The House of My Dream -
Будинок моєї мрії
Every person has his own idea of a
perfect house.Since the time immemorial people always wanted to make their
dwelling a place, where one feels comfortable and cosy, where one always wants
to come back to.A dwelling of my dream is not a flat but a two-storeyed
mansion.And as a real hostess I’d like to arrange everything in the house
according to my taste.Now, let me tell you about my house.When you come to me,
you push a big wooden front door, wiping your feet on the door-mat, and enter
the hall.The floor is covered with a fitted carpet, the wallpaper is light and
has a small pattern.There’s a seat and a small table near the wall and a huge
mirror above it.Then you enter the living-room.The bright full-length curtains
are drawn back, and sunshine fills the room.The living-room suite, consisting
of a sideboard, a bookcase, a sofa, an elegant coffee table and three
armchairs, is arranged around three walls.There’s a video system near the
window.
On the ground floor there’s also a
kitchen and a bathroom.The kitchen is a very large room with a big window.There
is a gas cooker with a hood, two wall-cupboards and a sink unit there.Near the
opposite wall there is a dish-washer, a refrigerator and a table.Let’s go upstairs
and have a look at the bedroom.This is a very cosy and warm room.The bedroom
suite consists of a bed, two bedside tables and a wardrobe.The window overlooks
the back yard.In my house there is also a terrace, a garage and a garden and so
many other things I’d like to have; at least, in my dream house.
Questions:
1. What does every person have?
2. What kind of place did people want to
make their dwelling?
3. What is a mansion?
4. What type of dwelling do you have?
5. Do you have your idea of a perfect dwelling?
What is it?
My Working Day - Мій робочий
день
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 hair.10 minutes later I am ready for break-fast.After breakfast I put on my
coat, take my bag and go to school.As I live not far from school, it takes me
only five or seven minutes to get there.I don’t want to be late for the first
lesson so I come to school a few minutes before the bell.I leave my coat in the
cloakroom and go upstairs to the classroom.The lessons begin at eight o’clock
in the morning and they are over at half past one in the afternoon.
After classes I go home and have dinner
there.After dinner I have a short rest, read newspapers and magazines.Then I do
my homework.We do many subjects at school and it takes me three or even more
hours to do my homework.Sometimes I go to the library to get ready for my
practical classes or to write a report.
As a rule I have no free time on my
week-days.Eight o’clock is supper time in our family.We all get together in the
kitchen, then go to the sitting room and watch TV, read books or discuss
different problems.Twice a week I go to school in the evening to play
volleyball.I am a member of the school volleyball team and we have our training
classes rather late.At about eleven at night I go to bed.
Questions:
1. When do you usually get up?
2. What do you do in the morning?
3. When do your lessons begin?
4. What do you usually do after school?
5. When do you go to school?
After School - Після школи
We have spoken about what pupils do at
school, at lessons and during breaks.
But boys and girls don’t spend the whole
day at school.This talk will be about what they do when school is over and they
are free.Not everybody goes home after the last lesson.Many boys and girls —
the most active members of the class and school — stay at school for so me time
for social activities.They organize parties, conferences, games and meetings.The
school library is open at this time for pupils who come to choose a new book or
read an interesting magazine.There are different after-school clubs at school;
each member of an after-school club goes there to do something which interests
him.Sports sections are also very popular.Their members play games and go in
for gymnastics.You can see boys and girls from all classes either in the gymnasium
or on the sport-ground.As you know, schoolchildren have to study after school,
too.They have homework to do.
When do you think it is better to begin
doing homework?As doctors and teachers say, the best time is after dinner and
an hour’s walk.If you have no rest, it’ll be difficult to prepare your lessons.Work
about the house is a good rest from studying, too.The English people say, “A
change of work is as good as a rest”.
So it is useful to go to the shops and
buy something.But if you meet a friend in the street, don’t talk too much
because you’ll have too little time for your lessons.
Questions:
1. What do you like to do after school?
2. Can you do what you like or are there
things you must do?
3. Does your school have playing fields?
4. What is your favourite kind of sport?
5. What out-of-school activities are you
fond of?
Our Duties about the House -
Обов’язки по дому
Every person should be hard-working
because one cannot get anything without putting a lot of work into it.In our
family everybody works with pleasure.
I haven’t got any brother who could help
my father to make furniture or do carpentry, so he has to do it himself.I have
no younger sisters or brothers but if I did have them, I would be a very good
baby-sitter because I like little children very much.When I come home very
early, I don’t just sit and wait till my mother returns home and cooks supper
for me.I do it myself and when my parents come home from work, I am glad to
greet them and invite to the kitchen to taste my cookery.
I think that the duties about the house
are divided between my father, my mother and me quite justly.Though most of
cooking in our family is done by my mother I help her by laying the table and
clearing it after meals and washing up.On washing days my father and I help her
to wring out clothes and hang the linen, then I iron it.
I also do some shopping and keep the
rooms clean and tidy.My mother does most of work in our family.She cooks
breakfast for us every day and does shopping on her way back from work.I try to
do all I can to help my parents about the house.
Questions:
1. Why should we be hardworking?
2. Who cooks dinner in your family?
3. How are the duties divided in your
family?
4. Who usually goes shopping?
5. What is your duty?
THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH
When the Angles and Saxons
invaded Britain in the 5th century AD, they brought with them their language:
'English' or, as we call it now, Old English. Examples of Old English words
are: sheep, dog, work, field, earth, the, is, you. Two hundred years later,
when St. Augustine brought Christianity to Britain in the 7th century, hundreds
of Latin and Greek words were adapted into Old English: words such ashymn,
priest, school, cook. In the 8th—10th centuries the Viking invaders added their
own Norse words: get, wrong, leg, want, skin, same, low.
When the Norman Duke William
defeated the Anglo-Saxon King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and
became King William I, French became the language of the educated classes for
the next two or three centuries. This meant that there was no conservative
influence on the English language, which was spoken mainly by uneducated
people, and so the Middle English period (1150—1500) was characterized by
tremendous changes. Grammatically, most of the inflexions or case endings of
Old English disappeared, and word order therefore became of prime importance,
as it is in modern English; at the same time, there was a massive transfer of
French words into English (some estimates say over 10,000 words). Latin,
however, remained the language of the church and of education, and this mixing
of Latin, French and native English is the reason why there are so many
synonyms even today in the English language, e.g. ask (English), question
(French), interrogate (Latin); time (English), age (French),epoch (Latin).
The introduction of the printing
press in about 1476 gave rise to the need for a standard, uniform language that
could be understood throughout the country. Modern English may be said to have
begun in 1500, and the most important influence on the language was William
Shakespeare, who proclaimed in Love's Labour's Lost, that: "Henceforth my
wooing mind shall be expressed in russet yeas, and honest kersey noes",
i.e. that 'pure' English was the language in which Englishmen best expressed
themselves.
I VOCABULARY
I to invade [ɪn'veɪd] —
вторгатися, захоплювати, вдертися
to defeat [dɪ'fi:t] — завдавати
поразки
inflexion [in'flekʃ(ə)n] — грам,
флексія; зміна форми слова (закінчення)
case ending ['keis,endiŋ] — грам,
відмінкове закінчення
influence ['ɪnfluəns] — вплив
QUESTIONS
1. List the languages that have
had an important influence on English.
2. What is the main grammatical
difference between Old English and Modern English?
3. What are the examples of Old
English words?
4. When were Latin and Greek
words adapted into Old English ?
5. Wlien did French become the
language of the educated classes?
6. When did modern English begin
?
VARIETIES OF ENGLISH
As English has spread, so has it
changed, and there are now several recognized varieties of English. While the
English spoken in Britain's former "white" colonies — the United
States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — is still very similar to British
English, and differs from it only in matters of vocabulary and phraseology, the
English spoken in the West Indies and in countries such as India where English
is the second language can be very different in syntax and grammar.
American English, for example, has been
influenced by American Indian languages, by Spanish, and by the languages of
all the ethnic groups that have emigrated to the US over the years. But it
still understood without difficulty by speakers of British English. Indeed,
many "Americanisms" — words or phrases which originated in America —
have been assimilated back into British English; words such asskunk (American
Indian), canyon, banana, potato (Spanish) or expressions such as to take a back
seat, to strike oil, to cave in. Other words — automobile, cookie, crazy,
highway, mail, movie, truck — still have an American flavour but are
increasingly used by speakers of British English. A few words — faucet (tap),
candy (sweets), fall (autumn), gas
(petrol) — remain decidedly American, as
do some forms of spelling (color — colour, theater — theatre, tire — tyre).Australian
English also has its own "home-grown" words, some of which have made
their way into international English (boomerang, budgerigar), though others
(cobber = friend, sheila = girl, tucker =food, dinkum = good) remain
distinctively Australian.
VOCABULARY
to assimilate [ə'simileit] — поглинати,
асимілювати, засвоювати
flavour ['fleɪvə] — відтінок;
особливість
to remain[rɪ'meɪn] — залишатися
QUESTIONS
1. What countries is English spoken in ?
2. How has American English been
influenced?
3. Which American words have been
assimilated back into British English ?
4. What words remain decidedly American
?
5. What words remain distinctively
Australian?
ENGLISH IN THE FUTURE
Two English teachers Lynne and Greg are
talking about learning English in the future.
QUESTION: Lynne, at what age do people
start learning English these days?
LYNNE: Well, in many countries children
start learning English when they go to school but in some countries they're
starting to teach English to much younger children and I think this will become
more and more common around the world.
GREG: I know that in some countries
they're even having English lessons for six-year-old children.
Q: And Do yon think that English will
soon be the universal language?LYNNE: Oh, I think most adults already speak
English, because' English is very common and very useful.
Q: What about you Greg?
GREG: I think that's right. There are so
many English words that are used internationally, for example, "computer,
radio, television,football". So 1 think in years to come there'll be very
few people who don't speak English.
Q: And, do you think, Lynne, that
teachers will start using English to teach other subjects, for instance,
geography or science, and that they'll be used in schools all over the world?
LYNNE: Yes, I do. I think that teachers
will start experimenting with that. It's the best way of learning English.
GREG: I don't think that's right. Some
subjects will be in English certainly, for example, lessons in science, but
there's no reason why every single subject should be in English.
Q: Right. Now, what about British and
American life and habits, do you think that it's important to know about those?
LYNNE: I don't, not at all. I don't
think that English as a language has anything to do with double-decker buses,
and bowler hats, and hamburgers and yellow taxis. It's an international
language and it can be used for communication between people who don't know
each other's language, as a tool really. So, I don't think that the cultural
roots of English are important at all.
GREG: I think you have to understand the
culture of a country, simply because there are some words that mean different
things to different people depending on what country they're in, for example,
the word "tea" can be a drink to some people in one country and in
another country it means an entire meal. The word "police" means
different things to different people. You always have to know a little bit
about thebackground and the culture of a country before you can fully understand
the language.
Q: What about in the work? How important
is English there, what's its role?
LYNNE: Well, I think it's really
important and I think more and more people will use it at work — it's easily
understood wherever you come from and I think, actually, everyone will need to
use more English for their work.
GREG: I think some people will need to
use more English, particularly people working in big companies who have to
travel a lot and do a lot of business between countries, but I think for the
majority of the population in any country who aren't involved in international
business or moving around or travelling they'll be very happy sticking to their
own language.
Q: And the traditional language class as
we know it — do you think that that will continue or will there be other forms
of teaching, such as, teaching involving television and computers?
LYNNE: Well, I think that the
traditional language class will still exist. Personal contact is very important
with the language teacher and of course you can interact with the other
students and I think that that's much more valuable than just relating to a
computer screen or listening to cassettes.
Q: Do you agree with that, Greg?
GREG: Not entirely. We live in a.
computer age now and, it's highly likely that computers will allow people to
learn foreign languages on their own, so that you aren't dependent on teachers
and other students. I'm not sure, but I think that's how it'll be.
Q: And finally, do you think that
English will ever become more important than the language of the native
speaker?
LYNNE: Well, no. 1 think obviously
English is important, but I think your own language and your own culture and
traditions are more important to you and I think it's good to respect those and
to hold on to them.
GREG: Yes, I agree. 1 think it would be
very arrogant to think that English would be more important than your own
language, I mean, 'cause your own culture and your personal identity and your
national identity are, after all, far more important aren't they?
Q: Thank you very much.
GREG: Thank you.
VOCABULARY
bowler [boulə] hat — котелок (капелюх)
tool [tu:l] — Інструмент
root [ru:t] — корінь; джерело
background ['bækgraund] — походження;
передумова
to be involved [in'vɔlvd] — втягувати,
включати, залучати
to stick [stɪk] to — притримуватися
to interact [,ɪntər'ækt] — взаємодіяти
valuable ['væljuəbl] — цінний
to hold [hould] on to — зберігати,
утримувати (в пам'яті)
arrogant ['ærəgənt] — зарозумілий,
зухвалий, самовпевнений
QUESTIONS
1. At what age do people start learning
English these days?
2. Do you think English will soon be the
universal language?
3. Do you think that teachers will start
using English to teach other subjects, for instance, geography or science, and
that they 'II be used in schools all over the world?
4. Do you think that it's important to
know about British and American life and habits?
5. How important is English, what's its
role?
6. And the traditional language class as
we know it — do you think that that will continue or will there be other forms
of teaching, such as, teaching involving television and computers, using those
sort of technologies?
7. Do you think that English will ever
become more important than the language of the native speaker?
WHY WE LEARN ENGLISH
People began to speak many centuries
ago, and since then they have been speaking different languages. Every language
reflects the soul, behaviour and temperament of each nationality. Peoples
createdtheir own alphabets and rules, but they always wanted to communicate
with each other, to understand and to know more about each other. Languages
help people to understand each other better, they help them to solve different
economic and political problems, which stands before them, and so people learn
foreign languages.
All languages are different. Some are
very hard, some are easier, some are similar, but there are no identical
languages in the whole world. There are more than 2 700 languages in the world.
Many of them are "alive" because people use them, but there are some
"dead" languages, for example Latin.Two thousands years ago, Latin
was the world's most important international language. Today this title belongs
to English. It's a global language of travel, business, pop culture, sport and
science.
Over one billion people speak English.
That's almost one fifth of the world's population. For over 400 million it's
their first language. For the other 600 million it's either a second language
or a foreign language.Today, in fact, over 250 million people are learning
English. That's more than the population of the USA.
The average person in Britain has a
vocabulary of between 10 000 and 15 000 words. In his plays William Shakespeare
used a vocabulary of about 30 000 words. Shakespeare was born over 400 years
ago. At that time, only six or seven million people spoke English.Now English
is spoken practically all over the world, it has become the world's most
important language in politics, science, trade and cultural relations. It is
spoken as a mother tongue in Great Britain, the United States of America,
Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Besides, a lot of people speak English in
Japan, India, China, Africa and many other countries. English is one of the
official languages of the United Nation Organization. Half of the world's
scientific literature is in English. It is the language of computer technology.
To my mind English is worth studying.
There is a proverb: "A new language is a new world". "Knowledge
is a power", one great man said. Speaking a foreign language one can not
only read the papers, magazines and original books by outstanding writers, but as
well watch satellite programmes, travel easily to different parts of the world.
Besides, understanding and speaking a foreign language became necessary while
applying for a good and well-paid job.
Now I know that it is a must for XXI
century professional no matter what job to choose. The world is getting smaller
and international connections tighter. A lot of foreign delegations keep coming
to our country, hundreds of joint ventures have appeared in every city of our
country recently. So without doubt you can't do without learning this beautiful
language.
VOCABULARY
to reflect [ri'flekt] — відбивати,
відображати
soul [səul] — душа
behaviour [bi'heɪvjə] — поведінка,
манери, вчинки
to create [krɪ(:)'eɪt] — створювати
similar ['sɪmilə] — подібний (to smth. —
до чогось); схожий, подібний
average ['æv(ə)rid3] — нормальний,
звичайний, пересічний, середній
a mother tongue [tʌŋ] — рідна мова
worth [wə:θ] — гідний, що заслуговує,
вартий
satellite ['sætəlaɪt] — супутниковий
to apply [ə'plaɪ] for — звертатися з
проханням, заявою
(особл. у письмовій формі) про (щось),
претендувати на
well-paid job [wel peɪd dʒəub] — добре
оплачувана робота
joint venture ['vəntfə] — спільне
підприємство
do without [wiðəut] — обходитися без
QUESTIONS
1. What was the world's most important
international language two thousands years ago ?
2. How many people speak English as
their first language, a second language or a foreign language ?
3. How many languages are there in the
world?
4. How large is the vocabulary of the
average British person ?
5. Where is English spoken?
6. Why do you learn English ?
THE ART OF CONVERSATION
Alex and Chris love to chat for hours on
the telephone. Their favourite topic is their neighbours. Here is an example of
the two of them gossiping on the telephone. "Did you see the new couple
who moved in next door to me? Do you think they're married? You know, last
night they were having a terrible argument. They were shouting at each other so
loud I could hear almost every word through the walls. So I think they must be
married, don't you? He's very handsome, don't you think? And have you seen her
car? Must be rich. And you know something, else, either she's a little fat, or
I think she's going to have a baby."
For the fiftieth time in his life
Professor Marchant stood up to give his lecture on the causes of the First
World War. He started, "Today I'm going to discuss with you the causes of
the First World War..." Soon, as usual, most of the students were
sleeping. The students who were awake could not take good notes, because they
could only hear clearly one or two words in every sentence. You see, Marchant
was not only boring, but he mumbled a great deal when he spoke. It was as if he
always had a potato in his mouth when he was speaking.
For the first time in his life, Mr
Parrot had to give a speech. His daughter had just got married and there were a
hundred guests at the wedding party waiting to hear his words. He had practised
his speech for hours until he could say it perfectly and he had five pages of
notes to help him. He stood up and started. "Th-th-th-th-thank you
f-f-f-f-f-f c-c-c-c-coming", he stuttered, and then sat down very red in
the face.
The two boys sat whispering to each
other at the back of the classroom. They were having a very interesting
conversation about football, girls, parents and even school. Meanwhile, Mrs
Garret talked and — talked and talked about William Shakespeare. At the end of
the lesson, Mrs Garret looked at the two boys and said, "Next time you
have a conversation in my class, please don't whisper. Talk a little louder so
that we can all enjoy what you are saying".
VOCABULARY
to chat [tʃæl] — базікати
to gossip ['gɔsɪp] — розпускати плітки
argument ['a:gjumənt] — суперечка, спір
to shout [ʃаut] — кричати
to give lecture ['lektʃə] — читати
лекцію
to discuss [dɪs'kʌs] — обговорювати,
дискутувати, дебатувати,сперечатися
to mumble [mʌmbl] — бурмотати
to give a speech [spi:tʃ] — виступати з
промовою
to stutter ['stʌtə] — заїкатися
to whisper ['wɪspə] — шепотіти, говорити
пошепки
QUESTIONS
1. Have you ever given a speech ? When?
2. What was it about?
3. Were you nervous ?
4. What are the qualities of a good
speaker or lecturer?
5. Do you have a lot of arguments in
your family?
6. What are they usually about?
7. What is the difference between:
* a gossip and a conversation
* a conversation and a discussion
* a discussion and an argument?
Choosing a Career - Вибір
професії
It is very important for us to make the
right choice of profession.Many years ago I decided to enter the Foreign
Languages Department of the University.English was my favourite subject at
school.I did well in it.Our lessons were always interesting.I also worked hard
at my English on my own.I did a lot of exercises trying to improve my language
skills.I read English books, newspapers and magazines.
So I decided to enter the Foreign
Languages Department.I wanted to know English perfectly.I want to work as a
teacher at school.Today the teachers of English are of great demand in our
country.I like this profession thoughI understand that it is a difficult job.To
be a good teacher you must be interested in what you are doing.
The profession of a teacher is very
important.The teacher is a person who is always ready to help his pupils, who
takes a real interest in his work.
Questions:
1. Why is it important to make the right
choice of profession?
2. Have you made your choice?
3. What was your favourite subject at
school?
4. What college are you going to enter?
5. What do you think of the profession
of teacher?
6. Why is it difficult and important?
7. Who was your favourite teacher at
school? Why?
My Future Profession - Моя
майбутня професія
Finishing school is the beginning of the
independent life for millions of school leavers.Many roads are open before
them: technical schools, colleges and universities.
But it is not an easy thing to choose a
profession out of more than 2,000 existing in the world.Some pupils follow the
advice of their parents, others can’t decide even after leaving school.As for
me I made my choice long ago.I want to become a teacher of the Ukrainian
language and literature.My choice of this occupation didn’t come as a sudden
flash.During all school years literature was my favourite subject.I have read a
lot of books by Ukrainian and foreign writers.I understand that reading books
helps people in self-education and in solving different life problems.My
parents are also teachers and I know that teaching is a very specific and difficult
job.Teachers do not only teach their subjects.They develop their pupils’
intellect, form their views and characters, their attitudes to life and to
other people.It’s a great responsibility.It’s not as easy as it may seem at
first.But I think that love for children combined with the knowledge I’ll get
at the University would be quite enough to succeed in my work.I’m applying to
the Philological Department and I am sure my dream will come true sooner or
later.
Questions:
1. Is finishing school the beginning of
the independent life for school leavers?
2. What do you want to be?
3. Are you going to follow the advice of
your parents?
4. Why do you want to be a teacher?
5. What do you do for that? Where are
you going to continue your education?
A Citizen Is not a Profession
- Бути громадянином — не професія
What does the sentence “I am a citizen
of Ukraine” mean?At first it is difficult to answer.Let’s take some examples.A
doctor helps people to improve their health.
A worker makes machines.A farmer grows
plants.A teacher teaches pupils.
A soldier defends our country.In short
we can become builders, shopmen or pilots.
But a citizen is not a profession.To be
a citizen means to be responsible for one’s work, for the future of our
country.People become doctors to help other people.
They become farmers to give their
country more bread.They become workers to make new machines needed by their
country.They become teachers to give the youth knowledge necessary for their
life.We know the names of the best veterans of labour and veterans of war in
our country.We met with them and they told us about their work and life.But
have we thought about what the members of our own families have done as
Ukrainian citizens?What are the results of their work?
Why do people respect our grandfathers
and grandmothers?These questions are very important.They are important because
sometimes young people speak about leading workers, war heroes and veterans of
labour, but we do not think about our own parents and grandparents.We do not
think about what our fathers and mothers are for our country and our society.So
grown-ups can tell us a lot about how our country developed.
Questions:
1. How do you learn to be a citizen?
2. Whose examples can teach you to
become a good citizen of our country?
3. What are you responsible for as a
member of your family and a pupil of your school?
Music in Our Life - Музика в
нашому житті
People cannot live without music.They
can listen to music everywhere even in the forest, when they walk and hear
birds singing.Music can be classical and modern.Classical music is performed by
sym-phonic orchestras in the great halls.There are a lot of famous composers whose
music is played nowadays.Classical music is serious and requires good
understanding or it may seem to be boring and dull.Most people prefer modern
music.Modern music is performed by TV and radio.Modern music has different
kinds: pop, rock, disco, rap, techno and others.Young people like techno and
disco.Older people are fond of jazz, rock and pop.There are a lot of singers or
music bands who perform this or that kind of music.
Everybody knows the founders of rock
music.They are the “Beatles” and Elvis Presley.
Now there are a lot of discs and records
of different performers.The last achievement in music production is a clip.Musical
clips are short films accompanied by the melody.It may be a short story what
the song is about or simply a great number of different pictures.People like to
watch clips because it’s not only listening to music but also watching
interesting things.I’m fond of music and like to listen to it for it helps me
to have good relaxation.
Questions:
1. Are you fond of music?
2. What kind of music do you prefer?
3. What role does music play in your
life?
4. Do you play any musical instruments?
5. What kinds of modern music do you
know?
Washington — the Capital of
the USA - Вашингтон — столиця США
Washington, the capital of the USA, was
founded in 1791.The city was named after the first president George Washington.The
population of the city is nearly three million people.The Capitol is the centre
of the city.It was built according to the plans of William Thornton, who was an
amateur architect.It is situated on Capitol Hill.The White House is the place
where the president of the USA lives and works.This house was first occupied in
1800 by John Adams, who was the first president to live in that house.The White
House has 132 rooms.Washington has many sights, for ex-ample, the Library of
Congress, the Lincoln memorial, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and others.The
National Gallery of Arts contains art collections by the great masters of the
14th to 18th centuries.The Library of Congress contains millions of books and
manuscripts.Outside the city the Arlington National Cemetery is situated.John
Kennedy was buried there.The famous Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is also situated
there.The industry of the city is not well developed.But Washington is a large
scientific and cultural centre.
Many research and designing institutes
are concentrated here.There are five universities in the city and the National
Academy of Sciences.In Washington it is also difficult to find a park or a
square without a monument.
Questions:
1. What is the population of Washington?
2. Whose name was the city named after?
3. When was the capital founded?
4. What can you tell about the Capitol?
5. Do you know any places of interest in
Washington?
New Zealand — the Country of Long White
Clouds - Нова Зеландія — країна довгих білих хмар
New Zealand, an independent state and a
member of the Commonwealth, is situated to the south-east of Australia.It’s a
country consisting of two large islands.The first to settle here were the
Maoris.It was about 1000 years ago.Maoris is a Polynesian people.
And the British came here at the end of
the 19th century.“The Aurora” was the first British ship to come to New
Zealand.The British waged real wars on the Maoris.Thousands of the Maoris were
killed, but their culture survived.Beautiful songs and dances are as old as the
Maori people itself.Smoke and steam are characteristic features of New Zealand.They
come from volcanoes and geysers.That’s why the Maoris called New Zealand the
country of long white clouds.So earthquakes are common here.Sometimes they have
several quakes a day.
Now the forests are very thick and
al-ways green because of the climate.
It never gets too hot in summer and
there are no frosts in winter.
The mountain stream is also very unusual.
Water is ice-cold near one of its banks
and is boiling hot near the other.
On the pastures one can see many sheep.
This small country holds the second
place in the world in wool production.
Tourists like to see unusual phenomena
here.
They are shown a kiwi.It’s a bird you
only find in New Zealand.
It has no wings and its feathers are
like hair.New Zealand has put it on its national emblem.
There are four large towns in New
Zealand.
One of them is Wellington and it is the
capital of this country.It was built by the British.
Questions:
1. Where is New Zealand situated?
2. What is the capital of New Zealand?
3. Why did the Maoris call this country
the country of long white clouds?
4. What is unusual in the nature of New
Zealand?
5. What is a kiwi like?
At the Theatre - У театрі
There are not many theatres in my town,
but they are all very popular with the public.
I am a theatre lover, too.As for me, I
prefer drama to all other theatres, but I also like opera and musical comedy.I’ll
never forget my first visit to the Opera and Ballet Theatre.
My friend and I wanted to see the famous
ballet “Swan Lake” by Tchaikovskyi.
We bought the tickets in advance and
came to the theatre half an hour before the show.
At 7 sharp the performance began.From
the very first minute I was deeply impressed by everything I saw on the
stage.The costumes were fine.The dancing and music were thrilling.
The ballet seemed to me a fairy-tale.I
had never seen anything more wonderful.
My friend also enjoyed every minute of
it.When the curtain fell at the end of the performance, there came a storm of
applause.
It seemed that it would never end.
The dancers received call after call.
They were presented with large bouquets
of flowers.We also applauded enthusiastically.
The performance was a great success.
Questions:
1. What role does the theatre play in
our life?
2. Are you fond of ballet?
3. Where do you prefer to sit at the
theatre?
4. What is your favourite play (opera,
ballet)?
5. Which theatre do you prefer?
Cinema in Ukraine - Кіно в
Україні
The first newsreels were made and shown
in 1896, by A. Fedetsky, artist and photographer from Kharkiv.Their regular
production began in 1907.An animated cartoon studio was set up in Kharkiv in
1927 and later transferred to Kyiv.During World War II Ukrainian film-makers
made trips to the front.They showed war films about the country’s heroic
defence.
There are four state film studios in
Ukraine.Bohdan Stupka, Ada Rohovtseva, Olha Sumska — these and many other names
are very popular with movie and theatre-goers.
They have successfully appeared in
domestic and foreign productions.
O. Dovzhenko is one of the founders of
Ukrainian cinematography.
O. Dovzhenko became an important figure
in national and world cinematography.
His motion pictures “Arsenal”, “Earth”
were named among the best films of all times.
He worked for the Odesa and Kyiv
studios.Since 1946 he stayed to work at the Mosfilm Studio.
Apart from a number of feature films he
made documentaries.Besides he wrote script- like stories and plays.
The Kyiv Studio bears his name nowadays.The
Dovzhenko prize was instituted in 1983.
Questions:
1. Who made the first newsreels in
Ukraine? When?
2. Who became an important figure in
cinematography?
3. What did the filmmakers show during
the World War II?
4. Can you name the popular Ukrainian
actors?
5. Tell about O. Dovzhenko and his work.
6. What is your favourite Ukrainian
film?
Cinema - Кіно
Cinema was invented by two brothers
Lumier.They made the first film, which lasted only one minute.
Since then cinema has become one of the
most popular arts in the world.
There are cinema theatres everywhere.Films
may be feature or documentary, sound and silent.
Feature films are, as a rule, sound and
colour.Animated cartoons are also very popular not only with children but with
the adults.
Nowadays we can see different kinds of
films.
There are ones, which are dedicated to
the life of the people, to the present and to the history of our country.There
are also comedies, thrillers, dramas and detective films.
People’s opinions differ in the question
what kinds of films must be produced.
Some people, especially young, think
that the cinema should be a place where one may amuse oneself after a working
day.
Others say that films must be various,
serious and funny.
I think that cinema is not so popular
to-day as at the beginning of the century, because now each family has a TV set
or even a video recorder, and people do not want to go anywhere if they can sit
in comfortable armchairs and watch what they want.
Video films attract many young people
now.
Questions:
1. Who invented cinema?
2. What can you say about the first
film?
3. What kinds of films can you watch on
TV?
4. What are animated cartoons? Do you
like them?
5. What films do you like to see most of
all?
6. Is cinema popular today? Why?
At the Museum - У музеї
The town I live in is not very large and
there are no big galleries and museums in it.
But we have a good Natural History
Museum in our town.Last week I was on an excursion there.
First we listened to a lecture on the
history of our region which was very interesting.
Then a guide showed us the exposition of
the museum.We walked through its halls looking at different stands with
exhibits.
There were ancient vases and coins,
dishes and bowls, tools and arms.
The guide told us about the origin and
the age of the exhibits and answered our questions.
The girls asked questions about national
costumes and dishes and the boys were interested in arms.
The next hall was even more interesting.There
we saw stuffed animals and birds.It was a small zoo of the region nature.There
was also an aquarium full of different fish, tortoises and shells.
The collection of minerals was
interesting, too.
I have learned very much from my visit
to the museum.
1. Do you often go to the museums?
2. Do you generally go there alone or do
you take a guide?
3. What museums are there in your
city/town?
4. How many museums are there in your
city/town?
5. What kind of museums are you most
interested in?
6. Describe your impressions of the
excursion.
Hobby - Хобі
Hobby is a favourite occupation of a
person in his free time.
I have many friends.
They are very different and they have
different kinds of hobbies.
One of my friends, for example, likes to
knit very much.
In the evening she sits on the sofa and
knits a beautiful pullover or a sweater.
She also knits for her little sister,
her mother and her friends.
Another friend of mine spends all her
time sewing things: skirts, blouses, dresses.
She makes it nicely and she always looks
good.
One of my friends likes to make
every-thing with his own hands.
He can repair an iron, a radio-set or a
tape-recorded.I think it’s a very good hobby.
Many children and grown-ups are very
fond of collecting.
Some people collect old coins, others
collect postcards.
As for me, my hobby is collecting
stamps.Now I have 5 albums full of stamps, it is more than one thousand stamps.
I like to sit at a table in the evening
and arrange new stamps in the albums, or write in the names of the countries,
or just look through them.
Each stamp has a story to tell about
distant countries and new people.
I see pictures of people, birds and
animals which I have never seen before.
Kings and presidents pass before my eyes
and I can follow the history of the whole nations.
My hobby is not only wonderful but very
useful, too.
Questions:
1. Have you got many friends?
2. Have they got different kinds of
hobbies?
3. What do girls/boys like to do?
4. What is your hobby?
5. What do people usually collect?
Easter in Ukraine - Великдень
в Україні
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
products.
Palm Sunday, the week before Easter, is
known in Ukraine as Willow Sunday.
People bring home willow branches which
have been blessed in church.
The week is dedicated to preparing for
Easter.
The Thursday before Easter is called
Clean Thursday.
According to Ukrainian tradition one should
bathe before sunrise on this day.
The house must be clean too.Good Friday
is the day that the women of the family bake “paska”, Ukrainian Easter bread.
On Saturday children dye Easter eggs to
add to the Easter basket which will be blessed in church.
It also includes pysanka, salt, paska,
sausage and ham.
In the evening people go to church for
the Easter mass, which lasts all night.
Easter Sunday is a day of singing songs
and eating.
Young girls dance and sing about nature
and spring.People exchange pysanky.
Questions:
1. What is the most important holiday of
the year?
2. What is Lent?
3. What is pysanka?
4. When does preparation for Easter
start?
5. How do people prepare for Easter?
6. When do children dye eggs?
7. What do people put into the Easter basket?
Holidays in Ukraine - Свята в
Україні
The most important holiday of Ukraine is
the Day of Independence, which is celebrated on the 24th of August.
On this day in 1991 the independence of
Ukraine was proclaimed and the Ukrainian people began to build a new society.
We always celebrate this date.
We also celebrate the
9th of May — Victory Day — every year.
The New Year Eve, Christmas, Easter are
also celebrated in Ukraine.
Everyone likes the New Year Eve.
We usually buy a New Year tree, decorate
our house with garlands, send postcards to our relatives and friends, wishing
them joy and happiness.
Christmas is the day when Jesus Christ
was born.
Easter is the day when Jesus Christ
resurrected.
On this day we go to a church service,
bake Easter cakes and paint boiled eggs.
The first of May — is the day of
solidarity of the workers of the world.
On the 8th of March we celebrate the
Women’s Day.
We congratulate our mothers, sisters,
friends, teachers.
In this country people usually invite
their friends to their homes, or visit their relatives and friends, or just
stay at home with the family on holidays.
On these days we lay the table, dance
and sing, have a lot of fun.
Questions:
1. When is the Holiday of Ukrainian
Independence celebrated?
2. What are the most popular Ukrainian
holidays?
3. What is the way of celebrating the
New Year holiday?
4. When is the Christmas holiday
observed in Ukraine? Is it the same day as in Great Britain and America?
Ukrainian
Traditions and religious Festivals - Українські традиції і релігійні свята
The Ukrainians, like any other people,
have their own customs and traditions: many of these are very old, some appear
nowadays.
Most of the customs are connected with
the religious festivals or with Ukrainian dwelling.
The most popular of the holidays is the
New Year Day; it is celebrated on the 1st of January.
On the eve of the holiday children and
their parents decorate a New Year’s Tree with shining balls and other Christmas
ornaments.
The mothers of the families prepare holiday
dinners.On that day people exchange presents with their relatives and friends:
they often go to see them or invite them to their place to see in the New Year
together.
They lay festive tables and at 12
o’clock raise their glasses with champagne and say to each other “Happy New
Year”.
But the Orthodox Church in Ukraine
celebrates New Year on the 14th of January to the old-style Calendar.
In the evening on the 13th of January
children go from house to house and sing Christmas carols: they wish all the
best to the people who live in these houses.
Of course, the carol-singers are given
some reward — sweets, cakes or a little money.
The Orthodox Ukrainian people celebrate
Christmas on January, 6: the evening before Christmas is called the Holy
Evening.
On the Holy Evening all the family get
together to have the Christmas Supper.
According to the religious tradition, it
is necessary to prepare 12 different dishes because of 12 apostles; no one at
the table can eat till the first star appears in the sky.
But, unlike in the English-speaking
countries, in Ukraine people do not exchange presents on that day.
On the Christmas Evening the religious
people go to church; some of them spend the whole night there — they pray and
listen to Christmas religious songs which glorify Christ’s birthday.
Another religious festival in winter is
Twelfth-day or the Jordanian Holiday which is celebrated on memory of Jesus
Christ’s christening (on the 19th of January).on the eve of this holiday at
their supper people sing songs which are called “the generous songs” — that is
why this evening is called “the generous evening”, too.In the morning of the
Jordanian Holiday the festival procession goes from a church to a river or to a
pond where christening of water takes place.
After that the priest consecrates the
peoples’ homes and things.Easter is another great religious festival: usually
it is celebrated on one of Sundays in spring.
On that day the religious people go to
church and listen to the service; usually they bring with them baskets with
food — Easter cakes, butter, cheese and, of course, painted eggs.
The priest in the church consecrates all
the food: many people believe that the Easter eggs possess magic power and can
protect from evil, thunder or fire and have healing powers.
In the morning after the end of the
service, the people greet each other with the words: “Christ has resurrected!”
and return home for breakfast.
They celebrate Easter as the beginning
of spring, too.
There are many other interesting customs
and traditions in Ukraine, too.
Questions:
1. What are the most important
religious festivals of the Orthodox Church in
2. Ukraine?
3. When do we observe Christmas in
Ukraine?
4. How do people in Ukraine celebrate
the New Year?
5. What is the Jordanian Holiday?
Boxing Day and Halloween -
День на святках і Хеллоуїн
Boxing day is a day when one visits
friends, goes for long walks or just sits resting from too much food —
every-thing to eat is cold.
In Great Britain there are usually
Boxing Day Meets (fox-hunting).
In the cities tradition on that day
demands a visit to the pantomime, where once again one is entertained by the
story of Cinderella, Puss in Boots or something like that.
This holiday takes place on December
26th.
Halloween means “holy evening” and takes
place on October 31st.
It is celebrated by many people in the
United Kingdom.
It is connected with witches and ghosts.
At parties people dress up in strange
costumes and pretend they are witches.
They cut horrible faces in pumpkins and
put a candle inside, which shines through their eyes.
People play different games such as
trying to eat an apple from a bucket of water without using their hands.
In recent years children dressed in
white sheets knock at doors at Halloween and ask if you would like a “trick” or
“treat”.
If you give them something nice, a
“treat”, they go away.
If you don’t, they play a “trick” on
you, such as making a lot of noise near your house.
Questions:
1. What is Boxing day?
2. How do people in the country usually
celebrate it?
3. What does Halloween mean?
4. What is it connected with?
5. How do people celebrate it?
6. What do children ask when they knock
at the door?
Uniquely American Holidays -
Тільки американські свята
July 4th — Independence Day - 4 липня —
День незалежності
On July, 4, 1776, a group of Americans
representing the thirteen British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North
America signed a document stating that these colonies had the right to be free and
independent.
This document is known as the
Declaration of Independence.
July 4 is celebrated by Americans as a
national holiday — Independence Day.
There is a building in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, which is called Independence Hall.
Here the Declaration was signed.
On the building there is the famous
Liberty Bell which rang to tell people in the streets that a new country had
been born.
But Britain did not recognise this fact
until 1783, when the American colonists were victorious in the war of Independence
with Britain.
June, 14 is Flag Day in the USA.On that
day in 1777, the Americans adopted their own flag.
No one really knows who sewed the
American flag but many Americans believe that it was made by Betsy Ross in her
own home.
You can see Betsy Ross sewing the flag
on an American stamp.
Questions:
1. What happened on July 4th, 1776?
2. Where was the Declaration of
Independence signed?
3. Where is Independence Hall situated?
4. When is Flag Day in the USA?
5. Who sewed the first American flag?
Uk Holidays - Свята у
Великобританії
There are many holidays in Great
Britain.The main holidays are Christmas and Bank holidays.
Christmas is celebrated on the 25th of
December and symbolizes the birthday of Jesus Christ.
This day is marked by setting the
fir-tree and decorating it with different toys and candles.
Children wait for Santa Claus who comes
to every house and brings presents.
Going to bed children leave their
stockings and shoes to receive presents the next morning.
There are a lot of parties organized by
people to celebrate this wonderful holiday.
Young people like to spend it together
in good companies.
There is a lot of fun and jokes on that
day.
Meeting the New Year’s Eve is held in
the family circle in England.
Some people in Scotland go outside and
meet New Year in squares singing songs or dancing.
The first man coming to you after the
New Year Eve may bring you luck, especially if he comes with a piece of bread
and coal.
Bread symbolizes wealth and coal —
warmth.
Children like this holiday very much.They
go from house to house, sing songs and congratulate people.
People treat them to candies or give
them little money.
Bank holidays are celebrated four times
a year.
This day is a day-off for everybody
because all banks and all offices are closed.
Englishmen spend this holiday in the
country.
There are also great fairs with a lot of
goods for sale, with fun, jokes and choosing the Pearl Queen and King.
The Pearl Queen and King are people at
the fair who have the most unusual costume with a lot of pearl buttons on it.
There are many other holidays in Great
Britain.
Questions:
1. What public holidays are there in
Great Britain?
2. What kind of celebration the New Year
holiday is observed in Great Britain?
3. When do English people celebrate Easter?
4. When do English people celebrate Bank
Holidays?
5. How do English people celebrate
Christmas Day?
Physical
Training and Sports in Ukraine - Фізична культура і спорт в Україні
Such kinds of sports as swimming,
running, equestrian sport, wrestling and others date back to ancient times in
Ukraine.
The system of military and physical
training of Cossacks in Zaporizhia was built on the basis of national games and
physical exercises.
First sports organizations were founded
in the second half of the 19th century.
They were not numerous, among them there
were aristocratic yachting clubs and also some tennis clubs.
The first of them opened in Kyiv in 1869
and in Odesa in 1895.
At the beginning of the 20th century the
first athletic clubs appeared.
The first one was founded as a part of a
medical centre.
In 1900 196 clubs that included nearly
8000 people existed on the territory of Ukraine.
In 1912 the first 2 months’ courses on
the training of specialists in physical training were organized in Kyiv.
The first sports stadiums and centres
were built in 1913 after the Olympiad.
Some sports magazines: “Sport”, “Beauty
and Strength”, and others appeared the same year.
Nowadays specialists in physical
training are trained by Kyiv Institute of Physical Training, in Lviv,
Dnipropetrovsk and by 14 high physical training schools.
The largest stadiums are Kyiv stadium
for 100 000 spectators and Kyiv Palace of Sports for 12 000 spectators.
Ukrainian voluntary sports organizations
develop different sports programmes, work among young people and children.
They have their own conferences once in
four years.
Each organization has its own banner and
symbol.
There are also some international sports
clubs like “Spartak” or “Progress” in Lviv, Chernivtsi and other cities.
The most popular kinds of sports in
Ukraine are football, volleyball, athletics, shooting and chess.
There are also special “sports uniforms”
at schools, and some specialized sports schools in Ukraine.
They unite young sportsmen according to
their specialization.
Sports is paid much attention to in this
country, as Ukrainian people were always fond of it.
Questions:
1. What kinds of sports do you know?
2. When were the first sports
organizations founded in Ukraine?
3. When was the first sports stadium
built?
4. What is the largest stadium in Kyiv?
5. Is sports paid much attention to in
our country?
The Olympic Games -
Олімпійські ігри
The tradition of the Olympic Games runs
back to ancient Greece.
We know that the first Olympic Games
took place in the town of Olympia more than 2700 years ago.
There was no war in the country for
these five days when sports competition took place.
It was a great athletic festival of
wrestling, foot-racing, discus throwing and others.
The Games were organized and held up to
the year of 393.
Then, for more than 1700 years nothing
more was heard of the Olympiads.
The first modern Olympic Games were held
in Athens in 1896.
They take place every fourth year.
The Games cannot take place in a country
which is at war.
That’s why there were no Olympic Games
during the two world wars.
During the Olympic Games there are
tournaments in many kinds of sports.
Summer sports competitions take place in
summer during the Summer Olympic Games.
The Winter Olympic Games are held the
same year but in a different country.
Famous sportsmen are proud to
participate in the Games.
They compete in football, basketball,
volleyball, boxing, weight-lifting, field athletics, gymnastics and many other
kinds of sport.
At the Winter Olympic Games many teams
from different countries take part in competitions in figure-skating, skiing,
free-style, ice-hockey and other winter sports.
The Olympic Games are very popular in
our country.
All sports fans see the Games on TV and
many of them see the events live and support their national team.
Questions:
1. When were the first Olympic Games
held?
2. When did the first modern
international Olympic Games start?
3. Why are the Olympic Games considered
to be a great sports event?
4. What are the aims of the Olympic
movement?
5. When and where will the summer and
winter Olympic Games be held next time?
Outstanding People of Ukraine
- Видатні люди України
In the history of humanity there have
always been people whose actions and ideas produced a great impact on the lives
of other people.
They have made a great contribution to
the science, culture, social life of this country.
That’s why they are called outstanding.
The names of Taras Shevchenko, Lessya
Ukrainka, Ivan Franko, Marko Vovchok and Hrygoriy Skovoroda won universal
recognition.
There’s hardly a country in the world
which doesn’t have Taras Shevchenko’s poems translated into its language.
Gentle melodies and deep emotions of
Lessya Ukrainka’s verses are dear to poetry- lovers throughout the world.
Ukraine has also given the world many
outstanding scientists.
Such names as Vernandskyi, Zabolotnyi,
Bogomolets, Sklifosovskyi, Paton, Filatov are well- known all over the world.
Nowadays modern Ukrainian scientists
achieved great successes in the field of mathematics, physics, biology and
medicine.
Great contribution to the world’s
historical science was made by such prominent Ukrainian historians as Mykola
Hrushevskyi, Mykhailo Dragomanov, Dmytro Yavornitskyi, Mykola Kostomarov.
The Ukrainian national composer school
is connected with the name of Mykola Lysenko.
Questions:
1. Why do we call some people
outstanding?
2. What Ukrainian poets are well-known
all over the world?
3. Name some outstanding Ukrainian
scientists.
4. Which names are connected with the
Ukrainian fine art?
5. What does the Ukrainian culture
develop?
Taras Shevchenko - Тарас
Шевченко
Taras Shevchenko is a great Ukrainian
poet.
He is the founder of the modern
Ukrainian literary language.
Shevchenko was born in the family of a
serf in the village of Moryntsy in 1814.
Young Taras became an orphan very early.
He was a shepherd, a labourer to a
priest and, when he was fourteen, his master took him into the manor house as a
boy-servant — “kozachok”.
In 1829 Shevchenko’s master moved to
Vilno and then — to St Petersburg.
He took his boy-servant with him, too.
Still in his early childhood Shevchenko
was very fond of drawing and his master decided to make a serf painter of him.
For this purpose he sent Taras to study
painting.
The boy was so talented that several
Russian artists decided to free him from slavery.
Karl Brulov, the great Russian artist,
painted a portrait of Vasiliy Zhukovsky and sold it for 2 500 roubles.
With this money they bought out
Shevchenko from his master.
Later on the young painter continued his
studies at the Petersburg Academy of Arts.
Karl Brulov influenced Shevchenko
greatly.
Soon they became close friends.In 1838
Shevchenko wrote his first poems in Ukrainian.
In 1840 he published his first book of
poems which he named “Kobzar”.
His first poetical works are mainly
examples of romanticism.
The subject of many poems was un-happy
love.
He also wrote several poems about
historical past of Ukraine.
In these works he glorified the heroic
struggle of the Ukrainian people against their oppressors and their fight for
national liberation (the long poem “Gaidamaky”).
In 1843 Shevchenko returned to Ukraine.
He travelled a lot about the country and
learned to know the heavy life of the Ukrainian serfs.
In 1846 Shevchenko joined a revolutionary
organisation — Kiril and Mephodiy Society, which aimed to liberate the serfs.
He wrote several revolutionary poems
directed against the tsarist despotism (“Dream”, 1844, “The Caucasus”, 1845,
and his famous “Testament”).
In 1847 he was arrested and exiled as a
soldier to Orsk fortress in Kazakhstan.
Here, being a soldier, he wrote several
novels in Russian.
He also painted several of his best
pictures.
In 1857 Shevchenko returned from the
exile to St Petersburg.
Here he published several of his
masterpieces in which he criticised the tsarist regime and demanded liberty for
serfs.
In St Petersburg he made close friends
with well-known Russian writers — N. Chernyshevskyi, N. Dobrolubov, N. Nekrasov
and others.
In 1859, when Shevchenko went to Ukraine,
he was arrested and forced to return to St Petersburg — the tsarist government
was afraid of the elderly poet.
On the 10th of March, Shevchenko died.
His death was a great loss for Ukrainian
literature and liberation movement — A. Gertsen published a big article on
Shevchenko’s death in his magazine “Kolokol” in London.
Shevchenko is the favourite author of
millions of Ukrainians, a real people’s poet.
His works are translated into many
languages.
Questions:
1. Who is Taras Shevchenko?
2. What do you know about Taras
Shevchenko’s childhood?
3. Who freed Taras Shevchenko from
slavery?
4. Why was Taras Shevchenko arrested and
exiled to Orsk fortress?
5. What poems did Taras Shevchenko
write?
William Shakespeare - Вільям
Шекспір
There are a lot of famous names in the
history of Great Britain.
The name of William Shakespeare is one
of them.
William Shakespeare, the great English
poet and dramatist, was born in 1564 in the town of Stratford-on-Avon.
There were no theatres in England in
those times.
Groups of actors travelled from town to
town showing performances in the street.
Sometimes actors came to
Stratford-on-Avon.
The boy went to see all their shows and
liked them very much.
He wanted to become an actor.
Sometimes he wrote little plays and staged
them with his friends.
When he was twenty-one, William went to
London.
There he joined a group of actors.
At first he only helped actors and then
began writing plays for them.
Soon Shakespeare’s plays were staged
more and more and became famous.
The theatre where he worked was called
“The Globe”.
It became the first professional
theatre.
Everyone knows Shakespeare’s plays.
The most famous of them are “Othello”,
“Hamlet”, “Romeo and Juliet”, “King Lear”.
Shakespeare showed the real life and
relations between people.
Love and death, friendship and treason,
devotion and lie are the main ideas of his plays.
Shakespeare’s works will always be
interesting for all people.
Questions:
1. When was William Shakespeare born?
2. How did actors peform in those times?
3. How did he begin his career?
4. What was his theatre called?
5. What are the main topics of his
plays?
Oscar Wilde - Оскар Уайльд
Oscar Wilde is one of the most
interesting representatives of British literature.
He was born in 1856 in the 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.
He was accused of immoral behaviour and
got into prison.
After it he left for Paris where he died
in 1900.
He is well-known for his extraordinary
talent and humour.
“The truth is rarely pure and never
simple”, “There is no sin except stupidity”, “Art never expresses anything but
itself” are only a few of his famous aphorisms.
He always considered the aesthetic
feeling of a person to be the moving force of human development.
Wilde’s fairy-tales always depicted the
union between the good and the beauty.
Every detail in his lyrical fairy-tales
has symbolic meaning.
“The Picture of Dorian Gray” is one of
his most famous novels.
It is a story of a young man Dorian
Gray.
Under the influence of Lord Henry, his
spiritual “teacher”, Dorian becomes an immoral murderer.
Despite this fact his face remains young
and beautiful.But his portrait painted by his friend reflects Dorian’s
immorality and cruelty.
Thrusting a knife into his portrait
Dorian kills himself.His face becomes ugly while the portrait shines with perfect
beauty.
Oscar Wilde’s literary heritage is very
large and his works are often staged nowadays.
Questions:
1. Where and when was Oscar Wilde born?
2. What were his parents?
3. Was his life easy?
4. Do you know his famous aphorisms?
5. What is his most famous novel? Say
some words about it.
Outstanding People of Great
Britain - Видатні люди Великобританії
Great Britain made a great contribution
to the science, literature, music and arts of the world.
It gave mankind a lot of outstanding
scientists, writers and poets, musicians and painters.
Thomas More, who lived in the 15th
century was an outstanding humanist, scientist and statesman.
His work “Utopia” brought him world-wide
acknowledgement.
Many prominent people were influenced by
his ideas of a free democratic state described in “Utopia”.
William Shakespeare is one of the most
famous writers in the world.
His plays “Romeo and Juliet”, “Hamlet,
Prince of Denmark”, “King Lear”, “Macbeth” were translated into almost every
language and staged in every theatre.
He described the characters and
feelings, which can be called international and living forever.
Daniel Defoe, Robert Burns, Walter
Scott, Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll are only a few names well-known all over
the world.
William Hogarth, Sir Joshua Reynolds,
Thomas Gainsborough, John Constable contributed to the world’s painting
treasures.
Great Britain has also given the world
many outstanding scientists.
Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of
penicillin was born in Scotland.
He spent his working hours almost
entirely in hospitals and laboratories.
His discovery of penicillin did more to
help suffering people than anything else for centuries.
When he died in 1955 his old friend
said: “… by his work he relieved more suffering than any other living man”.
Ernest Rutherford, a famous English
physicist worked in the field of radio-activity.
His brilliant researches established the
existence and nature of radioactive transformations.
He was one of the founders of the atomic
theory of physics and creators of the first atomic model.
M. Faraday made his major discovery in
the field of electricity — the electromagnetic induction.
He also made several important
observations on the conductivity of different materials.
Enjoying world-wide popularity, Faraday
remained a modest man, who rejected high titles.
All of them considered hard labour and
love for mankind to be the main reason of their success.
Questions:1. Who were the most prominent
persons in British history?
Sherlock Holmes — a Famous
Literary Character – Шерлок Холмс — знаменитий літературний герой
If Sherlock Holmes were alive today, he
would be more than 140 years old.
We can say it from the books about him.
He would certainly no longer be living
at Baker Street.
He would have retired and lived in the
country.
But letters addressed to him continue to
arrive at Baker Street.
Many people write to the great detective
asking him for help.
There is no less than one letter a week.
Some of those people who write,
especially from abroad, really believe that Holmes is a real person.
Many letters come from Europe.
People sometimes ask Holmes for his
photograph.
Some letters are sent as a joke.
Children also write many letters. They
ask to find their lost dogs and other things. People in our country also know
and love this literary character.
Questions:
1. How old would Sherlock Holmes be if
he were alive?
2. Where did he live?
3. Was he a real person?
4. Why do people believe him?
5. Why do they write him letters?
6. Do you like stories about Sherlock
Holmes?
7. What is your favourite story?
Mass
Media in Our Life - Засоби масової інформації в нашому житті
Mass media play a very important role in
our everyday life.
They serve to inform people of different
events that take place or may happen.
They also entertain people or even help
to make their lives better.
But the most important thing that
newspapers, radio or TV bring to people is information.
Complete and accurate information is
very important to get nowadays.
Those TV and radio programmes and
newspapers that provide reliable information are always very popular.
Sensational events such as crimes,
natural disasters or unusual events are also of great interest.
That is why many newspapers and TV
programmes combine them with serious information.
Usually daily mass media carry some
international, state and local news.
They also contain some other topics like
health care, arts and so on.
A lot of newspapers have advice columns,
review of books, comics, crossword puzzles, etc.
Most of them have different pictures, photographs
and illustrations.
Mass media also focus public attention
on the most urgent problems of the society.
Those may be problems in health care,
education, transportation or even corruption in government.
Advertising is also paid much attention
to in mass media.
It helps people to get oriented in
variety of firms and shops that offer their goods and services.
All in all, mass media help us to form
our opinion on different events, provide us with the information of what takes
place in society, and are also means of entertainment.
Questions:
1. Why do mass media play a very
important role in our everyday life?
2. How do we get any information? What
brings it to us?
3. What TV programs do you like to
watch?
4. What do daily mass media carry to us?
5. Does mass media help us to form our
opinion on different events, information?
Uk newspapers - Преса у
Великобританії
In Great Britain there is no official
control over the newspapers.
The government does not exercise any
official control over the newspaper industry and most of the English newspapers
are very proud of their peculiarities, their individual styles.
And although every newspaper has a
definite profile, they can be classified into two main groups: quality and
popular newspapers.
Quality newspapers are serious, national
newspapers.
They are “Financial Times”, “The Times”,
“The Daily Telegraph”.
“The Daily Telegraph” contains reports
on national and international news, gives a full covering of sports and other
topics.
“Financial Times” is read mainly by
professionals and business people as it contains a comprehensive coverage of
industry, commerce and public affairs.
“The Times” is the most famous
news-paper.
It is not actually the oldest newspaper
in Britain, but some years ago it celebrated its two hundredth birthday.
“The Times” gives a wide coverage of
news events and reports on social life, the arts, education, etc.
Popular newspapers are smaller in size
and contain many photographs.
Unlike quality newspapers popular
newspapers are not so serious and their stories tend to be sensational.
Popular newspapers are: “The Daily
Express”, “The Daily Mirror”, “The Sun”.
“The Sun” has the largest circulation
among daily newspapers.
Questions:
1. Is there official control over the
newspapers in Great Britain?
2. What do English newspapers write
about?
3. What serious national newspapers do
you know?
4. What is the most famous newspaper in
England?
5. What are popular newspapers? Name
some of them.
American Press - Преса в
Америці
There is no real national press in the
USA as there are more than 85 newspapers published in 34 languages.
There exist two main groups of
news-papers: qualities and populars.
Only 2 or 3 newspapers with the largest
circulation tell their readers about some rumours or crimes.
Quality newspapers contain only reliable
serious information.
They may also publish cartoons.
“The Wall Street Journal”, “The New York
Daily News”, “The USA Today”, “The New York Times” have the largest circulation
among the daily newspapers.
The main function of press in America is
to give objective information.
The materials should be given in full
volume and newspapers should give floor to all possible facts and opinions.
There is also no secret information for
the press.
The information is usually taken from
the News Agencies.
The largest and most famous of them are:
Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI).
There also exist about 122 domestic and
foreign news bureaus in the USA.
There are over 4000 monthly and 1300
weekly magazines in the USA.
Among them are: “National Geo-graphic”,
“Reader’s Digest”, “Cosmopolitan”, “Time”, “Vogue” and others.
Women’s magazines publish all sorts of
recipes, stories about local or out-standing women, furnishing questions and
other items.
Publishing books in America is rather a
prosperous business.
America is on the 9th place in the world
by the books, published and read.
Public libraries always organize book
sales.
Most newspapers and magazines publish
chapters from the books of young authors.
Questions:
1. Is there real national press in the
USA?
2. What are the main groups of
newspapers in America?
3. What is the main function of press in
America?
4. Where is the information for press
usually taken?
Press in Ukraine - Преса в Україні
Newspapers and magazines play a great
role in the life of a modern person.
We usually read newspapers to get
information about the events that have taken or are going to take place in this
country or abroad.
One can also read articles about
historical events or public figures of the past.
The pages of newspapers carry articles
on our economy, industry, agriculture and social life.
Practically all newspapers give weather
forecasts, radio and TV programmes.
But there are some specialized
news-papers that give only TV programmes.
They also give brief accounts of new
films or the films that one can see on TV.
The beginning of the Ukrainian press is
considered the “Kharkiv Weekly”, founded in 1812.
In those days newspapers tried to
attract readers’ attention to the problems of economic, political and cultural
life of this country.
The first literary works in Ukrainian
and investigations of Ukrainian folklore appeared on their pages.
Today Ukraine has a large variety of
newspapers and magazines.
One can find newspapers of all kinds:
national and local, official and private, special newspapers for children,
teen-agers, for all kinds of fans — sport fans, music fans, etc.
Business newspapers, women’s magazines,
car fans newspapers are very famous.
There are also a lot of “free”
newspapers, which specialize in advertising.
The freedom of press has become real
today.
Every newspaper has its readers.
I prefer to read “Natali”, “Stolichnye
Novosti”.
They are very interesting, I like their
style and I read almost all their articles from beginning to end.
Questions:
1. What is considered to be the
beginning of Ukrainian press?
2. Do magazines and newspapers play a
great role in the life of a modern person?
3. What can you find onthe pages of
newspapers?
4. What kinds of newspapers and
magazines do you know?
5. What do you prefer to read?
6. What di we read newspapers for?
Protection of environment in
Ukraine - Захист навколишнього середовища в Україні
Protection of the environment in Ukraine
is paid much attention to.
The worsening of the ecological situation
has been closely linked to the Chernobyl explosion.
On April 26, 1986, a fire burnt out of
control and released radioactive materials.
The disaster killed 31 persons
immediately and caused the hospitalization of about 500 others.
It has caused widespread illnesses and
made the land in the area unusable.
A radioactive cloud spread from the
plant over most of Europe.
Radiation even spread so far as to
appear in Asia and in North America.
Another issue of concern in Ukraine is
the question of where to put nuclear waste.
This waste is largely the spent fuel of
reactors.
It is radioactive, and some of its
components remain so forever.
The waste is held at temporary sites
until a solution of the problem can be found.
At present the most promising solution
of the problem of waste storage is recycling.
Another environmental problem is air
pollution.
One of its results is acid rain.
It is caused by smoke from factories and
transport.
Nowadays the emission of smoke is
strictly controlled by special governmental agencies.
The activity of various environmental
organizations helps to improve the situation.
Among the leading environmental
organizations in Ukraine are the Greenpeace and the Green Party.
They are very popular with the youth in
Ukraine.
Questions:
1. Why is protection of the environment
in Ukraine paid much attention to?
2. What happened on April 26, 1986 in
Chernobyl?
3. What environment problems are there
in Ukraine?
4. What do you know about Greenpeace and
the Green Party?
5. Who controls the emission of smoke?
Seasons
and Weather - Пори року і погода
There are four seasons in the year:
winter, spring, summer and autumn.
Each of them lasts three months.
In Ukraine winter is usually a cold
season.
It often snows, the rivers are frozen.
The most unpleasant thing about winter
is that the sun sets early and rises late — especially in December and January.
The days are short, the sky is often
grey, nature is sleeping and sometimes it gets rather boring.
But at the end of March the weather gets
gradually milder.
The sun shines more brightly.
The days become longer.
The snow begins melting.
Spring comes and nature awakens after a
long winter sleep.
All kinds of plants and flowers come
out.
The birds return from the South and
build their nests.
The farmers begin the sowing campaign.
Everything around is full of life and
joy.
Spring is followed by summer.
The weather gets still warmer and
sometimes it is very hot.
The sky is blue and cloudless.
But sometimes there are storms with
thunder and lightning.
The gardens are gay with flowers for all
summer months.
In summer people spend much time in the
open air.
They find time to go to the forest, to
swim in the river, to sunbathe.
Autumn comes in September.
Early autumn is still the harvest time,
the time when the fruit and vegetables become ripe.
It is also a very beautiful time of the
year, when the weather is still warm and the leaves change their colour from
green to yellow.
But towards the end of October the
weather gets colder and colder.
There’s much rain and fog.
Leaves fall from trees and cover the
ground.
Birds fly away to warm countries.
Low and heavy clouds hang in the sky.
The landscape becomes rather dull.
Nature slowly falls asleep for winter.
In fact every season has its fine days
and is pleasant in its own way.
And it is not difficult to see this
beauty.
Questions:
1. How many seasons do you know? What
are they?
2. What is your favourite season? Why?
Give the reason.
3. Why do some people like spring? What
about you?
4. Do you like a sunny weather?
5. Do you like autumn?
Life of youth in Great Britain
and the USA - Життя молоді в Англії і США
Youth and youth movement over decades
have become important factors in the life of both countries.
Numerous youth organization have been formed
since the Second World War, uniting young people from all classes and sections
of the population.
In the USA there exist Young Republican
Federation, Young Christian Association, some religious organizations for
Jewish youth.
There also exist some political
organizations like Students’ Coordinative Committee of Non-Violent Action and
Students For Democratic Society.
Youth organization Greenpeace deals with
the most urgent ecological problems of today’s world.
It protests against nuclear weapon
tests, sea and soil pollution, etc.
Some young people work in their church
organizations: help elderly people or work in hospitals.
There are even some groups, where young
people help released prisoners to start their life anew.
Sports clubs are characteristic youth
organizations in the US and UK.
They unite people, who are interested in
baseball, football, basketball, golf, etc.
There also exist interest clubs.
You can attend any club: from theatre
clubs to bird-watching clubs.
Bird-watching clubs are very popular,
especially in Great Britain.
And at the age of 14 children have a
regular part-time job to earn some pocket money.
You can see now, our youth is mostly
similar to the youth abroad in many aspects of life.
Questions:
. What do you know about the youth movement
in the world?
2. What youth organizations of the USA
do you know?
3. Name some political organizations of
Great Britain.
4. What do some people do in their
church organizations?
5. How do interest clubs work?
The Life of American youth -
Життя молоді в Америці
Young people in the USA also have their
problems and hobbies.
I would like to tell about some of them.
At American schools there are many
different circles for schoolchildren, for example, a school literature society,
sports society, and so on.
Many young American people are fond of
sports.
They attend school sports clubs.
There are sports teams at schools and
different competitions are organized quite often.
Besides, there are a lot of school
parties.
Parents help to organize them.
There are “talent nights” where the
schoolchildren show all their talents as to the drama or singing.
Most music societies have bands or
or-chestras, which perform on different occasions.
Besides, lots of children and teenagers
have hobbies.
They join different clubs that are
organized for young people having the same hobby.
During their holidays young people like
to travel.
There are also some political
organizations, and different organization, that are connected with ecology or
racial discrimination.
As our youth, American young people also
like to communicate with each other and spend a lot of time together.
Questions:
1. Name some political and other
societies, organizations of the USA.
2. What does the youth organization
Greenpeace deal with?
3. What do some young people do in their
school societies?
4. Are you fond of sport?
5. What are “talent nights”?
The Life of Ukrainian youth - Життя української молоді
Nowadays when our independent state
Ukraine is developing, much attention is paid to our youth.
The desire of our young people to become
qualified specialists in future motivates them to enter higher educational
establishments.
For young people higher education is the
method of developing their talents and abilities, their creative potential.
That is why beside their studies they
are also engaged in different clubs and organizations.
Almost every school or institute has its
own team of “joyful and smart” (KVN).
This game is rather popular among our
young people and it helps them to bring out their brightest talents and to
create team spirit.
Young people learn to work together, to
share the moments of luck and failure.
Besides studies young people are also
engaged in scientific and research work.
One may say that nowadays this sphere is
not paid too much attention to.
This is true, but still there exist
“Young Scientists’ Councils”, where young people can discuss or present their
scientific investigations.
There also exists the Ukrainian branch
of youth organization Greenpeace in Ukraine.
Young people learn to love their land
and the world that surrounds them.
This organization protests against
environmental pollution, against extermination of all animals, not only rare
species.
Some young people work in their church
organizations: they help elderly people, reconstruct our historical monuments
and monasteries.
This work brings them closer to our
history, teaches them to love their country and respect its past.
A lot of young people go in for sports,
that is why schools and institutes have sport clubs and teams.
Our young people are especially
interested in football, basketball, hockey, etc.
There also exists a great variety of
different clubs in this country.
They are: theatre clubs, where young
people stage different literary works; clubs “What? Where? When?”, where they
can enlarge their knowledge in different fields of science and life, and so on.
Future belongs to the young, that is why
the political life of this country is important to them.
Many young people are engaged in
political parties and organizations such as: “the greens”, the Union of
Ukrainian Youth, the Scouts.
Questions:
1. What Youth organizations in Ukraine
do you know?
2. What are their main aims?
3. What is the way of spending free time
by youth in Ukraine?
4. What kinds of sports do young people
go in for in Ukraine?
5. What organizations give young people
a chance to develop and enlarge their interests and to gain experience in
working with others?
The Life of Ukrainian youth -
Життя української молоді
Nowadays when our independent state
Ukraine is developing, much attention is paid to our youth.
The desire of our young people to become
qualified specialists in future motivates them to enter higher educational
establishments.
For young people higher education is the
method of developing their talents and abilities, their creative potential.
That is why beside their studies they
are also engaged in different clubs and organizations.
Almost every school or institute has its
own team of “joyful and smart” (KVN).
This game is rather popular among our
young people and it helps them to bring out their brightest talents and to
create team spirit.
Young people learn to work together, to
share the moments of luck and failure.
Besides studies young people are also engaged
in scientific and research work.
One may say that nowadays this sphere is
not paid too much attention to.
This is true, but still there exist
“Young Scientists’ Councils”, where young people can discuss or present their
scientific investigations.
There also exists the Ukrainian branch
of youth organization Greenpeace in Ukraine.
Young people learn to love their land
and the world that surrounds them.
This organization protests against
environmental pollution, against extermination of all animals, not only rare
species.
Some young people work in their church
organizations: they help elderly people, reconstruct our historical monuments
and monasteries.
This work brings them closer to our
history, teaches them to love their country and respect its past.
A lot of young people go in for sports,
that is why schools and institutes have sport clubs and teams.
Our young people are especially
interested in football, basketball, hockey, etc.
There also exists a great variety of
different clubs in this country.
They are: theatre clubs, where young
people stage different literary works; clubs “What? Where? When?”, where they
can enlarge their knowledge in different fields of science and life, and so on.
Future belongs to the young, that is why
the political life of this country is important to them.
Many young people are engaged in
political parties and organizations such as: “the greens”, the Union of
Ukrainian Youth, the Scouts.
Questions:
. What Youth organizations in Ukraine do
you know?
2. What are their main aims?
3. What is the way of spending free time
by youth in Ukraine?
4. What kinds of sports do young people
go in for in Ukraine?
5. What organizations give young people
a chance to develop and enlarge their interests and to gain experience in
working with others?
Your readiness to Help Someone
- Твоя готовність допомагати людям
In our everyday life we meet people who
are always ready to help.
And it is important to say that such
people help not because they are asked to help.
In this way they give an example of how
people can be attentive to each other.
As an English proverb goes: “He teaches
who gives, and he learns who receives”.
So each person, a grown-up or a pupil,
ought to do good because he wants to do so, not because he is told to help.
There are pupils in each class who help
their classmates to learn better.
They do it on their own initiative not
because they were “assigned” to give help to a weak pupil.
When we help other people, we do a good
thing for them.
There is an American proverb which says,
“When you are good to others you are best to yourself”.
An English proverb has the same meaning:
“What we give, we have, what we keep we lose”.
There are different situations in which
our help may be needed.
For example, school classes are over.
The pupils come out into the school
yard.
There they see a big boy come up to a
first-former to take away his ball.
The little one is holding the ball in
his hands and will not give it.
The big boy begins to show that he is
much stronger than the first-former.
From this example one can easily
understand that the big boy showed nasty attitude to the first-former.
So his behaviour is good for nothing.
He doesn’t know the general rule: to be
ready to help someone and it doesn’t matter if this one is young or old.
Questions:
1. What kind of help are you prepared to
give other people?
2. An English proverb says: “He gives
twice who gives in a trice”. Have you given help quickly?
3. What kind of help was it?
4. Were you asked to help or did you
give it on your own initiative?
Politeness — a Sign of Culture
- Ввічливість — ознака культури
I think politeness is one of the signs
of culture, but real culture includes more than simply being polite.
How far does politeness go?
Is it only saying, “Good morning!” and
“Excuse me, please!”
No, it’s more than that.
Politeness can be shown everywhere.
When we write something at school or at
home what our teachers must read, they are glad when it looks neat and is easy
to read.
Think of all the papers our teachers
have to read.
It must make them tired to read the ugly
handwriting of some pupils.
They have to make out words which are
not written neatly.
As we write, we may think only of what
we are writing and not of the person who must read it, and therefore we may
write carelessly.
Let’s agree that it’s impolite to do
that.
And what about politeness in school and
out of school?
One of the school rules says that a
school pupil should greet the head of the school and the teachers politely if
he (she) meets them in the street.
Another rule says that a school pupil
should be polite to those older than himself, be modest and well behaved at
school, in the street and in other public places.
Forming culture habits of behaviour
isn’t a simple thing; but if we are polite, it shouldn’t be difficult for us to
be cultured in any situation.
Questions:
1. What do grown-up people do to teach
children to be polite?
2. How does a polite child behave at
home?
3. How does a polite pupil behave at
school?
4. In what way should you be polite to
older people?
5. How should boys be polite to girls?
6. What signs of politeness should you
show when you meet your teachers in the street?
7. What is meant by “politeness goes
far”?
HOW
TO SPEAK ABOUT YOUR NATIVE TOWN
It's quite cheap
to live here, although in certain parts of town the accommodation is
really very expensive. Everyday things in the shop are very cheap compared with
England, although clothes can cost a lot.
There are so
many cars and lorries. The railways system is not very extensive so everything
has to go by car. The town is a very interesting place to visit, although I
wouldn't call the buildings beautiful. But the place is
quite fascinating and well worth spending a day on. And
then there are some wonderful churches andmosques.
The town is
quite small, about one hundred thousand people; the town centre is very
compact, although the suburbs stretch for about five kilometres in
each direction.
It rains all the
time, it's quite famous for that. Even in the middle summer you are never
certain that the sun will shine all day, so difficult to make plans for any
outdoor activities.
VOCABULARY
accommodation [ə,kɔmə'deɪʃ(ə)n]
— помешкання, житло, стіл і нічліг
fascinating ['fæsɪneɪtɪŋ]
— чарівний
to be
worth [wə:θ] — бути вартим
mosque [mɔsk]
— мечеть
suburb ['sʌbə:b]
— передмістя; околиця
QUESTIONS
& TASKS
1. Work
in pairs. Say what features and facilities your town has got
and hasn't got.
2. What are
advantages and disadvantages of living in your town ?
3. Describe your
town.
Ukraine is one of the largest
countries of Eastern Europe.Ukraine occupies an area of 603 700 km2.Its territory
stretches for 893 kilometers from north to south and for 1316 kilometers 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 by
the Black and the Azov Seas.The major part of Ukraine is flat and only 5% of it
is mountainous.
The two mountainous areas in
Ukraine are the Carpathians and the Crimean Mountains.
The geographical position of
Ukraine is very favorable because the country lies on the crossroads of the
ways from Asia to Europe.Ukraine has deposits of iron, manganese, coal, natural
gas, oil and other mineral resources.The main branches of industry are: coal
and ore mining, iron and steel engineering, machine and ship building.Besides,
Ukraine has always been an agrarian country.Traditionally crop- growing and
cattle-breeding are being developed.We Live in Ukraine - Ми живемо в УкраїніWe
live in Ukraine.Ukraine is a sovereign state.It has its own territory,
government, national emblem, state flag and anthem.
The geographical position of
Ukraine is very favorable for the development of its relations with the
countries of Europe, as well as with the countries throughout the world.
It borders on Russia, Belarus,
Moldova, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania.It is washed by the Black Sea and
the Sea of Azov.The major rivers are the Dnieper, the Dniester, the Donets and
others.The territory of Ukraine consists mostly of plains.The Ukrainian
Carpathians and the Crimean Mountains make up only 5 % of its area.It is a
well-developed industrial and agricultural country.Ukraine has many natural
resources.The population of Ukraine is about 50 million people.The biggest
cities are Kyiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, Lviv, Mykolaiv and
others.Ukraine has an ancient history.It has its own original culture and arts.Over
recent years people of Ukraine display a keen interest in the Ukrainian history
and cultural heritage.Nowadays Ukraine has established new relations with the countries
throughout the world.Ukraine is one of the members of the United Nations
Organization (UNO) and participates in the work of many international organizations.
Scientists of Ukraine have made a
great contribution to the world science.
Questions:
1. What main cities do you know?
2. What mountains are there on
the territory of Ukraine?
3. Name the mountains of Ukraine
and how much do they make up of the whole area?
4. Has Ukraine an ancient history
or a modern one?
5. What can you tell about recent
years of independent Ukraine?
State System of Ukraine
- Державний устрій України
The government of Ukraine
underwent rapid change in the early 1990s.
The independence of Ukraine was
proclaimed on the 24th of August, 1991.
Its sovereignty is now recognized
by all the countries of the world.
Ukraine has its own state
symbols, Constitution, currency and government.
According to the Constitution of
Ukraine its territory is one and indivisible.
There is the Crimean Autonomous
Republic in Ukraine, 24 administrative districts and the cities of Kyiv and
Sevastopol.
Only the laws of Ukraine act on
its territory.
The power in the country is
divided into legislative, executive and judiciary.
The main legislative body of
Ukraine is the Verkhovna Rada, which consists of 450 deputies.
The elections to the Verkhovna
Rada are held every 4 years on the last week of March.
The deputies are elected by
equal, secret or direct ballot.
The highest executive body is the
president.
He can veto any decision of the
Verkhovna Rada.
The president is the
commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Ukraine.
He also represents the state in
the international relations.
Another part of the executive
branch is the Cabinet of Ministers, which is headed by the Prime-Minister.
The Cabinet of Ministers
coordinates the daily administration of the government and may introduce bills
to the Verkhovna Rada.
The judiciary power belongs to
the Constitutional Court and regional courts.
The state symbols of Ukraine are
the national flag and emblem.
They root deeply in ancient times
and have symbolic meaning.
Azure-yellow state flag
symbolizes the unity of blue sky and yellow wheat field.
The little state emblem — trident
— appeared first on the seals in times of Volodymyr the Great.
The largest parties are the
Communist party, the Socialist, the Democratic and the Green parties and “Rukh”
is the most famous social movement.
administrative districts —
адміністративні області
legislative — законодавчий
decision — рішення
elections — вибори
Crimean Autonomous Republic —
Автономна Республіка Крим
Constitutional Court —
Конституційний Суд
azure — блакитний, голубий
Questions:
1. When was the independence of
Ukraine proclaimed?
2. How many administrative
districts do you know? What district do you live in?
3. Who is the head of the state?
4. What is the highest
legislative body of Ukraine?
5. What is the supreme judicial
body?
State System of Ukraine
- Державний устрій України
The government of Ukraine
underwent rapid change in the early 1990s.
The independence of Ukraine was
proclaimed on the 24th of August, 1991.
Its sovereignty is now recognized
by all the countries of the world.
Ukraine has its own state
symbols, Constitution, currency and government.
According to the Constitution of
Ukraine its territory is one and indivisible.
There is the Crimean Autonomous
Republic in Ukraine, 24 administrative districts and the cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol.
Only the laws of Ukraine act on
its territory.
The power in the country is
divided into legislative, executive and judiciary.
The main legislative body of
Ukraine is the Verkhovna Rada, which consists of 450 deputies.
The elections to the Verkhovna
Rada are held every 4 years on the last week of March.
The deputies are elected by
equal, secret or direct ballot.
The highest executive body is the
president.
He can veto any decision of the
Verkhovna Rada.
The president is the
commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Ukraine.
He also represents the state in
the international relations.
Another part of the executive
branch is the Cabinet of Ministers, which is headed by the Prime-Minister.
The Cabinet of Ministers
coordinates the daily administration of the government and may introduce bills
to the Verkhovna Rada.
The judiciary power belongs to
the Constitutional Court and regional courts.
The state symbols of Ukraine are
the national flag and emblem.
They root deeply in ancient times
and have symbolic meaning.
Azure-yellow state flag
symbolizes the unity of blue sky and yellow wheat field.
The little state emblem — trident
— appeared first on the seals in times of Volodymyr the Great.
The largest parties are the
Communist party, the Socialist, the Democratic and the Green parties and “Rukh”
is the most famous social movement.
Малий Державний Герб — Тризуб —
з’явився вперше на печатках за часів Володимира Великого.
Найбільші партії — комуністична,
соціалістична, демократична, партія «зелених», а найпопулярніша громадська
організація — Рух.
administrative districts —
адміністративні області
legislative — законодавчий
decision — рішення
elections — вибори
Crimean Autonomous Republic —
Автономна Республіка Крим
Constitutional Court —
Конституційний Суд
azure — блакитний, голубий
Questions:
1. When was the independence of
Ukraine proclaimed?
2. How many administrative
districts do you know? What district do you live in?
3. Who is the head of the state?
4. What is the highest
legislative body of Ukraine?
5. What is the supreme judicial
body?
Constitution of Ukraine
- Конституція України
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 duties of every citizen.
It determines the order of the President
elections, elections into the Verkhovna Rada, state symbols, independence and
sovereignty of Ukraine.
The Constitution proclaims the
freedom of speech, outlook and religion.
The church and different
religious organizations are separated from the state, and from the school.
That’s why it is impossible to
make any religion compulsory or state.
But the church and religion are
not isolated from the society.
The Constitution also proclaims
the right for political unions, meetings and demonstrations and participation
in governing the state.
The duties of the citizens are
also included into the Constitution.
The family, childhood, maternity
and paternity are guarded by the state.
The military service and tax
payment are also the duties of the citizens.
Each citizen must observe the
Con-stitution, preserve the freedoms and rights of other people and carry out
his own duties.
law— закон
church — церква
to adopt — приймати
to separate — розділяти,
відділяти
symbol — символ
Questions:
1. When was the Constitution of
Ukraine adopted?
2. What did the Constitution
confirm?
3. What does it proclaim?
4. Are the church and religion
isolated from the society?
5. What duties of the citizens
included into the Constitution do you know?
Geographical Position
of Ukraine - Географічне положення України
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 km2.
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,
the Dniester, the Buh, the Donets and others.
The Dnieper is one of the longest
European rivers and one of the main sources of hydroelectric power in the
country.
The coasts of the Azov Sea and
the Black Sea are good for ports.
We have quite a lot of big sea
ports, for example, Odesa, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Izmail, Mariupol and Kerch.
The geographical position of
Ukraine is very favorable because the country lies on the crossroads of the
ways from Asia to Europe.
Since the times of Kyivan Rus
Ukrainian roads have been used for trade contacts.
Due to favorable climatic
conditions, Ukraine is traditionally an agricultural country.
Wheat, maize and other corns,
vegetables, all kinds of fruit are grown here.
The country is rich in natural
resources, such as iron ore, coal, non-ferrous metals, oil, gas.
It has developed a varied
industry, concentrated mostly in and around big cities, such as Kyiv,
Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, Kharkiv, Lviv, Mykolaiv and others.
Ukraine produces planes and
ships, lorries and buses, electronic equipment and agricultural machines, TV
and radio-sets and other goods.
Questions:
1. Where is Ukraine situated?
2. What area does Ukraine cover?
3. What are the main rivers of
Ukraine?
4. What are the main cities in
Ukraine?
An Outstanding event in
Ukrainian History - Знаменна подія в історії України
There are such events in the life
of every country that are kept through the passing centuries.
Ukraine has a long history which
reflects different stages of its historical development, numerous periods of
its prosperity and decay.
For a long period our country
lived under the rule of Poland, Lithuania and Russia.
Ukraine formed part of the Union
of Soviet Socialist Republics under the name of Ukrainian Soviet Socialist
Republic from 1922 to 1991.
On the 16th of July 1990 the
Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian republic adopted “The Declaration of the State
Sovereignty of Ukraine”.
Then on the 24th of August 1991
the Supreme Soviet adopted the “Act of the Independence of Ukraine”.
It was a document of a great
historical importance.
This document proclaimed the
formation of the independent Ukrainian state.
From the moment of adoption of
this act only the laws of Ukraine remained in action.
This historical decision was
approved by the all-Ukrainian referendum which was held on the 1st of December
1991.
The Ukrainian people confirmed
their wish to live in the sovereign and in-dependent country.
Thus a new period in the history
of Ukraine started.
It was the third attempt to
achieve in-dependence.
The first one was made by Bohdan
Khmelnytsky in 1648—1654.
The second one may be considered
the proclamation of the Ukrainian People’s Republic in 1917—1919.
Questions:
When was “The Declaration of the
State Sovereignty of Ukraine” adopted?
When was Ukraine proclaimed an
independent state?
Who was the first person to
proclaim the formation of the independent
Ukrainian state?
When was the proclamation of the
Ukrainian People’s Republic?
Relations between
Ukraine and english-speaking countries - Зв’язки України з англомовними
країнами
There is no denying the fact that
not so long ago Ukraine had very weak connections with other countries in the
world.
But at present the situation has
changed for the better.
As now Ukraine is a sovereign
state it establishes new relations with the countries throughout the world.
Ukraine is one of the members of
the United Nations Organization and participates in the work of many
international organizations.
We have wide relations with
Canada, the USA and Great Britain in policy, economics and culture.
Foreign Embassies of these
countries work in Kyiv.
We have some joint political
projects with the United States of America and Canada.
A lot of joint ventures have
appeared in Ukraine recently.Such big plants of ours as Cherkassy joint-stock
company “Azot”, Gorlivka chemical plant “Stirol”, Kharkiv aircraft plant sell
their products at the international market.
Scientific cooperation is also
very important.
We have joint projects for space
exploration with the USA and Canada.
Cooperation in culture, education
and sport is very important, too.
We exchange students and teachers
with these countries.
The Ukrainian orchestras, pop and
opera singers, ballet dancers are warmly received abroad.
A lot of tourists from
English-speaking countries visit Ukraine every year.
It’s very important to mention
that many people who are Ukrainians by origin live in Canada.
So we have particular relations
with this country.
Canada was the first among the
western states that recognized the state independence of Ukraine.
Many of the Ukrainians living now
in Canada and other English-speaking countries don’t lose connections with
Ukraine.
A lot of public organizations,
educational establishments, religious organizations make considerable
contribution to the development of our culture, literature and art.
Questions:
1. What countries does Ukraine
have relations with?
2. What program do we have with
the countries abroad?
3. Where do Ukrainians by origin
live?
4. What can you say about the
cooperation in culture?
Foreign affairs of
Ukraine - Українські міжнародні відносини
Ukraine has different relations
with many countries of the world.
We have wide relations with
Canada, the USA, Great Britain and other countries.
Recently a great number of
various joint ventures and economic, cultural and political projects have
appeared in Ukraine.
Our specialists in different
scientific fields improve their qualification abroad.
We also have programs of
students’ and schoolchildren’s exchange.
English, Canadian and American
children visit Ukrainian families, go to Ukrainian schools, while Ukrainian
children stay at their host families abroad.
These exchange programs help us
to understand each other better, to study culture and traditions of other
countries.
A lot of Ukrainians have
emigrated to Great Britain.
That’s why in 1947 the
Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain was founded.
This association has some Help
Funds that sponsor different important actions.
The association gives help to the
Ukrainian students who study in British Universities.
The same associations and
societies exist in many other countries.
From year to year the number of
spheres of our relations with the countries abroad grow.
Every year a lot of tourists
visit Ukraine, while the Ukrainians go to the countries abroad.
We hope that our relations with
other countries will go on growing.
Questions:
1. What countries does Ukraine
have relations with?
2. What are the exchange programs
meant for?
3. What associations do you know
in Great Britain?
4. Who visits our country every
year?
The Doctor. Our Health
- Доктор. Наше здоров’я
When we are ill, we call the
doctor, and he examines us and diagnoses the illness.
When we have a headache, a
stomachache, a sore throat, a cold or a pain in some part of the body, we call
the doctor.
He takes our temperature and our
pulse.
He examines our heart, our lungs,
our stomach or the part where we have a pain and tells us what is the matter
with us.
He says: “You have a slight
temperature”, or “You have the flu”, or “You have heart disease”.
The doctor prescribes medicine,
and gives us a prescription, which we take to the chemist, who makes the
medicine.
The doctor says: “Take the
medicine twice a day or three times a day, before or after meals”.
If you follow the doctor’s
orders, you get better; if you disobey the doctor you may get worse or even
die.
If we have a temperature, we must
stay in bed and take the medicine prescribed.
If we cannot get better at home,
we must go to hospital.
If we are too ill to walk there,
we go in the ambulance.
When we have a toothache, we go
to the dentist.
The dentist examines our teeth.
He says: “That tooth has a
cavity.
I must put in a filling”.
If the tooth is too bad, the
dentist extracts it.
Questions:
1. What do we do when we are ill?
2. What does the doctor take?
3. Where do we take a
prescription to?
4. What must we do if we have a
temperature?
5. When do we go to the dentist?
Animals and plants in
Ukraine - Тварини і рослини України
Ukraine has mostly coniferous and
deciduous trees, such as pine, oak, fir, beech and birch.
The wealth of the forest includes
not only timber, but also berries, mushrooms and medical herbs.
The animal world of Ukraine is
different.
It has hundreds of species of
animals and birds.
They are: wolf, fox, badger,
deer, elk, hamster, field mouse and so on.
The birds are: the sparrow,
titmouse, grouse, owl.
Some fur animals, such as mink,
silver-black fox, musk-rat, brought into Ukraine, have acclimatized well.
In the rivers and lakes there are
perch, bream, pike and carp.
The Forest-Steppe zone contains
the oak, elm, black poplar, willow, ash and pine.
The animals include squirrels,
foxes, hares and roes.
The rivers and lakes are home to
ducks, geese, storks and cranes.
It also should be said that the
animal life of the Carpathians is unique.
Here you can find deer, brown
bears, wild cats and pigs, black squirrels.
Bird life includes golden eagles
and black wood peckers.
The plants of this region are
also different and beautiful.
It is well worth visiting,
especially in spring.
Questions:
1. What type of trees does
Ukraine have?
2. What can you say about the
animal world?
3. Are there fish in the rivers?
4. Describe the animal life of
the Carpathians.
5. Describe the animals and
plants of the region you live in.
Foreign affairs of
Ukraine - Українські міжнародні відносини
Ukraine has different relations
with many countries of the world.
We have wide relations with
Canada, the USA, Great Britain and other countries.
Recently a great number of
various joint ventures and economic, cultural and political projects have
appeared in Ukraine.
Our specialists in different scientific
fields improve their qualification abroad.
We also have programs of
students’ and schoolchildren’s exchange.
English, Canadian and American
children visit Ukrainian families, go to Ukrainian schools, while Ukrainian
children stay at their host families abroad.
These exchange programs help us
to understand each other better, to study culture and traditions of other
countries.
A lot of Ukrainians have
emigrated to Great Britain.
That’s why in 1947 the
Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain was founded.
This association has some Help
Funds that sponsor different important actions.
The association gives help to the
Ukrainian students who study in British Universities.
The same associations and
societies exist in many other countries.
From year to year the number of
spheres of our relations with the countries abroad grow.
Every year a lot of tourists
visit Ukraine, while the Ukrainians go to the countries abroad.
We hope that our relations with
other countries will go on growing.
Questions:
1. What countries does Ukraine
have relations with?
2. What are the exchange programs
meant for?
3. What associations do you know
in Great Britain?
4. Who visits our country every
year?
Kyiv region - Київська
область
The Kyiv Region is an
administrative region in northern Ukraine on both banks of the Dnieper River,
formed on the 27th of February 1932.
In the north it borders on
Belarus.
Its total area is 28 100 km2.
The region is divided into 25
districts and 24 cities.
The region centre and national
capital is Kyiv.
The region is located on the
rolling plain of the middle Dnieper Basin.
Its northern part is located in
the Polisia Lowland.
Its central and southwestern
parts lie in the Dnieper Upland.
The main river is the Dnieper and
its tributaries are the Prypiat, Uzh, Irpin, Desna and others.
The vegetation of the region’s
central and southern parts is of the forest-steppe variety.
Forests cover 516 000 hectares of
the area.
The region lacks mineral
resources, but it has deposits of the building materials, kaolin, brown coal,
and in the southwestern part there are deposits of gold, peat, diamonds.
The climate is
temperate-continental and it is rather mild.
Ukrainians constitute 92.1 per
cent of the population.
The Kyiv Region is an industrial
and agricultural region.
It produces electrotechnical
equipment.
Agricultural machines,
excavators, refrigerators and different appliances are also produced there.
Agriculture mostly specializes in
animal husbandry and plant growing.
Unfortunately it is not possible
to use many soils of the region after the Chernobyl disaster.
Many famous Ukrainians were born
there.
They are the hetman I. Mazepa,
the author of the Ukrainian anthem P. Chubynsky, the cosmonaut P. Popovych and
the painter K. Bilokur.
Questions:
1. Where is the Kiev Region
situated?
2. What is its total area and
population?
3. What resources deposits does
it have?
4. What do the Kyiv Region’s
enterprises produce?
5. What famous people were born
there?
Kyiv — the Capital of
Ukraine - Київ — столиця України
According to the chronicles
Kyiv’s first citadel was built in the period from the sixth to eighth
centuries.
Kyiv bears the name of prince
Kyi, who lived on the old Kyiv Hill in the sixth century.
Under the rule of Yaroslav the
Wise Kyivan Rus with Kyiv as its capital reached the height of its power.
Nowadays Kyiv is a large
political, industrial, scientific and cultural centre.
Its population is about 3
million.
The city lies on both banks of
the Dnieper.
Kyiv is a garden city; only a
seventh part of its territory is occupied by buildings.
Kyiv has a well-developed
industry.
Its factories and plants produce
sea and river transport vessels, air liners, computers, motorcycles, consumer
goods.
Kyiv is also one of the largest
scientific centre’s.
The Ukrainian Academy of Sciences
and many research institutes are famous for their discoveries.
More than 10 000 students study
at Kyiv Shevchenko National University.
There are over 20 higher
educational establishments in Kyiv.
Kyiv is also the centre of
political life in Ukraine.
All major political events take
place here.
Kyiv is the largest ancient
centre of national Ukrainian culture.
There are 20 museums,
1300 libraries, 41 theatres, 121
parks.
Kyiv is growing and is being
built, it also becomes younger and more beautiful.
Questions:
1. Where is Kyiv situated?
2. Whose name does Kyiv bear?
3. What is Kyiv nowadays?
4. What can you say about the
cultural establishments in Kyiv?
5. Is Kyiv one of the largest
scientific centers of Ukraine?
Places of Interest in Kyiv
- Визначні пам’ятки Києва
Ukraine has a long history and
rich culture.
That is why there are many places
of interest there.
It is natural that the capital of
the country, Kyiv, has the greatest number of them.
It is one of the oldest cities in
Europe.
From time immemorial Kyiv has
been the centre of Slavonic culture.
There are many ancient cathedrals
and churches, museums and monuments, beautiful streets and squares in it.
The main street of Kyiv is
certainly Khreshchatyk.
If you have never been to Kyiv
you should start your sightseeing there.
The street is only one kilometre
long but very impressive.
Kyiv is famous for its
Kyivo-Pecherska Lavra.
More than 80 buildings were
constructed on its territory during 900 years of the monastery’s existence.
Tourists always go to have a look
at the monument to Bohdan Khmelnytsky, the outstanding Ukrainian statesman and
military leader.
There are many other places of
interest in Kyiv.
One of them is the State
Historical Museum of Ukraine.
There are more than 50,000
exhibits on display.
The exposition tells us about the
history of Ukraine and its culture from antiquity to the present days.
The Golden Gates, the
Andreyevskaya Church, the monuments to Prince Volodymyr and Taras Shevchenko
are worth seeing.
Kyiv Shevchenko Opera and Ballet
House, Kyiv Ivan Franko Drama Theatre are well-known all over the country.
Any place is interesting in its
own way and visiting it we come to know and love this country more.
Questions:
1. Is Kyiv an ancient city?
2. How old is Kyiv?
3. What is the main street in
Kyiv?
4. What is Kyiv famous for?
5. Is Kyiv a garden city?
Khreshchatyk - Хрещатик
The main street of Kyiv is
certainly Khreshchatyk and you’d better start your sightseeing there.
The street is not very long but
very impressive.
Khreshchatyk looks especially
beautiful in spring when chestnut trees are in blossom.
The building of this street began
at the end of the 18th century.
The first houses were wooden.
The forming of Khreshchatyk as a
street began in the 1830s-40s.
Three-storied buildings with
shops, offices and banks were built at this time.
In 1892 the first electric tram
in the country connected Khreshchatyk with Podil.
At the beginning of the 20th
century Khreshchatyk became the shopping centre of the city.
During the Second World War
Khreshchatyk was destroyed.
While being reconstructed the
street was twice widened and a lot of new multistoried buildings appeared.
All the buildings are built after
the same architectural design.
Beside government offices and administrative
buildings, one can see cinemas, restaurants and cafes in this street.
A lot of people go to
Khreshchatyk every day.
Some of them go shopping because
there are many good shops and big markets there.
Other people go to the cinema,
look at the fountains or sit on the benches.
People like the main street of
Kyiv. It is one of the places of interest in Kyiv.
Questions:
1. What is the main street of
Kyiv?
2. How long is it?
3. When did the building of
Khreshchatyk begin?
4. When does Khreshchatyk look
especially beautiful? Why?
5. Why do people like to go to
Khreshchatyk?
Rivne region -
Рівненська область
It is situated in the
north-western part of Ukraine and occupies the territory of 20 100 km2.It
borders on the Zhytomyr, Khmelnytsk, Ternopil, Lviv and Volyn regions of
Ukraine and the Brest and Gomel Regions of Belarus.
As to its
administrative-territorial division the region includes 10 towns and 16
districts.
The population of the region is 1
200 000 people.
The region has a favorable
geographical location and a developed transport system.
The Rivne Region possesses a
certain potential of the natural resources.
They are: stones, limestone and
other mineral building materials.
Large deposits of amber are of
great importance.
Deposits of phosphoresces,
sources of mineral water and mud have been discovered.
The surface waters of the Rivne
Region include 170 rivers, many lakes and ponds.
Industry and agriculture possess
the leading place in the economy of the region.
Questions:
1. When was the Rivne Region
founded?
2. Where is it situated?
3. What countries does it border
on?
4. How many districts does the
region include?
5. Has the region a developed
transport system?
6. What deposits have been
discovered in the Rivne Region?
7. What place does the Rivne
Region possess in the economy?
Rivne - Рівне
Rivne was founded in the 13th
century.
In the 18th and 19th centuries it
officially belonged to Russia, but in fact it was the capital of a private
kingdom of the Polish Lubomirsky family which had its own army.
Their palace was burnt down in
1927.
During the World War II the
Germans used Rivne as their administrative capital in Ukraine.
The city was fully destroyed as a
result of fatal fighting.
Today the places of interest in
the city are the Resurrection Cathedral, built in 1895 (formerly the atheism
museum), the Music and Drama Theatre, the Regional Ethnographic Museum.
The Victims of Fascism monument
is on the place of a concentration camp where the Nazis killed about 80,000
people.
Questions:
1. When was Rivne founded?
2. Who did Rivne belong in the
18th century to?
3. How did the Germans use Rivne
during the World War II?
4. What are the places of
interest in Rivne?
5. Where is the Victims of
Fascism monument situated?
Climate of Great
Britain - Клімат Великобританії
Great Britain is situated on the
islands.It is washed by seas from all the sides.That’s why the climate and the
nature of Great Britain are very specific.It is not very cold in winter and
never very hot in summer.There is no ice on the lakes and rivers in winter.It
rains very often in all the seasons.The weather changes very often.Mark Twain
said about America: “If you don’t like the weather in New England, just wait a
few minutes”, but it is more likely to have been said about England.Besides,
Britain is famous for its fogs.Sometimes fogs are so thick that it is
impossible to see anything within 2 or 3 meters.The nature of the British Isles
is picturesque.There are many rivers and very beautiful lakes, but there are no
great forests on the British Isles.The mountains there are not very high, but
very beautiful.The most picturesque part of the country is Highlands in the
North of Scotland.This is a region of mountains and rivers, small towns and
villages.In Wales there are also many beautiful mountains and valleys.The
highest mountain in Wales is Snowdon.Everyone who comes to England says that it
looks like one great beautiful park.The Englishmen love their country and take
care of it.
Questions:
1. Why are the climate and the
nature of Great Britain very specific?
2. Does it often rain?
3. What did Mark Twain say about
the weather of America?
4. What can you say about the
British fogs?
5. What are the most picturesque
places on the British Isles?
Great Britain -
Великобританія
The United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on the British Isles.They lie to the
north-west of Europe.
The British Isles are separated
from the continent by the narrow strait of water which is called the English
Channel.
The United Kingdom consists of
four parts: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
England, the central part,
occupies the most of the island of Great Britain.
To the north lies Scotland and to
the west the third part of the country, Wales, is situated.
The fourth part is called
Northern Ireland and is located on the second island.
Each part has its capital.The
capital of England is London, Wales has Cardiff, Scotland has Edinburgh and the
main city of Northern Ireland is Belfast.Great Britain is a country of forests
and plains.There are no high mountains in this country.
Scotland is the most mountainous
region with the highest peak, Ben Nevis.The rivers of Great Britain are not
long.The longest rivers are the Thames and the Severn.
The capital of the United
Kingdom, London, stands on the bank of the Thames.
As the country is surrounded by
many seas there are some great ports at the seaside: London, Glasgow, Plymouth
and others.Wales is a country of lakes.
It has the most famous lake in
the world — Loch-Ness.
Seas and oceans influence the
British climate which is not too cold in winter but never hot in summer.
Great Britain is a beautiful
country with old traditions and good people.
Questions:
1. Where is Great Britain
situated?
2. What is the relief of Great
Britain?
3. What are the parts of Great
Britain? What are their capitals?
4. What influences the climate of
the British Isles?
5. What region in Great Britain
has the highest peak? Name it.
UK Political System -
Політична система Великобританії
The United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland is a constitutional monarchy.
The power of Queen Elizabeth II
is not absolute.It is limited by Parliament.The legislative body, Parliament,
consists of two chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
The executive body consists of
the central Government — that is the Prime Minister and the Cabinet of
Ministers, who are responsible for initiating and directing the national
policy.
The judiciary body is independent
of both the legislative and the executive ones.
The Government derives its
authority from the elected House of Commons.
General elections, for all seats
in the House of Commons, must be held at least every five years.The Government
is normally formed by the political party which is supported by the majority in
the House of Commons.
The leader of the party is
appointed the Prime Minister by the Queen and chooses a team of ministers.The
second largest party becomes the Official Opposition with its own leader and
the“Shadow Cabinet”.The House of Lords is a hereditary chamber.In Great Britain
there is no written constitution, only customs and traditions.З’єднане
Королівство Великобританії і Північної Ірландії — конституційна монархія.Влада
королеви, Єлизавети II, не абсолютна.Ця влада обмежена парламентом.
Questions:
1. What can you say about the
power of the Queen in Great Britain?
2. Is there a constitution in
Great Britain?
3. What houses does the
legislative branch consist of?
4. Who is the Queen of Great
Britain?
5. The House of Commons is a
hereditary chamber, isn’t it?
National emblems in
Great Britain - Національні емблеми у Великобританії
The red rose was the emblem of
Lancastrians, the white rose that of the Yorkists, the two Houses fighting for
the English throne in the War of Roses.
But their struggle ended by
marriage of Henry VII, the Lancastrian with Princess Elizabeth, the Yorkist.
The red rose has since become the
emblem of England.The thistle is the national emblem of Scotland.It happened in
very old times when Norsemen wanted to settle in this country.
They came close to the Scots’
camps in the night and wanted to kill them in their sleep.
That’s why they took off their
shoes so as to make no noise.But one of the Norsemen stepped on a thistle and
screamed.The Scots woke up and put the enemy to flight.The leek is the emblem
of Wales.Welshmen all over the world celebrate their national holiday St
David’s Day by wearing leeks.They do it because they believe St David have
lived for several years on bread and wild leeks.Irishmen wear their national
emblem on St Patrick’s Day.
It’s a small white clover with
three leaves on the stem. It is called a shamrock.
Questions:
1. What are the emblems of parts
of Great Britain?
2. How many of them are there?
3. Why was the thistle chosen as
a national emblem?
4. Why do Welshmen wear leeks on
St David’s Day?
5. What is a national holiday of
Irishmen?
Geographical Position
of Great Britain - Географічне положення Великобританії
The United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland occupies the territory of the British Isles.
They lie to the north-west of
Europe.Once upon a time the British Isles were an integral part of the
mainland.As a result of sinking of the land surface they became
segregated.Great Britain is separated from the continent by the English
Channel.The country is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.Great Britain
is separated from Belgium and Holland by the North Sea, and from Ireland — by the
Irish Sea.There are several islands along the coasts.
The total area of the British
Isles is 325 000 km2.The main islands are the Isle of Man and the Isle of
Wight.The surface of the country is much varied.
Great Britain is the country of
valleys and plains.The mountains in Britain are not very high.
Scotland is the most mountainous
region with the highest peak, Ben Nevis.
The insular geographical position
of Great Britain promoted the development of shipbuilding, different trading
contacts with other countries.
It has also allowed the country
to stay independent for quite a long period of time.
Questions:
1. Where is Great Britain
situated?
2. What seas is Great Britain
washed by?
3. Is Great Britain a mountainous
country?
4. What does Great Britain consist
of?
5. What kind of landscape is
there in Scotland?
Climate of Great
Britain - Клімат Великобританії
Great Britain is situated on the
islands.It is washed by seas from all the sides.
That’s why the climate and the
nature of Great Britain are very specific.
It is not very cold in winter and
never very hot in summer.There is no ice on the lakes and rivers in winter.It
rains very often in all the seasons.The weather changes very often.Mark Twain
said about America: “If you don’t like the weather in New England, just wait a
few minutes”, but it is more likely to have been said about England.Besides,
Britain is famous for its fogs.Sometimes fogs are so thick that it is
impossible to see anything within 2 or 3 meters.The nature of the British Isles
is picturesque.
There are many rivers and very
beautiful lakes, but there are no great forests on the British Isles.The
mountains there are not very high, but very beautiful.
The most picturesque part of the
country is Highlands in the North of Scotland.
This is a region of mountains and
rivers, small towns and villages.In Wales there are also many beautiful
mountains and valleys.The highest mountain in Wales is Snowdon.Everyone who
comes to England says that it looks like one great beautiful park.The Englishmen
love their country and take care of it.
Questions:
1. Why are the climate and the
nature of Great Britain very specific?
2. Does it often rain?
3. What did Mark Twain say about
the weather of America?
4. What can you say about the
British fogs?
5. What are the most picturesque
places on the British Isles?
From the History of
Great Britain - З історії Великобританії
I want to describe an episode
from the history of Great Britain.
It concerns the Roman conquest of
Britain.In 55 B. C. a Roman army of
10 000 men crossed the Channel
and invaded Britain.
The Celts who inhabited Britain
saw their ships approaching and rushed to attack the invaders in the sea as
they were landing.
The Celts made a great impression
on the Romans, who saw them for the first time in the battle.On the occasion of
the battle hair and moustaches were painted red and their legs and arms were
painted blue.With loud shouts they attacked the Ro-mans in chariots and on
foot.The well-armed invincible Romans under one of the greatest generals of that
time had to return to France.In the next year, 54 B. C., Caesar came to Britain
again, this time with larger forces (25 000 men).
The Celts fought bravely for
their in-dependence but they were not strong enough to drive the Romans off.The
Romans who had better arms and armor and were much better trained defeated the
Celts in several battles.This is how the Roman invasion of Britain started.This
invasion lasted till the year of 407 A. D.
As a result of the conquest signs
of Roman civilization spread over Britain.
There had been no towns in
Britain before the Romans conquered it.
As soon as they had conquered
Britain they began to build towns, splendid villas, public baths as in Rome
itself.York, Gloucester, Lincoln and London became the chief Roman towns.The
Romans were great road-makers and now a network of roads connected all parts of
the country.The forests were cleared, swamps were drained, and corn-fields took
their place.Today there are many things in Britain to remind the people of the
Romans.The wells which the Romans dug give water today, and the chief Roman
roads are still among the highways of modern England.
Many of such remains as glass,
statues, coins may be seen in the British Museum.
Колодязі, побудовані римлянами, дають
воду і сьогодні, а головні дороги римлян усе ще використовуються в сучасній
Англії.Багато залишків виробів зі скла, статуй, монет можна побачити в
Британському музеї.
Questions:
1. When did the Romans come to
Britain?
2. What was the result of their first
battle?
3. When did they come for the
second time?
4. How did the Roman way of life
influence the life of the Celts?
5. Are there any things in
Britain to remind the people of the Romans?
London — the Capital of
the UK - Лондон — столиця Великобританії
London is the capital of Great
Britain, its political, economic and cultural centre.
It is one of the largest cities
in the world.Its population is more than 11 000 000 people.London is situated
on the river Thames.The city is very old and beautiful.
It was founded more than two
thousand years ago.Traditionally London is divided into several parts: the
City, the Westminster, the West End and the East End.
The City is the oldest part of
London, its financial and business centre.The Westminster is the aristocratic
official part of London.
It includes Buckingham Palace,
where the Queen lives, and the Houses of Parliament.The West End is the part
where rich people live.
It is the most beautiful part of
London.The best hotels, restaurants, shops, clubs, parks and houses are
situated there.The East End is an industrial district of London.
There are many factories and the
Port of London there.
London has many places of
interest.One of them is the Houses of Par-liament, the seat of the British
Government.There one can see the famous Tower Clock Big Ben, the symbol of
London.Big Ben is the real bell which strikes every quarter of an hour.Another
place of interest is Buckingham Palace.It’s the residence of the Queen.There
are many other places of interest in London: Trafalgar Square, Regent’s Park,
Westminster Abbey and, of course, the British Museum.
It’s impossible to describe all
places of interest.The best way to know London is to visit it.
Questions:
1. What is the population of
London?
2. Where is London situated?
3. When was the city founded?
4. What is Big Ben?
5. Do you know any places of
interest in London?
Cities and Towns of
Great Britain - Великі і малі міста Великобританії
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 here.TV- and radio-sets are also produced in Birmingham.Manchester is an
industrial capital of the North of England.
It is a very old city.It is the
centre of cotton industry.Manchester was the first city in Great Britain to
build an airport in 1929.Manchester has many libraries, museums, art galleries
and theatres.Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland.
It is one of the most beautiful
cities in Europe.Its main attractions are the Floral clock made of growing
flowers, and the Edinburgh Art Festivals, the annual summer performances of operas,
dancing, music and drama.Glasgow is another great Scottish city.It is famous
for its shipyards.Glasgow is a great industrial city and also the centre of
Scottish culture.Cardiff is the capital of Wales.
It is a big port and ships come
here from all over the world.Cambridge and Oxford are the oldest university
towns in Great Britain.Many great men studied in these universities: Cromwell,
Newton, Byron, Darwin and others.
Questions:
1. What big cities and towns are
there in Great Britain? Name them.
2. What city is the centre of the
cotton industry in Great Britain?
3. What city is situated in the
heart of England?
4. What is the town of Edinburgh
famous for?
5. Name the oldest university
towns in Great Britain.
English Cookery and
Meals - Англійська кухня та їжа
With the exception of breakfast
meals in England are much the same as in other countries.The usual meals in
Great Britain are breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner.
The English are very fastidious
about their meals and keep to their meal times strictly.Breakfast time is
between 7 and 9 a. m.Many people like to begin it with porridge.English people
eat porridge with milk or cream and sugar, but the Scots — and Scotland is the
home of porridge — never put sugar in it.
Then comes bacon and eggs,
marmalade with toast and tea or coffee.For a change you can have a boiled egg,
cold ham or perhaps fish.The two substantial meals of the day, lunch and dinner,
are more or less the same.Lunch is usually taken at one o’clock.Many people,
who go out to work, find it difficult to come home for lunch and go to a cafe
or a restaurant, but they never miss a meal.Lunch is a big meal — meat or fish,
potatoes and salad, puddings or fruit are quite usual for it.In theafternoon,
about four o’clock, the English have a cup of tea and a cake, or a slice or two
of bread and butter.Tea is very popular with the English; it may be called
their national drink.The English like it strong and fresh made.
Tea must be brewed as follows:
one teaspoon for each person and one for the pot.
They drink it with or without
sugar, but almost always with milk.It is important to pour tea into milk, and
not vice versa.Their “high tea” at 5 o’clock is very famous.
Tea is accompanied by ham,
tomatoes and salad, bread and butter, fruit and cakes.
Dinnertime is generally about
half past seven or later.In some houses dinner is the biggest meal of the day.They
begin with soup, followed by fish, roast chicken, potatoes and vegetables,
fruit and coffee.But in great many English homes the midday meal is the chief
one of the day, and in the evening they only have light meal, for example,
bread and cheese and a cup of coffee or cocoa and fruit.
Questions:
1. What are the usual meals in
Great Britain?
2. What is “English Breakfast”?
3. When do they have lunch? What
do English people eat for lunch?
4. What is “High Tea”?
5. What is the biggest meal of
the day?
The English Character -
Англійський характер
The national character of the
English has been described in different ways, but most commentators agree over
one quality, which they describe as a sense of superiority or “insular pride”.English
patriotism is based on a deep sense of security.Englishmen as individuals may
have been insecure, threatened with the loss of their job, unsure of themselves
or unhappy in many ways.But as a nation they have been secure for centuries.The
English are a well-disciplined people and it is probably no exaggeration to say
that they have the best manners in the world.
They are all polite; they all
know how to hold their knife and fork and how to behave in society.Besides they
are never rude.Coarse expressions are hardly ever used.You may be struck by the
fact that life in Britain is less noisy.
The English display a surprising
unity in a crisis.They also have a strong sense for public order.The apparent
coldness of Englishmen has been almost universally noted by the foreigners.But
they also confess that once one gets to know an Englishman better, he turns out
to be a very companionable fellow.
The typical feature of the English
is their love of games.They love playing all of them.They play football and
cricket; games are nowhere so popular as in England.
But however childish at their
games they are very serious in business.The British have long been famous as a
nation of animal-lovers.There is a pet in nearly every family and often the
family dog or cat has a special chair near the fire, special food and a special
place in the hearts of its owners.All this doesn’t mean that the English differ
from other human beings.They certainly feel the same emotions: jealousy, envy,
joy and happiness as others — only their external reactions are different.When
one speaks of the English, one usually means all the nations living within the
borders of the United Kingdom — Scots, Welsh or Irish.The difference between
these nations is great enough for everyone who lives in Britain, but for the
outside world it is less apparent.
Questions:
1. What is English patriotism?
2. Are the English different from
other human beings?
3. What nation has the best
manners in the world?
4. What may you be struck by?
5. What games are very popular in
England?
English Traditions -
Англійські традиції
Every country and every nation
has its own customs and traditions.You cannot speak about England with-out
speaking about its traditions and customs.
Englishmen are proud of their
traditions and carefully keep them up.The English are stay-at-home people.“There
is no place like home”, they say.
When they don’t work they like to
spend their days off at home with their families.
Englishmen are very fond of a
fireplace, that’s why many of them prefer the open fire to central heating.They
like to live in small houses with a small garden.
People all over the world know
the saying “The Englishman’s home is his castle”.
They say that English people keep
to their traditions even in meals.Porridge is the dish Englishmen are very fond
of.Many of them eat porridge with milk and sugar for breakfast.As for the
Scots, for example, they never put sugar in their porridge, they always put
salt in it.By the way, breakfast time in England is between seven and nine.Then,
between 12 and 2 there comes lunch time.In some English houses lunch is the
biggest meal of the day — they have meat or fish, vegetables, fruit or pudding.In
the afternoon, at tea-time the English like to have a cup of tea with milk.Some
Englishmen have their dinner late in the evening.For dinner they have soup,
fish or meat, vegetables, pudding or fruit.For supper they usually have a glass
of milk and a cake or a cup of tea and a sandwich.The English are
tea-drinkers.They have it many times a day.Some Englishmen have tea for
break-fast, tea at lunch time, tea after dinner, tea at tea-time and tea with
supper.Some English families have “high tea” or big tea and no supper.For high
tea they may have cold meat, bread and butter, cakes, and, of course, a lot of
tea.The Englishmen always drink tea out of cups, never out of glasses.
Questions:
1. What can you say about the
English?
2. Where do the English like to
spend their days off?
3. Where do they like to live?
4. What sayings do you know about
the English?
5. Do they have traditions in
meals?
The Ukrainian Diaspora
- Українська діаспора
The term “diaspora” means those
Ukrainians who reside abroad.Nowadays every third Ukrainian lives beyond
Ukraine.The greatest number of people of the Ukrainian origin (almost 2
million) live in the USA; one million people live in Canada and half a million
live in Poland and Romania.The Ukrainian immigrants also live in Brazil,
Argentina, Czechia, Slovakia, Yugoslavia, France, Australia, Austria, Hungary,
Holland, New Zealand and other countries.The Ukrainian emigration started as
early as the beginning of the 18th century when several dozens of Mazepa’s
followers emigrated to France.Later on a part of Zaporizhian Cossacks, who were
persecuted by the Russian government, settled beyond the Danube.But actually
mass emigration from Ukraine began in the second half of the 19th century.This
first wave of emigration was caused mainly by economic reasons.The second wave
of emigration from Ukraine began after the Civil War of 1918—1920 in Russia.It
was caused by both political and economic reasons.
The third wave of emigration was
caused by the Second World War and included the Ukrainians, liberated by the
Allied troops from the fascist labour camps, and the rests of the division SS
“Galychyna” and Ukrainian Rising Army.
Nowadays we witness the fourth
wave of emigration from Ukraine, which is being caused by the grave economic
situation in the country.There are about 30 000 Ukrainians living in Great
Britain now.Mostly they reside in such cities as Manchester, Nottingham and
Coventry.
Questions:
1. What does the term “Diaspora”
mean?
2. What countries do the
Ukrainians live now in?
3. When did the Ukrainian
emigration to other countries start?
4. How many waves of the
Ukrainian emigration have there been?
The USA – США
The United States of America is
one of the greatest countries in the world.
It is situated on the North
American continent and is washed by three oceans: the Pacific, the Atlantic and
the Arctic.The USA only borders on two countries — Canada and Mexico.This great
country has a lot of mountains, rivers, lakes.
The main mountains are the
Appalachians and the Cordilleras.The longest rivers are the Mississippi and the
Missouri.The climate of the country is very changeable.
In the southern part it is
subtropical while the northern part has very cold weather in winter.America has
fifty states and one federal District of Columbia where the capital of the
country is situated.The capital of the USA is Washington.It stands on the
Potomac river in the eastern part of the country.The main cities are located on
the Pacific and Atlantic coasts.New-York is the largest city of the country.
Other large cities are San-
Francisco, Los-Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, Phoenix and Dallas.The USA is a
country of highly developed industry and agriculture.
The main industrial centres are
Chicago and Detroit, with their greatest automobile company “General Motors”.There
are many farms with various agricultural products.Grain, fruit and vegetables
are grown on numerous fields especially in the South.The USA is a country with
great holidays, customs and traditions.It is one of the most beautiful and
interesting countries in the world.
Questions:
1. Where is the USA situated?
2. What are the main mountains in
the USA?
3. What are the main rivers in
the USA?
4. Where are the main cities
located?
5. What kind of country is the
USA?
Canada – Канада
Canada is an independent
federative state.It is one of the most developed countries.
Canada consists of ten provinces
and two territories.It is situated on the North American continent.In size
Canada is the second in the world after Russia.
Its area is almost 10 million
km2.The capital of Canada is Ottawa, which is situated on the bank of the
Ottawa River.It is famous for its beautiful parks.
It is also known as the city of
bridges.Canada is very rich in forest, minerals and fur-bearing animals.It
holds the first place in the world in the amount of forests.
It is rich in the following
natural resources: non-ferrous metals, uranium, oil, natural gas, coal.Canadian
industries produce cars, airliners, locomotives, sea vessels, snow-removal
machines, and agricultural equipment.The most developed industries are timber,
mining, chemical, meat and milk and food industries.Canada grows wheat, barley,
flax, potatoes, vegetables and fruit.Fishing is also one of the prosperous
industries.Official languages of Canada are English and French.Nearly 60 per
cent of the population speaks English and 27 per cent speaks French.
The rest speaks other languages,
such as Eskimo, Indian, German, Ukrainian and Italian.Canada is a founding
member of the United Nations.It has been active in a number of major UN
agencies.
Questions:
1. What kind of country is
Canada?
2. What is the capital of Canada?
3. What are the main industries
in Canada?
4. What are the official
languages of Canada?
5. What place does Canada hold in
the world in the amount of forests?
Australia - Австралія
Australia, or the Commonwealth of
Australia, as it is officially called, is situated on the island continent.It
also occupies the Island of Tasmania and some minor islands round the coast of
the continent.It is a highly developed industrial-agrarian country.Its area is
about 8 million km2.It is the only state in the world that occupies the territory
of a whole continent.The capital of Australia is Canberra, which became the
capital only in 1927.From 1787 to 1867 Australia was a place where criminals
were sent from Britain.That is why the official language of Australia is
English.Almost one half of Australian territory is occupied by deserts and
semideserts.For quite a long period of time it was thought to be useless for
economic development.But it is rich in coal, iron ore, bauxites, uranium, lead
and many other mineral resources.For almost a century the production and export
of sheep wool was the basis of the economy of the country.Now the most
important industries are oil, chemical, ore mining, radioelectronics, and food
industry.
The country exports agricultural
products and raw materials.As for the nature, the commonest trees of Australia
are the eucalyptus and the Australian acacia or mimosa, the national emblem of
the country.Such unusual animals as a kangaroo or a koala-bear originate from
Australia.Australia is one of the most unusual and exotic countries of the
world.A significant feature of modern Australian society is the representation
of a lot of cultures drawn from many lands by its people.
Historically part of the British
Empire and now a member of a Commonwealth of Nations, it is a relatively
prosperous and independent nation.
Questions:
1. What is the official name of
Australia?
2. Where is it situated?
3. What kind of country is it?
4. What is the national emblem of
the country?
5. What are the famous animals of
Australia?
My Biography - Моя
біографія
Let me introduce myself.My full
name is Natalya Nickolayevna Ivanova, though it sounds rather pompous for a
girl of my age.I was born on the 7th of May, 1985, in the village of Bakino,
Chutovo district, the Poltava Region.Two years ago our family moved to Poltava
where I live now together with my parents.
I was born in the family of the
office-workers.I am an only child in the family.
As my mother had no possibility
to be a housewife I had to be taken to a nursery when I was not more than two
years old.I don’t remember that time at all.
Anyhow, I can remember quite well
how much I hated going to the nursery when I was three or four.It was not
because the children were ill treated there.
I guess it’s just too early for
any child of this age to be taken away from his mother.Now I’m a pupil of the
eleventh form of a secondary school.
I am finishing school this year
and I want to enter the University.That is why I have to study twice as hard as
an ordinary pupil.I take an active part in social life, attend sport sections
and subject clubs.My favourite subjects are English, Russian and Literature.I
have nothing against Natural Sciences and Maths, but somehow they seem of less
importance to me.I am always very busy, but when I’m free I’m fond of reading.My
favourite writers are Ernest Hemingway, Alexey Tolstoy, Michail Bulgakov.You
see, my biography isn’t long.I hope my dream will come true and I’ll become a
student.If I fail my exams I’ll be very upset, but next year I’ll try to enter
the University again.
Questions:
1. What is your name?
2. Where were you born?
3. What are your favourite
subjects?
4. Who are your favourite
writers?
5. What do you want to be?
My Friend - Мій друг
I’am not a very sociable person
yet there are people whom I can call friends.
One of them is Ihor.He is
eighteen.He left school last year and now he’s a student of the University.Ihor
is a future economist.Ihor is a first year student.
He does not have much free time
but if he has, Ihor likes to spend it in a good company.Ihor and his friends
like to listen to good music, dance, watch new films and discuss them and do
many other interesting things.We often go to the cinema, cafes, con-certs and
shows.Ihor is a good friend.He’s always ready to help everybody who needs.My
friend knows a lot of interesting facts about music, famous people and
history.He is fond of driving.Now his car is not very new and beautiful but he
hopes to buy another one in the future.I’m happy to have such a good friend as
Ihor.
Questions:
1. What is your friend’s name?
2. How old is he/she?
3. What is he/she? Where does
he/she study?
4. What do you like to do when
you have free time?
5. Are you happy to have such a
friend?
Appearance -
Зовнішність
How important is it for you to be
attractive?Although everyone wants to be good-looking, do you think beautiful
people are always happy?I don’t think so.
For example, it must be a problem
to be a very beautiful woman, because some men may be more interested in
looking at this woman than talking to her.They think of her like a picture
rather than a person.Some people think that very pretty women and handsome men
are stupid, as a rule.These people are thought to be only interested in their
appearance.Some people believe that only un-attractive people can be clever.But
surely no one wants to be really ugly; and no one wants to be plain either —
that is to have rather simple face that can be easily forgotten.
Being attractive can help you
find happiness, but it does not always make you happy.So maybe the best thing
is not to worry about your appearance.It is more important to try to be an
interesting personality.Because interesting people are always attractive.
Questions:
1. Is it important to be pretty?
2. Are beautiful people happy?
Why?
3. Why can it be a problem to be
a beautiful woman?
4. Why don’t people want to be
plain?
5. What do you think about it?
Our House and Flat - Наш
будинок і квартира
I live in a new nine-storeyed block
of flats in Pushkin Street.In front of the house there is a children’s
playground and a small garden.We like to spend our time there.Our flat is on
the fourth floor.
It is very comfortable.We have
all modern conveniences, such as central heating, electricity, gas, cold and
hot running water and a telephone.There are three rooms in our flat: a living-
room and two bedrooms.Our living-room is the largest in the flat.It is nicely
furnished.Opposite the wall you can see a nice cupboard.There is a colour
TV-set in the corner.In another corner there is a sofa and two armchairs.
The piano is on the right.There
are two pictures above the piano.There is a bookcase next to it.We are fond of
books and have plenty of them at home.
On the floor we have a nice thick
carpet.The curtains on the window match the wallpaper.All this makes the room
cosy.Our bedrooms are also very nice and cosy.
The parents’ bedroom is larger
than the children’s.There are two beds, a bedside table, some chairs and a
wardrobe in it.There is a lovely carpet on the floor between the beds.The
children’s bedroom is just across the corridor on the right.
Here you can see two sofa-beds
where my sister and I sleep at night and have a rest in the day-time.There is
also a writing-table, two chairs and some bookshelves here.We use our bedroom
as a study where we do our homework.In the corner of the room there is a small
table with a tape-recorder on it.We all enjoy listening to the music.Our
kitchen is rather large.There is a gas-stove, a refrigerator and a cupboard in
which we keep cups, plates and all our dishes.The kitchen serves us as a
dining-room.But when we receive guests or have our family celebrations we have
the meals in the living-room.We are happy to have such a nice flat and try to
keep it clean.
Questions:
1. Where do you live? What is
your address?
2. How many rooms are there in
your flat?
3. What is there in your
sitting-room?
4. Have you got all modern
conveniences in your flat?
5. What makes your flat
comfortable?
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