CLIMATE
Climate is the weather a
certain place has over a long period of time. Climate influences plants, animals and humans and is different in
different parts of the world.
Recently the climate has
changed a lot. Some scientists think the world is becoming hotter. Many people
say that it is because of the greenhouse effect. Sunlight gives us heat. Some
of the heat warms the atmosphere, and some of the heat goes back into space. But
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere works like glass in a greenhouse: it lets
heat get in, but it doesn’t let much heat get out. So the atmosphere becomes
warmer.
Сarbon dioxide comes from people and animals when they breathe. We
also produce carbon dioxide when we burn things. Trees take that gas from the
air, and produce oxygen. But people cut down a lot of trees so fewer trees
produce oxygen.
Changes in climate can be
dangerous for our planet. Our planet needs protection.
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This Fragile Planet
The world environment means what is around us. The air we breathe, the soil
on which we stand and walk, the water we drink are all part of the environment.Unfortunately
there a lot of environmental problems nowadays. The most serious of them are:
- Water, air and nuclear pollution;
- Noise from cars, buses, planes and other
transports;
- Destruction of wildlife and countryside beauty;
- Shortage
of natural resources;
- The growth of population.
First of all I’d like to say
some words about water pollution. Most seas, oceans, rivers and lakes are used
for dumping industrial and nuclear waste. Britain alone dumps about 250 000
tons of industrial waste into the North Sea. This poisons and kills fish and
sea animals and of course it’s dangerous for people.
Air pollution is also a very
serious problem, because it causes other important problems such as acid rains
(кислотные дожди), ozone depletion (истощение), the
greenhouse effect and as a result global warming.
Nuclear pollution cannot be
seen but it’s not less dangerous than other forms of pollution. It causes
different terrible diseases.
Both
clean air and clean water are necessary for our health and for health of
animals. To make air clean again we need good filters at nuclear power
stations, at factories, plants and also in cars and buses. If people want to survive they must solve
these problems quickly. Our environment is not just our towns or countries but
the whole earth. That’s why people all over the world think and speak so much
about ecology.
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England
The United Kingdom is very
small compared with other countries in the world, however its capital London is the world’s seventh biggest city. In Great Britain you can find practically any type of scenery: lowlands and highlands, forests and hills, green fields,
hedges and trees.
England is divided into 5
regions : the Southeast, the Southwest, East Anglia, the Midlands and the North
of England.
The Southeast is
a highly populated region; there is a lot of industry, roads and motorways.
London, the capital of the UK and historical cities Windsor, Dover and Brighton
are situated here. The County of Kent situated here is also known as the garden
of England. The Southeast is famous for its resorts. Brighton is the best known
of them.
The Southwest is a farming region. The main activity here is
producing dairy products. The Southwest used to be known for its pirates and it
makes it attractive for artists, writers and holidaymakers. The principal
cities of the region are Bristol and Bath. You can visit the famous Stonehenge
here. The most westerly point of Great Britain “Land’s End” is also in the
Southwest.
East Anglia is flat and it’s
another farming region. It used to be covered by the sea and produces now good
harvests. It has beautiful cities, such as Cambridge, with fine historic
buildings. East Anglia is isolated because of its shape: it’s more than half
surrounded by the sea.
The Midlands is the heart of England and the largest
industrial part of the country. The industrial cities are Manchester,
Sheffield, Liverpool and Birmingham. The two famous Midlands cities
Stratford-upon-Avon and Oxford are connected with English culture:
Stratford-upon-Avon is the birthplace of the great William Shakespeare and
Oxford is famous for its university.
The North of England has deep valleys, rivers and
waterfalls, hills and mountains. This part is rich in coal so there are
industrial cities like York and Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Many tourists come to see
the ruins of Hadrian’s wall built across the North of England to defend Roman
Britain from the Scottish tribes.
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TheUS
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Royal
London
Many places in London are closely connected
with the Crown. There are royal palaces, royal parks, roads and streets. The
most important building is Buckingham Palace which is the official residence of
Queen Elizabeth II. There are 10 royal parks in and around London.
In the history of England there were kings
and queens who are famous all over the world. One of them is King Henry VIII.
Under him Britain became independent of Roman Catholic Church, it got richer
and more powerful.
Henry’s daughter, Elizabeth, was another
important monarch. During her reign England became a very important country in
Europe, the Spanish Armada was defeated, arts, especially theatre, developed, the country became very powerful.
Queen Victoria was another strong queen.
She reigned for 64 years. She married a German, Prince Albert. They had 9
children. But unfortunately Prince Albert died at the age of 42. There are
places in London that remind us of their love. They are the Royal Albert Hall
and the Victoria and Albert Museum. which has rich collections of paintings and
other works of art.
Queen Victoria’s
great-great-granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II,
is on the British throne now.
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Shakespeare
William Shakespeare is the greatest of
all playwrights and poets of all times.
Unfortunately we don’t know much about
him. Shakespeare was born on the 23rd of April in 1564 in
Stratford-upon-Avon. His father was a glove-maker. William went to a grammar
school in Stratford and had a good education there. At the age of 18
Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway. They had three children. In 1584 Shakespeare
went to London. There he began to act and write plays and soon became an
important member of a well-known acting company. Most of his plays were
performed in the new Globe Theatre. In 1613 he stopped writing and went to live
in Stratford where he died in 1616.
Shakespeare wrote historical plays,
comedies and tragedies. Among the most famous plays are “Romeo and Juliet”,
“Hamlet”, “Macbeth” and “Othello”.
Shakespeare wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets.
Four hundred years later his plays are
acted and his sonnets are recited all over the world.
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Scotland
Scotland is a country in the United
Kingdom situated to the north of England. Its symbol is a thistle; its patron
saint is St. Andrew. Scotland is divided into Highlands and Lowlands.
Its capital is Edinburgh. It is an ancient
city. It is divided into the New Town and the Old Town.
You can see the Castle and the Holyrood
Palace in the Old Town. The Castle attracts a lot of tourists. Holyrood
Palace is the residence of the Queen when she is in Edinburgh. One of the most modest but the most famous
monuments in Edinburgh is a monument to a dog Bobby. Bobby lived near his
master’s grave for 14 years. This monument is a symbol of devotion.
You can visit Edinburgh military tattoo.
It is a military show that takes place every August and September.
The most beautiful street in the New
Town is Princess Street. It is the main shopping centre in the city. You
can see a monument to the famous writer Sir Walter Scott in Princess
Street.
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Wales
Wales is a country situated in the
West of Britain. It is a part of the United Kingdom. St. David is the patron
saint of Wales. Its symbol is a daffodil.
The population of Wales is about three million people. Wales is an agricultural
country. There are few big cities there. Cardiff, Newport and Swansea are among
them. Cardiff is the capital of Wales. It is an industrial city, which has a
cathedral, a university, a Roman castle and a modern shopping centre.
There are two official languages in Wales –
Welsh and English, both of which are taught in schools. Welsh is a Celtic
language. It is very difficult because it has musical intonation and difficult
sounds.
The west coast,
mid Wales and North Wales are wild and beautiful. Wales has a lot of high
mountains. The highest mountain is Snowdon. There are also a lot of beautiful
lakes in the country. Wales’s picturesque landscapes attract tourists from all
over the world.
Country and people (The USA)
There are fifty states in the
United States of America. Two of these states, Alaska and Hawaii, are not
connected to the other states. The US is washed by the Pacific Ocean in the
west, by the Atlantic Ocean in the east, by the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of
Mexico in the south. In the north are Great Lakes.
The US is a large country with
many natural wonders. The US has almost every kind of weather. It has many
kinds of land as well. (также)
More than 250 million people
live in the US. There are a lot of parks, forests and wildlands where you can
enjoy the beauty and power of wild America. The Grand Canyon, Yosemite Valley,
and Yellowstone are among the most famous.
The biggest rivers are the
Mississippi , the Colorado and the Missouri. The biggest mountain chains are the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachians.
The Grand Canyon is one of
America’s main tourist attractions. The canyon is one mile deep and 200 miles (320 km ) long. There are
different kinds of plants and animals on opposite sides of the canyon. The
south side is dry and desert country. The north side has tall forests.
The United States is a young
country. Its written history is only a few hundred years old. It is sometimes called
the “New World”.
The people of the United States are a
mixture of many different nationalities. The United States is a big melting pot
of countries. In the past, people from many different European countries came
to the US and made one country out of many.
These different people brought
to their new land a wonderful mixture of customs and traditions. The Germans
brought Christmas tree. The Irish brought St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. The
Scots brought Halloween.
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The
The US
The first
branch on the tree of government is the Congress. The Congress is a meeting of
representatives from all states. The people elect those representatives. The
Congress makes the laws that everybody must obey. The Congress meets in the US
Capitol in Washington, D. C. The Congress is divided into two parts, the Senate
and the House of Representatives. People in Senate are called senators. There
is one hundred senators in Senate. A
senator’s term is six years. Each state also sends people to the House of Representatives.
They are called congressmen and congresswomen. The larger states have more
congressmen than the smaller states. There are 435 congressmen in the House of
Representatives. A representative’s term is two years.
The second
branch of government is the President and his helpers. They carry out the laws
that the Congress makes. The President signs bills and then they become law.
The Vice President and the members of the Cabinet help the President to make
decisions. They meet at the White House. The US
The third
branch of government is the Supreme Court. It is made up of nine judges. They
have to make sure that the President and the Congress follow the Constitution.
The judges work in the Supreme Court as long as they live.
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Two American Presidents
Australia
Australia is the
smallest continent and an independent country.It is washed by Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. Its
population is about 18 million people. The center of the continent is dry and uninhabited. There are three deserts
there – the Great Sandy Desert, the Great Victoria Desert and the Gibson
Desert. Australia is
divided into six states and two territories.
New South Wales
is an industrial state. Sydney, the largest city in Australia, is situated
there.
In Victoria sheep
and wheat, citrus fruits, grapes and peaches are the main products.
Queensland has long
beautiful beaches. Its coast is a popular place for holidaymakers.
The state of Western
Australia is dry and inhospitable.
In South Australia people grow wheat and fruit.
Tasmania, the
island state, has enough rain so it is Australia’s leading producer of apples,
pears, berries and potatoes.
Northern
Territory is the least populated and least developed part of Australia. The
capital of Australia is Canberra. It is situated on the Australian Capital
Territory (ACT).
Sometimes Australia is called “the upside down
world”. Winter comes in July and summer begins in December.
It is interesting to notice that though most of
the territory is too dry or too hot Australia has an extraordinary collection
of birds and animals. Many of them are found only there.
Australia is the home of two of the world’s most
primitive mammals – the duckbill or platypus and the echidna or spiny anteater.
They are the only mammals that lay eggs.
The kangaroo is perhaps the best known of
Australia’s animals. There are more than 40 different kinds of kangaroos in
Australia, in many different colours and sizes of a large dog. Among other
animals found in Australia is the dingo, a wild dog.
The emu, Australia’s largest bird is also one of
the largest in the world. Another curious bird is the kookaburra that is often
called the “laughing jackass”. Other Australian birds are graceful lyrebirds.
No
matter how far from Europe Australia is, many people who are fond of travelling
would like to visit this land because it is an extraordinary place!
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