EXAMINATION TOPICS

1.My family       

Family, in my opinion, is someone who loves you and whom you love either. It can be not only your parents but also people who are dear to you, who take care of you. I think that the family is one of the most important things in our life, and people who have no family are always lonely and moreover nobody takes care of them. From one hand it’s great to be the only child in a family but in some cases it’s not. On the plus side parents always ready to help you but on the contrary when there is too much care it seems not to be good, because you cannot show your independence, do something yourself. Also you can feel lonely and bored. But your parents often do whatever their child want and if it’s necessary they help you and warn. They always spend their time doing something together with child to make him happy or teach something. And you have to appreciate their care and love. Because nobody except them love you so much and know a lot about you. As for me, I am the only child in family. And sometimes I think about how will I live if I have a sister or brother. Sometimes it is so boring to be at home along. I think about my parents, that all my childhood they helped me and did everything for me.

         I’ve got Mum and Dad. My Mum’s name is… . She is…My Dad’s name is… He is…

2.Family Traditions

Many families have important traditions that family members share. First of all, it is a great opportunity to gather all family members together. We have relatives across the country and we all need to make a great effort to meet. Our grandmother had seven children, three girls and four boys. Some of them are living in Saint-Petersburg, others are living in the south, near the Black Sea. When we come together, we can learn the latest news about each other and share our feelings and thoughts

The last reason why I like this tradition is that we make present to each other. We have decided that everyone should make a present to only one person. You can ask me, how do you choose WHICH person to GIVE a present? It is quite easy. We have a ''family lottery''. The year before our next meeting we write our names on little lists of paper and put them into a hat. Thereafter each in turn reaches his hand into the hat and pulls out the name of the person to whom he will make a gift. In conclusion I would say that every family has their own traditions. And I enjoy this custom of our family  because it allows us to come together and to give wonderful presents to each other.

3.Family Relationships    

How could you describe the word "family"? First of all "family" means a close unit of parents and their  children living together. But we shouldn't forget that it is a most complex system of relationships. Family relationships are rarely as easy as we would like, and very often we have to work hard at keeping them peaceful. Nowadays we have got much more freedom in questions concerning family. It is natural to get married at the age of 20 up to 30; however, some people prefer to make a career first and only after that start a family when they are already in their forties. Moreover, there are many cases when people prefer to live together without being married. There are some reasons for this phenomenon. Firstly, it is difficult to juggle a family life with studies at school or university. But without good education it is practically impossible to find a suitable well-paid steady job. There is also another difference between old and modern families. Nowadays it is very unusual to find three generations living under one roof as they used to do in the past. Relatives, as a rule, live separately and don't often meet one another. This fact sharply hurts an older generation. Our parents and grandparents usually suffer from lack of attention and respect from their children and grandchildren, although they try not to show it. They really don't need much, just a telephone call or a visit once a week will make them happy.

Family problems  

"Honour your mother and father and you will live long and be well, if not, you will die" — says the Bible. Some families are happy, some are dead. It seems to me the reason is misunderstanding of each other in the family. One more thing, teenagers can take on most of the rights and responsibilities of adulthood. Before this occurs, however, they go through the period of adolescence and most of them experience conflicts at that time. They change rapidly both physically and emotionally and they search self-identity as they grow up and become more independent.

Sometimes teenagers develop interests and values different from those of their parents. That sets a conflict between two generations, which leads to a gap in mutual understanding. Traditional disagreements are: the time to come home at night, doing work about the house and the friends to spend time with. I'd like to point out, that teens face a number of problems: drinking alcohol or using drugs. Moreover, some children run away from their homes. Most of them return after a few days or weeks, but some turn to crime and become juvenile delinquents.

I'm convinced that sometimes parents do not care about their children. It is exactly at that age when young people need a piece of advice or help. Different TV programmes and magazines for the young come to their rescue. In case of need you can also dial a special telephone number, the so-called 'telephone of trust'. But it's not the way out. Parents should help their children and find the right approach to them so as to make everything clear. Being able to view the problems more rationally, they should try to do their best to resolve them. We need to learn to talk our problems over in our family. If we are able to do it, everything will be all right.

 4.Friendship.

What is friendship? Some people will say that it is a feeling of mutual liking between two or more people, other will add that it is a state when one person understands and supports the other one.

To my mind friendship can be compared to a tree. Its seed should find good soil and under good conditions it will grow into a tree. As the years go by the tree stands firmer and firmer on the ground. And if it is strong enough, it will survive all the storms and winds. But to help it, we should take care of it and love it. The most important feeling that exists between friends is trust. It newer appears by itself, it's the result of a long friendship and this feeling is very valuable. Respect and tolerance are also very important; it means that you don't criticize your friend's way of living, but try to understand him, discuss problems with him and explain to him what you think is good and what is bad. A friend is a person who can help you in time, lend you any sum of money for a long period of time without any percent, whom you can wake up in the middle of the night just to say you feel worried or who is eager to do everything for you waiting nothing in return, who supports you in all your beginnings and who will never betray you. Lucky are those people who have friends. I'm happy to have lots of friends, too. Some of them are very close, some are less. But all of them make my life interesting and enjoyable. I appreciate friendship. It makes happiness grow brighter and grief less painful, because we have friends to share it with. When we doubt our ability to fulfill our aspiration or to reach our secret goal it is our best friend who gives us a spark of assurance. And we trust our friends and we are grateful to them. Friendship is a bridge between loneliness and fellowship, frustration and confidence, despair and hope, setbacks and success. That's why a true friend is a priceless gift. They are rich who have true friends, says a proverb and I agree.

5.Education

Education plays a very important role in our life. It is one of the most valuable possessions a man can get in his life. During all the periods of human history education ranked high among people. Human progress mostly depended upon well-educated people. We get our knowledge of this world and life through education. Many famous discoveries would have been impossible if people were not interested in learning something. Self-education is very important for the development of human’s talents. Only through self-education a person can become a harmonically developed personality.

A person becomes a highly qualified specialist after getting some special education. And professionalism can be reached only through it. Even highly qualified specialists from time to time attend refresher courses to refresh their knowledge.  Education develops all sides of human personality, reveals his abilities. Besides, it helps a person to understand himself, to choose the right way in this world. The civilized state differs from others in the fact that it pays much attention to the educational policy. John Kennedy said: “Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education”. But it doesn’t concern only one particular nation. We know that science and art belong to the whole world. Before them the barriers of nationality disappear. So education brings people closer to each other, helps them to understand each other better.

6.My School

 I've just graduated and I would like to tell you a few words about my school. I went to school in 19... This school I studied in is a three storied 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, maths, 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.

7.School Traditions

My school life is connected not only with studies but with many other important things. When I think about my school years I recollect a lot of events.  Many of them became traditions because they happen every year on the same dates. Some traditions are similar in all Belarusian schools, some are unique.

The school year starts on the 1st of September. This day is special for all: school children, their teachers and parents. The day starts with the school gathering when all classes and teachers stand in front of the school and listen to the welcoming speeches of their teachers, schoolmates and parents. Students look really nice in their new school uniforms. Everyone is excited to see their school friends and teachers after long summer holidays. After the school gathering teachers take their classes to their classrooms for the first lesson.

Every year in September we have the opportunity to show our athletic skills and abilities during our Sports Day. Though we have Sports weeks every season this day is also among our favourite school traditions. There is a wide range of activities. It opens with a running race. Then we have competitions in different sports, we play sports games, run, jump, climb a wall. Everyone from the 1st to the 11th class takes part in some events. The day finishes with a Closing ceremony where winners get their prizes. Of course we never forget to congratulate our teachers on Teacher’s Day. Some of our best students take part in School Olimpiads. Very soon we’ll have our last and traditional School leavers’ Party.

I think I will never forget my school, teachers, classmates and our school traditions.

8.My plans for the future

 When you leave school you understand that the time to choose your future profession has come. It’s not an easy task to make right choice of a job. There are over 2000 professions to choose and make a decision. It is a dilemma for all family. Fathers usually wants their children to follow their footsteps. Mothers don’t want their sons and daughters to leave the native town. So they persuade kids to enter local colleges and universities. Because of the wide difference in jobs, you should find out all you can about any job which interests you. This can be done by going to the library and by reading widely, and also by talking to adults who have different kinds of jobs. You also need to think about how well you can do what you would like to do. Some follow their parents advice and some follow their own choice. To make the right choice you should consider your traits and characters. . So choosing a career and getting a job are two of the most important things, any person does in his lifetime. If we don’t think about the future, we won’t have one.

9.Life In The City And 

In The Country

Both  a city and a village have advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages of living in a city is that everything is close to home: shops and supermarkets, schools and hospitals and other facilities. Besides, life in the city is more comfortable. There are more opportunities to find a good, well-paid job and make a successful career or it is easier to open a company. Moreover, if you are a city-dweller you have a better choice of schools and higher quality of education. There is a good selection of entertainments, for example, cinemas, theatres, discos, water parks, museums, galleries and sport facilities. In addition, cities have better and more convenient infrastructure.

On the other hand, living in the city has also disadvantages. The air in the cities is polluted. There is heavy traffic and it is difficult to find a parking place, especially in the center. Another point is that the cities are overpopulated.  Shops, streets and public transport are overcrowded. People feel mental discomfort connected with living conditions. At the same time, in a small town, you have to own a car to ensure a comfortable living. You can’t get around without one because there isn’t any kind of public transportation. There aren’t many entertainments in the country. It is sometimes difficult to get to school, hospital or shops. In the country it is difficult to find a good job.

At the same time life in the country is quieter and more peaceful, there is no traffic, no noise. People can relax, go to the forest, enjoy beautiful landscapes, the air is also much cleaner. The life in the country is safer and not as expensive as the life in the city.

10.Types of houses

We can hardly say that today there exist the problem of choosing a type of housing. Everyone can find something he or she likes. For instance, some people prefer to live somewhere in the country in a small, but cosy cottage or a large farmhouse. There are also those who like semi-detached houses. I've mentioned such a type of housing as a block of flats. I consider that it's the cheapest type of dwelling in a town. Flats can be of different sizes: one-roomed, two-roomed, three-roomed, so one can choose a flat he/she likes.  But as any type of housing a flat has its disadvantages: your neighbours can make a lot of noise when they, for example, hammer or drill the wall, or when they organize a party. And the last type of dwelling I want to mention is a detached house. It has a lot of advantages: first of all  your neighbours can never disturb you. But at the same time if you want to ask your neighbours for something or just to have a talk you can visit them. As you have some land around the house you can build outhouses; and if I lived in a detached house I would certainly build a garage, a summer house, maybe a padding pool and certainly I would arrange some flowerbeds as I adore flowers.

In the end I'd like to add that there are many types of housing and all the people have the right to choose where to live.

11.Belarusian national cuisine

 Food is obviously a very important part of peoples’ culture and if you want to understand the nation it is important to try national food. Belarusian cuisine consists mostly of vegetables, meats and breads. The foods that are considered to be staples of Belarus include pork, cabbages, potatoes and bread. Traditional cooking methods are usually either slowly cooked or stewed food. But the most popular Belarusian dish is draniki. Kvass is a type of soft drink that is made from either brown bread or rye flour that has been malted. Kvass can also be combined with sliced vegetables to create a cold soup called okroshka. I think all these dishes will be rather tasty and unusual for a tourist.

12.National cuisine 

of an English-speaking country

I’d like to tell some words about British food. Traditionally English people have three meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast is served in the morning. It used to be a large meal with cereal, eggs and bacon, sausages, tomatoes. But such a large breakfast takes a long time to prepare and is not very healthy. Nowadays, Britain’s most popular breakfast consists of cereal, toast with marmalade, juice and yogurt with a cup of tea or coffee. Lunch is a light meal. Most people have no time to go back home for lunch so they eat at school, cafes, pubs or restaurants. The main meal is dinner. A typical evening meal is a meat dish with vegetables and dessert. The most important meal of the week is the Sunday dinner. The traditional Sunday dish used to be roast beef, but nowadays pork, chicken or lamb are more common. On Sunday evenings people have supper or high tea. The famous British afternoon tea is becoming rare, except at weekends. Some people criticize English food. But tastes are differ.

13.Shopping

Shopping has common elements wherever it takes place. A buyer looks for a seller who is offering something the buyer wants or needs at a price the buyer can afford to pay. Sellers often advertise their wares in newspapers, on the radio or TV, on posters etc. Sellers use a variety of tactics to induce buyers to purchase from them at a price which leaves some profit. Shopping is a part of our daily life. And we have to deal with it whether we like it or not. There are people who hate going shopping. So they make a list of what they need and run through stores buying the needed things. Sometimes they even don't care about the price. And there are people who go form store to store looking for goods of better quality and lower price. Those don't worry about the time they spend shopping. But there is a very good service called Postal Market. It really helps you to save your time and get goods of high quality. You just have to look through a catalogue, choose the things you like, order them and wait a little to get them.

14.My hobby     

 A "hobby" is a special interest or activity that you do in your time off. Some people have animals as hobbies. They keep rabbits, or go fishing. They train dogs to do tricks, or keep pigeons to race and carry messages. Some are crazy about plants. They try to grow cacti or rare tropical flowers in their kitchens and sitting rooms. Others are mad about their car or their motorbike. They spend their Saturdays and Sundays washing them, painting them, or buying new bits and pieces to make them go even faster. Children and teenagers are great collectors. They collect stamps, or postcards or matchboxes, or pictures of a favourite footballer or pop star. Many people make things as a hobby. Some teach themselves at home, but a lot of people go to evening classes at their local college. Just look under letter B in a list of London or New York evening classes and you'll find: Ballet, Batik, Bengali, Body building, Breadmaking and Byzantium. But not everyone goes to evening classes to learn about his special interest.

17.Means of communication

To begin with I’d like to point out that means of communication have changed greatly .When we think of it we cannot understand how people who lived 50 years ago were able to keep in touch. Nowadays we cannot imagine human contact without modern technology devices such as mobile phones, smartphones, tablets, laptops, video chats and so on.

Thanks to the new technologies people are communicating more than ever before. Modern  means of communication have made the distance between people unimportant. Unlike 20 years ago we usually call someone, not visit. Mobile phones are portable and let us contact others wherever they and we are. Furthermore, mobile phones offer the possibility of texting. Text messaging is the most convenient and the cheapest form of communication when we need to pass a quick note containing only a few words.

Emails have replaced letters and postcards almost completely. People prefer emails, which are quicker to write and send and more sure to reach the addressee. Video conferences are often used by business people and scientists and they don’t need to travel to remote places.

To keep in touch with our families and friends that live abroad we use the Internet and such programmes as Skype we use video chats or instant messaging. Thanks to them we can talk with our relatives for free and without time limits.

A lot of people especially teenagers communicate in social networks such as vkontacte, facebook, twitter, odnoklassniki.   They share the news, pictures, funny videos, jokes, songs and so on.

The Internet is very helpful for those who have a hobby.  You can communicate with those who share the same passion from all over the world. You can learn the news and discuss your favourite pop star, or a movie actor, a tv show , sport competitions and what not. On forums people share their experiences and help each other to solve the   problems they have run into. To sum it up I’d like to point out that modern means of communication have changed our life, they influence our social life, politics, business, entertainment and etc.

18.Healthy way of life

A wise man said, “Never hurry. Take plenty of exercise. Always be cheerful. Take all the sleep you need. You may expect to be well.” Actually these are the basis of our health. I would add to this list of advice healthy eating habits.

A considerable ingredient of a healthy way of life is sport and exercising. Sports develop force, dexterity (ловкость) and accuracy. Going in for sport helps us not only to preserve good physical health but also to breed up a strong character, to be better organized and better disciplined.

All kinds of sports are useful and healthy but it is not compulsory to go in for sports professionally. Doctors say that twenty minutes’ exercise three times a week is all you need to be fit. Regularly walking the dog around the block, raking leaves, going on short distances on foot, taking the stairs instead of elevators can be considered as exercising. The advantages of being fit are evident. Fitness reduces the risk of different diseases and illnesses, makes you feel healthier, more positive and optimistic, helps you to avoid obesity and gives you strength and energy so that you don’t get tired easily.

But fitness comes not just from some exercises done now and then but from the way you live all the time. Good eating habits, regular sleeping habits, and plenty of fresh air are all important parts of the way to keep fit.

                          

                            19.Sports 

and a healthy way of life

Sport is very important in our life. It is popular among young and old people. Many people do morning exercises, jog in the morning, train themselves in clubs, in different sections and take part in sport competitions. Other people like sports too, but they only watch sports games, listen to sports news. They prefer reading interesting stories about sportsmen. But they don't go in for sports. Physical training is an important subject at school. Pupils have got physical training lessons twice a week. Boys and girls play volley-ball and basket-ball at the lessons. There is a sportsground near our school and school-children go in foi sports in the open air. A lot of different competitions are held at schools, a great number of pupils take part in them. All participants try to get good results and become winners. Sport helps people to keep in good health. If you go in for sports, you have good health and don't catch cold. Children and grown-ups must take care of their health and do morning exercises regularly. There are some popular kinds of sports in our country: football, volley-ball, hockey, gymnastics, skiing, skating. Athletics is one of the most popular kinds of sports. It includes such kinds of sports as running, jumping and others. Everybody may choose the sport he (or she) is interested in. There are summer and winter sports. My favourite sport is swimming.

  

20.Tourism 

Twenty years ago not many people travelled overseas for their holidays. The majority of people stayed to have holidays in their country. Today the situation is different and the world seems much smaller. It is possible to book a holiday to a seaside resort on the other side of the world. Staying at home, you can book it through the Internet or by phone. The plane takes you straight there and within some hours of leaving your country, you can be on a tropical beach, breathing a super clean air and swimming in crystal warm water of tropical sea.

We can travel by car, by train or plane, if we have got a long distance tour. Some young people prefer walking or hitch-hike travelling, when you travel, paying nearly nothing. You get new friends, lots of fun and have no idea where you will be tomorrow. It has great advantages for the tourists, who want to get the most out of exploring the world and give more back to the people and places visited. If you like mountains, you could climb any mountains around the globe and there is only one restriction. It is money. If you like travelling, you have got to have some money, because it is not a cheap hobby indeed. The economy of some countries is mainly based on tourism industry. Modern tourism has become a highly developed industry, because any human being is curious and inquisitive, we like leisure, visit other places. That is why tourism prospers.

21.Fashion

We call fashion something that is popular at some period of time. Fashion is something we deal with everyday. For sure everyone wants to keep up to date. Even people who say they don’t care what they wear choose clothes every morning that say a lot about them and how they feel that day. Especially the majority of young people like to show themselves off in public.

In all times, particularly taking roots from the past centuries, person’s welfare was valued by the way a man or a woman was dressed. Nowadays people’s point of view hasn’t changed a lot; merely people’s choices often lay neither in the quality of product nor in its easiness in use, but in the choice brands.

Sometimes we could claim that fashion often rules the world, turning many people’s heads. To attract attention of others they wear non-traditional clothes, made by popular brands. Fashion is a language which tells a story about the person who wears it.

22. Ecological problems

         Since ancient times nature has served man, being the source of his life. For thousands of years people lived in harmony with environment. But with the development of civilization man's interference in nature began to increase. Large cities with thousands of smoky industrial enterprises have appeared all over the world today. Every year world industry pollutes the atmosphere with about 1000 million tons of dust and harmful substances. Many cities suffer from smog. Vast forests are cut and burn in fire. Their disappearance upsets the oxygen balance. As a result some rare species of animals, birds, fish and plants disappear forever, a number of lakes and rivers dry up. The pollution of air and the world's ocean destruction of the ozone layer is the result of man's careless interaction with nature, a sign of ecological crises. As a result of the Chernobyl tragedy the Belarussian people faced the most horrible ecological disaster. About 18 per cent of the territory of Belarus was contaminated with radioactive substances. A great damage has been done to the republic's agriculture, forests and people's health. People all over the world are worried about what is happening to the environment. They understand that the earth is their home, a big green home. The environment protection should be our universal concern.

23.Weather and 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 and is different in different parts of the world. Some scientists think that the world is becoming hotter. If you compare Moscow winter and summer temperatures at the beginning of our century and at its end you will see that climate has really changed. Winters have become warmer. Sometimes there is little snow in January, and there were winters when it rained on the New Year's Eve. Many people say that it is so because of the greenhouse effect. During the last 100 years people have produced a lot of carbon dioxide. This gas in the atmosphere works like glass in a greenhouse. It lets heat get in, but it doesn't let much heat get out. So the atmosphere becomes warmer. Where does the carbon dioxide come from? People and animals breathe in oxygen, and breathe out carbon dioxide. We produce carbon dioxide when we burn things. Trees take this gas from the air, and produce oxygen. But in the last few years, people have cut down and burn big areas of rainforest. This means there are fewer trees, and, of course, more carbon dioxide! As we see the climate in different parts of the world changes a little from year to year. These changes can be dangerous for our planet, which needs protection. Earth is millions of years old, much older than the humans. We know many of its secrets. Yet there is still much to learn.

24.The Republic of Belarus 

 The Republic of Belarus is situated in the center of Europe. It borders on Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, the Ukrain, Russia and Poland. Its present population is about 12 million people. Belarus is a land of vast plains and picturesque hills, thick forests and green meadows, deep blue lakes and flowing rivers. There are a lot of rivers and lakes are in our country. The Dnieper, Pripyat, Sozh, Zapadnaya Dvina, Neman are the biggest rivers. The largest lake in Belarus is lake Naroch . Belarus has a moderately continental climate due to Atlantic influences with a worm winter and with a worm summer. Today Belarus is a developed industrial state.  The main industries are engineering, chemical industry, wood-working industry, light and food industries. The major industrial centers in Belarus are Minsk, Gomel, Vitebsk, Mogilev, Soligorsk, Zhodino, Brest and others. Belarussian goods are exported to many countries and known, all over the world. Agriculture of Belarus specializes in milk and meet production, flax, vegetables (especially potatoes) and-fruit (especially apples). The Republic of Belarus has well-developed science and educational system. Nowadays in Belarus there are 43 universities, academies and institutes which provide training in various spheres of science and humanities.

 25.Great Britain        

         The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on the British Isles. The British Isles consist of two large islands, Great Britain and Ireland, and about five thousand small islands. The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The capital of the UK is London. The British Isles are separated from the European continent by the North Sea and the English Channel.  The north of Scotland is mountainous and is called the Highlands, while the south, which has beautiful valleys and plains, is called the Lowlands. The north and west of England are mountainous, but all the rest - east, center and south-east - is a vast plain. Mountains are not very high. Ben Nevis in Scotland is the highest mountain. There are a lot of rivers in Great Britain, but they are not very long. The Severn is the longest river, while the Thames is the deepest and the most important one. Its population is over 58 million. About 80% of the population is urban. The UK is a highly developed industrial country. It is known as one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of machinery, electronics, textile, aircraft and navigation equipment. One of the chief industries of the country is shipbuilding. The UK is a constitutional monarchy. In law, the Head of State is the Queen. In practice, the Queen reigns, but does not rule. The country is ruled by the elected government with the Prime Minister at the House of Commons.