I’m fond of reading. My favourite writer is William SomersetMaugham and i would like to tell about his biography. William Somerset Maugham was born in 1874 and spent his childhoodin Paris in the family of a British diplomat. Having lost hisparents at an early age, he went to live in England with hisuncle, who was a clergyman. He was educated

In 1937 the McDonnald brothers, Dick and Mark, opened little restaurant in California. They served hot dogs and milk shakes. In 1945 they have 20 waiters. All the teenagers in town ate hamburgers there. When the 1948 year came they got paper boxes and bags for the hamburgers. They put the price down from 30 to 15 cents. There were

The Canadian economy is among the worlds soundest. Canada is the seventh-largest trading nation among the industrialised market economies and an active partner in international investment. Canada is a trading nation. About 26 per cent of the country’s total output of goods and services (GDP) is exported — mostly to the United States, which is by far the country’s biggest

Among large and famous American cities there are Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. Washington is the capital of the USA. It is situated on the Potomac River in the District of Columbia. D. Washington chose the place. The city was founded in 1791 and named after the first president. Now Washington is the residents of

Many years ago a young doctor began to write stories about a man who was a detective. Readers liked his stories because they were very interesting and the doctor decided to become a writer. The doctor was Conan Doyle and he wrote about Sherlock Holmes. Conan Doyle wrote his first story about Sherlock Holmes in 1887. In this story the

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) was born in Bombay, but educated in England. In 1882, he returned to India, where he worked for Anglo-Indian newspapers. His literary career began in 1886. A prolific writer, he achieved fame quickly. Kipling was the poet of the British Empire. His «Barrack Room Ballads» (1892) were written for, as much as about, the common soldier. In

Many great holidays and anniversaries are celebrated in our country. On the 1st of May there is May Day — the holiday of spring and labour. On the 8th of March there is Women’s Day — the holiday of all women and girls. We celebrate Day of Independence of Russia on the 12th June and Day of Russian Constitution on

There are only 6 public holidays in Great Britain. Those are days on which people need not go to work. These days are: Christmas Day, Boxing day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Spring Bank Holiday and Late Summer Bank Holiday. Most of these holidays are of religious origin, though it would be right to say that for the great part of

At the heart of the city stands the Kremlin. This old fortress was the centre of the Soviet Union’s government until that nation was dissolved in 1991. Since then, it has been the centre of the Russian government. Inside its walls, which extend almost 11.2 miles (2.4 kilometres), are beautiful cathedrals and palaces, as well as government buildings. Some of

The United States of America stretches from Atlantic Ocean across North America and far into the Pacific. Because of such a huge size of the country the climate differs from one part of the country to another. The coldest climate is in the northern part, where there is heavy snow in winter and the temperature may go down to 40

New survey shows that Britain’s drug problem is growing. The highest increase in drug use is among teenagers. How can they be convince to stop? THE PROBLEM Last year, a European survey showed that the number of teenagers who had tried drugs was 6 per cent in Greece, 15 per cent in France and 30 p-cent in Britain. Statistics show

You are lucky if you have grandmother in the country to go to. Visiting our old relatives gives us an excellent chance to become children again. Every time you are at your grannies’, they start to take care of you. That’s why everybody loves his grannies very much. Countryside is always the nicest place for everybody as its fresh air

Kupalle celebrate on June 21. It is a traditional and the most loved holiday in Belarus. Kupalle is a pagan summer celebration of fertility in the name of a female God — Kupala. Lately it was renamed into a Christian celebration of male saint-Ivan Kupala. Kupalle usually involves youth going into a forests and the meadows, wearing flowers and grass

The Russian Federation is a Presidential (or a constitutional) republic. The President is the head of the state and is elected directly by the people. In fact he has much power, he controls all the three branches of power. The President can even dissolve the Duma if he doesn’t agree with his suggestions three times running. The President has his

We don`t imagine our lives without Internet. We can find all necessary information there. We use popular services and sources every day. One of the most popular sources is social nets. A social network is a very useful invention of the 21st century. Nowadays millions of people use social networks. It is an Internet site that gives us a chance

Vladimir the Great, born about 956, died on July, 15, 1015, in Vyshhorod, near Kiev. Grand Prince of Kiev from 980; son of Sviatoslav I Ihorevych and Malusha and father of 11 princes by five wives, including Sviatopolk I, Yaroslav the Wise, Mstislav Vladimirovich, and Saints Boris and Hleb Vladimirovich. In 969 Grand Prince Sviatoslav I named his son Vladimir,

My favourite singer is Sting. His real name is Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner. He started his music career as a leader of the rock band «The Police». In 1984 Sting launched his solo career and became one of the world’s most famous and favourite singers. Sting performs rock, pop music, jazz and other genres. His songs are short stories about

Alfred Nobel, the great Swedish inventor and industrialist, was a man on many contrasts. He made a fortune but lived a simple life, he was cheerful in company but said in private. A lover of mankind, he never had a family or wife to love him. He was a patriotic son of his native land and he died on foreign

The Great Barrier Reef on the coast of Queensland is a garden under the sea. There are 1,400 different kinds of fish, and more than 300 kinds of coral. Tropical fruit and flowers grow on the beautiful islands. It’s not surprising that more holiday-makers come to Queensland every year. Tasmania, the island south of Australia, is small. It’s the same

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a constitutional monarchy. Britain does not have a written constitution. Parliament is the most important authority in Britain. The monarch serves formally as head of state. The present sovereign is Queen Elizabeth II (the second). The House of Commons consists of Members of Parliament. General elections are held every five