Participants of the Beatles: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were all born in Liverpool and started the group there in 1959. Lennon and McCartney had played together in a group called “The Quarrymen” with Harrison their own group “The Silver Beatles” in 1959 and Starr joined them in 1962. They first played at a night club called the “Cavern” and then traveled around the world.

Their early music was influenced by the American rock singers. But they infused an accustomed musical form with freshness, vitality and wit.

The release of “I want to Hold your hand” in 1964 marked the beginning of the phenomenon known as “Beatle mania” in the USA. Their records sold in millions.

Experimenting with new musical forms the produced an extraordinary variety of songs. The group disbanded in 1970 after the release of their final album “Let it Be”. Each to pursue individual careers.

Paul McCartney is now the richest musician in the world. Many tourists visit Liverpool to see the homes of the Beatles.

13. Freedom of choice

Perhaps no issue is discussed more often than the right and freedoms of the individual - how far should the state decide what is best for us and how far should we have the right to control our own lives? Even in countries where social and political values are very similar, the laws about some of the world's most controversial issues can be very different.

Freedom of choice is one of the achievements of the democratic society.

In democratic countries the law is beyond criticism. For example in the Netherlands the law allows doctors to help terminally ill patients to die if the patient states repeatedly that this is their wish and in the Netherlands, people are allowed to carry small amounts of soft drugs such as cannabis for their own personal use.

In principle young people are free to choose any education they want. A person is free to choose whom to be friends with, but one has no right to impose his opinion on other.

In two words democracy means you can do practically everything you like unless it interferes with the interests of other people.

14. TRADITIONS & CUSTOMS OF GREAT BRITIAN

Every nation and every country has its own customs and traditions.In Britian traditions play more importaint part in the life of the people than in some other countries. Englishmen are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up. It has been the law for about three hundred years that all the theatres are closed on Sundays no letters are delivered only a few Sunday papers are publshed. To this day English families prefer cotage houses with gardens to flats in a modern house with central heeting. English people like gardens. Sometimes the garden in front of the house is a little square covered with cement painted green (in imitation of grass) and a box of flowers. In English houses the fire-place has always been the centre of interest in a room. For many months of the year people like to sit round the fire and watch the dancing flames. Fire places are decorated with woodworks, there is a painting or a mirror over it. Above the fire there is usually a shelf with a clock and some photographs. Holydays are especially rich in old traditions and are different in cotland, Wales and England. Christmas is a great english national holyday and in Scotland it is not kept at all exeept by clerks in banks, all the shops and factories are working. But 6 days later on the New Year's Eve the

Scots begin to enjoy themselves. People invite their friends to their houses and sit the old year out and the new year in. In England on new Year's Eve a lot of people go to Trafalgar Square, at midnight, they all cross their arms join hands and sing. People have parties too, they drink toarts to the New Year Children are happy to have presents.

Four times a year the offices and banks in Britain are closed on Monday. These public holidays are known as Bank Holidays. The British like to spend holidays out of the town in the open air. They go to the sea-side or to amusements parks. Londoners often visit the Zoo, outside London they take their families to Hamsted Heath ['hнmstid'hi@] a large natural park too. There is usually a big fair with many different amusements for children merry-go-round, swings puppet shows, bright baloons.

One must also speak about such holidays ass All Fools Day, Hallowe'en Bonfire Night, St.Valentines Day and such tradition as Eisteddfod (a festival of which culture).

15. SCIENCE IN OUR LIFE

Today we see the world in which social, industrial and political order has been greatly influenced by science. The development of science has increased man's know-ledge of nature. Modern experimental science began about 400 year ago. Man learned to use the energy of fire water. Later man made steaw serve him. Nowdays man uses thermonuclear energy and that of autimatter. I'd like to dwell on electronics as not a day passes without the apearance of a new eletronic device. The first great progress in electronics came with the invention of the vacuum tube or valve in 1904.it made broadcasting possible. the development of electronics during World War II gave us radars and electronic computers. The first general purpose computer for scientific use was invented in 1949.Today computers have become common they can do fantastic things. Computer can conduct experiments in places which are too dangerous for people. Some computers are used in carves and mines to replace workers. Besides they can be designed for special purposes. They can solve mathematical problems, make bank aubuts, play chess. New supercomputers solve problems in many branches of industry, science and culture. They are videly used in submarine navigation and in modern hospital. Now much is being done to create artifical intellect. Science has brought in to being a new atomic technologies. Elektric enginearing and radio enginearin have been created in the some way.

Science and technology have acheeved great progress in spase research. There have been space flights, the launching of interplanetary stations in the direction of Mars, Radar contacts with the planets Mercury and Venus. Science enters own flats. Many people have already forgotten what the world was like before television.several generations of children have grown up with TV as a baby-sitter,teacher and companion. A lot of kitchens in our flats are so well equipped that they look like a control room. We are so used to all these that we can't (emmigenc) our life without science.

16. Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln is the most famous example of the “American dream”. Many Americans think that in their country a man may rise from the lowest to the highest position in the ireland. That was exactly what Lincoln did. He was born in 1809 in a small farm in Kentucky. When Abraham was quite young, the family moved to the wild forest land of Indiana. He hardly had any education; he only learned to read and write and do simple arithmetic. In 1830 Abraham left his father's farm and went to Springfield, Illinois. There he became a clerk in a store and worked hard to improve his education. In 1836 he became a lawyer.

He entered politics, too, and in 1834 became a candidate to the Parliament of Illinois. He soon became a force in the political life. In 1847 he went as a Congressman to the National Assembly (National Parliament).

Slavery was then becoming a burning questions American politics. Many people in the Northern states wanted to abolish it, the Southern states opposed the abolition. The Southerners said that it would mean economic ruin for them. The reason was that the prosperity of the South was based on cotton-growing, and only Negroes worked there. The Southerners threatened that if the North didn't cease its fight against slavery, the Southern states would leave the Union. They wanted to form an independent «confederacy». In 1860 Lincoln was elected President of the USA. In 1861 seven states left the Union and elected their own President, Jefferson Davis. The Confederacy was formed.

Lincoln was strongly against slavery and even more strongly against the break-up of the Union. In 1862 the American Civil War between the North and the South began. At first the war went badly for the North. The Southerners headed by General Robert Lee and Colonel Jackson won some brilliant victories. But Lincoln did not lose courage. On April, 9 General Lee surrendered. The Civil War was over. Lincoln tried to convince former enemies that they should live in peace.

On April, 14 the President and his wife visited a theatre in Washington. During the performance Lincoln was shot by an actor who supported Confederacy. Abraham Lincoln died next morning. People admire Lincoln for political moderation. They admire him because he tried to preserve the nation. He is a symbol of American democracy.

17. Peter the Great

Peter 1, or Peter the Great was one of the most outstanding rulers and reformers in Russian history. He was Tsar of Russia and became Emperor in 1721. First he ruled together with his brother, Ivan, and his sister, Sofya. In 1696 he became a sole ruler. He was a healthy, lively and clever child. He loved military games and enjoyed carpentry, blacksmithing and printing. At the age of 17 he was married. Peter I is famous for drawing Russia further to the Cast. He also transferred the capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Peter travelled much in Western Europe and tried to carry western customs and habits to Russia. He introduced western technology. He completely changed the Russian government and military system: he increased the power of the monarch and reduced the power of the boyars and the church. In foreign policy. Peter I waged a war with Turkey ( 1695-1696) and the Great Nothern War with Sweden ( 1700-1721), and a war with Persia (1722-1723). In these wars, he wanted to get access to the Baltic, Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. He managed to get the shores of the Baltic Sea and and the Caspian Sea. Peter I played a great part in Russian history. After his death, Russia was much more secure and progressive than it had been before his reign.

18. Pushkin

Pushkin is the most important Russian writer of all time, like Shakespeare in England or Dante in Italy. Pushkin provided the standards for Russian arts and literature in the 19th century. Pushkin was born in Moscow in 1799 into an upper-class family. In 1811 he entered a lyceum at Tsarskoye Solo. The education offered at the lyceum shaped Pushkin's life. He graduated from the lyceum in 1817 and began to work in the foreign office in St. Petersburg. In 1820 the foreign office transferred Pushkin to Ekaterinoslav, and later to Odessa for writing anti-tsarist poetry. In 1824, for his letters against the tsar, he was exiled to Mikhailovskoye. In 1824, Tsar Nicholas I allowed Pushkin to return to Moscow. Pushkin felt in love with Natalya Goncharova,-who was lfrthen, and in 1830 they got married. His wife was suspected of an affair with Baron Georges d'Antes; this became the subject of gossip. Pushkin challenged d'Antes to a duel. Pushkin was wounded and died two days later. Pushkin was Russia's greatest poet. In his works he was first influenced by 18th century poets, and then by Lord Byron. Finally he developed bis own style, which was realistic but classical in form. His earliest long poem was romantic «Ruslan and Lyudmila» (1818-1820). А series of verse tales followed- «The Prisoner of the Caucasus», «The Robber Brothers», «The Fountain ofBakhchisarai», and «The Gypsies». They were inspired by Syren's poetry. In 1823 Pushkin began writing his masterpiece «Eugene Onegin», a novel in verse. «Eugen Onegin» became the linguistic and literary standard. It is a commentary on the life of the early I 9th century Russia. It is noted for brilliant verse. He also wrote other long poems, including «Bronze Horseman» (1833), the finest collection of lyrics in Russian literature. Pushkin created also a number of masterpieces in drama and prose. «Little Tragedies» and «The Stone Guest» are among the best works in the world history of drama. Pushkin's love to Russia's past resulted in his historical drama, «Boris Godunov» (1825). «Tales of the Late l.P.Belkin», «Dubrovsky», «The Captain's Daughter» are the most important of his prose works. Pushkin's use of Russian influenced the of great Russian writers Turgenev, Goncharov, Tolstoy. Pushkin's early death shocked the country. Pushkin, called by many «the sun of Russian literature», belongs among the foremost poets and writers of the world.

19. Russia

Russia is one of the largest countries in the world. The vast territory of Russia lies in the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia. Russia is washed by twelve seas and three oceans. The oceans are: the Arctic, the Atlantic, the Pacific. The seas are: the White Sea, the Barents Sea, the Okhotsk Sea, the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea and others. Russia borders on many countries, such as Mongolia and China in the south-east, Finland and Norway in the north-west, and so on. The land of Russia varies very much from forests to deserts, from high mountains to deep valleys. The main mountain cbains are the Urals, the Caucasus and the Altai. There are a lot of great rivers and deep lakes on its territory. The longest rivers are the Volga in Europe and the Ob, the Yenisei and the Lena in Asia. The largest lakes are Ladoga and Baikal. Baikal is the deepest lake in the world and its water is the purest on earth. The Russian Federation is rich in natural and mineral resources. It has deposits of oil, gas, coal, iron, gold and many others. The current population of Russia is more than 150 million people. The European part of the country is densely peopled, and most population live in cities and towns and their outskirts.

The capital of Russian Federation is Moscow, with the population of about 10 million people. Russia is a presidedtial republic. It is one of the leading powers in the world.

20. Health

People nowadays are more health-conscious than they used to be. They understand that good health is above wealth.

To be healthy we should avoid different bad habits that can affect our health. In my opinion, smoking and drinking too much alcohol, are the worst ones. It's common knowledge that smoking and drinking can shorten our lives dramatically. Smoking, for example, causes a number of heart and lung diseases, such as pneumonia, emphysema and cancer. Besides, it makes your teeth yellow and skin unhealthy. Fortunately, in recent years smoking has received a lot of bad publicity, and fewer people smoke nowadays. Some companies don't employ people who are smokers. Smoking has been banned in most public places because everyone agrees it does harm to our health. I don't smoke, because I don't want to have unhealthy skin and teeth and die young.

Smoking and drinking are joined by less dangerous habits, such as skipping meals, eating unhealthy food, or even overeating. Of course, they are not quite as deadly as smoking or drinking alcohol, but they also affect our health.

If we eat too much, we'll become obese, and obesity leads to serious health problems. A lot of people like drinking coca cola and coffee, and enjoy pizzas and hamburgers. But what is tasty is not always healthy. Fast food makes you fat, that's why Americans are the fattest people in the world.

In recent years eating habits have undergone a change. People are encouraged to eat less fat and more fibre. Fat is believed to be one of the major causes of obesity and heart disease. High fibre and low fat foods can now be found in all shops and supermarkets. Salads, beans, and fruit have taken the place of steak and ice cream. The fashion for health food is growing all the time.

Many people feel they are too fat, even if their doctors disagree. And a lot of people try to improve their fitness. There are a lot of ways to lose weight and avoid gaining it. Perhaps the most popular of them is following a diet. If you want to lose weight, you should cut out snacks and desserts, and cut down on fat. People have also become more aware of calories, the energy value of food. Some people count the number of calories they eat every day; so that they can try to take in fewer calories and lose weight. This is called a calorie-controlled diet. Manufacturers are increasingly producing special foods with fewer calories for slimmers.

But excessive dieting may be dangerous, too. Some people refuse to eat meat as they consider it harmful. They say a vegetarian diet reduces the risk of cancer and vegetarians live longer than others. I can't agree with them, because meat is an excellent source of good nutrition. In my opinion, it's wrong to put down a food simply because excessive amounts can cause health problems. Consumed in moderate amounts, meat is perfectly good for our health.

To my mind, the only way to stay healthy and to keep fit is by going in for sports. Among the benefits of regular exercise are a healthier heart, stronger bones, quicker reaction times and more resistance to various illnesses. Besides, you can eat and drink as much as you want because you are burning it all off.

To be healthy, it is also very important to spend a lot of time in the open air. It is useful to go for a walk before going to bed, or to air the room.

I think it is very important to be fit and healthy, and it is necessary to take care of your health. Being fat, in fact, can cause real problems. It is harder for fat people to get a good job, or even to make friends. If you want to do well, you must be thin. That's why I go in for sports on a regular basis. I have been doing aerobics for three years and I feel great. I am not enthusiastic about strict dieting, but I try to eat only low-fat food, and fruit and vegetables which are rich in vitamins.

Personally I believe that regularity in life promotes our health. Sleeping eight or nine hours, getting up early, regular meals, a healthy diet and going in for sports is really a good way to live.

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