1865 and he died the next day.

From the History of GB

The conquest of England by the Normansbegan in 1066 with the Battle of Hastings where the English fought against theNormans. The conquest was completed in 1071.

Who were the Normans who conquered England?

Some 150 years before the conquest ofEngland they came to a part of France, opposite England, a part that we callNormandy. There they adopted the Christian faith, the French language and theRoman law. So they became French. The Normans brought to England the Frenchlanguage. After the Norman Conquest there were 3 languages in England. Therewas Latin, the language of church and the language, in which all learned menwrote and spoke. There was French, the language, which kings and nobles spoke.And finally, there was the English language, which remained the language of themasses of the people.

The role of the Norman Conquest was greatfor the development of feudalism and monarchy in Britain.

Great Britain.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain andNorthern Ireland is situated on the British Isles.

It consists of 4 parts: England, Scotland,Wales and Northern Ireland.

England, Wales and Scotland occupy theterritory of Great Britain. Northern Ireland is situated in the northern partof Ireland.

The population is over 57 million people.

The northern and western part of thecountry is mountainous and is called the Highlands.

All the rest: south, east and center are avast plain, which is called the Lowlands.

The mountains are not very high. The riversare not very long. The most important of them are the Severn and the Thames.There are many beautiful lakes in Great Britain.

Great Britain is a country with oldcultural traditions and customs. The most famous educational centers are Oxfordand Cambridge Universities.

The United Kingdom is a monarchy and theQueen is the head of the state. But in practice it is ruled by the governmentwith a Parliament at the head.

Isaac Newton.

The great English scientist Isaac Newtonwas born in a village not far from the university town of Cambridge in 1642.

In his early years young I.N made variousthings. He made a clock that worked by water. He also made a sundial

When Isaac grew older, he took aconsiderable interest in mathematics. His ability as a mathematician and aphysicist was very important. His first physical experiment was carried on whenhe was 16 years old.

On June 5 1661 Newton entered theUniversity of Cambridge where he studied mathematics. Soon he became famous forhis contribution to mathematics by the time he was 21.

In1665 while he was in his native village,he saw an apple fall from the tree and began wondering what force made theapple fall.

Newton performed many experiments withlight. He invented a reflecting telescope. Newton developed a mathematicalmethod, which is known as the Binomial Theorem.

In 1669 Newton was appointed a professorand began lectures on mathematics and optics at Cambridge University andcontinued his work on the problem of gravitation. His great work «Elementsof Natural Philosophy» was published in the middle of 1687.

Newton's contribution to science is unique.

He died at the age of 85. He was buriedwith honors as a national hero.

My Favorite Film Actor.

Gerard Depardieu is one is the most popularactor. He was born in 1948 in a poor family of a shoemaker in a little town.

When he was 16 he came to Paris without anyeducation and without any money.

Together with his friend he began to attendthe actor courses. He got acquainted with a girl of a wealthy family and soonthey got married. She had a great influence upon him. He finished the actorcourses. When he was only 20 he played big roles in the theatres. His greatsuccess in films is a consequence of his good theatrical school.

But his success in the USA was not long. In1991 during his interview to the magazine «Time» he told that he wasa hooligan when he was a teenager. The american audience doesn't excuse suchfact in his biography.

The works of Depardieu in cinema are markedby many cinema rewards in France and in Italy. Everybody notes that glory and moneydon't spoil him. They only made him independent.

He played in about 80 films.

The UN.

The United Nations is the organization ofsovereign nations. The UN works out the development of friendly relation amongthe nations. The UN struggles for peace, for international co-operation, forthe solution of problems of the economic, social, cultural and humanitariannature.

The United Nations has been playing theactive role in reducing tension in the world, preventing conflicts and puttingan end to fighting.

There are 6 main organs in the UN — theGeneral Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, theSecretariat and the International Court of Justice. The Court has its place inthe Hague, Netherlands. All other organs are based at the United NationsHeadquarters in New York.

Members of the General Assembly talk toeach other in many languages, but officially there are only 6 — French, Arabic,Chinese, English, Russian and Spanish.

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