MY FAVOURITE AMERICAN WRITER

I consider that books are with us during all the life. When I was a child my parents read them to me and I was pleased to listen to the stories and tales. I learned a lot of interesting and useful things from books. Later I could read books by myself and they brought me a lot of pleasant minutes.

In general, I'm fond of reading and to my mind books are a source of emotional inspiration and romantic feelings.

I think you'll agree that reading means much in our life. It is very useful because books enrich our experience with that of other people, help to continue our self-education and to discover what we are.

Reading is a rewarding pastime, as the time spent on a good book is never wasted. But some people think that a tempo of modern life is too fast to waste time on reading. They are sure that books have begun to lose their prestige and value. I agree that our century is the century of computers and progressive technologies, but it doesn't mean that one day books will be replaced by computers. Love and detective stories, science fiction and historical novels we read for pleasure and they create a special atmosphere. Books take us into the imaginary world of high human emotions and exciting relations. Owing to books we have the invisible contact with the writer who speaks with us from the passed centuries. I'm sure that computers are unable to replace all these things. In my opinion books are not only things which help us to wide our knowledge but they are as teachers help us in different situations and set examples. Books teach us what is right and what is wrong, to understand the world and people in; they mould our character and at the same time they tell us exciting stories.

Unlike most of young people, who read little, I have been doing regular reading since my childhood. Today youth isn't used to reading.

For me reading tends to be something you enjoy more and more as you get older, but if you don't develop a taste for it when you are young you may never discover the pleasure of getting involved in a good book. In my opinion, the main advantage books have over all other entertainments like computer games, videos or TV is that they are relatively inexpensive and portable. I mean you can take a book with you whenever you go, it doesn't break down if you get sand inside it, you don't need batteries and you can put it down and pick it up whenever you like - the only equipment you need is a bookmark.

 

I should say that we have a large collection of books at home, but I never miss the opportunity to borrow some new books from the library. My attention has always been attracted by shelves with English and American literature. Nearly three years ago when I came to out local library the librarian, a pleasant young lass, advised mo to borrow "Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell. Frankly speaking, the title of the book didn't arose my attention at first, though I decided to take this book. But when I finally read it, "Gone with the wind" became my favourite book and its author came into my life as my beloved one. I have been fascinated by this great American writer.

When I read her biography | was impressed by her personality. Margaret Mitchell was born on November 8, 1900 in Atlanta to a family with ancestry not unlike the O'Hara's in "Gone with the Wind". Her mother, Mary Isabelle Stephens was of Irish-Catholic ancestry. Her father, Eugene Muse Mitchell, an Atlanta attorney, descended from Scotch-Irish and French Huguenots. The family included many soldiers-members of the family had fought in the American Revolution, Irish uprisings and rebellions and the Civil War.

The imaginative child was fascinated with stories of the Civil War that she heard first from her parents and great aunts, who lived .it the family's Jonesboro rural home, and later from grizzled Confederate veterans who regaled the girl with battlefield stories.

Young Margaret attended private school, but was not an exceptional student. When, on one memorablе day, she announced to her mother that she could not understand mathematics and would not return to school, Mary Isabelle dragged her daughter to a rural road where plantation houses had fallen into ruin.

"It's happened before and it will happen again," mother sternly lectured the girl. "And when it does happen, everyone loses everything and everyone is equal. They all start again with nothing at all except the cunning of their brain and the strength of their hands."

Chastened, Margaret Mitchell returned to school, eventually entering Smith College in the fall of 1918. In January 1919, her mother died of a flu epidemic and Margaret left college to take charge of the Atlanta household of her father and her elder brother.

In 1925 Margaret Mitchell began writing the book that would make her world famous. Once she said: "If the novel has a theme it is that of survival. What makes some people able to come through catastrophes and others, apparently just as able strong and brave, go under? It happens in every upheaval. Some people survive, others don't. What qualities are in those who tight their way through triumphantly that are lacking in those who go under…? I only know that the survivors used to call that quality 'gumption'. So I wrote about the people who had gumption and the people who didn't."

"Gone with the Wind" was published in June 1936, and she was awarded the Pulitzer Price for her sweeping novel in May 1937. The novel was made into an equally famous motion picture starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable. The movie had its world premiere at the Loew's Grand Theater in Atlanta on December 15, 1939 with Margaret Mitchell and all of the stars in attendance.

On August 11, 1949 while crossing the crossroads, Margaret Mitchell was struck by a speeding taxi. She died five days later and is buried in Atlanta Oakland Cemetery with other members of her family.

Margaret Mitchell died but her book is still alive and it is still popular among readers. To my mind the novel "Gone with the Wind' is one of the best books I've ever read, which leaves lasting impression and unforgettable feelings. It holds your attention from the start and becomes exciting as it progresses.

"Gone with the Wind" is a sort of historical novels where the Civil War (1861-1865) between two hostile camps of South and North is depicted. The author of the novel blames the war and shows all its horrors and burdens, hunger and collapses, nonsense and inhumanity. One of the most interesting aspects of the story is the portrayal of the main hero Scarlet O'Hara, who is a beautiful, proud and spirited girl with practical mind. In youth she passionately falls in love with Ashley, but he prefers another girl and marries her. Scarlet's fanatical devotion to her first love prevents her from an opportunity to estimate at Rhett Butler's love. Rhett is a strong-willed, bold man who is quite similar to her in temperament and spirit. Finally Scarlet understands that all her life she has loved not real Ashley, but her own child's dream only when Rhett leaves and she remains alone. But Scarlet isn't defeated, she hopes for the next day. That's why not without reason the novel ends with the words: "But tomorrow will be another day."

As for me I have a really high opinion of this book, as I got the whole pleasure from it. This is the book which, once you have started, is impossible to put down. "Gone with the Wind' includes strong elements of realism, it portrays life very truthfully and it can make people laugh and cry. The characters are depicted so vividly that people immediately recognize themselves; it amuses the readers and arouses the feeling of admiration. From my point of view all these facts make the book unforgettable and peculiar. And I think if I met a person who hasn't read the novel, I would certainly recommend to read it; as "Gone with the Wind' is a real masterpiece of American literature.

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MY DAY OFF

What is the life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare

Sometimes it is very hard to find some free time even on our days off, because we are often busy with our work and we don't see all kinds of other activities. Besides we don't save our minutes, that's why we have no time to relax. Until recently staying busy relieved me of the need to make decisions about how I was spending my time. Business gave me a sense of control over my life. Frankly speaking my dilemma is deeper than shortage of time; it is the problem of priorities I want to spend time at work, but not for the lack of good rest. Physical rest is very important, but we also need spiritual relaxation - the peace and refreshment in our soul. It has been wisely noted that after spiritual rest we feel strengthened, dashing and patient. So, at present I try to maximize my time in such a way in order to have enough time for work but also have some spare time for entertainments. This is usually connected with my weekends or in other words days off.

I should say that this year was not an easy one in my life. Apart from everyday preparation for the lessons at lyceum, I had to do quite a number of additional studies in English, Belarusian and History because I started getting ready for the entrance examinations. During the school week I got so tired and exhausted that I anxiously looked forward to the weekend when I could relax and have a good rest. A day off for me was a nice possibility to escape from the daily lyceum routine. Every day off came like a reward and like all nice things it flashed by quickly.

To my mind every day off needs some special planning. Time passes quickly and if you have no plans you can be sure to get no results, as you may spend your time on trifles.

In general I'm for an active rest I like to go somewhere with my friends and to spend my free time in a good company. I hate staying at home at the weekend. While studying at lyceum, I tried to do all my homework right after the classes on Saturday, because I didn't want to remember about it during my weekend. Also I did something about the house like cleaning my room, placing books on the shelves which were piled up in different places and then I was free and could do everything I wished. I enjoyed my Saturday evenings most of all. I never knew about boredom even when I spent the evening on my own listening to music or reading an exciting book. I'm fond of reading. Books help me to continue my self-education, besides I'm sure that a reader lives much richer and interesting life than a non reader. I prefer reading psychological books. In my opinion, the time spent on such a book is never wasted, as these books help me to understand the world and people in it, teach me what is right and what is wrong and at the same time they mould my character.

But I should mention that usually I spent my Saturday evenings in another way. I met my friends and we went for a walk or to the disco. I'd like to say that a lot of clubs have been opened recently in our town. The entrance ticket isn't very expensive, wonderful music is played there and you can dance there and get acquainted with interesting people. I can't explain all the feelings I experience while dancing, but it gives me so much energy that I even don't feel my tiredness. I always returned home brisk and in a good mood. I should say that on Saturdays I tried to return home early, because I wanted to have a good sleep which was a well-deserved reward for the six days of hard work and early rising.

I'm in the habit of getting up late on Sundays. Especially when the weather was nasty, I afforded myself to relax and not to be in a hurry. I hate the cold that's why I usually tried to stay in bed as long as possible. So I could stay in it and not get up till 11 or even 12 o'clock in the morning. Only then I dressed and had my breakfast.

I could do everything I wished till 5 o'clock. Usually I watched TV, visited my friends or chatted with them on the phone. But sometimes if I had known that the next week was hard I could spend half of the day reading numerous pages in literature, writing essays or compositions. I should say that it helped me a lot and I had more free time during the workweek.

I tried to end all my duties till 4 o'clock, as at 5 o'clock my trainings on shaping began. To my mind not without reason people say that sport is a world of its own and it can't mean the same to everybody. I'm absolutely sure that doing sports is the best way to keep fit, healthy and strong. It is wide known that there is a sound mind in a sound body. But for me sport is also a means of relaxation and entertainment, a way of acquainting with other people. I should say that I have met a great amount of interesting people there, communication with whom made my day off brighter and more enjoyable But to my great regret I had to give up my trainings some months ago, because of lack of spare time.

After the trainings, tired but happy, I returned home. It was usually about 8 o'clock. The rest of the day I preferred to spend with my family members, as my family has always meant very much for me I like most of all when the whole family gather in the kitchen and we all sit chatting for hours It happens especially often on long winter evenings. We usually drink tea or coffee and share our news, joys and sorrows and discuss our plans for the next week. I have always enjoyed the honest and open relattons in our family and I think that my family is the most valuable thing I have in my life.

I have described you my typical day off, but of course, my weekends vary depending on the season. Summer weekends are more pleasant than long winter evenings, but I don't mean to say that I never enjoy weekends like these. Honestly, an ideal weekend for me is going for a picnic somewhere in the country or in the forest with my friends, sitting around the fire and singing songs to the guitar. That is the kind of weekend we sometimes have in spring or early autumn. But frankly speaking, it happens quite rarely, as I and my friends are busy people. Take me for example: studying at lyceum left little time for entertainment but the English say: He, who knows how to work, knows how to rest, and I think I'm not the exception.

I believe that in future when I have more spare time and ,hopefully, more money, then I'll have other preferences and choices in rest and relaxation, but now I'm an exceptionally lucky person, because I get a good deal of what I want, and I can work actively for the rest. So my life is full of interesting and varied activities. Frankly speaking, I feel pity for those people, whose lives are boring and who don't see anything except work and TV. We have to learn to run providing some rest, comfort and entertainment, so that we could live full lives.

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MY FLOT

It goes without saying that all of us have our own ideas about home because it can't mean the same to all people. As for me I'm sure that homes are not just places. Home is your little world where you live according to yow own rules and interests. It's a place where you feel comfort, warmth and reliability. My own home should be quite large and spacious, because I hate tiny rooms with small windows. Undoubtedly it should be handy for bus stop, shops and all public places like clinics, schools, etc. Evidently all these things are significant, but nevertheless warm and friendly relations between members of the family are considerably more important than large rooms and modern furniture. I think that if you live under pressure in a flat of your dream it won't seem so wonderful, modernized and comfortable for you. And I prefer to live in a common fiat without particular modem conveniences, but where there are harmony and friendly atmosphere. It is true that all of us encourage warm relations between family members and all of us want to see the members of their family respecting, helping each other and sharing the same joys and troubles. I believe you will agree that these simple things help people to form the mood of friendly atmosphere in their homes.

We say "East or West, home is best ", the English say "My home is my castle". I personally agree with these statements, because it is home that always awakens the most pleasant feelings and high emotions in my soul. Always after a hard day I return home and think "At last I came home". For me there is no place like home.

Though my house is situated rather far from the centre of our town I think that myhouse is perfectly located. It is a short way to the bus stop and I cannot say it is a great problem for me to get to any place in the town because public transport works well. It takes meonly about five minutes to get to the post office, pharmacy and hairdresser's. There are three schools, two kindergartens, about five shops, a church and a market not far from my house. I should say that it has never been a problem for me to get to the hospital, as both nursery and adult hospitals are separated from my house only by the road. And as far as the road is concerned it's not a busy one, that's why I can't say that noise troubles me.

The only thing I don't like about my flat is the view from my windows because one of the windows in my flat faces a nine-storied grey building and all the others look on a private neighborhood.

At first look my house is a common grey and boring building. It looks like hundreds of other buildings in our town, but for me it is the best house in the world.

I live on the second floor in a three-room flat. Our flat is always filed with happiness and joy. Even after the first few minutes in our flat you can understand all hospitality and friendliness of this place and the family which lives there. Our flat is very warm and cosy, so it makes you feel at home.

I should say that as you come in through the front door, you find yourself in a long hall. It is a place where we greet our guests and it's the place where you can get the first impressions about our flat, that's why we made our entrance hall in such way that each thing there creates the feeling of comfort. There is a grey carpet on the floor, but walls and ceiling are papered white. Such contrast between the dark floor and the light walls is very spectacular. It is the darkest room in our flat, because we have only one small lamp there but the darkness makes our hall rather mysterious. Near the door there is a little seat and a mirror. A wardrobe with a coat racks stretches near the right wall but on the left wall there is only a long artificial flower and three pictures, made in one style.

The first door on the right of the hall leads into my parents' bedroom. It is a very convenient room, though there isn't much furniture there. There is a double-bed near the wall and two bed-side tables by its sides with photos. In front of the bed stands a dressing table with a big mirror. It's the place where my mother makes up every morning. There are always a lot of perfumes on this table and it isn't a surprise that the room is always filled with their scents. There is also a door to the balcony. In summer it is usually open and I like to enjoy the fresh air and cool swish of leaves that come from it.

The next room after the bedroom of my parents is my own bedroom. First of all I should say that it is my favourite room in our flat. I have always tried to make my room cosy, because to my mind your room is your face. My bedroom is the place where I wake up every morning to the refreshing smell of coffee from the kitchen and where every day of my life starts.

Though my room isn't very large I can say that it is rather spacious for me because I live alone. My bedroom is also my study, so you can see a table near the window and three bookshelves on the wall with various books. Not far from the table there is my bed, near it stands a bed-side table with the telephone. You can also find a wardrobe, a chest of drawers in my room and a fluffy carpet on the floor.

 

In my opinion my room is very cool and light. It is always filled with the sounds of my favourite music. Certainly my room is very lovely and comfortable. Here there are a lot of beautiful things that make it funny and merry; I have a lot of toys which sit on my bed and on the shelves. I collect postcards and statues as well, that's why a lot of them are situated on the chest of drawers and on the shelves. But my room isn't very green, because I don't like flowers and frankly speaking I don't enjoy the view from my window.

But in general I adore my bedroom and I always feel myself comfortable in it. I like to receive guests in my room and we like to listen to music together, to drink tea with sweets and candies and to talk about our problems, interests and news.

As far as our living room is concerned I'd like to say that it is the largest and the busiest room in our flat. Every evening we gather together there and discuss some problems and events, watch TV or read magazines. This room is filled with cheerful and friendly humor; here you can always hear happy laughing and joyful voices.

The walls in this room are white but sofa and armchairs are red. There is a table for magazines between two armchairs and near the front wall a wardrobe and a suite of furniture stand. There is also a TV set in the living room. We usually like to have a cup of coffee there and to talk.
To the right of the hall or in front of the living room there is our kitchen with all its conveniences where we sit chatting for hours in winter. Our kitchen is rather small, but cosy and warm. It faces east, that's why there is a lot of sunshine there especially in the morning. The air of this room is usually filled with the delicious smells of my mother's cooking, because mainly she is the hostess of the kitchen.

The walls are papered blue there. As scientists say blue is the colour that is the most universally preferred as blue rooms instill peacefulness, blue can also help us feel calm and confident, that's why I like this room and spend there quite a lot of time.

A table and four stools stand near the window with wonderful gaily-coloured curtains. In the corner to the left of the door you can see a sink and a gas cooker. Next to the cooker stands a working top and over it there are wall cupboards.

Between the kitchen and the living room there is a bathroom and a toilet. Our bathroom is rather large. Its walls are covered with blue tiles, but the floor with grey ones. In the 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". Sometimes after a long journey I return home with such pleasure and happiness, that I feel myself like a baby that returns to its mother. I love every corner and every thing in my flat. "My home is my fortress", it is my territory, my place where I feel good and comfortable. Nobody can disturb me here.

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MY FRIEND

According to the dictionary friendship is a feeling and behaviour that exist between people, but what these feelings are and what this behaviour is everyone should decide for himself. I consider that friendship is a gift from the God. that's why I highly appreciate it. I think it is hard to find a close friend because people are unique creatures of nature, all of them have their own habits, opinions and judgments which differ from others.

It makes sense to say that friendship can be compared to a tree. Its seed should find good soil and under favourable conditions it will grow into a tree. As the years go by the tree stands firmer and firmer on the ground and if it is strong enough it will survive all the storms and winds, but to help it we should take care of it and love it.

In my opinion lucky are the people who have real friends. As for me I'm happy to have lots of friends, some of them are close, some are less, but all of them make my life interesting and enjoyable and I can't imagine my life without them, because friendship means very much for me. Being friends means making allowances for the other person's faults, being tolerant to each other moods. The most important thing about friends for me is being able to share secrets, to tell each other your problems and share your worries, to help each other out.

As I've said before a real friend is the gift from the God. In my opinion an ideal friend should posses such qualities as honesty, sincerity, faith, tolerance and respect in attitude to you. A friend is a person who can help you in no time, lend you a hand, whom you can wake up in the middle of the night just to say you feel worried or who is eager to do everything for you waiting nothing in return, who supports you in all your beginnings and who will never betray you. To my mind really close and devoted friend can be not only the same sex as you. It doesn't matter your best friend is a girl or a boy. I think that her or his soul, character and attitude to you are considerably more important. I disagree with people who say that boys are better friends than girls. Such people think that a boy-friend can never spread false stories about you or tell your secrets to the entire world, but to my mind it depends on his moral qualities. I knew one boy who began to spread stories about me, saying I was dishonest, unreliable and impudent, when we broke our relations, but I still actually believe in friendship between fellows and girls, that's why I have equal amount of boys and girls among my close friends.

But in my opinion it isn't an easy thing to be a true friend and before somebody can name you his best friend you should prove your friendship. To my mind everyone can have only one or two true friends, because a friend to all is a friend to none. I believe that faithful friend can brighten your life and make it more interesting, vivid and enjoyable. You are interested in your friend with all his positive and negative traits of personality and your friend in his turn can understand and forgive you everything. You shouldn't tell a lie to your friend, there mustn't be hypocrisy in your speech and even in thoughts. Before telling your friend something, before doing anything you should think a lot and guess what kind influence it will render on him and on his life. So I think that it is difficult to be a real friend, but to my mind all of us try to achieve the ideal of a true friend.

I'm sure you will agree that nowadays there are various ways of acquaintance. Some people make friends when they are in guests or on weddings, others prefer to find friends with the help of newspapers or the Internet. Somebody can get acquainted with his future friend when he even doesn't expect it, for example, when he simply walks in a park or goes anywhere by public transport.

What about me I have known my best friend Natasha almost all my life, but 1 can never forget our first meeting. It was in summer when our families decided to rest in the south together. When we drove up to their house my attention was attracted by a little tidy girl in a rose dress, who was sitting to squat and playing with her long blond curl, but I can't say that my first impressions were the same as my opinion about her now, because meeting people for the first time we always make a judgment based on their appearance though the proverb tells us not to make such a mistake. At first she seemed to me so correct, obedient and shy that I didn't like her, but when we began to communicate closer I understood I was mistaken. I think it makes sense to say that when we returned home we were loyal friends.

Today she has changed a lot but we are still best friends and now I think Natasha is a very charming and pretty seventeen-year-old girl. She isn't tall and I can't even say that she is of average height but she is always smart and elegant. Natasha has an attractive face which is broaden with open and frank features. She is the owner of a blunt nose, large expressive green eyes and radiant smile that immediately makes people smile in return. Her blond hair and sort voice make her similar to a little beautiful princess from a fairy-tale.

My friend likes casual clothes. Natasha hates skirts and formal blouses, but adores tight-fitting trousers and casual T-shirts. She prefers low-heeled shoes to high-heeled, because they are more comfortable to her mind.

I believe that Natasha is a very amazing girl, because she differs from other people. When she was about twelve she became a real tomboy, she communicated only with boys except me, she liked to play rough and boys' games and she even decided to go to the army when she would come of age. All her friends and relatives tried to dissuade her and at least she agreed, but frankly speaking. I can't understand her desire even now, though in general we are very alike. It's true that Natasha is a very enthusiastic and active person, you can hardly find her sitting at one place without doing anything but in spite of it she constantly has no free time. My friend is a gregarious person and an optimist; she is never bored but always smiles and laughs, that is why I like her fascinating smile very much. I should say I can never be bored it my friend keeps company for me, because she is so cheerful and joyous. She is responsible and original, I think. Such friends like she can be characterized as devoted. frank and careful, because she can never refuse if I need support or a piece of advice, she is always eager to help me and to calm me with the help of a tender word. To my mind Natasha is an intelligent, skillful and diligent girl, that's why her success in study is brilliant. Now she studies at gymnasium number 56 in physics-mathematics class. I'd like to add that she is a great daydreamer, because she has always got her head in the clouds and she is always dreaming about something.

But like other people she isn't an ideal. Sometimes she is too lazy and stubborn and I dislike it a bit. She is rather impatient, because she can't wait for long. But these features of her character don't matter much for me; I try not to pay attention to them because in general she is a wonderful person, whom I worship a lot.

Though Natasha is a busy girl and she doesn't have much free time, she always tries to find spare time for her hobbies and interests, because she has a lot of them. Most of all she likes to play computer games and solve various problems on it. She says she can't imagine her life without this machine. When Natasha relaxes she likes to look through different interesting magazines and newspapers but she doesn't like to read books, especially large books like "War and Piece" by Tolstoy. Sometimes she can write poems about love. It happens rarely but I'm always the first person who reads her poems and gives an objective mark. Natasha is fond of sport but this year she has very little time for it, because she is very busy with her studying, because she enters the university this year.

And unfortunately that is the main reason why we see each other quite rarely, but we phone each other almost every day, we try to meet on our days off and that's why we don't feel separation from each other. Though I can't see Natasha every day I think about her all the time.

At these rare times when we see each other we like to attend cinema or central park, but most of all we like to speak. When we meet our mouths are never close because we can speak for hours, I can discuss with my best friend such problems that I can't discuss with my parents. We speak about fellows and our relations with them, we discuss our problems with parents and share our thoughts and dreams. It doesn't mean that I can't say about all these things to my mother, but I know that nobody can understand me better than Natasha. I know that only she can support me and help me in everything, because we are very alike, we think in the same way and our points of view often coincide, but in spite of it I can't say that nothing worries me in our relationships, though also I can't say there are some real problems or misunderstandings between us. We see each other rather rarely, because we live in different districts and she is too busy even on days off and I dislike it a lot. I consider she is a bit disorderly and she can't plan her day off in a right way, that's why she doesn't manage to do everything she wants. Natasha often has troubles and problems with her parents and it is another thing that worries me. I know her parents very well and to my mind they are wonderful people, but sometimes my friend can be rude to them and as a result they quarrel, when she tells me about such quarrels I can't take her side because I don't approve her behaviour, that's why I prefer to keep silence in such situations. Sometimes her flippant attitude to some things worries me very much. In my opinion she is too flippant in her attitude to preventive words of others. But I believe that all these things can't destroy our friendship, though they influence it a bit.

And of course in some cases our points of view can differ, for example, sometimes our opinions can be different in clothes, music or films. In such situations we freely express our points of view, we can even argue but we never suppress each other. To my mind thoughts, opinions and habits of your friend can influence you a lot, but they should not destroy your own personality, they shouldn't influence you if you don't want it. I'm happy that both of us understand it.

I believe that friendship should be sincere and. In my opinion your friend should be attentive to you, he or she should be reliable, honest and he or she should trust you, because, I think, trust probably the most important feeling that exists between friends, but it never appears by itself, it is the result of a long friendship.

As for our friendship, I'm sure it is strong enough because we trust each other as ourselves, we always share the same joys and troubles together and we support each other at difficult times. And it goes without saying that I like Natasha with all her positive and negative features of character and admire her a lot.

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MY HOUSEHOLD CHORES

There are certain things in life which you have to do whether you like it or not. One of such things is household chores, doing which is a necessity. It is what someone in the family has to do every day in spite of his or her wish and desire. You can hardly find a person who doesn't like comfort, delicious food, clean and tidy clothes. But these things need somebody's attention and doing them is called housework.

To my mind housework is boring and besides it takes a lot of time with a hardly visible result. In my opinion it is not a bad idea to have a kind of subdivision of labour at home when each person knows his own daily household jobs. If every member of the family does his bit about the house then keeping it isn't difficult or boring and proves the proverb: "Many hands make light work". For example, the children should keep their own rooms tidy, make their beds, lay the table for meals, clear away the dishes and wash up. The mother could then concentrate on the more specialized jobs of cooking, ironing and mending. Shopping at the supermarket could be a kind of family outing. The father should do more difficult physical work. This is an ideal variant for me how to keep house.

In many families the problem of clearing up the flat or house becomes a generation gap. Usually children don't want to clean up their rooms and their parents make them do it. In most of the cases children consider that their parents have these old-fashioned ideas about making beds in the morning, washing the dishes after every meal, etc. They think that new generation shouldn't care about things like that. On this ground many conflicts develop. Sometimes children promise to help and then fail to do their jobs so parents have to make them do what they don't want to do or repeat in an angry voice to make the bed or to pick up toys from the floor. It seems you strange but my parents have never made me do anything. They only ask me to do something. I've always been a conscientious girl so if they asked me to do the house, to wash the dishes or other things I didn't like doing I couldn't refuse to help them.

To avoid conflicts many families engage a domestic servant. She cooks meals, goes shopping, does the house in one word she keeps house. But as for me, I wouldn't like anyone to command my own things. I think you are always able to manage your housework even if you are busy because to hire a servant is not a way out of this situation.

I'm happy that the problem of cleaning up our flat has never been a generation gap in our family. Of course sometimes we quarreled with my brother when we had to clean our room, but then we decided to make a schedule and cleaned the room in turn. Now as we all are busy people: our parents work, I and my brother spend most of the time in our educational establishments, each of us clean up the house when he or she has some spare time. On Saturday we usually have a big clean. We try to follow the rule of subdivision of the housework. Everyone has his two or three rooms to clean I usually clean the bathroom, our room and parent's room. I get out the vacuum cleaner and clean the carpet, then sweep the dust off the floors with a broom. After that I take a wet cloth and wipe the dust off every surface in the room. In the bathroom I usually scrub the sink and a bath with a washing powder Then I wash the floor. By the way I can not stand washing floor. I dislike it because your hands are rude and disgusting after doing it.

My brother usually clean the kitchen as it is the most difficult work, I think. The floor and the cupboards cover with dust and fat very quickly and sometimes you should even scrub the dust off. He also cleans the living room and the entrance hall. While we are doing the house my mum and dad go shopping. After they return home with large bags full of tasty food we begin cooking dinner. I should say I like cooking very much especially if it is a holiday dinner. My grandfather has had birthday recently, and we decided to cook a delicious dinner for him. So me and my mother garnered in me kitchen, switched on our tape recorder and began to cook. You know, we had a lot of fun, we were chatting and laughing. It seemed to me that we remembered all the jokes we had known. Our excellent mood helped us to cook very tasty dinner. Everyone was satisfied.

Household chores are the things which I can't avoid. Every day I make my bed, wash up the dishes, wipe the dust of the furniture and take out me rubbish. But I share my household chore with my brother. It is a great thing, to my mind. If I had no brother I have to clean up the flat on my own, but it is an awful thing. I don't like to draw my mother in doing the house because she usually has to do a lot of other things like cooking, washing, ironing and mending and it is enough for her I think. It is also my duty to buy bread and milk every day. I usually go to the baker's after my classes. I buy some white and brown bread, biscuits and cakes there. The shop is not far from our house and it doesn't take me a lot of time to do everyday shopping. But as I am busy with my studies I have no time to do it constantly. My parents understand it and sometimes it's my mother who buys bread.

When my mother is ill or away from home my father do the cooking, the buying of food and the planning of meals, but I do the washing up and ironing. There is one thing which I like doing about the house. It is ironing. May be it sounds fanny, but it is very interesting, I think. While ironing I'm having а rest. I turn on the music and iron the clothes and linen. Then I fold them neatly and put away. Ironing makes me think housework is not such an awful thing. Another thing I like a lot is looking after our indoor plants. My mother has a green thumb so we have a great amount of indoor plants at home. I enjoy looking after the flowers as it makes me feel relaxed and calm. More often I do it together with my mother. We water the flowers, then wipe them with a wet cloth or sprinkle with a sprayer. My mum always teaches me how to plant and look after the flowers. I try to take her advice as I want my own house to be full of such beautiful plants that we have now.

Now I'd like to mention the role of technical progress in making housework easier. In the XXI century it is almost impossible to imagine our life without automatic or electronic appliances which make the housework better and faster. As for me I can't imagine my life without a fridge and an electric iron. Fridge is necessary for freezing and saving food. I think food freezing is the easiest, safest and most natural way of preserving food. Practically all food can be successfully frozen and can be kept for long periods of time. Provided you use a freezer wisely, it can help to make significant savings on your household budget, particularly if you have a large enough garden to grow your own vegetables and fruit for freezing. We have a house in the countryside, where we grow vegetables, fruit and berries. In summer we freeze berries and vegetables. Then it is very pleasant to eat them in winter. In addition, food freezing saves you from frequent visits to shops. With a freezer you wouldn't be short of food when unexpected visitors arrive. Electric iron is very important as well because I can't go out when my trousers or shirt are crumpled. On TV they advertise a lot of things for making housework easier from washing powders to washing machines and vacuum cleaners. That's all very well but not all families can afford them as the majority of things of high quality are really expensive.

Generally I like the order, but there are people who keep all their things in a mess. They put empty soft drink cans on their desks, leave the dirty dishes in the kitchen sink and only do the washing up when there isn't a clean plate to be found in the house. In the 4th form I visited Italy. When I came into the room of my hostess's child I was amazed by the mess. There were clothes on the floor, the bed wasn't made and the dust was on every surface of the room. I was shocked as I have never had such a mess at home. To my mind it is not comfortable to leave in such conditions. Besides it is not healthy. Many serious diseases can be caused by the dust and dirt. I want to add that it is not very pleasant to receive guests in such a room. My mum has always said to me that the way you keep the house shows what kind of person you are. I agree with her completely. Untidy people usually associate with irresponsible, absent-minded, indifferent and careless people. But when you come to somebody's house and see the order you will probably think that the host is punctual, responsible and conscientious.

I must admit that when I was nearly 7 years old I used to leave all my books, toys and colour magazines in a mess. But you won't believe, my parrot taught me to be orderly. That day my mother bought me new colourful magazines. All the day I was reading them. They seemed to me very interesting and exciting. There were a lot of crosswords, quizzes and games in them. When I had finished reading I put them on my desk and was ready to go for a walk. My mum let me know before going out that they could be spoilt by my parrot if I left them on the desk, but I didn't pay attention to her words. When I had returned I saw only scraps of paper on the table. My parrot tore one of my magazines into pieces with his strong beak. I was really disappointed. Since then I've always kept my thing in order.

So you see keeping house in order is important to me. It brings me as minutes of boredom so moments of joy and pleasure. I think I spend enough time on keeping the house and hope that such little but nevertheless necessary things like household chores will never become the reason for quarrels and conflicts in our family.

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SEASONS OF THE YEAR

In my opinion a person's life depends to a certain degree on the climate conditions he or she lives in. Weather influences our emotions and even the physical state.

According to the dictionary weather is the general condition of the atmosphere at a particular time and place, with regard to the temperature, moisture, cloudiness, etc. Air, fire, earth and water are the elements of the weather according to the ancient Greek philosophers... Substitute the Sun for fire and we have the essential components of the weather machine. Without air warmth and water the Earth couldn't support life, but without any single one of those elements weather wouldn't exist. The air is the medium in which all weather happens, heat from the Sun provides the energy that drives the weather machine, and water provides much of the variety of our day-to-day weather.

Weather changes according to the seasons. Every season has its specific features of the weather, which are different. In general a season is one of the four periods of the year. Each season lasts about three months and brings changes in temperature, weather, and the length of daylight.

In the Southern Hemisphere, the climatic seasons differ by about six months. This hemisphere has summer when the Northern Hemisphere has winter. Some regions don't have all four climatic seasons. In parts of the tropics, for example, temperatures change little, but the amount of rainfall varies greatly, so that these regions have a wet season and a dry season. The Polar Regions, on the other hand, have a light season and a dark season. In these parts of the world the sun shines almost all the time in summer and almost never during winter.

The changing of the seasons is caused by the changing position of the Earth in relation to the Sun. Astronomers can tell exactly from the Earth motion around the Sun when one season ends and the next one begins. The dates used for the first day of each season mark the beginning of the astronomical seasons, but the beginning and the end of the climatic seasons vary from these dates from place to place and from year to year.
Spring is the first season of the astronomical year. It is a transitional period between the extreme temperature cycles of winter and summer. Spring profoundly influenced the ancients and played an important role in mythology, folklore and art. Ancient painters and sculptures often depicted spring as a female figure carrying flowers. The early Christians regarded the seasons as symbolic of the course of human life, seeing spring as rebirth or resurrection after the death that winter seemed to symbolize. The season is marked by all kinds of beginnings: seed planting, graduations and weddings. For many people spring starts when British Summer Time begins and the clocks are put back by one hour. This normally takes place at the end of March and it adds an extra hour of daylight to the day. But it is in nature, that the real spring changes take place. At the beginning of spring it is cold, but at the end of March the snow melts. The weather gets warmer and the rooks, the first spring birds, have come back from the warm countries and are making nests in the trees. The air is fresh. It smells of the dump earth and the buds of trees. The first flowers like snowdrops appear. These flowers bring the first bright colours to the landscape; the grass sprouts and shoots up visibly. The buds gradually burst into young leaves, and light breeze stirs them. And here is the first butterfly. One can't help admiring this wonderful sight.
Spring is the season when nature reawakens, and the world looks renewed, fresh and filled with joy. People's behaviour changes with the season, and they come out of their houses to enjoy the weather, life returns to streets and public places. Spring offers the best of everything: the weather is warm and pleasant; and the countryside is at its best.

Spring is followed by summer. This season is said to begin when the sun enters the zodiac sign of Cancer. Like the other seasons it influenced the development of mythology and folklore. For instance, Midsummer was an especially important festival in ancient and medieval times and continues to be celebrated with bonfires and special traditions even today. Summer is a favourite season of holiday-makers. I also like to lie in the sun and bathe in the river. As for the weather, it gets still warmer and sometimes it is very hot. The sky is blue and cloudless. But the weather is not always fair and sunny in summer. Sometimes the wind blows up. Suddenly black clouds cover the sky and it becomes stuffy. A thunderstorm begins. Gusts of wind stir the trees and it lightens and thunders. On a day like this we usually say it's raining cats and dogs. There are a lot of puddles everywhere and streams of water run down the road. After the storm the sun usually comes out. After the rain everything looks fresh and lovely again. The sun shines brightly and sparkles on the water. In general summer is the best and the happiest season for the majority of people.

Astronomically the start of the third season of the year, which comes after summer, can be pinpointed precisely. The season of autumn has always played a vivid role in the life of farmers. As the period of harvest and fruit gathering it has left an imprint not only on day-to-day living but also on the development of art and folklore. The season was often personified as a female figure bearing grapes. As for the weather, autumn is a rainy season, the sky is covered with grey clouds and the weather is mostly dull. Gradually the days become shorter and shorter. The air becomes colder and the sun seldom shines. Thick mists rise from bodies of water when autumn has set in. The streets are wet and people pick their ways between the puddles. It is terribly wet and dirty. Many people think that autumn is gloomy season, but yet there are many who like it. They try to look at the bright side of this season. They see autumn as the time of golden leaves, when the nature is quite and attractive. Poets of all nations have sung autumn as the most beautiful time of the year. Golden autumn, they call it, and it's really fantastic when the Indian summer sets in. I love that short spell of dry sunny weather when the sky is blue and cloudless, the trees around are golden, the air is transparent and it is still warm. Lord Byron unlike Pushkin, didn't like autumn. So once he said: "I like the weather when it isn't raining. That is, I like two months of every year. They are certainly not autumn months". So on the one hand autumn is a season of rain and drizzle, but on the other hand it is colourful and bracing, even in the rain.

Autumn is followed by winter. It begins at its respective solstice, which is situated between autumn and spring equinoxes. Winter is the season of snowstorms and ice, of frozen rivers and ponds. .As a rule it begins in December. In winter the sun shines rarely, its rays are pale, it sets early and rises late. The winter days are short and the nights are long. It often snows and the snow lies deep. The rivers and lakes are frozen and covered with ice, it is very cold, the air is frosty and trees are covered with frosts. In winter people have the most wonderful holidays - New Year and Christmas. It is one of the best seasons for sports - skating, skiing, sledding and playing hockey. And in general this season brings a lot of fun.

So I can't really say what season is my favourite, because every season has something special, and we are usually looking forward to it. I can also prove it with the poem written by Russell:

O, DO YOU REMEMBER
WHEN SPRING TIME WAS HERE,
THE SNOWDROPS AND CATKINS,
THE BIRDS SONGS SO CLEAR?
OH, DO YOU REMEMBER
THE LONG SUMMER HOURS,
THE HUM OF THE BEES
AND THE SCENT OF THE FLOWERS?
AND DO YOU REMEMBER
WHEN AUTUMN CAME ROUND,
HOW LEAVES RED AND YELLOW
LAY THICK ON THE GROUND?
BUT NOW IT IS WINTER,
THE BRANCHES ARE BARE;
THERE'S ICE ON THE PUDDLES
AND FROST IN THE AIR.
I PLAYED IN THE SUNSHINE,
I PLAY IN THE SNOW,
AND WHICH IS MY FAFOURITE?
I REALLY DON'T KNOW!

Here I'd like to say that the weather in Belarus depends greatly on the climatic conditions in the eastern part of the European continent. Climate in our country is moderate continental and in comparison with British climate it is more favourable for human settlements. As for the British climate and weather it is very changeable: a fine morning may change into a wet afternoon and evening. Conversely, a miserable morning may give place to a glorious afternoon. In Belarus we don't talk much of the weather; we just take it as it is. On the contrary no conversation ever starts in England without a comment on the weather. It is almost a formality like shaking hands. A popular greeting is "Lovely weather for the time of the year" or, if the weather is bad "Isn't this weather awful!" You will often hear people add "weather permitting" when they say they plan to play golf, garden or put out the washing.

So we can't say that weather is only the state of the atmosphere, it is something that affects our lives every day in numerous ways.

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SPORT IN MY LIFE

Sport is probably as old as the humanity itself. It has been developing with the developing and growth of the mankind. To my mind we can hardly overestimate the meaning of sport in our life and day-to-day activities, because its main purpose is to bring up the harmoniously developed generation - the generation of strong and healthy people. Sport makes our bodies strong, quickens our reaction, and shapes the wits. It also prevents us from getting too fat, gives us so valuable practice in making eyes, brain and muscles work together and makes us more self-organized and better disciplined.

I'm absolutely sure that doing sports is the best way to keep fit. There is always a kind of sport which will suit you and there are many different kinds to choose from. If you like team games, try hockey, football, volleyball or basketball. Games for you to play with a friend include badminton, squash and tennis, and if you enjoy doing things on your own, you may take up swimming, riding, golf or athletics.

I'm sure you know an axiom: "Sport makes people healthy". No doubt, that's true, but frankly speaking one knows that there are some kinds of sport which you cannot go in for if you are not healthy enough. Say, body-building. If you have a heart decease or other sickness, attending the body-building trainings will bring you nothing but harm. And also, going in for sport is always connected with a great risk, because any athlete can get an injury. And we know many examples, when an athlete got trauma at the beginning of his sports career and in the prime of his life had to leave professional sport. But it doesn't mean at all that people shouldn't go in for sports. I only want to say that they should be careful and remember that the health is given to a human being only once, so, do your best not to lose it.

An important attraction of sport is also its competitive and challenging nature. Men have always wanted to prove who is the strongest, the quickest, and the highest. The roots of men's desire to display their physical health and beauty go back to ancient times when the idea of the Olympic Games first appeared.

The original games began in ancient Greece in 776 ВС. These games were the part of the festival held every four years in honour of the god Zeus, at a place called Olympia. The festival included contests that tested the skills of soldiers. It included such kinds of as: boxing, running, wrestling, etc. The winner was given a branch of wild olive and that was the greatest honour. After nearly 300 Olympiads they were stopped by the Roman emperor Theodosius. who felt that they had pagan meaning.

The modern Olympics, revived in 1896, owe a lot to one man, Baron Pierre de Coubertain who was convinced that sport is an essential part in an individual's development. I agree with him completely and I think that international matches and tournaments unite nations; they play an important role in establishing good relations between countries. As the President of the International Olympic Committee. Juan Antonio Samaranch says: "The Olympic idea means friendship, fraternity and co-operation among the youth of the world. The Olympic movement proves that real peace can be achieved through sport".

Belarusian athletes took part in the Olympics in 1952 for the first time and have become their active participants since then. The greatest Olympic achievements have been gained by Belarusian sportsmen in gymnastics and athletics. The greatest success was achieved by gymnast Olga Korbut more than twenty years ago; she impressed the world with the complexity and novelty of her performance. Outstanding results were shown by Alexander Medved. a heavy-weight wrestler, three-time Olympic champion. And of course we all are proud of our runner Julia Nesterenko who won the gold medal at summer Olympic Games in 2004.

Recently I got to know about Paralympics - it is Olympic Games for disabled people. Many of athletes who take part in these games have suffered accidents and illnesses which would be enough to make most of us want to give up. But they are pushing back the barriers which until recently kept the disabled from taking part in sports. These people compete in various kinds of sport like swimming, sailing, basketball. The disabled are the ones who are catching the public eye and imagination, changing people's perceptions of what "disability" means and what extraordinary abilities the so-called disabled actually possess. As we see sport can makes wonders. That's why at present sport in our country is paid a lot of attention to by the government and much is being done to set up all necessary facilities for its development. Physical education is an essential part of the school and university curricula. Extra-class activities at our lyceum include a wide range of different sporting events and competitions. Any pupil can join a sports section. In my opinion PT lessons are important, because at these lessons pupil's mind has an opportunity to relax and at the same time pupil has some exercises, which are necessary to keep the body in good shape. Attending of these lessons is usually a great fun, because our teacher always invents something interesting, for example, unusual exercises or interesting games. And even if we play ordinary games like football, volleyball of basketball it always brings us a lot of pleasure.

For pupils who want to attend sport besides PT lessons all necessary facilities are created. In our town there is a great amount of swimming pools, gyms for aerobics and fitness, stadiums, there is even an Ice Palace. So everybody has an opportunity to go in for some kind of sport if he or she wants it.

What about me, I like sport. I'm sure you don't need to be good at sports to enjoy them - according to the Olympic motto it is the participation and not winning, that matters.

I personally can't imagine my life without sport. In summer I go jogging every morning, when I nave free time I attend swimming pool and sometimes I play badminton with my best friend.

But when I was youngerI1 did sports professionally. My parents always dreamt of making an athlete out of me and when I was five years old my father took me to the gymnasium for the first time. As far as I remember. I had been going in for gymnastics for about five years and these five years were magic time for me. Since than gymnastics has become my beloved sport. You don't need any special equipment for this kind of sport, but if you want to take it seriously you should be enduring, adroit, strong and persistent. It goes without saying that gymnastics is one of the most beautiful and fascinating sports, it teaches you to be brave, try to do everything to achieve your goal and to overcome the difficulties in your way. That's why gymnastics even became a sense of my life for some period of time, but later I had to leave it because of decease and at present I am a simple amateur of sport.

As a fan I do have my favourite sport which is figure-skating. I have never done it myself, but I like watching world and European championships. I am always fascinated by the grace, speed and skill of the skaters and how well they can dance on the ice. I like figure-skating, but honestly I like gymnastics much stronger, because the most pleasant moments of my childhood are connected with this kind of sport. And I'm sure it isn't a surprise that my favourite sportsmen are gymnasts.

My favourite gymnast is Olga Korbut who has been called many things including the "first of the pixies", "a circus act" and "the queen of gymnastics". Despite a wide range of opinions about her the fact is that Olga Korbut changed women's gymnastics forever. Olga was born on May 6th. 1955 in Grodno. She had not been a strong pupil at school, but her teacher noticed her agility during physical exercises and recommended that she enroll in one of the gymnastics schools run by the State Sport Committee. At the age of 11. Korbut began her gymnastics training at such school in Grodno. Unlike her grim-faced teammates, she burst upon the 1972 Olympics with a dazzling smile, a youthful enthusiasm, and an exuberant presence that was unprecedented in Soviet athletes. Her joy of life along with her astonishing gymnastics skills took the Olympics by storm. At that time, the Soviet gymnastic team was the best in the world, but Olga was not considered one of the stars and was unknown in the West. Her run in tears after she made two errors on the uneven parallel bars made for great TV and endeared her to millions of viewers. Olga went on to win two individual gold medals in the '72 Olympics аnd one silver. She was the sports newest star. Olga quickly became a household name and the world's most popular female sports performer. She was named the top athlete of 1972, and "Sports Illustrated" featured her on the cover of the magazine's March 1973 issue. Olga did more than any other single performer to popularize sport and make gymnastics a top-draw event for the Olympics. She was 17 when her balance beam and floor exercise routines in Munich captured the gold. She was the first gymnast ever to do a back flip on the balance beam. Four years later, at the age of 21, when competing against the up-and-coming 14-year-old Nadia Comaneci, she took the silver for her work on the balance beam at the '76 Olympics in Montreal. She retired from competition after '76 and eventually became a gymnastics instructor. At present Korbut has a gymnastics school of her own in Atlanta, where she now lives with her family. Olga Korbut certainly belongs to those Belarusian sportsmen who are famous world wide.

I know it for sure that it's very difficult to become a good and successful sportsman. To be a sportsman means constant hard work, lack of free time and almost absence of private life. Frankly speaking, if you want to achieve something in the sphere of professional sport, it has to become a style of life and even a sense of it.

And in conclusion I'd like to say that either as a player or merely as a spectator almost every person likes sport, because it is an essential part of our li