Топики по английскому языку (V. 2)

LEARNING FOREIGN LANGUAGE

The great German poet Goethe once said: «He who know no foreign language does not know his own one. Learning foreign languages is specially important nowadays. Some people learn foreign languages because they need them in their work, others travel abroad, for the third studying languages is a hobby.

Every year thousands of people from Russia go to different countries as tourists or to work. They can not go without knowing the language of the country they are going to. A modern engineer or even a worker can not work with an imported instrument or a machine if he is not able to read the instruction how to do it. Ordinary people need language to translation the instruction or the manual to the washing-machine or a vacuum-cleaner, medicine or even food-products.

Some people are as a rule polyglots. Historians diplomats need some languages for their work. If you want to be a classified specialist you must learn English, the language of international communication.

English is one of the world languages. It is the language of progressive science and technology, trade and cultural relations, commerce and business. It is the universal language of international aviation, shipping and sports. It is also the major language of diplomacy. Hundreds and hundreds of books, magazines and newspapers are printed in English, most of the world’s mail and telephone calls are in English. Half of the world’s scientific literature is written in English. English is spoken by more than 350 million people. Geographically, it is the most widespread language on earth, second after Chinese. It is the official language of the UK, the USA, of Australia and New Zealand, it is used as one of the official languages in Canada, the South Africa. Millions of people study and use English as a foreign language. In our country English is very popular. It is studied at schools, colleges and universities.

Learning English is not an easy thing. It is a long process and takes a lot of time and patience. But to know English today is absolutely necessary for every educated person. I want to know English because it’s interesting for me to know foreign countries, their cultures and tradition. English will be of great use in my future profession connected with computers.

MOSCOW

The best way to see a strange city is to buy a map and a guide-book. If you want to learn, more about a city, it is useful to walk along the streets and look around to see historical places, buildings and monuments. There is no doubt that you should visit art galleries and museums.

Moscow, the capital of Russia, is one of the largest cities in the world. It stands on the bank of the Moskva River. About 10 million people live in the city. Moscow is famous for its historical and architectural monuments that were built by outstanding architects and sculptors: Kazakov, Bazhenov, Martos and others.

The best starting point of the tour around the city is Red Square, the central and the most beautiful square in Moscow. It is the place of parades, meeting and demonstrations. Here one can see the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed, or St. Basil’s cathedral, erected by architects Postnik and Barma to commemorate Russia’s conquest of the Kazan Kingdom in 1552. It is a masterpiece of Russian architecture. Tourists can see the monument to Minin and Pozharsky designed by Ivan Martos in 1818 in memory of the Russian victory over the Polish invaders, the History Museum. The heart of Moscow is the Kremlin, a wonderful architectural ensemble with 3 magnificient cathedrals, the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great palaces, fortress walls and 20 towers. The most famous of the towers is the Spasskaya Tower with a big clock. The Kremlin with golden domes and tower makes a strong impression on tourists. The Alexander Garden with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is the place of memory. Some Skyscrapers decorate Moscow Including Moscow University, a palace of knowledge and students. Moscow is a scientific and cultural centre where there are a lot of institutes, universities, libraries, museums. The city leads a varied cultural life. It has a lot of cinemas, clubs, concert halls, more than 40 drama and musical theatres, including the Bolshoi Theatre, the Art Theatre. The Maly Theatre. The Vakhtangov Theatre.

Muscovites are proud of their museums: the Tretyakov Gallery, Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, literary museums.

Crowds of people visit the Tretiakov Gallery admiring beautiful pictures of Russian painters.

Moscovites are fond of going in for sports so, there are a lot of stadiums, swimming-pools, courts and sports ground.