Moscow the capital of Russia is one of the world’s great cities. Its name was first mentioned in chronicles in 1147. Since that time M. has played an important role in R-an history. Today M. isn’t only the political center of R. but also the contry’s leading city in population, industry & in cultural importrance. M. stands on the M.R. in the center of the vast plain of E.R. The climate of M. is continental. Winters are long & dark with a lot of snow. Spring is rather short & the temperature rises quickly during late April. Summers are warm & July is the warmest month. Rainy days are quite common but the summer rainfall often comes in heavy showers & thunderstorms. Autumn like spring is brief with rapidly falling temp-s. M. is the largest industrial center of R. The most important industries are those producing automobiles & trucks, machine tools, radio & TV sets. M. plants & factories also produce food, furniture, clothes & footwear. The most important element in M’s city transport is the metro sub>way. The system was begun in 1935 & is still developing. M. has numerouse theatres headed by the B. theatre. I know such theatres as the M. art theatre, the state central puppet theatre & the M. state circus. M. has some museums & art galleries of international rank. Among them are the state Pushkin museum of fine arts & the state Tretyakov Gallery with an exellent collection of R.paintings.

UK. The UK of Great Britain & Northen Island with an area of some 244sq. miles is situated on the British Isles, which are separated from the European continent by the North Sea, the Strait of Dover & the English Channel. Britain’s population is over 56 million people. The territory of Gr. Britain is small. Yet the country has a wide variety of scenery. The capital of Gr. Britain London stands on the Thames which flows into the North Sea. The Thames is the deepest & the most important river in Gr. Britain but isn’t very long. The Severn, which flows into the Irish Sea, is the longest British river. The climate of Gr. Britain is mild. The Atlantic Ocean & the warm waters of the Gulf-Stream affects the weather of the British Isles. The summers are usually cool rainy. There is much rain & fog in autumn & in winter. The heart of Britain is England. It is the richest & most populated in the country. The north & the E. are mountainous, but all the rest of the territory is a vast plain. In northwest E there are many beautiful lakes called Lake District. The smallest of Britain’s countries is Wales. The large part of Wales is covered with rocky mountains, which are difficult to climb. Scotland is a land of mountains, wild moorlands, narrow valleys & plains, famous lakes & no end of large & small islands of the coast. The highlands of Scotland are among the oldest mountains in the world. The UK is a monarchy the head of the state is a king or a queen. In fact the sovrin rings, but doesn’t rule. The UK is governed by the Government. Parliament consists of 2 houses – The House of Lords & the House of Commons. The members of the House of Commons are election every 5 years. The House of Commons is very important because it makes laws. The members of The House of Lords are permanent. The House of Lords can delete & change laws.

London. The capital of Gr. Britain is London. It is an ancient city many centures old. L. was built by the Romans many years ago. They built a town on the river Thames. The name of the town was Londinium. In Roman times it was a small town. In 1666 there was the Great Fire of L. After that people built a new city. About 9 million people live in L. It is the seat of government of the whole country. It is also the center of British cultural life & famous for its places of interest. Trafalgar Square is a good starting point for any tour of L. In the middle of the square is Nelson’s column. This square is the place for all sorts of meetings & demonstrations. On the north side of the square are the National Gallery & the National Portrait Gallery. In the corner of Tr. Sq. stands the old & well-known church of St. Martin-the-Fields. The most important parts of L. are the City, the East End, the West End & Westminster. One of the most beautiful sights in L. is Westminster Abbey. It is an outstanding example of medieval architecture. Many English kings & queens are buried there. In the south side is the Poets’ Corner where many of the greatest Eng. Writers & scientists are buried. There are many monuments of great men here. Across the road from Westminster Abbey is Westminster Palace the seat of British parliament. At one end of the palace is Clock tower with the largest clock called Big Ben in it & at the other end – the Victoria Tower. The oldest part of L. is called the City, it isn’t very large but it is very important, its financial & business center. 2 masterpieces are situated within the City: St. Paul Cathedral & the Tower of L. The East End is the poorest part & an industrial district of L. There are many factories & large riverside docks there with the port of L. The West End is the richest & most beautiful part of L. It is situated between the City & Hyde Park of L. The West End is a symbol of wealth & luxury.

Home. The place where you live in is very important because if you have a comfortable flat or a house to your taste you can relax there & forget about your troubles, sitting in a worm cosy armchair with a cup of tea or coffee. Some people have a house others have apartments. I would like to live in a house. There’re 2 ways of having the dwelling: to buy an apartment or to build an individual house. I think I’ll have enough money to build my own house. There will be the door on the west side it can be half glass. & there will be a path from the gate to the front door. On the west side of the house there‘ll be the garage. What about the exterior of the house there will be yellow bricks for the wall & red tiles for the roof. Now I’d like to discuss the interior design. On the downstairs on the side facing the road there’ll be the hall & kitchen. The living room & dining room will be on the side facing the garden. I agree to combine living room & dining room. The devision can be made by built-in book shelves on the living room side & cupboards & more shelves on the dining room side. I like built-in furniture. It saves space & is cheaper. Ofcourse, on the there will be a cloak- room with wash -basin in it & a lavatory. What about the upstairs there will be 3 large bedrooms. Each of them will have a large closet so there is no need for separate wardrobes. There will be the bathroom & the W.C. next to it. I don’t want standard lamps so I’ve arranged for indirect lighting. The cables will be built into the wall. There will be also several power points at the lower parts of the walls for appliances.

Sport. Almost everyone likes sports. Next to the weather people probably talk more about sports than about any other topic. There is no doubt that sport holds an important part in our life. It helps people to keep fit to become stronger & developed physically. It makes them to be more organized quickens our reactions & sharpens our wits. If you want to keep fit you must do sports. To my mind it must be an essential part of our daily life. A person must work to be skil full in sports. Even if you do a set of morning exercises every day you’ll feel healthy & cheerful for the rest of the day. As for me I fully support those parents who train their babies to swim from the cradle. As a rule these babies grow sound & healthy. Almost any pleasant activity aimed at exercising the body may be called a sport. What a sport for one person may be just hard work for another. Many of us play such games as volleyball football basketball or tennis. Athletics is the most popular sport. People call it the queen of all sports. Great championships in sport, which are organized every 4^thyear are called the Olympic games. The last Olympic games were in 2002. My friends prefer swimming, running, tennis. But as for me I’m found of volleyball basketball. These games are very exciting & I always follow them on TV. I think our PT lessons do us a lot of good. We often have different competitions in different games such as pioneer-ball basketball volleyball. Of all outdoor & indoor games I prefer basketball tennis hockey, but I’m also interested in other sports.

Theatre is one of the most popular arts nowdays. There are many different theatres in our country, but the most famous theatre is the Bolshoy Opera Theatre in M. It was founded in 1776. Many outstanding singers, musicians take part on the performances. I’ll never forget my first visit to the B. Theatre. My friend & I wanted to see the famous ballet Chelkunchik by Tchaikovsky. We knew the plot very well. We also knew some pieces of music from this ballet & decided to see the whole performance. We bought the tickets in advance & come to the theatre half an hour before the show. At 7 p.m. the performance began. From the very 1^st minute I was deeply impressed by everything I saw on the stage. The acting was superb & exciting. The costumes were fine the music was thrilling. The ballet seemed to me a fairy-tale. I had never seen anything more wonderfull. My friend also enjoyed every minute of it. After the 1^st act we went to look over the theatre. We saw the boxes the pit, the dress-circle & the gallery. There were many portraits of famous opera-singers, ballet-dancers, musicians & producers on the walls of the foyer. We had disscussion about the play & went to our seats again as it was the bell for the 2^nd act. When the curtain fell at the end of the performance there came a storm of applause. It seemed 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 success.

England. Gr. Britain is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Many tourists come over especially look at the pictures landscape. Highlands turn into lowlands. Forests & hills turn into meadows & plains very quickly. There are many deep valleys rivers & waterfalls, hills & mountains. England occupies the largest part of the island of Gr. Br. The north & the west of England are mountainous, but all the rest of the territory is a vast plain. The chief rivers of England are the Severn & the Thames. The Thames flows through L. & makes it a large seaport. There are many ports in England including Bristol Liverpool L. England is famous for its cities for example, Starford upon-Avon & Oxford. Starford upon-Avon is the birthplace of great W. Shakespeare. Oxford is famous for its university. In the northwest of E. there are many beautiful lakes called Lake District. The Southwest is a highly populated region of E. London is a capital of Gr. Br. & such historical cities as Windom, Dover & Brighton are situated here.

The southwest is the region where the main activity is farming. Although, there are some very big farms. Most of them are small family farms. The s-w. used to be known for its pirates. The romantic past makes it a popular place for artists, writers & holidaymakers. Bristol & Bath are 2 principal cities of the region. The most westerly point of Gr. Br. Lands End is also in the S-w. East Anglia is very flat & it is another farming region. It has beautiful cities with fine historic buildings such as Cambridge. The north of E. has some of the wildest & loneliest parts of the busiest industrial cities. This part of the country is rich in coal, which is important for the region’s industry.

Arts. Art is a part of culture. There are 3 kinds of art: visual including painting, sculpture & arhitecture, audio-visual including theatre, opera, cinema & audible, which consists of music & literature. But we don’t know, which of the arts is the oldest. We know that cave men drew on the walls of their caves. They carved handles of & bone knives into the figures of animals. We know that Egyptians & Babylonians planned & built wonderful buildings many yeas ago. They decorated their clothes & pottery. What people find around them has a great deal to do with how they try to bring beauty into their houses & lives. North people carve beautiful figures out of the ivory & from walrus tusks. But they don’t plan & built big & wonderful buildings. In the same time the Indians of the American southwest make silver jewelry set with turquoise. All art’s works are alike in one way. They all have some kind of design. Artist in his work often express some deep-feelings. It can be sorrow fear joy. It may a love of country or nature. It may be a feeling of calm & excitement, too. The work of art should give the person who sees or listens it the same feelings. As for me my favorite kind of art is painting. A revival of art began in Italy & spread to other countries. During the Renaisance there were more great artists than the world had never had before. The painters of Ren-ce tried to make things look real. Some were noted for beautiful line, some for form, some for perspective. The painters of Kenice became noted for their brilliant colors. Some artists have painted in fresco & tempera. Some have used water-colors or oils. Painters have worked out many ways of painting.

Hobbies. Almost all of us have free time, but some people don’t. They are so busy that they can’t let relax themselves. & that is the problem. On the contrary some people have a lot of free time & they don’t know how to spend it. Also there is a problem of choose : where to go & what to do. How do young people spend their free time. Most prefer going to the clubs & cafes. A lot of people devote their free time to hobbies. A hobby is smth. , to which a person chooses to give time & energy & which he is interesting in. Hobbies differ like tastes. If you have chosen a hobby according to your character & taste you are lucky because your life becomes more interesting. H. are divided into 4 large groups: doing things, making things, collecting things & learning things. The most popular of all hobby groups is doing things. It includes a wide variety of activities everything from gardening to traveling. Making things includes drawing, painting, making sculpture, handicrafts. Almost everyone collects something at some period in his life. Some collections have no real value. Others become some so large & sovaluable that they are housed in museums & galleries. No matter what kind of hobby a person has he always has the opportunity of learning from it. By reading about the things he is interesting in he is adding to what he knows. Learning things can be the most exiting aspect of a hobby. To my mind pastime should be spend usefully. It can help us to be useful for the good of our motherland & the people, to understand life better, to have good health. As for me my free time depends on the aim of live the outlook of look, spirital interests, attitude to nature & bringing up. That’s why my spare time is time to train for a future occupation to take up a hobby to take a rest to go on a picnic.

Russia. R. Is our motherland. It is one of the largest countries in the world. It’s area is about 17 mln. sq. kms. More than 150 million people of different nationalities live in R.In thewestR.bordersonFinland, Ukrain, Byelarus, Moldova & Baltic states. In the south it borders on Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China & the Korean people republic. The Artic ocean & the Baltic sea wash the country in the north, in the east it is washed by the Pacific ocean. The Urals divide R. into the European & Asian sections. The Asian section includes Siberia & the Far East. The Volga is the largest R-an river, which flows in the European part of the country. The longest river in the Asian part is the Lena. The deepest lake in Asia & in Europe is lake Baikal. It is the largest fresh water lake in the world. The country has an extremely varied climate. The duration of winter & summer vary in different regions. Most of the R-an territory is flat but it is mountains in the east. R. is rich in natural resources. It has large reserve of oil, n. Gas, coal, iron, gold, silver & other minerals. M. Is the capital of R. Russia is a parlamentary republic. Head of state in our country is a president. The Government consists of 3 branches: legislative, executive & judicial, The leg. Power is exersid by the Federal Assembly, which consists of 2 ch3mbers: the council of fderation & the state duma. The executive power belongs to the government. The judical power belongs to the system of courts.

My close friend. Acording to Oxford dictionary the word friendship means the relationship between 2 or more people. I should say this relationship is based on natural respect, common interests & tastes, common hobbies. A friend is a person with whom you may be sencire before him you can think aloud. I’ve got a friend too. Her name is Ann. We got acquanted 5 years ago & since there we have never parted. Ann looks ayyractive ican say that she is charming. She has slender neck & holds her head high. This girl wears her flaxen hear short, Her face is angular delicate features. Her nose is snub & her lips are full & well-cut. She has striking big blue eyes. We are of the same ages & have much in common. We have common interests, common points of views, common hobbies & tastes but we are different in character. Ann is modest devoted & sincere. I trust her& she trusts me. She has good manners & is attentive to other people. We help each other in difficult situations. Ann is resposible for her words & actions & never forgets to keep her promise. I can rely on my friend in any situation. I appriciate such qualities of Ann’s character as frankness, sincerity, thoghtfullness, kindness & generosity. Our parents approve our friendship. I often visit Ann’s family & admire how friendly they are. I like the warm atmosphere which exists in their family. My friend feels affection for her parents & love them tenderly. To tell the truth I can’t imagine my life without my friend Ann.

FamilyRelations. The family trdition is lost for a lot of people. & it is one of the reasons why most of people have no sence of family honour & pride. A group of people who have the same name & sit together in front of a TV set is not yet a family. Every year more then 1 mln. Families break up. Many young families have material difficulties. As a result young couples often have to rely on the assistance of their parents. The housing shortage is another problem of many young families. Most young people don’t wish to live together with their parents after they got married but about half of them have to do this. As a result these young people have no necessary experience in family life. They don’t know: how to run a household, how to manage the family budget, how to bring up children. The revival of the family should start with the restoration of its traditions. In my opinion family is one of the most imprtant things in our life. Almoust all our life we live within a family. My family isn’t very large, it consits of... My father is very kind, but sometimes strict. My mother is very busy she works a lot. She is very communicable & energetic woman. My sister is very witty with good sence of humor. I like to spend my free time with her. But I know that a lot of families have problems. I think that people can hope with these problems if the family is friendly. If, members of the family help & support each other.

English. Language belongs to each of us. Every one uses words. There are not less than 3 thousand living languages on our planet. The interest to foreign languages has greatly increased in recent years. There are many reasons why people undertake the study of foreign language. More than 750 million people all over the world use English. English is the main language of business. So it is for sport: the official language of the Olympics. Sometimes English is a computer language. I think it is one of the richest language. I have been learning Eng. For almost 7 years. I learn eng for half an hour 6 times a week. English grammar isn’t very difficult. I think we should understand it & all will be O.K. I know that grammar is a foundation of any language. One of the problems for learners of eng is phrasal verbs. I have problems learning new words & idioms. I think idioms are very difficult too. I know the English intonation is awful. I mean, I think it is the most difficult part of pronanciation, because if you get it wrong people think you’re rude. I find reading very helpful for people who just beginning to learn eng. People should… & other periodicals. If they want to know eng they can listening to pop music, but people must know that some songs have such silly words.

Learning a foreign language isn’t a easy thing. It is a long & slow process that takes a lot of time & efforts. I hope that my future will be connect with English.

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Sakhalin is the biggest island in R. S is situated close to the eastern coast of Asian mainland. It stretches from north to south. The island is 948kms long. In the north & in the east S is washed by the cold waters of the sea of Okhotsk. In the west & south-west the island is washed by the warm sea of J. S is separated from the mainland by the Tatar strait & the Nev. Channel. The surface of it’s territory is covered with middle mountains. In the eastern part of the island Zap-s mountains are situated. The highest mountain is mountain Lopatina. It is 1609 m high. In the sub>urbs of Y-S Chekov peak is situated. The largest lowlands are the S. & M lowlands. The climate in S is monsoon. It is characterized by cold winters & cool rainy summers. About a hundred cyclones pass over the island annually bringing with them winds & cloudy weather with precipitation. The typhoons bring to S strong winds & heavy precipitation. The warmest part of the island is it southwestern coast. In the north the climate is severe. Forests cover 2- thirds of the S territory. Wide variety of animals inhabits S. Marine fauna is especially variet. S is rich in natural & mineral resources. S can literatury called a treasure island. In fact almost all the elements of Medeleev’s Periodic Table can be found in its depths & the island & its surrounding coastal shelf are also rich in oil & natural gas as well as coal. Ecology problems: using of coal makes, the pollution of air; cutting forests has an influence on spanning rivers; problems deal with transporting oil.

SCHOOL. I’m a citizen of R & have the right to education which is guaranted by the constitution & enshured by the broad development of compulsory secondary education vocational specialized secondary & higher education. I started school at the age of 7. It is a specialized English school. It became a gymnasium a year ago. The primary school curriculum included R. M. E. Dr. M. Pt & Nature lessons. Schools in R. are generally controlled by the government. Recently they got some independence. Now each school is free to choose sub>jects to be taught beyond a core curriculum. So we have History & comp. Prog. lessons from the 5^th form in our school. There is no uniform now. Classes last 40 min. As a rule pupils go to school 6 times a week. After 3 years of primary school classes I went on to secondary school. Primary & secondary school together comprise 11 years of study. 9years of classes are compulsory. At school we have classes in R, L, M, B, G, Physics, Ch, E, H, C-pr, PT lessons. My favorite sub>ject is English. Our school is 3-storied building. On the ground floor there are administrative offices, workshops, a canteen, a home economies room, comp classes, a cloakroom. On the 1^st floor there are a large assembly hall, a gym, classes of primary school. On the 2^nd floor there are P, Ch & biology labs. We usually have a lot of homework & it take me several hours to do it. I like my class. I always feel at home here. I am on good terms with my class masters & we often spend our free time together. I want to say that after the 9^th form I must take 5 examinations in… But to enter a university it is necessary to study 2 years more & take 6 examinations on fishining the 11^th form.

Family. In my opinion family is one of the most imprtant things in our life. Almoust all our life we live within a family. My family isn’t very large, it consits of... Also we have a dog, called Jack. My father is 45 years old. He is an engineer. He works in the office of an American engineering company. He is always busy. He has very little free time. In my opinion he is a handsome man of medium height & strong build with a bronzed face. His dark brown hairs is just begining to go grey. My mother is 42 years old but she is very pleasant looking woman. She is an engineer too. By character my father is a quet man while my mother is an energetic & active. My sister’s name is Katya. She is 24 years old. Like mother Katya has blue eyes & fair hair. My sister looks attractive I can say that she is charming. My name is Alexandra, Sasha for short. I’m a pupil of the 9^th grade. I’m well at schhol & get only good & exelent marks. My favorite sub>ject is chemistry & I want to pass it on exem. In future I want to be a dantist. My family is very united. We like to spend time together. In the evenings we watch TV read books listen to the music or just talk about the events of the day

Y-S… Y-S is situated in the broad & beautiful valley of the Susuya R. In the coast the city is enclosed by the Susunay m, in the west it is surrounded by the Mitsulsky Ridge. In the sub>urbs of Y-S Chekov Peak & Bolshevic m. are situated. Y-S is a modern city with the population of about 170 thousand people. There are some plants & factories in it. Y-S is a cultural centre. There are many schools, colleges, cinema-houses & libraries in it. The museum of Local lore… The house of was built in 1937 by the Jap. It is an unique example of the J, architecture. The park…The tourist center G.V. is situated on the slopes of the Bolsh.M. It’s the point to get a good view of Y-S. Victory Sq… The monuments to… are situated in tree public garden along Sakh. Street. They remind of those who were the 1^st to explore S. There is a m. to Checkov in front of the Regional library. In 1890 he visited S. & write a book about it.