English Topics for Exams

People commit crimes for different reasons. For example, many people steal things they can't obtain. Others, such as drug addicts, steal to get money to buy drugs or other things they need. Some shoplifters steal for excitement, but others do because they are poor. Of course those people who commit crimes should be punished. There are several types of criminal sentences.

Incarceration (заключение в тюрьму) is the confinement of a convicted criminal in a state or federal prison or in a local jail. Probation (условное освобождение,исп.срок) is a sentence to local community supervision by a probation agency. Split sentence, shock probation, and intermittent confinement are sentences that require the criminal to serve a brief term in jail, to "shock" him or her, or to get the offender's attention. Then, after the time in jail, the offender is required to serve a term on probation. Community service is a sentence which requires the offender to perform a specified amount of public service work, such as collecting trash or performing odd jobs around the court house or in public parks. Fines are levied most frequently in misdemeanor cases. The most severe type of punishment is death penalty. Some people are against, some for it. Death penalty is available for the most serious crimes as murders. The courts may sentence convicted offender to death in the electric chair, by giving lethal injection, in a gas chamber, by hanging. Those who are for it think that capital punishment used to be a major deterrent. It made the violent robber think twice before pulling the trigger. It prevented unarmed policemen from being moved down while pursuing their duty by killers armed with automatic weapons. Above all, it protected the most vulnerable members of society, young children from brutal sex-maniacs. It is horrifying to think that the criminal can literally get away with murder. We all know that 'life sentence' does not mean what it says. After ten years or so of 'good conduct', the most desperate villain free to return to society where he will live very comfortably, thank you, on the proceeds of his crime, or he will go on committing offences until he is caught again.

Proponents also argue that the death penalty is necessary to deter others from committing murder and other atrocious crimes and that without it there would be little reason for criminals to refrain from killing even more frequently. They also argue that execution is the only assurance a criminal will never again commit a murder or any other crime. Opponents of the death penalty point out that mistakes can and have been made in its imposition, that innocent persons have been executed, and, of course, that there is no remedy for any such mistake. Opponents also maintain that the publicity surrounding an execution may attract unbalanced people to commit capital crimes rather than deter potential murderers, as they seek the attention given to the person being executed and therefore commit crimes in order to be on center stage themselves.

Scientific and technological progress

It's difficult to overestimate the role of science and technology in our life. They accelerate the development of civilization and help us in our co-operation with nature. Scientists investigate the laws of the Universe, discover the secrets of nature, and apply their knowledge in practice improving the life of people.

Let's compare our life nowadays with the life of people at the beginning of the 20th century. It has changed beyond recognition. Our ancestors hadn't the slightest idea of the trivial things created by the scientific progress that we use in our every day life. I mean refrigerators, TV sets, computers, microwave ovens, radio telephones, what not. Rapid growth of science helped to reach stars, moon, helped to understand unusual natural phenomena. Over the years new branches of science have appeared. They help produce and manufacture new things and improve our life and provide comfort to people. A century is a long period for scientific and technological progress, as it's rather rapid. Millions of investigations, the endless number of outstanding discoveries have been made. Our century has had several names that were connected with a certain era in science and technology. At first it was called the atomic age due to the discovery of the splitting of the atom. Then it became the age of the conquest of space when for the first time in the history of mankind a man overcame the gravity and entered the Universe. And now we live in the information era when the computer network embraces the globe and connects not only the countries and space stations but a lot of people all over the world. All these things prove the power and the greatest progressive role of science in our life. But every medal has its reverse. And the rapid scientific progress has aroused a number of problems that are a matter of our great concern. These are ecological problems, the safety of nuclear stations, the nuclear war threat, and the responsibility of a scientist.

But still we are grateful to the outstanding men of the past and the present who have courage and patience to disclose the secrets of the Universe. Our Belarus was always rich in talented and gifted people. They all loved their homeland and wished it better future. Many Belarusians made a contribution to the development of our native land, they became famous in such areas as art, literature, sport, science, politics. Their names are given to streets, avenues and squares.

One of the largest Academies of Sciences within the CIS (Community of Independent States) works in Belarus, the research activity is developed in various branches.

Shopping: a must and a pleasure

Shopping can be both a "must" and a pleasure. Those who hate shopping place their orders by telephone and it saves them a lot of time. Ordering food products by telephone is therefore growing more popular. Some make a hobby of shopping tours, it doesn't matter whether they actually buy any things or are just window-gazing. Besides, most housewives would like to see what they are getting for their money and do their shopping out themselves.

Different as people's feelings about shopping are, you somehow couldn't think of shopping for provisions in terms of pleasure, you always think of it in terms of necessity.

I am also a regular customer at one of the big Gomel supermarkets. When you come to the supermarket, you see the following picture a huge sales floor with pretty pyramids of goods, a lavish assortment of groceries, bakery and confectionery goods, canned vegetables, fruit and dairy products; wines, spirits, mineral water, juices and syrups. Perishables - cold meats, meat, fish, milk and all dairy products - are kept in special reach-in refrigerator units. Fresh vegetables, fruit and citrus fruits are displayed in trolleys. There is a special stand with all sorts of household knick-knacks, where every housewife is bound to buy something. There is a large range of baby foods. Each item has a label which indicates the date, price, weight and cost.

A large number of items on sale, the open display of goods, the possibility to buy everything in one shop and the swift service draw customers to such shops from the day they opened. The population of the district is very pleased with such new shops. I went there yesterday and enjoyed myself very much wandering from one department to another, looking at various articles on the counters. I thought the assistants were very helpful.

We all wear clothes, and that is another necessity next to provisions. I always do shopping for clothes in one and the same big shop

Very often I go the the Central Department Store. It's a multistoried building where one can get everything in the way of food and manufactured goods: kinds of food staffs: meat, fish, tinned food, sausage, fruit, wine, sweets, chocolates, etc. There were on sale: haberdashery, stationery, hosiery, leather-wear, knitwear. I was impressed by a great choice of silk skirts and shirts, different kinds of frocks and coats, leather boots and shoes, woolen pullovers and sweaters, jeans and suits, jackets and blouses, bags and wallets. There one can get everything in the way of clothes wanted by men, women and children: footwear, knitwear, ready-made clothes, furs, and what not. On the first floor of the Department Store I could see all kinds of household utensils: crockery, china, electric appliances, cutlery, pots and pans, vacuum-cleaners, washing-machines, cameras, radio and television sets, computers, stereo cassette recorders and many other things one may want in the house. Besides, there were perfumery, florist's gift and souvenir departments.

British theatre and its theatrical traditions

Britain is now one of the world's major theatres centres. Many British actors and actresses are known all over the world: Dame Peggy Ashcroft, Glenda Jackson. Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud and others.

Drama is so popular with the British people of all ages that there are several thousand amateur dramatic societies. Now Britain has about 300 professional theatres. Some of them are privately owned. The tickets are not hard to get, but they are very expensive. Regular seasons of opera and ballet are given at the Royal Opera House and Covent Garden in London. The National Theatre stages modern and classical plays, the Royal Shakespeare Company produces plays mainly by Shakespeare and his contemporaries when it performs in Stratford-on-Avon, and modern plays in its two auditoria in the City's Barbican Centre. Shakespeare's Globe Playhouse, about which you have probably read, was reconstructed on its original site. Many other cities and large towns have at least one theatre.

There are many theatres and theatre companies for young people: the National Youth Theatre and the Young Vic Company in London, the Scottish Youth Theatre in Edinburgh. The National Youth Theatre, which stages classical plays mainly by Shakespeare and modern plays about youth, was on tour in Russia in 1989. The theatre-goers warmly received the production of Thomas Stearns Eliot's play 'Murder in the Cathedral'. Many famous English actors started their careers in the National Youth Theatre. Among them Timothy Dalton, the actor who did the part of Rochester in 'Jane Eyre' shown on TV in our country.

British theatre has never had it so good. On screen, in play, and from Broadway to the Oscars, their actors are being feted as never before. Theatre is flourishing. West End ticket revenues in 2006 smashed the ? 400 million barrier for the first time - up nearly five per cent from 2005. And earlier this year the Arts Council reported that attendances at regional theatres were up 40 per cent.

A comment theatre director Peter Hall said to a gathering of American correspondents, “We don't stand high in the world in many things but stand high in the arts.” Those heights, in terms of British theatre acting, remain as Olympian as ever.

We celebrate British theatre honouring an array of players. You'd need a newspaper of the size of the actors' contact bible, Spotlight, to chronicle every performer who has contributed to an industry.

Broadway is second to none when it comes to buzz, and to audiences that “lift you so high that sometimes you feel you want to fly for them.” But you can't compare a city with 40 openings a season - and perhaps as many again in the major off - Broadway venues - to a capital like London that can open well over 250 shows in a year, from big musicals to agitprop, site-specific experiments to star vehicles, and reclamations of unfamiliar plays to soul-stirring reappraisals of time-honoured ones. And always, always, there are the actors to populate them, more often than not, extraordinarily well.

Why does Britain do theatre so successfully? One is likely to come across as many answers to that question as there are registered members of Equity. Why should a country in thrall to irony, argument and dressing up find a natural artistic outlet in the theatre? Everyone keen on the theatre here has their own treasured shortlist of great performances over time. “Mine include Derek Jacobi's Cyrano and Lindsay Duncan's Amanda in Private Loves, Racing Demon's Oliver Ford Davies and the Rufus together in one place an entire entertainment industry, so that British actors don't have to make the punishing choice between coasts that besets their American counterparts”, - said Matt Wolf, a theatre critic for Bloomberg news and the International Herald Tribune.

Antony Sher, the South African-born actor who was drawn to this country by the very British theatre of which he is now a defining part, agrees: “I think there is a quite astonishing and, I would argue, unique history of theatre in this country because of a certain gentlemen called William Shakespeare. If you are carrying that body of work at the centre of drama and he is yours, he is British, I mean, what more do you want? He will endlessly inspire other writes and he will also inspire actors: how do you play those great parts?”

The Bard, says Sher, gives British theatre both a challenge and a exhilaration that “I doubt any other country has”. And the training needed to deliver up Shakespeare, and those who followed, helps the theatre, as it's hard to progress to film and TV without having first live performance a go.

And lest anyone think the appeal of drama schools is waning, consider the following fact regarding the place of study that would seem to be primus inter pares, the Royal Academy of dramatic Art: applications have gone up 50 per cent over the last 10 years and on average 2,300 people complete for 34 places.

The olympic games

The Olympic Games are one of the most spectacular reminders of the debt we owe to the Greeks.

The original Olympic Games were held every four years in honour of Zeus, the supreme god of Greek religion. The first record of the games dates from 776 B.C., but it is certain that they existed prior to that. They were held continuously for over 1,000 years until they were abolished in the reign of King Theodosius about 392 A.D. The Olympic festival was a great unifying bond between the Independent city-states of Greece.

The important sports in the original Olympic Games were running, jumping, wrestling, throwing the discus and throwing the javelin. Only men competed and they wore no clothes in order to have greater freedom of movement. Each competitor had to take the Olympic Oath - a promise to behave in a sportsman-like fashion.

The modern Olympic era began in 1894 when Frenchman Baron Pierre de Coubertin decided to revive the ancient Greek tradition of celebrating health, youth and peace with a sports festival. Baron de Coubertin created the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the first modern Olympiad took place in Athens in 1896. Since then the Olympic Games have been held every four years with only two exceptions because of the two world wars.

Even though the modern Olympic Games embrace the whole world, the connection with Greece is still very strong. A lighted torch is brought all the way from Greece, carried by a relay of runners, in order to light the Olympic Flame which bums all through the Games. As in ancient Greek times, the competitors still take the Olympic Oath. The long-distance race is still called the Marathon. Marathon was a village about 26 miles from Athens. In the year 490 BC the Greeks defeated a powerful Persian army at that spot. After the fierce day's fighting a soldier volunteered to bring news of the victory to the anxious citizens of Athens. He ran all the way and after gasping out the message. "Rejoice, we conquer!" he collapsed and died.

One important rule of the Olympic Games is that the competitors must be amateurs. This rule has been under a lot of pressure in recent years because modern sport is so professional and competitive. Athletes train for years to take part in the Olympics and some countries spend much more than others on equipment and facilities. But despite these pressures, the amateur rule remains.

In modern times the Olympic movement has become an enormous and expensive organization, It's controlled by the International Olympic Committee, which consists of members from all the participating countries. The IOC is based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It chooses the locations of both summer and winter games (both take place once very four years, with winter games half a year before summer Olympiads). It also controls the rules of the competitions and selects new Olympic sports. The famous flag of the IOC shows five rings of different colours linked together. The rings represent the five continents.

My family

People are searching for things in life. Nothing else but the family can be an emotional centre of people's lives, can be transmitter of culture and raising children. This process is a difficult one. It requires work, much respect, tolerance. In happy families parents are frankly honest with their children without moralizing, and children in their turn learn how to encounter other people, how to form relationships among themselves.

Families give us a sense of tradition. Families give us strength and purpose. Our families show us who we are. The things we need most deeply in our lives - love, communication, respect and good relationships - have their beginnings in the family.

Families serve many functions. They provide a setting in which children can be born and reared. Families help educate their members. Parents teach their children values - what they think is important. They teach their children daily skills, such as how to ride a bicycle. They also teach them common practices and customs, such as respect for elders and celebrating holidays. The most important job for a family is to give emotional support and security.

It was a lyrical digression and now I'm going to tell you about my closest relatives.

My parents have been married for 25 years.

My father is a middle-aged, active, energetic and sociable man. He is tall and strong both in body and character, but rather stout. He has a plump oval face with an aquiline nose. He is nearly bald and the hair that remains is grey. My father is a born artist and his profession is very interesting. He is an architect, a very talented, hard-working and experienced specialist. His has two hobbies: painting and automobiles. We have a large collection of his pictures at home.

My mother turned 50 this year. She is rather tall, slender and doesn't look her age. She has long chestnut hair, kind green eyes and a charming smile. When she smiles you can see nice dimples in her cheeks. My mother is a woman of character, well-bred, tactful and fair. She's warm-hearted and at the same time practical, reserved and full of common sense. She is usually well-dressed. She is the sort of person who always looks quite smart. My mother is a housewife, she runs the house and takes care of the family.

My elder brother is 25 years old. He is married and has a family of his own. He has two children: a son and a daughter. They are twins. My nephew is a spitting image of my brother, and the niece takes after her mother, my sister-in-law. My parents adore their grandchildren and try to spend much time with them.

My sister is 21 years old. She is a lovely sweet girl, intellectual and well-mannered. She's a student, a future architect. She decided to follow in our father's footsteps. She has a boyfriend, to whom she has engaged recently. Now they are bride and bridegroom. They are going to get married soon.

My younger brother is 15 years old. He does quite a lot of sport so he's quite strong and has well developed muscles. He has straight brown hair which refuses to lie flat and is always stroking up. He has bluish grey eyes and a little nose.

He is clever and quiet and spends a lot of time at his computer. People sometimes think that he is morose and sullen but I don't think that's the case - he just prefers to think rather than to talk. When he does talk he has a deep voice. He doesn't pronounce his words very clearly, but just mutters them - he can't be bothered to speak clearly. This is typical of boys of his age I think.

Our grandparents are rather old but full of life and energy. They are both on pension and live in the country. But all our family come to see them as often as possible.

We have a lot of close and distant relatives, because my mother has five sisters and a brother. So I've got many aunts, uncles and cousins. We are all on friendly terms.

Shopping

Many shops generally deal in certain goods displayed in shop windows and a lot of stores called department stores sell various items of consumer goods under one roof. The department store is a great convenience for customers because it saves our time. In the store customers go to the counters, choose the goods they want and pay at the cash desk. Salesmen or salesgirls stand behind the counters but there are self-service departments with no salesmen but only cashiers who sit at the cash desks just in the departments.

In the department store a customer can find: stationery, household goods, electric appliances, crockery and glassware, textiles and other departments. The hats department sells caps, kerchiefs, wide-brimmed (fur, felt, straw) hats, berets.

The hosiery handles socks (cotton, woolen, nylon), stockings, tights and

knitted goods: knitted underwear (slips, singlets, panties), cardigans, jackets, jumpers, pullovers, sweaters, knitted caps, mittens, scarves.

In the drapery one can get a length of cloth (linen, cotton, cotton print, pure silk, rayon, nylon, velvet, all-wool, thick wool cloth).

The ready-made clothes for men's department is stocked well with everything a man needs in the way of clothes: shirts, trousers, coats, waist coats, two-piece and three-piece suits, overcoats, raincoats.

If a woman wants to buy ready-made clothes (dresses, aprons, skirts, blouses, costumes, trouser suits, coats trimmed with fur of mink (fox, nutria, muskrat) she goes to the ready-made clothes for women department.

Sports goods is supplied with trainers, T-shirts, bathing trunks, bathing suits, sports shoes, sports equipment.

Haberdashery handles handkerchiefs, lace, ribbon, tape, thread, needles, safety pins, umbrellas, while men's haberdashery is stocked with braces, collars, mufflers, shaving-sets, electric razors. There is also perfumery having face cream, powder (loose and compact), eye shadow, lipstick in various shades, perfume (scents), eau de cologne, lotion, shampoo, soap, nail polish on sale.

Jewellery sells ornaments, bracelets, rings, earrings, brooches, necklaces, beads.

Brief-cases, handbags, gloves, wallets are sold at leather goods.

At the shoe department one can buy footwear: boots, high boots, fur-lined booties, shoes (made of leather, patent leather, suede), low shoes, high (medium, low)-heeled shoes, rubber shoes, sandals, slippers, canvas shoes, high (low) platform shoes.

In big department stores they have information bureaus, where a customer can inquire about any goods he would like to buy. If a customer is overloaded with packages the department store can take care of delivery by means of home delivery service and the customer can have his purchases delivered at any time and place he/she wishes.



At the supermarket

I usually do my shopping once a week at the local supermarket or at the big self-service food stores. These large self-service stores are brightly-lit and usually well laid out. The goods are tidily arranged on trays and long shelves on which the various prices are clearly marked. There is plenty of room for the customers to walk about. The shelves are well stocked with a very wide selection of attractively packed goods - everything from quick-frozen food to washing powder, from shoe polish to new-laid eggs, from tinned fish to toothpaste.

I walk from shelf to shelf, filling my wire basket. But if I want a lot of things I usually use a trolley. I always write a shopping list of things I need to buy. If I can't find anything on the shelves, I ask an assistant for help. I have to be careful when shopping in a self-service store for the goods are so attractively displayed that I am tempted to buy things I do not need or cannot really afford.

When I have everything, I go to the cash desk, where there is a short queue. When it is my turn the cashier reckons up the bill on a cash register. Then she tells me the total and I pay cash. The cashier gives me the change and the receipt. Before going home, I sometimes drop in at the market.

The market is large, with over a hundred different stalls, part of it is covered, part of it open-air. A wide range of clothes, household goods, fruit and vegetables is on sale and prices are often considerably lower than in the ordinary shops.

The band marches through the Gates of the Palace. The job of the police is to keep the tourists from following the guards! The guardsmen wear their traditional uniform: a tweed coat and a black helmet. The helmet is called “bearskin” and it's made of fur.

If you want to look deep into the essence of things, be sure to visit at least one of London's museums and galleries.

The British Museum is an incomparably rich treasure-chest, brimming with things of world historical importance. It was founded in 1753 and, since then, has grown to include every conceivable kind of artifact from all over the world.

The Victoria and Albert Museum is equally impressive, with an outstanding collection of fine and applied arts housed in a grand building opened in 1909 by Edward II. Just next door, and especially popular with children, is the Natural History Museum. Within this vast and elegant building unsuspecting visitors may come face to face with anything from huge dinosaurs to working displays of their own insides!

London is equally rich in art galleries, from the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, which houses one of the world's finest collections of European art, to the smaller galleries, such as the Wallace Collection, with its unrivalled representation of 18^th century French art. The Tate Gallery houses the national collection of British painting and modern sculpture. It's necessary to mention the National Portrait Gallery with its fine collection of portraits spanning six centuries.

If you'd like to see a bit of London greenery, you can enjoy the delights of London's parks, green islands of peace and quiet in the middle of the noisy sea.

The best-known parks are, of course, the central ones: St. James's Park, Hyde Park, Regent's Park, and Kensington Gardens. They have many attractions. Hyde Park has the Serpentine, a little lake, where , if one feels inclined, one may take a swim or go for a row, and Speaker's Corner where one gets up and says anything (or almost anything!) one wishes. Kensington Gardens has the Round Pond where “dry land sailors” of all ages sail every kind of yacht. St. James's Park boasts a truly elegant lake on which lives a great variety of wild ducks.

As evening falls, shops and museums close, but restaurants open. So it's time to hop on the first sightseeing bus at the nearest bus stop and it will bring you to Piccadilly Circus, your starting point. London's entertainment scene is colourful and diverse. All tastes are catered for in theatre, music and dance. Whether classical music, Shakespearean theatre, raucous comedy or disco are your preference, London has something for everyone.

There is so much to see in this, the largest city in Europe that is sure to exhaust you before you exhaust its possibilities.



Interests and hobbies

There are many people around you who may have special interests and hobbies. Some of them are interested in particular places to see, in history, English (or other) writers, gardening and so on. For them there are all kinds of tours and day trips available by coach or by trains. Those who are interested in walking or cycling tours are offered the most exciting routes.

Thousand of different activities are provided for all ages and abilities; young people, children, disabled people or anyone. You can do something you've never done before, such as hang-gliding. You can go pony-trekking or diving, climb mountains or play golf. You can choose a holiday with lots to do, or, if you prefer, you can do something quieter such as stay on a large boat: and do fishing. If you want to improve your English while you're on holiday, there are outdoor and sport holidays that include English lessons.

There are also very special interests which are called environmental. They concern people who care much for things like air, the land, the sea, rivers, animals and plants, buildings and people. They have their practical holidays such as cleaning canals or planting trees. They are not paid for this work.

A lot of people are interested in art. These are amateur painters, musicians or actors. To be better painters or musicians they join courses, sometimes on more usual subjects, e.g. batik (a way of printing colours on cloth) or making cloth, their own paper, ink, working with wood, etc.

There are plenty of other kinds of activities too: you can learn to use a computer, do archeology. In Scotland for example you can go on a "whisky trail". This is a special tour of the whisky distilleries, which are the places where whisky is made.

In Britain many schools, language summer schools, colleges and universities organize all sorts of holidays with accommodation, for all ages at holiday time.

People's special interests and hobbies are very important. They can be things not only to do but to talk about, which help you make friends, and make it easier for everyone to get along together.

Choosing a career

Choosing a career is like any other activity; it is best to work to a plan. Too many people start looking for a specific job before thinking out their occupational aims. It is a good idea to begin by attempting to define in clear terms what your requirements are from a career. This involves taking a realistic view of your strengths and weaknesses. You may think for example, that you would like a job that involves organizing people, but liking such a job is not a sufficient justification if experience you may have already suggested that this is not your strong point.

On the other hand, you should remember that training will equip you to do new things. A further point to consider is how far you will be willing to do for a time things which you do not like knowing that they are necessary to achieve your longer term objectives. Having thought carefully about the sort of person you are, try to work out a realistic set of occupational requirement. In particular, you can answer to important questions. First: what sort of life do you want to lead? For example, do you want to live in the country or in the town? Is leisure time of great importance to you? Is the size of your salary important? Do you want to put down roots or travel widely? Second: what sort of work do you want to do? For example, do you like working alone or with others? Does teaching people appeal to you? Do you want to be an organizer of other people's activities? Do you want to develop new ideas and initiate changes?

To be a well prepared specialist one should have some important qualities: great capability persistence, knowledge of science and, of course, knowledge of the sphere he or she is aimed to work and, of course, foreign languages. In spite of these arguments we mustn't forget about everybody's vacation.

When a company needs to recruit new people, it may decide to advertise the job or position in the “NEED HELP” section of a newspaper. People who are interested can then apply for the job by sending in a letter of application or covering letter and a curriculum vitae (CV) containing details of their education and experience. The company's Human Resources department will then select the most suitable applications and prepare a short list of applications, who are invited to attend an interview.

A growing number of companies are no longer satisfied with traditional job interviews. Years ago, employers looked for experience - has the candidate done this before? Most companies have not changed this practice until now. But others make the comprehensive testing aimed to measure skills in communications, analysis, organization and personal traits.

That means that both, the interviewee and the interviewer, must plan carefully and design a series of questions prior to the interview if their objectives are to be achieved.

Here are some pieces of advice given by Stony University (US) how to behave in the job searching.

Dos and don'ts for job seekers

Do learn ahead of time about the company and its product. Do your homework.

Do stress your qualification for the job opening.

Do mention any experience you have which is relevant to the job.

Do indicate, where possible your stability, attendance record and good safety experience.

Do maintain your poise and self-control.

Do try to overcome nervousness and shortness of breath.

Do answer questions honestly.

Do recognize your limitations.

Do make plenty of applications.

Do indicate your flexibility and readiness to learn.

Don't discuss past experience which has no application to the job situation.

Don't be untidy in appearance.

Don't beg for consideration.

Don't mumble or speak with a muffled voice.

Don't hedge in answering questions.

Don't express your ideas on compensation, hours, etc. early in the interview.

Don't hesitate to fill out applications, give references, and take physical examinations or tests on request.

Don't around, prolonging the interview, when it should be over.

Don't arrive late and breathless for an interview.

Don't write incorrect information on your CV to make it look better.

Nature protection

Computers project that between now and the year of 2030 we are going to have an increase of the average temperature between 1,5--4,5 degrees C. Sea levels would rise by several metres, flooding coastal areas and ruining vast tracts of farmland. Huge areas would be infertile and become uninhabitable. Water contamination could lead to shortages of safe drinking water. It looks like the end of civilization on the Earth.

For hundreds of thousands of years the human race has thriven in Earth's environment. But now, at the end of the 20^th century, we are at a crucial turning point. We have upset nature's sensitive equilibrium releasing harmful substances into the air, polluting rivers and oceans with industrial waste and tearing up the countryside to accommodate our rubbish. These are the consequences of the development of civilization. We are to stop it by joint efforts of all the people of the world.

The range of environmental problems is wide. But the matters of people's great concern nowadays are atmosphere and climate changes, depletion of the ozone layer, freshwater resources, oceans and coastal areas, deforestation and desertification, biological diversity, biotechnology, health and chemical safety. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) concentrates its activities on these issues.

Acid rains

One of the most alarming forms of air pollution is acid rain. It results from the release into the atmosphere of sulphur and nitrogen oxides that react with water droplets and return to earth in the form of acid rain, mist or snow. Acid rain is

killing forests in Canada, the USA, and central and northern Europe. (Nearly every species of tree is affected.) It has acidified lakes and streams and they can't support fish, wildlife, plants or insects. (In the USA 1 in 5 lakes suffer from this type of pollution).

Depletion of the ozone layer

The protective layer of the Earth, the ozone layer, which protects the Earth from the sun's destructive UV (ultraviolet) rays, is being damaged by CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons). They are released by the daily use of industrial and household products: refrigerators, air conditioners, foam insulation, cleaning chemicals, food packaging. In the ozone layer they attack the ozone molecules making a «hole». This «hole» allows more UV rays to penetrate to the Earth. It increases the risk of skin cancer, weakens the immune system of people. Besides, UV rays influence the oceans, the growth of plankton, an essential part of the marine-life food chain in the negative way, reduce economically important crops (rice, cotton, soy beans). The life cycle is going to be undermined by the ozone.



Destruction of the tropical forest

It's generally agreed that the destruction of the tropical forest has a major impact on the world climate. The tropical rain forest is a natural recycler, provider and protector for our planet. It recycles carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, helps determine temperature, rainfall and other climatic conditions and supports the most diverse ecosystem in the world. Deforestation could cause one forth of all species on earth to vanish in the next 25 years. These forests in Amazonia, South-East Asia and West and Central Africa are being destroyed at an alarming rate of 42 million acres per year.

Measures to be taken

We have only a few years to attempt to turn things around. We must review our wasteful, careless ways, we must consumeless, recycle more, conserve wildlife and nature, act according to the dictum «think locally, think globally, act locally». To my mind, we are obliged to remove factories and plants from cities, use modem technologies, redesign and modify purifying systems for cleaning and trapping harmful substances, protect and increase the greenery and broaden ecological education. These are the main practical measures, which must be taken in order to improve the ecological situation.

Some progress has been already made in this direction. 159 countries-members of the UNO have set up environmental protection agencies. They hold conferences discussing ecological problems, set up environmental research centres and take practical urgent measures to avoid ecological catastrophe. There are numerous public organisations such as Greenpeace that are doing much to preserve environment.

The 5^th of June is proclaimed the World Environmental Day by the UNO and is celebrated every year.



The role of tv in our life

TV is one of the best inventions the man has ever made. We are beginning to forget what the world was without TV. Everybody knows what a great force TV is in the world today. Thanks to TV

we get a great amount of information. It gives wonderful possibilities for education. It enriches our intellect. We also become better informed by watching documentaries, science programmes, discussions and by learning the most important issues of the day.

TV gives an opportunity to see the best actors, sport matches, to meet famous people. TV brings the world to our room. We see people in our country and in other lands and learn about their customs, occupations, traditions, problems. We become cultured people by learning more of the arts. Television helps us to relax after a hard day's work, so we can then cope better with the next day's work. Besides, there is a considerable amount of TV programmes: news, different talk-shows, TV games, concerts and variety shows, sport programmes, feature films, serials and so on and so forth. They are of great entertainment value and provide useful topics for conversation. A lot of these programmes are very popular. For example, News deal with political and social problems of modern society. Their aim is to give analysis of the problems and show different view points. They are concerned with the country's national events, the most topical political problems of the day. Musical Review presents songs, pop groups, folk songs. It is very popular with TV viewers.

Thus, we can say that TV is a great force which attracts millions of people to the screens.

But tastes differ. Some people are against TV. They say that TV is doing a lot of harm. It occupies a lot of free time. People used to have hobbies, to meet with friends, to go to the cinema or theatre, to read books, to listen to music. Nowadays many people sit watching TV hour by hour. They don't read books, they don't do sports, they begin to forget the art of conversation. Watching TV for a long time may lead to poor health and rain eye-sight.

But nobody makes you watch TV for hours. You can simply switch off your TV-set. But nobody can deny the fact, that TV is a great force in the world today.

Television, computers, books

As far as books and computers are concerned, I can say in my firm confidence that computers will never replace books. First because they fulfil different functions. It's true that both books and computers contain information. But one computer is worth the whole library. So perhaps, computers will replace reference books because it's quicker and easier to find the necessary information in the computer than in reference books.

But I'm sure computers can't be compared to fiction. Historical novels, adventure books, detective stories, science fiction, romance, poems, which we read for pleasure or if they are recommended by teachers create a special atmosphere. They take us into the imaginary world of high human emotions, exciting relations. A computer can help you in reading these books without turning the pages but working on the computer demands certain effort. You are to sit straight, not to stoop, you keep your finger on the keyboard. Besides computers have a harmful impact on the eyesight. In my opinion, it's impossible to read «War and Peace» on the screen. We'll lack something important: the invisible contact with the writer who speaks with us from the passed centuries.

As to TV, it's role is expressed in the proverb, «It's better to see than to hear». Paraphrasing it we can say it's good to see after you have read. Screen versions of literary masterpieces add much to our understanding the author and arouse unforgettable emotions. But books are the greatest wonders in the world, which bring us knowledge and bring us up. Through centuries and distances we can keep in touch with the greatest minds in the universe.



Tv and radio

Radio and TV are mass media which keep people informed on the topical issues of the day. Both on radio and TV you can listen to a programme on sports, art, news, music and weather. The difference is that on TV you can see everything you've heard about. And it's an important advantage. Besides, there are a lot of entertaining programmes on TV, a lot of feature, documentary films which provoke hot discussions. But watching TV is often a waste of time.

Radio is preferable to TV when you are at work and need information or have to focus your attention on something else. For example, when you drive a car, it's better to listen to radio than to watch TV

But both radio and TV play an important role in our life as well as newspapers. They give the full coverage of the latest events, comment on the most important developments, political and domestic affairs. They acquaint us with different views and opinions. Thus, they contribute to the development of the information network.

That's why in the recent years there has been the increase in the amount of time spent watching TV. Though it depends on the season, the age of the viewers and social class. For example, TV viewing is less popular in summer than in winter. It is more popular with old people than with other age groups. Professional and managerial classes watch less than the unskilled. Besides, women watch more than men.

Describing people - appearance

What is your ideal of a handsome man or a beautiful woman? As the saying goes:”Tastes differ”. It may be in full measure referred to the ideal of beauty. Besides one can endlessly speculate over the beauty's being of secondary importance in comparison with a person's character. But that would be a sort of hypocrisy on my part as I consider a man's especially a woman's appearance to play not the least role in our life. We're all well aware of the fact that appearances are deceitful and a lovely face doesn't necessarily reflect fair nature of a person. Nevertheless an attractive one produces a better impression on the interlocutor at least at first sight. Later the attitude towards a person may change. But for this very moment a pleasant-looking man or woman looks a winner, it helps him or her to take over their rivals for example when being interviewed for the job. However a nice appearance still has some influence on us. What a delight to see a pleasant-looking person before you. What I personally prefer is a sort of classical beauty: people with regular facial features, slim and slender, with graceful walk and which is not less important neatly dressed. But we are to differentiate between a man's and a woman's beauty. For me personally the model of man's attractiveness is Shon Conory's appearance. That's a man who played James Bond's part. A well-made figure, imposing stature, broad shoulders and a straight nose. Merlin Monroe is an excellent example of beauties. The actress is as pretty as a picture. Her blond hair, perfect figure, plum lips, delicate features are worth admiring. Many girls strive to look like the actress, thousands imitate her hair style and make-up.

What is the ideal human form? There evidently exist certain canons of an attractive human form. But a person may appear outcast from the classical standards of beauty but still to look charming and really pretty. In general ideal forms change over the time. As for me I consider ideal appearance which is in fashion nowadays. I'm the product of the time I live in and there is no wonder I prefer those looks that are largely advertised on the screen. If one constantly hears that a pretty woman or a handsome man is supposed to look so and so you voluntarily or involuntarily begin to believe it. What is really important is to strive to perfect all the time. That's what really counts. Did the notion of the ideal form change over the centuries? The changes occur much oftener than we may think at first. An example is our grandparents' attitude towards the way the modern youth look. And the case is not only their style and mode of behaviour. The older generations are not able to understand the beauty of a tall girl with a bony figure. They consider them to be the embodiment of ugliness, a case of repulsive and eyesore appearance. Great changes took place in the notion of beauty. I can't but mention that it wouldn't be correct to compare the models of beauty in different centuries as they have always had their own peculiarities. F.ex. a woman was to stay in bed for several days constantly eating so as to gain weight. This was spread in other countries as well. Nowadays one should pay attention to what he eats. The variety of food contributes to gaining weight. The choice is really huge.

Who do you think to be the most attractive man or woman of all the times? What comes to my mind is Cleopatra's beauty. But no one knows for sure whether she was really as charming as she's portrayed in films. Moreover other sources state the opposite. As a result one can't speak of her good-looking appearance as of that absolute. I've already told about Merlin Monroe's beauty. Her impressive outlook for me is a symbol of absolute beauty. But to tell you the truth hardly does she suit the image of a modern pretty woman.

Do you think your build sometimes determines your character? Frankly speaking, when a child I used to strictly differentiate between virtuous and vicious people. It was person's appearance which served as a criterion of distinction. Those looking quite plain were registered as good natured. Attractive and pleasant looking are those vain, arrogant, riding their high horse and as a result easy-going unreliable villains. Years have passed, at present I'm a bit confused as grown-ups' behaviour differ greatly from that of preschoolers and schoolers. They are able to control their emotions, feelings, thus my observations show that beauties are not so ill-natured as they seemed. Speaking personally about me, my frame and build, I consider it to be not really strong, which sometimes contribute to the lack of self-confidence and ambitiousness in a positive sense -- the qualities without which it is impossible to fulfill oneself, to achieve a lot in this life. Moreover I'm relatively tall which creates the impression of being in the center of attention. It's far from being a delight to feel constantly in sight of others. It always gives to the desire to hide myself behind smb's back.

I should also admit that appearance reflects the life that we had led. Numerous examples prove that. For instance I won't be original after an excessive taking of food there's no wonder a person put on some weight. Thus we typically associate a stout man with a heavy-eater. Though in fact it may appear far from being the truth, as a man may suffer from a disease. It's not a secret that a person who's known for having worked all his life is more likely to look older than that of the same age who had led a luxurious life.

How do you solve your beauty problems?

Any woman would like to look pleasant and attractive. I'm no exception. If not to charm, than at least not to repulse - that's my slogan. As for hair, I do take care of them. First of all I try to include into my diet plenty of minerals, to drink plenty of juice, to eat more fruit. UV light causes hair to lose moisture and condition, so hair can become dry, brittle, and split. To restore the moisture balance and a healthy look I use extra conditioner Pantene, I use styling products that nourishes and protects my hair and they look healthy and shiny.

Do you watch your weight? Like any woman in the world I'm preoccupied with the idea of looking slim and slender. Being not a very active and energetic person I can't spend endless hours doing physical exercises, sport is not my cup of tea. But for me it's not a problem because I'm not quick to put on weight/

Parenthood: bringing up children

First of all I'd like to start with a quote of Benjamin Spock-the famous American pediatrician, who wrote 'Your baby is born to be a reasonable friendly human being'. Today's parents are not sure this is enough. There is a growing number of American professional parents with obsessive ambitions for their children. They are dedicating their lives to creating brilliant children. The Age of Spock is over! The Better Baby Institute