An outstanding person.

Most people think that being famous is very attractive. But they don’t always realize all disadvantages of it. They just see the enjoyable things about being a star or the financial benefits and ignore the problems that go along with it – things like having photographers around you wherever you go, and journalists writing things about you in newspapers that may be completely untrue. With such pressure it’s difficult to keep up relations with family and friends. Once you’ve become famous, you can’t go back.

As for famous people I would like to tell a few words about Diana, Princess of Wales, the former wife of Prince Charles and the mother of Prince William and Prince Harry. She was originally called Lady Diana Spencer and she married Prince Charles in 1981. But in 1996 they divorced. She was known not only as one of the most fashionable and elegant ladies of Britain but also as a caring person who worked actively for many different charity organizations, especially those which supported people with AIDS. In 1997 she started a romantic relationship with the businessman Dodi al-Fayed, and they were both killed in a car crash in Paris being followed by paparazzi. Her death was one of the biggest news stories of the 1990s, and people all over the world were affected by it. Even now every day millions of people bring flowers to the palace she lived in London and the tunnel she died in Paris.

When we speak about outstanding people of Russian culture, we can’t but speak about opera and ballet, music, fine arts, literature and cinema.

As for the ballet, the Russian school of ballet is known for its well-trained and beautiful dancers, such as Anna Pavlova, Maya Plisetskaya and Rudolf Nuriev.

Russian opera is well-known, too. Such masterpieces as «Ivan Susanin» and «Ruslan and Ludmila» by Glinka are in the collection of the best operas of the world.

Everybody can enjoy the great works of icon-panters Feofan Greek and Andrei Rublev.

Russian literature is known as an example of good style. Since the first printing-house if Ivan Fyodorov began to work we can’t imagine our life without books. Such Russian writers as Tolstoy, Chekhov, Dostoevsky, Turgenev are well-known all over the world. Their books were translated into lots of languages.

Russian scientists, poets, producers and architects are also famous.

Russian achievements in sport are great as well. Our sportsmen take part in different competitions and win a lot of medals.

As for me, I think being famous is not easy. You don’t have private life and become a public person. You don’t have an opportunity to choose what you want. You do what you have to do. It’s difficult and I wouldn’t like to live such life.

Sports.

There is nothing more important than health. “Health is above wealth”, wise people say, because you can’t be good at your studies or work if you don’t take care of your health. It goes without saying that sport helps people to keep fit, to be healthy and strong, to develop physically and it makes them more organized and better disciplined in their daily activities.

We all need to exercise. Even if we don’t plan to make a career in sport we have to practice. Regular exercises give people more energy. Sport builds character, it makes us strong. It helps to meet new people and to make friends with them. Sport teaches us to win and to lose. And, of course, those people who go in for different kinds of sport are in good shape.

Sport is very important in our life. Teenagers take part in a great number of sport events. They include indoor and outdoor activities such as football, volleyball, athletics, cheerleading and others. Every school has sport teams and they compete with each other.

Nowadays there are large sports centers which have excellent facilities for sport and fitness. Though they are not free and people have to pay, children and grown-ups attend them regularly.

A lot of people like watching sports competitions on TV or at the stadium, listening to sports news or reading about them in newspapers.

There are winter and summer kinds of sports. The winter sports are: hockey, skating, skiing, mountain skiing, snowboarding and others. The most popular summer sports are swimming, rowing and mountain climbing. There are different sports clubs in Russia. Team games and individual sports develop responsibility and cooperation. People who go in for sports are able to stand up difficulties.

As for me, I like sports. I go in for swimming and sport dancing. I have regular lessons twice a week. I also like mountain skiing, but it is my hobby. My family and I spend winter holidays at different ski resorts. I’ve visited a lot of countries.