The British have not been regarded as a particularly musical people and, from the end of the 17th century until the 20th century, there were relatively few British composers of international renown. Before the 16th century, musical life was centred on the church, especially the cathedrals and the royal chapels. The choral works of John Taverner, William Byrd and Thomas

The variety of musical styles makes it hard to know everything about them. Musicians invent new styles and trends. Some of these styles become classics, others lose their popularity in the course of time. But thanks to this diversity every person can find his or her favourite style. I like listening to music. However, I only listen to it in

Fat women with flabby, double chins. Moon-faced, pop-eyed women in little flat hats. Women with starchy faces and thin vermilion lips. Man-shy, suspicious women, shrinking into their clothes every time a wet, caressing eye alights upon them. Women soured and robbed of their souls by Christian Endeavour. Women who would probably be members of Conference if they were men. Grey-haired,

I live with my mother and father. I like to help them. Every Sunday I clean my room. I take the vacuum — cleaner and clean the carpets. I sweep the floor, dust the sofa and the chairs, I try to dust the furniture in a proper way. We have got many flowers at home. Twice a week I water

London is very rich in museums and art galleries. If you are fond of painting you’ll go to the Tate Gallery. A rich sugar manufacturer Henry Tate founded it in 1897. There are about 300 oils and 19000 watercolours and drawings. There are many works by the English painter William Turner there. Most of his paintings are connected with the

The world’s population is an important issue. For hundreds of thousands of years, the human population grew at a low but steadily increasing rate. Then, in less than last 200 years, the world population went from several hundreds of millions to more than 6 billion people. The Earth has certain limitations and in particular, there are limits to growth of

Ukraine is one of the largest countries of Eastern Europe. Ukraine occupies an area of 603 700 km2. Its territory stretches for 893 kilometres from north to south and for 1316 kilometres from east to west. It has state borders with Russia, Belarus and Moldova. It also borders on Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. In the south it is washed

I am going to tell you about my school. I have finished school number 129. My school is new and modern and it is very cosy and all the pupils like it very much, it is really home for everyone, not only who studies there but for all the stuff. It has four floors. The classrooms are light and high.

There is an old and very good tradition among the people in the Poltava Region to have a fair in the village of Velyky Sorochintsy. This Sorochinsky fair usually takes place at the end of summer. The village of Sorochintsy is widely known in the whole world because of this fair. M. Gogol, an outstanding writer, described it in his

There are many superstitions in Britain. But one of the most widely-held is that it is unlucky to open an umbrella in the house. It will either bring misfortune to the person that opened it or to the household. The person who opens an umbrella in fine weather is very unpopular. It’s very unlucky to walk under a ladder. If

This amazing city is located in the south-east of Russia and is a capital of East Siberia. Irkutsk is situated near the lake Baikal and a lot of tourists visit it every year. If you would like to stay in Irkutsk you can stay in The Angara Hotel or in The Gornyak Hotel. They are lovely places to stay in

Let me introduce myself. My name is Masha, I have left school this year. It is my dream to become a student of the English department. I want to study English, German and maybe French. Knowledge of a foreign language opens a new world for us. If you know a foreign language, you can speak with foreigners and it is

My name is Kostya. My surname is Laznev. I was born in Moscow on the 23rd of June in 1981. I am a tall thin boy. My hair is dark and short. My face is oval, my nose is straight. My eyes are large and brown. My friends say that I am a good-looking boy. I like to dress well.

Oscar Wilde is one of the most interesting representatives of British literature. He was born in 1856 in Irish family. His father was an optician, an author of some books on Irish folklore. His mother was a poetess and was well-known in aristocratic society. After graduating from Oxford University Wilde delivered lectures on ethics and aesthetics in Europe and America.

The USA is composed of 50 states. It occupies the central part of North American continent. It borders on Canada in the north and on Mexico in the south. The waters of the Atlantic Ocean wash the USA in the east and the waters of the Pacific Ocean wash the country in the west. The Hawaiian Islands are in the

Isaac Newton was a great English scientist. He was born in 1642 in a little village in Lincolnshire: Newton’s father was a farmer and died before his son’s birth. When Newton was 15, his uncle removed him from school because he wanted to make a farmer of him. But a young Isaac was a bad farmer and his uncle sent

San Francisco is a special place, very different from most American cities. It lies on a small finger of land with the Pacific Ocean on one side and a huge harbour on the other. San Francisco’s population is only about 700 000 but it is the biggest business centre in the west of the USA. It is also America’s most

My best holiday I spent with my girlfriend, we rested and stayed 4 weeks in hotel Kempinski in Bodrum, Turkey. We flew on an airplane in Turkey from Cyprus. It was the second time in my life because I was there last year with my boss and their children. My holiday was exciting and full of joy. We saw a

The official name of Nigeria is Federal Republic of Nigeria. The capital city is Abuja. The Nigerian government is federal republic, independent since 1960. The civilian constitution of the Second Republic, with a US-style president, senate and house of representatives, was suspended when the military took over on December 31, 1983.The population is more than 100 millions of people. More

There are over 40 institutions of higher learning in St. Petersburg. Of St. Petersburg University, with about 20,000 students, is one of Russia’s largest universities. The Conservatory of Music, established in 1862, is the nation’s oldest music school. Its graduates include such famous composers as Sergei Prokofiev, Dimitri Shostakovich, and Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky. The Choreographic School trained such famous ballet