About Myself
About Myself
About Myself 1
My name is Sasha. I was born to a family of a sailor on a submarine. My family is not small. There are four of us. When I was 7, I went to school. I did well at school. I was especially good at math and geometry, but also coped with the rest of the subjects. Thus from the point of view of my progress at school I didn’t cause much trouble to my parents. But I did make them worry because I used to come home rather late. The thing is I went in for swimming and our training finished at about 7 p.m. I lived far from the swimming-pool, so it took me quite a lot of time to get home. When at school I fell into the habit of reading a lot. At first I read everything I caught hold of but the order I grew the more definite my tastes in books became.
I took to reading historic books, books about adventures. I read very much technics books about computers and all that connect to it such as mathematics, phisics, programming and others. Now I think about this, I come to the conclusion I should be grateful to my parents for this habit: they themselves read much and encourage my reading. I am sure books will be my friends all my life. In my last year of schooling I often wondered what I would be in future, what sphere of life I should choose. After a number of heated discussions with my parents and friends I decided to dwell my choice on applied mathematics. I think I shall make a good mathematician.
About Myself 2
My name is Natalia. My surname is Govorova. I am 15. I was born in 1982 in Chelyabinsk. I live in a small town of Usinsk in the Komi Republic. My address is Flat 116, 19, Pionerskaya Street. My phone number is 41-5-81. I am a pupil. I go to school Numbers 1. I am a good pupil. I do well in all subjects. They say, that I am a hardworking person. To tell the truth, all school subjects come easy for me but sometimes.
I have to sit much, for example, to do lessons in Physics or Chemistry, to write a composition or to learn a poem by heart.
But my favourite subject is English. I spend much time on it reading books, doing tests etc. May be, English and learning it will be a part of my future carreer. I like reading. I think comics and detective stories are much easier to read but I prefer to read novels — historical or up-to-date. I like music. My musical tastes are different, but it depends on my mood. But I think every apple is good in its season. I play the piano and the guitar, not seriously, but for my soul. Sometimes I like to listen to the Russian classical music. My favourite composers are Chaikovsky and Mozart. I don’t like rock music, but I like and . Also I like Russian folk songs. I have not much time to watch IV but sometimes I spend an hour or two watching an interesting film or a news programme. In the evening I often read newspapers (our local ones) or magazines. I like fresh air and exercise. I’m sorry I have not much time for doing sports.
But some aerobics in the morning, a swimming-pool twice a week, a ski-walk on a frosty day are of great help. Sports is fun.
I have a wide circle of interests. I’m very sociable, so I get a way with people. I have many friends, most of them are my class-mates. We spend much time together, going out to the cinema or to the disco party, speaking about lessons and music, discussing our problems. But most of all I like my family. We all are great friends and deeply attached to each other. You see, it’s me — a person with his good and not good characteristics, liking this and hating that. But it’s interesting for me to live, to open new things.
About Myself 2
Let me introduce myself. My name is Anne. My surname is Petrova. I am seventeen years old. My birthday is September 11. I live in Saint Petersburg with my family. Our family is quite big: there are five of us — father, mother, brother, sister and me. We are a very united family.
I am a pupil in the eleventh form of a secondary school. I finish school this year. I want to enter the university. That is why I have to study twice as hard as an ordinary pupil does. I do not only do my best at school; I also attend a preparatory course at the university.
As you can understand, I’m rather a busy person. But when I have some free time in the evening, I like to read a good book. My favourite Russian writer is Anton Chekhov. As I’m studying English, I read a lot of books by English authors. I try to read them in English, but this is not always easy. When there is a good film on TV, I watch it with all my family. I also like music, classical as well as modern. I have a tape-recorder and I like to listen to some tapes when I am doing my homework, but my parents think it is bad for my work.
I have more free time during weekends. I like to spend this time with my family. Sometimes we all go to the cinema, or to some concert. In winter we go skiing or just walk in the country.
As I’ve said before, I plan to enter the university next year. I am quite good at English, and I am interested in the culture of Great Britain, USA and other English-speaking countries, so I want to go on with English at the University. I do not know exactly what I will do after graduating from the university, but I’m sure I’ll find a good job as an interpreter or a teacher or something like that, because the English language is very popular now and everybody needs it.
About Myself 3
Every family where each member is responsible for its comfort, success in work, health and good spirits must be a strong unit. We ought not to forget that we are all members of society and the family is the most important thing for each of us. The children whose parents take proper care of them are very grateful to them either now or afterwards when they become grown-ups.
Now I want to tell you a few words about my family. My family is’ quite large. I have a mother, a father, a sister and a brother. There are five of us in the family.
First of all I’ll tell you something about my parents. My mother is a teacher of biology. She works at school. She likes her profession. She is a good-looking woman with brown hair. She is forty-four but she looks much younger. She is tall and slim.
My father is a computer programmer. He is very experienced. He is a broad-shouldered tall man with fair hair and grey eyes. He is forty-six. My father often sings and when we are at home and have some free time I play the guitar and we sing together. My father knows all about new radio sets and likes to repair old ones. He is also handy with many things. When he was small he liked to take everything to pieces. My grandmother told me how my father once tried to «repair» their kitchen clock. He managed to put all the wheels and screws back again, but the clock didn’t work. They had to give it to a repairman. But that happened a long time ago. Now he can fix almost everything: a vacuum cleaner, a washing machine, a fridge and what not. He’s got a few shelves where he keeps everything he needs. On the table there is always a radio in pieces.
My parents have been married for twenty-six years. They have much in common, but they have different views on music, books, films, and sports. For example, my father likes horror films and my mother likes «soap operas». My father ‘is fond of tennis. My mother doesn’t go in for sports. But my parents have the same opinion about our education and upbringing.
My parents are hard-working people. My mother keeps house and takes care of my father, my brother and me. She is very good at cooking and she is clever with her hands. She is very practical. We try to help her with the housework; for example we wash the dishes, go shopping and tidy our flat.
My sister Helen is twenty-five. She is married and has a family of her own. She works as an accountant for a joint venture company. Her husband is a scientist. They have twins: a daughter and a son. They go to a nursery-school.
My brother Boris is eleven. He is a schoolboy. He wants to become a doctor but he is not sure yet. Three months ago he dreamed of being a cosmonaut.
I have two grandmothers and one grandfather. I love them very much and often go to see them. My grandmothers are retired now. One of them was a teacher, the other was a doctor. My grandfather has not retired yet. When he has free time he likes to work in the garden.
We have many relatives. My aunts, uncles and cousins live in different parts of Russia. They often come to our place on holidays. We have a very good time together.
Our family is very united. We like to spend our time together. Sometimes we stay at home and watch TV or just talk, and on weekends we go out of town. But we are always happy to be together and we wish one another only the very best.
About Myself 4
First of all let me introduce myself. My name is Taras. I’m seventeen years old. I’m at 11-th grade. There are two more kids in the family besides me — my elder brother Oleg and my younger sister Mariya. Oleg is twenty-one, he attends a University, he will be a dentist. Mariya is only twelve, she is a schoolgirl. I forgot to mention one more member of our family. It’s our favourite poodle Tim.
My parents are not old at all. My Mum is forty, she works for a newspaper. My Dad is forty-four, he is an engineer in computers. My parents love their jobs very much.
I’m doing quite well at school. My parents are proud of my marks. I go in for sports. I play basket-ball. In summer time I like yachting and windsurfing. I take part in different basketball competitions. In a year I shall finish my school and I have to decide what occupation to choose. I have been studying English for seven years. I want to be a military interpreter.
My grandparents are already retired. They like gardening and spend all their time growing tomatoes, potatoes, onions, strawberries, raspberries.
Questions:
1. Do you go to school?
2. What grade are you at?
3. How old are your parents?
4. Are you the only child in the family?
5. Do you have a pet?
6. Are your grandparents still alive?
7. Do you go in for sports?
8. Do you like reading?
О себе
Прежде всего, позвольте представиться. Меня зовут Тарас. Мне семнадцать лет. Я учусь в 11-м классе. Кроме меня, в семье еще два ребенка — мой старший брат Олег и младшая сестренка Мария. Олегу двадцать один, он ходит в университет, он будет дантистом. Марии только двенадцать, она школьница. Я забыл упомянуть еще одного члена нашей семьи. Это — наш любимый пудель Тим.
Мои родители еще совсем не старые. Моей маме сорок, она работает в газете. Моему папе — сорок четыре, он работает инженером ЭВМ. Мои родители очень любят свои профессии-
В школе я учусь хорошо. Мои родители гордятся моими отметками. Я увлекаюсь спортом — играю в баскетбол. В летнее время мне нравится парусный спорт и виндсерфинг. Я участвую в различных соревнованиях по баскетболу.
Через год я закончу школу, и мне нужно решить, какую профессию выбрать. Я изучаю английский язык семь лет. Я хочу быть военным переводчиком.
Мои бабушка и дедушка уже на пенсии. Им нравится заниматься на приусадебном участке, и они проводят все свое время выращивая помидоры, картошку, лук, клубнику, малину.
Источник: 100 тем английского языка. Авторы Каверина В. Бойко В. Жидких Н.
Problems of the youth
Youth is a very important period in the life of man. This is the time when a person discovers the world and tries to determine the place in the universe. Young people face lots of problems which are very important for them and do not differ much from those that once their parents had to deal with. At the same time every generation is unique. It differs from the one that preceded it in its experience, ideals and a system of values. The adults always say that the young are not what they were. These words are repeated from generation to generation. To some extent they are true, because every new generation grows up quicker, enjoys more freedom. It is better educated and benefits from the results of the technological progress of the time.
Young people of today do not directly accept the standards of their parents who believe that they are right because they are older. The adults don’t want their values to be questioned. The young on the other hand can not accept the values of their «fathers». All these differences generate a generation gap when the young and adult do not understand one another. As a rule the adults, dissatisfied with their own lives, teach the young how to live. Unfortunately, the adults apply old standards to the new way of life. They can not leave behind their «good old days». This burden is very heavy. They think that the world is going down hill. They gloomily look ahead unable to understand the optimism of their children who want to pave their own way in life. The majority of the young people do not want to live in the past. They have their own ideals. They want to make their own mistakes rather than to listen to the warnings of the adults and repeat the mistakes of the older generation. They want to overcome their own difficulties without looking back. However, the life of the young is frequently determined by the adults. I think that parents will never understand their children. And children, in their turn, shock their parents with their dress, language, behaviour. The existence of sub-culture which is specific for every generation is a form of protest of the young people against the values of the adults. Thus, informal groups such as Hippies, Rockers, Bikers, Skinheads, Punks, Goths, Acid House appeared as a kind of protest against the values and lifestyles of the older people.
Traditionally, young people were looking at their elders for guidance. Today the situation is different. Sometimes the young people share information and experience with their parents. I think that it is not bad, especially when the adults really try to understand what is going on in the lives of their children. Moreover, young people grow up so quickly that they almost do not have time to enjoy their childhood.
Another problem that young people face today concerns their relationship with their friends. As far as friendship is concerned, I think that a person can and should have a lot of friends. Не/she can be on good terms with the classmates. But at the same time there can be only two or three real friends. I believe that real friends will never betray each other. They will always understand and help each other. I agree that tolerance is the pledge of friendship. It is wonderful if a school friend will remain your friend for the rest of your life. But in this case everything depends on the person.
The problem of love is very important for young people. Today they fall in love when they reach the age of Romeo and Juliet. Romanticism and idealism very often accompany the love of the young. They can love deeply and passionately, they believe that their love will last forever. Unfortunately, often their hearts are broken. Young people are not always ready to have stable relations. In many cases they are too young and inexperienced to begin a family life. They have to continue their education, while family obligations will force them to make money. At the same time without good education it is not easy to find a good job.
Communication has always been an important part of young people’s lives. Today they can choose between traditional and new ways of communication. Traditionally the young meet after classes with their school friends, make parties, go to the movies or disco clubs to have fun, relax and acquire new friends. But if the young people do not like noisy clubs and other places of entertainment, they can find friends without leaving their homes — the Internet gives such an opportunity. Although this international Web Wide Web is intended for getting knowledge, only few users employ it in this way. Others use different computer programmes to chat with their friends from all over the globe. They can sit for twenty four hours staring at the monitors. Such young people do not eat, sleep, work or learn properly. Their parents think that they are doing nothing, but this is not absolutely correct. They only thing many young people are interested in is navigating through the net and checking their e-mail boxes. And it is a great problem of the present and future. In general all the problems of the youth are linked with the present rather then with the past or future.
– Do your parents like music?
– Yes, they do. They like both classic and popular music. But my tastes differ from the preference of my parents. They prefer the music of their youth performed by Joe Cocker, the «Beatles» or something of that kind. They do not like chaos, rap or tech, which my generation chooses.
– Do you often quarrel with your parents?
– No, I prefer to settle all our problems peacefully. Sometimes the best tactics is not to contradict the parents while doing what I think is important. It is not always necessary that parents should know that I disagree with them. But very often my friends are unable to follow this pattern, especially those who hate compromises and do not like to make concessions to their parents.
– Do you think that a generation gap can be bridged?
– I doubt that a generation gap can ever be bridged. But I think that some concessions on both sides are possible. Sometimes older generations are important for young people because they can share their experience however irrelevant it may seem to the young. Parents are also providing their children with pocket money. That is why the young should not be too impatient when older people teach them what to do, what to wear or how to think. Tolerance is the only way to bridge the gap of the generations.
– Do you think that people can live without problems?
– Problem is the result of the activity of human mind. Only a simpleton can have no problems and be happy with everything. Nothing will come of nothing. Problems are inevitable when people do something. I think that without problems our life will be very boring. Moreover, when people start to cope with different problems they become stronger and more experienced. They harden like steel while overcoming problems. I do not think that life without problems will be better.