бачок унитаза
Though, of course. I know that good health is better than wealth. Nevertheless I preferred taking a shower to merely washing my face and after having a shower I got dressed and brushed my hair. It took me about 25-
3
0 minutes to do my toilet. I want to say that while I was doing all these things my mother was making breakfast. I was in a habit of having only a light breakfast. A cup of tea. some ham or cheese sandwiches were enough for me to be full. As a rule while
h
aving my breakfast I listened to a piece of good music on the radio. After breakfast I snatched my school bag. Frankly speaking I found my habit of packing the bag in the morning quite irritating, because I always left something important at home, but I c
ouldn't make myself do it in the evening. And then I rushed for lyceum. Unfortunately I live far from the lyceum. It took me about forty minutes to get there, that's why I was not lucky to sleep a bit longer than pupils who lived near it.
Frankly speaking s
ometimes my mood depended on what classes I had. On some days lessons flashed by very quickly, especially if they were the humanities, which I liked most, but they were dragging more slowly if I had such sciences like Physics, Chemistry or Math and especi
a
lly when we had to write tests in them. Wednesday was the hardest day for me; I stayed in lyceum longer than usual because we had an additional lesson in Belarusian language. I should say that I usually enjoyed hours at lyceum if I was up-to-date with my
s
chool work, because I hated the feeling of being left behind with anything. In general I enjoyed lyceum hours because they were instructive and interesting besides I liked lyceum because of the number of friends I had there, but I didn't let my private li
f
e interfere with my school work. In common I found life at lyceum bright and absorbing. Our classes started at 8.20 instead of 8.00 as they do in most schools. Usually we had 7 lessons a day. Every lesson lasted 45 minutes, as in a common school, but our
b
reaks were too short, that's why our freedom lasted only 5 or 10 minutes. But we were lucky to have a large break in the middle of the day which lasted 45 minutes. During this break we went to the canteen, and if there was nothing tasty and edible in it,
w
e visited the nearest shop to buy something, for example, sweets or rolls and then did almost everything we wanted. As life is given us only once I try to live it in the best and useful way. So I usually spent the rest of time reading various interesting
books or magazines or doing special exercises useful for brain, for example. I could solve puzzles. When I didn't manage to do all my homework at home the large break was mainly the time when I had an opportunity to finish it.
At 3 o'clock when my classes w
ere over I stayed at lyceum to play volleyball or to do some crafts. Our lyceum administration arranged several kinds of extra-class activities like concerts, debate clubs and sports competitions. Honestly I wasn't their active participant, but I took par
t
in them from time to time. Frequently I was back home later than 5 o'clock. On my way home I went to the baker's to buy some white and brown bread, biscuits and cakes. In the evenings I was busy doing my homework. There were subjects which required a lot
of homework to be done and I usually spent most of my time on them. The English language, as it was my main subject, took me no less than three hours to be done. Belarusian and Russian literatures took me a lot of time as well as I should read a lot, wrot
e different compositions and thought over various problems of our life. These subjects had never seemed easy to me.
When late evening came and I had some free time left, which happened very seldom, I went for a walk with my friends. But I rarely sat in fron
t of the TV set, as I prefer meeting friends to merely watching TV. Besides I'm keen on music. Listening to music makes me feel relaxed and calm. Sometimes it even helped me to do my homework. I was in the habit of doing two things together, for instance,
listening to music and at the same time reading a book or writing a composition. I don't know why but music didn't prevent me from productive work and didn't draw my attention away. On the contrary it helped me. Here I should say that there were not many
h
ousehold chores that I did in my final year as my parents understood that I was preparing for entering the university and they tried to set me free from spending my precious time on anything else but studying. But in spite of it I had little time for rest
; I think working hard is the right thing to do if you want to achieve something in life.
At about eight o'clock we usually had supper and all our family gathered in the kitchen. I should mention that it was the only time when we could see one another and t
alk about different things. We shared our joys and sorrows; discussed our plans for the next day. As for my supper it was usually light as I had dinner very late (at 5 or 6 o'clock), that's why I was not hungry when time came to have supper.
At about 11 o'
clock I usually had a bath and then I went to bed. When I went to bed I often thought about possible careers and dreamt of becoming reach and famous due to an outstanding talent that no one had discovered yet (just like they do in the movies). Then I allo
wed myself to worry a bit about lyceum, my future, the next day, what I looked like, what people thought about me and what I could do to change the way people thought about me. I usually fell asleep at midnight.
Generally I try to plan my working day. I thi
nk it helps not to waste time on trifles and to do all the things at a time. I like punctuality, exactness, when everything has its own place. To my mind it is easier to live then. When my working day is planned I don't waste time on thinking what to do,
s
o I have more time to do various useful things. When my working day is over I usually think about what things I have done and what this day has brought to me. If I understand that I have enriched my knowledge, learnt useful things and practiced to do some
t
hing important I consider that this day turns out well. I try not to leave things till last time. But not long ago it was my weak spot. It I had to learn something by heart I did it on the last evening, if I had a lot to read I did it at night. Of course
sometimes I didn't manage to do all the things I needed. I'd like to admit that my mum always said that I shouldn't leave things for tomorrow if I could do them today. At present I agree with her completely. So I have managed to get rid of this weak spot.
And in conclusion I'd like to say I'm happy to live a busy life. It is more interesting, exciting and instructive. When you are busy life doesn't seem to be boring.
----------------------------------------------------------
MY SCHOOL
Education is the main p
eople's wealth and lots of them consider it the sense of living. They get education from early childhood and learn until their hair is grey. To my mind, education plays an important role in people's lives, that's why a great attention is paid to it.
School
is one of our most significant institutions. School teaches reading, writing, the use of mathematics and other basic skills needed in everyday life. It increases people's knowledge of the world and themselves and helps them understand the rapid changes t
hat take place in modern society. In schools pupils learn their responsibilities and rights as citizens, improve their ability to think critically, and develop such basic values as truth, justice and equality.
People throughout the world attend schools, but
the quality of schools varies among countries. Today most of countries have well-developed educational systems and I'd like to mention that Belarus is among these countries. It embraces 11,000 educational establishments. The republic guarantees its citiz
e
ns the right to universal secondary education and creates means for further professional education. It tries to preserve the democratic character of education paying much attention to common human values, developing independent critical thinking instead o
f simple perception of information. But in spite of it, education in our country faces various problems nowadays.
It seems to me that the greatest problem for a school today is that all subjects are compulsory and pupils have no opportunity to choose the su
bjects they want to learn deep. Thousands of pupils have to spend a lot of time sitting and thinking over the subjects they don't like, don't need or don't understand. It usually drives them mad (I know it for sure) and they start hating this or that subj
e
ct or become indifferent to it. So if I were a Minister of education I would organize education in another way. In my opinion, some subjects should be optional so that children could choose their favourite ones out of the formal curriculum. I think that s
uch education is better and more effective.
Also in my personal view, schooling doesn't bring practical experience for young people. To my mind learning only theory by textbooks isn't enough. In every school should be chemical and biological laboratories wh
ere pupils who want to know more could work with their teachers after the classes. To my great regret not every school has a good computer centre. I think that special excursions to the corners of our native country should be organized for pupils who are
i
nterested in History. It isn't only useful but interesting as well. And of course, it would be great if the children who want to connect their lives with foreign languages could go to the countries where these languages are spoken and spend there some tim
e, communicating with native speakers.
To my mind these problems of schooling should be solved as soon as possible.
Now when my school years have been over I can say with certainty that it is fairly difficult to learn and that schooling brings hundreds of s
leepless nights, impaired nerves and millions of hours learning and learning. But on my first day at school many years ago I knew almost nothing about school.
As far as I remember, during the last two years at the kindergarten I was dreaming to go to schoo
l, because I found attendance of the kindergarten boring and I disliked almost all its rules. For example, I couldn't sleep at a daytime, but our governor always tried to make me sleep but in spite of it, while all children were sleeping I was thinking ab
out school.
And finally the first September of 1995 came. I'm sure I can never forget that day. It occurred on a sunny bright day when birds sang and trees were still in leaves I got up early on that day because I felt excited and started awakening my paren
ts. Then we ate, got dressed and went to school. I was ready for going to school, as at the age of seven I could read, write, count and paint, I had a good memory and learnt some Russian verses and some English words.
On my way to school I was thinking abo
ut this establishment School was a magic word for me. While walking I felt a bit nervous. It wasn't fear but the feeling of something new, unexpected that I would meet. I was accompanied by both of my parents and elder brother who was going to the 6th for
m.
My teacher and classmates met me at a school yard and after a solemn part we went to our classroom. Then there was a little excursion around the school. The teacher showed us a canteen, a gym, different classrooms, etc. I spent the whole day at school. I
t was the happiest day in my school life because my dream had come true. Both the teacher and new classmates became my friends. That day was unforgettable.
Years passed and my impressions about school changed. I began to learn different subjects, new teach
ers appeared and school became a typical place where I spent the largest part of the day. Long grey days started but the first day would be in my memory forever. My first teacher also will be in my soul and heart. Frankly speaking she was my favourite tea
c
her and I'm sure that she can be called an ideal teacher. She was an excellent teacher, not just a person teaching us subjects but a helper, an adviser and a friend. And what is no less important her attitude to the pupils was always friendly and tolerant
.
She was always interested in her pupils' health and atmosphere in our families. When a pupil was in trouble she usually gave him or her a piece of advice, if a pupil was ill our teacher always phoned him. Her lessons were always interesting and unusual.
She arranged various discussions and we took active part in them. She really had a gift to teach!
But our life passes so fast that sometimes we don't even notice how fleeting it is; so my first four years at school spent with my beloved teacher, flashed by very quickly.
I went to the secondary school. Though studying was not an easy thing to do I never felt homesick. I should say that I was lucky to study at an English specialized school. There I got proper trainings in such subjects as English, German, Lite
rature and History. But school for me was not only lessons and learning: I had a lot of friends there. It was an unforgettable time full of joys and trouble, of happiness and unimaginable adventures. I'm sure that school taught me a lot, first of all in e
d
ucational sphere. Thanks to school and my teachers I became intelligent and educated person. But school gave me a lot not only in educational sphere. I became more persistent and stubborn. Diligence, attention and accuracy - all these qualities school dev
eloped in me every day. I had many friends at school and good relations with my teachers. School was like my second home.
But after the 9th form I entered Gomel State Regional Lyceum. It's one of the best educational establishments in my native town that is
famous for its high-quality teaching and good equipment. Frankly speaking it was difficult for me to leave my school, as I'd spent a long span of life there. I came to school when I was a little girl, but when I was leaving it I was a grown-up person who
knew what she was going to be. But honestly I was really happy to enter the lyceum because the atmosphere there was so warm and pleasant, both teachers and students were one large and friendly family.
I want to say that lyceum is one modern schools in Belarus as it is a new type of educational establishments. It provides two years of education which offers a general course of academic and non-academic subjects. Besides it offers а
number of courses giving a profound knowledge in a variety of fields: the humanities, natural sciences, mathematics, etc.
What about me I specialized in the humanities. The course I took included: Belarusian, Russian, History of Belarus and of certainly
my chief interest was the English language. I got interested in this subject because to my mind every modern and cultural person should know at least one foreign language. The foreign language I have chosen is English, because it is the language of the pl
anet, that's why knowing it is a life necessity. Likewise I'm sure that knowledge of English can be applied in my prospective occupation.
The lyceum, I finished, is located in the city centre. The building itself is of typical design with the same layout an
d the distribution of classrooms, administrative offices, canteens, gyms and libraries as you can see in most other schools. But when you come in through the front door you find yourself in a spacious hall with comfortable sofas and large windows. Cloak-r
o
om is also situated in the hall. On the ground floor there is a large assembly hall, which is used for various performances, festivities and lyceum meetings, a library, a canteen, the Doctor's office and some classrooms. On the first floor there is a larg
e
computer centre, where basic computer skills are taught, an ecological centre with rear species of fish and the Head's office. On the second floor there are a lot of classrooms and laboratories, and there is a hostel on the third floor for pupils who com
e
from small towns and villages of our region. In general, to my mind, the lyceum is very cosy inside: there are a lot of sofas, Venetian blinds and mirrors in the corridors. All classrooms are well-equipped, but frankly speaking, they look like classrooms
in all schools of our country: there are three rows of desks, a teacher's table with a chair and a blackboard on the wall.
Though I have spent at lyceum only two years, it has become an integral part of my life. Our social and cultural life was well organi
zed; both teachers and classmates were so friendly and easy to get along with. I was on good terms with my classmates, as all of them were interesting and a bit enigmatic persons. We often spent our free time together and I think I can never forget these
two years and I will regret that everything has finished.
To my mind it goes without saying that I was more pleased to study at lyceum than at school. I'd like to compare, for instance, the quantity of English classes a week. At lyceum we had nine English
lessons while at school I used to have only four. It was a great problem for me as I didn't have enough practice in grammar, vocabulary and listening at all. I attended courses in English, but they didn't give visible results. Thanks to lyceum I have kno
wn a lot of information I would have never got at school.
Another thing that differed lyceum from school was books. At school we had only one textbook where we did our exercises, learnt rules and read texts, but at lyceum everything was different. We needed
to buy lots of necessary books and our teacher also gave us additional literature. So at lyceum we were fully provided with educational supplies.
Also we had a lot of concerts, sport competitions we took part in, excursions and visits to libraries and theatres at lyceum. Social and cultural life at lyceum was diverse, but at school we had nothing but went to theatre twice a year.
Sincerely speaking, lyceum was much better than my former school, but I can't say that my school wasn't good: it gave me my firs
t knowledge, learnt to appreciate education and friendship. Even though I liked my school and my former classmates I didn't regret that I had changed my school for lyceum. I think it was a right choice.
I think you'll agree that education means much in every country, but in Japan education is the main thing in people's lives.
In Japan children go to school at the age of four and finish the primary school at twelve. Then rather a difficult life for them starts. They begin learning special courses and choose the subjects they like.
Talking about Japanese schools I should say that every class has forty pupils. The discipline there is rather strict: when a teacher enters the class children stand up and bow to him. While a teacher delivers a lecture pupils make n
otes, but they don't shout and don't ask questions that is considered to be impolite. Pupils try to do they best at school and even if a pupil falls ill his parents attend lectures instead of him.
I should say that Japanese education is considered to be on
e of the best in the world. Really, in many aspects it may seem that a Japanese school is ideal, but to my mind, this opinion is wrong. In Japanese school pupils are as busy as bees, they spend most time at schools, they learn hard from morning till late
evening.
For me an ideal school is situated eighteen thousand miles far from Japan to the west. This school is a little school in Summerhill.
Recently I've read about Summerhill school in a magazine and was very interested in the method of education in this school.
This school is a modern kind of school, the main idea of which is to make school fit the child instead of making the child fit the school. Here teachers don't make children sit at desks studying mostly useless subjects. They allow children freedom
to be themselves. In order to do this the administration of this school had to renounce all discipline, all direction, all suggestion and all moral trainings. They are sure, and I completely agree with them, that each child is innately wise and realistic
. If left to himself without adult suggestion of any kind, he will develop as far as he is capable of developing. Summerhill is a place where people who have innate ability to be scholars will be scholars.
To my mind Summerhill is possibly the happiest scho
ol in the world and an ideal school for children. For instance lessons are optional there. Children can attend them or stay away from them. There is a timetable but only for the teachers, so children can choose when they start their day at school. The chi
ldren have classes usually according to their age, but sometimes according to their interests.
The teachers are friendly and understanding there. They are sympathized with the children and help them as much as they can. They help the children to do as wel
l as possible in their exams and help them to develop their personalities and characters. So, Summerhill is a plac е
that gives the children not only some skills or knowledge, but teaches some social things the pupils need to know when they leave school. An
d the main thing - Summerhill is a pleasant place to be in as the children feel comfortable, equal among each other and happy.
Frankly speaking I regret that I didn't have an opportunity to be a pupil of this school, though I really enjoyed years at school
and lyceum. And now when I have finished them, my heart is full of gratitude to most teachers for the knowledge they gave me and to many of my classmates who made my school life enjoyable. School has opened me the world and the way to it, and I'm sure I
will always look back at my school and lyceum years as the happiest years in my life.
-------------------------------------------------------
MY ENGLISH STUDIES
According to a legend, originally the world only had one language. One day the people decided t
o build an enormous tower so that they could reach up to heaven. The creator, convinced that he had to put an end to such futile ventures, decided to confuse their languages so that they couldn't understand each other, and to scatter them all over the ear
th.
Since that time people throughout the world have been struggling to understand each other.
Despite various attempts to create universal language- between 1880 and 1907 no less than 53 were invented- today, whether we like it or not, English is the only universal language.
I'm sure that it is very important and necessary to learn English now, because English is the language of the whole world. 700 million people all over the world use it. Over 30 million people speak English as a mother tongue. The native
speakers of English live in Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, the USA, etc. English is one of the official languages in the Irish Republic, India, Canada and the South African Republic. As a second language it is used in the former British and US co
lonies. Besides, millions of people study and use English as a foreign language. But at first I'd like to say some words about the history of this language.
The rise of English is a story of wonderful success. When Julies Caesar landed in Britain in the 5th
century, English was already spoken by the people, who inhabited Great Britain, but they were not many and their English was not the language we know today. Nearly a thousand years later, at the end of the 16th century, when William Shakespeare created h
i
s works, English was the native language of about 6 million Englishmen. At that time English wasn't used anywhere except Great Britain, but now English is the main language of business, sports, science, trade, progressive technology, commerce and it's the
world's computer language. 75% of the world's mail and 60% of the world's telephone calls are in English. Also it is the universal language of international aviation, shipping and the major language of diplomacy. It has replaced French in the world of dip
l
omacy and German in the field of science. English is the dominant language of medicine, electronics and space technology, of international business and advertising, of radio, television and film. Besides, the English language is the language of the great
l
iterature, hundreds of books, magazines and newspapers are printed in English and read all over the world.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
3
0 minutes to do my toilet. I want to say that while I was doing all these things my mother was making breakfast. I was in a habit of having only a light breakfast. A cup of tea. some ham or cheese sandwiches were enough for me to be full. As a rule while
h
aving my breakfast I listened to a piece of good music on the radio. After breakfast I snatched my school bag. Frankly speaking I found my habit of packing the bag in the morning quite irritating, because I always left something important at home, but I c
ouldn't make myself do it in the evening. And then I rushed for lyceum. Unfortunately I live far from the lyceum. It took me about forty minutes to get there, that's why I was not lucky to sleep a bit longer than pupils who lived near it.
Frankly speaking s
ometimes my mood depended on what classes I had. On some days lessons flashed by very quickly, especially if they were the humanities, which I liked most, but they were dragging more slowly if I had such sciences like Physics, Chemistry or Math and especi
a
lly when we had to write tests in them. Wednesday was the hardest day for me; I stayed in lyceum longer than usual because we had an additional lesson in Belarusian language. I should say that I usually enjoyed hours at lyceum if I was up-to-date with my
s
chool work, because I hated the feeling of being left behind with anything. In general I enjoyed lyceum hours because they were instructive and interesting besides I liked lyceum because of the number of friends I had there, but I didn't let my private li
f
e interfere with my school work. In common I found life at lyceum bright and absorbing. Our classes started at 8.20 instead of 8.00 as they do in most schools. Usually we had 7 lessons a day. Every lesson lasted 45 minutes, as in a common school, but our
b
reaks were too short, that's why our freedom lasted only 5 or 10 minutes. But we were lucky to have a large break in the middle of the day which lasted 45 minutes. During this break we went to the canteen, and if there was nothing tasty and edible in it,
w
e visited the nearest shop to buy something, for example, sweets or rolls and then did almost everything we wanted. As life is given us only once I try to live it in the best and useful way. So I usually spent the rest of time reading various interesting
books or magazines or doing special exercises useful for brain, for example. I could solve puzzles. When I didn't manage to do all my homework at home the large break was mainly the time when I had an opportunity to finish it.
At 3 o'clock when my classes w
ere over I stayed at lyceum to play volleyball or to do some crafts. Our lyceum administration arranged several kinds of extra-class activities like concerts, debate clubs and sports competitions. Honestly I wasn't their active participant, but I took par
t
in them from time to time. Frequently I was back home later than 5 o'clock. On my way home I went to the baker's to buy some white and brown bread, biscuits and cakes. In the evenings I was busy doing my homework. There were subjects which required a lot
of homework to be done and I usually spent most of my time on them. The English language, as it was my main subject, took me no less than three hours to be done. Belarusian and Russian literatures took me a lot of time as well as I should read a lot, wrot
e different compositions and thought over various problems of our life. These subjects had never seemed easy to me.
When late evening came and I had some free time left, which happened very seldom, I went for a walk with my friends. But I rarely sat in fron
t of the TV set, as I prefer meeting friends to merely watching TV. Besides I'm keen on music. Listening to music makes me feel relaxed and calm. Sometimes it even helped me to do my homework. I was in the habit of doing two things together, for instance,
listening to music and at the same time reading a book or writing a composition. I don't know why but music didn't prevent me from productive work and didn't draw my attention away. On the contrary it helped me. Here I should say that there were not many
h
ousehold chores that I did in my final year as my parents understood that I was preparing for entering the university and they tried to set me free from spending my precious time on anything else but studying. But in spite of it I had little time for rest
; I think working hard is the right thing to do if you want to achieve something in life.
At about eight o'clock we usually had supper and all our family gathered in the kitchen. I should mention that it was the only time when we could see one another and t
alk about different things. We shared our joys and sorrows; discussed our plans for the next day. As for my supper it was usually light as I had dinner very late (at 5 or 6 o'clock), that's why I was not hungry when time came to have supper.
At about 11 o'
clock I usually had a bath and then I went to bed. When I went to bed I often thought about possible careers and dreamt of becoming reach and famous due to an outstanding talent that no one had discovered yet (just like they do in the movies). Then I allo
wed myself to worry a bit about lyceum, my future, the next day, what I looked like, what people thought about me and what I could do to change the way people thought about me. I usually fell asleep at midnight.
Generally I try to plan my working day. I thi
nk it helps not to waste time on trifles and to do all the things at a time. I like punctuality, exactness, when everything has its own place. To my mind it is easier to live then. When my working day is planned I don't waste time on thinking what to do,
s
o I have more time to do various useful things. When my working day is over I usually think about what things I have done and what this day has brought to me. If I understand that I have enriched my knowledge, learnt useful things and practiced to do some
t
hing important I consider that this day turns out well. I try not to leave things till last time. But not long ago it was my weak spot. It I had to learn something by heart I did it on the last evening, if I had a lot to read I did it at night. Of course
sometimes I didn't manage to do all the things I needed. I'd like to admit that my mum always said that I shouldn't leave things for tomorrow if I could do them today. At present I agree with her completely. So I have managed to get rid of this weak spot.
And in conclusion I'd like to say I'm happy to live a busy life. It is more interesting, exciting and instructive. When you are busy life doesn't seem to be boring.
----------------------------------------------------------
MY SCHOOL
Education is the main p
eople's wealth and lots of them consider it the sense of living. They get education from early childhood and learn until their hair is grey. To my mind, education plays an important role in people's lives, that's why a great attention is paid to it.
School
is one of our most significant institutions. School teaches reading, writing, the use of mathematics and other basic skills needed in everyday life. It increases people's knowledge of the world and themselves and helps them understand the rapid changes t
hat take place in modern society. In schools pupils learn their responsibilities and rights as citizens, improve their ability to think critically, and develop such basic values as truth, justice and equality.
People throughout the world attend schools, but
the quality of schools varies among countries. Today most of countries have well-developed educational systems and I'd like to mention that Belarus is among these countries. It embraces 11,000 educational establishments. The republic guarantees its citiz
e
ns the right to universal secondary education and creates means for further professional education. It tries to preserve the democratic character of education paying much attention to common human values, developing independent critical thinking instead o
f simple perception of information. But in spite of it, education in our country faces various problems nowadays.
It seems to me that the greatest problem for a school today is that all subjects are compulsory and pupils have no opportunity to choose the su
bjects they want to learn deep. Thousands of pupils have to spend a lot of time sitting and thinking over the subjects they don't like, don't need or don't understand. It usually drives them mad (I know it for sure) and they start hating this or that subj
e
ct or become indifferent to it. So if I were a Minister of education I would organize education in another way. In my opinion, some subjects should be optional so that children could choose their favourite ones out of the formal curriculum. I think that s
uch education is better and more effective.
Also in my personal view, schooling doesn't bring practical experience for young people. To my mind learning only theory by textbooks isn't enough. In every school should be chemical and biological laboratories wh
ere pupils who want to know more could work with their teachers after the classes. To my great regret not every school has a good computer centre. I think that special excursions to the corners of our native country should be organized for pupils who are
i
nterested in History. It isn't only useful but interesting as well. And of course, it would be great if the children who want to connect their lives with foreign languages could go to the countries where these languages are spoken and spend there some tim
e, communicating with native speakers.
To my mind these problems of schooling should be solved as soon as possible.
Now when my school years have been over I can say with certainty that it is fairly difficult to learn and that schooling brings hundreds of s
leepless nights, impaired nerves and millions of hours learning and learning. But on my first day at school many years ago I knew almost nothing about school.
As far as I remember, during the last two years at the kindergarten I was dreaming to go to schoo
l, because I found attendance of the kindergarten boring and I disliked almost all its rules. For example, I couldn't sleep at a daytime, but our governor always tried to make me sleep but in spite of it, while all children were sleeping I was thinking ab
out school.
And finally the first September of 1995 came. I'm sure I can never forget that day. It occurred on a sunny bright day when birds sang and trees were still in leaves I got up early on that day because I felt excited and started awakening my paren
ts. Then we ate, got dressed and went to school. I was ready for going to school, as at the age of seven I could read, write, count and paint, I had a good memory and learnt some Russian verses and some English words.
On my way to school I was thinking abo
ut this establishment School was a magic word for me. While walking I felt a bit nervous. It wasn't fear but the feeling of something new, unexpected that I would meet. I was accompanied by both of my parents and elder brother who was going to the 6th for
m.
My teacher and classmates met me at a school yard and after a solemn part we went to our classroom. Then there was a little excursion around the school. The teacher showed us a canteen, a gym, different classrooms, etc. I spent the whole day at school. I
t was the happiest day in my school life because my dream had come true. Both the teacher and new classmates became my friends. That day was unforgettable.
Years passed and my impressions about school changed. I began to learn different subjects, new teach
ers appeared and school became a typical place where I spent the largest part of the day. Long grey days started but the first day would be in my memory forever. My first teacher also will be in my soul and heart. Frankly speaking she was my favourite tea
c
her and I'm sure that she can be called an ideal teacher. She was an excellent teacher, not just a person teaching us subjects but a helper, an adviser and a friend. And what is no less important her attitude to the pupils was always friendly and tolerant
.
She was always interested in her pupils' health and atmosphere in our families. When a pupil was in trouble she usually gave him or her a piece of advice, if a pupil was ill our teacher always phoned him. Her lessons were always interesting and unusual.
She arranged various discussions and we took active part in them. She really had a gift to teach!
But our life passes so fast that sometimes we don't even notice how fleeting it is; so my first four years at school spent with my beloved teacher, flashed by very quickly.
I went to the secondary school. Though studying was not an easy thing to do I never felt homesick. I should say that I was lucky to study at an English specialized school. There I got proper trainings in such subjects as English, German, Lite
rature and History. But school for me was not only lessons and learning: I had a lot of friends there. It was an unforgettable time full of joys and trouble, of happiness and unimaginable adventures. I'm sure that school taught me a lot, first of all in e
d
ucational sphere. Thanks to school and my teachers I became intelligent and educated person. But school gave me a lot not only in educational sphere. I became more persistent and stubborn. Diligence, attention and accuracy - all these qualities school dev
eloped in me every day. I had many friends at school and good relations with my teachers. School was like my second home.
But after the 9th form I entered Gomel State Regional Lyceum. It's one of the best educational establishments in my native town that is
famous for its high-quality teaching and good equipment. Frankly speaking it was difficult for me to leave my school, as I'd spent a long span of life there. I came to school when I was a little girl, but when I was leaving it I was a grown-up person who
knew what she was going to be. But honestly I was really happy to enter the lyceum because the atmosphere there was so warm and pleasant, both teachers and students were one large and friendly family.
I want to say that lyceum is one modern schools in Belarus as it is a new type of educational establishments. It provides two years of education which offers a general course of academic and non-academic subjects. Besides it offers а
number of courses giving a profound knowledge in a variety of fields: the humanities, natural sciences, mathematics, etc.
What about me I specialized in the humanities. The course I took included: Belarusian, Russian, History of Belarus and of certainly
my chief interest was the English language. I got interested in this subject because to my mind every modern and cultural person should know at least one foreign language. The foreign language I have chosen is English, because it is the language of the pl
anet, that's why knowing it is a life necessity. Likewise I'm sure that knowledge of English can be applied in my prospective occupation.
The lyceum, I finished, is located in the city centre. The building itself is of typical design with the same layout an
d the distribution of classrooms, administrative offices, canteens, gyms and libraries as you can see in most other schools. But when you come in through the front door you find yourself in a spacious hall with comfortable sofas and large windows. Cloak-r
o
om is also situated in the hall. On the ground floor there is a large assembly hall, which is used for various performances, festivities and lyceum meetings, a library, a canteen, the Doctor's office and some classrooms. On the first floor there is a larg
e
computer centre, where basic computer skills are taught, an ecological centre with rear species of fish and the Head's office. On the second floor there are a lot of classrooms and laboratories, and there is a hostel on the third floor for pupils who com
e
from small towns and villages of our region. In general, to my mind, the lyceum is very cosy inside: there are a lot of sofas, Venetian blinds and mirrors in the corridors. All classrooms are well-equipped, but frankly speaking, they look like classrooms
in all schools of our country: there are three rows of desks, a teacher's table with a chair and a blackboard on the wall.
Though I have spent at lyceum only two years, it has become an integral part of my life. Our social and cultural life was well organi
zed; both teachers and classmates were so friendly and easy to get along with. I was on good terms with my classmates, as all of them were interesting and a bit enigmatic persons. We often spent our free time together and I think I can never forget these
two years and I will regret that everything has finished.
To my mind it goes without saying that I was more pleased to study at lyceum than at school. I'd like to compare, for instance, the quantity of English classes a week. At lyceum we had nine English
lessons while at school I used to have only four. It was a great problem for me as I didn't have enough practice in grammar, vocabulary and listening at all. I attended courses in English, but they didn't give visible results. Thanks to lyceum I have kno
wn a lot of information I would have never got at school.
Another thing that differed lyceum from school was books. At school we had only one textbook where we did our exercises, learnt rules and read texts, but at lyceum everything was different. We needed
to buy lots of necessary books and our teacher also gave us additional literature. So at lyceum we were fully provided with educational supplies.
Also we had a lot of concerts, sport competitions we took part in, excursions and visits to libraries and theatres at lyceum. Social and cultural life at lyceum was diverse, but at school we had nothing but went to theatre twice a year.
Sincerely speaking, lyceum was much better than my former school, but I can't say that my school wasn't good: it gave me my firs
t knowledge, learnt to appreciate education and friendship. Even though I liked my school and my former classmates I didn't regret that I had changed my school for lyceum. I think it was a right choice.
I think you'll agree that education means much in every country, but in Japan education is the main thing in people's lives.
In Japan children go to school at the age of four and finish the primary school at twelve. Then rather a difficult life for them starts. They begin learning special courses and choose the subjects they like.
Talking about Japanese schools I should say that every class has forty pupils. The discipline there is rather strict: when a teacher enters the class children stand up and bow to him. While a teacher delivers a lecture pupils make n
otes, but they don't shout and don't ask questions that is considered to be impolite. Pupils try to do they best at school and even if a pupil falls ill his parents attend lectures instead of him.
I should say that Japanese education is considered to be on
e of the best in the world. Really, in many aspects it may seem that a Japanese school is ideal, but to my mind, this opinion is wrong. In Japanese school pupils are as busy as bees, they spend most time at schools, they learn hard from morning till late
evening.
For me an ideal school is situated eighteen thousand miles far from Japan to the west. This school is a little school in Summerhill.
Recently I've read about Summerhill school in a magazine and was very interested in the method of education in this school.
This school is a modern kind of school, the main idea of which is to make school fit the child instead of making the child fit the school. Here teachers don't make children sit at desks studying mostly useless subjects. They allow children freedom
to be themselves. In order to do this the administration of this school had to renounce all discipline, all direction, all suggestion and all moral trainings. They are sure, and I completely agree with them, that each child is innately wise and realistic
. If left to himself without adult suggestion of any kind, he will develop as far as he is capable of developing. Summerhill is a place where people who have innate ability to be scholars will be scholars.
To my mind Summerhill is possibly the happiest scho
ol in the world and an ideal school for children. For instance lessons are optional there. Children can attend them or stay away from them. There is a timetable but only for the teachers, so children can choose when they start their day at school. The chi
ldren have classes usually according to their age, but sometimes according to their interests.
The teachers are friendly and understanding there. They are sympathized with the children and help them as much as they can. They help the children to do as wel
l as possible in their exams and help them to develop their personalities and characters. So, Summerhill is a plac е
that gives the children not only some skills or knowledge, but teaches some social things the pupils need to know when they leave school. An
d the main thing - Summerhill is a pleasant place to be in as the children feel comfortable, equal among each other and happy.
Frankly speaking I regret that I didn't have an opportunity to be a pupil of this school, though I really enjoyed years at school
and lyceum. And now when I have finished them, my heart is full of gratitude to most teachers for the knowledge they gave me and to many of my classmates who made my school life enjoyable. School has opened me the world and the way to it, and I'm sure I
will always look back at my school and lyceum years as the happiest years in my life.
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MY ENGLISH STUDIES
According to a legend, originally the world only had one language. One day the people decided t
o build an enormous tower so that they could reach up to heaven. The creator, convinced that he had to put an end to such futile ventures, decided to confuse their languages so that they couldn't understand each other, and to scatter them all over the ear
th.
Since that time people throughout the world have been struggling to understand each other.
Despite various attempts to create universal language- between 1880 and 1907 no less than 53 were invented- today, whether we like it or not, English is the only universal language.
I'm sure that it is very important and necessary to learn English now, because English is the language of the whole world. 700 million people all over the world use it. Over 30 million people speak English as a mother tongue. The native
speakers of English live in Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, the USA, etc. English is one of the official languages in the Irish Republic, India, Canada and the South African Republic. As a second language it is used in the former British and US co
lonies. Besides, millions of people study and use English as a foreign language. But at first I'd like to say some words about the history of this language.
The rise of English is a story of wonderful success. When Julies Caesar landed in Britain in the 5th
century, English was already spoken by the people, who inhabited Great Britain, but they were not many and their English was not the language we know today. Nearly a thousand years later, at the end of the 16th century, when William Shakespeare created h
i
s works, English was the native language of about 6 million Englishmen. At that time English wasn't used anywhere except Great Britain, but now English is the main language of business, sports, science, trade, progressive technology, commerce and it's the
world's computer language. 75% of the world's mail and 60% of the world's telephone calls are in English. Also it is the universal language of international aviation, shipping and the major language of diplomacy. It has replaced French in the world of dip
l
omacy and German in the field of science. English is the dominant language of medicine, electronics and space technology, of international business and advertising, of radio, television and film. Besides, the English language is the language of the great
l
iterature, hundreds of books, magazines and newspapers are printed in English and read all over the world.
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