LONDON - THE CAPITAL OF GREAT BRITAIN
English today
There are over 2.700 languages in the world, but English today is the most important international language. Four hundred million people speak English as their first language . Six hundred million people speak it either as a second or as a foreign language. That is 20 percent of the world's population.
English has become a world language, because it is spoken as a mother tongue in all the continents of the world. In the 17th century it was brought to North America by the first colonisers. Then in the 18th century English was brought to Australia, later on to Africa and India.
Millions of people are learning English today. It is the language of summit meetings and international conferences. It's also the language of the United Nations. Foreign political leaders usually speak to international journalists in English. The latest discoveries and ideas in all spheres of science and medicine appear in special international journals, of which 60 percent are in English. 80 percent of all information in the world's computers is in English.
Besides, there are a lot of brilliant world famous English, American, Canadian and Australian writers and poets who gave the world their wonderful works. The reader can fully appreciate them only in the original.
And finally, many young people learn English as a foreign language because it is the language of rock and pop music.
So, English can be used for many different purposes and serve as a key to other cultures and their riches.
The Russian Federation
The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world. It occupies about one-seventh of the earth's surface. It covers the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia. Its total area is about 17 million square kilometers. The country is washed by 12 seas and 3 oceans: the Pacific, the Arctic and the Atlantic. In the south Russia borders on China, Mongolia, Korea, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan. In the west it borders on Norway, Finland, the Baltic States, Byelorussia, the Ukraine. It also has a sea-borders with the USA.
There is hardly a country in the world where such a variety of scenery and vegetation can be found. We have steppes in the south, plains and forests in the midland, tundra and taiga in the north, highlands and deserts in the east.
There are two great plains in Russia: the Great Russian Plain and the West Siberian Lowland. There are several mountain chains on the territory of the country: the Urals, the Caucasus, the Altai and others. The largest mountain chain, the Urals, separates Europe from Asia.
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There are over two million rivers in Russia. Europe's biggest river, the Volga, flows into the Caspian Sea. The main Siberian rivers- the Ob, the Yenisei and the Lena- flow from the south to the north. The Amur in the Far East flows into the Pacific Ocean.
Russia is reach in beautiful lakes. The world's deepest lake is Lake Baikal. It is much smaller than the Baltic Sea, but there is much more water in it than in the Baltic Sea. The water in the lake is so clear that if you look down you can count the stones on the bottom.
Russia has one-sixth of the world's forests. They are concentrated in the European north of the country, in Siberia and in the Far East.
On the vast territory of the country there are various types of climate, from arctic in the north to subtropical in the south. In the middle of the country the climate is temperate and continental.
Russia is very reach in oil, iron ore, natural gas, copper, nickel and other mineral resources.
The Head of Russia is the President. The legislative powers are exercised by the Duma.
The capital of Russia is Moscow. It is its largest political, scientific, cultural and industrial centre. It's one of the oldest Russian cities.
Moscow
In March of 1918 Moscow became the capital. The supreme organs of state power and many central institutions moved to Moscow from Petrograd. It was extremely difficult in the years of the Civil war to see the image of a new city in deserted and unheated Moscow.
The rapid growth of Moscow's population occurred during the twenties and thirties, in 1931 work began to develop the Master Reconstruction Plan of Moscow, a plan which many people abroad considered to be vain dream.The city grew and changed, the streets and squares became wider, the wooden houses at the former outskirts disappeared. But the buildings of cultural and historical value were carefully preserved.
Today, as ever, the Kremlin with Red Square is the centre of Moscow. Here Moscow began more than eight hundred years ago. The city has grown so vast since, the present and the past are so closely interwoven that one can not embrace it all at once.Certain villages, distant country estates have become the new residential areas of Moscow. New dwellings rose not only within the established parts of Moscow but new neighbourhoods took shape in Tyoply Stan, Orekhovo-Borisovo, Yasenevo.
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In the past century Moscow went through the invasion of Napoleon's army that forced all Muscovites to leave their city. Moscow was burned down but was never conquered. Once the enemy was driven away. its inhabitants set about building Moscow anew.
Nowadays in erecting new buildings, the Muscovites take care to preserve its unique monuments. Its architectural ensembles have been formed over the centuries and each generation added features of its time to the appearance of the city.The city has thousands of libraries, schools, kindergartens and nurseries, hundreds of clubs and cinemas, dozens of higher educational establishments, theatres, museums and stadiums.
Neither words nor convincing figures, however, can give a complete idea of what had been done in Moscow. One has to visit Moscow plants and factories, to stroll about its streets and squares, to see its new residential areas.
The Kremlin is now both a piece of living history and an ensemble of masterpieces of Russian architecture.The first thing that meets the eye is the redbrick walls of the Kremlin, reinforced by 20 towers, five of which are also gates. The Kremlin's towers are unique in appearance. Built in 1485, the Tainitsky Tower is the oldest. The highest of them is the Trinity Tower which is 80 metres tall.
The Bolshoi Theatre was opened in 1825. The theatre seats 2,150. The company has more than 900 members.
The State Tretyakov Gallery. The gallery's works of Russian fine arts range from unique mosaics and icons of the 11th century to works of contemporary artists. The gallery is named after great Russian Connoisseur Pavel Tretyakov who left his collection as a gift to the nation. It has become one of the most popular places of interest in Moscow since then.
Great Britain
The United Kingdom of G.B. and Northern Irelands is situated on the British Isles/ The British Isles consists of two large islands, G.B. and Ireland, and about five thousand small islands. Their total area is over 244,000 square kilometers.
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The UK is made up of four countries: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. GB consists of England, Scotland and Wales and doesn't include Northern Ireland. The capital of the UK is London.
The British Isles are separated from European continent by the North Sea and the English Channel. The western coast of GB is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea.
The surface of the British Isles varies very much. The north of Scotland is mountainous and is called the Highlands, while the south, which has beautiful valleys and plains, is called the Lowlands.
There are a lot of rivers in GB, but they are not very long. The Severn is the longest river, while the Thames is the deepest and the most important one.
The mountains, the Atlantic Ocean and the warm waters if Gulf Stream influence the climate of the British Isles. The weather in GB is very changeable. A fine morning can change into a wet afternoon and evening and the wrong side out. The English people say: "Other countries have a climate; in England we have weather." The English also say that they have three variants of weather: when it rains in the morning, when it rains in the afternoon or,when it rains all day long.
The weather is the favorite conversational topic in GB. After they greet each other they start talking the weather.
The best time of the year in GB is spring (of course, it rains in spring too). The two worst months in Britain are January and February. They are cold, damp and unpleasant. The best place in the world then is at home by the big fire. Summer months are rather cold and there can be a lot of rainy days. So most people who look forward to summer holidays, plan to go abroad for the summer.
The most unpleasant aspect of English weather is fog and smog. This is extremely bad in big cities especially in London. The fog spreads everywhere so cars move along slowly and people can't see each other. They try not to be run over by a car but still accidents are frequent in the fog
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LONDON - THE CAPITAL OF GREAT BRITAIN
When we think of Paris, Rome. Madrid, Lisbon and other European capitals, we think of them as "cities'. When we think of the whole of modern London, the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, that great area covering several hundred square kilometres, we do not think of it as 'a city. not even as a city and its suburbs. Modem London is not one city that has steadily become larger through the centuries; it is a number of cities. towns, and villages that have, during the past centuries, grown together to make one vast urban area.
London is situated upon both banks of the River Thames, it is the largest city in Britain and one of the largest in the world. Its population is about 7 million people.
London dominates the life of Britain. It is the chief port of the country and the most important commercial, manufacturing and cultural centre. There is little heavy industry in London, but there is a wide range of light industry in Greater London.
London consists of three parts: the City of London, the West End and the East End.
The City extends over an area of about 2.6 square kilometres in the heart of London. About half a million people work in the City but only less than 6000 live here. It is the financial centre of the UK with many banks, offices and Stock Exchange. But the City is also a market for goods of almost every kind, from all parts of the world.
The West End can be called the centre of Tendon. Here are the historical palaces as well as the famous parks. Hyde Park with its Speaker's Corner is also here. Among other parks are Kensington Gardens, St.James's Park. In the West End is Buckingham Palace. Which is the Queen's residence, and the Palace of Westminster which is the seat of Parliament.
The best-known streets here are Whitehall with important Government offices. Downing Street, the London residence of Prime Minister and the place where the Cabinet meets. Fleet Street where most newspapers have their offices, Harley Street where the highest paid doctors live, and some others.
Trafalgar Square is named so in commemoration of Nelson's great victory. In the middle stands the famous Nelson Column with the statue of Nelson 170 feet high so as to allow him a view of the sea. The column stands in the geographical centre of the city. It is one of the best open air platforms for public meetings and demonstrations.
One of the "musts" for the sightseer are the Houses of Parliament, facing the Thames, on one side, and Parliament Square and Westminster Abbey, on the other. The House of Commons sits to the side of the Clock Tower (Big Ben), the House of Lords - to the Victoria Tower side.
Westminster Abbey is the crowning and burial place of British monarchs. It has its world famed Poet's Corner with memorials to Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, the Bronte's sisters. Tennyson. Longfellow, Wordsworth, Burns, Dickens, Thackeray, Hardy, Kipling and other leading writers. Only a few however, are actually buried there.
Here too is that touching symbol of a nation's grief. The Grave of the Unknown Warrior.
The name "West End" came to be associated with wealth, luxury, and goods of high quality. It is the area of the largest department stores, cinemas and hotels. There are about 40 theatres, several concert halls, many museums including the British Museum, and the best art galleries.
It is in the West End where the University of London is centred with Bloomsbury as London's student quarter.
The Port of London is to the east of the City. Here. today are kilometres and kilometres of docks, and the great industrial areas that depend upon shipping. This is the East End of London, unattractive in appearance, but very important to the country's commerce.
In recent times London has grown so large. that the Government has decided that it must spread no farther. It is now surrounded by a "green belt" - a belt of agricultural and wooded land on which new buildings may be put up only with the permission of the planning authorities.
The British Parliament
The British Parliament is the oldest in the world. It originated in the12th century as Witenagemot, the body of wise councilors whom the King needed to consult pursuing his policy. The British Parliament consists of the House of Lords and the House of Commons and the Queen as its head. The House of Commons plays the major role in law-making. It consists of Members of Parliament (called MPs for short). Each of them represents an area in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. MPs are elected either at a general election or at a by-election following the death or retirement. Parliamentary elections are held every 5 years and it is the Prime Minister who decides on the exact day of the election. The minimum voting age is 18. And the voting is taken by secret ballot. The election campaign lasts about 3 weeks, The British parliamentary system depends on political parties. The party which wins the majority of seats forms the government and its leader usually becomes Prime Minister. The Prime Minister chooses about 20 MPs from his party to become the cabinet of ministers. Each minister is responsible for a particular area in the government. The second largest party becomes the official opposition with its own leader and "shadow cabinet". The leader of the opposition is a recognized post in the House of Commons. The parliament and the monarch have different roles in the government and they only meet together on symbolic occasions, such as coronation of a new monarch or the opening of the parliament. In reality, the House of Commons is the one of three which has true power. The House of Commons is made up of six hundred and fifty elected members, it is presided over by the speaker, a member acceptable to the whole house. MPs sit on two sides of the hall, one side for the governing party and the other for the opposition. The first 2 rows of seats are occupied by the leading members of both parties (called "front benches") The back benches belong to the rank-and-life MPs. Each session of the House of Commons lasts for 160-175 days. Parliament has intervals during his work. MPs are paid for their parliamentary work and have to attend the sittings. As mention above, the House of Commons plays the major role in law making. The procedure is the following: a proposed law ("a bill") has to go through three stages in order to become an act of parliament, these are called "readings". The first reading is a formality and is simply the publication of the proposal. The second reading involves debate on the principles of the bill, it is examination by parliamentary committee. And the third reading is a report stage, when the work of the committee is reported on to the house. This is usually the most important stage in the process. When the bill passes through the House of Commons, it is sent to the House of Lords for discussion, when the Lords agree it, the bill is taken to the Queen for royal assent, when the Queen sings the bill, it becomes act of the Parliament and the Law of the Land. The House of Lords has more than 1000 members, although only about 250 take an active part in the work in the house. Members of this Upper House are not elected, they sit there because of their rank, the chairman of the House of Lords is the Lord Chancellor. And he sits on a special seat, called "Woolsack" The members of the House of Lords debate the bill after it has been passed by the House of Commons. Some changes may be recommended and the agreement between the two houses is reached by negotiations.
The city of Orel
Orel is an ancient Russian town, one of the regional centres of the Russian Federation. It is in the centre of the European part of Russia. The city of Orel lies 382 km south of Moscow. Orel is more than 400 years old. Its population is now about 370.000.
Orel was founded in 1566 on the order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible as an outpost to protect the southern borders of the Russian State. In the course of its more than four hundred years Orel witnessed many historical events and figured in quite a few of them.
In the 17th century the army of Ivan Bolotnikov, the leader of the peasant revolt, passed through the town. The troops of the False Demitrius were stationed there, and in 1615 the Russian forces, led by Dmitry Pozharsky, routed the hordes of the Polish invaders at Orel. During the Civil War in Russia(1918-1922) Denikin's troops were routed on the fields around Orel.
The great battle on the Orel-Kursk front has gone into the chronicle of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union against the fascist Germany. Orel was occupied by the Nazi invaders from the 3rd of October, 1941 till the 5th of August, 1943. During the war the town was badly damaged. On the 5th of August, 1943 Orel was liberated by the Soviet Army. On that day a red flag was hoisted on one of the few multistoried buildings which remained intact(now it is 5, Peace Square) to mark the liberation of Orel from the Nazi invaders. The fact of its liberation was marked by the first artillery salute in Moscow in honour of the victory of the Soviet troops in the Battle of Orel and Kursk. Work to rebuild the town began immediately after its liberation.
Today Orel is a major industial and cultural centre. It has many joint-stock companies manufacturing instruments for science and industry, road-building machines, footwear, clothes, furniture,machines for light industry, building materials and so on.
Orel is the birthplace of Ivan Turgenev, the great Russian writer. Interlinked with the city is the life and creative work of many wonderful Russian writers and poets such as Nikolai Leskov and Leonid Andreyev, Ivan Bunin(the first to win the Nobel Prize among the Russian writers) and Mikhail Prishvin, Fyodor Tyutchev and Afanasy Fet, etc.
Among points of interest in the city are the Turgenev Literary Museum, the Leskov House-Museum, the Museum of Orel writers, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of Regional Studies, the House-Museum of N.A.Rusanov, one of the oldest theatres in Russia. It was founded on the 8th of October, 1815.
Now there are some higher schools and technical secondary schools, colleges and many secondary schools in our city, for example Orel State Technical University, Orel State University, Agrarian University, Institute of Culture and Arts, Commercial Institute.
The most popular kinds of sports in Orel are skiing, skating, cycle racing, gliding, fooball, gymnastics, acrobatics, horse racing and touring.
Orel is a very green city and there are many forests around it. Our city has the proud name “eagle” in English.
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