Weather is a good conversational topic, very popular in the Britain, because it is impersonal. Britain has mostly mild and moderate climate. Winters are not so cold and summers are not so hot. The climate can change form minute to minute.
West coast of USA has warm climate and the most of year is sunny. The coast is influenced by the Pacific Ocean climate. East coast has moderate climate influenced by the Atlantic Ocean.
The Czech Republic has a moderate continental climate. The year is divided into four parts spring, summer, autumn and winter. Each season has about three months and has it own beauty.
Spring begins on 21st March, which is also a day of a spring equinox. The days get longer and the night is shorter. Spring and summer are the most beautiful seasons of the year. Nature wakes up after the winter and people fall in love and we have summer holiday. The weather in spring especially in April is unpredictable and very changeable. The temperatures usually fluctuate around the zero at night and during the day it can rise above the zero and sometimes up to ten degrees. It is the time of many rainfalls, but if it clears up the air is fresh and people enjoy good weather.
Summer begins on 21st June, a day of a summer solstice and the day is longest in the year. People are more interested in weather, because they set out on journeys and plan their holidays. The temperatures rise above 25 °C. Early in the morning the sky is bright and clear and no wind blows. If the rain comes it is usually in a form of storm or shower. The storm is followed with the thunder, lightning and heavy downpour. Every man who stands out is wet to the skin. It is very dangerous to stand under the trees, because when the lightning hit it, it may wound you. Sometimes when the sun is shining during the shower, there is a rainbow after it. Summer is also the time of for strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and cranberries and it is a time of the harvest of corn.
At the beginning of the September exactly on 23rd September the summer is over. This is also a day of autumn equinox. The nights are longer and days get shorter. It is a time of harvest. We pick apples, pears and plumbs and we are gathering potatoes. The trees and grass are changing. The stalks go yellow and gets dry. The leaves go yellow, brown and fall. It is a time of mushrooming. Birds set off the journey to the south. The days are cloudy and it often rains. Temperatures drop down, the weather is gloomy, rainy and it goes chilly. The mornings are sometimes foggy. Also the behaviour of people is changing. They are irritable and it is a time of many diseases.
Winter comes on 21st December, the day of winter equinox. The night is longest in the year. Typical winter weather brings snowfalls. The view from the top of the mountain down to the valley on the white trees is absolutely wonderful. The temperatures sometimes drop 20 degrees below the freezing point. The roads become icy and slippery and it is very dangerous to go by car.
During the last fifty years the have temperatures and climate changed a lot. The winters in the moderate climate belt are warmer and summers are colder. The places with the highest points of rainfalls became wetter and the driest places become more and drier. Man is only being who is responsible for all of this. The main cause is pollution and greenhouse effect. Thanks to that the average earth temperature has risen about 0,6 °C during last fifty years.
Travelling
Schedule:
1) Various reasons for travelling (past vs. present)
2) Means of transport – land , air, water
3) Advantages and disadvantages of each one
4) Quality of public transport
5) Development of modern transport
6) Reasons why tourists come to our country – places of interest
1)
People travel in order to reach places that are far away; maybe they travel for fun or from necessity. Travelling takes up more time in our live than we can imagine. Everyday we travel to school, to work, to go shopping or visiting friends.
2)
In the past travelling had similar cause to now days. People in the past wanted to go somewhere or move something somewhere. But the kinds of transport were not as much advanced and colourful as now days.
In the present there are two main means of transport. It is our mean of transport or public transportation services. People can transport goods or themselves by land, air or by water.
3)
The main fact that speaks for water transport are small costs. That’s why the rivers, seas and oceans are filled with cargos and passengers vessels. The advantage is that you can take as much luggage as you want to take. Not many people have the courage to board on the ship because they can become seasick.
Going by air consumes huge sums of money but it is the fastest and very comfortable. The air transportation system is strictly dependent on the timetable. At the airport we go through the passport control then security checks our luggage, then we board the plane and wait until the plane take off. When we are lucky our flight is cancelled or postponed.
Travelling on the land is very variable. Cars and motorbikes are expensive to purchase and you have to pay for the petrol, which costs a lot of money too. The advantage of the cars is that it can take you almost anywhere in any time. Modern cars have a lot of space for luggage and seats are so soft that sometimes it is more comfortable than go on a plane. For use the car you have to have a driving license so you have to know Highway Code. The Highway Code is different in Britain and in the USA where people drive on the left.
4)
In the huge cities is more advantageous to use public transport. Public transport is cheaper, but it is less comfortable. The network of the bus and railway stations covers most inhabited places. An ordinary railway station looks like this: Big hall with ticket office, where you can buy a ticket (single, return or the seat reservation), board with departures and arrivals, a left luggage office or lockers, telephones, restaurant and under passage directly to the platform. You can get in the train and find the place to sit down. If it’s all occupied you have to stay or find a seat on the stairs. During the journey you can play cards, talk with other passengers or sleep. During the journey the conductor comes to check the tickets. In the Britain there are no conductors and you hand over your ticket to a ticket controller before leaving the platform.
In big cities we can use underground to transport. It is very advantageous, because if you go by bus you can get to the traffic jam. But in the underground there is nothing like this.
5)
The technique is changing constantly and transport too. The factories try to make cars which are more comfortable and safe than ever in the pass. Now days the cars have the main computer which monitors everything form your seat belts, doors and it also has the GPS system which can navigate you.
If you fly a plane you only programme the autopilot and then you can only the functions. The planes are able to land without the intervention of human being. But planes are too old and in soon future we will travel in the space. The first space tourist has already been sent. But this kind of transport is maybe the most expensive in the world.
6)
Our country is one of the most visited countries in the Europe. We have colourful history and our capital and others cities are beautiful. Tourists come to sea that part of history that they don’t have in their country, E.g. the Americans. They say that we have cheap beer and beautiful women. Some of the foreigners come to see our history and places of interest.
1) Various reasons for travelling (past vs. present)
2) Means of transport – land , air, water
3) Advantages and disadvantages of each one
4) Quality of public transport
5) Development of modern transport
6) Reasons why tourists come to our country – places of interest
1)
People travel in order to reach places that are far away; maybe they travel for fun or from necessity. Travelling takes up more time in our live than we can imagine. Everyday we travel to school, to work, to go shopping or visiting friends.
2)
In the past travelling had similar cause to now days. People in the past wanted to go somewhere or move something somewhere. But the kinds of transport were not as much advanced and colourful as now days.
In the present there are two main means of transport. It is our mean of transport or public transportation services. People can transport goods or themselves by land, air or by water.
3)
The main fact that speaks for water transport are small costs. That’s why the rivers, seas and oceans are filled with cargos and passengers vessels. The advantage is that you can take as much luggage as you want to take. Not many people have the courage to board on the ship because they can become seasick.
Going by air consumes huge sums of money but it is the fastest and very comfortable. The air transportation system is strictly dependent on the timetable. At the airport we go through the passport control then security checks our luggage, then we board the plane and wait until the plane take off. When we are lucky our flight is cancelled or postponed.
Travelling on the land is very variable. Cars and motorbikes are expensive to purchase and you have to pay for the petrol, which costs a lot of money too. The advantage of the cars is that it can take you almost anywhere in any time. Modern cars have a lot of space for luggage and seats are so soft that sometimes it is more comfortable than go on a plane. For use the car you have to have a driving license so you have to know Highway Code. The Highway Code is different in Britain and in the USA where people drive on the left.
4)
In the huge cities is more advantageous to use public transport. Public transport is cheaper, but it is less comfortable. The network of the bus and railway stations covers most inhabited places. An ordinary railway station looks like this: Big hall with ticket office, where you can buy a ticket (single, return or the seat reservation), board with departures and arrivals, a left luggage office or lockers, telephones, restaurant and under passage directly to the platform. You can get in the train and find the place to sit down. If it’s all occupied you have to stay or find a seat on the stairs. During the journey you can play cards, talk with other passengers or sleep. During the journey the conductor comes to check the tickets. In the Britain there are no conductors and you hand over your ticket to a ticket controller before leaving the platform.
In big cities we can use underground to transport. It is very advantageous, because if you go by bus you can get to the traffic jam. But in the underground there is nothing like this.
5)
The technique is changing constantly and transport too. The factories try to make cars which are more comfortable and safe than ever in the pass. Now days the cars have the main computer which monitors everything form your seat belts, doors and it also has the GPS system which can navigate you.
If you fly a plane you only programme the autopilot and then you can only the functions. The planes are able to land without the intervention of human being. But planes are too old and in soon future we will travel in the space. The first space tourist has already been sent. But this kind of transport is maybe the most expensive in the world.
6)
Our country is one of the most visited countries in the Europe. We have colourful history and our capital and others cities are beautiful. Tourists come to sea that part of history that they don’t have in their country, E.g. the Americans. They say that we have cheap beer and beautiful women. Some of the foreigners come to see our history and places of interest.
The USA
Schedule:
1) Basic facts and Geography, Climate
2) History
3) National symbols
4) Political system
5) Places of interest
1)
The USA extend over one third of the North America continent. The USA has an area over 9,370,000 square kilometres and population is about 285,000,000 inhabitants. The population consist of many nationalities. 80% of inhabitants are white, 12% African –Americans, 3% Asian/Pacific islanders, 1% Eskimo and about 9% Hispanics. The capital is Washington D.C. and national currency is American Dollar. The official spoken language is the English and the nonofficial the Spain.
The USA is the fourth largest country of the world after Russia, Canada and China.
The USA is bordered by Canada in the North, by Mexico in the South, by The Pacific Ocean in the west and by The Atlantic Ocean in the east. The country is divided into four main areas. The Appalachian Highlands are geologically the oldest. It is situated in the east south part of continent. The Interior Plains also called The Mississippi Basin can be found to the west form The Appalachian Highlands. It includes Lowlands, Central Plains and Great Plains. Cordilleras occupies about half of continent in the west. They can be divided into the several parts: The Rocky Mountains, Great Basin where is the lowest point in the USA-Death Valley (85 metres below sea level). The Colorado Plateau with famous Grand Canyon is also part of The Rocky Mountains. In the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada there is situated the highest peak of the continental USA Mt. Whitney (4418m) but the highest point of USA is Mt. McKinley in Alaska (6194m).
The USA has also many rivers. Here are the most important. The Mississippi and Missouri are the biggest river system. The most important river is the Hudson. The Hudson is the connection with The Great Lakes. The St Lawrence connects The Great Lakes with The Atlantic Ocean. The biggest river in Alaska is The Yukon
The Great Lakes make the border with Canada. They are Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. They together cover about 250,000 sq. kilometres.
The Climate of the USA is varied from the Arctic climate in the north to the subtropical climate in the south. There is a great difference between the climate on the Pacific coast, which is worm and summers and winters are not so different. The Atlantic coast is cold.
The Hawaiian Islands has tropical climate.
2)
History of the USA begun in 1492, when Christopher Columbus reached the coast of Bahamas Islands. From October 12, 1492 to July, 1776 North America was a colonial land to many western countries. People moved there because they were looking for resources and because of religion. They also wanted to find gold, but they found out many others sources such as potatoes, beans, corn, and tobacco. The explorers established settlements and first colonies were created. (e.g.: French –Louisiana, 1607-Dutch – New Amsterdam, British – New England, etc…
The resources were carried to Europe, there they were worked and goods were moved back to America. They have to pay for that very expensive goods. The Boston Tea Party in 1773 was the first public protest against importing goods.
The War for Independence begun and it was finished on July 4, 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was signed by 13 colonies that fought in the war. The authors of the document are Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. The first president was George Washington. During 1788 the new Constitution has been created. The USA was divided into two parts. The North, which was industrial and The South, which was agriculture. In the South there was common to use slaves for the work on the plantings, but in the North wasn’t. Later the USA was divided also politically because of coming more and more immigrants. The North afraid that the slave power becomes dominant in the whole nation. So there was formed a new party of Republicans in the North, who wanted to abolish slavery. The South supported Democrats. Abraham Lincoln took a strong anti-slavery stand. This caused that Carolina and more 10 states broke away form The Union and formed Confederate States of America. The Civil War was form 1860 to 1865, when Southern General Lee surrounded his forces to the Union General Grant.
In 1862 President Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation, which emancipated all the slaves. The black were declared free in the 13-15th amendments to the Constitution and they were given the right to vote.
3)
National symbols (Flag, National anthem, Sea Eagle, In God we trust)
The Flag of the United States popularly called The American (Star and Stripes) Flag is the national emblem of The USA. It consists of 13 horizontal stripes 7 red and 6 white and upper rectangular blue field with 50 white stars. The stripes symbolises 13 colonies, which signed The Declaration of Independence. The stars represent 50 states of The Union.
The white colour signifies purity, red valour and hardiness and blue signifies justice.
Golden Eagle is a symbol of courage and power because of its large size, superb aerial skills, and the inaccessibility of many of its nest sites, in wild and mountainous country.
National anthem – Star-Spangled Banner was approved as a national anthem on March 3, 1931. Francis Scott Key wrote the text of the anthem on the board of a British frigate. The sight on the waving flag every morning inspired him to write the poem. This poem soon became very popular. Later in 1931 it became a national anthem
4)
Political system
Under the system of Checks and Balances the federal government is composed of three branches. The legislative represented by Congress, the Executive represented by the President and the Executive office and the Judicial represented by the Supreme Court and all other Federal Courts.
Congress comprises two bodies the Senate and the House of Representatives. They are responsible for drafting and passing laws, settings and collecting taxes, etc…The Senate is composed of 100 Senators (two for each state). Senators are elected for 6 years and every second year one third of the Senators is renewed.
The House is composed of 435 Representatives. The number of the Representatives is based on the population of each state. Members of House are changed after two years. The House is responsible for originating all bills relating to taxes and determining the outcome of a presidential election if there’s no clear electoral majority.
The President and Vice President are only elected officials of the Executive branch. Presidential elections are held every four years and President can be elected maximally two times. President has to be at least 35 years old. President serves as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, but the declaration of was must be made by Congress. President is also representing the country around the world. The executive branch comprises the President’s personal staff called Executive Office. –14 cabinet departments
The smallest branch is the Judiciary interprets the law of the land. It is composed by three-level hierarchy- Federal district courts, US courts of appeal and the US Supreme court. President appoints judges at all three levels and the Senate must confirm them.
5)
Washington D.C.
Washington D.C. is situated at the Atlantic metropolitan belt. The abbreviation D.C. means District of Columbia, which was established by Congress in 1790. The city is situated on the Potomac River. The D.C. is the seat of the federal government of the United Sates. The plan of the city was created by the French architect Pierre L’Enfant. Maryland and Virginia gave the land for the District. It was originally square 10 miles on each side. The corners were oriented north-south and east-west. Washington is the most lucid city in USA. The US Capitol is situated exactly at the centre. The North-south streets are numbered from the Capitol and the east-west streets are lettered from the Capitol. The streets are perpendicular themselves.
Washington has many imposing buildings. The Capitol and the White House are the most historic. The Capitol consists of two parts, the Senate Wing and the House of Representatives Wing. White House is presidents’ residence. In 1800 John Adams was the first president who occupied the residence.
Other places of interest are e.g. Washington Monument. It’s the white marble obelisk rises in the middle of the Mall. Jefferson Memorial is the adaptation of the ancient Roman Pantheon. The open-air interior of the Monument is dominated by the bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson holding The Declaration of Independence. Lincoln Memorial was inspired by Greek architecture. The famous statue of George Washington stands in front of the Memorial.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial is the wall in a form of letter V engraved with names of those 58,000 killed or missing in the Vietnam War. Arlington National Cemetery is the country’s most revered burial, which contains graves of over 200,000 military and their dependents. Two of US presidents are buried there: President W. H. Taft and President John F. Kennedy.
New York City
New York is the largest and the most populated city in USA. New York can be divided into five parts: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island (Richmond). The city is situated on the River Hudson. The first European who entered New York was Giovanni da Verrazano. He was followed by Henry Hudson who named the Hudson River. In 1624 was established New Amsterdam by the Dutch. The island was bought form Indians for 24 dollars.
In 1664 New Amsterdam became an English colony and it was renamed to New York In 1886 the Statue of Liberty was built into the harbour. At the turn of 20th century the first skyscrapers begun to appear. In the begun of the new century New York is known as a city of skyscrapers. The most famous World Trade Centre (twin tower) built in 1973 was destroyed on September 11,2001 by terrorist attack.
Also as in Washington, New York has many imposing buildings. The world known Wall Street is the first stock in entire world created in 1792. Madison Square named after James Madison, was established as a park in 1811. Madison Square Garden Centre was built in 1968 and it’s a place of cultural and sports events. Probably the most famous building in the New York is the Empire State building. It is the one of the highest buildings in the world. It has 102 stories and it’s 381 metres high.
Other places of interest in the USA are NASA – Kennedy Space Centre’s Spaceport, Las Vegas, The Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, the Great Lakes area with Niagara Falls, etc…
1) Basic facts and Geography, Climate
2) History
3) National symbols
4) Political system
5) Places of interest
1)
The USA extend over one third of the North America continent. The USA has an area over 9,370,000 square kilometres and population is about 285,000,000 inhabitants. The population consist of many nationalities. 80% of inhabitants are white, 12% African –Americans, 3% Asian/Pacific islanders, 1% Eskimo and about 9% Hispanics. The capital is Washington D.C. and national currency is American Dollar. The official spoken language is the English and the nonofficial the Spain.
The USA is the fourth largest country of the world after Russia, Canada and China.
The USA is bordered by Canada in the North, by Mexico in the South, by The Pacific Ocean in the west and by The Atlantic Ocean in the east. The country is divided into four main areas. The Appalachian Highlands are geologically the oldest. It is situated in the east south part of continent. The Interior Plains also called The Mississippi Basin can be found to the west form The Appalachian Highlands. It includes Lowlands, Central Plains and Great Plains. Cordilleras occupies about half of continent in the west. They can be divided into the several parts: The Rocky Mountains, Great Basin where is the lowest point in the USA-Death Valley (85 metres below sea level). The Colorado Plateau with famous Grand Canyon is also part of The Rocky Mountains. In the Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada there is situated the highest peak of the continental USA Mt. Whitney (4418m) but the highest point of USA is Mt. McKinley in Alaska (6194m).
The USA has also many rivers. Here are the most important. The Mississippi and Missouri are the biggest river system. The most important river is the Hudson. The Hudson is the connection with The Great Lakes. The St Lawrence connects The Great Lakes with The Atlantic Ocean. The biggest river in Alaska is The Yukon
The Great Lakes make the border with Canada. They are Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. They together cover about 250,000 sq. kilometres.
The Climate of the USA is varied from the Arctic climate in the north to the subtropical climate in the south. There is a great difference between the climate on the Pacific coast, which is worm and summers and winters are not so different. The Atlantic coast is cold.
The Hawaiian Islands has tropical climate.
2)
History of the USA begun in 1492, when Christopher Columbus reached the coast of Bahamas Islands. From October 12, 1492 to July, 1776 North America was a colonial land to many western countries. People moved there because they were looking for resources and because of religion. They also wanted to find gold, but they found out many others sources such as potatoes, beans, corn, and tobacco. The explorers established settlements and first colonies were created. (e.g.: French –Louisiana, 1607-Dutch – New Amsterdam, British – New England, etc…
The resources were carried to Europe, there they were worked and goods were moved back to America. They have to pay for that very expensive goods. The Boston Tea Party in 1773 was the first public protest against importing goods.
The War for Independence begun and it was finished on July 4, 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was signed by 13 colonies that fought in the war. The authors of the document are Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. The first president was George Washington. During 1788 the new Constitution has been created. The USA was divided into two parts. The North, which was industrial and The South, which was agriculture. In the South there was common to use slaves for the work on the plantings, but in the North wasn’t. Later the USA was divided also politically because of coming more and more immigrants. The North afraid that the slave power becomes dominant in the whole nation. So there was formed a new party of Republicans in the North, who wanted to abolish slavery. The South supported Democrats. Abraham Lincoln took a strong anti-slavery stand. This caused that Carolina and more 10 states broke away form The Union and formed Confederate States of America. The Civil War was form 1860 to 1865, when Southern General Lee surrounded his forces to the Union General Grant.
In 1862 President Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation, which emancipated all the slaves. The black were declared free in the 13-15th amendments to the Constitution and they were given the right to vote.
3)
National symbols (Flag, National anthem, Sea Eagle, In God we trust)
The Flag of the United States popularly called The American (Star and Stripes) Flag is the national emblem of The USA. It consists of 13 horizontal stripes 7 red and 6 white and upper rectangular blue field with 50 white stars. The stripes symbolises 13 colonies, which signed The Declaration of Independence. The stars represent 50 states of The Union.
The white colour signifies purity, red valour and hardiness and blue signifies justice.
Golden Eagle is a symbol of courage and power because of its large size, superb aerial skills, and the inaccessibility of many of its nest sites, in wild and mountainous country.
National anthem – Star-Spangled Banner was approved as a national anthem on March 3, 1931. Francis Scott Key wrote the text of the anthem on the board of a British frigate. The sight on the waving flag every morning inspired him to write the poem. This poem soon became very popular. Later in 1931 it became a national anthem
4)
Political system
Under the system of Checks and Balances the federal government is composed of three branches. The legislative represented by Congress, the Executive represented by the President and the Executive office and the Judicial represented by the Supreme Court and all other Federal Courts.
Congress comprises two bodies the Senate and the House of Representatives. They are responsible for drafting and passing laws, settings and collecting taxes, etc…The Senate is composed of 100 Senators (two for each state). Senators are elected for 6 years and every second year one third of the Senators is renewed.
The House is composed of 435 Representatives. The number of the Representatives is based on the population of each state. Members of House are changed after two years. The House is responsible for originating all bills relating to taxes and determining the outcome of a presidential election if there’s no clear electoral majority.
The President and Vice President are only elected officials of the Executive branch. Presidential elections are held every four years and President can be elected maximally two times. President has to be at least 35 years old. President serves as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, but the declaration of was must be made by Congress. President is also representing the country around the world. The executive branch comprises the President’s personal staff called Executive Office. –14 cabinet departments
The smallest branch is the Judiciary interprets the law of the land. It is composed by three-level hierarchy- Federal district courts, US courts of appeal and the US Supreme court. President appoints judges at all three levels and the Senate must confirm them.
5)
Washington D.C.
Washington D.C. is situated at the Atlantic metropolitan belt. The abbreviation D.C. means District of Columbia, which was established by Congress in 1790. The city is situated on the Potomac River. The D.C. is the seat of the federal government of the United Sates. The plan of the city was created by the French architect Pierre L’Enfant. Maryland and Virginia gave the land for the District. It was originally square 10 miles on each side. The corners were oriented north-south and east-west. Washington is the most lucid city in USA. The US Capitol is situated exactly at the centre. The North-south streets are numbered from the Capitol and the east-west streets are lettered from the Capitol. The streets are perpendicular themselves.
Washington has many imposing buildings. The Capitol and the White House are the most historic. The Capitol consists of two parts, the Senate Wing and the House of Representatives Wing. White House is presidents’ residence. In 1800 John Adams was the first president who occupied the residence.
Other places of interest are e.g. Washington Monument. It’s the white marble obelisk rises in the middle of the Mall. Jefferson Memorial is the adaptation of the ancient Roman Pantheon. The open-air interior of the Monument is dominated by the bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson holding The Declaration of Independence. Lincoln Memorial was inspired by Greek architecture. The famous statue of George Washington stands in front of the Memorial.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial is the wall in a form of letter V engraved with names of those 58,000 killed or missing in the Vietnam War. Arlington National Cemetery is the country’s most revered burial, which contains graves of over 200,000 military and their dependents. Two of US presidents are buried there: President W. H. Taft and President John F. Kennedy.
New York City
New York is the largest and the most populated city in USA. New York can be divided into five parts: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island (Richmond). The city is situated on the River Hudson. The first European who entered New York was Giovanni da Verrazano. He was followed by Henry Hudson who named the Hudson River. In 1624 was established New Amsterdam by the Dutch. The island was bought form Indians for 24 dollars.
In 1664 New Amsterdam became an English colony and it was renamed to New York In 1886 the Statue of Liberty was built into the harbour. At the turn of 20th century the first skyscrapers begun to appear. In the begun of the new century New York is known as a city of skyscrapers. The most famous World Trade Centre (twin tower) built in 1973 was destroyed on September 11,2001 by terrorist attack.
Also as in Washington, New York has many imposing buildings. The world known Wall Street is the first stock in entire world created in 1792. Madison Square named after James Madison, was established as a park in 1811. Madison Square Garden Centre was built in 1968 and it’s a place of cultural and sports events. Probably the most famous building in the New York is the Empire State building. It is the one of the highest buildings in the world. It has 102 stories and it’s 381 metres high.
Other places of interest in the USA are NASA – Kennedy Space Centre’s Spaceport, Las Vegas, The Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, the Great Lakes area with Niagara Falls, etc…
The English language
Schedule:
1) Development of English
2) Origins of some English words
3) Influence of English on the other languages
4) British vs. American English
1)
About 3000 B.C. Indo-Europeans moved to entire world. The branch, which moved to Britain, was Celts. The Celts lived alone in the Britain for over 2000 years. Julius Caesar came and he brought new language. Latin. Romans lived in England and Celts lived in Scotland and in Wales and only few words they took over. The Romans left in 410 A.D. and forty years later a new group of people came. They were Anglo-Saxons. The language they brought was the Old English. Latin appeared again in 597 A.D. when St. Augustine brought Christianity to Britain. This time many of Latin words entered Old English.
The invasion started and between 750 and 1050 the Vikings began to attack Britain. From their language the Old Norse the English took over some words. The most important event in the British history is the Battle of Hastings in 1066, when William the Conqueror attacked the islands. After this French words were important part of the English language. People divided into two parts. French speaking were rich and English speaking were the other.
In the next 200 years the English absorbed all new words and changed to the Middle English. In the next century were printed Canterbury Tales. That was very important, because it fixed the grammar and spelling. English was the strong language.
During the Elizabethan age the English spread into the New World (1620). But it wasn’t all. Famous explorer James Cook took the language to Australia. It was the land of the criminals. In the age of Victoria Britain became an important world power and so the language was growing and changing internationally.
2)
Anglo-Saxon – Man, woman, breed, work, eat, house, shire
Latin – school, minister, pope, verse, candle, mass
Old Norse – sky, leg, call, take, Whitby
French – sovereign, court, govern, advice
Latin and Greek – physics, radius, history, architecture, educate, compute
Worldwide – robot, telephone, video, tea
3)
The English language is one of the most spoken languages in the world that means that the English language has a big influence on the other languages. It shows the direction of the development of the other languages. The other languages also take over many words from the English. It is the language, which is used in the entire world as the language for the international communication.
4)
Between the British and the American English are many differences. The main differences are in the spelling, grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary.
The Czech Republic
Basic facts and geography
The Czech Republic is a state in Central Europe. It occupies an area of 78.864 km2 and it has a population about 10, 3 million inhabitants. Our state is surrounded by the Šumava, the Czech Forest, the Ore Mountains, the Jizerské Mountains, the Giant Mountains and the Eagle Mountains. The Moravian Plain is protected on the West by the Bohemia-Moravian Highland and on the North by the wooded mountainous ranges of Jeseníky and Beskydy. Fertile lowlands can be found in the valleys of the big rivers, the Vltava, the Elbe (following into the North Sea), the Oder (following into the Baltic Sea) and the Morava (following into the Danube and then into the Black Sea) . The climate is mostly continental; the warmest areas are in South Moravia.
One of our most important raw materials is the coal. The black coal and anthracite are to be found in the Ostrava Coal Basin and in the Kladno. The brown coal and lignite are in the North Bohemia Coal Basin and in Western Bohemia in the Sokolov Basin. We have also minor deposits of iron ore, uranium and oil. We have also rich deposits of kaolin and clay which is very important for our glass and ceramic industry. The Czech Republic is industrial country especially we are focused on the engineering industry. Beside this we have also chemical, textile and food industry. Our agriculture is developed enough to supply the people
and to export too.
History
The Slavonic tribes came about 5th century A.D. The first state was the Sámo’s empire established in 623. The first mighty feudal state was Great Moravia Empire in the 9th century. The first historically documented Czech prince was Bořivoj I. The Czech princes, later kings played very important role in the development of the Europe. When the Přemyslid dynasty died after sword in 1306 the throne went in the form of wedding to the Luxembourgs. During their rule the country rose on the importance. One of the most famous Czech kings was Charles IV. During his rule Prague became a centre of Europe. It was the centre of culture, education and trade. In 1348 he established Charles University in Prague.
The reign of Wenceslas IV. is connected with the Hussite Movement John Hus wanted the reformation of the church and the died on the stake as a heretic on 6th June 1415. The main leaders of the movement were John Žižka, Prokop Holý, who fought over many crusades against the Hussite movement.
George of Poděbrady also called “Hussite king” was very good diplomat and he tried to unite Europe against the Turkish danger. After his rule the Jagiellonians, Hapsburg dynasty took over the throne to the end of the 19th century. The best known sovereign was Rudolf II., who re-established the Prague’s importance. He was a fierce collector of an art so Prague became the centre of culture during his rule. But the reign caused that Czech language was oppressed and nation went through the germanization.
19th century brought a time of national revival and after the World War I. on 18th October was established Czechoslovak Republic. But the state was almost destroyed by the Hitler’s occupation after the Munich act from 29th September 1938. After the Nacism was defeated on 8th May 1945 the county was innovated in his original form. Next shock for the nation was the Soviet occupation in 1968. The forty rule of the Communism ended The Velvet revolution on 17th November 1989. The country was divided into The Czech and Slovak Republic 1st January 1993.
National symbols
Emblem – Checked Eagle – Moravia; Black Eagle – Slezsko; two two tails lions
Anthem – “Kde domov můj” – from the opera Fidlovačka – J.K.Tyl and song written by F. Škroup
Flag – Blue field – justice
Red field - blood
White field - peace
National currency is crown.
Political system
The Czech Republic is sovereign, united and democratic state. The government is divided into the tree branches – legislative represented by the Parliament, executive represented by president and the government and judicial represented by courts of various levels.
The Parliament has two chambers – the Chamber of Deputies and the senate. The Chamber of Deputies has 200 members elected every four years and the Senate has 81 Senators and after each 2 years is one third of Senators renewed. They are responsible for making and passing laws. Before the law is passed it have to go through the Chamber of Deputies then the Senate and in the end President has to sign it.
The President is elected every five by the Parliament, but no more then twice. He has the function as the national representant, but he is also commander-in-chief of army. He asks the leader of the most successful party to create the government, he appoints the judges and he has the right to declare amnesty.
The judicial power is divided into a system of courts. The basic is Constitutional court and the highest is the Supreme Court.
The most important parties are The Social Democratic party, Civic Democratic Party, Civic Democratic Union, the Christian Democratic Party and the Czech-Moravian Communist party.
The Czech Republic is a state in Central Europe. It occupies an area of 78.864 km2 and it has a population about 10, 3 million inhabitants. Our state is surrounded by the Šumava, the Czech Forest, the Ore Mountains, the Jizerské Mountains, the Giant Mountains and the Eagle Mountains. The Moravian Plain is protected on the West by the Bohemia-Moravian Highland and on the North by the wooded mountainous ranges of Jeseníky and Beskydy. Fertile lowlands can be found in the valleys of the big rivers, the Vltava, the Elbe (following into the North Sea), the Oder (following into the Baltic Sea) and the Morava (following into the Danube and then into the Black Sea) . The climate is mostly continental; the warmest areas are in South Moravia.
One of our most important raw materials is the coal. The black coal and anthracite are to be found in the Ostrava Coal Basin and in the Kladno. The brown coal and lignite are in the North Bohemia Coal Basin and in Western Bohemia in the Sokolov Basin. We have also minor deposits of iron ore, uranium and oil. We have also rich deposits of kaolin and clay which is very important for our glass and ceramic industry. The Czech Republic is industrial country especially we are focused on the engineering industry. Beside this we have also chemical, textile and food industry. Our agriculture is developed enough to supply the people
and to export too.
History
The Slavonic tribes came about 5th century A.D. The first state was the Sámo’s empire established in 623. The first mighty feudal state was Great Moravia Empire in the 9th century. The first historically documented Czech prince was Bořivoj I. The Czech princes, later kings played very important role in the development of the Europe. When the Přemyslid dynasty died after sword in 1306 the throne went in the form of wedding to the Luxembourgs. During their rule the country rose on the importance. One of the most famous Czech kings was Charles IV. During his rule Prague became a centre of Europe. It was the centre of culture, education and trade. In 1348 he established Charles University in Prague.
The reign of Wenceslas IV. is connected with the Hussite Movement John Hus wanted the reformation of the church and the died on the stake as a heretic on 6th June 1415. The main leaders of the movement were John Žižka, Prokop Holý, who fought over many crusades against the Hussite movement.
George of Poděbrady also called “Hussite king” was very good diplomat and he tried to unite Europe against the Turkish danger. After his rule the Jagiellonians, Hapsburg dynasty took over the throne to the end of the 19th century. The best known sovereign was Rudolf II., who re-established the Prague’s importance. He was a fierce collector of an art so Prague became the centre of culture during his rule. But the reign caused that Czech language was oppressed and nation went through the germanization.
19th century brought a time of national revival and after the World War I. on 18th October was established Czechoslovak Republic. But the state was almost destroyed by the Hitler’s occupation after the Munich act from 29th September 1938. After the Nacism was defeated on 8th May 1945 the county was innovated in his original form. Next shock for the nation was the Soviet occupation in 1968. The forty rule of the Communism ended The Velvet revolution on 17th November 1989. The country was divided into The Czech and Slovak Republic 1st January 1993.
National symbols
Emblem – Checked Eagle – Moravia; Black Eagle – Slezsko; two two tails lions
Anthem – “Kde domov můj” – from the opera Fidlovačka – J.K.Tyl and song written by F. Škroup
Flag – Blue field – justice
Red field - blood
White field - peace
National currency is crown.
Political system
The Czech Republic is sovereign, united and democratic state. The government is divided into the tree branches – legislative represented by the Parliament, executive represented by president and the government and judicial represented by courts of various levels.
The Parliament has two chambers – the Chamber of Deputies and the senate. The Chamber of Deputies has 200 members elected every four years and the Senate has 81 Senators and after each 2 years is one third of Senators renewed. They are responsible for making and passing laws. Before the law is passed it have to go through the Chamber of Deputies then the Senate and in the end President has to sign it.
The President is elected every five by the Parliament, but no more then twice. He has the function as the national representant, but he is also commander-in-chief of army. He asks the leader of the most successful party to create the government, he appoints the judges and he has the right to declare amnesty.
The judicial power is divided into a system of courts. The basic is Constitutional court and the highest is the Supreme Court.
The most important parties are The Social Democratic party, Civic Democratic Party, Civic Democratic Union, the Christian Democratic Party and the Czech-Moravian Communist party.
Sports and Games
1) The Olympic games
2) Types of sport
3) Popular sports (GB, USA, Czech), Professional Sport
4) Sports harmful to your health
5) My favourite sport
1)
The Olympic games are international athletic competition held every four-year in different countries in the world. The Olympic games were already held in ancient Greece and they were renewed by Baron Pierre de Coubertain about hundred years ago. Since 1924 there are two parts, the winter part and the summer part, which alternate once every two years.
2)
Sport can be divided form many points of view. Basic division is into the indoor and outdoor sports. Indoor sport can be gymnastics, boxing, wrestling, etc…Outdoor sports are e.g. skiing (cross country, downhill, slalom, ski jump), rock climbing, horse riding, golf, windsurfing, etc…. Many sports can be practiced indoor and outdoor too. (e.g. football, volleyball, basketball, tennis, swimming, etc…)
Other divisions are winter/summer sports, professional/non-professional, individual/group sport, etc…
3)
The most numerous group if games are the ball games. Here is comparison what kinds of games are popular around world.
The British are great lovers of competitive sports, and they are neither playing nor watching, they like to talk about it. England was the first home of modern games. The most widespread is football. In England there are many reputable football clubs such as Manchester United, Arsenal or Aston Villa) and in London there is one of the biggest football stadiums at the world – Wembley Arena. In the USA is football called soccer. Rugby football is also very popular. In this game the ball is oval. National game in Scotland is golf and in England is the national sport cricket. Next to football the chief spectator is horseracing. The best-known steeplechase is the Great National run at Aintree near Liverpool. Another popular sport is tennis. Every year is held one of the most prestige tournaments in the world the Wimbledon.
In the USA most sports and games were commercionalized. The most popular sports are football, which is different (they play with oval ball), baseball, ice-hockey and basketball.
The succeed sportsmen earn lot of money.
In our country are the most popular ball games. Ice hockey is very important because it is on the very high level. We produce many sportsmen who achieved the international success.
The sport is also good method how to earn money and these are not small amounts, as we know. If is the sportsman reaches the highest level the club could sell him for huge amounts.
4)
To practise any sport is very good for our health. In the time of the haste our body have to relax and the sport is good way. It is also the way to keep us in the condition and it is better than e.g. slimming diet.
5)
My favourite sport is ice hockey. I’ d like to tell something about the ice hockey. Here are some rules. The goal of this game is to get the puck into the rival’s gate. There are six players on the ice, one goalkeeper and five more players. The playing time is three times twenty minutes. If the winner is unknown after regular playing time there are another 20 minutes the first goal is decisive. If the winner is unknown after this time then there raids.
Here are some things that are disallowed. Icing is when the player is the rival’s half before the puck. Another is for example “two line pass “. That means that player can’t pass the puck over two lines. There are also some fouls. Hooking, elbowing, play with high hockey stick are punished with exclude form the play for some time, as a rule for 2 minutes a more.
2) Types of sport
3) Popular sports (GB, USA, Czech), Professional Sport
4) Sports harmful to your health
5) My favourite sport
1)
The Olympic games are international athletic competition held every four-year in different countries in the world. The Olympic games were already held in ancient Greece and they were renewed by Baron Pierre de Coubertain about hundred years ago. Since 1924 there are two parts, the winter part and the summer part, which alternate once every two years.
2)
Sport can be divided form many points of view. Basic division is into the indoor and outdoor sports. Indoor sport can be gymnastics, boxing, wrestling, etc…Outdoor sports are e.g. skiing (cross country, downhill, slalom, ski jump), rock climbing, horse riding, golf, windsurfing, etc…. Many sports can be practiced indoor and outdoor too. (e.g. football, volleyball, basketball, tennis, swimming, etc…)
Other divisions are winter/summer sports, professional/non-professional, individual/group sport, etc…
3)
The most numerous group if games are the ball games. Here is comparison what kinds of games are popular around world.
The British are great lovers of competitive sports, and they are neither playing nor watching, they like to talk about it. England was the first home of modern games. The most widespread is football. In England there are many reputable football clubs such as Manchester United, Arsenal or Aston Villa) and in London there is one of the biggest football stadiums at the world – Wembley Arena. In the USA is football called soccer. Rugby football is also very popular. In this game the ball is oval. National game in Scotland is golf and in England is the national sport cricket. Next to football the chief spectator is horseracing. The best-known steeplechase is the Great National run at Aintree near Liverpool. Another popular sport is tennis. Every year is held one of the most prestige tournaments in the world the Wimbledon.
In the USA most sports and games were commercionalized. The most popular sports are football, which is different (they play with oval ball), baseball, ice-hockey and basketball.
The succeed sportsmen earn lot of money.
In our country are the most popular ball games. Ice hockey is very important because it is on the very high level. We produce many sportsmen who achieved the international success.
The sport is also good method how to earn money and these are not small amounts, as we know. If is the sportsman reaches the highest level the club could sell him for huge amounts.
4)
To practise any sport is very good for our health. In the time of the haste our body have to relax and the sport is good way. It is also the way to keep us in the condition and it is better than e.g. slimming diet.
5)
My favourite sport is ice hockey. I’ d like to tell something about the ice hockey. Here are some rules. The goal of this game is to get the puck into the rival’s gate. There are six players on the ice, one goalkeeper and five more players. The playing time is three times twenty minutes. If the winner is unknown after regular playing time there are another 20 minutes the first goal is decisive. If the winner is unknown after this time then there raids.
Here are some things that are disallowed. Icing is when the player is the rival’s half before the puck. Another is for example “two line pass “. That means that player can’t pass the puck over two lines. There are also some fouls. Hooking, elbowing, play with high hockey stick are punished with exclude form the play for some time, as a rule for 2 minutes a more.
Prague
Basic facts and History
Prague is a capital of Czech Republic. It is a seat of the President, the Parliament, the government and the cultural and economic centre of the country. It spreads on the both banks of the river Vltava. Prague is divided into 22 administrative districts and it has about 1, 2 million inhabitants. The oldest parts are Old Town, The Lesser Town, Hradčany, Josefov and Vyšehrad.
A legend connects the foundation of Prague with Princess Libuše of the Přemyslid dynasty, who prophesied the future of Prague which “would touch the stars”. The oldest settlers came to the area in The Stone Age, but the Slavs came to the Prague valley in the 6th century. In the 9th century prince Bořivoj founded a castle in the Vltava valley and it became the seat of the Přemyslid dynasty. In the 10th century Vyšehrad castle was built and it became the residence of the dynasty too.
Prague became an imperial residence during the rule of Charles IV., who founded an Archbishopric, University and the New Town here. He also promoted the construction of the Charles Bridge and St. Vitus Cathedral. In the 15th century Prague became a centre of the Hussite movement. Prague regained its cosmopolitan character again during the rule of Rudolf II, who invited artists and scientists here. On 8th November 1620 the Czechs rose up against the Hapsburgs and they were defeated in the Battle of the White Mountain. A few month later 27 members of the movement were executed at the Old Town Square. The Thirty Years’ War, re-catholicization and germanization followed. At the end of the 18th century it became a centre of the cultural life, when national revival started. In 1918 it rose again as a capital of an independent country. In 1939 it was occupied by German troops and later it was a place of assassination of the Nazi deputy Protector Reinhardt Heydrich. After the Prague Uprising against the fascist the town was liberated by the Russians on 9th May 1945.
The Soviet occupation in the August 1968 stopped the democratic reforms and started the process of the normalization. On the 17th November the Velvet Revolution began the democratic changes in our society. The process continued with the splitting the state into two independent states on the 1st January 1993, when Prague became the capital of The Czech Republic.
Places of interest
Prague castle
is the dominant of the city and the seat of the President. Form the square outside the castle, tourists can admire the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque houses. The complex of the Prague castle includes three courtyards and over 700 rooms. The most famous are the gothic Vladislav Hall, the Spanish Hall and the Rudolf Gallery. In the Vladislav Hall the election of President takes place and the other Halls serve for ceremonial and cultural purposes.
The most impressive building in the complex is the St. Vitus Cathedral completed in 1929 and founded by Charles IV. with the occasion of establishment of the Archbishopric. The main constructors were Matthias of Arras and Peter Parlěř. The most admired parts are St. Wenceslas Chapel decorated by semi-precious stones, coronation chamber with the coronation jewels and the Royal Crypt with sarcophaguses of Czech kings and queens.
Other interesting places at the Prague castle are the Basilica of St. George, Golden Lane, Schwarzenberg, Sternberg and Černín Palaces.
In the neighbourhood of the Prague Castle on the Petřín Hill the Strhov Monastery is located.
Nearby the Petřín Observatory Tower can be found.
The Lesser Town
It is on of the oldest parts of the city. The jewel of Baroque architecture is St. Nicholas Church in the Lesser Town Square. Nearby is the Charles Bridge over the river Vltava. The bridge is 520m long and it is decorated with 30 sculptures and groups of statues.
Old Town Square
It’s in the centre of the Old Town. The best known building in the square is the Old Town Hall, famous because of the horologe. The dominant of the square is Týn Church Tycho de Brahe was buried. In the centre of the square is the John Huss Monument. From the square lead Paris Street and Celetná Street.
The Na Příkopě Street leads to the biggest square, the Wenceslas square. It is a 750 metres long boulevard lined with the banks, hotels and restaurants. At the upper end of the square are St. Wenceslas Monument and the National Museum.
The Vyšehrad castle was another seat of the kings. There is very famous Slavín Cemetery, where the most famous persons of our history were buried.
Prague is a capital of Czech Republic. It is a seat of the President, the Parliament, the government and the cultural and economic centre of the country. It spreads on the both banks of the river Vltava. Prague is divided into 22 administrative districts and it has about 1, 2 million inhabitants. The oldest parts are Old Town, The Lesser Town, Hradčany, Josefov and Vyšehrad.
A legend connects the foundation of Prague with Princess Libuše of the Přemyslid dynasty, who prophesied the future of Prague which “would touch the stars”. The oldest settlers came to the area in The Stone Age, but the Slavs came to the Prague valley in the 6th century. In the 9th century prince Bořivoj founded a castle in the Vltava valley and it became the seat of the Přemyslid dynasty. In the 10th century Vyšehrad castle was built and it became the residence of the dynasty too.
Prague became an imperial residence during the rule of Charles IV., who founded an Archbishopric, University and the New Town here. He also promoted the construction of the Charles Bridge and St. Vitus Cathedral. In the 15th century Prague became a centre of the Hussite movement. Prague regained its cosmopolitan character again during the rule of Rudolf II, who invited artists and scientists here. On 8th November 1620 the Czechs rose up against the Hapsburgs and they were defeated in the Battle of the White Mountain. A few month later 27 members of the movement were executed at the Old Town Square. The Thirty Years’ War, re-catholicization and germanization followed. At the end of the 18th century it became a centre of the cultural life, when national revival started. In 1918 it rose again as a capital of an independent country. In 1939 it was occupied by German troops and later it was a place of assassination of the Nazi deputy Protector Reinhardt Heydrich. After the Prague Uprising against the fascist the town was liberated by the Russians on 9th May 1945.
The Soviet occupation in the August 1968 stopped the democratic reforms and started the process of the normalization. On the 17th November the Velvet Revolution began the democratic changes in our society. The process continued with the splitting the state into two independent states on the 1st January 1993, when Prague became the capital of The Czech Republic.
Places of interest
Prague castle
is the dominant of the city and the seat of the President. Form the square outside the castle, tourists can admire the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque houses. The complex of the Prague castle includes three courtyards and over 700 rooms. The most famous are the gothic Vladislav Hall, the Spanish Hall and the Rudolf Gallery. In the Vladislav Hall the election of President takes place and the other Halls serve for ceremonial and cultural purposes.
The most impressive building in the complex is the St. Vitus Cathedral completed in 1929 and founded by Charles IV. with the occasion of establishment of the Archbishopric. The main constructors were Matthias of Arras and Peter Parlěř. The most admired parts are St. Wenceslas Chapel decorated by semi-precious stones, coronation chamber with the coronation jewels and the Royal Crypt with sarcophaguses of Czech kings and queens.
Other interesting places at the Prague castle are the Basilica of St. George, Golden Lane, Schwarzenberg, Sternberg and Černín Palaces.
In the neighbourhood of the Prague Castle on the Petřín Hill the Strhov Monastery is located.
Nearby the Petřín Observatory Tower can be found.
The Lesser Town
It is on of the oldest parts of the city. The jewel of Baroque architecture is St. Nicholas Church in the Lesser Town Square. Nearby is the Charles Bridge over the river Vltava. The bridge is 520m long and it is decorated with 30 sculptures and groups of statues.
Old Town Square
It’s in the centre of the Old Town. The best known building in the square is the Old Town Hall, famous because of the horologe. The dominant of the square is Týn Church Tycho de Brahe was buried. In the centre of the square is the John Huss Monument. From the square lead Paris Street and Celetná Street.
The Na Příkopě Street leads to the biggest square, the Wenceslas square. It is a 750 metres long boulevard lined with the banks, hotels and restaurants. At the upper end of the square are St. Wenceslas Monument and the National Museum.
The Vyšehrad castle was another seat of the kings. There is very famous Slavín Cemetery, where the most famous persons of our history were buried.
Oscar Wilde
(1854-1900)
One of the most considerable authors in England, leader of the Aesthetic movement of the Eighties and Nineties, speaker, philosopher, poet and dramatist. He fascinated and also disgusted victorian human society with his opinions and his behaviour. He was bohemian, had inclinations to homosexuality, wrote with an undertone of satire. He wrote collections of fairy - tales The Happy Prince and Other Tales, A House of Pomegranates; collections of stories Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime and Canterville Ghost. Decadent theatre play Salome was originally written in French. The other theatre plays are An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest. This one is the most popular. He also wrote three collections of poetry, his Ballad of Reading Gaol is a magnificent work. His only novel, A Picture of Dorian Gray was published in 1890 and is his most interesting work. We can say that A Picture of Dorian Gray is a picture of Wilde’s soul.
A Picture of Dorian Gray
Talented painter Basil Hallward got acquainted with a very beautiful young gentleman Dorian Gray. He was fascinated with him, with his intelligence and appearance and couldn’t live without his presence. Hallward started to paint him and one day introduced Dorian to his friend, cynical and sarcastic lord Henry Wotton. Lord Henry’s philosophy of life and living influenced Dorian a lot, so in the fit of vanity he said: "I wish I could be young and beautiful all my life, forever. I wish for the picture, which had been painted by Basil, could grow old instead of me." This Dorian’s wish came true...
Dorian fell in love with young and talented actress Sibyla Vane, mainly with her perfect expression of Shakespeare’s heroines. When she couldn’t performed love on the stage, because she experienced it, Dorian was disappointed and desert her. Sibyla was very desperate and so she committed suicide. Dorian started a decadent way of his life, his only aim was to enjoy beauty and delights. His face stayed young and beautiful in the same way as when he was twenty years old, but his picture grew old and became more and more ugly, in accordance with the number of how many young and promising boys brought he to ruin and how many girls’ hearts broke he.
One day Basil visited him, and when he attempted to improve Dorian’s soul, Dorian killed him in the fit of rage. But he had big remorses and so he decided to destroy his picture. He took the knife and cut the picture.
When servants opened the room, on the wall hung the picture of beautiful, young boy and on the floor lay ugly, old dead body. As they found, this wreck was Dorian Gray.
One of the most considerable authors in England, leader of the Aesthetic movement of the Eighties and Nineties, speaker, philosopher, poet and dramatist. He fascinated and also disgusted victorian human society with his opinions and his behaviour. He was bohemian, had inclinations to homosexuality, wrote with an undertone of satire. He wrote collections of fairy - tales The Happy Prince and Other Tales, A House of Pomegranates; collections of stories Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime and Canterville Ghost. Decadent theatre play Salome was originally written in French. The other theatre plays are An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest. This one is the most popular. He also wrote three collections of poetry, his Ballad of Reading Gaol is a magnificent work. His only novel, A Picture of Dorian Gray was published in 1890 and is his most interesting work. We can say that A Picture of Dorian Gray is a picture of Wilde’s soul.
A Picture of Dorian Gray
Talented painter Basil Hallward got acquainted with a very beautiful young gentleman Dorian Gray. He was fascinated with him, with his intelligence and appearance and couldn’t live without his presence. Hallward started to paint him and one day introduced Dorian to his friend, cynical and sarcastic lord Henry Wotton. Lord Henry’s philosophy of life and living influenced Dorian a lot, so in the fit of vanity he said: "I wish I could be young and beautiful all my life, forever. I wish for the picture, which had been painted by Basil, could grow old instead of me." This Dorian’s wish came true...
Dorian fell in love with young and talented actress Sibyla Vane, mainly with her perfect expression of Shakespeare’s heroines. When she couldn’t performed love on the stage, because she experienced it, Dorian was disappointed and desert her. Sibyla was very desperate and so she committed suicide. Dorian started a decadent way of his life, his only aim was to enjoy beauty and delights. His face stayed young and beautiful in the same way as when he was twenty years old, but his picture grew old and became more and more ugly, in accordance with the number of how many young and promising boys brought he to ruin and how many girls’ hearts broke he.
One day Basil visited him, and when he attempted to improve Dorian’s soul, Dorian killed him in the fit of rage. But he had big remorses and so he decided to destroy his picture. He took the knife and cut the picture.
When servants opened the room, on the wall hung the picture of beautiful, young boy and on the floor lay ugly, old dead body. As they found, this wreck was Dorian Gray.
My typical day and weekend, hobbies
I am a student, so my daily routine is very similar most of days in the year. During the working part of the week I use to get up at about seven o’clock. I don’t eat very much in the morning. I have a light breakfast, some tea, doughnuts, bread or toast. I use to leave a flat at half past seven and I lift my friend Tom, who lives at the 2nd stage. We leave house at 27 to eight. It’s the time when I catch the underground which takes me to school on the minute. If we don’t leave the house on the minute it’s not necessary to hurry, because we come late if we want to or not.
School starts at 10 to eight. One lesson keeps 45 minutes, and then we have 10 minutes break. After the third lesson we have 20 minutes break. We usually have six or seven lessons a day, which means we finish the school at about two or three p.m. Most of my friends have their lunch at school. I use to have my lunch at home. After lunch I have a rest for about hour or two, it depends if I am more or less tired after school. At about four or five p.m. I start doing something for school. I use to do my homework and I prepare for the next day.
I use not to learn so much. Each day I learn a few and it’s better than to learn in haste everything. I finish learning at about seven o’clock. It is the time when the dinner is usually served. We have all different interests and we have a dinner at the different times. Sometimes I watch the TV news, but after the dinner I use to set to my hobbies, which are the computers.
I usually go to bed at about midnight.
I am interested in programming and in internet technology. It does me good when I write a programme, which runs as I want to. I used to built plastic models of planes, as I grow up I built mechanical models and finally I built radio controlled ship, but I wasn’t able to pay large amounts for another models, so I bought a computer.
I think that to have a computer is common and most of the teenagers use it for spending a free time. Usually they play computer games. I used to play them too, but now I am not interested in that. Either we play with my friends Net Game, which is the best thing in the world or I play the Internet Game, but it’s less often, almost never.
Weekend is perfect time to relax. At weekend I use to get up later, than at ordinary days. I get up at ten o’clock, sometimes later. It is the time when I could set to my hobby. I don’t have any breakfast, because lunch is at after 12 o’clock. In the afternoon I do what I want. Sometimes I clean my room up. We have a cat, so I play with it. We have the dinner at about seven o’clock. In the evening I watch TV, but there is usually nothing interesting so I watch video or DVD. I use to go to bed at about 1 a.m. Sometimes we go to pub or to disco and then I go to bed early in the morning at about 4 a.m.
Time to time me and George go to the McDonalds to Evropská Street, where our friend Igor works. When he has a night spell he gives us a promotion meal. I used to work with McDonalds too, but I spent there all my free time and I realized It wasn’t good for me and for my friends whom I saw very seldom in my free time. I gave it up.
On Sunday I get up similar to Saturday. Beyond this I have to prepare for the Monday’s school, but it doesn’t take so much time as on the ordinary day. After finishing learning I set to my hobby and friend. I go to bed at midnight.
School starts at 10 to eight. One lesson keeps 45 minutes, and then we have 10 minutes break. After the third lesson we have 20 minutes break. We usually have six or seven lessons a day, which means we finish the school at about two or three p.m. Most of my friends have their lunch at school. I use to have my lunch at home. After lunch I have a rest for about hour or two, it depends if I am more or less tired after school. At about four or five p.m. I start doing something for school. I use to do my homework and I prepare for the next day.
I use not to learn so much. Each day I learn a few and it’s better than to learn in haste everything. I finish learning at about seven o’clock. It is the time when the dinner is usually served. We have all different interests and we have a dinner at the different times. Sometimes I watch the TV news, but after the dinner I use to set to my hobbies, which are the computers.
I usually go to bed at about midnight.
I am interested in programming and in internet technology. It does me good when I write a programme, which runs as I want to. I used to built plastic models of planes, as I grow up I built mechanical models and finally I built radio controlled ship, but I wasn’t able to pay large amounts for another models, so I bought a computer.
I think that to have a computer is common and most of the teenagers use it for spending a free time. Usually they play computer games. I used to play them too, but now I am not interested in that. Either we play with my friends Net Game, which is the best thing in the world or I play the Internet Game, but it’s less often, almost never.
Weekend is perfect time to relax. At weekend I use to get up later, than at ordinary days. I get up at ten o’clock, sometimes later. It is the time when I could set to my hobby. I don’t have any breakfast, because lunch is at after 12 o’clock. In the afternoon I do what I want. Sometimes I clean my room up. We have a cat, so I play with it. We have the dinner at about seven o’clock. In the evening I watch TV, but there is usually nothing interesting so I watch video or DVD. I use to go to bed at about 1 a.m. Sometimes we go to pub or to disco and then I go to bed early in the morning at about 4 a.m.
Time to time me and George go to the McDonalds to Evropská Street, where our friend Igor works. When he has a night spell he gives us a promotion meal. I used to work with McDonalds too, but I spent there all my free time and I realized It wasn’t good for me and for my friends whom I saw very seldom in my free time. I gave it up.
On Sunday I get up similar to Saturday. Beyond this I have to prepare for the Monday’s school, but it doesn’t take so much time as on the ordinary day. After finishing learning I set to my hobby and friend. I go to bed at midnight.
My future career and plans
The first I have to do is to finish this school. After it there I would like to study The University of Economics or Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the Czech Technical University. Rather I would like to study the University of Economics, because after finishing it I would have two qualifications, computer specialist and engineer of economy. The second school is very good too, because I would have a complex overview in computers. During the studies I would like to join some exchange program for students and study few months abroad. It would be absolutely perfect, because of get some experience with foreign circumstances. Next aim I would like to achieve is to learn fluently French and German. It’s necessary, because we are surrounded by German speaking countries and the official language in the European Union is the French.
My school selection has another advantage. After reach some experience skills in the computer world I could certify my knowledge by Microsoft certificating program. The test and certificate are world reputable, which could be very useful in the future job. During the studies, there is a possibility to work for a company connected with school, where I could get some experience as a practice. If I found some good practice during my studies I would try to lunch out on my own. I would try to find a flat and live my own life. I have to prove to everybody, especially to my family, that I am able to see after myself.
After the school I would like to find well paid work, but I would have to enjoy it. In the work which I don’t enjoy I don’t do maximum for it and it’s not good. After get some experience If possible I would like to create my own computer company, because what I know certain is that I don’t want to work with some company and after fifty years they will tell me “By Mike, you were good, but we don’t need you anymore”. That’s my nightmare.
I want to leave some product of my whole life work here.
I exactly don’t know the specialization of my future company, but I would like to undertake in the computer world, because it has a future. That’s another reason why I would like to study the University of Economics.
For choice I would like to undertake with my present friends, because I can believe them and they will study similar schools. I believe that would be successful company and we would earn a lot of money. I would buy a comfortable car and I would buy a land and built a big house with an indoor and outdoor swimming pool.
The bases for a good life are the material resources and a life partner. I don’t enjoy the marriage so I would like to live with my partner without it at least until the time we would have children, because it’s not necessary for me to have an affirmation which allows me to live with somebody I love. I think that it is a modern tendency to live without a marriage, so I would try it. I suppose that people will come to know each other better. After I will have children I would like to look after my family, so the conditions is that the company will be reputable and it will be run by perspective people and I will only share the profits and do only the representative functions as propagations of our interests.
My school selection has another advantage. After reach some experience skills in the computer world I could certify my knowledge by Microsoft certificating program. The test and certificate are world reputable, which could be very useful in the future job. During the studies, there is a possibility to work for a company connected with school, where I could get some experience as a practice. If I found some good practice during my studies I would try to lunch out on my own. I would try to find a flat and live my own life. I have to prove to everybody, especially to my family, that I am able to see after myself.
After the school I would like to find well paid work, but I would have to enjoy it. In the work which I don’t enjoy I don’t do maximum for it and it’s not good. After get some experience If possible I would like to create my own computer company, because what I know certain is that I don’t want to work with some company and after fifty years they will tell me “By Mike, you were good, but we don’t need you anymore”. That’s my nightmare.
I want to leave some product of my whole life work here.
I exactly don’t know the specialization of my future company, but I would like to undertake in the computer world, because it has a future. That’s another reason why I would like to study the University of Economics.
For choice I would like to undertake with my present friends, because I can believe them and they will study similar schools. I believe that would be successful company and we would earn a lot of money. I would buy a comfortable car and I would buy a land and built a big house with an indoor and outdoor swimming pool.
The bases for a good life are the material resources and a life partner. I don’t enjoy the marriage so I would like to live with my partner without it at least until the time we would have children, because it’s not necessary for me to have an affirmation which allows me to live with somebody I love. I think that it is a modern tendency to live without a marriage, so I would try it. I suppose that people will come to know each other better. After I will have children I would like to look after my family, so the conditions is that the company will be reputable and it will be run by perspective people and I will only share the profits and do only the representative functions as propagations of our interests.
London
Schedule:
1) Basic facts (Basic info, Transport, Industry and commerce)
2) History
3) Fact and Places of interest
1)
London is a capital of both England and the United Kingdom. It is seat of the Monarch, the Parliament, the Government and the Supreme Court and it is home about 9 million people. It lies on the river Thames which is very important transport artery.
The main exports are cars, machinery, chemical and electrical goods. The mean of transport connected with the river are riverbuses which run on the river Thames too. There are five airports in the London area. The largest is Heathrow. The quickest and the cheapest transport is by famous London’s underground often called “tube”. The London’s underground is the world’s oldest. Other important kinds of transport are taxis and the buses.
London is one of the centres of the world’s trade. Twenty-two percents of the world’s transactions take place in London. The London Stock Exchange is the world’s biggest.
2)
The Celts settled the territory of today’s London at about 800 B.C. The Romans had occupied the land in 55 and later in 43 B.C. and they established Londonium. When the Romans left the Londonium remained the capital of the Britons. It kept the importance until the time of coming William the Conqueror in 1066, who moved the royal court to Winchester.
The city continued to grow and in the 16th century the establishment of the trading companies and the Royal exchange contributed to the rapid economic rise of London.
The 17th century brought much suffering. In 1665 more than 75,000 people died from a plague epidemic and later in 1666 the Great Fire of London destroyed four fifths of the city.
Christopher Wren was appointed the main architect to rebuild the city. His masterpiece is St. Paul’s Cathedral.
During the 19th century the London’s port became the biggest in London. Queen Victoria became a sovereign and the face of the city had changed. Many public buildings sprang up including main part if the Houses of Parliament, the Covent Garden Opera House and the Crystal Palace. Many buildings from that time have typical Victorian style of the red bricks.
German bombing during the WWII caused many damages especially in the City, but they can’t be noticed now days.
3)
Tower of London
William the Conqueror started Tower of London after his triumph in 1066. Tower of London was built to oppress and frighten the English. In the prison were kept enemies of the king sometimes very famous e.g. Sir Walter Raleigh, Guy Fawkes and as well as Rudolf Hess (Hitler’s deputy). In the execution block were beheaded two of Henry’s VIII. wives (Ann Boleyn, Catherine Howard) and famous philosopher Thomas Moor.
The oldest part of Tower of London is The White Tower, which was the residence of the king. The walls of the White Tower are sometimes almost 5 metres thick. In the Jewellery House there are embedded the Crown Jewels. The warders of The Tower of London are the Yeoman Warders incorrectly called Beefeaters, which are dressed in the traditional uniforms from the days of Tudors. Six raves are kept there to protect the Kingdom. The legend says that the Kingdom will cease to exist when the ravens leave the Tower. The old Ceremony of the Keys is still performed nightly when the main gate is locked.
Tower Bridge
It is the most famous and distinctive bridge in the London. The bridge rise up when the ship wants to pass through under it.
St. Catherine’s Dock
The dock was finished in 1828. For many centuries it was a trade place and now days it has been transformed into the museum of historical ships.
St. Paul’s Cathedral
It was built by Christopher Wren and it is his masterpiece. It took 35 years to finish it.
The Cathedral is built in the Baroque style. Inside the dome along the Copula runs the Whispering Gallery. If you whisper something the person on the other side can hear you. It is the place where many famous occasions took place. (Wedding of Price Charles and Princess Diana, funeral of Sir Winston Churchill...) and Britain heroes are buried there (Admiral Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Christopher Wren…).
The Houses of Parliament
It is the political centre of the United Kingdom and home of the British Parliament. Great Britain with its House of Lords and House of Commons is the oldest democracy in the world. The parliamentary system has its roots in the Magna Charta Libertatum form 1215. The House of Lords is a gothic hall decorated in red with a throne of the Sovereign and the seat of The Lord Chancellor who presides the House. The House of Commons consists of the parallel rows of the green leather benches. The House of Commons is presided by The Speaker.
Next to the buildings of The Parliament rises a clock called Big Ben. Big Ben is name of the bell, which was named by his creator.
Westminster Abbey
It is the most important church in the country. Monarchs are crowned and heroes buried there. The Coronation Chair made in 1300 includes the Stone of Scone which had been stolen from Scotland and returned in 1996.
In the Poet’s Corner are the tombstones of many famous poets such as John Milton, Lord Byron and William Shakespeare), but only few of them are buried there (Geoffrey Chaucer and Robert Browning).
Buckingham Palace
It is the London home of the Kings and the Queens. Other homes are Windsor Castle and St. James Palace. It was built by Duke if Buckingham and bought by George III. The Queen Victoria was the first monarch who lived there. The Royal family occupies the north wing of the Palace. Queen Victoria Monument is in front of the Palace.
Trafalgar Square
It is the largest place in London and it’s also place of traffic jams and political demonstrations. In the centre of the square stands The Nelson’s Column, which commemorates the famous victory of Admiral Nelson at the Spanish Cape Trafalgar in 1805.
The Column is surrounded by two fountains and many pigeons which are inseparable part of the square.
National Gallery
National Gallery forms one side of the square. There is one of the greatest collections of the western paintings. There are paintings of many masters. It could be mentioned some of them. (Leonardo da Vinci, Tizian, El Greco, Rembrandt, van Gogh…).
Parks
London is known as a city of parkland and gardens. Here are some of them.
St. James Park is the oldest one. The exclusive street The Mall separates the Park from St. James Palace, which is another residence of the Royal family.
The Hyde Park is the most popular among the tourists. The main entrance to the Park is the Hyde Park Corner. In the North-east corner of the park stands the Marble Arch.
The Hyde Park continues by Kensington Gardens. There stands Albert Memorial and Kensington Palace. Facing the Albert Memorial is the Royal Albert Hall.
Regent’s Park is the most elegant park in London for its attractive gardens, lakes and zoo.
Shopping
The best place for shopping is the Oxford Street with very famous shops such as Harrods, Selfridges and Marks and Spencer.
In the Regent Street there is one of the most famous shops with the toys in the world, the Hamley’s. At the other hand the Bond Street is famous for its art galleries, jewellery shops and there is the famous auction house, Sotheby’s.
Covent Garden is the best place to buy some fruit and vegetable.
1) Basic facts (Basic info, Transport, Industry and commerce)
2) History
3) Fact and Places of interest
1)
London is a capital of both England and the United Kingdom. It is seat of the Monarch, the Parliament, the Government and the Supreme Court and it is home about 9 million people. It lies on the river Thames which is very important transport artery.
The main exports are cars, machinery, chemical and electrical goods. The mean of transport connected with the river are riverbuses which run on the river Thames too. There are five airports in the London area. The largest is Heathrow. The quickest and the cheapest transport is by famous London’s underground often called “tube”. The London’s underground is the world’s oldest. Other important kinds of transport are taxis and the buses.
London is one of the centres of the world’s trade. Twenty-two percents of the world’s transactions take place in London. The London Stock Exchange is the world’s biggest.
2)
The Celts settled the territory of today’s London at about 800 B.C. The Romans had occupied the land in 55 and later in 43 B.C. and they established Londonium. When the Romans left the Londonium remained the capital of the Britons. It kept the importance until the time of coming William the Conqueror in 1066, who moved the royal court to Winchester.
The city continued to grow and in the 16th century the establishment of the trading companies and the Royal exchange contributed to the rapid economic rise of London.
The 17th century brought much suffering. In 1665 more than 75,000 people died from a plague epidemic and later in 1666 the Great Fire of London destroyed four fifths of the city.
Christopher Wren was appointed the main architect to rebuild the city. His masterpiece is St. Paul’s Cathedral.
During the 19th century the London’s port became the biggest in London. Queen Victoria became a sovereign and the face of the city had changed. Many public buildings sprang up including main part if the Houses of Parliament, the Covent Garden Opera House and the Crystal Palace. Many buildings from that time have typical Victorian style of the red bricks.
German bombing during the WWII caused many damages especially in the City, but they can’t be noticed now days.
3)
Tower of London
William the Conqueror started Tower of London after his triumph in 1066. Tower of London was built to oppress and frighten the English. In the prison were kept enemies of the king sometimes very famous e.g. Sir Walter Raleigh, Guy Fawkes and as well as Rudolf Hess (Hitler’s deputy). In the execution block were beheaded two of Henry’s VIII. wives (Ann Boleyn, Catherine Howard) and famous philosopher Thomas Moor.
The oldest part of Tower of London is The White Tower, which was the residence of the king. The walls of the White Tower are sometimes almost 5 metres thick. In the Jewellery House there are embedded the Crown Jewels. The warders of The Tower of London are the Yeoman Warders incorrectly called Beefeaters, which are dressed in the traditional uniforms from the days of Tudors. Six raves are kept there to protect the Kingdom. The legend says that the Kingdom will cease to exist when the ravens leave the Tower. The old Ceremony of the Keys is still performed nightly when the main gate is locked.
Tower Bridge
It is the most famous and distinctive bridge in the London. The bridge rise up when the ship wants to pass through under it.
St. Catherine’s Dock
The dock was finished in 1828. For many centuries it was a trade place and now days it has been transformed into the museum of historical ships.
St. Paul’s Cathedral
It was built by Christopher Wren and it is his masterpiece. It took 35 years to finish it.
The Cathedral is built in the Baroque style. Inside the dome along the Copula runs the Whispering Gallery. If you whisper something the person on the other side can hear you. It is the place where many famous occasions took place. (Wedding of Price Charles and Princess Diana, funeral of Sir Winston Churchill...) and Britain heroes are buried there (Admiral Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Christopher Wren…).
The Houses of Parliament
It is the political centre of the United Kingdom and home of the British Parliament. Great Britain with its House of Lords and House of Commons is the oldest democracy in the world. The parliamentary system has its roots in the Magna Charta Libertatum form 1215. The House of Lords is a gothic hall decorated in red with a throne of the Sovereign and the seat of The Lord Chancellor who presides the House. The House of Commons consists of the parallel rows of the green leather benches. The House of Commons is presided by The Speaker.
Next to the buildings of The Parliament rises a clock called Big Ben. Big Ben is name of the bell, which was named by his creator.
Westminster Abbey
It is the most important church in the country. Monarchs are crowned and heroes buried there. The Coronation Chair made in 1300 includes the Stone of Scone which had been stolen from Scotland and returned in 1996.
In the Poet’s Corner are the tombstones of many famous poets such as John Milton, Lord Byron and William Shakespeare), but only few of them are buried there (Geoffrey Chaucer and Robert Browning).
Buckingham Palace
It is the London home of the Kings and the Queens. Other homes are Windsor Castle and St. James Palace. It was built by Duke if Buckingham and bought by George III. The Queen Victoria was the first monarch who lived there. The Royal family occupies the north wing of the Palace. Queen Victoria Monument is in front of the Palace.
Trafalgar Square
It is the largest place in London and it’s also place of traffic jams and political demonstrations. In the centre of the square stands The Nelson’s Column, which commemorates the famous victory of Admiral Nelson at the Spanish Cape Trafalgar in 1805.
The Column is surrounded by two fountains and many pigeons which are inseparable part of the square.
National Gallery
National Gallery forms one side of the square. There is one of the greatest collections of the western paintings. There are paintings of many masters. It could be mentioned some of them. (Leonardo da Vinci, Tizian, El Greco, Rembrandt, van Gogh…).
Parks
London is known as a city of parkland and gardens. Here are some of them.
St. James Park is the oldest one. The exclusive street The Mall separates the Park from St. James Palace, which is another residence of the Royal family.
The Hyde Park is the most popular among the tourists. The main entrance to the Park is the Hyde Park Corner. In the North-east corner of the park stands the Marble Arch.
The Hyde Park continues by Kensington Gardens. There stands Albert Memorial and Kensington Palace. Facing the Albert Memorial is the Royal Albert Hall.
Regent’s Park is the most elegant park in London for its attractive gardens, lakes and zoo.
Shopping
The best place for shopping is the Oxford Street with very famous shops such as Harrods, Selfridges and Marks and Spencer.
In the Regent Street there is one of the most famous shops with the toys in the world, the Hamley’s. At the other hand the Bond Street is famous for its art galleries, jewellery shops and there is the famous auction house, Sotheby’s.
Covent Garden is the best place to buy some fruit and vegetable.
Charles Dickens
(1812-1870)
He was born in Portsea in 1812. His father was clerk in the Navy Office and had very little money. At the age of nine they moved to London where his father got into debt and he was sent to the prison Marshallsea. Charles had to interrupt his studies and his mother sent him to the factory where blacking was made. After some time his father inherited some money and Charles returned back to school. At the age of fifteen he was taken to the solicitor’s office, but he didn’t enjoy it. He learned shorthand and became a reporter on the Morning Chronicle.
He stared to write stories and soon his stories were published in the newspaper and later his stories were published in the book “Sketches by Boz “. Boz was nickname of his favourite brother. In his twenty-fifth year he became one of the best-known writers in the country. He became rich and he married daughter of his first publisher. They had seven sons and two daughters. After twenty-two years of marriage he left her for another woman (maybe his mistress).
In his works he enjoyed life, but hated social system into which he had been born. In his novels he describes and attacks many kinds of unpleasant people and places (bad schools, headmasters, government departments, bad prisons, dirty houses…) His characters include all kind of people in the British society, but the majority is the group of poor people. He liked to read his own works. The work he liked the most is David Copperfield, which has many autobiographic elements. He describes work in the factory, problems of his father. Like most other people Charles loved Xmas and he wrote one story about it.
Christmas Carol
Scrooge and Marley were business partners, but Marley died and Scrooge was the only owner of the company. Scrooge was tight-fist man .He was hard and sharp as a flint from which no steel had ever struck out the generous fire. He was very mean and he didn’t honour Christmas. He had cold sole and cold in his office influenced his appearance too. He had nipped pointed nose, shrivelled cheek, red eyes and blue lips. Anyone ever asked him, and anyone ever talked to him. He considered Christmas as holidays for nothing and he was very unpleasant at it. One day his nephew and invited him to join Christmas dinner. Scrooge refused. After this the ghost of Marley visited him and told him that three Christmas Spirits would visit him. Spirits came. They were Christmas Past, Christmas and Christmas Future and he saw his whole life and his death and funeral too. He decided to change his mind and he became a new man. He bought a big turkey for his poor clerk and he started to communicate with his environment. He also came to visit his nephew’s family and have Christmas dinner with them. He was new man, who honour Christmas.
Oscar Wilde
He was novelist, playwright, poet and critic .He was born in 1854 in Dublin. His father, Sir William Wilde, was Ireland's leading ear and eye surgeon. His mother was a revolutionary poet and an authority on Celtic myth and folklore. Oscar inherited his talent after his mother. He studied at Trinity Collage in Dublin. After he had finished it he studied Oxford University. He was very good in poetry. His poem Ravenna from this time won the Newdigate Prize. During his studies at Oxford he was influenced by English innovators like Pater or Ruskin. He was also influenced by Bohemian lifestyle, which influenced his appearance. He wore long hairs and velvet breeches. His rooms were filled with various objects d’art. The first book, which he published was Poems. He published it on his own expense. Wilde agreed to lecture it in the USA and Canada and when he arrived to the New York, he proclaimed his most famous sentence: “I have nothing to declare, except my genius.”
In 1884 he married Constance Lloyd a daughter of an Irish barrister. They had two sons. In spite of this he was homosexual. He made a clean breast of this in the addition of The Decay of Lying. He made a clean breast of the closer friendship with Lord Alfred Douglas. The family of Marquees of Queensberry prosecuted Wilde; he refused to flee and he was put in the prison. During the time, when he was in prison he bankrupted and after he had been released he went to Paris, where he spent the rest of his days. He died in 1900.
A Picture of Dorian Gray
Talented painter Basil Hallward got acquainted with a very, very beautiful young gentleman Dorian Gray. He was fascinated with him, with his intelligence and appearance and couldn´t live without his presence. Hallward started to paint him and one day introduced Dorian to his friend, cynical and sarcastic lord Henry Wotton. Lord Harry´s philosophy of life and living influenced Dorian a lot, so in the fit of vanity said he: "I wish I could be young and beautiful all my life, forever.” His wish came true
Dorian fell in love with young and talented actress Sibyla Vane. Dorian’s attitudes to her caused that Sibyla committed suicide. Dorian started a decadent way of his life; his only aim was to enjoy beauty and delights. His face stayed young and beautiful in the same way as when he was twenty years old, but his picture grew old and became more and more ugly.
He realized how he had changed and he destroyed the picture. He pierced it with the knife and he actually killed himself. He had a heart attack. The face in the picture changed. He was beautiful as a young man.
Agatha Christie
She was the world’s most successful detective story writer. Her sales outnumbered those of William Shakespeare. She was born in 1890 in Devon. She didn’t go to school; she was educated by her mother. Her father died when she was 11 years old. During the World War I. she was working in a hospital dispensary and she learned everything about the poisons, which proved very useful in her late career. Her first detective novel was The Mysterious Affair. She introduced Hercule Poirot, who appeared in her subsequent novels. In 1914 she married Archibald Christie, but the marriage was unhappy. In 1926 they divorced and in the same year her mother died. One night she disappeared with her car and she was found after 11 days in a Harrogate hotel. Media gave her hard time after her disappearance and she had never opened her private life again. In 1952 her most famous work was introduced in London, The Mousetrap. He married Max Mallowan an archaeologist and she loved him very much. Her detective skills helped him in the excavations in Iraq and Syria. She died in 1976.
He was born in Portsea in 1812. His father was clerk in the Navy Office and had very little money. At the age of nine they moved to London where his father got into debt and he was sent to the prison Marshallsea. Charles had to interrupt his studies and his mother sent him to the factory where blacking was made. After some time his father inherited some money and Charles returned back to school. At the age of fifteen he was taken to the solicitor’s office, but he didn’t enjoy it. He learned shorthand and became a reporter on the Morning Chronicle.
He stared to write stories and soon his stories were published in the newspaper and later his stories were published in the book “Sketches by Boz “. Boz was nickname of his favourite brother. In his twenty-fifth year he became one of the best-known writers in the country. He became rich and he married daughter of his first publisher. They had seven sons and two daughters. After twenty-two years of marriage he left her for another woman (maybe his mistress).
In his works he enjoyed life, but hated social system into which he had been born. In his novels he describes and attacks many kinds of unpleasant people and places (bad schools, headmasters, government departments, bad prisons, dirty houses…) His characters include all kind of people in the British society, but the majority is the group of poor people. He liked to read his own works. The work he liked the most is David Copperfield, which has many autobiographic elements. He describes work in the factory, problems of his father. Like most other people Charles loved Xmas and he wrote one story about it.
Christmas Carol
Scrooge and Marley were business partners, but Marley died and Scrooge was the only owner of the company. Scrooge was tight-fist man .He was hard and sharp as a flint from which no steel had ever struck out the generous fire. He was very mean and he didn’t honour Christmas. He had cold sole and cold in his office influenced his appearance too. He had nipped pointed nose, shrivelled cheek, red eyes and blue lips. Anyone ever asked him, and anyone ever talked to him. He considered Christmas as holidays for nothing and he was very unpleasant at it. One day his nephew and invited him to join Christmas dinner. Scrooge refused. After this the ghost of Marley visited him and told him that three Christmas Spirits would visit him. Spirits came. They were Christmas Past, Christmas and Christmas Future and he saw his whole life and his death and funeral too. He decided to change his mind and he became a new man. He bought a big turkey for his poor clerk and he started to communicate with his environment. He also came to visit his nephew’s family and have Christmas dinner with them. He was new man, who honour Christmas.
Oscar Wilde
He was novelist, playwright, poet and critic .He was born in 1854 in Dublin. His father, Sir William Wilde, was Ireland's leading ear and eye surgeon. His mother was a revolutionary poet and an authority on Celtic myth and folklore. Oscar inherited his talent after his mother. He studied at Trinity Collage in Dublin. After he had finished it he studied Oxford University. He was very good in poetry. His poem Ravenna from this time won the Newdigate Prize. During his studies at Oxford he was influenced by English innovators like Pater or Ruskin. He was also influenced by Bohemian lifestyle, which influenced his appearance. He wore long hairs and velvet breeches. His rooms were filled with various objects d’art. The first book, which he published was Poems. He published it on his own expense. Wilde agreed to lecture it in the USA and Canada and when he arrived to the New York, he proclaimed his most famous sentence: “I have nothing to declare, except my genius.”
In 1884 he married Constance Lloyd a daughter of an Irish barrister. They had two sons. In spite of this he was homosexual. He made a clean breast of this in the addition of The Decay of Lying. He made a clean breast of the closer friendship with Lord Alfred Douglas. The family of Marquees of Queensberry prosecuted Wilde; he refused to flee and he was put in the prison. During the time, when he was in prison he bankrupted and after he had been released he went to Paris, where he spent the rest of his days. He died in 1900.
A Picture of Dorian Gray
Talented painter Basil Hallward got acquainted with a very, very beautiful young gentleman Dorian Gray. He was fascinated with him, with his intelligence and appearance and couldn´t live without his presence. Hallward started to paint him and one day introduced Dorian to his friend, cynical and sarcastic lord Henry Wotton. Lord Harry´s philosophy of life and living influenced Dorian a lot, so in the fit of vanity said he: "I wish I could be young and beautiful all my life, forever.” His wish came true
Dorian fell in love with young and talented actress Sibyla Vane. Dorian’s attitudes to her caused that Sibyla committed suicide. Dorian started a decadent way of his life; his only aim was to enjoy beauty and delights. His face stayed young and beautiful in the same way as when he was twenty years old, but his picture grew old and became more and more ugly.
He realized how he had changed and he destroyed the picture. He pierced it with the knife and he actually killed himself. He had a heart attack. The face in the picture changed. He was beautiful as a young man.
Agatha Christie
She was the world’s most successful detective story writer. Her sales outnumbered those of William Shakespeare. She was born in 1890 in Devon. She didn’t go to school; she was educated by her mother. Her father died when she was 11 years old. During the World War I. she was working in a hospital dispensary and she learned everything about the poisons, which proved very useful in her late career. Her first detective novel was The Mysterious Affair. She introduced Hercule Poirot, who appeared in her subsequent novels. In 1914 she married Archibald Christie, but the marriage was unhappy. In 1926 they divorced and in the same year her mother died. One night she disappeared with her car and she was found after 11 days in a Harrogate hotel. Media gave her hard time after her disappearance and she had never opened her private life again. In 1952 her most famous work was introduced in London, The Mousetrap. He married Max Mallowan an archaeologist and she loved him very much. Her detective skills helped him in the excavations in Iraq and Syria. She died in 1976.
Lifestyle
Schedule:
1) Introduction
2) Differences between The American, The British and The Czech lifestyle (environment, people)
3) Different values of people in USA, Britain and Czech Republic
1)
What is lifestyle? Lifestyle is our attitude to the life, to the work, to the friends and at least to the whole society. Each nationality has its own lifestyle. For example the Englishman is closed and conservative and never share his feelings with his environment. The Americans are very friendly, but they live to work not work to live. In this theme I’d like to compare British, American and Czech lifestyle.
2)
The Americans
-The spirit of adventure
-Self-made man
-Self-reliance
When you come to America, e.g. to New York you will see cosmopolitan city. Everything is on the top and everything is very fast. It is enough to look at the shops. The most of them are opened non-stop, but it is not so special, because in Czech Republic some shops are opened non-stop too. People in the USA are very friendly, opened and kind much more than Englishmen. The exceptions are taxi drivers in the USA. They never speak to the customer and they don’t know every place in New York. If you want to go somewhere that they don’t know they are not very happy. If you look at the structure of the city you will find out that the different nationalities live there separated.
The Americans have many specialities. For example, they wear shoes at home. They love telephoning and also shopping. Their passion is also eating out in restaurant. They are vary proud of their nation
To make friend is not a big problem in the USA, but Americans often forget on them.
The British
-My house is my castle
-Keep himself to himself
-To follow one’s tradition
Britain is absolutely different. The city is more conservative. People live in the small houses and everything is smaller than in the USA. The city is a mixture of nationalities, which live together. Englishman is not very opened. They don’t share their feelings with the environment. If you ask someone in the Britain: “How are you?” they certainly answer something like this: “Thanks, I am fine.” To make some friends is very difficult. But taxi drivers are very kind and they speak to their customers the whole journey. They speak about everything.
English national passion is queuing, they love to stay in the queue and speak with friends. They are also famous for their tea mania. They can have tea anywhere and anytime. Another speciality is their clothes, which they wear during the Sunday. They wear waste, but comfortable clothes. English are also known for their telling the truth. If Englishman doesn’t know what to say they speak about weather.
.
The Czech (Continental people)
On the continent people have good food and in England people have good table manners.
Continental people have sex, but the Englishman has hot-bottles or electrical blankets.
3)
The Americans have different values than people in Europe. They have shorter public holidays. The Americans live to work not work to live. For British is more important their family, friends, pets, free time (holidays)
1) Introduction
2) Differences between The American, The British and The Czech lifestyle (environment, people)
3) Different values of people in USA, Britain and Czech Republic
1)
What is lifestyle? Lifestyle is our attitude to the life, to the work, to the friends and at least to the whole society. Each nationality has its own lifestyle. For example the Englishman is closed and conservative and never share his feelings with his environment. The Americans are very friendly, but they live to work not work to live. In this theme I’d like to compare British, American and Czech lifestyle.
2)
The Americans
-The spirit of adventure
-Self-made man
-Self-reliance
When you come to America, e.g. to New York you will see cosmopolitan city. Everything is on the top and everything is very fast. It is enough to look at the shops. The most of them are opened non-stop, but it is not so special, because in Czech Republic some shops are opened non-stop too. People in the USA are very friendly, opened and kind much more than Englishmen. The exceptions are taxi drivers in the USA. They never speak to the customer and they don’t know every place in New York. If you want to go somewhere that they don’t know they are not very happy. If you look at the structure of the city you will find out that the different nationalities live there separated.
The Americans have many specialities. For example, they wear shoes at home. They love telephoning and also shopping. Their passion is also eating out in restaurant. They are vary proud of their nation
To make friend is not a big problem in the USA, but Americans often forget on them.
The British
-My house is my castle
-Keep himself to himself
-To follow one’s tradition
Britain is absolutely different. The city is more conservative. People live in the small houses and everything is smaller than in the USA. The city is a mixture of nationalities, which live together. Englishman is not very opened. They don’t share their feelings with the environment. If you ask someone in the Britain: “How are you?” they certainly answer something like this: “Thanks, I am fine.” To make some friends is very difficult. But taxi drivers are very kind and they speak to their customers the whole journey. They speak about everything.
English national passion is queuing, they love to stay in the queue and speak with friends. They are also famous for their tea mania. They can have tea anywhere and anytime. Another speciality is their clothes, which they wear during the Sunday. They wear waste, but comfortable clothes. English are also known for their telling the truth. If Englishman doesn’t know what to say they speak about weather.
.
The Czech (Continental people)
On the continent people have good food and in England people have good table manners.
Continental people have sex, but the Englishman has hot-bottles or electrical blankets.
3)
The Americans have different values than people in Europe. They have shorter public holidays. The Americans live to work not work to live. For British is more important their family, friends, pets, free time (holidays)
Ireland
Schedule:
1) Basic facts + Geography
2) History
3) National symbols
4) Places of interest
1)
Ireland also known as the Emerald isle is politically divided into Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland. The Republic of Ireland consists of Munster, Connaught, Lienster, totalling 23 counties and 3 counties are in Ulster. The area of the island is about 83700 km2 and The Republic of Ireland is about 70000 km2. The population of Ireland is about 5, 5 million inhabitants. The capital city is Dublin, which means Dark Pool, because of the dark water in the river Liffey on which is Dublin situated. The head of the state is President.
The landscape of the island can be described as basin-shaped. That means the mountains are around the central plain. The main physiographic features are the region of lowlands occupying central and east central sections and a system of mountain ranges in the south. The highest mountain is Carrantuohill located in the south-western part of the island. Its total height is 1041 m
On the green plains are situated many rivers and lakes. Because of the large areas of the green grass is Ireland also called “Green Island”. The most important rivers are the Erne and the Shannon. Nearly half of the Shannon River is made by loughs Allen, Ree and Derg.
The climate of Ireland is moderate, because of the moist winds from the Atlantic Ocean.
2)
One of the first inhabitants of Ireland were Celts, exactly the Wise Druids. There were Celtic priests. In about 300 B.C. was the island conquered by Celts from France, the Galls.
About seven hundred years later in 432 A.D. St. Patrick came and attempt to convert people to the Christianity. The golden era of Ireland was between 5th and 6th centuries. It was time of rapid development.
Everything had changed when Henry VIII. brought the Protestant religion. The Catholics were not allowed to vote, to get married, to educate and to buy the land. In 1801 Ireland joined to the British Parliament. To sit in the Parliament was too disallowed to the Catholics. Between years 1845 and 1849 about a million of people died from famine and other million immigrated to United States. That was caused by the failure of potato crops.
The Sinn Fein started in 1899 and it became a political party in 1805. They wanted Ireland to be equal partner with Britain in dual monarchy. However the movement absorbed many radical elements it became the most important nationalistic party in the country.
The year 1922 was one of the most important years. The Independent State of Ireland was created and in the year 1949 it was renamed to the Republic of Ireland and it was also the year of leaving the Commonwealth.
3)
The flag contains three colours – green, white and orange
Green symbolises the Catholics and the landscape
Orange symbolises the Protestants
White symbolises the peace and understanding between them
The emblem of Ireland is the Shamrock, which is the symbol of Christianity. It also symbolises the Holy Trinity (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit).
4)
The Hill of Tara
The Hill of Tara, in north-eastern Ireland, has been a sacred place since ancient times. The earliest feature is a Neolithic passage grave dating from about 2800 BC. The two circular earthworks in the centre of the mound are ring forts. Up to about AD 560, the hill was the seat of the kings of Ireland.
The Blarney Castle
Blarney Castle in County Cork, Ireland, was built in 1446 on the site of an earlier castle dating from the 13th century. The castle was the stronghold of the MacCarthy family until their defeat by Oliver Cromwell in 1646. Although it was restored to the MacCarthys in the reign of Charles II, it was sold to the governor of Cork in 1703. The castle is associated with the popular legend of the Blarney Stone, which is said to confer the gift of eloquence (výmluvnost) on those who kiss it.
1) Basic facts + Geography
2) History
3) National symbols
4) Places of interest
1)
Ireland also known as the Emerald isle is politically divided into Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland. The Republic of Ireland consists of Munster, Connaught, Lienster, totalling 23 counties and 3 counties are in Ulster. The area of the island is about 83700 km2 and The Republic of Ireland is about 70000 km2. The population of Ireland is about 5, 5 million inhabitants. The capital city is Dublin, which means Dark Pool, because of the dark water in the river Liffey on which is Dublin situated. The head of the state is President.
The landscape of the island can be described as basin-shaped. That means the mountains are around the central plain. The main physiographic features are the region of lowlands occupying central and east central sections and a system of mountain ranges in the south. The highest mountain is Carrantuohill located in the south-western part of the island. Its total height is 1041 m
On the green plains are situated many rivers and lakes. Because of the large areas of the green grass is Ireland also called “Green Island”. The most important rivers are the Erne and the Shannon. Nearly half of the Shannon River is made by loughs Allen, Ree and Derg.
The climate of Ireland is moderate, because of the moist winds from the Atlantic Ocean.
2)
One of the first inhabitants of Ireland were Celts, exactly the Wise Druids. There were Celtic priests. In about 300 B.C. was the island conquered by Celts from France, the Galls.
About seven hundred years later in 432 A.D. St. Patrick came and attempt to convert people to the Christianity. The golden era of Ireland was between 5th and 6th centuries. It was time of rapid development.
Everything had changed when Henry VIII. brought the Protestant religion. The Catholics were not allowed to vote, to get married, to educate and to buy the land. In 1801 Ireland joined to the British Parliament. To sit in the Parliament was too disallowed to the Catholics. Between years 1845 and 1849 about a million of people died from famine and other million immigrated to United States. That was caused by the failure of potato crops.
The Sinn Fein started in 1899 and it became a political party in 1805. They wanted Ireland to be equal partner with Britain in dual monarchy. However the movement absorbed many radical elements it became the most important nationalistic party in the country.
The year 1922 was one of the most important years. The Independent State of Ireland was created and in the year 1949 it was renamed to the Republic of Ireland and it was also the year of leaving the Commonwealth.
3)
The flag contains three colours – green, white and orange
Green symbolises the Catholics and the landscape
Orange symbolises the Protestants
White symbolises the peace and understanding between them
The emblem of Ireland is the Shamrock, which is the symbol of Christianity. It also symbolises the Holy Trinity (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit).
4)
The Hill of Tara
The Hill of Tara, in north-eastern Ireland, has been a sacred place since ancient times. The earliest feature is a Neolithic passage grave dating from about 2800 BC. The two circular earthworks in the centre of the mound are ring forts. Up to about AD 560, the hill was the seat of the kings of Ireland.
The Blarney Castle
Blarney Castle in County Cork, Ireland, was built in 1446 on the site of an earlier castle dating from the 13th century. The castle was the stronghold of the MacCarthy family until their defeat by Oliver Cromwell in 1646. Although it was restored to the MacCarthys in the reign of Charles II, it was sold to the governor of Cork in 1703. The castle is associated with the popular legend of the Blarney Stone, which is said to confer the gift of eloquence (výmluvnost) on those who kiss it.
Housing
Schedule:
1) My family live
2) My room
3) Housing in UK and USA
4) Housework
5) What is important in a home, Should I live with my family
1)
My family live in a flat at suburbs. We have 3+1 flat with balcony. We live in the 12th floor. It is very good because I have good view from here Because of my and my brother interests we have each its own room, which we share with one of parents. Our family situation is not very good. My parents have many argues. I’m fed up with this life. They should divorce. My father arrives home in the evening and my mother sometimes too, but not often.
I don’t talk to them if it’s not quite necessary. It is fucking life here. Sometimes I like to get out from here.
2)
I share my room with my father, but he is not at home a lot of time. My room is the technical centre of our flat, because I’ve got a computer there. Table with PC is under the window. Perpendicular on the PC table is another table, which I use for learning and other things. On the second table is my printer. My bed is next to the PC table, under the window too. If you enter the room on the right side is bed of my father. Next to the bad there is secretary. TV is hanging on the wall in front of my bed. Above my bed and above the second wooden table are hanging the shelves with books and with my mess.
3)
The majority of Britain’s own its own house rather than renting it. They borrow a lot of money from the bank for buy the house (this is called mortgage), because to pay the rate is too expensive. They pay the mortgage for several years.
There was another way. Exactly after the WWII. Council houses have been built for people who couldn’t afford to pay mortgage or rate, so there is cheaper accommodation. But many blocks of these houses have been ugly and later they were pulled down. Instead of this council have built a mixture of different shapes and sizes of houses surrounded by grass and play areas.
About 80% of people rather live in the house than in the flat. The detached houses and bungalows are found near the countryside or in the expensive suburbs. Semidetached houses are found in the suburb too, but terraced houses are found mostly near the town centre.
In the modern house there are thinner walls than in our houses. Every room is carpeted and most of houses have central heating. It’s quite normal to have a fireplace situated in the living room. The most of the houses have a garden where they grow flowers, vegetable and herbs for use in the kitchen. In the garden they have a small patio where they sit on sunny days with their friends.
In the United States two-third of population have single family house. Americas’ housing industry is a largely unorganized group of entrepreneurs who construct houses in their own geographical area. Every man could get house as it wants. The Americans use to live at the suburbs. They have bigger houses than the British, but they are same comfortable. In America is absolutely necessary to have the air condition control in the house, because of the tropical temperatures which are there during the summer.
4)
Housework, I hate it. We don’t have garden so the housework narrows into clean the flat, that’s enough. In fact I don’t do anything except of I sometimes clean up my bedroom. My brother does everything. When it’s crisis I have to work too. But it’s not regularly. In spite that what I wrote there’s one I do regularly. I go shopping with my mother if she goes to hypermarket, because she needs a car to take her home. If I’m in terrible mood I hoover. I don’t know why, but it is fact.
5)
Home, what is home? It should be a place where we live. We spend there our free time. It is a place where we have a room that’s ours on 100% and we feel secure there. It is a place of understanding.
1) My family live
2) My room
3) Housing in UK and USA
4) Housework
5) What is important in a home, Should I live with my family
1)
My family live in a flat at suburbs. We have 3+1 flat with balcony. We live in the 12th floor. It is very good because I have good view from here Because of my and my brother interests we have each its own room, which we share with one of parents. Our family situation is not very good. My parents have many argues. I’m fed up with this life. They should divorce. My father arrives home in the evening and my mother sometimes too, but not often.
I don’t talk to them if it’s not quite necessary. It is fucking life here. Sometimes I like to get out from here.
2)
I share my room with my father, but he is not at home a lot of time. My room is the technical centre of our flat, because I’ve got a computer there. Table with PC is under the window. Perpendicular on the PC table is another table, which I use for learning and other things. On the second table is my printer. My bed is next to the PC table, under the window too. If you enter the room on the right side is bed of my father. Next to the bad there is secretary. TV is hanging on the wall in front of my bed. Above my bed and above the second wooden table are hanging the shelves with books and with my mess.
3)
The majority of Britain’s own its own house rather than renting it. They borrow a lot of money from the bank for buy the house (this is called mortgage), because to pay the rate is too expensive. They pay the mortgage for several years.
There was another way. Exactly after the WWII. Council houses have been built for people who couldn’t afford to pay mortgage or rate, so there is cheaper accommodation. But many blocks of these houses have been ugly and later they were pulled down. Instead of this council have built a mixture of different shapes and sizes of houses surrounded by grass and play areas.
About 80% of people rather live in the house than in the flat. The detached houses and bungalows are found near the countryside or in the expensive suburbs. Semidetached houses are found in the suburb too, but terraced houses are found mostly near the town centre.
In the modern house there are thinner walls than in our houses. Every room is carpeted and most of houses have central heating. It’s quite normal to have a fireplace situated in the living room. The most of the houses have a garden where they grow flowers, vegetable and herbs for use in the kitchen. In the garden they have a small patio where they sit on sunny days with their friends.
In the United States two-third of population have single family house. Americas’ housing industry is a largely unorganized group of entrepreneurs who construct houses in their own geographical area. Every man could get house as it wants. The Americans use to live at the suburbs. They have bigger houses than the British, but they are same comfortable. In America is absolutely necessary to have the air condition control in the house, because of the tropical temperatures which are there during the summer.
4)
Housework, I hate it. We don’t have garden so the housework narrows into clean the flat, that’s enough. In fact I don’t do anything except of I sometimes clean up my bedroom. My brother does everything. When it’s crisis I have to work too. But it’s not regularly. In spite that what I wrote there’s one I do regularly. I go shopping with my mother if she goes to hypermarket, because she needs a car to take her home. If I’m in terrible mood I hoover. I don’t know why, but it is fact.
5)
Home, what is home? It should be a place where we live. We spend there our free time. It is a place where we have a room that’s ours on 100% and we feel secure there. It is a place of understanding.
Health, care, keeping fit
Everybody in this country has the right to choose a doctor. Many people attend at the family doctor. In the present time here are two types of medical facilities, the state and the private ones. Our system of insurance provides the standard medical care, when you pay periodical fees, which are monthly plucked down from salary. You have the right to choose your own insurance company and you can change it. This insurance company pays the standard medial care. Any other care you have to pay on your own expense. You also have to pay for the private doctor.
Medical care is provided for our citizens from birth to death. Each of us is looked after even before the birth. Mother attends periodically at the medical check ups. After the childbearing each child is vaccinated against tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio and later smallpox.
Every school child is under medical supervision. That means every child has to undergo series of dental, optic and acoustic tests. As children we can go through child diseases like measles, mumps, rubeola and chicken-pox. Then we don’t have to visit a doctor so often. We can get over cold by staying in the bed and drinking herbal tea and taking the pills. Sometimes is better to go to doctor, because we can make disease worse and we risk our health. If we decide to go to doctor he usually asks us what the trouble is, he examines our chest and throat and he usually wants to know if we have a temperature. He listens to our lungs and heart and he wants to see our tonsils if they are red or not. Finally the doctor appoints the diagnosis and prescribes a medicine. Usually it is not a heavy disease.
At the pharmacy we get our antibiotics and that’s it. We are at home for a week or two and the life goes on. Sometimes when it’s necessary, doctor can come to visit us at home or we can call an ambulance which takes us to hospital. The number is 155.
Diseases are mainly caused by bad way of life. People shouldn’t eat rich meal, mainly in the old age, because it is a main cause of heart attack. People should pull off the provision of the fat and they should sport. The sport is the best way to keep us fit and it is better than any slimming diet or pills against the overweight. Very important is keeping the time when we eat. If we eat irregularly we can create ourselves gastric ulcers. The sleeping is other important thing which influences our health. Human body calls for about 8 hours of sleep a day. Our civilization lives in haste so we save the time whenever it’s possible. Unfortunately we often sleep less and less and it’s not good for our metabolism.
Our civilisation was suffering from many diseases in the past. There were the plague epidemics, tonsillitis and our diseases follow our lives even today. The most malignant disease of 20th and 21st century is the cancer advanced in many forms. Another incurable civilization disease is AIDS. People don’t die of AIDS, but this virus destroys the immunity
of organism and man dies of some curable disease like tonsillitis.
We are not satisfied with ourselves and we create stupid addictions like smoking or drug abusing. This only supports our civilization diseases and we degenerate.
Great Britain – OTHERS
Schedule:
1) History
2) National symbols
3) Political system
1)
History
The first inhabitants came to Britain about 5000 BC. These people may built The Stonehenge and The Avebury. The Celts came from Europe in The Bronze Age about 800 BC.
The Romans invaded Britain in 43 AD. They oppress the original inhabitants to the north, but the tribes were big problem for Romans, that’s why the emperor Hadrian ordered to build the Hadrian’s Wall in 122 AD.
William of Normandy also known as William the Conqueror arrived to the south coast in the 11th century exactly in 1066 and he won in the battle of Hastings. The Norman aristocracy eventually joined with the Saxons. Britain was developed in isolation for a few next centuries.
King Edward I. took the throne in 1272. Most of the areas were under his control, but the northern part was under rule of Llewellyn Gruffydd. He attacked him and killed him. Wales was united with England in 1284. When Edward’s son was born he was proclaimed The Prince of Wales. From this time this title is proclaimed to the first born son of the sovereign.
The Hundred year’s war started in 1338 and finished in 1453. After this war new war begun. Two clans the Lancaster and York fought against each other. The war ended in 1485 when Henry VII. won in the Battle of Bosworth and he became the English king.
One of the most important English kings was Henry VIII. He is very famous because of his six wives. He wanted to divorce with one of them, but the pope didn’t allow it. He established the English Church and made himself the head of the church in 1534.
Mary Stuart, the last Scottish queen tried to reach the throne of England. But her plot was discovered and she was beheaded. Her son James VI. of Scotland became the English king as James I in 1603 and Scotland was united with England. He first used the name Great Britain.
Ireland was united in 1801, but Irish didn’t enjoy it, because they didn’t have so much right as British had.
Britain noticed the biggest economical growth under rule of Queen Victoria; it was a time of the Industrial Revolution. Britain became the world’s greatest power.
Britain was concerned in the both World War. In the Second World War they fought against Hitler’s army under the guidance of Winston Churchill and they defended their independence.
At present Britain is one of the most advanced states in Europe.
2)
National symbols
The British national flag – the Union Jack
Unites the crosses of St. George, the patron saint of England (the big red cross on the white field), St. Andrew, the patron Saint of Scotland (the smaller diagonal cross on the white field), and St. Patrick, the patron Saint of Ireland (the diagonal white cross on a blue field). The flag has existed in its present form since 1801. Wales is not represented because when the flag first appeared it was already united with England, but its own symbol is the dragon.
The British national anthem is “God Save the Queen/King”
The name of the British anthem is God Save the Queen or King. It depends on sovereign. It was a patriotic song, which is first presented in 1745 in London and it became the National anthem in the beginning of the 19th century. The words and tune are anonymous and they may date back to the 17th century. There is no authorized version of this anthem. During the times many verses were added to the song, but only the first verse is usually sung
The national emblem – The Royal Standard
The Standard has four quarterings. Two is for England and there are three lions, one is for Scotland and there is also a lion. Ireland has one quartering with a harp. Wales is not represented in the Standard.
3)
Political system
United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. The head of the state is the King or the Queen, who reigns, but doesn’t rule. The sovereign has only the representative function. But The Opening of Parliament can be done only by the sovereign. The Queen has also the right to assemble and dissolve the Parliament.
The head of the government is the Prime Minister, who is the leader of the party which won the election and has the majority at the House of Commons. The Parliament consists of the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
The House of Commons also called the Lower House has 650members, but there are only 370seats. They aren’t seat always together. The main work is to examine work of Government. The presiding member of the House of Commons is The Speaker, which is elected by other members. The front benches are for the members of Cabinet and other ministers.
The second most successful party becomes the official opposition, which appoints the Shadow Cabinet.
Members of The House of Lords also called Upper House are divided into four categories. Peers are the members who have their title hereditary. (About 800 hereditary Peers) The second category are the Life Peers, who were given this title. They made something important for the nation. (About 350-400) The third category are the Lords of Appeal, who are nine of the most senior judges. The last category are the Lords Spiritual. They are 26 the most senior bishops and archbishops of the Church of England.
The speaker of the House is called Lord Chancellor, who sits on the special seat called Woolsack. The House is responsible to making and passing laws.
1) History
2) National symbols
3) Political system
1)
History
The first inhabitants came to Britain about 5000 BC. These people may built The Stonehenge and The Avebury. The Celts came from Europe in The Bronze Age about 800 BC.
The Romans invaded Britain in 43 AD. They oppress the original inhabitants to the north, but the tribes were big problem for Romans, that’s why the emperor Hadrian ordered to build the Hadrian’s Wall in 122 AD.
William of Normandy also known as William the Conqueror arrived to the south coast in the 11th century exactly in 1066 and he won in the battle of Hastings. The Norman aristocracy eventually joined with the Saxons. Britain was developed in isolation for a few next centuries.
King Edward I. took the throne in 1272. Most of the areas were under his control, but the northern part was under rule of Llewellyn Gruffydd. He attacked him and killed him. Wales was united with England in 1284. When Edward’s son was born he was proclaimed The Prince of Wales. From this time this title is proclaimed to the first born son of the sovereign.
The Hundred year’s war started in 1338 and finished in 1453. After this war new war begun. Two clans the Lancaster and York fought against each other. The war ended in 1485 when Henry VII. won in the Battle of Bosworth and he became the English king.
One of the most important English kings was Henry VIII. He is very famous because of his six wives. He wanted to divorce with one of them, but the pope didn’t allow it. He established the English Church and made himself the head of the church in 1534.
Mary Stuart, the last Scottish queen tried to reach the throne of England. But her plot was discovered and she was beheaded. Her son James VI. of Scotland became the English king as James I in 1603 and Scotland was united with England. He first used the name Great Britain.
Ireland was united in 1801, but Irish didn’t enjoy it, because they didn’t have so much right as British had.
Britain noticed the biggest economical growth under rule of Queen Victoria; it was a time of the Industrial Revolution. Britain became the world’s greatest power.
Britain was concerned in the both World War. In the Second World War they fought against Hitler’s army under the guidance of Winston Churchill and they defended their independence.
At present Britain is one of the most advanced states in Europe.
2)
National symbols
The British national flag – the Union Jack
Unites the crosses of St. George, the patron saint of England (the big red cross on the white field), St. Andrew, the patron Saint of Scotland (the smaller diagonal cross on the white field), and St. Patrick, the patron Saint of Ireland (the diagonal white cross on a blue field). The flag has existed in its present form since 1801. Wales is not represented because when the flag first appeared it was already united with England, but its own symbol is the dragon.
The British national anthem is “God Save the Queen/King”
The name of the British anthem is God Save the Queen or King. It depends on sovereign. It was a patriotic song, which is first presented in 1745 in London and it became the National anthem in the beginning of the 19th century. The words and tune are anonymous and they may date back to the 17th century. There is no authorized version of this anthem. During the times many verses were added to the song, but only the first verse is usually sung
The national emblem – The Royal Standard
The Standard has four quarterings. Two is for England and there are three lions, one is for Scotland and there is also a lion. Ireland has one quartering with a harp. Wales is not represented in the Standard.
3)
Political system
United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. The head of the state is the King or the Queen, who reigns, but doesn’t rule. The sovereign has only the representative function. But The Opening of Parliament can be done only by the sovereign. The Queen has also the right to assemble and dissolve the Parliament.
The head of the government is the Prime Minister, who is the leader of the party which won the election and has the majority at the House of Commons. The Parliament consists of the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
The House of Commons also called the Lower House has 650members, but there are only 370seats. They aren’t seat always together. The main work is to examine work of Government. The presiding member of the House of Commons is The Speaker, which is elected by other members. The front benches are for the members of Cabinet and other ministers.
The second most successful party becomes the official opposition, which appoints the Shadow Cabinet.
Members of The House of Lords also called Upper House are divided into four categories. Peers are the members who have their title hereditary. (About 800 hereditary Peers) The second category are the Life Peers, who were given this title. They made something important for the nation. (About 350-400) The third category are the Lords of Appeal, who are nine of the most senior judges. The last category are the Lords Spiritual. They are 26 the most senior bishops and archbishops of the Church of England.
The speaker of the House is called Lord Chancellor, who sits on the special seat called Woolsack. The House is responsible to making and passing laws.
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