The Olympic idea means friendship, fraternity, and cooperation among the youth of the world. The Olympic Movement proves that real peace can be achieved through sport. The best known symbol of the Olympic Movement is the five linked rings. The Olympic flag itself is white and the rings are in five coloures: blue, yellow, black, green and red. Any national

One of the world-wide known museums is the Hermitage. The word «Hermitage» means «a place of solitude». This name was given in the XVIII century by Catherine II to her private museum housed in a small building adjacent to the Winter Palace and accessible only to the chosen few. In the course of time, the Hermitage grew into one of

St. Valentine’s Day has its origins in the Roman festival of Lupercalia, observed on February 15. Lupercalia celebrated the coming of spring in the Roman calendar (February was observed later in the year than it is today). Lupercalia was associated with the Roman gods Lupercus and Faunus. Lupercus watched over shepherds and their flocks and the festival of Lupercalia became

Reading is one of my hobbies, and that’s why I try to use every spare minute to read. I like different kinds of literature. I like Russian and foreign, classic and modern literature. I usually read different books: love stories, detective stories or historical novels. I want to tell you about my favourite writer, it is Alexandra Marinina. She is

Personal computers are now commonplace in most homes throughout the world, and are relied on heavily by both individuals and businesses. The invention of the computer is relatively new, emerging into our lives relatively late in the 20th century. The computer has been another life-transforming invention. British mathematician Charles Babbage designed a form of computer in the mid-1830s, but it

Canada is the second largest country in the world. Only Russia has a greater land area. Canada is situated in North America. Canada is slightly larger than the United States, but has only about a tenth as many people. About 28 million people live in Canada. About 80 % of the population live within 320 km of the southern border.

To be, or not to be — that is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep — No more, and by a sleep to say we end The heartache, and the thousand

Good and bad manners make up the social rules of a country. They are not always easy to learn because they are often not written down in books. For example, British women didn’t go into pubs at the beginning of this century because it was not considered respectable behaviour for a woman. Now both women and men drink freely is

Everywhere, everyday exciting things are happening. Each day is filled with news. How are people kept informed? The press, radio and television keep people informed on all topical issues of the day. The press has great political influence. You can get a lot of useful information from newspaper reports. If you are a regular reader of the press you will

Every person at the age of 14 to 16 has to make an extremely stressful decision, to choose his or her own career. You might be wondering what the difference is between a career and a job. Basically a job is something you do, but don’t expect to continue doing forever. A career is what you hope to do for

The Constitution is the main law of each state. Each state enters into the Constitution the principles, according to which it lives. That’s why the Constitution is an integral part of the life of each state. The Constitution of Ukraine was adopted on the 28th of June, 1996. It confirmed the main principles of our state, the rights, freedoms and

Many American cities have interesting nicknames. Nicknames can help establish the identity of a city. They can also spread pride among its citizens. But nicknames sometimes can make fun of something. Cleveland, Ohio is a city in America’s Midwest. One of its earliest nicknames was Forest City. No one knows for sure who gave it this name in the eighteen

We often hear a saying «Don’t invent a bicycle» about something simple and known for a long time. Really, the bicycle is old enough — more than a hundred years of age. Its first prototype appeared in 1791 in France. In 1800 a Russian peasant Artamonov made an iron bicycle and travelled on it from Nizhni Tagil to Moscow. First

I’d like to tell you a couple of words about our modern society. So I want to speak about pros and cons in our community. In my opinion the biggest problem we have it is crime. For example drug dealing. Nowadays many young people are under the influence of drugs and it is sad. Drugs can lead to serious problems

I usually get up at 7 o’clock on week-days. I make my bed, open the window and do my morning exercises. Then I go to the bathroom where I clean my teeth and wash. If I have enough time, I take a cold and hot shower. After bathroom I go back to my room where I dress and brush my

Australia is the only country in the world that is also a continent. It is the sixth large country and the smallest continent. The capital of the country is Canberra. The official language is English. Nature of Australia Australia is the driest continent on the Earth. The unique climate and the isolation of Australia from other continents explain the existence

Global warming is sometimes referred to as the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is the absorption of energy radiated from the Earth’s surface by carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere, causing the atmosphere to become warmer. Each time we burn gasoline, oil, coal, or even natural gas, more carbon dioxide is added to the atmosphere. The greenhouse effect

A huge number of people all over the world spend their time travelling. There are a lot of reasons why people travel. Some of them go abroad because of business trip, others because they want to see new countries and continents, to learn a lot about peoples traditions or to enjoy picturesque places and the ruins of an ancient towns.

Joseph Turner, the greatest English romantic landscape painter, was born in Covent Garden, London, on the 23rd of April in 1775. He was the son of a fashionable barber. He started drawing and painting as a small boy. His father used to sell the boy’s drawings to his customers. In such a way he earned money which his father paid

I personally think that home is a small world where one lives according to his/her own rules. It’s a place where you feel comfort, warmth and reliability. And I believe that it’s not the size of the place where you live that matters, but the way you feel about it. And if your house is not just a building for