Choosing a profession

Choosing a profession.
Whatever the country, at 15 or 16 young people have to make a choice. There are several options. They can stay on at school for two more years and their good final exam results make it possible for pupils to go on to further further education. They can go to a college or a vocational school as well. There young people can study for a vocational diploma. Not many young people go straight out to look for a job after school.
Usually at 15 or 16 young people have a plan for a career, they know what to do after leaving school. Choosing your future profession or a trade is a difficult choice but a very important one. Many young people are inclined to choose a " popular" profession and they are sure this is just what they want. Choosing an occupation takes time and there are a lot of things you have to consider. Different jobs require different personal qualities.  You should consider what you are good at, whether you have a calling for something particular. You should decide whether you want to deal with people,animals or machines. To be successful when you deal with people means to be communicative well- wishing, sympathetic and capable of deep feelings and empathy. Such jobs as an  accountants, economist, programmer need accuracy, patience, self-discipline  and concentration.  If you have an inclination for activities based on artistic imagination, you should be capable of creative work, have to have a fine artistic taste and a developed sense of aesthetic, have graphic and image bearing thinking.
And the last but not the least is that you should think of the situation on the job market, you must be sure that the job you have chosen is in demand and you'll be able to gain employment.
As for me, I want to be a ........... This job is to .......and to ........ It's a very demanding job. A........ has to be .......... But some personal qualities are also very important. You should be....... because ......... The job involves .........., so such quality as .............is needed (important).

Hobbies

Hobbies

A hobby is a favourite pastime of a person. Hobbies differ like tastes. If you have chosen a hobby to you liking, lucky you are: you have made your life more interesting.

Numerous hobbies can be subdivided into four large classes: doing things, making things, collecting things and learning things.

The most popular of all hobby groups is doing things. It includes a wide variety of activities, everything from gardening to traveling and from chess to volleyball. Gardening is one of the oldest man’s hobbies, especially in some countries(Britain, for example). One of the most popular hobbies nowadays is computer games.

Making things includes drawing, painting, making sculptures, designing costumes, and handicrafts. Some people write music. Two of the most famous hobby painters were President Eisenhower and Sir Winston Churchill.

Almost everyone collects something at some period in his life: stamps, coins, matchboxes, books, records, toys. Some collections have no real value. Others become so large and so valuable that they are housed in museums and galleries. Many world famous collections started in a small way with one or two items. People with a good deal of money often collect paintings, rare books and other art objects. Often such private collections are given to museums, libraries and public galleries so that others might take pleasure in seeing them.

No matter what kind of hobby a person has, he always has the opportunity of learning from it. By reading about the things he is interested in, he is adding to what he knows. Learning things can be the most exciting aspect of a hobby.

Topical vocabulary

A favourite pastime                                  an item

To one’s liking                                          an art object

Numerous                                                 to be subdivided into

Valuable                                                    a word famous collection

A wide variety of activities                       a rare book

To have no real value                                 to have the opportunity of doing smth

A hobby painter                                        to take pleasure in doing smth

To be housed                                             to add to

To start in a small way                              a private collection

London

 London

London is the capital of the UK, the capital of Great Britain and the capital of England. Its population is about 9 million people and now it is one of the biggest cities of the world. London was not built as a city in the same way as Paris or New York. It began life as a Roman fortification at a place where it was possible to cross the river Thames. A wall was built around the town for defenсe, but during the long period of peace which followed the Norman Conquest, people built outside the walls. This building continued over the years, especially to the west of the city. In 1665 there was a terrible plague in London, so many people left the city and escaped to the villages in the surrounding countryside. In 1666 the Great Fire of London ended the plague, but it also destroyed much of the city. Although people returned to live in the rebuilt city after plague and the Great Fire, there were never again so many Londoners living in the city centre.

These days not many people live in the city centre either, but London has spread further outwards into the country, including surrounding villages. Today the metropolis of Greater London covers some 1,580 sq km.

The gradual growth of the city helps explain the fact that London does not have one centre, it has a number of centers, each with a distinct character: the financial and business center called the City, the governmental center in Westminster, the shopping and entertainment center in the West End, the industrial center in the East   End.

The City

The City does not refer to the whole of central London, but rather to a small area of the center, which includes the site of the original Roman town. It is an area of 2,650 sq km with a long exciting history, and it is proud of its independence and traditional role as a center of trade and commerce. This tradition is focused on the City’s Lord Mayor, whose official residence is the Mansion House. Once a year, in November, The Lord Mayor’s Show takes place. This is a colourful street parade in which a newly elected Lord Mayor travels in a golden coach, which is over 200 years old.

The City of London is one of the major banking centers of the world and you can find the banks of many nations in the famous Threadneedle Street and surrounding area. Here, too, you will find the Bank of England and the Stock Exchange.

The center of the country’s judicial system is to be found in the western part of the City. The Old Bailey houses many courts. Many solicitors and barristers have their offices.

Fleet Street is famous as the home of the nation’s newspapers but, in fact, only two of them –The Daily Express and The Daily Telegraph- are still in Fleet Street. However, people still say “Fleet Street” to mean “ the Press”.

There are some historical buildings in the City. St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Tower of London are the most famous of them.

Saint-Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

St. Petersburg is an unusual city in many ways. We know exactly the date of its foundation and the name of its founder. Even its geographical position is unique- no other city of its size is so far north. Standing in the center of the city you can hardly believe that three centuries ago there was nothing here but moors with no sign of civilization. St. Petersburg is a young city but its short history is rich in significant and tragic events. The city saw the glory of the Imperial Age and witnessed the exultation and cruelty of revolutions. It survived floods and fires, suffered from the famine during the last war. Peter the Great wanted to build a European city, and from the very start the city was built in stone, the streets were wide and spacious. The life of the city was organized in European manners, with military parades and assemblies.

The patron saint of Russia and one of the patron saints of St. Petersburg is St. Andrew. The legend goes that St. Andrew moved around Russia preaching Christianity and reached as far as the Neva delta. And as he was walking along the river he saw lights of such divine beauty that he considered it to be an omen that some time there would be a town on the site, majestic and powerful. St. Andrew was highly esteemed in Russia. Peter I instituted the order in his name, which was the highest order in Russia.

Another patron saint of St. P-g is Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky. Peter I ordered to build a monastery consecrated in his name and the sacred relics of the Hole Prince were moved from Vladimir to St. P-g.

Every city has its emblems and symbols. There are three main symbols of St. P-g: the coat of arms, the flag and the anthem. The coat of arms represents a red shield bearing a sea anchor and a river anchor crossed, combined with a gold scepter. You may find the coat of arms of St. P-g on the facades of some buildings. It decorates the entrance to the Admiral Nakhimov Naval School.

St. Petersburg has always been a busy city. It has attracted people from all parts of Russia and abroad. People came to the city and brought with them their culture and traditions. They settled in national or professional communities, and names of some streets show now where those communities were.

From the very start the city was multinational and besides Orthodox churches there are many other places of worship: Lutheran and Catholic churches, a Buddhist temple, a mosque and some others.

St. P-g has always been the center of public and cultural life. Many prominent people of Russia lived and worked in St. P-g. The city has been famous for its theaters, art galleries and museums.

Visiting St. P-g today you immediately notice the lively atmosphere. The city can be crowded during the summer months. St. P-g is most famous for its classical and baroque architecture. Palace Square with its magnificent Winter Palace, the Mariinskiy Opera and Ballet Theatre,  Peter and Paul’s Fortress  are just a few of them.

 There is a lot that is worth seeing in St. P-g but there’s one building you should not miss while visiting the city. This is St. Isaac’s Cathedral, one of the highest one-cupola constructions in Europe. The golden dome of St Isaac’s Cathedral dominates the historical center of St P-g. The Cathedral was named after Isaac of Dalmatia, the Byzantine monk, who was the patron saint of Russian tsar Peter the Great. It was designed by the French architect Auguste de Montferrand. It took more than four decades to complete the work. The interior decoration includes mosaic and painted panels, as well as a great variety of fine architectural details made of lapis lazuli, malachite and the best kinds of marble.

Getting around St P-g is easy by underground, but in the center the best way is walking. However, it is difficult to call it “a pedestrian dream” because of a lot of traffic in the center. The most romantic time to come to St P-g certainly is June when you can enjoy white nights here whether you take a boat trip along the rivers and canals or walk along great embankments and watch raised bridges. In any case, in this time of the year you are falling in love with the place.

Some people call St P-g the northern Venice, others say it reminds them of Amsterdam, but in fact St P-g is unique.