TOPICS

10 form

The place I live in. My Flat and Neighbourhood.

My family lives in a 9 (5, 11)-storeyed building, which is situated near the city center (the river Volga, the central square, park, my school etc). We have an elevator in our communal entrance hall. We live on the seventh floor, that’s why we’re glad that we needn’t walk up.

Our flat is very comfortable and homey. It has three rooms: my parents’ bedroom, my room and a living room. It also includes a kitchen, a hallway and a bathroom. Our flat is provided with all modern conveniences: cold and hot running water, electricity, central heating, and telephone. There`s also wi-fi access to the Internet.

The living room is the biggest one in our flat. It has a table with several chairs round it in the middle. To the right of the table, there is a big wall unit with a wardrobe and different shelves. Opposite the table, an occasional table with a TV set on it stands from one side. There is a comfortable sofa with two armchairs from the other side. The floor is covered with a beautiful patterned-carpet. There are some beautiful landscapes on the walls.

My parents’ bedroom is cosy and spacious. There is a bed with two bedside tables and small lamps on each of them. There`s a balcony in their room with a beautiful sight over the green area.

My room is the smallest one. It’s very warm and bright. It has a desk, an armchair, a wardrobe and a bed. My wooden shelves are overflowed with books, because I like reading. There is also a computer on my desk.

Our kitchen is big enough. In the middle it has a dining-table with chairs. Opposite it, there is a cupboard with cooking utensils. The kitchen has a refrigerator to the right of the cupboard and a sink to the left. Our kitchen is well-equipped. It has a number of home appliances: a toaster, a food processor, a microwave, a coffee maker and a dishwasher. There are a lot of sockets in the kitchen so you have no difficulty with switching on any equipment. We like to spend evenings in our kitchen drinking tea and talking. I like my flat very much as it is one of some places, where I feel myself peaceful and comfortable.

As for the neighbourhood, I am happy to live in this very area. In my neighbourhood you can find everything you need: a supermarket, some corner shops, a hospital, two cinema houses, several schools and kindergartens, a fitness centre and 2 libraries. Everything is quite close to us and easy to reach. Help is always at hand! There are also facilities for children of all ages near my house: a playground with a sandbox and a see-saw, a sports ground with a football pitch and a volleyball court. Another advantage is that there are no commercial buildings near my house. The area is planted with trees and there are lots of flower beds. However, the main problem we face is that the transport system is rather developed in my district. What is more, the traffic is heavy in the rush hours so it`s quite noisy in the morning and in the evening. Besides, we lack parking places. But the people are socially conscious and always try to do their best to keep our neighbourhood neat and tidy. I can`t but mention the fact that we hold environmentally-friendly activities once a season cleaning the area and attracting the authorities` attention to the problems of local communities.

World's Major Religions

The major religions in the world are Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism.

Christianity is the world's biggest religion. There are three main branches of Christianity — the Catholic Church, the Church of England and the Orthodox Church. Christianity is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ who lived in the Holy Land 2000 years ago. He lived for 33 years before being crucified by Romans. He came to earth to teach about love and fellowship. Christians believe that there is one God, but it consists of three "persons" — God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit. Christian worship involves praising God in music, speech, readings from scripture. The most important Christian Festivals are Lent, Easter and Christmas. The Bible, the Christian holy book, is divided into the Old and New Testaments.

Islam is the second most popular religion in the world. Islam began in Arabia and was revealed to humanity by Muhammad (570-632), a holy man born in Mecca, to whom God told many things which are recorded in the Koran, the Holy Book of Islam, translated as "the word of God". Those who follow Islam are called Muslims. They believe that there is only one God called Allah. The Muslim building for worship is called a mosque. Women do not pray in the same place as men. The main Muslim Festival is Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic Lunar calendar. During Ramadan all Muslims across the world do not eat during the hours of daylight.

Judaism is around 3500 years old and is the oldest of the world's four great religions. This religion originated in Israel. The founder of Judaism is Abraham who is regarded as the father of Jewish people. Jews see Abraham as a symbol of trusting and obeying God. Moses is also an important figure of Judaism as he gave the Jews the Torah, the Jewish Holy Book, which contains the laws of God. Jews believe in a single God who created the universe. Jews worship in synagogues. Men and women usually sit separately. The most important day of the week is the Sabbath. During the Sabbath, people do nothing that might be counted as work, they shouldn't even drive or cook. The main Jewish Festival is Passover. Passover is the time when Jewish people remember how they left Egypt. It is a major eight-day festival. Matzah (unleavened bread) is eaten throughout the festival.

Buddhism began in India and is based on the teaching of the Buddha. The religion is 2,500 years old. Buddhism is the main religion in many Asian countries. A key concept of        Buddhism is Nirvana, the most enlightened, blissful state one can achieve, a state without suffering. Buddhism is not centered on the relationship between humanity and God. The founder of Buddhism is Siddhartha Gautama. He found the path to Enlightenment and became known as the Buddha or "awakened one". Buddhists worship at home or at a temple. Buddhists believe that there is a cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth. This goes on and on. But if a person can gain Enlightenment, they can break out of this cycle. Breaking out of the cycle is called Nirvana. It is perfect peace, free of suffering. Buddhists try to reach Nirvana by following the Buddha's teaching and by meditating. 

Clothes

Clothes are very important for people as their purpose is to protect us. When the weather is cold and windy you should put on warm clothes to feel comfortable. They are sweaters, trousers, jackets or coats, caps, gloves, scarves, boots or high boots. On a rainy day we wear raincoats, anoraks and we can`t dispense with an umbrella or sometimes wellingtons. On a hot day people prefer to wear light clothes: T-shirts, shorts, skirts, sleeveless dresses, tank tops, sandals or flip-flops. To protect their heads from the sun people put on baseball caps and hats. As lots of people are keen on getting suntan at the beach they wear colourful swimsuits and wide-brimmed hats.

There`s a great number of different clothes for men and women. Nowadays men prefer a variety of clothes. They are business suits or tuxedo for special occasions, trousers, slacks, jeans, jackets, sweaters, turtleneck sweaters, pullovers, jumpers, sweatshirts, shirts, polo shirts and T-shirt. They have also a big choice in shoes: boots, brogues, loafers, running shoes, trainers etc.

Women own a much richer collection of clothes. They wear casual dresses, formal dresses; summer dress, cocktail dresses, business suits, pants suits; sweaters, jerseys, cardigans; jackets, blouses, tunics, T-shirts, tank tops, halter tops; skirts of different length, tights and others. As for shoes, women are mostly fond of pumps, stilettoes, high-heeled and low-heeled shoes, loafers etc.

No doubt, everyone likes wearing so called unisex clothes. They are jeans, shirts, shorts, T-shirts, caps, trainers. No matter what kind of clothes you prefer, they must be made of natural fabrics such as cotton, linen, silk, wool, denim and leather. Both men and women enjoy wearing clothes made of breathable, waterproof and warmth retentive fabrics.

Fashion

Today fashion is a very popular industry, which influences millions of people around the world. Every year more and more people start to follow fashion trends in order to be stylish and attractive.

Quite a number of people believe that other people judge a person first by his looks and only then, as they get to know him, by his inner qualities; that’s why they are convinced that if you follow fashion trends you have more chances to make a good impression on others. Such people suppose that fashionable clothes help them to stand out in a crowd and they often say that when they are dressed fashionably they feel more confident.

I consider that everyone should have their own style and it has to be unique. One shouldn’t blindly follow fashion trends, because it’s irrational and rather expensive to keep up with the fashions. The clothes that are presented at fashion shows are usually inappropriate in a day-to-day life; you cannot wear them at work or to a café. I believe that fashion has almost nothing to do with good taste. If you are full of common sense and you are a broadminded person, fashion is practically of no importance to you. Comfort in clothes is above all. In this case you`ll be highly thought of by others.

My clothes (Make up a story about yourself. Use the ideas below to help you.)

-         My image is really important to me.

-         I like to wear bright colours.

-         I always dress up when I go (clubbing, to the theatre, to parties etc).

-         I buy a big range of styles and I do try to keep up with the latest fashions.

-         I don`t really mind what I wear, to tell you the truth.

-         I`m the least fashion-conscious person I know.

-         I`ve got two pairs of jeans and I wear them mostly with a sweatshirt or something.

-         As for me, I have a good collection of clothes in my wardrobe. They are … .

-         My clothes have to be comfortable, make me feel relaxed as soon as I slip them on.

-         As my job involves dealing with people, I have to make an effort to look good all the time.

-         I like to present a classy, sophisticated image.

-         Shopping for clothes isn`t really my scene.

-         I go shopping for clothes about once a month.

-         I think I`ve got good taste and I very rarely make a mistake when I buy clothes.

School Uniform

A white shirt or blouse, black trousers or skirts and a knitted vest may not be the ingredients for my favourite outfit, but if I were given the choice, I wouldn't throw away the idea of school uniform. Wearing a uniform is a badge of pride, creates an identity for a school and is an important part of being a school student.

A school uniform teaches students to dress smartly and take pride in their appearance. Some people believe that a school uniform can improve learning by reducing distraction, sharpening focus on schoolwork and making the classroom a more serious environment, allowing students to perform better academically.

Perhaps most importantly, a uniform means students don't have to worry about peer pressure when it comes to their clothes. When everyone is dressed the same, worrying about what you look like isn't so important. There is no competition about being dressed in the latest trend, which would put a great deal of financial pressure on students and parents. Potential bullies have one less target for their insults; it's hard to make fun of what someone is wearing when you're dressed exactly the same.

Tourism and Holidays

1.     Tourism

Tourism is the travel for recreational, leisure, family or business purposes, usually of a limited duration. Tourism has become a popular global leisure activity. Tourism can be domestic (taking of holidays by people in their own country) or international (taking of holidays in foreign countries). Today, tourism is a major source of income for many countries, and affects the economy of both the source and host countries, in some cases it is of vital importance. Recently, more kinds of tourism have appeared - ecotourism (holidays to natural areas such as rain forests in which people can visit and learn about the area in a way that will not damage the environment) and agricultural tourism (holidays in which people stay on farms and learn how to treat domestic animals).

2.     Types of Holiday

As far as we know, there are different kinds of holidays. The most common type is a packaged holiday when a holiday is organized by a company at a fixed price that includes the cost of travel and accommodation. There is also a package tour, a holiday organized by the company at a fixed price and includes visits to a number of different places with a group of tourists. The most convenient, but expensive type of an organized holidays is a tailor-made holiday where arrangements for travel and accommodation are made specifically for you, so that you can choose exactly what you like. House exchange holidays are becoming more and more popular. It`s a holiday in which two people or families go and stay in each other`s houses. Active people like to go on skiing, walking, cycling holidays. Some prefer to go on a cruise along the sea or down the river or even safari to see or hunt wild animals, especially in Africa. People say there`s nothing to compare with a camping holiday staying in a tent. Summer camps are usually situated near a river or a lake. You can go in for exercises and sports, play games. Camping teaches you to survive, gives an opportunity to visit remote places and enjoy the nature. We can`t but mention caravanning – a holiday in which you take a caravan with you and sleep in it while you are away. The advantage of such a holiday is that you can stop whenever and wherever you like. If you are fond of spending your time outdoors doing something such as travel in a wild area of a country or cycle across a desert then an adventure holiday is for you. Some tourist centres provide outdoor activity holidays in which you can canoe, go horse riding or do archery.

3.     My favourite kinds of holidays (write about your preferences and describe one of your last holidays: where, why, with whom, advantages, disadvantages etc.)

Friendship and Dating

Another problem that young people face today concerns their relationship with their friends.

Friendship is tricky to define but the only way for friendship to be successful is to require both people in the relationship to feel the same way about the other person.

When you grow up, it`s difficult to find a devoted and close friend. To have good friends you must be a good friend. There are some of the ways good friends treat each other. Good friends are dependable and trustworthy. Good friends listen to each other and can disagree without hurting one another. Good friends don't put each other down or hurt each other's feelings. Good friends try to understand each other's feelings and moods. Good friends give each other compliments. Good friends give each other room to change. Good friends care about each other.

There`s a problem of “fair-weather friends”. These are people who you consider to be your friends, but prove themselves not to be when things get tough. If you are still the friend of someone when they are “in need”, when they need something such as help from you, then you are a real friend. Real friends are actually incredibly hard to find. That`s why many people agree that they only have two or three real friends – people they can totally rely on in difficult times.

The problem of love is very important for young people. Youth is a period of a first love. Young people can love deeply and passionately. They believe their love will last forever. But it doesn`t always end up happily. Young people often split up and it becomes difficult to get over this painful experience. They feel rejected and miserable. In this case, try talking to your parents and friends despite your feelings of humiliation and embarrassment. They may be more sympathetic than you think. The chances are they went through similar experiences and can give you advice. Don`t sit at home waiting for the phone to call, just get on with your life. You`ve just experienced one of the most traumatic things that people experience. From now on, things can only get better. In a month you`ll be able to laugh about it. In a year, it will all seem ancient history. You`ve got a lot of life ahead of you.

Problems of the Young: Family Relationships

Youth is a period of life which is of utmost importance in the life of man. The morals and beliefs, range of interests, education, health and habits are all laid in childhood and youth. This is the time when the personality is shaped.

As we go through life we develop a variety of relationships –with parents, friends, teachers and others. These relationships have their own specific difficulties, that`s why young people often face problems while maintaining them.

Family issues are of the main importance. Young people today are eager to achieve adult status and live their own life. They may resent any restrictions their parents impose. They believe that their parents are overanxious and overprotective, which usually creates tension. So called 'generation gap' problem is really inevitable. Firstly, every generation is unique in its experience, and young people have always rejected or at least questioned the values of their parents. They have always wanted to learn from their own experience, not from their parents' standards. Secondly, every younger generation tends to be more educated and better-informed than the previous one; they grow more quickly and enjoy freedom more. Thirdly, parents try to impose their ideas upon their children. It results in young people's revolt against adult authority. No doubt, it`s quite difficult to maintain balanced relationships between parents and children. But both adults and young people should treat each other with sympathy and understanding. We really need to learn to accept the other person for who they are.

Share your own experience of having family issues and how you deal with them. 

9 form 

History of the Olympics

According to legend, the ancient Olympic Games were founded by Heracles, a son of Zeus. Yet the first Olympic Games for which we still have written records were held in 776 BCE* (though it is generally believed that the Games had been going on for many years already). At this Olympic Games, a naked runner, Coroebus (a cook from Elis), won the sole event at the Olympics, the stade - a run of approximately 192 meters. This made Coroebus the very first Olympic champion in history. The ancient Olympic Games grew and continued to be played every four years for nearly 1200 years. In 393 CE**, the Roman emperor Theodosius I, a Christian, abolished the Games because of their pagan influences.

Pierre de Coubertin Proposes New Olympic Games

Approximately 1500 years later, a young Frenchmen named Pierre de Coubertin began their revival. Coubertin is now known as le Rénovateur. Coubertin was a French aristocrat born on January 1, 1863. He was only seven years old when France was overrun by the Germans during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Some believe that Coubertin attributed the defeat of France not to its military skills but rather to the French soldiers' lack of vigor.  After examining the education of the German, British, and American children, Coubertin decided that it was exercise, more specifically sports, that made a well-rounded and vigorous person. Coubertin's attempt to get France interested in sports was not met with enthusiasm. Still, Coubertin persisted. In 1890, he organized and founded a sports organization, Union des Sociétés Francaises de Sports Athlétiques (USFSA). Two years later, Coubertin first pitched his idea to revive the Olympic Games. At a meeting of the Union des Sports Athlétiques in Paris on November 25, 1892, Coubertin made a speech about the importance of the Olympics revival but his speech did not inspire action.

The Modern Olympic Games Are Founded

Though Coubertin was not the first to propose the revival of the Olympic Games, he was certainly the most well-connected and persistent of those to do so. Two years later, Coubertin organized a meeting with 79 delegates who represented nine countries. He gathered these delegates in an auditorium that was decorated by neoclassical murals and similar additional points of ambiance. At this meeting, Coubertin eloquently spoke of the revival of the Olympic Games. This time, Coubertin aroused interest.

The delegates at the conference voted unanimously for the Olympic Games. The delegates also decided to have Coubertin construct an international committee to organize the Games. This committee became the International Olympic Committee (IOC; Comité Internationale Olympique) and Demetrious Vikelas from Greece was selected to be its first president. Athens was chosen as the location for the revival of the Olympic Games and the planning was begun.

*B.C.E is an abbreviation for 'Before Common Era', a non-religious alternative to the use of B.C, the era of prehistory and much of antiquity.                                                                                                        **C.E. - a replacement for A.D.: Anno Domini, The Year Of Our Lord.

Russia at the Olympics

Russia has competed at the modern Olympic Games on many occasions, but as different nations in its history. As the Russian Empire, the nation first competed at the 1900 Games, and returned again in 1908 and 1912. After the Russian revolution in 1917, and the subsequent establishment of the Soviet Union in 1922, it would be thirty years until Russian athletes once again competed at the Olympics, as the Soviet Union at the 1952 Summer Olympics. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia competed as part of the Unified Team in 1992, and finally returned once again as Russia at the 1994 Winter Olympics.

The Soviet Union hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and Russia will host the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.                                                                            Russian athletes have won a total of 397 medals at the Summer Olympic Games and another 91 at the Winter Olympic Games. Over the most recent ten Games (since 1994), Russia's 488 total medals, including 169 gold medals, are second only to the United States (with 631 and 237, respectively).                                                                                                                  The Russian Olympic Committee was created in 1991 and recognized in 1993.           All Summer and Winter Olympic medals of the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire were inherited by Russia, but not combined together with the medal count of the Russian Federation.

Task

1. Read about the Olympics.

2. Make the vocabulary list.

3. Make up ten sentences in Russian with the vocabulary.

4. Ask ten questions about the Games.

5. Give a talk on the Games (at least 20 sentences).

6. Make up a story about the results of the participation of Russia in the previous games (kinds of sports where we were the best, not very good; which Games were the most successful and the least successful etc). 

My School

As we become older we realize that there are some essential things and places we always long to come back to. They are certainly our birthplace, our home and the school we go or went to. 

School Building

“Perspective” School was founded in 1993 by Vladimir Ivanovich Shamotin. It is a state comprehensive school. It is an educational complex including preparatory school for children of 5 years old, primary school where children stay till 10 or 11 and secondary school. Our school is situated at 25, Soviet Army Street. It`s a three-storied building, well-planned, spacious and comfortable. All the classrooms are well-equipped, there are special labs for Science lessons – Chemistry, Physics and Biology. In the basement there`s a clock-room with lockers where our students keep their clothes. On the ground floor there`s a cafeteria, our school museum, a conference hall, a doctor`s room, a staff room, the Headmistress`s office and a number of classrooms. We`ve also got a recreation area with tables for ping-pong there. On the first floor there`s a big gym where we have PE lessons and changing rooms. There`s also a library, an Information Technology classroom equipped with the latest computers and a recreation area. On the second floor we`ve got an Assembly Hall where we have different meetings, hold concerts and special events.  On the premises you can find a football pitch, a sportsground and a playground for primary students. There are beautiful lawns and flowerbeds there too. Behind the school there is a small park named after Anton Chekhov. Lots of interesting out-of-class activities are held there, such as Maslenitsa and interactive games dedicated to different important dates.

School Life

I attend school six days a week from Monday till Saturday. Classes begin at half-past eight. Twice a week we listen to five-minute radio programmes about the latest school news or important events happening in our country. Usually we have six or seven lessons a day. Each lesson lasts 45 minutes. There are ten or twenty-minute breaks between the lessons. The lessons are over at about three o`clock. We have a variety of subjects. But our school specializes in English, that`s why we have six lessons of English per week. Besides, we have two lessons of German and everybody can take a French course. But school isn`t just all work and no fun. We always have something interesting to do after classes. Our school provides different clubs for students. You may join an English Drama Club, TV studio “Perspective”, a dance club or a sport club. Moreover, our school has successfully integrated  into UNESCO Associated Schools Project. In cooperation with other UNESCO schools we develop and implement various projects dealing with urgent problems of the local and world community such as environment, tolerance, cultural diversity and world heritage. Our students take part in home and international conferences, contests, competitions and olypmpiads and win prizes. We hold interactive games on special occasions and usually invite students from other schools of the Samara Region to come. In a word, our school life is very eventful and active, with no time to be bored.

School uniform

All the students in our school must wear a uniform. Girls have to wear white blouses, dark trousers or skirts and a grey vest. Boys wear white shirts, dark trousers and a grey vest too. Wearing a school uniform has both advantages and disadvantages. Firstly, if students wear uniforms they can't get bullied for what they wear because everyone is wearing the same thing. School uniforms are a way to put a stop to some of the social ranking that exists between students. Secondly, they give children the opportunity to focus more on schoolwork than their clothing. Instead of having to worry about designer clothes they can study. Besides, there is more modesty, no offensive logos, offensive texts, etc. On the other hand, school uniforms reinforce the idea that students are numbers and not individuals. A student's clothing shows a student's personality. Uniforms, in one way, violates the student's freedom of choosing what they should like to do or not. Personally I realize that the uniform helps me to stay a well-organized and better disciplined person.

Holidays in Russia

Many great holidays and anniversaries are celebrated in our country. People all over the country do not work on these days and have special celebrations. The major holidays are: New Year's Day, Women's Day, May Day, Victory Day, and Independence Day.

The first holiday of the year is New Year's Day. People see the New Year in at midnight on the 31st of December. They greet the New Year with sparkling champagne and listen to the Kremlin chimes beating 12 o'clock. People wish a happy life to each other. There are lots of New Year traditions in Russia. In every home there is a New Year tree glittering with coloured lights, baubles and tinsel. Children always wait for Father Frost to come and give them a present. Some people believe that if you make a wish on this day it will undoubtedly come true. Many people consider New Year's Day to be a family holiday and celebrate it in a family circle. But often relatives and friends are invited. The young prefer to have New Year parties of their own, as a rule. They often go outside to set up fireworks.

A renewed holiday in our country is Christmas. On this day people celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated on the 7th of January. It's a religious holiday and a lot of people go to church services on that day. Another important holiday for the Orthodox is Easter which is traditionally associated with Easter eggs and with the coming of spring. It is celebrated in commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus. Easter has no fixed date. Besides the religious significance these holidays have become the days of family reunion and happiness.

"Men's Day" is on the 23d of February, it is a public holiday called "The Homeland Defenders Day". All men in Russia are liable for call-up (including reservists), so they all are celebrities. On this day women usually give men small gifts.
On the 8th of March we celebrate Women's Day when men are supposed to do everything about the house and cook all the meals. At least once a year women can take a break and forget about all those dishes, cooking, kids, take a magazine and relax on a coach.

The 1st of May is the Day of Labour. During Soviet time there were huge demonstrations on this day, as everybody was obliged to show his loyalty to the state.

The greatest national holiday in our country is Victory Day. On the 9th of May, 1945, the Soviet Army and its allies completely defeated the German fascists and the Second World War and the Great Patriotic War ended. A magnificent memorial on Poklonnaya Gora has been built to commemorate the Victory. Many veterans take part in the military parade and lay wreaths on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Radio and television broadcast popular war songs. A lot of guests from different countries of the world come to Moscow to participate in the celebrations.

Independence Day is a new holiday in our country which commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Russian Federation. On the 12th of June, 1992, the first President of Russia was elected.

The 1st of September is the Day of Knowledge — it's the beginning of a school year. Children go to schools with flowers for teachers, there are meetings before the classes start.

The 12th of December is the Constitution Day. On this day the first Constitution of the Russian Federation was adopted in 1993 (previous Constitutions were all Soviet Unions).

One of the most interesting holidays in Russia takes place at the end of February to celebrate the end of winter. The holiday lasts for a week which is known as a Shrovetide. In Russia this holiday is called “Maslennitsa”. People traditionally eat lots of pancakes on this holiday and burn the scarecrow saying farewell to winter snow. 

We also celebrate lots of professional holidays which are not public holidays and banks, offices and schools do not close.

Holidays are important in our lives. Whatever holiday it is, a national or an individual one, it allows us to relax in the midst of busy and crazy lives. We use celebrations as an excuse to gather with the friends and family that mean that most to us. We also enjoy celebrations because they allow us to remember the things in life that truly matter. As we celebrate, we allow the stresses of life to fall behind and we spend our time doing things we love with the people we love. There is something about a great celebration that reminds us of the purpose of our life and of the power of our closest relationships. 

Give a talk on Television

Television viewing is the most popular leisure time among people nowadays. On the one hand, television is a wonderful source of information and it helps you stay up-to-date with the latest news. It offers you a variety of programmes not to feel bored. They are documentaries and current affairs programmes, feature films, sitcoms, soap operas, serials, chat shows, game and music shows. Moreover, television helps you escape from everyday problems. Sometimes it`s pleasant to sit back with the remote control and turn over the channels.

On the other hand, television may be a terrible waste of time. It makes us lazy and dull. We read less, we think less, we even talk less. What is more, there is a lot of crime and violence on TV nowadays. It certainly should be forbidden or shifted to the night time. Besides, there are too many commercials on every channel. Though people switch channels during the commercials they still distract them from the plot.

In spite of all these facts, people are fond of watching TV. I can`t say I`m a telly addict but at weekends I watch TV for three or four hours. I`m happy to have cable TV at home. It broadcasts much more various programmes. One of my favourite types of TV programmes is ________________________. I`m keen on it because ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. I am a typical teenager and it goes without saying I often watch ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. I`m not interested in politics but I watch the news every evening as I`d like to be a well-informed person. Documentaries and game shows are my favourites too. It`s quite clear that all these TV programmes broaden my mind and make me an interesting person to talk to.

In my childhood I enjoyed cartoons very much. Disney`s cartoons such as “Beauty and The Beast”, “The Lion King”, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” were especially popular with kids. Of course my tastes have changed over the years but I still find cartoons amusing and go on watching them.

To sum up, I try to be choosy about the programmes I watch. I think educational and informative programmes should be among my favourites.