TOPICS 11
MY FAMILY
Let me introduce myself. I am girl /boy of 15. My first name is Dima. I am from Slonim. (I was born in Minsk./ I have been living in this town since my childhood.) Speaking about our family I should say that we are tight – knit and getting all right. We are a family of 4.
My parents are all I have and they both mean the world to me. I would do anything in the world for them. But my extended family is equally important for me, too.
My dad’s sometimes an angry, overworked man, but I still love him because he is a fantastic dad, a real bread – winner in the family. He is 45. He works as a surgeon in the hospital. He is neither old nor young, a good looking man with dark hair just beginning to gray. He is a very sociable person.
My mother is three years younger than he. She works as a teacher in the nursery school. My mother is rather pretty, she is always elegant and smart. She has got a great deal of work to do at home and at work. Sometimes it seems to me that it’s an endless business! But we are in a habit of giving her a helping hand about the house.
My family includes 2 siblings. I get on well with them. (They are all right, but annoying sometimes. Me and my sister really hated each other while growing up, but we are cool now.)
Another person I appreciate is my grandmother. She passed away a year ago. I know she may not be here anymore, but I know sometimes when I’m having a trouble, need help and all of a sudden the answer to my trouble somehow just pops up, it’s her looking down on me, helping me out.
I know lots of time I can seem pretty ungrateful to my family, but I appreciate everything they have done for me. They will always be there to help in hard times and you can always come to them for comfort, advice and help.
We have a couple of traditions in my family. It’s a custom for our family to discuss things during the meals. We usually show our interest in what others think and do. We are attentive and sincere to each other and all these things unite a family.
One of traditions is to have big meals on holidays at one of our extended families’ homes. Everyone in the family gets a turn at their home.
My family may not be perfect and neither am I, but you will never find a family quite like mine. As someone once said:” I don’t care how poor a man is; if he has a family, he is rich”.
My Future Profession
Getting a job in today's competitive world is not easy. Most jobs require qualification. They need university education or practical skill.
Some people have obvious abilities and since childhood they know that they are going to be musicians, painters, actors or ballet-dancers. Most.young people have to go into more common but no less necessary jobs in different spheres of life. No society can do without teachers, doctors, drivers, builders, plumbers, farmers, engineers, factory workers, cleaners.
Choosing the right job is important because I want to enjoy my work and get satisfaction from it. I also want to be successful at work. (+ о своей профессии)
Learning foreign languages
Learning a foreign language is not easy. It is a long and a slow process which takes a lot of time and efforts. But if you know a foreign language it gives you advantages over those, who don’t know any.
People have long been interested in having one language that could be spoken by all of them. English is close to being an international language. It is spoken by approximately 750 million people. It is becoming the language of foreign trade, international contacts in sphere of political, social, business and cultural relations. It also offers good job opportunities and it enables you to find work almost anywhere in the world. English is the major language of communication in such areas as science, computer technology, mass entertainment and international tourism.
There are a lot of languages on our planet and it is impossible to know all of them. But as someone once said, every intelligent person should know at least one foreign language. And I fully support this idea.
Ecological Problems
Environmental problems have become exceptionally acute in the modern world, and environmental protection has become a vital necessity for all people.
Our planet is in serious danger. Large cities with thousands of smoky industrial enterprises appear all over the world today. The by-products of their activity pollute the air we breathe, the water we drink, the land we grow grain and vegetables on. Pollution from factories and cars is the main reason for the greenhouse effect and acid rain.
Vast forests are cut and burn in fire. Their disappearance upsets the oxygen balance. As a result some rare species of animals, birds, fish and plants disappear forever, a number of rivers and lakes dry up.
One of the most essential environmental problems is depletion of the ozone layer, which protects the Earth from the dangerous ultraviolet rays of the sun. Because of the ozone holes, the dangerous rays get through the atmosphere, causing skin cancer and other serious diseases.
Environmental protection is of a universal concern. There are a lot of environmental groups and international organisations, whose main goal is to create a system of ecological security. The most famous of them are Greenpeace, The World Wildlife Fund (WWF). An international environmental research centre has been set up on Lake Baikal.
However, there are a lot of simple things we should all do to protect the environment. First of all, we mustn’t drop or leave litter in public places and on the banks of the rivers and in the lakes. Almost everything can be recycled. We should take care of birds and animals. We can help to plant trees. If we take action now, there might be some hope for the future. If we do nothing, we are heading for disaster!
