Learning foreign languages.
Somebody said:
"English is a language that came from nowhere to conquer the
world…" These words are really true and I will prove it. Foreign
languages are absolutely necessary for us nowadays because of our growing
international contacts with all the countries of the world.
There are many reasons why we begin the study of a foreign language. One of
them is to be able to communicate with other people who use this language. We
may be planning to travel in one or two countries where the language is
spoken. If we know the language of a foreign country, we can talk to its
people and understand what they are saying to us. If we are working in any
branch of science, we naturally wish to read scientific books and magazines
in other languages. Making business nowadays also means knowing foreign
languages because of the growing international business contacts. Knowing
foreign languages helps people of different countries to develop mutual
friendship and understanding. We can also make our intellectual and cultural
horizons wider through contacts with people of another culture. It is also
very interesting to read foreign literature in the original. We can also read
foreign newspapers and magazines and to understand films in foreign languages
without any help.
Learning foreign languages is compulsory in all the secondary and higher
schools in our country. English is a very popular language. People use it in
many parts of the world and there is a lot of business correspondence and
literature in English.
I think, it is very important to know at least one foreign language —
English, German, French, Spanish or any other one. In conclusion I would
like to say that now there are more than 60 countries that speak English as
the dominant or official language. My purpose is to show you why the English
is a world language. The present day world status of English is the result of
two factors: the expansion of British colonial power, which peaked towards
the end of the 19th century, and the emergence of the US as the leading economic power of the 20th century. English is the chief language of
international business and academic conferences, and the leading language of
international tourism. English is the main language of popular music,
advertising, home computers and video games. Most of the scientific,
technological and academic information in the world is expressed in English.
Reading
plays a very important role in the life of people. It educates a person,
enriches his intellect. Books help to mould a person's character, from his
moral values. Besides, books bring pleasure and delight. It's a wonderful way
of spending spare time. Sometimes we read the same book again and again.
Thanks to books we learn to express our thoughts and feelings more exactly. The
book is faithful and understanding friend. It can be put aside and taken up
again at any moment. There are books which have been our favorites since
childhood. People are fond of reading different kinds of books. Some people
enjoy reading detective stories, adventure stories, novels, biographies,
other prefer classics. Fairy tales are enjoyed and read by children, books
about adventures and journeys are enjoyed by those who are fond of traveling.
Legends and myths are read by those who are fond of history. Some people
developed much time to reading books and reading becomes their free time
occupation, their passion. Through out the centuries books had an enormous
influence on the minds and hearts of people. Books bind together ages,
personalities. Thanks to books we can talk to people who lived in different
countries and ages. Through reading books we hear their voices, thoughts and
feelings. The book is the surest way to bring nations together. It helps
people achieve understanding, trust, cooperation and friendship. Books awaken
the young reader's imagination. They develop literary taste, arouse interest
and curiosity, the reader's laugher as well as his tears. They teach the
readers to be truthful, friendly, honest decisive, conscientious, frank,
firm, fair and serious.
People
reflect their life in art. Real,
live art appeals to the heart and mind of man, to his feelings and ideals and
it proclaims life. Art is truthful only when it serves life, only when the
artist hopes to arouse a warm response in the heart of man. Art belongs to
the people. The history of art from the Renaissance to our days confirms
this. There are nearly a thousand museums in Russia, many of them being world
famous. The largest collection of Russian art is the Tretyakov Art Gallery in Moscow. It is a real treasury of canvases by prominent Russian painters. It
contains priceless collections of icons, 17-20th centuries paintings and
sculptures and contemporary Russian painting and sculpture. One of the
largest and most remarkable museums of the world is the Hermitage, more than
three hundred halls housing its exhibitions of articles of the greatest
artistic value. The museum's collections now comprise work of various periods
in the development of art, from ancient times up to the present day. Famous
painters from different countries are represented there. The Russian Museum in St. Petersburg is another picture gallery which contains the richest
collection of Russian paintings of 18-19th centuries and the best collection
of Russian sculpture. In the Pushkin Museum of the Fine Arts in Moscow the art of the Ancient East and Western Europe is represented. This museum
possesses a unique collection of copies of the finest sculptures of the old
time. It is in this museum that many famous foreign expositions of the Fine
Arts are displayed almost every year. Music plays an
important role in our life. It was born together with people. It reflects the
world around us by means of combination of tones, rhythm and melody. Music
can help to relax and to have a rest; it provokes our deepest emotions and
fills our hearts with kindness, joy and happiness. First musicians used
primitive instruments: whistles, pipes, and drums. Then harps, bagpipes,
flutes, and horns appeared. Nowadays modern musicians use various
instruments: violin, guitars, saxophones, trumpets and pianos. Some people
are fond of classical music, waltz, marches, country-dance, organ, folk,
spiritual music. Others are interested in modern music: jazz, blues, rock,
hard rock, and rap, rave. I like rap music. I admire it. It enriches me. I
hate hard rock. I think it is annoying. I don't understand it. I find it
noisy and dreadful. I am impressed by classical music. When I am in bad mood
I listen to classical music. When I have free time I like to listen to
romantic music. My friends share my tastes in music. I like having background
music while I'm working. I often go to concerts, buy records, cassettes and
CD's. People are fond of traveling. They spend their holidays traveling. They travel to see
other countries and continents, to learn a lot about people's traditions, to
enjoy picturesque places. It is interesting for them to discover new things,
different ways of life, to meet different people, to try different food.
Those who live in the country like to find themselves in large cities with
their shops, cinemas, crowds of people. City-dwellers usually like a quiet
holiday by the sea or in the mountains with nothing to do but walking and
bathing, laying in the sun. Most travelers and holiday makers take a camera
with them and take pictures of everything that interests them - beautiful
views of waterfalls, forests, unusual plants and animals. These photos will
remind them of the happy time of holiday. These are many ways of traveling -
by train, by plain, by ship, on foot. Everyone chooses his favourite one. My
favourite way is traveling by plain. And not because it is very comfortable.
It is exciting. I also like traveling by train. I've traveled this way a lot.
When you are in the train you can see the beauty of nature. I envy the
tourists because I think that they study geography traveling and visiting
different parts of the world. They can tell you many things which you didn't
know before. They are interesting people from whom you can learn much new for
yourself. Any kind of travel helps you to understand many things that you can
never see or learn at home. As for me I'd like to have a coach tour to some
foreign country. Coach tours are planned and I'll have a chance to do a lot
of sightseeings and have a good rest at the same time.
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My
future profession. The end of school is the start of our independent life
and the beginning of the most serious examination we have passed. In order to
do well at this examination it is necessary to choose the right road in life
which will help us to do our best and to work for the benefit of our country.
Many roads will open before us: technical schools, institutes and
universities. Everybody will have a chance to develop and use knowledge and
education received during the school years. There are a lot of different
trades and professions, and each one must choose the occupation in which he
or she can best develop one's own talent and abilities. Our society needs
well-educated people. Nowadays the profession of an economist has become one
the most useful, modern and interesting. That is because our country is
moving towards market economy and different forms of property are being
established. There is a place for an economist at every plant and factory. An
economist exercises different functions. He or she can determine the
structure of an enterprise and calculate costs as well as probable profits.
An economist analyses the condition of the market and prospects for its
development in the future. His or her practical use of electronic computers
is a must. The activities of an economist at an enterprise range from
bookkeeper control the financial state of an enterprise and perform a lot of
useful calculations. A manager is an actual administrator. Having a good command
of the economic situation in the region and the demands of the market a
person with an economist's diploma may establish his own business, or he may
become a partner of a joint venture. It is very important for an economist to
know a foreign language, especially English. That is because contracts
between our country and many countries of the world are becoming wider with
every coming day. Every economist has a chance to go abroad or to deal with
foreign businessmen coming to our country. But to become a good economist one
must work hard and get not only theoretical knowledge but also great
practical skills.
My school. I had just left school and I would like to tell you a
few words about it. I went to school in 1988. This school I studied in is a
three stored building. When you enter the school yard you can see poplar
trees and beautiful flowers. To the right of the school building there is a
big playground. When the weather was fine we had our classes in physical
training there. When you enter the school you come in to a large hall and a
cloak-room, there we left our coats, rain-coats and jackets. On the ground
floor where is also a school library and a gym. The class rooms, the assembly
hall, the teachers room and the canteen are on the upper floors. On the walls
of the corridors you can see the portraits of famous writers, poets,
scientists and our school wall newspaper. It is done by the pupils of our
school and has a lot of interesting things to read. I learned different
subjects at school: Russian, English, math, physics, chemistry, geography,
history and some others. My favorite subjects were Russian and English. I
also liked literature. I was good at these subjects and usually got good
marks in them. I worked hard at English lessons: read and translated texts,
made up dialogues, did a lot of ex, but best of all I liked different tests,
I was fond of grammar. But I was poor in chemistry. I always failed to learn
formulas and terms properly. I liked my class, everybody was so friendly easy
to get along with. I was on good terms with my class maids and we often spend
our free time together.
Much
was done by people to reach the present state of human development. It is
necessary to say that great contribution to the development of the world
science and culture, literature, music and painting was made by the Russian
people. The names of Russian scientists and writers, poets, composers and
painters are world-famous-Pushkin, Lermontov, Chehov, Levitan. This chain can
be endless. It is almost impossible to name a branch of science in the
development of which the Russian scientists haven't played the greatest role.
Lomonosov, the founder of the Moscow University was an outstanding innovator
both in the humanities and sciences. Mendeleev's greatest discovery was the
Periodic System of Elements. Popov invented radio. Sechenov and Pavlov were
the world's greatest physiologists. Russia is rightly called the mother of
aviation and cosmounatics. Names of Tsiolkovsky, Korolov and Gagarin are
symbols of new space era. People in many countries admire paintings,
portraits and landscapes Surikov, Levitan, Repin works of our Russian writes
and poets are translated into many languages. I want to tell about one of the
greatest Russians. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, an outstanding Russian composer,
was born in Votkinsk in 1840. He was fond of music since his early childhood.
His mother sang him beautiful songs and taught him to play the piano. He
graduated from the Petersburg Conservatoire only in 1866 because of his poor
living conditions. He was the best pupil of Anton Rubinstein. Wen the Moscow
Conservatoire was founded Pyotr Ilyich became a professor there. He created
wonderful music: 10 operas, 3 ballets, 6 symphonies, 7 large symphonic poems
and many other musical pieces. , a new type of opera, was a great success all
over the world. Margaret
Thatcher was the
longest Prime Minister of the 20th century. Her style and her views appealed
to mane British people who had lost confidence in the welfare state and in
the direction the nation had taken. In some ways she was the first genuine
leader the nation had had since Churchill. Margaret Thatcher began her career
in politics, when she became a Conservative Member of Parliament. in 1979 she
was elected as Britain's first woman Prime Minister. From the start, her
autocratic style earned her the nickname of "The Iron Lady". Her
abrasive manner has attracted some criticism. During the Falklands War of
1982, however, Margaret Thatcher's militant patriotism found her many supporters,
and she became something of a popular hero-figure, much as Winston Churchill
had been in the Second World War. Margaret Thatcher was re-elected Prime
Minister in the general elections of 1983 and 1987. Andrew Wyet is one of the prominent living
American painters. He was born in 1917. The son of illustrator – Andrew is
the leading member of the dynasty of painters that includes his sisters,
their husbands and his own two sons. He won fame at the age of 12 for his
illustrations of "Robin Hood". He was 20 when he first exhibited
his paintings. Andrew studied with his father and was strongly influenced by
him. His father's style of illustration expresses sentimentality. But very
early the young artist gravitated a way from his teacher. Wyet's style is
both precise and minute in detail, he is a realist influenced by photography.
He painted portraits, landscapes, seascapes and domestic scenery. His
favorite media are tempera and water colors. His works are easily recognized
by dimly lit and deserted landscapes in tones of grey and brown which convey
the feeling of loveliness and solitude. His most famous works are
"Christina's world" and "Inland shell".
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Problems of Youth. The age between 14 & 17 is considered to be one of the
best periods in people’s life. Grown-ups remind it with excitement &
tenderness. But most teens wouldn’t agree with this opinion if they were
asked. Youth is the time when a person is trying to find his place in the
world. And during this search he or she comes across different problems which
are as important as those of the adults. The youth of the 21st century face
almost the same problems which were acute to their parents when they were
young. These problems are quite serious & they can’t be considered
trifles.
One of them is a generation gap.
Every generation is unique in its experience. It has its own ideals and a
system of values concerning every aspect of human life. Adults always
complain that the young people do not blindly accept the ideals of their
parents. Different generations take different directions. Grown-ups always
teach the young how to live. But the latter want to live their own life. And
it generates the conflict of the generations.
Drinking & taking drugs have
become the most actual problems of the modern society. As for drinking ,
teenagers don’t realize the harm it does to their health , they just don’t
want it to the privilege of grown-ups but unlike grown-ups they are notable
to drink responsibly . They really believe that certain drinks will make them
look like they’re accepted. So, we can say that the low level of
self-appraisal is the main reason of drinking & drug problem.
In fact, teenagers have got a lot
of work. They’re busy with their studies, household chores, some of them have
a paid job. But there’s no time for fun & they want to be entertained at
least sometimes. This excessive work leads to an inner conflict which’s
usually expressed in the form of an open, direct protest against the world of
grown-ups.
Our age – is time of making a
choice what we will be in future, what we want to do and how. So we have to
choose the university to have better education and future profession. If you
have a good education you’ll be always perfect at you profession and of
course you’ll earn much money, make your life better. And the best way to
prepare is to study better at school. The school ages are also very
difficult. We do a lot of homework and even have no time to go for a walk or
do whatever we want.
And of course, communication can be
one of the most important problems of all young people of today. If you don’t
like noisy clubs and other places of entertainment, you can make friends
without leaving your apartment. The Internet gives such an opportunity. But
the problem is that people can sit at the displays for 24 hours without
eating, sleeping, having a rest, working or learning properly. I am sure,
that it’s a great problem of the present and future.
So as you see it’s very difficult
to be young nowadays as indeed it always was. But you only can be young ones
and some wonderful things can happen to you only when you’re young. So it’s
better to enjoy youth while it lasts.
Holidays. Every
nation and every country has its own customs and traditions. But there are
also international holidays which are celebrated in all countries world-wide.
They are: Christmas, New Year, Easter and St. Valentine's day. Christmas
comes but once a year. Christmas is a traditional family reunion day. On this
day, many people attend a church service, open their presents and eat a
Christmas dinner. In Britain, Christmas is the most important public holiday
of the year. It combines the custom of giving gifts with the tradition of
spending this day with the family. Every year a huge Christmas tree, the gift
of the Norwegian people, graces Trafalgar square. In Russia Christmas is
celebrated on the 7th of January. On this day people celebrate the birthday
of Jesus Christ. New Year is a public holiday but it is not marked with any
particular custom in Britain and America, yet it has a joyful celebration in Russia. People stay awake until after midnight on December 31st to watch the Old Year out
and the New Year in. Many parties are given on this night. Theatres, night
clubs and streets are crowded. Easter is one of the most important Christian
holiday. It is traditionally associated with Easter eggs and with the coming
of spring, and most churches are specially decorated with flowers for the
service held on Easter Day. There are also some special holidays which are
usually celebrated in a particular country. Let's start with the traditional
British holiday Pancake day. But people don't only eat pancakes on this day,
they run with them. In many towns in England pancake races are held every
year. These races are run by housewives. The most American holiday is
Thanksgiving day. It was first celebrated in early colonial times by Pilgrim
Fathers after their first good harvest. Thanksgiving is a day when the family
eats a large traditional dinner, usually with turkey and pumpkin pie. In Russia we celebrate Women's day on the 8th of March. On this day men are supposed to do
everything about the house and cook all the meals. I think it is very
important to follow special traditions, because they untie people. n Britain traditions play more important part in the life of the people than in some other
countries. English are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up.
There is a big difference of people between America and Britain. An Englishman in America is respected, Americans love his accent and his country.
An American in England is thought to be a little strange because of his
behavior and his language. To the English their private lives are important,
their holidays are important, their garden are important, their animals are
important. For American the work is the most important thing in life. And in England you can hear the most extraordinary excuse not to go to work, for example "My
dog's got a cold". In English houses the fire-place has always been the
centre of interest in a room. For many months of the year people like to sit
round the fire and watch the dancing flames. Above the fire there is usually
a shelf with a clock and some photos. The English are a nation of
stay-at-homes. There is no place like home. The Englishman is never tired to
say "My house is my castle". The Americans are different. I think
they are more open, they speak their minds, so if they don't like something,
they actually tell it directly. Not like the British, who might think one
thing and say another. Americans start conversations with people in the
street, in the subway; they are more enthusiastic. American customs underline
independence and freedom of the nation. Russia is the country of the dramatic
beauty. To my mind, the main traits of the real Russia character are
hospitality, "open heart", "golden hands", wise Russian
fairytales reflect their wisdom. The Russians are a very talented nation. Russia gave the world beautiful names of Pushkin and Lermontov, Tchaikovsky and Repin,
thousands of names of world famous poets, writers, composers, scientists.
Every country is also known for its food. England is noted for its pudding,
bacon, marmalade, porridge and five-o'clock-tea. America is the country of
Coca-Cola, hamburgers and chewing gum. Traditional Russian cooking is worldfamous
for such dishes as okroshka,…
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Sports. Sport is probably as old as the
humanity itself. It has been developing with the development and growth of
the mankind people all over the world. If you want to feel fit you'd better
go in for one kind of sport or another. I should admit that everyone must do
all he can to be healthy. Good health is better than the best medicine, as
the old Latin proverb says. All kinds of physical exercises are very useful
to make our bodies strong and to keep ourselves fit and healthy.
Sport not only helps people to
become strong and to develop physically but also makes them more organized
and better disciplined in their daily activities. It makes for a healthy mind
in a healthy body sport helps people to keep in good health. We all need to
exercise. Even if you don’t plan to make a career in sport you still have to
practice. Regular exercises give you more energy. That is why many people who
suffer from general tiredness should take more exercise than more rest. Exercise
makes you feel and look better. The best exercise is one, which is involved,
in repeated movements: walking, jogging, and swimming. Bending and stretching
will add flexibility and feeling of lightness.
As for me I try to take all these
things into consideration and as a result of it I go in dancing studio, play
badminton and sometimes volleyball, ride bicycle and swim. I think that
dancing is better than sport if you just want to keep feet, but not make a
sport career. Because sometimes sport is dangerous if you don’t know how to
do exercises properly. For example, if you run too much your calves can
become too big or you even can get injury. So you better go to a sport clubs
where experienced instructor will help you to achieve good results.
I like to dance very much and I think it’s a best way to
be healthy and to keep feet for girls. Because dancing develops all groups of
muscles and helps to keep good deportment. Besides it makes one feel
confident and helps to overcome shyness. So I am in good form and hope to be
in future.
My favourite holiday. Many great holidays and anniversaries are celebrated
in our country. On the 1st of May there is May Day — the holiday of spring
and labour. On the 8th of March there is Women's Day — the holiday of all women
and girls. We celebrate Day of Independence of Russia on the 12th June and
Day of Russian Constitution on the 12th of December. Now people celebrate
some religious holidays such as Christmas and Easter. But my favourite
holiday is New Year's Day, of course. It is a really wonderful holiday.
People get ready for this holiday long before it. They buy New Year trees and
decorate them. Every year a fairy-tale comes to every house and every family
on New Year's Eve. Children and even grown-ups wait for this day because they
believe that all their wishes and desires come true and different wonderful
miracles happen on that day.
On New Year’s Eve people get together to see “the old year out and the new
year in”. They eat tasty food, drink champagne, dance and have a good time
together. They wish each other happiness and good luck in the new year and
put the presents under the New Year tree. Children like this holiday very
much. They wait for New Year presents, which, they believe, Father Frost
brings to them. Everybody is merry on that day and wishes the next year to be
good and happy and all one's troubles and disappointments to remain in the
past.
Great Britain is situated on the British Isles. It consists of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and is one thirtieth the size of Europe. Great Britain is surrounded by seas on all sides and is separated from the
continent by the North Sea and the English Channel.
There are many rivers in Britain. They are not long but some of them are
deep. The longest river is the Severn. There are many mountains in the north
of England and in Scotland but they are not very high. The highest mountain
in Great Britain is Ben Nevis. There are many lakes in Scotland. The most beautiful is Loch Lomond.
Great Britain has a very good position as it lies on the crossways of the
sea routes from Europe to the other parts of the world. There are many
countries which are connected with Great Britain by sea. Thanks to Gulf Stream the climate of Great Britain is mild. It is often foggy and rainy. The summer
is not very hot and the winter is not very cold.
Great Britain is a highly developed industrial country. It lives by
manufacture and trade. Its agriculture provides only half the food it needs,
the other half of its food has to be imported. Britain is one of the most
highly industrialised countries in the world: for every person employed in
agriculture, eleven are employed in mining, manufacturing and building. The
main branches of British economy are engineering, mining, ship-building,
motor vehicle manufacturing, textile, chemistry, electronics, fishing and
food processing. The industrial centres of Great Britain are London, Manchester, Eirmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield and others.
The United States of America is another important English-speaking country.
It consists of fifty different states and the District of Columbia joined
together under one government.
The USA covers an area of almost 9400000 square kilometres and is twice as
large as all the countries of Europe combined. It is placed in the middle of
the North American continent and is washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the east
and the Pacific Ocean in the west. Placed between two oceans, the USA has a free access to the trade routes of the world.
On the whole the USA has a continental climate. It is at the same time one
of the coldest and one of the hottest countries, one of the wettest and one
on the driest.
The flag of the United States is called “Stars and Stripes”. The 50 stars
represent the 50 states and the 13 stripes represent 13 original English
colonies, which in 1776 became free and independent of England.
The USA is governed by Congress and by the President. Congress consists of
the Senate (100 senators — 2 from each state) and the House of Representatives
(435 Congressmen). The President, who is also the head of the government and
the commander-in-chief of all the armed forces, is elected every four years.
The capital of the United States is Washington. It is situated on the Potomac River not far from the Atlantic coast. Washington is not a very large city. Such
cities as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas, Philadelphia, Detroit, New Orleans and some others are larger.
The USA is one of the most developed countries in the world. It is a country
of great contrasts. There are a lot of unsolved problems in the country such
as unemployment and inflation, but nevertheless it is one of the greatest
countries in the world.
Moscow is
the capital of Russia. It is one of the biggest and most beautiful cities in
the world. Moscow is a modern city now. The population of the city is about
9.8 million people. Moscow is a political centre, where the government of our
country works. Moscow was founded in 1147 by Yuri Dolgoruky. The total area
of Moscow is about nine hundred square kilometres. We say that Moscow is a
port of five seas, as the Moscow—Volga Canal links Moscow with the Baltic,
White, Caspian and Black seas and the Sea of Azov. Moscow is an industrial
centre too. There are many factories and plants in it. One of the best-known
plants produces many lorries, and the other one produces cars. The Bolshoi
Theatre is one of the famous theatres all over the world. If you are fond of
painting you can go to the Tretyakov Art Gallery or to the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum and see a lot of interesting portraits and landscapes there. We say
that the Tretyakov Art Gallery is a treasure-house of Russian art. Young
people like to visit the Central Military Museum. There are many tanks, guns
and war documents there. One can see the Kremlin and Red Square in the city.
There are many fine buildings, wide streets, green parks, large squares,
churches and monuments in Moscow. It is necessary to mention such famous
monuments as monuments to the great Russian writer Alexander Pushkin and to
the first Russian printer Ivan Fedorov. Visiting the capital a lot of
foreigners from all over the world come to see these monuments. One of the
highest buildings in Moscow is the State Moscow University. It was founded in
1755 by the great scientist Mikhail Lomonosov. Transport. Moscow is a very
big city, and its transport must be comfortable and fast. One can see a lot
of cars, buses, trolley-buses, trams in the streets of our city. The Moscow metro began its work on the 15th of May, 1935. There were 13 stations at that time.
Now it has 190 stations. Our metro is a beautiful and convenient one. There
are nine railway stations in Moscow and five airports around the city. There
are many stadiums in Moscow. The Central Stadium is in Luzhniki. Many
competitions and football matches are held there. The Olympic village was
built for the 22nd Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980. It is a big complex for
sport games. I live in Moscow and I am proud of this city.
The vast territory of Russia lies in the Eastern part of Europe and in the northern part of Asia. In area, it is one of the largest countries in the
world. Airlines service many cities throughout the country. A flight from Moscow to Magadan takes eight hours. Russia is washed by twelwe seas and three oceans. The
oceans are: tha Atlantic, the Arctic, the Pacific. The northern and eastern
coasts of Russia are washed by the White Sea, the Barents Sea and by the Okhotsk Sea. The land of Russia waries a lot from heavy forests to barren deserts, from
high peaked mountains to deep valleys. Russia is located on two plains. They
are: the Great Russian Plain and the West Siberian Plain. There are three main
mountain chains in Russia. The Urals, the longest mountain chain, separates Europe from Asia. There are various types of climate on the territory of Russia. But the temperate zone with four distinct seasons prevails. Russia is a land of long
rivers and deep lakes. The broad Volga River system has a great historic,
economic and cultural importance to Russia. It became the cradle of such
ancient towns as Vladimir, Tver, Yaroslavl, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod. Numerous
canals join all the rivers in the European part of Russia, making it the
largest inland water transportation route in Europe. The Volga River runs into the Caspian Sea, which is in reality, the largest lake in the world. The
Baikal is the deepest lake in the world. The European part of Russia is densely populated. There are a lot of cities, towns and villages there. Russia is rich in natural resources. It has deposits of coal, oil, natural gas, iron ore,
gold, nickel, etc. Russia borders on fourteen countries, including the former
Republics of the USSR, which are now independent states. The history of Russia dates back to the year 862. Now Russia is a Presidental Republic. Russia has always played an important role in the world. It is one of its leading Powers.
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