TEXT 7. Read and translate the text. Be ready to describe your flat and room

My Flat

It goes without saying that all of us have our own ideas about home because it can't mean the same to all people. They say «East or West, home is best», «there is no place like home», the English say «My home is my castle». As for me I'm sure that homes are not just places. Home is your little world where you live according to your own rules and interests. After a hard day I return home and think «At last I’m in».

Though my house is far from the city centre I think that it is perfectly located. It is a short way to the bus stop and it is not a problem for me to get to any place in the city. It takes me about five minutes to get to the hospital, post office, pharmacy and hairdresser's. There are lots of shops and a market not far from my house, so it’s very convenient to do every day shopping.

Our three-room flat is on the 6th floor. It’s rather comfortable and well-planned. As you come in through the front door, you find yourself in our entrance hall. The first door on the right of the hall leads into my parents' bedroom. There isn't much furniture here. There is a double-bed, two bed-side tables with photos, a TV on the opposite wall and a wardrobe. There is also a lady table with lots of perfumes and a big mirror. It's the place where my mom makes up every morning. There is also a door to the balcony facing the yard.

My room is a bit basic but it’s OK. The walls are cream and there are patterned curtains at the window. It is also my study, so you can see a table with a notebook and a telephone and three bookshelves above. Under the table there’s a wastepaper bin and in front of it you can see my chair. In the corner of the room there is my bed with light green checked duvet. Between the bed and the window you can also find a wardrobe. In the middle of the room there’s a brown carpet on the floor.

Our living room is the largest and the busiest room in our flat. It is cosy and light. Every evening we gather together there, relax, discuss our problems and watch TV. The walls are papered white but the sofa and the armchair are red.

Our kitchen is rather spacious and well-equipped. We’ve got a fridge, a dishwasher, a microwave oven, a coffeemaker, a toaster, etc.

Next to the kitchen there is a bathroom and a toilet. Our bathroom is rather large. Its walls are covered with bright tiles, but the floor with grey ones. In front of the door there is a bath. Near it you can find a sink and a mirror over it with some shelves. There is also a back for clothes and a wash machine in this room. I'm sure that our bathroom is very stylish and nice.

So it's my flat, my «home, sweet home». Here I feel good and comfortable. Nobody can disturb me here.

TEXT 8. Read and translate. Give a summary of this life story.

Steve Jobs: Apple’s Creative Genius

Childhood

Steve Jobs was born on the 24^th of February, 1955, in San Francisco, California, and was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs.

In 1961, the family moved to Mountain View, California. This area was becoming a centre of electronics, and soon people started to call it “Silicon Valley”. (This is because silicon is used to make all sorts of electronic parts.)

As a child, Steve Jobs spent a lot of time in the garage workshop of a neighbour who worked at Hewlett-Packard, an electronics company. He then joined the Hewlett-Packard Explorer Club where he saw his first computer at the age of twelve. He was very impressed, and knew right away that he wanted to work with computers.

Buddhism

After graduating from high school in 1972, Steve Jobs went to Reed College in Portland, Oregon. In 1974, he dropped out of college to work as a video game designer. His dream was to save enough money to go to India and study Buddhism.

He came back to the US a Buddhist with his head shaved and dressed in traditional Indian clothes. He even wanted to become a monk in a Buddhist monastery, but went into business instead.

Apple

In 1976, Steve Jobs and his school friend Stephen Wozniak founded a small computer company and called it «Apple». At that time almost all computers were so large that one could fill a room. They were also very expensive and only few people could afford to buy them.

The two friends started working on their first personal computer. When The Apple II was produced in 1977, it was an instant success.

Seven years later, Apple introduced the Macintosh computer. It was the world’s first small computer. It was also very easy to use. However, the sales of the first Macs weren’t very good. This led to tensions in the company, and in 1985 Jobs resigned. But this was not the end of Steve Jobs.

Toy Story

In 1986, Jobs bought a small company called Pixar which specialized in computer animation. Over the following ten years he built Pixar into a large corporation. One of the most successful of Steve’s projects was Toy Story, the first full-length film to be completely computer-animated.

New Apple

In the late 1990s, Apple had very serious financial problems. They asked Jobs to come back. He agreed, and quickly organized a clever advertising campaign that urged customers to «think different» and buy Macintoshes.

In the past 10 years, Steve Jobs changed Apple from a small computer company to a gadget superpower. It’s now one of the richest companies in the world.

Steve Jobs died on the 5^th of October, 2011.