Card #1. Motherland.

To begin with I'd like to say that the Russian Federation is the largest country in the world. It occupies about one seventh of the earth's surface. It covers the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia. Its total area is about 17 million square kilometers. The country is washed by 12 seas of 3 oceans: the Pacific, the Arctic and the Atlantic. In the south Russia borders with China, Mongolia, Korea, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan. In the west it borders with Norway, Finland, the Baltic States, Byelorussia, the Ukraine. It also has a seaboard with USA.
There is hardly a country where such a variety of scenery and vegetation can be found. We have steppes in the south, plains and forests in the midland, tundra and taiga in the north, highlands and deserts in the east.
There are over 2 million rivers in Russia. The country is rich in beautiful lakes. The world's deepest lake, Baikal, is situated in Russia. They say, that the water in the lake is so clear, that if you look down you can even count stones on the bottom.
Russia has one sixth of world's forests. They are concentrated in the European north of the country, in Siberia and in the Far East.
On the vast territory of the country there are various types of climate, from arctic in the north to subtropical in the south. In the middle of the country the climate is temperate and continental. In Russia, therefore, you can observe different seasons of the same time in autumn and spring months. For example, in Murmansk and Archangel April is still a winter month, while in Moscow in April spring has already begun.
Russia is very rich in oil, cool, iron ore, natural gas, copper and other mineral resources. Nature has richly bestowed upon Russia all the mineral resources.
Another point I want to deal with is the Russian language. Russian is the first language of more than 220 million of people throughout the world, and it is the official language of Russian Federation. It is also spoken to some extent by the 130 million of people in former republics of the USSR. Russian, in fact, is among the 4 most widely spoken languages in the world.
I shall now elaborate the Russian stereotype. To my mind, Russians have many peculiarities. They are believed to be industrious, tough, suspicious, brave and progressive. They are very hospitable, fond of being with other people and enjoying social life. They have a great sense of patriotism. They are generous, emotional, kind-hearted and loyal to their families. From my point of view Russians are patriarchal, dogmatic in following conventional values. They are mostly faithful and tradition-loving.
It may be interesting to say some words about Russian food. The wide range of Russian food is really worth exploring. There are many tasty dishes to try, such as Beef Stroganoff, stuffed cabbage leaves, soups, such as borshch, lovely salads, blini, pelmeni, kissel and many others. When Russians invite guests for a meal the table is usually groaning with food.
In the latter half of our century international tourism has become truly massive. But in the times of the Cold War not much tourists visited USSR. And now thousands of people from all over the world visit Russia. The country's history is long and eventful. There are more than 150 000 historical and architectural landmarks and monuments. There are many places of interest in Russia. And foreigners come to explore its historic buildings, to see its museums and galleries, its streets and parks. But the greatest reason to my mind is the great will to find out something about life of Russian people.
How do Russian people live? How do they work and spend their free time? People visiting Russia want to see that for themselves. That's why Russia encourages international tourism.

Card #2. British Isles.

The British Isles haven't always been a separate part of Europe. Long time ago Britain was a part of the European continent. Then about ten thousand years ago during the end of the last Ice Age, when the climate grew warmer, new rivers and sees were formed Europe slowly moved into its present shape.
The ancient people of Britain were simple hunters and ate flesh of animals fruits, nuts, honey. They fished, and gathered oysters. They didn't have a permanent place of living and traveled from place to place, sheltering in caves.
Then the British men have become the farmers. The Stone Age farmer had the patches in the forests that covered most of Britain. He kept half-wild cattle and pigs in a forest and in Northern Scotland, free from forests, he kept sheep.
By the end of the Stone Age (2000 BC) metal was already being used. It was time of the Invasion of Beaker people. They came from the Northern Europe. They used bronze and it was them, who started the building of Stone monuments at Stonehenge. Mining and trade were growing during the Bronze Age (ab. 2000-500 BC).
About 500 BC British people were learning how to smelt iron. Iron tools had an advantage over bronze ones: they were much cheaper.
The beginning of the Iron Age (ab. 400 BC) British Isles were invaded by Celts armed with weapons of iron. They conquered Kent and much of Southern England. They imposed their language on the natives, its Gaelic form was used in Ireland and Scotland, the Brythonic form - in England and Wales. It was the Brythonic tribe that gave its name to the whole country.
The first chronicle of Britain was written by an educated merchant from Morsel. He also wrote the first description of the people, called Celts. He said they were a gentlefolk, skilled craftsman, who welcomed visitors. The most educated visitor of Britain described the British as a fierce race. His name was Julius Caesar.

The Language History

Present English dates back to 5th-6th centuries, when Germanic tribes of Jutes, Saxons & Angles overran all England except Cornwall & Cumberland. Some religious terms were borrowed from Latin in connection with converting England to Christianity by St. Augustin. Some parts of England were invaded by Danes & Norwegians, that's why the languages of the Anglo-Saxons & Danes formed the basis of English.
Normans contributed greatly to the developing of English language during their invasion.
Next point of this was the 15th-16th centuries when written language was stabilized with help of spreading of printing. In 19th century the growth of British colonial power led to the spread of English as world language.
But still it was only the 1930 when the British Foreign Office stopped using French for all its official memoranda.
So It was the long way of coming-to-be the language of international communication from old Anglo-Saxon dialects to the "world language" in 20th century.

Card #3. International languages.

As far as you know, there are lot's of languages in the world, and some of them fall into category of international languages or languages of wider communication, such as French, English, German, Spanish, Russian, Italian and Arabic. All these languages are the official languages of the UN. All of them fall into the category of the official languages of UNESCO. Mass media nowadays play an important role in everyone's life. But, undoubtedly, most radio and TV programs are broadcast in such languages as English, Russian, French, German, Arabic and Chinese. Among all these languages only English and French are the official languages of the European international organizations.
Among all these languages English is rightly considered to be the international language of the world. One smtm. forgets how recently it is that English has assumed the function of the "world language". It was only in the 1930 that the British Foreign Office stopped using French for all its official memoranda. But things that grow so quickly can also change very quickly.
604 million of people, many more have some knowledge of English now than 30 years ago; but while the numbers have risen the quality and the range of command has dropped and the opportunities for using English have shrunk in general.
As an alternative all-purpose vehicle of communication, English is spreading greatly in such countries as Singapore, or among elite in certain African countries. A very marked rise is evident in the use of English for occupation purposes: English is the international language of the air, and failure to use it efficiently can endanger passenger safety. English is the language of banking and industry; many international firms, based in non-English countries conduct their entire operations throughout the world in English.
There aren't any other linguistic reasons why English might be the world language, 'cause to anyone learning English, it's neither more simple nor more complex than any other language. Basically, it's a historical accident. Presumably, English is easy to get along in to some extent, 'cause it doesn't have a complex morphology, at least.
George Orwell observed that there are two major linguistic reasons: one is its grammatical simplicity and the other is the cosmopolitan vocabulary of English.
English, with its wider geographic base, its 300 million of native speakers, its utility as a tool of learning and its importance in science, technology and commerce, is now incontestably the international language of the world. Whether it will be so a hundred years from now depends on political, economic and cultural factors more than on the characteristic of the language itself: but one thing looks certain - English will not fragment, as Latin did.
As for me, English plays an important role in my life. I have been studying English for 10 years and each year my knowledge of English becomes wider and more profound. Though I'm not sure in choosing my future career, I think that it may be easier to get a job with some knowledge of English, 'cause English is an international language and so many firms, even in our country conduct their entire operations throughout the world in English. But, as we know, English is the language, which grows very quickly, so it can also change very quickly. Nowadays a great importance is given to Esperanto. Lots of specialists consider that it may become the international language of the world in nearest future.

Card #4. Standard English.

Standard variety

SV is the variety of a language which has the highest status in a community or nation and which is usually based on the speech and writing of educated native speakers of the language.
A standard variety is generally:
- used in the news media and in literature;
- described in dictionaries and grammars;
- taught in school and taught to non-native speakers when they learn the language as a foreign language.
A standard variety may contain some variation in pronunciation according to the part of the country where it is spoken, e.g. Standard British English in Scotland, Wales, Southern England. Standard English is sometimes used as a cover term for all the national standard varieties of English. These national standard varieties have differences in spelling, vocabulary, grammar, and particularly pronunciation, but there is a common core of the language. This makes it possible for educated native speakers of the various national standard varieties of English to communicate with one another.

British English

The British accept and enjoy the class distinctions. And these class distinctions influence people's speech greatly. The way English is spoken helps to identify not only the region that one lives in, but the class status too.
Since the days of Shakespeare the English of South-East England has been considered "the standard", and by the way the South-East is the region of economic and political power.
Many people in England possess so called Received Pronunciation (RP), derived from the public school system attended by the boys from rich families. RP remains the accent of the elite.
There are two kinds of RP. One is "unmarked" RP, which suggests no more that the speaker is well educated. This is the dialect of the BBC. Through radio and television "unmarked" RP is becoming more and more widely spoken accent.
Then there is "marked" RP, which indicates high social class and is spoken by many army officers who come from upper class families. Although spoken by less than 5% of the population, RP has great influence and social authority.
Regional accents are also often spoken in Britain. Scottish, Welsh and Irish are generally the most popular regional accents. Then come Northern and West country accents and then - the least popular urban accents of London, Liverpool, Glasgow.
It is interesting to notice that the television news is usually read by RP speakers, while the weather forecast following the news is often read by someone with a regional accent.

The American English

English in the USA differs considerably from British English. Pronunciation is the most striking difference but there are also a number of differences in vocabulary and spelling as well as slight differences in grammar. On the whole British people are exposed to a lot of American English on TV, in films, in literature and so they will usually understand most American vocabulary.
Examples:
British: colour, centre, practice.
American: color, center, practise.
But American English and British English are not too separate languages. It is one language in different variations. American English is not the only special variety of English. Each area of the English-speaking world has developed its own special characteristics, its own vocabulary and pronunciation characteristics.

Australian English

Australian English is particularly interesting for its reach store of highly colloquial words and expressions. Australian colloquialism often involves shortening a word. Sometimes the ending "ie" is changed into "o". Instead of "smokie" they say "smoko". Instead of "beautiful" they often say simply "beaut". Because of current popularity of Australian TV-programs and films some of these words are now being used by British people, too.

Scottish English

Scottish English uses a number of special dialect words. For example lake - loch; mountain - ben; church - kirk; to remember - to mind; beautiful - bonny; to live - to stay; a girl - lassie; no - ken.

Card #5. Slang.

S is a particular kind of colloquial lang. It refers to words and expressions which are extremely informal. S helps to make speech vivid, colorful and interesting but it can easily be used inappropriately. Although S is mainly used in speech, it is also often found in the popular press.
It can be risky for someone who is not a native speaker to use S. Firstly because some S expressions may cause offence to some sections of the population. For ex., most policemen are quite happy to be referred to as coppers but are offend by the term pigs. Similarly, you could probably use the word sozzled (meaning drunk) in front of anyone but using the words pissed or arseholed, which also mean drunk, could upset some people.
Secondly, S words date very quickly. Dif. Generations, for instance, have used dif. S expressions to say that smth was wonderful: top-hole (pre-war), wizard (1940s), fab, groovy (1960s), ace, cosmic (1970s), brill, wicked (1980s), awesome (1990s).
It can be possible to work out a native speakers age from expressions which they use, as people tend to stick with the S expressions of their youth. To sum up, you may find it interesting to learn about S and you may come across S expressions (particularly when you are watching films or reading popular newspapers or novels) but you might be well advised to avoid using S yourself.
S is often used by one particular group and is unintelligible to other people. Here are some examples from Am. Truck drivers using GB radio to talk to each other: motion lotion (fuel), super cola (beer), affirmative (yes), five finger discount (stolen goods).

Cockney rhyming slang.

People born in East London are called "Cockneys". But the word "cockney" is often used for Londoners in general.
In fact, there is a distinctive cockney accent, and there are a lot of expressions in English S which were originally cockney. One type of cockney S is very famous: cockney rhyming S. Normal words are replaced by other words which rhyme with them.
Some people claim that rhyming S came from criminals who used it to talk in publics without being understood. But it is more likely that it was just part of the general patter of traders and other people, who used it mainly for fun.
Rhyming S is made by replacing an English word with an often amusing two-term phrase. Much of the S had a reason behind it. Apples and Pears, for instance, which means stairs, dates from the time when people would store pears in the cellars of their houses and apples in their attics. So you would go up and down the stairs for your apples and pears.
Some rhyming S has even become part of ordinary everyday English. Plonk is S for cheap wine, but it comes from the rhyming S plink plonk, which comes from the mispronounced French word for white wine vin blank. Most of the S in use today comes from the 19th century, but there are some 20th century additions. They include Vera Lynn (gin), Bobby Moore (score), jam roll (dole). And, largely due to its use on radio and television cockney rhyming S has become very well known. So it looks as if it is here to stay.

Back slang.

Back Slang is smt used by cockney street traders or salesmen at Spitalfields, a fruit and vegetable market in the East End. Words are said back to front, for ex.: "He is taf" means "he is fat", "a yob" means "a boy". The letters are not ыalways changed exactly.
Cockney use Back S to speak to each other when they don't want other people to understand.