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Russian and British cuisine. Русская и Британская кухни.

Britains has meal 4 times a day(Breakfast, Lunch, Teatime, Dinner)

Breakfast can be a full “English Breakfast” of corn flakes with milk and sugar, or fried eggs with bacon, different porridges, toasts with jam or marmalade and cup of tea or coffee.

At midday everything is stopped for lunch. Lunch is usually taken at one o'clock. For many people lunch is a quick meal. Office workers usually go to a cafe at this time. They take fish, poultry or cold meat (beef and ham), boiled or fried potatoes and all sorts of salad. School children can have a hot meal at school. Some of them just bring a snack from home.

Afternoon tea is taken at about 5 o’clock. It’s a cup of tea and cake or biscuits. Tea is very popular among the English; it may almost be called their national drink.

Dinner is the most substantial meal of the whole day. It’s usually eating at 7 o’clock. The first course may be soup. The main course will be fish or meat, perhaps the traditional roast beef and a lot of vegetables. The next course will be something sweets and fruits.

Russian cuisine.

Russian cuisine is indeed original. Russian people usually have meals three times a day. In the morning they have a breakfast, in the afternoon – dinner, and in the evening it’s time for supper.

Breakfast. It may include just sandwiches, fried eggs, cornflakes or muesli and different porridges. And tea or coffee.

A traditional Russian dinner consists of three courses. It’s the main meal of the day. The main course is soup. There are many different soups in Russia. The most famous are borsh, shee, rassolnik, okroshka. After soup the second course follows. It usually includes meat or fish and garnish. The third course is usually a drink – compote, kissel or mors.

Supper. It may be fried potatoes, fried fish or chiken.

Global Warming - Глобальное потеплениe

Each time we burn gasoline, oil, coal, or even natural gas, more carbon dioxide is added to the atmosphere. The greenhouse effect is what is causing the temperature on the Earth to rise, and creating many problems that will begin to take place in the coming decades.

Today, however, major changes are taking place. We are destroying the ozone layer, which allows life to exist on the Earth's surface.

All of these activities are unfavourably changing the composition of the biosphere and the Earth's heat balance. If we do not slow down our use of fossil fuels and stop destroying the forests, the world could become hotter than it has been in the past million years.

Plants and other wildlife habitats might not have enough time to adjust to the rapidly changing climate. The warming will rearrange entire biological communities and cause many species to become died out.

It causes the overheat of the air and as a result, we have the global warming effect. As you see, greenhouse effect and global warming correspond with each other, because without one, the other doesn't exist.

Ecological Problems - Экологические проблемы

For thousands of years people lived in harmony with environment and it seemed to them that natural riches were unlimited. But with the development of civilization man's interference in nature began to increase.

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.

Many cities suffer from smog. 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.

The pollution of air and the world's ocean, destruction of the ozone layer is the result of man's careless interaction with nature, a sign of the ecological crises.

Environmental protection is of a universal concern. That is why serious measures to create a system of ecological security should be taken.

We must save life on the planet not only for the sake of the present but also for the future generations.

Holidays and customs. Праздники и традиции.

Christmas - Рождество

Christmas is Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. most Christians celebrate Christmas on December 25.

People of different countries celebrate Christmas in various ways. The most people in different countries decorate their homes with Christmas trees, wreaths and ornaments. City streets are filled with coloured lights; the sound of bells and Christmas carols can be heard everywhere.

Children write letters to Santa Claus and tell him what presents they would like to get. Many department stores hire people to wear a Santa Claus costume and listen to children's requests. People send Christmas cards to relatives and friends.

A Christmas tree is one of the main symbols of Christmas in most homes. Relatives and friends may join in trimming the tree with lights, tinsel, and colourful ornaments. Presents are placed under the tree. On Christmas Eve or Christmas morning, families open their presents.

Holidays. St Valentine’s Day - День Святого Валентина

St Valentine's Day comes on February 14.

It is widely celebrated among people of all ages by exchange of "valentines". A "valentine" may mean a special greeting-card or a little present.

It may be for the person who receives the gift. The day is the time to send little gifts to those you love. Flowers and candy are favourite presents which sweethearts send to each other. Valentine candy is packed in red heart-shaped boxes and sold for this one day.

Valentines are special greeting cards. They are often coloured red, have red trimmings and pictures of hearts. It is a good day for parties, especially by young people.

It is a very interesting holiday and many people like to celebrate it.

Places of Interest in London Поездка в Лондон

Hyde Park

It's the London's largest and most fashionable park. It was once a royal hunting forest. There are restaurants and bars at each end of the Serpentine lake. Hire a boat.

Downing Street

Number 10, Downing Street has been the home of the British Prime Minister since 1735.

The Houses of Parliament

Its official name is the Palace of Westminster. Most of the building was built in 1840 after the fire of 1834 destroyed the old palace. At the north end of the building, by Westminster Bridge, there is the famous clock tower, Big Ben. In fact Big Ben is really the name of the bell in the tower, not of the clock.

The Tower of London

It's the London's oldest building. Since it was built by William the Conqueror in the 11th century, this castle has been a Royal palace, a prison, a place of execution, a zoo, the Royal Mint, and an observatory. Today it's a museum and houses the Crown Jewels. There is a gift shop.

The Natural Museum

It's situated in Kensington and is one of London's greatest museums. There is a huge collection of animals and plants, including a quarter of a million butterflies, a blue whale and the famous dinosaur skeletons. There is a cafeteria, a gift shop, and a book shop.

Madame Tussauds, Morylebone Road

The famous Waxworks Museum has the models of famous people from pop stars to prime ministers, displays of battles and a Chamber of Horror.

The Royal Observatory, Greenwich

It is situated 10 miles outside London on a hill above the River Thames. The Observatory contains telescopes and displays about astronomy, including Halley's Comet and Black Holes. There is a video theatre and a souvenir shop. Picnic in Greenwich Park. You can take a river boat to Greenwich from Westminster Bridge.

Cinema in Our Life - Кино в нашей жизни

The movies are truly an art of our time. It is the greatest aesthetic and educational force in the world today.

The invention of the photography in 1828 played a very important role in the development of the cinema. 1895 became the year when the cinema was born. After the brothers Lumier had invented the cinematography, the cinema widely spread all over the world. The first movie theatres appeared in 1904. And in 1907 the literature works started to be widely used for the movie scripts. Now different movie versions of novels and stories of famous writers are still very popular.

The movies are a powerful force in contemporary life. Cinema is also used for educational purposes. Video classes are useful when studying geography, foreign languages and many other subjects. They are also the means of getting acquainted with the world. With the help of documentary and science films one can get much information about the world around. The news on TV helps to know what happens in the world each day. It also helps to attract the attention of people to different important problems, such as hunger, earthquakes, water pollution and so on.

The cinema is also the means of entertainment. After a working day one can relax watching some good movie. Nowadays people can’t just imagine their life without the art of cinema.