Category Archive: топики

Jack London – English novelist

Jack London

Jack London


The novelist and short-story writer Jack London (1876-1916) was, in his lifetime, one of the most popular authors in the world. After World War I his fame was eclipsed in the United States by a new generation of writers, but he remained popular in many other countries, especially in the Soviet Union, for his romantic tales of adventure mixed with elemental struggles for survival.
John Griffith London was born in San Francisco on Jan. 12, 1876. His family was poor, and he was forced to go to work early in life to support himself. At 17 he sailed to Japan and Siberia on a seal-hunting voyage. He was largely self-taught, reading voluminously in libraries and spending a year at the University of California. In the late 1890s he joined the gold rush to the Klondike. This experience gave him material for his first book, ‘The Son of Wolf’, published in 1900, and for ‘Call of the Wild’ (1903), one of his most popular stories.
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Russian institutions of higher education

There are a lot of institutions of higher education in our country. The Linguistic University, previously known as Maurice Thorez Institute of Foreign Languages, Pedagogic University, Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia are well known not only in Russia but also abroad. There are numerous regional educational centres in our country. Almost every city of Russia has its university and colleges.
Moscow State University is the largest educational institution in Russia. Mikhail Lomonosov (1711-1765) inspired the foundation of Moscow University. On the Day of St. Tatiana, Count I.I. Shuvalov officially asked the permission of Empress Elizabeth to establish the University. The University was set up by the edict of the Empress issued on January 12, 1755 (according to the Russian old style). Since that time St. Tatiana has become the patron saint of Moscow University, and January 25 is celebrated as University Day in Russia.
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Bill Gates

Bill Gates

Bill Gates

Everyone has heard his name. Bill Gates is the icon of American business and the richest man in the world.
He and his friend started their business in 1975. Now Microsoft has become the world’s largest computer software company. Although the US government has broken it up, experts say it will remain successful.
Bill Gates was born on October 28, 1955, in Seattle, USA. His home town was once famous for producing Boeing aircraft, but now it is better known as the home of Microsoft. Bill inherited a good business sense and a quick mind from his parents. His father is a lawyer. His mother was a teacher and then worked as a company director.
At school Bill’s favourite subjects were Maths and Science. At 13 he and his friend Paul Allen got interested in computers. They spent all their time writing programmes and learning about computers instead of doing their homework.
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AT THE DOCTOR’S

at the doctorAT THE DOCTOR’S.
Is there anything more important than health? I don’t think so. “Health is the greatest wealth,” wise people say. You can’t be good at your studies or work well when you are ill.
If you have a headache, heartache, toothache, backache, earache or bad pain in the stomach, if you complain of a sore throat or a bad cough, if you run a high temperature and have a bad cold in your head, or if you suffer from a high or low blood pressure, I think you should consult a doctor.
The doctor will examine your throat, feel your pulse, test your blood pressure, take your temperature, sound your heart and lungs, test your eyes, check your teeth or have your chest X-rayed. After that he will prescribe some treatment, pills, tablets or some other medicine which you can buy at the chemist’s. He will recommend you to stay in bed for some time, because there might be serious complications. The only thing you have to do is to follow his recommendations.
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Robert Burns

Robert Burns

Robert Burns

Robert Burns (1759-1796) is regarded as Scotland’s national poet. Burns was born in a poor farming family. There were seven children in it. Robert was the eldest. He read a lot. Robert was fond of reading. His favourite writer was Shakespeare. At the age of 15 he began to write poems. He wrote hundreds of songs and poems, mainly on country life, love, and national pride. Burns wrote the words of the song “Auld Lang Syne”. Scottish people sing this song when they celebrate the 1st of January, New Year’s Day.
Robert died in 1796. People all over the world know and love his poems.
His birthday is celebrated in many countries of the world each year on 25 January.
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Traditions and Customs in Great Britain

english tradition

Every nation and every country has its own traditions. In Britain traditions play a more important part in the life of the people than in other countries.
The English are very proud of their traditions and carefully keep them. When you come to England you’re struck at once by quite a number of customs. Some ceremonies are rather formal, such as the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, Trooping the Colour, the State opening of Parliament, the Ceremony of the Keys. Sometimes you will see a group of cavalrymen riding on black horses through the streets of London. They wear red uniforms, shining helmets, long black boots and long white gloves. These men are Life Guards. Their special duty is to guard the King or the Queen of Great Britain, and very important guests of the country.
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Sport in Britain

Sports in Great Britain

Sports in Great Britain

Sport plays a very important part in people’s lives in Britain. About 29 million people over the age of 16 regularly take part in sport or exercise. Walking is the most popular recreation. For many people sport is the main form of entertainment. There are a lot of sport programmes on TV. Every newspaper devotes several pages to sport.
The British are one of the best in the world in different sports. The importance of sport is recognized by the Government. Every local authority has a duty to provide and maintain playing fields and other facilities, which are very cheap to use (sometimes they are free).
Such sporting occasions as the Cup Final, the Derby, the Boat Race are regarded as the event, rather than the sport itself. They are watched on television by millions of people. These annual sporting occasions are available to all TV channels. Sometimes such events are accompanied by strong traditions. For example, Wimbledon is not just a tennis tournament. It means summer fashions, strawberries and cream, garden parties. Wimbledon is a middle-class event, and British tennis fans would never allow themselves to be treated like football fans.
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