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.
There are a lot of wonderful works of literature-Famous writers and poets created a b
ig variety of poems, stories and novels that are read over the world. Russian poets and writers like Pushkin, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky are famous all over the world. Their works are translated into many languages.

Theatre is a popular kind of arts , too. T
here are a lot of theatres in Russia, but most of them are situated in Moscow. The Bolshoi Theatre and the Maly Theatre are world famous. If you like opera you should go to the Bolshoi Theatre. The tickets are rather expensive though. The Maly Theatre sta
ges dramas and plays based on classical novels.

I am a theatre-goer. I prefer going to drama theatres. I do not like opera and ballet. Not long ago I saw Uncle's Dream by Dostoevsky in the Vakhtangov Theatre I liked the play a lot. The decorations were
rich and the famous actors played very well. There was a storm of applause after the performance.
Nowadays theatres are becoming less and less popular, and cinema has got big popularity instead. There are a lot of cinemas in Moscow: modern and old-fash
ioned, cheap and expensive. Modern films are full of audio and computer special effects and people go to the cinema to enjoy them. The so-called home cinemas have appeared lately. More and more people buy modern TV-sets with large flat screens and special
sound equipment and watch films at home.

My favourite art is painting. I enjoy going to art galleries to look at paintings. I think that this type of art will exist forever. Artists express their feelings and emotions in their paintings. There are a lot
of art galleries in Moscow, but the most famous one is me Tretyakov Gallery. It has large collections of paintings by Russian and foreign painters. My favourite painting is landscape. I think that Russian landscapists are the best in the world. I love go
ing to this gallery when I have free time. One of my friends draws very well She is going to enter the University of Arts
to become a professional artist. But I think that amateurs are the best artists.
Unfortunately I do not have any talent for this or that art
. I used to sing in childhood, but then I gave it up. I think that arts are not for me.


Music ( Музыка)

Music plays a big role in our life. Can you think of a day without it? We hear music
everywhere: in the street in shops, in parks and at home. Music
follows us from childhood and we can't live without it. We listen to music when we are happy or sad, we dance to it and we learn to play
music , too. Music
is not a combination of sounds, it is art. There are a lot of kinds of music : classical music, jazz, popular music or pop-
music , rock and club music
. They are all different, but still people listen to them and enjoy. Music reflects our life, our feelings and emotions.
I prefer Russian pop- music . I have no favourite pop group. I just liste
n to the songs and melodies I like. My brother loves rock music . His favourite rock groups are Aria and Rammstein. Sometimes he turns the
music up and enjoys it.
My father likes classical music
. His favourite composer is Mozart. Sometimes he listens to Vivaldi or Tchaikovsky. When I am in a bad mood I can listen to classical music
, too. It calms me and I start feeling better.
As for my mother, she is fond of Elvis Presley. She can listen to his songs all day. She says that be is great and his voice m
akes her forget about everyday problems. I like to go to clubs and discos. Most of them play club music : trance or techno.

I like to dance to sue music
, but I can't listen to it alone. The beats and sounds are too aggressive sometimes and I usually have a headache later.
My friend studies in a musical college. She likes folk music
. Students of this college usually sing and dance to it. I have been to the concerts where they performed and I enjoyed it a lot.
Nobody knows when music appeared, but I think that if there were no
music , our life would be very boring and sad.


Museums and Art Galleries
(Музеи и ху
дожественные галереи)

Every country has museums and art galleries. Some of them are world famous. A museum is a place where various col
lections of works of art are displayed. There are different kinds of museums: history museums, museums of art, archaeological museums, science museums and others. I would like to tell you about some of the most famous museums in the world.

I live in Mos
cow, the capital of Russia and there are a lot of large museums in the city. One of the biggest museums is the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts which houses one of the world's largest collections of the ancient, oriental and classical art. You can see sculptur
es, paintings and other works of art by world-famous artists. The museum holds one of the biggest collections of Ancient Egyptian Art.
The Tretyakov Gallery is one of the biggest art galleries in the world. It was founded by a Russian merchant, Tretyakov
, who gave his private collection of paintings to Moscow. The Gallery has a great collection of works by Russian famous painters. It consists of seven departments. You can see portraits, seascapes, landscapes and other genres of painting there.

St. Pet
ersburg, which once was the capital of Russia, is famous for its museums, too. The Hermitage is one of the biggest museums in the world. A lot of permanent and temporary exhibitions are displayed there. The museum consists of six buildings. The most famou
s are: Winter Palace and the Hermitage. You can see portraits of Russian tsars, Roman statues, works of Western European Art, Egyptian Art and Oriental Art there.
If you go to Great Britain you should definitely visit the British Museum in London. The mu
seum is very big and you can see works of art in glass, stone, gold and also a few collections on natural history there.
The Tower of London is another big museum in London. It used to be a treasury, a prison, an observatory and even a zoo. The Tower of London hosts a big collection of arms and jewels.


The United States of America is famous for its museums and galleries, too. There is the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. It consists of several museums and art galleries that are free and op
en to the public. The National Portrait Gallery has a big collection of those who played an important role in the history and culture of the USA. The National Museum of Natural History is popular with children. The museum contains one of the world's large
st scientific collection: exhibits on human culture, evolution, dinosaurs, birds, animals, sea life, meteorites, plants, rocks and minerals.
Another famous museum is the National Air and Space Museum. It houses the world's most expensive collection of ai
rcrafts and spacecrafts. Visitors can see exhibits on the history of air crafting and watch documentaries in the IMAX movie theatre that is situated inside the building. The National Museum of American History explores America's scientific, cultural and p
olitical history. It also houses the first American flag.
All museums are very interesting to visit. Museums and art galleries give us an opportunity to learn facts about art, history and culture of different peoples and countries.



Books ( Книги
)


I think it is impossible to live without reading. Books
I appeared long time ago in ancient times. It became easier to publish books when the printing was invented.
Books can be divided into two large groups: fiction and non-fiction books
. Fiction books are most popular with readers. Such
books include stories, novels and poetry. As for non-fiction books
, they are dictionaries, biographies, historical books , encyclopedias and others.

When I was a child, my parents read different books 1 to me
. I learned a lot from them. When I learnt to read, 1 I liked reading fairy tales and adventure stories. I loved novels about pirates and brave knights. I like reading books
a lot. I read non-fiction books when I prepare for my studies. But in general I li
ke fiction books . My favourite genres of books
are fantasy and horror; I think it is very popular with young people nowadays. My favourite author of fantasy books
is J. Rowling. I like her books
about Harry Potter. I reread them and watched j films, too. My favourite author of horror stories is Stephen King. Actually I do not like books
about monsters and ghosts a lot. I prefer King's psychological novels. My favourite novel is Dolores Claiborne. This is a story about a woman who had a hard life. My family likes to read, too. We have a big library full of
books of different genres.
My brother is interested in science-fiction. He likes reading novels about aliens and future. As for my father, he reads detective stories. I think that this genre of
books is really very popular with older people. His favourite authors are Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie and Boris Akunin.

My mother likes historical novels and love stories. Her favourite author is Sidney Sheldon. She also reads classical novels by Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Chekhov.

I can say that reading is my hobby. When I have time I prefer reading to watching TV Sometimes a book is so interesting that I cannot stop reading it.

I think that books help us solve some problems, too. Every person can find a
book which will accompany him or her for the whole life. I have such a book
, too. It is The Catcher in the Rye by J. Salinger. It reminds me of my own life somehow and it really helped me with some problems.
Nowadays we have television and the In
ternet; so many people prefer getting information from these sources. Some people think that in the world of information we do not need books at all. But I think that we should not forget about them.
Books contain a lot of useful information and give pleasure.


Youth Problems ( Проблемы молодежи)


There are a lot of problems in our world that people have to face and try to cope with. But I would like to talk about youth problems.
Adults think that it is very easy to be a teenager but this is not true. Nowadays there are a lo
t of different things that young people want to try. They are alcohol, drugs, cigarettes and it is not easy to manage them especially for teenagers. Most teenagers try such things because their friends do and if they do not, they are not considered to be
cool. Some young people take drugs or drink alcohol because they are bored and they have nothing to do. Some of them do such things because their life is hard.
One of the biggest problems among teenagers is the poor relationship with parents. My parents
always tell me which clothes to wear, which music to listen and who I should spend my free time with. Parents call me a naughty child and do not give me pocket money if I do not listen to their advice. They always ask me to pay more attention to my studie
s
and they do not allow me to go to night clubs and discos. But at the same time we should understand that all they want is to have their child safe and sound. And I appreciate that. However, the only thing that I do not like about them is that they still
consider me their child, but I am a young adult already and they should try to understand that.
Another problem is friendship. It is really hard to find a true friend now. Most of young people have friends because they are rich or clever. Some teenagers
like showing off and children from poor families uncomfortable in their presence.
One of the problems is school. Teachers usually think that all we have to do is study hard. But sometimes it is so dull! We have a lot of homework and we do not have enou
gh time to go for a walk or to spend time with our friends. But I know that education is very important for young people and this is another problem that I want to discuss.
Every teenager wants to have a good future, to get a good education and a good j
ob afterwards. Everybody wants to lead a good life and have a lot of money. But you are not bright or you do not have enough money to pay for your entrance exams you won't enter a good university. That is why some of my friends had to give up trying to pa
ss entrance exams and they got a profession which they were not interested in.
Nowadays a lot of teenagers are looking for a job to get some money. They sell newspapers, wash cars and work as mail couriers. These people think about their future already a
nd do not just sit at home or spend a Jot of time outside with hooligans.
We are all teenagers and we should start thinking about our future. There are a lot of youth problems nowadays, but we need to do everything possible all impossible to solve them.



Shopping (1) (Поход по магаз
инам)

Shopping means going to some place to buy things. For some people this is a hobby. They go
shopping in their free time. Some people go shopping on weekdays to buy food.

My family and I do the shopping at week
ends. My family is not very big, but my parents work hard and they have no time to go to buy things during a week. On Sunday we usually go to a large supermarket and buy food for the whole week. I don't like going there, because there are usually many peo
p
le. This supermarket has a lot of departments: a food department, a grocer's, a butcher's, a fishmonger's and even a chemist's department. Sometimes my mother goes to the cosmetics department while my father and my brother go to the pet shop, which is sit
uated there.

There are a lot of shops in Moscow, Some of them are expensive, others are cheap and you have a choice. I don't understand those people who go to some specialized shops to buy things of a certain brand. Such things are rather expensive. I p
refer going to a market and buy clothes there.
I prefer doing the shopping
alone when I need clothes or books. My favourite bookshop is in the centre of Moscow. I can spend hours there looking at different books and choosing the most interesting ones to read. My brother hates
shopping . Our parents buy clothes for him and he is not against it. I also like to go
shopping when I need to buy presents for my family or friends. Sometimes my friend helps me choose presents. She is a very nice girl with a good
taste and she knows what things are good.
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