9. London

London is the capital of Great Britain. London is a very old town. London is two thousand years old. Many years ago, London was a small town on the Thames. There were a lot of villages round it. After many years, London and three hundred villages grew into a very large city. Some of the names of those villages are the names of the streets in modern London-Kensington, Westminster. Now London is a beautiful city with large squares and parks. The city of London is the business centre. East End includes the poor districts. West of London is the West End where rich people live.

Trafalgar Square is in the centre of the West End of London. In the centre of Trafalgar Square there is the column made of granite. On the top of the column there is a 17-feet-tall statue of Admiral Nelson who defeated the French at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1809. The total high of the monument is 184 feet (44 meters). On the pedestal is a bronze relief cast from a captured French cannon, representing Nelson’s victory. On the North side of Trafalgar Square is the National Gallery. The National Gallery has one of the finest collections of pictures in the world. Trafalgar Square is one of the busiest place in London, where people go to and from the work; it is hard to cross the street.

10. The USA

The United States of America (the USA) is one of the greatest countries in the world. It is situated on the North America continent and is washed by two oceans: the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. The USA boarders with Canada in the North and Mexico in the South.

This great country has a lot of mountains, rivers and lakes. The main mountains of the USA are the Appalachian Mountains and the Cordilleras. Among the longest rivers, there are the Mississippi, the Missouri, the Ohio, the Columbia and the Colorado.

The climate of the country is different in different parts of the country. In the southern part, it is subtropical and continental and in the North, it is arctic with very cold weather in winter.

America has fifty states and one independent District of Columbia where the capital of the country is situated. The capital of the USA is Washington D. C. It stands on the Potomac River in the eastern part of the country.

The main cities of this country are located at the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. New-York is the largest city of the country in population. Other large cities are Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Atlanta.

The USA is a country with a highly developed economy, good industry and agriculture. The main industrial centres are Chicago and Detroit, with their greatest automobile company " General Motors". There are many farms in the USA (in Texas for example) with various agricultural products like grains, fruit and vegetables. Numerous fields are located especially in the South.

The USA is a country with many interesting customs, traditions and holidays. It is one of the most beautiful and interesting countries in the world.

11. Sydney Opera House was opened in 1973. Since then it has appeared on T-shirts, postcards, in books, on travel programmers and in millions of photo albums. Thanks to its unique shape, Sydney Opera House is one of the most photographed buildings in the world! The building was built by a Danish architect called John Utzon. Utzon gave the building its unusual look by creating a roof which looked like palm tree fronds. Work first started on the Opera House in 1957. The Australian government gave Utzon $7 million and just four years to finish it.

Unfortunately, there were lots of delays as well as money problems, so the Opera House was not actually finished until 1973. By then the total cost of the building was over $100 million!

Today the Opera House is one of the busiest performing arts centers in the world. It has around 3, 000 events every year, which are watched by over two million people. There are five main concert halls used for a wide variety of performances including classical, opera, pop and jazz. Artists as different as Pavarotti and the pop group INXS have performed there, and the largest hall can seat 2, 679 people.

If you want to see a concert however, you will need to book in advance - the best seats are hard to get and they are very expensive! But whether you go to a concert or not, a visit to Sydney would not be complete without a trip to the Sydney Opera House.

12. Canada is the second largest country in the world. Only Russia has a greater land area. Canada is situated in North America. Canada is a federation of 10 provinces and 2 territories. Canada is slightly larger than the United States; about 28 million of people live in Canada. About 80% of the population live within 320 km of the southern border. Much of the rest of Canada is uninhabited or thinly populated because of severe natural conditions. Canada's people are varied. About 57% of all Canadians have some English ancestry and about 32% have some French ancestry. Native people – American Indians and Eskimos – make up about 2% of the country's population. 77 % of Canada's people live in cites or towns.

Ottawa is the capital of Canada. One third of its people are French speaking. Ottawa is the capital of Canada and is located on the banks of the Ottawa, Rideau and Gatineau rivers. Canada’s fourth-largest city is a complementary blend of urban and rural lifestyles, old and new neighborhoods, culture and heritage, business and government. Ottawa also has a high standard of living reflected in a multitude of accessible services, vibrant entertainment, exciting recreational activities, and thriving businesses.

Canada's Great Lakes are some of the largest and most beautiful in the world. The alpine towns sprinkled along the Rockies on the Alberta side are an unspoiled mountain playground where each season has its own unique beauty and selection of activities.

13. There are many beautiful and wonderful places. Each of them has its own charm, be it a desert island, a hot desert or cold North. Every summer my parents and I go out somewhere to relax. I have been to the Black Sea, Montenegro and Abkhazia. But my dream is to go to Greece. I think that this is one the most beautiful countries in the world. I love reading the Greek myths, and so my dream is to be there. A warm gentle sea, white sand, attractions, a world-famous Sirtaki dance, olives - all of these I dream to see and try.

Greece is famous for ancient monuments of architecture, art and culture. In addition, I am interested to see the foreigners in another country, how they act, how they talk. When I go to Greece, I will take the camera with me to take lots of pictures on the background of amazing sights. Then I will review them and remember the most pleasant moments of the vacation. Any travel, even just to the next town, is always a storm of positive emotions and impressions of new friends. I like to travel to different places, to sightsee other cities, even just look out of the window on the way. (Alina)

14. My class was taken on an excursion last month. A bus was arranged. We sat in it and it took us to all the places we had to see. We were all very happy. We sang on our way and the bus speeded through various towns and villages. We were going to Agra from Delhi. The bus stopped on the way at a restaurant. We all got off the bus to have some refreshment. Soon we reached Agra. We formed a line and entered the guesthouse where our stay had been arranged. We were to see Fatehpur Sikri and the Taj Mahal and leave for Delhi the following day. We left our luggage in the guesthouse, freshened up and were on our way to see the Taj Mahal.

When I first set my eyes on the Taj Mahal, I was speechless It is rightly called one of the wonders of the world. A white marble dream was before our eyes. Many students began to click cameras. I took a closer look at the work done on the marble Inlay work which is a special feature with the artisans of Agra was visible on the walls of the Taj Mahal. We sat down over the grass and played some games. All this time we had the beautiful Taj in view. Time and again would look up to glance at it. I could not resist walking around it several times It took me long to thoroughly absorb the beauty of this masterpiece. (Anuj)

15. The Chernobyl disaster was a catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April

1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. From 1986 to 2000, 350, 400 people

were evacuated and resettled from the most severely contaminated areas of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. 50 emergency workers died of acute radiation syndrome, nine children died of thyroid cancer and there are about 3940 deaths from radiation-induced cancer and leukemia. Other health problems linked with the Chernobyl disaster include Down syndrome, congenital malformations.

Chernobyl after the disaster

The damaged reactor was sealed off and 200 cubic meters of concrete was placed between the

disaster site and the operational buildings. The Ukrainian government continued to let the three

remaining reactors operate because of an energy shortage in the country.

An area extending 19 miles (31 km) in all directions from the plant is known as the " zone

of alienation. " It is largely uninhabited, except for a few residents who have refused to leave. The

area has largely reverted to forest. Even today, radiation levels are so high that the workers

responsible for rebuilding the sarcophagus are only allowed to work five hours a day for one

month before taking 15 days of rest. Ukrainian officials estimate the area will not be safe for

human life again for another 20, 000 years. In 2011, Ukraine opened up the sealed zone around

the Chernobyl reactor to tourists who wish to learn more about the tragedy that occurred in 1986.

16. It’s difficult to overestimate the role of science and technology in our life. They accelerate the development of civilization and help us in our co-operation with nature. Scientists investigate the laws of the universe, discover the secrets of nature, and apply their knowledge in practice improving the life of people. Let us compare our life nowadays with the life of people at the beginning of the 20th century. It has changed beyond recognition. Our ancestors had not the slightest idea of the trivial things created by the scientific progress that we use in our everyday life.

I mean refrigerators, TV sets, computers, microwave ovens, radiotelephones, what not. They would seem miracle to them that made our life easy, comfortable and pleasant. On the other hand, the great inventions of the beginning of the 20th century, I mean radio, airplanes, combustion and jet engines have become usual things and we cannot imagine our life without them. A century is a long period for scientific and technological progress, as it is rather rapid. Millions of investigations, the endless number of outstanding discoveries have been made. Our century has had several names that were connected with a certain era in science and technology. At first it was called the atomic age due to the discovery of the splitting of the atom.

17. Hygiene of the body includes a lot of the methods by which we maintain (keep) good health. Hygiene involves a great many aspects of living. They are ventilation, heating, lighting, possible contacts with industrial hazards, bacterial control of foods, the source of water supply, exposure to infectious diseases. All these aspects influence the people’s health. The care of mouth, teeth and gums is part of the hygiene of the digestive tract. The teeth should be brushed once a day. Children should be taught to do it properly.

It is necessary to visit a dentist once a year to prevent the diseases of the oral cavity.
Care of skin is of great importance to personal hygiene. The skin is more than just a protective coat of body. It is wonderful in many ways. It can stretch and fold. It has coloring matter called pigment. Pigment helps to protect the skin from the sun. The skin has a thin layer of oil. Oil glands send oil to the skin surface to make it «waterproof». There are sweat glands in the skin. The sweat moves out of the skin through pores. The sweat evaporates and body cools.

18. Our health depends on our eating. Food provides us with the energy that we spend with physical exertion. Update and development of the organism at the cellular level directly depends on the products that we use. The body needs to receive a sufficient number of nutrients every day: proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, trace elements. Proper nutrition is a mandatory point of a healthy lifestyle and a guarantee of stable functioning of the body as a whole.

Everyday diet should be diverse and full. Freshness of products is very important. It is necessary to monitor the volume of food intake. Each person's portion varies, depending on age, health status, gender, and equipment. Cereals, fruits and vegetables, fish, meat, eggs, dairy products, nuts, salt, sugar, fat, should be present in the diet. A balanced diet should become a way of life. You should refuse to give up snacks and fast food. Thoroughly chew food, do not swallow large chunks. It is strictly forbidden to drink food with water. You can eat everything, but in moderation. Overeating and incompatibility of products leads to a disruption of metabolism, diabetes and obesity. It is very appropriate to say Socrates: " We do not live in order to eat, but eat in order to live. "

19. Today healthy lifestyle is becoming more and more popular both with the old and with the young. People have become more health-conscious. They say that the greatest wealth is health. And it’s so true. The healthier we are, the better we feel. The better we feel, the longer we live. A healthy diet is an essential part of staying healthy. We know that we should not stuff ourselves with fast food, sweets, sausages, pastry and fat food. Due to medical research, this type of food shortens our life; it leads to obesity, heart and blood vessels diseases, diabetes, gastric problems and lots of other serious ailments. To prevent all these problems we should enjoy well-balanced homemade meals with a lot of organic fruits, vegetables, dairy products, grains and seafood. We are what we eat.

Keeping fit and going in for sports is also important for our health. Lack of exercise in our life is a serious problem. In big cities people spend hours sitting in front of computers, TV-sets and other gadgets. We walk less because we mainly use cars and public transport. We certainly do not have to be professional sportsmen, but we should visit fitness clubs, go jogging, walk much, swim, and go cycling or roller-skating or just dance. Doctors say that regular moderate physical activity is necessary for our body because it protects us from strokes and heart diseases, flue and obesity.

20. Cigarettes, alcohol and drugs can ruin someone’s life. For example, smoking damages lungs and causes cancer. By the way, it is the number one killer in many countries today. About 90% of lung cancer patients developed their disease because of smoking. Chain smokers are also susceptible to heart diseases and strokes. Passive smoking is very harmful for surrounding people as well, especially for children and pregnant women. As for drinking alcohol, it can ruin your liver and kidney. Besides, very drunk people and drug addicts become aggressive and violent. They can easily commit a crime under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Drunk driving is the main reason for car accident deaths in our world. Most bad habits have a great impact on people’s social life and their jobs.

Breaking the bad habits is the hardest thing to do. So it’s better not to start or try them at all. Scientists and doctors state that the way you treat your body in the first half of your life will affect how healthy you are in the second half of it. That’s why we should have only good and healthy habits. Our world would be a better place without cigarettes and drugs.

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