There are also bad habits that can damage your health. They include s
moking, drinking alcohol and taking drugs. A lot of young people prefer smoking to going in for sport and this is not good.
I try to lead a healthy life, because I like feeling and happy.


Learning Foreign Languages (1)
( Изучение иностранных
языков)

There are many languages in the world. Some of them are spoken in small tribes, others are spread all over the world like English or French.
There are languages that are extremely difficult to learn, others are very easy. But anyway learning a foreign language is not an easy task and it takes a lot of time and effort.

People still learn foreign languages and there are some reasons for that. The most important is communication. More and more people travel abroad and the knowledge of a foreign langua
ge helps them understand each other. There are also a lot of interesting books and magazines in foreign languages and people read them to get various information.
If you want to get a good job, you will have to know one or several foreign languages. Th
is is another reason for learning foreign languages. There are languages of international communication and they are English and French.
The English language is the official language of many international organizations such as the Olympic Committee, th
e United Nations and others. This is the language of computing, too. Most Internet sites and software are in English. It is the native language of many countries such as Great Britain, the USA, Canada Australia, New Zealand and others.

A lot of scienti
fic books and articles are published in English. This language is becoming more and more popular and now it is hard to live without knowing it. Moreover, many languages borrow English words and expressions and people use them in their everyday speech. Som
etimes people think that English is the most spoken language in the world. However, Chinese is considered to be the most spoken language. The Chinese language together with Japanese and Arabic are believed to be the most difficult foreign languages!

I le
arn English at school. I am very glad that I have such an opportunity. Every week we have tests, do exercises and write compositions. We also talk at our lessons a lot. This helps me to improve my English. Now I can read books in English, watch films in E
nglish and speak English with foreigners. I am thinking about choosing English as my future career because I am very good at this language.
I would also like to learn German if I had a chance.

Learning Foreign Languages (2)

The question of learni
ng foreign languages is very important today. Foreign languages are requered especially at the present time when progress in science and technology has led to an explosion of knowledge and has contributed to an overflow of information. The total knowledge
of mankind is known double every seven years. Foreign languages are needed as the main and the most efficient means of information exchange between the people of our planet.
Today English is the language of the world. It is the language of progressive s
cience 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 and read all over the world. Seventy five per cent of the world's mail and sixty per cent of the world 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 only to Chinese in the number of people who speak it.
It is the official language of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the United States o
f America, of Australia and New Zealand. English is used as one of the official languages in Canada, the Republic of South Africa and the Irish Republic. It is also spoken as a second language in many parts of India and Africa. The number of second-Ian-gu
age speakers may soon exceed the number of native speakers. Besides, millions of people study English as a foreign language. In our country English is very popular. It is studied at schools (sometimes even at nursery schools), colleges and universities.


What does it mean to know a foreign language? It is not easy to answer this question. Americans think that you know a foreign language if native speakers understand you. And nobody cares about your mistakes. But of course nobody can call “
good English" and
you can use it only if your contacts with native speakers are rare and not very important. If you are connected with foreign countries very closely, especially through your work, you should have a good command of the language. It means that your pronunci
a
tion should be standard, you should speak fluently and without mistakes. And of course you should understand your partner correctly. The latter sometimes is the most difficult part of all. As to spelling, it depends whether you have to write or not. If yo
u do then you should do it correctly too.

So far, there is no universal or ideal method of learning languages. Everybody has his own way. Sometimes it is boring to study grammar or to learn new words. But it is well known that reading books in the origi
nal, listening to the BBC news, communicating with English-speaking people will help a lot. When learning a foreign language you learn the culture and history of the native speakers. One must work hard to learn any foreign language.

Russia is being integrated into the world community and the problem of learning English for the purpose of communication is especially urgent today.


Travelling (1) (Путешествие)


There are many ways of spending holidays. Some people like going to the country, others prefer sitting at home and watching TV all day long. But more and more people travel. There are many reasons for
traveling . Some people travel on business, others travel to visit their families, but most people travel to see the world and different countries.

There are also a lot of ways of traveling
. People can travel by car, by plane, by ship, by train, by coach or on foot. Traveling by plane is the fastest way of
traveling
. This is the best way to get to a foreign country fast. Modern planes are comfortable and it is very nice to fly to the destination point.
The most comfortable way of traveling
is by ship. Modern liners have everything to make
people feel nice and comfortable. There are swimming-pools, bars, restaurants and even shops on board a modern liner. People enjoy spending time on the deck looking at the ocean and talking. Sunsets and sunrises are beautiful in the open sea. There are so
me disadvantages of travelling by ship. The main disadvantage is that traveling by shin is the most expensive way of
traveling . Tickets cost a lot and some people cannot afford them. Some people can be sea-sick and this is another disadvantage.

Traveling
by train is rather popular now, too. People go from one city to another by train if the distance between them is too big, or if they do not have a car. Modern trains are also rather comfortable and
traveling by train is convenient and cheap.
Traveling
by coach to Europe is rather cheap. There are special international tours by coach when you travel through several countries. Instead of one foreign country, you can see a few of them. However, it also has disadvantages. Some people feel sick in coaches
and their trip can be spoilt. It is also not very comfortable to sleep on a seat. Sometimes tourists do not have enough time to see the sights of this or that city.
My favourite way of traveling
is travelling by car. I think this is one of the most comfortable means of travelling. You can enjoy the view looking through the window and this way of traveling
is rather fast. You can travel to different cities and towns of your native country and even abroad. In summer I like traveling
on foot. This way of traveling
is called hiking. I take a tent, backpacks, food and start walking. This kind of traveling
is slow, but you spend a lot of time outside and you do not have to think about tickets. During such hikes, one can see a lot of interesting places and meet new people. It is so nice to sleep in a tent in the open air, too.

If you decide to travel by any means of transport youТ ll have to prepare for the trip. If you travel by plane, train or ship, you have to book tickets beforehand. You can do this over th
e phone or in a travel agency. If you travel by plane, you have to be at the airport two hours before an international flight and one hour before a domestic flight. The officers will check your luggage and you will have to get though the passport control.
When you go by train, it is easier, because you have to go through ticket control only.
Traveling is always nice. It gives you an opportunity to see foreigners and interesting places. I love
traveling !

Travelling (2)

I think it is hard to imagine the
modern life without traveling. To understand how true it is you may go to a railway station, an airport or a seaport. There you will see thousands of people who are hurrying to board the train, airplane or an ocean liner. Some people prefer traveling by
s
ea.
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