The English language

Language is part of people’s culture. Nowadays it is necessary to learn foreign languages. It helps to develop friendship, cooperation and understanding among people. Now the Russian people can go abroad without limits on business, to study, to have a rest. That’s why they take courses, study languages at schools and Universities and study themselves.

I learned English at school because I like it best, I want to read books and periodicals in English. English will help me in my future profession. It is very important to find a good job. I want to communicate with people from other countries, understand their culture and traditions. Speaking English I can travel a lot because everywhere people speak English. The first question is always: Do you speak English? And it is pleasant to answer: Yes, I do. I have no pen-friends but I hope to get them and to write letters in English.

English attracts me because the language sounds so beautiful. I like to learn new words, do grammar exercises, see films, different sport, cultural, scientific programs on TV, for example The Discovery, Euro News.

English is spoken all over the world and is very popular. It is spoken as the mother tongue in Great Britain, the United States of America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. People speak English in India, China, Japan, Africa. It is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Three-quarters of the world’s mail, telexes and telegrams are in English.

It is the language of business, technology, sports competitions. People like to study English because it is not too difficult, its grammar is logical and simple, it has a lot of international words which are clear to most people. For example, “umbrella” comes from Italian, “skates” from Dutch, “tea” from Chinese, “cigar” from Spanish, “sputnik” from Russian.

I try to develop my language both inside and outside the classroom. I shall continue studying English at the University, take some good courses and myself.

The United States

The United States of America is a general name of the country composed of 50 states. They are joined in a federal republic and its citizens are known as “Americans”.

In the north the US borders on Canada, in the west -Mexico. It is washed by the Pacific Ocean in the east and the Atlantic Ocean in the east. Hawaii became the fiftieth state in 1959.

There are high mountains in the country: the Appalachian Mountains in the east and the Rocky Mountains which extend from Mexico to Canada.

The greatest rivers of the country are the Mississippi River, the Missouri River and the Colorado River. In the central part there is the territory of the Great Lakes.

The climate is moderate but various: from the tropics to the Arctic Region. Owing to the western winds the cyclonic storms are often. But there is another class of storms in the country. It is the West Indian hurricane. Many of such hurricanes are very disastrous.

The population of the US is about 200 thousand people. About two-thirds of Americans live in towns and cities.

The capital of the US is Washington, D. C. (District Columbia); it was named for the first American President George Washington. It lies on the Potomac River. Here are the Congress of the USA, the Capitol, the White House, the official residence of presidents, Lincoln Memorial, the Library of Congress and others. .

The largest cities are Washington, the capital of the country, New York, an unofficial capital, Boston, Chicago, Detroit and others.

The language is called American English. In 1620 English traveled from England to North America with the ship “Mayflower”. The first colonists spoke Elizabeth English, the language of Shakespeare. Later American English developed. There are some differences between the two languages in grammar, spelling, vocabulary and phonetics. There are many borrowed words in American English because the country is multi-national. For example, from the Indians there are many geographical names of rivers, lakes, mountains. From Spanish - creole, mulatto, canyon, rancho. From Dutch - boss, cookies Santa Claus.

The differences for example, are: railroad (English railway), ticket-window (booking-office), track (platform) and subway (underground).

Mass Media

Mass Media (the press, the radio and television) play an important part in the life of society. They inform and entertain people. They also influence the way people look at the world and make them change their views. Millions of people watch TV and read newspapers every day. We listen to the radio and do some work about the house, read a book or drive a car.

On the radio one can hear music, news and various commentary and discussions. A peculiar feature of the American radio is soap opera. It is a sentimental drama which deals with domestic problems but housewives like them. Most people find soap operas boring. Different radio and TV games, such as, for example, quiz programmes on TV also attract a large audience. During these programmes viewers answer various questions.

There is a lot of advertising on TV and radio. Big corporations or individuals own some of the TV and radio stations. The owners can advertise whatever they choose. Advertisements occupy most of the radio and TV time. Advertising promotes business but often annoys the general public. Commercials may interrupt the play you are watching on TV. I think such programmes give people headache instead of relaxation.

But the media also tries to raise the cultural level of the people or to develop their artistic taste. Many radio and television programmes bring into millions of

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 828