6. Выдающиеся люди Америки


Albert Einstein (1879-1955) Альберт Эйнштейн

Albert Einstein
, one of the most famous scientists in the world, was born in Germany. When he was fifteen his family moved to Switzerland because of money difficulties. There Albert
graduated from the Polytechnic Academy of Zurich where he had got scientific education. After that he worked at a patent office. Albert spent his free time studying philosophy, mathematics and science. In 1914 he returned to Germany and worked as a profes
sor of Berlin University.
Einstein's discoveries began in 1905 when he formulated the Theory of Relativity which was published in 1915.
Einstein also proved that every planet has a gravitational field similar to the magnetic field around a magnet. This work made him famous.

His other work was called Photoelectric Law. He explained the photoelectric effect in it. In 1922 Einstein
got the Nobel Prize for this discovery. In his later years Einstein
worked on the Unified Field Theory.
In 1933 Albert moved to the United States as the protest against fascism. He found his new home there. In 1934 the fascist government confiscated his property.

Einstein died in 1955. His discoveries were a great contribution to science.
Einstein is considered to be one of the most intelligent people ever born, and people sometimes use the name Einstein
to talk about someone who is very intelligent.

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) Эрнест Хемингуэй

Ernest Hemingway is another outstanding person. He is one of the greatest Am
erican writers. Ernest was born in Illinois in 1899 into the family of a doctor. In childhood Ernest went in for sport and was a great sportsman. He was also a very bright student at school. He wrote poetry and prose for the school magazine.

In 1914 World War I began, and Hemingway
joined the Army. He was sent to Italy and was badly wounded there. Later he was awarded a silver medal by the Italian government. The war made a great influence on his future work.
In 1920 Ernest returned to the United Stat
es and started working as a foreign journalist in a newspaper. But his dream was to write novels. He travelled a lot to get material for his work. In 1929 his first novel, A Farewell to Arms, was published. It made
Hemingway famous. In this novel he protests against war. In 1936 Hemingway
went to Spain and took part in the Civil War. Later he wrote another novel called For Whom the Bell Tolls. It was devoted to the Americans who died in the war for Spain.

During World War II Hemingway was a war journalis
t. In 1954 he was given the Nobel Prize for literature for his last novel The Old Man and the Sea which was called the best of his works. Ernest Hemingway
died in 1961 by shooting himself in Cuba.

Martin Luther King (1929-1968)
Мартин Лютер
Кинг

Martin Luther King
was another outstanding person of the United States. He was the first black American who won the full civil rights for black people.
Martin Luther King was born in 1929 in Atlanta, to the family of a black pastor. He graduated from the Uni
versity of Boston where he got a doctor's degree in theology in 1955. Later he was a pastor of a Baptist church in Montgomery where black people lived in strong limitation of their civil rights. The blacks of the city followed
King who believed in peaceful
protests against the government. Black people of the city went to restaurants and demanded the same rights as white customers. They sat there for hours until they were served. A lot of them were arrested.

In 1963 a big march took place in Washington, D.C. It was organized by Martin Luther King
. About 250,000 Americans took part in it.
In 1968 King was lolled by a white man and the nation was shocked.
Martin Luther King still remains a great Person in American history and there is
Martin Luther King Day in the USA when people remember what he did for the black people of the country.

Madonna (1958 -)

Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone was born on 16 August, 1958, in Michigan.
She won a dance scholarship to Michigan University but dropped out and went to New York. Madonna
performed in various dance troupes and bands, and was briefly a backing vocalist dancer to a French disco star.
Madonna's debut album, titled Madonna, was released in 1983, and although it sold three million copies it was her n
ext album, Like a Virgin that made her famous.
Her music continued to be a critical and commercial success and in the past twenty years, Madonna
has sold more than 250 million records.
Madonna has been a very successful singer, but she is a woman of many talents. Her photo-book had a great commercial success.
Madonna has also appeared in a variety of films including Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), In Bed with
Madonna (1991) and Evita (1996). She has also written several children's stories.
Up until recently Madonna
ran the record company Maverick, which (after a dispute) she sold to Warner Music.
Madonna has two children: Lourdes and Rocco. Madonna
came 8-th in the list of the most powerful celebrities 2005 in the Forbes magazine.
7.
Мир вокруг меня

Choosing a Career (
Выбор профессии)

Choosing a career is not an easy matter. I am leaving school in two years and I haven't yet decided which profession to choose.
There are a lot of interesting things in the world, so it is difficult to make the right choice.

In childhood I wanted to be a pilot, then I wanted to become a fireman. But now I have to think about my future career seriously. Some people are good at Maths, Physics and Biology, others enjoy History, Literature and Geography.


In my opinion I am good at foreign languages. My favourite language is English. I like it very much and I want to be either a teacher of English or an interpreter. I like watching films in English, reading books in the original and listening to musi
c in English.

I think that young people should ask themselves: What am I interested in? What do I want to become? When they find the answer, they will have the goal to achieve. And then they should do everything to achieve this goal. If you are good at
Maths and you want your profession to be connected with this subject, you should start studying it very seriously. The same is with other subjects.
My father wants me to follow in his footsteps and become a businessman. But I am not interested in busi
ness or economics. I have always been bad at these subjects and I want my profession to be connected with English.
My mother says that I should choose my future occupation myself. But I am still not sure what to choose. Of course there are a lot of spe
cial books about different professions. In addition, a lot of universities and institutes have open house days, so I can go there and choose a good place for my future studies.
However, it is very difficult to enter a university. If you do not have mon
ey and if you are not a genius, you will never enter a good university or an institute. I have some friends who were in this situation and they had to choose a career not to their interests and liking.

But some young people still do not know which care
er to choose even after they finish school, so they have to waste time deciding, or go to find a job. For men it is harder because they may be taken to the Army, that's why a lot of them enter any institute or university just not to become soldiers.

So
metimes young people choose a career they are interested in, they enter a university and after some time they understand that this occupation is not for them, they get poor marks and have to leave the university.

The problem of choosing a career is very widespread among young people and they should think about it seriously before making any decisions.


Doing Sport and Keeping Fit
(Занятия спортом и здоровый образ жизни)

We live in a polluted world, that is why more and more people are concerned about their health and that is why more and more of them start going in for sport.

Sport plays an important role in people's life. I
t is popular among the young and the old. Many people do morning exercises, go jogging and go to the gym. Others prefer watching sports games on TV and listening to sports news rather than going in for sport.

Physical Education is an important subject
in Russian schools now. Pupils have physical training twice a week. Boys and girls play volleyball and basketball during the lessons. School teachers turn pupils' training into enjoyment, not obligation. A lot of different competitions are held at school
and many pupils take part in t hem. All participants try to get good results and win.
There are many kinds of sport in Russia. They are: football, hockey, skating and skiing. Russia is also known for its gymnasts, figure skaters and tennis players.

A
s for me, I do sport regularly. I am not a professional, I am an amateur. I play football with my friends and I jog in the morning. But my favourite sport is swimming and I go to the swimming-pool twice a week. This helps me feel fit and healthy. My fathe
r used to play football and hockey when he was a teenager but now he prefers watching these sports games on television. My mom likes watching figure skating.
But keeping fit doesn't mean only doing sport. It also includes the right way of eating. Nowada
ys it is very popular to go on a diet. On the one hand, it makes you feel better because you avoid eating fatty and unhealthy food, but on the other hand, some people start eating very little and they lose weight and do not look healthy at all.

You nee
d to get all types of vitamins to keep your body healthy. You should eat fruit and vegetable because they contain a lot of important vitamins and one of them is vitamin C. Fruit and vegetables also have fiber, which is very important for our health.

A l
ot of people like spending most of their spare time watching TV or working at computers. Such people ruin their eyes and their muscles do not work well. This way of life is not healthy. There are also bad habits that can damage your health. They include s
moking, drinking alcohol and taking drugs. A lot of young people prefer smoking to going in for sport and this is not good.
I try to lead a healthy life, because I like feeling and happy.


Learning Foreign Languages (1)
( Изучение иностранных
языков)

There are many languages in the world. Some of them are spoken in small tribes, others are spread all over the world like English or French.
There are languages that are extremely difficult to learn, others are very easy. But anyway learning a foreign language is not an easy task and it takes a lot of time and effort.

People still learn foreign languages and there are some reasons for that. The most important is communication. More and more people travel abroad and the knowledge of a foreign langua
ge helps them understand each other. There are also a lot of interesting books and magazines in foreign languages and people read them to get various information.
If you want to get a good job, you will have to know one or several foreign languages. Th
is is another reason for learning foreign languages. There are languages of international communication and they are English and French.
The English language is the official language of many international organizations such as the Olympic Committee, th
e United Nations and others. This is the language of computing, too. Most Internet sites and software are in English. It is the native language of many countries such as Great Britain, the USA, Canada Australia, New Zealand and others.

A lot of scienti
fic books and articles are published in English. This language is becoming more and more popular and now it is hard to live without knowing it. Moreover, many languages borrow English words and expressions and people use them in their everyday speech. Som
etimes people think that English is the most spoken language in the world. However, Chinese is considered to be the most spoken language. The Chinese language together with Japanese and Arabic are believed to be the most difficult foreign languages!

I le
arn English at school. I am very glad that I have such an opportunity. Every week we have tests, do exercises and write compositions. We also talk at our lessons a lot. This helps me to improve my English. Now I can read books in English, watch films in E
nglish and speak English with foreigners. I am thinking about choosing English as my future career because I am very good at this language.
I would also like to learn German if I had a chance.

Learning Foreign Languages (2)

The question of learni
ng foreign languages is very important today. Foreign languages are requered especially at the present time when progress in science and technology has led to an explosion of knowledge and has contributed to an overflow of information. The total knowledge
of mankind is known double every seven years. Foreign languages are needed as the main and the most efficient means of information exchange between the people of our planet.
Today English is the language of the world. It is the language of progressive s
cience and technology, trade and cultural relations, commerce and business. It is the universal language of international aviation, shipping and sports. It is also the major language of diplomacy.
Hundreds and hundreds of books, magazines and newspapers
are printed in English and read all over the world. Seventy five per cent of the world's mail and sixty per cent of the world telephone calls are in English. Half of the world's scientific literature is written in English. English is spoken by more than
350 million people. Geographically, it is the most widespread language on earth, second only to Chinese in the number of people who speak it.
It is the official language of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the United States o
f America, of Australia and New Zealand. English is used as one of the official languages in Canada, the Republic of South Africa and the Irish Republic. It is also spoken as a second language in many parts of India and Africa. The number of second-Ian-gu
age speakers may soon exceed the number of native speakers. Besides, millions of people study English as a foreign language. In our country English is very popular. It is studied at schools (sometimes even at nursery schools), colleges and universities.


What does it mean to know a foreign language? It is not easy to answer this question. Americans think that you know a foreign language if native speakers understand you. And nobody cares about your mistakes. But of course nobody can call “
good English" and
you can use it only if your contacts with native speakers are rare and not very important. If you are connected with foreign countries very closely, especially through your work, you should have a good command of the language. It means that your pronunci
a
tion should be standard, you should speak fluently and without mistakes. And of course you should understand your partner correctly. The latter sometimes is the most difficult part of all. As to spelling, it depends whether you have to write or not. If yo
u do then you should do it correctly too.

So far, there is no universal or ideal method of learning languages. Everybody has his own way. Sometimes it is boring to study grammar or to learn new words. But it is well known that reading books in the origi
nal, listening to the BBC news, communicating with English-speaking people will help a lot. When learning a foreign language you learn the culture and history of the native speakers. One must work hard to learn any foreign language.

Russia is being integrated into the world community and the problem of learning English for the purpose of communication is especially urgent today.


Travelling (1) (Путешествие)


There are many ways of spending holidays. Some people like going to the country, others prefer sitting at home and watching TV all day long. But more and more people travel. There are many reasons for
traveling . Some people travel on business, others travel to visit their families, but most people travel to see the world and different countries.

There are also a lot of ways of traveling
. People can travel by car, by plane, by ship, by train, by coach or on foot. Traveling by plane is the fastest way of
traveling
. This is the best way to get to a foreign country fast. Modern planes are comfortable and it is very nice to fly to the destination point.
The most comfortable way of traveling
is by ship. Modern liners have everything to make
people feel nice and comfortable. There are swimming-pools, bars, restaurants and even shops on board a modern liner. People enjoy spending time on the deck looking at the ocean and talking. Sunsets and sunrises are beautiful in the open sea. There are so
me disadvantages of travelling by ship. The main disadvantage is that traveling by shin is the most expensive way of
traveling . Tickets cost a lot and some people cannot afford them. Some people can be sea-sick and this is another disadvantage.

Traveling
by train is rather popular now, too. People go from one city to another by train if the distance between them is too big, or if they do not have a car. Modern trains are also rather comfortable and
traveling by train is convenient and cheap.
Traveling
by coach to Europe is rather cheap. There are special international tours by coach when you travel through several countries. Instead of one foreign country, you can see a few of them. However, it also has disadvantages. Some people feel sick in coaches
and their trip can be spoilt. It is also not very comfortable to sleep on a seat. Sometimes tourists do not have enough time to see the sights of this or that city.
My favourite way of traveling
is travelling by car. I think this is one of the most comfortable means of travelling. You can enjoy the view looking through the window and this way of traveling
is rather fast. You can travel to different cities and towns of your native country and even abroad. In summer I like traveling
on foot. This way of traveling
is called hiking. I take a tent, backpacks, food and start walking. This kind of traveling
is slow, but you spend a lot of time outside and you do not have to think about tickets. During such hikes, one can see a lot of interesting places and meet new people. It is so nice to sleep in a tent in the open air, too.

If you decide to travel by any means of transport youТ ll have to prepare for the trip. If you travel by plane, train or ship, you have to book tickets beforehand. You can do this over th
e phone or in a travel agency. If you travel by plane, you have to be at the airport two hours before an international flight and one hour before a domestic flight. The officers will check your luggage and you will have to get though the passport control.
When you go by train, it is easier, because you have to go through ticket control only.
Traveling is always nice. It gives you an opportunity to see foreigners and interesting places. I love
traveling !

Travelling (2)

I think it is hard to imagine the
modern life without traveling. To understand how true it is you may go to a railway station, an airport or a seaport. There you will see thousands of people who are hurrying to board the train, airplane or an ocean liner. Some people prefer traveling by
s
ea. They say everyone feel save on board of a big ocean liner. Besides such liners have all the modern conveniences and all sorts of entertainment facilities. The others prefer traveling by air. There is no doubt this type of traveling is more comfortable
and surely much quicker. But there is one great disadvantage: the price is too high, but it makes no difference to you if you are traveling on business. As for me I prefer traveling by train. I think it combines both: comfort and speed. Be¬
sides it doesn't
depends upon weather so much as for example plane does. So if you have made up your mind to travel by train the first thing you should do is to buy a ticket. You may book it in advance or to buy it just at the railway station. So In the proper time you o
u
ght to be at the station with a suitcase where all your necessary things are packed. If you need porter will take care of your luggage and help you to load into the carriage. There are always bustle and confusion at the station. Different trains are stand
i
ng there: an express, fast train and mail ones. And so no wonder that it is hard to find the train you need. But you may ask the number of your train in the Information Bureau. At last you show your ticket to the guide and go into the carriage. Then the s
h
rill whistle is heard and the train with a jerk pulls out of station. You are on your way. If you got tired you may take your bedding and turn in. During your journey you needn't worry about your meals. In the train there is a dining car where you can get

your dinner. There is nothing like watching fields and meadows passing by your window. Though there aren't any entertainment facilities on the train I'm sure that a good conversation with your fellow-passengers can substitute it. That is why I consider tr
aveling by train to be the most pleasant one.

Environmental Problems
(Проблемы окружающей среды)

The problem of ecology is very important today, because we live in a polluted world. People all over the world discuss environmental protection, but they still continue to pollute air, water and soil.

Plants and factories are being built near rivers and lakes. The water is full of industrial waste and this kills animals, insects and plants.

There are some organizations that were created to protect
our nature from pollution. The most famous organization is Greenpeace. It protects animals from dying out. There are special farms and organizations that help wild animals to survive. People who work in such places feed animals and cure them.

There are several types of pollution: air pollution, water pollution and soil pollution.
Air pollution is caused by different means of transport in big cities. Our cities are full of smog because of heavy traffic and people notice that it is hard to breathe th
ere. Cars, buses and planes are among the worst air polluters. Factories and plants also pollute air pouring harmful gases and smoke into the air and that causes lung diseases among people and does harm to our health. Acid rains that appear because of air
pollution damage forests and soil.

Water pollution is another dangerous kind of pollution. Factories and plants throw wastes into rivers and lakes making them dirty. Animals die when they drink this water, people get sick when they swim in it and eat fish that live there.


Soil pollution stops plants from growing and makes people sick when they eat fruit and vegetables grown on polluted soil. People also pollute soil by leaving litter on it. Forests are full of used bottles, wrappers and cans. Such lit
ter can be found in rivers and lakes, too. Wild animals get sick and die because of this.
Every day we throw away a lot of litter. However, we can use it again, for example paper, cloth, glass, plastic, etc. Everybody must know the three R's: Reduce, Re
use and Recycle. We can reduce the usage of water and electricity. We should reuse whatever we can, for example, plastic bags, paper, cans, glass and bottles.
It is not possible to stop technological process, close factories and plants. People need to i
nvent new waste free technologies that will not do harm to nature. There are new inventions such as filters that make water and air clean. Some factories and plants have started using these machines already and this helps to prevent pollution. Special kin
ds of gasoline for cars can help to reduce air pollution.
We must not ignore the problems of environmental pollution and try to make everything possible to reduce if not stop it.

Mass Media ( Средства массовой информации)

We live in the world of information. It is everywhere and sometimes it is even more valuable than money. Mass media
, that is the press, radio, television and the Internet, play an important role in our society. They inform,
educate, entertain and give us any kinds of information. The press is one of the most powerful kinds of mass media
. Nowadays there are daily, weekly and monthly newspapers and magazines. My family is subscribed to Komsomolskaya Pravda which is one of the
most famous Russian daily newspapers. I read it every day to know what is happening in the world. My mother buys women's magazines and my father reads sports magazines. There are also a lot of children's magazines. They are colourful and full of pictures.


Television plays a big role in our society, too. Most People have several TV-sets at home. Television gives a great opportunity for people to learn latest news. The are also a lot of educational programmes, childrenТ
s programmes, films and soap operas o
n TV, Talk shows are also very popular with people nowadays. I usually watch news and films on television. My mother likes soap operas, my father prefers sports programmes and political talk shows. My brother watches cartoons and educational programmes. I
think that it is impossible to live without television now.
Radio is less popular than newspapers and television. People listen to the radio in cars and at work. I usually listen to the radio when I do my homework because it helps me think. There is a l
ot of music on modern radio and very few conversations. Every hour radio stations tell us news in brief. There are different types of radio stations. They are divided according to the style of music they play. There are radio stations where you can hear o
nly classical music, rock or pop music. There arc radio stations only with Russian music, for example, Russian Radio. Some of the stations only have news and talk shows. Older people like listening to them.

The Internet is the newest kind of mass media.
More and more people use it in Russia regularly, but it is very expensive and not every place has the Internet connection. The Internet is the greatest source of information. Almost everything can be found there. If you have the Internet, you may not rea
d newspapers or listen to the radio. You may not watch television either. АЦ
main newspapers and television companies have websites, so you can read news and watch television without turning on a TV-set.

I use the Internet very often. I chat with people
all over the world online and read news. I use the Internet to find important information for my studies, too. E-mail has become a good way of communication. You can send a letter to your friends from other countries without buying an envelope and it will
be delivered within a few seconds.
There are advantages and disadvantages of mass media
. The advantages are the following: mass media
educate and entertain people. But you need to have a TV-set to watch television, a radio set to listen to the radio. To
look for information in the Internet you will need a computer and the Internet connection and they both cost a lot. Another disadvantage is that sometimes this or that information is not reliable. The Internet is full of sites with wrong information.

But in spite of all disadvantages, people still watch TV, listen to the radio and browse the Internet.

Arts ( Искусство)


There many arts in the world, but the most popular are: literature, music, theatre, cinema and others. Every person has his or her own favourite
art .
Music has always fascinated people. It touches their hearts and makes them laugh or cry.
Music can be heard everywhere. Nowadays there are a lot of musical genres: classical music, rock music, pop music, club music and others. I can listen to any genre of music. It depends on my mood. When I am sad I listen to classical music. When I am happ
y I like listening to energetic, fast music and hard beat. However, some people listen to one kind of music only and they listen to it no matter what mood they are in.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17