Great Britain has produced more popular music stars than any other country. Over the last 30 years rock and pop music have been very popular in Britain. The Beatles, with their style of singing, eloquent and exciting, is still one of the most popular groups. British groups often set new trends in music. New styles, groups and singers continue to appear. Some of the more recent pop groups are Dire Straits, Eurhythmics and Spice Girls. Many of the new bands have been able to use the changes in technology to develop their music. Computerised drum machines, synthesisers and other electronic instruments are now just as popular as the piano and electric guitars.
Tastes differ. So people’s musical interests range from pop and rock music, which are extremely popular nowadays, especially among young people, to classical music and opera.
My favourite style of music is pop music, because it is breathtaking and full of energy. When I listen to pop music it makes me remember happy times and forget the problems of everyday life. It helps me to relax when I’m tired, and entertains me when I’d like to have fun. My favourite group is Abba. It was formed in 1973 in Sweden. Abba’s cheerful tunes made them international pop stars and one of the most successful groups of the seventies. Their most famous songs (“Waterloo”, “Money, Money, Money”, “Knowing Me, Knowing You”, etc.) often topped European charts. Though the group doesn’t exist any more, it is still popular with people of all ages. I can’t but admire their style of singing. I find it fascinating and overwhelming. When I have free time I listen to their records. I also like having background music while I am working.
I don’t mind listening to dance music, especially when I go to disco clubs. This style of music is catchy and firey and I like catchy tunes. It makes me more energetic.
It’s a pity that many young people like to listen only to modern music. As for me, I also enjoy listening to classical music. I find it tuneful and appealing. Classical music is always a complex of emotions. It gives me delight, pleasure and a sense of happiness. Some pieces of classical music are really wonderful. Not long ago I listened to the First Piano Concerto, composed by Tchaikovsky. The power of his music captivated me. The impression was overwhelming.
The music I hate is heavy metal. I find it noisy and dreadful. When I listen to this style of music it presents to my mind pictures of dark days. Though some young people are fond of this style of music, it is not to everyone’s taste. To my mind, music too loud can destroy our ears. I am indifferent to other styles of music. For example, I don’t mind listening to jazz. Improvisation is an important part of this style, that’s why a jazz song may sound a little different each time it is played. I think that jazz is a mixture of many different kinds of music, but I consider it a bit complicated.
My mother and father approve of my tastes in music. Though they prefer to listen to classical and “bard music”, they think that, on the whole, modern music is not too bad. My parents agree that each generation has its own tastes.
It goes without saying that music plays a very important role in people’s lives. It reflects our moods and emotions. Music appeals to our hearts and transforms our feelings. It conquers our souls and enriches our minds. Besides, listening to music is the perfect way to spend free time and not to feel bored. You can hardly find a person who doesn’t like or need music, who never sings or dances. Music is beauty in sounds, it is our magic source of inspiration.
15. What are traditional British kinds of sports? Are they popular in Russia? What kinds of sport, is your family interested in?
Englishmen are known to be great sports-lovers. One of the most popular British games is cricket, which foreigners can hardly understand. There are two teams of 11 players. Matches last from one to five days. It is played all over the country in the summer. To many Englishmen cricket is both a game and a standard of behavior. When they consider something unfair they say “That isn’t cricket.” Almost all Englishmen become fans when they watch a traditional cricket match between the teams of Great Britain and Australia, or New Zealand. England without cricket would be like bacon without eggs.
Another game which attracts great attention is soccer (European football). There are plenty of amateur and professional soccer clubs in every town. Professional soccer is big business. The Cup Final played in London is the culminating event of the football season. Rugby football is also very popular, but it is played mainly by amateurs. It’s a kind of English football in which the players use their hands for carrying the ball. This game is played by teams of 15 men with an oval ball and it’s often considered to be a violent game.
A great number of people play and watch tennis. Among many tennis tournaments the most famous is the one in Wimbledon. Horse racing is also extremely popular in Great Britain. The racing season includes five races. The annual race for “Derby” is perhaps the most famous sporting event in the whole world. Englishmen also go in for golf, baseball, hockey, basketball, bowling, and badminton. Athletic sports, such as running, jumping, rowing, swimming, boxing and gymnastics, are practiced at schools and colleges. The annual Oxford-Cambridge boat race on the river Thames attracts lots of people and is very popular. In Scotland, where there are good conditions for winter sports, skiing is very popular.
Great Britain and America are the birthplaces of many sports. That’s why many of them have English names. It is easy to understand how these games were named. For example, baseball is played with a ball and bases. Basketball is played with a ball and two baskets. The names for other sports come from the name of the place where they were first played. Badminton comes from the name of a piece of land owned by an English Duke. The game was first played on the Duke’s land in 1873. Golf was first played in Scotland, but its name comes from the Dutch word for a hockey club “colf.”
Almost all these games are popular in Russia. Russian people even began to play cricket. And plenty of bowling clubs appeared in our country. This is because we can hardly overestimate the meaning of sport in our life and day-to-day activities. The main purpose of going in for sports is to develop a generation of strong and healthy people. Sports prevent us from getting too fat, and brings up a harmoniously developed generation. Sometimes playing a sport is connected with great risks. Besides, there are violent kinds of sports and sportsmen and fans discuss whether these kinds of sports are necessary.
In my family we prefer swimming. I began swimming at the age of six. I think that swimming is something like music or languages, and that’s why it’s very good to start as early as possible if you want to be good at it. There is no question that you can speak; there is no question that you can walk; and there is no question that you can swim if you start at a very early age. My parents also go to the swimming pool, but they began going in for swimming when they were grown-ups. There are some sports which I’ve not had a chance to experience but would really like to. They’re mostly non-competitive sports. I love the water very much and I’d really like to try some more water sports. For instance, being pulled by a boat whilst wearing water-skis would, I’m sure, be a fantastic experience. And I’d also like to try surfing. I think there’s no greater feeling on earth than riding the top of a wave on a surfboard. I’d like to try it just to see. My parents and I are great fans. We subscribe to a sports newspaper and like watching nothing but football matches. We read the newspaper from cover to cover and lie on the sofa watching sport competitions on television on Sunday.
16. Some people go in for sports, while others like to watch sports competitions? Which is better: to watch or to participate?
The modern way of life, when people have little physical activity, use cars instead of walking, watch television for many hours, and work on computers is turning them into legless creatures. Although a lot of people are interested in staying healthy, not many people do very much about it. Only 10 per cent of adults take part in sport more than twice a week.
The majority of people live in towns and cities, where space for team sports is limited. To keep fit, most people take part in individual sports. They usually go walking, swimming, cycling, or do aerobics. Taking part in all of these sports is informal and casual. Most people just want to relax. If they do aerobics or go swimming, they usually go to the sports centre; but not many people join a sport club.
Some people argue that sports are not very useful. It takes a lot of energy and time. As a result of going in for sports, people have broken legs and arms and other injuries. Besides, it makes you unhappy when you lose. A lot of people prefer to watch sports competitions rather than take part in sports. Thousands of people go to the stadiums to support their favourite teams and sportsmen. The most popular spectator sports are football, hockey and figure skating. Most of the important competitions are televised, and people enjoy watching sports programmes on TV. They needn’t buy tickets and go to a stadium, especially in cold and rainy weather. But certainly watching sports events and going in for sports are two different things.
In my opinion, people can’t do without sports. Sports play an important part in our lives. I think sports help us in different ways. First of all, it helps us to stay in good shape, to keep fit and to be healthy. It makes people strong, fast and agile. What is more, sport builds character; it teaches us to compete and practice sportsmanship. It makes us more organised and better disciplined in our daily activities. Besides, it is a good way to meet people and to make new friends.
Sports are an essential part of our everyday life. To have a healthy mind, you must have a healthy body. But to be healthy, it is not necessary to become a professional sportsman. You may go in for sports just for pleasure, when you have free time. Some people jog every morning; some follow fitness classes shown on TV. Young people usually put on their roller-skates and skate in the streets and parks. A lot of young people spend their holidays hiking; it doesn’t cost much, and it is a really good way of getting away from crowds.
Physical education is an important subject at school. It helps pupils to relax and to keep fit after a hard working day. Each school has sports facilities. A lot of different competitions are usually held at school and a great number of pupils take part in them. That’s why I think sports are so popular in our country.
The most popular sports in Russia are football and hockey, skating and skiing, track and field and swimming, tennis and basketball. It is not always easy to decide which sport to take up. The aim of all sports training is to improve fitness and skills, and to develop training programmes that are both safe and effective. The important thing, however, is that anyone who is not used to exercising should not do too much at the beginning. Moreover, it is better to do a little regularly than a lot once every two months. Among the be-nefits of regular exercise are a healthier heart, stronger bones, quicker reaction times, and less susceptibility to various illnesses. Scientists believe that if you go in for sport on a regular basis, it could even help you to live longer.
I enjoy many sports; but best of all I love swimming. I started to learn when I was about seven years old. When I was younger I used to go swimming three or four times a week. Now I have less free time, but a week never goes by without my visiting the pool at least once. Sports help me to work off my extra energy.
Swimming is an inexpensive and simple sport. You do not need any complicated equipment. You just need a swimming costume or trunks and perhaps a cap. You can swim in the sea or a river, or you can go to a special swimming pool. I love swimming because it is a very good exercise for the whole body. I would recommend it because it is so convenient to do: you can do it when you like and for as long as you like.
17. What does a healthy way of life mean? How do you look after your health?
People nowadays are more health-conscious than they used to be. They understand that good health is above wealth.
To be healthy we should avoid different bad habits that can affect our health. In my opinion, smoking, and drinking too much alcohol, are the worst ones. It’s common knowledge that smoking and drinking can shorten our lives dramatically. Smoking, for example, causes a number of heart and lung diseases, such as pneumonia, emphysema and cancer. Besides, it makes your teeth yellow and skin unhealthy. Fortunately, in recent years smoking has received a lot of bad publicity, and fewer people smoke nowadays. Some companies don’t employ people who are smokers. Smoking has been banned in most public places because everyone agrees it does harm to our health. I don’t smoke, because I don’t want to have unhealthy skin and teeth and die young.
Smoking and drinking are joined by less dangerous habits, such as skipping meals, eating unhealthy food, or even overeating. Of course, they are not quite as deadly as smoking or drinking alcohol, but they also affect our health.
If we eat too much, we’ll become obese, and obesity leads to serious health problems. A lot of people like drinking coca cola and coffee, and enjoy pizzas and hamburgers. But what is tasty is not always healthy. Fast food makes you fat, that is why Americans are the fattest people in the world.
In recent years eating habits have undergone a change. People are encouraged to eat less fat and more fibre. Fat is believed to be one of the major causes of obesity and heart disease. High fibre and low fat foods can now be found in all shops and supermarkets. Salads, beans, and fruit have taken the place of steak and ice cream. The fashion for health food is growing all the time.
Many people feel they are too fat, even if their doctors disagree. And a lot of people try to improve their fitness. There are a lot of ways to lose weight and avoid gaining it. Perhaps the most popular of them is following a diet. If you want to lose weight, you should cut out snacks and desserts, and cut down on fat. People have also become more aware of calories, the energy value of food. Some people count the number of calories they eat every day; so that they can try to take in fewer calories and lose weight. This is called a calorie-controlled diet. Manufacturers are increasingly producing special foods with fewer calories for slimmers.
But excessive dieting may be dangerous, too. Some people refuse to eat meat as they consider it harmful. They say a vegetarian diet reduces the risk of cancer and vegetarians live longer than others. I can’t agree with them, because meat is an excellent source of good nutrition. In my opinion, it’s wrong to put down a food simply because excessive amounts can cause health problems. Consumed in moderate amounts, meat is perfectly good for our health.
To my mind, the only way to stay healthy and to keep fit is by going in for sports. Among the benefits of regular exercise are a healthier heart, stronger bones, quicker reaction times and more resistance to various illnesses. Besides, you can eat and drink as much as you want because you are burning it all off.
To be healthy, it is also very important to spend a lot of time in the open air. It is useful to go for a walk before going to bed, or to air the room.
I think it is very important to be fit and healthy, and it is necessary to take care of your health. Being fat, in fact, can cause real problems. It is harder for fat people to get a good job, or even to make friends. If you want to do well, you must be thin. That’s why I go in for sports on a regular basis. I have been doing aerobics for three years and I feel great. I am not enthusiastic about strict dieting, but I try to eat only low-fat food, and fruit and vegetables which are rich in vitamins.
Personally I believe that regularity in life promotes our health. Sleeping eight or nine hours, getting up early, regular meals, a healthy diet and going in for sports is really a good way to live.
18. The problems of ecology are very important now. Which problem is the most urgent, in your opinion? What can you and the people around you do to protect the planet?
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. One of the most important environmental problems in the world today is the shortage of clean water. Industrial pollution has made many sources of water undrinkable. Rivers, lakes and even seas have become poisonous. Thousands of fish die every year as a result of the illegal dumping of waste in rivers by factories all over the world.
Lake Baikal is one of the worlds’ largest and most beautiful lakes. It contains a rich variety of fish and plants, including 1,300 rare species that do not exist anywhere else in the world. However, they are being killed by massive industrial waste, which some factories still pour into the lake every day. A few years ago people thought that the supply of clean water was unlimited. Now clean water is scarce, and we are beginning to respect this precious resource. We must protect the clean water that remains for the sake of our children and grandchildren.