My grandparents lived in a village not far from the town.
The trip to the place by car took only two hours and a half even in rainy weather. But in good weather, when the country road was dry, our father could drive at a greater speed and it took us only two hours to get to the place. Читать далее Holiday Trips
Children all over the world enjoy the New Year. They know Father Frost will come to give them presents. They like to have a fir-tree at home. It is fun to decorate it. 
Today is the thirty-first of December. It’s New Year’s Eve. It is a very nice holiday. I like it very much because I usually have a lot of fun on that day.
Today I shall go to bed at half past twelve in the morning, not at nine o’clock in the evening as I usually do. Isn’t it nice? Читать далее Happy New Year!
Halloween falls on the thirty-first of October. 
Originally, Halloween was a religious holiday. Today it is a day of fun and excitement.
Children make faces in pumpkins (turnips are used in Britain) by removing the pulp and seeds and cutting holes in the shell for the eyes, nose and mouth. These pumpkins are called jack-o-lanterns. A lighted candle is put inside to shine through the holes. Читать далее Halloween is a day of fun and excitement
October 31 is a very special holiday for children called Halloween. 
In old times the night of October 31 was the last night of the year when all the witches and ghost were out. It was a celebration of dead souls. Читать далее Halloween
Remember, remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder Treason and Plot.
I see no reason why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
When one person says of another, “What a guy!” it isn’t always meant as a compliment and this can be explained by the history of the word. Читать далее Guy / Guy Fawkes Day
“The United States of America” is the name of the country composed of 50 states joined in a federal republic, and its citizens are known as “Americans”.
In the North the US is bordered by Canada, and in the South it borders on Mexico. It is washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the East, and by the Pacific Ocean in the West.
Hawaii, which became the 50th state in 1959, is situated in the Pacific Ocean halfway between the west- coast states and the Far East.
Alaska is separated from Russia by only about 50 miles across the Bering Strait.
The main part of the United States consists of several physical divisions, including highlands and lowlands regions. Major highlands are the Appalachian Mountain in the East and the Rocky Mountains in the west.
The Rocky Mountains extend from Mexico to Canada. The mountains are crossed by streams which flow through deep canyons and fall into the Pacific Ocean. The largest among them are the Colorado and the Columbia rivers.
These rivers are unsuitable for navigation. They are cut by rapids, and so serve as an immense source of electric power.
The central lowland between the two main mountain ranges makes up the basin of the Mississippi River. Its main tributaries are the Missouri and the Ohio Rivers. The Mississippi together with the Missouri form the longest river in the world (7,300 km).
The northern part of the USA embraces the region of the five Great Lakes (Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario), which are connected by natural channels cut by rapids. The greatest of these rapids is the Niagara Falls.
Crossed by mountain ranges from north to south, the country is unprotected from cold winds from the north and from warm winds from the south. This causes great temperature fluctuations. On the whole, the USA has a continental climate.
The country is rich in coal, oil, iron and other minerals which form a solid base for the development of American industry. The United States economy is highly developed. In fact, the United States is one of the leading countries in the world economy. Such industries as mining, metallurgy, electronics and space engineering, chemicals, textiles, leather and footwear are well developed.
Military industry plays an important role in the US economy.
As regards agriculture, both animal husbandry and arable farming are prominent in the economy of the United States.
Советы учащимся:
I would like to tell you about my friends.
I have never thought why Oleg, Mike and I are so friendly.
It has always happened that we’ve been together going on hikes, playing different games, going in for football, reading the same books.
Some days ago at English lessons we began to discuss the topic “You and Your Friends”. Now if you ask me what kind of boy Oleg is, I can say that he is always ready to help, very honest, quiet, never boasts. He is kind. It seems he hasn’t got any drawbacks. Well, it’s not so. Sometimes he is lazy and does not always finish the work he has to do.
Mike is lively, gay, likes to play different games. He is especially good at football. He is clever, full of ideas, likes a good joke. What I don’t like about him is that he often boasts about his victories in races, and he is very proud of himself.
It’s difficult for me to speak about myself. But when my parents come to school the teachers say that I am industrious, honest and attentive to my classmates, kind. I know my drawbacks. I speak rudely sometimes to my parents and I fear the water. I try never to go boating or fishing if the day is windy. My friends laugh at me from time to time.
Once I decided to show that I was not a coward, that I had no fear of the water. I went off in my father’s boat alone. I took only my dog with me. The day was fine, and soon we sailed to a small island. I wanted to explore the island. I was interested in some unusual plants and didn’t notice a snake. Luckily my dog did and he warned me of the danger.
Suddenly dark clouds appeared in the sky. A strong wind began to blow. My dog and I rushed to the bank of the river, but there was no boat.
The dog began to bark and was heard by my friends. I wondered how they could find me.
My father told them that I had gone off alone in his boat. My friends felt worried and went to the river. There they saw the boat and came to my help.
I know it was a silly way to show courage, but since that time my friends have never laughed at my fear of the water.
I think Oleg and Mike are my faithful friends.
Советы учащимся:
(1864-1960)
Ethel Lilian Voynich was an English writer.
She was born in the family of George Bull, an Irish professor of mathematics. In her youth she had to experience many hardships. Under the influence of her husband, a Polish revolutionary named Mikhail Voynich, she got interested in illegal revolutionary work.
In the 1890s she turned to literature, and in 1897 the novel “The Gadfly” appeared.
The Old Man and the Sea
This is a short but powerful story for which Hemingway was awarded the Nobel prize for literature in 1954. The idea expressed in “For Whom the Bell Tolls”, that the loser must not lose heart, is developed here.
For two nights and two days Santiago, an old fisherman, struggles in a small fishing-boat at sea to land a great fish that he has caught. Читать далее The Old Man and the Sea ( by Ernest Hemingway)
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Hemingway took as the subject the Spanish Civil War of 1936—1939. He saw the struggle with his own eyes as a war-correspondent, and was firmly on the side of the Republicans, against whom General Franco and his fascist army revolted.
The action of the novel is concentrated on seventy hours during which a special operation is planned behind fascist lines. Читать далее For Whom the Bell Tolls ( by Ernest Hemingway)