My Favourite Subject
We did quite a lot of subjects at school. They were: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, History, Geography, Russian, English, Literature and others.
Every teacher asked for equal and adequate attention to his subject and it was not an easy work to do. I knew that all the subjects were important, but still I was always indifferent to exact sciences.
Since my childhood I have been fond of reading. My favourite subjects were Literature and languages. When I started studying English, the first thing I got interested in, was the different way to express one and the same idea in English and Russian. I wondered why if an Englishman is upset or gloomy he does not say «I have a bad mood» like Russians do but says «I feel blue».
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School Life
I am a pupil of the 11-th form, I study at school number 9. I would like to tell your about our school life.
I go to school five days a week. Our classes start at 8 o’clock, and last till 3 p.m. So we have 6 or 7 lessons a day. We study many different subjects: Russian, English, French, literatures, history, geography, biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, programming and computer, sciences, languages, literature and history are my favourite subjects. I make good marks in these subjects.
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At the Post Office
I like to go to the post office because post is one of the things that link people living in different cities and countries.
There are some counters at the post office. At one of them you can buy envelopes, stamps, post cards. You can write a letter right there and post it or you can write it at home and then throw it into one of postboxes throughout the city. It is very convenient because you don’t have to go to the post office again.
At another counter you can send a telegram. To do this, you need to fill in the form, give it to the clerk and pay the sum according to the number of words in your telegram.
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Radio is one of the most important means of communication. The most widespread and familiar use of radio is broadcasting. Radio broadcasts feature music, news, interviews, discussions, descriptions of sports events, advertising. People wake up to clock radios and listen to radio driving a car. They also spend much of their free time hearing their favourite programs on radio.
Radio broadcasting once had the same entertainment role as television has today. From the 1920’s to the early 1950s, in the Golden Age of Broadcasting, people gathered around their radios every night. They listened to dramas, light comedies, music, and other programs. This period ended with the rise of television.
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Television, also called TV, is one of our most important means of communication. It brings moving pictures and sounds from around the world into millions of homes.
The name «Television» comes from Greek word meaning «far», and a Latin word meaning «to see», so the word «television» means «to see far».
About three-fourths of the 1 500 TV stations in the US are commercial stations. They sell advertising time to pay for their operating costs and to make profit. The rest are public stations, which are nonprofit organizations.
Commercial TV stations broadcast mostly entertainment programs because they must attract larger numbers of viewers in order to sell advertising time at high prices.
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Newspapers
Newspaper is a publication that presents and comments on the news. Newspapers play an important role in shaping public opinion and informing people of current events.
The first newspapers were probably handwritten news- sheets posted in public places. The earliest daily newssheet was «Acta Diurna» («Daily Events») which started in Rome in 59 B.C. The first printed newspaper was Chinese publication called «Dibao» («Ti — pao») started in A.D.700s. It was printed from carved wooden blocks. The first regularly published newspaper in Europe was «Avisa Relation» or «Zeitung», started in Germany in 1609.
Newspapers have certain advantages over other mass media — magazines, TV and radio. Newspaper can cover more news and in much detail than TV or radio newcast can do. Magazines focus on major national and international events of the preceeding week. But newspaper focuses on local news as well and provides information and comments faster than magazine can do.
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Charles Dickens is one of the greatest novelists in the English literature. In his books he showed a real world and people of Victorian England.
Charles Dickens was born in London in 1812. His father was a clerk and had eight children. His father always spent «lore money than he received. When Charles was 11 years old his family was put into prison for his father’s debts. Charles had to give up the school and work. He worked at the blacking factory ten hours a day. Charles hated it and never forgot the experience. He used it in many novels, especially in «David Copperfield» and «Oliver Twist».
At the age of 15 he was lucky to get a job in a London lawyer’s office though he didn’t like this job. When he was 16 he started to work for a newspaper. And by the age of 25 he became one of the best journalists in London.
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