Методическая разработка по английскому языку для подготовки к О Г Э Устная часть
методическая разработка по английскому языку (9 класс) на тему

Александрычева Н.В., Белянкова Н.Н., Кокурина И.А., Комшина М.В.

Методическая разработка

по английскому языку

для подготовки к О Г Э

Устная часть

Нижний Новгород

2016 г.

Настоящее пособие представляет собой практическое руководство к сдаче Общего Государственного Экзамена по английскому языку. Оно предназначено для учащихся девятых классов. Материал можно использовать также и на занятиях по английскому языку в рамках программы школы.

В данной работе была использована следующая литература:

Е.С. Музланова, Е.И. Кисунько «Экспресс репетитор для подготовки к ЕГЭ»,Москва, АСТ Астрель, 2012

Е.А.Фоменко, А.С Юрин «Английский язык. Тренинг навыков устной речи 7-9 классов», Ростов-на-Дону, Легион, 2015

1 Keeping fit

1.  Why is a healthy lifestyle more popular nowadays?

2. What do you do to keep fit?

3. What sport activities are popular with teenagers in your region?

I would like to talk about keeping fit. The polluted and unhealthy world of today makes people realize the importance of a healthy lifestyle. The reason is that people suffer from a lot of diseases, but everybody wants to live a long healthy happy life, to look slim and young. So, healthy lifestyle is more popular nowadays.

As for me, I am health-conscious. I should do something to keep fit.

Firstly, I stay healthy by getting plenty of exercise. I do sport and physical exercises regularly, because sport makes people strong and healthy, gives pleasure, develops a strong will, a quick reaction, character, stamina and  keeps people fit. I usually do morning exercises and go jogging. My favourite sport is swimming and I go to the swimming pool twice a week. At school we have physical training lessons three times a week. We play sports games such as football, volleyball and basketball, do various exercises and take part in sports competitions. In winter I ski and skate while in summer I like cycling. Moreover, I go to the fitness club and train at the gym. Secondly, proper nutrition is very important. I try to eat healthy nourishing balanced diet. My food is food rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, protein and carbohydrates. I try to include lots of fresh fruit and vegetables.  However, I don’t eat food rich in sugar, salt, saturated fat and cholesterol, for example, fast food.

Thirdly, I consume food in moderate amounts and drink a lot of water.

Bad habits such as smoking, drinking alcohol and taking drugs are completely off the map! Furthermore, I avoid sunbathing, going to bed late and watching TV too much.

In our region teenagers like sports. They are keen on football, hockey, volleyball, basketball, tennis, skating and skiing. The most popular summer sports and activities are swimming, hiking and cycling. Yoga, aerobics and body-building are popular too.

Some teenagers who want challenge, adventure and excitement are fond of extreme sports such as snowboarding, bungee jumping, BMX riding, parkour and others. Extreme sports help overcome themselves, get adrenalin, conquer new experiences and emotions, confront fears and find out your limits but extreme sports are dangerous for health.

Various sports facilities are available in our region such as stadiums, sports grounds, swimming pools, football pitches, tennis courts, skating rinks, badminton courts, gyms, sports centers and fitness clubs.

To sum up, keeping fit and going in for sport are very important and everyone should do something to stay healthy and feel happy.

2  My school

1. What do you like most about your school?

2. What weekday do you find the most difficult and why?

3. What would you like to change in your school life?

I would like to talk about my school.

School years are the most important period for everybody, as you get basic education which is truly essential for your future life and career. The aim of education is “learning how to learn” and “getting useful knowledge about the world”.

I study in the 9th form in a co-educational state school. The school has got 3 stages of compulsory education: primary school and secondary school which consists of Intermediate and Senior high school. The school occupies a four-storied building surrounded by a school yard on the bank of the river. It has got a lot of facilities such as classrooms, workshops, a canteen, a cloakroom, an assembly hall, laboratories, computer rooms, a library and a gymnasium. The school is well-equipped with necessary apparatus such as computers, CV and DVD players, tape recorders, printers, TV sets, interactive boards and sport equipment. The Internet access is available for all schoolchildren for free. Our school is known for its academic excellence and high quality  of education and offers programs giving a profound knowledge in subjects such as Russian, Physics, Literature, History, Social science, Mathematics, Chemistry, English and others. I like the atmosphere at school because it is friendly.  School starts at 8.30 a.m. and finishes at 2p.m. After lessons pupils take part in various extra-curricular activities like subject circles and Student’s Scientific Society, drama club, sports competitions, school trips, excursions and concerts.

Another interesting fact about my school is that foreign students come to our school due to an international exchange programme.

School teachers are skillful, qualified, enthusiastic and experienced. School rules are not very strict. Students have to wear a school uniform and respect each other and school property.

I am really glad that I am one of the students of this school and I am sure that I will always remember my school years and the friendship I’ve made.  

I am very busy on weekdays because I study 6 lessons a day, 6 days a week.  I have to study hard to make progress. I find Wednesday the most difficult weekday because on the timetable on this day there are some subjects on which I have to work the hardest. They are Maths, English, Russian, History, Literature and Chemistry.  After classes I attend subject circles. I come home at 5 p.m., have dinner, help about the house and do my homework. It takes me about 4 hours to do my homework properly. I have little spare time. At 10 o’clock I go to bed.  

There are some problems at school to be solved:

Firstly, the schedule is hard to carry and the curriculum in the main subjects is very complicated. That’s why studying subjects properly takes students a lot of time and effort and leaves little spare time.

Secondly, students learn much factual knowledge but few social skills.

Thirdly, there are discipline and violence problems, bullying and peer pressure.

3  The place where you live

1.        What is your city or town famous for?

2.        What’s your favourite place and why?

3.        Are you going to stay in your city/town after leaving school and why?

   I would like to tell you about my native city -  Nizhny Novgorod. It’s the place where I have been living since my birth.

   NN is famous for many reasons. Firstly, there is a well-known proverb: “Petersburg is the head of Russia, Moscow is the heart and NN is the pocket” because of the Fair which is known all over the world. The merchants from different countries take part in annual fair. Secondly, it is a beautiful place situated at the confluence of two great Russian rivers – the Volga and the Oka. Thirdly, it is an important industrial, commercial, cultural, historical and educational centre. It is a great place to travel to as there is a lot to see and do there. There are 5 theatres which are popular with tourists and citizens. They are the Drama, the Opera House, the Comedy, the Puppet, the Theatre of Young Spectators. There are a lot of clubs, cinemas, parks, libraries to spend our free time and a wonderful Museum of  Fine Arts where a lot of masterpieces of art can be enjoyed and appreciated.

  There are many beautiful places in NN which deserve to be visited, but the most favourite one for me is the High-Volga Embankment from which you can get a spectacular view over the Volga, the river port and lots of sights as well.

After leaving school I’m going to stay in the city because NN offers a wide range of higher educational establishments to choose from.  I can study at the State University, at the Polytechnic Academy, at the Medicine Academy and others. So, there is no use leaving for other cities like Moscow.

That’s all what I wanted to say.

4  Foreign languages in your life

1. Why lots of people learn foreign languages nowadays?

2. Why have you chosen to do English exam this year?

3. What did you do to prepare for your English exam?

I'd like to tell you about the role of foreign languages in our life.

Learning a foreign language is not an easy matter. It is a long and slow process that takes much time and effort.

People learn foreign languages for different reasons. The most important one is

communication. If you know a foreign language you can travel without being afraid not to understand people around you and not to be understood as well. Another reason is business. Big companies usually prefer hiring employees who know at least one language at advanced level. So, a person with a foreign language will be competitive enough to find a good well-paid job. Moreover, if you know a foreign language, you can watch films and read books in the original. Last but not the least I'm sure a foreign language adds much to better understanding among peoples and promotes friendship in the world.

As for me I've been learning English for 9 years already and this year I'm taking exams. I've chosen to do the English exam to test my knowledge and check my skills because I need it for my future career. Also, the exam is a great opportunity for me to go through the process itself and get experience, get ready for State Exams at the end of the 11th form.

I started preparing for my exam beforehand. Firstly, my teacher told me everything about the structure of the exam and its demands, gave me useful tips. Then, I did my best to do a lot of different exercises in listening, reading, use of English and writing an informal letter. I went to www.fipi.ru and practiced tests given there. So, I 'm sure I'm well-prepared for the exam and I hope I'll be a success.

5  Pets

1.        Why do people have pets?

2.        What pets are most popular in big cities?

3.        Is it a big responsibility to have pets?

A lot of people have pets at home. They keep them for different reasons. Some of them need friends, guards, doctors, just for fun (playing and walking with them) or for breeding. Next, people enjoy taking care of somebody and spending their free time. It cures them from being alone as animals are good companions. At last pets are very cute and entertaining.

Choosing a pet depends on man’s tastes, character and aims. The most popular pets are cats, dogs, tortoises, guinea-pigs, hamsters, birdies, fish, etc. Many of them have been bred for thousands of years to coexist with humans. If people live without children or alone, they usually have a cat or a dog to take care. Also, children like to play with their pets when they are alone. Nowadays many exotic wild animals are chosen as pets in big cities. They maybe mammals, reptiles, carnivoures or herbivoures: monkeys, tigers, crocodiles, lions, snakes and others. People somtimes bring tiger or bear cubs at home. But when they grow up they have different problems with them. I think the people want to look extraordinary and ambitious. No doubt having wild animals at home is very dangerous. Unfortunately there are many examples when pets injure or even kill their owners.

To my mind having pets is a big responsibility for their owners. They should take proper care of their pets: feed them in time, train, and walk out and of course love. Moreover animal owners should be especially careful and not abandon animals on their own. You can see many stray dogs and cats in the cities that is the fact that many of them had bad owners.

I have no pets now. But if I had, I would keep a cat\ dog as I am very fond of them. I should say I would be a good owner.

6  The Internet A

1.        Why today’s teenagers use the Internet so much?

2.        How does the Internet make long distance communication easier?

3.        What dangers can teenagers face when they use the Internet?

  The Internet has a great effect on lives of people and teenagers particularly.

First, it has become a very important data-gathering. You can get any information you need. Second, it’s a sort of entertaining. People enjoy playing computer games. Third, the Internet is a communicating source. It becomes a post office, a printing press and a meeting place all in one. You may chat with your friends or send them electronic messages. That’s very important for teenagers because communication is a basic human need. And at last surfing the Internet is very exciting.

  Today the Internet has undergone a phenomenal global growth. You can get all sort of information without visiting libraries, museums, offices, banks; pay taxes, book tickets, do shopping and many other things. We don’t send letters and post cards in the post office. Now it’s a sort of a snail- mail. Then you can get in touch with a person in the far distant land any time and in no time. Moreover you can not only hear but see him. It’s fantastic!

  Spending hours surfing the web, playing computer games or chatting online can make a person computer addicted, especially a child. He/she can be indifferent to realistic relationship and other parts of his life. They live in cyberspace in a virtual world of their own making. Some children suffer from computer rage (страсть) or uncontrolled periods of anger when the children are forbidden to play computer games. If not treated, it can lead to reduced social skills and degradation of a person. Guidelines for children suggest allowing no more than one hour per night on the PC.

As for me I try to follow the tips and not use the computer too much. But sometimes I can’t help playing or working long.

 That’s what I wanted to say about the Internet.

7  Holidays

1. What holidays are most popular in your country?

2. What is your favourite holiday and how do you celebrate it?

3. Do you prefer to give presents or to get presents, and why?

I would like to tell you about holidays in Russia.

Russians enjoy their holidays and celebrate them with a lot of food, presents and in big companies of relatives and friends. There are three types of holidays in Russia: 1.Family holidays; 2. State or public holidays; 3. Religious holidays.

Family holidays include birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and other family celebrations. Different families have different traditions of celebrations.

State or public holidays in Russia include Constitution Day, New Year's Day, Motherland Defender’s Day, the International Women's Day, May Day, Victory Day and Independence Day. State organizations, banks and companies do not work on these days. People spend holiday time with their families and friends; they go to theatres or exhibitions, or go to city centre where there are usually folk  festivals and concerts in the open air and celebrate with other people.

Russian religious holidays include Christmas, Epiphany, Easter and some others. There is also a pagan holiday - Shrovetide, Maslenitsa or Pancake Day. Special traditions are followed. New Year's Day is the major family holiday for many Russians. The celebration begins on New Year’s Eve, that’ is, on the 31st of December. On the New Year night people see the old year off and the New Year in.

Before the celebration people make some preparations: decorate a New Year tree with colorful glass balls and toys.

New Year's dinner usually includes Russian salad, dressed herring, caviar, sparkling wine and other national food. Five minutes before the clock strikes midnight people watch the president's speech on TV and raise a toast to the chiming of the Kremlin clock. After that Russians congratulate each other and exchange presents and good wishes. People believe that miracle is a must on this day. Some people go outside to set off fireworks. Others watch TV concerts, relax and have a great time.

Celebrations for children include a decorated fir tree and Grandfather Frost, who is believed to bring presents. Grandfather Frost often comes with his granddaughter, Snegurochka (Snow Girl).  January 1st  is now a national holiday. I enjoy this holiday because it is time for family reunion, relax and happiness.

I prefer both to give presents and to get presents because it’s a pleasure to share positive emotions. Moreover, it is a part of Russian tradition of sharing and caring.

To sum up, I enjoy holidays. Holidays are important because they commemorate some important events in the history, connect people and give them an opportunity to have fun and enjoy themselves.

8  The Internet B

1.        Why using the Internet is so popular?

2.        How the Internet can help students in their studies?

3.        Is the Internet dangerous, and why?

  It goes without saying that the Internet is popular both with adults and children for many things. To begin with, it’s an important source of information, which you can get at home any time and in no time. It’s much faster and easier to surf the net than to go to the library. Then you can communicate with people who are far away or make friends with them. Next you have on-line education opportunity. There are a lot of educational programs that can be useful, for example, in learning and practicing English. You may study wherever you like. Moreover, you can do a lot of things, such as sending e-mails, booking tickets and orders, paying taxes, doing shopping and what not. At last surfing the Net and playing games is really exciting.

  Computers have become the main part of school education. Students have IT classes which help them in their studies. First, you can find all necessary information you need in the Internet. No doubt while working you broaden your mind, get a lot of knowledge. Second, preparing for a report or presentation you may illustrate you data with pictures, photos, and music. Third, it’s easy to edit. Finally, your report will be printed. So your work looks very neat, informative and presentable.

   As we know the Internet has a lot of merits (advantages). But we must say that it may be dangerous. Firstly, it’s addictive. Teenagers spend hours chatting or playing games on-line and neglect their duties. Secondly, many young people find virtual reality more attractive than their everyday lives and this makes them neglected school work and responsibilities. Some of them mix virtual reality and real life. More than that, if we spend a lot of time working with computer, our eyesight gets worse. And the last but may be not the least dark side of the Internet is cyber terrorists’ activity. Hackers can attack the world comps, steal personal or state information, money and start information wars.

 But upon the whole, the Internet is our friend and if we learn how to control our computer use, then it will become an integral part of our lives.

9  Travelling A

1.        Why most people like travelling?

2.        Which season is the best for travelling in your opinion?

3.        What means of transport is the best and why?

Every year a lot of people all over the world spend their holidays travelling. For many of them of travelling is the most important event of the year.

People travel the globe to see other country and continents, modern cities and the ruins of ancient towns, they travel to enjoy picturesque places or just for a change of scene.

Today people have lots of good reasons to travel. Travelling has always been a part of people’s education. The best way to study geography is to travel and the best way to get to know and understand the traditions and customs of different people is to speak to them. Besides, travelling is a good way to practice foreign languages.

It goes without saying that it’s always exciting to discover new places and new ways of life, to try foreign food and listen to unusual musical rhythms. It’s much better than sitting at home and doing nothing.

Each season is good for travelling.

I think every season has its own beauty and charm. A new season comes and new activities begin. As for me I prefer summer, because it’s the best season for walking tours, I try to go away from the city and spend more time in the air. I enjoy swimming and sunbathing. The Crimea is my favourite destination.

Of course, air travel is quicker than other means of transport. The time goes by more quickly when travelling by plane. However, flying often involves delays and cancellations. Turbulence can also spoil the flight. Besides there are occasionally terrorist threats, which would definitely spoil any journey.

Finally, air travel is more expensive than any other form of modern transport.

Travelling by train is one of the most popular means of travelling. First of all it’s cheaper than travelling by air. Besides, modern trains are very comfortable. Some people prefer travelling by sea, which is very exciting. But of course, if you are sea-sick, travelling by ship is not a good idea.

A lot of people travel by car because it’s rather convenient. They don’t have to buy tickets and carry heavy luggage. They can stop wherever they wish and spend as much time as they like at any place.

As for me, I like travelling and I travel quite a lot. I like all means of transport, but my favourite one is travelling by coach. In my opinion, it’s the best way to explore different towns, cities both in our country and abroad.

10  Career plans

1.        What job do you want to do in the future?

2.        What two subjects do you think are the most important for your future job? Why?

3.        Do your family approve your choice or not?

 I’d like to tell you about my career plans.

  To begin with, it’s not an easy matter to make the right choice because the profession I choose in many ways will determine my future life. I would say it’s one of the most important decisions made in life. The properly chosen career makes a person happy and successful for the rest of his life. As for me I have already decided what to be. I want to be a computer programmer. The main reason for becoming a computer programmer is that it is up-to-date and prestigious. Another good reason is that it’s well-paid. Besides, it gives an excellent opportunity to meet interesting people and freedom to create. The profession of a computer programmer is in demand nowadays because we live in the fast-paced technology society and our life today is entirely connected with computers. With their help we can do a lot of things from controlling a spaceship to buying books and participating in virtual conferences.

  I consider English and IT the most important for my future job as computer programmes are in English and you can’t do without it. A computer programmer deals with writing computer programmes so you must be an expert at this field. Moreover, I’m sure that a computer programmer should be versatile, be able to keep up with the times, hard working. By doing this I can be competitive and cope with any difficulties. To my mind I suit this profession because I have all the makings of a computer programmer. Firstly, I’m good at IT, then I’m hard working and purposeful: I know very well success doesn’t come to me, I go to it. I’m aware of the fact that my wish and interest in the subject are insufficient, I need more profound knowledge in the chosen field. I do my best to master my skills and I understand I have to study twice as hard as others to achieve my aim.

  Of course my family approve of my career choice. The fact is that I was born into the family of computer programmers. As a child I listened to my parents discussing professional matters. Little by little I got interested in the subject and began thinking of computer programming as my future job. When my parents got to know my decision they were glad that I’d like to follow their steps and every time I need they give me a helping hand. That’s what I wanted to say.

11 My school day

1.        What is your typical school day like?

2.        What is your favourite subject and why?

3.        What do you like most about your school?

 I’d like to tell you about my school and my typical school routine.

  I study at lyceum 87 which specializes in Physics and Maths. It offers a general course of academic and non-academic subjects giving secondary education as well as it offers a wide choice of additional courses giving profound knowledge in different fields. As for me, I specialize in Humanities because I have always been interested in them. My school is far from my house. It takes me 40 minutes to get to lyceum, that’s why I usually go there by bus. My school day starts at half past 8 am and finishes at 2 pm. I usually have 6 lessons a day. At 1pm I have lunch in the canteen or eat a packed lunch taken from home. I come home at 3 pm, have a little rest and do homework. It usually takes me 3-4 hours. Then I watch TV or go for a walk with my friends if the weather is fine or read a book. At 10 I go to bed.

  My favourite subject is English because if you speak it you can read papers, magazines and original books by great writers, watch satellite TV programs. English is very important to find a well paid job. Moreover, our city is visited by foreign tourists and I can help them around the city. For me to know a foreign language means to communicate and understand people all over the world, keep up with the world of information, be in the know of everything what is happening around you. At lessons we read texts, act out dialogues, do crosswords and puzzles, write tests. I enjoy dramatizing texts and dialogues, learning words and grammar. At the same time English is the most difficult subject as it isn’t an easy matter to speak a foreign language and understand it. Frankly speaking, I’m not good at grammar and expressing my ideas but I hope things will improve because I do my best to overcome problems. I try to do a lot of grammar exercises, listen to CDs and welcome each opportunity to communicate with native speakers.

I feel privileged studying at lyceum 87 as in my opinion there are better trained teachers there, it has ideal conditions for studies: we have a gym, a rich library, computer classes. I always feel at home there. Everybody is friendly and easy to get along with. I’m on good terms with most of my classmates and we often spend our free time together.

That’s what I wanted to tell you.

12  A talk about books

1. Is reading still popular with teenagers, why, or why not?

2. What kind of books do you like reading?

3. Why do many people prefer e-books to paper books?

I think that we can`t live without books.

I am sure that reading is an essential part of our life.

Only in books you can find answers to all your questions. Books can tell us a lot about the modern world and ancient times. Besides they can help us to explore new ideas and expand our outlook.

  What is more, books teach us to be kind and honest. While reading we learn how to solve our problems and to make people happy. And I think that reading is the perfect way to spend free time and not to feel bored. That is why reading is still popular with teenagers and only lazy persons will not agree with me.

    I enjoy reading very much. Most of all I like reading detective stories, because they have interesting story lines and unusual endings. wouldn`t mind reading adventure stories. Especially I like to read about characters who go through dangers to complete their mission. But I dislike modern poetry. I find it too complicated. Sometimes I fail to understand what poets mean.

    Some people prefer e-books to paper books, because it`s comfortable when you are travelling and they are easy to keep.

     Many people find reading materials on the Internet. There

you can read Russian, English and American books which are not yet sold in Russia. It`s so exciting to discuss the book you have read with your friends.

   But I think that electronic books are still a luxury and only few of my friends can afford them.

   Really I`m a bookworm and so are lots of Russian teenagers, who are interested in all genres of books as tastes differ. Though there are some, who don`t read at all.

13  School Homework

1.        How long does it take you to do your homework?

2.        What subject do you usually start with, and why?

3.        Should schoolchildren be given more or less homework, and why?

While studying at school we are to do our homework because we should know rules, poems, information about our school subjects, practice our oral and written skills.

When there are not many lessons, it takes me for about an hour to do my homework. Unfortunately very often we are given a lot of work to do. For example, to write a composition or a project, to learn a long poem, or a dialogue by heart, to copy exercises, to find information and so on, so forth. Then it takes me three or four hours.

First, I usually start doing my lessons with the most difficult ones because at the beginning when you are not tired, you’ll do the lessons more quickly. Second, at the lessons I try to listen to my teachers and classmates attentively. Then at home I just revise the information. Third, I use the method of “key –words”. This method helps me to memorize the events and put them in the logical order.

As far as my English lessons are concerned I start my work with learning new words and phrases. Thus, you will understand a lot in reading, writing, listening and speaking. Then I pay special attention to grammar and listening to all sorts of dialogues, short stories and of course songs. I enjoy them a lot.

And at last, if you do your lessons systematically, you will have a big sack of knowledge, so it won’t take you much time to do the lessons in future.

Studying is no easy matter. It’s a hard job. Frankly speaking, if we didn’t have any homework, we would go to school more eagerly. The schoolchildren prefer socializing to studying. Doing lessons takes much time and you haven’t got enough spare time for your hobbies and relaxation. Surely, we’d like to have less homework. But on the other hand, we can’t avoid it. Nowadays there’s so much information which we have to understand and memorize and if you want to be competitive, you should attend extra classes and courses apart from doing your homework.

There is a motto of three L -“Life Long Learning” and I try to follow it.

14  Travelling

1.        Why do most people enjoy travelling?

2.        What do people like doing while travelling?

3.        What place would you like to go to? Why?

  I’d like to tell you about travelling.

 Every year a lot of people spend their holidays travelling. There are many reasons for it. Firstly, people travel the globe to see other countries and continents, modern cities and the ruins of ancient towns. Secondly, they travel to enjoy picturesque places or just for a change of scene to relax and forget about the stresses and worries. Moreover, travelling has always been a part of people’s education. The best way to study geography is to travel and the best way to get to know and understand the traditions and customs of different people is to speak to them. Besides, travelling is a good way to practice foreign languages. It goes without saying that it’s always exciting to discover new places and new ways of life, to try local cuisine and listen to unusual musical rhythms. It’s much better than sitting at home and doing nothing.

   While travelling people can do different activities to their liking. They can just lie on white sandy beaches and sunbathe or they can take part in different activities such as extreme sports: jet skiing, windsurfing, sky diving and others.

  As for me I’d like to go to England, the country whose language I’m studying. England is considered to be the country of castles. Also, I’d like to visit London, the capital city and its famous landmarks such as Buckingham palace, the Tower of London, London Eye, Madam Tussaud’s and others. I would also like to enjoy open fresh air in parks^: Hyde Park, Green park, Kensington gardens, to visit London Zoo, the biggest in Europe.

That’s what I wanted to tell you.

15  Television

1. Is watching TV still a popular pastime with teenagers? Why? Why not?

2. How many hours a week do you watch TV?

3. What do you dislike most about TV?

I would like to talk about television.

In my opinion, watching TV is still popular with teenagers. There are several reasons.

Firstly, television is Mass media - a source of information. It informs viewers of the latest international and local events, brings real scenes of life and forms public opinion.

Secondly, TV’s a cheap and convenient form of entertainment and relaxation. There are a lot of programmes for entertainment such as sports programmes, reality shows, TV games and feature films.

Besides, television provides great opportunities to educate.

It gives us a chance to ‘travel’ all over the world without leaving our room. It helps us to enrich our experience, introduces us to new ideas and activities, spreads cultural values and gives us food for thought.

It is even possible to learn foreign languages and study different subjects.  

Moreover, watching TV can bring families and friends together, stimulate conversations and provoke discussions.

As for me, I don’t often watch TV because I am busy with other useful activities. I watch TV selectively, only necessary programmes. I am interested to find out what is happening in the world or to relax.

In my opinion, if you spend a lot of time watching TV, it is harmful and useless.  

Firstly, TV has the grip on many people. TV begins to dominate and shape our life and people become telly addicts.

Secondly, violence on television contributes to aggressive behavior and makes people fear the world around them.

Thirdly, television makes people lazy. The more time they watch TV, the less time they have for physical activity and social interaction.

Moreover, watching TV may lead to poor health. TV can ruin eye-sight, causes obesity and heart problems.

To add to this, people stop thinking. TV is called “chewing gum for men’s brains”. TV captures the attention of the viewers and then distracts it. It changes not only habits but our brain too. Deep thought, the ability to focus and analize gives way to skimming.

Besides, television distracts us from school homework, our family and everyday chores.

What’s more, commercials are often misleading and unhelpful. They encourage children to spend much money on clothes, fast food, electronic devices and entertainment.

Finally, the information provided on TV can be unreliable and may be even harmful to people.  

To sum up, on the one hand, TV gives people a possibility to be well informed, educated, to entertain and enjoy ‘civilized pleasures’. TV broadens our horizons by bringing worldwide events and faraway places into our homes. On the other hand, watching TV can be bad for teenagers. It can result in risky behavior, poor grades, and lack of communication, depression and obesity. I think, parents must pay attention to the programmes their children watch and limit the amount of time teenagers spend in front of the screen.

16  Free Time

 1. Have you got a lot of free time? Why, or why not?

 2. What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

 3. What are your Sunday afternoons like?

   Nowadays teenagers don’t have enough leisure (free) time as they have to study hard at school. The curriculum is rather difficult and I need much time to do my lessons. More than that this year I am especially busy because of the exams. Every day I have to do my homework, revise the material for exams on my own and what’s more I attend some extra classes. In addition, I usually have to help my parents about the house. These are all sorts of cleaning, washing, going shopping and babysitting with my younger sister.

  After a hard work we should have a rest. As they say “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. Today we have lots of possibilities to spend our free time with pleasure. First of all, I think we must do sports such as swimming, jogging, skateboarding, bike riding, BMX, playing football, hockey and so on. Sport helps us to keep fit. As for me I am good at basketball. Then I prefer watching TV, listening to music and playing the guitar. My favourite singer is ( Dima Bilan). Once or twice a month I go to the theatre or concert with my family or classmates. Next I am fond of playing computer games, e-mail texting, chatting with my friends in the Internet and reading.

I think it’s the best time for me to spend my free time and not to feel bored.

   On Sundays I get up later than usual. Then my family and I have breakfast. I adore my mum’s pancakes, cookies and salads. After that I do my homework if I have, watch TV, read a book or help my mum about the house. Next I meet my friends and we go to the cinema, sport club or just walk in the park. What’s more there is a very cool Zoo in our city. You can wander there and enjoy watching funny monkeys and raccoons, beautiful peacocks or graceful deer. Sometimes I either visit my grandparents or relatives or they come to our place. We like to be together as we are a really friendly family.

That’s how I spend my Sunday afternoons.

17  Your Favourite Season

1.  Which of the four seasons you like the most? Why?

2. How has the Earth’s climate changed recently?

3. Do you trust the weather forecast and why?

  There are four seasons in a year: spring, summer, autumn and winter. Every season has 3 months. It’s a universal truth that every season is beautiful in its own way.

  But my favourite period is late spring and I’d like to tell you why. To begin with I have my birthday at the end of April, just before May holidays. I look forward to meeting it. Next, spring is the season of hope, happiness and love. It’s the time when nature awakens from her winter sleep: the ice is broken, the grass is beginning to shoot and the tree buds are bursting into leaves. I am fond of smelling fresh air after spring rains. There’s the atmosphere of hope and joy everywhere. Birds come back from the warm countries; they make nests and twitter in the trees. The people clean their yards, streets and parks. Everything looks neat, clean and ready to meet summer.

 I’m sure that many people share this opinion with me.

 I should say that our climate has been undergoing great changes nowadays. We can notice the global warming, ice melting and greenhouse effect. Winters are not so frosty and summers are boiling hot. Some lands suffer from drought others from rainfalls. Technical progress improves people’s lives but at the same time it causes numerous problems in nature damaging. People’s daily activity pollute water, land and air. All these influence our climate in the wrong way. Many flora and fauna species have died. Others are very rare so they are in the Red Book. Some people’s activities are a kind of suicide for humans. Environment protection is of primary importance today. We must keep and protect our planet.

   Long time ago our ancestors forecasted the weather watching the nature: clouds, sunsets, animals, birds and insects. Everything was predictable for them then. As for us these methods don’t work now because the climate has changed greatly. Nowadays modern technologies and equipment are use to forecast the weather. But in spite of all these it doesn’t work. We are not sure in every day weather forecasting. It is not always true. You can have the radio weathercast about fine weather but it turns to be wrong. So I can trust it only80-90 per cent.

   That’s what I think about it.

18        Public holidays in Russia

1. What public holidays are celebrated in Russia?

2. What is your favourite public holiday and why do you like it?

3. How is your favourite public holiday celebrated in your city?

Every country has its own national holidays/ but there are holidays that are common for many countries. People all over the world know New Year's Day, Christmas and Easter. In Russia New Year's Day is the most popular holiday, but in the West people pay more attention to Christmas.

State or public holidays in Russia include Constitution Day, New Year's Day, Motherland Defender's Day, the Women's Day, May Day, Victory Day and Independence Day.

State organizations, bank and companies do not work on these days. People spend holidays time with their families and friends.

In my opinion it is very important that traditions survived in our country. That's why a lot of people follow old traditions and celebrate Russian holidays.

Personally I enjoy celebrating holidays. I think it's a good way to bring the family together besides it's a good chance to meet all your friends and relatives.

The holiday that makes me especially proud is the Victory day. It commemorates the victory of our country in the Second World War.

It is the day when we remember the heroic deeds of our grandfathers during the Great Patriotic war. The holiday is celebrated all over the country. There are patriotic films on TV; you can also see the demonstration of combat machines in Red square and the parade of the veterans on this day we give them presents and flowers. In the end I can say that every holiday is nice.

19  Photography

• 1. Why do people like taking pictures?

•2. Why taking photos is more popular today than it was in the past?

•3. What is the best photo you have ever taken?

We can't imagine our life without photography. We all have a love for photography. It's that love that drives photographers to keep shooting pictures. So 1 guess the real question is, why do we love it?

Here are some of my reasons.

If you like me you probably turned through the pages of the photo album and re-lived some of the memories you saw in the pictures. The photos did the job of capturing those memories.

Then photos capture moments as well. Moments happen all the time and they can happen fast. A photo freezes these moments so we can take the time to enjoy them. No doubt, photos can tell us different stories, they can be happy, sad and any number of other emotions. Think of photos of Olympic medalists at the moment of victory.

Taking photos has become a part of our life. As you know, there are a lot of people who are fond of photography. It is more popular today than it was in the past. It's easy to explain, everyone has got camera in his/her mobile phone and it gives an opportunity to take photos everywhere, whenever you want.

My hobby is taking photos. Not those selfies, but serious professional photos. Of course, I'm far from being a professional, but I try. I read books, take part in the Internet exhibitions and contests. I haven't won any prizes yet. But I think the day will come and I'll be a good photographer.