Card #16. Australia.

If I had a chance to go to some English - speaking country I would like to go to Australia. Australia seems to me and other people to be the upside-down world. The New Year is at midsummer, midwinter is in June. Hot winds blow from the north: cold winds blow from the south. The farther north you go, the hotter it gets. The trees look strange; it will seem odd to you that they never lose their leaves, and you will miss the bare branches in winter. Australia is a land of strange birds and beasts such as kangaroo, koala, echidna and dingo.
Australia is the world's largest island and the smallest continent. Its area is about the United States (without Alaska) -7,7 square km. Today there live about 17 million of people. Australia is a country of almost 3 million square miles far from other countries that's why it wasn't discovered for a long time. And only in 1606 Dutch sailors reached the shores of the unknown continent, but it was not settled till the English Captain Cook discovered the East Coast in 1770. When settlement began in 1788 the continent was inhabited by about 300 000 people, who are now called aborigines. Diseases brought by settlers caused many deaths among the aborigines and now there are only about 60 000 of them. At the beginning of the 19-th century the English colonists gave the fifth continent the name Australia or "the unknown southern land ". At first, nobody wanted to live there because it was used as a prison where the British government would send British prisoners.
The most of Australia is a semi -desert so most people in Australia live in South - East. The climate is hot and Australian boast that they can sleep out -of- doors all the year round. The sun shines in winter and in summer. Snow and ice are rare, except the high mountains. There is not much rain, and drought is a constant anxiety. In bad times, and in the driest parts, many animals may die for want of water.
Today Australia is an independent federative state consisting of 6 states and 2 territories. It is a member of the Commonwealth headed by the British Queen. The capital is Canberra.

Card #17. To go to London.

If I had a chance to go to London I'd like to see not only the places of interest but many other interesting things there. Certainly everyone knows that the most famous sights of the capital of the Great Britain are Tower Bridge over the river Themes, Big Ben, The Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square, Saint Paul's Cathedral, The British museum, Art Gallery. It seems I know all these sights well because we have been getting acquainted with them since the 5-Th form up to now. I think it will be enough one-day excursion to see all these sights with my own eyes.
I'd better visit the one of the numerous English pubs- the local beer halls where Englishmen like to spend their free time reading, talking, discussing traditional matters - political, sports and weather over the glass of beer. Or I'll try to feel myself as a real Englishman visiting a house of a common English family. I'd like to sit round the fire place which is traditional for every English house.
If I were lucky I would visit one of the competition or a tournament where traditional English sport games are played - rugby or lawn tennis, horse racing or cricket.
I'd like to walk among the students of Cambridge or Oxford university in their campus and to imagine that I am one of them.
I believe my impression on London won't be full if I don't visit Madam Tussad's museum in Baker street. I'm looking forward to seeing their life - size wax portraits of kings and queens, well - known writers, singers and even criminals
One of my evenings in London I'd like to spend in a disco club to watch the way English teenagers and young people spare their time, to listen to their popular groups, to make friends and what not.

Card #18. Science.

Science is a source of progress. It develops the world we live in. Our century is an epoch of great discoveries in science and engineering. It is epoch of scientific and technological revolution, when new ideas are being born and new discoveries, inventions are being made at an ever increasing rate. Today science has become the most important factor in the development of national economy in the whole world. Scientific progress serves the interests of society, helps to increase the well - being of people and develops public education.
Computer technology plays the most important role in the progress of science. The ability of computers to solve many mathematical problems more effective than man does, has given rise to new trends in mathematics. Computer science is a new field of study and research.
In recent years scientists of the world have achieved great success in the development of physics, chemistry, biology, and such astonishing, interesting science as psychology.
But science may be turned both for peace and military purpose. It can take good forms and evil forms. With the help of scientific inventions politicians make weapons of mass destruction. But on the other hand researches help us in our life: at home, at work, at school and make the level of the country development higher. That's why there are a lot's of facts telling about a great amount of well-known scientists who had burned their works when they've understood the consequences of their inventions.
There are a lot of world-known scientists but one of the greatest names in history of man's work in physics.
James Clerk Maxwell was born Edinburgh, Scotland, on November 13, 1831.After school he entered the University of native city, attended the University of Cambridge which he graduated in 1854. For two years he lectured, made experiments in optics at Trinity College, studied much himself.
In 1856 he became a professor of natural philosophy and in 1860 - a professor of physics and astronomy at kings College in London. In London he lived for five years. There he saw Faraday.
In 1871 Maxwell became a professor of experimental physics at Cambridge. At that time students couldn't even have such subjects like electricity and magnetism, as there was no laboratory for the study of these subjects. Maxwell organized such a laboratory, which made Cambridge world-known. This was a fruitful period of Maxwell's life. He studied the problems of electromagnetism, molecular physics, optics, and mechanics. Maxwell wrote his first scientific work when he was 15. Science that time he wrote a great number of works which were the results of his experiments and calculations. His most outstanding investigations are in the field of kinetic theory of gases and electricity. Maxwell is the founder of the electromagnetic field (side by side with Faraday). In 1873 he published his work on electricity and magnetism. During these years he also wrote his classic "Matter and Motion", "Atoms", "Attraction", "Faraday". Maxwell died in 1879.

Card #19. Arkhangelsk.

I was born and spent all my life in my native city- Archangel. Archangel is the administrative, industrial and cultural center of Archangel region. It is situated on the banks of the Northern Dvina, not far from the place, where river flows into the White Sea.
If you want to have a better look of Archangel you need to start sightseeing from Pur-Navolok, the place, where in 1584 the city was founded by the order of Russian Tzar Ivan the Terrible. The original name of the town was "Новые Холмогоры" and it's present name dates back to 1613 and it is connected with the name of the Archangel Michael Monastery, which stood on the place, where Drama Theatre is now situated. In 17-th century Archangel became the major center of Russian northern trade with foreign countries, a great sea and river port on the Northern Dvina.
The oldest building in Archangel is Gostiny Dvor, dating back to 1684. In ancient times Gostiny Dvor was a trading center and consisted of three parts: Russian and German yards and the central part-fortress. The Russian word "Gosti" meant "merchant", so it was often called merchant yard, a trading center. In the 17-th century it was the largest building of its kind, but today we can see only small part of this magnificent and outstanding building, which is now used as an exhibition hall. Preparations are being made for reconstruction of this unique complex. It is planned to restore the Russian merchant yard in its original form.
A few minute walk from this place will take you to the monument of Peter the Great who did the great deal towards Russian development. It is the work of the sculptor of 19-th century - Mark Antokolsky. Peter the First is depicted in the uniform of a Preobrajenstij Regiment officer. If you go down the "Красная Пристань" your attention will be caught by a sailing ship "Zapad". This place is called the gates to the Arctic.
The center of the city is the Lenin Square, where the main administrative buildings, museums and shops are situated. Here you can see the Northern Obelisk, so called the symbol of Archangel. The pedestal shows the main branches or economy of Archangel region in previous centuries: logging, fishing, cattle breading and sawing. There are a lot of other interesting places to view, such as our embankment , ?Children's Park and many other.

Card #20.Scotland.

Scotland is a land of mountains, wild moorlands, narrow valleys and plains. The Highlands of Scotland are among the oldest mountains in the world. The highest of them is Ben Nevis. The lakes of Scotland are called "lochs". The beautiful Loch Lomond with its thirty islands is the largest. One third of the people in Scotland live in or near its capital Edinburgh and its great industrial center Glasgow.
Scotland is a country with the deep national traditions. Scotland is a part of England but Scotland is not England. Scot's laws are different from the English. Scotland has its own administration of government, which is centered in Edinburgh. It has its own national heroes. These heroes fought in endless battles against the England. Scotland has its own national drink, national musical instruments, national dances, songs, poetry, traditions, food and sports, even education and manners.
There is the Old Scotland and the New Scotland. New Scotland is a land of steel and ships, coal and power, of factories and great ports, of modern literature and music.
The Old Scotland is the land of ballads, legendary heroes defending its independence, legendary knights, outlaws, beautiful queens, brave and cruel kings. And the shadow of Old Scotland has its place in the New Scotland.
There is a national dress of Scotland, the kilt. It is the best walking dress yet invented by men: there is up 5 meters of material in it. It is airy, leaves the legs free from climbing: it stands the rain for hours before it gets wet through; it is warm for a cold day and cool for warm one. And what is more, if a highlander is caught in the mountains by night, he has just to unfasten his kilt and wrap it around him. 5 meters of warm wool will help him to sleep comfortably enough at night.
The kilt is only worn by men and it is a relic of the time when the clan system existed in the Scottish Highlands. The clan was like a very large family and everyone had the same family mane like McDonald or McGeorge ("Mac" means the "son of"). The clan had its particular territory and was governed by a chieftain. Each clan had its own tartan which both men and women wore.
Now people can buy tartans ,which are new designed in the shops. They are different from the ones worn by the clans long ago. The old fabrics which were made from local sheep's wool disappeared and the secret of making them is lost. But the machine-making tartans are very popular.
The thistle is a national emblem of Scotland.