Climate
Climate is the weather a certain place has over a long period of time. Climate has a very important influence on plants, animals and humans. Climate is different in different parts of the world.
For example, Russia is the largest country of the world and its climate in the north, south, east and west is different. The climate in the west is usually mild and wet, in the south there is a lot of sunshine. In the Arctic the winter temperatures are very low. The taiga has long hard winters and short summers.
However, recently the climate has changed a lot in our country, especially in its European part. Some scientists think the world is becoming hotter. Many people say that it is so because of the greenhouse effect. It works like this: sunlight gives us heat part of which warms the atmosphere and some of the heat goes back into space. Nowadays the air surrounding the earth has become much warmer because the heat can’t go back into space because people have produced a lot of carbon – dioxide. This gas works like glass in a greenhouse. It lets heat get in, but does not let much heat go out.
So, the climate in different parts of the world changes a little from year to year. These changes can be dangerous for our fragile planet which needs protection.
ENGLAND
The United Kingdom is a small country but it’s a highly populated region. London, the capital of the UK, is the 7 th biggest city in the world. Britain is an unusually beautiful country. Here you can find practically any type of scenery.
England is the largest part of the UK. It consists of: the Southeast, the Southwest, East Anglia, the Midlands and the North of England.
The Southeast . There is a lot of industry in the Southeast. Such historical cities as London, Dover, Windsor and Brighton are situated here. The main ports and airports are also in the Southeast. This region is famous for its resorts. The countryside is very attractive and the
County of Kent, which is in the Southeast, is called the garden of
England.

The Southwest . The Southwest is famous for its pirates. A lot of tourists come here because of its romantic past. In the Southwest you can visit Stonehenge and Land’s End.
East Anglia . East Anglia is very flat and it is another farming region. A famous English general and politician Oliver Cromwell was born in East Anglia , in the Fens area. He was the leader of the army against Carl I.
The Midlands . It is the heart of England. The most important industrial cities are in the Midlands. They are: Manchester, Liverpool,
Sheffield and Birmingham. In the Midlands you can visit such cultural cities as Stratford and Oxford.
The North of England has got two popular attractions. They are the Lake District and Hadrian’s Wall. Hadrian’s Wall was built in
Roman times to defend the Northern Border of Britain from Scottish tribes.
Fragile planet .
The word “environment” means what is around us. Some people live in a town environment, for others, it is a countryside. But air, soil and water are all part of the environment.
Nowadays people understand how important it is to solve the environmental problems that endanger people’s lives. The most serious environmental problems are pollution in its many forms, for example, water pollution, air pollution, nuclear pollution.
I would like to tell more about water pollution. Sea water today is much more dangerous. There is no ocean or sea, which is not used as a dump. Many sees are used for dumping industrial and nuclear waste. Many rivers and lakes are poisoned too. Fish and reptiles can’t live in them. There is not enough oxygen in the water. In such places all the birds leave their habitats and many plants die too. It happens so because factories and plants produce a lot of waste and pour it into rivers. So they poison the water. And, one more problem I want to tell is air pollution.
It’s clear that most of pollution in big cities comes from cars and buses. The ozone layer in the atmosphere protects us from ultraviolet radiation, but if there are holes in the ozone layer such radiation can get the earth. Many scientists think that these holes are the

result of air pollution. Nuclear power station can go wrong and cause nuclear pollution, moreover it cannot be seen but its effects can be terrible. To make air clean again we need good filters at nuclear power stations, at factories and plants.
Both clean air and water are necessary for our health. If people want to survive they must solve these problems quickly. That’s why people all over the world think and speak so much about ecology.
ROYAL LONDON .
Many places in London are closely connected with the Crown . There are royal palaces, parks, roads and streets where beautiful ceremonies are held. The most important building is Buckingham Palace , which is the official of Queen Elizabeth the second.
There are ten royal parks in and around London. They are open to public free of charge. Each park has its own character. For example, Hyde Park used to be hunting forests,
Regent’s park
was as hunting place, but now it is the home of London Zoo and there is an open – air theatre.
Nowadays the Queen reigns but does not rule. Royal family plays a very important role in the country. In the history of Britain there were a lot of famous Kings and Queens, for example, King Henry the eighth . He had six wives but he was very important monarch.
Under him Britain became independent of the Roman Catholic Church; it got richer and more powerful.
Henry’s daughter, Elizabeth the first is remembered as a strong, powerful queen.
During her reign England became very important in European politics, the Spanish Armada was defeated, arts and theatres developed.
Another strong queen was Queen Victoria . She ruled for the longest period in the
English history. During her reign Britain became a rich industrial country with a develop trade, an empire with a lot of colonies.
Nowadays, Queen Elizabeth the second reigns in the UK.
SCOTLAND
Scotland is a country in the United Kingdom to the north of England. Its symbol is a thistle; its patron is St. Andrew. The country is divided into
Highlands and Lowlands. Most of the industry is concentrated in Lowlands, in

the Clyde Valley. Glasgow is an industrial city and it is a centre of business and trade.
Edinburgh is known as Athens of the North. It is an ancient city. The most interesting parts of the city are the Old Town and the New Town. The Old
Town lies between the Castle and Holyrood Palace. The Castle hangs over the city. The Castle, in fact, is older than the city.
No one can exactly say when the first settlers came to on the huge rock that stands high above Edinburgh. Later they built a castle that used to be a fortress and then a royal palace.
The Edinburgh military tattoo takes place every August and September.
The performers play military music and march to it. At the same time as the tattoo, you can go to the famous Edinburgh festival.
Holyrood House is a big royal palace which is the residence of the Queen when she is in Edinburgh. The most picturesque part of the Royal Mile is the
Cannongate.
One of the most modest and one of the best known monuments in
Edinburgh is a monument to dog called Bobby. The dog belonged to John Gray.
When he died Bobby lived near his grave for twenty-six years.
The Old Town is a striking contrast to New Town with its white and beautiful streets. Princes Street is the most beautiful street of the New Town. It has a lot of gardens on one side and it is Edinburgh’s popular shopping centre.
Princess Street is connected with the name of the famous writer, Sir Walter Scott.
The USA
The United States of America is the fourth largest country in the world after Russia,
Canada and China.
It is situated on the North American continent and is washed by three oceans: the
Pacific, the Atlantic and the Arctic. The USA borders only on two countries — Canada and
Mexico. More than 300 million people live in the USA.
This great country has a lot of mountains, rivers, lakes. The main mountains are the
Appalachians and the Cordilleras. The longest rivers are the Mississippi and the Missouri.
The climate of the country is varied. In the southern part it is subtropical while the northern part has very cold weather in winter.

The Grand Canyon is one’s of America’s main tourist attraction. It is so big and interesting that there are different kinds of plants and animals on opposite sides of the canyon. It looks different at different times a day, seasons and weather.
America has fifty states. The capital of the USA is Washington in federal District of
Columbia.
The main cities are New-York San-Francisco, Los-Angeles, Detroit, Chicago.
The USA is a country of highly developed industry and agriculture. The main industrial centers are Chicago and Detroit, with their greatest automobile company “General
Motors”. There are many farms with various agricultural products. Grain, fruit and vegetables are grown on fields especially in the South.
The people of the United States are mixture of many different nationalities. Every
American schoolchild learns that the US is a big melting pot of countries. In melting pot, different metals are melted together to make a new metal. The US is like a melting pot for people. In the past people from many different European countries came to the US and made one country out of many. In one city you can find whose parent came from China, Africa,
South America, Asia and every European country. These people brought to their new land a wonderful mixture of customs and traditions.
Americans are not afraid of new ideas. At the same time, Americans love old things.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564 in Stratford-Upon-Avon.
His mother was the daughter of a farmer. His father was a glove -maker. William went to a grammar school in a Stratford and had quite a good education. There he learned to love reading and he helped his father in the family business.
Then he was 18, William married Anne Hathaway, a farmer's daughter some years older than himself. She came from a very serious, puritan family.

In 1587 Shakespeare went to work in London, leaving Anne and the children at home. We don't known exactly why he did it. Some people say that the reason was his love of poetry and theatre. But there is another story which says that he head to run away from law because he killed some deer belonging to a rich man.
In London Shakespeare began to act and to write plays and soon became an important member of a well-known acting company. Most of his plays were performed in the new Globe Theatre built on the bank of the River Thames. In
1613 he stopped writing and went to live in Stratford where he died in 1616.
Four hundred years later his plays are still acted — not only in England but in the whole world.