Easter is the most important holiday of the year. Easter egg is called pysanka. Pysanka shells have been found in archaeological sites from more than 3000 years ago, and many of those designs are still being used on pysanka today. Preparation for Easter starts seven weeks ahead of time with the advent of Lent. Believers don’t eat meat and animal

Environmental protection is the main problem facing humanity nowadays. The image of a sick planet has become firmly established in the public mind lately. Ten years ago the word ‘ecology’ hardly meant anything for the majority of people, but today we can’t help bearing it in our minds. It has happened because of the growing effect of the rapid industrial

European discovery and exploration of the San Francisco Bay area and its’ islands began in 1542. In 1579, Sir Francis Drake and his crew arrived in Golden Hind and spent five weeks repairing the ship and meeting with the natives. The Spanish found the entrance to the bay in 1769, and by 1776, the first colonizing party arrived to found

Domestic animals can be divided into two groups: farm animals and pets. Farm animals Farmers usually raise such animals as cows, sheep, horses, pigs, rabbits. But in some Eastern countries people keep donkeys, camels, yaks and even elephants on their farms. Some domestic animals work for people. Some of them give people food. Pigs give meat. Cows and goats give

In the 17th century rich women normally were taught at home by a tutor, they were taught subjects like Latin, French, Needlework and they were also taught how to look pretty and to play the piano and other instruments. When they became older their parents decided who they were going to marry and the family of the woman should pay

All British children must stay at school from the age of 5 until they are sixteen. Many of them stay longer and take school-leaving exams when they are 18. Before 1965 all pupils of state schools had to go through special intelligence tests and went to secondary schools of different types (grammar, technical, modern) according to the results of these

D. Defoe (1660-1731) was a great master of realistic detail. The novel «Robinson Crusoe» was written in 1719. The novel is praise to human labour and the triumph of man over nature. Defoe shows the development of his hero. At the beginning of the story we see an unexperienced youth, a rather frivolous boy, who then becomes a strong-willed man.

Extreme sports are nontraditional sports and activities that require participants to combine athletic skill with pronounced risk. An extreme sport is a popular term for certain activities which have a high level of danger. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical training. We can call many kinds of sports extreme ones. Extreme sports are rarely sanctioned

America was founded by Columbus in 1492. Columbus fled to this country because of persecution by Ferdinand and Isabella, who refused to believe the world was round. Before Columbus reached America he cried «Ceylon! Ceylon!» because he wanted to see India. When he arrived, he cried again. This time he cried «I have found it!» Columbus was mistaken in thinking

Ukraine is situated in the south-east of Europe. It borders on Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and Romania. The territory of Ukraine is 603 700 км2. The territory of Ukraine is mostly flat. There are the Carpathian Mountains in the west and the Crimean Mountains in the south, but they are not high. The main rivers are the Dnieper,

In the midth of a thinly populated wildness lies the foremost natural wonder — lake Baikal. It’s the oldest lake in the world — its age is about 25-30 million years. Scientists estimated that more than 1500 life forms live in and around this lake, which can be found nowhere else on Earth. It’s the world’s largest reservoir of drinking

My hobby is reading. Some people think that as more and more people have televisions in their homes, fewer and fewer people will buy books and newspapers. Why read an article in the newspaper, when the TV news can bring you the information in a few minutes and with pictures? Why read a novel, when a play on television can

My native city is Minsk. Here I was born and here I lived all my life. Minsk is the capital of the Republic of Belarus, its political, economic, cultural and scientific center. It is an ancient city and dates back to the 11th century. The main stages of its origin and development are rather typical of a large settlement in

London is one of the largest and most interesting cities in the world. Greater London covers an area of about 600 square miles and has the population of nearly 9 million people. In London today, there still stand numerous landmarks reminding us of the town, as it was five or six centuries ago. The old town that stood until the

Khabarovsk is one of the largest cities in the Far East of Russia and the administrative centre of the Khabarovsk territory. The population of Khabarovsk is over 590 thousand people. Khabarovsk was a small military settlement founded in 1853 by the soldiers of the 13th Siberian Battalion under the command of Captain Dyachenko. In 1893 the military post Khabarovka was

Bird flu is an infectious disease due to a type of influenza virus that is hosted by birds, but may infect several species of mammals. It was first identified in Serbia Montenegro in the early 1900s and is now known to exist worldwide. A strain of the H5Nl-type of avian influenza virus that emerged in 1997 has been identified as

I originally became interested in the law during my 9th form when I realized that my skills as a writer, speaker, and leader — as well as my powers of logic — would probably serve me well in a legal career. That is why I entered an optional class where I could have lessons on law twice a week. All

The Word library comes from the Latin word ‘liber’, meaning ‘book’. This is a place where information in print (book, manuscripts, periodicals and musical scores) and in other forms is collected. Libraries can be found in many places. There are libraries in small towns and large cities and there are libraries at schools, universities, colleges. People go to the library

Our school is a fine four-storeyed building in the center of Moscow. The school-building is not very large, but there are many classrooms and specialized rooms for studying different subjects. The pupils study Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Russian, English, History, Geography and Biology in specialized rooms. Chemistry Physics and Biology are taught in well-equipped science rooms. Schemes and tables are on

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace is the official residence of Queen Elizabeth. It is located near Green Park. When the Queen is in the residence, the Royal Standard flies over Buckingham Palace. There are 775 rooms where members of the Royal family and their servants live. There are also rooms for guests. There are offices, on-site post and even swimming pool