The official name of the country, we usually call England and occasionally Great Britain, is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The U. K. is situated on the group of islands, lying just off the mainland of northwestern Europe. The British Isles include Great Britain proper, Ireland and a number of smaller islands. Great Britain consists of

London is not only the political, financial and manufacturing centre of Great Britain. It is the main tourist attraction of the country, too. London’s many places of interest attract thousands of tourists every year. Tourists usually want to see Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Tower of London. Westminster is now the political centre

After each term in school we had our holidays. It’s fun to have holidays, you can do whatever you like, you don’t have to get up too early, do your homework or think of troubles which occur very often at school. Most of all I liked summer holidays, they were the longest ones, though, when winter was snowy and and

The history of the Ukrainian state is the history of national movement for liberty and independence. Any movement has its heroes, Bohdan Khmelnitskiy is one of them. He was born in 1595 and he is known as a public figure, a general and the Ukrainian Hetman from 1649. Bohdan Khmelnitskiy was a well-educated brilliant man and he knew such languages

The innermost planet is rarely seen because of the Sun’s glare. With less than half Earth’s gravity, Mercury retains only a wisp of an atmosphere (presumed to be helium). The lack of a significant atmosphere allows temperatures to fluctuate from 750 degrees Fahrenheit during the day to minus 320 Fahrenheit at night. Like the other terrestrial planets — Venus, Earth

I want to tell you about reading in my life. Reading plays a very important role in the life of people. I’m fond of reading. In my opinion, books are a source of emotional inspiration and romantic feelings. Reading is very useful, because books enrich our experience with that or the other people. Besides, books help me to continue my

Great Britain is a highly developed industrial country, and most of the people live in large cities. Naturally, the capital comes first among the biggest industrial cities of the country. Lots of things such as clothes, food, planes and cars are made in London. Birmingham is the biggest town in the centre of England. Machines, cars and lorries are made

There are many animals in Australia that you cannot see anywhere else, and talking of the animals, we should mention kangaroos in the first place. There are many different types of kangaroo. The biggest are the great grey kangaroos. They are 213 centimetres tall and can run at 56 kilometres per hour. Some run from you then stop and stare.

I am not a very sociable person yet there are people whom I can call friends. One of them is Oleg. He is seventeen. He left school last year and now he’s a student of the University. Oleg is a future economist. He does not have much time but if he has, Oleg likes to spend it in a good

Love is the best feeling in the world. Love makes the world go round. It is the greatest mystery of all times. If you ask someone «What is love?», he or she will hardly find enough words to express its meaning. Love can be different. There is love for parents, love for children, love for animals, love for friends, first

There are many holydays in our country. They are New Year Day, Christmas and other. I’d like to tell you about my favorite holiday — New Year’s Day. The weather is usually fine and cool and there is a lot of snow everywhere. Children don’t go to school because of winter holidays. Our family prepares for this holydays before hand.

There are four seasons in a year. They are summer, autumn, winter and spring. Each season is beautiful in its own way. Sometimes it is very hard to say which one is better and why. We always wait for chilly autumn to come after hot summer just the same way as we wait for sunny spring to come after hard

Learning a foreign language is not an easy thing. It is a long and slow process that takes a lot of time and efforts. Nowadays it is especially important to know foreign languages. Some people learn languages because they need them for their work, others travel abroad, for the third studying languages is a hobby. Everyone, who knows foreign languages

The Russian character and identity have long been influenced by the fact that Russia spreads across the two continents: Europe and Asia. The boundary between the two continents lies along the Ural Mountains that also mark the borders of Siberia. Siberia covers a vast area of over five million square kilometers. For several decades Siberia was strictly off limits to

School is the traditional place for acculturating children into our national life. In the modern age, the role assigned to our schools is to prepare children for the literate public culture. Some students like school, others don’t; but they all study for eleven years and gain knowledge by doing different tasks. For students who are doing well in most subjects

The Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty is located on Liberty Island in New York. In 1886 American people got it as a gift from the French. Since that time the statue has been the symbol of freedom and of the United States. The height of the Statue of Liberty is 93 metres (from ground level to torch). Visitors

There are four seasons in a year: spring, summer, autumn and winter. In the United States autumn is called Fall. Each season lasts three months. In most countries of the world the new year begins on the 1st of January. This day is a holiday in Russia. Every season is beautiful in its own way. Winter in Russia is cold,

Christmas Day, December 25, is probably the most popular holiday in Great Britain. It is a family holiday. Traditionally all relatives and friends give each other presents. So, before Christmas all the department stores and shops are crowded, everybody is choosing a present. In general, people get prepared for this holiday very carefully. They decorate their houses in the traditional

Once in a zoo I saw a giraffe. Since then giraffes are my favourite animals. I have watched a number of documentaries about giraffes and have learnt a lot about them. Wild animals such as tigers, bears and crocodiles awake fear. Giraffes don’t. Looking at these lovely and friendly animals, you get filled with a special feeling. Giraffes are very

Irkutsk was founded in 1661. In 1686 it became a city, so it is rather old. So, how did Irkutsk look like, for example, one hundred and fifty years ago? Karl Marx street was the main street and its name was Big or Grand 200 years ago. There were small wooden houses everywhere in Irkutsk. But after the Great Fire